She had set herself free from her past.
At the same moment, they both grasped the significance of what had happened between them. Their eyes locked in understanding. Her smile broadened and her eyes sang with happiness.
His own freed feelings soared, higher than he ever dreamed possible. Just watching her brought so much joy to his heart. Even with her hair tousled and her gown dirty and wrinkled, she was stunning. When he’d first spotted her with Bear and Sam, his primary emotion had been relief. But now, his heart swelled with much more. As the bright rays of the morning sun lit up her hair, he could swear an angel rode beside him. He thanked the Lord for protecting this particular angel, because he loved her. Deeply.
Almost losing her made him realize that even more.
He made no attempt to hide the fact that he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Totally entranced, his gaze traveled over her face and searched her eyes. She gazed back at him with soul rendering tenderness. He could get lost in the loving way she regarded him. A knot rose in his throat. “Kelly, I came so close to losing you.”
“And I came so close to making the worst decision of my life,” she answered. “How could I have been so foolish?”
“Did Harpes threaten you? Force you to go with him?”
“Yes, he threatened to kill my father. But, I’m not talking about going with him. I had no choice really. Papa was passed out and couldn’t defend himself and Harpes would have slit his throat if I hadn’t agreed to go with him. What I was talking about was leaving Boonesborough to begin with—with Papa. Almost immediately, I knew I had made a terrible mistake. I missed you. During the night, I made myself stay awake because Papa had left us defenseless. I was afraid Indians might come or worse, a man like Harpes. I had Papa’s weapons in my lap, but Harpes snuck up behind me.”
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there,” William said. “I should have followed you immediately.”
“But it gave me time to consider things. I mulled over everything that happened to me yesterday—your ceremony, what you said to me at the cabin, losing my position, my father’s sudden reappearance. For several long hours, I did nothing but think about why I was fearful—why I seemed to be retreating inside myself. Why I felt I had to get away. Then, I realized I was afraid of you.”
“You never need to fear me,” William said, disappointment flooding him.
“I wasn’t really afraid of you. I was afraid of what loving you would mean. It meant being…well…doing that.” She looked down demurely. “It would mean yielding to the feelings that were growing inside of me. Those feelings were at war with my feelings for men in general. Men like the two that attacked me. Then I realized the absolute absurdity of those fears. I have nothing to fear from you. You’re nothing like them. Being with you could never be frightening.”
“Your feelings weren’t absurd, Kelly. They were completely understandable. You experienced something extremely traumatic.”
“Your understanding that means a great deal to me. You told me that I could let fear make me stronger. It has, I promise. Now, I realize that I no longer need to fear your touch or the feelings growing inside of me. In fact…” she hesitated and then finished, “if I am not being too bold, your nearness brings me comfort. And I also feel a strange inner…I’m not sure how to describe it. Thrill might be a good word. But it’s more than that. ”
Her confession made him want to deliver his own passionate message. But not with words. His mouth throbbed with an overwhelming need to kiss her. Yielding to his intense craving for her lips, he dismounted, went to her, and reached up.
She nearly leapt into his waiting arms and he pulled her roughly to him.
“Oh Kelly, I love you so. I think I always have.” He lowered his lips to hers and, remembering that she might still be anxious, cautiously gave her a soft, tender kiss. The kiss sent spirals of pleasure and desire twirling through his body. Then, at her own eager response to the light touch of his lips, she shocked and thrilled him, when she deepened the kiss and held on to the muscles of his arms.
William wanted to keep kissing her, even make love to her, right here. He wanted to show her what it was supposed to be like between a man and a woman. And he wanted them both to experience passion—the passion ignited by love—the only true passion.
“I love you too William,” she breathed. Her lips brushed against his cheek as she spoke. “I think I’ve loved you from the moment you burst through my cabin door.”
“I want to go on kissing you more than I want to breathe, but we need to find your father,” William managed to say as his lips brushed against her brow and then her forehead.
“Yes, I’m worried about him. There will be time for us. Time to share our love.” She caressed the length of his back with both of her hands and then released him. “But, for now, we must be on our way.”
He gave her one last kiss that quietly promised of more.
CHAPTER 15
Kelly’s lips still tingled from the thrilling kiss. And her insides jangled with excitement and something else she couldn’t quite understand. His kiss touched a part of her she didn’t recognize and his arms wrapped her in a pleasurable warmth she had never experienced before. It was almost as though his kiss wakened a long-slumbering part of her.
He loves me!
She still couldn’t believe William said he loved her. Up until now, he kept his feelings for her hidden. And she’d kept her feelings obscured beneath a veil of fear. A veil that grew heavier and darker with each passing day until it became impossible to see clearly. But now, with William’s help, she had lifted that veil.
Now she could see him clearly for what he was—utterly entrancing—handsome, smart, brave, kind. All the things she could ever hope for in a man. And he made her smile. She loved his quick wit and the gentle teasing tone he often used with her.
Despite his profession of love, a lingering doubt raised a question in her head, hurtling her back to reality. Did he love her enough to marry her? She was a simple, country girl, with no sophistication. Even if he could disregard that, he could never overlook the fact that she was no longer a virgin. That was not something a man could just put out of mind.
It would break her heart if he didn’t want to marry her because she was no longer pure. She could think of no place she would rather be than in his arms. But not merely as his lover. She would rather never feel his touch again. Oh God, how could she possibly live without him?
Was she thinking clearly? Or letting fear trudge uninvited through her head once more? With sudden clarity, she realized how foolish and rash such notions were. She’d stepped into the mud of self-doubt and self-loathing yet again, and she needed to cleanse her mind of it once and for all.
William said he loved her. She let that thought wash over her.
And she loved him. She let that feeling bathe her soul.
Their love was pure, untainted, and strong. That was all that mattered. With her mind and heart cleansed of doubt, she realized they would love each other forever.
He was the only man she would ever want. She was certain no man could ever measure up to William. She could never love another. He must feel the same way.
She glanced over at him, and immediately felt better because she saw love looking back at her. Just the sight of him made her feel secure, made the world a safer place. When he was around, everything around them took on a pure brightness. Not only was the world a safer place, it was a prettier, happier place.
Her feelings for William wrapped around her like an invisible warm blanket, banishing all her cold disconcerting doubts.
But her feelings for her father remained cold. He had treated her so cruelly, said such terrible things. And then he’d drunk whiskey to the point of intoxication. His intemperance with alcohol was a burden she no longer wanted to carry.
But she loved her father, despite all of it. He was the only family she had. He’d once been a loving father. Could he not be one again?
“You’re t
hinking about your father, aren’t you?” William asked.
“Yes, I need to send him home, alone,” she said. “I can’t bear to be around him anymore.”
“Then that’s what will happen. We should catch up to him soon. I’ll leave it to you to say what you will to him, but if you need me, just look in my direction and nod.”
The sound of William’s voice and his reassurance affected her deeply, cheering her again. “I’m so grateful to have your support, William. Saying goodbye to my father forever will be hard, even if he is a drunk.”
“Maybe it won’t be forever. People can change.”
“There he is,” William said, pointing far down the trail. “And that man with him looks like it might be Daniel Boone based on that abundant white hair.”
Kelly took off, running her mare at a fast gallop and William followed closely behind her.
“Papa,” she yelled, even before she reached him.
McGuffin tugged his horse to an abrupt halt and bounded off his mount faster than William thought the older man would be capable of moving. “Kelly, come here my daughter. I’m so relieved you are safe. What happened to you?” he asked, reaching out to her.
Kelly grasped her father’s hands, but did not hug him, William noticed.
William tipped his hat to the Colonel and Kelly said hello before she turned her attention back to her father. “A man stole me away. He threatened to kill you if I didn’t go with him,” she explained.
“The devil is raging in wicked men,” Boone said, shaking his head in dismay.
“Later, he drugged me,” Kelly continued, “but William found and dispatched him to hell—where men like him deserve to go when they die.”
“You’re safe now. That’s what matters,” McGuffin said.
William noticed that Kelly’s father seemed more alert and less antagonistic, and he still gripped her hands in his.
“Kelly, I have some apologizing to do, girl. I never should have said those things to you last night. I’m ashamed of my hurtful words and for leaving you all alone in the dark when I succumbed to my whiskey. As Franklin said, ‘nothing is more like a fool than a drunken man,’ and I was a fool. I’m going to stop drinking. I promised that to Colonel Boone earlier and now I’m promising you.”
“He poured out his jug a few miles back,” Boone confirmed.
“You did?” Kelly asked. Intense astonishment touched her soft pink face.
“And, I’m going to start being a better father to you. I’ve been a lousy one the last few years. I admit that, much to my shame. But it’s never too late to start loving someone again. If you’ll let me,” he said, his voice a little unsteady.
“You are?” she said, surprised again by the changes in her father.
“I am,” he declared.
“And Sheriff Wyllie, I have something to say to you,” McGuffin said.
William stepped down from his stallion and approached McGuffin, unsure of what was coming.
McGuffin released Kelly’s hands and turned toward William, looking at him intently. “Sir, I am indebted to you and your brothers for going after my daughter and for her rescue. If you hadn’t pursued that evil man, well, let’s just say this could have ended much differently. I’m sorry my old horse couldn’t keep up, but I guess God had his reasons. I came terribly close to dying a horrible death in the hands of the Cherokee. Colonel Boone showed up just in time to save me. Nearly dying made me realize what a fool I’ve been—how much I had to live for. That’s when I decided I needed to beat the whiskey temptress and I intend to do just that.”
“I’m sorry to hear of your ordeal, but I am delighted to learn of your change of heart,” William said.
“I have more to say,” McGuffin said in a firm voice.
“Continue, Sir,” William replied deferentially.
“You seem to have some affection toward my daughter,” McGuffin said.
William was momentarily speechless in his surprise, but then managed to say, “I do not have affection for your daughter.”
He heard a soft gasp escape Kelly, before he could go on.
“I love your daughter with all that is within me.”
“Well then,” McGuffin said, “you have my permission to court Kelly.”
“But I don’t want to court Kelly,” William said.
“What?” Boone, McGuffin, and Kelly all said at once.
“I want to marry her,” William announced. “Do I have your permission to ask your daughter for her hand in marriage?”
Kelly’s beautiful eyes widened in astonishment as they awaited her father’s answer.
William took hold of her hand, but his gaze returned to her father.
“You most certainly do, son,” McGuffin said, his voice quavering.
William knelt to one knee and peered up into the face of his angel. “Kelly, you are everything I could ever want in a wife and I think I can be the kind of husband that will make you happy and keep you safe. Will you consent to marry me?”
Too stunned to speak, Kelly’s chest tightened with overwhelming emotions. Her eyes misted over and she swallowed the lump in her throat. She must be dreaming. Maybe the drugs were still affecting her, making her hear things. All she could do was stare at him, tongue-tied.
“Will you marry me right now?” he asked, his voice vibrant.
At his words, she took a sharp intake of breath, surprised again. He really was asking her to marry him, right here in front of her father and Daniel Boone. She froze, her mind and body numb with shock.
“Kelly?” William asked, as he stood.
Still astounded, her mind became instantly alert. Her head filled with questions. “You want to marry me? Now? Here, in the middle of nowhere? How?”
“It’s not the middle of nowhere,” Boone proclaimed. “It’s the middle of the proud new state of Kentucky. May God bless her and keep her.”
“The Colonel can marry us. He’s a Justice of the Peace and can perform marriages,” William stated.
“It would be my privilege and my great honor to perform the rites of matrimony for you two,” Boone said.
She turned to William. “Truly, you want to get married right now, right here?”
“I do,” William replied without hesitating.
“You want to marry me?” She drew a step nearer to him. “Even though…but what about…” she asked faintly.
William interrupted before she could finish. “That doesn’t matter to me, it never did. What matters is that I love you.”
His tender words healed her soul as nothing else could have. It didn’t matter to him, she repeated to himself. She was so relieved she wanted to cry. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. Her other palm pressed to her gladdened heart.
She still couldn’t believe this might be possible. No, it couldn’t be. She backed away a step. She struggled to speak, to find the right words. “I love you too, William, with all my heart. But I’m just a simple, ordinary, plain girl from the mountains of Virginia. You should have a wife more suitable to your station. You have a bright future ahead of you. You need a wife who can help your status. I would only hold you back.”
“You are none of those things. You are extraordinary. Marry me and I will tell you all that you are, every night, for the rest of your life.” He peered at her intently. “Kelly, I don’t give a damn about station. And even if I did, you are in a class above all others. You make all those genteel girls back in New Hampshire look like coddled silly dimwits.”
She heard both the Colonel and her father chuckle.
“I want my future to be with you and no one else,” he said, reaching out for her. “I love you for all that you have been, all you are now, and all you are yet to be.”
His words made her suddenly breathless and her body light, weightless. Joyful tears filled her eyes. She stepped to him, her hands grasping for his. “Every night?” she teased, finally letting this miracle sink in to her heart.
Fervor lit William’s face, framed
with sunny wavy locks of hair. His tanned skin was smooth across his cheekbones, except for a hint of whiskers that covered his strong jaw. His lips parted in a dazzling smile, displaying straight, white teeth. She saw hope in his kind eyes. He was so handsome a dizzying surge of desire flared within her.
“Kelly, will you do me this great honor?” he pressed, enjoyment in his crystal blue eyes.
In a choked voice she managed to say, “You’ve just made me happier than I ever thought possible. Yes, my dear William, yes!” Her heart quivered in her chest. Her stomach tumbled. Her feet wanted to dance a jig. Shaking with excitement, she spun in a circle, arms outstretched, looking up. She couldn’t believe she could feel this blissfully happy. She clasped her hands to her chest.
She studied William’s eager smiling face, glanced at her expectant father and then Boone, and scanned around her, savoring the glorious beauty of the woods and the clean smell of the tall pines. A mockingbird sang in a nearby tree, its tune perfect for the happy moment. She wanted to keep this memory tucked away in her heart forever, and be able to remember every wonderful small detail. Smiling, she reveled briefly in the momentous moment and then turned to Boone.
“Colonel Boone, Sir, if you would be so kind as to marry William and me, right here in the middle of the great state of Kentucky,” Kelly said. Tears of joy filled her eyes and her chest and stomach felt like a thousand butterflies had just escaped their cocoons to fly, set free at last. She turned to William, nearly breathless, and said, “The honor is all mine.”
He reached out and pulled her to his side.
Tonight there would be no fear in her heart she promised herself.
CHAPTER 16
“Are you ready to be married Sheriff Wyllie?” Boone asked.
William turned to Kelly. “Do you think we should wait for Sam and Bear?”
Whispering Hills of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 3) Page 12
