by Dee Burks
Tommy jumped down and brought Taos a chocolate cookie. “See what she made me?”
Taos took a bite. Nobody around here had baked cookies since he was a little boy. The sweet treat melted on his tongue. He smiled in spite of himself.
“So you found everything you needed in town?” Taos asked Samantha.
“And then some.” Charlie pressed a hand into his back. “’Bout threw my back out loading it all. You’d think she was movin’ in for good.”
Taos sat forward and looked directly at Charlie. “How much did she spend?”
Charlie glanced at her.
“Not one dime,” Samantha piped up. “Of your money, anyway.”
“Whose money did you spend?” Taos’s voice raised slightly.
“Mine.”
“I told you to put everything on my account.” Taos stared at his brother.
Charlie shrank under the scrutiny. “Well, she insisted. And I know how much you hate causing a scene and everything, so . . .”
“Why did you insist? I can take care of it.” What the hell? Was she out to embarrass him in front of the whole town?
“I refuse to be obligated to anyone, especially you.” She paused. “Besides, from the looks of things, I didn’t think you can spare it.”
Darren squelched a snicker and Charlie hid his grin behind his fist. Taos’s cheek twitched with renewed fervor.
“And while we’re on the subject, this whole house could use a good cleaning, and I intend to give it one tomorrow.”
“Sounds like a warning.” Darren reached over and grabbed a cookie.
“It is.”
All three men looked at her.
“In fact, if there is anything you’re attached to I highly recommend you take it with you. Otherwise it’ll be cleaned within an inch of its life or thrown out altogether.”
Jimbo let out a low bark, eyeing the table through the screen door.
“And that goes for that hairy mutt, too.”
“Who said you could just come in here and start dishing out orders?”
She turned toward Taos, a large wooden spoon in her hand. “Let me see if I understand this.” She pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes at him. “I volunteer to scrub this pigsty for you and your brothers, without being asked, or paid, and all you do is complain?”
Silence.
“How ungrateful can a man possibly be?”
“No one asked for your help with anythin-”
“Tough!” she turned back to the stove. “You’re getting my help anyway, no matter how undeserving you might be!”
“I think it’s nice that she wants to clean the place up a little,” Darren mumbled, “Sure couldn’t do no harm.”
Charlie nodded, “Less for us to do, not that we ever do it. I’d sure like to come home and sleep on clean sheets for once.”
“Then it’s settled.” She glanced over her shoulder, silently daring Taos to say something.
He simmered, trying to plot his next move. She was doing it again. Not only did she think she could just take over his son and his house, she made him look like the bad guy. He needed to talk to his brothers in private. Clearly they had no idea how dangerous it was to let a woman think she runs everything.
As Samantha placed Taos’s food in front of him, she balanced herself by placing her hand on his shoulder. He jumped and jerked away like she’d burned him.
Everyone stared. Taos cleared his throat and grabbed his plate. “Thank you,” he said.
“Well that was awkward.” Charlie raised a brow at Samantha, who smiled.
They were both playing him now. Taos jabbed his steak and ignored them.
Dinner turned out to be a mostly silent affair. The chicken fried steaks were golden brown and fork tender. Everyone watched as Tommy had half a steak, two helpings of potatoes, and a large piece of cornbread before he was full. Finally, the boy leaned over and whispered to Samantha, “That was great, ma’am.”
“Why thank you, sir.” She put her arm around his slim shoulders and squeezed gently, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
Tommy blushed and darted up the back stairs to get ready for bed.
“You shouldn’t let him get too attached.” Taos scowled as he picked up another piece of cornbread. “He’ll just be disappointed when you leave.”
“It’s not my fault he’s starved for affection.”
Taos paused a moment, almost taking the bait, but then went back to his meal.
“I’m sure he comes by it naturally though.” Samantha pushed “Like father, like son. Or so I hear.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” His fork clattered on his plate.
“Just that I hear you haven’t been to Miss Sadie’s in a while.” She paused, “It explains a lot.”
Taos stopped mid-chew as heavy silence blanketed the entire kitchen. She met his glare with a delicate arch of her brow. Charlie coughed dramatically and Darren’s eyes grew round.
“What did you hear, and who did you hear it from?” Taos braced for battle. He called her bluff with a smile that was more a dare. He could easily embarrass her into silence on this subject, then the advantage would be his.
“Oh, you know. People.”
Taos’s eyes narrowed. Rumors. She was bound to hear a whole slew of them in town. There was no way she could know anything about his particular habits with women, or lack thereof, and her evasiveness was proof. He would push until she admitted it right here in front of everyone.
“Who are these people, exactly, and what makes you think they know anything?”
She was nonchalant, even confident. “Mavis and Cinnamon told me all about it this morning when I went to Miss Sadie’s. I really don’t think they had any reason to lie.”
Taos glared at Charlie’s white face. The tight grip of humiliation squeezed Taos’s throat until his voice was a low rumble. “Did you let her go to that place?”
“Let is kind of a strong word.” Charlie fumbled with his napkin and flashed a helpless look at Samantha. “She just wandered off while I was loading the wagon, and by the time I found her . . .”
“Actually, I snuck off so it’s really not his fault.” She shrugged. “As it turned out, I learned a great deal.”
“About what?” He bit the words out.
“A number of things.”
Taos fought to remain calm. “What things?” He would control this conversation if it killed him. His suspicion returned full force. Had she met up with some accomplice in town? His eyes glanced out the backdoor. Maybe she was ready to spring him on them now. “Well, at least we got a decent meal out of the deal.”
Taos tossed his napkin on his plate. “So where’s he hidin’ honey?”
“We’re not back to that again are we?” She heaved a frustrated sigh. “And ‘we’ didn’t decide anything, you did. So it doesn’t count and there is another option, as you well know.”
No one moved a muscle as the tension mounted. “You are not going to do that.” Taos said calmly. He pushed back from the table and stood indicating the conversation was over.
“Why not?” She smiled at him. “And the girls at Miss Sadie’s gave me a list of men who might be willing to help me in that respect.”
The blood rushed to Taos’s head so fast he saw stars. He hadn’t lost it . . . yet. And he wasn’t going to. She was not going to push him that far this time. He leaned forward on the table as his lips curled into a sneer. “You’ll never get a chance to try your little plan. I will make sure you never leave this house.”
“Oh, good, because the perfect man is already here.” She smiled.
Charlie and Darren stared at each other and then at Taos who chuckled humorlessly.
He rubbed his chin with his hand as he shook his head. “Even if you were the only woman for a thousand miles, I would never—”
She pushed aside the sting of his remark. “Oh, don’t worry, you aren’t even on the list of great lovers at all. According to the girls at Miss Sadie’
s, that is.” She flashed a sexy smile at his brother. “Charlie, on the other hand was at the very top.”
Charlie perked up immediately. “They really said that?”
“Oh yes, they had wonderful things to say about you. Apparently Raven thinks very highly of your, um, skill.”
“Really? I can’t believe they said that. Right at the top?”
“Number one.”
“Enough!” Taos’s voice rattled the panes in the window. She could make angels weep in frustration! She couldn’t be serious, he thought. And what about Charlie, that backstabbing son of a bitch! He looked at his brother who was puffed up like a peacock.
He’s just dumb enough to fall for it, too. For a brief moment Taos’s mind pictured Samantha wrapped in Charlie’s arms, and it pushed him to the edge of insanity. He marched around and jerked her up by the arm. “You two find somewhere else to be!”
Both of his brothers jumped to their feet.
“Now maybe you should calm down a bit, Taos.” Charlie moved toward Samantha and slowly took her other arm. “We can talk about this.”
“You keep your hands off her.” Taos pulled her behind him. “Talk is over. Disappear!” Rage oozed from him as his brothers stood perfectly still.
They stared at him like he was a mad man. The same way people in town did. She cooked this up to go against him and in less than two days he had already lost the battle with his own family. He stalked down the hall and up the stairs, Samantha in tow.
“Gee, Pa, am I being sent to my room?” she squealed.
He didn’t find her sarcasm one bit funny. “Yes. And you’re going to stay there until I figure out what to do with you.” He stopped in front of the door to her room and grabbed both of her upper arms. He brought her face within inches of his.
“Well, Cinnamon had a few suggestions of what you could do with me.” She pressed her palm on his chest and moved toward him with a seductive smile.
Taos just stared. He thought, no dreamed, about her looking at him with that smile all day. Now, it scared him to death. If she asked him for anything right now she just might get it. Samantha rubbed her hand across his shirt. The movement snapped Taos out of his stupor. He shoved her into the room.
The door slammed shut and the lock clicked. His footsteps echoed down the stairs.
Samantha breathed a sigh of relief, then giggled to herself. Maybe she had overdone it a little, but he certainly seemed convinced. There was no way he’d let anyone near her now. Mission accomplished.
She tried the adjoining door. It opened and she moved silently through Taos’s room. The large glass knob on his door to the hallway turned slowly. Unlocked. He was so mad he never even thought about it. Well, she certainly had given him a thing or two to think about.
She returned to her room and slumped against her side of the door, emotionally drained and exhausted. It had been a long, eventful day. The last ray of light disappeared from the window as she slipped out of her dress.
The shirt of Taos’s she had worn last night still hung inside the armoire. She passed up the new white nightgown and robe she’d purchased and instead slipped the cotton shirt on again. It was soft and comforting. She pressed her nose into the fabric. It smelled like him, and she imagined him wrapping his arms around her, holding her close.
That thought startled her a little, since she had just spent the better part of an hour purposely getting him as angry as possible. It was necessary, she reasoned, and it had been exciting in a way. Even while he was yelling at her, the intensity of his gaze made that strange tingle rumble across her skin. She was a little sorry he wasn’t still here screaming at her. What if he was? What then?
The adjoining door to his room squeaked open as she poked her head in once again. He was still downstairs. She sat on the edge of his bed in the quiet as the darkness grew and tried to sort out her tumbling emotions. Her hand smoothed across his pillow and the image of his head lying here in this exact spot gave her the oddest sensation, as if she were made of warm honey.
Lady, if you were the only woman in a thousand miles I would never . . .
The haunting coldness of his words reverberated in her mind and made Samantha shiver. Cinnamon said he would pretty much take anybody. Am I really that bad? She had been told she was pretty. Maybe there was a difference in what was pretty and what he wanted. What about the way he reacted when she touched his shoulder? It had been the same when she put her hand on his chest. He liked it; she knew he did. But then a strange expression came across his face.
At first she thought it was fear, but it was ridiculous a man—especially one of his size—would be afraid of her. No, he just wasn’t used to anyone touching him. He must have been surprised, that’s all. Who could blame him? She had been nothing less than a shrew to him since she arrived. Well, he would be more surprised tomorrow. Not only would this house be scrubbed to bare wood, but now that he believed Samantha’s threat and insisted she stay, she could relax and be herself.
Those thoughts sapped the last of her strength and she laid her head on his pillow and breathed him in.
Chapter 11
Taos watched the amber liquid swirl in the bottom of his glass. The leather of his chair squeaked as he propped his boots up on the desk. The alcohol took a little of the edge off, but not much. The house was quiet as most everyone had called it a night.
Taos heard soft footsteps upstairs that could only be hers. They were like two combatants plotting their next move. What the hell am I going to do with her?
Samantha was serious about her intentions, no question. He stared out the window as the last purple glow disappeared over the horizon. She was out of harm’s way temporarily, but he couldn’t keep her locked up.
Well, maybe he could. The frustration made him want to believe it. He ran his fingers through his hair. It wouldn’t work. Just one more battle he would lose. Next thing would be a newspaper ad for a husband or some other such nonsense. Taos envisioned a long line of men with hats in hand stretched clear around the barn, and him the guard dog. He tossed back the last of his drink.
How was it that he sat in this same chair two days ago a different man? Successful rancher, good father. In complete control over his life and those around him. Now he was on a runaway train screaming at a deaf conductor. She was good and deaf, too.
She was the most headstrong, stubborn woman—no, make that person—he had ever met. Even a logical argument “didn’t count.” How could it not count? Logic and reason made the world go ’round. For everyone but her.
Didn’t even make the list of decent lovers. How could they tell her that? Wasn’t there a code of silence or something with whores? Some kind of confidentiality thing like with lawyers and preachers? He knew he wasn’t a bad lover, it’s just that it’s different with women like that. It’s not worth the effort to please someone who’s being paid. They probably didn’t explain the difference, if they even knew the difference.
She actually went to Miss Sadie’s. He couldn’t even imagine her in that place. She had more brass than most men and certainly more than any woman he’d ever met. Samantha was full of surprises, but then she had always been. Memories of a skinny little girl floated through his mind. She was all knees and elbows then, and she had attracted trouble like a flame attracts moths. That part hadn’t changed.
Come to think of it, she had the ability to cause trouble from the time she was about four. She and Darren were usually in it together, though. The tobacco incident was a prime example. A slow smile crossed his face. He pictured a blonde-haired little girl with the brown juice dribbling down the front of her dress. Darren said she told him that real men spit tobacco and they decided to learn together. Darren swallowed most of his and was sick as a dog. Not her though. She learned and could spit nearly as far as he could. Her father, Sam, had threatened to drag Sammy to the woodshed many times, but he never did. Maybe he should have.
Taos poured another drink and sat back, staring out the small window into th
e darkness. He had watched the train pull away, taking her to Boston nine years ago. The memory still haunted his dreams sometimes. She waved from the window, but her eyes held the deepest sadness he had ever seen. She was the closest thing to a sister he ever had, and it hurt like hell to see her suffer like that. He wanted to run after the train, to stop her from going, but he couldn’t. Jake and Mattie had decided New Mexico Territory was no place for a young girl to be, and just like that Samantha was on that train to Boston. Mattie had obviously taken care of her better than a bunch of cowboys ever could.
If only he’d recognized her right off, then things would be different. He would never have touched her lips or caressed her soft flesh. Now that he had, there was no escape from the desire to touch her again. Knowing she was upstairs just a few steps away from his room, his bed, drew his imagination like a magnet.
The sultry invitation she’d presented this evening almost broke down any defenses he had. Her touch lit a torch in his chest, and those sparkling green eyes made promises that it seemed she was fully ready to keep. The scent of flowers was so heavy he could almost taste it. He shook his head. His mind teased and tormented, not caring if he was awake or asleep, sober or drunk. It was a cruel trick that he had no power over.
Charlie appeared at the door. “Is it safe for me in here?”
“I haven’t decided,” Taos frowned.
Charlie’s face broke into a wide grin “Good.” He shrugged at Taos’s reproach and slouched into the chair in front of the desk. “Ain’t like you to be in the firewater.”
Taos took another sip. “She brings out the worst in me.”
“I’d say it goes both ways.”
“I have to talk some sense into her.”
“I remember you trying to talk sense into Sharisse. That was a disaster. What makes you think you can get anywhere with Sammy?”
Taos remembered, too. He’d failed miserably with Tommy’s mother. Every conversation had ended in an argument, most of the time over nothing. The last argument, though, that one had cost him more than he could have ever imagined at the time.