When she got back to town, it was going to be impossible to return to the formality she’d tried to cling to. She’d better line up some women to introduce to the doctor. The brothers had intended to have a big party on the Fourth of July to celebrate the holiday, and the twins’ birthday and anniversary. Rich and Russ had both married in a joint ceremony last year.
She didn’t know what they would do now.
If Russ was all right, they might go ahead with it. It was a tradition to have a July Fourth party. It all depended on Russ. Poor Rich and Samantha were expecting their first child in three months. Janie said Rich was watching Samantha like a hawk. They were sharing the house with his grandmother, and Rich was grateful for someone to be at home with Samantha all day.
Toby had muttered something about not having another child. They had a baby boy born last November. He’d talked of having a houseful of children, but after Abby’s death, he’d changed his mind.
A gentle snore interrupted her thoughts. She looked at Jon. He seemed to be a good doctor. Maybe he could reassure Rich and Toby. Toby’s boy was going to be spoiled rotten if some more babies didn’t come along fast. Of course, Samantha was due in three months. A little girl.
Samantha was so excited. She’d had a difficult life until she met Rich. And Janie, Rich’s mother, was over the moon about a baby girl. She’d had three boys and wanted grandchildren, especially girls.
Which only reminded Tori of the loss of Abby and her unborn child. Life could be unbelievably cruel. The family had been fortunate for a long time.
She checked her watch. It had been half an hour. That was as long as she could give him. She stood and crossed to the grassy area where he was sleeping. He looked so young, lying there sprawled on the grass. The recurring dream of him holding her in his arms, which had bothered her since she’d spent the night at his apartment, flashed through her mind.
Better not think of that. She bent down and shook his shoulder. “Jon? Time to go.”
He rubbed his eyes and stared up at her. “Oh, yeah.”
He groaned as he sat up. “Did I go to sleep?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a grin. “Does snoring count?”
His cheeks flushed. “Oh, sorry.”
She wanted to hug him. He was so different from the stiff doctor she’d first met in her office. Instead, she offered him a hand up.
“Thanks,” he said as he stood, adding a small moan. “Did you get any rest?”
“No, but I’m more used to riding. Only about five hours left. We’ll take another break in a few hours. I brought along another snack.”
“I think I could eat anything right now, let alone in three hours. I can’t believe my appetite.”
“Mountain air. You might want to put on your jacket. There’s a breeze picking up and we’re higher up.”
“Is there going to be a storm?”
She frowned and stared to the west. “I’m not as good at knowing these things as Red, but I think it’s a possibility. Hopefully rain and not snow.”
“You’re kidding!”
She laughed at his amazement. “You’re going to be here four years. You’ll see.”
They mounted up, Jon with some difficulty, and they were on the trail again. A snack in two or three hours. Maybe that would keep him going.
TWO HOURS LATER, the storm had come. Rain was pouring down and Jon realized why she’d told him to wear the cowboy hat. His baseball cap would have protected his face, but it would have left his neck bare, with rain pouring inside his jacket.
Trees were not as thick, so they must be getting closer to the tree line, where it was too high for them to grow. At least it made the paths a little wider. When they came across another tree ahead offering a little shelter from the rain, Victoria stopped her horse under its branches.
“I don’t think we should dismount, but maybe we’ll wait here a few minutes and see if the rain stops. Want your snack now?”
He growled. “I think I could eat Snoopy at the moment.”
“Don’t say that. He’ll run away with the snack.”
“My apologies, Snoopy. I didn’t realize you were so sensitive.”
She gave him a sympathetic smile. “I’m going to share my addiction with you, but you mustn’t tell anyone.”
“I hope your addiction is for T-bone steaks.”
When he looked hopefully at her, she giggled. “Nope, afraid not. I’m addicted to cupcakes. The ones with cream in the center.” She pulled out a package of cellophane-wrapped cupcakes.
He looked at the two cupcakes in his package and figured they’d last him about two seconds. But they were better than nothing. Ripping off the packaging, which he slipped into his jacket pocket, he practically swallowed them whole. But he found them surprisingly satisfying.
“I think it’s all the chocolate, but they always pick me up, don’t you think?” Tori asked him.
“Yeah. You wouldn’t happen to have any more, would you?”
She offered another package, much to his surprise. “I was actually joking,” he admitted. “I’ll split them with you.”
She grinned. “I have another package, too. This is a hard trip. It takes a lot of energy, even for an experienced rider. You’re doing very well, but we still have a couple of hours to go.”
They munched in silence, listening to the raindrops hitting the leaves overhead. It was an amazingly peaceful place.
Until a bolt of lightning ripped the sky.
“Ooh! We’ve got to get away from the tree. So I guess we’d better go ahead. Hopefully we’ll ride out of the storm soon.”
Jon could only agree.
While he wouldn’t recommend four cupcakes as a snack, he agreed with Victoria. They had an amazing effect on him. It had to be the chocolate. He’d have to remember to put them on his shopping list if he ever planned a trip into the mountains again. Especially if Tori accompanied him.
He’d watched her tongue dig into the cream center, pleasure in her eyes. It hadn’t taken a second to want to see that look on her face again, her tongue seeking something else. In spite of his aches and pains, he was finding this ride amazingly pleasurable.
The trail took a dip into a small valley. Jon preferred riding up to riding down, though he had no choice but to follow Victoria. At least the rain wasn’t in his face so much with his head down.
It was easy to pretend it was a hundred years earlier and he was a man heading west to build his life with his woman, his wife. The courage of the pioneers had been remarkable. That thought gave him something to think about besides Tori.
When they reached the bottom, Tori pulled up and waited for him to reach her side. “I just wanted you to know that the cabin sits on the top of this ridge. It’s only half as high as the one we just crossed. We’ll be there in about an hour, then we’ll be able to get out of the rain. Are you soaked?”
He nodded. “Pretty much, but thanks for the encouragement.”
With a nod, she started off again.
One hour. He could last that long, surely. Even though his legs were aching, his rear was sore, his—well, everything below the waist was in pain, he could last one more hour. Too bad Tori didn’t offer him any more cupcakes. Eating seemed to dull the pain.
The rain was a little lighter as they rode, but the nearby trees were shedding their water, so they were still getting just as wet. Jon wished for the warm sunshine back in Rawhide. Back in civilization. Then he chuckled to himself. He’d considered Chicago to be civilization when he’d first arrived.
But beggars couldn’t be choosers.
WHEN THE CABIN CAME into sight, Tori’s heart beat faster. She had thought she remembered the way, but she was afraid she’d miss it, especially in the rain. Of course, she hadn’t told Jon that.
Then she noticed there was no smoke coming out of the chimney. It was a chilly day up here in the high country, especially with the rainstorm. There were no lights in the cabin, either. Kerosene lights. That’s what they
used up here. Maybe Russ had fallen asleep and didn’t realize it was so dark.
Forgetting about Jon, she spurred her horse forward, picking up the pace for the first time in hours. Her anxiety about Russ was greater than ever.
She could hear Jon coming faster, too. Still, it took several minutes to cover the distance. She pulled Snowflake to a halt and swung out of the saddle. “Russ? Russ? Where are you?”
The door didn’t open. Silence was the only response.
She tied the reins to the hitching post and ran up the wooden steps, out of the rain. The door was unlocked and she shoved it open and stepped inside.
Nothing moved. He wasn’t here.
She turned to go back out and ran into Jon.
“He’s not here.”
“Maybe he went out for the day and hasn’t come back yet,” he suggested, his voice hopeful.
She rushed around him.
“Where are you going?”
“To see if his horse is still here.”
His favorite horse was in the repaired corral. There was grass growing inside the corral and a water barrel, so a horse could manage for quite a while without a man to feed him.
She walked slowly back to the cabin, wondering if Jon could be right and Russ would come back in a while.
Or was he gone forever, like Abby.
Chapter Seven
Jon moved to the porch of the old cabin and waited for Tori. He was glad to be out of the rain, but he shared Tori’s concern about Russ.
She rounded the cabin, her head down.
“Is the horse there?”
Her head snapped up, as if she’d forgotten his presence. “Oh, yes. The horse is there.”
“So maybe he went for a walk, Tori. It’s not like he knew we were coming.”
“Yes, of course. I’m going to unstrap the saddles. Can you lift them off and put them on the porch? Then I’ll take the horses to the corral.”
“Won’t they need food and water?”
“There’s grass growing in the corral and a water barrel that was filled today from the rainstorm.”
They unsaddled the horses without comment. When Jon offered to take the horses to the corral, she refused, asking him to carry all their supplies inside. “Otherwise, we’ll awake to a family of bears treating themselves.”
He piled their supplies on the big table that seated eight in the middle of the kitchen part of the cabin. There were also four sets of bunk beds against the walls in the living area with a fireplace in the middle, and that was all the furniture. He’d noted the wood piled on the porch and brought some in to start a fire. By the time Tori came inside, he’d started a small fire.
She glanced at it as she shrugged off her wet jacket. “Thanks.” Then she looked in a corner and brought out an old-fashioned laundry rack. She spread her jacket out and told him to do the same to his. “We don’t want to start out wet in the morning.”
He couldn’t agree more. “Is there anywhere in particular you used to visit when you came up here?”
“There’s a lovely view at one place. The guys used to call it—” she paused and caught her breath “—Lover’s Leap. You don’t think—I can’t believe—no!” She turned away and moved to the kitchen area, taking down two glass lamps. She reached under the sink to pull out a can of kerosene and filled both lamps.
After lighting the first, she set it on the window ledge over the sink. The other she carried to the mantel over the fireplace.
Without speaking, she stood staring down into the fire.
“Is it very far?” he asked quietly.
“I—I don’t know. It’s been a long time—we’ll have to wait until morning.” Her voice sounded leaden, heavy.
“He may be back before then,” was the best Jon could offer. He didn’t know Russ well enough to guess what he might have done.
She walked back over to the table and began digging into the supplies.
“Looking for something?” he asked.
“Dinner. I’ll have it ready in about fifteen minutes.”
“Do you think Russ did any cooking?” Jon asked. “There’s a pile of dirty clothes over here and his sleeping bag on this lower bunk, but either he’s very neat or he hasn’t been preparing much food.” Jon moved closer to Victoria, waiting for her answer.
“Whatever he did, he’s almost out of supplies.” She pulled four big cans of stew out of their pack and set them on the table. “Good thing I brought plenty. We may be here for several days.”
He’d figured as much. He guessed Tori didn’t intend to go back home without Russ, if possible. By the time they found Lover’s Leap and climbed down and back up again, half the day would be gone.
They couldn’t start back then, or if they did they’d have to camp overnight on the trail. “Anything I can do to help?”
“No, thank you.”
There was a small potbellied stove in the kitchen for cooking and Tori quickly built a fire in it and poured the cans of stew into a big pot, putting it on the top of the stove. Then she mixed batter for biscuits and baked several of them in a Dutch oven. In a few minutes the smell of beef stew, even canned, and baking bread only increased the hunger Jon was feeling.
When she filled two bowls and set the bread on the table, she didn’t have to call him to dinner. He was standing beside the table, waiting.
After he sat down, she walked to the door and opened it, looking out into the night.
“Did you hear something?” he asked, not sure if he should join her or not.
“No. I just thought—it’s already dark.” She closed the door and came back to the table.
He waited until she picked up her own spoon before he started eating. He didn’t look up again until his bowl was empty, “That was great,” he told Tori, feeling he’d been greedy.
She barely smiled, then reached into a sack. “These are our only desserts.” She slid out onto the table two packets of cupcakes. “Sorry there isn’t more.”
He lifted her hand to his lips. “You’ve provided great food, honey. You’ve handled everything, in fact. Thanks for taking care of me.”
She jumped up from the table, mumbling “You’re welcome” and grabbing her bowl and spoon and putting them in the sink. Jon instantly followed, not wanting her to think he expected her to clean up without him. “Why don’t you sit down and rest and I’ll wash up.”
“No!” Even she seemed surprised by the snap in her voice. “I—I have to have something to do.”
“You wash, I’ll dry,” he suggested softly, understanding her discomfort.
They did the dishes in silence, until Jon asked, “How often have you come up here?”
“Every summer,” she said after a silence. “It became a dad-and-kids trip. The moms stayed on the ranch and the brothers let all the kids ten and up come on the ride. I was so excited the first trip. And scared. I wanted Dad to be proud of me. And I thought it was so great that Jessica didn’t get to go yet.” She smiled faintly. “I wish she were here now.”
He watched her out of the corner of his eye. “You two don’t seem much alike.”
“No. I don’t look like any of them. Mom says I look like her mother. I began to wonder if I was really a Randall, but Mom says there’s no doubt of that.”
Jon chuckled. “She’s right. You’ve got that stubborn determination, that sense of right and wrong and the willingness to do for others. From what I’ve seen, those are all Randall traits.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Do you think so?”
“Yeah, I do. You and Russ are close, aren’t you?”
She closed her eyes and he saw a tear slip past her guard and trail down her cheek and he could have kicked himself.
But she answered almost at once. She nodded and said, “He always seemed to be in Rich’s shadow. I never felt like I fit in, either, and he helped me out a lot. But all my cousins are like brothers and sisters. We may fuss and fight among ourselves, especially the boys, but no one criticizes one of us
, without having to face us all backing each other.
“That’s why I had to come find Russ. He needs us now. He needs—” She broke off in a sob. “We need to hold tight, to get through our sorrow.”
He put down the towel and put his arms around Tori. She didn’t come to his shoulder, but he didn’t for a minute think of her as a child. What he felt for Tori had nothing to do with children.
“Hold on, Tori. We’re going to find Russ. It’s going to be all right.” He stroked her back soothingly, praying he was right. She pressed against him, burying her face against his chest.
“I can’t stand it, Jon. It hurts so much.”
He didn’t know if she meant Russ or Abby, but he felt her pain and sympathized with her, and he wasn’t even family. “We’ll get through this, Tori, we will.” He kissed her forehead, the top of her head, and pressed her tighter against him, wanting to do anything to please her, to distract her.
She lifted her head and tried to smile, to thank him for his comfort, and his lips covered hers. Gently he caressed her, his mouth leaving hers to press gentle kisses on her face, but it kept coming back to her soft lips.
When her arms went around his neck, lifting her breasts against his chest, it was as if lightning raked his skin, leaving heat in tender trails on his skin.
He lifted her, bringing her mouth even with his and the kissing smoldered, melting his bones and making him hungry for more, more touching, more heat. He crossed the room to the first bunk and lay her down on the thin mattress and joined her, only leaving her lips alone briefly.
His lips trailed to her slender neck. The taste of her skin was like honey, but he returned to her lips. When she responded to his searching tongue, he lifted her against his chest, allowing him to get even closer.
But it wasn’t all physical. He’d first doubted her willingness to go the extra mile. He now knew her heart was the biggest part of her. She’d done everything possible for Russ. She’d mourned for Abby, too, yet she’d kept her composure and done her job.
She’d taken a long trip on horseback to save her cousin’s life, and brought Jon along, too. Her care was evident in everything she did.
Randall Honor Page 7
