To Bed A Montana Man (Montana Men) (9 page)

He gave her a crooked smile. “Nope, just checking in. If you need me, give a holler. I’ll be close enough to hear.” He winked, turned, and left.

Allison fixed Sissy and Michael lunch before tackling her next project. The house had been neglected for the year and a half TJ’s wife had been deceased, but it was clear the children hadn’t been. TJ made sure they wore clean clothing. Some of Sissy dresses had been satisfactorily mended even if the stitches weren’t straight.

“How come you’re doing chores?” Sissy sat on her bed and combed the hair of her doll. “Company isn’t supposed to clean.”

“I know guests usually don’t clean the house. I thought I might stay a while. Is that all right with you?”

Sissy shrugged.

“What’s your doll’s name?” Allison wiped the top of the dresser. “I had a doll named Cocoa when I was about your age. My mother was very strict about sweets. I loved sugar, especially chocolate. Probably because I wasn’t allowed to have any except on special occasions. At the time, I thought my mother was mean. Now I’m grateful. I still have all my teeth. See.” Allison smiled wide.

“I don’t got a mother.”

Allison stopped cleaning and sat on the bed. “I know.” She reached out and touched Sissy’s hair, letting a silky tendril curl around her finger.

“I thought Papa was bringing you home to be my mama,” Sissy said in a soft whisper. “When you were here before I told him I thought you were real nice. He said you were pretty, too.”

Allison was alarmed…then thrilled at hearing those words. “Did your father say anything else?”

Sissy smiled and nodded her head.

“I heard Papa talkin’ to Train about the wiles of women. It must hurt because Papa said he tried to avoid it.”

“He thought that about me? I’ve never used feminine wiles.” She contemplated her behavior with TJ. “Well, maybe I came close with Train when I was looking for a ride to the ranch in two feet of snow.” She looked down at Sissy who sat curiously watching her.

Sissy continued, “Train said he ain’t never seen a woman as pretty as you and that you could give him wiles if you had the mind to.”

Allison sucked in her breath.

“Papa told him he didn’t know what he was asking for. That’s how I figured it must hurt to get the wiles. I’m never going to be a woman. There’s my brother.” She jumped from the bed and hurried from the room to get Michael up from his nap.

* * *

Well past supper, the sun blazed low in the West. Allison and the children were outside when TJ finally walked up to the house. Sissy jumped rope and Michael played with his wooden toys in the dirt of a neglected flowerbed. There was crispness to the air, but one that refreshed rather than chilled.

Allison sat on the bottom step of the porch as TJ approached. “Hungry?” she asked.

TJ shook his head.

“The children have already eaten. There’s chicken on the stove. I kept it warm.”

“You didn’t need to do that,” he said without looking at her.

“I thought the children could play for a while before their bath.”

He stood close to her keeping his eyes on Sissy as she did cartwheels across the yard. “I don’t expect you to work from sunup until sundown for me, either. I’ll get Sissy and Tiger ready for bed.” He walked past her, up the steps, and called for the children to come into the house.

Suddenly Allison was alone. Her day had been busy. Trying to manage the children and the housework proved more difficult than she’d expected. Now with the quiet evening, she could relax. She hadn’t realized just how exhausted she was. The fatigued muscles in her legs burned when she climbed the stairs and retired to her room. It wasn’t yet dark when she went to bed, preparing for another night of restless dreams about a certain rancher with wide shoulders that flexed beneath worn-thin homespun. With such an inept servant to run his home, it was no wonder he was churlish. At least asleep, she was safe to dream of him as the tempting man from the brothel, the one that took a whore—like he believed her to be—to bed.

* * *

In the morning, Allison woke first. The sun still slept as well as the roosters, the crickets, and the family. It was perfect. Carrying the lantern from her room, she made her way down the stairs, careful not to cause them to creak. Once in the kitchen, she breathed a little easier. She glanced at the clock. She hadn’t been up at three-thirty in the morning on many occasions. After tossing a few logs into the stove, she set the coffeepot on to heat.

While the coffee simmered, Allison threw together a quick batch of yeast dough and made rolls. It surprised her that she remembered the simple things she’d seen done a thousand times in her own home as a child. Hopefully, she wasn’t forgetting any of the steps for sweet bread. She almost wept remembering the delicious aroma. During the cold months, she loved hot bread and apple cider.

“Couldn’t you sleep?”

“Aye!” Allison let out a little scream. She hadn’t heard TJ approach. “I’m sorry.” She clutched the fabric at her neck. Her heart pounded. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “I didn’t expect you to be up. I saw the light and wondered if something was wrong. Is it your hands?”

“No, and I told Train not to tell you. Just a couple of scratches.” Allison stuffed her hands into the pockets of her apron. “I made coffee. Would you like a cup?”

TJ nodded and then sat at the table.

The lantern offered a modest amount of light to the room. Dancing shadows played tricks with TJ’s mind, shifting the angles of Allison’s face. The belt of her apron silhouetted a trim waist, and the thin fabric of her dress molded to her shoulders. He didn’t like his body’s response. His cock thickened and his heart skipped into a quicker tempo.

“Sissy told me she bandaged you up. I talked with her last night.” TJ ran his hands through his hair. “She’s confused. She told me mamas clean the house. She’s a bit smitten with you. It hasn’t been easy on her since Janelle died. I guess I should be grateful Michael is too young to remember.”

Allison set two cups of coffee on the table and then sat across from him. “For what it’s worth, they seem well-adjusted.” Allison pushed a stray tendril of hair from her face.

TJ wondered how the silky tresses would feel running through his fingers. When she looked back at him, a flash of heat burned in his gut. He shouldn’t stare, but was powerless to turn away. A moment passed. Young and beautiful, like Janelle had been when he married her. With that, the spell weaving around them broke. Reality crashed into his thoughts.

“I think I’ll try and go back to bed,” he said, pushing the chair from the table. As he was about to leave the kitchen, he turned. “Goodnight.”

“I’m up for the day. I’m making sweet bread.”

“Then I think I’ll eat breakfast with the kids.”

Allison smiled. “Then I’ll see you in a couple hours.”

TJ nodded and left the room.

Allison spent the next hour getting ready for the day. She braided her hair and changed into a yellow dress embroidered with small cranberry colored flowers. She’d purchased the dress while working at the brothel. Perhaps it was a bit much for house cleaning, but for reasons she wasn’t ready to admit, she wanted to look nice.

TJ returned to the kitchen before the children woke. He sat at the table. Allison, not yet familiar where Janelle kept supplies, attempted to locate certain items she needed. But with TJ watching her, her palms grew damp. Anxiety had her blood pumping and her nerves on edge. Taking steady breaths, she maintained outward composure. At least, she hoped TJ wasn’t aware of her responses to him.

“Where’s your family?” he asked.

The only sounds in the kitchen were her nervously dropping dishes.

“Boston.” She stood on a small step stool to look in the cupboards just out of her reach. “My father made his fortune, then quit working. I don’t think working ever crossed my mother’s mind. She would absolutely forbid my being here. I have two brothers.” She sighed and her shoulders relaxed. “I wonder if my mother has married them off. Probably,” she said more to herself.

“I see you’re opposed to marriage.” TJ’s eyebrow rose.

“I didn’t say that.” Allison wished she had kept her mouth shut. This wasn’t a topic she wanted to discuss. “I’m sure marriage is a fine institution. I’m not sure if I want to be institutionalized.” She got down from the stepstool with a tarnished silver bowl.

TJ laughed. “I see there’s more to you than I thought.”

“Not much more.” Any secrets she carried would stay hidden. Avoiding his probing glances, she took the coffee from the stove.

“Has Miss Allison been soured on love?”

After she topped off his coffee, he took a sip.

“How about you? It’s been more than a year. Are you going to look for love again?” She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. She sounded too eager for his reply. She told herself she wasn’t asking because of her own interests, only curious about TJ. Still a young man, TJ’s choice to be alone made Allison sorry for him. The expression on her face must have revealed her thoughts. The smile that had played across his features only a moment before changed into a pinched grimace.

“I’m staying faithful to my wife.”

“What about Sandy?”

TJ stood abruptly, scraping his chair along the floor. “Janelle and I have two children. I’m here and she’s in heaven. We’re still raising them together. Beyond that, it isn’t any of your business. Sandy is strictly professional. She attends to a man’s needs. And that has nothing to do with love.”

Sissy walked into the room rubbing her eyes. “Papa,” she said. “Are you hungry?”

“Yep, but Allison’s taken care of breakfast for us this morning. She’s made sweet bread.” He kissed her forehead before pulling out a chair for her. “I think it’s a good idea for Allison to make breakfast now that she’s staying with us.”

Allison tried to look busy, filling a bowl in the sink with water. She tossed more wood into the stove and filled a glass with milk for Sissy. “I hear Michael,” she said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” TJ thanked her with his eyes. She felt a jolt at the intimate exchange. It wasn’t smart for her to develop a personal attachment to TJ or his children. However, in one day, she knew she didn’t want to leave. Maybe she wouldn’t have to if TJ truly never wanted another wife. As long as Sandy did her job, she could keep hers. The thought comforted…and ripped at her heart.

* * *

The hours passed in a blur. Allison would finish one task to discover still more work to do. She had daily chores; laundry, dishes, and care of the children. Cleaning from room to room, her arms tired from lugging the heavy bucket around the house. By the end of the day, her back hunched from the strain. She was actually grateful TJ planned to bathe the kids. She didn’t have an ounce of strength left in her to lift the children into the tub.

TJ returned after supper. He ushered the children up the stairs for a bath while she stayed in the kitchen cleaning the dishes. She could hear Sissy laughing and TJ’s scolding. Allison couldn’t resist sneaking up the stairs to see about the commotion.

Tiptoeing down the hall, she stopped and listened at the door. Sissy chattered endlessly.

“Hold still,” TJ said to Michael. “You’ll get soap in your eyes. Sissy, would you stop making him splash.”

Allison peeked into the room. TJ leaned over the tub pouring water over Michael’s head to rinse the soap. TJ’s soaked shirt clung to his back, revealing every muscle. Dizziness clouded her mind. Her hands tightened into fists at her side.

Why couldn’t TJ have been an old rancher? She didn’t like the way her tongue anticipated the taste of his. Living at the Dusty Rose, she’d learned plenty. She’d never been with a man. Yet, she knew she wanted TJ.