Comanche Temptation

by Sara Orwig

  Honor listened to his deep voice and his speculation with a mixture of feelings. She didn’t want Aunt Lavinia living with them, yet as long as Lavinia and Stanton were under the same room, Luke would share a bedroom with her. In a low voice Luke talked about the ranch and Stanton’s riding with him, and in minutes Luke had his fingers twined in her hair again. She wondered if he realized what he was doing.

  They talked softly into the night, and finally she heard Luke’s steady breathing and knew he was asleep. She raised herself up, touching his hair, afraid to touch his body because he came awake so easily. The covers were pushed to his waist, his chest bare, and she studied him, remembering being held close against him. With a sigh, she lowered her head to the pillow and reached over to touch his hair, wishing she could move close and sleep in his arms.

  With dawn she stirred, and Luke was gone. She felt beneath the pillow and removed the key to the desk, dropping the ribbon over her head. She pulled on her wrapper and went to the kitchen to ask Dolorita to heat water for a bath.

  After bathing and dressing in a black muslin, Honor went to the kitchen for breakfast. Lavinia was seated at the table, sipping her coffee, her breakfast barely touched. Honor noticed that Dolorita’s cooking had taken a turn for the worse, something that had never happened before. For the past two days food was either not quite done or was overdone, too sweet or too sour.

  “Honor, you and Jeddy should be up before the sun,” Lavinia complained in a crackling voice. “It is sheer laziness to stay in bed after the sun has risen.”

  “Is that right, Aunt Lavinia?” Honor answered politely, seating herself and letting Dolorita serve her a plate of eggs and a biscuit and thick damson jam.

  Jeddy’s shrill cry from another part of the house pierced the air. “Help! Honor! Dolorita!”

  “That’s Jeddy!” Honor said, pushing back her chair and running from the kitchen.

  Dolorita and Lavinia followed as Jeddy came racing down the hall.

  “He’s gone! Zeus is gone! I can’t find him anywhere.”

  “Who is Zeus?” Lavinia said. “Good heavens, child, calm down. What are you talking about? Don’t run in the house, and whatever is missing is not important enough to shout about!”

  “It’s his snake, Aunt Lavinia. His snake is gone.”

  “His snake!” Lavinia screeched, pulling her skirts around her.

  “Honor, I looked in his cage and he isn’t there, and I’ve looked all over my room—”

  “What kind of snake?” Lavinia interrupted, her eyes rolling.

  “He’s poisonous, Aunt Lavinia, so if you see him, call me. Don’t make him mad. He got out just once before, and we found him in Pa’s bed.”

  Lavinia shrieked and sagged and Dolorita caught her. “Child, look what you’ve gone and done.”

  “Oh, my goodness.” Honor bent down to get Lavinia’s feet and she and Dolorita carried her to the settee in the parlor. “Get a cold cloth,” she told Dolorita. “Jeddy, that snake isn’t poisonous and you know it. It’s a harmless black snake.”

  “I forgot,” he said solemnly.

  “Jeddy!” she exclaimed in exasperation, knowing there was no way the snake could have escaped the cage unaided.

  Dolorita placed a cold cloth on Lavinia’s forehead, then held smelling salts beneath her nose.

  “I better go find my snake,” Jeddy said, turning and trotting away down the hall. “Dolorita, will you come help me?” he called over his shoulder.

  She shook her head. “I’ll help the child find that snake, but I don’t like snakes much better than your aunt does.”

  “At least you know it isn’t poisonous. And I don’t remember one ever being in Pa’s bed except the time Jeddy put it there for a prank.”

  Dolorita chuckled as she left the room. Lavinia stirred, and Honor held the smelling salts to her nose again. Lavinia’s lashes fluttered and she sat up. “What happened?”

  “You fainted, Aunt Lavinia. Jeddy said his snake is loose, and he and Dolorita have gone to look for it.”

  “No child should be allowed to keep a poisonous snake in the house! I’m going home. I’m not spending another night under this roof, and I’m not staying. You are both heathens, and you can just go to the devil as your father brought you up to do! He knew nothing about rearing children, and neither of you has the polish of a three-week-old apple. Get Dolorita to pack my things. I refuse to go back into that bedroom and encounter a reptile.”

  “Aunt Lavinia, the snake is only about four feet long and I’m sure Jeddy and Dolorita will find him.”

  “You do as I say, missy, and do it now! Don’t talk to me again about a snake.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Honor said, her heart leaping. She was heartily glad to hear Aunt Lavinia say she would go, but as swiftly as jubilation came, she realized if Uncle Stanton also went, she would no longer be sharing the room at night with Luke. Longing for the special moments at night when she could talk to Luke and listen to him in the close intimacy of their bedroom, she bit her lip, wondering whether she should try to calm Lavinia or be thankful to be free of her.

  “You get one of the men to hitch up the buggy and drive me home. Stanton can come when he pleases, but I am not staying here one minute longer than I have to.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Honor answered, hoping that Stanton would stay and suspecting he would. She hurried to the barn to try to find any of the men, but everyone was away from the house. She returned to meet Dolorita in the kitchen.

  “We found the snake and it’s back in its cage. I’m taking her hot tea and then I was told to pack her things.”

  “I have to find someone to drive her home, and all the men are gone.”

  “Someone may be back,” Dolorita said with a nod of her head. “I’ll keep watch.”

  “Did you tell her the snake is back in its cage?”

  “Indeed, I did. Jeddy has gone to ride with Mr. McCloud.”

  Honor wished she could ride with Luke and miss having to sit with Lavinia until a driver showed up. “Get her things packed. I’ll take her the tea.”

  “You might as well have a cup yourself.”

  Honor carried white china cups and saucers into the parlor and sat down across from Lavinia. “None of the men are here, but as soon as possible, I’ll find you a driver.”

  “That dreadful snake is back in its cage, thank heavens. You and your brother are both hopeless, and now you have gone and married a servant, a man no one really knows.”

  “He’s from Kentucky where his father farmed. They lost everything during the war and he lost his family. He’s a fine man, Aunt Lavinia, and Pa thought he was a good man.”

  “Rubbish! Your father was no judge of character. Lord knows he married—” She bit off her words and stared at Honor, who gazed back coolly and tried to hold her temper.

  “I can’t wait to go,” Lavinia said darkly, staring morosely at her tea.

  The back door slammed and Stanton stormed into the room, his brows drawn together in a frown. “Lavinia, I saw Jeddy riding out to catch up with the men. He said you’re leaving!”

  “Yes, I am. I am not moving in with these wild children! They are hopeless, Stanton, and I’m not wasting my time with them. I refuse to stay in a house filled with cats, snakes, and lizards!”

  “You said you would stay to help Jeddy and Honor.”

  “That was before I spent a few days under this roof. I am not staying another day in this place. Not another night either. You remain as long as you like, but I’m going home.”

  “This was going to be your new home, remember?”

  She frowned at him. “You could not pay me enough to make me stay here, Stanton Roth! These beastly urchins are as wild as the pets they keep. Honor will never be a lady, nor will her little devil of a brother ever be a gentleman.”

  “Lavinia, get a grasp of your good sense. You aren’t thinking clearly.” He glanced at Honor. “Do you mind if your aunt and I discuss this alone, Honor? She is unduly upse
t, and I’m sure Jeddy will remove his snake to the barn.”

  “Pa always let him have his pets, and Luke has said he could keep them, Uncle Stanton,” Honor said stiffly because some of Lavinia’s remarks stung.

  “I think he could make an exception for his aunt.”

  “Stanton, there is nothing that will convince me to stay here. Honor is married to a cowhand, Jeddy is as wild as a coyote, the food is terrible—”

  Honor left the room and closed the door behind her. No doubt Stanton would talk Lavinia into staying, and her uncle seemed to have no intention of leaving. Furthermore, Uncle Stanton sounded as if he had hoped to be rid of Aunt Lavinia, foisting her off on his niece and nephew.

  However, when Dolorita spotted Enrique at noontime and called to Honor, she rushed out to the barn to ask him to drive Lavinia home. Lavinia charged out of the house wrapped in a cape in spite of the sunny day. Both she and Uncle Stanton looked furious, her uncle scowling as fiercely as her aunt. Lavinia turned to lean forward so Honor could brush her cheek with a kiss.

  “If you change your mind and want me to help you with your social life, Honor, get all those wild things out of the house. Then you may come and call on me and we will make the arrangements at Stanton’s. No doubt you don’t have the polish to know what you should do, so this is the perfect place for you, living with a bunch of rough commoners.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Honor answered serenely.

  “Lavinia, you are making a mistake and shirking your duty,” Stanton pronounced grimly.

  “My duty does not extend to doing the impossible.” She swept toward the buggy with Stanton beside her, still arguing with her and trying to get her to stay.

  “Whoo!” Dolorita said. “That woman is something! I don’t think Mr. Stanton Roth wants her to go back to live with him.”

  “He might not, but it seems that’s what she is determined to do. How long before the cooking improves, Dolorita?”

  “My cooking isn’t good?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  “Not until Uncle Stanton departs?” Honor shrugged while Dolorita turned back to the counter and chuckled.

  “That snake was in Jeddy’s room all the time. I don’t think it was out of its cage more than ten minutes. Never thought I’d see the day I like a snake, but I have a fondness for that one.”

  “Don’t encourage Jeddy, Dolorita. And Uncle Stanton won’t be as easy to disturb as Aunt Lavinia. He’ll go when he gets ready, and nothing we can do will send him away from here any sooner.”

  “Maybe not, but it’ll be easier for him to leave if he’s got indigestion every day.”

  “The rest of us will have indigestion, too.”

  “Yes, ma’am, that’s true, but it’s a small sacrifice to my way of thinking.” She turned to squint at Honor. “Unless you want him to stay,” she said, studying Honor as if she had just realized that as long as Stanton Roth was there, Honor and Luke shared a bedroom. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “I don’t want him to stay,” Honor said, blushing and leaving the room, thinking that was one time in her life she hadn’t been truthful with Dolorita. However Honor did notice that night at supper that Dolorita’s cooking had returned to its sumptuous best and she wondered if they would have Uncle Stanton for a long time.

  The next morning Luke was going to town for supplies, so Honor and Jeddy and Enrique Gonzales rode with him. Jeddy could barely sit still, eager as he was to buy some sweets with the small bit of money he had and to see his friend, Abe Sorenson, whose father ran the livery stable.

  The October day was sunny and warm, and Honor sat beside Luke, who seemed relaxed and in a good humor. Honor wore her black gingham with her hair braided, a long, thick plait hanging down her back, and as they rode along, she kept stealing glances at Luke. He had his black hat pushed to the back of his head, his hair waving over his forehead. He wore a clean chambray shirt and faded denim pants that hugged his slender hips, and he looked more handsome than ever. And as her gaze wandered down his long legs, she thought about the moments at night in his arms when she had been pressed against his long, hard length.

  Once, as she studied him, he glanced at her and caught her looking at him. She turned away as she felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. After that she tried to keep her attention elsewhere, but soon she was glancing at him again.

  In town she purchased supplies for Dolorita and then went to the dry goods store. Someday she would be out of mourning and then she could wear color again. She wanted to start sewing a new dress now.

  When she emerged from Taylor’s Dry Goods, she saw Luke and Enrique, who crossed the street to her. “Let me carry that,” Luke said, taking the folded material from her hand and walking beside her, with Enrique at his other side. “We have our errands about finished except for stopping at the smithy. Then we need to get Jeddy at the livery stable.”

  They neared a saloon and Rake Acheson and three of his men filed out, heading toward their horses at the hitching rail. Rake saw Luke and Honor and turned around, his gaze sliding over Honor boldly. She flushed as she remembered the last time she saw him and anger burned through her like flames.

  “Well, well, the newlyweds, the new owner of the H Bar R and his squaw.”

  Luke shoved the material into Honor’s hands and stepped forward. Instantly Rake’s men drew revolvers on Luke, who stopped, his chest swelling as he inhaled, while Enrique grabbed his arm.

  “Boss—” Enrique said.

  “I’ve been away and missed the ceremony. Sorry to hear about your pa’s accident,” he said, looking at Honor. “You got you some wife there, McCloud,” he said. “If you ever want to sell her, I’ve got some good horses. We could trade.”

  “Go to hell, Acheson.”

  Rake laughed and turned around to mount up. “C’mon, boys. The man isn’t going to shoot us in the back.”

  Two of them mounted up while the third waited, his six-shooter still aimed at Luke. Finally he vaulted into the saddle and rushed after the others.

  “Bastard,” Enrique said quietly. “Sorry, Miss Honor,” he apologized.

  “Someday he won’t have all those men with him,” Luke said quietly. “He can’t keep them at his side night and day.”

  “He knows the danger he’s in if he comes to town without them,” Enrique said.

  “I saw him once before when he didn’t have them with him. I will again.”

  Luke’s words sent a chill down Honor’s spine because there was no mistaking his determination. “Luke, you promised—”

  “I didn’t promise that I would avoid fighting him when he’s willing to fight. I won’t kill him. I didn’t the last time we fought.”

  “I wish Pa had made you promise you wouldn’t even do that much.”

  “Boss should have not made you give such a promise,” Enrique said. “That man deserves to hang, and he is laughing at the law.”

  Luke took Honor’s arm, once again carrying the material as they walked toward the wagon. Enrique went ahead, carrying sacks of flour on his shoulder. As Luke and Honor passed the bank along the boardwalk, two ladies approached. They glanced at Honor then looked away. Luke studied Honor.

  “Did you know those women?”

  “Yes. It’s Mrs. Wilgert and Mrs. Danielson, who’s a friend of Aunt Lavinia’s.”

  “If she’s your aunt’s friend, why didn’t she speak to you?”

  “She hasn’t spoken to me in years, and Mrs. Wilgert hasn’t said anything to me for three or four years,” Honor said quietly. “Mrs. Danielson’s husband owns the glass works, and he told me I was not to come into his store.”

  “Why the hell not?” Luke asked, stopping and turning her to face him.

  Honor raised her chin and looked him in the eye. “Why do you think?” she asked defiantly. “Jeddy and I aren’t allowed in the glass works or the bakery.” And I’m not allowed into your heart, and maybe it’s for the same reason, she wanted to add.

  “Hugh Parsons’s bakery?”<
br />
  “Indians aren’t allowed in either of those places.”

  “Anytime you want to go to the glass works or the bakery, you tell me, and I’ll accompany you.”

  “I don’t intend to start any trouble when I come to town, do you?”

  Suddenly the anger left him and she saw the amusement dance in his eyes. “No? What about Thad Wilgert’s bloody nose?”

  “I couldn’t help that. He started it, and he deserved what he got.”

  Luke’s amusement faded and he took her arm, striding forward to toss the material up onto the wagon seat. “Enrique, we’ll be back shortly. Come here, Honor.”

  “Luke, no. Don’t start a fight. It just isn’t that important. Jeddy and I learned to live with prejudice and hatred a long time ago.” Tears stung her eyes because it was her own husband’s prejudice that she couldn’t handle, and that hurt so badly.

  “You come with me, Honor, or I’ll carry you, and that will cause a scene.”

  She clamped her lips closed and moved beside him while he pulled on her arm. She was aware of Enrique staring at them as Luke strode across the wide street, heading for the small shop with the fancy board sign decorated in flowers and printed with the large letters announcing Parsons’s Bakery.

  “Luke, please don’t do this—”

  “My wife will go into any shop in this town that she wants.”

  “Mr. Parsons has the right to serve whom he pleases.”

  “I have the right to goad Hugh Parsons into a fight, too.” Luke strode across the boardwalk, his boots scraping the worn planks. When he pushed open the door to the bakery, smells of hot bread and rolls assailed him as a tiny bell tinkled overhead.

  Hugh Parsons came around a corner, wiping his hands on his apron. Tom Bloodworth stood behind the counter with an apron around his expansive middle and two women stood in front of the counter.

  “Morning, Mr. McClo—” Hugh Parsons’s smile faded as he looked at Honor. His gaze shifted back to Luke, who strode to the glass counter that displayed an array of freshly baked goods.

  “Morning, Mr. Parsons,” Luke said evenly, and turned to Honor. “My wife wanted to purchase some hot bread.”