by Judith Stacy
“No more morning sickness,” she said, sitting down in the rocker. “Just tired.”
“Well, you’ll get plenty of rest today.” Jared knelt in front of her. “Just put your feet up on this stool and—”
He froze as Mattie placed her bare feet on the stool. Her toes actually warmed under his scrutiny, sending a rush through her. All Mattie’s senses crackled to life.
Slowly, he lifted his gaze to her bare ankles, then to her legs. Though her dress covered her, she may as well not have had on a stitch of clothes. Mattie’s knees trembled beneath her skirt. She was conscious of how little she wore, keenly aware that Jared knew it, too.
She moved to rise from the chair and murmured, “I’ll go put on—”
“No.” He shook his head, his voice a little desperate. “No, don’t do that. Please. Just…just sit here.”
They gazed at each other for a moment, then Mattie nodded. “All right.”
He lurched to his feet and busied himself lighting the stove and putting on a pot of coffee, accomplishing it awkwardly, as he kept his back to her as much as possible.
Finally, he spoke, his voice a little hoarse. “You said there was something you want to talk to me about?”
“I never did thank you for talking to the mayor for me.”
Jared paused as he took plates from the cupboard, his gaze scanning her in a hot sweep, as if the layers of fabric covering her meant nothing.
“So, thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” he answered, and went about setting the table.
Mattie started to rise from the rocker. “No, really, Jared, I—”
“Don’t get up.” It was a warning, not a courtesy. Jared waved his hand at her. “Just don’t get up.”
She settled into the chair again, her dress and petticoat feeling thinner and thinner with each moment that passed.
“Even if you didn’t go about it the way I’d have liked, you still convinced the mayor to give me a chance,” Mattie said. “I was thinking about that for the last few days. I shouldn’t have been so angry at you. I shouldn’t have—”
“Compared me to Del?”
Mattie’s stomach rolled. A new warmth—this one different—crept through her. She dipped her gaze. “That’s what I did, didn’t I?”
Jared nodded as he set the table. “I’m not like him, Mattie. I’m nothing like him.”
Mattie smiled. “Del certainly never made supper for me.”
“He didn’t do a hell of a lot of other things for you, either,” Jared declared, and it was clear he wasn’t referring to the household chores.
“Anyway,” Mattie said, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks, “I appreciate your help with Mayor Rayburn, and I’m sorry I shouted at you.”
Jared finished getting the meal on the table, something he obviously seldom did, and seated Mattie in the chair across from him. He dished out the Silver Bell’s fried chicken, potatoes and carrots for both of them, and poured coffee.
“Billy and I took a ride out west of town the other day,” Jared said, after they’d eaten awhile.
“Did you catch sight of Mr. Pitney?” Mattie asked.
“The old recluse from the Battle of Gettysburg?” Jared shook his head. “No, but Billy told me about him.”
“Did you stop at the McCafferty place?”
“Just for a few minutes,” Jared said. “Mrs. Mc-Cafferty was outside doing laundry.”
“Has she had the baby yet?” Mattie asked.
“Looked like it could happen most any time.”
“I feel sorry for her,” Mattie said. “Out there all by herself, expecting a baby, and no other woman to talk to about…things.”
“She’s got a husband. He’ll take care of her.”
“Some husbands don’t do that.”
“Some do.”
Mattie was certain Jared knew she was thinking about Del again.
“Anyway,” she said, “there’s something odd about that Mr. McCafferty. You’re the sheriff. Can’t you do something?”
“If I started locking up everybody in this town who acted strange, there wouldn’t be anybody left walking the streets.” Jared nodded toward the food on the table. “What do you think of your competition?”
“Not bad,” Mattie was forced to admit. She smiled confidently. “But the Silver Bell doesn’t stand a chance of winning that supper away from the Cottonwood.”
“Have you decided what you’re serving?” Jared asked. He ate greedily, as if he were starving. Mattie wondered if it was really his belly he was trying to satisfy.
“Yes. Roast beef, chicken and ham, four kinds of vegetables, two kinds of bread and three desserts.”
“That’s more than a full meal, all right. I don’t see how the council can turn it down.”
“You haven’t heard my whole plan yet,” Mattie said. She’d spent days working on it, consulting with Mrs. Nance. “I’m going to deck out the Cottonwood in red, white and blue. I’ll get mama’s old white tablecloths mended and freshly laundered, and put a red rose from Mrs. Donovan’s garden on each table, then hang blue bunting around the room. Mr. Langston at the mercantile said he’d give me a good price on it.”
“Sounds fancy.”
“And that’s not all. I’m going to cook the full meal and serve samples to the town council the night I make my proposal.”
Jared grinned. “I guess that means they’re having the meeting at the mayor’s house.”
“You heard about Mrs. Rayburn’s cooking?” Mattie asked. “Well, after facing one of her meals, the town council won’t be able to resist the Cottonwood’s offering.”
“Have you got plenty of help cooking and getting everything over to the mayor’s house?”
“Billy is helping, of course.”
“If you don’t mind a suggestion, how about having the Spencer girls help you out that night, too? According to Billy, they’re pretty girls, and ol’ Gil is anxious to marry them off.”
Mattie considered the idea. “I guess it wouldn’t do any harm for him to know they’ll spend a fair amount of time with those investors, if the Cottonwood wins the supper.”
“Seems like a lot of expense involved with proposing this supper to the council, what with buying the food, paying Billy and the Spencer sisters, and giving Mrs. Nance something extra for all the cooking,” Jared said, biting into another chicken leg. “Can you handle it?”
“Yes.”
He glanced up from his plate. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” Mattie toyed with her carrots for a moment. “I sold something.”
He chewed slower. “What?”
Mattie laid her fork aside. She could hardly bear to think about what she’d done. How she’d sold one of the few family treasures she possessed. She’d wrestled with the idea, unsure of what to do, but in the end the survival of the Cottonwood Café and her baby’s future had won out.
“My mother’s brooch. I didn’t want to sell it, of course. Her mother had given it to her, and I was supposed to pass it on to my daughter. But it was the only thing I had of value that I could sell quickly, and…”
Jared just looked at her for a moment. Mattie could imagine his thoughts. She’d had all the same ones herself leading up to the decision to sell the brooch.
“It must have been a tough thing for you to do,” Jared said softly.
Mattie allowed herself a small smile, pleased he hadn’t chastised her for selling her grandmother’s jewelry, making her feel worse about it than she already did.
When they finished eating, Jared insisted Mattie rest in the rocker again, then cleared the table and washed the dishes.
“What about these chores you were doing today?” Jared asked, placing the last plate in the cupboard. “Anything I can help with?”
“Actually, I was planning to spend the afternoon working on my knitting,” Mattie said. “For the baby.”
He grinned. “Can I see?”
“Well, sure, if you�
�d like.” Mattie left the kitchen and returned a moment later with her knitting basket. She laid the things she’d already completed on the table—a sweater and two pairs of booties. She was still working on a cap.
“Blue, huh?” Jared asked.
“It will be a boy,” Mattie said. “I know I should be sewing for myself. I’ll be needing proper clothes before the baby needs these things. But I just can’t resist.”
For a long moment Jared looked at the items on the table. Finally, he picked up a bootie and laid it in his palm. It looked tiny against his big hand, soft compared to his ruggedness.
He turned to her, his eyes burning with an intensity she’d seen only a few times. Deliberately, his gaze dipped to her belly.
A heat, an energy—something—arced from him to Mattie. She felt it pulling her toward him, binding her to him.
“Mattie…” Jared dropped the bootie and wrapped his arms around her.
She didn’t step away, didn’t try to escape. Instead, she looped her arms around his neck and met his lips with hers.
He sealed their mouths together, pulling her close. Mattie sank into his embrace, into his kiss, twining her fingers through his hair.
Jared’s lips trailed down her cheek to the hollow of her neck. He raised his hand to cup her breast.
With a gasp, Mattie pushed herself against him. He groaned, then caught her behind her knees and lifted her onto the table. He fumbled with her skirt until his fingers found the flesh of her thigh.
Mattie’s head spun as he kissed her and she kissed him, both feverish in their need. She pulled open the buttons of his shirt and long johns and splayed her hand over his chest. He pushed his hand farther under her skirt.
“Mattie,” he whispered, his breath hot against her face, “I want you.”
“I—I guess it wouldn’t be a sin, really, since I’m already pregnant.”
“It wouldn’t have to be a sin at all.” He kissed her hard. “Marry me, Mattie. We’ll go to the church. Now. The reverend can marry us. We’ll be back here in twenty minutes. Then we’d have all afternoon together…all evening…all night.”
Mattie’s head fell back as Jared’s mouth trailed down her throat. “But…but I don’t want to get married. Can’t we…you know…just this one time?”
“I don’t want to make love to you just one time.” Jared eased back and caught her cheeks between his palms. “I want to make love to you forever.”
They looked at each other, their passion cooling.
“I don’t want to get married,” Mattie whispered.
“Can’t you see how much I care about you? How much you mean to me?”
“I…” She turned her head, unable to look at him.
“What is it, Mattie? Tell me.”
“I—I…I don’t know…”
He stepped away then, giving her one last hungry look. Mattie pulled her skirt down.
“I’d better go,” Jared said, buttoning his shirt. He got his hat and gun belt, and the basket he’d brought supper in, and left the kitchen.
Mattie followed him to the front door. He stepped outside but didn’t leave the porch, just stood there for a long time looking at her, his expression unreadable.
Wishing she could think of something sensible to say, Mattie remained motionless in the doorway. Finally, Jared turned to leave, then looked back.
“Who did you sell your mama’s brooch to?” he asked.
The question was so far removed from her own thoughts, Mattie couldn’t answer for a moment.
“Mrs. Pomeroy,” she finally said.
Jared walked away.
Chapter Fifteen
The door to his office burst open and Mattie stormed inside, cheeks flushed, eyes blazing.
Seated at his desk, Jared pushed aside the packet of Wanted posters he’d just picked up from the express office, wondering what he’d done since the last time he’d seen her to make her so angry.
Mattie planted one fist on her hip and pointed outside. “I want you to go arrest that awful Mr. McCafferty.”
Relieved that, for a change, it wasn’t him she was mad at, Jared took a minute to note how enticing Mattie looked when she was all riled up. Pink cheeks, jaw set, breasts straining against her dress…
He squirmed in his chair. God help him, everything this woman did made him want her.
Calmly, he laid his hands on the desk. “Did Mr. McCafferty happen to break a law?”
“No!” She pointed out the door again. “Just go arrest him!”
“Okay.” Jared rose from his chair and nodded to the rifle rack on the wall. “Do you want me to shoot him, too?”
“Yes!”
“Kill him outright, or just wing him?”
Mattie huffed loudly, realizing, apparently, how unreasonable she sounded. She flapped her arms at her sides. “You have to do something,” she insisted.
Jared sat down on the corner of his desk. “What’s this all about?”
“That awful Mr. McCafferty is in town, right over there at the mercantile, and his wife isn’t with him.”
Jared frowned, trying to get the gist of her concern. “And…?”
That sparked her anger again. “She hasn’t been into town in months! Didn’t he consider that maybe she’d like to come along, too?”
“Maybe he figured the ride would be too rough for her.”
“So he left her home alone? All by herself with a baby due at any minute?”
“They might have needed supplies, things they couldn’t do without. Maybe he’s buying something special and wanted to surprise her.”
Mattie planted her fists on her hips again. “Would you just stop making so much sense?”
Jared left the corner of the desk and draped his arm around Mattie’s shoulder. “You’re worried Mrs. McCafferty might have the baby out there by herself?”
Mattie leaned against him, soaking up some of the comfort he offered. “What if her labor starts and she’s alone?” She pressed her lips together, then nodded decisively. “I’ll just go out to their farm myself and check on her.”
Jared fought back his immediate reaction—to forbid her to go. Instead he said, “Do you think that’s a good idea? You bouncing around in a wagon for that long?”
Mattie looked away. “No, I don’t suppose it is. But somebody has to do something. Could you go, Jared?”
The last thing he wanted was to show up at their place and find Mrs. McCafferty giving birth. “I don’t think she’d get much comfort from me calling on her, me being a man, and the sheriff.”
“Yes, you’re right. I’ll ask Mrs. Pomeroy. She and her committee could go out there.”
“Let’s just suppose that Mrs. McCafferty is not having the baby at this very minute. Do you think she’d want all those women showing up on her doorstep? She probably hasn’t felt up to keeping her house neat as a pin, and might be embarrassed for those ladies to see it.”
Mattie looked up at him. “How do you know so much about expectant mothers?”
Jared didn’t answer. “Tell you what, I’ll go talk to Mr. McCafferty and see if his wife has had the baby yet. And if she hasn’t, I’ll ask the reverend and his missus if they can go out there. The two of them are always visiting people, so it won’t seem unusual. And the reverend’s wife can talk to Mrs. McCafferty about…whatever. Will that handle things to suit you?”
Mattie smiled. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Good.” Jared got his hat from beside the door. “I’ll walk you back to the Cottonwood. Are you busy this morning getting everything ready for the town council meeting tonight?”
“A little,” Mattie explained, as they stepped outside and moved down the boardwalk. “Most of the work will be done this afternoon. Billy’s coming over and so are the Spencer sisters.”
“So you’ve got a little free time?” When she nodded, Jared said, “Good. I’ll come back by the Cottonwood in a bit. There’s something we need to take care of.”
She raised her eyebrows at
him. “What?”
“I’ll explain it to you later.”
“You’re sounding very mysterious.”
“Stop frowning. It will be fun. I promise.”
Jared left her at the Cottonwood, then headed over to the mercantile and found McCafferty. He was a big man, young, and not much for conversation, but Jared got enough out of him to learn that their baby hadn’t been born yet. He circled back to the church, let Reverend Harris know the situation, then went back to the Cottonwood.
Mattie smiled when he walked through the back door into the restaurant’s kitchen. Mrs. Nance was at the stove, while Billy packed dishes into a small crate.
“Big night,” Jared said, surveying the scene.
“The Cottonwood has the best cook and staff in Stanford,” Mattie bragged. “The council won’t be able to refuse us that supper.”
“Miss Mattie?” Billy called. “I know you told me how many plates to pack, but I think we’d better bring a few more, just in case.”
“All right. I trust your judgment.” Mattie turned to Jared. “You haven’t heard anybody talking about what we’re proposing to the council, have you? I’ve sworn everyone to secrecy.”
“Not a peep. Of course, Billy’s the one you ought to ask.”
“Not a peep. Just like the sheriff said,” he confirmed. “There ain’t no other restaurant planning on actually serving the council samples of their menu, I can tell you that for a fact.”
“Perfect,” Mattie declared, smiling broadly.
“Okay, then let’s go,” Jared said to Mattie, nodding toward the door.
She looked anxiously around the restaurant. “I don’t think I should leave, Jared. Something might come up.”
“Billy? Mrs. Nance?” Jared called. “Anything happening you can’t handle?”
“Shoot, no,” Billy answered.
“Go on now, you two,” Mrs. Nance said, waving a spoon at them and smiling sweetly. “If anything comes up, we’ll find you.”
Mattie hesitated another moment. “Are you sure this is important?”
“It can’t wait much longer,” Jared told her.
“Well, I suppose it will be all right, just for a while.” Mattie took off her apron. Billy could handle most any problem that came up at the Cottonwood. He’d washed dishes for her before, but really, he’d been involved in every aspect of running the business. Mattie hadn’t realized how much she’d depended on him until she’d had to let him go.