To Wed In Texas

by Jodi Thomas

  Adam took his turn guarding the savage at night but spent most of his days in town. Several people had been hurt in the fire, and an extra doctor was much appreciated. The churches left standing had been transformed into hospitals.

  Karlee tried to sleep in the girls' room but found she woke Wes up each time she moved downstairs to check on Daniel. He'd spent four long years in the war aware of every sound. Even her slight movements brought him to the bedroom door with gun in hand.

  After a few nights of being frightened out of a year's life by Wes jumping onto the landing, Karlee moved permanently to the chair in the parlor for sleep. Thanks to the wide windows, this room was by far the warmest in the day and the coldest at night.

  Daniel had been asleep the first night she moved her things in, but on the second, she sensed he was still awake. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she deposited her belongings on the small couch that had been pushed beneath the windows to allow room for Daniel's bed.

  “What are you doing still up?” He showed no sign of having been asleep.

  “I thought I'd curl up in the chair by your bed.”

  “I don't need a nurse. I'm fine.”

  “I know. I just don't want to sleep upstairs. I wake Wes up when the stairs creak. He runs out expecting to find John and frightens me to death.” She pulled off her dress. “You don't mind my being here, do you?”

  “No. It doesn't matter. I don't know when you're in the room half the time anyway,” he answered coldly. “What are you doing now?”

  “I'm putting on my nightgown.” Her petticoats joined her dress in a pile.

  “In front of me?”

  Karlee laughed. “Rather bold of me undressing in front of a man. Aunt Rosy would be shocked. Except you can't see me.”

  “But I can hear you.” Daniel's voice lowered slightly.

  Karlee stopped her progress and stared at him for a minute. If the bandages were removed, he would have been looking right at her. And she stood with her nightgown unbuttoned all the way to her waist.

  “What do you hear?”

  “I feel you staring at me.” He smiled as if he saw her before him. “I heard your dress fall and the ruffle of cotton when you pulled your nightgown over your head. If I were guessing, I'd say you haven't buttoned it yet or tied the bow at the throat.”

  “It has no bow at the throat.” She relaxed a little. He'd almost convinced her he could see through the bandages.

  Daniel frowned. “I'm not that familiar with ladies' nightgowns.”

  Karlee enjoyed talking with him when the coldness between them wasn't so strong, even if it was about nightgowns. “Well, this gown is very grand. I only wear it on special occasions, like nighttime. It's a hand-me-down from my aunt. I'm afraid it's embarrassingly short, just past my knees, but two of me could easily fit into it.”

  “Aunt Rosy's gown?”

  “You remember her?”

  “I met her once, just before May and I married.”

  Karlee sat on the edge of the bed and buttoned her gown. “She's a woman who prides herself on first impressions. What do you remember about her?”

  “Wet kisses.” He wiped his face as if more than the memory remained of a slobbery smack. “I felt like a wide-mouth bass sucked on my cheek when she stood on her toes and greeted me. Other than that, I thought her a tug boat.”

  Karlee couldn't hold back a giggle.

  “You don't believe me?” Daniel frowned as if offended. “Why would I lie?”

  “Oh, no.” She tried to control her laughter. “I can just picture Aunt Rosy puckering up for her famous kiss. You should feel very honored. She only bestows it on men she thinks highly of. I've watched her preacher bob in and out of crowds to avoid her wet greeting.”

  Daniel laughed. “I'm glad she thought so well of me. Aunt Violet certainly didn't share her view. She told me I was too young to know my mind and was robbing the cradle with May. She said I had no means to support a wife and… she's probably still adding more ands as we speak.”

  “Oh, no! She told me how wonderful you were. They collect the articles you write, you know. They think you've a great mind.” Karlee argued with a laugh as she began unbraiding her hair. “In fact, Aunt Violet was still telling me of your perfection when I waved good-bye to the two old women.”

  Daniel leaned closer. “Do you miss them?”

  “You must be joking.”

  “Don't tell me you're happier here with all the trouble and bother.”

  Karlee stared at him a long moment before she answered. “I'm happier here,” she whispered. The tension between her and Daniel was nothing compared to living under the constant eye of the aunts. Here she felt equal. There, she would always be a charity case, no matter how much work she did.

  “But all the chores?” he added. “Not to mention people dropping in and out all the time. I've heard you out doing the wash long after everyone else is in bed. You're the first one up every morning and the last to go to sleep.”

  “I'm happier here,” she insisted. She placed her hand over his. How could she tell him that, even if it were ten times the work, she'd still stay? For here, amid all the people and trouble, she felt needed.

  Daniel turned his palm up and caught her fingers. His hand was rough with scabs, but his strong grip felt good.

  Before either could say more, a tapping sounded at the door. A moment later, Wolf's hairy head poked inside.

  “Hate to interrupt you two when you're not yelling.” He moved into the room as though he'd been invited. “Thought I'd tell someone that I have to leave for a few hours. There's a meeting in town. Trouble's about to boil over and there's rumors the outlaw Baker is planning a visit. I'd like to meet up with the man if he's there tonight before the fighting starts. I swear there ain't two people in Jefferson who get along.”

  Karlee quickly stood and pulled on her robe.

  He winked at her. “Except maybe the two of you. You seem to be getting along just fine.”

  “We've always got along,” Daniel corrected.

  He couldn't see both Wolf and Karlee turn toward him in surprise, but neither called his lie.

  “Be careful, Wolf.” She tightened the belt on her robe. “The storm's getting worse.” She'd felt the temperature dropping steadily since sunset and heard the wind howling.

  “It's not the rainstorm I'm worried about.” Wolf rubbed his forehead. “It's the storm between town folks. The only good thing about it is we might be able to get Jesse's brother out if the soldiers are distracted by what might develop into riots.”

  “Did you find where he is?” Daniel seemed to be giving Wolf his full attention.

  The hairy man glanced at Karlee. She read what he was thinking in his face. Daniel's question, asked in front of her, meant that Daniel trusted her. Wolf nodded slowly toward Karlee. He planned to follow suit. From this point on there would be no talking behind her back of problems he and Daniel faced.

  “No.” Wolf turned back to Daniel. “Without a man in the stockade we don't get much news. The fire did delay his hanging a week though, so we've got some time. Last we heard he's somewhere amid the sick.”

  “Fill me in on the details in the morning. I don't want to be lost about what's going on when I get out of this bed.”

  “Will do.” Wolf saluted. “I won't be out too long. I have to relieve Adam from guarding the boy.”

  Karlee followed Wolf and closed the parlor door when he left. Maybe the room wouldn't be so drafty with the door closed. She crossed to the chair and shook a blanket out.

  “Goodnight, Karlee.” Daniel turned on his side without another word.

  Karlee twisted the lamp low and tried to get comfortable in the chair. After ten minutes of wiggling, she stood and dragged her blanket to the little couch. But the armrest made a hard pillow, and her legs hung off the end. With the draft from the windows, she could feel damp wind whirling around her. It could be no colder on the porch, she decided, huddling close to the cushions.


  After another ten minutes of wiggling, trying to get comfortable and, at the same time, be covered with the thin blanket, Karlee heard Daniel roll on his back and let out a long breath.

  “Enough,” he hissed in anger. “If either of us is going to get any sleep, you'd better find another blanket.”

  “There are no more,” she answered just as sharply. “We're using every one we have in the house with all the company.”

  “There's more on the shelves in the girls' room.”

  “They've disappeared.” Now was not a good time to tell him where.

  “Well, then come over here. There's enough room for two in this bed tonight. Tomorrow you can buy a few new quilts. I think my account can stand the blow easier than I can do without sleep.”

  Karlee opened her mouth to protest, but her legs were freezing and she knew she'd never get comfortable.

  “All right.” She stood, telling herself it was the only practical solution. “I've spent my life sharing a bed. Once, with a cousin's family in Indiana, we had to sleep six to one bed. It wasn't so bad. At least I was warm that winter, as long as everyone remembered to use the chamber pot.”

  “Goodnight,” Daniel mumbled, as if her story was keeping him awake.

  As she slipped in beside him, Daniel jerked when her cold feet touched his leg. “I know the couch is short, but did you have to stick your feet out the window?”

  Karlee giggled. “Stop complaining, or I'll fish kiss you.” She touched her toes to his leg once more to test his patience.

  He didn't jerk again. A sudden intake of air was his only reaction. As he had before, he pulled her against his side. “You'll be warm in a minute.”

  But when she'd lain next to him several nights ago, she'd been fully clothed with undergarments beneath her dress. Now there was only a worn cotton nightgown and his nightshirt between them. She tried desperately to hold herself a fraction away, close enough to feel the heat from his body, but far enough away so she wasn't touching him.

  He didn't seem to notice. “When you go to the mercantile in the morning?”

  Karlee relaxed a little. His mind must be on other things. “Yes? Do you need something besides blankets?”

  “Definitely,” he answered formally. “Buy yourself a few nightgowns that reach the floor. If not, you'll have pneumonia and I'll probably get frostbite.”

  “And should I send this one back to Aunt Rosy?”

  “Great idea.” Daniel chuckled. “Tell the old dear that you've given up wearing them. That should shock her mouth closed.”

  Karlee laughed. “And me, a minister's wife.”

  “You're shameless, Mrs. McLain.” Daniel tried to hold in the laughter.

  Karlee lay her icy fingers on his chest.

  “And freezing.” He covered her hand with his own. “I feel the cold through my shirt.”

  He raised her hand close to his lips and blew on her fingers.

  Karlee's hands might be cold, but she felt the warmth of his breath throughout her body. She fought the urge to pull away. He was being kind, but the feelings he stirred in her were far more than kindness.

  He kissed her open palm lightly. “There. Better?”

  “Better.” She pulled her hand free.

  “Good. Now go to sleep.” He straightened away from her.

  “Daniel?” she whispered after several minutes of lying wide awake beside him.

  “Yes?” He sounded sleepy.

  “I need to know how it is between us.” Since their marriage, they'd had so little time alone. “I don't know the rules.”

  “Neither do I,” he answered with a sigh. “I guess we didn't have much time to think about what we wanted out of this marriage. Only that we wanted the twins safe.”

  Karlee rolled onto her stomach and propped her head on her elbows. “When I was a kid, moving from house to house, I always tried to figure out the rules as quickly as possible. Then I could stay out of trouble.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” he mumbled.

  “That each house had different rules?”

  “No, that you stayed out of trouble.” He leaned to his side and rested his hand on the small of her back as naturally as though he'd done it a thousand times. “All right. What are the rules we live this marriage by?”

  “We need to be honest with one another.” Karlee thought she'd start with one she knew they'd both agree on. “I always hated families where folks kept secrets.”

  “That sounds like a good rule.” He didn't seem as interested in her bedtime game as she was.

  “I'll be your wife. Take care of the children, try to run the house. That's my main job.”

  “Fair enough,” he answered. “I'll try to provide for you and keep you safe.”

  “What else?” she asked.

  “If I had a church, I'd probably expect you to go to service with me.”

  “That's fair. A minister's wife should go to church. What else?”

  “That's about it.” Daniel sounded half asleep. “ Anything else you'd add?”

  She hesitated, then seemed to jump in. “I know you want no intimacy, no children, but could I sleep in your bed when the nights are cold?”

  “Karlee, men and women don't sleep together who aren't intimate. As soon as the company leaves, I think it would be better if we sleep apart.”

  “But we've already slept next to one another. We are now. There are only two bedrooms in the house, and I'm willing to share.”

  “Karlee, I'm a preacher, not some kind of saint.” He let out a long-held breath. “What if I touch you while we sleep?”

  “What if you do?”

  “I mean in places…”

  “I know what you mean,” she snapped. He was making her feel like a child who knew nothing. Even if he was right, she wouldn't admit it. “You're my husband. I guess if you touched me it would be all right.”

  He moved his hand low, over her hip. “You'd settle for this? Touching you with no love between us?” He took his hand away quickly as though his action had disgusted him.

  She thought about how, all her life, she'd wished someone would touch her. She'd watched mothers hug their children at night and pass by her bed without stopping. She'd visited churches where everyone seemed to embrace each other, but they all stayed away from her… the outsider.

  “I'd settle.” She thought even without love it was so much more than she'd ever had. “If we're going to spend the rest of our lives together in the same house, we don't need to be jumping every time we brush.”

  “You don't understand.” Daniel rubbed his forehead as if she'd given him a headache. “Men and women don't just go around touching one another.”

  “Do you have a headache?” She reached to brush his temples.

  Daniel seemed to turn to stone as her breasts moved atop his chest.

  Karlee glanced down feeling her cheeks warm as she realized what she'd done. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I know that bothers you.” Now was the time to start being honest. “I swear I'm not doing it on purpose.” She leaned away from him. “I've never talked to anyone about it, but I've always been too big. Violet used to say I should strap in tight or I'd look like a nursing cow.”

  Karlee knew she shouldn't be talking about such things with a man, but her mouth seemed to have sprung a leak. “I don't mean to brush you, I swear I…”

  She forgot what she was about to say as his hand trailed along her arm and then covered her breast.

  Only the thin cotton blocked the warmth of his fingers. He felt her fullness carefully. His palm flattened over her peak as his fingers encompassed her, molding her within his gentle grip.

  Karlee didn't breathe as he felt her fullness completely.

  “You're not too big,” he said moving his hand to the other breast to continue his examination. “You're a tall woman and well-rounded in the right places. I think you're about the right size for your body. But then I'm no expert on such things.”

  “Thank you,” she managed to s
ay as he removed his hand. If he was trying to shock her by proving his point about touching, he certainly had.

  “Now go to sleep, Karlee.” He rolled away from her, his voice low and angry.

  “All right,” she whispered. “I'm not cold anymore.” He didn't answer.

  Daniel lay awake most of the night, knowing that she was doing the same. About dawn, when her breathing finally grew slow and he knew she was asleep, he decided he must be possessed.

  Why else would he have reached over and touched her, almost a stranger, a woman he didn't even like most of the time? He didn't want her in his life or his bed, but here she was, implanted firmly in both for the simple reason to make his life a living hell. Why else would she be constantly around? Why else would he find it so hard to stay angry at her? Why else would she have the most perfect breasts God ever made?

  He reminded himself she had red hair, and that she was jumpy as an overflowing nest of newborn squirrels. He should have sent her packing that first day in the same trunk in which she'd arrived. She was trouble, more trouble than the mob in town. At this rate, she'd destroy not only his mind, but his work here in Jefferson.

  She could talk all she wanted to about honesty between them, but Daniel had no intention of telling her the full reason he was in town. As soon as he could walk, he'd be out of here. Then she'd only see him now and then and he'd make sure the twins were always around.

  He'd be formal and polite, but he'd keep his distance. And he'd keep his hands off her.

  But, as for now, he was trapped by his leg in a bed with a woman willing to play by the rules he set. She didn't ask for love, or even expect it, only a little kindness. That bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

  SEVENTEEN

  DANIEL WOKE TO A ROOM ALREADY WARM WITH morning. Karlee had gone from his side without a word. He lay silent for a long while thinking of what they'd talked about last night and what he'd done.

  A question kept lurking in the back of his mind. Why hadn't she protested or said something when he'd felt of her breasts so completely? Was she simply enduring what she thought she had to in a loveless marriage? Dear God, he hoped not. Then, his touch would have been something dirty and cruel.