Midnight Lover

by Barbara Bretton

  "Meet me at the stables." He made a show of looking her over from head to toe. "And don't go wearin' any of those frilly dresses, darlin'."

  "Trust me to dress myself, Mr. Reardon."

  He started to say something but then apparently thought better of the notion.

  "Well," she said, seeking to end the silence that stretched out awkwardly between them, "it is quite late. I should retire for the night."

  His midnight blue eyes gleamed in the darkened hallway. "Mind if I walk you home, Car-o-line?"

  A ridiculous wave of pleasure rippled through her. "I would like that very much."

  He waited while she extinguished the gas light in the kitchen and put her mending away in her sewing basket. A lace-trimmed corset cover slipped from her grasp and Jesse caught it in his large, callused hand before it reached the floor. She watched, entranced, as his tapered fingers closed over the silky undergarment and for a moment she imagined she could feel his hands, hot and demanding, against her breast. Quickly she snatched the corset cover from him and stashed it in the sewing basket, trying to pretend her cheeks weren't flooded with telltale color.

  He followed close behind as she moved through the hallway toward the staircase and she grew conscious of the tightness of her bodice, the hushed sound of their breathing in the quiet house. The sway of her hips as she took the steps, the curve of her waist, even the gentle movement of her unbound hair as it drifted across her shoulders and down her back—all of these commonplace things suddenly became shaded by sensations she was helpless to understand or control. The simple feel of her skirt as it brushed against the back of her legs was almost unbearable.

  Jesse neither touched her nor spoke to her but she knew what he was thinking, all the same. The air between them was charged with electricity like the summer sky and she knew the storm between them was more powerful—and more dangerous—than the anything nature could conjure up. She had spent her lifetime fearing those explosions of light and thunder. Who would have imagined the greatest danger lay in the explosions of light and thunder that happened between a man and a woman?

  She stumbled once at the second floor landing and he took her hand to steady her. How warm his touch was, how intoxicating. Murmuring her thanks, she tried to withdraw her hand from his but his grip tightened. Hand in hand they quietly made their way down the hallway to the door of her room. Her pulse pounded violently in her ears, her throat. She could scarcely draw a breath for her heart felt swollen and seemed to press against her rib cage.

  They stopped before her open door. The featherbed seemed bathed in moonlight, beckoning them. "I am quite tired. It's been a busy day."

  He met her eyes and she was suspended, powerless and yearning, in his gaze. My husband, she thought. This man is my husband in the eyes of man and God. The feelings racing through her were neither wrong nor sinful and if he were only to ask—

  He leaned forward and her breath caught as he tilted her chin with his index finger. Slowly—dear God, so slowly—he lowered his head and brushed her lips with his.

  His whiskey-voice was low and unbearably tender. "Nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

  "Nine o'clock," she agreed, amazed she could manage to speak at all. "Good night, Jesse."

  He chuckled and turned to walk away but not before she heard the unmistakable words, "Goodnight, Mrs. Reardon."

  Chapter 16

  And so it began, the odd courtship of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Reardon.

  Abby tended to the clean-up each morning after breakfast, freeing Caroline to pretty herself for her daily riding lesson and trip to the mine with Jesse. She may not know how to ride a Western saddle, but she did know how to flirt and flirt she would. Once she was away from the watchful eyes of Abby and the other girls, Caroline would resurrect feminine wiles she'd feared lost forever. How wonderful it would feel to look up at Jesse through daintily lowered eyelashes, to choose each dress with him in mind, to tilt her head in a way that made the sunshine bounce off the golden strands. In some ways the rough and tumble cowboys of Silver Spur were no different from the elegant gentlemen back in Boston: the sweet scent of perfume and the seductive sway of a lady's skirts could ruffle the feathers of even the strongest man. And Jesse was no exception.

  How delightful!

  Oh, Jesse didn't make a move to kiss her the next morning and, to Caroline's amazement, not once did he take unfair advantage as he helped her mount Jimmy. His hands were sure and steady at her waist and his smile was friendly but underneath she sensed that her proximity was as unnerving to him as his nearness was to her and—God forgive her—Caroline took full advantage.

  Life, it seemed, was looking bright and beautiful. Each morning she rose with the dawn, dressed, then went downstairs to prepare breakfast for her boarders. Mr. Mattingly had indeed approved her loan and it wouldn't be long before renovations on the Crazy Arrow began in earnest. Doc Willoughby's wife had introduced Caroline to her son who was a master carpenter and he'd promised Caroline the finest work this side of the Mississippi.

  More spinsters showed up at the Crazy Arrow, frightened away from The Last Stop by gunfire and drunken brawling, and they had to double up in order to accommodate them. Thanks to Mr. Mattingly's quick action on her loan, Caroline was able to officially hire Margaret and Betty McGuigan and the two Wilder sisters to help out around the Arrow.

  As it was, her days were filled with activity and her nights—well, most nights she found herself listening for the sound of her husband's footsteps in the hallway.

  * * *

  Jesse was sitting behind his desk at the King of Hearts Saloon, trying to make some sense out of the tangle his life had become in one short week. He'd been drinking too much, sleeping too little, and the only thing in his life he was sure of was that he never should have moved into the Crazy Arrow.

  If Jesse had learned anything the past week, he'd learned that living that close to Caroline and not being able to touch her was the hardest thing he'd ever done. What kind of damn fool mess had he gotten himself into, anyway? Here he was supposed to be striking a blow for the Single Men's Protection League by claiming the Golden Arrow as his own, when the truth was that he had up and married the owner.

  Married, at least, in all the ways but the one that counted. There he was, wed a full seven days, and he'd yet to sample his wife's charms. Groaning, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes against the vivid images that thought conjured up. How long could he go on passing her in the hallway at night, watching her hips swaying beneath her silky robe, wondering how that golden hair would feel drifting across him as they lay together in her bed? Each night he lay awake, staring at the ceiling, conscious of every sound, every movement in the bedroom next to his. More than once he'd contemplated storming her door and overpowering her with the heat of his desire for her, only to punch his pillow in frustration and wish Jade would get back from wherever it was she'd gone and take his mind off the impossible.

  Jesse'd always believed there were two kinds of women in the world: gals like Doc Willoughby's wife and gals like Jade. Women either took care of a man and gave him a houseful of sons or else they took care of a man and gave him a hell of a good time.

  Far as he could tell, Caroline didn't fit in either category. He'd never met a woman with such a strong mind before; she could cipher and read and talk circles around the smartest man in town and she had dreams that Jesse understood. Dreams about building things, about growing with the West, about carving out a place for herself where there'd been no place before.

  Damnation, but he found himself thinking about her at the oddest times; wondering about the way her mind worked; aching to discover the secrets of her body even though he reckoned this was one woman he wouldn't be able to push aside once the loving was over.

  To make matters worse, the men were beginning to ask questions. Jesse had to admit the circumstances looked pretty suspicious, what with him riding off every morning with Caroline in tow. No wonder Sam Markham had up and asked Jesse ri
ght out if he was playing with the enemy. Now Sam had a black eye to show for it and Jesse hoped the sight of his bartender looking so poorly would keep the other men from asking any more questions. Better they forgot about Caroline and the Crazy Arrow and began thinking about Silver Spur and the future of the old Rayburn mine.

  For the last few years Silver Spur had been getting by mostly on reputation. The gamblers and the gunslingers still passed the time at the King of Hearts and the Golden Dragon but the real heart of the town was beating slower and slower. Mines that had once been the backbone of the town were now dead as the bodies buried at Cemetery Hill.

  But not the old Rayburn mine. Twice Aaron Bennett had put together a crew to reopen the site and twice he'd been thwarted by rock slides and a collapsed support near the entrance. Jesse was convinced the Easterner had been right and there was silver still hidden deep inside the site, and he was willing to stake his own time and money on that hunch. Big Red Morgan, Luke Foster, Three Toe Taylor and a dozen other miners had already signed on with him and the excitement in town was beginning to build. A summer storm had been threatening for days. If it held off, they would start work the day after tomorrow. The citizens of Silver Spur were holding their collective breath along with Jesse.

  If his guess about the mine panned out, the town could have a second chance at prosperity—and this time he'd make sure they did it right.

  Jesse winced as a sharp knock at his office door rattled his fillings. "Go away, Sam," he muttered through clenched teeth.

  Again the knock.

  "I wouldn't keep doin' that, Markham, unless you got yourself a pot of black coffee with you."

  The door swung open and there in the doorway stood Jade, exotic and lovely in a dress of dark gold silk that clung to her fine-boned frame. "Been a long time, Jesse."

  He rose to his feet and crossed the room to greet her.

  "Where you been, gal? Expected you back a few days ago."

  Her narrow shoulders rose and fell in a graceful shrug.

  "Hit me a few bumps in the road but I managed to get back."

  He noticed a faint purple discoloration beneath her left cheekbone and touched it gently with his index finger. "What's this?"

  "Like I said, we hit a few bumps in the road. I fell against the side handle of the coach."

  "You seen Doc Willoughby?"

  "Don't need to see nobody, Jesse." She paused and laid a hand against his chest. "Nobody, that is, except you."

  He took a step backward then turned toward the bar set up near the window. "How 'bout a whiskey to welcome you home?"

  She closed the distance between them again. "Used to be you'd think up more excitin' ways to welcome me home."

  He rubbed his temple. "Used to be I was younger, darlin'. I got me a head today fit to explode. Only cure's the hair of the dog what bit me." He poured them each two fingers of his best private stock and handed her a tumbler. "Drink up. There's plenty more where that came from."

  Jade accepted the whiskey and settled herself down on the small blue sofa opposite the bar. "Miss me, Jesse?"

  He took his seat and propped his feet up on the desk.

  "Town ain't the same without you, gal."

  She smiled slightly and took a sip of whiskey. "Lot of talk goin' on about you, Jesse. I hear you been spendin' an awful lot of time with her lately."

  "Part of the deal. You know I moved into the Arrow to stake my claim. Got to see the gal don't get everything she wants."

  "Seems she already has."

  "Talk plain, darlin'. I ain't one for riddles."

  "I hear you been spendin' your mornings with her, Jesse, riding out on Diablo, lookin' real cozy together."

  "Gettin' the mine set to open. Gal's got a right to keep an eye on what she says belongs to her."

  "Just like you and the Crazy Arrow."

  "Now you got it, darlin'. Besides, the League likes havin' one of their own inside, keepin' his eye on all those man-hungry spinsters."

  Jade rose slowly from her chair, her dark eyes glittering. "I'm feelin' kind of man-hungry myself, Jesse."

  Jesse swung his feet back down to the floor and waited. Jade took her sweet time walking toward him, letting him enjoy the sight of her graceful hips swaying with each step she took. Jade knew what she was doing to him with that provocative way she had of looking right into his eyes, not at all like Caroline whose cheeks turned a real pretty shade of pink when she caught him looking at her. He never would have thought it, but innocence could be right appealing.

  Jade's perfume filled his nostrils with the deep scent of musk and jasmine as she draped herself across his lap. "Come on, Jesse," she said, her voice husky. "Show me how much you missed me." She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her mouth to his. Her hot, insistent tongue slid into his mouth before he knew what hit him.

  It wasn't that what she was doing didn't send his blood rushing to all the right places. Jade was the best when it came to getting a man ready and willing for anything—and Jesse was definitely ready.

  Willing, however, was a whole other thing.

  He didn't know exactly why it was but the feel of Jade's hands just didn't set right with him this time and he reached behind his neck and gently pulled her hands away.

  "You got somethin' else in mind, Jesse?" Her voice was cooler this time, less ready to please. "I don't mind tryin' new ways."

  "Bad timin', gal. I got a passel of receipts that need doin' so's Sam can place an order with Frank Carter." He had to hand it to Jade; she didn't bat an eyelash, just sat there looking straight at him. "You understand, don't you, darlin'? Business comes first."

  Gracefully she rose from her perch on his lap and leaned against the edge of the desk. "If it were only business comin' between us, Jesse, I'd be real understandin', but I got me a feeling there's something else going on."

  He leaned back in his seat and tried to look casual.

  "Now that you mention it, darlin', there is something else going on: I'm openin' the mine back up day after tomorrow."

  Jade's dark eyes narrowed. "How'd you get the mine away from that gal?"

  "Circuit judge struck up a deal between us," he said, which was true enough. "I get to re-open the mine and we split any profits."

  "Old man Rayburn lost his shirt and that yellow-haired gal's daddy didn't fare no better. Seems like you could come up with a better way to spend your money."

  Somehow he felt strange telling Jade about his plans for Silver Spur. She was a practical woman whose own dreams revolved around one day moving on down to Mexico and building a castle on the Gulf. Now and again she'd tease Jesse, telling him he could be the king of her castle, free to live in the lap of luxury, and he would laugh and forget her promises as easily as she made them. Silver Spur was home to Jesse, the first and only home he'd ever had, and the only way he'd leave it was feet first in a pine box.

  "I got me a hunch about the mine," he said at last, "and it don't hurt none to show that uppity Bennett gal who's runnin' this town."

  "I suppose it don't," Jade said slowly, "but why is it, Jesse, I got the feelin' you ain't telling me everything?"

  "Hey, Jesse!" Sam Markham's voice boomed through the closed door. "Get yourself out here pronto. We got trouble."

  Jesse leaped to his feet and grabbed for his gun.

  "Jesse!" Jade's voice rose in protest. "We haven't—"

  "Sorry, darlin'," he said over the sound of breaking glass coming from the bar room. "You heard what the man said. We got trouble out there."

  He was out the door before she could say another word.

  * * *

  Jade sank into the desk chair the moment the door closed behind Jesse. Her heart was pounding furiously and beads of sweat were snaking their way down her back, soaking the waistband of her dress.

  I'm openin' the mine back up...day after tomorrow...openin' the mine back up...day after tomorrow...

  "No!" The word tore from her throat against her will. This last stageco
ach robbery had nearly cost Jade her life. She'd spent the past three days up in Golden Gulch while a doctor tended to the fractured rib and bruises she'd ended up with, thanks to an overzealous passenger. She'd been lucky up until now but if there was one thing Jade knew, it was that luck didn't last forever.

  A month; six weeks at the most. That was all that stood between her and the Mexican coast—the dream that had sustained her for longer than she cared to remember. If Jesse re-opened the mine, it would only be a matter of days before her cache of gold and silver bullion was discovered. A matter of days before her dreams were dashed. They'd come so far, the two of them had, so far from those angry, violent days when Silver Spur was up for grabs. Couldn't he see they were meant to stay together?

  "You don't need the mine, Jesse," she whispered to the empty room. Or that yellow-haired bitch. "Just wait a little longer and I'll give you everything you ever dreamed of."

  * * *

  Caroline and Abby had just stepped from the dim vestibule of the Howell Bank and onto the busy street when they saw Jade leaving the King of Hearts Saloon.

  "Would you be lookin' at that," Abby said with an indignant sniff. "And him a married man."

  "Be quiet, Abby!" Caroline ordered the outspoken young maid. "Mr. Reardon can do whatever he pleases. I have no hold on him."

  "The Almighty would be havin' somethin' to say about that, miss, what with you two having said your vows and—ouch!" Abby rubbed her arm where Caroline had pinched her.

  "Hush!" Caroline hissed. "She's coming this way."

  "Mornin', missy." Jade's smile was quicksilver. "I was headin' down your way to talk to you."

  Caroline did her best to hide her surprise and could but pray Abby was capable of doing the same. "How pleasant. Perhaps we can walk together."

  Jade cast a pointed look toward Abby then looked back at Caroline. "What I got to say's for your ears only."

  "Go on ahead, Abby," Caroline said, praying her maid would give her no trouble. "I'll be there directly."

  Abby glowered and grumbled but, thank God, she finally turned and marched off down the street toward the Crazy Arrow. The last thing Caroline needed was for Abby to say anything that might pique Jade's curiosity about Caroline's relationship with Jesse Reardon.