“We’ll make more when y’all have gone upstream to your claims,” Ida told them. “Don’t you worry. We always get enough to eat around here.”
Lunch pails were passed out as the men left, goodbyes were called back and forth, and Lucas halted in front of Jennifer as she stood by the back door. “See you at the supper table. Do I have any more newspaper in my sandwiches?”
She blushed and shook her head. “That was mean of me, wasn’t it?”
“No. I laughed out loud. It was something only you would think of, sweetheart.”
“Did it ruin the roast beef?”
“Nothing could ruin the food you women feed us.” He looked down at his pail. “What do we have today?”
“Surprise. You’ll find out.” She smiled as she added a handful of cookies to the assortment the pail held. “Extra dessert, sir. Just for being nice.”
“Nice? Me?” He bent low and brushed a kiss across her cheek. “Now, that was nice. The nicest thing I’ve been privileged to do in days.”
She stepped back and Ida laughed. “You’re a scamp, Luc. But don’t think that kind of kissin’ is gonna win your bride back. You’ll have to do better than that.”
“Not this morning.” Jennifer seemed firm as she responded to that idea.
“No, not this morning,” Lucas agreed. And then he bent low again, whispering words only she could hear. “I’ll talk to you about it after supper tonight.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A LETTER from her parents was a cause for rejoicing, Jennifer thought as she stood in the post office and tore open the envelope. Perhaps…but no, the news was not what she had hoped for. And now that she considered the idea, she had no real idea what she had thought to find inside the envelope.
Only Kyle could have told them where she was, and she could only imagine what his devious mind had concocted when he’d decided to reveal her whereabouts. That she’d become a mail-oorder bride was news to her folks, that was certain, for they’d only known that she had left—bereft over the loss of not only her sister, Alma, but also of the babywho had been left to a man who had no notion of how to care for an infant. But they’d cared enough to write a letter, and she read it voraciously.
It was not what she’d expected, this letter announcing their imminent arrival. They planned to bring their grandchild, Susan, back to New York City where they would raise her in their own home. A nanny would be hired, her father said, and his lawyer had already assured him that no court in the land would keep Susan from a home such as her grandparents were willing to provide.
Too bad they hadn’t thought of this solution a few months ago when the baby was born, when there had been a chance to rescue her from her father’s hands. Jennifer swallowed the bitternes she felt, standing in middle of a flurry of townsfolk, reading her letter for the second time. Surely she’d misunderstood. Her parents could not be planning on taking Susan from her.
And yet, that seemed to be exactly what the letter stated. According to her father’s schedule, they would arrive in two days’ time and would be staying for a week. They planned to stay at the hotel, so that Jennifer’s little home would not be invaded by two more adults to tend to. She winced as she read the description her father had chosen to tack onto the big farmhouse. Little. The urge to take them there, to show them the home Lucas had brought her to, burned within her. It was clear they chose not to believe she married well.
But it was of no use and her shoulders slumped at the knowledge. The farmhouse was no longer her home, and if her parents saw her in the boardinghouse with twelve men in residence, they would be dead certain that Susan did not belong there. No matter that the twelve men in question had become attached to the baby over the past weeks and even now vied for her attention at the supper table.
“What’s wrong?” Sally Jo stood in front of her and Jennifer looked up into a face filled with concern, a tenderness apparent she’d not thought to find in the woman.
“My parents want to come and take the baby back East with them. In fact, they’ll be here day after tomorrow.” Her voice was trembling, her hands shaking, as she held the letter, and she thought she might sit right down on the floor and cry if Sally Jo offered one word of sympathy.
It was not to be. “Then move yourself and the baby back out to Lucas’s place and set up residence there. Susan will have a ready-made family and your folks won’t have a leg to stand on.” Sally Jo planted herself firmly, hands on her hips and chin elevated, as if she would take on the world should Jennifer need her help in that regard.
“I’ve already told Lucas I won’t go home with him.”
“Then un-tell him. Just say you’ve changed your mind.
He’ll have you out of there quicker than you can blink.”
“I can’t do that. It would be like deceiving him, moving back just so my folks won’t take the baby.”
“And you think he’ll care?” Sally Jo laughed. “He’ll be tickled pink, woman.”
A glimmer of hope was born in Jennifer’s breast as she considered the idea. “Maybe I could…” She shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t dare.”
“I’ll bet you could,” Sally Jo told her, smiling. “And I suspect you’d dare do most anything to keep things on an even keel for Susan.”
“You’ve got that right.” Her tears were dry, her hands had ceased trembling and Jennifer folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. “I’ll see you later.”
As she left the post office, she glanced back to see an encouraging smile lighting the other woman’s face.
Her feet flew as she traveled back to the big house and her plans were already half formed as she pitched in to help with supper preparations. Helen had the baby tucked in for a nap in the parlor.
“You’re cookin’ something up, girl. I can tell by the look on your face.” Ida stood at the stove and turned pork chops in a pan of bubbling lard. Breaded with eggs and then dipped into bread crumbs, they were brown and sizzling as she placed them in a pan, ready for the oven. A whole pork loin had been cut up for the meal, with over thirty chops nestled side by side.
“They get two apiece,” Ida said. “What with vegetables and potatoes and all the rest, I think they’ll survive on that.”
“I’d hope so.” Helen was rolling out pie crusts for the four big pans in front of her. “I think pumpkin will be the easiest to make, don’t you, Ida?”
“Whatever you want.” And with that, Helen nodded and turned to open jars of pumpkin, canned late last autumn. Adding milk and eggs and seasonings, she dipped into the sugar bin and then began to stir. “I make kind of a custard filling, lots of eggs and milk in it.”
“Must be sorta like mine.” Ida tossed the other woman a glance. “We work at this from the same direction, Helen. I noticed that right off.”
“Only one way I know of to keep menfolk well fed and happy.” The crusts were rolled and placed in the pans, the edges crimped to her satisfaction and then Helen poured the filling into the waiting crusts. Jennifer opened the oven door and watched as the bottom shelf was filled with the dessert.
“Leave me enough room for the pork chops.” Ida staked her claim and Helen grinned.
“You’ve got the whole top shelf. If that isn’t enough you’ll have to wait till the pies are done.”
“That’s plenty of room. We’ll have mashed potatoes and gravy. No need to use the oven for vegetables, either. I’ve got jars of corn and some succotash we can mix with it. Those men like corn better than limas anyway. Jennifer made applesauce this morning. So I think we’re all set.”
They made it sound so simple. Jennifer was almost overwhelmed by the quick repartee the two older women conducted, feeling young and ignorant. And yet she knew she was “coming along right well,” as Ida had said on several occasions.
Bathing and dressing Susan took up Jennifer’s time before supper, and she scooted up to the table as the other two women put on the final platters of food. A chair sat empty beside Lucas and Jennifer loo
ked up to find Helen motioning at the seat.
“I think she wants you to sit by me.” Lucas had bent close to whisper the words and Jennifer nodded her agreement. It went along nicely with her own plans, she decided, and smiled as she thought how nicely Helen had helped to fit things together.
Susan ate with gusto, devouring potatoes and pointing at the applesauce bowl each time it passed by, until Jennifer thought the baby would surely burst. Drinking her milk from a glass was a fairly new accomplishment and Susan made bubbles to her heart’s content, happy with the laughter of the men who watched her performance.
“Makes me think of my little sister,” Toby said wistfully. “Sure miss having my family around.” He looked the length of the long table. “This is almost as good as being back home.” His blush made him seem young and innocent, Jennifer thought, but the look the man cast in Helen’s direction smacked of a male creature on the prowl.
“We’ll tend to the dishes,” Ida said once the meal was over. “Why don’t you men carry your plates to the kitchen for us?”
They joined in willingly, two of them offering to dry the plates and silverware. Helen accepted that offer, shooting a shy smile in Toby’s direction, his having been the first voice heard.
Susan’s afternoon nap had lasted longer than usual, so now she seemed ready to play. Jennifer took her to their room and sat on the floor with her, building stacks as high as possible with the empty spools Ida had contributed for the baby’s pleasure. Four or five were quite enough, Susan decided, knocking the pile over, then squealing with delight as Jennifer feigned disapproval and scooped the spools toward herself. Then they started all over again.
After a few minutes Lucas came upstairs and watched the game from the doorway. Then he walked across the floor to where Jennifer sat with the baby, then sat in front of her, so Susan could crawl back and forth between her favorite people.
For almost an hour they played, singing songs when the spools became tiresome. Then Jennifer formed her fingers, and Susan’s, too, into shapes that went along with short poems and songs she’d learned as a child. She gave her complete attention to the baby, reveling in the giggles, the laughter and the kisses she stole from the soft little mouth.
“You’re a good mother.” Lucas looked at her with a tender expression that touched her deep inside. His hands were gentle as he held the baby, his fingers teasing as he tickled the bottom of her foot, her shoes and stockings having long since been removed.
“I’m not her mother, though. I wish I were. Perhaps some day I’ll—”
“If I have anything to do with it, you’ll have babies of your own, Jen. We’ll have a big family. And the best part of it is that we can easily afford it. My claim is showing good results. Even with Sandy as a partner, I’m adding to my bank account every week.”
“I never wanted your money, Lucas.” Her voice was solemn.
“I know that. But I want you to know that I’m planning on giving you a good life, Jen. Maybe not now, since you’re so dead set on staying here, but one day.”
She glanced out the window to where the sun had set, leaving only a pale pink cast in the western sky. “It’s time to get Susan ready for bed.”
“Changing the subject?” He grinned at her and got to his feet. “I can take a hint, sweetheart. I’m leaving.”
SHE WAITED until the parade of men had passed her door, until it was fully dark outside and Susan was sound asleep in the middle of the big bed. Her nightgown was all-concealing, her feet bare, her hair hanging down to her waist, brushed and wavy. And her hands were trembling.
She opened her bedroom door and closed it behind herself. Should Susan awake, which was very unlikely, she couldn’t escape the room, given the presence of the large watchdog who never strayed far from the baby’s side. And besides, Jennifer would hear her should the baby fall from the bed and head for the door.
The hallway seemed wider than before as she crossed the runner Ida kept to muffle footsteps there. And Lucas’s door was closed. But not locked, he’d said.
She turned the handle and pushed the door open a bit, looking in to find him lying in bed, turned from her, facing the window. She thought he stirred and she hesitated, then went into the room and closed the door.
In less than a second, Lucas was facing her, a gun in his hand. Jennifer stifled a cry, lifting a hand to her mouth, lest she be heard. At that Lucas dropped the pistol beside him.
“Don’t ever sneak up on me,” he said harshly.
“I didn’t know you slept with a gun.” She approached him, watching as he took the weapon and deposited it on the floor by the bed.
“Most men do,” he said. “And for good reason. You never know who’ll be after your claim, especially when it’s as rich as mine.” The moonlight through the window illuminated him a bit, enough to tell that he was unclothed above the waist. And she’d be willing to bet that he wore nothing beneath the sheet, either.
Perhaps this had been a bad idea. And at that thought, she moved to the door.
“Where are you going, Jen? Lost your nerve?”
She thought amusement touched his tone and she turned to him. “No. I never had much nerve to begin with, Lucas. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Talk? Then come on over and sit down.” He patted the bed beside himself and waited.
She complied, because she didn’t know what else to do. She’d been caught in a lie and made to look a fool in front of him.
But his next words belied that idea. “I’ve been hoping you’d come to see me. I didn’t want to waken Susan, or I’d have crossed the hall myself.” He touched her arm, then reached for her hand, tugging her closer. “Come on, sweetheart. Lie down with me. I promise not to—”
His words halted as if he would not speak an untruth to her and she almost laughed. “You promise not to what? Make love to me? Keep me here all night?” She bent closer to him, touching his forehead with her lips for a moment. “What, Lucas? What will you do with me?”
“You know what I’d like to do, Jen. But I won’t. I won’t give you the chance to point a finger at me in the morning and accuse me of forcing you into something against your will.”
“What will you do, then?” She kissed him again and felt the control he exerted over his body, his hand tightening on hers, his body rigid beside her hip.
“Lie down here and I’ll show you.” He waited then and she lifted her feet to the bed, lying beside him, her head on the pillow. He pulled her closer, his arm around her waist, his hand tucked against her ribs, and she thought she might cease breathing.
He was so careful as he gentled her, his hand turning her toward him, his mouth touching hers with soft kisses that seduced her even as he held her apart from his body.
She shifted and he held her. “Lie still.” It was a command, and she followed it, uncertain now what she should do. “I’m not going to make love to you,” he said. “I only want to hold you.” And then he laughed, a rough, growling sound that seemed to come from his depths. “No, that’s a lie,” he said.
His tone deepened and his voice softened. “I want to do much more than that. But first I want to prove to you that there’s more to marriage than making love. I want you to know that I need more from you than the joining of our bodies, though that appeals to me in a mighty way, sweetheart. I want you to know that my need for you will last through out the days of your child-bearing, including your lying-in time, when I have to leave you in peace no matter how great my desire for you.
“I’ll still want you when your hair is white and your face is wrinkled. When you have aches and pains and perhaps illness we can’t foresee now. Even then, I’ll want you, Jen. Even then.”
She curled against him, uncaring that he had turned her away in her quest to seduce him. Uncaring that he would not make love with her tonight. Only able to hold him close, spend her kisses against his face, her arms circling his neck, her body warming against his. For the words he had just spoken were those of a man to the woma
n he loved, and the thought of Lucas feeling such an emotion for her was almost more than she could take in. She only knew that he’d made it possible for her to want to seduce him.
“When?”
He knew what she asked, and his answer was quick. “When the time is right. Then we’ll make love, Jen. And not until then. I rushed you into it the last time. I didn’t give you a choice and I was wrong. I came pretty close to forcing you and I’ll never do that again.”
He released her and turned on to his back. “Now go back to Susan. You need to be there for her, and I don’t think I can keep you here any longer without breaking my promise to myself.”
She rolled from him and stood beside the bed. “I wouldn’t have turned you down, Lucas. I came in here ready to… Well, you know why I came in here, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know. But I know it’s not the right time for us, Jen. I want you to still like me in the morning.”
She was silent for a moment and then she touched his bare shoulder with her fingertips. “I’ll always like you, Lucas. Much more than I should, I’m afraid.”
She crossed to the door and then found her bed.
JENNIFER SMILED AT HIM as he entered the dining room and once more he congratulated himself on the self-control he’d wielded last night. It had been the right move, of that he was certain. Had he taken her offer last night, she’d be feeling embarrassed today, maybe resentful of him. As it was she smiled and handed him the baby before she carried the last of the food to the table, then sat next to him.
“I’ll take her.” She held out her hands, but Lucas shook his head.
“I’ll feed her.” A spoonful of oatmeal found its way to Susan’s mouth and she smacked her lips.
“Mmm…” she cooed, grinning, showing off the new teeth that glistened like white pearls. Again he offered the spoon and once more she accepted the offering as if it were her due.
Big Sky Rancher Page 19