New Frontier

by Pepper Espinoza

  “You forget to tie him up because you passed out from the pain of a gaping wound. That’s my guess anyway.”

  Ida nodded in agreement. “That would do it.”

  Kelly shrugged. “If I can get another horse, I can be gone in a few…”

  Ida held up her hand. “We’ll worry about it later. Now, I think, I need to sleep.”

  “You want the…”

  “For the millionth time, no.”

  “It was cold last night.”

  “Well, summer’s over.”

  “The bed’s big enough, we could…”

  “Don’t even suggest it, Kelly. Never going to happen.”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything inappropriate.”

  “Yeah, right,” she scoffed.

  “I wasn’t,” Kelly insisted defensively.

  Ida stood up and crossed her arms. She regarded him with calm eyes and then announced, “I know you were staring at me last night.”

  “I was not!” The protest sounded fake and weak, even to his ears.

  She rolled her eyes. “You were practically panting.”

  “Then why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Because I needed my bath.”

  Kelly was baffled. And it was clearly written on his face.

  “I know. It wasn’t very lady-like of me. I guess I’m not a lady.” She sounded defensive, like she was trying to convince herself more than Kelly.

  “No,” he assured her softly, “You’re a lady.”

  Ida frowned, unsure of how to respond. “I…thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  They both paused, and then Ida stepped away to her side of the cabin. Kelly politely turned his back so she could have enough privacy to change, both of them wondering exactly how she would react if he snuck a look over his shoulder.

  Chapter Four

  Kelly was in charge of cutting the fruit. Ida hovered around him, making sure the slices were thick enough and big enough, or weren’t too thick. She noticed that Kelly ignored her at first, but it wasn’t long until her silent nagging got on his nerves.

  “What?” He snapped.

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “Don’t you have jars to wash?” He asked, motioning vaguely towards the row of glass jars on the table.

  “They’re washed.”

  “Well…Why are you hovering? Stop it.”

  “I’m not…” She protested automatically. She didn’t mean to hover; she just liked being near him. She liked the way she could feel the warmth from his body without touching him, liked the musky way he smelled.

  “I can handle slicing apples,” Kelly said dryly. “Really.”

  The problem was, he looked like he could handle a lot more than that. Ida couldn’t look away from his hands, couldn’t stop watching his long fingers, and the way he held the knife. He wasn’t even paying close attention to what he was doing, but there was no worry that he would slip and cut himself. Ida didn’t want to be completely obvious, so she went over to her sterilized jars and began filling them with the fruit that had been cooking while she was staring at his hands. Fingers that weren’t too long or too short. His nails were a bit long, but it pleased her that he didn’t chew on them. His palms were calloused, the back of his hands brown from the sun, weathered. They would probably feel rough against my skin.

  Ida paused temporarily and allowed her mind to drift. Warm, weathered, tan hands on her back and shoulders, down her arms, across her ribs. His soft, heated breath against her face as he caressed her cheek, lips firm and demanding, fingers slow and questioning…

  She pushed the thought out of her head. It didn’t matter how his touch would feel, it didn’t matter if his nails were a bit too long and his skin a bit too rough. It didn’t matter that it looked like his hands were strong enough to crush bones but he moved with a careful grace that seemed completely out of place. His hands worked as though they had minds of their own, and she wondered exactly what he had trained them to do.

  Ida rubbed her eyes. They felt heavy and gritty. She’d had a difficult time sleeping the night before. She’d drifted in and out of sleep, and in her half-awake stages had thought about her warm, comfortable bed. Her warm, comfortable bed with a warm, comfortable body inside of it. Every time she woke up, her body ached. Not in the unpleasant way it had all the nights before from endless toil in the fields. No, her body ached in the lonely, desperate way that demanded satisfaction and attention indiscriminately.

  She found herself chronicling everything she liked about Kelly as they worked. Obviously, his clever hands were at the top of the list. But she liked his sparkling blue eyes. And the way his hair curled around his ears. And the birthmark on the nape of his neck that she couldn’t help but notice…several times.

  Ida forced herself to focus on the fruit and worked diligently. She would have plenty of time to think about him later—if she thought about him at all. She knew she shouldn’t. Shouldn’t think about him as anything other than a patient, a person who needed her help and her skills. Thinking of him on more personal terms could only mean trouble in the end.

  When they were done with the fruit, they still had enough light to get started on the vegetables. Ida thought Kelly’s back and shoulder should be killing him, but he didn’t say anything. More than once she thought about suggesting he take a break, but she had a feeling he’d insist that he was fine. But as the afternoon sunk into night, even Ida’s arms and hands were rebelling and she noticed immediately when the steady tick of the knife hitting the cutting board stopped.

  She spun around and looked at him. “Are you okay?”

  “Right as the rain,” he mumbled, wincing.

  “We’re almost done,” she promised. “Just finish what you’ve got.”

  “No problem.”

  It sounded like it would be a problem. Ida glanced over and saw that he didn’t have too much to do. Nothing she couldn’t do herself before the end of the night.

  “If you’re tired, you can stop.”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want you to slip and cut yourself.”

  “Stop distracting me, then,” he said irritably.

  She turned her back on him, focusing on the jars again. If he wanted to be stubborn, it wasn’t any of her concern. Of course, when he did cut himself, he would be worthless to her. More so.

  “Finished,” he announced, several minutes later.

  “Great.” She was silent for a long time as she finished sealing the jars, and she noticed Kelly nodded off in his chair.

  She let him sleep until she was finished sealing all the jars, then woke him by announcing, “I’ve never done this alone before.”

  Kelly jumped and opened his eyes. He rubbed his forehead and pushed the knife away from him. “What?”

  “Make the preserves for winter. Never had to do it without help.”

  “Look, I know I’m not the most experienced…”

  “No, that’s not what I mean. Every year my mom, my sister, and I would do it together. We had a lot of fun. This is the first time without them.”

  “Where are they?” He asked gently.

  “Back east, in New York.”

  “You from there originally?”

  “We lived all over.”

  “You’re a long way from the east coast,” Kelly observed.

  “Yeah, well, Liam wanted to come out here. So we did.”

  She sat down heavily in the chair next to him and rested her head on the table. She noticed that a few strands of hair were purple from beet juice, but she couldn’t work enough energy to care. Kelly didn’t comment on her new look either.

  “I’m so tired,” she muttered.

  “Is it the dreams?” He inquired softly.

  Ida jumped, a shiver racing down her back. She didn’t like to think about the dreams, and she especially didn’t want to talk about them. Not with him, not with anybody. “What dreams?” she asked coldly.

&nbs
p; “It’s just that you…”

  “I don’t dream,” she cut in.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I don’t dream.”

  Kelly held up his hands in surrender. “Okay. You don’t dream. I believe you.”

  Ida rolled her neck and shoulders. Her muscles were tight, and she could feel several knots in her neck. “Are you hungry?”

  “Too tired to be hungry.”

  “Me too.” She sighed. “It would help if I knew what we’re getting into.”

  “Come again?”

  “This winter. I don’t know what to expect. And if we’re not prepared…”

  “We?”

  Ida caught herself, but it was too late to back-pedal. “I thought you made it clear you weren’t going to leave.”

  “And I thought you made it clear that you wanted me gone.”

  Ida took a deep breath. Maybe she didn’t want him to go. Not yet.

  “When did you plan on leaving?” She asked carefully.

  “Sometime next week.”

  “Oh.”

  “We should get some sleep,” he finally suggested after more awkward silence and a few wide yawns.

  “Yes, sleep is good.”

  He didn’t care to argue about the bed again. She helped him over when it was clear that he was unsteady on his feet. Once she had him on the bed, she naturally began unbuttoning his shirt. Her fingers worked quickly and efficiently and soon his shirt was hanging open, revealing his muscled chest.

  “I can do it,” he said hoarsely.

  “What?” She paused, as though surprised at her own actions.

  “I can do it,” Kelly repeated.

  “Oh, right. Sorry. I don’t know where my mind was…” Which wasn’t entirely true. She knew where her mind was. Knew where her hands wanted to be. She stepped back and smiled awkwardly. “Well, I’ll… see you tomorrow.”

  “Right.”

  He politely looked away before she could ask him to, and she changed quickly. A part of her was slightly disappointed that he didn’t try to steal a glance at her. She threw more wood on the fire and climbed into her blankets, forcing herself to relax until sleep could overtake her.

  * * * *

  As before, Ida fell asleep nearly as soon as she had settled in her blankets. Kelly didn’t even have a chance to doze off before it started—awful, pathetic sounds of fear and horror. She kicked her feet, and moved her head back and forth, and Kelly thought for sure she’d wake herself up. Ranger trotted over and lay down next to her for awhile, and she seemed soothed by the dog’s presence. She curled up against the beast, and quieted down considerably.

  Sighing, Kelly relaxed against his pillows and closed his eyes. As long as Ranger didn’t move, she’d be fine and he’d be able to sleep. He was just drifting away when he felt the heavy weight of the dog collapse at the foot of the bed, right on top of his feet. Almost as soon Ranger settled comfortably, Ida began making noises again.

  Kelly almost growled with frustration. The night before he had felt sorry for her, but now he just wanted her to shut the hell up so he could get some damned sleep. He tried to kick Ranger off the bed, hoping that the dog would go back to Ida, but Ranger was unfazed by Kelly’s efforts. Ranger just looked at him with big brown, dopey eyes for a few seconds and then promptly went back to sleep.

  Kelly pursed his lips and considered his options. Which was easy, because, as far as he could tell, his only option was to lie in bed and just deal with it. Unless…holding Ranger seemed to help. Maybe if he…

  He sighed. Regardless of how noble his intentions were, if she woke up in his arms, she’d probably kill him. Or kick him in the groin. Or something equally horrible. But if he had to help her again the next day without any sleep, he’d probably cut off his own finger. That was as unappealing as a swift knee to the balls.

  Kelly swung his legs over the bed and experimentally put a bit of weight on each foot. He stood up slowly, bracing himself against the bed, and gave himself a couple of seconds to catch his breath before he started walking. With slow, measured steps, he crossed the room to her side. Carefully, he lowered himself to the ground behind her, pulling the edge of the blanket over himself. He curled around her back, one arm over her stomach, his head resting on the other arm. Almost as soon as he touched her, she relaxed, the noises from the back of her throat fading.

  Kelly couldn’t help but note how intimate this position was, but he was too tired to really think about it. He was asleep before he even had a hard-on, her hair tickling his nose, and her soft smell of hard work and soap surrounding him.

  * * * *

  Ida didn’t want to open her eyes. She was unbelievably comfortable and warm. It felt like she was floating, and even though a part of her remembered she was still on the hard floor, she didn’t believe it. It was just too…nice…to be the hard, dirt floor. She could hear the embers in the fire cackling softly, the familiar smells of burning pine drifting past her nose. Distantly, she heard Ranger whimper in his sleep and soft dreams called her back to a deep sleep…

  The heavy weight of his arm was across her stomach, the other pillowing her head gently. His breath tickled her neck, and his hard crotch was nestled against her soft bottom. She moved in closer, seeking his heat, draping her leg over one strong thigh. His hard muscles were a sharp contrast to her natural curves—the ones that hadn’t been worked away yet—and fit her perfectly.

  It had been so long since she woke up in anybody’s arms, and in her half-awake-but-mostly-asleep state, she automatically assumed it was the only man she had ever known. She still dreamt about him every night; still saw his face when she closed her eyes, a part of her still knew he’d be back. She sighed his name, content.

  “Liam.”

  She felt his body tense, felt him try to pull away. She didn’t open her eyes, and didn’t try to stop him. She allowed herself to fantasize for a moment that he was getting up to start breakfast, or simply to do his chores, and then he would come back to wake her up properly.

  He made one futile attempt to get to his feet, but he slipped and practically landed on her. That pulled her out of sleep completely. His body was too light and slim to be Liam. Liam was a tall, broad man. She knew immediately who had spent the night lying next to her, curled against her, holding her tightly in his arms.

  “What are you doing?” She asked tightly, no hint of sleep in her voice.

  “Checking on you,” he answered lamely.

  “Why?”

  “Because I…”

  “Get off of me.”

  “Gladly.”

  He pushed away from her until he was kneeling, his hands braced on his thighs. She jumped to her feet, her hair a soft disarray, her face red and furious. “You slept down here, didn’t you?”

  “Ida, I…”

  “I cannot believe you. That is…just…” She struggled to find the right word to express her shock and horror and disappointment. She had been so sure that it was Liam, but that wasn’t her true source of disappointment. Not really. Finally, she spit out the only word that came to mind. “Disgusting.”

  “Ida, you don’t understand…”

  “No, apparently you don’t understand. I am married. Got it? Married. You’re here out of the goodness of my heart…”

  “Of which there is truly a bountiful supply.”

  Ida gaped at his tone. How dare he talk to her that way, after the stunt he pulled? “Get out.”

  “What?”

  “Get out of my house. I can’t believe…I can’t believe you would do that to me. Like I’m some kind of whore…”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Nobody should lay with a lady like that except her husband. And you are not him.” She explained the situation for his benefit and hers.

  “You needed me.”

  Wrong thing to say. That was the last thing she needed to hear, from him or anybody.

  “I most certainly do not need you. You are the last person I need. You can
barely move, barely walk. You don’t do anything but eat my food and take advantage of me. You are…you’re a pig.”

  Kelly stood up slowly, until his back was ramrod straight, and lifted his chin. “Ida, listen to me. You were dreaming…”

  “I was not…”

  “You were dreaming,” he repeated, louder, “and you sounded like somebody was killing you. I wanted, needed, to sleep.”

  “So you thought it would be good to come lie all over me, put your hands all over me?”

  “I kept my hands to myself. And yes, as soon as I lay down, you stopped making that god-awful sound.”

  Ida didn’t respond. Didn’t know how she should respond.

  “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to make you angry or upset you. I was trying to help.”

  “I don’t need your help.”

  “Ida…”

  “And you can stay on the floor from now on.”

  Kelly blinked. “Yeah, sure. Okay. But I thought…”

  Ida turned her back on him, ignoring his half-finished question. She didn’t have an answer. She was too rattled. Her stomach was nothing but a maze of butterflies, her fingers were tingling, her face burning, and she could still feel the pressure of his body against hers. A part of her wanted to crawl back into his arms, and she remembered, with a new flush of heat, how much she had enjoyed the way his body fit hers. She would probably regret this. She already regretted not throwing him out on his sorry ass.

  “Don’t touch me again,” she said, her back still turned.

  “I won’t.”

  “I mean it.”

  “Okay.”

  “You promised you’d stay until I got my food stores up.”

  “I did.”

  “We’ll be done in a week.”

  “Okay. Ida…”

  “I’d like to change now. Can you step outside?”

  “Oh, yeah. No problem.”

  When Kelly returned, there was a sheet hanging from the ceiling, separating the bed and her trunk of clothes from the rest of the room.

  Chapter Five

  Ida made her way carefully through the trees, gripping the gun tightly. She was alert, alternately glancing at the soft ground and surveying the trees around her, looking for any signs of life. She had been following a small herd of does for over an hour, and she could hear them in the distance, just out of sight. Above her, a bird twittered nervously, and then fluttered away, making the leaves dance against each other. Filtered sunlight fell at her feet, casting the ground in shadows.