Fox sank to the ground and folded her legs Indian-style, appreciating a perfect day warm with the promise of pursuit. On a day like this, something good ought to happen.
Tanner emerged from the willows carrying a jar with string tied around the lid. "Ice water," he said, smiling in triumph. "Or almost. The jar's been in the stream for two hours."
Laughing with pleasure, Fox took the cup he poured and tasted, holding the cold water on her tongue. "Wonderful!"
Tanner handed her a handkerchief. "It's clean."
"Thanks." After dipping the handkerchief in her cup, she pressed the cold cloth to her face. "Oh Lord. That feels so good. But I don't have anything for you."
"I don't expect anything. I'm the one doing the pursuing."
"I've been thinking about that. How long does the pursuing part go on?"
"It can continue for years," he said with a smile.
"Years?" There were things in the refined world that, in honesty, Fox had to admit she didn't cotton to. Women were not allowed to drink liquor, smoke, or cuss for instance. And now there was this business about courtships going on for years. "We don't have years." According to Fox's calculations, they had a few days more than two months before they rode into Denver. "We're getting off to a slow start as it is."
"We're on an accelerated schedule." He cleared his throat. "May I say you look particularly lovely today, Miss Fox?"
She stared then fell back on the range grass, laughing. "My braid's unraveling, I'm sweaty, and my clothes are sticking to me. My boots haven't seen a lick of polish since we left Carson City." She smiled up at the sky. "But I'm liking this so far. Say something else."
"Your hair is a beautiful sun-kissed red, and you have adorable ears." He grinned at her.
"My hair's a mess, and one of my ears is missing a bullet-size chunk!"
"I am particularly enchanted by the dew on your swanlike throat."
"It's sweat!" Laughing helplessly, she rolled over and pressed her forehead against the grass. "Swanlike throat, my fanny."
"Speaking of which how is the fanny beautification project progressing?"
Something very like a giggle slipped out of her mouth, shocking her. "I haven't been working at it very long, but it feels like everything is improving nicely." Now that she'd added more area to grease, she must reek of bacon. "I hope you like the smell of bacon."
"Actually," he looked up at the sky as if he was considering. "I'm beginning to find the scent of bacon very arousing."
"I don't know if I believe that, but it's nice of you to say so." At this moment, Fox would have given the earth to own a bottle of perfume. She sat up and smiled. "I think I like this silly talk."
Oh Lord, he was handsome, sitting there with sun glowing on his jaw and on the arrow of skin inside his opened collar. He was tan now, his face and hands darker than hers. Which meant that Peaches's sun protection salve was working. But she forgot about that as she sank into the golden brown of his eyes. She could have stared into his eyes for the rest of the day without speaking another word. No man had ever looked at her quite like Tanner did, as if fascination lay in the curve of her cheek, as if mystery sparkled in her eyes and interesting whispers waited just inside her lips.
Tanner poured more cold water into their cups. "Tell me about you. Start at the beginning." When Fox arched a dubious eyebrow, he smiled again. "Learning about each other is part of the pursuit."
Well, he was the expert when it came to the rules of pursuit. Fox wet her lips and tried to concentrate on something besides the way he held his mouth, with just a sliver of teeth showing. "The beginning. I was born in San Francisco."
He looked up. "I was born in San Francisco."
"Really?" Delight widened her eyes. They had something in common after all. And since Tanner was only a couple of years older than Fox, they must have been in San Francisco at the same time. Surely that meant something significant. "Did your family live in the city?"
Tanner nodded. "On one of the hills overlooking the bay."
"We did, too! I wish I could recall the address, but I was too young. I don't remember. I wonder if we lived close to each other." He didn't dispute her claim, but she saw a blink of doubt. "I know. You're thinking your family was rich and mine wasn't. We wouldn't have lived in the same area."
"The houses on the hills are very large," he said gently.
"So was ours." Her chin came up. "What you don't know is that my real father was a man of substance. He was in shipping. He died when I was little and I don't remember him." Tanner's expression was polite. He didn't believe her father had been rich. Fox drew a breath and continued, wishing they hadn't gotten into this subject. "When my mother remarried, we moved to a house that was even bigger than the first one." She stared, daring him to say anything. "That's the truth. There were servants, too. In both houses."
"That's pleasant," he said after a long pause.
"I'm telling you, my mother inherited a lot of money from my father. It was a fortune."
"I see."
But he didn't believe. "And she already had money from her parents. My mother was filthy rich."
Tanner's gaze ran slowly from her raggedy hat to the frizz of unraveling braid to her floppy oversized shirt to the men's trousers cinched at the waist with a length of thin rope and then to her old scuffed boots. "Are you going to tell me that you have a fortune stashed in a bank somewhere?"
"No."
His doubt set her anger on fire, because now she had to explain. She wished she had a big glass of whiskey to help her address an area she didn't like to talk about. Unable to stay seated, she pushed to her feet and stepped over the row of weapons that Tanner had cleaned.
"I should have inherited a fortune, but I didn't, even though my mother left her money to me with my stepfather as my guardian. But my stinking thieving stepfather didn't want to manage someone else's money, he wanted my mother's fortune all for himself. So, the day my mother died, my stepfather sent me to my mother's cousin, and he announced that both my mother and I had perished. With me dead, he inherited my mother's money."
Tanner frowned, squinting up into the sun. "That's theft. Why didn't the authorities arrest him?"
"No one knew what he'd done. I was six years old. I didn't know he had announced that I was dead, too. All I knew was that I had to go live with my mother's cousin, Maude Wilson. My stepfather told Mrs. Wilson that my mother had appointed her as my guardian. He also told her there was no money left. All the cousin got was me."
She could hardly bear to spit out the words. The spring day disappeared and what she saw was a little girl standing on a porch with her heart pounding and a stern angry woman staring down at her.
Tanner stood and slipped an arm around her waist. "Let's go for a walk."
His hand burned through the material of her shirt, as hot as an iron. A crazy notion entered her mind that if she raised her shirt, she'd see the mark of five fingers scorched on her skin. And if he raised his hand two inches, his thumb would brush the side of her breast. Her knees went weak and she stumbled.
"My life was easier than yours." They walked beside the stream, skirting the willows, stopping occasionally to look at the flooding stream. "My father sent me to Boston when I was ten. He was preparing to remarry and decided it was a good time for me to visit my uncle. I lived there during the school years. At any rate, I didn't see my father during his second marriage. Didn't see him again until after the woman died. I spent that summer in San Francisco."
"Were you ever hungry?" Fox asked curiously. "Did you ever worry about getting shoes that fit?" She doubted it, but asked anyway.
"No." His hand tightened on her waist. "I've had a privileged life. Which I took for granted until I became an adult and saw more of the world."
Fox tried to imagine the opulence and plenty that lay behind his words, but her imagination didn't stretch that far.
"My mother's cousin had a houseful of children of her own. The last thing she needed was an orphan on her doorstep.
She provided the basics, but it wasn't in her to do better."
There was no point mentioning that Fox had been little more than a servant in her cousin's house. That kind of detail sounded like whining.
"But I met Peaches there," she said, brightening, trying hard to focus. His hand, hot on her waist made it hard to think. "Finding Peaches was the best thing that ever happened to me."
"He worked for Mrs. Wilson?"
Fox nodded. "She was a widow. Needed a man on the place to fix and take care of things. Me and Peaches took to each other just like that." She snapped her fingers. "Mrs. Wilson didn't care if Peaches paid the neighbor to teach me to read or that he showed me how to sharpen scissors and hammer a nail. When I was with Peaches, she didn't have me underfoot, didn't have to think about me." Fox smiled, remembering. "I followed Peaches around like a shadow."
"And at some point you and Peaches ran away?"
"I'm tired of talking about this." Tanner didn't need to know all her history, at least not at once. And he certainly didn't need to know her stepfather's name. Fox still planned to learn more about Hobbs Jennings from Tanner. They turned back toward the campsite. "I'd rather know when the liaison is going to start."
Since the men were watching them, Tanner dropped his hand away from her waist and pulled back his shoulders. "Usually that decision is up to the woman involved."
Fox decided the rule was sensible. "All right. The pursuit has been very nice and I've enjoyed it. Especially the cold water and silly talk." Heat came up in her cheeks. "But I'm ready to be caught now."
"A one-day pursuit seems a trifle brief," he said, smiling.
"You cleaning my rifle tipped me over the edge." A bald-faced lie. She had been ready for the liaison to begin the first night they talked about it. Maybe she'd been ready from the moment she first saw him. "Since we're going to stay here one more day, I think the liaison should begin tomorrow night. That is, if you agree."
Fox had found a pool branching off the stream where there was no current. She could have a bath and a hair wash to start the liaison off on the right note. It was important not to smell like a side of bacon.
Tanner cleared his throat but he still sounded gruff when he spoke. "Tomorrow night is agreeable. I'll find a place that provides some privacy."
"Good." It seemed to her that the men stared at them as if they knew what Tanner and Fox were discussing. "Well, then. Tomorrow night." Every drop of conversation evaporated and she couldn't think of another thing to say.
"I'm looking forward to it." Tanner's gaze settled on her lips and Fox felt like a wave of hot molasses slid down the inside of her body. Lord, Lord. When his eyes turned that intense shade of golden brown wild fantasies galloped through her mind.
After running the tip of her tongue over her lips, she rubbed the end of her braid across her palm. For the first time since she'd met Tanner, she couldn't think of an easy and natural way to part.
"You should go away now." Damn. That didn't sound right. Too abrupt. "Good-bye."
Ducking her head, she walked away, her legs feeling wooden and awkward. People didn't say goodbye when they were only moving a few feet away. What was she thinking of? There was something about getting moony over a man that turned women stupid. She shook her head in disgust and narrowed a look on Hanratty and Brown. It would be good if one of them did something that required her to punch them. Right now she could use a reminder that she was not a pile of mush.
Angry at herself she stalked over to the awning that Hanratty had set up for shade. "I'm warning you right now. If you even look at me funny, I'm going to tear your liver out and cook it for breakfast."
"What the hell?" He lowered the shirt he was mending and stared.
"You too," she said to Jubal Brown. He yawned and settled back against his saddle. "I'd just love to kick your ribs in."
"Tanner would do us all a favor if he'd hurry up this courtship and get to the main event." Jubal opened one eye and looked at her then rolled to the side to avoid Fox's boot.
"You going to beat me up, too?" Peaches called.
She scowled at his grin. "I might."
Without another word, she stormed off to collect her laundry from the willows.
The instant Fox finished washing the supper plates at the edge of the stream, she caught Tanner's eye and jerked her head toward the horses and mules. He caught up to her a minute later.
"I need to talk to you about you know tomorrow night."
"Have you changed your mind?"
There was enough disappointment in his tone to boost her spirts. "No, but I'm worried about a couple of things."
Tanner ran a hand down the bay's flank. "Like what?"
"Well" She patted the bay's neck, wishing it was dark but the days were stretching longer. "Here we are planning a liaison but we've never even kissed." She darted a look at him then focused on the bay's big brown eye. "What if we get to the liaison and discover that we hate kissing each other? What if we're standing there, ready to start the liaison and then find out there's no spark between us?"
Tanner took a step toward her, but Fox lifted her palm. "No, don't come kissing on me now. I'd feel like I'd begged a kiss out of you and that would make me mad."
An eyebrow arched and he studied her, his gaze settling on her lips. "Then how do you propose we remedy the problem?"
His stare made her mouth feel twitchy and stiff. "You're supposed to know that. You're the one in charge of the pursuit."
"I'm not going to hate kissing you, Fox."
"You can't say that. You might."
"All right, I'll think about the problem. What else?"
Damn. This kind of thing wasn't easy to discuss. "Well, I was wondering" She addressed her remarks to the horse. "You aren't expecting a virgin are you?" Before he could answer, she rushed on. "Because there was this man about six years ago. He and I"
"You don't have to explain anything."
Her cheeks felt as if they'd caught fire and she couldn't look at him. "It only happened twice. The first time was awful." Closing her eyes, she shook her head. "The second time was to find out if it would still be awful, and it was."
"Fox"
"No, listen. You and me" She stared into the bay's eye. "It's going to be awful, I know that. At least for me, I'm just not good at this. Maybe it's better for men, I don't know. Anyway. I'm not a virgin, but I'm also not experienced, so don't expect too much."
"I won't."
She could swear he sounded amused but when she swung toward him with a glare, he appeared serious.
"All right then. I just thought you should know." Lifting her chin, she marched past him. "If you plan to kiss me first, and I think that should happen before we go any further, it should seem natural. Like we didn't talk about it and I didn't have to ask you."
On the way to her tent, she stopped at the fire where the men were drinking coffee and smoking. "We'll stay one more night at this camp."
"I told you not to lose another day on my account," Peaches said, looking tired and guilty.
"The animals will be in better shape after another day's rest." She squeezed his shoulder on her way past.
It was too early to crawl into her tent, but Fox craved solitude. Finding moments alone on a crosscountry journey was not easy and she counted every opportunity as precious. Stretching out, she pretended to read in case anyone glanced inside. But first, she checked the spot where she'd buried the flowers Tanner gave her. She hadn't known what to do with them. It wasn't like she carried a vase in her saddlebags. But it seemed the height of ingratitude to throw them away, so she'd hidden the flowers by burying them.
Holding her book on her chest, she stared up at the peaked roof of her tent and thought about all she had to accomplish tomorrow. She'd do her work first. Check the animals. Get the packs ready to go. Decide on the route. Then she'd go to the pool she had discovered and have a bath and a hair wash. Eat supper, if she could swallow anything knowing what was about to happen. And then Tanner
would probably ask if she'd like to take a walk. Then he would do the test kiss. And if the test kiss was successful
Anticipation shivered through her body, although she couldn't have said why. Her only previous experience had been embarrassing and awkward, and uncomfortable enough that Fox hadn't been interested in repeating the experiment until now. Why she was so eager for a liaison with Tanner puzzled her.
She knew about sex and it was nothing to get excited about. The only good part was the anticipation. During the anticipation, it was easy to forget that the sex part was fast, frustrating, and plain awful.
On the other hand, if her plans unfolded the way she hoped they did, Hobbs Jennings would die and she'd be swinging from a rope shortly after they arrived in Denver. If she was going to grab something good for herself, she'd better do it now.
And Tanner was a good thing.
Tanner hadn't needed the reminder that he and Fox had not kissed. Very likely he'd been thinking about kissing her longer than she'd been thinking about kissing. Until recently, he hadn't known if his kiss would be welcome. Once he learned that obstacle didn't exist, privacy became an issue.
After tucking away his shaving gear, he studied the sky. No clouds marred the high blue curve, but he'd keep checking. Rain would cause an unacceptable delay for tonight's plans as would another spring snowstorm. Fortunately, that didn't seem likely. Out here on the range, the days were hot and the nights cool but not unpleasantly so, as the nights had been at altitude.
Running a hand down his jaw, he decided he'd shave again before tonight. He'd bathe in the stream, and wear the clothing he'd washed yesterday. Last night he'd polished his boots, that was done. Shortly after dawn, he'd discovered a perfect place for privacy. Throughout the morning, he would take blankets and pillows to the spot he'd found inside a thick growth of willows and grass.
Gazing across the campsite, he observed the morning routines of the others. When he and Fox disappeared after supper, the men would know what was happening. That was awkward, but he didn't see a way around it.
At first he didn't spot Fox, then he saw her crawling out of her tent, carrying a towel and a cake of soap. His eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. Tonight he would discover what treasures lay hidden beneath her oversized clothes. But the truth was, he liked the look of her regardless. Watching her now, he realized he usually forgot how small she was because she walked tall, her carriage graceful but brimming with purpose.
Foxfire Bride Page 16