He stepped into the path of Logan’s horse. “You’ll kill innocents to keep your pockets lined and that freight business going, won’t you?”
“I haven’t killed anyone and don’t plan to. Not unless it’s some crazed savage overrunning my place or one of my wagons.” He reined the horse to skirt past Cody.
John touched his friend’s shoulders. “Let’s head back, too. Maybe the man that made it to town came around and can describe who attacked them.”
Cody grumbled as they rode back into Freewill. Despite the late hour, the sidewalks were filled with concerned and agitated men and women.
The newly opened newspaper office blazed with light, and the owner was visibly busy arranging typeface into wooden trays. “If this isn’t convenient. Sonny Logan’s old school chum from Kansas just happened to set up shop at the right time to get a big headline for his first issue.”
They continue down to the reverend’s house where the injured man had been taken. Vivienne Medina sat on the small front porch, her expression telling them all they needed to know.
“We couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. Maybe a doctor….”
“It’s not your fault, Miz Medina,” John said as he dismounted.
“That hardly makes watching the man die easier to swallow.”
He frowned.
Cody remained on his horse. “Did he ever wake enough to describe who it was?”
She shook her head. “It sounded like he said ‘Indian’ again, but I could barely hear him.”
Cody nudged his horse in the flank and sped away. John breathed a quiet sigh. “I hope he doesn’t go after Logan tonight.”
“Can’t say I’d hold it against him if he did,” Vivienne said. “And I don’t doubt Matt has a hand in it.”
***
The mood of the town changed in the days that followed, and Kate found herself wondering if she’d made a mistake in coming to Freewill. People were understandably wary following the unwarranted murders of the workmen, but it seemed to her, the new newspaper editor had done all he could to keep everyone’s nerves on edge with daily bulletins of rumored attacks in outlying regions. She especially disliked the way he took every opportunity to rehash the Indian attack two years previously on the detachment from Fort Phil Kearney.
Long after the slain men had been laid to rest and their encampment readied for more workers to continue their task, the newspaperman couldn’t resist posting a sheet with the question: Calm before the Savage Storm?
The inflammatory opinion piece had even set her nerves on edge. The small band of Shoshone a few miles away might very well be as peaceful as Vivienne had said, but there were many others in the territory who could prove quite different.
Kate pushed those thoughts away and gazed over to her son, who dozed peacefully in the wooden pen that kept him from harm’s way while she worked.
Cody Blackheart had also changed in the short period of time. He’d put the finishing touches on the shop without speaking a word and barely acknowledging her or Jamie’s presence. That was the most disheartening thing of all.
But really, it was for the best. She’d already made the mistake of giving in to one-sided feelings with disastrous results. While she wouldn’t trade her son for anything in the world, Kate did wish the circumstances surrounding his conception had been different. To idolize someone, to have that devotion and trust treated lightly was far worse than being ignored.
***
Cody waved the madam away when she tried to refill the half glass of whiskey he’d been nursing since he’d tossed her a couple dollars and showed himself to her private parlor. Leaning his head back against the tufted green velvet of the high-backed chair, he tried not to laugh at the sorry state of his affairs when Belle unfastened the fly of his pants and pulled his limp cock free.
Oh, she made a valiant effort to rouse him with tongue and fingers, but it barely made him twitch.
He tossed back the liquor, set the glass aside, and watched her lift her silky skirts and straddle his lap, her warm, wet sex giving him an intimate kiss. Arms draped lightly around his shoulders, she peered into his eyes and moved her hips so her pussy lips stroked him to a partial erection.
“So, you’re in the mood for a long and lazy fuck, are you?”
“Maybe,” he offered with a half-hearted smile before leaning back again and closing his eyes. A hazy image of Kate LeMaster began to form.
Though Belle tried her best to contain it, Cody heard her frustrated sigh and felt a pang in his gut at the effort it took for her to get his barely erect cock to slide into her wet slit.
He couldn’t deny he liked the feel of her working those inner muscles of hers around him, but it was no more sexy than the therapeutic rub Viv’s maid had given him the other day when he woke with a stiff neck.
His cock went soft, sliding from Belle’s welcoming body, and when she swore under her breath, he opened his eyes.
“You know, if you just wanted to have a drink and mope to yourself, you and Miss High and Mighty Medina do own a saloon with better booze.”
He stroked the whore’s brown cheek with his thumb. “Too noisy over at the saloon and the chairs are hard.”
Belle tossed back her head and laughed. “You do know how to make a girl feel special.”
“I guess I’ll have to take your word for that.” Though she rarely took customers herself, Cody knew he was wasting her time that could be spent watching the comings and goings downstairs. “Let’s see if I can make the evening worth your while.”
He slid his hands up along her thighs and rubbed his thumbs around the juncture of her pussy lips. Her breathing came quick and her sensitive bud swelled. She rocked on his lap, using his cock like a toy to increase the stimulation of his hands until she came with a gasp and a saucy grin.
Cody cleaned up and took his leave. Stepping off the whorehouse’s wide porch, he scanned the darkened street and waved to John Avery who was hauling a drunken miner by the collar toward the jail to sleep off his troubles.
Though he didn’t need to pass the dressmaker shop to get to the livery, he did anyway, pausing in the shadowy space between two buildings to gaze up at the windows of the second floor apartment. Through the lacy curtains, he caught a glimpse of the widow LeMaster and his cock sprang to life.
Shaking his head and grinning at the absurdity, Cody shoved his hands into his pockets and cut through the walkway to the connecting street, while muttering, “Ain’t that the shit.”
Vivienne stood to the side of her office window and gave in to the foolish impulse to watch John Avery like some smitten schoolgirl. She needed to stop this nonsense. Now. And yet there she was, peeking through the side of the curtain, watching the play of light on his dark face and hating the way she couldn’t stop staring as he and Cody talked.
This simply would not do. She’d worked too hard, come too far, did things she sometimes hated just to make this life for herself. She was not to let a man like Avery muddle her thoughts and ruin things now. She’d seen more handsome men and had been intimate with some, as well, and Avery was nothing special. It meant nothing that he’d seemed so protective of Kate and her boy when they’d been put off the stage.
He was just doing the job Cody had hired him for when he kept watch on the rowdy ranch hands and miners who flocked to the saloon and brothel on Saturday night.
But why did his presence make her body hum low and deep? She shifted uneasily and fought the impulse to try and scratch the forbidden itch that demanded her attention.
John looked at his pocket watch and ended his conversation.
Cody walked past the hotel, and Vivienne scurried out the rear door. She caught up with him near the livery. “Where are you headed?”
“Home.”
She gave him her best smile. “You want to share supper with me, maybe stay in town tonight? We haven’t done that in awhile.”
He appeared to be thinking it over, and she hoped he’d agree. She needed a diversion, and
this was the only one that had any chance of getting her mind off John Avery.
“I wouldn’t mind taking you up on the supper, but I don’t think I’ll take advantage of the rest.”
“Why?” Oh Lord, did she really sound as desperate as she thought she did?
He shrugged. “As crazy as it sounds, I guess I’m wanting more than playing around. It’s nothing to do with you.”
With a brotherly kiss on the top of her head, he gave her a small smile and walked away.
Chapter Seven
“It’s been pretty quiet.”
Casting a glance over at Alton Gaines, John nodded. “Awfully quiet. Your missus still up at Miz Vivienne’s new place?”
Alton laughed. “Would I be keeping your sorry ass company this long if she wasn’t?” He pulled out his pocket watch. “Damn. Four hours.” He looked to his left at the top of the peaked roof visible just over the furthermost building at the end of Freewill’s Main Street. “You don’t think she had a palace dug that runs under the house and into the hills do you?”
John chuckled. “I don’t think so, but I wouldn’t put it past her. I imagine that woman’s got all sorts of things buried deep.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Cody Blackheart’s arrival was a welcome distraction, and John made a mental note to watch his big mouth in the future.
Alton stood and shook Cody’s hand once he’d dismounted. “John and me was just talking about how the nonsense died down pretty quick and stayed dead.”
Leaning back against the hitching rail, Cody folded his arms across his chest. “Keep your guard up. I’d bet top dollar Logan ain’t done just yet.”
John got up and stretched his back. “You think he’s waiting until the big wigs come in from Washington.”
“I don’t think it, I know it. Uncle ordered the warriors to stay close to home until then, but you know my brother.”
“He’s about as pigheaded as you,” Alton quipped.
“But not nearly as good looking.”
“Speaking of good looking….” John pointed over his friend’s shoulder.
Cody turned, something inside giving a little jump at the site of the widow LeMaster making her way across the street, that cute, chubby baby of hers in tow. She greeted them with a warm smile and a lively, “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”
Gaines and John tipped their hats, and Cody nodded.
“Mr. Gaines, your wife’s dress is done. Sheriff, your suit is cleaned and pressed, and both are ready whenever you’d like to come over and get them.” Her boy began to squirm and fuss, and she laughed. “I guess Jamie wants to show you what he’s learned.”
She lowered him to the wood plank sidewalk and held his little hand until he steadied himself as best he could. Biting her lower lip when he stopped clutching her fingers, Kate loosened her grip on his wrists and let him take a few tentative steps before he plopped to his behind with a squeal.
Cody stepped forward to help him, but the press of the young widow’s hand stopped him. “He can get himself up.”
The baby crawled until he could use Cody’s leg like a fencepost to help himself stand.
“They do grow up fast, don’t they?” Alton Gaines said.
“Fast enough I suppose.” She looked at Cody. “I don’t know if that little pen you made him is going to contain him too much longer. That’s what he’s been using to learn to walk.”
“I guess I’ll have to make it bigger, maybe a little higher so he can’t crawl out.”
“I think you might.”
The baby got a good head of steam up and took off down the sidewalk, his mother chasing after him. Both Gaines and John turned their attention Cody’s way, shit-eating grins lighting up their faces.
“What?”
“There’s a lot of stuff that boy’s going to need to learn. He’s gonna need a daddy to teach it.”
“Just what I was thinking,” John agreed.
“That’s all up to his momma, isn’t it?”
John tilted his head. “Maybe we should ask her since she’s coming back.”
Cody gave his friend a grin. “Do that, and I’ll cut you.”
Jamie on her hip, Kate came up to them. “You can pick up those things in a few minutes. Jamie needs a bath thanks to someone not watching where they stepped.” She turned to Cody. “I made those alterations for you, but you’ll need to try the suit before I press it. You can try it while I clean Jamie up.”
“I’m in no hurry.”
Something about her expression changed, but he wasn’t quite sure how to decipher it.
“You’ve gone and done it now,” John cautioned once she’d crossed the wide street.
“Gone and done it good,” Gaines chimed in.
“Nothing much good about that look of hers if you ask me.”
“True, true,” Gaines answered with a sage nod.
“What the hell you two twittering about?”
Gaines clapped Cody on the shoulder. “I don’t imagine a lady like her issues many invitations to call, but that was definitely one.”
“Uh-huh,” John said.
Cody pulled away. “She told you two to come pick up your things, so are you saying she invited us all?” He hardened his gaze. “I think you need to take that back.”
Gaines and John exchanged a look between them.
John held up his hands. “No one’s talking bad about her, but it’s clear you didn’t listen. She told us to come by in a few and asked you to go alone with her now.”
“That’s the way I heard it, too.”
Cody turned and looked at the shop but didn’t move. John gave him a little shove. “Go on. Me and Alton’ll go and have some coffee or something.”
“Maybe some pie.”
“And take our time.”
The men made their way down toward the hotel, but Cody remained where he was. Did he really want to listen to those two? It wasn’t like they had the woman’s ear. If Vivienne had suggested what they hinted at, he might put more stock in it, but it wasn’t good to pursue her. He’d made overtures before, but she hadn’t done much to encourage him, and with all that was bubbling just under the town’s surface, he didn’t really have time to let his mind wander.
And yet….
With a muttered “Aw hell,” he stepped off the sidewalk and crossed the street. The door to the shop was locked, and Kate had placed a sign shaped like a clock saying she’d be open again in twenty minutes. Cody turned to go, but shoving his hands into his pockets, he felt his keys. One for the office at the hotel, one for the saloon, one for this shop, and the last for the door of the upstairs apartment.
Ignoring the tiny voice trying to warn him away, he let himself in. He called out a soft hello as he made his way into the back. She wasn’t there, and he stood at the bottom of the steps leading upstairs. The apartment door was ajar, and he called out again.
“You there, Kate? It’s Cody.”
“You can come up.”
When he entered the little parlor, he closed the door.
Her sweet voice drifted down the hall that led to the kitchen and bedrooms. “Make yourself at home. I’m going to feed Jamie and put him down for a nap.”
Too unaccountably nervous to sit, he paced the small parlor then decided to get a glass of water from the kitchen. To reach that he had to pass the bedrooms, and when he came to the baby’s room, he paused to peer through the space between the hinged side of the door. Kate rocked her son as he nursed at her breast.
He’d seen mothers nurse their children his whole life and had never thought anything of it, but looking at that swell of creamy breast sent his blood running hot through his veins. Luckily, the sound of her voice broke the spell he was falling under.
“Cody?”
He cleared his throat. “I’m getting a glass of water. Can I get you one?”
“No, thank you. I’ll be there in a minute.”
He’d gulped two glasses and had started on a third whe
n she appeared in the kitchen doorway. His blood heated all over again the instant she smiled at him.
“The suit is in my room. I just finished it last night. I’ve been so busy. I’m not complaining or anything….” She paused. “I laid it out on the bed for you. I’ll check the fit once you have it on.”
He nodded, gulped the water, and marched up the stairs.
Why, oh why couldn’t she have left the suit down in her shop? The sweet scent of her lingering here mixed with sunshine and wildflowers and a hint of lemon from the oil on the furniture. A faint impression of her head was still in the pillow, and he wanted to lay face down on the smooth coverlet just to drink in the smell of her and dream of tasting that creamy skin he’d glimpsed.
It took all his self-control not to rub his aching cock, but he kept his wits and willed himself to settle, so he wouldn’t embarrass either of them when she checked the suit.
In stockinged feet, he made his way back to the kitchen. “It feels good. What do you think?”
She looked him over from head to toe and came slowly forward, her eyes grazing him the way he would assess a prized pony. She stepped behind him and he damn near died when she slid her fingers across his shoulders. She ran her hands down his arms and then his back from shoulders to waist. He had to suck in his breath when she lifted the hem of the jacket and smoothed the fabric of the trousers across his hips.
She came back around in front of him, one of those sweet smiles curving her full pink lips. “The fit is fine. Are you satisfied?”
“Not quite.”
Giving in to the impulse, he swept her into an embrace, claiming her mouth with his. She was stiff at first, like a frightened rabbit wanting to escape, but when he slid his palm up her side to skim across the fullness of her breast, she melted against him, held him tight, and surrendered to the brush of his tongue against her lips.
She tasted of honey and lemon, and when he gave her breast a gentle squeeze, she moaned softly. He pulled back, his fingers acting of their own accord to undo the little buttons of her bodice. She gasped, and he paused. But she didn’t protest or pull away, and he couldn’t help but undo the delicate ribbon lacing her chemise closed.
Dreams, Deceptions and Desires Page 7
