by Cait London
He looked down at Carley and smiled. “I’m glad you’ve come back.”
“I’m glad, too,” Carley returned, and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.
“I’m trying to pinpoint what is different about you,” Richard said, running his hand across Carley’s short boy cut. “It’s not only the haircut. But you seem more alive, almost glowing. Carley, you’ve lost weight just since you’ve been here. Are you feeling all right?”
“I’m fine. Ranch work, you know. I’m riding again. Dad’s got a great reiner. Richard, do you think Dad is okay— I mean feeling okay? Not sick or anything?”
“He’s never come to me for a checkup, but just seeing him, I’d say he’s the same as ever.” Richard looked at her more closely. “Is there something else here that’s changed you? Are you certain you don’t need to come in for an exam?”
“Maybe.” She blushed and glanced at Jemma, who knew that Carley had been thinking about lovemaking with Mitch.
When Jemma and Carley left the Coleman house, Mrs. Coleman peered down from the second-story window of the large, ornate house, giant ferns swaying gently on the porch.
“Poor thing,” Carley murmured. “Richard says she imagines the worst things. He’s changing her medication.”
Seated next to Hogan in his truck, Jemma noted his silence, the hard set of his jaw. “Hogan?”
He smiled briefly, glanced at Carley, and placed Jemma’s hand upon his hard thigh, his hand over hers.
His look said he was deep in thought and he’d closed her away. Because she suspected Hogan was still mourning his mother and Joe Blue Sky, Jemma raised her arm to the back of his seat and stroked his crisp blue-black hair. She sensed that he liked petting, though he’d never ask her to caress him. Experimenting, she eased her fingers down to his scalp and massaged as he had done to her.
Hogan’s dark eyes slid to hers, heat sizzling between them. “Stop that.”
She flicked the tiny earring, and Hogan’s expression softened; he reacted so nicely to play. He reached out his arm, circled her shoulders, and drew her against him, and Jemma glanced curiously at him.
“Nope, never drove with my girl tight against me, either,” he said.
Hogan could make her feel so wound-up, so young and waiting for the world to spin off its axis. Jemma looked at Carley, uncertain of how her best friend would react.
“I’m glad,” Carley whispered. Just that, a simple blessing from a friend Jemma loved with all her heart, filled her with sunshine. She took Carley’s hand and held it, because she was never letting her go— her best friend, an almost-sister.
*** ***
While the bumblebees hovered over the alfalfa blooms and the third week of June simmered on the huge bales of hay, Mitch’s beautiful mouth curved as Carley drew the blade of grass around it.
They’d just finished swimming. She was fully dressed in a blouse and cutoff jean shorts, and he in his jeans. “Snake” had become a part of her life, and lying beside him in the hot June sun, she wondered about— just there where his stomach flattened and ran into his sagging, wet jeans, and above his thighs. She wanted to touch him....
When Mitch tensed, she looked at him and blushed.
“Carley,” he whispered, bringing her face down for a long sweet kiss.
“Do you want me?” she asked against his lips. How long had he been inside her heart? How long had she wanted this very gentle man?
The light summer breeze moved through the willow branches above them as it always had.... Mitch was the same and yet different.
Mitch eased away, his hands trembling as they smoothed her face. “I’ve always loved you, Carley, right from that first moment. There’s never been anyone for me, but you. When we make love, it will be with all my heart and soul.”
“I saw your face that night.... You were the first one there, and I never wanted you to see me again like that. I’ll never forget how you looked as though you’d stepped into hell and were helpless to—’’
“Shh.... Are you afraid for me to look at you now?”
She lay down beside him as she had always done, her head resting on his shoulder. “No, and I want you. Now.”
“Angel, nothing is going to happen to you. This ugliness will all be behind you soon. You’re protected here and—”
She raised up and placed her hand over his lips. “You beautiful man. My wanting you has nothing to do with fearing that my life will end before I’ve had the great Mitch-experience. Would you? Mitch, what if I—I mean, what if I get scared at the last minute and—”
“We’ll stop.” He made it sound so casual, leaving her to make choices, not forcing her.
Mitch was already kissing her gently, drawing her closer to him, there on the sunlit bank with the stream rolling by. His body trembled, and through her excitement, Carley knew that he leashed his needs for her. He’d been her brother and tormentor; he’d been her friend, and now he would be her lover. As she knew he would, Mitch was careful to use protection.
Later, lying shattered by the intensity of Mitch’s gentleness, the way he insisted on cleansing her, Carley smiled.
Floating in the aftermath of Mitch’s care, she knew that their lovemaking wouldn’t always be this way— that Mitch had been very careful with her this first time.
She lazily smoothed his scarred back. She knew so little about him before he came to them; she knew the man that he was now, the tender loving man, taking care of her, teaching her how to move against him gently— always gently and asking, never forcing, even when his passion rode him. “We didn’t stop. You didn’t have time….”
Mitch tugged her hair. “Proud of yourself, aren’t you?”
“Umm. Very.”
Mitch’s expression suddenly changed. He solemnly opened his hand over her soft belly, where babies could nestle and grow; his hopes were in his eyes. “Someday I want—”
She placed her hand over his. “I know. So do I.”
*** ***
Chapter Fifteen
Jemma recognized Carley’s dreamy expression when she came into their bedroom; the aftermath of Hogan’s lovemaking left Jemma looking just that way.
The lace curtains fluttered at the window; she drew them away to look at the three men squatting on bent knees in a circle near the barn. Hogan and Aaron’s Western hats were all tipped at the back of their heads and Mitch’s black waves gleamed in the sun. Ben leaned against the corral.
“I wonder what school teaches that?” she asked, as Carley came to stand by her side after a long, long time soaking in the bathroom. Carley’s unmistakable rosy look hadn’t dimmed, her blue eyes the color of cornflowers.
“The same one that teaches them how to spit, pee, and use their pocketknives to clean their fingernails, clean fish, and then cut cheese. The primitive male-bonding-ritual school,” Carley answered, drawing back the curtains to study the men.
The tinkling of Dinah’s new wind chimes floated up to them. Jemma put her arm around Carley’s shoulders, and Carley placed her arm around Jemma’s waist.
“It’s a good time, isn’t it?” Jemma asked as they stood and rocked together. “What do you suppose they’re talking about?”
“Soap operas. Dad is really into them… Aaron, too. Hogan has been too busy with you and Mitch—” Her breath caught and with her face aglow, she smiled up at Jemma. “Mitch is—”
“Mitch. He’s always loved you.”
“I can’t believe it,” Carley whispered in awe. “He wants to marry me. He wants children. He wants me to take my time and decide what I want. He’ll live anywhere, but I think Montana is where I belong. He’s got so much to offer, though. You’ve heard how he talks about the kids he’s helping. I don’t know that he can find that fulfillment in a rural area.”
Jemma ruffled Carley’s short damp hair. “He’s waited a long time for you. It will work out.”
“He’s really a lot stronger than he looks. I mean, physically. He was just letting me toss him all those times. I thin
k it was to boost my confidence.”
“Men have so many delicate little hang-ups.”
*** ***
In the setting sun, the four men were grim.
“Something set him off,” Hogan said.
Aaron’s voice was dark and deadly. “I had to take Artie Moore behind the clinic yesterday and sort things out. He came after Savanna for helping his wife. I got in trouble, too, with Savanna. She said she could handle it herself and blistered my backside. She had his grubby hand prints on her white uniform, and he’d torn away one sleeve, and she still expected me to stay out of it. If it’s Artie who sent these—”
He flopped the envelope onto the dirt, and glossy pictures of Carley slithered out. “It could have been any photo shop in Seattle.... He just had them forwarded here. He probably gave them an alias that can’t be traced.”
“I thought we’d have to draw him out, but now I don’t think so,” Ben noted.
“Jackson Reeves is on the list, but he’s obvious. He hasn’t been out of town, but he could have had someone do it for him in Seattle.” Hogan’s stomach churned at the thought of Jackson touching Carley, then he looked up to meet the fury in Mitch’s taut expression. “We’ll get him, Mitch. It’s just a waiting game now. He’ll make a mistake and we’ll be there.”
Ben had locked onto Mitch and his expression wasn’t sweet.
Hogan knew that Mitch was in real danger of being taken down, rawhide style. “Supper will be ready soon. Ben, how about looking at that yearling I just bought?”
Ben eyed Mitch, who wasn’t looking away. “I suppose you’ve got the wedding ring all picked out and haven’t even asked her old man.”
Mitch came up straight and tall, facing the man who had saved and raised him, whom he respected and loved. “We’ll do that together, Carley and me, if she’ll have me. But I’d like your blessing, Dad, because it means a lot to both of us.”
“Huh,” Ben said, his hard face shifting into emotion. “You’ll be taking my little girl away from me.”
“Think of it this way, Ben,” Aaron said, and rose to his feet. “It’s not like we’re getting a stranger who can’t handle his share of castrating calves.”
Ben frowned at Mitch. “Castrating gets to be a real art.”
“Ouch,” Aaron said. “I’m going to see if I can find something to eat.”
“You wash up,” Ben said out of habit, though Aaron was long past the reminder age. Then Ben looked at Mitch, keeping the father-to-son relationship the same as always. “You, too.”
*** ***
In the pasture with Hogan, Ben watched the Appaloosa yearling race along the fence, tail high. “You’re all leaving me. All grown up and not needing whatever little I could give you.”
“Carley will always be yours, and I have a hunch Aaron might stay. Savanna isn’t going anywhere.”
Ben turned to Hogan. “But not you. You’ll pick up when this is done and go your own way. You’re a hard ride, son. Like me. I suppose you’re taking Jemma, if she’ll have you.”
“She hasn’t made up her mind. I’m working on that; but she’ll come back here. She won’t forget you.”
Ben swallowed harshly. “Skinny little thing, all eyes and jumping if you reached toward her too fast.”
“I know. But you gave her something. She loves you, too.” Hogan knew too well the fear leaping in Jemma’s eyes. Her background led her to other fears, that of not having enough, never enough. He wondered if he could hold wind and fire and the heart of a woman badly scarred by other men.
Ben nodded slowly. “Well, the yearling is a good choice. That old barn cat had her kittens. You may as well take one home for your barn— for Jemma. Women like little things like that.... Your opinions matter. The other children listen to you. When did you become so wise, Hogan? When did you become a man that holds this family together? Did I take so much away from you? Your childhood?”
“I’m working through it, Ben.” Hogan wondered at the changing relationship between his father and himself; they both loved the same people. Jemma had made a difference; she’d made him see Ben as a man who loved a woman and wanted the best for her— But Ben didn’t consider a one-legged man the best. “You ought to take Dinah dancing. She used to love that.”
“Hell, I can’t—” Ben hit his leg.
“All you have to do is to hold her, and you’ve been doing a bit of that lately. Take it easy with her, Ben. She’s got stars in her eyes and a tender heart.”
“I’m trying. That’s all I can do. Oh, hell, there’s Jemma shaking her finger at Aaron and laying him out and, God help us, she’s just spotted us.” Ben turned, braced his arms on the corral, and rested his chin on them. “Make her go away. That look always means trouble. She just digs in and keeps hammering.”
“Are you asking?” Hogan couldn’t help smiling at Ben, who had the drawn-in, hunkered-down look of a man about to be jumped and fried.
“I’m begging,” Ben admitted roughly. “Please.”
Hogan turned and leaned back against the corral and watched Jemma stalk toward him. Her wild red hair flew out from her face; her breasts were outlined in the T-shirt, her hips swaying in her tight jeans. Her long legs, decked out in knee-high red boots, were eating the space between them.
“I think I’m going for Appaloosas. Just a small herd, and maybe a few sheep,” he said to Ben.
“Willow wanted sheep— she wanted to weave. Rambouillet, I think. Sheep would be practical in that stretch of high ground. Old Aaron wouldn’t allow them, but they’re practical. They keep down the weeds. You can run them on my land.... You’re wanting to grow things, boy. Could be you’re in a family mood. That fireball won’t make life easy—”
Ben closed his eyes and shuddered as Jemma called, “You can’t hide out here. I want to talk with the both of you.”
In the distance, Aaron took off his Stetson. He slapped it on his thigh, a gesture that said he was simmering after Jemma’s attack on him. He stalked off into the house, and Hogan tipped back his hat to watch Jemma come to stand in front of him.
She tapped Ben on the shoulder. “You can turn around. I want to talk to you.”
“I’m busy. The boy and I are talking about important things, cattle and such.” But he turned and slid a silent plea to Hogan.
“What’s on your mind, sweetheart? Did you come after your present?” Hogan asked, enjoying the thunder and lightning in Jemma’s glare. He reached out to trail a finger down her cheek, then bent to steal a quick kiss.
For a moment, she stared blankly at him, her mouth still open. He placed a fingertip beneath her chin and lifted it, closing her lips. Clearly struggling to get back to her current warpath, Jemma asked, “What present?”
Hogan slipped the buttons made from horn into her hand and bent to pluck a daisy, tucking it in her hair. Pleased that she wore his earrings, Hogan eased her hair back from her ears and studied her. “Well? No, I didn’t kill Bambi’s daddy. Deer naturally lose their antlers.”
She looked at the six horn buttons in her hand, thin layers of horn, each with four tiny holes. “I... thank you.”
“I thought when you had time, we might drive down to Big Timber and check out the health-food stores. You could help me stock my kitchen. By the way, when are you making that next batch of carrot juice? Could you make extra for me?”
She continued staring blankly at him, and Hogan smiled innocently. “What did you want to talk to us about, honey?”
Jemma shook her head as if clearing it and rewinding herself. “Ben. Hogan. I want to make certain that you won’t jump Mitch. He’s asked Carley to marry him. He loves her, and she loves him. I don’t want any trouble. No feuding, no tempers, no brawls or threats. He’ll take care of her, and you won’t be losing a daughter, Ben. You’ll be gaining a son you already have.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been expecting that for years. Why would we want to jump him?” Hogan stealthily nudged Ben.
“Mitch i
s a fine boy. I couldn’t have picked a better match,” Ben said firmly.
Jemma looked from father to son and back again. “You’re sure? After what happened to Hogan, I—”
“Fine with me,” Hogan said, looping his arm around her shoulders and starting to walk toward the house.
“We ought to have the wedding right here. Dinah would like all the hoopla,” Ben said.
“Don’t say anything about a wedding. That would terrorize Carley, right now. She’s just adjusting to the idea that Mitch has always loved her. I’ll handle any wedding plans—”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. You’ll kill us all,” Ben muttered.
“What was that?” Jemma frowned at Hogan and then at Ben. “I don’t know about you two. I’m not certain I trust you.”
“Everything is going to be just fine,” Hogan said. He drew her closer to enjoy the pleasant bump of her breast and hip against him as they walked. “Why don’t you put your arm around my waist, or is this an unequal man-woman sort of thing?”
*** ***
“What’s Carley doing?” Mitch asked after supper. His mind wasn’t on winning the arm wrestling with Hogan, but rather on the woman he loved.
“Upstairs. For some reason, she wants to be alone. She’s avoiding Jemma, who wants to know everything.” Aware of the blush on Carley’s cheeks, of the shy, warm way she looked at Mitch, Hogan met Mitch’s look as their hands locked and muscles strained against each other, elbows on the kitchen table.
“I thought artists were supposed to be weak, and beg for mercy,” Mitch said, grunting as Hogan pinned his hand to the table. Mitch tossed a quarter onto the table. “Two out of three.”
Hogan glanced at Jemma and Dinah, who were preparing carrots for the great juicing. Maxi was taking sugar cookies out of the oven, and Aaron grabbed several.
“I thought you might want to go driving with Savanna and me tomorrow,” Aaron was saying to Maxi.
She elbowed him aside and placed the cookie sheet on the counter. “You’re not sidling up to me, Mr. Aaron. My daughter can make up her own mind about you.”