Lord of the High Lonesome

by Janet Dailey

  “Fine. Be ready in a few minutes.”

  Lew watched her setting out the sandwiches for a few seconds, then asked, “Did he say why he’s come back?”

  “No.” Kit shook her head briefly.

  “Do you want me to have a little talk with him?” Lew frowned instantly. “I don’t want to see you gettin’ hurt by him again.”

  “No, there’s no need,” Kit answered, touched by his gallant gesture.

  “Do ya’ still love him?” He lowered his head to peer more closely at her face, revealing his shiny bald top.

  “Yes, I do.” She smiled wryly and set the last sandwich on the platter.

  Kit picked it up and turned to carry it to the table. Reese was standing behind them, listening. She almost dropped the platter, but his hand was there to save it and set it on the table.

  Reese turned back to her and demanded, “Who was that man you were referring to?”

  There wasn’t any point in holding back now, but Kit was shaking inside. “You.”

  In the next second his arms were around her and she was crushed to his chest. His mouth came down hard on her lips, bruising and punishing and loving with an ardor that took Kit’s breath away. She strained to be closer to him, arching against his granite length, abandoning all restraint to respond to his possessive kiss. Hungrily they sought to ease the frustration of longing their separation had born in each of them. It couldn’t be done in one passionate kiss.

  Finally Reese cupped his hands on either side of her face and reluctantly took his mouth from hers. Desire smoldered in his eyes as he stared into the rapturous wonder of hers.

  “Why did you come back?” Kit asked in a husky voice, now that she was sure of his answer.

  “Because of you. I couldn’t get you out of my head. Hell!” he chuckled, “I couldn’t get you out of my heart.”

  “I love you, Reese.” Kit spoke the words she had lived with so long, her heart pouring out its love.

  He kissed her again and would have gone on kissing her, regardless of Lew’s onlooker status. But it was Kyle’s voice, out of sight of them in the living room, that made them both aware of the absence of their privacy.

  “Hey! Out there in the kitchen! When are we going to eat? I’m starved!”

  Kit blushed as she looked at Reese through the sweep of her lashes. His adoring and possessive smile made her swell with joy. He loved her and nothing could be more perfect than that. He curved an arm around her shoulder, nestling Kit against his side as he turned her toward the living room.

  “Come with me,” he ordered.

  The others stopped talking the minute they entered the living room. Kit’s color was still high, but she thought she would burst with her love. She couldn’t have hidden it if her life depended on it. The whole world could know for all she cared.

  Reese stopped in front of her grandfather. “With your permission, I’d like to marry your granddaughter.”

  Tears of pure ecstasy shimmered in her eyes as she looked up to him; hardly daring to believe she had beard correctly. It was a dream, a bliss-filled dream. But the look in his eyes told her she was wide awake.

  “I don’t need to ask Kitty if it’s what she wants,” Nate replied, “because I know you’ve just made her the happiest woman on earth. You have my permission. And God Bless you both.”

  His voice was husky with emotion. Kit had come to know her grandfather and she knew he was deeply moved because of the happiness this moment had brought her.

  It seemed to take several seconds for what was happening to sink in with the others. When it did, there was an explosion of jubilation, backslapping and congratulations passed all around. It was several minutes before Lew, who had joined them in the living room, thought to rescue the chili from the fire on the stove.

  Their thoughts turned to food and the hunger they had temporarily forgotten. As they moved en masse into the kitchen, Reese caught at Kit’s hand and dragged her away from the table toward the back door.

  “If you’ll excuse us for a few minutes?” he requested with a broad smile. “We’ll join you later.”

  “It’s cold outside. You’d better wear a coat,” Nate cautioned.

  As she and Reese started out the door, Kit saw Lew poke Frank in the ribs and mutter, “It could be freezing and they’d never know the difference.”

  Outside Kit found out how right Lew was. In Reese’s arms the fire of their love was more than enough to keep both of them uncomfortably warm. It was a long while before either found the time or the necessity for words.

  “I thought you wouldn’t come back,” Kit breathed finally as he cradled her head against his shoulders.

  “I couldn’t stay away any longer, I had to take another chance that I could get through that shell of yours,” he said.

  “It’s gone.”

  “I noticed. In fact it was the first thing I noticed when I saw you out in the yard with Kyle. I had the terrible feeling that another man had wakened you while I was gone.” His arms tightened around her, fiercely possessive. “When I asked you if there was a man, I assumed you meant someone else. Then Kyle walked in.”

  “And you thought it was him?” Kit couldn’t believe it: He had been jealous.

  “I wanted to tear him apart,” Reese admitted.

  “It was always you,” she vowed. “There was never anyone else but you.”

  “I love you so much, Kit.” He rubbed his chin against her hair, trembling with his need. “We’ll be married right away.”

  “Yes,” she agreed and caressed the tanned column of his throat. Peering up at him, Kit asked, “Where will we live when we’re married?” She remembered how he had denied ever wanting a home.

  “In the Big House. Will that suit you?”

  “Here?” She raised her head to see if he was teasing her. “Do you mean we’re going to live here? On the ranch?”

  “Yes,” Reese smiled at her amazement. “Do you want to?”

  “Oh, yes, I want to,” she said in a rush, then hesitated. “But do you?”

  “I missed it,” her said, and looked out at the western sun crimsoning the ragged bluffs. “As a matter of fact that’s what brought me back. I knew you were still here and I decided if I couldn’t beat you, I’d join you. So I decided to come back and marry you. I missed this place more than I missed you.”

  Tears stung her eyes as she stiffened in his arms, murmuring a cool, “I see.”

  He caught her chin and twisted it up to see her face. “That was a joke, kitten.”

  “Was it?” Kit wasn’t quite sure.

  “I missed this place, but not as much as I missed you. I love you,” Reese assured her. “And as for marrying you just to live here, you are forgetting I own it.”

  Relief sighed in her throat and she relaxed against him. “I’ve become sensitive, I guess.” She tried to explain. “I don’t have anything to protect me anymore.” She was referring to the shell she had always hidden behind.

  “You have me, kitten,” he promised.

  That was more than enough.

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