With slow strokes, he rubbed his hands up and down her back, concluding he’d never think of berry picking the same way again.
At first, Brianna held herself away from him, but he recognized the moment she surrendered to whatever it was that sparked between them. Her body relaxed and her hands crept up to bracket his face.
Still cradling her in his arms, he rolled over and continued lavishing her with his love. Kisses covered her eyelids, her cheeks, her chin, before he returned to her delicious, delectable mouth.
It didn’t matter if they kissed for one minute or a million, he’d never tire of it.
Not ever.
Brianna Dumont was the one woman Tully would never get out of his mind or system. Truthfully, he didn’t want to try.
What he really wanted was to do more than share a few stolen kisses in the summer sunshine with blackberries all around them.
Finally grasping the last few threads of common sense he possessed, Tully kissed her one last time, conveying his longing through the connection of their lips.
Abruptly, he raised his head and leaned over her on one elbow. The fire burning in her eyes matched the flames still glowing hot in his, but he forced himself to ignore it. To block out the temptation of loving her.
His long fingers pushed a wispy strand of hair behind her ear before he cupped her chin in his hand. “Come on, Fred. At this rate, it’ll be next July before we finish picking Maggie’s berries.”
He stood and held a hand out to her. She took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet.
Dismayed, she glanced down at her berry-covered clothes. “I suppose we should finish.”
Tully laughed. “Well, there’s no hiding what we did today.”
The frantic look she cast him made him laugh again. “I didn’t mean the kissing, although that was the best part of the day. I meant berry picking.”
Relieved, she released her breath and stepped next to the berry bush where she’d been picking. “That’s good to know.”
It didn’t take long to finish filling their pails. Tully helped her mount Hoss then handed her one of the pails to carry.
“How are you going to carry two pails?” she asked as he handed her a second one to hold while he mounted.
“Like this,” he said, carefully mounting Cotton while holding one pail. He pulled two lids from his saddlebags and fastened one on the pail in his hand then took the extra pail she held and placed a lid on it. With the handles of both in one hand, the pails rested on his thigh.
“Smarty,” Brianna said, grinning at him as they turned the horses back in the direction they’d come.
On the way to town, she snitched a few more berries.
Entertained by how much she enjoyed the fresh fruit, Tully raised an eyebrow and gave her a cautionary look. “You best be careful, Fred, or you’ll give yourself a bellyache.”
“But they are so good, Tully. I’ve never had such fresh berries.” She popped another in her mouth.
He stared at her. “Where did you get your produce in the city?”
“Our cook purchased what was needed. When I was very young, sometimes I’d go with her in the summer to the market. Farmers would bring in their produce and sell it from the backs of their wagons. The apples were always so good. Big and bright red, I’d bite into the crisp peel and an explosion of juicy flavor would burst forth in my mouth. It was like taking a bite of honey-laced autumn.” She closed her eyes, lost in her memories.
Tully watched her face, mesmerized by her expressiveness. He could almost taste the apple she’d described. The way his mouth watered, though, had nothing to do with fruit and everything to do with how much he wanted to kiss her again.
“What else did you enjoy from your childhood?” If he kept them both distracted, they might make it to Baker City without him ravaging her luscious lips with more kisses.
“Father had a sailboat and we’d go out on it sometimes. That was grand.” Brianna cast him a coy glance. “I was a good swimmer back then.”
Surprised she’d get in the water, he grinned. “Do you still swim?”
“Goodness, no. One of the women from church took Father aside when I was ten and told him it was time for me to behave like a lady instead of a heathenish ruffian. After that, I wasn’t allowed to do many things in which I’d previously found great pleasure.”
“I bet you were a handful.” Tully studied her a moment. “In fact, I’m sure you and Lily Jordan have a lot in common.”
In a most unladylike response, Brianna stuck her tongue out at him.
He chuckled and pointed his index finger at her. “That is exactly what I’m talking about, Fred. I figure you’ll eventually get over all this proper nonsense and have some fun.”
A smile softened her features when she looked at him. “Today was wonderful, Tully. Thank you for thinking of it. Are we taking the berries straight to Maggie?”
“Yes, if you don’t mind. I think she planned to have us stay for supper.” Tully tipped his head to a few people as they rode into town.
“That sounds lovely, although I might need to change my clothes first. I’d feel sorely out of place eating in their immaculate home dressed like this.” Brianna glanced down at her berry-stained blouse.
“Mags and Ian won’t care. Even his mother wouldn’t object, but Ian’s folks left on this morning’s train.”
“Oh, I didn’t know they were leaving or I would have bid them goodbye when I saw them yesterday.” Brianna genuinely liked the elder MacGregor couple. Ian took after his father, although she could see bits of his mother in him, too.
“They promised to come back for a visit next spring, before it gets too hot. I think Ian said…”
“Brianna! Brianna Dumont!” A male voice called out her name.
Together, they watched a dapper gentleman hurry across the street, appearing excited to see her. The man wasn’t someone Tully recognized and the way he gazed at Brianna set him on edge.
“Davis? What on earth are you doing here?” Brianna asked, as the man placed a possessive hand on her knee and gazed at her with adoration.
“I came to take you home, my darling, where you belong.” The man rubbed his hand along her thigh. Brianna shifted slightly, trying to move away from him. Hoss sidestepped, but the man followed.
“Aren’t you happy to see me, Brianna?” He offered her an exaggerated pout that most likely endeared him to the majority of females.
Tully wondered if he could punch the man in the nose without dropping the berries.
“It’s not that, Davis. You caught me by surprise,” she said, smiling brightly.
Tully had seen enough of her smiles to know it was fake and forced. Disturbed, he glared at the stranger. “Who are you and why are you bothering Miss Dumont?”
The man turned and studied him a moment, as though he spoke to someone far beneath him. “The better question would be why she’s with you and in such a disheveled state. It’s positively indecent to see her riding astride.”
“Indecent?” Brianna’s anger sparked and Tully waited for it to catch and burn Mr. Fancy Pants.
“Now, don’t get upset, dearest. Let’s get you down from there and cleaned up. I brought a few trunks of your things with me, in case you needed them.” Fancy Pants took the pail of berries from her and handed it to Tully then reached up to help Brianna dismount. Before he could touch her, she swung down on her own.
“Come along, dear one, let’s go to the hotel. I’ve taken a room there.” The man tugged on her hand, but Brianna dug in her feet.
“I have my own place, Davis. Why don’t we meet later?”
“No. I won’t let you out of my sight, now that I found you.” The man draped his arm around her shoulders.
Brianna sighed and shot a pleading look at Tully.
He tipped his head toward Mr. Fancy Pants. “Do you want me to haul him in for bothering you, Fred?”
“That won’t be necessary,” she said, glancing over at the man. “Sheriff
Barrett, this is B. Davis Gordon, my fiancé.”
Chapter Fourteen
“This is B. Davis Gordon, my fiancé,” Tully mimicked under his breath as he rode out to Ian and Maggie’s home.
What kind of woman failed to mention she was engaged to be married when she’d fully participated in the type of heated, passion-filled kisses he and Brianna had shared.
Furious and hurt, Tully reined in Cotton at the gate to the MacGregor home and left his two horses tied to the hitching rail.
Irate, he stalked down the walk and up the steps before pounding on the door. Footsteps tapped across the floor inside and Maggie swung the portal open with a welcoming smile.
“My goodness, Tully, did you take a bath in the berries? You’ve got them all over you.” Maggie stepped aside so he could enter. The thunder riding Tully’s brow didn’t escape her notice and she place a hand on his arm. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Brianna’s fiancé just arrived in town.”
Maggie’s mouth fell open and she gaped at him for a long moment. Finally, she took one of the berry pails from him and motioned for him to follow her to the kitchen.
The sunny, open room provided a cheerful center to Ian and Maggie’s home. However, Tully was too upset to notice.
He set the berries near the sink then slumped back against the counter.
Maggie filled a glass with tea and a few precious chunks of ice, and handed it to him then gave him a nudge toward the table situated in front of the window.
Reluctantly, Tully took a seat and drank half the tea. Maggie slid a plate of cookies his direction and he absently took one, biting into it without tasting anything.
“Tell me everything that happened.” Maggie refilled his glass then returned to her seat across from him. “How do you know he’s her fiancé?”
“Because that’s how she introduced him.” Tully affected a falsetto, imitating Brianna. “This is B. Davis Gordon, my fiancé.” He fluttered his eyelashes and pulled such a comical face, Maggie had to work to hold back her laughter.
He glowered at her. “It isn’t funny, Mags. It’s dang serious and I’m so mad I could march into town and shoot Mr. Gordon then throttle Brianna for lying to me.”
“Did she lie to you, Tully? Did you ask her if she was engaged?” Just as shocked as Tully by the news, Maggie assumed there had to be more to the story.
“Of course I didn’t ask her. I assumed when she let me kiss her like…” Tully snapped his mouth shut at Maggie’s delighted grin. “She should have told me straight up that she was engaged. It’s a lie by omission.”
“Well, I suppose you could call it that, but maybe she has a good reason for not saying anything about him. Did she act excited to see him? Like she’d missed him?”
“No. Not really.” Tully leaned back in his chair and removed his hat, hanging it off his knee. “In fact, she seemed rather upset at his arrival. From the way she acted, I assumed he was a person she didn’t particularly care to be around until she introduced him.”
“Maybe she doesn’t like him. Perhaps he’s someone her father wanted her to marry and she ran away to escape the confines of a loveless marriage.”
Tully snorted and shook his head. “You’ve been reading those sappy books I told you to use for kindling, haven’t you?”
Maggie glared at him. “What I choose to read is no concern of yours. Nonetheless, you should reserve judgment on Brianna until you know the whole story, Tully. There might be any number of trying circumstances behind all this of which you are unaware.”
He took another long drink of tea. “You might be right, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s here and Brianna is with him.”
“I know, but…” The sound of the door opening interrupted their conversation.
“Maggie, my love, I hope you whipped up a berry pie for supper. I can hardly…” Ian strode into the kitchen and took in the long faces of his wife and friend.
“What on earth happened to you, Tully?” Ian kissed Maggie’s cheek then sat beside her at the table.
“Brianna Dumont happened.” Tully ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “The man she’s supposed to marry arrived in town today.”
“I didn’t realize she was engaged.” Ian glanced from Maggie to Tully.
“Neither did I.”
Ian placed a hand on Tully’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry, Tully. That is hard news to take.” As though he suddenly recalled something, Ian sat up and pointed to Tully. “Is he a rather dandified-looking fellow? Pale and slight of build, wearing a linen suit?”
“He could have been dressed in burlap for all the attention I paid to his clothes, but yeah, he did seem rather citified and sissy-like.”
Maggie rolled her eyes and stood. “If he’s engaged to Brianna, I have to assume he’s probably a handsome man, despite the description you two shared.”
“Not nearly as handsome as the fine gents right here, lass.” Ian popped her on the backside as she stepped away from the table.
She cast him a flirty smile and opened the oven to remove a roaster pan. “Are you still staying for supper, Tully?”
“I won’t be very good company, Mags. Right now, I’d rather go home.”
Maggie shook a spoon his direction. “Go home and pout, Tully, but you stay away from Brianna and that man. Your temper is simmering too close to the surface to think straight and I don’t want you getting into trouble. As the sheriff, you need to set a good example for others, not waver on the line.”
“I promise I’ll go straight home, Mother.” Tully stood and settled his hat on his head. “I’ll talk to you both later.”
“Are you sure you’ll be fine, Tully? You know you’re welcome to stay.” Ian walked with him to the front door.
“Thanks, Ian. I do appreciate the offer, but I need to go.”
Tully shuffled down the steps and over to his horses. Rather than mount Cotton, he led both horses past the lumberyard to the road that skirted around the edge of town.
By the time he arrived at his house and turned the horses loose in the pasture, he was even angrier with Brianna.
A cold bath did nothing to cool his temper. Long into the evening, he sat on his front porch, shirtless and barefooted, staring into the gathering darkness, wondering how he’d fallen for a woman who was nearly wed.
Mad at himself and Brianna, he decided the best thing to do was pretend he’d never met the infuriating, enthralling woman.
Chapter Fifteen
Brianna’s father once mentioned something about the importance of keeping one’s friends close and enemies closer.
At the time, what he said made no sense to her. Today, she understood the words with perfect clarity.
Forcing another smile as she sat at dinner with Davis in the Hotel Warshauer’s dining room, she listened to the annoying man prattle on and on about how distraught he was when she disappeared.
“I left no stone unturned in my search for you, my dearest. I hired a detective to try to locate your whereabouts with no success.” Davis took a sip from a glass of wine and gave her a look meant to be endearing.
It only made Brianna want to slap him. She gripped the fork in her hand tighter before she gave in to the urge.
Davis set his glass down and smiled. “It was entirely providential I happened to be in New York and picked up a copy of the paper the day they ran your article, Brianna. If it wasn’t for that, I may never have found you again.”
“How did you know I’d written the article?” she asked, assuming he’d gone to the editor and paid handsomely for the truth.
“I’ve read a few things you’ve written over the years. It held the same flair you tend to use when writing. Also, B.E. Dumont could have been none other than you. The moment I finished the article, I returned home and had your housekeeper pack your trunks. Stuck out here in the wilds of Oregon, I thought you might be in need of your things.”
“Your thoughtfulness is beyond words, Davis.
What did I do to deserve such a kind, generous man?” Brianna cut into the chicken on her plate, wishing it were the egotistical dolt sitting across from her.
No doubt, he was rifling through her father’s papers the entire time the staff packed her things. She’d caught Davis snooping around her father’s desk on more than one occasion, but the thought he’d been searching for her father’s ledgers never entered her mind. Not until the day of her father’s funeral.
The man reminded her of a doll she’d once seen as a child. If she held it one direction, it was lovely and inviting, but if she tipped it over, the face was hideous and frightening. The doll had scared her so badly, she’d run out of the store in tears.
Davis Gordon went to great lengths for people to see him as a successful, charming, kind man, but Brianna knew better.
The fact that he didn’t know she was wise to his deception, though, was the only reason she maintained the ruse of being his fiancé.
When he’d asked her to wed, she told him she needed time to think about it. She never intended to marry him, but she feared he would call in her father’s loan early or some such thing if she refused him outright.
Her father insisted she send Davis on his way and not worry about what might happen with the loan. In spite of her father’s wishes, she’d continued to allow Davis to court her, counting the days until her father paid off the loan and she could tell the loathsome man farewell.
Before that day arrived, though, her father died and left Brianna to her own defenses.
The evening after his funeral service, people had gathered at her home to offer their condolences and partake of an elaborate meal Davis declared must be served in her father’s honor.
Brianna had no appetite or interest in entertaining people. As soon as the guests began leaving, she retreated to her room. Intrigued by the papers she’d found in her father’s safe in the library the day after he died, she’d taken them to her room to study. In the hours after the dinner guests departed, she read through every piece of correspondence he had from Clive Fisher. Curious where she might find Baker City, she’d been on her way to the library to study a map when she overheard Davis speaking to his assistant.
Corsets and Cuffs: (Sweet Historical Western Romance) (Baker City Brides Book 3) Page 20