Man of Honor, A

by Tina Leonard

  She sent them out into the night, watching as they got into the car.

  Her eyes streaming with tears, Tessa waved goodbye to Hester, and to Nan who had come to stand beside her.

  Clutching the family Bible close to her, she stared at her mother until Cord drove away from the small wooden house. "Thank you for letting me say goodbye to her."

  Cord didn't reply right away, but his hand covered hers over the Bible.

  "I'm proud of you" was all he said.

  Nan helped Hester lock all the doors and check the windows one more time before they went into the den again, the flickering TV illuminating them as they sat quietly, uneasy with each other. Uneasy with what lay in the future.

  "Guess I never thought I'd be on the same side with you again," Nan finally said.

  Hester nodded at her. "I'm glad you're here," she told her friend.

  "I'm scared to death."

  "So am I."

  They sat side by side, listening to the cold February wind buffet the small house, grateful to have each other for comfort as the minutes ticked slowly by on the mantel clock.

  "Does he love her?" Hester asked suddenly.

  "They love each other," Nan assured her.

  "If they get through this, I hope they stay together."

  "For the sake of the child?"

  "For the sake of each other," Nan said steadfastly. "They are meant to be together if they can find their way."

  Cord didn't want to think about how Tessa avoided her mother's question about where love fitted into their marriage. Did she really see it only as a subterfuge, a cover to keep them from danger? He would have married her under any circumstances, God help him. Was there a chance on earth she could ever love him?

  He didn't know. She'd fallen asleep, exhausted. Glancing over at her, he could see her face as the highway streetlights brightened the truck interior. She was so beautiful, so kind, so loving, so family oriented. A part of him couldn't believe she was actually going to bear

  his name.

  His chest tightened as he thought about Hunt. His brother would approve of the measures they were taking; he would want his child to grow up with a name. He would want Tessa safe. Hunt had made it clear that his life was with the military and Cord had made his peace with that area of his brother's life. As much as it tore at him, Hunt wasn't coming back. Nothing on the ranch would ever be the same.

  Except for Tessa. New life began with her. Cord was deeply grateful for that. If they stayed out of the sheriff's line of fire long enough, maybe the whole thing would blow over and he and Tessa could start a life together with their child. He wanted that more than anything.

  "Where are they going?" Rossi asked Salvador.

  "I do not know." The highway signs read Austin, several hours now from Crookseye. The cowboy had stopped once for gas, so Rossi had, too, at a gas station across the road.

  Then they'd gotten on the highway again, their car following at a far enough distance to avoid suspicion.

  "But they are on the run," he said, his body thrilling with an adrenaline rush even as he said it. He loved the chase, the excitement of bearing down on the kill. There was nothing better than toying with helpless prey and tasting the fear on their breath just before the deathblow was executed.

  He wondered if the Hunter felt the same thrill of pleasure.

  Salvador was haunted by the thought that the Hunter might have enjoyed his brother's death, known the heady feeling of supremacy brought on by (…)

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  (…) innocent people. Hell, they'd been doing that for years whenever the necessity arose.

  But military and foreign assassins - that was a whole other thing. It would bring journalists, prime- time, big-name talking heads, all wanting a scoop. The FBI was already nvestigating, but they tended to stick close to their own affairs, their own code of silence, as did the CIA. He wasn't worried about their digging too deep into Crookseye.

  This was a military problem; they could handle it.

  All he had to do was produce a murderer to comfort the people of Crookseye. They wouldn't care who it was as long as someone was behind bars. Snug in their comfortable lives, they never cared about the facts as long as the sheriff was doing his job. No one looked into his affairs too closely.

  Tessa, with her unwed-mother status and lack of funds for an expensive defense, was the perfect patsy. She'd be assigned an attorney by the courts - the public defender who just happened to be a buddy of his.

  There would be a definite sentencing, and Grimes would retain his status in Crookseye as the sheriff who got the job done.

  He was aware of the murmurs of discontent over his leadership. The odd rumor had reached him that suspicious eyes were being cast upon the matters he preferred to keep quiet. He needed one good, well publicized arrest.

  He'd considered framing Cord as the killer, but there was the Greer family wealth. No, Tessa was perfect, a crime of passion that the simple minds of Crookseye would enjoy reading about over the morning paper.

  Somehow he had to make sure that the thugs following Cord didn't get in the way. He picked up a cell phone and dialed a sheriff friend of his.

  At the rate they were going, Cord obviously intended to drive through the night.

  He'd just arrange a little detour for their friends, have them stopped for skipping out on Charlie's motel bill. The sheriff smiled to himself, knowing how grateful Charlie would be. The whole incident could be written up on the police blotter and featured on the front

  page of the Crookseye Canyon Clarion.

  One more time, he would be applauded as the sheriff who got the job done. Let the military quietly handle their problem - the unfortunate colonel. He could cover his own tracks - because he planned on being sheriff in Crookseye for a long, long time.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Two hours later, Cord could no longer stand to see Tessa sleeping in her cramped position on the truck's bench seat.

  Surely they were far enough from Crookseye that they could stop at a motel and allow Tessa a nap in a real bed if only for a few hours.

  When a small-town motel came in sight. Cord pulled in and parked the truck under the awning. Tessa stirred, suddenly waking as he turned the engine off.

  "Are we there?"

  He shook his head. "We're still about six hours from Mexico. Not far, but I want you to walk around a little, then get some rest where you can stretch out. "

  Tessa breathed in deeply, turning to look at him.

  "I feel like a huge burden has been lifted from us."

  He noted the inclusive term and liked the feeling it gave him. Maybe she was thinking of them together as a couple. Maybe this marriage they were entering into was something that could be forever.

  "Come on inside. I'll get us a room."

  "I'm going to take advantage of a shower. I don't know if I can get married without having a shower." She smiled self-consciously at him. "As it is, wearing maternity blue jeans and an oversize sweater wasn't exactly what I had in mind for bridal attire."

  "I don't care what you're wearing as long as we get married."

  He noticed Tessa looked startled, but he took her by the elbow and led her into the lobby. Could it really be a surprise to her that he wanted to marry her?

  "We'd like a room, please," he said to the clerk.

  "Two doubles or a king-size?" the clerk asked.

  Cord frowned, glancing at Tessa. She shrugged.

  Somehow he thought she'd appreciate his not making her feel pushed into anything.

  "Doubles," he answered, his tone gruff.

  "And your name, sir?"

  "David Smith," he said, taking the registration form the clerk handed him to sign. He paid cash and picked up the key. His arm around Tessa, they walked up the stairs to the top level of the motel.

  "David Smith?"

  He glanced at her as he fitted the k
ey into the lock.

  "You don't like my choice of alias?"

  Tessa giggled as he shut the door behind them. "There is no way I could ever think of you as a David, and I'm only guessing that his computer is full of Smiths."

  "Which makes it perfect for us, Mrs. Smith." He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots.

  Tessa stopped laughing when she realized Cord was about to shed some clothes in front of her. She swallowed hard.

  "I think I'll shower while you nap," she said weakly.

  "Okay."

  He lay back against the pillow, his body sprawled, wearing only jeans. The shirt, socks, boots were all in a heap on a cracked wooden chair.

  Tessa couldn't be sure, but it looked like he'd fallen asleep the instant his head hit the pillow.

  Of course he had. He'd been up for days keeping a vigil over her. Instantly, Tessa felt guilty for being hurt that he apparently had no inclination to snuggle with her. Seduce her.

  Tessa, you want to be seduced.

  She wondered if the wish she held inside her heart was unusual for a pregnant woman as close to delivery as she was. Today, all was quiet with her body. No baby squirming inside her, no sensation that her diaphragm was being compacted. She felt lighter, freer, than she had in months.

  Maybe it was just being away from Crookseye and all the horror they'd found themselves embroiled in. She took off her clothes and turned on the warm water, reveling in the rush of heated steam in the chilly bathroom. Using the motel bar of soap, she washed her newly shorn hair, grateful for the chance to have it clean for her wedding.

  "Couldn't have done that with long hair," she murmured, closing her eyes as the water ran down her body in a soothing massage.

  When she finally felt relaxed and somewhat waterlogged, she turned off the water and got out, toweling off with one of the rough white towels.

  In about six hours, she'd be Mrs. Greer, she suddenly realized, Mrs. Cord Greer.

  She hugged that thought to her, suddenly excited. There were times she hoped so much that Cord would touch her, kiss her.

  She'd gotten frightened the night he'd talked about revenge, but since then he'd been chivalrous, considerate. And she'd eased up a little more, allowing herself to wonder about falling in love with him.

  Pulling on her clothes, she wished her stomach wasn't quite so big. Her breasts were swollen, ready, she supposed, for nursing. Time was running out on her in so many ways.

  "Tessa?" Cord called.

  Fully dressed, she walked out of the bathroom, running her fingers through the short wet curls of her hair.

  "Yes?"

  "Nothing." He sat up, his chest broad and ridged above his jeans.

  Tessa's heart did a funny flip, sped up her pulse.

  "I woke up and didn't know where you were. "

  "You were so tired you're probably not sleeping well. Maybe you're too keyed up."

  "I think I am." He ran a hand through ebony locks that stood suddenly on end.

  She went over and turned on the television. "Maybe if you watch a few minutes of TV, you can fall back asleep."

  He got up to pace the room, stopping to peer out worn curtains. "I think I'm just uneasy. The farther we get from Crookseye, the easier I'm going to breathe."

  She sat on the bed, using the pillow as a backrest. "Maybe we should just stay on the run forever."

  "You might be safer, but you'd get tired of traveling, and my cattle would get hungry. They're fine for a week, but after that, they'd be anxious for a friendly face and a big hay bale."

  She smiled. "I suppose you're right."

  He returned to the bed, sitting up against a pillow as she did.

  "Tessa, why didn't you give me a chance to answer your mother?"

  She knew exactly what he was talking about. "I don't want you to think you're obligated to say you love me just to please her."

  He reached out to take her chin in his hand, turning her toward him. "What if I told you I don't feel obligated in any way at all?"

  "I wouldn't believe you," she said, her eyes meeting his as she answered truthfully. "This whole trip down south is about obligation and responsibility. Duty. Honor."

  "It's about staying alive. Sure I wish things were different. I wish you didn't have men after you. I wish the colonel wasn't dead. I wish Hunt ... I wish I knew when I was going to see my brother again, if I ever will." He ran one finger gently over her lips. "But wishing doesn't change what has happened, nor does duty impact the way I feel about you."

  "You sound like you mean it, and I want to believe you so badly," she whispered.

  "I want you to. No matter what happens, I'm glad to be marrying you. I'll never regret that."

  "You're not the kind of man to regret doing what you think is right," she said, her heart wanting so much to believe it could all be for real but knowing it wasn't likely.

  "I'm not the kind of man to do anything I don't want to, and it's time you knew that," he replied, his lips claiming hers in a sweet, brief kiss. "I wanted to do that."

  She waited, her eyes searching his face.

  He kissed her tenderly, longer this time. "And I wanted to do that."

  A sigh escaped her lips.

  "I wanted you to do that for so long."

  "You did?"

  "Yes." She met his gaze fully, honestly. Shyly, she touched a finger to his lips in much the same way he had hers. "In fact, I want you to kiss me again."

  "You're sure?"

  "Are you worried you'll scare me?" she teased lightly.

  "I'm scared," he said, taking her invitation as he nipped little kisses along her lips and chin.

  "Not a big strong guy like you."

  "Oh, yes. You definitely scare me." He pressed kisses along her neck, and she felt heat in places she never had before.

  "I'm scared of caring for you too much. Maybe you wouldn't like it."

  "Why wouldn't I?" She thought it would be wonderful to have someone care for her deeply.

  "I don't know. I haven't figured all this out yet."

  He ran his hand under her shirt, and Tessa sighed as his fingers found her bra, sliding lightly over the satin.

  "Figured what out?"

  "You. There's a thousand different pieces, and some of them fit together and some don't."

  "I'm no more difficult to figure out than any other woman."

  Undoing her bra, he leaned over to kiss along her neck, down her collarbone, inside the full cleavage her shirt revealed.

  Slowly, he removed her blouse. Tessa blushed under his heated scrutiny. She reached one hand up to cover her full breasts, embarrassed by the enlarged nipples, but he moved her hand.

  "You are not like any other woman." He kissed her breasts reverently, lifting them in his hands.

  Instant warmth tightened Tessa's moist, secret place.

  "You say that like it's a good thing," she murmured, her eyes closed.

  He lifted his head.

  "It is. I've admired you as a person since I first met you. I used to envy Hunt being able to spend time with you. What I would have given just to have a date with you, even something as simple as going to a movie."

  "Why didn't you? While we were still in high school?"

  "The three of us were friends." He pressed light kisses between her breasts, a trail that led over her belly.

  Looking up at her, he said, "Hunt asked you out first, and I never would have after that, not if there was any chance my brother liked you as a girlfriend. Then he went away and you went with him whenever you could."

  She caught his face lightly between her hands to make him pause. He looked up at her, questions in his dark gaze.

  "Cord, I think you should know that what I felt for Hunt is in the past."

  He waited. "Not that I don't love your brother in some special, unexplainable way. Hunt will always be the father of my child. But my feelings for you aren't like anything I ever imagined I could feel."

  "You don't have to say
this, Tessa."

  She smiled wistfully.

  "Yes, I do. You should know that in spite of the circumstances, what I feel for you is different from what I felt before."

  "Tessa." He took her hands from his face, moving back to press his lips against the burgeoning curve of her belly.

  She blushed as he hungrily kissed her stomach. How she wished she was toned and attractive! How could he want her with her body so pushed out of shape?

  "Don't," she whispered, trying to move his head.

  "Let me," he asked. "You have no reason to hide from me."

  She closed her eyes, trying to surrender to his touch.

  "After you've had the baby, I'd like to make love to you," he told her.

  Her eyes flew open.

  "You're not going to make love to me now?"

  "No. I don't want to hurt you."

  Tessa was overcome with disappointment. Her body begged him to continue making her glow with his eager touch.

  "I don't think you can hurt me."

  "We don't know for a fact." The more Cord thought about it, the more he realized it was better to wait. Tessa might be overwhelmed with conflicting emotions right now. He didn't want her to regret their lovemaking - if it ever happened.

  "It's enough to be with you. I never thought I'd smell your skin or even hold you like this."

  "You said you didn't want a marriage in name only," she said softly. "I don't think it would be enough for me, either."

  He loved the shy look she got in her eyes when she was able to speak her feelings. Running his palm along her face to cup her chin, he said, "I've waited a long time for you. I'm willing to wait until the baby arrives and you heal before we consummate our marriage."

  The strangest thought assailed her that time was running out. This was the second occasion she'd felt this unnerving, disquieting passing of opportunity, like trying to catch the wind but not being able to run fast enough.

  "I have the craziest premonition that if we don't make love today, we might never have the chance."

  He snorted.

  "I don't think so. If I have to lock you in my bedroom or in a cabin on a romantic cruise, we are going to make love. A lot."