“This is a considerable amount of money, you know. Are you sure you don’t want your husband’s name on the account with yours?” he asked.
“He told me to do with it as I please,” she said crisply. “And I’d like it in my name alone.” Recalling the day she’d signed all the documents Max had placed before her, then shoved them helter-skelter to the floor as she turned her back on the legacy from her father, she focused on the dollar amount this transaction represented. Her eyes widened as she read the figures, and then counted the zeroes that followed the number three.
Thirty thousand dollars. Her father had left her a small fortune, a veritable gold mine, an amount from which she could draw interest and still hold the major portion untouched. Her life would change immeasurably with this much money at her fingertips. And Max was allowing it to take place.
Her sensible mind recognized his strategy. He would turn her loose, in order to free her from any restraint on his part. And then she would make up her own mind as to her future. He’d stepped back, and she wondered at his motives.
He’d presented his case, leaving her the choice. Will you consider it?
Had she even replied before sleep captured her in its web? Was that to be his final plea? Was he satisfied to leave her here now that she was endowed with sufficient funds to survive on her own?
Faith signed the papers and sat back in the chair while the banker rose and approached his teller. The two men put their heads together and the documents Max had signed were examined again. In a few minutes, the banker returned and held out a small, black book for Faith’s use.
“Your balance is on the first page,” he said. “We’ll catch it up to date whenever you bring it in, adding your interest to the base amount. If you choose to add any more funds or take out money for whatever reason, it will be kept track of in this book. You’ll want to keep it in a safe place, Miss Faith.”
He smiled at her as she took possession of the paste-board-covered record book. “Did you want any money today?” he asked, and she shook her head. Max had been paying for everything at the general store since his arrival, and she was left with what must surely be a considerable amount of credit on her account there, what with the eggs she’d delivered several times into Mr. Metcalf’s keeping.
“Thank you,” she said politely, then turned and left the bank, aware of the man’s gaze fixed on her as she walked away. He’d no doubt not met another woman in town who had this much money at her disposal, she thought, and that fact brought a spring to her step as she opened the door and walked into the sunlight.
Max was sitting on a bench in front of the bank, and as she stepped into view, he folded his letter and replaced it in the envelope he held. Rising, he held out one hand, and looked into her eyes.
“Is everything all right?” he asked. “Did you get a receipt for the money?”
She nodded. “I suppose it’s as good as a receipt. He gave me a little book with the amount written in it, and he initialed it himself.” She held it out to Max, but he shook his head.
“I don’t need to see it, so long as you’re satisfied,” he said.
“I want you to look at it for me,” she told him, aware that his pride needed a bit of bolstering right now. He’d effectively turned her loose, and if she felt independent, it was all right to allow him to think she still needed his advice and cherished his concern.
He took the bankbook and opened it, scanning the figures, then closed it and handed it back to her. A grin touched his lips. “Do you feel like a woman of means?”
“No.” She considered a moment and then changed her mind. “Yes, I suppose I do,” she said. “I don’t have to worry about money for food or more canning jars or oats for the horses this coming winter.”
“Speaking of the cold weather that’s sure to come before long, I’d like to check at the general store and see about getting you a wool cloak,” he said. “I was thinking last night that you don’t have a really warm wrap.”
“I get along,” she said, facing him proudly. “You don’t need to spend any more money on me, Max.”
“I know that. But I want to, Faith. I’d like to know that you’re wrapped in soft wool, with a hood over your head when you go out in the cold.”
She shook her head. “Not today, Max. I don’t need it, and it’s foolish to spend money on something I’ll only hang on a hook in the wardrobe.”
He lifted a brow and considered her for a moment, as if he debated arguing the point. And then he took her elbow and turned her back toward the general store. “Can I buy some coffee, anyway?” he asked. “And another slab of bacon for the pantry?” If he was attempting to be meek, he was doing a poor job of it, she decided as she eyed him with a sidelong glance.
“You buy it and I’ll cook it,” she said, allowing him to win this small battle.
It wasn’t until they were on the way back to the farmhouse that she remembered his letter. “Was your mail something important?” she asked.
“My brother wrote,” he told her. “Asking some questions about financial matters. I’ll need to answer it and send a reply in a few days.”
She was silent for a moment and then looked up at him from the wagon seat beside him. “Does he want you to come home?”
“He didn’t push for it.” And it seemed that was all he had to say on the subject.
Max moved his satchel from the spare room into her bedroom, and it was obvious he wasn’t about to ask permission for the change in their relationship. He stood in the doorway as she prepared for bed that evening. She turned quickly on her bench before the mirror to face him, her hair flying in a shawl of gold around her.
“Are you going to ask me to leave?” he asked quietly, leaning against the doorjamb as she dropped her brush with a clatter on the dresser.
She shook her head. “No, I think you know better. If I’d wanted you to stay in the other room I’d have stopped you while you were moving in your things while I fixed supper.”
He nodded and she watched him a moment, then lifted a hand in welcome. “I’d be a bit tardy telling you now I don’t want you in my bed, Max. Anyway, I’d be lying if I said such a thing.”
His smile was slow and his steps were casual as he walked toward her. “Do you mind if I undress you?” he asked, taking the hand she offered, lifting her to her feet and pulling her close. His hands slid up her back and into the mass of curls and waves of waist-length hair, gathering its length into his hands.
“I don’t mind,” she said. “But I was about to get my nightgown out of the drawer.”
“Would you mind leaving it there?” he whispered, leaning to take her lips in a kiss that spoke of passion. A passion that had lain dormant throughout the long day, and now was allowed free rein to make itself known.
He kissed her thoroughly, taking liberties as if he’d been set free from constraint, tasting the tender inner surface of her lips and then probing with gentle movements of his tongue, past the barrier of her teeth to the sensitive flesh of her mouth.
Tilting her head for his pleasure, and her own, she obeyed his silent coaxing, tangling her tongue with his, aware of his growing ardor. And then it seemed he’d had enough of this dueling they’d begun, and he forsook the playing field, retreating to the softness of her throat. As his hands leisurely opened the first few buttons of her dress, he leaned to kiss the exposed skin, leaving dampness in the wake of a mouth that seemed set on discovering each part of her body.
She was backed to the bed, and he lifted her until her feet dangled inches above the floor, then turned her until she lay before him as she had the day before. His gaze did not leave her as he stripped off his clothing. His boots had been left by the back door, and he eased off trousers, drawers and stockings with a smooth movement, then shed his shirt, allowing it to fall unhindered behind him.
Faith lifted her hands to finish the unbuttoning process he’d begun minutes before, but he halted her, his movements efficient as he sat her upright on the bed, made
short work of her remaining buttons, then drew her arms from the sleeves. He relieved her of her vest, pulling it over her head, and then eased her back down, until her head was on the pillow. Gathering her petticoats and dress in his fists, he drew the yards of fabric down her body, his palms shaping the skin he exposed, pressing into her resilient flesh.
She lifted her hips from the bed, easing his way, and his fingers snagged in the top of her drawers, taking them along with the assortment of garments he’d managed to strip from her. In mere seconds she was exposed to him, naked except for her stockings. One knee on the bed beside her, he bent to loosen her garters, then rolled the brown coverings from her legs and tossed them aside.
“Now we’re even,” he murmured, dropping fully onto the sheet and leaning to touch her breast, watching as his fingers caressed the swollen peak. “I like this,” he said, bending to take it in his mouth.
“I noticed,” she said, choking back a laugh. And then flinched as he suckled.
“Too much? Too hard?” he asked, looking up through lashes that hid his expressive eyes from her sight. He watched as she lifted a hand to brush his cheek with her fingertips. “Faith? I don’t ever want to hurt you.”
“It won’t be too much a little later on,” she said, thinking of the night before and the strength of his desire, the feel of his hands and mouth on her flesh.
She thought his eyes flared with a dark fire, and then he lowered his lashes and used his tongue to rub against the peaked nub. “Better?” he asked mildly, and she could only nod as her body responded to the teasing touch.
“I won’t hurry you along tonight,” he promised quietly, leaning to kiss her again, allowing his fingers to trace her waist and hips, the flat of his palms shaping her flesh as he took note of each hollow and curve that made up her slender form. “This may take a while,” he mused, his mouth paying homage to her temple, then sliding the length of her cheek to settle for a moment in the hollow beneath her ear.
“Max?” She spoke his name as if it were a query and she needed an answer.
“What is it, love?” he asked, inhaling her scent as if it were a fine perfume and he found it to be the source of all that was sweet. Tasting her skin in small increments, drawing out the exploration of her breasts until she wondered at his patience.
“You needn’t worry about me not…” She halted, unable to be as bold as he, unwilling to speak of her desire and readiness for his loving.
“Are you ready for me?” he asked, as if he knew her thoughts and read her mind.
“I can’t lie still any longer,” she confessed, shifting her hips, aware of the fine tension that built between her thighs with his every whisper of breath against her flesh. “I think I need you now, Max.”
“We have all night,” he said quietly. “When I come into you, I want you to be aching for me, Faith. I want it to be perfect for you.”
And it was.
Chapter Ten
Nicholas’s arrival before breakfast was a surprise. As was his reason for showing up at such an early hour, Max decided. And yet he could not help but be pleased by Faith’s neighbor seeking his help. After an invitation to join them at the table, Nicholas refused a meal, settling for coffee instead, and then set about asking a favor of Max.
It was a heartening event, Max decided, as Nicholas described his problem. To be considered worthy of Nicholas’s esteem, to the extent that it involved his family and home and their safety, added a new depth to their friendship.
“I know it’s a lot to ask, but I haven’t much choice,” Nicholas said bluntly. “Other than the protection of the law—which isn’t a feasible option since Brace isn’t living next door—you’re it, Max. I can’t ask the sheriff to ride out to the ranch every day, and even if I could, I’d still be leaving Lin and the others alone for much of the time.” He drew in a breath as he finished his lengthy explanation.
“Where are you going?” Max asked.
“Collins Creek. The reason for all of this has to do with my business. There are a couple of problems at my bank there that require my presence. Taking my family along isn’t a good idea. I’ll save time by traveling alone and handling things quickly.”
“How far away will you be?” Max asked. “And what do you want me to do?”
“Just that easy?” Nicholas asked, one brow lifting as he surveyed his neighbor.
“I don’t have any reason to turn you down,” Max told him.
Nicholas nodded. “It’s about fifty miles or so,” Nicholas said. “Not a tremendous distance by any means, but it’s not a trip I want to subject Lin and the children to right now. Jonathan is cutting his molars, which is an experience that seems to involve a lot of sleepless nights for his mother. Katie is up to her neck with the garden, which is coming in nicely and she’s not about to leave with the canning underway.”
He sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I try hard not to ruffle Katie’s feathers. I don’t know what we’d do without her, and I don’t even want to think about it. If she says she’s had enough of town life and isn’t about to venture back there, then I have to accept that.”
He picked up his coffee cup and drank the last swallow, then gestured with one hand. “Bottom line is that Lin is a homebody. The thought of lugging two children to Collins Creek makes her cringe, especially when we’d just be turning around and heading back in a day or so.” He glanced at Faith. “Do you mind sharing your husband with another household for a few days?”
“No, not at all,” she said readily. “You know better than that, Nicholas.”
The big man’s smile was warm, and Max felt his hackles rise. Only the knowledge that Nicholas was besotted with his own wife allowed him to ignore the close relationship between Faith and her neighbor. “What do you want us to do?” he repeated bluntly.
Nicholas looked his way. “Not a whole lot. Just be available. Check on them every day and make sure they’re all right.”
“We can stay there if you like,” Faith offered. “It wouldn’t be any problem to come here for chores and spend the nights at your place.”
Nicholas nodded, and relief flooded his features. “That would be even better. There’s room for everyone. We have a couple of bedrooms we don’t use.”
“We’d need only one,” Max said with no inflection in his voice, but Faith’s color rose as he made the forthright statement.
“That figures,” Nicholas said, shooting him a knowing glance. “I assumed you weren’t a man to forfeit your rights, McDowell. A fella would be a fool to let a woman like Faith get away a second time, once he was back in her life.”
“We’re working things out,” Max said, looking up at Faith as she set his plate on the table with a clunk. He thought she looked like a thundercloud, and his arm slid to circle her waist. Her eyes glittered, blue ice offering him a glare that promised retribution.
“If she’s anything like Lin, you’d better watch your step,” Nicholas advised him. “I found a couple of years back it didn’t pay to get her dander up. I still don’t risk it.”
“I hate it when I’m invisible,” Faith said shortly. “If you gentlemen want to discuss me or Lin, you need to find some privacy to do it in.”
Nicholas shot her a teasing look. “You and my wife make a pair, lady. And I’d be willing to bet you lead this fella a merry chase. Don’t look for sympathy from me. I know you, remember?”
Max cleared his throat. “I suspect we’d better get plans ironed out,” he said, feeling Faith’s aggravation like an icy shower, threatening to give him grief once Nicholas had gone on his way.
“Which would you rather do, Faith? Stay here or over there, and then trot back and forth a couple of times a day?”
“We’ll be running one way or the other no matter where we sleep. I’d feel better, and I think Nicholas would, too, if we bunk with Lin.”
Max picked up his fork and worked at the pile of eggs on his plate. “When are you leaving?” he asked, between bites.
“This
afternoon,” Nicholas answered. “As soon as I can get my gear packed and clean up a couple of things I’ve got going.”
“What’s happening over there?” Max asked.
“I’ve hired three men to help with rounding up cattle and sorting out the herd. That’s part of the problem. They’re not known to me, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving Lin to deal with them.
“We’re in the process of culling out the steers for shipping down to Dallas. The men can handle things while I’m gone. I just need you to keep an eye on the place, and make sure Lin and the children are safe.”
“I can ride with your men if you need me to,” Max offered.
“Can you handle that sort of work?” Nicholas asked. “I wasn’t sure of your background.”
Max shrugged, an offhand movement that signified confidence. “I can ride. I haven’t done any work with cattle, but I’m pretty sure I can manage to fill in and see to whatever you need to have done.”
“The main thing is to keep them contained for now,” Nicholas said. “We’ve rounded them up out of a series of dead-end canyons, and there’ll be hell to pay if they wander off again. My men are setting up a temporary corral tomorrow to hold them while we sort through the lot.”
“I imagine I can lend a hand with that,” Max said. “I’m a fair hand with horses.”
“He’s a good shot, too,” Faith volunteered. “Taught him myself.”
Nicholas grinned. “That’s a high recommendation, my friend. Faith is handy with a rifle. Sometime I’ll have to tell you a story.”
“I may have heard part of it already,” Max said. He spread jam on his toasted bread and drank the last of his coffee. “I’ll come over this afternoon and you can show me around.”
Faith rose to refill their coffee cups, but Nicholas covered his with his palm and shook his head. “I probably will have left by then,” he said. “I’ll only have time to ride out and talk to my men before I do. Why don’t you bring the wagon along, Faith? Your mare and filly, too, if you like. I have plenty of room in the barn for the extra stock. That way all you have to do is come back here to feed chickens once a day.”
Texas Gold (Mills & Boon Historical) Page 16