Westward Holiday (9 page)

              Tears streamed from Rebecca’s eyes.  They were playing poker in Jake’s apartment the next night and Joe had just told a particularly raunchy joke.  Sammi laughed so hard that she snorted and that made it even worse.  Jake held his stomach as he laughed because he was in danger of cracking a rib.  Mitch grabbed his wife by the shoulders and shook her as he laughed.  He loved it when she snorted like that. 

              Lacey said, “I can’t breathe!  Oh, oh!” 

              “Damn it, Sammi!” Joe said, “I’ve never heard anyone snort like that when they’re laughing. You’re worse than one of my horses.”

              Sammi smacked his arm and he smacked her back.  Mitch didn’t intervene.  Sammi rough-housed with all the guys from time to time and she could take care of herself. 

              Jake said, “Ok, you two!  No fighting up here.  I don’t need you breaking another lamp.”

              Joe said, “Quit your whining.  I paid ya’ll for the lamp, didn’t I?”

              “Yeah, but I don’t care.  Simmer down,” Jake said in his bartender voice.

              “Fine.”

              Jamie cleared her throat and looked at Luke who nodded at her.

              “Luke and I have something to tell you all,” she said.  “We’re having a baby in about five months or so.”

              Pandemonium broke out within the group as they couple was heartily congratulated. 

              Joe said, “I wondered why you weren’t drinkin’ tonight, Jamie girl.  I’m gonna be an uncle!  How about that?  Uncle Joe.  Sounds good, huh?”

              Sammi grinned and said, “Well, she might not be drinkin’ but the rest of us are gonna and we need to make a toast.  We’re out of booze.  I’ll run down and grab some more.”  She jumped up and ran down the stairs into the darkened bar.

              She made it as far as the office before bursting into tears.  Sammi cried into her forearm to stifle her sobs.  No one outside of Hannah and Marcus knew that she and Mitch were trying for a baby and while she was thrilled for Jamie and Luke, she was sad for Mitch and her.  Sammi couldn’t go back upstairs and get through the rest of the night.  She ran back down the hallway and out the back door into the night air.

              Jake was attuned to all noises pertaining to the bar and recognized the sound of the back door shutting.  Sammi hadn’t returned yet and he wondered what she was doing.  Mitch seemed to share his concern.  Jake got up and looked out the window that faced the back of the building and saw Sammi running up the small alley that led to the main street.

              “Mitch, your wife just ran away,” Jake said as he turned back to the room.

              “Aw, hell,” Mitch said as he got up and grabbed Sammi’s coat and his own.  He didn’t take the time to put his on. 

              Lacey asked, “Mitch, what’s wrong?”

              He sighed heavily and said, “We’re trying to start a family and she’s scared to death it’s not going to happen.”

              Jamie put a hand on Mitch’s arm.  “I’m so sorry.  She didn’t tell us.  I didn’t mean to upset her.”

              Mitch smiled at Jamie and said, “Don’t you dare be sorry, Jamie.  I can’t tell you how happy I am for you guys.  You’ve been working on it for a while now and you deserve to be happy.  She’ll be ok.  Don’t worry.”  He kissed Jamie’s cheek and went after his wife.

              He found her out in the old carriage house they were renovating.  Their favorite chair had been put out there when they’d bought new furniture for the large parlor of their huge house.  There were many times when they went out to the carriage house and sat in it together.  Sammi found the chair comforting and went there when she was upset.

              Mitch was one of the few people who ever saw Sammi’s vulnerable side.  He saw her curled up in the chair and his heart filled with love for her.  Mitch didn’t say a word as he picked Sammi up and turned around so he could sit in the chair with her on his lap.  It was something they’d started shortly after they’d met and they had continued the habit.  Sammi wrapped her arms around Mitch’s solid bulk and cried into his chest.

              He rubbed her back and held her tightly for long moments.  Sammi’s sobs started to subside and she raised her head.

              “I couldn’t stay.  I’m so happy for them but I just couldn’t stay,” Sammi said.  “I’ll talk to Jamie tomorrow, but I just couldn’t tonight.”

              “It’s ok.  They understand.  I had to tell them, Sammi.  They were gonna figure it out anyway,” Mitch said.

              Sammi nodded.  “It’s ok.  I know it’s too soon to expect anything, but it still hurts.”

              Mitch looked into the blue eyes he loved so much and said, “Sammi, it’ll be ok, one way or another, remember?”

              “It’s easy for you to say that, Mitch!” she said as she grabbed his shirt collar and shook him.  “You’re not defective!  All of your important parts work.  Mine don’t.  I know I’m not very feminine, but I’d like my female parts to work right.”

              “If I’d had someone pummel my important parts the way they did yours, mine wouldn’t work right, either,” Mitch said.  “But listen, Marcus said to not give up hope, right?  We have to think positive.  We’re just starting out with this, Sammi.  I know you’re not a very patient person, but you’re tough and we can get through this together.  You’re not alone, sweetheart.”

              Sammi sighed and laid her head on his chest.  “How do you always know the perfect thing to say to me?”

              “Because I know you and I love you.  I pay attention to you, Sammi,” Mitch said.  He stopped talking because Sammi had started unbuttoning her shirt.

              “Are you paying attention to me now?” she asked in a naughty voice.

              “Oh yeah,” Mitch said. “It’s cold out here.”

              “Don’t worry.  We won’t be cold for long,” she said calmly.  “And this isn’t because of the baby thing.  This is because sitting on your lap does things to me.”

              “So right here, right now?” Mitch asked.

              She gave him the kind of look that always heated his blood.  “Right here, right now.”

              Jake and Rebecca cleaned up after everyone else had gone.  After Sammi’s departure, the party atmosphere had been ruined and no one really felt like continuing. 

              Jake was worried about Sammi and didn’t talk much.  Rebecca helped wash the glasses and dishes.  Jake had made dinner for the group and Rebecca had been surprised by how good his cooking was.  When everything was put away, Jake sat down with her on his sofa.

              “I feel so badly for Sammi,” Rebecca said.

              “Yeah, me, too.  Mitch’ll take good care of her though,” Jake said.  “He’s one of the few people who can get through to her.  Owl runs a close second in that department.  It’s a funny thing about those two.  Owl says it’s like they knew each other in a previous life or something.  Who knows?  Maybe they did.”

              Rebecca said, “He’s the first Indian I’ve ever been around.”

              Jake knew that she came from a former slave state where people of color were still not treated fairly.  There was bigotry in Montana, too, but the close relationship Dawson shared with Owl’s tribe made their situation unique to many other parts of the state.

              “And what do you think of him?” Jake asked.

              Rebecca smiled.  “He’s funny and very nice.  And obviously very intelligent.  Hannah and he are very happy, it seems.”

              Jake wound a tendril of her inky hair around his finger.  “Yes, they are.  I can’t wait until they have kids to see who they look like.  They’ll be adorable, I know that.”

              Rebecca smiled.  “I wonder what our children will be like.”

              Jake leaned closer to her and said, “So you’re planning on us having children?”

              “Yes,” she said as his close proximity caused her pulse to jump.

              “I’m glad that you want a family,” Jake said as he caressed her cheek with his thumb.

              She nodded but said nothing as the air suddenly crackled with a shared desire.  Jake looked at her parted lips and knew how sweet they were.  He wanted to taste them again.  He lowered his head and pressed his lips firmly against hers.  Rebecca threaded her fingers through his hair and kissed him back.  Gathering her close, Jake ran his hands up her back. 

              The wine she’d drunk helped her lose some of her inhibitions, but it was Jake’s kisses that made her feel feverish.  The hard muscles of his chest drew her hands and she liked how they felt under her palms.  She’d never touched a man like this before and she was spellbound.  When she’d told Jake that she thought he was the most handsome and virile man she’d ever met, she meant it. 

              He tasted of whiskey and made her want something but she didn’t know what that something was.  Jake knew he was reaching the point of no return and sorely wanted to strip off her clothes and have his way with her.  Somehow he found the strength to slow things down.  He grasped her wrists to stop her further exploration of his body and raised his head from hers.

              “I think I should take you home,” he said in a husky voice.

              “Why?  What’s wrong?” she asked.  Her green eyes were bright with desire.

              Jake cleared his throat and said, “Rebecca, if we stay here, I’m going to make love to you.  Are you really ready for that?”

              Her pretty eyebrows drew together.  “I don’t know.  Perhaps.  All I know is that your kisses are intoxicating and I don’t seem to want to stop.”

              He chuckled a little.  “Rebecca, I want you, but I don’t want to rush you and have you wind up regretting anything that happens between us.”

              She gave him a little smile and drew away from him a little.  “I know.  You’re right.”

              Jake could tell that she was a little disappointed and although he felt the same way, stopping was the right thing to do.  “Let’s get you home.”

              When they said goodnight at the hotel, Jake kissed her chastely on the cheek because he was afraid they’d get into trouble again.

              “Pa, if you don’t take the medicine, it won’t do you any good,” Jake admonished his father the next morning. 

              Tuesday mornings he usually went to check up on his father.

              Calvin let out a sarcastic noise.  “Yeah, I know that, but half the time I forget to take them,” he said.  “Well, come on and sit down, son.  I made breakfast.”

              Jake sat at the scarred kitchen table that he remembered from his childhood.  He’d lost count of the many meals they’d eaten at this table.  Jake always sat at the place at the table where he’d carved his name when he was seven.  His pa had scolded him fiercely, but his ma had laughed and said that Jake just wanted to carve out a niche for himself in the world. 

              Jake traced the lettering with a finger now and smiled at the memory.  Calvin saw and chuckled.  “Your ma used to get the biggest kick out of that every time she wiped the table.  She’d laugh and say, ‘there’s Jake’s niche’.  Lord, how I miss that woman.”

              Jake swallowed around the lump in his throat.  “Me, too, Pa.”

              Calvin sat a plate of scrapple and eggs in front of his son and then made his own plate.  Jake took a pill out of the bottle and sat it near his father’s plate.  Calvin sat down slowly across from his son and took the pill before he forgot to do it again.  Jake got his height from his father, but got the rest of his looks from his mother.

              “There.  Happy?” he said to Jake.

              “Yeah,” Jake said.

              “So how’s things at the saloon?” Calvin said as he took a bite of scrapple.

              “Good.  Real good,” Jake replied.  “Good scrapple, Pa.”

              “That Sammi lady still kicking tail?” Calvin asked.  He’d developed a strong liking for Sammi upon meeting her.

              Jake laughed.  “Oh, yeah.  She’s something to watch in action.  You gotta come down some night, Pa.  Everyone would love to see you.”

              “Yeah.  I’m gonna have to do that,” Calvin agreed.

              “Of course, I just found out last night that she and Mitch are trying to start a family.  I don’t know what I’m gonna do for a bouncer once she gets pregnant,” Jake said.  “But they want a family and I’ll be really happy for them when they start one.”

              “You’ll find someone, son, but it won’t be as entertaining.  You tell her I want her to come visit, ok?” Calvin said.

              “Ok, Pa.  So how you feelin’?”

              “Some days better than others.  That new doctor says my ticker’s just a hair worse, but not too bad considering.  If someone had told me that Ralph Samuels’ youngest boy would become a doctor someday, I’d have told them they were as crazy as bat.  But, Doc kept tellin’ me how good he was and dang if he ain’t.  He’s always got that big wolf with him, too.  I love that wolf.  He does all kinds of tricks,” Calvin said.

              Jake smiled.  He appreciated Marcus coming to see his father every week.  “Yeah, Roscoe’s something else all right.  Once in a while Marcus brings him to the bar and Roscoe wants beer.  I give him just a little bit.  We don’t want a drunken wolf running around town.”

              Calvin laughed.  “I’d like to see that just once.”

              “Well, Pa, I think I found her,” Jake said.

              Calvin put down his fork and gave Jake his full attention.  “So this woman that came, you think it’ll work out between you?”

              Jake smiled.  “Yeah, Pa.  I’d like to bring her to meet you some morning this week.  You’ll like her.  She’s a real lady and beautiful.  And her accent is like warm honey and melted butter all in one.  You’ll see.”

              Calvin laughed again.  “Sounds like my boy got shot in the rear end by Cupid.”

              “I don’t know.  Maybe.  I’m trying not to move too fast, Pa,” Jake said.

              “Maybe you’re just like your ma and me.  It took me five minutes to know that your mother was the woman I was gonna marry.  From the first moment we looked each other in the eyes, it was all over.  I never looked at another woman, Jakey.  Go with your heart on it, son.  It won’t steer you wrong.”

              Jake nodded.  “I’m gonna ask her next weekend.  I know you’re right about not waiting too long.  I’m not sure if I can.”

              “Oh, Lordy,” Calvin said and got laughing so hard that he started to cough.  When Jake would have gone to him, he held up a hand and the coughing fit passed.  “I’m all right.  It catches me like that sometimes.  Don’t worry.  I’m not gonna keel over right now.”

              “I’m glad to hear that,” Jake said.  He tried not to make too much of it, but it always scared him when that happened to his father.

              “Well, you bring her around whenever you want.  So assumin’ she says yes next weekend, how soon you gonna get hitched?” Calvin asked.

              Jake replied, “Depends on her, really.  You know how women are about weddings.  I’d love to do it before the first of the year, but I don’t know if she’ll go for that or not.”

              “Maybe there’s somethin’ you can do to convince her,” Calvin said with a wink.

              “Pa!”

              Calvin laughed at Jake’s embarrassed expression.  “Oh, c’mon, son.  Do you think everyone waits?  How do you think you were born so soon after your ma and me got married?”

              “You always said it was because I was impatient to be born and wanted to come out a month early,” Jake said.

              “That was your mother’s idea to tell you that,” Calvin said and chuckled.  “She didn’t want to embarrass you.”

              Jake absorbed that information and started laughing.  “I can’t believe I fell for that all these years, but Ma could be sneaky like that.”

              “Hell, sneaky ain’t the word for it.  That woman could spin a yarn and make you believe every word of it,” Calvin said. 

              “Yeah, like the time she dropped the Thanksgiving turkey on the floor and rinsed it off and cooked it a little more.  You kept saying it tasted funny and she just said it was a new recipe and that she wouldn’t try it again.  I don’t know how I kept my mouth shut about it for a whole year.  I wish you coulda seen her face when it skidded across the floor.  I laughed like hell,” Jake said.

              Calvin pointed his fork at Jake.  “You two were always in cahoots about one thing or another.”

              “You’re right about that.  I wish she coulda met Joe.  Can you imagine the two of them together?” Jake said.

              “No, cause she’d have run off with him.  That smooth-talkin’ devil,” Calvin said with a laugh.

              “Looks like there’s gonna be another Samuels kid.  Luke and Jamie are having a baby,” Jake said.

              “I swear there must be something in the water out at that ranch.  They just keep poppin’ them out like rabbits,” Calvin said.

              Jake said, “I think you might be right, although it did take them a little while for this one to come along.”

              “Yeah, well, Seth better get crackin’ on that score if he wants to have another one.  He’s not gettin’ any younger.  Dean’s a grandpa for Pete’s sake.  That still tickles me no end.  Speakin’ of that, you get crackin’ on that, too.  I’d like to hold my grandbaby.  Make it happen.  Don’t worry about waitin’.  I’m not getting’ any younger, either,” Calvin said.

              Jake laughed.  “Ok, Pa, simmer down.”

              They finished their breakfast and Jake reminded his father about taking his pill at supper before he left.  He smiled as he recalled his conversation with his father.  Calvin never pulled any punches about anything.  As Jake rode back into town, he laughed over his father ordering him to give him a grandbaby.

              Rebecca wasn’t expecting to see Jake so early in the day.  She opened her hotel room door and smiled when she saw him. 

              “What a pleasant surprise,” she said.  “Come in.”

              “Thanks.  I had breakfast with Pa today.  I usually do on Tuesdays.  He wants to meet you, so I thought maybe Thursday we’d go out.  Would that be all right with you?” Jake asked.

              Her face lit up.  “I would love to meet your father.  Is he as handsome as you?”

              Jake smiled.  “You’ll have to be the judge of that.  I look like my ma, so I’m not sure how to answer that.”

              Rebecca said, “I hope he likes me.”

              “Trust me; he will,” Jake said.  “So are you playing tonight?”

              “Yes, I am.  I hope Sammi is all right,” Rebecca said.  “I went by the sheriff’s office a bit ago, but she wasn’t there.”

              “That was nice of you to think about her.  If I know her, she’ll be extra hard on the customers tonight.  That’s how you can always tell if there’s something bothering her,” Jake said.  “Would you like to go for a walk?  I’ve got some time before I have to open.”

              Rebecca gave him a coquettish glance and said, “Why, Mr. Henderson, I thought you’d never ask.”

              Jake’s heart did a crazy little dance and he knew they’d better get out of her room.  “Ok.”

              Rebecca stepped closer and said, “Ok, what?”

              He backed up and said, “We’ll go for a walk.”

              “Where shall we walk?” she asked as she moved towards him again.

              “I have no idea,” Jake said as he made contact with the door behind him and her hands made contact with his chest.

              Rebecca’s laugh was soft and knowing.  “What’s the matter, Jake?”

              “Nothing.  We’d better go,” Jake said.

              “Why are you in such a hurry, sugar?” she said using her accent to the fullest as she remembered what Seth had said to her about it on Saturday night.

              Jake groaned.  “You know why.”

              “I surely don’t,” Rebecca said.  “Tell me.”

              Jake decided to show her instead.  His kiss was not gentle but Rebecca didn’t mind.  She’d lain awake during the night thinking about how she felt when he kissed her.  Though she’d tried to think about other things, she hadn’t been successful.  His hands roamed over her possessively and his mouth was wonderfully demanding. 

              Jake took what she offered and pulled her against him as she answered his demands with ones of her own.  Then he tore his mouth from hers and kissed her neck as she held on tightly to him.  She shuddered and Jake groaned as his conscience wouldn’t let him unzip her dress.  Rebecca felt him become still and could have stomped her foot in frustration. 

              They were both breathing hard at this point.  Rebecca said, “Why did you stop?”

              Jake sighed and looked down into her gorgeous eyes.  “Rebecca, I have to open the bar in a little over an hour.  When we make love for the first time, I don’t want to be in a hurry.  I want us to be able to take our time.”

              Rebecca asked, “How long does it take?”

              Her question was so absurd that Jake couldn’t help laughing.  “Oh, boy.  You need to talk to some of your new girlfriends.  I’m not answering that question.”

              Rebecca was embarrassed and became angry.  “Fine.  Don’t then.  I don’t want to go for a walk any longer.  You’ve got other things to do and I have somewhere I need to go.”

              Jake saw that he’d offended her and regretted his laughter.  “I’m sorry, Rebecca.  You’ve just got my brain so twisted up right now that I can’t half think straight.”

              Rebecca could see that he was telling the truth.  His chest still rose and fell a little faster than usual and his eyes were stormy with what she now recognized as desire.  She smiled a little as her anger faded.  “What exactly makes your mind become twisted like that?” she asked as she ran a hand down his arm.

              Jake took her hand, kissed her palm, kissed her mouth and said, “Ask your friends,” and fled the room.

              Rebecca laughed as she watched for Jake out her window.  She saw him jog across the street while he raked a hand through his hair.  Then she gathered her cloak and reticule and went to find Hannah.  She knew she’d be at the clinic and might have time to see her. 

              Tuesday flew by.  The bar was busy as always but no real problems came up and Sammi was able to sit with her friends quite a bit.  She and Jamie had talked and Sammi had assured Jamie that she was very happy for her and Luke and harbored no ill feelings about the situation.  Jamie had commiserated with her.  It had been frustrating for her and Luke, but Jamie told Sammi not to give up hope.  Sammi knew Jamie was right.

              Owl gave her much the same advice that night when he walked her home.

              “You will have a baby when you are meant to,” Owl said.  “It’s the same for me and Hannah.  Our little one will come along when he or she is meant to.”