Then Jillian telling him how she hoped Silver and Mitch made a match and wouldn’t it be nice if they had a June wedding and a child soon so hers, Katie’s, and Silver’s children could all grow together?
More tumbling and churning, this time to Mitch and his gleeful admission that Silver knew how to kiss. The thought of his brother’s lips on Silver’s, of her arms around Mitch’s...
Well, Jesus.
It was a good thing Shane was sitting down as the truth left him dizzy. He blew out a ragged breath. He loved Silver. He’d tried denying it. Hell, it’s all he’d been doing for years. But it hadn’t changed the fact. He loved her and, by God, he didn’t want Mitch or any other man touching her, kissing her.
She’d asked him before if he could give her a reason why she shouldn’t court Mitch and he’d said no. Was he finally ready to do so? Because the only way to ensure Silver didn’t end up with another man was if she was with him. Which meant telling her. Which meant everyone would soon learn they were together.
But if he didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything, he risked losing the only woman he’d ever loved. And if he told her? If the town knew, even if they weren’t happy, what was the worst that could happen? His hand went to his badge but he dismissed the idea that they’d demand it back. Regardless of who he courted, he was a damn good sheriff. There could be no qualms about that.
It was the judgment and gossip he wanted to avoid. Just thinking about it made him feel like a little boy again, tossed in the same unsavory lot as his pa. Being accused of stealing, keeping his head down when he came to town to avoid the suspicious or pitying glances. He remembered how hard it had been after their pa had died to find work. Nobody wanted a McCall working for them. Why, they were more likely to steal someone blind than do any actual work, he’d once overheard. Luckily, there’d been folks like the Carrigans who’d been willing to give him a chance.
He’d come a long way since then. He’d worked hard. Worked honestly. Slowly, he’d learned to look folks in the eye, to walk with his head high. Eventually, he’d proven himself, earned respect, and his badge. His brothers hadn’t had to do that. They’d scraped by until they were able to leave and then they’d made a new start elsewhere without the shadow of their pa darkening everything. It was no mystery why Logan, like Shane, had veered into law. He’d wanted to be in a position of respect after having had so little of it growing up. And now he knew why Mitch had handled it the way he had. If Mitch didn’t let it rule him, then nobody else had the power to use it against him.
Maybe it was time Shane did the same. Maybe it was time he said to hell with what people thought and went after what he wanted. Courting Silver didn’t change him, didn’t change his commitment to the town. Whispers and judgment hadn’t killed him when he was younger. They sure as hell wouldn’t now that he was a grown man.
And, Jesus, why had it taken him so long to realize all of this?
Silver was in her kitchen, stirring her tea and watching the liquid swirl. It was cold by now but that didn’t matter. She had no intention of drinking it. She’d only made it from a lack of anything better to do. There wasn’t any bookwork that needed doing; her rooms and saloon were clean. The glasses behind the bar were sparkling and ready, she hoped, for a busy evening. With nothing else to do, she brooded.
She’d hurt Mitch and she hadn’t meant to. She’d truly gone with the intent of giving a relationship with him a chance if that was what he wanted. He was kind, handsome, chivalrous, and he liked her. Heck, he was practically a miracle. But wasn’t it just her luck that the first man who was genuinely interested in courting her didn’t stir her desires? Silver let go of the spoon, buried her face in her hands.
What was the matter with her? It wasn’t likely there’d be another man as fine as Mitch come around and instead of grasping onto him with both hands, she’d disappointed them both. He was right about Shane never accepting her as long as she owned a saloon but she also knew that it wasn’t fair to any man, nor herself, if she couldn’t be fully happy with him.
Maybe it was because Shane’s kiss was still so fresh in her memory. Maybe, after enough time had passed, she’d forget what his lips felt like on hers and how his kiss made her feel. Maybe then she wouldn’t compare every man to Shane.
“And maybe horses will fly,” Silver muttered.
Done pretending she was going to drink the tea, Silver rose, carried the cup to the back door. With her mind elsewhere, she flicked her wrist and tossed out her cold tea.
Right onto Shane’s chest.
“Oh!” she gasped.
Arms spread wide, he looked down. Rivulets of tea trailed down his black vest onto his trousers. Above the buttoned vest a large brown stain was setting into his white shirt. With a questioning look, he raised his gaze to hers.
“I suppose I should be thankful whatever you were drinking wasn’t hot.”
“Shane. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking and just—” Silver shook her head. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears were aflame. She stepped aside. “Come in. I’ll get a towel.”
Silver whipped a clean cloth out of the drawer next to the dry sink and hurried over. Ignoring his outstretched hand, she wiped the tea from his vest, then moved to dab at the stains on his thighs. It wasn’t until he grabbed her wrist, until she heard the tortured sound of her name on his lips that she realized how indecent her actions were. Silver choked back a groan.
“Um, why don’t you do the rest?” She shoved the cloth into his chest.
Shane finished wiping his trousers, blotted the cloth onto his shirt, though it was already too late. It was going to take a whole lot of soaking and scrubbing to get the tea stain out. Clearly seeing that for himself he tossed the cloth onto her counter.
“Did you kiss my brother?”
Silver gaped. “Mitch told you?” Why on earth would he do that?
“Then it’s true? You kissed him?”
“What difference does that make to you? You’re the one who couldn’t give me a reason not to be with him,” she reminded him.
“I know.”
Silver wished she had something else to throw at him. Preferably something heavy.
“If you know then why are you here?”
Gray eyes locked onto hers. “Because I don’t want another man kissing you.”
“You can’t have it both ways.” The audacity of the man coming into her home, telling her whom she could and couldn’t kiss.
“I know,” he said.
Silver threw up her hands. This was getting them nowhere. She marched to the door, wrenched it open.
“Shane, for the sake of our friendship you need to go.”
Friendship. He wanted more than that from her. He’d never be content to only smile at her over the bar in her saloon. To make polite conversation when they met on the street or gathered at the Parker ranch. To lie in his bed at night dreaming and wishing she were there, her hair spread on his pillow, her body pressed to his.
He didn’t want to dream about her any longer. He wanted to have her.
With his intent clear in his mind, he strode to her, eased the door from her stiff fingers and closed it softly. He maneuvered them so her back was against the door and he was standing close enough to keep her there.
“Is that all we are, Silver, friends?”
Her gaze met his defiantly. “Yes.”
His lips curved. He loved seeing her all fired up.
“Friends don’t kiss each other the way we have.”
“Friends don’t murder each other either but if you don’t move, Shane McCall, I’ll—”
He cupped her cheek. “I hate the idea of you being with Mitch, of you being with anyone but me.”
“Please, Shane.” Her voice shook. “I can’t keep doing this, it hurts too much. I love you but—”
His grin spread across his face. “You love me?”
She smacked him in the chest. “Yes, you idiot, I love you. I’ve loved you since the beginning.”
<
br /> Heat spread though his chest that had nothing to do with the slap she’d just given him. His thumb brushed her lip. “You didn’t say anything.”
“Because you never let on you had feelings for me. Not until that day you kissed me in the saloon. I’d have told you then but you practically ran out of here.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong.
“I hadn’t planned on kissing you. And after I did...” He shook his head. “I knew I was in trouble.”
“You couldn’t get away fast enough.”
“I was scared. I think I always knew that if I ever touched you I wouldn’t be able to go on pretending there wasn’t anything between us.”
Silver’s eyes searched his. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I want to court you properly. I want to kiss you, hold you. I want to be the one to take you on rides and picnics.”
“You’re not just saying that because of Mitch? Because of his interest in me? Because what happens when he leaves, when there’s once again nobody around to make you jealous?”
His lips quirked. “This isn’t all about jealousy. I loved you long before Mitch arrived and, as I recall, I kissed you before he arrived as well.”
“You love me?”
Joy lit her face, shone in her eyes. Her happiness filled him, drowned out any lingering doubts. He brushed his fingers across her cheek, already anticipating their next kiss.
“What do you say, Silver?”
What did she say? She wasn’t sure she could say anything. Was this truly happening? Was Shane finally telling her what she’d waited years to hear? But she’d had her hopes dashed too many times by this man to simply accept what he was saying. Because if she took him at his word and then he later changed his mind she’d never survive the heartbreak.
“Are you sure, Shane? Absolutely sure? Because if you break my heart...”
He sighed. “I know I’ve given you reason, many in fact, to doubt me but I swear this is what I want.”
“And the town?”
“They’ll have to come around. Besides, it’s not as though you’re some of kind of criminal. You own a good, respectable saloon. What’s so bad about that?”
Silver nearly flinched. Though the saloon was respectable, the money used to build it wasn’t. But she couldn’t tell Shane about any of that, especially now, not when he was finally willing to give their relationship a chance.
Still, it took some of the shine off his words because she didn’t doubt, not for one second, that he would be telling her something completely different if he knew the whole truth about her life in Dakota Territory.
“Hey,” he said, grasping her chin and lifting it so her gaze met his. “Everything all right? You haven’t passed me over for my brother, have you?”
Ignoring her troublesome thoughts, Silver focused on Shane and the wink he teased her with. She’d waited too long for this to let anything ruin it.
“I tried.” She sighed, a smile tugging at her lips. “But it turns out he doesn’t kiss near as well as you do.”
“Is that so?” Shane closed the last little bit of distance between them.
Silver clasped his broad shoulders. “Although I may have misjudged. I think I need to compare again.”
The storm that raged in his gray eyes was a desirous one. It matched the hunger stirring in Silver’s belly, warming her breasts. She rose up on her toes as he tipped his head. Unlike the others, this kiss was slow, a discovery of each other as both realized now they had time. It wasn’t a stolen, angry kiss, or a kiss meant to silence. It was a kiss meant to explore and Shane was as much an expert at it as he was of the hot, urgent kisses they’d shared before.
His mouth was firm, his lips warm and coaxing. Like slowly lowering herself in a hot bath, the heat started from her toes and rose in a sensual wave up her body. His hands slipped from her face to her hair and, wrapping a fist in it, he used it as leverage to change the angle and deepen the kiss.
Silver’s belly quivered, her legs shook. When she felt the flick of his tongue, she sighed, leaned into him and gave herself completely over. His tongue danced with hers and the room swayed. He pulled her tighter. Her hands charged up his neck into his hair, once again knocking his hat to the floor.
“You’re hell on my hat,” he said as his kiss moved from her mouth to the sensitive skin on her neck.
Silver tipped her head to the side, anchored her hands in his thick hair to keep from melting right there. Her senses were full of Shane, his scent, the press of his body, and the feel of his mouth on her skin. Everything was so much better, so much sweeter knowing this wasn’t a stolen kiss. There were going to be more. Many more. And not only kisses, she knew, by the feel of his arousal pressing against her belly.
She was more than ready to make love to Shane. Had been for years. She hadn’t lied when she’d told him before she’d have given him everything. It seemed she’d been waiting her entire life to do just that. Oh, it wouldn’t happen right then, she had a saloon to open, but it would soon.
Just as it would be soon that the folks of Marietta learned Shane McCall was courting Silver Adams. He wouldn’t regret it, Silver vowed. She’d do everything to make sure she never caused him shame or disappointment.
For years, Silver had imagined the moment Shane would come to her, hat in hand and say he’d been a fool. Say he was ready to be with her. She’d imagined feeling elated, free, and so full of love her heart would struggle to hold it all.
While she certainly felt all of those things, she also felt something else. Something colder. As though she were standing in the middle of a frozen lake and she’d just heard the ominous sound of ice cracking. As though it was just a matter of time until everything she was standing on gave way and she fell.
Chapter Nine
While there was nothing more Shane would rather do than spend the rest of the day in Silver’s arms they both had work to do.
He checked on Charlotte after leaving Silver and, while the woman was moving easier, the sight of her mottled bruises and still swollen cheek drove Shane to keep vigilant. Leaving Owen in charge, Shane rode out to the Triple P. However, with not having gotten a good look at the man who’d gone up with Charlotte, without the woman herself willing to give Shane a description, and without Katie having seen their faces that day her coach had been robbed, Shane wasn’t any further ahead.
It sounded like one of the robbers could be the man who’d beat Charlotte but it was all speculation. And even if it was the same man, until Shane found him or the scoundrel came back, there was nothing he could do.
If the man were smart, he’d have hightailed it out of the area by now. But in case he wasn’t, in case he was biding his time before coming back, in case he was part of those four men old Jeb had seen riding toward Marietta, Shane wanted to find him before he hurt anyone else in his town.
With one hand on the reins and the other resting on the shotgun lying across his lap, Shane rode through the hills. He didn’t see much. The odd rabbit darted from its hiding place while a few deer were scared out of their grazing. White tails high, they bounded away. In the distance, evergreens darkened the mountainside until the sheer granite walls proved too much for them. Around him the air was a mixture of sweet clover mixed with the spicy scent of pine.
As the afternoon wore on his back dampened beneath his vest and his shirt clung to his skin. Itchy and thirsty, when Shane spotted the glistening brook he aimed Justice straight for it. While his horse drank, Shane refilled his canteen, splashed cool water over his face, and ran a wet hand across the back of his neck. He sighed as the cold liquid trickled down and cooled his heated flesh.
Gauging the sun’s position and confirming the time with a quick look at his pocket watch, Shane capped his canteen and once again tied it to the saddle. Tonight was Melissa’s birthday supper and he needed to get back. It wasn’t ideal to tell her on her birthday that he wasn’t romantically interested and never would be, but he couldn’t not tell her either
. He’d made his choice and he didn’t want Melissa finding out about him and Silver from anybody but him. He’d be gentle about it, but she needed to know where he stood. He’d kept her waiting on him long enough.
Settling in the saddle again, Shane led Justice across the stream and up over the next rise. The circling turkey vultures weren’t an uncommon sight. Known to eat anything dead and rotting, it was a rarer occasion to ride and not see them than it was to happen upon a kettle of them floating in the air, waiting their turn to gorge themselves on whatever lay below them.
But the itch was back between Shane’s shoulders and this time it had nothing to do with the heat. As it wouldn’t take him much out of the way, Shane guided Justice toward whatever had the birds’ attention. Down that rise and up another Shane rode closer. Justice balked, tossed his head. That was when Shane smelled it, the god-awful stench of rotting meat. Shane tightened both his hold on the reins and on the shotgun. Despite knowing whatever was over the next knoll was already dead, Shane put his finger on the trigger.
They crested the hill and there at the bottom a vulture ripped and tore at its midafternoon meal. Shane’s stomach rolled. That wasn’t an animal carcass being eaten. It was a human one.
“Jesus Christ.”
Though it clearly wasn’t a fresh kill, Shane raised his gun, pointed it all around but he was the only thing moving save the vultures. Still, he kept his weapon in his hand as he urged his animal closer.
“Easy,” he said, when their approach scared off the eating bird and Justice sidestepped.
Fighting back his gorge, Shane slid from the saddle. The birds had already done a hell of a lot of damage to the man’s back and Shane tried not to look too closely as he grabbed a shoulder and hip and turned the stranger over.
Only it wasn’t a stranger. Shane had seen this man before.
It was the man he suspected of beating Charlotte.
“That should do it.”
A Sheriff's Passion Page 16
