Roses for love. Forget-me-nots, true love. Double red pinks, pure and ardent love. Intermingled throughout were sprigs of dark green ivy, most faithful of all. Fidelity. He knew that was as important to her as love. Tucked in beneath a rose was a tiny four leaf clover, be mine. She wasn’t positive about the piece of foliage on the other side, but she thought it was an olive branch. Peace.
“I brought the candy to you young ’uns because I love you and miss you.” His tone shifted, shaded with amusement. “And I brought the flowers to Mrs. Simpson because I figured I’d better sweeten up the chaperone.”
“You scamp.” Nola laughed and held out her hand for Cade to help her up. “I’ll take these inside. Have the perfect spot for them on the back porch.” She picked up her cane and paused, looking at Jessie’s bouquet. “Where did you get such beautiful flowers anyway?”
“Fort Worth.”
Nola’s eyebrows shot up. Jessie stared at him. She didn’t realize her mouth had dropped open until he leaned over and gently pushed up on her chin with his finger. “Careful, darlin’, or you’ll catch flies.”
She snapped her mouth shut. Then had to ask. “How?”
“Well, they just fly right inside. They like sugar, you know.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I meant the roses. How did you get them here?”
“I know a man who has a big garden full of all sorts of flowers and plants. So I sent him a telegram at the crack of dawn this morning, asking to buy some roses and the other flowers and have them sent out on the train. Suggested he pack the box in ice and sawdust to keep them from wilting, which he did. They’ve been sitting in water over at Ty’s house since the train arrived this afternoon.”
He grinned, much too satisfied with himself. Though, in truth, she couldn’t blame him. It was quite a feat.
“Well, I declare,” said Nola. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Someone should start up a business doing that.”
Cade laughed. “Ty is already considering it.”
“Brad, bring your mother’s flowers inside,” said Nola. “You and Ellie can help me find a vase.”
Jessie held the flowers out to Brad. When he winked at her, she almost dropped them. Obviously, her son had accepted Cade’s peace offering, probably not so much the candy but his reason for being there. But, she reminded herself sternly, Brad didn’t know why she had left. He didn’t know how Cade had deceived her. Somehow, that didn’t seem as awful as it had a quarter hour earlier.
Cade opened the screen door for Nola, glancing at the white wooden porch swing. “I don’t remember you having a swing.”
“Didn’t until yesterday.” The old lady grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Since Jessie moved in, I thought I might have a use for it. It holds two, you know.”
Cade smiled, first at her, then at Jessie. “So I noticed. Thanks.”
“Oh, you’re welcome, dear. I’ll try to keep the children occupied for a while.”
“You do that.” He held the screen door open until they went inside, then turned to Jessie. “May I sit down?”
“I suppose.”
He took off his hat, hanging it on a little post at the top of the rocking chair. When he sat down, the swing swayed precariously for a moment, but he quickly steadied it. He sat wedged against the end, leaving a little space between them, and kept his arms at his sides. “How are you?”
“Fine,” she said brightly. “Nola is easy to work for.”
“She’s a jewel, all right. Does she still make her special chow-chow?”
“Yes, we had some yesterday at dinner.”
“Maybe she’ll give you the recipe. That one is worth passing on.”
“She already did. I copied it on an empty page at the back of one of my cookbooks.”
He nodded, then sat quietly watching the empty street. Jessie glanced at him, noting that his face seemed leaner, a few of the creases deeper. Could a man lose enough weight in five days to be noticeable? “How are you?”
Turning to her, he smiled. “A whole lot better now. I’ve been crankier than a mountain lion with a sore paw, snarlin’ at everybody. Couldn’t eat. Couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t do anything right. I was about ready to go on a shootin’ spree, and I didn’t care who got in my sights.”
“What changed?” She looked down, clasping her hands in her lap to keep from touching him.
“I went over to your house last night to see if you’d forgotten anything. Or maybe left something I wanted you to take.”
“The washbasin and pitcher.”
He nodded. “I’m glad you didn’t leave it behind.”
“I thought about it. But I couldn’t.”
“I was so tired, I stretched out on the bed.” He shrugged and looked out across the yard. “The mattress smells like lavender. Made me feel closer to you. I fell asleep and slept almost the whole night. First time I’d gotten more than an hour’s rest at a time since you left. When I woke up in the wee hours of the morning, things were a whole lot clearer.” He paused, as if carefully choosing his words.
“I should have been honest with you about Quint from the beginning. I made up all kinds of excuses not to tell you. They sounded right, but they weren’t. Guess in the back of my mind, I knew it all along but didn’t want to admit it.” He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “I was afraid that if you moved to town, we wouldn’t get to know each other the way we needed to.”
“You mean you wouldn’t be able to flirt as much.” She dropped her voice to almost a whisper. “Or kiss me whenever you wanted to.”
“Honey, I didn’t kiss you nearly as often as I wanted to.” He smiled wryly. “If I had, we wouldn’t have accomplished anything else.” His smile faded, but he didn’t look away. “I was afraid I’d lose you before I had a chance to prove myself to you. I knew that as soon as you moved to town, men would be after you like ants at a picnic.”
Considering the surprising number of gentlemen who had stopped by in the past two days, it was a good analogy. A smile tugged at her lips. “Sometimes marching two by two.”
“You actually had two here at the same time?”
Laughter bubbled up, and without thinking, she leaned toward him to share the joke. “It was so funny. One was a cowboy. I can’t remember his name. The other one was Mr. Brooks, the tailor.”
“That pipsqueak?” Cade laughed with her.
“They arrived from opposite directions and pushed through the gate at the same time. It’s a wonder they didn’t break it off the hinges. Then they stood there in the yard arguing until Nola hollered at them to go away, that I wouldn’t be interested in fools like them anyway.”
“Where were you?” He smiled and shifted, draping his arm across the back of the seat. The swing dipped, tipping her lightly against him. His hand curled around her shoulder, holding her there.
Not that she could have moved even if she’d wanted to. Her heart pounded; her breathing was shallow; and her body was as limp as a wet dishrag. “Peeking through the lace curtains in the parlor.”
“How many have there been?”
“Seven. Nine, if you count two of the three who offered me a job the first morning in town.”
His fingers tightened minutely. “Why not count the third one?”
“Because he’s married, and I would have been working at the restaurant with his wife.”
His hand relaxed and he took a deep breath, aware that he would have no competition from the restaurant owner. He had none from anyone else, either, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to admit it just yet.
“Did you talk to any of them?”
“All except the ones last night. Even Ellie giggled at them.”
“Did you sit out here in the swing with anyone?” He pressed a little closer, murmuring in her ear, his fingers sliding from her shoulder to the side of her neck. “In the dark?”
Jessie glanced around, surprised to see that night had fallen. No light shone from the house. Nola must have taken the children into the kitchen or
the back parlor. It was very dark in their corner of the porch, hiding them from prying eyes. She kept her head forward, facing the quiet, empty street, shivering from the teasing warmth of his breath on her ear. “No. I just thanked them for their interest and sent them on their way.”
“Good.” He paused so long, she thought he wasn’t going to say anything else. “Forgive me, Jessie. I took advantage of your loneliness and hurt to keep you with me. It was wrong. I was wrong. I promise I’ll never lie to you again. I give you my word on it.”
His word was his bond. She knew it. Everyone who had ever dealt with him, likely anyone who had even heard of him, knew it.
He cupped her face in his hand, gently turning it toward him. “I’m so very sorry I hurt you. Will you forgive me?”
In all the years she had been married, Neil had never once apologized, never asked for her forgiveness, no matter how many times nor how badly he had hurt her.
She smoothed the troubled frown from his brow and brushed her lips across his. “Yes.”
He kissed her with aching tenderness, making the promise again through his touch. Then he deepened the kiss, promising passion and fulfillment. Someday, but not here and now. And certainly not on Nola Simpson’s front porch.
He slowly pulled away and came back for a few nibbling kisses. “It’s probably a good thing you moved to town,” he murmured. “If we were at the ranch, I’d have you half undressed five minutes after the kids were asleep.”
Jessie fanned her face with her hand, making him laugh. She flipped the ends of his string tie. “Did you have meeting today?”
“The most important one of my life.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “With you.”
“You’re saying you got all gussied up just to come see me?”
“Yes, ma’am. I wanted to make a good impression.”
She laughed softly, pleased to her toenails. “Well, you did. But don’t forget, I’ve also seen you covered in dust and sweat.”
“And smelling like I’d wrestled a Longhorn.”
“You had.” Jessie laughed again, remembering the day he came home with cow manure smeared all over his pants.
“But I left the mud and muck out on the back porch.”
After sending her and the children over to her house while he changed. She’d had a bit of trouble with her imagination that night. Why thinking about him changing clothes on the back porch was different than his changing in his room every day was a mystery, but it had fueled her dreams for a week.
“And I appreciated it, too. I had to soak those pants for two days to get the smell out.”
“Would have ruined supper.” His stomach rumbled and he chuckled. “Which I missed tonight. You have anything a poor, starving cowpoke could eat?”
“Well, I don’t know. Are you willing to work for it?”
A slow, seductive smile lit the darkness. “Depends on what kind of work you have in mind.”
“Not that kind. Would you tell the children a story? They’ve really missed that. So have I.”
“Piece of cake.”
“Yes, you may have some cake.”
He gave her a squeeze and hopped up, making the swing move crazily. “Good. But that’s not what I meant.”
“I know. Come noble bard, tell us a tale.” She let him pull her up off the swing.
“I like the noble part. But I’m not so sure about being called a bard.” He pretended to use the window as a mirror. “I don’t look a thing like Shakespeare.”
“Thankfully. You’re much more handsome.”
He put his arm around her waist and opened the screen door. “Lady, you just earned yourself two stories. Too bad we aren’t already married and at home. I’d make it a bedtime one.”
“Cade!” She shushed him as heat swept through her. “Behave yourself.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “For now. But one of these days—hopefully real soon—I’ll show you just how bad I can be.”
Oh, my! Suddenly the cool evening breeze turned sultry. This is how it should be when a husband comes home.
Chapter 16
Cade went back to town on Saturday, had dinner at Nola’s that night, and drove them all to church Sunday in a surrey he rented at the livery stable.
Lost in thought on the way home, he almost missed Quint’s signal, a blue bandana tied to a mesquite limb about two miles from the ranch road. Cade stopped Mischief in the shade of the tree and glanced around in a casual way, carefully looking for anyone who might be watching. He took a drink from his canteen, then hung the strap back over the saddle horn. Reaching down, as if he were checking the stirrup, he pulled the bandana loose from the low limb, wadding it up in his hand.
He nudged the horse to a walk, staying on the road until it curved around a small hill. Stuffing the handkerchief in his shirt pocket, he veered off the road and down a draw that led to a dry creek bed. He kept moving until he heard a whistle mimicking the call of a bob-white, a dove found throughout the area. When he halted, Quint stepped out from behind a large rock.
Cade dismounted quickly, shaking his hand and slapping him on the back. “You ornery scoundrel, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”
Quint grinned. “That’s good to hear. After I got Jessie all riled up, I was afraid you might try to shoot me.”
“Can’t blame you for my failings. I should have told her right at the start.”
Quint leaned against the rock, giving Cade the impression it was the first time he had relaxed in weeks. “Why didn’t you?”
“I wanted her to stay, so I could look after her.” He smiled ruefully. “And look at her. I didn’t want to upset her any more than she was. Didn’t think she’d be too happy about your plan.”
“You figured that one right. If she’d kept her shotgun instead of setting it down on the end of the porch, she might have conked me with it.”
“Her shotgun?” Cade frowned, realizing he hadn’t asked Jessie exactly what happened the night Quint came to the house.
“She saw me sneaking up to your place and cornered me on the front porch. It was dark, and I kept low when I ran across the yard, so she didn’t recognize me.”
Cade closed his eyes briefly, muttering under his breath. “And she went out there to keep you from breaking into the house. Blast that woman, she’s going to make me old before my time.”
“So you’re still speaking?”
“We are now.” Cade grinned and stepped back, mindful of who he was talking to. “Kissin’, too.”
“That better be all,” growled Quint, only half in jest. “She’s my baby sister.”
“And I’m treating her like it. Would even if she wasn’t your kin. She’s a fine woman.”
Quint smiled and plucked a dried blade of grass from a crevice in the rock. “Yeah, she is. Are you going to be my brother-in-law?”
“That’s my intention. I haven’t officially asked her yet. Figured I needed to court her right and proper for a while. She’s working for Nola Simpson, and they’re living at her place.”
“That what I heard. Should make courtin’ her easy. Mrs. Simpson has a soft spot for you.”
“She’s a good friend and tickled to death to see romance bloom right in front of her.” Cade’s thoughts and expression sobered. “I’ve never been so miserable in my life as I was when Jessie moved to town, mad at me and wishing I was roastin’ somewhere besides Texas. I was scared to death somebody would come along and attract her interest before she forgave me.”
“How long was that?”
“Five miserable days.”
Quint chuckled and tossed the grass into the wind. “And how many would-be suitors called at her door?”
“Seven. Two others offered her a job, but she didn’t think that was all they had in mind. Judging by the disappointed faces when we walked into church on Sunday, there were a dozen more who hadn’t worked up the gumption yet to make their move.”
“I bet there were a few females who weren�
�t happy to see you with her.”
“A few. The die-hards that held onto a glimmer of hope even when I ignored them.”
Quint winced and laughed. “You got a mean streak I didn’t know about.”
“Only when it comes to women more interested in how much money I make than me.” Cade looked around. Though they were secluded, he didn’t think it would be smart to keep talking to Quint for too long. “So did you have another reason for meeting me, other than Jessie?”
“The leader of the rustlers is Tate Doolin.”
“The lawyer?” Cade stared at him. “Are you sure?”
“Shook hands with him yesterday morning at the camp.”
Cade whistled softly. “I never even suspected him. He has a reputation for dealing fair and square. He’s picked up several big ranchers as clients, along with probably a third of the businessmen in town.”
“You included?”
“No. We’re still with Joe Bynum. He’s a good man. Never gave us any reason to think about switching to someone else.” Cade glanced down and scuffed a dirt clod with his boot, shaking his head in bemusement. “Tate Doolin. He’s another one the ladies go all dewy-eyed over.”
“Not all of them.”
At the hard edge in Quint’s voice, Cade looked up quickly. “Jessie?”
Quint nodded. “Doolin said he’d offered her a job as his housekeeper, but she wasn’t interested. Said it was a pity, too, because he liked her fire as well as her beauty.”
“What the devil did he do?”
“I don’t know. I had to keep my temper and act like I didn’t care. Figure she’s safer that way. He made it plain he wasn’t just interested in her cooking, but she’s not high enough up on the social ladder for him to be thinking about marriage. He’s the one who told me about her working for Mrs. Simpson.”
“So he’s keeping an eye on her. Jessie said three men offered her a job, but the only one she mentioned by name was Boswell over the restaurant. Guess she didn’t think she’d better give me any information on the other two.”
McKinnon's Bride (Willow Grove, Texas Series Book 1) Page 14