The Ways of Heaven

by Lindsey Barlow

  “Being touched,” she whispered.

  Cade nearly dropped another post on his foot and looked up at Beth. He was not sure he heard her right. “Excuse me?”

  Beth waited for him to set the post down before she sauntered over, leaning slightly over the fence that separated them. “Just being touched—caressed by a man’s hands. My husband is not interested in such things. He tries out of duty but—”

  Cade blinked.

  Get out of here. Not a good situation. His mind shouted at him.

  “Mrs. Beckett, I think you have the wrong impression, and I am so sorry if I in any way—”

  Her small hand touched his; politeness kept him from yanking it away. “I know that Rose does not fulfill her duties as a wife, otherwise she would have a child. Even if she did try to please you, don’t you think that it is God’s way of saying that she is not worthy of you?” Beth looked desperate, her fingers had his hand in an iron grip.

  “I don’t confess to be intimate with the working of Heaven, Miss Beth, but I doubt God uses children, or lack of, as a means to punish women.”

  Beth smiled softly. “You are too kind to her. She does not deserve you.” Like a cat she pounced before he could say anything, lunging across the fence, while wrapping her hand at the base of his skull and pulling him forward, planting her lips on his.

  One, two, three … Cade was not sure how long it took for his mind to register what was going on. She must have mistaken his stagnant state as compliance, because her lips began to part, at which moment he shoved off her arm and staggered back.

  “Mrs. Becket!” He shook his head, “I—” Something entered his vision at the corner of his eyes: gold hair, blue fabric. With a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach he turned to see Rose standing not six feet from him. She was wearing the earrings and necklace he had given her.

  Her hair was loose from its braid and swung loosely in the breeze. She was stunning and looked absolutely terrifying as her dark blue eyes darted to the blushing Beth with a look that rivaled Medusa.

  Slowly, taking her time she steadily walked towards Beth until she was within touching distance.

  “Beth,” she arched an eyebrow, “I know you are lonely. I know life is hard. But I have a husband and a daughter. Should you compromise either, then I will respond in such a way that even the angels above will tremble in fear,” she smiled. “Do I make myself clear?”

  Beth swallowed and gave a quick nod before turning and running back to her house.

  Rose waited for a moment before lowering her eyes. “Don’t even think about setting a foot inside the house,” she hissed under her breath before lifting her eyes to Cade. “I don’t trust myself to act rationally.”

  He opened his mouth. “Are you serious? You saw how she attacked me,” he defended himself, hurrying after her.

  Rose scoffed. “Says the man who has been out here every day talking to her. No wonder she thought she had the right.” Rose spun around walking quickly back to the house.

  Cade threw down his hammer and followed her. “Have you even wondered why I work so blasted hard on this fence?” he growled.

  Rose shrugged, increasing her speed, nearly jogging at this point. “Well, the fact that a lovely woman waits for you with irresistible sweets is a good guess.”

  He tried grabbing her arm, but she yanked it away. “You flirt with temptation, Cade. You flirted with cards, and they grabbed you. You flirted with whiskey, and it drowned you. You flirt with a woman—how long before I am finding out about affairs?”

  She ran to the house and pushed open the door.

  Cade stopped, debating whether to follow or not. She saw what she wanted to see, and would believe what she wanted to believe. He had given her no reason to trust him. He began to turn but stopped.

  She was his wife. A wife he loved. He was praying, pleading to God to be a better man, and he felt God’s love;, he felt His strength each time he was able to deny the desire of gambling. He knew God wanted him to change. He knew God wanted him to love his wife, and Rose needed to know that. So with a muscle ticking in his jaw Cade stormed through the house and into his room where Rose was shoving his clothes into a case.

  She looked up. “You can stay with Jeffries for a day or two while I think things over.”

  “It helps me not gamble,” he blurted out. When she looked up, he continued, “The labor, the reading, the long talks with Jeffries—all of it keeps me from riding into town and playing a game of cards. I have never been tempted by Beth. I never even thought of her. I needed the labor; I needed the sweat and the distraction.’

  Rose smiled wryly. “Yes, I could see the distraction.”

  Cade let out an insincere laugh and rubbed the back of his head. “You don’t believe me when I say I love you, do you?”

  Rose straightened, “I have known men who love their wives and still beat them, Cade. Love is cheap when the actions say otherwise.”

  He shook his head and stepped closer to her. “Maybe you are right; maybe I loved you, but not in the right way. I did not have God’s strength before. I cannot change on my own, Rose, but I can with Him. So watch me. Watch me become the man you are proud to stand by, the man who will raise that baby in there and protect her with his last breath.” He sighed and turned away, leaving Rose frozen in her steps.

  “And if you did see everything, you would have seen her kiss me … aggressively I might add … and I pulled away.”

  Rose bit her cheek and placed her hands on her hips. She knew the real reason why she was mad. For weeks now Cade had not even tried to be intimate. In Denver when she’d moved to another room, he had accepted it with his pride as thick as the walls of Jordan. That in and of itself had hurt her. Now, she wondered if it wasn’t that he was trying to respect her, but rather was simply not interested in her. “Yes, I saw her kiss you,” she said bitterly, despite herself. “It doesn’t surprise me, because I bet you don’t even know how to kiss a woman anymore.” She knew the words were stupid as soon as she heard them escape her own mouth, but it was too late to recall them.

  Cade furrowed an eyebrow and pinned her with a look so intense Rose felt his very gaze was burning through her clothes. When he spoke, his voice was deep and etched with enforcement. “Well Ma’am, it’s too bad I’m not a betting man anymore because I sure would know what to do with a woman like you.” Then with heavy footsteps, Cade closed the gap between them. His large hands encircled her waist and tugged her forward against his hard chest before he pinned her to the wall and pressed his lips against hers.

  His kiss was hungry and savage. It was everything that Rose’s body craved, his parted lips exploring deeper. When Rose returned the kiss, he growled and pressed her into the wall harder, biting her bottom lip softly.

  Rose lifted her hands to his hair wanting to entwine her fingers in his locks, but he grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head as well.

  His fingers clenched her wrists and their arms matched up together while his kissed her so hard she thought her lips would bruise. She could not breathe, and she loved it; she did not want it to stop, she needed more. Every inch of her skin was scorched with her desire to be with him.

  When his kiss slowed, she desperately tried to reignite it by leaning forward to savor his receding lips, but he pulled back, still holding her trapped against the wall. His eyes were clouded with emotion as his tongue ran itself over her bottom lip, sending shivers through her spine.

  “I have no doubt, Rose, that you can scratch and claw, but you forget that I know how to make you purr.” He let go of her hands and stepped back. “Now, if you don’t mind. I have a fence to fix.”

  He folded his arms, “But before I go—”he jerked his head at the case, “am I leaving for the night?”

  Rose swallowed, trying and failing to control the trembling in her body. “Not for now.”

  A feral grin spread across his face. “That’s what I thought.” He added with a jut of the chin, “Don’t ever doubt my ab
ility Rose. I will always prove you wrong.” Then he walked out leaving Rose to slowly lower herself onto the small bed he used.

  “You can prove me wrong whenever you feel the need,” she said, unable to help the sheepish smile that tugged on her lips.

  Thirty–Nine

  “A ring?” Jonathan frowned, “Why do you ask?”

  Cade glanced at Rose. He thought she might refuse to come into town after the incident last night, but she had agreed and Cade had to see Jonathan. Daisy was playing with what looked like a wooden model of a heart.

  “I got a good look at Phillip’s ring. I think it might be a match for the strange bruise on our dead man’s cheek.”

  Jonathan shrugged. “Possibly. But if it was Phillip, why would he kill two of his own hands? And why the ornate attempts to resemble a Voodoo killing?”

  Cade folded his arms, “Jeffries’s daughter was murdered in the same fashion. Could be Phillip is a serial killer or playing copy-cat to another man’s work to cast off suspicion.”

  Rose lifted her brows, “Jeffries’s daughter? Has anyone told Jeffries about the manner the two men were—”

  “Yep.”

  “How’d he take it?” Jonathan asked.

  Cade rubbed his jaw. “Ben said he took it bad. Apparently his daughter, Camille, was killed the exact same way—ceremonial like.”

  Rose’s skin went cold. “Was she sacrificed?”

  “Jeffries says that was what it appeared. His aunt was quite a well known priestess, but Jeffries claimed she only did healing spells and nothing dark or sinister. Still, he was under intense investigation until Clark went down to New Orleans and brought him back here.”

  “Assuming it is Phillip, and I’m not saying I agree,” Jonathan said twirling his pen, “how would Phillip know about Camille’s death to copy it? Or why would he kill her and then kill his two hands in the same manner?”

  A muscle ticked in Cade’s jaw. “Possibly to cast popular suspicion on Jeffries, but if I dig into Phillip it will just look like more harassment.” He jerked his head at Rose. “Do you see why I don’t like the guy?”

  She smiled and lifted a shoulder. “I thought you didn’t like him because he flirted with your wife.”

  He lifted his chin and folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t like that either.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” Rose asked looking concerned. “I love Jeffries. He is family and though I know you, Ben, and Jonathan will solve this … I understand the sooner the better.”

  Cade clicked his tongue. “Any suggestions what you could do?”

  Rose shrugged. “Maybe I could seduce Phillip Hugh and get him to confess his nefarious plans,” she said in a serious tone.

  Cade blinked, the muscles in his neck bulging slightly, “You are not funny.”

  Rose winked, “I thought it was humorous.”

  Jonathan cleared his throat. “Even if Phillip did do it and the bruise matches his ring,” he said, leaning down to take the dismembered heart from Daisy and hand her the toy Rose held out to him, “there is no way to prove it. The sheriff couldn’t get a court order for the ring, and a bruise with a similar shape is circumstantial.”

  Cade noticed Rose’s face suddenly brighten. “I need to go! Come on Daisy,” she said scooping up her precious bundle and flying out the door before Cade or Jonathan could utter a word.

  /

  “Meg!”

  Meg looked up from the vegetables she was peeling.

  Rose hugged her dear friend. “I actually came to ask a favor of you.” She pulled back and looked over at the twins. “Hey, Jeffries said you two could go look at the new kittens in the west barn,” she looked back at Meg, “that is, if you could spare them for a few minutes?”

  The twins looked at Meg eagerly who arched an eyebrow at Rose before jerking her head at the door, “Go ahead and looked at the kittens boys. Take your time; you two deserve a break.”

  “Thank you, Mama Meg!” Frank bellowed along with his brother as they ran out. Meg nodded to the table.

  “Are you pregnant?” she asked.

  Rose threw back her head. “What? No! Why would you—”

  “Because you look like the cat that swallowed the house canary,” she laughed, sitting down with a relieved groan. “What secret are you hiding?”

  “First,” Rose said, taking a deep breath, “are you busy tonight?”

  Meg looked at her in confusion, “No.”

  Rose tugged at her sleeve. “I know I haven’t told you much about Cade’s progress on the case.”

  “You mean that there is no progress?”

  “Well, yes, but Cade has a theory about Phillip.”

  “Phillip Hugh?”

  Rose nodded. “Here in Tall Pine, Phillip is the meek son of a rich rancher with a reputation for being ruthless. Cade, however, has seen different sides to him. Phillip was fierce in court then suddenly withdrew from the legal world right around the same time as these murders.”

  Meg rested one hand on her hip. “Why doesn’t he just look into some of Phillip’s … things? I am sure he has some documentation of his dealings with Jim and Theodore if he was involved with them in their rustling.”

  Rose gave a sigh of agreement. “If only he could—but if he did, then his standing as a deputy would be ruined. However, I am not a lawman, and neither are you. So we could possibly use illegal means to obtain information.”

  “You mean, break into his house?” Meg let out a laugh, then stopped when Rose’s face remained still. “You are serious?”

  Rose bit her lip. “Phillip is gone until tomorrow, so I heard in town. I thought it was time that we visit Mrs. Hugh and try to, well, form a friendship. It would be a perfect time, especially if we sneak out there before Phillip returns home.”

  Meg folded her arms. “First, two questions for you: What are we going to do if we get caught? And how are we going to sneak into his room?”

  “We won’t get caught.”

  “Or we could,” Meg countered.

  She smiled sheepishly, “Perhaps. Perhaps not.”

  “And if any evidence is locked?”

  Rose waved a hand, “I am quite good at picking locks.”

  Meg’s lips parted, “Locks?”

  Rose cocked her head, “You seem surprised.”

  “How did a woman like you learn to pick locks?”

  Rose grinned. “I went through a stage where I fancied myself a magician. I read everything I could about them and practiced everything I could. In fact, I am the one who taught Cade how to pick locks.”

  Meg rubbed her temples and laughed. “Sorry for my confusion; I am simply trying to comprehend the reality that Rose Walker, who is such an upright lady, knows how to pick locks, wanted to be a magician and wants to … let me say this right … break into the room of a man who is either a potential killer or a sweet, star-struck man hopelessly in love with her. Did I get that right?”

  Rose blushed. “Perfectly. Which leaves only one last but very important question—what are you wearing to my mother’s summer ball tomorrow?”

  Meg’s eyes twinkled. “I am thinking I should wear clothes,” she teased. At Rose’s cocked eyebrow Meg laughed, “Fine, fine … Eliza showed me some changes to make to my Sunday dress. That is Jonathan’s favorite on me, and so I am going to wear that.” Her color heightened, “And what of you, Rose?”

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  Meg smiled and picked up an apple, “Will the Hughs be attending?”

  Rose shook her head. “I believe so, but after Cade punched him, it also wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t… Now that I look back on it, it was odd for a wealthy boy like him to flirt with a married woman, let alone one with a black daughter if I am being frank.”

  “Maybe he was smitten with your beauty,” Meg said so seriously Rose had to laugh.

  “As much as I would like to take credit, I think it was to annoy his mother. For whatever reason, he wanted to get her goat, and f
lirting with me certainly did the trick. Either that or he was after the pleasure of forbidden fruit.”

  “Because you were married?”

  “And I have Daisy. Phillip strikes me as a man who is used to getting what he wants. Finding a woman to drool over him would be too easy. The thrill of the chase would be lost.”

  Meg nodded, “I could see that.”

  “The question is,” Rose continued, “what happens when he chases and loses?”

  “He gets punched in the face by your jealous husband.”

  Laughing, Rose bounced Daisy who was trying desperately to grab at Meg’s apple. “So after dinner and dessert, are you willing to become a cat burglar with me?”

  “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”

  Forty

  By the time people were closing up their shops and families were hurrying home before sunset, Cade was starving. His stomach grumbled for food, and his mood was as sour as an unripe apple. Ben was in an equally bad mood and both men gave each other a grumbled good-bye before walking away from the jailhouse where Cade had filled Ben in on his theory about Phillip.

  Cade let his feet drag as he made his way to the town’s stables. Raucous laughter caught his attention, and he looked over at the bright saloon seeming to shake with activity. Cade paused in the street looking around.

  No one. Not one soul to see him walk in. No one to tell Rose or Jeffries or anyone. One game would hardly be problematic, and it would make him feel so much better. Didn’t he deserve it? Hadn’t he worked hard to come this far?

  Some fragment of his mind told Cade that these were not his thoughts. Still, they pushed through all the barriers he had spent months building.

  One game.

  You deserve it.

  You are a strong man. One time won’t hurt.

  Cade walked forward. He was his own person; he could make his own choices whether they were good or bad.

  Stop! Stop! His heart pounded with the overwhelming elixir of shame and excitement.

  Another step, then another. He could smell the intoxicating scent of liquor. The thrill of potential wins and inevitable losses now swam through his veins beckoning him to join in the rebellious festivities.