Tall, Dark, and Texan (16 page)

And he wouldn’t want her anyway. It might be interesting to have a house full of girls for a few weeks, but not forever. He had all he could handle already. He had no time for a family.

“Not now, not ever,” he mumbled as he let go of the hem of her gown.

She stirred and looked up at him.

He’d expected surprise or embarrassment or even anger. But Jessie just smiled a shy smile at him as if sleeping with him had been something quite ordinary.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I guess I fell asleep.”

“We both did.” He watched her carefully, waiting for emotion to fire her brown eyes. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she yelled and blamed him for what had happened without either of them planning it to.

She stretched, unaware how he felt her body brush against him. “I meant to say good night, but I guess it’s too late now.” They watched the sun’s first light sparkle into the room.

“We could act like it’s not all that late.” He set her feet on the floor in front of him.

Pushing against his chest to stand, she agreed to his game. “Good night, Teagen.” Just before she straightened, she leaned in to kiss him.

Teagen turned just as her lips lowered, and their mouths touched. For a moment neither of them moved; then, before he changed his mind, he kissed her. Not a friendly peck or a light thank-you kiss, but a real first kiss, more promise than passion.

She pulled away, wide awake now. “Oh,” she managed.

“Oh, what?” Teagen snapped, angry that he’d stepped over the line.

“Just oh.” She touched her fingertips to her lips. Then, like a ghost at dawn, she disappeared.

Teagen sat in his chair. He could still feel the warmth of her on his lap. He’d slept sounder in the chair than he’d slept in weeks. Part of him wanted to run after her and demand what
oh
meant. She didn’t look embarrassed or angry. He frowned. Or all that interested, either. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she had never been kissed. But that was ridiculous. The woman had been married half her life. She had three kids and another on the way.

He tugged on his boots and headed out to ride the sunrise boundaries. Maybe the morning air would clear his mind.

Tattor Sims and Dolan Hatch stood on the bunkhouse porch drinking coffee when he walked out. They both fell into step when Teagen headed for the barn. With very few words between them, the men saddled up and began their first day.

By the time they’d covered the eastern border, the old Rangers knew what their jobs were. Both were good trackers. If anyone stepped foot on McMurray land, they’d be able to tell. Tattor liked to talk now and then, but Dolan Hatch never did more than nod that he understood.

When they circled back to the house, the men found their breakfast waiting for them in the bunkhouse. Martha said good morning but didn’t waste a second being friendly.

Teagen felt the need to explain. He didn’t want the men taking her curtness personally. She was an equal opportunity hater of men in general.

Before he could say more than a few words, Tattor waved him away. “We know about your housekeeper. When we rode with your brother, he used to tell us stories about her.”

Dolan grinned, and Tattor continued, “Did she really toss out your meals if you didn’t wash up before you went inside?”

“Yes.” Teagen remembered being in his twenties before it occurred to him that everyone’s housekeeper might not threaten to let them starve if they ever gave away all the carrots in the bin again, or used the washtub for target practice, or skinned rabbits in the mud room. He could name a hundred more, and it appeared his brother had done just that.

Both men looked at each other. “If it’s all the same to you, McMurray, we’ll be happy to eat our meals in the bunkhouse.” Tattor might have voiced the words, but both men nodded.

Teagen headed for the house. “I understand completely,” he mumbled to himself.

As he stepped off the porch, he heard Tattor Sims add in a whisper, “That Martha is one fine-looking woman.”

Teagen couldn’t be sure, but he thought he heard Dolan answer, “If you like porcupines.”

He fought the urge to turn around and question Tattor Sims’s eyesight. Never, not once, had anyone called Martha a “fine-looking woman,” but then very few people had seen her over the years. To the boys she was just Martha, probably old enough to be their mother and meaner than a rattler on a hot day.

If Tattor wanted to look, let him look . . . but if he wanted to keep all his teeth, he’d better do so from a safe distance. Teagen almost laughed out loud. He could guess what Martha would do to the old ranger if he so much as winked at her. Tattor would think the badlands along the border were summer rain compared to the storm of Martha angry.

Walking across the yard, Teagen realized he hadn’t had time to think about the way he’d kissed Jessie. He figured that once she thought about it, she’d have far more to say than “Oh.” Only problem was, he’d have no answer about why he’d done such a thing. It certainly wasn’t proper, he knew that much.

The only other fact he knew for certain was that he wanted to do it again.

He could hear all the girls in the kitchen when he moved onto the porch. Carrying two buckets of water, he stepped inside.

Sage held Bethie on her lap. His sister was the one covered in oatmeal today, but she didn’t look like she minded. She made funny sounds to make the baby laugh.

Emily, for once, wasn’t waiting by the door to go riding. He felt sure her riding days were over, at least until Jessie forgot some of the fear she’d carried last night.

Rose had crawled under the table and pulled the tablecloth low to the floor.

“Do you know what I am?” Rose saw Teagen first.

“No,” he answered, guessing she didn’t want to hear that she was a noisy little girl who asked far too many questions.

“I’m an Indian, and this is my tepee.”

“Oh,” he said, then caught Jessie’s eye as he realized he had repeated the last word she’d said to him at dawn. He could see it in her stare. She was also aware of the parallel.

“Sit down, Teagen, or you’ll miss your breakfast.” Jessie tugged her middle daughter out of her tepee. “Breakfast, my wild one.”

Rose saw tiny fried apple pies on the table and started asking how apples could get in the pockets.

Teagen looked for an empty chair. The kitchen was almost full. If anyone else came home, they’d all be taking meals in the dining room.

Jessie helped Martha set the food on the table, then took the chair next to him. She only greeted him with a nod.

“Did everyone sleep well?” he asked awkwardly.

Martha raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you care, Teagen? I’ve been here for almost twenty years, and you’ve never checked on my slumber habits.”

Teagen squashed the growl he felt rumbling up. Emily already thought he was a bear. There was no sense adding to her theory. He forced a corner of his lip into almost a smile. “Maybe I’m working on my conversation skills?”

“It’s about time.” Sage laughed, and Martha joined in.

Teagen thought of telling both his sister and the housekeeper what they could do with their gay mood, but before he could form words, Jessie’s leg touched his beneath the table.

He forgot what he planned to say. He forgot to breathe. This wasn’t an accidental brush or an impersonal pat. The lady was touching him on purpose.

Above the table, Jessie offered him more coffee in a proper voice. Underneath the table, her body rested against his, and all the clothes in the world couldn’t have blocked the heat he felt.

“You’re not eating much, Teagen,” Martha commented. “Maybe you’re not getting enough sleep.”

He heard the giggle in her words, but he didn’t care. “I slept better than I have in months last night.” Forcing himself not to look at Jessie, he added, “It must be getting cooler.”

Sage fed Bethie bites of egg. “I heard someone in Austin say that it may be an early fall this year.”

“How would anyone know that?” Martha shook her head.

Sage and Jessie began to tell all the signs for forecasting the weather. Teagen stopped listening. He didn’t care if it snowed tomorrow. Jessie’s leg moved gently against his trousers.

Rose scooted off her chair and came to stand next to Teagen. “What do caterpillars taste like?”

“I don’t know.” Teagen studied the child. She had her mother’s eyes. “Why do you want to know?”

She smiled, loving having an adult’s attention. “I saw a chicken eat one.”

“I see,” he said. “Did the chicken look happy? Did she smile after she ate it?”

Rose shook her head.

“Then I’m guessing it didn’t taste so good.”

Rose accepted the answer and hurried off to find what had become of
her
egg basket. Martha had made her one special with a ribbon on top and deep enough so an egg didn’t accidentally roll out.

“Those hens are not pets. Do you hear me, Rose,” Martha yelled behind her. “And you remember to leave that setting nest alone.”

Teagen shook his head. First they stopped eating the pigs, and it looked like the chickens would be next. Before long he’d be having dinner with the horses.

He stood, and Jessie did the same. She was so close they were almost touching. No one seemed to notice.

“Would you walk with me to the barn?” He tried to think of a reason in case she asked why.

“All right,” she answered.

Teagen went out without a backward look. He heard Jessie tell Emily to help her sister gather eggs and ask Sage to keep an eye on Bethie for a few minutes. He was almost halfway to the barn when she caught up to him.

Walking in silence, he thought of what he needed to say to her. He wanted her to know that nothing about last night or this morning had been planned. If he had to, he decided he’d even say he was sorry, but the lie would probably taste a lot like a caterpillar going down.

It didn’t seem right to apologize for something he wouldn’t mind doing again. But he didn’t want to have her think ill of him. It occurred to Teagen she might be the first person in the world that he cared about what she thought of him.

When they stepped into the cool shadows of the barn, she slipped her hand in his. The simple gesture rattled all thought from his brain.

Teagen pulled her into the darkness behind the barn door. A heartbeat later, she was in his arms. He lowered his mouth over hers and kissed her again as he had in the study. It might not have been a kiss of passion, but it was a hell of a lot more than friendship.

She gave no response, and after a few seconds he figured he’d be hearing “Oh” again real soon.

He raised his head, noticing Jessie had braced her hands against his chest. She’d been pushing on him, and he hadn’t even noticed.

“Teagen,” she whispered. “Put me down.”

He lowered her to the ground and forced himself to take a step backward. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her; he’d done enough damage already. “If you’re waiting for an apology, you’ll have to give me time to muster that big a lie.”

She smiled. “There is no need to apologize.”

“Then why did you ask me to put you down?” He’d spent more time trying not to yell since he’d met her than he had in his entire life.

She looked down and walked toward the back of the barn with her arms crossed tightly over her blouse.

He waited. Whatever she said, he’d take it full-on.

Finally, she put her hand in his again and said, “Could we walk out the back door of the barn and look at the horses?”

Teagen almost said he had a full day of work to do and walking wasn’t one of his planned chores, but he nodded his agreement. “I need to check to see if Roak brought the horse back.”

“I thought he planned to have breakfast with us?”

“That’s what he said, but the kid’s a shadow. I have a feeling he’s wearing all black these days because he figures he can move more freely at night. I wouldn’t be surprised at anything he tried, but one thing I know, the boy will never bother our stock. He might steal everything else he could carry, though.”

They stepped into the sunny pasture at the back of the barn. Watching Jessie, he knew this conversation wasn’t the one she wanted to talk about. He had no idea how to bring up the kiss in the barn. She wasn’t acting like she was mad at him, but a gnat could notice she hadn’t welcomed his kiss.

When they reached the fence, Teagen propped his leg on the first rail and watched her as she stared at the horses. A week-old midnight colt danced around his mother, who ignored him as she grazed.

Jessie laughed at the sight, and Teagen relaxed. Whatever she planned to say to him couldn’t be terrible, because it didn’t seem to weigh too heavily on her mind.

“There’s Glory,” she shouted.

Teagen looked over near the trees and saw the palomino grazing as if she’d never left the ranch. Roak had kept his word. He’d brought the horse back. Growling, he realized he’d have to thank the kid again.

Jessie laughed as if she’d read his mind.

They stood, less than a foot apart, but very much aware of each other. There was something about being near her that made him feel like he should at least try to be a better man. He wondered if she had that effect on all people or just him.

The morning was still cool, the air dry. This time of year, summer took its toll on the land, making the days hot and rain scarce. The green of spring dried into shades of brown. In the fall this part of his land would be beautiful with color and cool days, but not now.

She leaned against the fence and looked at him. He didn’t know what to do. He just stood beside her, feeling as big as a tree next to her . . . and about as bright. He could manage one of the biggest ranches in Texas, but he couldn’t figure out one woman.

“Would you teach me to drive a buggy?” she asked.