He managed to restrain himself, as he knelt over her, intent to feast upon her soft, supple skin, with his hands and mouth.
Callie gave another murmur, but her eyes remained closed, so Cooper continued on, bent on having the pleasure of feeling her beneath his lips, determined to enjoy it, while he could.
Every taste and touch tended to cause his loins to lurch with anticipation; and when Callie rose to the touch of his lips, whimpering with what he believed was pleasure, it was more than he could resist.
The feel of her, responding to his caresses, was all it took to weaken his resistance. He removed the rest of his clothes and continued to enjoy the softness of her skin beneath his lips, until he was ready, to proceed to the next level. Now there was nothing to stop him from clutching her to him until he was buried in the mystery which lured him onward.
Cooper was astounded at the uncontrollable drive which pushed him forward, without questioning the ethics of his act. He hadn’t intended on taking advantage of Callie in such a way. He had wanted to work up slowly, getting her to accept the attention he planned to shower upon her, in whatever way he could. Mr. Prichard was too much of a threat to his long-awaited plan to coax Callie into falling in love with him. Now, it seemed, he didn’t have time for that plan, and at the moment, this was the next-best thing.
When she woke up the next morning, she probably wouldn’t remember a thing, he told himself, cunningly. At least, he hoped she wouldn’t, as he continued satisfying his over-anticipated desire that had been held at bay far too long. Cooper was surprised when it seemed like Callie was participating, but she kept whispering the name of that hated Indian. No matter, he told himself. He was the one enjoying her, not that savage, and he was determined to make it last as long as he could.
When he finally lifted himself from her alluring body, Cooper refilled the tub with the last of the warm water, and lifted Callie, placing her back in the tub. He got dressed, and found new towels in the linen closet, discarding the wet, soiled ones.
“Wake up, Callie!” he called, shaking her shoulder, but she remained unresponsive.
Finally, Cooper picked her up, and dried her off, replacing her nightgown and wrapper. He put her slippers in his back pockets, lifted her in his arms, and returned with her, placing her in her own bed. Now he was going to have to explain to her, how she got back to her house. He decided to tell her, the truth; that she had fallen asleep, and had taken too much wine, so he merely carried her to her cabin, because he couldn’t wake her up.
Feeling assured that his story would be feasible enough, Cooper left Callie, sleeping in her own bed, and went back to the house, extinguishing the candles, washing the towels out in the tub, and then throwing them over the clothes line, on his way back to the bunk house.
He couldn’t stop himself from whistling as he opened the bunkhouse door.
“What are you doing up so late?” Randy asked as he went to his bunk.
“Had to help Callie with a few things up at the house,” he smiled.
“In the middle of the night?” Randy asked, raising his eyebrows.
“It was sort of a present. I let her take her first bath in the new tub,” he chuckled.
“Hmmm. Must have been a long bath,” Randy stated.
“She fell asleep, and I wasn’t sure if I should barge in and wake her or not. It was a sticky situation, but I managed all right, in the end.”
“I’ll bet you did,” Randy grinned.
Cooper shrugged, removing his denims and discovering Callie’s slippers were still in his back pockets. He tossed them on the floor and crawled into bed, going through every moment he had spent with Callie, replaying the very touch, taste, and feel, in his head, until he fell asleep a completely contented man.
Callie woke with a start. There was a bitter taste in the back of her throat, and then she remembered drinking wine, the night before. It took a while to recall that she had gone up to the new house and that Cooper had filled the tub with water. However, that was the last thing she could remember, except for the dream she had about Chayton making love to her.
For a moment, she leaned back and savored the vague memory of the dream, thinking how real it had almost felt. She missed Chayton so much, yet feared he would never return. If he did return, it would be to take Joey from her, and she wondered if she could allow him to do that? Joey had become like her own son to her, as though she had given him birth, right along with Shanny.
Callie threw back the covers, looking around for her slippers. There was a tap on the door, and she went to answer it, forgetting to pull her wrapper on.
“Good morning,” Cooper smiled, and she quickly tried to close the door. “I have your slippers. I regret to inform you, but you fell asleep in the tub last night, and since you had taken too much wine, I couldn’t wake you. I had to dry you off, and dress you, so your modesty is a little unnecessary.”
Callie pulled the door open again. “You what?” she nearly shrieked.
“Did you want me to leave you in the tub? You shouldn’t have had so much wine. No harm done, though. I got you safely to your bed but forgot about your slippers, I had in my pocket,” he said, holding out the slippers.
Callie grabbed them angrily out of his hand.
“Don’t be so upset. You had a nice relaxing bath, and I’ll bet the wine made you sleep like a baby, considering I couldn’t get you to wake up. Don’t be mad at me. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Thank you for preparing the bath for me, Cooper. However, in the future, I will tend to it myself,” she mumbled.
“Just don’t drink any wine while you are in the tub. I didn’t expect it to go to your head the way it did because I didn’t know you were bent on drinking almost half of the bottle.”
“I drank half the bottle?” Callie exclaimed.
“That you did. I have to say, I enjoyed the pretty picture you made, lying in that tub, as I am enjoying the view before me this moment, as well.”
“Go away,” Callie said, closing the door, as she heard Cooper laughing loudly, on the other side of the door.
It had been a thoughtful gesture, for Cooper to have prepared the tub for her, and furnished the wine, she had to admit. She couldn’t be angry at him for that, so she decided not to make an issue out of it, and proceeded to feed the babies, and then get dressed.
Both Joey and Shanny were getting too big for the crib, already. She had ordered separate cribs to be put in the nursery of the new house for them, but the furniture had not arrived yet. She couldn’t wait until she could move into the new house, but that wouldn’t be for at least three months, and by then, both Joey and Shanny would probably be walking. She would have to start introducing them to cow’s milk since her milk was already starting to dry up.
Callie realized that working so hard, was probably the reason her milk had started to diminish, but there was so much to do, to prepare for the move into the new house. She had slowly been moving various belongings there, and even some of her clothes. Once her furniture arrived, she could move all the kitchen implements and food in and start fixing meals for her family there.
Then the workers would be farther away from the house, living in the bunkhouse, and taking their meals in the outdoor kitchen, and the only person she would have to deal with, from time to time was Cooper.
She wanted to distance herself from the workers and let them take care of the cattle, while she took care of her household, and the account books. She decided she would hire a maid and a cook for the house, and possibly a governess, to start teaching the children since they lived too far from any town to take advantage of the schools there. Then the governess could also care for the babies when she wasn’t teaching the older children.
Callie was happily planning her future life, knowing that had Chet still been there, it would be totally different. She wondered if Chayton would ever return to her, and what would happen if he did?
She heard that the Indians were still raiding the ranche
s, in Kansas, and Oklahoma and the army had been recruited to take care of the renegades, which caused them to scatter, and hide in the hills. At least that way, they were unable to do any more raiding. She wondered if Chayton was a part of those rebels, that the government was determined to send to prison, or possibly hang if they were ever caught.
Callie tried not to think about Chayton, as she prepared for a whole new chapter in her life, by getting back her self-esteem and enjoying a decent, and attractive house, the way she had been raised to do.
“The furniture has arrived,” Cooper called to Callie, as she was on her way to transfer a few more things to the new house. “It’s a good thing since we will be leaving on the drive at the beginning of the month. It looks like it’s going to be a rewarding season, seeing as how we have a lot more cattle to sell this year.”
Callie glanced up at Cooper. He had been going out of his way, trying to do kind, thoughtful things for her, ever since that first bath she had taken in the new house. Since then, she used the tub to bathe regularly, along with letting the children bathe there as well. She was looking forward to the day when she wouldn’t have to walk over to the house in order to bathe. Then she could merely step out of her bedroom to use the tub.
“Have the boys put it all in the house,” Callie smiled. “We can rearrange it later.”
“I’ll help you do it if you like,” Cooper offered.
Callie nodded as she gave Cooper a sideways glance. Something had been bothering her, recently, and it had to do with Cooper. She kept trying to remember that night when he had prepared the bath for her, but mere flashes of memories came back to her. Now she was determined to discover more about the events of that night because she suspected she was carrying a child again, and she had not been with Chayton for the better part of the year. The only other man who had been near her in a compromising situation was Cooper.
She wondered about that dream she thought she was having about Chayton making love to her, and how real it had seemed. Now she was beginning to come to the conclusion that it wasn’t a dream, and it hadn’t been Chayton being intimate with her. The very thought was starting to churn inside of her, leaving a bad taste in her mouth.
The problem was if Cooper had taken advantage of her, and he learned she was carrying his child, he may insist she marry him. Worst yet, he may start bragging about his conquest. If she refused to marry him, and he remained working there, he would insist he had a say about his child, and she did not want him interfering in her life.
She could kick him off of her ranch before he discovered her condition, only she would need a good reason to do so, and she had no complaints about how he did his job. Furthermore, it would mean she would have to have one of the other men take over the foreman position, and she wasn’t sure any of them were capable of the responsibility. Then there was the cattle drive to consider. She would need Cooper to head the drive, and she had promised him a part of the profit. He would be fit to be tied if she didn’t follow through with her promise.
Only the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. He had misused her, when she had been vulnerable, and when she started showing, she would need an explanation for her condition since she was a widow. The very thought of having to bring forth another child, which she had not willingly conceived, made her livid. It was a sure thing; she couldn’t keep Cooper on, only the question was, how was she going to lay him off, and when should she do it?
She judged she was almost three months along, and by the time the cattle drive was over, that would be around two more months. She was torn as to what she should do, and how to confront Cooper.
On top of that, she would become an unwed mother, and once word got around, she would lose the respect of all the ranchers in the area, including Mr. Prichard, and there would be no one willing to help her if she needed help.
She wished all the children were older, so she could lay everyone off and run the ranch on her own, but Connor was only thirteen, and even though Ina could ride a horse as well as Connor could; she couldn’t expect them to take over working the ranch. Tommy and Beth were trying to pull their own, but at seven and nine, they still had a lot of growing to do, even if they could sit a horse as well as their older sister and brother.
Callie stood on the front porch of the new house, watching the men unloading the three wagons that were full of the furniture she had ordered. She was overjoyed when she saw that the piano, she had bought, had arrived as well. It had been a long time since she had laid her fingers on the keys of a piano, and she had missed that as much as she had missed the life she had been living before she ever came to Texas.
Beyond her happiness at seeing the furniture being placed in her new home, there was that nagging realization that her happiness would be short lived, once her condition was discovered, and she became shamed because of it. She could agree to marry Cooper, which is what he had been hinting at after they had rescued her from the Comanche band. Only she did not love Cooper, and now she despised him, because of his actions, which made that possibility the last thing she would agree to do.
There was always Mr. Prichard, who had asked for her hand in marriage, but if he discovered her condition, he would be sure to back out; and if she kept it a secret, claiming the child was his, the moment it was born, he would know otherwise. After all, Cooper was not only Mexican, but part Comanche, and the infant would surely carry some of those tale-tale traits.
Even if Chayton came back, he would not want her, if he knew she was going to give birth to someone else’s child. He would take his own son, and never return again. In spite of the success she was experiencing with the ranch, Callie realized her future looked bleak. Without someone to drive the cattle to market, she would have no way to make a living.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
It took several hours to unload the wagons and bring the furniture into the house. Once the wagons were unloaded, the drovers went back to their regular duties. The cattle had been branded, earlier, so if they got mixed up with someone else’s cattle being driven to market, Callie’s drovers could separate them from the other steers.
The cook was separating out food he would load into the chuck wagon when the time came. Now the drovers would have to ‘dip’ the cattle in medicine, used to keep the ticks off of them, which was responsible for spreading diseases to other cattle at the stockyards.
Dipping the cattle was accomplished by driving the steers down into a lined pit, filled with the liquid poison which saturated their hides, and killed the ticks. This was the first year dipping was ever used throughout the area, Cooper explained because it was a rather new process that the ranches were starting to use, in order to keep the cattle healthy, as they crossed over miles of grassland, where ticks were prevalent. It was now required, in order to protect other stock which didn’t come from Texas.
Callie was aware of all the work that had to be done before they could begin to start on the drive, and it took several men to accomplish it all. She trusted the drovers to do a good job, but she worried if she didn’t keep Cooper as her foreman, the others would fight over wanting the job. Since Cooper was the one who knew the drovers best, he was the only one who would know who was capable of taking over his position. It was a sure thing, though, if she told him to leave, he wouldn’t be willing to help her choose someone to take his job.
“You need me to help you arrange the furniture inside?” Cooper asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“I suppose I could use the help,” Callie responded.
“This place is going to look rather grand, once you get everything in its place,” Cooper smiled, looking around the main room, where the bulk of the furniture stood.
“Yes. I won’t miss living in the cabin. I suppose I could give it to the cook when he gets back from the drive. I plan to hire a cook for the house, along with a maid, and governess.”
“You are certainly starting to come up in the world,” Cooper mentioned.
“Chet should have built
this house for my sister a long time ago. It wasn’t for the lack of money… that is for sure.”
Cooper shrugged. “So where do you want to move this stuff?” he asked, nodding toward the furniture.
“Maybe we should sit down for a bit before we start moving things around since we just brought it all in and I, for one, need a breather.”
“Suits me fine,” Cooper agreed, settling on a large davenport and stretching his long legs out before him.
Callie sat in an upholstered chair, across from him, feeling nervous, as she tucked her feet beneath the chair and leaned a little forward.
“I need to talk to you about something,” Callie said, trying to search for the right words to express her concerns, without giving away the fact that she suspected she was carrying his child.
“I don’t mind talking,” Cooper grinned, sitting up a little straighter and leaning towards her, removing his hat and placing it on the davenport beside him.
His dark hair fell down over his forehead, and his intent eyes captured Callie’s eyes, with an expectant look in their depths.
“I have been thinking about that night you prepared the bath for me.”
“You have? As I recall, you fell asleep in the tub,” Cooper murmured.
“Yes. That is what I wanted to talk about. I know I had too much wine, which is why I was so relaxed, but I keep having strange flashes of memory, about that night. At the time, I thought Chayton was with me. I remember he was… well… being intimate with me. It was almost like a dream, only it felt too real. Since we both know Chayton was not there, I was wondering if you could explain to me, why I was certain I was being handled by a man?”
Cooper’s face straightened, and Callie thought she could detect a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. Then he gave a broad smile.
“Perhaps you wanted that savage so bad; you dreamed him up. After all, I did have to dry you off and put your nightgown back on. That did take a bit of handling you, on my part.”
Cooper’s grin turned a little sheepish.
Beyond the Heart Page 20