Lorraine Heath

by Sweet Lullaby

  “Reb?”

  “What?”

  “Where are you planning on sleeping?” “Where do you want me to sleep?” “With me.”

  She dimmed the flame in the final lantern and moved to the bed, lifted the covers and slipped inside.

  “Then this is where I’ll sleep.”

  Jake lifted an arm and she moved in closer to his side, refraining from snuggling as close as she would have liked for fear of causing him discomfort.

  “I should take all these bandages off tomorrow,” she said as she lightly trailed a finger over his covered chest. At his lack of response, she tilted her head up and looked upon his sleeping face. Gingerly, so as not to disturb him, she brought herself up on an elbow. In the shadows cast by one low-burning lantern, she watched him sleep.

  Rebecca felt strands of hair tickle her face as they were moved away. Languorously, she opened her eyes, the dawning sun filtering into the room, across the bed. She was greeted by deep brown eyes gazing down at her.

  “I didn’t mean to fall asleep last night. That wasn’t much of a welcome home.”

  “You’re still healing. It’s more important for you to get fully recovered.”

  His lips came down on hers and she welcomed him. His hand moved slowly up her midriff, cupping and caressing a small breast beneath her cotton gown. She stopped the kiss when she felt his smile and drew back, searching his eyes.

  “You left something in Montana,” Jake said, his eyes teasing. It warmed Rebecca to the roots of her soul to see something besides pain reflected in his eyes. Perhaps earning his trust wouldn’t be so hard a task to accomplish after all.

  “No, I left it here. My milk dried up after we left Pleasure. But I warned you before—”

  “I’m not complaining,” he said as his mouth descended on hers.

  A tug on the covers and a pounding on the bed caused the kiss to once again end. Jake looked over his shoulder to behold Jacob’s beaming face. Reaching down, he pulled Jacob up onto the bed. The child snuggled down in between his parents, kicking at the covers and rolling from side to side until he gave them no choice but to get out of bed and begin the day.

  Chapter Twenty

  CAREFULLY WITHDRAWING THE cinnamon-scented apple pie from the oven, Rebecca inhaled the savory aroma and let the steam warm the tip of her nose. It created a homey scent which helped with the mood she was hoping to create. Inside the house, she knew she was home, and yet she felt as though she weren’t home. Jake, always polite, was more polite, more cautious, watching her in ways he didn’t watch Jacob, trusting Jacob’s love in ways he didn’t trust hers. It had been three days since they’d brought Jacob back to the house, three nights that she had slept in Jake’s arms. Though he was still healing physically, she knew it wasn’t his physical pain that prevented Jake from making love to her.

  Every morning, he was up with the sun, riding out to check the ranch and cattle, and each evening he came home exhausted. He had failed to locate Ethan or the cattle that had been with him the day Jake had last run across him.

  Conversations she shared with Jake revolved around the weather, Jacob’s activities, and the cattle. She constantly felt as though she were trying to breach a wall or crawl through a thick barbed-wire fence without cutters. She knew she should expect the distance between them, knew he needed to learn to trust her again. But she needed him, needed more than he was willing to give to her at the moment. And to obtain what she needed, what she knew they both needed, she had to make him trust her.

  With a three-man escort, she had taken Jacob over to Arlene early in the afternoon. She had spent the remainder of the day preparing for her evening with Jake. She set the pie on the table beside an assortment of vegetables. It had actually turned out well if the aroma filling the house was any indication. She placed two thick candles on the table.

  Humming to herself, she bathed and slipped on her finest blue dress, her hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. Beneath the dress, she wore nothing at all. Inside her pocket, she carried a gift she had picked up for Jake when she and Jacob had begun their journey back to Texas. She had been trying to find an opportune moment to give it to him and having decided the right moment would never arrive, she had decided to create it.

  She heard Jake’s horse whinny in anticipation of receiving his oats. She stepped outside onto the porch as her husband reined in his horse. Her bare feet lifted the dust as she walked out to him. As he dismounted she slid her hands up his chest and she wrapped her arms about his neck, her body pressing against his as he pressed his lips against hers.

  “I have something special planned for this evening,” she said seductively as their lips parted.

  His warm eyes traveled appreciatively over her. “Let me see to my horse. I won’t be long,” he promised. He led his horse towards the barn as Rebecca returned to the house.

  She lit the candles and uncovered the warm dishes that graced the table. She brushed her hair until it caught the candle light. Then she began walking back and forth, waiting. Waiting. She brought herself up on her toes and set herself back down. And waited.

  She frowned. He had promised he would not keep her waiting a long time. Was he playing a game with her? Did he really not want her back? Feeling like a fool, she clenched her fists into tight balls at her sides as she strode towards the door. Then she halted as though she had slammed into a brick wall. Jake wasn’t one to play games. Panic replaced hurt, and she retrieved her gun, loaded it, and stormed out of the house.

  Jake had hefted the saddle off his horse before he felt the dull pain at the back of his head and the world turned black.

  When he came to, he was aware of two things: the hard ground beneath his sprawled body and the cold unforgiving steel edge of the bowie knife laid against his throat, leaving no doubts in his mind as to its sharpness or who he’d find wielding it.

  “Before you get any stupid notions, let me go ahead and warn you now that I’ve got that boy of yours.”

  Jake broke out in a cold sweat and his breathing came with increased difficulty. He had little doubt that Ethan was telling the truth. Jake nodded his acceptance of his position.

  “Get up,” the hoarse voice commanded. Before Jake was fully upright, he was thrown back against the wall. The knife was once again pressed against his throat. Brown eyes met brown, intense emotions raging.

  “Your wife coming back has messed things up for me. Killing you now won’t do me any good. She’ll get the land. So I’d have to kill her and then the boy.” Ethan looked off in the distance. “Too much blood.” He shook his head and then looked back at Jake.

  “Now, I want you to listen real careful. I want you to go into town tomorrow and get the deed to this ranch put in my name. Then you deliver that deed to me. I’ll be at that shack you built on the north end. You know the one I mean?”

  Jake nodded.

  A wicked, knowing grin crept across Ethan’s face. “Did you forget? You say ‘yes, sir’ to me.”

  For Jacob’s sake, Jake swallowed his pride. “Yes, sir.”

  Ethan nodded with satisfaction. “I’ll give you back the boy then. You come alone. If you bring anyone, I’ll kill him.”

  “I’ll do what you want without the threat. Bring him back tonight.”

  Ethan smiled, a hard smile, a smile that never touched his eyes. “He’s my guarantee. I’ll keep him. Whether or not I return him alive will depend on you.”

  “Decided it was time to join your father in Hell?” a menacing feminine voice asked.

  Ethan turned around quickly, a careless move that left him virtually open and unprotected.

  “Reb! No!” Jake cried, throwing himself in front of Ethan as the harsh sound of gunfire filled the barn.

  Ethan stumbled back. Jake dropped to the ground with a sickening thud. Rebecca would have fired another shot at Ethan, but Jake’s actions shocked and frightened her. Why would he protect Ethan? She stood rooted to the spot, her mind screaming. All she could see was crimson blood
spreading quickly over Jake’s back before she felt the dull pain at the back of her head.

  Rebecca’s mind was still screaming when she opened her eyes. She was lying on the bed, a cool cloth on her forehead, a painful throbbing at the back of her head. She lifted the cloth from her face and searched the house. Jake was sitting backwards in a chair while Lee stitched up his shoulder.

  “If you ain’t the unluckiest man I know,” Lee said as he pierced Jake’s flesh with the needle, pulling the thread through the bleeding wound. The bullet had grazed his shoulder, taking with it a hunk of his flesh.

  “I’m still alive. I’d say I was pretty lucky.”

  Lee finished up his handiwork on Jake’s shoulder and left the house.

  Rebecca dropped her unsteady feet onto the floor and Jake’s head snapped around. She moved towards him in a confused daze.

  “Why did you stop me?”

  “He has Jacob.”

  “No,” she said, unable, unwilling to believe the words that were spoken with such certainty. “I left Jacob with Arlene this afternoon.”

  “I got no reason to think he’s lying, Reb. You’d best go over to Frank’s and check. Take four men with you.”

  After she changed into pants, Jake took her hand, pressing it to his lips.

  “He won’t hurt Jacob as long as I do what he wants. I won’t do anything to endanger your son.” “He’s your son, too.”

  He squeezed her hand. “He’ll be all right. We’ll have him back tomorrow.”

  She nodded and hurried out the door.

  Before she’d gone too far, Rebecca saw a small rider bumping along the path, frantically waving his hand. It was Sean.

  “He got Jacob!” he yelled at the top of his lungs and Rebecca felt her heart sinking.

  “Sean, you shouldn’t be riding out here alone,” she chastised, her worry equal to his.

  “Me mum sent me. Some man took Jacob and I was s’posed to come tell you.”

  “Is your sister all right?”

  Sean shook his head sadly. Rebecca followed him back to Frank’s house.

  Frank was sitting on the porch, his elbows digging into his knees, his chin digging into his hands, his face blank. He didn’t look up until Rebecca knelt down before him.

  “She tried to stop him,” he said in a voice hoarse with emotion.

  “Is she going to be all right?”

  Frank gave a slight nod. “She lost the baby, but Maura said she won’t die. She’s with her now.”

  Rebecca’s heart lurched. “Oh, Frank, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know—”

  He forced a small smile. “No one did. There’s been so much going on around here lately that we didn’t have time to tell anyone.” The smile left his face. “I’m going to kill him, Reb.”

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to get in line this time, Frank.” “Frank?”

  His head snapped around and he came to his feet.

  “You can see her now,” Maura said with kindness. The abrasive young man she had disliked that first night had turned out to be a wonderful husband to her daughter.

  He gave Maura a brief hug before he stepped into his house. Rebecca followed him only to the door where she gave Maura a hug. She didn’t want to impose on Frank’s time with his wife but she wanted to catch a glimpse of Arlene to make certain she was all right. One side of her face was bruised and swollen. One arm was bandaged. Rebecca could only guess at what the rest of her body looked like, what other damage Ethan Truscott might have inflicted.

  Frank knelt down by the bed, brushing his fingers along Arlene’s brow, moving the damp strands of red hair off her face.

  “I’m sorry, Frank,” Arlene said in a weary voice.

  He slowly shook his head. “Wasn’t your fault.” He brought her fingers to his lips. “I love you so much, girl. I thought I was going to lose you. Nothing means more to me than you do.”

  She brought his head to her shoulder and his arms went around her. Rebecca turned away from the door, tears in her eyes. It was difficult for her to look upon Frank now, to see a man in place of a gangling boy. A man who loved deeply the woman he had married.

  Rebecca sat before the front window, looking out unseeing. Night had fallen, the moonless night reflecting her darkened mood as the tears began to trail slowly down her cheeks.

  Jake watched her. After she had returned and explained what had happened at Frank’s house, she had taken up her vigil by the window. She needed him and he knew it. He hadn’t been fair since she’d returned from Montana. He had withheld his heart, afraid to let himself become vulnerable. He walked over and hunkered down beside her, taking her limp hand in his own strong one.

  “Jacob will be all right, Reb.”

  She turned her head, her finely arched brows furrowed. “I’m not just worried about Jacob. I’m worried about you. Do you honestly think once you’ve handed that deed over that he’s going to let you walk away?”

  “He’ll have what he wants.”

  She released a short laugh, shaking her head. “He has too much hatred.” She brought her shaking fingers to her lips, releasing a sob, more tears rolling down her cheeks. “He’ll kill you, Jake. And you and I both know it.”

  “I think he might try, but I won’t give up without a struggle. He can have my land, but that’s all he can have.” He brushed his knuckles along her damp cheek. “The day I ran across Ethan at the fence line, he left me for dead. I thought I was going to die myself. Do you know what I was thinking while I was lying there in the hot sun?”

  She slowly moved her head from side to side, her eyes never leaving his.

  “How much I wanted to hold you one last time.” Reaching around behind her, he pulled her braid forward, slowly combing out the crisscross of ebony strands until they were all free, hanging loosely. He filled his hand with the silky tresses and brought them to his face, inhaling rose scent, wondering what the night might have brought if Ethan hadn’t come. “I sure do want to hold you in my arms.”

  “I want to be in your arms,” she said quietly. He stood up, bringing her to her feet and leading her to the bed.

  They undressed slowly, their minds not on the task. Rebecca climbed into bed. Jake blew out the lanterns and joined her. He lay on his side, keeping his aching shoulder off the bed, one arm around her, one hand rubbing her back.

  “Was she pretty?”

  Jake looked down on her, her face cast in shadows. “Who?”

  “The woman you paid.”

  “She had real pretty eyes. That’s about all I remember.” He gave her a small smile. “She asked me the same thing about you.”

  “About me?”

  “Yeah. I guess she wasn’t used to her customers being so quiet. Out of the blue, she asked ‘Was she pretty?’” “What did you say?” He shrugged. “I lied and said yes.” “I don’t believe you. What did you tell her?” “That I didn’t want to talk about you.” “Because you hated me?” “Because I love you.”

  A comfortable silence surrounded them. It had been a while since they had felt the casual ease between them that had characterized their relationship before Brett’s arrival.

  “What was Montana like?” Jake asked.

  “Lonely.”

  “Were you left alone?”

  “No. We had a housekeeper and a cook. And … well … Brett seldom worked away from the house. But I missed you so much.”

  “I missed you, too,” he said quietly as his mouth descended to hers.

  The kiss was warm and tender and all-consuming, like a slow roaring fire. And then it was as if someone threw a dry log on the fire and flames shot upward without warning. He wanted to go slowly, to worship her, to adore her, but he needed to possess her like he had never possessed anything in his life. And she felt the same need. There was nothing gentle in their lovemaking. It was as though they were battling death, clinging to each other as though there would never be another time. Jake ignored the pain caused by her hands pressing unmercifully down on him until her
fingernails raked up his back, opening wounds that had only recently healed. He pulled her hands away from him, holding them in place on either side of her face, as he took possession, thrusting himself deep and hard. He released her hands, and she buried them in his hair, bringing his face down to hers, her mouth devouring his, her legs wrapped tightly around him. They both cried out with the force of their release, their bodies drenched in sweat, their breathing labored.

  Jake rolled over to his side, bringing her up against him. He felt the shudder run through her body, followed by a trembling that had little to do with their lovemaking. He felt her tears, and then the hard sobs began to rack her body. He rolled her back over.

  “Did I hurt you?” he asked.

  “No. I’m just so frightened. I know you too well, Jake. I know you’ll put Jacob’s life before your own. I can’t bear to lose either of you.”

  Jake pressed kisses over her face, tasting the salty tears, tears shed for him.

  “I love you, Reb,” he whispered. “I love you.”

  How easily she had left him the first time when the choice was hers. How difficult now to let him go when no choice was given her, when she wanted to lay in his arms until her hair turned silver and her skin wrinkled with age. For the remainder of the night, they held each other close in a futile effort to ward off death.

  The line shack had been built in the midst of a grove of trees, nature’s thicket providing protection from the hot sun in summer and the cold northern winds in winter. It also allowed Rebecca to follow Jake without being spotted. It took all her inner strength to stay hidden, watching the drama unfold before her, waiting for the moment when her presence would gain them the most.

  Jake prodded his horse slowly into the area before dismounting and tethering the stallion to a post in front of the shack. His eyes scanned the small area that had been cleared of trees and he was not at all pleased with the sight that met his eyes.

  “You can come in closer,” Ethan said from his sprawled position on the ground, his back up against a tree. In his hand he held a rope, one end trailing behind him, the other end hanging up over a branch of a tree some distance away from him, wrapped securely under Jacob’s arms as he dangled over a large wooden openmouthed barrel.