Tall, Dark, and Texan (34 page)

“Stop, Jessie,” he said.

She remembered telling him that was all it took to get her not to leave. So she stopped and turned to face her angry husband.

He caught her hand and held it. For a moment he just stared down at her, his eyebrows pushed together in a frown. “Ride with me to the lookout.” It was an order, not a request.

“Of course.” She could tell he was still upset, but his touch was gentle when he lifted her up onto his horse.

They rode to the lookout in silence. Because she sat in front of him, his arm brushed the side of her breast with each turn, and she made a point of not trying to stay out of his way.

By the time they stopped and she turned to face him, a fire that had nothing to do with anger burned in his eyes.

“I love you,” she said before he said something that would make her hold the words back.

He showed no sign of having heard her. He swung off the saddle and lifted her to the ground. “We need to get something settled. I want you safe. I don’t want you leaving the area around the house when it’s not safe. I want . . .”

She smiled. “You want me,” she finished.

He frowned at her. “Don’t change the subject.”

“You didn’t want me to go because you care about me, and I think it frightens you more than the raiders did.”

He remained stone, and she knew he couldn’t lie to her, but he wouldn’t admit the truth.

She moved near the mountain’s cool shade and away from the cliff that provided such a grand view. “You know what I want, Teagen. I’d like to talk about what happened between us last night.”

He remained in the sun. “I don’t think folks talk about such things.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t think they do. It’s too private.”

“But—”

“Stop it, Jess. You’re starting to sound like Rose.” He turned away from her, staring with blind eyes at his land. “We need to talk about you having enough sense to be safe, not about things that belong only in the bedroom.”

“I’ll not stop,” she said. “What happened in my dreams last night has never happened to me before, and I want to talk to my only friend about it.”

“All right,” he said without turning around. “Then we talk about you following orders and staying safe.”

She leaned against the rock wall behind her and whispered, “Last night, I felt like I was floating toward the sun. I was weightless and growing warmer with every touch.”

He twisted his head and squinted to see her in the shadows. “You liked it?”

“Did you?”

He took a step toward her. “You know I did, Jess.”

“And is it something a man would do more than once to his wife?”

He joined her in the shadows. “It’s something this man would do to his wife, but Jess, you know there is more.”

She raised her head. “I know. But, if I asked . . . if I begged . . . would you . . .”

He closed the distance between them and he pulled her to him. “That’s enough talk.”

His mouth came down on hers. The kiss was long and warm, with his body pressing her against the solid wall of rock behind her. When he pulled a breath away, he whispered, “You’ll never have to ask or beg. If you want me to make love to you, all you’ll ever have to do is unbutton the top button of that very proper gown, and I’ll do the rest.”

“You’ll still want me when you’re mad at me?”

He laughed. “I have a feeling I’ll still want you when I’m in my coffin.”

“Tonight?”

He crushed her to him. “Every night.”

Widening his stance, he lifted her to her toes and pressed against her. Even fully clothed, she felt the warmth of his body. “It’s about time we started this marriage. I got a feeling we’re going to be far more than friends, and that dream you had last night may be a recurring one.”

She laughed and shoved his hat back. “I think you may be right.”

He kissed her until she felt mindless, then she rode home in his arms. They didn’t say a word until he lowered her to the side of the porch. She could see shadows listening from the kitchen.

“Now, have I made myself clear about you keeping safe,” Teagen said in his usual cold voice. His fingers slid along the side of her breast in a caress.

“Yes, dear,” she answered.

He touched his hat and smiled. “Until tonight.”

She didn’t answer. Her midnight dreams had almost come true in broad daylight.

SAGE WALKED THROUGH THE LATE AFTERNOON SHADOWS of the barn. She wanted to check on the injured horses that had been left after the raid. Tobin had warned her not to release them in the pasture with any McMurray horses. They didn’t have the breeding, he’d told her. If their wounds healed, Tobin planned to leave them with the blacksmith near Elmo’s place. Her brother said the blacksmith could use them as loaners.

Brushing them, she felt sorry for the horses. They’d probably spend the rest of their lives penned in the blacksmith’s small corral. Most didn’t look like they’d ever had the proper care.

A dusting of hay from above caught her attention, and she looked up. “Drummond.” She tugged the hay out of her hair. “What are you doing up there?”

“The bunkhouse is full, so I thought I’d bed down here for the night, since I’m trapped on the ranch.”

She frowned at him. “You’re not trapped here. You’ve been swimming that river for months.”

“Years,” he corrected.

“So go home.” The minute the words were out, she regretted saying them. Everyone in the area knew Roak didn’t have a home.

He stared down at her, reminding Sage of the wounded horses. He was lean and hard, even though not fully grown.

Suddenly, he winked. “I was hoping to stick around for another kissing lesson.”

“Well, you can forget that,” Sage answered. “And there’s no use your coming back here. I decided today to take the offer Liberty’s father made me. He said since I was Tobin’s sister, I could use their place in Washington. I plan to go there and study to be a real doctor.”

Roak swung down from the loft. “Is that far?”

“Hundreds of miles, so don’t stay around waiting for me. They say it might take up to two years to become a doctor. I might like it up North so much that I decide to stay.” She knew she was lying, but she had to say something to make the boy stop hoping for what would never be. Her heart was buried on the hill with her Ranger.

She expected him to pout or get angry, but he just shrugged. “Suit yourself. You’re right. I can’t wait around forever for you to decide I’m old enough to be your man.”

His words rang cold. She started to snap back, but then she saw the hurt in his eyes. Hurt, as a boy, he couldn’t manage to hide. She had a feeling that in two years when she came back, he’d be different, colder, harder. This land had a way of turning men to oak.

He shifted when she looked too close. “I’m thinking of heading back to Austin when Travis goes. He was telling me this afternoon that when all this trouble is over, he’s riding that way, and if I wanted to go along, he’d introduce me to a few of his friends in the Rangers. He seems to think the Rangers might need a man like me.”

“You are not thinking of being a Ranger?” For a second, she saw the image of his dead body lying in a buckboard.

“Maybe I am.”

She put her fists on her hips. “You’re not old enough.”

“I’m only a few months younger than Travis was when he joined up.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

Roak shook his head. “Like life around here isn’t.” He smiled. “If I die, will you bury me up in that little cemetery?”

“No,” she snapped. “Never come back here, dead or alive. I don’t want to ever see you again.” The last thing she wanted in this lifetime was to have to bury another Ranger.

She whirled around and ran to the house. Drum was just trying to hurt her, and she wouldn’t stand by for another blow.

When she stepped onto the porch, she almost collided with Teagen.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I hate Drummond Roak. I swear he says and does things just to make me mad. We should have turned him over to the marshal last year and let him hang.”

Teagen nodded as if he totally understood and then said calmly, “Would you consider marrying him?”

“What? Are you insane? I wouldn’t marry him if he were the last single man alive.”

Teagen shrugged. “I was afraid that would be your answer.”

Travis walked up with fresh horses.

Teagen turned to his brother and yelled, “Go shoot Roak before we make our rounds.”

Travis looked from Teagen to Sage. “Sure,” he mumbled and tied the reins to the fence. He pulled his gun from its holster and began checking the chambers as he turned toward the barn.

“You are
not
going to shoot him,” Sage snapped.

“But he knows there is a back passage.” Teagen looked like he was fighting down a smile. “If he doesn’t become part of the family, we’ll have to kill him.”

Sage glared at her brothers. “You two had better think of something else, because I’m not marrying him, and you’re not going to shoot him. Understand?”

Before they could answer, she stomped into the house.

Laughing, Teagen walked to the horses. “I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be so simple.”

Travis grinned, put his gun back, and climbed into the saddle. “We’ll think of a third plan, but I told you an hour ago that Sage wouldn’t be that easy to marry off. She must like the kid a little, though, if she won’t let us shoot him.”

“For some crazy reason the kid likes her. If he’d marry her, it would save some other poor fellow from being miserable.” Teagen frowned. “You should have seen how fast the last single man ran from this place.”

As they rode rounds, Teagen told his brother about the preacher.

DINNER CONVERSATION WAS EXPLOSIVE FROM THE moment the brothers stormed the door. Jessie found it interesting that, like her, Drummond watched more than participated. Teagen took his usual place at the head of the dining table; Travis balanced the other end. Tobin pulled Jessie’s chair out for her and then did the same for Sage. Drummond followed his lead and held Mrs. Dickerson’s chair.

Teagen’s frown made Jessie laugh. It was obvious he’d never thought of the courtesy.

Martha helped put the food on the table, then said she’d sit with Sims so Sage could eat with the family. All the women had taken turns with the old Ranger, hoping to have some improvement to report, but all day he hadn’t moved.

The conversation turned to ranch business. Teagen said all he wanted was the general gone, but Travis claimed they should chase him all the way back to Mexico. He didn’t like the idea of the outlaw picking on some other ranch.

Halfway through dessert, the men agreed to leave the ranch separately so anyone watching would not see what they were planning. Teagen would ride out before dawn, taking the trail through the hills to Elmo’s place, then crossing back to watch for any sign the outlaws headed in that direction. Travis would circle to the east and cross the river to do the same. Roak would wait one day and then cross by where the bridge had been and head south. They all agreed that, once they joined up, if the outlaws had traveled any direction but south, the McMurrays would know it.

Jessie listened, finding herself wishing that she could talk to Teagen, but her husband seemed totally focused on what needed to be done. He was a strong leader, but she didn’t miss the fact that whenever one of his siblings talked, he listened. In the end, any plan made had to have a majority.

The old schoolteacher sat between Rose and Emily, showing little interest in what the men had to say. Drummond remained silent, and Jessie couldn’t help but wonder if any of the McMurrays even noticed he was there. He missed little, though, as he watched everyone at the table.

After dinner, Mrs. Dickerson moved into Jessie’s old room upstairs. Jessie moved in with Sage, and Teagen stormed out to the bunkhouse with his brothers.

“I swear,” Jessie heard him mumble as he packed up his saddlebag, “come next spring, I’ll build a wing onto the house so I can at least sleep under my own roof.”

When he noticed her watching him, he added, “I don’t like being around myself most days, much less a half dozen men.”

She followed him out the door, fully aware that he knew she was just behind him. He slowed his step as they walked, but he didn’t turn around until they reached the bunkhouse porch.

Laughing, Jessie offered him little sympathy when she handed him towels and soap. “It’s only temporary, dear.”

He took the towels and said, “Is it such a crime that I want to sleep next to my wife? It seems a fairly small thing to ask for.”

This powerful man reminded her of a pouting child. “I know,” she answered so no one in the bunkhouse could hear. “I’ll forget the feel of you by the time the bridge is rebuilt and all the company leaves.”

He tugged her against him and would have kissed her if he hadn’t noticed Travis staring at them. “What?” he growled at his brother.

Travis grinned. “I still can’t believe you found a woman who likes you. She’s even pretty and seems to be in her right mind—about most things, anyway.”

Teagen looked like he might clobber his brother, but Jessie’s gentle touch calmed him. She had a way with him, and she loved knowing that she did. She spread her hand along his back and felt his muscles tighten. Then, because they were not alone, she pulled away.

“How long will you be gone?”

“A few days. A week maybe,” he said without meeting her eyes. “I’ll be back as soon as this is finished.”

She wanted him to hold her, but now was not the time or the place. Others were watching, and she had girls to get to bed.

Just before dawn the next morning, Jessie watched from her upstairs window as Teagen loaded supplies while Travis saddled up. She told herself if he even glanced toward the house, she’d run down and hug him good-bye.