Dashing Druid (Texas Druids)

by Lyn Horner

Lil was the first to reach out. Caressing Tye’s chest, she delighted in the firmness of honed muscles and the crinkle of curly dark hair. The scars from his battle with the panther had lightened. With time they would fade to white. Not that they bothered her; they were a part of him.

  A tremor shook him; his hungry gaze seared her already heated flesh. Taking her hand, he led her to the bed and tossed back the covers. He laughed. “D’ye think we’ll know how to do this on a feather tick instead of in the grass?”

  “We’ll figure it out.” She ran her fingers down the groove of his spine as he straightened, and with a groan, he turned to face her.

  “Aye, we will.” Sitting on the bed, he drew her onto his lap and kissed her, tongue playing hide and seek with hers while his hand attended to her breasts. His shaft stood rigid against her hip, causing her body to thrum with excitement.

  He twisted, laying her on the bed. “I meant to take this slow,” he said, hoarse with desire, “but I need ye now, Lily. I can’t wait.”

  “Neither can I.” She clutched his shoulders. “Do it. Now!”

  Growling low in his throat, he sealed her lips with his, parted her thighs and took her. She welcomed him with a shudder of relief that soon grew into frantic need. He was her only reality, the link between them her only hope of satisfying that need.

  Deprived of each other as they had been, they spiraled quickly to an explosive finish. Afterward, Lil lay limp with contentment, her head tucked in the hollow of Tye’s shoulder and her arm across his chest. Feeling his lips graze her brow, she smiled and drifted to sleep.

  It was dark when Tye woke her with a kiss. She had no idea how much time had passed, but her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten in many hours.

  “Sorry,” she said, embarrassed by her body’s demand for food.

  Tye chuckled. “No need to apologize. I’m starving myself. ’Tis why I woke ye. We need to eat.” Rolling away, he rose to his feet.

  Lil heard him moving around the room. Then came the sound of a match being struck; light flared when he lit a lamp. Blinking as her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. Her gaze homed in on Tye, admiring his masculine form as he retrieved their food basket and brought it over to the bed.

  “Here ye are, a picnic in bed, me darlin’.”

  “Good idea,” she said, letting the sheet drop to her lap when he sat beside her. Her stomach sounded off again, yet, as he laid out the contents of the basket around them, she was less interested in eating than in the play of muscles across his back. Drawn to run her hand over that rippling expanse, she won a lusty grin from him. He cupped her breast and teased the crest with his thumb, making her breath catch.

  “You’re wicked tempting, colleen, but I need food or I’ll be no good to ye.”

  She giggled, pleased with herself. “Then hurry up and eat, Devlin.”

  They made short work of the ham and other leftovers Etta had sent. When they were both sated, Tye quickly gathered up the remains of their meal, stuffed everything in the basket and set it on the floor by the bed. Then, with a look that set Lil on fire, he took her in his arms. They made love slowly this time, wrapped in the lamp glow and a dreamy haze of delight. At the shattering climax, it seemed to Lil they slipped the bonds of flesh to become one spirit, a being of light and beauty.

  “Dear Lord,” Tye gasped in awe. Realizing he shared her feeling of unearthly bliss, she saw for the first time how his gift bound them together. Accepting it as the blessing it was, she silently repeated his prayer and drifted back to sleep, content in his arms.

  * * *

  Dawn had just broken when Tye awoke. He lay on his side with Lil snuggled against him, breasts molded to his chest, legs entwined with his. The feel of her brought to mind that moment of perfect union they’d shared during the night. It seemed like a dream, yet he knew it had really happened.

  Raising his head, he gazed at his sleeping wife. With her sable hair tousled from a night of lovemaking, her flesh rosy with sleep and her lips invitingly parted, he thought her the most arousing sight he’d ever seen. More than anything, he longed to wake her and seek paradise again, but there was no time. Gently brushing her hair aside, he nibbled her ear and the sensitive place beneath it. She came awake with a languorous hum of pleasure and sought his mouth for a kiss. He gladly obliged but forced himself to draw away after a brief moment.

  “Tye?” she murmured in a sleepy voice. “What’s wrong?”

  “Sorry, mavourneen, but we need to get moving if we’re to catch the stage to Denver.”

  “Oh! I forgot.” Untangling herself from him, she pushed up on her elbows. “What time is it? Did we oversleep?”

  Chuckling, Tye sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He pointed to the window. “’Tis early yet. We’ve time enough to enjoy breakfast in that fancy dining room downstairs if we don’t dawdle too much.”

  Mindful of the kind of stares Tye hadn’t wanted her to face, Lil donned her trusty blue gown. He’d said it wouldn’t bother him if she chose to wear her regular duds during the trip south, but it felt wrong to do that. She was a wife now; she wanted to look like a woman. She wanted Tye to be proud of her.

  * * *

  Traveling by stage and train, the journey to Texas was tiring and uncomfortable at times, but next to the cattle drive, it was like comparing a milk-fed calf with a wild range bull. Once across the Red River, they reached the end of the rails and again boarded a stage for the journey to Waco. There, they purchased mounts with the last of the ‘wedding gift’ Lil had reluctantly accepted from David and finished the trip on horseback. Choosing comfort over propriety, Lil donned her britches and was glad of it. This dressing like a woman wasn’t practical when it came to riding a horse.

  They rode onto Double C land around mid-afternoon. A short while later the homestead loomed ahead of them. Lil pulled up, heart heavy with dread.

  “Are ye ready for this, love?” Tye asked, bringing his horse to a halt next to her. “We can head over to the River T and send word to your folks that we’re back if ye wish.”

  “No.” she shook her head. “Putting it off won’t help.” She met his gaze. “Pa will be on our side, I hope, but Ma will be . . . difficult. Are you ready? Maybe you’d rather wait for me at David and Jessie’s.”

  He nudged his horse close, wrapped his gloved hand around the back of her neck and looked her in the eye. “You’re my wife. Where ye go, I go. Aye?” Then he leaned in and kissed her, leaving her unable to speak past the lump in her throat.

  Moments later they drew rein in the ranch yard. Lil had just enough time to drink in the familiar setting before the door to the house opened and her father stepped out.

  “It’s about time the pair of you showed up,” he said gruffly. With a wide grin he came to meet them. As soon as Lil alighted from her horse, he pulled her into a crushing hug. “I’d about given up on you, girl.”

  “Sorry, Pa. It took me a while to track down this stubborn galoot and convince him to come home.” Grinning at Tye as he dismounted, she was grateful when Pa released her and extended his hand to her husband.

  “Good to see you, son. I’m glad Lil managed to talk sense into you.”

  “Aye, well, she’s very convincing when she puts her mind to it.” Tye smiled as they shook and sent Lil a heated glance that warmed her all over.

  Then she spotted her mother standing in the open doorway. Her mouth was set in anger.

  “Ma!” Lil started toward her but halted when her mother stepped back and slammed the door shut. “Ma,” she repeated in a whisper. She was unaware of Tye’s approach until his hand settled at the small of her back. Turning to him, she couldn’t stop her lips from quivering.

  “I’m here with ye, love,” he said, thick voice revealing he shared her distress.

  “Fool woman! It’s time she let go of the past,” her father muttered. “Come on. We’d best have this out right now.” Motioning for them to follow, he marc
hed up the front porch steps and ushered them into the house.

  Ma stood kneading bread dough at the kitchen table. She punched it violently, never looking up. Her voice was iron-hard. “I do not want that Irishman in this house.”

  “Would you turn our daughter away, too, woman?” Pa barked. For a moment there came only the sound of her mother pounding the dough. Then she relented enough to answer.

  “She can stay, but he goes,” she snapped.

  “No!” Angry herself by now, Lil crossed the room to face her. “If he goes, I go. I’m his wife.”

  Ma’s head snapped up. Fury shot from her dark eyes. “You took a no-good Yankee murderer to husband?”

  “Yes. And don’t call him that.”

  “Betrayer!” With a feral snarl, her mother slapped her hard enough to make her ears ring.

  Lil cried out and stumbled backward, hand pressed to her stinging cheek. Her father bellowed something, but she was too stunned to take it in.

  Her pain and shock slammed into Tye’s head, magnifying his own outrage. Swearing, he strode forward and turned Lil into his arms. She’d gone pale as a ghost. Seeing the red mark on her cheek when she removed her hand, and sharing the hurt in her glistening eyes, he scowled furiously at Rebecca Crawford.

  “Madam, ye may hate me as much as ye wish, but you’ll never raise a hand to Lil again. Not so long as I draw breath, d’ye hear?”

  “Get out!” the woman spat.

  “Dammit, Rebecca!” Del shouted. “Tye didn’t kill Toby. He didn’t even fight in the war. I won’t have you ordering them out.”

  She glared at him. “They go or I do.”

  Del swore volubly. Scrubbing a hand down his face, he glanced back and forth from his wife to his daughter, looking desperate.

  Lil smiled sadly at Tye, and he reluctantly let her ease out of his embrace. Facing her father, she said, “It’s all right, Pa. We’ll go.”

  “It ain’t right. This is your home.” He cut a condemning glance at his wife, who stubbornly ignored him.

  “Not anymore. We shouldn’t have come.” Lil bussed his weathered cheek and turned to Tye. “Let’s go.”

  Del followed them out to their horses. He laid a hand on Tye’s shoulder. “I’m awful sorry about this. Take care of my girl.”

  “I will, never fear. We’ll be with my sister and David for a while, I expect, should ye need to reach us.” They shook hands and Tye mounted up. He knew Lil was on the verge of tears as she hugged her father, but she didn’t let it show. Breaking away from him, she quickly swung into the saddle.

  “So long, Pa.” Setting spurs to her mount, she galloped away with Tye rushing to catch up.

  * * *

  They received a far different greeting at the River T. It was close to dark when they got there, reminding Tye of the night he’d first arrived a year ago. But this time he and Lil made it onto the front porch without attracting attention. His knock brought David to the door. When he saw it was them, he grinned broadly and threw the door open.

  “Come on in.” Over his shoulder he called, “Jessie, it’s Tye and Lil.”

  Tye heard his sister shriek and drop something metal, like a cooking spoon, in the kitchen. Then she came running into the hall, an apron draped over her expanding middle. As on that other occasion, she greeted him with a fierce hug and tears of gladness. She even found a stiff smile for Lil.

  David welcomed Lil with a brief, brotherly embrace and slapped Tye on the back. “I was about ready to come looking for you both. Jessie’s been driving me loco with her blasted dreams.”

  “David!” Jessie batted his arm and nodded pointedly toward Lil, who stood next to Tye, observing their exchange in silence.

  Tye laughed. “Ye needn’t worry, sis. I told her all about us.”

  “Ye did?” She gazed warily at Lil as if expecting her to make some scathing remark.

  “Oh aye. I felt it my duty just as ye did yourself before marrying David.” He winked at his wife, enjoying Jessie’s open-mouthed stare.

  “Y-you’re wed?” she squeaked.

  “Aye, we tied the knot in Colorado.”

  “But why didn’t ye wait until ye got home? I’d like to have seen my only brother speak his vows, ye big idjit!” Her eyes sparked with rising temper.

  “It was the only way he’d agree to come back with me,” Lil put in. “He did it for my sake, so if . . .” Her voice wobbled. “. . . if anything happened to him and my folks wouldn’t take me in, I could come to you.”

  Tye stared at her in surprise.

  “Didn’t think I figured that out, did you, Devlin?”

  “Nay, I didn’t,” he admitted in chagrin. “More fool I for thinking I could keep anything from ye, Mrs. Devlin.”

  A trill of laughter sounded from Jessie. “As ye once said to me, brother dear, I believe you’ve met your match.” Good humor restored, she smiled openly at Lil and latched onto her arm. “Come on out to the kitchen. Did ye know David added it when we rebuilt the house?”

  “N-no, I didn’t,” Lil muttered, clearly stunned by Jessie’s sudden friendliness.

  “Well, ye need to see it, and supper’s nearly ready. Ye can help me get it on the table while ye tell me all about your wedding. Ye wore a gown, I hope.”

  “Y-yes, a yellow one with lace trim.”

  “Yellow’s a nice cheerful color. It must have been lovely with your dark hair.”

  “I’ll be,” David muttered as the women’s voices faded to a chatter in the kitchen. “I never thought I’d see the day when Jessie would warm up to Lil.”

  “’Tisn’t so strange. They’re family now, and we Irish have a love of family.” Which was what Tye had counted on when he married Lil. The fact that she’d deduced his reason for insisting they wed before returning to Texas shouldn’t have surprised him. His wife had a good head on her shoulders, as well as being beautiful.

  Smiling to himself, he followed his brother-in-law into the parlor. “Speaking of family, Lil told me yours was increasing again,” he remarked, seating himself in one of the familiar chairs near the hearth. “I see ’tis true.”

  “Yeah, it worries me some, coming so soon after little Reece was born, but Jessie says she feels fine.” Crossing to the liquor cabinet, David poured whiskey into a pair of tumblers and brought one to Tye before settling in the other chair.

  “And what of Anna and your da? Are they well?”

  “Sad to say Anna passed on not long after you left on the drive. She caught lung fever. It took her fast.”

  “Ah. I’m sorry ye lost her.” Recalling the old woman witlessly rocking and humming a tuneless song, unaware of anyone or anything around her, Tye thought death a blessing for her, though he kept that opinion to himself.

  David nodded and downed a swallow of whiskey. “As for Pa, he’s not doing too good. His stomach pains him all the time, making it hard for him to eat. He’s lost a lot of weight.” He sighed heavily, staring into his glass. “I’m afraid we’ll lose him, too, before long.”

  “Och, no! That would be a great shame.” Experiencing an echo of David’s profound worry, Tye rubbed his aching temples. With the exception of Lil, another’s pain rarely broke through his carefully wrought barriers, but this was one of those rare times. He was relieved when his niece came running in, distracting both him and her father with demands for attention. Moments later Jessie called out for them to get washed because supper was ready.

  Baby Reece had already been fed and put to bed. The elder Reece joined them at the dining table to welcome Tye and Lil, looking years older than he had when they left for Kansas three months earlier. From his gray, drawn features and the way his clothes hung loose on his frame, it was obvious David’s fear for his father was justified. He picked at his food for a short while, then excused himself, saying he was too tired to eat.

  Jessie broke the gloomy silence in his wake. “So, Lil, how did ye manage to find my wayward brother?”

  Tye watched his wife swallow a bite of food and
aim a sly grin at him. “By visiting every hole-in-the-wall saloon from Denver to Silver Plume, Colorado,” she replied.

  Tye laughed along with Jessie and David. There followed more questions and answers, some lighthearted, others not. A bad moment came when David asked Lil if they’d been over to her folks’ place yet. Seeing her suddenly pinched expression, Tye responded for her.

  “Aye, we stopped by there earlier. Del bid us welcome but . . . Rebecca was less cordial.”

  “She told us to get out,” Lil said tightly, eyes downcast. As if by reflex, she cupped her slightly swollen cheek, where her mother had struck her.

  Tye caught her hand and kissed it. She looked up with tear-misted eyes.

  “Not to worry,” Jessie said firmly. “You’ll stay here with us, won’t they, David.”

  “Of course,” David replied with a nod. Then he frowned at Tye. “Did Del tell you Judd Howard has scouts out looking for you all over Colorado and Texas?”

  “Nay, but I’m not surprised to hear it. ’Tis only a matter of time before he comes calling.” Feeling Lil’s grip on his hand tighten, he squeezed hers in return. “We’ve known that all along.”

  * * *

  Lil reluctantly agreed to David’s suggestion that she and Tye temporarily occupy the Medinas’ cabin. Luis and Maria had recently departed with their brood to visit Maria’s family in San Antonio and weren’t due back for several weeks. Even so, Lil didn’t feel right taking over their home. However, Tye and David intended to put up another cabin as soon as possible, and in the meantime, this arrangement was far better than staying in the big house, as David and Jessie had first offered. It was one thing to share evening meals with them, but later, Lil wanted her husband to herself.

  On their first morning back, she stretched and purred contentedly when Tye woke her. He nuzzled her throat and kissed the tip of her nose, then rolled out of bed. She watched him grab his clothes from a hook on the wall and step into his pants, admiring the tight curves of his bottom and the sculpted plains of chest and back. Wishing he’d given her a chance to enjoy all that manly terrain before beginning the day, she sighed and rose to dress.