Just One Kiss (The Dream Catcher Series-Book Two)

by Hestand, Rita

  “You sure smell nice…” he whispered.

  “Well, I can’t say the same for you…” she chuckled, pulling him solidly against her as they made it up to the porch.

  ***

  The house was dark, and he was leaning on her now, so it was hard to maneuver him.

  As best she could she helped him towards her bedroom and laid him on her bed. Running to get a pan of water and bandages, she hurried back to see him passed out on the bed.

  “Oh, Lee…” she cried, looking into his face long and hard.

  She cut his shirt away from him as she looked at his wound and began cleaning it. From the coloring of his face she could see he’d lost a lot of blood. It was the same shoulder where he lost the arm. She mopped the wound up with a clean rag and water and placed a bandage lightly on top of it. After reapplying more pressure to his leg, she sat back and waited. She wished she knew more about doctoring but she didn’t. Feeling helpless, she sat beside him close at the bed. The need to touch him played in her mind. If she had her way, she’d take off all her clothes and climb in bed with him. But he wouldn’t get any rest that way, she was sure.

  She watched his face, her worry growing.

  He came to a couple of times and smiled up at her.

  “Where’s Joe?” she asked him.

  “He’s gone to pay the taxes.” Lee smiled up into her worried face. “Don’t frown so…I made him go. They won’t expect him to have the money to pay them. It’ll be safer this way. He’s bringing the doc.”

  “They didn’t get the money?” she whispered as she moved closer.

  He managed another smile. “No.”

  “I told you not to go…” she warned as she stared down into his sapphire eyes.

  Lee smiled as she handed him some whiskey and he took a sip. His hand drifted up to caress her cheek, then slid inside her shirt and touched the tip of her nipples. Instantly they responded and he smiled.“Unbutton your shirt and let me kiss you…” he demanded.

  “But Lee, baby…you’re hurt.”

  “Yes, in more places than one. Unbutton it,” he demanded.

  She fumbled with the button, but opened it for him, threw it on the floor, then threw the camisole down too. He looked at her. “Lock the door. I want to kiss you and we don’t need an audience.”

  “But baby…this isn’t the time…”

  “Please…”

  “Okay, …whatever you want.” She sighed. She walked over to the door, her breasts swinging. She came back and he pulled her down to the bed with one hand. His lips touched her breasts and he laid with her for a long time, kissing, loving, touching, and looking. She was squirming with aches and needs, but knew he couldn’t fulfill those needs right now. He was hurt. But somehow his loving took his mind off his hurting, and she knew that too.

  He sighed happily. “A man could find heaven on your breasts. I've dreamed of you pillowing me like this. This is my heaven.”

  She blushed.

  He smiled, and his hand moved away. “I sure could use a kiss about now.”

  She smiled, and lowered herself so she could touch his lips with her own. The moment she did he groaned, and she started to pull away. But he shook his head. “No, don’t go away…”

  “I’m not going anywhere, honey, but you are in pain.”

  His glance captured hers. “In more ways than one.”

  Then he collapsed.

  She moved her lips against the hand that caressed her cheek. “Oh…Lee…my sweet, sweet Lee,” she whispered.

  She moved away from the bed, and temptation itself. Fastening her shirt, she sat beside the bed, holding his one hand in hers.

  She fell asleep as she settled in the rocking chair she’d pulled up against the bed, her hand holding onto his.

  It was way into the night before he came to. The kids were asleep, Joe hadn’t returned yet, and he looked very awake as he squeezed her hand.

  She wiped her eyes and stared at him with a lazy smile.

  He brought her hand to his lips, folding it in his. He smiled as he kissed her.

  “From the moment you walked out of those bushes, I knew you were going to be important to me…I just didn’t know how much.” He looked straight into her eyes as he said it. “You had so much spunk and sass. I spent a whole war thinkin’ about you, and tryin’ hard not to, for both our sakes. How I shouldn’t love you, shouldn’t want to be with you. How I could put your life in such danger by loving you, but it changed nothing. When I lost my arm, I dreamt about coming home…to you. I remembered how you said you’d take care of me. But honey, it was your face I saw in my sleep, your face I saw in my dreams. Only you.”

  “Oh, Lee…” she gasped. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

  “To think you returned my love. That was more than any man could hope for,” he whispered as he pulled her down so he could kiss her proper on the lips.

  She felt herself growing warm and wet and wanting him.

  She came up for air only for a moment. “It’s always been you…Lee. Only you! My God, the first time you kissed me, you stole my heart. And if you hadn’t kissed me, it wouldn’t have mattered, I’d have kissed you.”

  “God…We have to be together, we have to…” He sighed and passed out once more.

  She looked down into his face, brushed the hair from his forehead, bent and kissed him on the lips and admitted aloud, “Yes, my darling Lee, we do, ‘cause I want to have your babies.”

  Chapter Ten

  The doc spent the better part of the next morning pulling the bullets out of Lee’s shoulder and leg, and bandaging him. As he joined Joe and Hattie in the kitchen, he shook his head.

  “I thought he died in the war,” the doc said as he thanked Hattie for the coffee. “It was a pure shock when Joe came into my home last night and told me what had happened.”

  “We all did…” Hattie said. “I put a stone up for him…the newspapers said he’d died. I almost wish he’d stayed quiet about being home. This wouldn’t have happened.”

  “Joe says the Jeffries are at fault for this…” the doc said, sipping his coffee slowly. “He’s got every right to file charges.”

  Hattie brought her cup to the table. “They are at fault…”

  “Do you think he’ll file charges, then?” the doc asked, his eyebrows raised.

  “I don’t know…he passed out pretty quick last night when I got him in there. Have you known Lee long?”

  Doc Witherspoon shook his head. “Met him before he rode off to the war. Had some trouble out this way and old Doc Smithers needed my help. His Pa was a stubborn one and got shot up by the Jeffries a time or two. I reckon Doc Smithers knows him better than I do. But I always liked Lee and Dil. They are almost the same age as myself. Anyway…He lost a lot of blood. He really needs a transfusion, but I’d have to match his blood, and find a donor…” the doc explained.

  “If you need it doc, I’ll volunteer…” Joe stood up from the table and eyed the doc.

  “He don’t think he needs it, but without it, he’ll be kind of weak for a while, and knowing him as I do, that won’t set well with Lee.” The doc nodded. “Let me take some blood from you and see if I can match it pretty well, then.”

  “Alright,” Joe insisted.

  It took the doc a while to get the blood, but he took it on the back porch and did some kind of testing, then he came back in a hurry.

  “It’s pretty close, let’s do it.” The doc nodded. “Transfusions are kinda new here, but we’ve found they work well when one loses a lot of blood.”

  Joe agreed.

  The doc stared at ole Joe. “Alight, Joe, let me get things fixed up. I’ll call you in there when I’m ready. It will make all the difference in the world when he starts healing.”

  Joe nodded and smiled at Hattie.

  Joe chuckled when they were lying on the same bed. “I always knew I was part Nelson.”

  Lee heard him and laughed.

  When the doc was ready, Joe spread his a
rm out and waited. Hattie had helped the doc set up.

  “He’s going to be alright, isn’t he?” Hattie asked, watching the way Joe’s blood flowed from him to Lee.

  “He’ll be fine. Of course, he might have a time getting around at first. That leg is pretty busted, but he’ll mend. He’s a strong one; he’s young and healthy. He’s had a few other bullets taken out of him too…” The doc looked at them both. “Must have been from the war. They did a good job on his arm. And he’s learned to use the rest of his body to his advantage. That’s great.”

  “He never said nothin’ about them bullets…” Joe shook his head. “I guess the war nearly did him in then…and someone thought it had…He’s been especially quiet about the war, not tellin’ nothin’.”

  The young doc nodded. “He’s changed some since he left. Gotten a lot quieter. Losin’ an arm had to be traumatic for him. He doesn’t seem to be half as hot-headed as he used to be. Which is good. The Jeffries bunch are cunning and a hot head wouldn’t win with them. I’m very happy that he got the taxes paid on this place. Legally, no one else can touch it, except you. And Lee.”

  Hattie shrugged. “Now that he’s back, I guess things will settle out, especially since the taxes are paid.”

  The doc smiled. “Lee’s had a tough time here. I’m a little surprised he came home after the war. So—how’s our little Violet’s leg now?”

  “She hardly complains, doc.” Hattie smiled, casting a quick look outside. “She’s not even limping with it any longer.”

  “She’s a little toughie too.” The doc smiled.

  “Do you think now that the taxes are paid that we’ll have less trouble with the Jeffries?” Hattie asked.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve known them entirely too long. I can’t see them giving up. They’ve wanted this land for so long. And they aren’t good losers.” The doc pushed his cup towards a refill.

  Hattie poured him another cup and eyed him, his bushy brows drew together giving him a harsher look than the man deserved. Yet his gray eyes seemed to carry sympathy. “I wouldn’t let my guard down just yet.”

  Hattie nodded quietly.

  “I’ll say this, the place looks good. As good as I’ve ever seen it. And it’s a darn good thing that Lee is back. Most people about here are farmers. And the one thing you can depend on is a farmer standin’ up for another farmer. So if you get into trouble, remember that. It’s a hard life but there are some rewards. The Jeffries are not liked, they’ve been bullying the people of this valley for years and it’s time to move on. Once they are gone, this valley can get to the business of farming and enjoy the benefits. So you take real good care of Mr. Lee, because I believe if anyone can outfox the Jeffries, it’s him. Thanks for the good coffee, I’ll be back to check on him at the end of the month. If you need me in the meantime, just send Joe to fetch me.” The young doctor smiled at her. He got up and put his hat on his blonde head and moved to leave.

  “Thanks for comin’, doc.” Joe got up and walked him to the door.

  “Be seein’ ya Joe, take care now…” The doc smiled and got into his buggy. He waved and was gone in no time.

  Joe peeked into Lee’s room as he hiked his suspenders high on his shoulder. Lee was awake and just finishing his coffee.

  “Well, you shore gave us a scare we didn’t need…” Joe laughed as he moved the chair closer to the bed.

  Lee couldn’t stifle the smile. “Forgive me, Joe…”

  “The doc said you took a few other bullets from the war…how come you never mentioned them?” Joe asked as though it were his business to know.

  Lee rubbed his leg methodically. “That’s what happens in war. I couldn’t hide the arm from you, but no use going into detail about the bullets. War is like that, Joe. Yeah…I took a couple. No use worryin’ over it, I got better and didn’t die like they thought I might.”

  “What happened…?” Joe asked.

  Lee eyed him for a minute knowing he couldn’t hide from Joe long. “I took a bullet just below my ribs. I was rushin’ a cannon, trying to knock it out of commission as it was blasting the hell out of my men. I made it up the ridge, and was clogging it when I was caught from the rear. The bullet went through me. Spent a while in the sick ward for it. I guess that’s when they got my name mixed up with another and decided I’d died. I almost did, but there was this surgeon that was headstrong about keeping me going. I admired him so much, I began to study his work a little. He let me assist with a few of my men before I was discharged.”

  “Now that sounds like you were a hero…” Joe laughed.

  Lee frowned. “I just did what I had to do…Lots of others did too, Joe. It’s just the way war is. Full of killin’ or be killed.”

  “And I’ll betcha if I went through your saddle bags, I’d find a medal in there for that one, wouldn’t I?” Joe mused with another sly smile.

  Lee firmed his lips. “I didn’t want any medal…a lot of good boys died that day.”

  Joe shook his head. “You’s bound and determined you ain’t gonna be no hero, ain’t ya?”

  “I’m no hero, Joe, so let it lie…” Lee looked away.

  “So what happened with your arm?” Joe scrunched up his face at him.

  “I was trying to decide whether to attack or not. Sittin’ there with indecision clouding my mind and bullets flyin’ and Martin Fuller, a young kid, came up to me. He was barely sixteen. His brothers talked him into joinin’. He had no business in that war, Joe. He was still just a wet-nosed kid. Anyway, he came up to me, he was askin’ what to do next, and I turned to look at him, and blood rippled down his forehead and he fell dead at my feet. That’s when I decided to take the cannon on the hill. I didn’t even think any more, I just did it. It had to be done. I wasn’t gonna look at another Martin Fuller lying at my feet. So don’t go pinin’ no medals on me. If I hadn’t been worrying with what to do, the kid probably would have never died. A lot of men wouldn’t. After that, I knew what I had to do and I did it. I didn’t even think, I just did. But it wasn’t for a medal Joe, it was for the kid…” Lee’s voice broke and he looked away. “The canon was live and I didn’t know it when I rushed in. It blew my lower arm off, right there. All the way back to the hospital, I kept telling them about Martin. He was just a little dumb farm boy…like myself. He didn’t want to fight. He didn’t want that damn war at all. They fixed me up, and I mended. The doc, he showed me how to strengthen myself so I could do things without help. It took a while to learn to build myself up. But I did it. But–I don’t have no medal, Joe, I buried it with the kid.”

  “Buried it…but how…”

  “Aww…I got it later…from General Lee himself, but I knew where I buried that kid and I went there after the war, and buried it with him. It was because of him that I got that medal. He deserved it, not me.”

  “How’d you find his grave?”

  Lee stared into Joe’s eyes. “I’m the one who buried him and I carved his name in the wooden head of his grave so I could find it. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the war, a lot of men died, and it took me a few days to find it. I’d almost given up findin’ him, when there he was just below the hill, where they attacked us. We buried a lot of them there. But I did find him.”

  Joe frowned and hung his head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lee. I guess you saw a lot of death there.”

  “More than I wanted…I asked the doc how he managed to keep his head dealing with the smell of death every day. He said he didn’t deal with it at all, he didn’t think on it, didn’t put names to them, just did his job. Did what he had to do. And that’s exactly what I did that day with the cannon, what I had to do. The doc didn’t get no medals for all he did. It was his job, and it was my job to knock that cannon out the best way I could.”

  “I see what ya mean…” Joe nodded. “I never looked at it like that, no sir.”

  Lee thought of Josh now, dying in that cabin, and Chase and Katherine too. He missed them every day. Chase had taught him a lot of rules of survi
val and Lee appreciated it through the war, but no one prepared him for the dying of friends.

  Then he smiled; he almost chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” Joe asked.

  “That bullet wasn’t the worst thing that happened to me,” Lee admitted.

  “What do ya mean?” Joe stared.

  “Well sir, there was somethin’ worse than bullets goin’ on during that war. I almost lost my foot…and I wasn’t alone.” Lee chuckled. “Up in Arkansas, it was one of the worst dang winters you ever saw. Snow and ice, always freezin’ cold. And that country up there is full of hills and the hills are full of rocks and combine that with snow and ice. And the fact that our shoes and boots were comin’ unglued. Some made the mistakes of throwin’ their blankets away so when we marched it wouldn’t be such a burden, but then when it froze so did we. But it was the marchin’. So much marching…My boots, they almost fell apart although I wore them ‘til they just crumbled beneath me. We all did. When they did, I tried wrapping them with some of my clothes. But they took a beating, and then it froze again and we had to cross this river. The dang thing was nearly frozen, and they suggested we run rather than walk through it. But it nearly killed half of us. Most of us were barefoot. And we had cuts and bruises from all the marching. I guess we spent more time doctorin’ our feet than anything. Well, my feet turned black for a while, and I had so many sores…it wasn’t a pretty sight. But I’d seen enough of that gangrene that I wasn’t about to let them get that bad. They’d be sawin’ off. So I doctored and wrapped and rewrapped those feet. I babied them.”

  “Good Lord, Mr. Lee…that had to be painful.” Joe shook his head.

  “I worried over those feet more than any bullet. At least a bullet would kill you outright, losin’ a foot or leg would be a slow death if they got it in time. I saw too many get them chopped off. I was determined to take care of mine the best I could. I rubbed them. I hung them up on the side of a tree and rested them. I cleaned them every night. Gradually, they got better. Some of the others began to do the same as me, we had to do something…or lose them.”