Savage storm

by Conn, Phoebe

  "How dare you!" Gabrielle clenched her fists at her sides to restrain herself from slapping him again. "Beau was here for no more than ten minutes. I didn't appreciate your leaving me here alone with him any more than I appreciated your not coming home! I won't stand for that, Jason. I simply won't. If you plan to sleep with other women, then just say so and I'll file for a divorce. I won't put up with you if you have no intention of being faithful to me."

  In an instant, Jason realized the depth of his folly. He'd just given Gabrielle the ammunition to blast him right out of her life, and that had been the farthest thing from his mind when he'd come through the door. How in the world had this woman managed to turn the tide of their argument in her favor when she was the one who'd spent the night in the arms of her lover? Unless, of course, preposterous as it might sound. Beau truly had stayed no more than a few minutes before departing. Taking a deep breath, Jason tried to sort things out in his mind before speaking aloud. "I spent the night at the hotel, alone. I didn't want to embarrass you by walking in on any tender reunion scene so I stayed away all night. If what I did was unnecessary or if it unintentionally hurt you, then I apologize."

  "Jason!" Gabrielle cried out in exasperation. "I am your wife! Do you think that means nothing to me?"

  "No," Jason replied honestly. "I think you are a woman who'd respect her wedding vows but I also know how dearly you love Beau. Have you forgotten that?"

  That Jason had no idea she loved him more broke Gabrielle's heart, but she knew this would be a poor time to make such a declaration. He'd think she was lying, merely trying to fool him while she continued to see Beau in secret. What a wretched mess she'd made of everything. It was too late now to try and make him understand that she'd loved him for a very long time and had never had the courage or the sense to say so because she'd feared he'd only be embarrassed and would not say he loved her too. She turned away, picking up the book she'd

  tossed so carelessly aside and smoothing out the pages before she replaced it in the bookcase.

  "I was very worried about you. I thought perhaps something dreadful had happened to you, and I didn't even know where to look, how to try to find you. You've not taken me out riding to show me how far your property extends and—"

  "Gabrielle," Jason called softly. "I said I was sorry. Let's have something to eat, and then I'll take you out riding all afternoon if you like. I'll show you the farm and where I go to hunt as well—whatever you'd like to see. Would you like that?"

  Gabrielle smiled slightly. "Yes, I really would. I don't know what supper will taste like. I was so preoccupied I'm not even certain what I put in the oven." She hurried to look and was pleased to find several slices of ham baked to perfection, some yams, and a pan of corn bread. She tried not to cry as she set the table and served her husband, but she felt that everything had gone wrong and in spite of his encouragement she didn't know how to put it right.

  ^X.yi^.^XC^

  Jason kept a close eye on Gabrielle as he escorted her around the boundaries of his property. The wheat he'd planted in the spring before departing for Missouri had simply withered in the fields, leaving nothing to harvest. He'd been trying to justify the fact that he'd not put the acreage he owned to good use without explaining why he'd had so little interest in farming to Gabrielle. That seemed like a ridiculous way to spend the afternoon if she planned to leave him, but despite his pledge to himself to make her be the one to request a divorce, he finally had to ask her a question about Beau. He reined Duke in and turned to confront her. "Where is Beau's farm?"

  Startled by that question since her husband had been discussing his land and that of his immediate neighbors, Gabrielle stuttered nervously as she searched for a lucid response. "He . . . well, he doesn't have one." She brushed a wisp of hair away from her eyes and hoped he'd return to the commentary he'd been providing on his own holdings.

  Finding her announcement absurd, Jason leaned forward. "But I thought that's why he made the decision to come to Oregon first, so he'd already have land and a house built when you—

  "Oh, stop it, Jason!" Gabrielle snapped angrily. Unwilling to reveal any more of the brief conversation she'd had with Beau,

  she jabbed her heels into Sunny's sides and left her husband where he sat. Blinded by tears, she let the stallion run across the barren fields until he slowed of his own accord. Jason overtook her then and yanked the reins from her hands with a vicious grab.

  "Have you gone mad? Or have you merely chosen to ignore the danger in riding Sunrise like that?" he demanded, his handsome features set in a furious scowl.

  Gabrielle didn't reply. She wound her fingers in Sunny's long flowing mane and let Jason lead her back home at the sedate walk they'd maintained all afternoon. The wild ride had been worth it though. For a few brief moments she'd enjoyed the same freedom the magnificent horse had known and she doubted there had really been any great risk. Sunny was sure footed, and she knew the burrow of a field mouse wasn't large enough to catch his hoof and trip him.

  By the time they reached the barn, Jason's temper had cooled sufficiently to allow him to speak in a more reasonable tone. He helped Gabrielle down from her saddle with great care, placed her gently upon her feet, and then stepped back with a mock bow.

  "You mustn't risk your life so foolishly. If you have something you want to tell me then just say it."

  Gabrielle's expression grew puzzled, for she'd not understood his remark. His voice was soft, his manner inviting, but she didn't know what he expected her to confess. "The ground looked safe enough to me, surely there's no danger of quicksand or of prairie-dog burrows here."

  Jason shook his head, surprised by the innocence of her response. "I was referring to the danger to you, not to Sunny." When she still appeared confused, he simply raised an eyebrow quizzically as his gaze swept the slender lines of her figure and lingered at her waist. >-

  Gabrielle turned away quickly to hide her deep blush. She'd wanted to win his love by being a devoted wife, not by being the mother of his child. That was the same ploy she'd been

  unwilling to use to trap him into marriage, and she'd not use it now to keep him. She hurried into the house.

  Jason did not pursue her but saw to the stallions' needs before joining his wife. She was never going to tell him a damn thing, he realized, and he was so frustrated by her silence he couldn't bear it. "This is going to be the worst winter of our lives if you continue to be so secretive, Gabrielle. What do you plan to do, just ignore me every time I ask a question to which you'd rather not respond? That won't make me any the less curious you know."

  Gabrielle picked up the poker and proceeded to give the coals smoldering on the hearth a few vicious jabs to vent her anger. "Jason, please!" She cried out, her frustration equal to his.

  "Please what?" he inquired politely.

  "Please just leave me alone to sort out everything for myself."

  Jason laughed ruefully. "The last thing I will ever do is leave you alone, my pet. As long as we are man and wife, our relationship will be exactly the same as it has been."

  "That's not what I meant!" Gabrielle sank down into the rocking chair, her expression a mask of sorrow as she lifted a hand to her eyes. Was he trying to fool her or himself? Nothing was the same now that they knew Beau was alive. Gathering all her courage, she looked up at her husband. "I didn't tell you the truth at the church because I didn't even know what it was. When I awakened in Reverend Murdock's study I thought my imagination had played a horribly gruesome trick on me. I didn't really believe I'd seen Beau, I thought I'd seen a man who merely resembled him. I haven't kept secrets from you, nor do I plan to do so," she explained calmly, knowing all the while that not revealing the love she felt for him was the greatest secret possible.

  Jason busied himself with laying a new fire, not wanting to hear any more about Beau but unwilling to tell her to be quiet now that she'd begun to speak of her own accord. "I understand," he finally managed to mumble, but truly he

 
; didn't and his words sounded unconvincing even in his own ears.

  Mistaking his response for sarcasm, Gabrielle lost her temper completely. "Both of you are furious with me, but none of this mess was my doing!*'

  Jason straightened up slowly, then turned to face her. "Is it our marriage you're calling a mess?" he asked through clenched teeth.

  "No!" Gabrielle shouted emphatically. She was at a loss, able only to blame the fates for causing their argument and for ruining what little hope she'd had to make Jason happy.

  Knowing he was dangerously close to forcing Gabrielle into saying the last thing he wanted to hear, Jason decided instead to seize the initiative himself. "I've no doubt Beau must have made some sort of promise to return to see you. I won't allow that, Gabrielle. The three of us are not going to pretend we're the best of friends. That's simply impossible for a reason too obvious to explain. I don't want him anywhere near you. From what I heard him say, he has no excuse for not writing to you or his parents. He was just too damn busy to bother, doing what I can't imagine if he wasn't working to make the home he'd promised you. He's no more than a boy, a tall and well built one, but also a very selfish one to have been so foolish as to have lost you." A mistake I very nearly made myself, Jason thought.

  That is precisely the problem, Gabrielle thought sadly to herself. Beau hasn't lost me.

  He'd been taken from her by a ghastly mistake; that was what hurt most of all. During the long painful months when she'd done little but grieve for him, he'd been alive and well and so involved in his own pursuits he'd given no thought to her. Her devotion had been repaid with willful neglect and that was too bitter a fact to accept.

  "I don't even want to see him. You needn't forbid me his company; I'll do it gladly."

  As her voice trailed off in a whisper, Jason's frown did not

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  lift. There seemed to be no way he could turn this regrettable situation to his own advantage. Clearly she was simply angry with Beau for neglecting her. She was not refusing to see the man because she was a married woman. As usual, this was a matter between her and Beau and he was to be excluded. Turning away, he excused himself as he moved toward the door. "There's still light enough for me to see to some of the things I'd meant to do today. I'm not hungry so you needn't prepare any supper. Just go on to bed if you're tired. I'll not wake you when I come in."

  Gabrielle did not even look up as he left her. What chores were so urgent she couldn't imagine, but she thought perhaps he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts too. The fire's warmth was comforting, and recalling the playful bath they'd taken together, she wished he'd suggested she wait up for him. He'd contradicted himself, she realized, for he'd said he wanted their relationship to remain a close one, then he'd told her not to wait up for him. "Oh, Jason, you're as confused as I am aren't you, my darling?"

  Jason took a long walk, and he tried to devise some clever plan to rid himself of the aggravation of Beau Ramsey. He threw stones, kicked dirt clods, pulled weeds up by their roots, but none of that frantic activity served to ease his mind. Finally only one solution seemed practical: he'd find Beau and their fists would decide to whom Gabrielle belonged. She was so angry with the young man now, if he never returned she'd not complain. They could get on with the life they'd been leading before that scoundrel had had the audacity to return from the grave to haunt them. Laughing at his own grisly sense of humor, Jason returned home, determined to keep Gabrielle from becoming suspicious. If Beau simply disappeared from the Willamette Valley, he planned to take neither the credit nor the blame.

  Hearing Jason come in, Gabrielle moved over to allow him plenty of room in their bed, but she didn't plan to leave him alone. She doubted she could have even had she wanted to

  pretend to be aloof. Deciding it would be better if sbegave bim an opportunity to approach her, sbe fluffed up her pillow and curled up in a comfortable pose, pretending to be asleep. She could hear him moving about the living room. Perhaps he'd decided he was hungry after all and was making himself something to eat. She forced herself to wait patiently for what seemed like an eternity before he joined her.

  Actually Jason had been plotting the best way to lure Beau off by himself. He wanted any fight they had to be a private one so the story would never get back to Gabrielle. Preoccupied, he sat up a long while; then he went into the bedroom and undressed quietly so as not to disturb his bride. When he lifted the covers and slipped into bed, he listened a moment until the easy rhythm of her breathing assured him she was asleep. He stretched out to get comfortable then, trying to recall whether he'd ever occupied a woman's bed and done no more than sleep. Surprisingly it was rather a pleasant thought to just sleep with Gabrielle. He could tell by the sweet fragrance of gardenias she'd bathed before going to bed, and while that could be construed as an invitation, he decided to ignore it. She was always beautifully groomed, her flowing red hair spar-klingly clean. Even on the trail she'd been a delectable sight. Jason smiled slowly to himself as he thought how easy it would be to remove Beau from her life forever. He'd not kill him— he'd no intention of doing anything so dire as that—but he'd give him a good thrashing and see that he moved on without telling Gabrielle goodbye. By the time she got over her anger and decided she wanted to see him, Beau would not be found.

  Exasperated by her husband's indifference, Gabrielle decided she'd waited long enough for him to reach out for her. Stealthily she slid her fingertips toward him, finally raising her hand to draw her nails slowly across the taut muscles of his stomach. When he let out a loud shriek, she sat up and laughed until tears ran down her cheeks. She'd never expected to frighten him and was greatly amused to have done so.

  Jason could not believe his bride had such an outrageous

  sense of humor, but obviously she did. He began to laugh too, seeing no reason to be angry with her when she'd meant to be enticing. But she'd startled him badly with a touch he'd mistaken for an instant as the wicked claws of a mountain lion. Deciding to beat her at her own game he let his fingertips wander up the inside of her thigh. "You could have tried this," he teased. ''Or this." He moved his hands with tantalizing smoothness until she came into his arms, all thought of laughter gone from her mind. "That is better, my little cat. You've no need to use your claws on me," he whispered in her ear, letting his lips trail tender kisses down the warm skin of her throat until she could no longer stand such play. Weaving her fingers in his curls, she kept his mouth poised above her own as her tongue caressed his with a slow, easy passion, savoring his taste until he was drunk with hers. Her demand was too intense to be misinterpreted, and Jason responded, with a powerful thrust beginning the loving she so obviously craved. He understood the perplexing young woman who was his wife no better than he had before, but when she wanted him, he knew he'd never say no. He felt her pleasure spread as he moved within her, the fiery warmth of her graceful body flooding his senses until her shudder of ecstasy became his. Whatever he had to do to keep Gabrielle for his own, he would gladly do and soon.

  The next morning was chilly and by the time they had completed the first of their chores a light mist had dampened their clothes. Jason built up the fire to make certain the house would be warm while he was away. "I've got to return Clay's wagon," he announced, confident Gabrielle would not suspect the real reason he was going to town.

  "Can't it wait? What if this mist turns to rain?" She moved to the window, her expression an anxious one as she surveyed the darkening clouds.

  "It most certainly will, which is why I've got to be on my way. I'll take Duke and ride him home. I won't be gone all day."

  Just long enough to return the wagon and locate Beau Ramsey's whereabouts, he thought to himself. Since Beau had mentioned Sam Willis, he'd start with him and his cronies. Trappers were a close-knit group and he doubted Beau would be difficult to find. He buttoned up his winter coat and pulled his gloves from the pocket. They were made from the hide of an unborn lamb; the outside a smooth suede, the inside snow-whit
e fleece. He slipped them on quickly as he meant to leave immediately.

  "You'll be all right here alone for a few hours, won't you?" His smile was a teasing one, the true purpose of his errand completely masked behind his good-natured charm.

  "Of course," Gabrielle reassured him, but she still wasn't pleased by the change in the weather. "Just hurry back. I don't want you to risk catching pneumonia."

  Jason chuckled as he bent down to kiss her goodbye. "I've never been sick a day in my life and this winter will be no different."

  He left her then, with the jaunty salute she'd seen so often when he was leading the wagon train. That made her smile and she went to the window near the front door to wave goodbye to him as he drove away in the wagon. The sky had grown darker still, and she shivered as she approached the fire. The house was so well built there were no drafts. The heat created by the large fireplace warmed the whole room, and she needed no more than a shawl to be comfortable once she'd recovered from the chill of being outdoors.

  A slow smile spread across her lips as she thought how good Jason's mood had been that morning. Perhaps she'd discovered a way to make him so gloriously happy his heart would be filled with love. He'd responded to her approach with the most delightful enthusiasm and she'd learned not to wait for him to make the first move when he'd so eagerly make the second. Sitting down for a moment, she considered the possibility that she'd become as manipulative as Iris, but she refused to accept that verdict since her affection was sincere whereas Iris' most

  definitely wasn't. She could not help but wonder what would happen to Iris now that John Randolph had married Christina. Judging by Erica's comments. Iris had few suitors left.