Cash (The Rock Creek Six Book 6)

by Linda Winstead Jones

  Hannah nodded in acceptance, but she didn’t quite believe that assurance. Her eyes remained skeptical, her smile halfhearted.

  “I’ll check in on you often.” Nadine smiled. “I’m right across the hall, after all. If you feel unwell, or if you think you might be going into labor, call me and I’ll be here.”

  “Thank you.”

  Nadine opened the door to find Jed standing in the hallway, impatiently waiting for her to finish the examination. He snapped to attention as the door swung open.

  “Is everything okay? Do you still think it’s twins? What can I do?”

  Nadine smiled at the big man, who was becoming quite unnerved. His devotion was so open, so apparent for all to see, she felt a little jealous. To be the object of such devotion would be wonderful... and it was something she would never know.

  “Hannah’s fine. Yes, I still think it’s twins. And you need to calm down so I don’t end up with two patients in this room instead of one.”

  Jed swept into the room as she left it, closing the door as he rejoined his wife.

  Nadine needed, more than anything, to see the man who had left her bed just a few hours ago. She craved the sight of Cash in a way she couldn’t explain. And she wanted him to love her.

  * * *

  “I thought the darn wedding was called off,” JD mumbled.

  “No,” Cash said. “It has been postponed, not canceled. We proceed with our plans.”

  JD bent over a table in the deserted saloon, pen in hand as he carefully composed an invitation. You are cordially invited to a wedding ceremony celebrating the marriage of Jed Rourke and Hannah Winters Rourke, to be held at sunrise tomorrow on the jutting rock over the river.

  Two invitations had been completed and set aside. Three others had been discarded after Cash declared them unworthy.

  “There’s still the matter of food,” Cash mused. God, anything to take his mind off last night and this morning! “Picnic style, I suppose, unless we decide to trek back to Eden’s for the reception. What do you think?”

  JD was bent studiously over his chore, but he did answer. “I like the picnic idea. But what do you eat at sunrise?”

  “Cake, of course.”

  “Cake for breakfast,” JD said with a smile. “My ma would never let me have cake for breakfast.”

  “Of course not. I’m sure it’s not... healthy.” Cash squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. When you had a child, you had to think of all those things, he imagined. You had to make sure they were warm in the winter, well fed all year round. That they were cared for when they were sick, and well schooled. Nadine had done such a good job with JD. How could he possibly thank her for that? He couldn’t. To do so would reveal more than was wise. Still... she’d done so well.

  So why did the kid want to become a gunslinger?

  The question nagged at Cash. JD wanted to be famous, but why? Did the desire come from somewhere deep inside, or was he trying to impress someone else? The people of Marianna, his mother... The most likely explanation came to Cash in a flash. When he was JD’s age, what would have made him want to make a name for himself? The answer was crystal clear. A girl.

  “You know,” he said, “if you plan to be a gunfighter, you will have to resign yourself to a life without such ordinary things as a wife.”

  JD scoffed. “So? What would I want a wife for?”

  Not a girl, then, Cash thought with a sigh.

  “Women are fickle,” JD added after a long pause. Cash couldn’t help but detect the hint of bitterness in his son’s voice. Maybe he’d been right after all.

  “Are they now?” he asked, his voice nonchalant so as not to reveal his interest in the subject.

  JD set the latest invitation aside and pulled another piece of paper toward him. “Yep.” He set the pen down and flexed his fingers. “There was this girl back home, Becky Rogers. We’re the same age, and we’ve been friends for as long as I can remember.” He tried, too hard, to remain aloof. “I used to pull her pigtails, but she didn’t mind. And then this new boy came to town. Billy Sanders.” JD curled his lip. “He’s a couple years older than I am, and his pa bought the sawmill and built a big house just south of town. And all of a sudden Becky didn’t even look at me anymore. And if I pulled her pigtails, she got all... snippy. Said I was a child; can you believe that?”

  “How dare she,” Cash said, his heart pounding too hard. JD wanted to become famous to impress a thirteen-year-old girl? He was tempted to box the kid’s ears.

  But even though JD was a child, the hurt he’d been hiding was very real.

  This complicated matters. It was impossible to reason with a man where a woman was involved. Even a little one. He knew that too well.

  If reason wouldn’t work, he’d have to scare the kid out of his notions. And soon. He couldn’t bear to look at Nadine day after day knowing he couldn’t have her. The sooner she got out of Rock Creek, the better.

  And if she didn’t leave, he would.

  * * *

  “We’ve looked everywhere,” Teddy whispered.

  JD and Teddy were both on their hands and knees, searching a vacant room for loose floorboards.

  “Not everywhere,” he said softly. “We can’t search the room your uncle Jed is in, because your aunt and uncle are always there.” In the past couple of days they had covered a lot of ground in their frustrating search.

  He should’ve known this would not be easy. “What about the garden?”

  Teddy lifted his head and placed wary eyes on JD. “You want to tear up Ma’s garden?”

  “Not tear it up, exactly,” JD explained. “Just poke around a little.”

  Teddy shook his head. “I don’t know...”

  The door flew open and Rafe, Teddy’s younger brother, walked in and looked around. A kid with pale brown hair who stood every bit as tall as JD, Rafe was always poking his nose where it didn’t belong. “What are y’all doing in here? Still looking for the gold?”

  “You told him?” JD asked angrily, his accusing eyes on Teddy.

  “No. Uncle Jed told,” Rafe answered. “Can I help?”

  “No,” JD said. “We’re not sharing the gold with you. We’re not splitting it three ways.” He’d go back to Marianna and build a house twice as big as Billy Sanders. After he’d made a name for himself, of course.

  “He can have half of my half,” Teddy said softly.

  JD conceded with a nod of his head. “All right, but he’d better stay out of my way.” All this waiting was making him anxious, and when he got anxious he tended to lose his temper easily.

  “Millie could help, too,” Rafe suggested. “I’d give her half of my half of Teddy’s half.”

  “No,” JD said firmly. “No girls.”

  “Okay,” Rafe conceded without a fight. He dropped to the floor and began tugging at floorboards.

  * * *

  JD was sound asleep. Nadine was no doubt pacing in her room, wondering if Cash would be so foolish as to call on her again tonight, and his patrol of the edge of town had proven to be too damned peaceful.

  Cash approached the noisy saloon across from the hotel with dread in his step. Lily’s place, Three Queens, was lively, bright in a way his saloon was not. People laughed, danced, and sang.

  He hated it.

  But that was where he’d find Rico, and he was sure Rico was the one to help him with his newest plan. Reese would never agree, Sullivan would probably find something illegal about the scheme, and Nate would surely think it... ungodly. Besides, he didn’t talk to Nate any more than he had to these days. He was afraid if they actually spoke in a more than casual way they’d end up having one of their arguments. He suspected that this time there would be no mending fences afterward. Jed was completely preoccupied with his pregnant wife, rendering him all but useless. That left Rico.

  Cash pushed through the bat-wing doors and his eyes swept the room. No danger here, unless you counted the drunken cowboy who was trying to sing a lullaby to his equally
drunken companion. Johnny glanced toward the door and smiled widely, but continued playing his piano. A few other, less friendly glances were thrown his way. Lily glowered. Rico grinned.

  Cash nodded his head and turned around to walk back into the night, where he belonged.

  He waited on the boardwalk only a moment before Rico joined him.

  “What is wrong?” the kid asked.

  Cash laid his eyes on Rico. There had been a time when he’d known he could go to any one of his five friends for assistance, but right now Rico was the only one. If he refused...

  “I need your help,” Cash said.

  Rico grinned. “You shall have it.”

  * * *

  She waited as long as she could. Cash had insisted that they appear to be lovers. Now that they really were lovers, she waited anxiously for him to knock on her door, and he was mysteriously absent.

  He wasn’t coming. She had been the one to mention that they could have only one night, but... she’d changed her mind. She had decided to tell Cash just that when he arrived at her room for appearance’s sake, but he wasn’t going to give her the chance. He wasn’t coming back.

  Nadine whipped off her nightgown and slipped into a yellow calico skirt and white blouse. If Cash wouldn’t come to her, she’d go to him. Heaven help her, she had no pride where Daniel Cash was concerned.

  It was so late, no one roamed the halls of the hotel. A light still burning on the third floor shot pale rays down the second-floor hallway, just enough to light her way. By the time she reached the lobby, though, she was lost in darkness.

  When her eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw the door before her. She found her way there and swung it open, holding her breath as it creaked.

  The deserted Rock Creek street was brighter than the hotel had been. The moon shone down, and the saloon across the street was well lit. A little bit of light spilled from Cash’s saloon, too. She headed in that direction.

  A few feet away from the swinging doors, she hesitated. This was not going to be easy. Cash was determined to remain as he was. Alone. Bitter. Slightly decadent. But last night she had seen that her Danny was not dead. No matter what Cash said, there was some of that idealistic boy left inside him. It was a part of who he was. A hidden part, perhaps, but it was there.

  She still loved him. She had not expected to, she had not thought it possible. But she did love him. Love would fix anything. Oh, she had never been so starry-eyed and fanciful before.

  She walked toward the Rogue’s Palace entrance, and when she reached it she peeked over the tops of the swinging doors. Cash sat in the far corner, five cards in his hand, a glass of whiskey at his elbow, a trio of plainly dressed poker players sitting across from him. A small stack of bills sat next to his glass. The other players had been reduced to a few coins.

  As she watched, Cash laid his hand on the table.

  One of the other players groaned and threw his cards down. The other two folded more calmly. Cash grinned and raked in his winnings. The other players, busted, pushed their chairs back and left unhappy.

  Alone at the table, Cash became suddenly still. He lifted his head and laid his eyes on her in a way that made her shiver. It was as if he had sensed her there, as if he had felt her eyes on him.

  He gathered up his cash and stuffed it in a deep pocket of his black jacket, drained his whiskey, and then stood, taking the time to yank on his brocade vest, straightening it with that tug before heading for the door. He told the bartender, the surly Evan, that he needed a breath of fresh air, and headed toward the exit, his eyes pinned to her.

  She couldn’t breathe.

  She backed up as Cash pushed through the doors. “What are you doing here?” he whispered.

  “Looking for you,” she said simply.

  Cash spread his arms wide as he bore down on her. “Well, here I am.” His expression remained cool, his voice just short of biting. “What do you want?”

  She realized she had been backing away from him, so she stopped. So did he. He came no closer. “I was worried about you,” she whispered.

  He flashed a crooked grin. “Why?”

  “You didn’t knock on my door tonight. I expected you would.”

  “Not a good idea,” he said simply.

  “I thought you wanted everyone to think we were...” She couldn’t say the word aloud.

  “They do,” he said. “In a day or two I’ll be finished with JD, everyone will think I lost interest in you, and you two can get out of town.”

  “Did you?” she whispered.

  “Did I what?”

  “Lose interest in me.” She hadn’t even considered the possibility that last night had not been as wonderful for him as it had been for her. The very idea made her more than sad.

  He took a moment to consider his answer. Not a good sign. “No,” he finally sighed. “But it’s not a good idea to let this continue. Once you’re away from here—”

  “I can’t leave yet,” she interrupted. “I have things to finish here before I go.”

  “Hannah?”

  She nodded her head. “I told you, I promised her I’d stay.”

  “I can go....”

  “No.” Nadine stepped forward and laid her hand on Cash’s chest. Heavens, he was hard. Unyielding and so damn stubborn. “Don’t leave. Surely we can survive a few more weeks of living in the same town.” She wanted so much more but was afraid to say so at the moment. If he would ride away from her and JD without so much as looking back, her heart really would break.

  “A few more weeks,” he hissed. “How am I supposed to look at you every day and smile and pretend I don’t want you.”

  “You don’t have to pretend.”

  “Great. I should allow you and everyone else to watch me suffer.”

  “You don’t have to suffer, either.” She moved a step closer, raked the hand at his chest down and around his waist. “I know I was the one who said we could have only one night, but I was wrong. I’m not ready to let you go.”

  She rested her forehead against his chest and sighed; the hand at his back rocked lightly. Couldn’t he see how much she needed him? Couldn’t he see how difficult this was for her?

  “I can’t become the man you want me to be,” he said, still inflexible. His arms did not wrap around her; he did not smile.

  “I want you as you are.”

  “You don’t even know me as I am.”

  “Show me,” she whispered. She pressed herself tightly against him. He might not admit it, but he did want her. She felt the evidence of his arousal pressing against her. Whether he liked it or not, he did want her. Maybe he even loved her a little. “Introduce me to the real Daniel Cash.”

  “You have no idea what you’re asking for,” he muttered.

  She kissed his jaw, her tender lips trailing over the dark stubble of his short beard. “Last night was wonderful.” She kissed the side of his neck. “I never knew anything could be so wonderful.” His arms finally wrapped around her. “I want more,” she whispered. “We can have that, at least, until it’s time for me to leave.”

  “And you’d be happy with that?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “No romance, no sweet talk, no future. Just sex.”

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  He walked her into the deepest shadows of the boardwalk and cupped her bottom in his hands. “Be careful what you wish for,” he whispered.

  Cash brought his mouth to hers with a hunger he couldn’t hide. He might try to stay cool and calm and distant, but he couldn’t disguise his physical response to her. He devoured her with his mouth, pulled her body up against his, and rocked his hips against hers. His erection brushed against her mound, and she felt herself grow damp.

  The bat-wing door swung open, and as two cowboys left, Cash swung Nadine off the boardwalk and into a narrow alley where the darkness was complete. The cowboys passed, unaware that anyone stood so close.

  Cash untucked her blouse and slipped his hand bene
ath to caress bare skin, his fingers burning a tender trail across her flesh. She cupped his head in her hands and kissed him deep as he fondled her breasts. The kiss was tempestuous and complete, a thrilling sex act all its own.

  Her body throbbed. She didn’t need to be led as she had last night. She knew where they were going, she knew what it felt like to have Cash inside her. She had been thinking about that sensation all day, and she was ready to experience it again.

  He reached beneath her skirt and touched her, and she almost fell apart then and there. Her knees were like warm butter; her heart pounded so hard she was sure he must feel it beating against his.

  Feeling bolder than she ever had before, she reached out to caress the ridge beneath Cash’s black trousers. He groaned as she stroked, and she caught that groan between parted lips.

  She unfastened his buttons blindly, until she was able to free his manhood and stroke it again, uncovered this time. Her fingers explored and teased, stroked hard and easy. Heavens, she loved the way he felt in her hand, hot and steely hard.

  With a growl Cash lifted her, and she anxiously guided him inside her. With her back against the wall of the deserted building next to the saloon and her arms wrapped securely around his neck, she surged against him in a frantic rhythm that was theirs. Only theirs. He impaled her, he drove himself deep inside her body, and she relished every stroke, every ribbon of pure pleasure that wound through her body.

  She wanted to cry and scream and laugh all at once, but a muted moan, half caught in her throat, was the only sound she made. Cash pounded into her, his own moan a growl from low in his throat.

  Completion came quickly, sparking through her body and making her shudder deep, and as she trembled in Cash’s arms he found his own release.

  They were silent for a moment, silent and still and breathlessly satisfied. She had never known such complete fulfillment was possible.

  Cash slowly put her back on her feet, but she didn’t drop her arms. She held on as if for dear life.

  “I fully intended to invite you back to my room,” she said breathlessly. “I didn’t know—”

  “Anywhere will do,” Cash interrupted caustically.