“Can I do anything, Tana?” Shain asked.
“Not until we see how the next few hours go,” Tana said. “Then you may need to take him to Chenaie and watch over him. He cannot be left here alone, with only Zeke to care for him.”
“Whatever needs to be done,” Shain assured her. “Anything.”
Tana turned back to Jake, and as Zeke and Alaynia approached again, Shain moved over to the door. When he realized he could offer no assistance, he stepped out onto the porch.
The rain had let up again, and he stared at the crumbled mass of timber, boards, roofing, mud, and boulders that had been Jake’s barn. Clenching his fists at his side, he gazed past the pile of tangled refuse to the denuded hillside behind the barn, where a cliff side had given way to begin the mudslide.
God, what if Alaynia hadn’t escaped the barn before it collapsed?
He’d found her mare gone when he rode Black into the stable after he decided to take a break from the vicious grind of the past few days and finally enjoy a hot meal at the manor house. He’d supervised what repairs could be made on the irrigation ditch dam, at least until the water receded a little more. On the far side of the cane field, he’d found a way to drain some more water off, channeling it into the creek bed. Maybe, just maybe, he could salvage some of the crop, if this rain would cease for a few days.
And it was time to have a talk with Alaynia—to see if they couldn’t work out some sort of compromise in their relationship. Neither Cole nor Carrington had been a damned bit understanding about Shain’s anger over Alaynia placing herself in danger at the irrigation ditch. What if that harebrained plan of hers hadn’t worked? Cole insisted he’d made the right decision in Shain’s absence—to take a chance on Alaynia’s strategy. Both Cole and the overseer were filled with admiration for Alaynia—but then, neither of them was in love with her. They didn’t understand his vacillation between pride in her and his inadequacy at keeping her safe.
His physical tiredness and uneasiness about how to approach Alaynia to discuss the rift between them had allowed his temper to explode when he saw both the stable hands busy at work and realized Alaynia had left unescorted. The stable hands denied vehemently even seeing the mistress of Chenaie leave, but Shain knew at once she had gone over to Jake’s—probably to check on the site of that damned house she was building.
He’d whirled Black out of the barn and met Tana and Zeke racing their horses down the road a half-mile from Jake’s. Neither of them slowed when they spotted him, and he joined in their frantic gallop.
“A mudslide!” Zeke called to Shain as the horses pounded down the road. “The barn’s caved in! And Mister Jake’s dyin’!”
“Alaynia?” Shain shouted back.
“She got out in time—Mister Jake, too! But Mister Jake’s heart give out afterwards!”
Pulling his mind back to the scene before him, Shain lifted a clenched fist and slammed it into one of the porch supports.
“Goddamn you, Fitzroy!” he growled. “And goddamn your company and all the money-hungry people it took advantage of. So far no one’s been killed, but if Alaynia had been hurt, I’d have strangled you in front of the entire town!”
Hell, his thoughts continued, as he dropped his head and picked at a splinter of wood in one knuckle. Alaynia didn’t need his protection—or his offer of vengeance on her behalf. She was more capable of taking care of herself than he was of caring for her. He loved her with his entire being and believed deeply in her love for him in return. But how long would her love last, if everything he touched continued to end in setbacks instead of growth?
“Shain.” Alaynia’s voice came from behind him, and he turned.
“Jake’s rousing already. Tana believes we should take him to Chenaie. But their wagon was destroyed when the barn collapsed, so ...”
“I’ll go get a wagon from Chenaie,” Shain assured her. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“I don’t think so. I’ll let Tana know you’ve gone after the wagon.”
She went back into the shack, and Shain stepped from the porch. Picking up Black’s reins, he vaulted into the saddle. Maybe he could at least get the wagon back here in one piece, without it falling apart on the way.
Chapter 27
“It doesn’t feel right,” Jeannie murmured as Alaynia worked on her hair the next evening. “Having a party while Jake is ill. I should be helping Tana and Netta care for him.”
“What do you think Jake would want you to do?” Alaynia asked gently.
“Have the party,” Jeannie admitted. “But I wanted Jake to be at it, too. And he’s your uncle, Alaynia. I know how worried you are about him.”
Tears filmed Alaynia’s eyes, and she nodded without speaking. What could she tell Jeannie, anyway? The time might come when she felt comfortable informing Jeannie that she came from the future, but not yet. If she returned there, Shain would be the one to explain why they had invented a fraudulent relationship for her with Jake. Too, she didn’t want to give Jeannie any false hope by assuring her Jake would attend her next birthday party. Tana had been far from encouraging as to Jake’s chances of recovery. It would spoil Jeannie’s party even further if she passed Tana’s disheartening words on to the young girl, who cared so deeply for the elderly inventor.
“Netta’s staying with Jake while Tana goes to check on Little Jim and get a little rest,” she told Jeannie. “He won’t be alone for even a moment. You’ve worked so hard for this party. Why, I’m totally amazed at how organized you are. You’ve even brought in some of the women workers to help the cook out and serve the guests. And it hasn’t rained all day, so I’m sure everyone you invited will attend.”
Giving a last pat to the perfectly-styled blond hair, Alaynia urged Jeannie around to face her and cupped her delicate chin. “Jake wouldn’t want you to put your life on hold because he’s ill, honey. I’ve gotten to know him very well, and he’s a wonderful man. He hasn’t regained consciousness, but we don’t know for sure that he’s not aware of what’s going on around him. If he realizes today’s the day of your party and it doesn’t happen, it might be even worse on him.”
“Sort of like all the relatives gathering when someone’s getting ready to die,” Jeannie muttered.
“Jeannie ...” Alaynia hesitated, then went on. “Jeannie, Jake is very ill.”
“I was out in the hall, and I heard Tana talking to you,” Jeannie said quietly. “I know he might not make it. Jake told me once that he intended to live every day of his life just the way he wanted to, and to the fullest. And when he went on to the next life, he’d do the same thing there. He’s not afraid of dying, Alaynia. We’ll be the ones who’ll miss him, but we’ll just have to keep reminding ourselves that he’s tinkering away to his heart’s content, wherever he is. Who knows? He might even be able to travel through time and see how all those wonderful inventions he and his friends are working on are in use in the future.”
“He’d love that,” Alaynia agreed, amazed once again at Jeannie’s maturity. Should she and Shain have a daughter, the little girl could have no better role model than her aunt.
But for her and Shain to have children—or even a life together—they had so many things to work out. Maybe tomorrow they would have some time to talk. She had spent the night spelling Tana with Jake’s care, only managing to get an hour or so of sleep now and then on the cot they had placed in the bedroom where Jake lay unconscious. Right now, she needed to get ready to meet their guests herself.
“I’ll be in the master bedroom if you need me, Jeannie.”
“All right. I’m going to take Tiny out to the stables and leave him with Shain’s horse. Some of the women guests may want to freshen up in my room, and I doubt they’d appreciate Tiny sniffing around their gowns while they did that.”
Alaynia laughed with her and left the room, wondering if Shain had come in yet from the fields to get ready himself. Surely he wouldn’t spoil Jeannie’s party by not making an appearance. She had laid his ev
ening clothes, which she’d found hanging in the other armoire in the room, on the bed earlier that day. When she entered the master bedroom, she saw they were gone. He had evidently slipped in and out without her knowledge, avoiding her once again.
Anger stirred, replacing the anxiety over their relationship which had plagued her the past few days. The hell with him! Recalling how she used to enjoy the looks of amazement at her transformation on the faces of the men at the cocktail parties she attended, she nodded her head in determination. She’d just see whether the men in the past responded as well to blatant sexiness as men in the future did.
She’d intended to wear the white dress—for Shain and in the hope they might slip away for a few minutes to the gazebo and talk. Surely he would remember what he’d said the day he chose the material, about how beautiful he would find her in that dress. But now she picked it up from the bed and re-hung it in her armoire. Netta had been her usual efficient self and pressed the tangerine dress, also. Stifling the recollection of how scandalously low the neckline had been when she tried the dress on yesterday, she laid it carefully on the bed and stepped behind the dressing screen to the tub of steaming water one of the house servants had readied for her.
After conscientiously scrubbing every inch of herself, she dried and slathered lotion over her body, then dug into the case of cosmetics she hadn’t used since her arrival. She even had a bottle of Chanel No. 5 tucked into a side pocket of the case—a gift from a grateful client. She touched it to every pulse point before wrapping the towel around her and settling in front of the dressing table.
When she swept out of the master bedroom a half hour later, she had never felt more beautiful. Her hair wisped around her face, which she had made up so professionally no one would ever believe she wore cosmetics. Instead of restraining the rest of her hair, it tumbled down her back in a riotous mass of sexy curls. She had spurned wearing a bra, since the off-the-shoulder neckline called for a strapless one, which she didn’t have with her. The silky material caressed her breasts, making the nipples stand out. She wore only one long petticoat, and her movements molded it and the dress skirt against her long legs.
She glided down the front stairwell just as someone knocked on the entrance door and Shain stepped out of his study into the hallway. Shain stopped as though poleaxed and satisfaction glowed within her. With a brilliant smile, she strolled over to him and slipped her arm in his. “Sounds like some of our guests have arrived, darling. We better greet them.”
Instead, he swept her with him back into the study and slammed the door. “Let the servants answer the door,” he growled just before he claimed her mouth with his own.
He kissed her deeply and ravenously, and she didn’t give one damn whether he ruined all of her carefully-applied cosmetics or not. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she returned his kiss giddily, so glad to be in his arms once again she could think of nothing else. His hands roamed her body, leaving an inferno of sensations in their wake. When he cupped her hips and pulled her closer to him, she realized he was as stirred as she was. She rocked against him, and he broke the kiss to bury his face in her neck.
“God, Alaynia,” he groaned. “We have to stop. But I don’t know if I can. I’ve missed you so damned much.”
His words dashed icy water on her emotions, and she pulled back. “It’s been your own choice to miss me. I’m not the one who’s been avoiding you.”
“Avoiding you? Do you think that’s what’s been going on? Damn it, Alaynia, I haven’t had a free minute these past few days!”
“I don’t appreciate being cursed at,” Alaynia responded coldly. “And it seems to me that we could have talked to each other at least briefly at night. Shared a little of each other’s day.”
Shain plunged his fingers through his midnight hair. His brown eyes were bleak with suppressed emotions when he looked at her again. She instinctively reached out for him, a horrible thought crossing her mind.
“Shain. You’re not ... I mean, I know how worried you’ve been. Sometimes it affects men in different ways. Whatever it is, we can talk it out.”
Pushing her hand from his arm, he glared at her. “What the hell are you trying to say? You think I can’t make love to you because I’m too damned upset over the problems I’ve been having at Chenaie? That they’ve made me ... impotent?”
“No. Oh, no,” Alaynia denied, lying through her teeth. “I ...”
“Did I feel like I couldn’t get it up a second ago?”
“You don’t have to be crass about it, Shain.”
He sneered contemptuously at her and walked over to open the door. “We’ve got guests to greet. Are you coming?”
“In ... in a minute.”
He stalked through the door and closed it behind him. Alaynia wrapped her arms around herself and dropped her head. How could she have insinuated such a thing to him? She knew how strong his masculine pride was. He’d been taught to cherish and protect women—to be the head of the family. And she had attacked his very masculinity.
She thought of the night by the irrigation ditch and Shain’s agitation when he found her there. Had he been upset because she had taken command of the situation and found a way to safeguard the cabins when he had been on the verge of failure? Or had he been distressed because she could have been in danger, along with his workers?
Yet she couldn’t accept being less than a partner to him, with all the game-playing she imagined it would entail. She lifted her head and caught sight of herself in a mirror on the wall. Her cheeks were flushed and her mouth kiss-swollen. Her breasts almost spilled from the low-cut gown. She snorted delicately in disgust at herself, then narrowed her eyes in contemplation.
Wasn’t that just what she had done? Hadn’t she played her own game with him? Hadn’t she enhanced her very femininity in an attempt to lure him back into her arms? It had worked for a brief interlude, too. Was there anything wrong with that?
They were both strong, independent people, but they were still male and female. Their very masculinity and femininity brought them a wondrous joy together. Until lately, there had been no barriers between them in bed. They compromised by giving each other pleasure, which enhanced each other’s delight. Why wouldn’t the same compromising work in the rest of their life together? If she had to use her feminine wiles to get that message across to Shain, it couldn’t demean her that much.
Could it?
Lifting her head to match the regal way the tangerine dress made her feel, she walked over to the mirror and checked her makeup. Her lipstick was gone, of course, but her lips looked fine without it. She tucked one strand of hair back in place, then went to find Shain.
The drawing room dividers had been removed for dancing later, and more guests had arrived. The floor-length windows lining the front veranda had been shoved open, allowing the evening breeze to filter in the room, and it carried the scent of perfumed women with it. She saw Jeannie with two young girls across the room, but Shain was standing right inside the doorway, where he could greet incoming guests and still talk to people circulating around the room.
She gave him a dazzling smile and walked up to him, circling his waist with one arm. “Hello again, darling,” she murmured. “I forgot to tell you that you’re looking awfully handsome this evening.”
His lips tightened barely perceptively, but he replied, “And I forgot to tell you how beautiful you look. But I thought you had the white dress laid out to wear.”
“I’m saving that one for a special time, when it’s only the two of us.” His dark eyes softened a little, and she felt him give a relieved sigh. “Now, shouldn’t you introduce me to the guests I haven’t met already?”
Several people were already approaching, and for the next few minutes, she tried to keep their names straight in her mind. Suddenly, Shain stiffened. When she glanced at his face, he quickly smoothed a composed look over the thunder and nodded at someone behind her back.
“Fitzroy,” he said curtly. “And Annette. Y
ou already know my wife, Alaynia. I thought you were bringing Colette with you, Annette.”
“Oh,” Annette said with a wave of her hand. “She ran across the veranda and went in through the front over there. See? She’s already talking to Jeannie. I don’t know where I fell down on teaching that daughter of mine her manners.”
“There’s refreshments on the sideboard,” Alaynia said, watching Annette’s eyes search the scattered guests. “Dinner will be served in a few minutes.”
“Is ... um ... is everyone here?” Annette asked.
Jeannie rushed up to them at that moment. “Brother, dear, where’s Cole? Oh, hello, Mrs. Escott. I apologize for my lack of manners, but Cole promised to be my escort for dinner, and he hasn’t even shown up yet.”
“What about Billy Ben?” Alaynia asked with a smile.
“He’s such a youngster,” Jeannie said haughtily. “And Cole promised.”
“Cole should be here any minute, Jeannie,” Shain assured her. “He’s checking on one of the mares. Thinks she’s about ready to foal.”
“He better not come in with manure all over his evening boots,” Jeannie said with a pout.
* * * *
“Ah,” Basil breathed longingly. “This brings back memories. Laureen and I had some wonderful parties here at Chenaie. And Jeannie reminds me so much of my Laureen at about that age. She was only sixteen when I first saw her.”
“Basil.” Sylvia nudged his arm as they sat half-way up the front stairwell. “Look. Where’s she sneaking off to?”
“I don’t know,” he muttered as he watched Annette Escott slip down the hallway. “But she’s definitely sneaking. See how she’s glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one’s following her? And there’s Fitzroy, watching her from over in the corner. I don’t like the feel of this, Sylvia.”
Witch Angel Page 34