The air soughed slowly from Colt’s lungs. Jenny knew better than anyone how assiduously he avoided sick people. When they were kids, he hadn’t come near her house for a long time because her mother was dying of cancer, and he couldn’t face seeing the ravages of the disease. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she jerked free and turned to face him.
“To answer your question, I’m fine, just very tired and very unhappy,” she snapped. “We should go back now.”
She’d already started back toward the house when he caught her elbow and turned her around again. “This way,” he said, leading her along the twin dirt tracks that had been created by wagon wheels more than a century before.
She went along but asked, “Where are we going?”
“You need to rest.”
She laughed. “Rest? You’ve practically got me jogging in high heels. I’m going to sprain an ankle—”
He scooped her up into his arms, making her cry out in surprise and grab his shoulders. He left the road, heading across country toward a single live oak that created a circle of shade.
She laughed at him uneasily. “Colt, where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere you can take a nap in peace and quiet.”
“I’ve got company at the house.”
“All of whom are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves with stories of ‘Huck and Jenny and Colt,’” he said.
He set her down on the patchy grass, then sat with his back against the trunk of the live oak, his legs stretched out in front of him, and pulled her down beside him. “Lay your head on my lap and relax,” he said.
“Colt—”
He tugged on her hand. “Humor me, Jenny.”
When she was settled with her head on his thigh, she closed her eyes and heaved a great sigh. The wind rustled the leaves of the live oak, and cattle lowed in the distance. A jay complained on a branch above them. They might have been a thousand miles from another human being.
“Thank you, Colt,” Jenny murmured. “I didn’t realize how much I needed a little peace and quiet.”
He reached down and pulled the pins from her hair, then ran his fingers through the silky mass, massaging her scalp where the knot had been.
“That feels wonderful,” she said.
Colt wanted to do a lot more, to hold her in his arms, to lie next to her, body to body. Instead he settled his hand on her nape, where he gently massaged the tense muscles.
“I’m not sure I could have heard one more story about Huck and me and you without breaking into tears,” Jenny confessed in a quiet voice. “Thanks for rescuing me.”
“That’s too bad. I’ve got one I’d like to tell,” Colt said.
Jenny’s eyes opened, and she started to sit up. “Oh?”
He pressed her back down and said, “Relax. It’s a good story, I promise.”
“All right. Go ahead.”
He could feel the rigidity in her body, the physical wariness. She’d taken so many blows lately, and he wanted to spare her any more pain. But avoiding the subject wasn’t the answer. Neither of them was likely to forget the part Huck had played in their lives. They both had to accept his loss and move on.
Colt brushed a stray curl from Jenny’s brow and said, “Huck and I were riding camels—”
Jenny’s head popped up. “Camels? Really?”
“Lie down and listen,” Colt said with a chuckle. When Jenny was settled again with her cheek on his thigh, he continued. “Huck and I were riding camels in Cairo, tourists traveling from one pyramid to the next, when he turned to me and said, ‘I wish Jenny were here, because she’d have the nerve to see just how fast this beast can go. We’d be galloping across the desert instead of walking sedately behind some guide.’”
“Did Huck really say that?”
“He did,” Colt confirmed. “And he was right. You’re an amazing woman, Jenny.”
She lifted her head and looked at him. “If I’m so amazing, why didn’t he come back sooner? Why did he leave me alone so long?”
Colt hesitated. There was no excuse for Huck’s behavior. There was an explanation. “He loved flying.”
“More than he loved me,” she said bitterly. She sat up abruptly, her back to Colt, her head bowed.
He saw her shoulders heave and knew she was crying again, though she made no sound. He sought words to comfort her. “He missed you terribly, Jenny. He ached for you. He admired you for taking care of your brothers.” He had never heard Huck say any of those things out loud, but he had felt them himself, and he couldn’t believe Huck hadn’t felt them, as well.
“I hate those damned jets!” Jenny said vehemently. “I hate—” A sob cut her off.
Colt could resist no longer. He wrapped his arms tightly around her from behind, pressing his cheek against hers. “Huck’s father had a great deal to do with keeping him away, Jenny. The senator didn’t think his son should be saddled with the responsibility of raising someone else’s family. It didn’t help that Huck was rich, and you were poor.”
“He thought Huck could do better,” Jenny said. “He told me so to my face the one time I met him.”
Colt bit back a gasp of disbelief. He’d known how Huck’s father felt; he hadn’t known Senator Duncan had been so blunt with Jenny. “Huck never let the senator sway him, Jenny. He always loved you.”
“Just not enough,” Jenny said.
RANDY HAD BEEN WATCHING FAITH Butler for almost an hour without going anywhere near her. Faith stuck pretty close to her twin sister, Hope, who’d gathered a crowd of admiring boys around her. Faith stood behind Hope like a shadow of her sister. It had been that way for as long as Randy could remember.
Hope Butler’s behavior was outrageous. At least, that was the word Jenny used to describe her. Her face was usually slathered with makeup, and she wore her dresses cut low enough to cause problems with the fit of a guy’s jeans. She smoked and drank and drove her car like a bat out of hell.
Randy figured she worked so hard to attract attention to herself so nobody would notice Faith. That is, so people would spend more time talking about the difference in their personalities rather than the other, more obvious difference between them.
They were both beautiful, with long, straight black hair they wore parted in the middle, and dark chocolate eyes and smooth, creamy skin. But something had gone wrong when they were in the womb, and Faith’s left hand had stopped growing. Her arm ended shortly beyond the wrist, and she wore a plastic prosthetic device with a metal hook that substituted for her missing hand.
Like most of the guys, Randy had been attracted to Hope at first. Some guys said she “put out,” and he’d been hoping he’d get lucky and score with her. Somewhere along the line, he’d gotten distracted by Faith.
He watched her now, standing serenely behind her sister, her left hand unobtrusively tucked behind her back. Faith smiled at Hope’s anecdotes and seemed not to mind that her sister was the center of attention. Faith never made a big deal about the fact she didn’t have a left hand.
Randy wondered if Faith ever minded all the guys paying attention to her sister instead of her, or if she ever felt angry or bitter about being the “imperfect” twin. He wondered what it would be like to date a girl like that. And shuddered involuntarily when he thought of that hook at the end of her arm anywhere near him.
He flushed with shame. It wasn’t Faith’s fault she was born like that. Remorse moved him in her direction. He walked right up to her and said, “Hi. I noticed your glass is almost empty. Can I get you something else to drink?”
She looked startled and frightened, like a deer he’d come upon suddenly in the brush when he was hunting. He was no more able to hurt her than he’d been able to kill that deer. “I noticed you from across the room,” he said.
That only seemed to make her more self-conscious, so he quickly added, “I mean, I was noticing how pretty you look.”
Her lashes lowered over her eyes, and two red spots appeared on her cheeks. “Thank you,�
� she said in a barely audible voice.
The more shy she was, the more protective he felt. “I wondered if you might want to go to the movies with me sometime.”
Her lashes lifted and she looked up at him and he felt his heart skip a beat. “Are you asking me out?” she asked.
With the full force of her gaze directed at him, he couldn’t catch his breath to speak. His mind had turned to mush.
She smiled at his confusion and for the first time her left hand came out from behind her back. “You must have mistaken me for my sister.”
He made himself look at the hooked hand she’d brought out to make sure he knew she was the imperfect twin. He shook his head, but was still unable to speak.
She smiled sweetly. “I’ll tell Hope—”
“I meant you,” he blurted. “I want to take you out on a date.”
She looked surprised again. “Why?”
He was startled into a laugh. “That’s a stupid question.”
She lowered her lashes again. “I meant it seriously. And I’d like an answer.”
He wished she would look up, but she didn’t, and he didn’t have the nerve to reach over and tip her chin up. He noticed they were starting to get attention from some friends of his, and he figured he’d better get this over with before they came over and started giving him a hard time. “I just thought it might be interesting to get to know you,” he said.
When she looked up, she caught him glancing at two buddies of his who were whispering behind their hands. “Did someone dare you to go out with me?”
“Are you kidding?” He saw from her face that she wasn’t.
“It’s happened to me before,” she said defensively.
He felt his insides clench and struggled to keep the pity—and anger—from his voice. “All I want to do is take you out on a date.”
“So you say.”
Frustrated, he’d already turned to leave when she reached out, touching him with the hook. He barely managed to keep himself from jerking away.
“Wait,” she said. “If you want to see me, you can come over to my house tomorrow morning.”
He raised a brow in question. “What’s going on at your house?”
She smiled and his loins tightened. “I’m in charge of making favors for your sister’s wedding. You can help. I’ll provide lunch.”
“All right. I’ll see you then.”
“Everything all right here?”
Randy was surprised by Hope’s interruption. He wouldn’t have thought she paid much attention to what her sister did. He caught the militant look in Hope’s eyes and realized she was there to protect Faith. “We’re done,” he said. He opened his mouth to say “See you tomorrow” to Faith, but shut it again when he realized everybody’s attention was now turned in their direction.
He walked away without looking back, because he didn’t want to see what Faith thought of his hasty retreat. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed about their date or anything, but he didn’t want to put up with his friends teasing him about it. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep from getting upset, and the more upset he got, the more brutal their teasing would be. Better to keep the whole business to himself.
“Are you all right?” Hope whispered to her sister.
“I’m fine,” Faith said.
“He didn’t—”
“I’m fine,” Faith said with a smile that Hope recognized. Faith used smiles the way a knight used a shield to ward off harmful blows.
Hope would have urged Faith to leave right then, except she hadn’t yet found an opportunity to talk with Jake Whitelaw. Not that he wanted to talk to her. Or even knew she was alive. When she’d said hello to him earlier, he’d scowled and replied, “That’s the wrong dress for a funeral.”
She’d bitten back a sharp retort. Since she’d only worn the dress to get his attention, it had served its purpose. Hope sighed as she looked down at the long legs revealed by the short skirt. Why couldn’t Jake have admired her legs instead of criticizing the dress?
Everything she did—smoking, driving fast, even wearing makeup so she’d look older—was calculated to make him notice her. But she might as well be eight years old instead of eighteen. All he saw was a kid. Someday she was going to figure out a way to convince Jake Whitelaw that Hope Butler was the woman of his dreams.
COLT KEPT JENNY AWAY FROM THE house as long as he dared, but brought her back in time to say good-bye to everyone. Her family and his were the last to leave, and they stood on the back porch together bidding them farewell.
“We’re so glad you’re going to be part of the family,” his mother said as she hugged Jenny good-bye.
“Colt’s a lucky man,” his father said as he gave Jenny a kiss on the forehead.
“You’d better take damned good care of her,” Jenny’s brother Sam warned quietly as he shook Colt’s hand.
Colt knew Sam was only worried about his sister, so he simply said, “I will.” He wished he could tell Sam that he loved Jenny, but it was too soon after Huck’s death to admit to such feelings. Besides, loving her wasn’t enough. Huck had loved Jenny, yet he’d left her alone to raise her brothers.
Jake was last in line to say good-bye, and Colt met his elder brother’s hard-eyed look without flinching.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Jake said. “I think you’re asking for heartache.”
“It’s my heart,” Colt said. “Let me worry about it.”
Jake gave a grudging nod. “All right, little brother. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
When Colt and Jenny were finally alone, they were completely alone, since Randy had escaped to the movies with some friends. Colt was surprised when he ushered Jenny inside to find the kitchen as clean as a whistle.
“I expected to spend the evening washing casserole dishes,” he said. “What are we going to do with all this free time?”
“I’ve got books that need to be balanced,” Jenny said.
Colt shook his head. “Not tonight. You’re too tired.”
“I’ll decide whether I’m too tired,” Jenny retorted irritably.
“There. See? You’re so tired you’re snapping at me.”
“I’m not—” Jenny cut herself off and hissed out a breath of air. She gave him a plaintive look. “I don’t know how to do nothing, Colt.”
“Then we’ll do something,” he promised as he slid his arm around her waist and headed her into the living room.
“Like what?” she demanded as she plopped down onto the couch.
“Well, there’s always necking,” he teased as he dropped down beside her. “Let’s see if I remember how it’s done. I sneak my arm along the back of the couch, like so.”
Jenny giggled as she watched his arm move snakelike along the couch behind her.
“Then I take your hand in mine, to kind of distract you from what my other hand is doing.” He suited word to deed and threaded the fingers of her left hand with the fingers of his. He waggled his right hand, which now completely encircled her. “Then this hand comes to rest ever so lightly on your shoulder. Voilà! I yam readee for zee zeduction,” he said in a terrible French accent.
Jenny laughed. “Being the very good girl that I am, I will, of course, pretend not to notice your hand on my shoulder,” she said, joining his game.
“Of course,” he agreed, returning her grin with one of his own.
“But secretly,” she said, shooting him an impish look, “I’ll be enticing you to do more.”
His brows waggled. “You will?”
She nodded, grinning broadly.
“How?” he asked, intrigued.
“Oh, in little ways, like making sure that our hands rest on your thigh, instead of mine.”
Colt looked down and discovered that their joined hands were indeed lying on his thigh instead of hers. He could suddenly feel the heat of her hand through his black suit trousers. A more intense physical response was not long in coming. He hoped to hell she didn’t notice. “Then
what?” he asked in a raspy voice.
“I’d lean a little closer and bat my eyelashes at you and look demure.” She did so in a way that should have been funny, but which merely left him wondering what secrets she was hiding beneath her lowered lids.
He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Then what?” and felt her body quiver.
“I’d wait to see if you took the bait,” she murmured.
“Look at me, Jenny.”
She lifted her lids, and their gazes caught and held. He lowered his head toward hers, drawn by her parted lips. He kept his eyes on her mouth, waiting for even the slightest indication that she didn’t want this to happen. Sure enough, she backed away.
“I’d resist at first,” she said, her eyes lambent but still full of mischief. “But when you least expected it, I’d turn to you and make all your adolescent male dreams come true.” She reached out with her free hand, caught his nape and drew his head down to hers, their mouths meshing before she slipped her tongue between his lips to taste him.
An instant later she was on her feet, wiping her mouth and backing away from him. “Ohmigod. I shouldn’t have done that.”
He was on his feet and headed toward her, his hands outstretched in supplication. “It was just a game, Jenny.”
“You’re right. I’m tired. I need to rest. Good night, Colt.”
An instant later she was gone.
Colt took a step after her and stopped himself. His body was rock hard with no hope of satisfaction, but he only had himself to blame. “What did you expect, Whitelaw?” he muttered. “When you play with fire, you’d better damn well expect to get burned.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
JENNY WOKE TO THE SOUND OF A HAMMER against wood. The sun was high and a warm breeze billowed the lace curtains at the open window. She hadn’t set her alarm because it was Saturday, and she didn’t have to make sure Randy got off to school on time. But it was rare that she slept so late.
Then she remembered. I kissed Colt last night. And not by accident. I wanted it to happen. I helped it to happen. And I could have done a lot more. He wouldn’t have stopped me.
Hawk's Way Grooms Page 24