Midnight Secrets

by Janelle Taylor

  CHAPTER 22

  Ginny, Stone, and Matt arrived in Colorado City near dusk on Monday without any problems befalling them on the trail.’ They reached Hattie Sue Pearl’s boardinghouse and astonished the woman with their story about Kinnon being arrested for the murder of Clayton Cassidy. Nothing was mentioned about the silver strike, but they told her they had all worked together to set a trap for Frank and it had succeeded. The woman was delighted to meet Stone and Matt and fascinated by the exciting tale.

  Following the delicious meal she prepared for them, Stone and Ginny took a stroll while Matt and Hattie talked and laughed over a cup of coffee.

  At the corral, Stone gazed at her and noticed how moonlight flowed like silky water over her. It brought out the golden tones in her hair and skin as if to announce her value. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. “I can’t even glance at you without wanting you. How do you have such power over me?” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He quivered with desire. His lips roamed her face, sampling every inch of its satiny texture. His hand moved her long tresses aside so he could taste her neck and nuzzle her ear. His playful nips caused her to tremble and giggle. “Ginny love, you’re driving me wild and I can’t have you tonight. A month seems like forever.”

  Her fingertips trekked over his face as she replied, “It’s twenty-six days, my love, and it does sound like forever. How shall we manage until then? We haven’t been alone for days. With our separate trips staring us in the face, we won’t even see each other for two weeks. Why can’t we travel together? I have a horse, too. Father could rent one instead of using mine and selling him before he leaves. Besides, we’ve been on the trail in private before. Why must I go by stage? I’m dying for you.”

  Stone’s fingers stroked her curls and caressed her face. They moved over her lips, and both trembled with mounting desire. “I know, love, but we can’t sneak off together from Matt. And there’s no way me and Chuune could keep pace with a near runaway stage. We’ll head south and swing over to Dallas and reach there about the same time you do. Then, woman, I won’t ever let you out of my sight again. For now, we’ll have to be satisfied with stolen kisses and hugs. At least we’re together.”

  “For one more day, and for the rest of our lives after we reach Texas. Two weeks without even seeing you…” She rested her head against his chest and listened to the steady drumming of his heart. “It would be easier if I didn’t know what it was like to have you completely. I never want to be separated from you again.”

  “You know I can’t sell Chuune or leave him behind,” he said, gazing fondly at the sorrel.

  “I know. Who would have thought I’d become jealous of a horse?”

  They shared laughter, then remained there for an hour, holding each other and sharing kisses and talking of their future.

  Ginny’s body felt light and her head dreamy. His lips were sweet and stirring each time they captured hers. His fingers drifted up and down her back, an action more stimulating than soothing. Her arms encircled his body as her mouth fastened with greed to his.

  When their passions threatened to kindle too high, Stone suggested they go inside before they lost their heads. With reluctance, she agreed, and Ginny went to her rooms to cool her blazing body and to long for the day her lover would be at her side.

  On Tuesday, the investors in the future Ginny M. Mine arrived to discuss business with Matt in private. Captain Andrew Lynch had met with them and reported the successful trap and Matt’s impending trip to Colorado City. They were not upset about learning there was a previously unknown partner in the company and seemed pleased to meet Stone Chapman. They decided to keep the news concealed for as long as possible.

  Afterward, Stone telegraphed his parents to relate their victory and their imminent departure for Texas tomorrow. With a stroke of luck, he met an ex-soldier who was heading home to Texas and hired him to deliver Chuune to the ranch. He knew the sorrel understood when he whispered in the stallion’s ear to go with the other man.

  It was at the evening meal that the two young lovers noticed how taken Matt and Hattie seemed to be with each other.

  When they strolled again after supper, Stone and Ginny held hands as they kept looking at each other, smiling and halting every few minutes to kiss and embrace. Aware of the peril of becoming too aroused, they made certain to control their heady desire, also aware it wouldn’t be for long.

  Stone grinned and hinted, “I have a big surprise for you, woman.”

  “What? Tell me.”

  “I’m coming with you on the stage tomorrow.” He explained the details.

  Thursday morning, July eleventh, Ginny and Stone left by stage for the Chapman ranch. Matt remained behind to conclude his business in time to leave by the following Friday to join them. The journey through Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Territory to reach Texas didn’t seem as long and as monotonous to Ginny as the trip in the opposite direction had, since she and Stone were pressed together in a coach for fourteen days and too cognizant of their physical contact during every mile. Also, two of the stops were made in towns with cozy, romantic, and private hotels…

  Ginny sighed dreamily in Stone’s arms. “This is wonderful.”

  He lifted his head and gazed down at her with an expression of mischief and passion. His eyes slipped over her tousled hair. “That’s what you said in Fort Smith,” he teased as his tongue traced patterns down her throat and across her collarbone to her breasts.

  Ginny’s hazel eyes sparkled with the memory. “You took me for a ride down a new trail, my lusty guide, and gave me another adventure I hadn’t known existed. Perhaps I should interrogate you, Mister Lawman, about where you acquired such knowledge and skills.”

  “Don’t be jealous; I’ve never used them on a woman before. You’re just so delicious and I was so hungry that I couldn’t resist tasting you from head to foot.” His tongue flicked over her breasts and made her quiver. His mouth captured one peak and tantalized it before doing the same to the other one. His hands caressed her warm and supple body, fondling each curve and mound and plane they encountered. He savored his potent effect on her. He shifted to lie half atop her so his lips could explore hers. He tried to go slowly, but it was hard to control his ache for her.

  Ginny responded with unbridled need as he claimed her. No matter how many times they joined, she never had enough of him and it took only a touch or look to intoxicate her. He sent her senses spinning. Her hands roamed his muscled back and shoulders. They played in thick hair as shiny black as a raven’s wing beneath the sun. Her flesh quivered and pleaded from his burning kisses and searing caresses. There wasn’t an inch of her that wasn’t sensitive to his ardent attack. Wild and wonderful emotions assailed her. She always wanted to travel love’s journey in leisure with him but his actions evoked her to race faster and faster toward victory. As his fingers roved down her stomach to seek out the hidden place that heightened her desires, she moaned and writhed.

  Ginny clung to his sinewy frame, surrendering her all to him in a near-wild frenzy. All doubts and worries left behind, she let him guide her where he willed. He was strong, yet his touch was as gentle and light as sunshine playing over flowers. She was like a slender limb being blown to and fro by a powerful wind that shook her to her core. “I love you so much, Stone Chapman.”

  “I love you, Ginny,” he replied in an emotion-thickened voice.

  Ginny rolled him to his back and almost leapt upon him. She dropped kisses as light as feathers on his face, then confined his head between her hands to ravish his mouth with hers. Her lips went from feature to feature as they traced each one. She wandered down his neck and over his hairless chest. She smiled and blazed as he moaned and squirmed as he’d made her do at their last stop. Her exploring hand trekked down his torso and claimed the prize it sought.

  Stone trembled and moaned at the stimulating action as her lips and hands played over his body. He wanted to let her continue with her blissful torment, but he
also wanted to seize her and make swift love to her. “Mercy, woman, you have me boiling like a pot of coffee on hot coals.”

  Ginny laughed and teased, “Like you perk me every time you take me? This is far more sporting when I participate.” She returned to work on him.

  Soon, Stone was compelled to flip her to her back so he could take them to the golden summit.

  Together they gathered priceless nuggets of glittering splendor. They wanted nothing less than total love, commitment, and appeasement. Their mouths meshed to prevent joyful outcries of pleasure achieved. They kissed and caressed as their sated bodies cooled and relaxed.

  Stone turned to his side and drew her into the curve of his body. She snuggled against him, using his arm as a pillow. Her fingers roamed the tawny terrain of his chest. Both were amazed and awed by how simple contact or a mere look could enflame their passions to such soaring heights. They loved and felt loved. They took and they gave and they shared. No doubts troubled their dreamy thoughts; no uncertainties teased their hearts. They were separate beings, yet one in spirit and goal.

  “You’re mine, Ginny Marston, forever.”

  “Yes, my love, forever.”

  Bennett and Nandile awaited the beaming couple when the coach halted in Dallas on the twenty-third. They let the cloud of dust go by and their loved ones get out before they rushed forward for hugs and kisses.

  “Heavens be praised, Son, it’s good to have you home again. Ginny, I’m happy you roped this boy and convinced him to settle down. You did what nobody else could, not even Stone himself you gave me back my son.”

  “He was difficult to catch, sir, but I tired him out and lassoed him.”

  “I’m sure my son didn’t put up too much of a battle,” Nan jested as she stood there smiling with Stone’s arm around her shoulder. Yes, she told herself, this was destiny; this was Stone Thrower’s rightful Life-Circle. Just as Bennett Chapman, she added with immense joy, was hers.

  Stone laughed. “How could I get away when I had all of you pushing us together? I never stood a chance of escaping three ropes.”

  Ginny relaxed when she saw that neither Ben nor Nandile held any resentment toward her for her deception. It warmed her heart to see him and his family so happy. It had been a long and tough battle to get close, but they had won it together. In the heavy southern drawl she had lost while living in London, she purred, “Stone Chapman, are you accusing me of using my wiles unfairly and charging them of assisting me?”

  His other arm pulled Ginny close and embraced her as he chuckled. He dropped a kiss on her forehead and smiled at her. “You needed all the help you could get, woman, and thank goodness you received it. I would have stormed my way into Colorado City if my parents hadn’t talked sense into me. They beat down my pride and forced me to see the truth.”

  “Let’s get your things and go home, Son. We have a lot to share.”

  On the way to the ranch, they chatted about the younger couple’s adventures and about the double wedding to take place soon.

  “What about round-up and the cattle drive, Father?”

  “Don’t worry, Son, I wouldn’t pull us away from our new brides that soon. Buck can handle them this year.”

  Nandile grinned and told Ginny, “Our men have changed, my new daughter, when their work comes second to love. I’m too dazed to think.”

  “Now, Mother,” Stone teased, “you’re the one who ordered me to go fetch this girl and bring her back. I’m only being an obedient child.”

  “You’re no longer Stone Thrower. You have become a strong and proud man, a smart one, too. The Great Spirit has smiled on both of us.”

  “Yes, Shima, He has.” It was good to finally call her his mother.

  The following day was spent in making plans for the double wedding in eleven days. Friends were written and ranch hands delivered the invitations to them, including those to Ginny’s four friends from the wagontrain who had settled in or near Dallas. She was eager to see them again and looked forward to swapping tales. She explained her ruse about being Johanna Chapman as necessary to protect her from vengeful attacks by friends of Charles Avery or Bart. She lightly glossed over her real identity and motives.

  While she was writing, Ginny penned a letter to Charles Avery’s sister Martha in Savannah to give the woman comfort and enlightenment about her brother’s loss. She knew that Negroes and Indians must be accepted one day or terrible times were ahead for all three clashing cultures.

  As they worked, she enjoyed Nandile’s company and realized—as did Sunflower—they got along very well. She listened with enthusiam as the woman told her many things about her beloved fiancé. Ginny wanted to hear more about the Apache people, especially her tribe. She wanted to relate the plans she and Stone had mentioned at the cabin but thought it wise to wait until she was certain they could carry them out for her band. She learned that Nandile’s parents were deceased and her tribe was far away. Yet, they contacted Nan occasionally to relate their whereabouts.

  Meanwhile, Stone and Ben went to study the site where the ex-lawman wanted to build his new home. It was located atop a rolling hill with verdant trees scattered about and a stream-fed pond nearby. One could see for miles from up there and the view was lovely. It seemed as if the green landscape fused with the azure heaven in all directions. Birds sang and a variety of wildflowers abounded in colorful splendor.

  “I wanted to check this with you, Father, and get your permission before I show it to Ginny. It’s close to you and Mother but still private for us, about a mile from the house. If there’s an emergency, a bell could be heard at that distance. And there’s plenty of water and grass. It’s perfect, isn’t it?”

  Ben eyed the setting, thought of their reason for being there, and sent Stone a broad smile. “Yes, Son, it is. We’ll start immediately, as soon as you and Ginny decide what kind of a house you want.”

  “We haven’t talked about that.” Stone laughed. “Big enough for us and children but plenty of space so they don’t get underfoot at the wrong time.”

  Ben chuckled. “Grandchildren… A new chance to do things right this time. I didn’t with you and Johanna. I’m sorry, Stone, and I’ll do anything to make it up to you.”

  “You have, Father, by acknowledging me and accepting Ginny. If we have any control over it, there’ll be lots of tiny Chapmans running around soon.”

  “Your mother and I will be overjoyed. I love you, Son, and I’m glad you’re home for good. Thank God you’ve forgiven me for hurting you.”

  “I love you, too, Father. I never stopped, hard as I tried. After I met Ginny and learned what love was about and saw how I resisted the truth, I came to understand what you’d endured because of those same things. I behaved just like I always accused you of doing. I was selfish, denying my feelings, avoiding responsibilities, punishing and hurting myself and others, and being too blind to see my mistakes. I was more like you than I realized. It’s a good thing we both changed and softened or we’d have lost the most important people in our lives. It’s over now. We have peace.”

  Later, Ginny and Stone visited Johanna’s new grave. The body had been sent by train to Vicksburg, then brought the rest of the way by wagon, as had the possessions that had been left in Savannah with Martha Avery.

  Ginny knelt and lay flowers where the headstone would be placed soon. “I wish she were alive and here to share everyone’s happiness.”

  Stone bent and clasped her hand in his. “I’m sure the Great Spirit is allowing her to do so where she is. She’ll always live in our memories, my love. She’s a special part of each of us.”

  “You’re right, Stone. Good-bye, Johanna, my sister.”

  “Good-bye, Johanna, shi-k’is ‘ikee naaghan,” he murmured, too.

  As Ginny looked at the mound, she knew the Chapmans loved, believed, and accepted her. And they would have done so even if her father’s last letter hadn’t been forwarded from school to the ranch to prove she had intended to come here in the beginning not
to impersonate Johanna but to visit as her friend. If she and Stone ever had a daughter, her name was ready.

  By the time they reached the house, the ex-soldier was reining in with Chuune in tow. The two seemed happy to be reunited. As always, it amazed Ginny that the animal was so smart, seemed almost human.

  Mathew Marston arrived on August first. He was beaming, and spoke often of Hattie Pearl. Two of the investors, mining experts, had been left in charge of ordering equipment and finalizing preparations. “So far no news has leaked out. I hope we can keep it that way until that lawyer I hired straightens out the legal entanglements of my marriage. I’m sure Cleniece will be shocked to learn she has two husbands. Hopefully she’ll also want things unraveled fast. I’ll decide later if I should keep out of Amanda’s life. That depends on what Cleniece tells me.”

  “What’s best for Amanda is what you must do, Father, hard as it might be.”

  Matthew nodded, then told Ginny that he had recovered the pouch of gold he had on deposit in Kinnon’s safe, and that the authorities seized control of the bank until its fate is decided.

  Saturday, friends gathered in the Chapman house to observe and to help celebrate the marriages of Stone to Ginny and Bennett to Nandile. They stood before the minister as he began the joint ceremony. “Friends and loved ones, we are gathered in this loving home today to join these two couples in the holy bonds of wedlock. Our Father in Heaven and all of you are here to witness this happy occasion. Who gives these fine women into marriage?”

  Stone said, “I do,” as he placed his mother’s hand in his father’s, then kissed her cheek. The three exchanged heartfelt smiles.

  “I do,” said Matt, then placed his daughter’s hand in that of his old friend and partner. He kissed Ginny’s cheek and shook Stone’s other hand. He stepped back to stand with the other guests, beaming with pride. He wished his beloved wife—her mother—could be with them today. Or Hattie. Matt’s heart thudded with excitement as thoughts of the woman far away came to his mind. He felt his loins stirring with desire. It had been a long time since he had experienced such potent feelings.