CHEROKEE BABY

by Sheri WhiteFeather

  "Yes, but it'll have to be on Thursday. That's the only day I'm free. My schedule is pretty tight this week."

  She imagined being alone with him in the hills, surrounded by the scent of wildflowers and the warmth of the wind. "Then Thursday, it is. Now all I have to do is learn to ride."

  He finished tacking up the gelding. "Are you nervous?"

  She shook her head, glanced at the gold band on Bobby's finger.

  "It's important to relax," he said. "To let the horse know you're in control."

  As Bobby led Caballero, Julianne walked beside him, wondering how long he'd been married. Death had to be more stressful than divorce. She'd given up her wedding ring easily. Heck, she'd even considered flushing the meaningless thing down the toilet, but had opted to pawn it instead.

  Once they were in the arena, she tried to clear her mind. But as she waited for the riding instruction to begin, she took an anxious breath.

  Bobby studied her from her under the brim of his hat, the sun shining in his face. "I thought you weren't nervous, Julianne."

  Okay, so maybe she was. But not about mounting the gelding. "Honestly, I'm fine." Just suddenly scared to death about the decision she'd made, the choice to have sex with a stranger.

  This stranger, she thought, glancing at his ring once again.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yes." So he missed his wife, she thought. That didn't mean he didn't play around. The man was a widower, not a saint.

  He gave her a boost when she wasn't able to climb into the saddle on her own. Next, he adjusted her stirrups.

  The lesson went easily from there. Bobby corrected her when she did something wrong and praised her when she did something right.

  He remained in the center of the arena, the sun glinting off his belt buckle. She'd never undressed a cowboy, but she was more than willing to try.

  He watched her walk the horse along the fence rail. "You've got a good seat, Julianne."

  She sent him a quick smile, assuming that meant she sat a horse well.

  The instruction lasted for almost two hours and when she dismounted, her legs wobbled.

  Bobby caught her shoulders and suddenly they were standing only inches apart. His chest rose and fell, and when he dipped his head to look at her, their eyes met.

  Julianne's mouth went dry. God, he was beautiful. A Cherokee masterpiece, with his copper skin and strong, sculpted features.

  "You'll get over that," he said.

  Over what? The wooziness in her knees? Or the silky sensation between her thighs? The heat of wanting him? "Are you sure?"

  "Yes." He stepped back, his voice rough. Masculine. Much too husky.

  Julianne attempted to steady her pulse, to give her lungs a dose of calm, even breathing. But the effort proved in vain. She wasn't going to get over Bobby Elk until she was wrapped in his arms.

  Warm and wet and naked, she thought.

  Free and sinful.

  Engaged in the affair of a lifetime.

  * * *

  Chapter 3

  «^»

  Julianne had worked in clothing boutiques since her teens, progressing from salesgirl to manager. She wasn't exactly a fashion plate, but she had a keen sense of style, a knack for knowing what looked good on her.

  But on this nerve-laced evening, everything she tried on fell flat.

  "You look great." This came from Kay, who sat on the edge of Julianne's bed.

  "I shouldn't have bought this. I'm too old for a backless dress," she responded, criticizing her appearance in a beveled mirror. She reached for the matching jacket and slipped it on, hoping it would help. "I shouldn't go braless anymore."

  "Why not? You've still got perky breasts."

  Of course, she did. Her breasts were too small to be anything but perky. She didn't actually have cleavage, which is why Kay and Mern had talked her into buying that padded bustier.

  Maybe she should wear that tonight. Not with this dress, but with—

  "Too bad your nipples aren't hard."

  Julianne turned around to glare at Kay. "Knock it off. I'm nervous as it is." She hadn't worried about whether a specific guy would ask her to dance since her high school days. "What if Bobby isn't even there?"

  "He owns this place, Jul. He'll be there."

  "I hope so." She put on her cowboy boots, deciding they were the appropriate footwear for a barn dance.

  "You could use a breath spray."

  As Julianne covered her mouth, Kay reached into her purse. "For your nipples," her cousin clarified, handing over a small pump. "It'll make them hard. I read about it in a magazine."

  Julianne studied the mint-flavored spray, and when she glanced up at Kay, they both burst out laughing.

  Oh, what the hell? she thought, unbuttoning the front of her dress. She was out to seduce a man. And what man wouldn't notice erect nipples?

  Mern arrived at Julianne's door a short time later and the three drove their rental car to the entertainment barn, a building designed for dances, casual meals and parties.

  Guests were already gathered at rustic tables, sipping margaritas and chatting companionably. The chef had prepared an array of Southwestern appetizers. Julianne could see colorful trays garnished with tomatoes, peppers and cilantro leaves.

  The dance floor accommodated Western-clad couples swaying to a beat provided by a country band. The room itself twinkled with white lights, giving the rugged atmosphere a touch of romance.

  Julianne sat with her cousins and scanned the area for Bobby, and then made eye contact with a young man who smiled and came her way.

  He resembled Bobby, with his long, lean body and jet-black hair. A relative, she decided. A member of the Elk family.

  He stopped at their table. His skin wasn't quite as dark as Bobby's, but he had the same strong-boned features and rough-and-tumble appeal.

  "Evening, ladies." He introduced himself as Michael Elk, then turned to Julianne. "You must be the good-looking redhead my uncle mentioned."

  Stunned and flattered, she extended her hand. "Julianne McKenzie."

  After they shook hands, he sat in the empty chair next to her. She reached for a corn chip and dipped it into a bowl of guacamole. "So Bobby's your uncle?"

  "Yes, ma'am. And a damn good one. He gave up his rodeo career to raise me." Michael poured a margarita from the pitcher on their table and handed it to her. "He stepped in when my mother died. I was thirteen years old, and full of pi—" He paused to rethink his statement. "Pickles and vinegar. I was quite a handful."

  And probably still was, she thought, catching the dark, dangerous gleam in his eye.

  They talked for a few more minutes before Michael rose to mingle. "Enjoy the dance." He smiled at Kay and Mern. "Try the sopes," he said, pointing to a platter of small, ridged, pork-filled tortillas. "They're my favorite."

  Taking his advice, Kay reached for one of the Mexican appetizers. "Hunky," she commented when he was out of earshot.

  "Just like his uncle," Mern put in, nudging Julianne to glance toward the door, where Bobby had just arrived.

  Instantly she became aware of her nerves, of the girlish flutter in her stomach. Taking a deep breath, she removed her jacket and placed it on the back of her chair. Suddenly she was warm. Much too warm.

  Bobby looked like a mirage, a masculine shadow of denim and leather. A buckskin shirt fitted across his chest and a pair of cowboy-cut jeans hugged his hips. A Stetson, decorated with a silver hatband, shielded his eyes, creating an air of mystery.

  "Did you hear that?" Kay asked.

  Julianne couldn't hear anything above the pounding of her own heart.

  "It's lady's choice, Jul. Go ask Bobby to dance before someone else snags him."

  Lady's choice. That gave her a perfect excuse to approach him, yet as she made her way through the other guests, she wanted to turn tail and run.

  She'd barely taken a moment to breathe, to calm her schoolgirl anxiety.

  He glanced up and saw her, and she realize
d it was too late to skitter off like a jackrabbit.

  "Hi, Bobby." She stopped in front of him, conjured a smile and tried to look more confident than she felt.

  "Hello." His gaze traveled over her body, settled on her breasts for a millisecond and shot back up to her face.

  Julianne shifted her feet. He'd noticed her protruding nipples. The twin peaks she'd blasted with Binaca.

  "Do you want to dance?" she asked before she lost her nerve.

  When he stalled, she knew she'd made a mistake. Apparently he didn't like forward women. Apparently the backless, braless dress had been the wrong thing to wear. Apparently—

  "All right," he said.

  All right. He didn't sound particularly enthused about holding her in his arms, but he'd agreed. To be polite, most likely.

  Mortified, Julianne decided this potential affair was a pipe dream. A foolish notion going nowhere.

  He led her onto the dance floor.

  And suddenly everything changed.

  Their eyes met and their bodies brushed, the music tempting them with a warm, slow, country ballad.

  He slid his arms around her waist; she put her head on his shoulder. And the rest of the world seemed to disappear.

  The twinkling lights flashed like a hundred wish-inspired stars glittering from an oak ceiling.

  Julianne inhaled the scent from his cologne, the subtle mix of musk and man. He ran his fingers up and down her spine, caressing her bare back.

  They could have been making love, she thought. Making love to music. She felt the flex of muscle, the hard, solid wall of his body swaying to accommodate hers.

  He toyed with the ends of her hair. "Gi-ga-ge-i," he whispered in a guttural tongue. "So red. So powerful."

  She wanted to respond but she couldn't. Her entire body was melting. All over him.

  When the song ended, they stood in the center of the dance floor, just holding each other. Until Bobby dropped his hands and stepped back.

  "Wa-do," he said. "Thank you for the dance."

  "You're welcome." Still a little dazed, she smiled. "Is that the Cherokee language?"

  He nodded. "I don't speak it fluently. But my grandparents did."

  "It's beautiful."

  "Wa-do," he said again. "Thank you."

  The band started another song, but Bobby didn't reach for her. And she didn't reach for him. They separated, walked in opposite directions, and then turned back at the same moment to look at each other from across the room.

  Giving her a connection she hadn't expected to feel. A fleeting embrace from heart to lonely heart.

  * * *

  On Thursday afternoon Bobby saddled his horse. He wasn't going to let last night's dance affect him. He wasn't going to obsess about the luxury of holding Julianne McKenzie, of swaying to a slow, silky song, of being immersed in the airy fragrance of her perfume.

  He stole a glance at Julianne. She waited beside Caballero, with her hair blowing gently in the breeze.

  Oh, hell. Who was he trying to kid? He was already obsessing about her. About the slim, sleek texture of her naked back and the erotic impression her nipples had made against her dress.

  He'd gone to bed aroused and had awakened the same damned way.

  He finished saddling his horse and went to Julianne. "Do you need a leg up?" he asked.

  She gave Caballero a serious study. The sorrel gelding, at 15.2 hands, possessed a generous chest, a wide girth and a strongly muscled back. He made Julianne, with her petite frame and translucent skin, look like a pixie.

  "I think I can make it on my own," she said.

  Good girl, Bobby thought. He knew she was more than capable of climbing into the saddle.

  She put her left foot in the stirrup and heaved herself up, grabbing the horn for support. The leather creaked beneath her rear.

  Bobby mounted his horse on the "wrong" side, on the right rather than the left. Julianne gave him a confused look.

  "I'm favoring an old injury," he said, telling her what he told anyone who was astute enough to notice. "And since it's easier for me to mount on the right, I train my horses to accommodate me." Which also included hand signals and the dispersal of his weight rather than the pressure of his legs.

  Julianne merely nodded, apparently too polite to prod him for details.

  Sometimes people questioned him further, and sometimes they didn't. When they did, he chalked up his "old injury" to an "accident" and nothing more.

  On occasion, the truth leaked out. His staff, along with plenty of folks in town, knew that he was a below-the-knee amputee.

  But so far, no one had told Julianne. Of that much, he was certain.

  He glanced back at her. "Are you ready to hit the hills?"

  She sat up a little straighter. "Yes, sir."

  For nearly two hours they traveled a path Bobby reserved for inexperienced riders. The trails were wide and scenic, the trees tall and shady, the terrain smooth yet lush with foliage.

  When they reached a grassy plain near the river, he stopped. Julianne had booked a half-day tour, which included a picnic. Most folks preferred to do this tour with a group, but Bobby knew why Julianne had chosen a private session.

  She wanted to be alone with him, to relax, to talk. And he didn't mind obliging her. He enjoyed her company. And in spite of that romantic dance, he was professional enough to keep his hormones in check. At least in front of her. His private fantasies, his late-night and early-morning arousals, were his own business.

  Besides, she was leaving in three days, right after her party.

  Speaking of which. "I ran into your cousins this morning," he said as he dismounted. "And they talked to me about your birthday."

  Julianne slid from her horse. "Oh, goodness. What did they say?"

  "They asked for my advice. And I told them I wasn't too keen on the over-the-hill theme. I suggested that a classy dinner at the lodge and a night on the town might be more appropriate."

  She gave him a pleased smile. "You did?"

  He nodded. "There's a local honky-tonk I think you'd enjoy. It's perfect for a fortieth birthday."

  "You mean I can get drunk there and forget how old I am?"

  He laughed. "Yes, ma'am, you can."

  "Will you come to my party, Bobby?"

  He adjusted his hat to look at her, to count the freckles sprinkled across her nose, to admire the fire in her hair. "Your cousins already invited me."

  "Does that mean you'll be there?"

  He moved his gaze lower, taking in the column of her neck, the curve of her waist, the flare of her hip. "Yes. That's means I'll be there."

  "Thank you."

  "Sure." Before things got awkward, he tended the horses and gave her the task of spreading the blanket and unpacking the food.

  When he joined her, she was in the process of filling their plates.

  "Your chef is amazing." She handed him his lunch, a grilled chicken and pita sandwich, accompanied by several gourmet salads. "Do you eat like this all the time?"

  "Except when I cook for myself." He tasted the wild rice medley, then went onto the mango and jicama concoction. "I can throw a meal together, but nothing this fancy."

  "Me, neither." She eyed the dessert, a colorful array of freshly baked tarts. "I'd get fat if I lived here."

  "I've learned to curb my appetite for sweets." And those sweets included women, he thought as he swallowed the food in his mouth.

  She looked around, and he followed her gaze to the lull of the river and the flowers sprayed across the bank.

  "It's so beautiful here," she said.

  "Yes, it is." And so was she. An Irish fairy with invisible wings.

  She turned her attention back to him. "I met your nephew. He speaks very fondly of you."

  "Michael wasn't easy to raise, but I love him like a son. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world."

  Julianne sighed. "I don't have any children. I wanted them, desperately. But it didn't happen." She picked at a piece o
f chicken in her sandwich. "We tried for years to have kids. And then we decided to have some tests done. Joe, my ex-husband, tested just fine. So that told us the problem was with me." She paused, sighed again. "But since our insurance didn't cover infertility, we didn't pursue it any further. I was willing to adopt, but Joe wasn't comfortable with the idea."

  Bobby studied her expression, the sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

  "It's okay. It doesn't matter anymore. He cheated on me anyway."

  "He sounds like a jerk."

  "You think so?" Looking up from her sandwich, she smiled.

  "Yeah, I do." He reached for his fork, instead of reaching for her, instead of touching her cheek.

  Her smile fell. "Our relationship had become rather mundane, I suppose. But he should have come to me. He should have told me he was unhappy."

  "How long were you married?" Bobby asked.

  "Twenty years."

  "Damn. That's a long time."

  She blew a frustrated breath. "Too long, considering what he did. Joe was thirty-nine, pushing forty when he hopped into the sack with his twenty-year-old secretary."

  Bobby froze. His wife had been twenty when he'd met her, twenty-one when they'd married, twenty-two when she'd died.

  Julianne picked at her sandwich again, tearing it into small bites. "I know those kinds of age differences don't bother some people. But it was quite a blow to my ego. Why is it that men get away with everything?" She ate a slice of the grilled chicken, casting the pita aside. "Can you imagine me sleeping with a twenty-year-old? It's absurd."

  Bobby frowned, recalling his attraction to Sharon. Their age difference had made their relationship more exciting in the beginning. And more painful at the end. "It is a double standard, I suppose."

  "No kidding." Julianne reached for her drink, took a small sip.

  When they both fell silent, the lull of the river intensified. The wind blew a warm breeze, and the sun shone, dappling the water with specks of gold.

  "I'm sorry." She glanced down at her plate, at her torn sandwich. "I shouldn't have vented my frustrations out on you."

  "It's okay." At least now he understood why turning forty was such an issue with her.

  "It's not okay. I feel like an idiot. Forcing you to listen to all that."