Summer Rose

by Caroline Hartman

  She stood by the sink, gazing out at the snow, which moved in great swirls across the lake. A neat, dark braid fell down the middle of her back. He came up from behind, slipped his arms around her, and nuzzled her neck. Her robe was made of the same soft wool as his. She turned in his arms, her body pressed into his, awakening all his senses. Nibbling kisses exploded into hungry ones.

  She drew back, gasping for a breath. “I want you to trust me.” She pointed to a stack of blankets and towels on one of the kitchen chairs. “Come for a swim.”

  “You’re joking.”

  Her face stretched into a wide grin, and she planted a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth. With a thrill, he suspected more facets of his new wife might exist than those he’d discovered last night.

  “Trust me. You’ll be surprised.” She picked up the linens, took his hand, and led him outside to the lake.

  He chuckled and pulled her into his arms, kissing her again. The snow blew inside his sleeves and under the hem of his robe. “This is a ploy to cool me down. Right?”

  She gulped a little air and lowered her eyes for a moment then lifted them. “Last night you asked me to trust you.” A corner of her mouth curled. “And I did.” She pulled in a deep breath and took his hand. “Now, I ask for you to trust me.”

  The snow swirled and danced around them. She placed the towels on the stone bench and shrugged her robe from her shoulders, then stepped from her slippers and walked onto the wooden dock.

  He dropped his robe on the bench. Tiny pins of cold pricked his skin. He looked up to a raven scolding him and breathed in the crisp, almost harsh, scent of pine and winter. Last night, in the warm glow of the candles, her body had seemed like that of a goddess. He’d told her, too. Now, in the gray mist of morning, with the snowflakes dancing around her, she seemed even lovelier. The cleft of her spine was deep, her bottom smooth and tight, and her legs were long, strong, and sleek. He smiled and decided her legs were now tied with the back of her neck as his favorite part of her body. She dove into the water; he kicked off his slippers, already moving toward her. I must be in love or crazy, he thought as he raced toward the dock.

  He braced for the freezing water, gave a wild Yankee yell, and dove into an embracing warmth. As he surfaced she swam toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Diamonds of water droplets sparkled on her thick eyelashes.

  “What is this?” he asked, his hands dropping to her waist as he found footing on a large rock ledge deep beneath the surface.

  “I told you. The water stays the same the year around. In summer the lake feels cool, in winter it’s warm. It’s the contrast. My father said there must be thermal springs. Some spots are warmer than others, but this pocket is one of the warmest. I believe it’s why my parents built the house here.” Her face grew serious and devilish at the same time. “Isn’t it wonderful?” She kissed his nose. “It never freezes. Micah warned us that we must never tell anyone about our lake, or we’d be overrun with bathers. We’re fortunate our valley is difficult to find.”

  She bobbed under the water and soaked her hair again, then handed him the sponge and the bar of soap from the string bag she’d attached to her wrist. “Would you please help me with my hair?”

  She turned and pressed her naked back to his chest.

  After loosening her braid and lathering up the sponge, he soaped her hair, her back, her bottom, and everywhere else. He took his time. A pair of eagles careened in the morning sky, screeching and sending echoes through the valley. He cupped her breasts, which filled his big hands, rubbing his thumbs over the nipples; he felt her intake of breath, and decided there might be a third contender for favorite part of her body.

  She retrieved the sponge and turned, her eyes twinkling, and washed him all over. Last night had cured her of any shyness. She kissed the frost off his moustache and pulled him low in the water, her strong legs tightening around him. She grinned as he shivered, knowing it wasn’t the cold that caused the response.

  Her voice came out low and throaty. “Kiss me again like you kissed me last night. I have so much to learn.”

  Her tongue flickered across her lips and he kissed her, producing the same effect he had last night. She kissed him back, using her tongue like he’d taught her. She’d figured out how to move her body all by herself. He finally stopped and held her close. His voice came out hoarse and low.

  “You’re going to find yourself in trouble.”

  Her lips brushed the skin below his ear. “You told me that last night. I like your kind of trouble, Major Charteris.” She moved her body, brushing against him in all the right places. Her eyes widened. So much trust lay in them. “Do you like that?”

  Desire, hot and furious, slammed through him. He couldn’t speak.

  “I want you to teach me everything,” she whispered.

  “Good Lord, Rosie, you are full of surprises.” He’d taken to calling her Rosie sometime during the night—about the same time he’d fallen hopelessly in love with her. “I think you may teach me.”

  CHAPTER 17

  PROMISES

  They warmed up on the kitchen floor amid blankets and towels. After breakfast they made love on the couch, then again in the bedroom. Later, sprawled on the bed, entangled and limp as the crumpled sheets, their hands still explored. The snow had stopped, and the sun flowed through the bedroom window, warming them. Her cheek pressed against his chest; he combed her tangled, still damp hair with his fingers.

  “You’ve exhausted me,” he said. “I think I’d better dress and tend to the animals. Come with me?”

  She shook her head. “I need to fix my …”

  He chuckled. “Have you noticed Chester’s mane? His tail? I’m an expert at braiding.”

  She peppered kisses up his chest to his mouth. “You’d braid my hair? You are too good to be true.”

  He swung his legs off the bed. “Just you wait.”

  After they dressed, he combed and French braided her hair, then together they saddled the horses and galloped around the lake. Nip and Tuck came for the run. They slowed the horses to a walk as they neared Forty Foot Falls. Snow lingered in patches on the north side of the rocks, and a fan of ice collected by the foot of the cascade. The horses drew close together and Summer and Daniel sat sideways in their saddles, facing each other. He braced his boots on Dulcey’s saddle, one leg on each side of his bride; she hooked one knee beneath her and leaned against his leg. They’d already developed a rhythm as if they were dancing. Daniel touched her cheek; the curve of her shoulder filled his hand. One side of her mouth curled; the other side of his responded. Their breath caught at the same instants, and their hearts drummed the same beat. He couldn’t get enough of touching her. Every time he looked at her, she seemed more beautiful.

  The story of breaking up with Mary spilled out of him, even the part about Fanny kissing him in front of Hal and his mother. “Hal wasn’t happy. You’ll love Fanny. She’s clever, and I can tell she cares about him. I hope he has enough sense to marry her. He needs to settle down.”

  Daniel paused and kissed her, and somehow she ended up on his lap. Chester didn’t seem to mind the extra weight. “Do you mind me telling you about Mary? It’s just that I don’t want any secrets between us. Ever. I’ll never lie to you.”

  He babbled on about how Mary and his sister were friends, and how her father and his father were also friends. “We all grew up together. It was her brother who damn near broke my jaw.”

  He considered telling her about beating Richie, but didn’t know where to begin. Plus, he didn’t want her to think of him that way. He fleetingly wondered if not telling her constituted a lie. He touched her face again and felt emotions fill him and spill over.

  “God, Rosie. I look at you, and I forget to breathe. I want my family to meet you, but I’m afraid they’ll hurt you, because they’ll be furious with me.

  “My parents aren’t like Hal’s parents,” he said. “To my family, marriage is a merger of proper blood and ol
d money.” A sardonic chuckle slipped out. “Or maybe it’s old blood and proper money.” He shrugged. “My mother had the guest list all ready for my marriage to Mary. She may never forgive me. It’s okay if she makes mean comments to me, but I don’t know what I’d do if she or Abbey hurt you.

  “I didn’t know someone could become so important to me. I’ve never talked so much in my life.”

  She ran a finger along his moustache and smiled. “I don’t mind. I love it.”

  He kissed her finger. “I know I must leave you. Too soon, I’ll have to go back to the war. It’s ironic, you know? I’m a major in the army, responsible for hundreds of men.” He pulled her into the crook of his arm. “But the thought of leaving you paralyzes me.”

  She placed her hands on his cheeks. “Daniel, I was here alone for over a year.” Her lip curled in a wry smile. “You saw me with the Spencer. I’m as good a shot as you are, and I carry a knife in my boot.” She moved to pull it out of its sheath. “I’ll show you that killing the snake was no fluke.”

  He shook his head. “I know it wasn’t.” He shuddered as he remembered the snake. “Your accuracy is uncanny, unbelievable.”

  “I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself. You. I want you, my love, to worry about taking care of you. Bullets are flying around where you’ll be. I want you safe.”

  All he could think about was how to protect her. He couldn’t just leave her here alone. Her brother might have been able to abandon her, but he couldn’t. A solution materialized in his head.

  “You’ll love Hal’s mother.” If Amelia comes to Washington, he thought, I can leave Summer Rose there. “Amelia is wonderful. She’s an artist.” He suddenly remembered. “Oh, and she met your mother once.”

  He told her the story about her mother coming into the gallery, how she’d bought one of Amelia’s paintings, and how the purchase had led to Amelia’s paintings becoming popular. Because of their popularity, Amelia met Harvey and they fell in love.

  “Hal can thank your mother for his existence.”

  Summer cupped his face with both her hands and kissed him with her newfound passion. “I won’t allow anyone to hurt me or anyone I love.” She growled, making his heart pick up its pace again. “I’m like my father, Daniel. I’m fierce. You think I’m a kitten because I’m a girl, but I’m more like a mountain lion. My father told me my skin was thicker than that of the boys. I can be very stubborn, too.

  “Daniel, I love how you love me. I never knew I could feel like I do for anyone like I feel for you. I want you to understand something. Nothing will ever separate us. Nothing. I … I would kill to keep you safe.”

  CHAPTER 18

  CHANGES

  Two days later, Summer and Daniel rode to the Zimmerman farm. She introduced him to Ezra and Margie Zimmerman and their nine children, who ranged in age from fourteen to a baby. Seven boys and two girls. Margie, dark blonde and round, with a little white hat perched on her hair, and Ezra, lean, bald, with a grand, shaggy beard, shook hands with Daniel, and hugged Summer Rose. Neither of them had ever seen a ring like the one Daniel had given her. They stood by the paddock fence, admiring Ezra’s new bull, and visited for a time.

  Daniel charmed Ezra, Margie, and their children like he’d charmed her. The little girls, Jill and Hannah, ages eight and three, hung all over Summer Rose. Jill hid her face in Summer Rose’s skirt every time he glanced at her; the older boys ogled Daniel’s uniform. None of them had ever seen an officer up close. He removed the bullets from his revolver, then knelt, letting each of them site it. Somehow he remembered all the names of the boys, even the baby’s name. When Sam and Jimmy asked to see his sword, he removed it from where it hung below his left stirrup and showed it to them all.

  “A great deal of practice is required in order to walk and sit with a sword, let alone fight with one,” he told the boys. “Chairs can be tricky. You can get in all kinds of trouble.”

  He rubbed Steve’s head. The sword was as tall as the boy. “You’ll need to grow some in order to wear it.”

  Daniel slipped it on his own army belt. Right away the sword stuck in his boot, then tangled between his legs, caught in the hem of his jacket from behind, and tripped him. He swung around and the sword caught in his wife’s skirt, lifting it to her knee. He scrunched his eyebrows like blond caterpillars and whispered, “You can get in a lot of trouble lifting ladies’ skirts.” When he sat on a bench, it stuck out between his legs. He had all of them laughing, even the little girls. He winked at Jill, who hid her face in Summer Rose’s skirt.

  Ezra promised to deliver hay and oats. “I just butchered a steer and a hog. Would you like a couple of steaks and some chops? I’ll wrap them and put them in the spring house for you.”

  “That would be wonderful. Please stack the hay and oats in the shed. I’m taking Daniel to Morgan’s Corner. He needs to send a few telegrams, and we’ll wait for replies. We might not be back until after dark.”

  As Daniel settled accounts with Ezra, he asked, “Would the older boys like to earn a little money by taking care of the animals? We may need to go to Washington.”

  Big smiles erupted on Joe and Matt’s faces.

  As they left the Zimmerman property, Summer Rose jerked her chin toward his sword. “Have you ever killed a man with it?”

  He nodded. “But I’ve actually used it more to roast steaks than to kill anyone.”

  “I’m serious. How many?”

  “I didn’t keep track.”

  He knew she sensed his discomfort, but she asked anyway. “How can you kill a man?”

  His eyebrows jerked up. “It isn’t difficult when they’re trying to kill you. You said you’d kill to keep me safe.”

  She nodded. “You know what I mean. How do you prepare for killing?”

  “I close all the other parts of my mind.”

  He’d asked himself that same question so many times, and had come around to that answer a long time before. He could tell she didn’t understand, so he tapped his head and ran a hand down his body.

  “Think of a train. I’m the engine. You’re in the first car, my friends and family in the second, various acquaintances in the third. My commanders, fellow officers, and my soldiers take up the rest of the train. I unhook the cars containing you, my family, and friends, and put those cars on a siding, then I hook on the cars containing my men, and we barrel full-throttle into battle. I’ve bonded with my men and they with me. Most will fight to the death for each other. Training takes over. And anyone who tells you they aren’t afraid is either a liar, a pompous fool, or an idiot.”

  His pale green eyes twinkled. “When it’s over, I shall come back to the siding and find you. And days later, after ravishing you many, many times, I’ll be human enough to see other people.”

  An impish grin slid across her face. “Daniel, be careful what you say. I may stop these horses and drag you into the bushes just so I can see what this ravishing is about.”

  It ended up they did need the boys’ help. Hal’s return telegram said General Buford was dangerously ill with a fever. He’d relinquished his command on the Rappahannock and wasn’t expected to live long. The ever-faithful Irishman, Captain Keogh, accompanied the general to Washington, to General Stoneman’s home. Many of his staff, summoned by Captain Keogh, had gathered at his bedside.

  In the telegram, Hal further hinted at a surprise. He suggested they stay at the house on 18th Street, the one kept by their fathers’ firm, Charteris & St. Clair. Daniel telegraphed back and asked Hal to convince his mother to come to Washington. He was counting on Amelia to solve a number of his problems.

  Hal’s return telegraph read: “Mother will arrive in Washington the day after tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER 19

  A JOURNEY

  “I can stay here and take care of the animals.”

  He shook his head. The thought of being away from her once the spring campaigns started made his stomach turn. A separation right now was impossible to even consider. He open
ed a small valise.

  “Put necessities in here and pack what you wore for our wedding. That’ll be perfect until we can fix you up like a major’s wife. Enroute wear your Kip attire and pretend you’re a boy again.” He grinned and shook his head. “You certainly made a convincing Kip.”

  When she asked where they’d stay, he explained how the law office of his father and Hal’s father owned a house in Washington. “They have clients in Washington, and they argue in front of the high court. They use it then, but most of the time it’s empty. A couple of clerks might live on the third floor. Hal and I have often stayed there.”

  He noticed her upper lip wobbling and wondered what was going on. In a small voice, she said, “Nip and Tuck, they can’t stay here. They’d starve.”

  He paused for a moment, looking down at her pale face. All her heart seemed to be there in her trembling mouth. The pulse in her neck throbbed. He knew, especially Mr. Stone, would have a conniption, and he had no idea how Harvey or Amelia might react to two dogs landing uninvited on their doorstep, but he knew, too, the dogs would not eat a bite without her signal.

  He smiled, one side of his mouth curving up. “They’ll come with us. What can anyone say?”

  She jumped up, hugging him, plastering his face with kisses. “I knew you’d understand.”

  He bought a mule, named Chauncey, from Ezra and planned to ride Chester and Dulcey to Washington, using the mule to haul gear and grain for the animals. The trains to Washington were slow and sporadic at best, unsafe too often. “We’ll pack our greatcoats and my dress uniform with the tent. They’re too bulky for a long ride.” He noted her confused expression and kissed the tip of her nose. He loved her more today than he had yesterday. “We’ll take it slow for the dogs.”

  They left early the next day, stopping in Gettysburg, where Daniel reported to the post commander. They then went to the Quartermaster, where he procured mess kits, ponchos, and extra blankets for both of them. They stood in the warehouse, gazing around at the vast stores of clothing.