by Jodi Thomas
Over dessert Quentin talked about the threats he’d heard Thornville make, but Callie knew her stepfather was more talk than action.
Luke told of his trip to the law office and how the town’s only lawyer offered him a job as soon as he passed the Texas bar. “I enjoy the fresh air and the ranch, but the smell of a book-lined office draws me.”
“You going to go for it?” Quentin asked.
“I might. Practicing law has always been my dream.”
Before Callie could ask any questions, the conversation turned to oil leases. Big companies were coming into this part of Texas and the Indian Territory looking to drill.
This year most of the open land was free to range, but wire was being strung and soon the big herds wouldn’t have enough grass or a trail to drive their herds to market. Cattle would all be shipped and the cowboys would become cowpokes when they had to ride along on the train and poke the cattle to make sure they remained standing.
Oil was a gamble, but living in this part of the country had always been a gamble. Callie found herself wanting to talk to Luke about what to do next, where to turn, but now, in front of their friends, wasn’t the time.
On the ride home, he talked about the law, and she realized he didn’t need half her herd to make a new start. He was no longer that broken man he’d been weeks earlier. She’d found him when he’d stumbled, not when he’d been down for the count.
When he finally paused long enough for her to say something, she told him about running into Dorothy.
“I told her I loved you.” Callie couldn’t bring herself to add more.
“What did she say?”
Callie knew Dorothy was nothing like what Luke thought she was. If he’d known her at all he wouldn’t have come so far to see her again, but she didn’t want to spoil his image of her more than it already was. “She said she wished us well.”
“Good.” His words came slow and guarded in the shadows. “I wish her well, too.” He was silent for a few minutes, then added, “I want you to understand something. If you kicked me out tomorrow, I wouldn’t even go speak to Dorothy. If I ever see her again, it’ll be by accident and not my plan.”
“I understand.” She linked her arm around his. He hadn’t needed to tell her how he felt, but she was glad he had. Voicing the answer to a question she hadn’t asked ended all doubt about how he felt about Dorothy.
Callie helped unload the wagon and then dressed for bed while Luke took care of the horses. She could hear him whistling when he returned, moving about the cottage doing all those things he did before turning in. One lately included threatening any of the animals hiding to stay where they were. He always made sure each was nestled in for the night.
He turned out the last lamp and she heard him pulling his clothes off in the dark. With the warmer weather he’d stopped wearing his undershirt and only wore the pants part of his underwear.
The first time she’d rolled over and felt his hairy chest, she’d squealed with delight. She was sleeping with her very own bear.
After that he’d growl when she moved her hand over his chest.
As he slipped into bed, she touched him just over his heart. “I’m the woman who loves Luke Morgan,” she whispered.
“Lift your gown,” he whispered back, sounding tired.
“No,” she answered.
“Then I’ll say good night with a full and proper kiss.”
He rolled toward her and she moved back. “No,” she said, pushing at his chest with both her hands. “First, I have to tell you something.”
“You’ve already told me you love me, Callie. Thanks for that each night, but it’s late and I’m about all talked out for the day.”
She wished she could see his face. “I can’t lift my gown, Luke, because I’m not wearing one.”
He was silent for so long, she feared he’d fallen asleep. He didn’t move. He didn’t even seem to breathe.
She’d expected him to come to her, but he moved out of bed. When he returned, he rolled to his side but didn’t touch her.
Waiting, Callie wondered if he had any more idea what would happen next than she did. She wanted him to kiss her. Maybe she should have let him do that and just find out she wasn’t wearing a gown. Tears bubbled to her eyes and she wished she could start her telling all over again.
Finally, his hand moved into her hair, tenderly brushing the curls away from her face. He rolled closer, so near she could feel the warmth of his body. His fingers moved lightly along her cheek as if he cherished what he felt.
Slowly, like a man who’d touched his lover a hundred times, he moved his hand along her bare shoulder and down her body all the way to her knee. Then he lifted her leg until it rested at his hip and closed the distance between them.
“Now,” he whispered against her ear, “we begin.”
She wasn’t sure what she expected, an attack, an awkward mating of two people who didn’t know how to make love, giggles and bumps until they figured it out. But it was none of that. They kissed for a long while, letting a fire grow slowly inside them, and as they kissed, their bodies moved over each other like matching parts fitting together seamlessly.
She felt his warmth moving over her and enjoyed the gentle way he explored her. When they finally mated, her body was ready, but she didn’t feel a fire, a need inside her. He was finished in a few moments and all she felt was happy that she’d pleased him.
Without saying a word, they slept, wrapped in each other.
Late into the night he moved over her once more, waking her to passion, real hunger guiding his movements for the first time.
“I can do this better,” he whispered. “Mind if I try again?”
“No,” she answered, “I don’t mind.”
The heat between them became a blaze and this time, when they mated, her mind exploded along with her body. He held her tight against him as they tumbled into a passion neither of them knew could exist.
Her body was his, just as his was now hers, and she cried for pure joy.
When he finally pulled an inch away, allowing her to take a deep breath, he kissed her tears. No words formed in her brain as she lay in his arms letting him touch her as if he cherished her and kiss her tenderly, telling her how he felt without saying anything.
She drifted to sleep knowing she didn’t need to dream of heaven, she’d already been there in his arms.
When she awoke long after dawn, she cried again, now missing him beside her and knowing that if he left her, she’d never stop longing for him. They hadn’t talked of forever. Not once since the day they’d married.
In the midnight hours they hadn’t talked at all, but they’d bonded. For as long as she lived she’d think of him as her man.
She dressed and found the wagon hitched and waiting for her. As was becoming his habit, he’d ridden over before dawn to meet with the hands, leaving her to sleep another hour. The kindness he’d shown her meant more than words.
Every morning, lately, Callie fed her animals and drank coffee with Mamie before heading over to the main house. She went about all her chores, but her mind was in the tender shadows of night, remembering what they’d done and how wonderful he’d made her feel. Without saying a word, he’d convinced her that she was wanted and loved. Even when he slept, his hands still brushed over her, covering her, cherishing her.
As she worked in the big house, moving books to his study so he’d have a wall to pick from to read at night, her mind might try to concentrate, but her body remembered the way he held her and molded her against him.
She closed her eyes, wishing that she’d lifted the hem of her gown weeks before. Then, she’d have a store of memories and she’d be a woman well and completely loved.
When one of the ranch hands came in to tell her the boss said he was held up and would meet her at the cottage, Callie almost cried. The news meant it would be after dark before she saw Luke.
She drove home alone, took care of the animals, and then made a soup for supper.
It was full dark when she heard him step onto the porch.
When she opened the door, he bent and kissed her cheek, then tossed his hat and gloves down and went straight to the sink. She watched as he stripped to the waist and washed. Nothing to say came to mind. What had happened between them the night before made small talk seem out of place.
When he didn’t face her, Callie began putting the food on the table. It was long past suppertime and the soup seemed thicker than it needed to be. The corn bread was burned on the bottom from warming on the stove.
As she tried to straighten the table, he moved up behind her and wrapped his arms about her. “There’s something I want more than food.” He pushed her hair back and kissed her neck and his arm tightened just below her breasts. “You,” he whispered, “only you.”
She turned in his arms and smiled, dropping the silverware on the table.
He lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom. When he set her down by the bed, he kissed her lightly. “Be undressed by the time I lock the front door.”
Callie tried, but he came back too quickly. He didn’t seem to mind helping her.
When they were under the covers, he pulled her to him and kissed her with such passion she thought she might faint. As before, their bodies moved together. Tonight he took his pleasure first, then took his time pleasing her. It was almost midnight before they settled exhausted in each other’s arms.
Luke pulled the covers up and noticed several tiny sets of eyes watching from the foot of the bed.
“Friends?” He lowered the covers so Callie could see.
She nodded.
He leaned up. “No audience. Scram.”
All vanished except a lazy raccoon who waited until Luke growled before disappearing.
“Stay out of this bed, all of you,” he warned. “I’m the only one who gets to sleep with her.” He leaned back laughing.
As she played with the hair on his chest, he asked, “Any chance the squirrels haven’t eaten our supper?”
“No,” she answered, “but I could probably find something to eat. I’m starving.” She moved away, but he pulled her back against him for one more touch.
“I was starving for you tonight. I hope you don’t mind. Being away from you wasn’t easy. I thought the day would never end.”
“I know. I felt the same.” She thought about all the hours she’d spent that day trying not to think about him.
“You didn’t mind us making love first?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t mind at all. I belong to you, Luke, just as you now belong to me. That’s what married people do, remember.”
“I’ve always known, but I’m glad you finally figured it out. Bedtime just might turn into my favorite time.”
They tugged on enough clothes to be almost presentable and dodged critters as they made their way to the kitchen looking for food. On the quilt by the fireplace, they ate cheese and bread and talked. Then they went back to bed and made love slow and easy as if it might take them all night long.
. . . And it did.
Chapter 10
LUKE had just managed to burn three eggs when Callie finally came out of their little bedroom. She looked adorable in the nightgown she hadn’t bothered to wear to bed and one of his socks in her hand. Her hair was the wild sunshine he’d grown to love.
She studied him with tired eyes. “Is it always going to be like that?” she asked.
He smiled, knowing she’d been a full participant in what had happened and not a spectator. “You complaining?”
“Yes. At this rate I’ll be dead from lack of sleep before summer.”
He laughed and poured two cups of coffee. “I don’t know how it’s supposed to be.” He sat down at the table. “I just know I’ve been up an hour and I’m already fighting the need to take you back to bed. I need to check something. There may have been one spot on that body of yours I forgot to kiss last night. I got distracted a few times so it might be wise for me just to start over. I’m not a man who neglects his duty.”
“No.” She waved the one sock as if it were a weapon. “I’m keeping my gown on until I get sleep and food and sleep and . . .”
He held his hands up. “I’ll not touch you,” he promised. “Come here and I’ll even share my breakfast.”
When she passed, he tugged her onto his knee and fed her a bite of eggs.
“Those are terrible,” she mumbled as she stole a slice of bread.
“I know, but I couldn’t wake my wife to help, and I’ve never been able to scramble eggs. So, looks like there is a good chance you’ll die from lack of sleep and I’ll starve to death. This marriage obviously wasn’t meant to last more than a few days.”
“How’d you eat eggs when you lived alone?” she asked, forcing down another bite and showing no concern for his problem.
“Boiled, always boiled.” He took a bite of the eggs. “I hate boiled eggs so bad these even taste good.”
By the time they’d finished off his breakfast, they were both laughing, when the raccoon wandered by and refused to eat a bite of the eggs that had landed on the floor.
Luke tugged her out on the porch so he could kiss her one last time before he left. “Sleep today. I promise I’ll be home by dark and you’ll probably need the rest because I don’t plan on ever sleeping again.” He settled his Stetson on his head. “Say the words before I go.”
She smiled up at him. “I love you, Luke Morgan.”
“I know and you do it so well.”
There was so much more he had to say to her, but now wasn’t the time. He needed to be at the main house. Yesterday he and his men had found fences down in several places and more than one man said the herd looked light. Someone was rustling their cattle. With the roundup still a month away, half the herd could be gone by then if he didn’t do something.
When he got to headquarters, more bad news waited for him. During the night more cattle had been driven through another downed fence. The men were looking to him for answers, and Luke didn’t know enough about the business to tell them what to do. Whoever was doing this knew the ranch; they had to know every path to be moving so quickly. Thornville had fired several men the previous year. A few might be getting their revenge.
It crossed Luke’s mind that Callie’s stepfather might be behind the robberies, but, from reports, it appeared Thornville was still hanging around in town as if waiting for her to beg him to come back and run the ranch. He’d told everyone who would listen that he was the reason the ranch had grown and prospered. If he hadn’t married Callie’s mother, the widow and her crazy daughter would have lost the place within a year.
Luke didn’t miss the fact that no man on the ranch seemed to argue with Thornville’s claim.
Quentin said Callie’s stepfather stayed drunk most of the time and was sleeping with one of the doves a few doors down from the Watering Hole. Word was, he’d spent most of the money he’d gotten from selling off all he’d taken from Callie’s place. But, if Callie was right and there had been half a year’s savings in the office safe, he still had money to burn.
At about midafternoon, Luke decided to ride into town and talk to the sheriff. He also needed to hire more men to ride the fence line, but he had no idea who to trust.
Adams wasn’t much help. Thanks to the drilling, men looking for work were few. The sheriff even suggested that Luke think of raising wages on his place or he might lose those he had.
Luke rode back home and headed straight for the bunkhouse. A drizzle earlier that had been bothersome had turned into a full storm. The men would be back at the headquarters soon working in the barns, so Luke stopped by the big room at the side of the main house that Callie called his office.
He didn’t like the room, even though she’d added a wall of books and taken away most of the deer and bear heads. The place reminded him of the boss’s office back at the mine. Built to impress, but hollow. Any man called in for a talk was probably in trouble. Maybe that was why Luke always
went to the bunkhouse to talk to the men. He didn’t know enough to be an equal to most of them, much less the boss.
As he tossed his soaked Stetson at the hook on the door, he swore. If Thornville was right and Callie and her mother would have lost the ranch, what chance did Luke have of saving it? Callie’s mother had probably done the only thing she could think of to save the ranch: She’d married a cattleman. Her daughter hadn’t been so lucky. Luke liked the outdoors and the hard work didn’t bother him, but he wasn’t sure he’d live long enough to learn all he needed to know to survive in cattle country.
At the rate they were losing the herd, they’d be lucky to have enough left to pay the bills through next winter. He’d checked in with the lawyer about getting an oil company to come out and test on the land, but that could take a year, maybe more. By then, the Cramer ranch might be owned by someone else.
Luke stared at the books. Thornville had made money, but he’d also spent it. The bank accounts would carry the ranch for maybe six months, into fall, but not through the winter. If he let half the men go and cut back, maybe another two months, but then there would be no money to start over next spring.
The worry over Callie and her ranch chilled him. If he could make sure she was safe. That she’d hold the ranch. That she’d be able to live. That she could make it.
Then, he told himself, he could leave in peace, but he already knew it was too late for him. No matter how he left, he’d be leaving his heart behind. No matter what happened between them, he had to fight now, for her sake.
If he sold off most of the herd, he’d need men to keep what was left alive and healthy. If he sold them now, while they were still winter thin, he’d take a loss.
Thunder rolled across the sky like a runaway stampede of thousands of head.
Figuring this out was harder than hammering through stone.
Luke stood and grabbed his hat. One thing he’d learned in the mines was that if he kept swinging, eventually the rock would crack. He’d worked with the ranch hands long enough to know they’d help and it was time he asked for just that.
