by Anna Schmidt
Trey nodded, and Nell whispered, “Yes, please.”
Over the next several minutes, Reverend Moore went over the pros and cons of the plan. The longer he spoke, the more Trey felt the actual presence of Nell’s tension. And when the minister suggested they bow their heads in silent prayer, he did so but left his eyes open and focused on Nell’s hands. He watched her fingers twisting nervously, heard her quick, shallow breathing. Instinctively, he reached over and covered her hand with his, and she grew still.
“We don’t have to do this,” he said softly when the prayer ended.
“No, you don’t,” Reverend Moore said. “If either of you need more time or is having second thoughts…”
To Trey’s surprise, Nell looked up at him and turned her palms so that they were holding hands. “There is so much we have to learn about each other. In time, I pray we will come to a comfortable union—one of respect and friendship. For now, I trust you, Trey Porterfield, for your kindness to me and to Joshua. Perhaps those are reasons enough for us to move forward together.”
Her hands were dry and smooth against his rougher skin, and her words had the cadence of vows—promises she was prepared to make to him and their shared future. He laced his fingers with hers and then raised their united hands to his lips and kissed them. “Once we do this, Nell, you can be sure that I will give my life to protect you and Joshua, and—”
“Shhh,” she said huskily. “No more promises. Let us simply begin and see where life leads from here.” Trey nodded, and she turned to Reverend Moore. “We’re ready,” she said.
If it had seemed an eternity while Trey was waiting and wondering if she would come at all, by contrast, it felt as if only seconds had passed before he slipped the thin silver band his father had given his mother onto her finger and they were married. He didn’t quite know what to do. He wanted to seal their union with a kiss, but it would be their first, and he wasn’t sure how Nell might react. The reality that their marriage was starting out as a business arrangement rather than a love match—at least on her part—made him reluctant to do anything that might upset the delicate balance between them.
But they had continued to hold hands throughout the short ceremony, and now it was Nell who raised their joined hands to her lips and kissed them. Then she turned to the minister. “Thank you, Reverend Moore.”
“I’ll give the two of you some privacy,” Moore said, shaking hands with each of them before pocketing his Bible, retrieving his hat, and heading down the path to where he’d left his buggy and Trey had left his horse. It was then Trey realized Nell had walked all the way from her ranch to their meeting.
She turned to him and smiled. “And so we begin,” she said.
But it occurred to Trey that by beginning in secret, they had not thought through what their next steps might be. Where would they live? How would they handle the logistics of managing their separate properties? Should he see her back to her home and then go back to his ranch? Should he stay the night? He had been so nervous and half certain she would not come that he had failed to consider the details. If they went back to her house, what if her nephew or brother…
“Trey, please do not worry that I have…expectations. I mean, I fully understand that this arrangement is—”
And in that moment, he cast aside any doubts he might have had. He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. He intended for the kiss to be gentle and tender, a kiss she could easily pull away from. To his delight, she stood on tiptoe and wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him back.
Nell Porterfield, he thought, and that made him be the one to pull back. “Hello, Mrs. Porterfield,” he said, his hands still framing her beautiful face.
“Hello, Mr. Porterfield,” she replied. “We have a good deal of work to do,” she reminded him.
“Tomorrow,” he said and pulled her to him again for one final kiss good night.
She did not protest, and he realized it would never matter if they shared her house or his—they were already at home because they were together.
* * *
Nell felt light-headed but also as if something weighing her down had been lifted. She felt happy—and a little brazen—once she realized how willingly she had accepted Trey’s kiss. But the realization that he seemed as delighted as she was with their unorthodox union gave her courage. Oh, they would have more than their share of problems—especially once others learned they had married—but before all that, they had tonight. Suddenly, she wanted to share her happiness with Addie and give the news to Joshua.
“Could we go into Whitman Falls tonight?” she asked, looking up at him. “Could we go and tell Addie—and Jess?”
Trey’s breath caught, and that confused her. Surely, he had never intended to keep their marriage a secret. What would be the point?
“I guess I had hoped we might be able to hold on to this moment a little longer,” he said. “Come home with me tonight—to the ranch, Nell. I promise first thing tomorrow, we will tell my family—and yours.”
“All right,” she agreed, wondering if he intended to sneak her into his house without others seeing them. Trust, she reminded herself, but she felt doubt creep back in where just a moment earlier, she had felt only joy.
He wrapped one arm around her shoulders as they started down the trail to where he had left his horse. Reverend Moore saw them coming, waved, and then drove his buggy back toward town. As he had the day he’d rescued her from the vandals, Trey mounted his mare and then pulled her up to sit in front of him. Once again, she snuggled against the warmth of him, the scent of him, the sheer force of him. But this time, it was not fear or exhaustion that drove her. This time, it was a determination that whatever might come, she and Trey would face the future together.
He held the reins loosely in one hand, his other arm wrapped around her and holding her close. Was this really happening? She felt lighter, like a young woman without all the responsibilities she’d had to face over the last several months. She stroked Trey’s jaw. He smiled and, with his free hand, tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and rested his cheek against her forehead.
“That first day when I came out to see you and you were repairing the chicken coop,” he said, “I knew then—well, I didn’t know, but there was something there. I stopped when I reached the top of the mesa and sketched your face, but I couldn’t capture the essence of you. Since then, I’ve drawn you time and again, and each time, just when I think I’ve finally succeeded, I realize something is missing.”
“Addie told me about your drawings—you’re a little famous.”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that. I like to draw. It calms me and helps me to think. Sketching you is how I think I came up with the idea that we might be together. There was something there that made me believe we could make a real difference, and then…”
“What?”
“Then, the more I tried to capture your image, the more I understood that I wasn’t drawing someone who might help me solve a business feud. I was drawing a woman who fascinated me, whose courage and determination inspired me. A woman who drew me into the depths of sorrow and unhappiness reflected in her eyes. I was drawing a woman who needed—deserved—to be loved. I fell in love.”
“With a drawing,” she reminded him.
“No. With you.”
“You can’t know that,” she protested.
“Pretty damn sure,” he whispered as he kissed her temple.
He dismounted and guided the horse to a cluster of trees on the banks of the shallow creek. He kissed her, and this time, the kiss was filled with the passion of his desire for her. Now that they were married, she had a decision to make, and she was stunned to realize that she had made it already. Tonight, they would lie together as husband and wife. She would open her body to him as even now she was parting her lips to receive the depths of his kiss.
“Nell?
” His question was contained in the simple sound of her name. “What if instead of returning to the ranch, we—”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Here. Now.”
He touched her face, running his finger along her jaw, his thumb along her lower lip. She gasped but not in shock. It was a breath of pure longing.
Taking a step closer, he wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her to him so that her face rested against the hammering that she realized was his heart—or was it hers? It seemed only natural for her to relax into his embrace, give herself over to his warmth and strength. She tilted her face up to his and kissed the stubble on his chin.
The shudder that hurtled through him told her there would be no going back now. And the truth was, whatever might happen between them, she did not want to stop. In marrying her, Trey was offering her the opportunity to lay down the burdens of responsibility and fear and allow him to care for her—perhaps, in time, to love her the way he already claimed to.
“Yes,” she whispered, even though he had not asked a question.
He took a step away, his hands cupping her face as he studied her. “I want you, Nell, in every way a man can want a woman. I want to make love to you.”
“Yes,” she repeated.
He brushed her hair back from her forehead and kissed her skin, dampened by the heat of the late afternoon sun, or perhaps simply by the heat that rose between them. “Be very sure that you’re ready, Nellie. We can wait. I don’t want you having regrets.”
She barely knew this man, but what she knew of him was that he was kind and good and caring. After everything she had been through over the last months, that was more than enough. She touched his mouth. “Kiss me, Trey.”
The kiss was gentle, a brush of his lips against hers, but then he ran his tongue over her mouth, and when she opened to him, he groaned. “Nellie,” he whispered as he lifted her in his arms and carried her to a spot close to the creek where soft grass grew.
He knelt next to her on the bank of the creek, pulling off his boots and setting them aside. He glanced at her, suddenly shy, something he covered by unlacing her shoes and removing them. He watched her as he unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it free of his trousers. If he saw any sign she was hesitant, he would stop, let her know they could take their time. But then she sat up and began to unbutton her dress. Trey let out a breath and covered her hands with his. “Let me,” he whispered.
He shed his shirt and then sat next to her again, reaching for her buttons, opening them one by one as he allowed his fingers to brush against the chemise underneath and the swell of her breasts. He pushed the garment over her shoulders, imprisoning her in her own clothing as he bent and branded the side of her neck with his kiss.
“Trey,” she said, and he knew it was a plea.
He moved away, freeing her to finish undressing—or not. With every gesture, he sent the message that the choice was hers to make. He wanted her, but he would not take without her permission. She rolled away from him and stood. She heard him sigh—a sigh of resignation as he sat with his head down, not looking at her.
Quickly, she shed the rest of her outer clothing and, clad in her chemise and pantaloons, knelt behind him. She wrapped her arms around him, running her hands against his muscled chest as she pulled him against her.
“Come here,” he murmured as he turned and reached for her, laying her on the ground. He straddled her and rested his palms on his thighs. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”
She wanted to deny that, but when he ran his fingers along her shoulder and throat and down between her breasts, she lost the ability to utter a sound. When he began untying the ribbons of her chemise, she felt her breath quicken, and when he spread the garment open and pressed his lips to her bare skin, she gasped and reached for him.
In a rush of combined breaths and her hands stroking his chest, he wiggled free of his trousers.
“Nellie,” he whispered as he pressed the fullness of his desire against her. “My wife.”
And in that moment, nothing mattered but that they seal the vows they had taken. From this moment on, they were one.
“Get the blanket,” she said, and immediately, he moved away.
“I didn’t think,” he said, scrambling to his feet and turning to unfasten the straps that held the blanket he carried behind his saddle.
By the time he turned back to her, she had finished undressing and was holding out her hand for the blanket.
“Holy…” he muttered.
While he hurried to shed the rest of his clothing, she spread the blanket over the grass. The sun was a half circle on the horizon as she knelt and held out her arms to him. He came to her willingly, covering her face and neck with kisses as he eased her back onto the blanket and covered the length of her with his hard body.
He slid inside her easily, for she was as ready as he was to consummate their union. There would be time later for the kind of slow exploration she knew they would both savor. For now, what she wanted was the explosion—the fury of his passion and hers coming together. She grasped his bare hips and held him to her. She rose to meet each thrust. She thrilled to the quickening pace of their lovemaking, and when he cried out, she clung to him.
When he rolled to lie beside her, she assumed he would turn away and fall asleep. Her experience with Calvin had been that once he had satisfied his need, he was done. But Trey rose to one elbow, brushed her hair away from her face, and then ran his fingers up along her inner thighs, gently stroking her with his fingers until she could not lie still, until she was the one to cry out and clutch Trey to her. She tried desperately to hold onto the unfamiliar but thrilling feeling that rocketed through her. When she could hold it no longer, she collapsed against him.
He kissed her tenderly. “Next time, we go there together,” he promised.
A moment later, she heard the soft, even rush of his breathing and knew he had fallen asleep.
Next time? she thought and smiled as her eyes fluttered closed and her breathing matched his.
But the dawn came, and so did the harsh reality of all that lay ahead for them. As she came awake, Nell shuddered to think how Henry would react. She had little doubt he would be furious. He would exact a price, although what that price might be, she did not wish to imagine. As for Trey’s family, she was fairly certain Addie would be delighted, but Jess would be certain his brother had made an enormous and irrevocable mistake. And she could not even begin to fathom the reactions of their respective communities. She trembled.
Trey turned in his sleep and pulled her to his side as if he had instinctively heard her fears. She nestled close to him, noting the way she seemed to fit perfectly under the crook of his arm and shoulder. For the first time since months before Calvin was killed, she felt safe. They would find a way, together. By the time Joshua was old enough to take charge of the ranch—their ranches—the land and its people would be at peace. Imagining what could be and doing so in the safe haven of Trey’s embrace, she drifted back to sleep.
When she woke the second time, the sun was climbing higher, bringing the promise of a hot day. Trey was gone, and she panicked, scrambling to her feet and pulling the blanket around her to cover her nakedness. She saw his horse grazing near the creek and heard the cascade of the falls as water tumbled over the rocks. That was when she heard a bloodcurdling shout. Thinking Trey had been attacked, she slipped on her chemise and pantaloons to cover herself and ran barefoot over stones and dirt to the creek’s edge.
There she saw him—her husband—splashing around in the water like a boy who had just discovered what fun playing under a waterfall could be. He radiated joy and happiness, and she could only hope, perhaps, marrying her might have something to do with that.
“Trey!” She had to shout his name repeatedly as she worked her way along the bank. But his joy was contagious, and by the time he heard her, she was laughing.
“It’s slippery,” she protested, giving little thought to the fact that if she took his hand, she was likely to end up soaked.
“I won’t let you fall,” he promised.
He was naked and wearing his hat, and that made her laugh out loud. She took his hand as he pulled her to the safety of his arms. They stood together under the shower of cool, clear water with the sun sparkling on the still pool below. And suddenly their laughter died, although the fire in their eyes did not.
This time, their lovemaking had a familiarity about it, as though with that first time, they had already learned how to pleasure each other. Trey took his time as they stood under the falls. He lifted her onto a flat rock to bring her almost to the point of no return and then picked her up and guided her legs around his hips as he entered her. Their bodies joined slowly at first and then with increasing urgency, and as he had promised, they came together. Their voices raised in passion as the water babbled and rushed around them, murmuring in symphony with their cries.
Afterward, they walked back to the campsite and dressed in silence, an element of shyness still lingering between them. They would glance at one another and smile, then look away.
“We should go,” she said as she twisted her wet hair into a knot and anchored it with the pins she retrieved from the ground near the tree. “Addie will be worried when I don’t show up for church and Joshua.”
“I told Addie you would be with me,” he admitted. “Just Addie.”
“But she’s bound to tell Jess, and he’ll be upset, and what about the men at your ranch? Won’t they come looking for you when they realize you haven’t come home? And what about—”
He put his arms around her. “Shhh. Everything will be all right, Nell. We’ll make it all right. We can do this.”
And she believed him. Right up to the moment when they came riding up to Addie and Jess’s house and saw the cowboy she knew worked for Trey, the man who had ridden with the others to terrorize her. Javier was standing on the porch with Jess.
