Deborah Camp

by To Seduce andDefend

  “You could have stopped anyway.”

  “I didn’t want to intrude.” He looked away from her, gazing out over the land. “I was glad to see you sitting out here today, though.”

  An uneasy silence settled between them. Jennie grabbed at the first thought that floated into her mind. “I went by your office Monday and paid the last bit of my bill. I gave the money to Bert.”

  “She told me.”

  “Oh.” Something in his expression made her wish she could take back her words.

  “Jennie, do you think I’d ride out here to collect on a bill?”

  She ducked her head, feeling rightly scolded. “No.”

  “I’m trying to be neighborly. After all, I only live a little ways down the road.”

  “A little ways?” she challenged.

  “Only a few thousand acres separate my spread from yours.”

  She nodded, going along with his teasing. “Have you started building a house on your land yet?”

  “No. I’m still trying to pick the right spot. These things can’t be rushed.”

  She liked his half-smile and the dancing lights in his eyes. There was very little that she didn’t like about him – love about him. That’s why a pain shot through her heart every time she saw him or thought of him. He was not hers to love.

  “I heard in town that you were looking for a ranch manager.”

  “You heard what? Who told you that?”

  “Gloria Philpot.”

  “She told you I was looking for a ranch manager?” Jennie shook her head. “Her imagination is running wild. I told her that someday I hoped to have my own herd on this land instead of someone else’s and then I’d hire a ranch manager to oversee it for us. That day, however, is a long way off.”

  “I hate to hear that.”

  She flung up her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “What would a manager manage around here? The hens?”

  “Pardner!” Oliver bolted around the side of the house, Beauregard on his heels, and nearly ran smack into Mercy. He gazed with unconditional adoration up at Zachary. “I thought I heard your voice! It’s you! It’s you!” He jumped up and down in unbridled excitement and Beau howled and bayed. “You here to teach me how to rope?”

  Smiling broadly, Zach reached a hand down for Oliver and pulled him up to sit in front of the saddle horn. “Hey there. How about you taking me on a tour of your spread, cowboy?”

  “Okay!” Oliver looked at Jennie. “Mama, we’ll be back for supper in a little while.”

  Zachary’s gaze locked with Jennie’s. She shrugged, giving in without even a skirmish.

  “Stay for supper?” she asked.

  “Much obliged,” he said, then reined Mercy around as Oliver began to chatter like a magpie.

  Jennie watched them head off into the east pasture, that pain stabbing her heart again. They made such a picture, she thought. The square-shouldered man astride the horse and the small boy sitting in front of him, gesturing, pointing, tipping his head back to look up into the man’s smiling face. Tears pricked her eyes and she brushed them aside and went into the house to prepare supper for them.

  Normally, she would throw together a simple meal for her and Oliver. She would fry some bacon and eggs, butter a few slices of bread, and pour them glasses of milk. No need to make the house hot by firing up the oven. That had been her plan before Zach had ridden up. Now, she stood frozen in the kitchen nook and mentally ran through what she had in the pantry. It didn’t take long because there wasn’t much inventory. Finally, she decided to start by making biscuits. That was always a good place to begin.

  Almost an hour later when the dusk was on the heels of sunlight, Zachary and Oliver returned. She heard Oliver’s chatter before she heard the horse’s steady clomp approaching the house.

  “Let’s take care of Mercy, Oliver,” Zachary said. “Probably should loosen her saddle a little, don’t you think? Okay, you go ahead and do that for me. I appreciate your help.”

  Jennie smiled, listening to the easy banter between them as she lit another lamp and set it in the middle of the table. It illuminated the platters of bacon and biscuits, bowls of milk gravy, pan-fried potatoes, and baby peas.

  “We’re back,” Oliver announced as he bounced into the house. “Something smells good. Biscuits!” His eyes widened. “And it’s not Sunday!”

  “Oliver, Sunday isn’t the only day we have biscuits,” she chided, embarrassed by the truth falling out of her son’s mouth. “And even if it seems that way, I can fix biscuits any time I want.”

  “I’m starving.”

  “Wash your hands first, young man.”

  “Come on, pard. Let’s knock some of the dirt off.” Zachary led Oliver to the wash stand by the back door.

  While they washed up, Jennie filled three glasses with milk and arranged three place settings.

  “I hope you didn’t go to a lot of trouble on my behalf,” Zach said, coming back to the table and holding out a chair for her. She and Oliver sat on one side of the rectangle-shaped table and Zach sat opposite them.

  Jennie served and enjoyed watching Oliver and Zachary tuck into the food she’d prepared. They rolled their eyes in ecstasy and issued groans and moans, making her laugh at their antics.

  “You two are quite a pair of jokers,” she said, delighting in their appreciation of her cooking skills. It seemed as if ages had passed since she had fixed a meal for a man. At their home in St. Louis, Charles’ mother had insisted on cooking most of the meals, allowing her to help only during holidays. She could count on one hand the times she had cooked a meal all by herself for Charles and Oliver.

  “Looks like you’re all settled in here,” Zach noted, glancing around the living area, dining area, and kitchen nook. “Scrubbed away all the bad memories, I hope.”

  “Yes.” Her gaze met his and a shadow seemed to pass between them as the memory of that terrible day of fear and gunfire haunted them again. She smiled to dispel it. “Once we got our things in here and curtains up, it was a whole new place. There are a few more things I want to do, but it’s comfortable for now.”

  “I have my own room,” Oliver said. “With a bed all my own, too.”

  “A man needs his own space,” Zach said, giving Oliver a wink.

  Oliver grinned. “Yeah. And his own horse.”

  Jennie groaned. “Are we back to that again? That’s his favorite topic of conversation. Tracks isn’t good enough for him to ride.”

  “He’s an old buggy puller.”

  “Sounds like a perfect horse to learn how to rope on,” Zach said, lassoing Oliver’s attention. “You don’t want to sit a young, flighty horse when you’re trying to rope. You have to concentrate and get your rhythm and an older horse is steady under you.”

  Oliver’s expression told Jennie that he had taken that advice to heart. It occurred to her that she could have told him the exact thing and her words would have gone in one ear and right out the other. He took her advice when it had to do with getting along with people, planting tomatoes and onions, or even mending fences, but when it came to riding, roping, shooting, and spitting, she was outgunned.

  After supper Zach took Oliver outside to practice roping fence posts. Jennie washed and dried the dishes and set the kitchen back to order. She tamped down the fire in the cookstove and opened the backdoor to let a breeze sail through to cool off the inside of the house. Stepping out onto the porch, she found Zach sitting in one of the rockers, Oliver asleep in his lap. He looked up at her and smiled.

  “We ran out of daylight and then he ran out of giddyup.”

  “I’ll take him inside and put him to bed.” She reached for Oliver, hoisting him into her arms. Surprised when Zach made no move to leave, she glanced at him before she went back into the house. “Are you going to wait out here?”

  He rocked back and forth. “Sure. Take your time.”

  Wondering what he had on his mind, she took Oliver into his bedroom, helped him out of his clothes, and t
ucked him in. Kissing his forehead, she smoothed back his hair and turned down the bedside lamp to a pale glow.

  “Good night, Ollie,” she whispered to him as she did every night. “Mama loves you.”

  Zach was still rocking when she joined him on the porch again. She sat in the other rocker and admired a half-moon and the soft light it cast on the land.

  “It’s a pretty evening,” she said. “That breeze feels nice.”

  “Sure does. Did Bert tell you about Judge Bishop selling his house to pay his court fines?”

  “Yes. Inez Rainwater had already told me about it, though.”

  “I’m glad she has that job at the store,” Zach said with a smile. “Word is that the judge is leaving town and isn’t planning on coming back.”

  “I’ve been wondering … was Luna sent to the same prison as Parks?”

  “No, she was sent to a woman’s prison in Ohio. Parks is in jail in Texas. He’s scheduled to hang next month for murdering Stella.”

  She suppressed a shudder. “I’ll be glad when it is all over with.”

  “Amen.” He was quiet for a while before he said, “Your son has a special place in my heart, Jennie. I hope you know that.”

  She couldn’t look at him because her feelings were rioting. She stared at the moon and prayed for strength to resist the tender love that still lived in her heart for him. “He thinks a lot of you.”

  “It’s too bad you’re not interested in taking on a ranch manager. I had someone in mind for the job.”

  “God willing, I might be in a position to hire someone like that in a few years. Right now, I have no need for one, which you can plainly see.”

  “This fella would work for little or nothing. Room and board would be fine.”

  “Room and board?” She had to look at him now to see if he was serious or teasing her again. “You think I’d let a man live here with me and my son?”

  “Depends on the man, I reckon.” He rolled his head against the back of the rocker until his gaze found hers.

  Jennie flipped a hand at him. “You’re talking foolishness now. I haven’t changed my mind since our last talk, Zach. For Oliver’s sake —.”

  “I’m here to ask for the job, Jennie.” He sat up in the rocker, turning toward her. “I want to hire on as Oliver’s pa and your husband. If you’ll have me.”

  Spots floated before her eyes and that’s when she realized she was holding her breath. She let it out and her heart swelled with hope. “Zach, don’t say such things unless you mean them with every fiber of your heart and soul. You said before that you don’t believe in marriage.”

  “And I meant it – then,” he agreed. “But what I mean now with every fiber of my heart and soul is that I believe in marriage with you. You’ve made me a true believer, Jennie. Life is gray and gloomy without you and Oliver. You took the color right out of it when you moved here and turned your back on me.”

  “I didn’t turn my back on you. There just wasn’t any future for me with you.”

  In one fluid motion, he was out of the rocker and bending on one knee in front of her. He rested his hands on the arms of her rocker. “Look at me, Jennie. I’m as serious as a judge. Haven’t you missed me even a little bit?”

  “Of course, I have.” She shook her head, chiding him. “And you know it. I love you, Zach. I didn’t stop loving you just because you couldn’t love me back.”

  “I do love you, Jennie. I think I fell in love with you almost from the start, but I was too blamed stubborn to admit it. Jennie Caldwell Hastings, will you do me the honor of adding Warner to that long list of handles?”

  She had never loved like this before, she thought, her heart so full that she feared it might burst. Laughing lightly, she drew in a shaky breath, almost afraid she might ruin the moment if she wasn’t careful or that he’d take back his words. “I might even knock off a couple of them and just go by Jennie Warner.” Hearing that, she smiled. “Yes. I like the sound of that.”

  “Are you saying you will marry me?”

  She framed his face in her hands as tears of happiness sprang into her eyes. “That is exactly what I’m saying.”

  With a whoop, he stood up and scooped her out of the chair and into his arms. “Don’t start crying, darlin’, or we’ll both be boo-hooing on one of the happiest days of our lives.”

  She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. “Zach …” She dragged her forefinger down his cheek and under his chin. “I noticed that Mercy isn’t tied out front anymore. Where is she?”

  A half-smile teased his mouth. “Oliver and I unsaddled her and put her out in the corral with Tracks.”

  “You weren’t planning on riding back to town tonight, were you?”

  “Looks like you’ve found me out,” he admitted, kissing the tip of her nose as he carried her inside. “But I asked Oliver first if it was all right with him if I moved in here with y’all.”

  “You asked Oliver before you asked me?” She craned her head back to lock gazes with him. His blue eyes glimmered in the dim light.

  “I figured if it wasn’t okay with Oliver, then there would be no reason to ask you to marry me.”

  When he was right, he was right, she thought as she rested her head on his shoulder. He walked toward the bedroom with the double bed and laid her down on it.

  “You look so pretty lying there and I love you so much,” he said, his tone husky with desire. He started to unbutton his shirt, but stopped. “You’re going to let me stay the night, aren’t you?”

  Jennie stretched lazily on the bed. “You’re going to stay with me every night from now on. Close the door, why don’t you.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” He shut the door and came back to her.

  Sitting up, she curled a hand behind his neck and brought his mouth to hers in a kiss that telegraphed her longing for him. “You’re hired as my husband,” she whispered against his warm, moist lips. “Allow me to give you an advance on your wages.”

  With a growling laugh, he set to collecting his due.

  The End

  More Books by Deborah Camp!

  Fall in love all over again on Amazon.com

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  Fire Lily

  Master of Moonspell

  Right Behind the Rain

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  The Daring Hearts Series

  Black-eyed Susan

  Blazing Embers

  Cheyenne’s Shadow

  My Wild Rose

  Primrose

  The Love and Adventure Series

  After Dark

  For Love or Money

  In a Pirate’s Arms

  Just Another Pretty Face

  Vein of Gold

  The Love and Laughter Series

  A Newsworthy Affair

  Hook, Line, and Sinker

  Love Letters

  The Butler Did It

  Wrangler’s Lady

  The Love Everlasting Series

  A Dream to Share

  Midnight Eyes

  Strange Bedfellows

  They Said it Wouldn’t Last

  Winter Flame

  The Passionate Hearts Series

  Destiny’s Daughter

  Oklahoma Man

  Taming the Wild Man

  The Second Mr. Sullivan

  Weathering the Storm

  The Tender Hearts Series

  Devil’s Bargain

  Sweet Passion’s Song

  This Tender Truce

  To Have, To Hold

  Tomorrow’s Bride

  The Wild Hearts Series

  A Tough Man’s Woman

  Lady Legend

  Lonewolf’s Woman

  Too Tough To Tame

  Tough Talk, Tender Kisses

  Belle Starr

  The Madcap and the Miser

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