Beneath The Texas Sky

by Jodi Thomas

  Mariah spent the afternoon playing with the children and chatting with Allison. Her second cousin, whom Mariah called Aunt Allison, was a bubbly, plump woman who always seemed to beam whenever Uncle Mike was near. Mike had served several years in the Texas House of Representatives, and Allison had always packed up all the kids and followed him to Austin while the House was in session. Mariah smiled now just thinking of what the long train ride must be like with all these children.

  Aunt Allison laughed as she rocked her youngest. “This one makes an even dozen, and we think that’s just about right. I grew up an only child and think there is nothing grander than a house full of children.”

  Mariah smiled at Dusty, carrying a serving tray, as he dodged two boys running through the house. He carefully maneuvered past the girls who sat in a circle on the floor, and set the tray in front of Mariah. “If you’ll serve tea, Mariah, Ruth has lemonade in the kitchen for all the children.”

  His announcement caused an instant scramble out of the room by everyone under the age of twelve.

  As Mariah handed him a cup of hot tea, Dusty’s hand touched her fingers. She glanced up and found his eyes dark and unreadable. His finger slowly ran the length of her own, then he withdrew to slowly run his same finger along his bottom lip. Mariah found the action, though simple, intoxicating to her imagination. She was sorry when he moved away to the desk and began a long discussion with Mike.

  After dinner, Mariah moved gradually closer to the men huddled around the desk. Dusty had been thumbing through one volume of a law book for ten minutes and didn’t even seem to notice as she moved within hearing distance. His hair half covered his eyes, and Mariah found herself wanting to brush aside the light brown mass.

  “I could understand,” Dusty said, “if it were some drifter or Indian who needed food, but the cattle I’ve found were simply killed and left to rot.”

  Mike nodded. “We both have a pretty good idea who’s behind this mess. He’d like nothing better than to bankrupt the Weston Ranch and then step in and buy it for next to nothing.”

  “I’ll never give up.” Dusty spoke the words as fact.

  “I know, but you’d best be on your guard. I’ve got to leave for Austin in the morning, and I don’t want you getting into any trouble while I’m gone.”

  “I’ve never gone looking for a fight.” Dusty stood as Mike began motioning his family toward the door.

  “Yeah, and you’ve never backed down from one either, Dusty, and that worries me.”

  “I wish I could go with you this time, Mike.” Dusty caught sight of Mariah as she stood nearby. He offered her his arm as they followed the guests to the porch. “But things are pretty busy right now.”

  Mike didn’t follow Dusty’s gaze. “I understand, but it’s always good to have you and that mind of yours with me in the capital. Time was when all you needed to fight the bad guys was a good gun and a strong horse. Now it’s young men like you with a knowledge of the law who will win out.”

  The two men shook hands in a friendly farewell. Children piled into the wagon as Allison hugged Mariah goodbye.

  Mariah and Dusty stood on the porch and waved to their guests as the sun set over the ridge. She watched as their buggy moved out of sight and wished they hadn’t stayed so long. She needed to talk with Dusty.

  When she turned around, he’d disappeared into the house. Mariah decided now was the time. She would simply tell him she must sell her half of the ranch and ask him if he would like to buy her out. It shouldn’t be that complicated, but somehow, with Dusty, nothing seemed simple. Even a kiss.

  Mariah found Dusty clearing the table from the huge meal Ruth had prepared. She once again wondered at the kind of a man who would even think of the dirty dishes.

  Dusty looked up as she neared. “I thought I’d clean these for Ruth. The dinner was a lot of work, and she shouldn’t have to face these in the morning.”

  “I’ll help,” Mariah volunteered.

  Dusty smiled and tossed her a towel. “I’ll wash and you dry. Try to keep up.”

  Mariah laughed. She’d enjoyed being around Dusty with all the others present. He hadn’t seemed so shy. As they worked she decided to keep the conversation light. She asked questions about the ranch and when she was born. He told her about the days he worked planting her mother’s herb garden and how Ruth still practiced all the mixtures Bethanie had taught her.

  Mariah tried to explain her love for helping others. She told him of ways her mother’s doctoring and modern medicine could be combined to save lives. Dusty seemed to enjoy Mariah’s accounts of her and her mother having traveled, sometimes miles, to help the sick or hurt.

  Before Mariah realized where the time had gone, the dishes were finished and Dusty was standing at the back door. “You’re a pretty good hand for a spoiled brat,” he teased.

  “And you continue to amaze me with your skill in-the kitchen. You didn’t break a dish.” Mariah laughed.

  He leaned against the open door as if reluctant to leave. His eyes grew darker as she moved to enjoy the night breeze with him. She knew he wanted to kiss her again. Or at least she thought he did. Dustin Barfield was a hard man to read.

  “Dusty,” Mariah reached to touch him, then pulled back. “I need to talk to you about selling the ranch.”

  She watched a muscle tighten in his jawline, and she moved a few feet away. How could he listen so openly before and now close up? Maybe if he understood her need for the money?

  “You’re not still thinking of selling.” A hint of anger blended in- his words.

  “Yes.” Mariah tightened her hands into fists. She was tired, but she could still stand up for what she had to do.

  Dusty watched her for a long moment. “We’ll talk about it in the morning.” His tone sounded as if he were ordering a bothersome child to bed.

  “No, Dusty, we must talk about it now.” Mariah protested. He couldn’t just avoid her every time the subject came up.

  “I will.” Dusty was trying not to yell. “But not now, not tonight.”

  Before she could answer, he stepped out of the house and vanished into the black night without an explanation. Mariah stormed to the door. She hated the way he walked out on a fight. She closed the door and locked it, wishing she could do the same with her emotions.

  Mariah paced her bedroom for an hour, organizing her thoughts. Tomorrow she’d be ready to face Dusty and talk him into buying her half of this troubled ranch. Getting through medical school was more important than watching a herd of cattle grow fat for slaughter. Her dreams were just as important as his, and she would make him see it even if she had to tie him down to get him to listen.

  When she finally retired, she was exhausted, but the feel of Dusty’s touch still haunted her dreams with a longing she could not deny.

  In what seemed like only minutes, Mariah opened her eyes to the gray light of a rainy morning. That sick feeling of having overslept flooded over her. She threw on her wrap and ran out into the hallway. She flew down the corridor and into the huge main room, where a mantel clock ticked away, heedless of her panic.

  “Nine-thirty!” She stomped her bare foot. She’d planned to talk with Dusty for at least an hour before Elliot arrived. Now she would have less than thirty minutes.

  “Something not going your way, princess?” A voice sounded from behind her.

  Mariah whirled to find Dusty sitting at the desk. Papers were scattered in front of him, telling her he’d been working for hours already. She pulled her wrap closed. “Give me ten minutes to dress. I have to talk with you.”

  Dusty smiled and leaned back in his chair. “How about talking while you get dressed? That would save time.”

  Mariah shook her head and ran down the hall. “Five minutes and I’ll be ready.”

  She flew into her room and grabbed the first skirt and blouse she found. Within five minutes she’d dressed, washed her face, and combed her hair into long waves down her back. Her simple blouse buttoned down the fron
t with a bow tied at the neck, and her navy skirt was full and long. Her brothers teased her, saying she looked like a schoolteacher in those clothes. Mariah hoped the air of authority carried over today, for she had many decisions to make.

  Tying her hair back with a ribbon, she hurried into the main room. Dusty hadn’t moved from his place. He stood as she neared and held out his hand toward the dining area. “Ruth made some coffee and cinnamon rolls. We can eat while we talk.”

  Mariah nodded, following him to the table. As he pulled out her chair, his hand brushed her shoulder lightly. She jumped at his touch. She knew this was just the calm before the storm that would hit as soon as they started talking. Suddenly she couldn’t remember any of the words she planned to say.

  “Dusty, we must talk,” she began.

  “We can talk, but not of selling the ranch. I won’t, and that is final. I’ve got enough problems without any thoughts about selling.” He was standing behind her, but his words echoed with tightly held anger.

  Mariah resented his condescending tone. “We will talk about the selling of this ranch. I’m half owner and am getting sick and tired of being talked to like some child.”

  “Then stop acting like a spoiled brat and see the whole picture. You can’t sell your half of the ranch on some whim.”

  Mariah stood and faced him. “I’m not a spoiled brat and this is not a whim. Elliot will be here in a few minutes, and I’ll show you what I can do.” This wasn’t going the way she’d planned at all, but there seemed no reasoning with Dusty. He was as headstrong as he was handsome. And right now she hated him for being both. He was confusing her more than anyone had in her entire life.

  “You’ll…” Dusty stopped as they both heard a buggy approaching. Both turned to see Elliot rein up as the clock chimed a quarter to ten.

  Dusty suddenly jerked Mariah out of sight of the windows. “He’s an eager one.” His hands were tight around her arms. “Mariah, there’s so much you don’t understand.”

  Mariah pushed him a few inches away from her. “I’m sick of being treated this way. I plan to sign Elliot’s papers and be done with this mess. You can just work out the details with your new partner.”

  Dusty’s face twisted in frustration. “Don’t see him.” To her astonishment, his words were almost a plea.

  “I’m sorry,” Mariah answered. She knew if she put her decision off any longer, it would be even more difficult. What did it really matter to Dusty if the ranch were half owned by her or someone else? “Unless you plan on kidnapping me, I’m going to talk with Elliot.”

  Mariah had taken three steps toward the door when Dusty’s arm captured her waist. With a cry of frustration she twisted to strike him, but his movements were lightning accurate. Before she realized what was happening, he tied a dinner napkin over her mouth. As she struggled in disbelief, he pulled her hands behind her, yanked the ribbon from her hair, and bound her hands. When he turned her to face him, she kicked as furiously as she could, but her skirt buffered each blow. Panic flowed in Mariah’s blood as she feared he must have suddenly gone mad.

  “I’m sorry,” Dusty whispered as Elliot’s knock pounded on the door. “I…can’t let you meet with him.”

  Ruth entered silently from the kitchen. Mariah turned wide-eyed toward the old woman. She silently pleaded for help, but to her horror, Ruth only looked at them like they were children playing some harmless game.

  Dusty bent and lifted Mariah over his shoulder like a sack of grain. “Answer the door, Ruth. Give Elliot Mayson some coffee, and tell him I’ll be with him in a few minutes.”

  To Mariah’s horror, Ruth nodded as if kidnapping were an everyday occurrence in this household. Dusty ran to the back door as Elliot’s hard knock sounded again. He moved her outside, and within seconds they were hidden in the trees behind the house. Mariah had never been so terrified in all her life. She could see only the ground as he crisscrossed among the trees. She could hear the bubble of a waterfall, and was thankful she hadn’t suggested drowning as a means of solving Dusty’s problem.

  Dusty twisted her in his arms until she was cradled like a child. She looked up and was surprised to see no anger in his face, only worry. He held her close as he moved, and Mariah was very much aware of his hand just below her breast. She struggled suddenly, and his grip tightened, moving slightly higher. Mariah froze as her emotions seemed locked on a fast-moving carrousel with first one then another coming to the top. His hand didn’t return to below her breast but remained with his first two fingers pressing against her softness. The ribbon binding her hands cut painfully into her wrists. She could hear his heart pounding in her ears as he carried her into the shadow of the aging trees.

  The maddening sensation that she wanted him to press his hand higher frightened Mariah far more than the fact she was being kidnapped.

  He moved between closely bunched trees as Mariah caught sight of a cabin. The solidly built cabin was completely hidden in the clump of trees beneath the ridge. The low-hanging clouds seemed to close over the treetops, blanketing them from the rest of the world. No one, unless he knew the cabin was among the trees, would ever guess its existence.

  “I thought I’d show you my home while you’re visiting,” he whispered as he kicked the door open. “Now seems an ideal time.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Dusty stormed across the cabin and tossed Mariah onto a bed. The cloudy day offered little light to the room. Mariah blinked, trying to draw the room into focus as he retied her hands around a corner post of the four-poster bed. The room looked more like a study than a house, with books lining three of the walls. She knew this was Dusty’s place, where he slept and where he went to be alone. The worn, overstuffed chair by the fire told of a great love for reading, just as the chair’s solitude told of few visitors. Even in her fright, Mariah was fascinated by the man who must live here. She could see every kind of book, from the first-readers gathering dust on the top shelf, to a row of law books stacked on a desk in one corner. Could the person who must spend hours treasuring these books possibly be the same man who was kidnapping her?

  After Dusty finished tying her hands, he removed the gag slowly, trying not to tangle her hair. He leaned her back amid several layers of colorful quilts. A smile of victory touched his lips, yet worry still shadowed his eyes. “Scream if you’d like, but the waterfall will drown out any noise before it reaches the house.”

  Mariah jerked her face free of his grip. “Let me go, or I swear I’ll see you hang for kidnapping.”

  Dusty tried to keep his voice calm. “I built this place with Mike’s help the year after you left.”

  Mariah pulled at her bonds. “I’ll carve your name on a tombstone myself, Dustin Barfield.”

  Dusty continued as if he hadn’t heard her threat. “I doubt if anyone but Ruth and Mike knows where it is, so you’ll be safe here. The trees are so thick no one would guess there was a cabin out behind the main house.”

  “Safe!” Mariah screamed. “You’re the only one I need to be safe from. In a few minutes Cain will notice I’m missing, and he’ll tear this hideout of yours apart.”

  Dusty shrugged. “Cain left for town before daybreak. Said he’d be back later. Now, if you’re comfortable, I need to get back to that weak-kneed boyfriend of yours. I wouldn’t want to keep the son of Wes Mayson waiting.”

  Mariah knew she had to keep Dusty here longer. The more time he spent away, the more worried Elliot would be, and hopefully the more suspicious. “My hands are too tight,” she complained.

  Dusty leaned over her to check the knots. “They aren’t cutting off your circulation. You’ll be fine, and I’ll be back in half an hour to untie you.”

  As he stood to go, Mariah cried, “Wait!”

  Dusty looked at her with one eyebrow raised, as if guessing her next game. “What now?” he asked.

  Mariah said the first thing that came to mind. “You said you would kiss me if I asked you to. Well, I’m asking.”

  “N
ow?” Dusty shook his head, then laughed as if she had suddenly lost her mind.

  “Now,” Mariah insisted. “I want to know that it was just the moonlight the other night and nothing more. I want to know kissing you means nothing so that when I kill you I’ll do so without any questions.”

  Dusty sat on the bed beside her. “All right. It’s not exactly the begging tone I had hoped for, but knowing you, I might wait a long time for a soft ‘please.’” He moved slowly toward her, a smile lifting the corners of his full lips. His mouth brushed hers lightly at first. Mariah lay frozen, waiting. His tongue tickled the corner of her mouth, then he whispered, “I’ll kiss you now, Mariah, but you have to kiss me back.” His lips were at her cheek, moving slowly to her ear. “I’ll show you what no Eastern-educated fool like Elliot Mayson will ever know, but you have to meet me halfway. For in the middle lies…paradise.”

  His words tickled her ear as his fingers slid lightly along her from her shoulders to her waist. She turned willingly toward his mouth and felt his lips meet hers. His mouth was gentle and tender as his hands continued to caress her sides, creating a tidal wave of fire within her. She swayed back and forth and felt his fingers brush the sides of her breasts in their journey. A sigh escaped as she opened her mouth, allowing his kiss to deepen. His tongue moved slowly inside to taste, his hands crept an inch farther up the sides of her breasts. Each movement slightly increased in pressure, and Mariah’s pleasure climbed. Never had she been so kissed or so touched by a man. A yearning deep within her grew like a hollow ache and spread over her body. She wanted more, but with each touch the ache grew into a greater need.

  With hesitation, she returned his kiss, following his lead. He pulled his mouth free and moved to her neck, kissing the spot where her pulse pounded. “Mariah…Mariah,” he whispered into the hollow of her neck.

  “No…” Mariah cried with a sob, fighting her body for control. “No, stop,” she whispered as his hands moved along the sides of her breasts and his lips moved down her throat.