The Treasure

by Beth Williamson

  “Nicky. What the hell are you doing here?” Ray shouted.

  “Good to see you too, Ray. We’re on our way to the Malloy ranch. It’s the twins’ fifth-birthday party. Remember? We thought we’d stop and let them play with Mel for the day.”

  “Oh, right. I forgot.”

  “I’m sorry we missed Mel’s birthday, but we brought her a gift. Logan insisted on carrying it.”

  Lily saw the boy holding a package wrapped in brown paper and twine.

  “Let go of my arm,” Lily whispered to Ray.

  He started and immediately released her arm. Since he obviously wasn’t going to introduce her, she did it herself. Holding out her hand, she walked toward the tall woman with a smile.

  “Hello, I’m Lillian Wickham, Melody’s new governess. Please call me Lily.”

  The other woman used her free hand to shake Lily’s briefly.

  “Howdy, Lily. Nicky Calhoun. I’m Ray’s sister. These little ones are Logan, Rebecca and baby Frances. We call her Frankie, much to her father’s displeasure.”

  Lily squatted down to greet the twins. “Hello there, Logan and Rebecca. I think Melody might be in her room. Would you like to go find her?”

  Two dark heads nodded.

  “It was very nice to meet you,” she called as they scampered out of the room, leaving puddles of snow from their boots on the floor. Lily smiled and shook her head.

  “They’re beautiful children.”

  “Thank you. Ray, since you’re standing there like a tree stump, why don’t you go outside and help Tyler unhitch the team?”

  Ray stomped out of the house without a word and slammed the door behind him.

  “My brother doesn’t get good marks for manners. I’m sorry he was so rude.”

  Lily waved her hand. “I’ve only been here a few days, but I already picked up on that. His bark is worse than his bite.”

  Nicky laughed. She had a deep voice, and her laugh was husky as well.

  “You learn quickly. Are you the governess from New York that Mama was talking about? The nun?” Nicky set the baby on the rug in front of the sofa and took off her coat and hat. The baby had the same curly reddish brown hair as her mother. Nicky pulled out a few wooden toys from her coat pocket and gave them to little Frankie.

  “Yes, and no. I am the governess from New York, but I’m not a nun. I lived at an orphanage run by nuns. Mother Superior was the one who recommended me for the position. She and your mother are old friends.”

  Nicky nodded as she took off her coat and boots, setting them by the fireplace. “I remember her letters arriving and Mama going off on her own to read them. They were childhood friends, I think.”

  She plopped down on the rug next to her baby. Lily decided she liked this sister of Ray’s very much.

  “Why don’t I make some tea?” Lily offered.

  “Sounds wonderful. I’m about chilled through.”

  Lily went into the kitchen and put water on to boil. While she got the teacups and tea ball ready, she talked to Nicky about her children. They were smart little scamps, apparently, who kept their parents on their toes. When the water was hot, she poured it into the teapot and brought a tray in with the tea and some biscuits from breakfast.

  “Oooh, biscuits,” Nicky exclaimed, snatching one from the tray. She broke off a piece and fed it to Frankie who gummed it, happily.

  Lily set the tray on the table behind the couch, and poured two cups. She handed one to Nicky, then took one with a biscuit and sat on the sofa.

  “So what was the argument about? You sure had him riled.” Nicky chuckled.

  Lily felt a blush creep around her cheeks that she tried to hide behind the teacup. “I’m sorry you heard that. I am not normally so sharp-tongued, but something about Ray just gets my dander up. He refused to allow me to teach Melody music and the piano. He was not particularly polite about it either.”

  Nicky’s smile disappeared. “The piano. That figures. It belonged to Ray’s ex-wife, Regina. I don’t know why he didn’t get rid of it. Maybe he likes it as a reminder about the faithlessness of women.”

  “Ex-wife? I don’t believe I’ve ever met anyone who was divorced.”

  Lily was completely intrigued. She knew she shouldn’t gossip, but had the feeling whatever Nicky was going to say would be vitally important to her relationship with Ray Malloy.

  Nicky sighed and ruffled her daughter’s hair.

  “I like you, Lily. I trust my instincts completely and they tell me that you’re someone I can trust.”

  “Thank you. I feel I am trustworthy and any insight into why Ray is so…so bullish would be appreciated.”

  “Bullish. Yeah, that’s a good word. He’s got the temperament and the stubbornness of a bull, doesn’t he? He wasn’t always that way. I was gone when it happened, but somehow Regina got pregnant and forced Ray into marriage. I’m sure Ray thought it was the right thing to do.”

  Lily understood completely. Many couples anticipated the wedding night, but generally they were already engaged when they did.

  “All through her pregnancy, Regina was miserable, whining and petulant. I never liked her, but after Melody was born and she abandoned both of them, I decided I hated her.”

  Lily sucked in a breath. “She abandoned them? Melody was just a baby then?”

  Nicky nodded, grimacing. “She was two weeks old. I was pregnant with the twins and was trying to help, but she didn’t want any of it. Told me to go to hell.”

  “Sounds like someone I could grow to hate as well.”

  “That’s the truth. The thing is, and don’t repeat this to a soul, we could all tell that Melody was not Ray’s daughter.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Not his daughter? How could that be?

  “You notice that Melody has black eyes and black hair, right? Ray has brown hair and green eyes. Regina has blonde hair and blue eyes. Brown and blonde don’t make black hair. And green and blue don’t make black eyes.”

  Isn’t that the Indian bastard? The boys’ cruel words from the store echoed in her head. Ray’s angry reaction. It all fit now. Poor Melody and poor Ray.

  “Ray loved that little baby from her first breath, so don’t think she isn’t his daughter in his heart. He would move heaven and earth for that child.”

  Lily felt pain for Ray down deep in her heart. She understood all about abandoned children and mothers who don’t care about their children. A surge of respect, admiration and just plain like for Ray burst through her. Now she felt like she could at least start to understand him.

  If only she understood her reaction to him. And why she couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss.

  The door banged open and a huge man walked in with Ray close behind. He had the coolest blue eyes she’d ever seen, a perfect match to the baby’s. This must be Nicky’s husband. He was enormous. He took off his boots, coat and hat, shaking dark hair that reminded her of the twins. He was a very handsome man with a strong jaw and firm mouth.

  He walked over, picked up baby Frankie, gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek, then proceeded to tickle her. Her baby laughter rang through the house, bringing smiles to everyone’s faces. Never had Lily seen a father treat a baby with such affection. He sat in the chair and snuggled the baby under his chin.

  “Who are you?” he said to Lily.

  “Jesus please us, Tyler,” Nicky admonished. “This is Melody’s governess, Lily. Lily, this is my oafish husband, Tyler. Be nice, bounty hunter.”

  Tyler flashed a grin at his wife. “Always, magpie.”

  “Where’s Noah?” Ray asked as he took off his coat.

  “He’s back at The Bounty Ranch. It’s the first time he’s been in charge while we’re gone and he’s about to bust his buttons over it.” Nicky’s eyes shone with pride. She turned to Lily. “Noah is our adopted son. He’s just twenty and has become a man all of a sudden.”

  “It sure as hell wasn’t sudden,” Tyler said dryly.

  Nicky stuck out
her tongue and Tyler winked at her. Lily’s gaze strayed to Ray who stood by the door watching the family with such naked longing on his face she had to look away. She felt the same longing, the same need to belong to someone. Seeing it up close was enough to make her heart prick with tears.

  She tucked away her envy and spent the afternoon getting to know the Calhouns.

  ———

  Lily outdid herself on the afternoon meal. Ray ate so much stew and dumplings, he thought he was going to burst. Lord, that woman could cook.

  The conversation floating around the table was punctuated with laughter and good-natured teasing. Lily fit right in with his family, and it seemed she and Nicky were as tight as ticks on a dog’s ass.

  He most certainly did not feel jealous of his sister.

  When Lily brought out the dessert, a delicious chocolate cake, he found he was not quite as full as he thought. He hadn’t had cake in so long.

  “I understand that one somebody,” she turned and winked at Melody, “and two other somebodies,” she turned and winked at Logan and Rebecca, “are turning or just turned twenty.”

  The children all laughed and talked over each other to tell her they weren’t twenty. They were only five. She pretended to look aghast and smacked her forehead with her hand as if she had just realized the error of her thinking. Ray was hard-pressed not to smile at her antics.

  “Well, then, I made this cake for twenty-year-olds. Do you think it’s okay to serve it to five-year-olds?”

  They all chimed in with loud “Yes!” “Yeah!” and “Yup!” She looked doubtful, but went to cut the cake, then stopped the knife hovering over the chocolate confection.

  “Are you absolutely sure?”

  The children groaned and pounded their fists on the table. Tyler grinned, and Nicky laughed. Little Frankie sat on her lap, waving a spoon like a weapon and smiling happily at everyone.

  Lily pulled out three candles from her pocket and stuck them in the cake. She struck a match and lit the candles one by one.

  “For Melody. For Rebecca. For Logan. Is everyone ready? Okay, make a wish and blow out your candles.”

  The three children, all dark headed, leaned forward and blew with all their might on the candles. The candles fluttered, two went out, but Melody’s was in danger of not going out. Without revealing herself to the girl, Lily leaned down and blew quickly, helping Melody’s candle wink out.

  Everyone clapped and yelled “Happy Birthday” to the joyous children who beamed like angels.

  A sudden thought struck and Ray realized what he felt was happiness. There was no strife, no trouble, no fear dragging him down. At that very moment, he felt happy. Because of Lily. She brought silliness, laughter and her own brand of sass into his house.

  What he felt for Regina passed long before they stood in front of a preacher. What he was beginning to feel for Lily was much, much deeper. It involved his heart, his mind and his soul.

  Oh, shit.

  He was definitely in trouble.

  ———

  The Calhouns left shortly after supper, and the house echoed with silence. After her nightly battle of the bath with Melody, Lily felt restless and antsy. She tried to concentrate on some mending, but her stitches were all crooked and she pulled them out three times before deciding enough was enough.

  It was too cold to walk outside, and pacing in the living room just wasn’t releasing her energy, but it was better than nothing. She had a feeling she knew the cause of her problem.

  Family. To be part of and to witness everything that was the Calhoun family, ignited a yearning inside her that burned brightly. It’s what she had been missing all her life. She knew it would fill the empty holes in her soul, in her heart. She loved the nuns to distraction, but they were never enough.

  She wanted a husband. She wanted children of her own.

  The front door burst open, startling her so badly she jumped a foot and yelped like a completely ninny. She tripped over the chair and ended up on her knees, painfully smacking them on the hard wood floor.

  “Should I help you up, or pretend it didn’t happen?” asked Ray as he closed the door.

  Lily groaned at the pain shooting up from her knees. “This time, I think I’d like help up.”

  In a moment, Ray was beside her, gently lifting her to her feet. He held her steady when she wobbled a bit. His big hands felt wonderful on her waist, making her feel smaller than she really was. She knew she was plump, but he was so big, it didn’t matter.

  “Better?” he murmured near the top of her head.

  She nodded. Lily realized he was mere inches from her. The heat from his large body quickly warmed her to dangerous levels.

  “You smell like lavender.”

  “I use it in my bath.” She looked up and met his gaze. To her surprise, she saw gentleness in his eyes, laced with a heady lust that jumped from him to her. Her breasts tightened and the nipples pebbled until they were almost painful. A pulse thrummed through her, carrying an age-old melody that sang between her legs, in her most secret place.

  “What’s happening, Ray?”

  “Damned if I know, but I’m tired of fighting it.”

  His arms went around her and she was pulled up against his hard body.

  Finally.

  She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. In seconds, his lips found hers. They were at once hard yet soft, demanding yet gentle. She learned quickly how to nibble, lick and suckle. At the first touch of her tongue to his lips, he groaned from deep in his throat and held her tighter.

  Lily felt her body opening like a flower in the morning sun. Her petals open to the life-giving warmth that was Ray.

  His mouth covered hers and his tongue danced within her mouth. Caressing, exploring and teasing hers. When she moaned, he broke the kiss and held her to him. Her heart beat so hard, she was afraid even the horses in the corral heard it. His thundered against her chest like a train engine.

  “I’ll be damned if I can explain this, Lily. It’s like I can’t keep my hands off you.” His voice was rough against her temple.

  “Why did you stop then?”

  His chuckle sounded more like a groan. “I don’t believe in taking virgins on my living-room floor.”

  Lily opened her petals even further, stepping into the dangerous precipice that was her past. “What if I told you I’m not a virgin?”

  Ray’s entire body tightened at once, squeezing her so hard she could hardly catch a breath. He let go quickly.

  “Is it true?”

  “What if it were? Would you have stopped?”

  He pulled back and held her at arm’s length. His eyes were dark with passion and frustration, his mouth nearly white from strain.

  “Is it true?”

  “You answer my question first.”

  He released her completely and stepped away to run his fingers through his hair. Blowing out a huge breath, he put his hands on his hips and faced her. She could see the hardness of his erection in his pants. The thought that kissing her did that was nearly enough to make her grab him and kiss him again.

  “You don’t play fair.”

  She cocked her head and shrugged. “I don’t know the rules of the game, so how can I know if I’m playing fair?”

  “We need to do something besides discuss this.”

  Lily smiled. “We could go back to—”

  “Besides kissing. Something else.”

  Lily frowned. “You change the rules all the time.”

  He kicked off his boots and they landed near the door. “My house. My rules.”

  Lily wanted to explore the feelings more deeply, but obviously Ray was done talking. He very clearly wanted to continue, but honor held him back. He thought her a virgin and respected her for that.

  If only he knew the things she’d done as a young girl to survive, to try and please a mother who would never be appeased. If she admitted to not being a virgin, he would want to know why. She wasn’t prepared to tell him.<
br />
  “Can we play poker?”

  She’d shocked him. He looked like she’d asked him to wear a pink dress and whistle Dixie.

  “Poker?”

  “It’s a card game. Do you know how to play?”

  He scoffed manfully. “Of course I know how to play. Do you?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  He scowled. “Nicky knows how to play, but there is a very good reason why. I’m wondering how you know how to play.”

  Lily shrugged, butterflies dancing in her stomach, hoping he wouldn’t ask too many questions.

  “There are a lot of things an orphan learns to survive,” she said that half-truth with a straight face.

  Just accept me, Ray. Please.

  “I’ve got a deck of cards in my room. Meet me in the kitchen in two minutes. I expect a late-night snack too.”

  He walked from the room with one last scowl at her. She let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes. Things were getting very complicated, very quickly with Ray Malloy.

  When she’d left New York, she had no idea her life would be completely different within a week. Or that she’d find herself falling in love with a man whose heart was damaged almost as much as hers.

  ———

  Lily didn’t really like horses. Okay, she was scared to death of them. Avoided them at all costs. However, she knew Melody loved them. On the second day of Melody’s refusal to learn, Lily worked up enough courage to go out to the barn. The barn where the horses resided. The big, scary horses. Perhaps if Lily learned to be unafraid of horses, she could convince Melody to teach her about them, bridge an enormous gap that seemed unbridgeable.

  Bundled in as many layers as she could get on without falling on her head, Lily strode out the door toward the barn. The wind whistled past her nose, instantly chilling her. She wished she had known just how cold Wyoming was. She’d have purchased more flannel.

  Her boots squeaked on the snow as she walked. The Wyoming landscape in winter was very barren and bleak. The only bright spot she saw was the red barn. Not too bright though, it did house the enormous beasties called horses.

  When she reached the building, she tugged on the door and stepped inside the gloom. The whiteness of the snow contrasted sharply with the darkness of the barn and it took several agonizing minutes before Lily could see properly. She imagined all sorts of horrible things happening to her while she stood there like a ninny, blinded.