Another Dawn

by Sandra Brown

  It was a town radiating energy, and that energy was infectious. By the time they reached the building that housed Mr. Culpepper's offices, Banner's eyes were sparkling. Even the mood among the men seemed to have improved.

  Jake caught Banner's eye as he held the door for her. As she went past him he said, "You're looking right fetching this morning, Banner."

  Her head came around. Was mere some underlying derision in his compliment? No. The blue eyes burned steadily into hers. "Thank you, Jake."

  She was wearing the same ensemble he had smirked at two mornings before. She had folded it carefully into her saddlebag, knowing she would have to have it for their interview with Culpepper. This morning she had smoothed out the wrinkles as best she could and reshaped the hat over her hair, which she had piled high. There were pearl earrings in her ears. She knew she looked businesslike, but still feminine.

  And Jake had noticed!

  "You look nice too," she told him as they took the stairs. He was dressed in the same clothes he had worn to her wedding.

  "Thanks," he mumbled self-consciously.

  A harried clerk ushered them into Mr. Culpepper's office on the second floor of the building. The broker was obviously surprised when Banner came in with the others, but he covered it by offering her a chair.

  His was the office of a busy man. The furniture was a trifle dusty and his desk was littered with papers and documents and bills of sale, all of which looked very difficult to read and awfully official. The shelves behind his desk were cluttered with books and piled with ledgers and cattle registers.

  Lee and Micah took seats on the horsehair sofa against the wall, gratefully out of the sunlight mat poured in through the tall windows. They were content to let Jake conduct the business transactions.

  At first Mr. Culpepper addressed everything he said to Jake, but after Banner asked several incisive, intelligent questions and he learned that she was indeed the owner of the ranch for which they were buying the cattle, he reversed his opinion of her as being merely a pretty young lady who shouldn't have to be bothered with dull business details.

  Within a half-hour they had agreed on a price for the small herd. "Twenty-nine Hereford cows and a bull." Culpepper considered for a moment. "I have a Brahman bull that has proven to be of a... uh... romantic nature," he said in deference to Banner. "He's valuable, but I could give you a price break on him. Would you be interested?"

  Jake shook his head. "They do better in south Texas. I'll stick with the Herefords to start."

  "Very well. Are we ready then to draw up the bill of sale?" Mr. Culpepper asked.

  "Everything sounds all right," Jake said. "But I want to check the cattle first. Right down to their hooves." His smile was congenial, but his eyes said that he meant business.

  The cattle broker was taken aback. He had thought Jake Langston a likable enough fellow, but only a cowboy. Now he was showing traits of a careful businessman, which Culpepper had to admire.

  "Of course, of course. Shall we go to the stockyards and inspect them? Would that be convenient right now? We can take my buggy."

  Jake stood. "That'll be fine."

  Culpepper summoned his clerk and asked him to have his buggy brought around to the front of the building. They all went downstairs. Jake turned to Lee and Micah. "Take Banner back to the hotel. It won't be necessary for all of you to go."

  "I'm going," Banner said.

  Before Jake had time to respond, Lee said, "Banner, you can't go down there."

  "Aren't women allowed at the stockyards?"

  "It's just no place for them, that's all," Micah said diplomatically. "All kinds of riffraff hang out around there."

  "I'm not going to look at the riffraff. I'm going to see the cattle I've bought." She looked at Jake, her eyes daring him to forbid her to go.

  "Go on, git," he said to the boys. "We'll see you later."

  Taking Banner's arm, Jake led her out to the boardwalk where Culpepper was standing by with the buggy. He watched Lee and Micah walk away without Banner and turned back to Jake. "Will the young lady be going with us?" he asked dubiously.

  "Yes, the young lady will be going with us," Jake said grimly as he helped her into the buggy. He hoped he wouldn't have to kill somebody for getting fresh with her before the day was out.

  As it turned out they concluded their business without mishap. Banner was delighted with the white-faced cattle. Their curly red coats gleamed in the sunshine. She fell in love with each cow, though she gave the bull wide berth.

  "They're breed cattle, Banner," Jake said, smiling at her as she patted one cow between the wide-set eyes, "not pets."

  "I know. But they're mine and I'm going to name each one."

  He laughed indulgently. A bill of sale was tucked safely in his pocket. Ross would be pleased with the deal he had struck. There was good news from the railroad. The strike was expected to end at midnight. He had already made arrangements for their herd to be loaded on to cattle cars on the first train going to Larsen.

  Feeling as lighthearted as Banner, he clasped her around the waist and lifted her off the ground. "Well, Banner girl, we have us a herd."

  "And it's only a start, Jake, only a start."

  "You bet it is."

  "I was holding my breath," she said excitedly. "I didn't know if Mr. Culpepper would accept your final offer or not. You were wonderful. You sat there so calm and collected. I wanted to kick you on the shin for driving such a hard bargain."

  She squealed with laughter as he whirled her around, disregarding the odd looks being cast at them. "I'm a real big deal maker, didn't you know that?"

  When he set her back on her feet, he didn't release her, but left his hands encircling her tiny waist. Nor did her hands leave his shoulders. He gazed down into her sunlit face. Her eyelashes looked iridescent as she squinted against the glare of the sun. He could enumerate each freckle scattered randomly across her nose and cheekbones.

  The hot, dusty, smelly atmosphere of the stockyards could have been Paradise and he doubted he would have felt any better about life than he did right then. Looking into Banner's expectant face he didn't feel old and tired and cynical, but young and energetic and ambitious. He felt good about himself; he could almost believe that he might turn out to be worth something after all. Hell, at the moment he felt like he could take these first thirty head and, with just a half-smile from fortune, multiply them into the finest herd of beef cattle in the whole damn state.

  For the first time in a long time, Jake's smile came from his soul. It erased the caution that always lurked in his eyes, and eased the lines of bitterness around his mouth.

  "What would you like to do?"

  "Do?" Banner repeated. While his mouth was smiling and happy, she would like to taste it, to know this rare joy that was inside him. But her pride wouldn't let her ask him to kiss her.

  "Today is your day," Jake said when she seemed at a loss for something to say. "Name it and you've got it. What would you like to see and do? Let's start by taking a trolley ride."

  She didn't really care what they did. She had Jake's undivided attention and that was enough.

  They rode around Fort Worth, taking in the expansion of the city. They ate a roast beef lunch in a classy restaurant and toasted their new herd with a bottle of wine. Laughing tipsily himself, Jake refused to let her drink a third glass.

  They shopped. Banner dragged him into one store after another, but he was grudgingly permissive. She picked out an embroidered handkerchief for Lydia, a new apron for Ma, and a pipe for Ross.

  "Does he smoke a pipe?" Jake asked.

  "He will now."

  She tilted her head back and smiled up at him. If she had asked him to eat the pipe, he would have. She was thoroughly captivating with those dancing, chameleon eyes that seemed to change color with her mood. Her smiling red lips were capable of demonstrating tremendous passion and the least reminder of her kisses sent his heart to racing. A man could look at that animated face for a hu
ndred years and never get tired of it. Only the discreet cough of the salesclerk brought him around. He paid for the purchases and they returned to the hotel to freshen up and eat a light supper.

  He had consented to take her to the opera house for the evening performance of My Sister's Escapade. "Lee and Micah aren't joining us?" she asked as they made their way to their balcony seats. She had heard a furtive conversation going on beyond their adjoining door before they left the hotel, but couldn't distinguish the words.

  "They had other things to do," Jake said obliquely.

  "Wouldn't you rather be doing those 'other things' and not watching over me?"

  He clasped her arm and led her down the aisle toward the row number printed on their tickets. "No." When she raised her eyes doubtfully, he repeated softly, "No." They smiled at each other and barely had time to locate their seats before the play began.

  She didn't make further comment, though she hoped he was telling the truth. This had been one of the happiest days in her life.

  When they returned to the hotel, he unlocked the door to her room and followed her in. "I'd better check around." She lit the lamp and removed her hat, gloves, and jacket while he opened the door to the wardrobe, looked behind the drapes and under the bed. Dusting off his hands, he stood. "Everything's all right."

  "Good."

  "Well..."

  "Thank you for today, Jake. I had a wonderful time."

  "I'm glad. You deserved a day of fun." She looked so beautiful standing in the golden pool of lamplight. He Wanted to touch the front of her blouse just to see if the lace Was as soft as it looked. And her hair. And her cheek. And her mouth.

  Banner twisted the program she had gotten at the opera house, forgetting that she had intended to take it home to show Lydia and Ma before storing it in her box of keepsakes. "You didn't stay with me for that reason alone, did you?"

  "What reason?"

  "Because you felt I deserved it, that you owed it to me." She lowered her eyes. "To make up for something else."

  Jake tapped his hat against his knee. "I'll never make up for that night in the barn, Banner. I'm trying real hard to live with that." He stepped closer to her and gazed down at the top of her head. "I spent today with you because I wanted to."

  And that was basically true. Sure, he had kept her away from the hotel so Sheldon wouldn't have a chance to see her. But underneath that noble gesture Jake knew his real reason was that he had enjoyed her company. And he had had a damn good time. Even sitting through the silly play hadn't been so bad because Banner had been close beside him in the dark, her elbow resting beside his on the armrest, her knee occasionally bumping his.

  Now, when she raised her head, tears were making her eyes luminescent. "Thank you for saying that." Coming up on her toes, she lightly kissed his cheek.

  Jake battled with himself. If he took her in his arms and kissed her, really kissed her, he wouldn't let her go. The room was too private and the bed too convenient. And even though she might fancy herself ready to make love to him now, she would hate herself all over again in the morning.

  So he reached for her hand and kissed the back of it softly. Then, because Jake was more sinner than saint, he turned her hand over and planted a hot, heartfelt kiss in the cushion of her palm. Before he could talk himself out of it, he left her, closing the door firmly behind him.

  Banner watched him leave with mixed emotions. She had been disappointed that he hadn't embraced and kissed her passionately. But he hadn't gone to meet Priscilla or any other woman tonight. He had chosen to stay with her. All day he had treated her in a courtly manner, but she had sensed his desire simmering just beneath the surface even as hers was.

  She had two things on her side, time and proximity. They had the ranch in common. They had to work on it together. While they were at that, he would fall in love with her. She would see to it. It would take some doing, but she thought he was getting close. Satisfied with the day's progress, she dropped off to sleep immediately.

  Hours later, she was awakened by shuffling sounds coming through the connecting door. Rolling over, she smiled into the darkness. Lee and Micah were returning after a night of debauchery. She heard a quick, whispered conversation, then the opening of a door followed by a soft click when it closed.

  Someone had gone out.

  Without thinking, she threw back the sheets and flew to the door of her room. She opened it quietly and stuck her head out. Jake was retreating down the carpeted hallway, buckling on his holster. He was in a hurry. At the landing he turned and disappeared from sight.

  Despair settled over Banner like a heavy, limb-paralyzing, debilitating cloak. Dejectedly she returned to bed.

  He had waited until the boys returned, waited until he thought she was safely asleep, then sneaked out like a thief to go to his whore. Everything he had said and done today had been a lie, a lie to placate her. He had known her feathers were ruffled after last night, and he was only smoothing them to put her off guard.

  Oh, she hated him! She beat her fists against the pillow, imagining it to be his lying face.

  "I hate him!" she vowed softly.

  But in her heart she knew that she loved him. That's why his deception hurt so much.

  * * *

  "I'm sorry, sir, we're closed."

  "Not to me you're not." Jake shoved his way past the bouncer at the door of the Garden of Eden.

  "Miss Priscilla—"

  "Will kick your ass if you don't let me in." The bouncer had been hired for his brawn rather than his brain. He was twice as big around as Jake, but not nearly as agile and he knew it. Besides, he had heard of this man's temper and readiness with a pistol. Most mind-swaying of all, he knew that Priscilla Watkins's eyes lit up whenever this particular cowboy was in the place. "Is she alone?" Jake asked.

  "Yeah. I think she's taking a bath," he said dully. "I saw the maid hauling in hot water a few minutes ago."

  "She won't mind if I go in." Jake said the last words over his shoulder. He was already on his way into Priscilla's private quarters. He heard the languid splash of water as soon as he opened the door. He rifled his heels off the floor, not wanting his spurs to alert her that he was there until he was ready for her to see him.

  At the door leading into her bedroom he paused. She was reclining in the tub which had been moved from behind the screen in the comer. A lazy hand was squeezing a sponge over her breasts. Her head, with her hair piled high atop it, was resting on the tub's arm. Her eyes were closed.

  Jake leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb and silently watched her for several minutes. Something finally alerted her that she wasn't alone. She opened her eyes and saw his reflection in the mirror. She sprang up, splashing crazily, whipped her head around and gave a small cry.

  "Hello, Pris." He spoke softly, intimately, letting his eyes drift over her wet breasts.

  "Jake," she breathed.

  In the doorway, he stood tall and rangy and dangerous, though his posture was slouchy. From beneath the brim of his hat, which he had had the bad manners to leave on, something Priscilla wouldn't have tolerated from another guest, his eyes were steady and assessing.

  For just an instant, Priscilla felt a flash of modesty. The way his sapphire eyes seemed to flay the skin right off her body made her want to cover herself from his penetrating stare. Recovering, and cursing herself for acting like a schoolgirl in the throes of her first romance, she said, "What the hell are you doing here?"

  Pushing himself away from the door frame with a casual shove of his shoulder, he sauntered toward her. "Aren't you glad to see me?"

  She followed his progress warily. She wanted to believe he had come for the purpose she had always dreamed he would, but she couldn't trust herself to think that. "I'm always glad to see an old friend."

  He grinned arrogantly. "We sure are that, aren't we, Pris? Old friends?"

  Her heart leaped wildly when he straddled the tub with his long legs, standing over her like a conqueror. His pants
were black and fit the muscles of his legs like a second skin. His shirt had been pulled oh in haste. Most of the buttons had been left undone, revealing a carpet of thick blond hair over coppery skin. No bandana, no tie, no vest. Jake had been in a hurry to see her. Well, it was about time!

  It was exciting, the hot, passionate way he stared down at her, as though he might hurt her a little before giving her immense pleasure.

  "I'd like to think we're friends," she said softly. For once her heavy-lidded eyes and breathy voice weren't manufactured. They were genuine. She wanted to touch his thighs, to run her hands up them, but she didn't quite have the nerve. His eyes were glowing with a sensual light, but his bearing intimated untouchability.

  Jake leaned down and braced himself over the tub with one hand. Reaching into the water, he groped for the sponge, which Priscilla had dropped when she saw him in the mirror. Finding it near her thigh, he lifted it from the water and squeezed it over her breasts. "You look as pink and plump as a baby, Pris."

  Her body was reacting. He was dripping water onto nipples hard with desire for him. But she didn't want him to know how anxious she was. She smiled up at him cunningly. "I hear you like them young these days. Eighteen? Like the Coleman girl."

  Good, Jake thought, she's going to make it easy for me. He had asked the boys about their adventures upon their return from the Garden of Eden. But he had found out more than he had bargained for.

  "It was great," Lee had said, falling on the double bed he shared with Micah. He was satiated. "Sugar was great." He sighed. "Not real pretty and a little old, but she sure as hell gave me a workover."

  "And after her we had"—Micah snapped his fingers, searching for a name in his sex-besotted brain—"what was her name, Lee?"

  "Betsy," he said dreamily. "She was so sweet. I think I love Betsy."

  Jake, groaning over the misguided notions of youth, reached to turn out the light. "Better wipe that sappy grin off your face before Lydia sees it, Lee, or she'll never let you go anywhere with me again. And that goes double for you, little brother."