by Judith Stacy
“I don’t mean to cause such controversy,” Amanda said.
“I guess the rest of us may as well get used to that.”
Amanda smiled at his gentle teasing. She couldn’t help it. He looked handsome, even more so than usual. He’d been an especially welcome sight when she’d accidentally pushed that miner into the horse trough. She hadn’t meant for that to happen. And afterward, she’d been terrified by what the man might do to her. Amanda had never been so relieved to see anyone as she was when she’d turned and seen Jason standing behind her.
He had a way about him. She’d recognized it from the start, from the first time she’d laid eyes on him. Everyone else saw it in him, too. That’s how he led his men. That’s why they followed him. There was a command about Jason that few people could ignore.
But still, today there was something different about Jason. At times, he seemed more tense than usual. Yet now, sitting across the table from him, Amanda saw a side of him she’d never experienced before. He was more relaxed now. He smiled more easily. He’d even teased her a little.
The burden of responsibility on his mountain surely weighed heavily at times. It pleased Amanda that even Jason Kruger needed—and enjoyed—time off.
The serving girl stopped at their table, poured coffee and told them the cook’s special. They asked her to come back when Meg arrived.
Amanda rested her arm on the table and gazed out the window.
“I never realized how big Beaumont was until today,” she said, watching the people pass by on the boardwalk. “When I was here before it seemed smaller somehow.”
Jason glanced out the window, then back at her. “It’s not a bad place. It serves a good number of people, with the ranches and mines around here, not to mention the settlements and the lumber camp. There’s talk about building an opera house here.”
She looked up at him. “It’s growing that fast?”
“I guess it doesn’t look like much, though, after San Francisco,” Jason said. “You must be anxious to get back there.”
“As anxious as you are to stay on your mountain, I’d imagine.” Her response didn’t please him, she sensed, because he changed the subject.
“So,” he said, “what did you buy this morning?”
“More than I should have,” Amanda admitted, smiling.
She told him about the things she’d bought to fix up her little cabin and make it seem more like home, and about the fabric she’d purchased for the brides’ dormitory.
He frowned. “Fabric? What for?”
“Curtains,” she said. “For the windows.”
“Oh.” Jason grinned. “Guess you’ve got to have those.”
“Most definitely,” she said and smiled. “And by the way, don’t worry that you’ll be spending time overseeing the construction of the dormitory. I’ll take care of it.”
His brows rose. “You?”
“Of course,” Amanda said. “No one knows better what the brides want than I do.”
Jason looked at her for a moment. “Doesn’t it bother you to do all this work, build the dormitory, make it livable, then just walk away?”
She considered it only briefly, then said, “No. I actually enjoy the work.”
“And it doesn’t bother you to see other women getting married when you’re not?”
She glanced away. “No.”
A few minutes passed while Amanda gazed out the window and Jason watched her. She felt him looking at her and finally he spoke.
“I asked you before why you never got married,” Jason said, “but you didn’t give me an answer.”
“Didn’t I?”
“You know you didn’t.”
Amanda shifted on the chair. “Well…”
“Well?”
“Well—Oh, Meg, you’re here.”
Meg appeared beside their table. “Sorry, to keep you waiting.”
Jason got to his feet and assisted her into the chair beside Amanda, then sat down again.
“How did it go with Reverend Daley?” Amanda asked.
Meg smoothed back a stray lock of her hair and drew in a deep breath. “He wasn’t without an opinion, I’ll say that.”
Amanda touched her arm. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh, no. Don’t be,” Meg said. “The reverend didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know.”
“We all know that wedding vows are meant to last a lifetime,” Amanda said, “but in your case—”
“The reverend means well,” Meg said. “I’ll have to make my own decision.”
Meg put on a smile. “What’s the special of the day?”
Jason waved the serving girl over and they ordered their meal. Talk of their morning shopping carried the conversation while they ate.
“That was delicious,” Meg said to the serving girl as she took their plates away. “Even better, I didn’t have to cook it myself.”
“How about dessert?” Jason asked. Despite the groaned responses he ordered slices of apple pie for all of them.
When they finished, the three of them sat at the table awhile longer, none of them anxious to leave. When they rose, Amanda reached for the check the serving girl left on the table. Jason scowled and pulled it from her hand.
“I told you this was a thank-you for allowing my brides on your mountain,” Amanda said.
“You’re not buying this meal.” Male pride swelled his chest, then he grinned. “You’ll just have to find some other way to thank me.”
A little jolt sliced through Amanda. She should have been offended, but instead it was all she could do to hold in a smile.
The afternoon sun had disappeared behind a bank of dark clouds, cooling the air and stirring up a little breeze as the three of them stepped outside the restaurant.
“We have a few more errands to run,” Amanda said, standing on the boardwalk outside the restaurant.
Jason pulled on his hat. “I’ll just walk with you.”
Amanda frowned. “I thought you had more errands.”
“Oh. Yeah.” Stunned, Jason just stood there. He was supposed to go to the whorehouse this afternoon. It was the reason he’d come to Beaumont in the first place. How could he have forgotten?
Because he’d sat across from Amanda for the last hour. Looking at her. Smelling her. Admiring the way she held her fork, the way she turned her head. Enjoying her little laugh.
And now, rolling around in bed with a whore didn’t seem so enticing. In fact, it hardly seemed appealing at all.
“You don’t need to run your errand after all?” Amanda asked.
Jason considered it for a moment. Oh, yes. He still needed this errand. Needed it in the worst way. In fact, he might not be fit to live with if he didn’t do something about this ache that wouldn’t stop.
“I’m going,” Jason said, with a firm nod, though his conscience pulled him in the other direction.
Amanda smiled. “All right. We’ll meet you at the livery stable in a while.”
“Sure thing,” Jason said, and grinned. In fact, now that the moment was here, he couldn’t stop grinning.
Amanda and Meg headed off down the boardwalk. Jason went the other way, then stopped. He turned back.
“You two watch out for yourself,” he called. “Keep an eye out for those miners.”
Amanda and Meg both stopped, looked at each other, then walked back to Jason.
“Do you think they’ll bother us?” Meg asked.
“Just keep away from them,” Jason said. “If you see them, walk the other way. I doubt they’ll bother you again.”
“You’re probably right,” Meg said, then turned to Amanda. “Come on. We’ll be fine.”
She nodded. “Yes, I’m sure we will be.”
“And if anything should happen, Jason will be right here,” Meg said.
A smile brightened Amanda’s face as she gazed up at him. “That’s good to know.”
“Um, well…” Jason began.
“With a town this size how could he m
iss what was happening?” Meg said.
“Maybe you should tell us where you’ll be,” Amanda said.
Jason’s stomach bottomed out. “Where I’ll be?” he asked, his voice cracking.
“Yes,” Amanda said. “Just in case.”
Jason stared down at the two women. How in the hell could he tell them where he’d be? He was going to a whorehouse, for crying out loud. He intended to spend the next several hours mindlessly working off all the tension that had him nearly boiling in his own skin. How could he explain that to these two women?
Maybe he’d just tell them the truth. Jason almost smiled at the notion. He could just imagine the look on Amanda’s face if he blurted it out. Hell, she’d caused it. She may as well know about it.
Maybe he’d tell her that it was her breasts that had created the problem in the first place. The left one. The one he hadn’t gotten to touch yet. Maybe she’d let him, then. Just to even things up.
But as that delightful little fantasy played out in Jason’s mind, he knew it would never happen.
And he knew he wouldn’t make it to the parlor house. Not today, anyway.
He couldn’t risk leaving Amanda and Meg alone in town. What if those miners did come back? They’d laughed off what had happened, but after they’d stewed about it awhile things might be different. How could he live with himself if something happened to Amanda or Meg while he was under the covers with a whore?
“I’ll go with you two,” Jason said.
“You’re sure?” Amanda asked.
He hadn’t made the statement with much enthusiasm, so he tried again.
“I’m sure,” Jason told her. He managed to stretch his lips into a faint smile. “Where are we going?”
Amanda pointed across the street. “We haven’t been in there, yet.”
Jason looked at the store, a store in the opposite direction of the parlor house, the parlor house that was so far away it may as well be on the other side of the country.
He walked between the two women, holding their elbows as they crossed the street, then followed along behind as they wound through the store looking at every piece of merchandise on every shelf, talking about it, deciding on what to buy as if it were the biggest purchase either of them had ever made.
Women.
After so many months on his mountain surrounded by nothing but lumberjacks, he’d forgotten what it was like to keep company with women. The few females who lived on the mountain kept their distance, and that suited him fine.
But now, after having Amanda underfoot these past days, and after spending time in town with her, eating with her, watching her sashay down the street, giggle and talk about the things women talked about, Jason couldn’t seem to recall just why he’d been so opposed to having women around in the first place.
Jason watched Amanda maneuver through the aisles. So delicate. So graceful.
One thing he did know for sure is that no whore would ever do now.
He wanted a fine woman.
Like Amanda.
Chapter Sixteen
A soft, steady rain tapped against the windows of the cookhouse, sounding louder than usual this morning because the loggers were so quiet.
Jason sat in his customary spot at the rear of the room where he could keep an eye on the door, the kitchen, the men. Only this morning there wasn’t much to look at.
Amanda hadn’t shown up for breakfast.
Her absence seemed to take the life out of the room. The lumberjacks barely spoke. No one seemed very hungry. Ethan had left the cookhouse already, his meal nearly untouched. Jason pushed his plate away, half-finished.
Maybe it was the rain, Jason thought as he rose from the table. Work on the mountain didn’t stop just because of bad weather. None of the men—himself included—relished the thought of working in the cold rain today. Maybe that’s what was wrong this morning.
Hell, it could have been one of a hundred things, Jason decided as he strode toward the door. None of which had anything to do with Amanda.
Buck Johansen rose from the bench as Jason walked past. “Some of the men were wondering,” Buck said, “if Miss Pierce was feeling poorly this morning.”
Jason caught sight of the men seated at the tables, staring up at him expectantly.
“She was gone all day yesterday,” Buck continued. “The men figured she’d be here this morning. She’s not sick, or anything, is she?”
A knot of worry jerked inside Jason. He hadn’t considered something might be wrong with Amanda.
“Far as I know she’s all right,” Jason said.
The men seated at the tables seemed none too relieved.
“Could be the weather,” Jason said, and waved toward the door.
“Miss Pierce is a delicate little thing,” Buck agreed. Behind him, the lumberjacks nodded and looked satisfied with that explanation.
“Make sure the crew works safe today,” Jason said, and left the cookhouse.
The cold wind swirled around him as he stepped outside. Jason turned up his collar and fastened the buttons on his coat. Steady, misting rain fell as he hiked toward his office.
As had happened so many times before, Jason’s gaze honed in on the littlest cabin, farthest up the mountain. Amanda’s cabin. He didn’t see any signs of life. No lanterns burned in her window in the morning gloom. Maybe she was still in bed.
Amanda in bed…Snuggled under the soft coverlet, deep in the feather mattress. An ache tightened Jason’s chest.
Amanda in bed. Amanda in bed and him with her. Rain beating on the tin roof. The two of them together, alone, warm and cozy.
The ache in his chest sharpened, grew, and shot downward.
A rainy day was meant for rolling around in bed. Jason’s imagination took over, playing out one little fantasy after another.
Amanda with her hair down.
Amanda naked.
Amanda’s breasts.
Both of them.
Jason popped open the buttons of his coat, letting the wind and rain cool his body. Damn. He should have gone to that whorehouse yesterday.
The ache in him, the constant reminder of his desire for Amanda, was so familiar now it was almost bearable. Almost. He could have taken care of the problem in Beaumont yesterday, but had chosen not to. He could still go back anytime he wanted.
But somehow, the need in him was different now. The need wasn’t for just any woman—only one woman—Amanda.
Where yesterday’s ride down the mountain to Beaumont had been tense, the return trip had been a pleasure. Conversation flowed easily. Meg seemed to have a lot on her mind, understandably so, but Amanda hadn’t missed a word he’d said.
They talked about how Beaumont was growing, the people they’d seen there, the things they’d bought. Jason was surprised that Amanda had listened to him talk about the economy of the state and the country, and how it affected his business. Not only had she listened, she’d understood.
And he hadn’t minded hearing about the fabric she’d bought, the dress patterns she’d liked, the buttons, lace and colors of ribbon she’d told him about. For some reason, it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever heard.
When they’d pulled into camp just before dark, just ahead of the storm, Jason had been sorry to see her go. He’d offered to carry her packages to her cabin, but Shady had shown up with a couple of men and Jason had felt obligated to help them unload the wagon.
A gust of cold, wet wind hit Jason in the face as he glanced at Amanda’s cabin once more. He knew better than to go there. He knew it last night. He knew it now.
Stepping under the shelter of the porch outside his office, Jason scraped his boots and pulled off his jacket and hat, shaking the rain off both. Ethan was seated at his desk when Jason walked in. The room was chilly and smelled of the coffee bubbling on the stove.
“About noon yesterday it hit me why you wanted me to go to Beaumont with you,” Ethan said, “and why you didn’t want the women to go.”
Jason
headed for the coffee on the stove, threw his brother a look and grunted.
Ethan sat back in his chair. “I never pretended to be the smartest brother in the family.”
“I never pretended you were either,” Jason said, and couldn’t hold back a little chuckle as he poured himself coffee in a tin cup.
“So, how was it?” Ethan asked.
“Like I had any time to myself, saddled with two women to look after all day long?”
Ethan grinned. “The way I hear it, Amanda didn’t need anyone looking after her.”
Jason dropped into his chair. “I figured that story would get around sooner or later.”
“She really knocked that miner into the water trough?” Ethan laughed. “Amanda is one hell of a woman.”
Jason shuffled through the papers on his desk and didn’t answer.
“I was going over some figures,” Ethan said, holding up the tablet he’d been working on. “That idea she had about renting out the rooms in the dormitory after the brides get married is a good one. You’ll earn back your investment pretty quick.”
Jason sipped his coffee and dug through his desk drawers.
“She’s a smart woman,” Ethan said. “You ought to latch on to her before she marries somebody else.”
Jason’s gaze came up quickly and landed on his brother. “What makes you say something like that?”
Ethan shrugged as he rose from his chair. “Bound to happen sooner or later. A woman like her isn’t likely to end up a spinster.”
Ethan pulled on his coat and settled his hat on his head. “I’m heading up to the mill.”
“How’d it go with Meg’s boy yesterday?” Jason asked.
Ethan opened the door. “The kid needs a father. Meg’s turning him into a mama’s boy, fussing over him all the time.”
“She’s still married, Ethan.”
“For now,” Ethan said, then disappeared out the door.
“Hell….” Jason sat back in his chair and tossed aside the pencil he’d just picked up. Ethan was playing with fire. And nobody played with fire without getting burned.
Still, he couldn’t blame him.
Jason turned his attention to the plans in front of him, trying to get started on his work, when something Ethan said popped into his head. It was about Amanda, and how she wouldn’t remain unmarried forever.
