Promises Prevail

by Sarah McCarty

  “Damn.” After a pause Cougar said, “A lover would be the type to take revenge that way.”

  “That occurred to me.” More than once.

  “Rumor was Jenna wasn’t the most faithful of wives.”

  “Don’t go there, Cougar.”

  Cougar lifted his brow at the warning, shrugged his broad shoulders, and added, “It’s not as if a man could blame her if she did stray.”

  “If you don’t want us coming to blows, you’re going to have to trust me on this. Jenna isn’t the type to step out on a man, no matter how bad the marriage.” Clint tightened his grip on the cup, keeping his head down until the need to mess up Cougar’s face was under control.

  “My apologies.”

  “Apology accepted.”

  “So you think whoever did it is still out there?”

  “Yes.” Clint took a long pull of coffee, welcoming its scalding heat.

  “Damn.” Cougar took a pull on his own coffee and glanced over at the women. “It would drive me crazy to know Mara was in danger and not knowing from what, or who.”

  “I’m not the most serene right now.” Clint watched as Jenna talked with Mara, clearly enjoying the start of a friendship, but still on edge. The set of her shoulders was stiff, as if expecting the moment to come crashing down on her. Damn, he wished she could just relax and let herself go.

  “It’d be easiest if you could get her to tell you.”

  “That’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

  Jenna smiled shyly at something Mara said, her dimples appearing and disappearing in her cheeks. His cock surged to attention, eagerly awaiting another glimpse.

  Cougar chuckled and shook his head. “I know what that’s like. Took me a good month to coax Mara around to my way of thinking.”

  Clint shot Cougar a disbelieving glance. “The way I remember it, Mara was the one who did the coaxing.”

  “Which reminds me. I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to pay you back.” Cougar set his cup on the low oak table between them. His long hair swung over his shoulder as he again arched his brow at him.

  “For what?” Clint sat back in his chair and feigned innocence.

  Cougar paused before he let go of the cup. “For teaching the woman how to tie knots.”

  “What in hell did you expect me to do? She came to me for help.”

  “You could have sent her home.”

  “From what I understood, you weren’t letting her come home, and that’s what she intended to set to rights.”

  “It wasn’t any of your business.”

  “You were being an ass.”

  “Almost as much of an ass as I’m sure you’re being now.” Cougar sat back in his chair and motioned in the direction of the women.

  “All I’ve done is marry the woman.”

  “Uh-huh. On the outside that would appear to be so, but Clint, I’ve known you since you were twelve, and nothing is ever that simple with you.”

  It was Clint’s turn to say, “Uh-huh.”

  “As a matter of fact,” Cougar continued, “it wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out that you’ve been hankering for Jenna all along and just looking for an excuse to hitch your wagon to hers.”

  “She’s a good woman, and she needs help.” Damn, Cougar knew him too well.

  “There are a lot of good women who need help. I didn’t see you marrying up with any of them.”

  “Which just goes to prove your theory is empty.” Probably because just looking at the other women didn’t make him ache so hard his back teeth wobbled.

  Cougar cut his glance to Clint’s groin where his erection throbbed. The other man’s smile was slow, and promised future ribbing.

  “You just keep shoveling that bull. Truth is you married up with Jenna Hennesey—”

  “McKinnely,” Clint corrected.

  Cougar nodded and continued, “Truth is you married up with Jenna for the same reason I married up with Mara.”

  “And what would that be?”

  Cougar laughed. It was a low, deeply satisfied sound that had both women glancing their way, Mara with love and Jenna with wary curiosity. Clint sighed. He really was going to have to do something about Jenna’s unreasonable fear of Cougar.

  Clint smiled at Jenna, which immediately had her ducking her head and fussing with Brianna’s blanket. He had to wait two seconds before she lifted her red face and smiled back.

  “It was the only way to get any peace of mind,” Cougar admitted, continuing their conversation. “The woman had the damnedest knack for getting into trouble.”

  “Not to mention she had you walking bent double with hunger.”

  “Not to mention that.” This time Cougar’s smile was wryly mocking.

  “I’m not likely to get any peace of mind until I find out who Jenna’s afraid of.”

  “That’s the truth.” Cougar shook his hair back and all laughter faded. He suddenly looked as intense and as dangerous as his namesake. Clint sighed. Figures Jenna would choose that moment to look over. Her grip on Brianna tightened and her glance as it bounced off Clint’s was worried.

  “You put someone on watch?” Cougar asked.

  “Not yet. I was wondering if you had any idea who was free.” Cougar’s taunting smile let him know exactly who Cougar had in mind before he said a word.

  “Jackson’s free, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on someone as pretty as Jenna.”

  “I thought Jackson was tied up with those rustlers over at the Rocking C?” Clint didn’t want the handsome, sweet-talking wrangler and bounty hunter anywhere near his wife.

  “Nope. He cleaned them out last week.”

  Damn. “You sure he’s not looking for a break?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Damn.”

  Cougar shrugged. “If Jenna is as loyal as you say you don’t have anything to worry about, and short of Asa, myself, or you, Jackson is the best there is now that the reverend is out of commission.”

  “I know.”

  “We’re talking about my niece and sister-in-law, Clint. I’m not taking chances because of your jealousy.”

  “Neither am I.” Clint forced the words between his teeth. His mind knew what was right while every possessive instinct forbade another male from being anywhere near Jenna.

  “Jesus, can’t you just take her to bed, work that magic you do that has all the women falling at your feet, and wrap her around your finger?”

  He wished. “It’s not that easy.”

  “Why the hell not? She’s your wife.”

  “And that just has her waiting for me to turn into a monster. The woman doesn’t have an ounce of trust left in her body.”

  “So what are you going to do about it?”

  Clint drained the last of his coffee and listened to the quiet murmur of the women’s voices, watching Jenna’s expression as she nodded to whatever Mara was telling her, wanting to reach over and smooth the tension from her shoulders with his fingers, wanting to tell her it was going to be all right.

  “I figured I’d spoil her rotten and see how she takes to it.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Spoiling Jenna was easier said than done. The woman had a bone-deep distrust of anyone doing anything nice for her. Taking Bri so she could enjoy a bath had her looking nervous. Cooking supper so she could bathe Brianna made her drop things. Walking Bri through a crying jag had her alternating between biting her lip and making excuses. As if there was something shocking about a baby crying.

  Clint leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb and watched Jenna as she sat on the bed with Bri, rocking her in her arms, alternating between soothing noises and outlandish promises. Sure enough the two of them had worked themselves into quite a lather. Bri was clearly taking her cues from her mother, screaming in time with Jenna’s frantic promises, sobbing through her tense croons.

  He pushed away from the door. “Here’s the bottle.”

  Jenna turned those frantic blue eyes on him a
nd he felt his heart trip over itself, redoubling its beat when he spotted Bri. Damn, he didn’t like to see his girls upset.

  “What’s the matter, Button?” Brianna kicked her feet and screamed again, the hoarse wail ending on a pathetic warble. Jenna nudged the corner of her wide-open mouth with the bottle. “Here, Bri. Here’s your bottle.” A bit of milk dribbled in. “Take it, sweetie, and you’ll feel all better.”

  Bri obviously disagreed. She turned her head, letting the milk dribble down her trembling chin. Jenna tried again. Bri screamed louder, her body as stiff as a board in Jenna’s arms.

  “She doesn’t want it.”

  Clint touched the little one’s flushed cheek. “She’s just got her tail in a knot, Sunshine.”

  “She’s suffering!” And Jenna clearly saw that as her fault. Clint could practically see the knots forming in her spine. He cupped Jenna’s shoulder in his hand.

  “She’s showing off that fine temper she has.”

  “She’s too little to have a temper!”

  “Uh-huh.” From where he sat, Bri had one hell of a temper, but he could see that wasn’t a point Jenna was willing to concede.

  Jenna shifted so her back was slightly to him, and resumed her rocking and promising. Bri resumed her screaming. In the doorway, Danny whined. Son of a bitch, if he wanted any peace, he was going to have to step in. He motioned the dog to stay while he kicked off his right boot. Before it hit the floor, Jenna’s promises to the little girl had reached the ridiculous. When she got to the point where she promised to return her to Mara if she’d only eat, Clint had had enough.

  His left boot hit the floor with a clunk. The mattress sagged as he swung up behind Jenna. The sudden movement got him one moment of peace as surprise silenced both Jenna and Brianna. He wrapped his arm around Jenna’s soft waist, gathering the volume of white material comprising her nightdress in his hand as he did. One tug and Jenna’s back was resting against his chest, her soft buttocks cradling his groin. He looped his ankles over her shins, keeping her in place.

  “What are you doing?” Jenna asked in a muted squeak.

  Clint bent his head to nuzzle her neck. The scent of roses immediately enveloped him in its familiar embrace. “Helping you calm down.”

  Jenna wiggled against him. “I’m not the one who needs calming.”

  He held her in place. “I disagree.”

  Jenna’s snort was as close to an argument as he’d ever heard her give.

  She nudged Bri’s mouth again with the bottle. Bri arched her back and let loose a scream that must have originated in her toes.

  Jenna renewed her wiggling. Clint let her try to get free while he reached around her with his longer arms and tugged the blanket out from around Brianna.

  “A lot of times, new moms have trouble nursing their babies,” he began conversationally. “They’re nervous, and their milk doesn’t flow.”

  “I don’t have any milk.”

  He kissed her cheek at the regret in her husky voice. “But you’re still nervous and it’s up to your husband to ease things along.”

  “What do you know about new mothers?” Her tone bordered on insolent. He kissed her again for that bit of courage.

  “For awhile I had thoughts of being a doctor and tagged along behind Doc whenever I had the chance.”

  “And instead you became a marshal?” She touched the bottle to Bri’s quivering lips. The little one arched her spine and wailed. Against him, Jenna lurched as if suppressing a sob.

  “Pretty much.” The blanket came free and he snapped it open. Brianna silenced mid-wail, her puffy eyes following the flash of white. He folded the blanket into a triangle and put it on the bed. “Lay Bri down on the blanket, Sunshine.”

  “She’ll cry.”

  “No you won’t, will you, Button?” He rested his chin on Jenna’s shoulder. Brianna sucked in her lip and wrinkled her nose, clearly ready to make a liar out of him.

  “What are you going to do?” Jenna asked as she carefully laid Bri down.

  “Something Dorothy taught me.”

  “I don’t know anything.” The sad whisper was more sorrowful than a wail.

  “Watch and you will.” He eased a fold over Brianna’s tiny arm. Her forearm was hardly the width of his finger. Her deep blues eyes stared at him with such high hope. A surge of protectiveness welled from inside as he wrapped the edge against her fragile body. He’d tear apart any man who hurt her. “That’s it, Button. You just let me get you snuggled in here, and you’ll feel a lot better.”

  Jenna’s body was unnaturally still against him, watching every move he made.

  “The secret, Sunshine, is to get Bri to a place where she feels safe.” He folded Bri’s other arm into the blanket, gentling his touch to feather light for fear of breaking her delicate bones. “Secure,” he added as he tucked the long end of the blanket under her opposite hip. “Then she won’t worry so much about things that can’t touch her.”

  He pulled the bottom flap up and tucked it around, cocooning the baby in a snug bundle. Bri hiccupped and let out a shuddering sigh. He slid his hands under her body, amazed as always at how tiny she was. She almost fit in his palm. He made a mental note to check with Doc to see if she was all right. He didn’t remember other babies being this small. He eased her back into Jenna’s arms.

  “I think she might take that bottle now.” There was a moment of hesitation before Jenna pulled her spine taut and took Brianna from him. He brushed his lips over her ear. “That’s my girl.”

  This time when Jenna put the nipple to her mouth, Bri closed her lips around it. One tentative suck and then she went at the bottle the way she’d been screaming earlier. Like there was no tomorrow.

  “She’s drinking!”

  “That she is.” Jenna’s cheek brushed his as she tried to turn to see him.

  “Thank you.”

  “Nothing to thank me for. We’re in this together.”

  Another silence as she absorbed his words, and then she relaxed against him, one muscle at a time, cautiously entrusting herself to his care. He eased her a little higher into his lap. The lamp threw the room into a yellow glow, doing little to push away the shadows, creating the illusion of a warmly lit haven comprised of that moment, in that room, in that bed. Clint pulled Jenna a little closer, for the first time holding his wife and his daughter in his arms.

  The fire crackled in the small potbellied stove as he stroked his daughter’s flushed cheek while she drank her bottle and recognized a miracle when he saw it. Last week, he’d been trying to think of a reason to keep getting up in the morning. One that didn’t have anything to do with anger or violence. Now, he had two of the sweetest reasons a man could ever hope to have. And they’d fallen into his lap like two ripe plums. If that was the last bit of luck the good Lord threw his way, he’d die a contented man.

  He leaned forward to get a better view. The blanket was brushing Brianna’s cheek. He could see from her frown it was annoying her. He inched it away with his fingertip. Over the bottle her eyes meet his, and though Doc swore babies couldn’t see at this age, he knew she saw him. Lord save her, he had the distinct impression she approved. And he got a taste of the uncertainty Jenna lived with daily at the trust and faith imparted with that one glance.

  “Does she scare you the way she does me?” he asked against Jenna’s ear.

  Her response was a hushed whisper of truth. “She makes me feel like I can conquer the world and at the same time, be terrified of not doing it right.”

  That was pretty much the way they both made him feel. “Guess we’ll have to get used to it.”

  Jenna’s fingers dipped down from Brianna’s hip to touch the inside of his knee. It was a fleeting touch, but one of the first she’d ever offered him. The comfort of her touch was almost as undoing as her words.

  “You’ll be a wonderful father.”

  “You basing that conviction on hope?” His drawl wasn’t as smooth as he’d planned.

  She shook
her head. “You’re strong and confident and have a very good heart.”

  “You haven’t been watching close enough if that’s the picture you have of me.” And when she did see the big picture, he had a feeling she wasn’t going to be as content with this arrangement.

  The bunching of her jaw muscles alerted him to the fact that, while she didn’t dispute his claim, she wasn’t agreeing with it. There was something very appealing about a woman with a stubborn streak. Made a man just want to devil her into revealing more of it, and then continue the deviling until he coaxed her around it. Except he didn’t want to devil her into changing her mind. He wanted to devil her into revealing how deep her conviction was, which was a fool’s journey, because her belief couldn’t be that deep.

  He settled for the alternative, which was enjoying the view down the loose neck of her nightgown. He hitched his arm up, pressing her breasts higher, deepening that enticing valley. His cock, already hard, surged painfully. Jenna didn’t have any idea what he was doing. How a twice-married woman could be so naive baffled him.

  “Would you like to know how I’d be with you, Jenna, if Brianna was ours and this was our first time together with our daughter?” He kissed her ear, feeling her shiver caress his chest. He kissed it again as he brought his hands up to the tiny buttons at the neckline of her gown. She held still, not looking right or left—not moving. Then, ever so subtly, she nodded her head.

  “I’d be so tender, Sunshine. So careful.” He slid his hands inside the neckline of her nightdress. Her skin was smooth and warm against his fingertips. Very white against the darkness of his hands. He cupped her breasts in his palms. She tensed even as she filled his hands to overflowing. “Ah Sunshine, you have beautiful breasts.”

  “You don’t think I’m a cow?” The question came out haltingly, revealing a vulnerability he needed to soothe.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a big man. A little woman would be lost beneath me.”

  “Cougar likes Mara, and he’s as big as you.”

  “And I like you.” He skimmed his hands toward the tips, keeping his touch light.

  “Oh.” She clearly didn’t have a rebuttal for that.