by Norah Hess
"Good morning, folks." He smiled genially. "Welcome to my establishment. How can I serve you?"
Although the question was probably asked of Kane, it was D'lise who received the impact of the salesman's warm brown eyes. A scowl came over Kane's face. It had amused him when his friends seemed overwhelmed at the girl's beauty, but the gleam in this man's eyes made him feel threatened. The storekeeper would have smooth ways about him, would know exactly how to seduce a young innocent.
He curled possessive fingers around D'lise's arm and said gruffly, "She'd like to look at some dress goods, and all the other finery women are interested in."
"Yes, certainly." The slender, attractive man pulled his attention from D'lise and stepped from behind the counter. "If you'll come this way?"
Kane followed him, his hand still on D'lise's arm. She let out a small cry of delight when Majors stopped beside a table stacked with dress goods. There were colors and prints she never knew existed in homespuns, fustians, calicos, and twills. Her mouth practically watered when her glance fell on a table of silks, satins, velvets, thin muslins, and lawns. The colors were so vibrant she was reminded of a flower garden.
"Get whatever you want, D'lise," Kane said seeing the yearning in her eyes.
"Oh, I don't need much, Kane," D'lise answered running a palm over a roll of blue calico. "Just enough yardage for a couple of dresses and… and what goes under them."
Kane hid his amusement at her shyness and said firmly, "You pick out at least four dress lengths and everything else that—that goes under them. And don't forget needles and thread and such. There's nothin' like that at the cabin."
He thrust a handful of bills into her hand. "There's some nice-lookin' coats over there, and don't forget shoes and a pair of heavy boots for the cold weather." His warm fingers closed over her small one clutching the money. "I don't want you handin' me back any change. Do you understand?"
D'lise could only nod her head as she wondered how much she was supposed to purchase. She had never before held as much as a coin in her hand, and she had no idea what anything cost. With a helpless lift of her shoulders she began her selection of material.
She had chosen two homespun pieces in colorful prints and was trying to decide what color would suit her best in calico when the little bell over the door tinkled, and Sarah Patton and two teenage girls entered the store. The girls were Sarah's daughters, she assumed, since the three looked so much alike, all blond and blue-eyed and on the plump side.
The two girls spotted Kane immediately standing before a gun rack, admiring a Kentucky rifle. As the attractive females converged on him, D'lise realized that the new man in the village wasn't the only male in Piney Ridge the womenfolk made up to. Kane Devlin was very much a favorite with these two.
Confusion swept over D'lise, and her hand paused on the calico. Why did she suddenly care that those two silly girls were fawning over Kane? She wasn't interested in him in that way.
Her fingers gripped the material under her hand as a chilling thought came to her. What if Kane should get married? D'lise Alexander would lose his protection for one thing, also her home.
It didn't bear thinking about. For the first time in her life, as far as she could remember, and not counting Auntie, someone was treating her as a worthwhile human being, a person with the right to speak her mind and not fear a beating because of it. She knew at that moment that she would dislike intensely anyone who threatened to take all that away from her.
Sarah saw her then and called out a friendly greeting as she left off examining a slatted bonnet and walked toward her. "Samuel has some real pretty yard goods, don't he? I bought a couple lengths for the girls last week."
"They're lovely colors," D'lise agreed, running her hand over the calico. "I hardly know what to choose."
"Come and meet my daughters." Sarah took D'lise's arm and led her toward Kane and the two girls. "They were out huntin' greens when you and Kane stopped by our place."
D'lise didn't receive the warmest welcome from eighteen-year-old Milly and sixteen-year-old Becky. "I'm pleased to meet you," they said politely, but coolly. "I guess we won't be seein' that Raven person slinkin' round your cabin anymore," Milly added caustically to Kane.
Kane only grinned at her thinly veiled hostility. Raven's presence at his place and always been a sore spot for the Piney Ridge womenfolk. Wouldn't the tongues wag when they discovered that Raven would still be slinkin' round his cabin. All sorts of stories would make the rounds. They'd have him sleeping with both women, and God knew what else.
A frown creased his forehead a moment later. He realized that he didn't want unsavory things being said about D'lise. He wanted his neighbors and friends to like and respect her, to accept her in the community, to visit her, to invite her to call on them.
Kane brought up the subject of how the village had grown, and after he and the girls' mother had discussed it, he said, "Sarah, I'd be mighty pleased if you'd kinda take D'lise under your wing, so to speak, and introduce her to the other ladies. She just lost her father, a close friend of mine. He asked me to look after her when he was gone. As you probably know, I don't know much about raisin' a young female."
Sympathy jumped into Sarah Patton's eyes, and relief appeared on the daughters' faces. "Of course I will, Kane." Sarah almost gushed. "And let me say that it's real Christian of you to take the girl in and give her a home. You just leave it up to me and my girls. We'll make your little ward known to all the ladies."
D'lise wished she was close enough to Kane to give him a sharp kick in the shin. She looked at his solemn face then and wanted to giggle at the amused glitter in his slate-gray eyes. What an ornery fellow he was. It tickled him no end to bamboozle these three women.
A sigh of relief eased through her lips when mother and daughters turned their attention on the storekeeper. Kane went back to the gun rack and she continued choosing material.
D'lise was momentarily distracted when Mrs. Patton said, "Ain't it a shame about Tilda Jessup dyin', leavin' all them young'uns behind."
"I hadn't heard," Samuel Majors said in his cultured voice. "I believe the lady was in a delicate condition."
It took Sarah a moment to figure out what Samuel meant by "delicate condition."
"Yes," Sarah said finally, "she was. That's how she died, tryin' to give birth to her thirteenth baby. The poor thing hemorrhaged to death, Dr. Ashley said. Tight-fisted Elijah waited too long to come get him, he told me."
"It's a shame." Majors shook his head. "There are several children in the Jessup household, I understand."
"There's eight of them," Sarah said with a disapproving snap to her voice. "Tilda was only thirteen when Elijah married her and got her bigged right off. She lost that one and the two more that followed. Then two caught, then the next one didn't. She had eight then, one right after the other, hardly nine months between them."
She paused to catch her breath, then went on. "Someone should have castrated Elijah Jessup five or six years ago. Poor Tilda had no relations to look after her, lay down the law to that ruttin' no-good."
Kane and Samuel caught each other's eye, a pained look on their faces. Kane broke in on Sarah's tirade. "When are they gonna wake Tilda?"
"Tonight," Sarah answered. "Are you comin'?"
"Yes, we'll be there. D'lise will fix a dish to bring along."
D'lise turned her attention back to the material, ashamed that she could feel so happy at the dead woman's expense. But Kane's coupling their names had sent such a happy feeling of belonging through her, a sensation she'd never felt before. Rufus had always let it be known that he resented her presence in his home, that he begrudged her the meager food she ate, the straw pallet she slept on.
The Patton women left shortly after that, inviting D'lise to come visit them. Kane promised that he would bring her, and D'lise carried the bolts of material she had selected to the counter. Samuel measured out the dress lengths, and after she added a spool of thread and a packet of needles
, he remarked:
"I have some very pretty dress patterns if you'd like to look at them."
D'lise looked at Kane, as if for his opinion, and when he nodded that she should, she looked back at Samuel. "I'd like to look at them."
As she pored over the styles shown on the covers of the thin packets, Kane went about the store picking up ribbons and lace and some bone buttons that were dyed the same color as the dress material lying on the counter. He came to a stack of paper-wrapped, scented soap and added two bars to the other items he laid down out of D'lise's sight. He had a feeling that she would hesitate to spend his money on trimmings for her dresses. He moved over to the table then that held the fancy dress goods. After looking them all over, he picked up a length of bright red satin. The color would look beautiful with her black hair.
Placing it next to what D'lise had chosen, he ordered, "Cut her a piece off this one too."
"Kane," D'lise laughed, "what would I do with a fancy satin dress? I can just see myself wearing it while I make meals, wash clothes, or milk the cow."
Samuel cleared his throat. "She's right, you know. The—ah, ladies at the end of the street buy these flashy materials and colors."
Kane thought a minute, and when the word whore flashed through his mind, he said, "Oh," and returned the satin to its spot.
D'lise found that when her purchases were added up she had spent all but a few coins of the money Kane had given her. It was then she spotted the big box of yarn. All the colors in the rainbow, she thought, eyeing the skeins longingly. If only she had seen them before she bought the material to make curtains for the window.
"Pretty colors, huh?" Kane stood at her elbow. "I sure like that red."
"You do like red, don't you?" D'lise chuckled, promising herself that someday she would make him a red shirt. "My favorite color is blue."
"Blue is pretty too," Kane agreed, then looked at the storekeeper. "Place the price of glass sheeting on that list you just totaled up."
"Do you have your measurements?" Samuel asked, coming from behind the counter. "I keep the glass in racks in the store room." Kane nodded that he had the measurements and followed the man from Boston.
Left alone, D'lise walked over to one of the windows and looked out. There was a happy fluttering in her stomach as she paraded in her mind the treasures Kane had bought for her—the pretty dress goods, the warm coat, the shiny black shoes with thin cotton laces. She hadn't had new shoes in over three years, and those had been heavy, cumbersome things with wide rawhide laces.
Kane and Samuel returned, carefully, carrying a sheet of glass, and she hurried to open the door for them. Buck was waiting outside for them, holding the reins of a little jackass. The new purchases were added to the packages and bags already strapped to his sturdy back. Buck led him across the street to where the two mounts switched their tails at the flies settling on their rumps. Kane helped D'lise to mount, then climbed on Snowy's back. With a wave of his hand to Buck, he kneed the stallion into motion.
He led at a leisurely pace to accommodate the heavily laden jackass and to ensure that the glass didn't slip its bindings and fall to the ground and break. It was very important to him that D'lise have daylight pouring through the window in the wintertime.
They had ridden along for some minutes when D'lise broke the silence. "How come you've never married?" she asked. "The way those two Patton girls hung round you, either one would jump at the chance to be your wife."
"You think so?" Kane grinned at her when she urged the mare alongside the stallion. When she nodded, her eyes serious, he said, "Marriage has never been in the cards for me. I guess I'm too wild. No woman would put up with my ways for very long. She'd try to change me, tame me, and I couldn't abide that. I'd probably leave her."
"You don't seem all that wild to me."
"You think not?" Kane looked at D'lise, half amused, half serious.
D'lise shook her head. "You're maybe a little rough in your ways, but I guess most men are," she said with a small smile, then let the mare fall back behind the stallion.
He's such a handsome man, she thought, and wondered why, with his good looks, he didn't choose a more attractive woman to spend his nights with. Raven was downright ugly.
I guess a woman's face doesn't matter to him, she decided, and fell to thinking about the new dresses she would sew.
An hour later, D'lise made a grimace of displeasure as she and Kane rode up the hill to where the shabby little cabin sat. Raven sat on a rock, waiting for them, a scowl on her broad face.
Chapter Seven
Other than waving his hand at Raven as he and D'lise rode past her, Kane ignored the Indian woman. Apparently it made no difference to him that she was in a pout.
"Do you think you could bake a pie to take to the Jessups' tonight?" he asked as they began to unload the little pack animal and carry the supplies inside.
"I could make one out of those dried apples you bought," D'lise answered, laying her treasures on the bed. "In fact, I'll make two. One for the Jessups and one for us."
She started to turn around, then paused to sniff the air. She stooped to examine her bed. The blanket she had smoothed out so carefully on rising that morning was now wrinkled and in disarray, and the pillow held the imprint of a head. Raven had been lolling around on her bed, and now it stank of bear grease.
"What's wrong?" Kane asked as he saw temper flare across her face.
"Nothing," she answered shortly, starting to walk past him to put the supplies away.
"Come on now, tell me." Kane grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him. "What makes you look like you're ready to bust a gut?"
D'lise looked up at him through her dark lashes. "You'll think it's mean of me."
"No, I won't. You couldn't be mean if you tried." He gave her a small shake. "What's botherin' you?"
"Raven's been lying on my bed and now—now it stinks like bear grease."
Kane knew a mixture of anger and amusement as he gazed down at the lovely face, its full lips drawn into a thin line, the fine brows pulled into a vexed frown. D'lise hadn't been around Indians before; she hadn't yet grown accustomed to the fact that they dressed their hair in bear grease. But Raven had purposely lain on D'lise's bed, messed it up with the full knowledge that it would annoy the white woman.
"Don't fret about it." He unconsciously stroked her arm. "There are more clean bed linens in the trunk. And I'll see to it that she stays off your bed from now on."
"I don't want to make trouble between the two of you." D'lise's eyes were worried.
"Don't go frettin' about that." The fine lines around Kane's eyes deepened in a smile. "There won't be any trouble. Now come show me where you want the supplies to go."
When Kane walked back outside for another load, D'lise looked around the small room. She didn't have much choice where to stow anything. When he returned, a sack of beans on his shoulder, she pointed to the corner next to the fireplace. "Put everything there where it's dry and warm."
Sacks of flour, cornmeal, coffee, sugar, and salt were added as Kane finished unloading the little animal. Small items, such as vinegar, molasses, baking soda, lard, and spices, were arranged neatly in the center of the table.
The bag of dried apples were in the last batch Kane brought in. He tossed it to D'lise. "Here are the apples for your pies." He looked into the empty woodbox. "I'll bring in some wood and get a good fire goin', heat up the oven for you."
With a nod of her head, D'lise took off her jacket, then measured four cups of apples into a pan and poured water over them so they would soak and plump up while she made the pie dough.
Twenty minutes later she stood looking helplessly at the smooth, round ball of dough lying on a floured towel. She had no rolling pin. She looked up at the mantel clock Kane had finally started. It was almost four o'clock and nearing time to milk the cow. When Kane entered the cabin a few minutes later, she was near tears.
"What's wrong?" he asked in concern at the woeful
look on her face.
She motioned to the ball of dough. "I can't find a rolling pin to flatten this out."
"I never thought of that," Kane said helplessly. "I reckon you'll find a lot of things like that missin' round here. You're gonna have to keep track of all the things you need and we'll pick them up the next time we go to the village." An embarrassed grimace stirred his lips. "You'll have to add pie tins to your list too. I just remembered we don't have any of those either."
When they continued to stare down at the round piece of dough, as though they would find the answer in it, Kane suggested, "What if you made a cobbler? There's a pan I bake corn bread in. That would work, wouldn't it?"
D'lise face cleared with a bright smile. "You've come up with the perfect solution. I can flatten the dough with my hands for that. Get me the pan," she ordered, already pressing and pulling at the flour and lard mixture.
Kane grinned at her bossing him about as he lifted the battered tin off its wooden peg. He wondered if this was just the beginning of his taking orders from the delicate little miss whose slender neck he could snap with a twist of his wrist.
He placed the pan on the table and walked outside, his lips still curved in a small smile. However, as he walked past Raven, still sitting on the rock, his features became stern and he growled, "Keep off D'lise's bed in the future."
Raven made no response, but her black eyes glittered with resentment. She turned her gaze to the cabin, revenge in her narrowed eyes. Some day, somehow, she would get rid of the white woman who was drawing the trapper away from her.
Unaware of Raven's dark thoughts, D'lise finally had the dough stretched enough to cover the bottom and the sides of Kane's corn bread pan. The apple filling was ready and the small oven was hot. A few minutes later she slid the pastry onto the rack inside the stone cubicle and closed its door.
As she straightened up, she heard Spider bawl her distress. She picked up the milk pail, and with Scrag pacing alongside her, she headed toward the barn. Her lips curved in a grin when they passed Raven and Scrag paused to arch his back and hiss at the Indian woman.
