by Sandy James
She took a seat at one of the tables as he did the same. “Will you be coming to see our play?”
With another shrug, he dropped his hat on the table.
Cassie had to swallow her hurt feelings at his nonchalant reaction, not that she expected anyone to be waiting in line to see Shakespeare performed at some small theater in Montana. But she’d hoped Ty would want to watch her and that he might appreciate the message of the story since it seemed their families were as determined to keep her and Ty apart as the Capulets and Montagues were to separate their star-crossed lovers.
“What’s it about?” Ty asked.
“Romeo and Juliet? You’ve never heard of it?”
“Nope.”
She tried to hand him her book, but he held up his palm.
“You may read my copy, Ty.”
“I ain’t readin’ your book.”
Scooting her chair closer, she opened to the page of the scene she and Drew had been rehearsing. “Will you at least help me run my lines? I’m so frightened that I’ll forget the words.”
Ty pushed the book away. “Can’t.”
She tried not to pout, but his reaction hurt. “Why not?”
“You don’t need my help. You got Drew to do that…nonsense.”
“But I do need your help. Oh, Ty…I’m so awfully nervous.” She slid Romeo and Juliet back toward him again. “Won’t you please read Romeo’s part to help me? You can correct me should I miss a word.”
Shoving his chair back, he grabbed his hat from the table and slapped it back on his head. “I gotta go.”
“Go? But you’ve only just arrived…and I–I haven’t seen you in two days.” Her cheeks flushed hot, but Cassie couldn’t stop herself from revealing her hurt. “Have you been busy?” Too busy to even come see me?
The near panic in her voice hit Ty hard. Although Cassie clearly struggled not to show her disappointment that he might leave, she failed miserably. And damn, if that didn’t please him. Having been around people who said one thing and did another when he was so young, her honesty and openness were a pleasant contrast.
She’d missed him—maybe even as much as he’d missed her. Two days away from her had been agony, but three mares had decided to drop foals, one after another thanks to the full moon.
“Very busy,” he finally replied.
“And what have you been busy doing?” She traced the edges of the worn book with her fingertips.
“Delivering foals.”
Her smile lit up the entire saloon. “How wonderful! How many?”
“Two colts, one filly.”
“Well, then, you truly were busy.” She got to her feet. “No wonder you cannot find the time to run lines with me.”
That wasn’t the true reason, but Ty wasn’t about to embarrass himself by being honest with her. A woman of Cassie’s breeding and education, she’d never understand what his life had been like, growing up in an orphanage and on the street.
“So…you’ll be leaving now?” she asked softly, her fingers returning to the book.
He didn’t want to go. He’d missed her so much, he ached inside. When each foal had been born, all he wanted to do was see how she would react to watching the spindle-legged babies take their first hesitant steps—to share those experiences with her.
He forgot his embarrassment. “No. Don’t have to go quite yet.”
Her head tilted as she considered him with those sparkling hazel eyes before flipping open the book again. “Then I would be so grateful to have your help.”
“I can’t.”
“I see… You’re afraid I will tease you should you not perform the words as an actor would. Please don’t think that. I simply need the first few words of each of Romeo’s lines so that I may respond as Juliet.”
Ty almost smacked the damn book to the floor, having to resist the urge to tear it apart as she placed it in his hands. Cassie had it all wrong, but how could he possibly tell her the truth without losing all her respect? “Cassie girl…”
She sighed, long and loud. “This is frivolous to you, I know.”
“What the hell is frivolous?”
“Silly. Unnecessary.”
“That it is.”
Her gasp near to knocked him over. “You think I’m silly and unnecessary?”
He knew then and there that he would never understand how the woman’s mind worked. “I didn’t say that. I said this—” he nodded at the book, “—is silly and unnecessary.”
“I need your help. Please?” A slender finger pointed to the middle of the page. “We can start here.”
She’d left him no choice. He stared at the jumble of letters and tried to do what Jake had taught him by sounding out each of the letters. “Th…then…m…moo..vee.. Oops. Move…n…no…not —Then move not… Wah…why…why..lee… Wylie?”
Cassie’s brows were knit, and she watched him so closely he could feel his face flush warm. Shit, he was actually blushing.
“Not Wylie. While,” she corrected.
Angry and frustrated, Ty slammed the book shut and dropped it on the table. He shook his head—not even bothering to wish her a farewell—and strode out of the Four Aces.
She’ll never want to see me again. I’m so far below her, I’m not worthy to lick her shoes.
Before he could berate himself any further, a firm hand on his shoulder spun him around. He found himself face to face with an enraged Cassie Shay.
“How dare you!” Her fists were clenched against her sides. “How dare you walk away from me!”
“I–I thought you wouldn’t want to be around me now.”
“And you thought this because?”
“I can’t read.” Grabbing his hat, he slammed it to the ground, venting his embarrassment and anger. “There! Are you happy now? I said it. I can’t read. I’m not like all the other guys you’ve known. I’m not like Drew. I’m just some stupid cowboy who—”
“How dare you!” She was shouting at him again, but he had no idea what she was raving about.
“How dare I what? Lie to you?” He shook his head. “I never told you I could read.”
A tear spilled over onto her cheek, and he couldn’t help himself. He raised his finger to wipe it away.
Her arm shot out, blocking him before she scrubbed her face with the backs of her hands. “How dare you think I would be so judgmental? You don’t know me at all, Ty Bishop, if you believe I would be so shallow as to tease you because you have difficulty reading.”
An acerbic laugh slipped out. “Difficulty? You mean because I’m too stupid—”
Her dainty foot stomped on the wooden boardwalk. “If you say that word one more time, I shall be forced to slap you. You are not stupid. You are smart and resilient and strong and—”
“Everyone can read, ’cept me.”
“Old Tim couldn’t read. Not when I first met him. He’d never had the opportunity to go to school. I taught him. And he sure as…as…hell was not stupid.” Damn if her cheeks didn’t flame a brighter red at using a curse word.
Then he suddenly understood. Her angry tears. The compassion in her eyes. She wasn’t upset that he couldn’t read—she was upset that he’d assumed she’d condemn him because he lacked that skill. He also understood something else.
Cassandra Shay cared for him. Everything from her angry tears to the way she berated him screamed the fact.
He reached for her, but she took a step back. Ty wouldn’t allow her to pull away. His hands wrapped around her upper arms and he tugged her closer. Knowing this wasn’t the place or time, he still couldn’t stop himself from kissing her. Her eyes grew wide as he lowered his head to hers, giving her time to pull away should she wish to. Then her eyes closed and she rose up to meet him in the middle.
The world could have stopped spinning at that moment and he wouldn’t have cared. The feel of her lips against his was about as close to heaven as he thought he would ever get—until Cassie boldly slid her tongue inside his mouth. With a low growl,
he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her clean off her feet and kissing her the way he wanted to—deep and long and lovingly.
Her mewls were music to his ears, and she stretched her arms around his neck to hold him closer. Desire rose up inside him, making him burn for her. All he wanted to do was drag her to the closest bed and make love to her until neither of them could move.
Ty didn’t want to acknowledge the hand insistently tapping his shoulder until he realized just how many people were paying witness to their affectionate display. He sighed against Cassie’s lips and slowly set her on her feet, expecting Drew to be the interruption. When he glanced over his shoulder, he was surprised to find a grinning Gideon Young.
“Um…sorry to interrupt you,” he said, clearing his throat loudly. Ty almost laughed at the red tinting Gideon’s cheeks. “Drew and I are heading out to my place. He wanted to know if Cassie wanted to come and have lunch with us and Caleb.”
“No, thank you, Mr. Young,” Cassie replied. “I shall walk back to the cabin get something to eat.” Despite her earlier boldness, she was back to being proper. Her cheeks were every bit as red as Gideon’s, and Ty chuckled when she avoided eye contact.
Just to fluster her a little more, he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “I can take you home on Duke. I could use a spot of lunch myself.” That, and she wouldn’t be around Caleb Young.
“I would enjoy that, Mr. Bishop.”
“Well then... I’ll see you later.” Gideon marched away.
Ty let her fetch her coat and then took her hand to lead her to where Duke was tied in front of the Four Aces. “Never had your cookin’.” He lifted her onto the horse’s back.
“I dare say you will be impressed.”
“I’ll just bet I will.” Throwing himself into the saddle, he settled Cassie in front of him, threaded his arms around her waist to grab the reins, and backed Duke away from the hitching post. “Hold on, Cassie girl.” He prodded the horse into a canter.
Several people waved as they passed down Main Street. Cassie waved back, something Ty hadn’t expected.
He’d worried that someone who enjoyed the finer things in life would feel lost in a small Montana town. But she not only lived, she thrived. People accepted her, and she blended in as though she’d been born in the territory.
Perhaps Cassie was finding her place in White Pines after all.
Chapter Sixteen
“Ty!” Cassie exclaimed. She practically bounced in the saddle before she squeezed him tighter around his waist. “It’s snowing!”
He hadn’t really noticed until then. October always brought snow to Montana, and since it was expected, he hadn’t given it much thought. “So it is. Light, though. Won’t measure up to more than a few inches. Just wait a week or two. Then you’ll see some real snow.”
“I’ve never seen this much snow before. Why, it’s already blanketing all the grass and flowers!” She let go of his waist and grabbed for the flakes as they fell from the sky.
“You’ve never seen snow?”
“It doesn’t snow often in San Francisco and never enough to cover the ground. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“’Spose. I guess I’ve seen too much of it. Ain’t quite as pretty when you’re trying to walk through waist-deep drifts to get to the barn and feed the animals.” He reined Duke to a stop when they reached Cassie’s cabin.
After he dismounted, Ty lifted her by the waist and set her from his horse’s back onto the grass, which was quickly becoming blanketed with a thin layer of snow.
She paced around, her head bowed as she watched the pattern of footprints she left in the dusting of snow. Her laughter reached something inside him, bringing a smile to his lips.
By the time he led Duke to the barn, removed the saddle, and left the horse with Cassie’s new goat—the one Gideon had given her—she was lying in a thin patch of snow, flapping her arms and legs.
A childhood memory popped into his head, one of the few good recollections he had. He and his sister, Sara, had been enjoying one of winter’s first snowfalls by laughing, tossing snowballs at each other, and making snow angels. After all the bad things that happened to him when his father had dumped him in that orphanage, he’d almost forgotten that his entire childhood wasn’t bad. He’d been close to his siblings, Sara in particular since she was only a year younger.
Something about being around Cassie was opening up a side of him he’d lost track of somewhere. He’d learned to anticipate the worst in people, always expecting to be bitten by any hand that fed him. He never felt that way around Cassie—probably because she gave of herself freely without expecting anything in return. Amazing she would be so unspoiled, considering the way her own kin had treated her.
Ty wanted to shelter her from anything that could taint her heart the way the world had tainted his. He wanted to keep the evil of her family from ever touching her again. The only way he knew how to do that was by marrying her, but she’d turned down his proposal because he hadn’t offered up some romantic nonsense about love.
Love was for women—he needed a more practical solution.
He could lie to her and tell her that he loved her, but that would turn him into one of the cheats he wanted to protect her from.
He could just come out and order her to marry him—that way he’d be letting her know who wore the pants in their relationship. But he could never force her, not after what the Shays had been trying to do by demanding she marry Robert Putnam.
A third choice brought a smile to his lips and made his body tighten in anticipation.
Ty would give her his child. Once he got Cassie pregnant, she’d have no valid reason to turn down his proposal. It wasn’t as if he was trapping her. She’d responded to his touches, his kisses. And he wanted her as his wife and would treat her well.
They could live on the ranch in a house he’d already planned in his mind. While it might not be as fancy as what she’d known in San Francisco, it would be comfortable. He’d convince her that he would honor every vow he took, and if God was truly merciful, perhaps Ty would even grow to love her one day—probably when he was old and gray and bouncing a grandbaby on each knee. He’d make a good father, and he’d make sure he put his children before everything else.
For once, he’d be part of a real family.
When she stood up and brushed the wet snow from her arms and skirt, he went to her side to help. His self-control was strained close to snapping as his hands deliberately brushed her backside to remove some clinging snow.
She tossed him a coy smile over her shoulder.
He winked in return.
“I promised you some lunch,” Cassie said.
“That you did, Cassie girl.”
“It’s getting so cold out here.”
“That it is.”
Funny, but when she turned to face him and set her hands against his waist, she wasn’t acting as if the cold bothered her. In his estimation, the world had grown decidedly warmer.
Her smile was bewitching as she fluttered her lashes and pursed her lips.
The woman wanted to be kissed?
Well, then…he’d oblige her.
His mouth swooped down to capture hers, and he didn’t wait for her to open her lips. He forced his tongue into her mouth. A whimper rose from her throat as her tongue returned his caress. They broke apart long enough to catch a few gulping breaths before surrendering to another soulful kiss.
Ty reached his limit of self-control—passed it when she hesitantly moved her hips forward to press against his groin. Without breaking the kiss, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the cabin.
Fumbling with the lock, he finally let them in. He stepped inside, kicking the door shut behind him. As he cradled Cassie, he leaned back against the door and continued to ravage her mouth.
Perhaps seducing her wouldn’t be as difficult as he’d expected. Her virginal attitude should have required some forceful coaxing—perhaps even a bit of begging—bu
t she eagerly returned his kiss as she tugged his hat off and tossed it aside. Then she laced her fingers through his hair, effectively holding him right where he wanted to be—with his mouth against hers.
When Ty found the strength to ease back, they were both panting for breath, making small white puffs rise around them. Cassie shifted as if she wanted to be put back on her feet, but he wasn’t ready to turn her loose.
“Quit wiggling,” he scolded.
“Am I not too heavy to hold?”
He snorted. “Hardly weigh anything at all. Need to get some meat on those bones, Cassie girl.”
Her responding huff raised another white cloud. “I wanted down to start a fire. It’s so cold. We shall both freeze if I don’t.”
“I can do that.” Not that he wanted to take the time. Besides, once they were beneath the quilt together—naked—they would generate plenty of heat. He considered telling her just that simply to see her reaction.
Holding her against him, he debated on whether to let her have her way and build a fire or simply carry her to her room. His body screamed for her, throbbing in anticipation of feeling her tight, wet heat surrounding him after he plunged into her. His mind told him to resist—that his plan to make love to her and get her pregnant could backfire—making her hate him for tricking her.
Funny, but the scolding voice sounded a lot like Adam’s as it echoed in his head.
“Ty?” She placed her cold hands against his cheeks.
“Your hands are like ice, woman. Why ain’t you wearing gloves?”
“I didn’t know it was going to snow. Besides, I have no gloves.”
“Victoria will knit you some.”
“I would love to learn to knit,” she said. “Would she perhaps instruct me?”
When he shrugged, he almost dropped her.
Tightening his grip, he held her as a war waged between his cock and his conscience. Cassie didn’t help when she slipped her hands inside his coat and rubbed her palms against his chest.