by Sandy James
“He has,” she replied. Her voice was clear and confident, but her face was crimson. “Not that anything that happens between Mr. Myers and myself is anyone’s business but our own.”
Gideon shook his head before shooting a threatening glare at Drake. “You sneakin’ son of a bitch. I’ll—”
Kayla stopped him by holding up her hand. “I would appreciate it greatly if you would stop cursing. And I believe I told you to release him.”
His eyes widened. “He was s’posed to be watchin’ out for you, not takin’ advantage of you. He was s’posed to keep you safe.”
“He did exactly that,” she said. “There was a break-in, you see, and—”
“What?” Gideon finally let Drake go. His explosion startled the plow horse that had stuck its head over the gate, probably to check on all the commotion. “What in the hell happened?”
Drake was the one to reply. “Couple of lowlifes from town figured she was up here all alone. Broke a window and snuck in the house, plannin’ to haul her off.”
“Mr. Myers handled that altercation well.” Kayla gave him a hesitant smile. “He was even kind enough to replace the broken window pane.”
Gideon’s frown showed he was less than impressed. “So you thank him by sleepin’ with him?”
As Kayla let out an indignant gasp, Drake reacted to the crude question by punching Gideon in the nose. As Gideon put his hands to his face, Drake tried to shake the sting out of his gloved hand.
“Don’t you dare talk about her like that!” Damn, but he wondered if he’d broken a bone in his hand.
Kayla hurried to Gideon. “Are you all right?”
He swept her aside with his arm and stood to his full height. Blood trickled from one nostril.
“Drake,” she said calmly, “could you please allow Gideon and me a moment of privacy?”
Although he was hesitant to leave them alone, Drake finally nodded. Perhaps she would be able to explain the situation in a way that would keep Gideon from tossing him out on his ear. God knew Gideon couldn’t condemn him any more than Drake already condemned himself.
With a nod, he left them and headed out of the barn.
Pulling a handkerchief she’d embroidered from her pocket, she stood on tiptoes to wipe the blood from Gideon’s nose. Thankfully, he allowed her to care for him instead of flinching away as she’d expected.
He mumbled his thanks, took the handkerchief, and held it against his nose as she stepped back.
“Gideon…” Kayla took a steadying breath, preparing for the conversation she’d dreaded but had always known would come as soon as Gideon and Drew returned. While she knew both of them would eventually guess what had happened, she’d hoped to discuss things with Drew’s romantic nature there to help curb Gideon’s inevitable anger.
Gideon started the interrogation. “How could you let that bast—”
She shot him a fierce frown.
“—that varmint seduce you? I thought you were smarter than that.”
She winced. That hurt, probably more than he would ever know. While it would have been easier to place the blame on Drake, she refused to let the rift between them stand. “You are quite mistaken.”
He arched one dark eyebrow.
“Mr. Myers…” Since it seemed silly to try to be formal considering the circumstances, she continued. “Drake did not seduce me.”
Gideon snorted before wiping away a few more drops of blood.
“Truth be told, I seduced him.”
At least he looked properly stunned by her announcement.
“Now that you’re home, I’m sure our affair is over. I won’t carry on so with you and Drew back at home.” She released a sigh. “I’m sure he would’ve grown tired of me soon anyway.” She immediately wished the words back. They sounded far too much as though she were feeling sorry for herself. That wouldn’t come until later, when she watched Drake ride away from her and never return.
“Why Kayla? Why him?”
Gideon’s question only made her shake her head. How could she possibly give him an answer when she didn’t truly understand herself?
“There’s been so many men from town who’d marry you,” Gideon said. “You turned ’em all down. Then you…”—he cleared his throat—“with him. He ain’t gonna marry you.”
“I know that,” she snapped. “I’m well aware that Drake is not the marrying kind.”
“And yet you…” He shook his head.
“Please, Gideon. This conversation is difficult enough. There is no need to remind me of my foolishness.” She caught his eyes, trying to will him to understand that the hopelessness of her situation wasn’t something she wanted to focus upon. “Please let this go.”
His gaze searched her, then his features softened. “You love him.”
Tears stung her eyes as she nodded.
“A foolish thing to do.” Gideon shook his head and let his hand fall away from his face.
“My heart is far less wise than my head.”
“That’s true for most of us.”
“I do not wish for Drake to know of my feelings,” she insisted.
“Why not? He might marry you if you told him.”
She only shook her head. The last thing in the world she wanted Drake to feel for her was obligation. If he decided to stay—which was as likely as the moon falling out of the sky—she wouldn’t let him do so because he felt guilty about anything that had passed between them.
“He won’t stay. You know that as well as I do. Once that blasted house of yours is done… He’ll move on.”
With a heaved sigh, Kayla nodded. Gideon was only giving her the hard truth she’d already faced. But hearing it said aloud was painful.
“What if… There might be a…” He took her gloved hand in his as his eyes shifted to the floor. “What if he leaves you with child?”
“I am sure that should such an event happen, I will handle things quite well on my own.”
Gideon’s brows knit when his eyes caught hers again. “If that happens, he should stay.”
“I will not use a child to tie a man to me, especially one who has no desire to be tied down.”
“You mean you wouldn’t tell him?”
“Absolutely not. A child would be a burden to Drake. No, should I…conceive, I can manage to raise a child alone. I have no doubt of it.”
“Kayla…”
“On this, I must insist. I hope you will honor my wishes.”
Several emotions played across his face before the intensity of his expression eased. Then he pulled her into one of his bear hugs. “You ain’t gonna be alone. You got me.”
“And Drew, no doubt,” Kayla said as she eased out of his arms.
His resulting frown the moment she mentioned Drew worried her.
“Why did you come back alone? Did Drew desire more time with his family?”
“His family. Bunch of dandies.” Gideon shook his head. “Treated me like a leper.”
She could see in her mind’s eye how people close to Drew might view him arriving to attend his mother with another man in tow. “I dare say that most people, especially family Drew has not seen in years, have little understanding of what you and Drew share. I take it they were…unkind.”
“They were horses’ asses, that’s what they were. Couldn’t take it no more, so I came home.”
“I see. And then, when you were already angered, you discovered that Drake and I had become close. That had to be a surprise.”
A scoff slipped from his lips. “An understatement, if I ever heard one.”
“You must be weary, Gideon. Shall we return to the house? I will warm up some of the Christmas goose, and you can get some rest.”
He kissed her forehead. “Thank you kindly, Kayla.”
“I’m happy you are home safe and sound. I am quite sure that Drew will be following close behind. The two of you belong together.”
* * *
Drake paced the length of the sitting room yet again
, waiting for Gideon and Kayla to return from their conversation. From Gideon’s strong reaction, there was only one thing that was clear.
Gideon wouldn’t allow him to continue sleeping at Kayla’s side.
That thought made something inside Drake lurch. It hadn’t occurred to him until that moment exactly how much he looked forward to being with her each night, to being able to hold her close.
He loved the way she always snuggled up against him, how she seemed to fit perfectly in the curve of his arm. Knowing that he might never enjoy that intimacy with her again soured his already nasty mood.
Funny, but it dawned on him that he was more concerned with losing her companionship than the fact they would probably not be able to make love to her any longer. Not that he wouldn’t miss that. He would. Tremendously. It was only that he’d grown to need her with him all the time, not just when he wanted to touch her.
A glance to the kitchen showed that Kayla had hurried to intervene between him and Gideon and hadn’t had a chance to finish cleaning up. Since he had no idea how long they’d be out in the barn talking things out, Drake figured he might as well get the pans washed and put away. At least he’d found something to do to keep his mind occupied.
As he scrubbed the last pot, the door opened and Kayla came inside with Gideon close behind. Drake rinsed the pot and dried it as they hung up their coats. He was conflicted over hearing about what had been decided in their conversation. Would he be banished to the barn or would he have to head back to town? Depended on Gideon’s anger, he supposed.
She favored him with a smile that did little to ease his worries. “Thank you so much for completing my chores. You will be pleased to know that Gideon and I also made sure your evening tasks with the animals were done.”
“Thank you both.” Setting the dish cloth aside, Drake slowly went to her, keeping an eye on Gideon in case the man wanted to inflict a little more retaliation for what had happened while he’d been away.
With a smile still on her beautiful face, she took Drake’s hand and tugged him closer. “Gideon and I have had a nice discussion about the situation in which we all find ourselves. He will keep our secret, but…”
“But what?”
“You’re sleepin’ in the barn now,” Gideon said. His narrowed eyes still spoke of anger, but at least Drake could still work on the house.
Kayla’s house. The one where she wanted to live a solitary life.
Without me.
Obviously, there would be no more privacy, and that made Drake concerned. If he couldn’t even whisper to Kayla without Gideon overhearing and commenting, there would be no way they could make love. Heaven knew she could be vocal when she found her pleasure, and any such noises coming from the barn would bring Gideon running, probably thinking he was defending her.
She squeezed his hand in return. “Will you allow me to me make you some supper, Gideon? We had a nice Christmas goose.”
“Thanks, but no,” he replied. “I’m tuckered out. Gonna enjoy sleeping in a warm bed tonight. It was a long, cold ride.”
“I built a fire for you,” Drake said, rubbing the back of his neck. His relationship with Gideon and Drew had always been friendly. Seeing the accusation in Gideon’s eyes hurt, making him feel like he’d taken advantage of Kayla.
Which you might have, his thoughts accused. The two of them had been stuck with each other’s company, and they were, after all, a man and a woman with the needs and desires of any healthy adult.
But she wanted me.
An inexperienced woman like Kayla probably had no true idea of what she’d gotten herself into by taking a lover. Drake should’ve known better.
“Good night,” Gideon said. “Thanks for the fire,” he said with a nod to Drake. Then he headed down the hall. A few moments later, the door was loudly closed, leaving Drake alone with Kayla.
Kayla gave Drake’s hand a squeeze. “I worry about you. The barn is so cold. Perhaps you should stay in the house tonight. You could sleep on the sofa, by the fire.”
He was shaking his head before she even finished. “I’ll be fine. We’re in a warm spell. I’ll get a fire goin’. I’ll be plenty warm.”
After a long sigh, she nodded. “It isn’t right, you know.”
“What ain’t right?”
“Us having to be apart.” Her eyes rose to capture his. “Your place is at my side.”
Her last words hit Drake with the power of a blow to the chest, probably because the more time he spent with her, the more he wished he could tell everyone that she belonged to him.
Even though his heart was ready to claim her, his head always overruled that notion. Only if and when he could give her everything she deserved would he let her know how much he loved her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Drake was pleased to finish the last interior wall of Kayla’s house the next afternoon. After leaning it against the other assembled pieces, he knew the break in the weather wasn’t going to last. He would have to take advantage of every temperate day to make some real progress on putting her house together.
He’d gotten much more than he’d expected done since Gideon and Drew had left, and he hoped they appreciated how seriously he was taking this job. Their approval wasn’t his main motivation, though. This house meant the world to Kayla, which made it mean the world to him as well.
“You get that under a roof,” Gideon said as he strode toward Drake, “you can probably get it done by spring.”
“That’s my plan,” Drake replied. “Sent word to Caleb and Ty to come help me get the walls up and the roof on. They’re s’posed to come out here tomorrow. Care to join us? Four pairs of hands, we can really make some progress.”
Gideon nodded.
Although Drake hadn’t spent much time with Gideon before he and Drew had left on their trip, he’d learned enough about Gideon to know that he was a man of few words. In fact, the fight they’d had over Kayla probably saw more words exchanged than Gideon had uttered in all the rest of the time Drake had been around him. So as he went about cleaning up the discarded pieces of wood, hoping to turn them into shims to use while putting the house together, he wasn’t surprised when Gideon began to help without speaking.
Working in silence, they were able to not only get the construction mess put to right, but they also knocked out the afternoon chores in record speed. It wasn’t until Drake was closing the barn door behind them that Gideon finally broke the stillness. “I’m gonna order some plumbing. You know, for Kayla.”
“Plumbing?”
“At Drew’s family home, they had everything indoors.”
“Everything?” Drake cocked his head. “You mean…”
“No outhouse or chamber pots for them. Nope. They had a terlet.”
“But what happens to the shit? I mean, somebody has to empty that thing, right?”
Gideon shook his head.
“Then where’s it go?”
“Goes down some pipe. Just yank a chain, and it’s gone.”
Plucking his hat from his head, Drake chuckled. “Ain’t that somethin’?”
“Had a tub with hot water. Kept it in a big tank. Only had to light the fire and then let the water spill into the tub.”
“No foolin’?”
Gideon shook his head.
After raking his fingers through his hair, Drake flopped his hat back on his head. As hard as that was to imagine, he loved the idea of Kayla being able to enjoy a warm bath without the laborious chore of boiling water on the stove and carrying it to the wooden tub. “I think she’d like that.”
“Heard Adam Morgan has a setup like it.”
“Well, then, I’ll ask where he bought the supplies, and we’ll get Kayla all fixed up.”
“Thanks,” Gideon said. “We get that roof up, it’ll give us time to work on the walls, windows, and such while we wait for the pipes to arrive.”
Drake glanced to the home site. “Was thinkin’ about other things we could add. Modern things.”
>
“Like what?”
Drake shifted his gaze to Gideon, reluctant to ask for anything too fancy. While Drake wanted Kayla to have the very best, he had to remember that Gideon and Drew were footing the bill for everything to do with the house. But since Gideon had been willing to bear the cost of a heated tub, perhaps what Drake wanted for her wasn’t too far-fetched. “I s’pose it depends on how fancy you wanna get. I heard that slate makes better roofing than wood shake.”
Gideon pulled his lips into a tight line, revealing nothing of what he thought of the suggestion.
“Thought coal stoves might be warmer than hearths, too.”
“Might be warmer, but gettin’ the coal… Wood’s mighty handy and we got plenty of it.”
“Then wood it is,” Drake said, pleased that Gideon seemed to be taking his suggestions seriously, even if he’d vetoed one of them.
“Let’s go with the slate,” Gideon said. “I think I can get that here soon, especially if the weather holds.” He squinted against the sun that was beginning to set in the clear sky.
“We’ve been lucky this winter,” Drake commented. “Only snowed in for a short spell, though the winds have been wicked. Kayla wasn’t at all used to snow like we get in the Rockies. She’s happier when it’s as warm as it is now.”
“Ain’t likely to last. Come January…” Gideon let the thought hang.
Drake nodded, knowing that it went without saying that Montana could be a bitterly cold and snowy place to live in January and February. Even into March and April. “I wanna get the walls up so I can work inside on the house when the snow flies again.”
With a clap on Drake’s shoulder, Gideon said, “And now you got another pair of helpin’ hands. We’ll have the house done in no time.”
Why did that statement cause Drake’s stomach to knot in dread?
Because when that house is done, it’ll be time for me to move on.
The more time he spent with Kayla, the more he feared that leaving her behind would be the worst mistake he could ever make. But how could he stay, knowing that she was a woman worthy of a man far above his station in life? She should be married to a man with wealth and power, not a knockabout cowboy, even if he was good with his hands.