by Francis Ray
“I’m well aware we have to finalize a decision in a couple of weeks if we’re to hit the stores in December.” Kane never slowed down. “I have something to do that can’t wait.”
The door closed and William slumped in his chair. “One day I’m going to have the last word with Kane.”
Lavender and Lace was a madhouse. People were waiting for her when she arrived, and more came as the day wore on. Customers came into the store she hadn’t seen in years. They wanted to hear all about the courtship. They ogled her ring and cast veiled glances at her stomach. The hot-pink jersey minidress she wore afforded them a good look. If it wasn’t for her real friends who came by as well, she would have closed the store.
She wasn’t naive enough to believe everyone had dropped by to wish her luck because she had gotten married. From the way Stephen’s name kept popping into their conversation, she wondered if a few of them had heard about her altercation with him. Yet none of them were bold enough to ask outright. She had never seen so many watchful eyes and twitching ears on the alert for any hint of juicy gossip.
By 11:15 A.M. she had a raging headache. When her grandmother’s lawyer stopped by, she was glad to escape. Immediately, she ushered him into her office. He stared at the marriage license she handed him so long she began to think he believed it was a forgery.
Finally, he lifted his gray head and acknowledged she’d beaten the deadline, but her grandmother could still call in the total amount of the loan if the marriage ended in less than a year. Feeling the pounding in her head increase, she walked to the front with him and said her goodbyes.
The door had barely closed behind the lawyer before it opened again. Kane’s powerful body filled the doorway. Dressed in form-fitting jeans and a crisp white shirt, his appearance reminded her of their first meeting. His sweeping gaze locked on Victoria. He started toward her with a slow and purposeful gait.
A hush fell over the store. Customers parted. Kane didn’t seem to notice or care. His intense gaze never left Victoria. He stopped in front of her. For a timeless moment midnight black eyes probed hers as if searching for something.
“Hi. Didn’t you have a meeting?” she asked.
“Seeing you was more important.”
Warmth curled though her. She realized he had been worried about her. Without thought, she placed her hand on his chest, and from somewhere, found a smile. “I’m fine.”
“In that case, I’ll get to the second reason I’m here.” His head lowered until he heard the collective indrawn breath of several women. Grabbing Victoria’s hand, he took her into her office and closed the door. Without a word, he drew her into his arms.
Her heart pounding, her eyes wide, she pressed both hands against his chest. “Th-there’s no need to go any further.”
“Yes, there is.” His thumb grazed her lower lip. She shivered. “A woman who’s been thoroughly kissed has a certain look about her. You don’t have that look, but you will before you leave this room. When you go back outside there’ll be no doubt why we married or why I’d fight through hell to taste your lips.”
His last words ringing in her ear, his mouth closed over hers. This time she didn’t think of resisting. She simply enjoyed being held and cherished. He always knew exactly what she needed.
Too soon Kane’s lips and body were gone. Slowly she opened her eyes. He looked no happier than she felt. “Come on.”
He didn’t stop until he reached the front door. “I’ll expect you at six.” He opened the door and left.
Victoria touched her lips as she watched Kane get into his truck and drive away. Absently she heard the excited chatter of the women around her and knew Kane had accomplished what he had set out to do. Her reputation and her honor were intact. His timing had been perfect. Once again her knight had rescued her, but in doing so he also presented her with an even greater danger. Himself.
Returning to her office, she dialed Bonnie’s art gallery. Victoria desperately needed a calming presence. She was worried about her boutiques. She was worried about being vulnerable to a man who made her blood sing. She was also sinking in quicksand and had no idea how to pull herself out. There was something to be said about living behind the safety of a castle wall.
A short time later, Victoria hung up the phone. Bonnie hadn’t returned from her buying trip to New York. Victoria didn’t doubt for a moment that someone in the Taggart family had called Bonnie. What concerned Victoria was that the one person she expected to receive a call from, hadn’t phoned. Maybe Bonnie hadn’t gotten over her fear of cupid getting an arrow in the back. All Victoria had to say was that it would be better than one in the heart.
Victoria pulled up in front of Kane’s ranch house at six thirty. She meant to be home at six, but she had gotten tied up in traffic. It wouldn’t hurt this one time to give in to Kane. Especially after his help that morning. But he really was going to have to learn to ask and not tell her what to do. Her pace quickened as she crossed the porch and opened the front door.
“It’s about time you got home. I’m starved.”
“Bonnie,” Victoria shouted and ran to embrace her best friend. “I tried to call you all afternoon.”
Grinning broadly, Bonnie pulled away and glanced at her husband sitting across from Kane. “Blame Dan. Kane wanted to surprise you.”
“Guilty.” Dan’s deep mahogany face creased into a smile. Chocolate eyes sparkled devilishly. Broad shoulders and six feet of conditioned muscles, Dan was easy to talk to and fun to be with. He was the perfect husband for the light-hearted Bonnie. “I warned Kane that when you two get together, no secret is safe. I must say I never thought she’d stand not calling you all day.”
“I told you, Kane asked me not to,” Bonnie defended.
“I don’t suppose it occurred to you to call me anyway?” Victoria asked mildly.
“It occurred to me, but I think you once compared my cousin to a bulldozer. Try bulldozer with an attitude if he doesn’t get his way,” Bonnie said.
“Tell me about it.” Victoria smiled and looked at Kane. “It’s a nice surprise. Sorry I’m late.”
“Late? You’re exactly on time,” Bonnie said.
Victoria glanced from Bonnie to Kane. “Traffic held me up. You almost slipped up this time.”
Standing, he walked to her. “A man needs a woman who’ll keep him on his toes. If you want to change out of those heels, you better hurry. We don’t want to make a bad impression on our guests.”
“I won’t be a minute.” She started for the stairs, then stopped. “Where are we going?”
“Some place to have fun,” Kane promised.
He was right. From the moment they entered the sports restaurant, and threw darts to select their table, to playing bingo until their orders arrived, to bowling afterwards, the evening was fun. Until Kane decided to challenge Dan to a game of pool.
“The loser has to pay the bill,” Kane announced, his arm curved around Victoria’s waist.
Dan rubbed his hands together. “Rack ‘em up, then get out your wallet.”
“You and Bonnie don’t have a chance against a team like us.”
“Us?” Victoria echoed. “I don’t know how to play pool.”
Kane shrugged broad shoulders. “It’s easy. I’ll teach you, Honey.”
Learning the “Cotton-Eyed Joe” had been child’s play when compared to the coordination and eye control needed to shoot the cue ball from where it lay and strike the object ball into one of the six pockets. Victoria never accomplished one shot correctly. She couldn’t concentrate. Kane had insisted on “helping her” when it was her turn.
Every time she bent over the table with her cue stick, her hips brushed intimately against Kane, who stood behind coaching her. Her insides tingled. She had the strangest urge to rub her hips against the bluntness she felt. Half ashamed and half aroused, she missed shot after shot. The game ended in total defeat for the Taggarts.
She handed Kane her cue. “Sorry. At least Bonnie managed to po
cket one ball.”
“Winning isn’t always important. It’s how you play the game,” he told her, his voice deep and husky.
Victoria didn’t say anything, she couldn’t. Her body’s sudden need overrode everything else. The same need was mirrored in Kane’s beautiful eyes. She felt hot, restless and up to her waist in quicksand. She wanted him. Badly. She didn’t know what frightened her more, her emotional vulnerability or her fear that if she gave in to her desire, Kane would find her lacking as a woman.
Arriving home, she started for the safety of her room. Kane’s deep voice called after her. “How about a game of dominoes?”
She spoke without turning. “I’ve lost enough for one night.” Spending more time with Kane was asking for trouble.
Kane’s velvet laughter followed her up the stairs. “Good night, Honey.”
After breakfast the next morning, Kane waved goodbye without asking what time she planned to be home. Victoria made it a point to be home by six. For once she was going to win the mind game.
Seeing no food on the stove, she smiled. Until she opened the refrigerator and saw two large T-bone steaks marinating and a mixed salad. She was leaving the kitchen to change clothes when the back door opened.
“Hi, Honey,” Kane said, his hand still on the doorknob. Perspiration beaded his brow and soaked the front of his plaid shirt. “One of the horses pulled a tendon and I’m in the barn with the vet. If you’re hungry, everything is ready.”
“How bad is it?” she asked.
Kane’s brow lifted as if he hadn’t expected her to ask. “Doc Hamil doesn’t think the problem is serious.”
She nodded, feeling at odds. “You better get back. I’ll wait for you. Do you want a baked potato?”
His smile lit his dark brown face and lifted his mustache. “They’re in the warming oven.”
“Oh.”
“I better go. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He turned, then paused. “Thanks for being willing to wait. I enjoy my meals better with you.”
Victoria stared at the closed door a long time. Didn’t Kane have any walls, any defenses? He wasn’t the least bit bothered by letting her see he was genuinely happy to see her. Then, she remembered their talk in the meadow. She wondered when his patience would run out and he’d get tired of her, and of cooking all the meals.
After two weeks of marriage, Kane continued to have meals ready when Victoria arrived home. Sometimes he treated her more like a guest than a wife. Other times, he let her know he expected her to be an equal partner in the marriage even if she wasn’t sure about anything else.
“I am not getting on that animal.”
“Tory, the only way to really see the ranch is on horseback,” Kane explained.
Arms held stiffly by her side, Victoria stared at the sleek black horse being held by Kane. “I’m sorry, but horses and I don’t get along very well. One threw me in summer camp when I was in the sixth grade. I made a promise then that if they’d keep away from me, I’d keep away from them.”
“The counselor didn’t put you back on?”
“He tried.” The lift of her chin spoke volumes.
Another case of not trusting, Kane thought. Tory wasn’t much on giving anyone, man or beast, another chance. Yet he had to teach her to try. She had to learn she could trust him with her emotions as well as with her body.
Kane glanced around and saw Pete heading for the barn. He was the oldest of Kane’s hired hands and the hardest working. The retired bullfighter wasn’t happy unless he was busy.
“Pete, take Mirage back and unsaddle her, then come back and get Shadow Walker’s saddle.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Pete’s gloved hand closed over the reins. Passing Victoria, he tipped his battered straw hat. “Evenin’, Mrs. Taggart.”
“Hello, Pete,” she said absently, her gaze on her husband instead of the wiry ranch hand.
Kane unsaddled his quarterhorse, then tossed the saddle on the top rung of the coral.
“You aren’t angry, are you?”
He sent her a look over his shoulder. “I told you that you can say ‘no’ to me anytime.” Catching the horse’s mane, he swung onto its back. “Some things I’ll accept. Your fear of horses isn’t one of them. Come here.”
Victoria took a step backward. Riding bareback with Kane would be more terrifying than riding by herself. Lately, when he smiled at her, she had the craziest urge to touch him. She looked toward the security of the house, a hundred yards away.
“I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I’ve been riding since I was three years old. I’d catch you before you got ten feet.”
Her chin went up again. “I’m not some animal.”
“No, you’re my wife. All I’m asking is that you come over here and close your eyes. Think of something nice and before you know it, you’ll be up here with me. If you’re still uneasy, I’ll put you down.” He held out his hand.
She shook her head, sending her ponytail swinging. “I just finished dinner.”
“If cowboys waited for the meals to settle before they got on a horse, the West would still need settling,” Kane told her.
“They were used to it. I’m not.” She took a step backward, then another.
“Then you’re going to give up, and let me be embarrassed in two weeks?” he asked mildly.
She stopped. “What are you talking about?”
“Every year I have a group of kids from the Forth Worth Youth Center over for an old-fashioned hayride and barbecue. I wanted you riding beside me.”
She knew she was being set up. The trouble was, she didn’t see how to get out of it. Yet. “I’ll ride with the driver of the hay wagon.”
“Counselors already have dibs on those seats. Of course you could ride in the back with the kids. I’ll get you some ear plugs to protect your ears from their loud radios.”
“Kane, don’t think for a minute I don’t know you’re doing a number on me.”
He grinned. “Guilty, but I’m also telling you the truth.” The grin dissolved. “Last year Pete was sick and I drove the wagon. I wanted them to have a good time, so I didn’t complain about the noise. The counselor said the kids say music sounds better if it’s loud. It must have sounded fantastic.”
Her resistance faded. So she wasn’t the only one Kane gave to. He was genuinely kind. “If I fall off that horse and get killed, I’m going to come back and haunt you.” Taking a deep breath, she walked to his horse and closed her eyes.
Warm hands closed around her waist. She concentrated on them. “You all right?”
Her eyes opened. She sat sideways on the horse. Kane’s arm circled her waist and brushed the underside of her breasts. Careful not to look down, she nodded.
“Slide your leg over to the other side and lean back against me.”
Swallowing, she slowly complied. Heat and conditioned muscles pressed against her back, and on either side of her legs. This was worse than she imagined. She tried to swallow again and couldn’t. Her throat was too dry.
“We’re only going a little ways. Since you don’t have a saddle to keep you on the horse I’m going to keep one arm around your waist so you won’t slide off. All you have to do is lean against me. I’d put you behind me, but I don’t want you letting go and falling or shutting your eyes so tight you don’t see a thing.”
The horse took off at a slow walk. Victoria clutched the muscled arm circling her waist. She felt off-balance by the rocking motion as much as by Kane’s closeness. “Kane?”
“I got you, honey. I’ll have you riding in no time, but then again, this is more enjoyable.” His warm breath caressed her ear. “Just relax, try to feel the motion of the horse and think of something pleasant.”
All she could think of was Kane. She never imagined horseback riding as being sensual before, but her mind was conjuring up all sorts of things. None of them conducive to remaining impartial and upright. She was relieved when he stopped by the bank of a small stream.
Getting off
, he pulled her into his arms and started walking toward a crop of trees. “Won’t your horse run off?”
“Shadow Walker is too well mannered for that.”
Victoria had a feeling that if anything or anyone was foolish enough to run away from Kane he’d come after them. “It may come as a shock to you, but I’ve been walking since I was nine months old.”
“I like carrying you. Besides your fancy outfit would be ruined.” He gave her oversized white blouse and black gabardine slacks a sweeping glance. “I thought we discussed you getting some other clothes.”
Feeling more at ease, she smiled into his frowning face. “We did, in passing. The only things sturdier I have are a fantastic denim skirt and shirt trimmed in turquoise leather with a matching pair of custom-made boots. I wore them to a dance to celebrate the contributions of black men in settling the West.”
“The ‘forgotten cowboys’,” Kane said. “One in every five cowboys was black.”
“Exactly. I didn’t know until that night that a black man named Estavanico helped discover Texas.” She tried to look up in Kane’s face. “I would think you would have been there. Cleo Hearn of Lancaster and a lot of other cowboys like Donald and Ronald Stephens from Oklahoma were there.” She frowned. “Despite their last name, they were very nice. I met my first authentic cowgirl, Marilyn LaBlanc. I’m surprised you weren’t there.”
“I’m not much on social functions.” Kane stopped beneath a willow tree on the sloping bank of a stream and sat down with her in his arms. “We’ll go into town tomorrow and get you some jeans and proper boots.”
She jerked upright in his lap. “My outfit will do for the youth outing.”
“Not if you want to blend in. Besides, I told you I like riding everyday, and I’d like you to go with me. I don’t mind riding double, if you don’t.”
She looked into his stern face. “I’ll pick up something after work tomorrow.”
“Jeans, but I’d like to go with you to get the boots. Buy the wrong pair and your feet will pay the price forever.”
