by Sara Orwig
He knew Dolorita’s patience and respect had snapped, and she was rising to her baby’s defense. If the situation hadn’t been so dangerous, he would have been amused, but Honor had given him a scare that he couldn’t shake.
“She was riding alone, Dolorita, and I’ve told her as well as Jeddy not to do that because it’s so damned dangerous. I locked her in her room, but after I’m gone, let her out and she’ll calm down. The weather is terrible, and she said she wasn’t going out again today.”
“Yes, sir,” Dolorita said, suddenly sounding worried. All anger was gone from her voice, and she looked toward the door leading to the hallway and bedrooms. “She is a strong one, but that terrible man must not get her.”
“And he wants her,” Luke said grimly, seeing the flare of fear in Dolorita’s eyes.
A pounding at the back door interrupted their conversation. Luke opened the door and faced Judge Tolliver, who was stomping his feet to get the dust off his boots. He removed his hat and offered his hand to Luke.
“Come in,” Luke said, stepping back. “You remember Dolorita.”
“Of course I do. Best corn bread in the state, best cook in the state. How’re you, Dolorita?” he asked as he placed a wrapped parcel on a kitchen chair.
“Fine, Judge,” she said, smiling and moving to the large enamel coffeepot to pour him a cup of steaming black coffee.
“And she knows if she ever gets tired of it here, she can come work for me.”
“I hope you didn’t ride out here to steal Dolorita away from us.”
Judge Tolliver laughed. “No, I didn’t. I was in town for some cases, and before I went back I thought I’d stop by. I really didn’t expect to find you here.”
“Dolorita, would you tell Honor and Jeddy that the judge is here?” Luke motioned to him. “Bring your coffee, and we’ll go to the parlor.”
“Don’t let me keep you from your work. You have on your coat and hat, so you must have been on your way out.”
“I was, but I can wait a few minutes.”
Luke took off his own coat, then took the judge’s coat and hat, hanging them both on hooks.
“Morning, Judge Tolliver,” Jeddy said softly, crossing the kitchen and holding out his slender hand for the judge to shake.
“I hoped I’d see you, Jeddy,” Judge Tolliver said with a smile. “I brought you something,” he said, picking up the parcel and handing it to the boy. Jeddy looked surprised and then curious as he untied the string wrapped around the package and pulled off newspapers used for wrapping.
“Gee!” Jeddy turned a large book in his hand. “The Ten Most Startling Cases in the History of United States Law,” he read. “Thank you!”
Judge Tolliver smiled. “I thought you might like that book, and it seems you can read well enough for it.”
“Thank you, Judge.” He turned and ran out of the kitchen, with the book tucked beneath his arm.
“Not trying to ruin my budding cowman, are you?” Luke asked dryly.
Judge Tolliver turned to face him. “Do you really think he’ll be a cattleman like his pa?”
“I don’t know. It’s not his first love yet.” Luke motioned with his hand. “Let’s go to the parlor. We won’t see Jeddy again today. I can sit a spell, then I have to get back out. You can ride with me or stay and talk to Honor.”
Judge Tolliver laughed. “I’ll stay and talk to Honor and Jeddy. I have an idea he’ll be back soon to ask me questions.”
“Stay tonight. We have room, and I’ll have a chance to talk to you.”
“Thanks, Luke, I’ll accept your invitation. It’s a long, cold ride home, and I’d just as soon wait and see if tomorrow brings better weather.”
Luke entered the parlor and crossed the room to build a fire, hunkering down to stack logs in the fireplace while he wondered if Honor would refuse to come out of her room.
Dolorita rapped lightly on Honor’s door, then turned the key in the lock and stepped into the room. Honor had unbraided her hair and was brushing it before a pier glass. When she turned around, her eyes narrowed.
“Miss Honor, Judge Tolliver is here, and the men would like you to join them in the parlor.”
Honor listened, but looked as if she barely heard. “Dolorita,” she said hesitantly. Dolorita paused, then stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She nodded at Honor.
“Do you think it is my riding with the men that makes me not enough of a woman?”
Dolorita felt something crumbling inside. It was plain that Honor had loved Luke since she was a girl, and, for whatever reason he had, he wasn’t going to allow himself to return it. And yet there were times when Dolorita had seen Luke watching Honor with unmistakable longing. Dolorita suspected there was a wife in Luke’s past, and he was honorable enough not to take advantage of Honor’s youth and innocence.
“You are plenty woman,” she said gently. “There’s just something in Mr. McCloud’s past that’s gnawing on him. And it could be a wife.”
Frowning and looking lost in thought, Honor nodded, touching her hair. “What makes you think it’s something in his past?” she asked in a whisper, and Dolorita could hear the pain in her voice.
“It is a feeling I have,” she said, knowing it was merely a guess, but she had caught Luke looking at Honor in a manner that ended any doubt about his feelings for her. “Ah, my little one, you are muy bonita, so very beautiful. I see him watch you, and he is a man fighting his own demons.”
“You think so?” Honor asked, and Dolorita nodded, hurting for this woman who was like a daughter to her. Dolorita patted Honor’s cheek.
“He wants you, and something from his past holds him. He is an honorable man, muchacha.”
Honor nodded. “I’ll change and be there soon.”
Dolorita stepped into the hall, shaking her head as she walked back to the kitchen. Señor Roth should have given more consideration to what he was doing when he asked those two to marry. Six years was an impossible time when they were both on a collision course. Yet maybe that was better. Maybe Señor Roth had perceived that.
Dolorita said a small prayer that her precious baby would not have a broken heart. There had been too much sadness and too many hurts, too much violence lately in her young life.
Honor studied herself, knowing a year was the usual time for wearing black for mourning, but growing so tired of the black dresses. She brushed her hair, looping and pinning it loosely so there were soft waves around her face and a knot of hair on the top of her head. She changed to a deep blue gingham, sprinkling a little rosewater on her wrists and throat before she left the room. She heard the men’s voices as she walked down the hall. Passing the library, she glanced inside; Jeddy was at the desk, his chin propped on his hands, elbows spread on the desk as he read a book open before him. With a smile she went past without disturbing him.
Both men came to their feet as she entered the parlor. She glanced at Luke whose gaze went over her blue dress. Then he looked into her eyes and her heart missed a beat. With an effort she pulled her gaze away, smiling at Judge Tolliver.
“It’s good to see you. Please be seated.”
“Ah, you look prettier each time I see you, Honor. If Luke hadn’t snatched you away, there would be so many callers coming to court you that we’d have a decent road between here and town.”
She laughed and sat down on a wing chair. “So it’s time for you to try cases in our county again.”
“Yes. I heard about Enrique Gonzales, and I’m sorry,” the judge said solemnly.
She nodded. “So much has happened.”
“I’m trying to get Luke to come back to San Antonio next month when I’ll be back in the office,” he said. She glanced at Luke, catching him studying her, his gaze drifting down over her again with a hungry look that made her heart feel as if it turned over against her ribs. He wanted her and every time they clashed or were thrown closely together by circumstances, he couldn’t control his desire, yet something held him back. Was
it his past? Was it his damnable promises to Pa? Or was it her own inadequacies as a woman? Uncertainty always plagued her when she thought about herself, and Aunt Lavinia hadn’t been far from the truth when she said Honor hadn’t had any social training. Pa had taught her to rope and brand and ride, but she knew almost nothing about parties and dances and flirting with men.
Realizing that Judge Tolliver was still talking to her, she tried to pay attention. “See if you can’t persuade him to come to San Antonio. Homer Vondell is selling three of his prize mares next month, Luke. You should come look at them.”
“I’d like to if I can get away. This should be the slowest time of the year for us, but with this rainy weather there have been more problems. We’re getting new calves all the time and there’ll be more in a month,” Luke said, and she listened while the men talked about the Vondell horses.
Finally Luke stood up, looking tall, dusty, and handsome, with a rugged appeal that stirred the longing she already felt. “I better get back to work,” he said. “I’ll leave Honor to entertain you until I return.”
“Take your time, Luke. Between Jeddy and Honor, this will be like a vacation for me.”
Luke crossed the room to her, brushing her cheek with a light kiss. Stunned, Honor watched him go, knowing it was for judge Tolliver’s benefit, yet there was no need to convince the judge that they were happily married. She watched Luke stride away, feeling a pang and wishing things were different.
Dolorita appeared in a few minutes. “Miss Honor, Judge Tolliver, I just took my gooseberry pie from the oven if you two would like a little piece.”
“I wouldn’t think of refusing such an offer,” he said, standing up.
Honor went with him, eating a dainty slice while the judge talked about traveling his circuit, bringing her up on news of marriages and births. Jeddy appeared and wheedled a piece of pie from Dolorita, and soon Jeddy and the judge were talking about law, Jeddy plying Judge Tolliver with questions until Honor laughed.
“Jeddy, let Judge Tolliver eat his pie and drink his coffee in peace!”
“Let him ask me questions. This pie won’t go begging, and Jeddy’s interest in law is gratifying.”
After a few minutes, Honor excused herself and moved about the room to help Dolorita get supper. Tempting smells of a beef roast and hot bread filled the kitchen. Honor gazed out the window, thinking about the morning and Luke’s wild kisses. Was she really in danger on her own land? Surely Rake Acheson would never go far across the boundary, yet six months ago she wouldn’t have believed that he would have attacked her or shot Pa.
When Luke returned, he drew her off to one side, taking her arm and going to his room to close the door. “Judge Tolliver is staying tonight. You stay in here again. I’ll sleep on the chair, Honor,” he said solemnly.
“Luke, why do we have to convince Judge Tolliver we’re a happily married couple?”
“You don’t want your uncle hearing anything to indicate we’re not truly married. It’s only a night, and the judge won’t snoop around.”
She nodded, her pulse leaping at the thought of being in the same bed with Luke again. Luke watched her, and she gazed up at him, wondering if he had something else on his mind. As she met his gaze, she saw a look that could only be longing, and her heartbeat quickened. He leaned forward and brushed her lips lightly, then opened the door and stepped into the hall, waiting for her.
All through the evening, while she sat talking to the men, her thoughts kept jumping ahead, wanting the time to pass so she could be alone with Luke, realizing all her anger toward him from the morning had vanished.
Finally Judge Tolliver said good-night and retired to the guest bedroom. Luke draped his arm around her shoulders and they walked to the bedroom they would share.
She had moved her nightclothes to the room earlier, and Luke turned his back and pulled off his boots while she changed. He soon had a fire roaring in the fireplace and the chill quickly went out of the air. She slid beneath the cold covers, wishing they were truly man and wife so that she would be in his arms tonight.
“If I get time, Honor, I’ll go to San Antonio next month to see Vondell’s mares. Would you like to go along?”
“Yes, I would. So would Jeddy.” He glanced at her, his gaze locking with hers and she held her breath until he turned away.
“Luke, you need your sleep. I can put the pillows down the middle and you can sleep on the other side of the bed.”
“Fine,” he said abruptly, his voice sounding rougher. He pulled off his shirt and tossed it over the back of the rocker. She turned her head, listening to his belt buckle jingle, hearing a thud as it dropped on the floor.
“Honor, Jeddy is fascinated with Judge Tolliver’s books on law.”
“He may grow out of that,” she said, as Luke extinguished the light. She scooted extra pillows between them, while firelight sent up a flickering orange glow in the room. Covers rustled, and she felt the bed shift as Luke’s weight came down. Her heart beat swiftly and she turned to look at him.
She met his gaze, unable to keep from glancing at his bare, muscular shoulders, the covers draped across his chest. Her mouth felt dry, and she longed to be in his arms.
“I don’t think he’ll grow out of it. I think it may become more important as he gets older and really understands what he’s reading. Judge Tolliver is astounded at some of the stuff Jeddy has asked him about.”
“The world wouldn’t end if Jeddy wanted to be a lawyer.”
“That isn’t what your pa wanted.”
She raised herself up to look down at Luke. “What Pa wanted was what he thought would be good for us, but things change. If Pa had lived, a year from now he might have changed his mind about a lot of things involving both Jeddy and me.”
Remaining silent, Luke reached out to catch strands of her midnight hair, combing the long strands through his fingers.
“I’m not sure Jeddy will ever love the H Bar R,” she said, distracted by Luke, aware of the faint tugs on her scalp.
“I think you’re right, Honor. And if he doesn’t want to run it, if he wants to be a lawyer or something else, I think we need to give his wishes serious consideration.”
“He may not have any choice about running it because when you leave, I can’t run it alone.”
“When we have this marriage annulled, you’ll have men come courting just like the judge said. There’s bound to be more than one who will make a fine husband. And you’ll love him, Honor,” Luke said in a gruff, deep voice that sounded so full of agony her pulse jumped. His green eyes were on her, his face partially in shadow, partially lightened by the glow from the fire.
“Do you want me to love someone else?”
His hand stilled and he stared at her. “Don’t goad me, Honor. We’ve fought enough for one day,” he answered, his voice dropping lower until she could barely hear him. But there was a note of anger in it that made her pulse race because he sounded as if he truly cared. A log popped in the fireplace, sending a shower of orange sparks up the chimney. Her thoughts shifted, returning to their earlier argument.
“Do you really think I’m in danger riding on our own land?”
“Yes, or I wouldn’t be so adamant about it,” he answered solemnly. “It’s not too difficult for you to find someone to ride with. Do you want to run the risk of Jeddy riding alone?”
“Jeddy’s a child!” she snapped. “All right. I won’t ride alone if it will make you happy.”
“It will.”
She lay down, listening to logs crumble and pop as they burned, talking with Luke about different things while the fire burned itself down to smoldering embers and finally to gray ashes. Her words had slowed, but she loved speaking with Luke through the night in the quiet intimacy of the bedroom.
“Luke, how did you meet the woman you loved?”
“We met one time when my pa had ridden into town to buy some supplies for Mama. Tabitha was in a buggy nearby, and I kept looking at her.”
Feeling a strange annoyance and constriction, Honor turned her head to study him. “What did she look like?”
“Yellow hair, large blue eyes. We were children, Honor. You change as you get older.”
“How old Luke? When will I change?”
He rolled on his side. “I think there’s a stubborn streak in the Roths that resists change,” he said in a teasing voice. “When we’re in San Antonio, I’ll take you and Jeddy to a play and out to eat.”
“That sounds grand.”
“If we’re not too busy here for me to get away. Honor, I’m worried about Acheson when we take the cattle north next year. I don’t want to go at the same time he does, yet if I leave while he’s here, I won’t feel that this place is safe.”
“Why should he want to do anything to the H Bar R now? He killed Pa and Enrique and got away with it. What fight does he have with us now?”
“Maybe none,” Luke said, his words slowing. In minutes he became quiet and Honor turned to look at him. Both hands were flung out above his head, locks of brown hair waving over his forehead. She reached out carefully, touching a lock of Luke’s hair, brushing it away from his forehead, her gaze going over his face and jaw, down over his bare chest. With a sigh she lay down and closed her eyes.
At dawn they told Judge Tolliver good-bye and Honor and Jeddy rode beside Luke all day while dark clouds boiled up on the western horizon. During the afternoon as they neared the river that was swollen from recent rains, Luke heard a loud bawling. “Sounds as if a calf is in trouble.”
He flicked the reins and cantered ahead and as they topped a rise and rode down toward the river, Luke swore. A cow and calf were mired in a bog, water swirling around their legs.
The more they thrashed, the deeper they sank. Luke was off his horse in an instant, wading in to lift the calf free. Honor tossed a rope, and Luke worked it down around the cow while Honor’s pony backed up, keeping the rope taut.
In minutes Honor was off her horse to help him push and pull the cow from the bog. When they finished, the calf started back toward the water, and Luke waved his hat while Honor yelled. “Jeddy, cut them off and head them home.”