“What did he do?”
“He vowed that he would throw himself into the mountain’s burning, flaming mouth if that would save his people.”
Dawn Twilight gasped, placing her sweet, delicate hands over her mouth. “Did he die?” Her question was a shaky whisper.
Jackson graced his daughter with a warm smile. “No. When the maiden was confident the brave would give his life for the others, she called him away from the rim of the crater. As they stood together, they discovered they shared a unique feature, for the maiden also had one blue eye and one brown.”
“So what does that mean?”
“It means that for every lovely young creature on God’s earth there is a mate. Have patience, little one. Consider your mark a kiss from the gods.”
Glancing at her tattoo, Dawn sighed. “I suppose it isn’t such a bad mark after all.”
Jackson couldn’t conceal his smile. “I think it’s beautiful. It makes you special, Dawn Tw—” He cleared his throat. “It makes you very special indeed.”
She continued to gaze at the tattoo, her expression so wistful it twisted at Jackson’s heart. “The mark would be more special if a handsome prince had one just like it, like in the story.”
He choked back a surge of emotion, wondering how long he could keep up the charade.
Carefully hidden beside the window, Libby had listened to the story. She pressed her fingers against her eyes to stop the sting of tears. Since his shocking admission, he’d risen a bit in her estimation, for he’d kept his promise not to tell Dawn who he was until she could be there. It had to be killing him. Still, she wondered why he hadn’t told her it was time.
Not that she wanted him to. Lord, no. If he never told Dawn who he was, it would be soon enough for her. But, she realized with some disappointment, that was her opinion. As nice as he was to his daughter, he didn’t know anything about raising a child, especially a girl-child. That, unfortunately, was the only thread she had to hang on to. And as she listened to him now, that thread had begun to grow thin.
Suddenly Dawn came through the door, barely stopping as she spoke. “Gotta get my sums done, Mama. I’ll be in my room.” She sounded, well, positively… positive.
Jackson followed her inside, his gaze on Libby. “You’ve been listening.”
“That’s what you were talking about before, the legends of her ancestors.”
“Yes,” he answered, his gaze not leaving her.
She should have been apologetic, but she wasn’t. There were scores of reasons why she didn’t believe he was best for Dawn. “This still doesn’t prove to me that you’re her father.”
“I’ve got proof now,” he answered cryptically.
Libby got a funny feeling in the pit of stomach. “What proof?”
“The tattoo.”
“That… that mark on her knee? How is that proof of anything?”
“I’ve got one just like it.”
Libby felt as though she were drowning. “You… you’ve got one?”
One corner of his mouth lifted into a sexy smile, causing her heart to flip-flop. “You don’t remember seeing it the other day?”
The fateful morning when Mahalia had stripped him of his bedding sprang to her mind. But she hadn’t been looking at his knees…. Warmth crept over her skin at the memory, making her cheeks hot.
“But you weren’t looking at my legs, were you?”
Her flush deepened, for he’d obviously read her mind. Sometimes she didn’t understand him at all. One minute he was cold and aloof, the next he teased her. He’d knocked her off-balance from the very first day.
She didn’t know how to respond to such banter. She’d never learned. It was best simply to ignore the innuendo. “So you have proof. That’s all fine and good, but how do I know you won’t get itchy feet and leave again?” At this point, his wanderlust was her best defense. Maybe her only defense.
His eyes hardened. “What makes you think that’s what happened the first time?”
“Do you want to argue the point?”
His gaze shifted to one side. “I’m here to stay.”
“So you say. Seems to me, though, that once a man has tasted that kind of freedom, he can’t quite kick the habit. What happens to your daughter if the lure of adventure becomes too strong to resist, and you go gallivanting off to fight another revolution?”
“That won’t happen.”
The fact that he couldn’t meet her gaze gave her the real answer. So this was the way it would be. She couldn’t refuse his request to be with Dawn, but she would fight with everything she had to keep him from taking Dawn away from her.
“You can continue to see Dawn, under my supervision. I will also determine some of the activities you must attend with her.”
“Activities?”
She hid a triumphant smile. It was a good idea for him to see the pain Dawn went through on a daily basis. Pain because of her mixed blood. Perhaps the hardships of her life would drive him off once and for all. Libby had no doubt that he’d dreamed up some sort of fantasy life with his child. He had no idea how hard the reality was. Perhaps the reality would change his mind. She could only hope.
“Before you tell her who you are, you must observe her life, Jackson. Not just what you see here but what she goes through at school, on the street, everywhere.”
He shrugged. “That’ll be a pleasure.”
Her smile was melancholy. “We’ll see. There’s a box social at the school tomorrow at noon. I want you to come with me.”
Stroking his chin, Jackson watched the progress from the back of the schoolroom. Libby sat next to him. Besides Chloe Ann Parker, the teacher, they were the only adults in the room. She’d agreed to let them observe the box social. In fact, she’d been quite enthusiastic.
Beside him, Jackson felt Libby’s tension. She was taut as a wire, her gaze never leaving Dawn Twilight. And even though his daughter sat among the other children, Jackson felt she was alone. She was the only breed in the class. A ton of emotions thrashed around in his gut, and he was unable to sort them out.
The bidding for the baskets began. Jackson knew that Dawn Twilight’s, tied with a bright green bow, was filled with Mahalia’s delicious fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, and apple pie. His mouth watered just thinking about it. Unfortunately, only the boys in the class were able to bid.
The first basket to go belonged to a pretty blond girl with long pigtails. A tall, gangly boy offered for it and was not challenged. Jackson sat forward, his hands clenched into fists on his knees as he waited.
“I want the one with the green bow.” A tough-looking boy barely into his teens stood up and pointed at Dawn Twilight’s basket. Jackson grabbed Libby’s hand and squeezed it while he held his breath.
Libby leaned close. “That’s Willie Frost, one of the banker’s sons.”
Jackson noted that Libby’s eyes were hard. Dawn Twilight turned her face to the side, affording Jackson a view of her profile, and her expression of dread. He waited, his jaw set. The boy, Willie, leaned across to a friend and whispered something, which caused the other lad to emit a wild snicker.
Jackson nearly came out of his chair; Libby dragged him back.
“You can’t interfere,” she ordered, her voice soft yet stern.
Jackson sat down but didn’t relax. Couldn’t. “If he does anything to hurt my daughter—”
Libby pinched his arm. “Just wait a while. See what happens.”
It appeared no one else would bid on Dawn’s basket, and Jackson knew a pain he’d never experienced before, not even in all the years he’d been fighting.
“I’d like that basket.” The voice was husky, on the verge of manhood. Dawn swung around, facing the back of the classroom. Jackson’s gaze followed.
Libby leaned into him. “He must be new. I’ve never seen him before.”
Jackson studied the lad, looking for the same snide attitude he’d seen in the Frost boy, but found none.
“Hey,” Wi
llie Frost sputtered. “The breed’s basket is mine. I asked for it first.”
“Willie,” Chloe Ann warned. “You will not use that word in this room. Have I made myself clear?”
“Well, that’s what she is” he answered with a sneer. “She’s a digger’s brat, and she’s—”
“Willie Frost, close your mouth.”
“But—”
Chloe Ann’s ruler came down hard on Willie’s knuckles. The boy yelped. “Go to the corner and stay there,” she ordered.
He glared at her but rose from his desk. “I’ll tell my pa, and he’ll have you fired.”
Chloe Ann prodded him with the ruler. “By all means,” she answered, “tell your father. I’d be delighted to talk to him once and for all. Your disrespect for others is appalling, and you’ve disrupted this classroom often enough.”
Willie tossed her a glower as he slunk toward the corner. “I don’t care what you say. She’s a breed.”
Ignoring him, Chloe Ann turned to the other boy. “It’s your basket, Danforth. You’ll be sharing the lunch with Dawn O’Malley.”
Jackson caught his daughter’s shy smile as she looked at the boy. Again, something akin to pain twisted inside him. He’d missed so much. All the years between birth and adolescence. All those years when a child learned about living, he’d missed. He hadn’t been there when she took her first step or when she spoke her first words. There were times when he didn’t think he could bear the loss of those years.
He quietly wondered if he truly deserved her, and he knew he didn’t. But he sure wasn’t going to give her up. He couldn’t, not when he’d just found her. Libby O’Malley would have to accept that.
A twinge of conscience sounded silently in his head, but he ignored it.
Libby rose to leave, Jackson followed. Once outside, he turned on her, his face etched with fury.
“What was that all about?”
“It’s what Dawn must go through every day of her life, Jackson.”
“Then why subject her to it?”
Libby crossed her arms over her chest and met his glare.
“I suppose, after witnessing this one incident, you have an alternative?”
Jackson huffed. “She could be taught at home.”
“Oh, that’s a sensible solution,” Libby answered, her voice laced with sarcasm. “She must learn to cope with reality, Jackson. After all, one day she’ll be all grown up and will go out into this cruel world. She must be armed, and her armor must be strong enough to withstand the cruelties of the Willie Frosts everywhere.”
Jackson said nothing for a long, quiet moment, then murmured, “I thought Ethan Frost was a friend of yours.”
She gave him a sidelong glance. “That doesn’t mean I condone the way he’s raising his boys.” She stepped away and plucked dried leaves off a sad-looking rosebush. Ethan was coming by after dinner tonight. She needed to talk with him. She couldn’t go on watching her child endure such bullying. Of course, she thought with a weary sigh, Ethan would probably propose again, and she would refuse. Again. No way would she tie herself to a man whose children were hooligans.
Besides, she didn’t love him. She would never marry again without love.
“I got the impression he was more than a friend,” Jackson said.
She crushed the dying rose petals in her fist. “Well, he’s not. He’s a widower with four ruffians, and I’m not the least bit interested in taking on a responsibility like that. In fact, I think what he really wants is a housekeeper. I already have a house to keep. I surely don’t want to keep his.”
“Does the boy pick on Dawn Twilight often?”
She ignored the pain in his voice. He needed to know the truth. “He and a few of his little bully friends have chased her after school. She comes home with rips in her stockings and bloody knees, and I know she’s fallen or been pushed. She won’t tell me what’s happened, but I know. I know.”
“Believe me, I’d—”
“You’d what?” She stopped and turned on him. “She refuses to make an issue out of it, Jackson. She’s learning to deal with these incidents herself, and although it breaks my heart, I have to let her.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. And at this moment you have no rights whatsoever.”
“I can’t go on like this,” he mumbled. “I can’t stand to watch her in so much pain.”
“And you think I can?”
He was tense beside her. “I don’t know how you do it.”
Sometimes she didn’t know how she did it, either. “Dawn is often far more mature about it than I am. My instincts are the same as yours, Jackson. I die a little inside every time she comes home hurting.”
“I’ve got to tell her who I am. I can’t stand this silence any longer. I want to become part of her life. I want to protect her from snotty little bastards like Willie Frost.”
Libby had been expecting this, but the words were like rocks weighing on her heart. She wanted to warn him, to tell him not to expect too much from Dawn’s initial reaction to the news that her father had been living with them for weeks. But Libby wasn’t sure how her daughter would react. Though she was eager for news of her “real” family, Dawn was basically a dreamer. And dreamers created fantasies, not realities.
“You don’t agree.”
Libby rubbed her neck. “I don’t honestly know what to tell you. No matter how you tell her, the truth is going to be a shock.”
After clearing the dead grass and leaves off the back porch, Jackson stepped into the kitchen. Bert Bellamy nodded at him from the table. Or maybe it was Burl. Hell, he couldn’t tell the two old coots apart.
“Evenin’, Sheriff.” The wizened man stuffed a plug of tobacco against the inside of his cheek and gave him a sly smile. “Seems someone’s tryin’ to weasel in on yer territory.”
“My territory?”
“Yep. That slick feller Ethan Frost is courtin’ Miz Liberty on the front porch. I was sittin’ there, comfy as ya please, and she shooed me out like I was a fly on butter.”
Jackson frowned. “And how do you figure that’s my territory?”
Bellamy cackled. “Ya think yer yellin’ back and forth ain’t been heard by anyone but yerselves?” At Jackson’s look of surprise, the old man continued. “So ya got yerself a daughter, have ya? Danged fine gal, that Dawn. I don’t suppose me an’ Bert is much of a threat to ya, but if ya harm one hair on that little gal’s head, actin’ sheriff or not, you’ll have to answer to us, mister.”
With a shake of his head, Jackson left the old coot alone and walked toward the front door. He heard voices on the porch.
“It’s my final offer, Libby.”
“And ‘no’ is my final answer. Oh, Ethan, why can’t we just be friends?”
Jackson noted a hint of annoyance in her voice, and for some perverse reason, he was glad.
Frost sputtered a mild curse. “Because I don’t want to be your friend, Libby. I want to be your husband.”
“And I’ve told you I will not step in and try to tame those boys of yours. They have absolutely no respect for people, and I especially resent the way they treat Dawn.”
“Oh, Libby, they’re just being boys.”
“Not that it will ever happen, let me assure you, Ethan, but suppose I accepted your proposal. I would be subjecting my daughter to harassment day and night instead of a few hours every afternoon.”
Frost made a growling sound in his throat. “Is that what this is all about? Your daughter? Hell, Libby, she isn’t even your blood.”
Jackson felt a surge of anger. He hated the bastard already, and they hadn’t even met.
The porch swing squeaked.
“Ah, come on, Libby. Don’t leave. You know what I mean.”
“Yes. Yes, I do, Ethan Frost, and if you think—”
“I’m sorry. I know I can be callous at times. Please sit down. I’m sorry I ruined the mood. I wouldn’t hurt you for the world, Libby. I care too much for you.”
Jackson stood in the shadows and shook his head. Yeah, he thought, but he didn’t give a shit about her half-breed daughter. Anger continued to boil in his stomach, and it took all his strength to keep from storming onto the porch and tossing the man off onto the grass.
Still, he felt like a voyeur, especially when he was drawn to the window. Libby and the banker were seated on the porch swing, the banker’s arms closing around Libby’s shoulders. Libby squirmed away. Ethan Frost followed. Their faces came dangerously close together.
Jackson froze and swallowed the knot in his throat. Ii he hadn’t known himself better, he’d have sworn he was jealous.
Suddenly a horrendous sneeze exploded from Libby’s mouth.
Frost swore and pulled away. He moved toward her again, and once again Libby sneezed loud enough to shake the windows.
When he lunged for her a third time, Jackson could hold back no longer. Springing onto the porch, he charged at Frost, grabbed the collar of his jacket, and dragged him off the swing.
Frost’s strangled gasp of surprise was offset by Libby’s cry of alarm.
“Jackson! What are you doing?”
Jackson roughly hauled Frost down the steps. “Get on your mount and get the hell out of here.”
Frost struggled under Jackson’s grip. “Get your hands off me. I’ll leave when I’m good and ready.”
In spite of his words, Frost made a quick getaway, leaving Jackson seething as he watched his retreat.
“Just what was that all about?”
Libby was at his side, the moonlight glancing off her eyes. He was surprised by the anger he saw there.
“He wouldn’t leave you alone,” Jackson murmured.
She made a sound of disbelief. “And you thought it was your duty to leap out onto the porch and save me, like the hero of a bad farce?”
He suddenly realized how foolish he must have looked.
“Well, you were sneezing. I thought you needed help.” He paused a moment, then added, “Maybe you should see the doctor.”
“Nonsense,” she said with a snort. “That’s my standard defense against his ardent pursuit.”
“You mean you did it on purpose?”
“Of course.” There was a smile in her voice. “I’m just surprised he hasn’t caught on by now. I thought he was smarter than that.”
Jane Bonander Page 11
