She nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak.
“I wish I could offer you more. I’ll see if I can learn more about eyes. Maybe there is still something that can be done.”
“No,” she managed. “You have done so much already. You saved Jason. I was merely born this way. Perhaps it is as God intended it to be and as you said, no injury or illness to correct.” No way to be someone who could watch Jason’s back, and keep him safe. She would forever be the burden, no matter how much she told herself elsewise.
A warm hand clasped her fists. “Give me some time. It is no trouble. I like to help people. If something can be done, I would like to try and help you.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Noah.” After meeting nearly all of the Morning Stars, she didn’t try to call any of them Mister. They seemed to appreciate it. “Truly. Thank you.”
He gave her fists a squeeze and then rose. “I’m going to let Jason know we’re done.”
“How is he?” He sounded fatigued still to her, and he slept more than she’d ever recalled him doing in the past. But then when had he ever shared a room with her? The others had brought a footbed in so she could stay in the room with him, though Jason had insisted he would sleep on it while she took the larger bed.
More often than not, they’d fallen asleep together with the door propped open. It protected her reputation, and though it might have seemed odd to the others, none had commented on it.
“He’s healing well.” The confidence in his voice boosted her own. “The physical injury was the least of his problems. We’re still discussing what he did, that he used two gifts simultaneously. I’ve only ever known one other who did anything similar and…well let’s just say my brother Wyatt doesn’t allow much in the way of examination. Jason improves every day. Don’t worry.”
How could she not? “Thank you.”
Jason must have been standing right outside the room because she heard his boots as soon as the door opened. Neither man said a word, and then the door closed and it was Jason who joined her on the sofa.
“He plans to try again.” Assurance, not dismay, filled his tone. “But only if you want to.”
Before she could respond a knock on the door preceded it opening. “Good, you’re both here.” Jed strode inside with others following in his wake. At least three others.
“Micah, Sam, Scarlett—and where’s Jo?” Jason greeted them, letting her know who it was in the same instant. He did it as natural as breathing, never allowing her to not be included.
“She’s teaching.” Micah passed behind her. “Good morning, Olivia. Drinks for anyone else?” He was pouring something into a glass even as he asked the question.
“Good morning, Micah.” Of all the people in the house, Micah seemed to have been the most affected by Jason’s shooting. He checked on his brother at regular intervals and had, on more than one occasion, simply sat in the room while Jason slept. She found a smile to include the others. “Mr. Kane, Scarlett, Marshal.”
“You can call me Sam.” Jason’s eldest brother chuckled. “Little sisters get that right.”
Mr. Kane, however, didn’t give her the same privilege and there was a beat of silence. “Pa?” Anger clouded Jason’s voice and his tone took on a chilly level.
“Mr. Kane is suitable for now.” The temperature in the room dropped several degrees with his father’s announcement.
“It’s all right,” she told Jason and found his hand. His fingers were warm despite the cold, or perhaps because of it. “It’s proper.”
He didn’t listen to her. His grip remained light, but even the air in the room seemed to go tight. “It’s a game that I’m not playing.”
“Pa, Jason’s right. Olivia’s part of the family…” Sam’s tone was conciliatory.
“Olivia, if you would excuse us.” The impersonal invitation stung. Another day, she might have retaliated, or argued the point. The hurt though, it couldn’t touch the deep wounds where real grief still healed. Jason’s father was not a man she understood. Still, she would have risen to leave, but Jason stopped her.
“Pa, that’s mean. Leave Jason alone.” It was Micah who answered their father. He’d come to stand right behind them. “She’s going to be his wife, which clearly you’ve been in favor of since the beginning, so stop already.”
Icy silence and then a sigh. “I want to have a discussion with Jason beforehand.” Mr. Kane’s exhaustion peeked out through his rough tone.
“It’s all right, I can go…” She attempted peace, because while Jason and his brothers might rebuke their father, he was still her host.
“No.” Jason threaded his fingers through hers, his defense so automatic and fierce it eased the sting of his father’s rejection. “Pa, I understand the need to manipulate your children into doing what you want and to test them. But I’m not going to read you no matter how angry you make me. Olivia stays or she and I both go. Non-negotiable.”
“Finally,” his father’s voice lightened considerably and he laughed—a sound that must have come up from his belly.
Absolutely bewildered, Olivia turned toward Jason. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either.”
“Well that makes three of us,” Micah concurred.
“Let’s make it five.” Scarlett didn’t sound pleased. “Jed, are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine, darling Scarlett. I’ve been worried about that boy and burying his feelings for years. I needed to be sure and my apologies, Olivia, of course you can call me Jed or Pa—whatever suits you.”
She floundered between anger and exhilaration in the midst of this peculiar conversation. “Can anyone explain this to me?”
“Marriage, children.” Jed took a place to her left. “It’s not something you do to make yourself happy. You marry to make the other person happy and you’re marrying for a family, and for your children. Jason’s been pulling away from all of us and we’ve allowed it. Marrying you isn’t just about marriage, it’s about coming home. I wanted to be sure he understood.”
“By picking on Olivia?” Jason’s frosty tone didn’t carry an ounce of his father’s amusement.
“You don’t seem to mind when we lob shots at you, Jason. Nothing anyone does to you gets a reaction.” As if that excused him.
“Mr. Kane, I understand the need to protect your children and to assure yourself that you know what they are feeling, but I’ll thank you to never do that to Jason again. He doesn’t have to prove anything to you.” She’d never wanted to thump another adult in her life, but in that moment, she could cheerfully have whacked Jason’s father with her walking stick.
Laughter filled the room.
“I’m not sure I like your family very much, Jason.” But when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her back, she settled against him. Maybe she couldn’t see to protect his back, but she could do this.
“My apologies, ma’am. You have my word I won’t do it again.” Jed still sounded altogether too cheerful about the turn of events. “Unfortunately, as delightful as this discussion is, we need to talk about your wedding and how we’re going to manage it.”
“We’re going to San Antonio,” Jason reminded them. “This week.”
“I’d rather if you had the wedding here,” Jed began.
“Our marriage isn’t about you, Mr. Kane.” She still hadn’t forgiven him. “Remember?”
Scarlett clapped her hands and laughed. “I adore you, Olivia. You’re going to fit in here just fine and I think San Antonio sounds like a wonderful plan. Sam and I’ll go with you, and Jimmy and Cody and Mariska. Micah, too. We can take care of the formalities there and have a big party here at home.”
The debate on who would go and how long the trip would take began in earnest. Jason pressed his lips right by her ear and whispered, “Do you think they’d notice if we left them to decide what we’re going to do and when?”
She giggled and he relaxed. Maybe, just maybe it would all work out. “I don’t rea
lly mind if they make all the plans they want.” She kept her voice low. “As long as we marry.”
“And soon.” The throaty emphasis on the last word made her smile. Yes. She made him smile. She could do that, too.
Micah, Haven
Micah shouldered open the door and carried in another brace of wood. Though it was summer and they were more likely to sleep with the windows open, rather than closed, he preferred to keep a steady stock on hand. Ben ducked past him with a wave. Sarah MacLeod and Thea Hartwell were gathering their books and Cate curled up on her side on the sofa, sound asleep. Jo sat at a table next to the window, using the last light of the day to read some slates. He skimmed his gaze over all of them, lingering on his wife.
“Good night, Mrs. Kane,” Thea murmured and Sarah paused to look down at the sleeping Cate.
“Leave her,” Micah told the older girl. “I can take her home to Delilah if she and Buck don’t come to pick her up.”
The girls nodded and Micah followed them outside. Their town of Haven didn’t have half the population of the rapidly expanding Dorado across the river, but they had plenty of room. Thea and Sarah, along with several of the other girls, lived in the building across from his and Jo’s house.
Lena stood on the stoop chatting with Noah and at least it looked like it was friendly. He had no idea what had soured the two on each other, but they’d gone several weeks without more than an icy word between them. The younger children, like Ben and Cate, attached to the adults and were easy to find a room for, but so many of the new Fevered were on the cusp of adulthood or close enough that it proved a struggle.
It was Jo who finally suggested turning one of the new buildings into a boarding house. The girls had one directly across from Micah’s house and the boys lived in the one next door to it. More often than not, Jimmy and Micah stayed with the boys while Lena moved in with the girls—though Delilah, Mariska, and Jo also took turns keeping an eye on them if Lena needed to be elsewhere.
Satisfied the girls were safe, and all was in order, Micah stepped back inside and bolted the door. Jo watched him from the table, chin propped in her hand and a smile on her face. She had the soft look to her, with tendrils of her hair escaped from her prim and proper bun and a smudge of chalk on her nose. More, she had a glow to her, a secret contentment.
“What?” He paused to drape a blanket over Cate before crossing the room to kiss his wife.
“You’re always checking on everything.” She smiled against his lips and brushed her fingers down his cheek in a fleeting caress. “I keep hoping that life will slow down a fraction so you do not always have to rush from one task to the next.”
“Well there’s one task I never rush through.” His tease found its mark. Her face turned a delightful shade of rose and her eyes widened. Slipping a hand over her hip, he rubbed his thumb against her side. The fabric kept him from the skin he loved to kiss, but he savored the lushness of her figure nonetheless.
“Micah!”
“Yes, teach?” He grinned wider and nuzzled the corner of her mouth.
“Cate’s a few feet away,” she murmured the words while barely moving her mouth.
Entertained, Micah lifted his eyebrows. “She’s asleep.”
The color blooming in Jo’s face deepened much to Micah’s delight. “The sun is still up.”
“All the better to see your beautiful body, my lovely wife.”
Thoroughly scandalized, Jo opened her mouth and snapped it shut again without uttering a word and Micah buried his face against her throat to try and contain his laughter. “You are an evil, wicked man.” She gave his ear a pinch and he laughed harder. A moment later, her body relaxed and she chuckled, a sound that turned into a squeak when he scooped her out of the chair.
“Shh,” he admonished her, and sobered. “You’re going to wake Cate and I’ve not yet had my wicked way with you.”
“Micah,” the amusement in her vanished and her expression turned serious. He carried her up the short flight of steps to their bedroom and nudged the door shut with his foot before he set her on the bed as carefully as possible. Kneeling, he took her hands in his.
“It’s going to be all right, beautiful.”
“You don’t know that.” She exhaled a shuddering breath and shook her head. “It’s too soon.”
“No.” He lifted her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “We are waiting only because you wish to wait. You heard what Noah said. Everything is well. Cody said your scent had changed.”
Fear danced across her eyes, and Micah met her skittish gaze steadily. She needed him calm. “What if…what if I can’t? The last three times…”
“Were a disappointment,” he told her as gently as he could. “Even you said you never felt quite right. Something was always a little off. Noah told us each time something was wrong with the baby, not with you.”
So few knew of their struggle, since his very British wife did not like to share such personal details. Noah knew because Micah had fetched him the moment Jo had woken to heavy bleeding. They hadn’t even realized she was pregnant then. The second time, Mariska noticed something different in Jo’s scent and Noah confirmed it. None of her previous pregnancies survived the first month. Each loss had been devastating to Jo, but she’d carefully hidden them from everyone except him.
“Two months, Jo darling. It’s been two months and all has been well. You’re beautiful and you glow. I know it’s right this time. Noah says it’s right. Cody and Mariska say your scent is strong…”
Her nose wrinkled at the last and he bit back a smile. “I want to believe this, I really do. I’m so afraid I will do something wrong and then…”
“No.” Micah shook his head. “You’re perfect. I’ve known that about you since you stole my heart by getting off that stagecoach. Nothing you do will be wrong. If you don’t want to take any chances, then we won’t. This baby is ours…” He released her hands and settled a palm against her belly. “If you aren’t sure you can trust you, believe me. You are going to be a mother.”
Tears filled her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. “I love you, Micah Kane,” she pledged. “I believe you, but it almost hurts to hope.”
“I know it does and I have enough for both of us.” And a hell of a lot of prayer. This pregnancy was different—Jo was different. He could already see it in the softening of her figure, the fullness of her breasts and the discernible kindle of light in her eyes. “Do you remember when you took the bear into the caves?” Watching her walk along with that bear at her side and then into the cave with it had terrified him.
“Yes.” The nervousness in her fled and her smile grew. “You were very brave for me.”
“I was,” he agreed, even as his gut tightened. It had taken everything in him to not shoot the animal that close to her.
“Poor Billy. Those little upsets he was having…it woke the bear.”
“Yes and killed the cattle, I know.” The drawback to the Fevered, some of their gifts had a truly dark aspect. For Billy, sadness or anger caused the earth to tremble. The tiny shocks hadn’t been noticed, but a particularly bad one had felled all the cattle in one field. It had taken them weeks to sort it out. The bear, however, had been their first clue. Jo’s, it seemed, was to draw the animals to her, especially those that were upset. It had eventually shared what had woken it. “I’m thinking about how you handled that bear. You said it scared you.”
“Yes.” A sheepish smile flirted at the corners of her mouth. “I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. He was just awake and grumpy and hungry…” She paused and her eyes narrowed. “Micah Kane, you did not just compare me to a bear in winter.”
“No, ma’am,” he told her in all earnestness. “You drew that conclusion all on your own.”
And it worked, she started laughing again and dragged him close for a kiss. When he came up for air, they were sprawled together on the bed. His shirt was open, as were the front buttons of her dress. As much as he longed to strip her naked, he kept
his touch light and his attention on soothing rather than seducing her.
Jo feathered a caress across his chest and then her hands were on his belt. Covering her hands with his, he whispered, “We can truly wait. I know you were worried…”
“I was,” she admitted, and escaped his grasp. A moment later, she’d opened the buttons on his denim and slid her hand in to encircle him. It took everything in Micah not to thrust into her warm grasp. “But then my very wise husband reminded me to believe in him.”
“Did he?” The words came out a little more strangled as she stroked him without a hint of shyness. If anything, her eyes darkened with desire.
“Yes, he did.” She pressed a kiss to his chest and then to his mouth. When her tongue beckoned entrance, he acquiesced and she indulged him with a long, thoroughly intoxicating kiss that left him breathless. Micah freed the pins from her hair and stroked his fingers through the long, shimmering mass. “I’m not afraid when you’re here.”
Flipping her carefully onto her back, Micah eased from her grasp. Disappointment flared in her eyes and he leaned down to whisper. “You’re going to have to be very quiet…” Kissing the lobe once, he slid down the bed and gave into the urge to push up her skirt.
“What…?” But she swallowed the rest of her words on a gasp as he made short work of all her pretty underthings. The next kiss he gave her answered the question, and Micah knew he’d have to apologize later for making her cry out, but he was far too intent on doing it again to worry about it immediately.
Jason, The Road to San Antonio, Summer 1852
They’d planned the trip to San Antonio more like a battle campaign than a wedding, not that Jason knew as much about the latter as he did the former. He wanted nothing left to chance, not where Olivia’s safety was concerned. The doppelganger remained in lock up. Jimmy volunteered to stay on guard in the town along with Shane. It seemed the young man had been working with Jimmy and it was his conviction that if Ryan needed blood to change, he wouldn’t be drawing it from Shane.
Wanted: Fevered or Alive Page 19