Forever, Victoria

by Dorothy Garlock

  His horse was saddled and he was rolling his blankets into a thick tube to tie behind the saddle. Old Hitch was giving Pete some advice about one of his horse’s hoofs, but his voice hardly reached Victoria’s ears. Her senses recognized only the tall man in the sheepskin coat with the battered black hat on the dark head she had held to her breast just hours before.

  They didn’t speak. Mason finished tying the bedroll and with a firm hand beneath her elbow drew her back between the buildings and into his arms.

  “What a time to have to leave you.” His voice was husky, teasing, tender, and his lips nuzzled her ear. “You smell good and feel better!”

  Her arms tightened around him. “You, too.”

  The feel of her warm body against his and the scent of her filled his head. Mason swallowed hard, because he wanted her so much and he didn’t want to leave her. His hand moved up and down her back and over her rounded hips, pulling her closer.

  “This week will seem a year, but knowing you’ll be here waiting for me will make it bearable,” he whispered passionately and kissed her long and hard.

  She returned his kiss hungrily, feeling the familiar longing in her loins, pressing against him, her breasts tingling as they had last night when he caressed them.

  “Sweetheart.” He raised his head so he could look into her eyes. “Don’t leave the ranch by yourself for any reason. I’m sending Sage and Jim Lyster back. I figure they can handle ’most anything. Clay will be here, too. I’ll be back just as soon as I can. You can bet on that!”

  She gazed back at him, her mouth aching with love for him. “I’ll be waiting for you,” she whispered and her eyes devoured his face.

  “Kiss me. It’s got to last a long time,” he said thickly. His mouth parted her lips seeking fulfillment there, and she clung to him, melting into his hard body. The kiss seemed to last forever, both finding it impossible to end it.

  “Mason!” she said, half laughing. “Pete or Hitch—”

  He kissed her quick and hard. “You think Pete and Clay don’t know after this morning? I couldn’t quit looking at you, and I didn’t hear a word they said to me.”

  “Stop teasing me!” She ran a finger over his hard mouth. “They can’t know what we did, can they?”

  “Kiss me again, or I’ll tell!” he threatened teasingly.

  “Be serious!”

  “All right, but just for a moment.” He laughed and then sobered. “There was something I wanted to talk to you about. Clay is upset over the fact Sage is paying attention to Nellie. One night she went over to Ruby’s and Sage carried her back across the yard. Clay thinks she’s smitten. Has she said anything to you?”

  “She asked me a few questions about him.” Her amber eyes narrowed as she frowned. “Why is Clay upset? Does he think that just because Sage is a drifter that he’s no good? There’s a lot of men who drift until they find a place to settle down.”

  “The boys have heard talk that he’s a killer.” The quiet face studied her, his hand stroked her hair. “Sage is a hard man. I’d have to be blind not to see that. But I’d rather have him with me in a fight than against me. He’s worked hard since we signed him on. He’s damned good at rousting steers out of the bush. We were right to put him in charge of gathering the stock for the drive.”

  “My father liked Sage and told him there was a place for him here anytime he wanted it. Ruby knows him better than anyone. She says he’s driven by something that happened way back. The way she put it was, ‘He’s got a devil on his back.’”

  “That doesn’t do much to reassure me,” Mason said slowly.

  “Sage wouldn’t hurt Nellie! I once saw him lay a horse whip on a trapper who was beating his Indian squaw.” A troubled look came over her face. “Why can’t you judge him by his actions rather than by what men say about him? Of all the men who’ve come here I’d trust myself or Nellie with Sage before I would with any one of them.”

  “Even me?” He wanted her to smile again, and she did.

  “Yes, you!” She softened her words with a kiss on his chin. “Sage has never even touched my hand and you—” She hid her face against his shoulder.

  “And I’ve touched you all over,” he finished for her. “And I’m going to do it again and again and again.”

  “You’re impossible this morning!”

  “Yeah. Kiss me again. I’ve got to go.” He looked down into her face, his eyes twinkling, but a mock frown on his face.

  “Won’t they wonder where we’ve been for so long?”

  “Nope. I told Pete I was going to love you and kiss you and touch you here…and here.…”

  “You didn’t!”

  He laughed and put his arm around her and they went back to the front of the barn where Pete sat on his horse, a wicked, teasing smile on his face.

  “It took you a mighty long time, Mason. I could’ve kissed her in half the time.” He put heels to his horse. “Yaaa-hooo!” he shouted. The frisky mustang turned, reared, and took off on the run.

  Victoria stood in the yard and watched them ride away. Mason turned once and waved. She waved back and continued to watch until he was out of sight behind the stand of trees. She went slowly back to the house wondering how she could make the time go faster until his return.

  The house was cold. Before long it would be impossible to spend much time in the bedroom unless you were in the bed. With her shawl around her shoulders Victoria straightened the rumpled sheets, using the paddle standing in the corner to smooth the feather mattress. Her heart pounded furiously when she saw the indention in the middle of the bed made by Mason’s body and hers and wanted to do nothing more than to crawl into that place and think about what had happened there. But she had promised Dora the books.

  With a quick look around to be sure everything was in order, she opened her tall wardrobe, pulled out a small chest, and selected several reading primers. She had always imagined she would teach her own children from these books. She took out the small slate, framed in wood with the letters of the alphabet carved in it. Papa had made the frame long before she was old enough to use the slate.

  After closing the wardrobe she stood for a moment hugging the books and slate to her, her eyes on the bed where she and Mason had spent the night. Never had she known such glorious fulfillment, such extraordinary satisfaction. She placed her hand on her stomach just above her sex. Was his seed there? Had they already begun a child that she would someday teach from these books? She ought to feel disgracefully wanton; instead, the prospect delighted her. Would their child have Mason’s dark hair, his sharp blue eyes, or her amber eyes and tawny hair? Or some of each? A smile played around the corner of her mouth. If they had a boy she would ask Mason if they could call him Marcus, after her father. Martha would be a nice name for a girl even if her mother had thought it dull.

  A sound drew her attention to the doorway. She looked up smiling, half expecting to see Mason standing there. It was Dora.

  “Did you find the books?”

  “Yes, and I was just coming back to the kitchen where it’s warm. Brr…it’s cold in here. Don’t you have a shawl?” Dora’s teeth were chattering from the cold.

  She shook her head. “I’ve got a coat.”

  Victoria reached into the wardrobe and brought out a blue knit cape. “This is called a hug-me-tight and you can use it until we can make one for you.” A string with tasseled ends ran down the length of the shawl. Victoria pulled the string, gathered the shawl, and tied it around Dora’s shoulders. The cape came down to her hips. Victoria laughed. “It’s a little long, but you can make out. I’ve got some yarn and we’ll get started on one for you.”

  “You’d make me one of these?” Dora took the soft tassel and brushed it against her cheek. Her face was split by a huge smile.

  “You’ll have to help. Once you learn the stitch you can make lots of things.”

  “Could I make Mason a scarf?”

  “Sure. We’ll make him a red one for Christmas.”

&
nbsp; The morning sped past. Dora was an interested pupil, but could sit still for only so long. By afternoon she was ready to go over to Ruby’s and Victoria and Nellie were ready to have her go. They had not had one private word together all morning.

  Nellie saw Dora out the door and returned to the warmth of the kitchen. “I don’t know where she gets all her energy,” she laughed. “It’s good of you to teach her, Victoria.” Nellie’s slightly flushed cheeks made her blue eyes seem all the clearer. Earlier she had caught a glimpse of two riders coming in from the south. One of them was riding a buckskin horse. It had to be Sage!

  Victoria placed the books and the slate on the mantel next to the clock. The log in the fireplace was almost used up. She selected several small logs from the woodbox and carefully piled them on the burning coals. When she turned, Nellie was beside her laughing with the soft purr of pure happiness.

  “Aren’t you going to tell me why you’ve got that shine to your eyes today, Victoria?”

  “Does it show that much?”

  “To me it does. I knew this morning when Mason couldn’t keep his eyes off you that something had happened. Oh, I could hardly wait for Dora to be gone so I could ask you.”

  “It’s so new, I don’t know if I can tell you about it.” Victoria’s eyes danced and she couldn’t keep a smile from tilting her lips.

  “Do you love him?” Nellie asked breathlessly, and then went on before Victoria could answer. “Course you do! I knew it! Oh, I’m so glad, Victoria. Mason loves you! He looked at you this morning like you were the grandest thing in the world.” Nellie threw her arms around Victoria and hugged her.

  “Nellie, I’m so happy I’m scared!” Victoria looked into the bright blue eyes. If she could have picked a sister from any girl in the world, Nellie would have been her first choice.

  “You don’t have anything to be scared of. Mason will take care of you like he does all of us. Oh, Victoria, he is a wonderful man, even if he is my brother. He deserves to have someone nice like you to love him.”

  Later in the afternoon, after she had watched Nellie make several trips to the kitchen window to look out toward the bunkhouse, Victoria brought up the subject of Sage.

  “Mason said he was sending Sage and Jim Lyster in to stay while he’s gone.”

  “I saw them ride in a while ago,” Nellie murmured and kept her face turned away, but Victoria saw her flushed cheeks.

  “Suppose we ought to ask Sage to come up for supper?”

  Nellie whirled around. “Here?”

  Victoria laughed. “He’s got to eat someplace. It’ll be one less mouth for Ruby to feed.”

  For a second, Nellie felt a thrill, but it faded in the face of logic. Indecision flitted across her face. Then she shook her head.

  “Clay doesn’t like him. He might cause trouble.”

  “Not in my house he won’t,” Victoria said positively.

  “Clay has no right to be rude to a guest in my house.”

  “But, Victoria—”

  “You’d like to have him come, wouldn’t you?”

  “Yes, but I’m scared!”

  Victoria laughed again. “You, too! Well, here’s what we’ll do. I’ll go out and invite him and you get busy and fry up some pies out of those dried apples. I’ll ask Clay to build up the fire in the parlor and after supper we’ll go in there and I’ll play the spinet and we’ll sing. How’s that?”

  “Oh, Victoria! I’m going to love having you for a sister!” Nellie grabbed her around the waist then pulled back. “But what’ll I wear? And my hair should be washed!”

  “You’ll wear that pretty blue dress of yours and we’ll give your hair a good brushing and it’ll shine like the stars.”

  Victoria found old Hitch in the tack room. “Have you seen Sage?”

  The old man hung the harness on a peg before he answered.

  “Him and that thar young look-a-like was a snaking some logs down to split fer firewood. Jim’s out thar a sharpin’ up the axes so the chips’ll fly.”

  Victoria circled the bunkhouse and went around to where the firewood was cut. Sticks of wood were stacked between the trees in long rows as high as her head. Scattered on the ground were lengths of sawed logs waiting to be split when the temperature went below freezing. It was easier to split the frozen logs and with the drive over the men would have more time to work on the wood supply.

  Clay stood at the head of the team while Sage unhooked a heavy chain from around a large tree trunk they had dragged down from the hills. When the team was free of its load Clay led them away. Sage saw Victoria and his hand went to the brim of his hat. Clay passed her without speaking.

  “Ma’am.”

  “Hello, Sage.” Victoria frowned at Clay’s retreating figure. “Is Clay being difficult?”

  “Naw. He’s all right.”

  “Nellie and I would like you to come to supper.”

  Not a flicker of surprise crossed his face on hearing the invitation, but a stillness came over him. Only his eyes moved and that was to glance toward Clay and the team and then back to Victoria.

  “I thank ya, ma’am. But I don’t want to cause no trouble for Nellie. I’d aimed to speak to Mason ’bout callin’ on her, but it never come right.”

  “There won’t be any trouble, Sage. Clay doesn’t know you like we do and it’s only natural he’s concerned. You know how stories spread up and down the trail. Some think every man who comes into this strip is an outlaw. They have to live here awhile to realize that’s not true. Besides, Nellie will be disappointed if you don’t come.”

  He took the makings for a cigarette from his pocket and, scarcely looking at what he was doing, constructed the smoke. He flicked the head of the match with his nail and held up the flame. When he looked again at Victoria there was a warm gleam in his eyes and his lips twitched at the corners.

  “I sure don’t want to disappoint Nellie,” he said softly.

  She smiled up at him. “I’ll tell Ruby not to expect you.” She turned to go, but turned back. “Has there been any news about Kelso?”

  “Word come down he’d hit Atlantic. Guess he’s driftin’ north.”

  “It’s still hard for me to believe he waited in the house and forced himself on Nellie. He must have gone a little crazy.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You’ll not go hunting for him, will you? Let it go, Sage. Nellie’s all right and Stonewall’s going to be all right.” Victoria could feel the tension in him and wished she hadn’t brought up the subject of Kelso. He’s like a coiled spring, she thought with a surge of alarm. “Sage! Kelso won’t come back here and if you go after him it might ruin your chances with Nellie.”

  He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring, and held her gaze firmly. “I mean to have Nellie, ma’am. If her brothers don’t come to terms with me, it ain’t goin’ to make no never mind. I’d a rather they was agreeable, it would make it better for Nellie, but I ain’t goin’ to put no strings on myself in order to please ’em.”