by Janet Dailey
“Be cold riding today,” he observed as he reached for the bread just popping out of the toaster.
“I’m wearing my thermal underwear just in case you’re right.” Kit smiled.
“It shows,” Nate murmured dryly.
Kit glanced down at her tapered blouse and snug Levi’s. With the heavy long underwear beneath them the pants were almost skintight,
“It does bulge a bit,” she admitted with a faint laugh. “But I’ll keep warm.”
“So you figure you’ll finish up today?” Nate reverted back to the subject of the day’s ranch work.
Kit continued to give most of the orders, but she no longer dictated. In the first numbed weeks after Reese had left, all three of the hands had been quite gentle with her. Since then, a pleasant camaraderie had developed among them. And Kit wouldn’t have gone back to her old ways and destroy this new relationship for anything.
“Yes, we should,” she answered in response to his comment. “It’ll probably be late though. I didn’t think Frank would feel much like cooking when we got back so I’m going to invite them over for supper. There’s a big pot of chili at the back of the stove, roast beef sandwiches and a couple of salads in the refrigerator. That should satisfy them, don’t you think?”
“Should,” he agreed. There was a twinkle in his eye when Kit dished up her egg and sat down beside him. “Especially with the chocolate cake you’ve got hiding in the cupboard for dessert.”
“You found it,” she accused.
“Tasted pretty good, too.”
“Is there any left?”
“Enough for dessert tonight and a snack for me this afternoon,” her grandfather said with a wink.
“You and that sweet tooth of yours are hopeless,” Kit declared.
“You’d better eat. Your egg’s getting cold,” he warned, “Want some toast?”
“Please.”
“And don’t be riding me about my sweet tooth,” Nate added. “Yours is just as bad.”
Her knifeful of butter was poised just above the piece of toast in her hand. Unwittingly, her grandfather had reminded her of that time when Reese had mocked her sweet craving of the French-fried vanilla ice cream dessert. Kit waited for the sharp pang to subside, then buttered her toast.
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Chapter Ten
FROST HAD ALREADY TURNED the tall, thick grass into a swaying carpet of tawny gold. The rugged grandeur of the land did not display spectacular autumn plumage. There were only the rusty oranges and yellows of the tree leaves along the watercourses to contrast with the dark green of juniper-covered slopes. As a rule fall days were mild and the nights chilly, giving the animals, ranch stock and wildlife alike, a chance to grow winter coats.
Today it had been decidedly brisk with a bite to the wind. A startling blue sky stretched endlessly overhead. The sun was on its swift downward path, shortening the hours of daylight. Winter came early to the badlands, the first snowflurries coming sometimes as soon as late September. They were approaching that time and the air held a warning of winter’s cold breath not far away.
A quartet of horses and riders plodded along the dirt track toward the ranch yard. They crested a hill and Kit glimpsed the roof of the Big House through the windbreak of trees. There was a constriction in her chest as she again found it hard to accept that Reese would never walk within its walls again.
“Man, I ain’t never been so tired and sore in all my life,” Kyle moaned, wincing as he tried to shift in the saddle. “My butt’s really going to be dragging tonight.”
Kit mentally shook away her previous thoughts of Reese. “Come on, Kyle,” she chided. “You’ve been sitting on it all day.” There was a time when she would have snapped at Kyle for complaining instead of teasing him.
“That’s the point,” he groaned and the others laughed sympathetically, aware of their own stiffened muscles from their long day in the saddle.
“What you need is some hard riding to loosen you up. Come on. I’ll race you to the barn,” Kit challenged, suddenly wanting to hear the wind singing in her ears arid stop its whispering Of Reese’s name in the grasses.
Before Kyle could accept or reject her challenge, Kit was putting the spurs to the bay. She had a two-stride head start before Kyle gave chase. Both horses flattened out, glad to race as long as they were headed for the barn and oats. Kyle was never able to close the gap. When they reined in at the barn Kit was the victor.
“You won,” he conceded, “but only because you had a head start.”
His hand was at her waist to help her down. The action recalled for Kit another time when Reese’s hands had forcibly helped her from the saddle, the time of their first kiss.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and attempted a light retort. “Your horse has always been faster than Reno. I won because I was the better rider.” She hopped to the ground with his friendly assistance.
“I admit you have the prettiest seat in a saddle that I’ve ever seen,” Kyle said, letting his hand fall away now that she was standing.
His comment astonished Kit. He was actually flirting with her, not in any serious way, but in the light, teasing vein of a man who finds a woman attractive and wants her to know it.
“I’ll take care of your horse,” he offered.
She no longer regarded such offers as a slur that she was the weaker sex and therefore incapable. Instead of strongly objecting, Kit handed him the reins.
“Thanks,” she said and Kyle left, leading both horses into the corral.
As she turned to leave the barn area, she discovered Lew and Frank had ridden up behind her. Lew had dismounted and Frank was leading both horses away. Kit could tell by the bright glitter in Lew’s eyes that he had overheard Kyle’s comment.
“He was actually flirting with me. Can you believe that?” She laughed out some of her amazement.
“I can believe it,” he nodded. “You have changed, Kitty. I can remember when a comment like that would have earned a fella twenty lashes or the equivalent thereof from your sharp tongue. It’s dulled considerably.”
“I guess it has.” Looking into his weather-tanned face, Kit knew she had never been properly appreciative of this man’s unwavering loyalty and affection. He was more like an uncle she had never had. “Thanks for being so patient and tolerant, Lew.” Impulsively, Kit leaned up and kissed his scratchy cheek.
“For cryin’ out loud!” He flushed a deep red. “What ya going’ an’ gettin’ all mushy for?” Behind the embarrassment there was a profoundly touched look and Kit knew she would have done it again, given the chance.
Instead she laughed, “That’s what you get for having a woman boss.” She walked past him, giving him a pat on the rump, a male gesture that she copied in fun and Lew sidestepped quickly in deeper embarrassment.
“Behave yourself!” he admonished.
Turning around, Kit continued to walk backward. Her laughing gaze accidentally caught sight of the Big House and the from door standing open. Momentarily her heart gave a leap, but she quieted it, speaking aloud the explanation.
“It looks like gramps is still up at the Big House getting it ready for winter. I’m going to see how he’s coming along,” she informed Lew unnecessarily. “Don’t forget — supper will be ready in forty-five minutes, give or take.”
“Don’t burn it,” he warned.
“I won’t.” Kit changed directions and started for the Big House.
The warming events of the last few minutes lightened her steps as she crossed the yard. Kit concentrated her thoughts on those, letting the pain of Reese throb at the back of her mind. There was only silence when she set foot inside the house.
“Grandpa? Nate?” she called and received no answer.
But she thought she heard a sound of someone moving about in the rear of the house. After a second’s hesitation Kit went to investigate. The library door was closed and she walked past it, deliberately not looking at it. It was still the only room in the
house that Kit couldn’t face.
Dustcovers were draped over the furniture in the parlor-type living room. Thankfully the windows to the west were unshuttered, letting the sunlight stream in to chase away the gloom. Kit glimpsed a movement out of the corner of her eye when she entered the room and stopped. It was only her own reflection in the big oval mirror on the wall, encircled by a polished and ornately carved hardwood frame.
The sight of herself in the mirror caused her to pause. The blouse and the Levi’s molded her well-shaped but not overly rounded figure, but there could be little doubt that she was a woman. Her hair curled easily about her shoulders, a little tousled by the wind, the gleam of golden sunlight in its brown depths. The proud, defensive look was gone from her features, her lips softened into curves instead of pulled thin.
Kit wondered if Reese would notice the changes if he saw her now. Would things have turned out differently if she had looked like this when they had met? But she would never know the answer to either of those questions.
His image joined her reflection in the mirror. She blinked and stared at the hard-cut features with their brooding, aristocratic air, that glint of mockery in the piercing hazel eyes, the cruelly sensuous mouth and that crisply waving dark hair.
No matter how much she willed the haunting image to go away, it remained. Then it moved toward her. Kit went white and pivoted to face it. Reese was standing there — in the flesh.
“Hello, Kit,” he said in the low, quiet voice she remembered so well.
“I thought you were a ghost,” she breathed.
His mouth quirked in a half-smiling line. “I was surprised by what I saw, too.”
“You’re back,” Kit said. Though why she had to say it when it was so obvious, she didn’t know.
“Yes, I’m back.”
A warm glow seemed to flood through her body, a treacherous joy leaping in her heart. Once she would have demanded to know why he was back, but the change in Kit had produced, a reticence that kept her from asking what had brought him back.
“When … did you get here?” she asked,
“This afternoon. About an hour ago,” Reese answered.
There was not that much distance separating them. One step and Kit could be in his arms, but she didn’t attempt to cross it. Not yet. It was too soon. He might still despise her and Kit couldn’t endure it if he rejected her. His expression was impenetrable and she didn’t know what he thought of her now.
“You’ve changed, Kit,” he said, his gaze raking her figure.
So he had noticed, she thought breathlessly. And did he know why?
“Yes,” Kit agreed, “although —” she lifted her arm to sniff the back of her hand, then smiled “— I still smell of horse sweat and manure.”
When she would have dropped her hand, Reese caught it and carried it up to his nose, his breath warm against her skin. His gaze continued to hold Kit’s over her hand. “And a trace of perfume,” he added, lowering her hand and slowly releasing it. There was something questioning in the way he studied her face. “You are more beautiful than I remembered.”
“I — I’m glad you think so.” The words sounded so inadequate when the cup of her happiness was spilling over inside. “How long will you be staying, Reese?”
“That depends.” But he didn’t say on what. “I’m afraid I came unannounced again,” he offered wryly. “Do you suppose Frank can stretch the evening meal to include me again?”
“I’m sure he can. No …” Quickly Kit retracted her answer. In the surprise of seeing Reese again she had forgotten. “I invited the boys over to the house to eat with grandpa and me. So Frank isn’t cooking.”
“I can drive into town and get something to eat then.”
“No, please join us,” she invited hurriedly. “There’s plenty of food, honestly.”
“I’d like that,” he agreed. His gaze sharpened as he noticed the way Kit practically radiated with boundless joy. “I saw you when you rode into the yard this afternoon, laughing and joking with the others,” Reese mused. “I could hardly believe you were the same Kit.”
“I suppose you could say I’ve mellowed with age,” she suggested.
“Yes, you have grown up.” He tipped his head to the side in an inquiring angle. “Did a man have anything to do with it?”
Was he uncertain of her? “Oh, yes, definitely,” Kit answered.
An eyebrow lifted. “Anyone I know?”
A smile beamed on her face. “You know him very well. It’s —” The “you” part of the sentence never got out of her mouth.
“Kit?” a voice called from the hallway, and both of them turned at the interruption. “Hey, Kit? Are you in here?” A second later Kyle appeared. Reese was standing slightly to one side so it was Kit he saw first. “You left your jacket tied on the back of your saddle. Lew told me you were in here so I thought I’d better bring it to you before you started wondering where it was.”
“Thanks, Kyle.” She reached out for the leather-fringed jacket he was carrying.
But Kyle had stopped short at the sight of Reese. A look of stunned surprise was replaced by a wide grin of welcome. “Mr. Talbot! Wow! I didn’t expect to see you here.” Vigorously he shook Reese’s hand. “This is quite a surprise. When did you get back?”
“A while ago.”
Kit heard the sudden note of reserve in Reese’s voice and stared at him. He did seem withdrawn, with a chilling hardness about his expression. It frightened her, especially the way he avoided looking at her.
Maybe he had guessed what she was going to say before Kyle had come in and was glad she hadn’t had the chance. What made her think he might have come back because of her? Because that was what she wanted to believe, Kit realized.
It was more than likely he had returned on ranch business. Perhaps he had decided to sell after all and be done with any connection to her for good. It was a restraining thought, one that put a curb on her riotous joy.
“This is really something else!” Kyle declared with an amazed shake of his head. “Wait until the others hear. It’s good to have you back, sir.”
“Thanks.” Reese’s mouth curved, but it wasn’t a smile.
Kyle suddenly realized he was still holding Kit’s jacket. He turned to give it to her, his gaze lighting on her slightly pale complexion. His expression immediately sobered as he glanced warily back to Reese.
“Was I … interrupting something?” he asked in half challenge, not sure if Kit needed or wanted his protection.
“No,” Reese answered, giving Kit the impression that he had no further desire to be alone with her. “Kit was just inviting me to join you all for dinner.” Finally he looked at her, his gaze bland and unrevealing. “I have a few things to unpack yet. What time would you like me to come over?” So polite, so formal.
“We’ll probably eat in half and hour or so. Anytime between now and then will be fine,” Kit answered, telling herself not to be so disappointed.
Depending on how long he was staying, she might still have a chance. He had found her attractive once and he had just said she was more beautiful than he remembered. Surely there was hope in that.
“Good. I’ll see you shortly, then,” Reese nodded crisply.
With Kyle walking beside her, Kit left the house. She felt him eyeing her curiously, wondering what had gone on between them before he arrived but he didn’t ask and she didn’t answer. Once outside the house he walked, with her a little ways before parting to go to the bunkhouse and wash up before the meal.
Although Reese’s return had not gone the way Kit had thought it might there for a while, the fact that he had come back at all was sufficient to ease the pain in her heart for the time being. She was smiling as she swept into the kitchen of her own home.
Her grandfather was standing at the stove. He glanced up when she entered. “You saw him, did you?” Nate said, certain of, her positive answer.
“Yes.” She rushed over to the stove and gave him a quick hug. “He’s
coming to dinner.”
He smiled at the happiness sparkling in her brown eyes. “I put the chili on to heat when I saw you ride into the yard. The table is all set. I figured you’d invite him to dinner and I thought you might want a chance to maybe shower and put on a bit of lipstick.”
“Grandpa, you are a love!” Kit declared with a laugh and dashed off to do just that.
Kit didn’t take too much time because she didn’t have long before Reese and the others came. Out of the shower, she toyed with the idea of wearing one of her new dresses, but decided that was too obvious. Dressed in dark blue denims and a flowered blouse, she reentered the kitchen. The chili was just beginning to simmer in its pot and Kit took the spoon away from her grandfather to stir it.
“Did Reese say anything to you about why he’d come back?” she asked.
“Nope. Did he to you?” Nate countered.
Kit shook her head but didn’t have the chance to make a verbal answer as several pair of boots clomped onto the porch and the back door opened. She glanced up to see Frank walk in, followed by Lew and it looked like Kyle behind him.
“I’ll have the food on the table in a few minutes,” she promised, turning back to the chili. “Why don’t you boys have a chair in the living room until I’m ready?”
As they started to file through to the living room, Lew teased, “Did you burn it?”
“No, I didn’t,” she retorted.
When Kit looked up, she saw that as well as all three ranch hands, Reese had arrived, too. He met her glance briefly and followed the others into the living room, her grandfather joining them and leaving the kitchen in Kit’s domain.
A little nervous, Kit took the salads from the refrigerator and started taking them out of the plastic bag to arrange them on the platter. She tensed at the sound of footsteps in the kitchen. When she glanced over her shoulder, Kit saw it was Lew and relaxed.
“How’s it goin’?” He leaned against the counter beside her, his astute gaze studying her downcast face.