His head lifted slowly and he gazed down at her, his eyelids drooping drowsily. “It’s just Cade. Just Cade.” His hands reached up and she watched him as though transfixed while he caught a loose strand of her hair and wound it around his finger. “Why don’t you leave it down?”
“What?” Her eyes were fixated on his fingers caressing her hair. Then she blinked and stuttered out a response, “I-I don’t like it loose. It gets in my way.”
“I like it down. You are beautiful.”
His words seemed to change her mood towards him entirely, though he had no idea how. “Just how much of that whiskey did you drink? Don’t look surprised, I saw the bottle.” She pushed at his shoulders. “Will you please get off me? I will not be part of your drunken escapade.”
Cade pulled back, surprised by her actions. “Drunken escapade? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Only a fool or a drunk would have tried the stunt you just did. If that officer had come down here do you really think you could defend yourself? You can’t even stand on your own.” She shoved at his shoulders again, panting with the exertion.
“For your information, I was coming to help you.” Even as he said it, Cade realized how foolish it sounded. Yeah, the whiskey probably had been most of the motivating factor behind his... escapade. “And I’m sober now.”
Olivia pressed her lips together. “Get off of me.”
He didn’t know what made him do it. Maybe it was because she needed a little reminder that he was a man. Maybe it was because he needed a little reminder that he was a man. But before he could think twice, he dropped his head, his lips sealing with hers.
She gasped in surprise and he took advantage to press further, his tongue lightly tracing the delicate skin just inside her lips. Her body became stiff, her fingers slowly curling into fists. He moved his lips over her slowly, gently, hoping to coax a reaction from her, but if anything, she became stiffer.
Finally, he lifted his head, looking down at her with frustration. She glared up at him.
“I suppose I won’t do that—” His words ended on a grunt as her fist struck his jaw—hard.
He pitched to the side quickly, drawing up his arms to defend himself, but obviously she was done.
She stood quickly, adjusting her skirt and shirt, calmly smoothing her hair back in place. “I’m sorry for doing that. But I told you to get off of me and you just would not listen.”
Cade touched his jaw tenderly and knew he had another bruise to add to the multitudes. “Lady, one day someone will teach you to thaw out. But I pray for mercy on the man that has to do it.” He glanced up in time to see a flash of pain in her eyes before she turned quickly towards the stairs.
“I’ll come back later to-to check your leg. I’ll bring you...” She paused, clearing her throat. “I’ll bring you something to eat.” And, with that, she hurried up the stairs, leaving him to figure out just what he had done wrong.
Chapter Six
Beautiful. He had called her beautiful. She hesitated while folding the towels as her mind traveled back to the moment when his lips had first touched hers. She had tasted the whiskey, but she had also tasted him—warm, rich, heady. She could have gotten drunk from the kiss alone.
But then he would begin the groping, the ripping of her stockings and, if she didn’t do exactly as he ordered, there would be pain. She knew the experience well, and had prayed that she never again had to go through such an ordeal.
And it was only the alcohol that had made him call her beautiful. She knew how unappealing she was. Ever since she was a teenager she had dressed in clothes that hid her body from a man’s eyes. What man would ever crave a woman that was thin and muscular from years of hard work? They wanted a woman that was soft and supple, with all of the right curves. She had curves, but she was embarrassed by them.
She had developed early in life and the boys at school had enjoyed tormenting her over her body. At first she had been able to ignore them. But when the girls began to hurl insults at her as well, she learned to dress in a way that no one would ever know what her body looked like.
Shaking her head, she returned her attention to folding the towels. She hadn’t thought about her body or what men would think of it in years. She had been too busy building her wall. She would never again be hurt like she was before. She would never let anyone that close to her heart again.
He had started to doze off when he heard the door above him lift. Wearily rubbing at his eyes, he adjusted the sheet, making sure he was covered. He frowned at the red stains. He hadn’t intended on ruining her linens in his haste to wrap his leg.
Tiny feet skipped quickly down the stairs and a young girl he had never seen before smiled at him before jumping off the last two steps, the bowl in her hands sloshing liquid onto the cloth wrapped around it. It didn’t seem to bother her.
“Hola.” She grinned, sitting on the edge of the cot next to him. “I brought you some broth and tortillas.” She squinted. “Maybe if you aren’t so hungry you’ll stop glaring like that.”
Cade hadn’t been aware of the scowl on his face, but immediately forced his expression to loosen up. “Where’s Olivia?” he asked, accepting the tortilla she handed him.
The young girl began to wiggle her foot. “Does she let you call her Olivia? That would be a first. My name is Serena, by the way. Everyone just calls me Serri.”
The girl talked fast and loud and his head began to ache. With difficulty, he swallowed the tortilla. Never had he tasted something so wonderful, but his mouth was still parched, and the swigs of whiskey hadn’t helped. She seemed to know what he was going through, because she grabbed the jar of water nearby and pressed it to his lips. He had no choice but to swallow or have the liquid splash over his face.
Finally, she pulled it away and he drew a deep breath. “Are you... Is Olivia your mother?” He hadn’t thought Olivia was old enough, but...
“Hah! She acts like it doesn’t she? She’s my sister. Hard to believe, I know.” She began to braid her hair, her foot still wiggling rapidly.
The girl was dressed in such an odd fashion he wondered if she wasn’t entirely right in the head. Her worn skirt had what appeared to be torn pieces of painted tarp pinned on in several places, and she wore a thick red sash that wrapped all the way up her torso over her shirt. She was smiling at him when he looked at her freckle-covered face.
“I just painted the tarp yesterday. I couldn’t wait any longer to wear it. What do you think?”
He thought he was in a madhouse. “Where is Olivia?” he asked again.
She sighed and let her hair fall loose from her fingers. “Upstairs. She’s been too busy to come down here, so I thought I would come visit.”
His brow wrinkled and he hoped Serena wasn’t going to make another comment about his expressions. “Does she know you’re down here?”
Serena scoffed and stood, walking around the room and rummaging through everything she could get her hands on. “They don’t know where I am half the time.” She grinned. “Which is a good thing—for me at least.” She paused when she came to the gun table and turned back to him.
He quickly swallowed the broth he had put in his mouth, wishing she would keep looking around and not make him the subject of interest again. It wasn’t to be. She flounced back over to him and sat down on the cot so hard his leg bounced. He gritted his teeth and tried not to look at her, certain the scowl on his face this time would get a reaction.
When he cracked one eye open to look at her, she was leaning forward, her chin propped in her hand, watching him closely. “So what happened to you?”
He took another long sip of the broth, trying to ignore the eyes that were watching him so intently. He swallowed the soothing liquid and wanted to sigh in contentment. Though he really wanted a huge meal to soothe his hunger, the broth was satisfying and he was feeling warm and relaxed.
She was still watching him.
He frowned. “How old are you?”
&nbs
p; “Thirteen. So what happened?”
She was relentless. He glanced longingly at the stairs. Where was Olivia?
He could take her silence and glares easier than the inquisitive girl sitting next to him. “I was in a fight.”
“Angie said it was with the Mexican soldiers. Did you kill any?”
Cade took a large bite out of his tortilla and chewed it slowly. She never looked away.
“Yes,” he mumbled around the food.
Her eyes lit up. “Good. They all deserve to die.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, cautiously setting his nearly empty bowl on the floor next to him. “Why would you say that?”
She shrugged. “They aren’t good people. Did you see what they did to our men in the Alamo? No... I guess you didn’t. You’re fortunate. And they call us heathens.”
Cade shook his head. “Someone has filled your head with a bunch of crap.”
Her eyes widened with surprise. “How can you say that? Aren’t you a Texian?”
“There have been terrible things done... on both sides. It’s a war. Men follow their leaders. Most of those out there right now are just boys and all they know is that Mexico is their home and they must take care of it. If you hate them just for following their leaders, then you need to hate most of the Texians, too.”
She frowned deeply at him. “But they’re wrong.”
“Have you ever thought they might be saying the same thing about us... about you? They think you’re supporting greedy Americans.”
She folded her arms across her chest and lifted her chin. “I support freedom. They want to take all of that away from us!”
“And the Americans want to break their rules. Sometimes you have to see things from both sides.”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek, watching him, frowning at him. “Whose side are you on?”
The corner of his mouth lifted and he lay his head back on the pillow. “Mine.”
She stood up and leaned over him, looking down at him. “That’s not a very good answer.”
“I think it is.”
She seemed to be thinking about it, mulling it over in her head. “I don’t think I like you.”
Cade sighed heavily and closed his eyes. “Not many people do.” He cracked one eye open at her. “On either side,” he added and she smiled.
She nodded towards his leg. “Is it bad?”
Cade closed his eyes again. “You don’t need to worry about it.”
“What makes you think I’m worried? Can I look at it?”
Cade’s eyes snapped open. “No, you don’t want to...” She was already lifting the sheet up and he grabbed the edges just in time to prevent curious thirteen-year-old eyes from seeing his full anatomy. Her face had turned pale.
“That’s really ugly,” she said, swallowing hard.
“Thank you. I needed to know that.” He was struggling to cover his leg up again, but she wouldn’t let him.
“It must hurt a lot.” She kneeled down next to the cot, trying to get a closer look at his torn flesh. She pursed her lips and drummed her fingers on the sheet. “I could make something for you.”
“Make something...?”
She turned back to look at him, a wicked smile on her face. “If I decide I like you, that is. I need to think about it.”
“Serena!” Olivia’s voice was loud in the small space, and Serena jumped as though she had been struck by a whip.
She gave Cade a nervous grin. “Adios, cowboy.” He had never seen a girl scramble so fast, dodging around the stairs as Olivia hurried down them and quickly slipping out of her sister’s attempted grasp.
For a moment it looked like Olivia was going to charge up the stairs after her, then she stopped, shaking her head. He watched her draw a deep breath before turning to face him, but her eyes wouldn’t quite meet his.
“I’m sorry. She shouldn’t have come down here. I hope she didn’t bother you too much.”
“You were more worried about her than you were about me. Do you really think I’m a threat?” Cade wanted to laugh but he was too irritated.
He hadn’t done anything to this woman, and yet she had obviously been afraid for her sister.
Her eyes shot to his face in surprise. “Of course I do! You come into my home uninvited with a loaded gun, you threaten to shoot Angie, and you have admitted to killing others. How could I not believe you a threat?”
Put in that perspective, Cade wondered why she hadn’t already shot him. Curiosity gnawed at him. “Then why do you let me stay? Why are you taking care of me instead of forcing me out on my way?”
Her eyes left his face as she bent to pick up his bowl. “I made a promise,” she said softly, almost too soft for him to hear.
“What promise?”
She smoothed a hand over her hair, making sure the bun was still slicked away from her face. “I-I promised you that you would get better. I need to keep my promise.”
Irritation bubbled inside him. “Well consider your promise kept. I’m better. Now I’m leaving.” He struggled to push himself to a sitting position, wincing as pain shot up his leg.
“I’m glad to know I’ve saved a rational man. God knows we need more of them.” Her voice dripped sarcasm as she turned her back on him and went to the corner.
Teeth gritted, he kept struggling to pull himself up while she continued talking.
“You don’t have the strength to make it up those stairs, much less out of this house. And when you pass out on the back steps the wrath of the entire Mexican Army will come down on my family.” She shook her head as she pulled a sheet out from under a pile of blankets and shook it out. She pinned him with a dark look that made him momentarily pause. “I won’t let you do that.”
He was finally sitting up straight and slowly, painfully, swung his legs over the side of the cot. “I heard that officer upstairs this morning. Or yesterday morning. Hell, I don’t even know what day it is. I’m getting out of here before I put you in any more danger.”
Olivia approached him, her expression unusually neutral. He should probably apologize for his comment earlier. He hadn’t meant to offend her, but her reaction had been unnecessary. He rubbed at his jaw where her fist had struck him. She was definitely wound too tight.
She drew a deep breath as she stood in front of him, holding the sheet loosely at her waist. “Mr. Cade—”
“Cade. Just Cade.”
“As much as I would love to argue with you, I must agree that it is not safe for you to stay here any longer.”
He hoped the surprise didn’t show on his face. “Good. I’m sorry about this sheet. Some day, maybe, if I ever come back, I’ll buy you some new ones. I could use another one to cover up, if you don’t mind.” He nodded towards the sheet she held.
She pulled it closer to her, as though afraid he would take if from her. “I don’t want or need anything from you, Mr. Cade. I offered my home to you for your protection and I would do it again if need be. But the officer came back again this afternoon asking more questions. I cannot put my family at risk. So we’re leaving.”
“We’re leaving? As in you and me?” He didn’t know how to react to her statement. She nodded firmly, then reached for his sheet and pulled it away before he could snatch it back. “Damn it, woman, what is it with you wanting me naked all the time?”
Her cheeks flamed red as she kneeled next to the cot and examined his leg. “I have seen you in the nude plenty of times while you were asleep. Though I did not enjoy it, I did what needed to be done for your health.”
Cade forced himself to stop grinding his teeth. He had never met a more hardheaded, downright stubborn woman in all his life. “There is no reason for you to come with me. I’ll find a horse or mule and be gone before daylight. Or dark. What time is it anyway?”
Her cool fingers were running down the outside of his leg and he suddenly found it very difficult to focus. Her touch was gentle, soothing, and almost as though some of the pain was being pulled through h
er fingertips.
“It’s beginning to heal,” she said softly, “though it’s going to take some time. I really wish you hadn’t tried to walk on it.”
“I thought you were in trouble.”
Her fingers hesitated and she looked up at him. He hadn’t noticed how many colors were in her eyes before. He counted at least ten before she spoke. “And what would you have done, if I had been? You can’t even get up the stairs.”
“I was going to try.”
“Why? Why were you going to do that for me?” She watched him with a furrowed brow.
He was confused by her question. “Why wouldn’t I? You’ve given me shelter... you’ve taken care of me when most would have given up.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
Cade was silent for a few moments, trying to make a decision. It was difficult with her touching him, her eyes watching him. “Lady, I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you. I’d say I owe you quite a bit. So I’m willing to listen to whatever it is you’re planning. I’m not saying I’m going to go along with it, but I’m willing to listen.”
A half smile touched her lips. “I don’t think you have much of a choice.”
God, she should smile more often. It made him want to touch her, to unpin her hair, to risk getting punched in the jaw again.
He leaned back on his elbows and stared up at the rafters. “I’m listening.”
Olivia’s attention returned to his leg and, after several moments of silence, he was beginning to wonder if she was going to tell him. “My sister, Angie... her husband is building her a home a couple of miles from here. It needs a lot of work, and it’s not a fitting place for a pregnant woman right now, even if he was here.”
“Was he the one at the Alamo?”
Olivia hesitated then nodded. “Yes. She believes he’s still alive, but I know...” Her words halted and she visibly swallowed.
“Don’t give up hope. You can’t ever give up hope.”
He said the words with such conviction that it made her head jerk up to look at him, but he only made brief eye contact before he was back to staring at the rafters.
Texas Desire Page 6