by Jeanne Allan
He abandoned the pickup and walked up the sidewalk toward her. “He doesn’t even know I’m here. He told me he read your letter, said the two of you had had a long talk and patched things up. He never mentioned what happened between us.”
Elizabeth didn’t want to talk about that. “I thought you’d be standing at the Great Wall of China by now.”
“Changed my mind.” He sat on the step next to her and stretched out his long legs. “Mesa Verde isn’t as old as the Great Wall, but it’s a lot closer. We could be there in a couple of days.”
“We?” Elizabeth repeated dumbly. He’d come all this way to ask her to go sight-seeing with him? None of this made sense. Her breath caught in her throat. Was this Worth’s way of asking her to have an affair with him?
He was nodding. “Pack up Jimbo and your spirit of adventure and let’s hit the road.”
“Adventure? Hit the road?” She sounded like an idiot, mindlessly echoing him, but her brain refused to function. Drawing up her legs, she hugged them to her chest, compressing herself into a tight, protective huddle. In spite of her defenses, her body quickened. Conscious of his body warmth, his breathing, his scent, she ached to lean into him.
“C’mon, Red, with that hair, you can’t convince me you’re not an adventurer at heart.” His voice wrapped around her, warm and teasing. Seductive.
Elizabeth clenched her hands together, her nails digging into her palms. “I think you’d better tell me exactly why you are here.”
“Sometimes a man thinks he has to fly to the moon for adventure and excitement, when the truth is, making love under the moon is a lot more exciting.”
Was he saying he’d driven across the state of Nebraska because he wanted to sleep with her? She felt his hand, warm against her neck, his fingers massaging her tight muscles. Closing her eyes, Elizabeth said in a ragged voice, “Stop playing games with me, Worth. I haven’t changed my mind since I left Colorado. I am not going to marry you because you feel sorry for me or feel responsible for me or for any other stupid reason like giving Jamie a father.”
His fingers went still. “How about because you love me?”
Pain slashed her chest. He didn’t play fair. “Nobody said anything about love.”
“I’m saying it now. Elizabeth Randall, I love you and want you to marry me.”
She didn’t believe a word of it. Putting her head on her knees, she mumbled, “Forget it, I don’t love you.”
Holding her chin, Worth turned her face. “Look at me and say that.”
Enigmatic blue eyes told her nothing. Swallowing hard, she said in a commendably firm voice, “I don’t love you.”
His eyes warmed, the corners crinkling. “I’ve never met a worse liar in my entire life.”
Elizabeth batted his hand away. “It doesn’t matter. I am not going to marry you. You might think it kind of you to pretend you love me and want to marry me, but it’s not kind, and I refuse to marry you. I will not tie you down. I don’t want a restless husband. I want you to be footloose and fancy free. I want you to have your adventures.”
“Good, so do I.”
She stared hard at his pickup, concentrating on keeping tears from her eyes. “Jamie should be up from his nap soon, if you want to see him before you go.”
“Before we go.”
Jerking her head around, she said, “Were you listening to me?”
He leaned back on the step, resting his elbows on the top of the concrete stoop. “You said you wanted me to have my adventures. Visiting the Great Wall, now that’s a small adventure. A wise man recently told me about the biggest adventure of all, and that’s the one I want to go on.”
Elizabeth kept her chin up. “What adventure is that?”
“Life. Love. Marriage. Raising a family.”
“I knew Russ made you come,” she said bleakly.
Reaching up, Worth ran a thumb over her trembling lower lip. “Forget Russ. Forget my mother, my sisters. Forget Lawrence. This is about you and me, Red. Taking on life. Together. What could be more adventurous? Watching Jamie grow up. Having more babies. If that’s not adventurous enough for you, we’ll make our own adventures. Pack up the family and take off where the spirit of adventure leads us.”
His eyes fixed on her face, he took one of her hands in his. “For the longest time, Red, I thought a man had to be alone to have adventures. Maybe some men do, but not me. Without you, there is no adventure.”
She looked helplessly at him. He sounded so sincere, so believable. Elizabeth wanted badly to believe him. How could she when she knew how much he’d fought being tied down? “I can’t marry—” A hand over her mouth silenced her.
“Do you love me? Nod yes or shake your head no.”
Indecision paralyzed her. If she nodded, he’d continue to lie out of pity, but her muscles refused to let her deny her love.
One corner of his mouth turned up in a sexy little grin and he moved his hand. “Okay, then, let’s head ’em up and roll ’em out. What do we do first?”
“I didn’t say anything. We don’t do anything first.”
“I think we do. This.” In one move, he hauled her onto his lap and framed her face between his hands. “There’s been something missing from my life for so long. Now I know what it is. You. Not pallid adventures like hiking or lying on beaches, but having you in my life. I love you, Red. I plan to spend the rest of my life loving you. Sometimes we’ll drive each other crazy, but we’ll get over it and move on to more adventures.”
Elizabeth clutched his shoulders. “I didn’t say I’d marry you,” she said breathlessly.
“You will by the time we reach the first county courthouse in Colorado.”
“County courthouse?”
“If you want a big wedding with all the trimmings, that’s okay, but I’m not waiting until then to sleep with you. I’ll wait until the first courthouse, but that’s my limit.”
“You don’t have to wait—”
“Good.”
She’d meant because she wasn’t going to marry him, but the way he kissed her drove every coherent thought, every objection out of her mind. By the time he raised his head, she would have agreed to anything he suggested. As she cuddled against his broad chest, the trailer caught her eye. “Why the trailer?”
“Adventure, Red. Jimbo’s going to love it. I built in a crib for him.”
“Jamie.”
Giving her a loving smile, he shook his head. “You’re his mother and you can call him what you want, but I’m calling him Jimbo until he tells me different. No, Red, wait.” Alarm filled his voice. “If it really upsets you, I’ll call him Jamie.”
She shook her head and wiped her eyes. “I’m not marrying you for Jamie’s sake. You do know that.”
He gave her a wicked grin. “You’re marrying me to get my jeans off.”
“If you don’t quit smiling at me like that,” she said in a shaky voice, “I’m going to rip them off you right out here on my front steps.”
Laughing, he lifted her to her feet and stood. “That may be a little too much adventure even for me.”
Worth lay stretched out on the bed, the sheet pulled up to his waist gleaming white against his tanned chest. His arms were folded beneath his head, his eyes closed. Deliberately putting off the moment until she’d join him, Elizabeth stood in the doorway, watching him.
They’d been married two weeks. Two weeks of love and laughter and learning about each other. From the bottoms of his bare feet to the top of his brown hair, she loved every inch of him. “Glad to be back in your own bed?” she asked.
“I will be.” He opened his eyes and turned his head to smile at her.
The sensual look in his eyes left no doubt as to his meaning. And caused meltdown in her bones. She returned his smile. “Have I told you how much I love adventuring with you?”
Satisfaction covered his face. “Have I ever told you how much I approve of those green pajamas?”
He’d never asked where she’d gotten
them, but he must wonder. “My mother gave them to me last Christmas.” She hesitated. “Lawrence hated me in green. He said a redhead wearing green was a cliché.”
Worth cocked his head, running his eyes possessively over her. “You know, Red, as much as I hate the idea I could ever think like Lawrence about anything, I find myself agreeing with him,” he said in a serious voice. “Those green pajamas are all wrong for you.” He waited a heartbeat. “Take them off, Red.”
She saw the loving laughter in his eyes. He didn’t think she’d do it.
Slowly she unbuttoned the top button of her pajamas. Worth quit laughing about the fourth button. The next button gave her an exorbitant amount of trouble. She loved the way his breathing quickened.
“Jimbo can unbutton faster than you can,” he said in a thickened voice.
Giving him an artless smile, she slowly pulled open the pajama top and allowed it to slide off her shoulders and down her arms to drop on the floor. Her hair was practically standing on end from all the zinging going on in the bedroom. Hooking her thumbs in the waistband of the bottoms, she gave him what she hoped was a sultry look. “Hey, cowboy, wanna be adventurous?”
In one quick, easy movement, Worth rose from the bed and scooped her up in his arms.
She laughed into his mouth. “I take it that’s a yes.”
They fell into bed, a warm tangle of arms and legs and loving laughter.
Elizabeth lay curled at his side, her bare bottom resting warmly against his hip. Touching him. Tied to him by marriage. He didn’t feel tied down. Or restless. He felt satisfied. Content. Happy. Worth immediately rejected the words as inadequate.
Elizabeth had shown him the true meaning of heartstrings. Not chains binding you down, but ribbons tied around packages of love and wonder. Living with Elizabeth and Jamie was one present after another, each waiting to be opened and cherished. A child’s hugs, a woman’s smile. Waking up to red hair on his pillow, a hip warm against him. Exploring her mind, her body, her soul took him places he’d never imagined existed.
Beside him, Elizabeth’s breathing changed. He sensed her wakening.
“Can’t sleep?” she asked drowsily.
“Just thinking.”
She went very still. “Having second thoughts?”
He ran his hand over her bottom, welcoming any excuse to touch her. “Never. Just something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.” He hesitated, unsure how she’d react when he told her he wanted to adopt Jamie. “I intend to be Jimbo’s father in every way that matters.”
“I know.” She rubbed against him like a cat. “I think you ought to adopt him legally. Change his name to James Randall Lassiter. I talked it over with my stepfather, and he agrees.”
Hugging her tightly against him, Worth rested a cheek against her hair. “We’re going to have a good life.” He cupped her belly in time to feel her small quiver of laughter.
Elizabeth lifted his hand and pressed a kiss against his palm. “Good, as in steak?” she asked, amusement running through her voice. She put his hand down on her breast.
Dawn beckoned through the open window. Dawn was the best time of the day. To listen to the birds. To smell the air.
To make love to his wife.
Each day an adventure to be lived. Together.
EPILOGUE
THE Double Nickel ranch house sparkled with a fresh coat of white paint in the late afternoon sunshine. The color of the paint on the front door matched the color of the blue flax Elizabeth had planted in lush abundance in front of their home.
Worth looked across the yard as voices came from the renovated guest house. His mother was giving her daughters and their husbands a formal tour of her new home. Mary and Russ had fled to Texas while Elizabeth oversaw construction of the extension to the small cabin, but today Elizabeth and he were throwing a combination housewarming and first wedding anniversary party for their parents.
The tour ended, and Cheyenne and Thomas emerged from the house first, followed by Allie and Zane and Greeley and Quint. Watching the love and laughter surrounding them, satisfaction filled Worth. His sisters had found the mates right for them.
Mary Lassiter Underwood lingered on her porch watching her children and grandchildren. Even from a distance Worth could see the pride on his mother’s face, the moisture glinting in her eyes. Happy tears. Mary laid her head on Russ’s shoulder as his arm encircled her waist. Worth silently chuckled. One of these days Russ was going to really let go and actually kiss his wife in public.
Children’s laughter drew his attention to the patch of lawn beneath the old cottonwood tree. Hannah had insisted there had to be games at a party, and she and Davy and Elizabeth were playing Ring Around the Rosie with the three toddlers. Worth watched the circle of players fall giggling to the ground. Jimbo popped up first and saw Worth watching. Throwing his arms wide, his two-year-old son tore across the yard on skinny little legs, yelling, “Daddy, Daddy.”
Worth grabbed him and swung him into the air. “Slow down, Jimbo, the grill’s hot.”
“Are you fixing hot dogs, Uncle Worth?” Davy and Hannah ran up, twenty-one-month-old Virginia Steele and eighteen-month-old Harmony Peters struggling to keep up with their older siblings. Their fathers came to the little girls’ rescue, throwing them up on their shoulders as the whole family gathered around Worth and the barbecue grill.
“You didn’t mention you were planning to barbecue,” Cheyenne said uneasily.
Elizabeth, her arm linked with Russ’s, pealed with laughter. “You’re safe. Worth’s just supervising heating the grill. I promise not to let him cook anything. Even Jimbo won’t eat the charcoal hot dogs his daddy fixes. Worth is the worst cook I’ve ever known.”
Shocked silence met her words.
“He’s not that bad,” Cheyenne said finally. There wasn’t an ounce of conviction in her voice. Her sisters rushed to agree with her. There was no more conviction in their voices.
“Really,” Elizabeth said severely, “it’s appalling the way you three coddle your brother. He’s strong enough to live with the fact that he can’t do everything perfectly.”
His wife slanted an amused glance his way. Worth knew exactly what she was thinking. His green-eyed redhead thought he did one thing perfectly. She’d told him so this morning as they lay bonelessly content in their bed.
Standing at the head of the table, Worth looked around at his family. Deep satisfaction filled every part of his body. This was what life was all about.
Elizabeth had served champagne with the fancy decorated cake, and he lifted his glass to propose a toast to Mary and Russ.
Everyone at the table followed with their toasts to the happy couple, then Elizabeth stood. “I’d like to make another toast. The first day I came here, Worth told me about Anna Nichols. Now every time I pass through the ranch gate, I think about how strong she must have been and pray I can live up to her standards. Not that I’ll ever ride Wally, mind you, but Rosie and I are getting to be pretty good pals.”
Elizabeth waited until the laughter died down.
“Anna’s not here in person, but I’d like to believe she’s looking down on us and thinking she started something really fine and wonderful.” Elizabeth raised her champagne flute. “To Anna Nichols of Hope Valley. May we always believe, as Anna did, that our futures are filled with hope.” Looking directly at Worth, she added softly, “And love and adventure.”
Worth saluted his wife with his glass. He’d hidden the green negligee under the seat in the pickup, planning to present it to Elizabeth next month on their anniversary, but maybe he’d give it to her tonight. He could always buy her another anniversary present.
Neither would come close to equaling the gifts she gave him.
Each wrapped with love.
And tied with heartstrings.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-6493-2
ONE HUSBAND NEEDED
First North American Publication 2000.
Copyright © 2000 by Barbara Blackman.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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