Carrie Sue was almost too weary to think straight. “Honestly, I don’t know. We’re nearly strangers and it’s probably best to keep it that way. He’s a wild gunslinger and I’m a respectable schoolteacher.”
“But you like him, don’t you?”
“Yes, but T.J. Rogue has quite a colorful reputation, Mrs. Thayer. He’s a most unusual and mysterious man. He could cause trouble for me. If I started seeing him socially, people might think something wicked happened between us on the trail, which it didn’t. Besides, he’ll be leaving soon and I probably won’t ever see him again, so why take a chance of staining my reputation here?”
“Men can be changed, Carolyn.”
“Not all of them. Consider Martin Ferris. He’s cast in stone.”
Following a long bath, hair washing, and delicious meal, Carrie Sue returned to her room for rest and quiet. It wasn’t long before she was asleep, to dream of T.J. Rogue.
Tuesday she returned to the schoolhouse to work again. She polished the desks and dusted the books. She checked their condition and recorded their number, as well as the available supplies. When she heard hammering outside, she went to see what was going on out back.
A carpenter told her that Martin Ferris had paid him to repair the outhouse and the play-yard fence. The redhead thanked him and returned to her chores inside, fearing a visit from the vile man.
Surprisingly, Martin did not appear for a visit, which pleased Carrie Sue immensely. When her chores were completed, she closed the windows and door and walked home, to spend a night similar to the one before.
Wednesday, Carrie Sue remained in her rooms, relaxing and studying for her new job. She made notes on school supplies to be purchased tomorrow, and on her own secret supplies for a quick escape in case of trouble. She had concealed Carolyn’s letters and diary in her hiding place in the closet. She had decided to buy a horse and keep him in Mrs. Thayer’s corral. Perhaps she could look around for one tomorrow while she was shopping.
With the door bolted, she cleaned and oiled her weapons, then replaced them in the secret compartment. Handling the guns brought back an assortment of memories, such as the day Darby had given her the pistols and the rifle, and the days she had target shot for hours with her brother. She was a good shot, nearly perfect.
Her mind drifted to her brother’s gang. Off and on for years she had lived with or around the six men: Kadry Sams, Walt Vinson, Tyler Parnell, Dillon Holmes, John Griffin, and Kale Rushton. She knew the men liked her, and would do anything for her because she was Darby’s sister. She was fond of them, but they had never seemed like family to her, except for Kale. She was close to the half-Apache bandit, and he viewed her as a sister. She could talk to Kale, be honest with him. He had taught her most of the skills which she possessed and he had honed them. Without a doubt, Kale would die defending her. But, she admitted, so would the others.
She wondered what Dillon—a die-hard Southerner—was doing. He had pursued her for years. She wondered if Griff—a black man—was chewing on a stick this minute as usual, and if Tyler was sipping too much whiskey, and if Walt was collecting his badges and fingering his gunbutts.
She knew Kale was watching over Darby, his best friend, and few men had his prowess. But what about the blueeyed blond Kadry Sams? Was he pining over her? Was his Scottish burr filling another woman’s ear? Would he come after her and beg her to return? Kadry loved her and wanted her fiercely, but that feeling wasn’t mutual. She had tried to return his love, especially at the Laredo ranch; it hadn’t worked and never would.
Carrie Sue’s mind shifted to the local men in her life. She hadn’t seen or heard from Martin Ferris since Sunday, and was a bit baffled by his sudden distance for days. No doubt it was some ploy of his to seize her attention. That would never work either!
As for T.J. Rogue, she was disappointed that he hadn’t returned to the school Tuesday or come to visit her today. But she had expected his distance; she had seen that flicker of apprehension in his gaze, the one which said a woman was getting too close too fast.
“I bet that’s the most talking you’ve done with a female, Mr. Skittish Rogue. Do I dare try to tame you, to really trust you?”
The flaming haired ex-outlaw called his image to mind. Her body warmed all over and the pit of her stomach tightened. “What’s gotten into you, Carrie Sue Stover? You’ve never behaved this way before. Merciful Heavens, loving him scares the life out of me!”
Her face paled and she felt her heart drum rapidly. “Love him?” she murmured hoarsely. “You hardly know the man. Maybe it’s only because he’s a handsome and virile man. Not so, girl, you’ve seen too many of them and not been affected like this.” Most women would kill to win Kale, or Dillon, or Kadry, but none of them affected her like this. “Nope, it’s T.J. Rogue who’s got you snared.”
Carrie Sue squirmed in agitation. Now that she had admitted the truth to herself, what was she going to do about it? Could she risk messing up her new life for him? Could she risk losing this unique man forever just to remain here? “You’re a fool, Carrie Sue Stover! What makes you think you can win him even if you tried? He’s a loner, a drifter, a famous gunslinger. If he discovered who you are, he’d be waiting around Tucson for your reward to arrive!”
He wouldn’t do that, her heart argued.
“I suppose you think he would understand and forgive you?” she scoffed. “He would just let those thousands of dollars slip through his hands so he could caress you with them!”
He likes you, fool, her heart reminded her.
“He likes Miss Carolyn Starns, a pretty schoolmarm, not an outlaw with a high price on her head.”
No, he likes you. That’s why he’s hanging around Tucson. You saw how he looked and behaved with you the other day.
“He was just being nice.”
A gunslinger just being nice? Never. Get off that loco horse, girl.
“I can’t love him and chase him. It’s too dangerous.”
For whom, you coward, you liar?
“For both of us, idiot. T.J.’s already a gunslinger tottering on the line between good and bad. Think what loving you would cost him. You’re a wanted fugitive. Do you want that bitter life for him too?”
Her heart remained silent, and she knew why. There was no reasonable comeback to her last words.
Thursday, Carrie Sue arose late, as she hadn’t slept well after her talk with herself. Her final decision had been to leave the matter in T.J.’s hands. If he stayed around Tucson and seemed to feel the same way she did and she felt she could trust him fully, she would tell him the truth. Then, they could decide what to do about a future together. She cautioned herself to be patient with him because she didn’t want to scare him off. He had to more than want her as an attractive woman; he had to love her, love her enough to discard her past as he would an unwanted poker card.
She headed for the mercantile store a few blocks away. She spoke with the owner for a time, then began shopping. The man told her to pick out what she needed and he would have it delivered to the school. He said he would charge the items until she decided how to pay for them.
Carrie Sue rounded one tall counter toward the rear of the large store and nearly bumped into the man who now haunted her dreams day and night. “T.J., what are you doing here?”
“I needed some ammo and a new rope. I saw you come in, so I decided to sneak up on you and check your reflexes,” he teased, warming her with a blazing smile.
“They’re dull today because of fatigue,” she said with a laugh. “I could have used your help again Tuesday to finish up the schoolhouse. You sure you worked off your entire debt in one afternoon?”
“Nope, I still have to take you to supper tomorrow night. What time you want me to call on you, Miss Starns?”
“I thought you might have forgotten that part of our bargain.”
“Calling on a lady is new for me, but I’ll try my best to do it right. Any place special you want me to take you?”
The thought of spending an evening with him thrilled her. How else was she going to test her feelings for him or his for her? How else could she discover if he was a risk worth taking? “I’m sure you know this town better than I do. You choose and surprise me.”
“Some place quiet and relaxing, away from your adoring crowd?” he hinted with a twinkle in his smokey gray eyes.
“Perfect.”
“What did you do yesterday?” he inquired to continue their talk and his observation of this fascinating woman.
“Worked on lessons and tried to rest up.” She gave a mock sigh of distress. “School begins in two weeks, so I have to prepare myself.”
“To challenge those little hellions?” he teased near a whisper.
Carrie Sue glanced around before replying softly, “Want to help me tame them, Mr. Rogue?”
“Not on your life, woman. You couldn’t pay me enough to go back to school. Always hated ‘em. Father Ortega used to stand over me with a switch making me do my lessons. I wasn’t lucky enough to have a teacher like you. Mine was real strict and cold.”
“You went to school while you were at the mission in San Antonio?”
“Yep. The priest made all the orphans do it. But he was especially hard on me. Said I was too wild and needed settling down.”
“Did it work?” she asked, suppressing laughter.
“What do you think, Miss Starns?” he answered, then grinned.
“It must have because you’re very smart and well-mannered.”
“For a gunslinger,” he added teasingly.
Carrie Sue smiled. “For anyone.”
They fused their gazes and looked at each other for what seemed a lengthy spell. Suddenly both smiled at the same time.
“I like you, T.J., you’re so easy to talk to,” she confessed. “It’s going to be awfully dull around here after you leave.”
“I know what you mean, Carolyn; you’re easy to talk with, too.” The moment after he made that admission, he cleared his throat and asked, “You need me to help carry your packages home?”
“Thanks, but the owner’s going to deliver most of them to the school, and I can manage the rest. I’m not going straight home from here. I have some other stops to make. I’m thinking about buying a horse, so I planned to look around while I’m out today. Some places are too far for walking in the heat, and I hear it gets worse,”
“Why don’t I look around for you? Men sometimes take advantage of a female customer by selling her a bad horse or charging her too much. I’ll pick out a couple and take you to see them in a few days.”
“That would be very nice of you, if you don’t mind.”
Of course he didn’t mind, for two reasons. He didn’t want her to get cheated, and he couldn’t let her visit the stable where Nighthawk was staying and discover he had lied about the stallion’s injury. “Be my pleasure, Ma’am,” he said in a heavy Southern drawl. “I best get moving along. I’ll see you tomorrow night at six.”
“Thanks again, T.J. You’re always there when I need help.”
“What are friends for?” he murmured and left.
Carrie Sue finished her shopping and walked to the laundress’s home to pick up her washing. I’ll see you Monday,” she told the woman.
At the boarding house, she related her encounter with T.J. to Mrs. Thayer, who seemed genuinely pleased with the news.
Friday seemed like a particularly long day as Carrie Sue planned her evening over and over while she tried to study, bathe, and dress. She had selected a lovely dress in pale yellow from Carolyn’s trunk. The skirt was full and swishy, the waist snug, and the sleeves ending at her elbows. Matching lace trimmed the collar and cuffs, and Carolyn even had slippers to match the pretty dress which didn’t look as if it had ever been worn. Sadly, they were too small for Carrie Sue’s feet. She put them aside to drop into the school’s outhouse to correct an oversight which could be dangerous if noticed by someone.
The soft shade of the dress brought out the golden highlights in her red hair and flattered her skin color. It even made her eyes appear darker and more noticeable. Carrie Sue gazed in the mirror, wondering why she wasn’t covered in freckles like most redheads. She also noticed, as if for the first time, that her skin was not exceptionally pale or florid, but was a rosy brown from the sun. Her brows were reddish gold to match her hair, although her long lashes were a dark brown. She knew her features were too large, her nose and lips and eyes. Yet, she decided, they blended together enhancingly.
She had washed her hair early so it could dry before this evening. It hung to her waist, thick and shiny, and curled ever so slightly to spread around her shoulders like a tawny red mane. She recklessly decided to let it hang free tonight. She gathered up the sides and pinned each behind her ears, then fluffed her bangs over her forehead.
Carrie Sue Stover stood and twisted before the mirror. She was amazed by how different she looked in a dress, compared to a cotton shirt and jeans and boots. She actually looked like a real lady, and that delighted her. She hoped T.J. liked her appearance tonight.
She paced the floor as she waited for him. He was fifteen minutes late. She worried that he had changed his mind about coming tonight. Worse, what if something had happened to him? He was a famous gunslinger, and they were often challenged by men who wanted to increase their own reputations by outdrawing legends. Who would care if T.J. Rogue died except her? She trembled. She clenched her teeth and vowed to slay any man who—
Mrs. Thayer’s voice called from outside her door, “Carolyn, he’s here. Are you ready?”
Carrie Sue rushed to the door and opened it. She beamed as she nodded. “Thank you, Mrs. Thayer. I was getting worried.”
“So was I,” the woman confessed with a sly grin.
Carrie Sue went to the front door and joined T.J. there. She smiled when he couldn’t seem to take his eyes from her or speak. “I’m ready,” she said to bring him back to reality before his stimulating loss affected her even more deeply and noticeably.
T.J. said he had rented a carriage. She followed him to it and he helped her inside. The redhead watched him walk around the horse and take his seat next to her. She noticed his purposeful and confident stride, his alert gaze, his proud and fearless carriage, and his sensual aura. Carrie Sue had to remind herself not to snuggle up to his broad shoulder, as she was tempted to do. Happiness filled her as they rode away and she furtively studied him.
T.J. was wearing a dark gray shirt that fit his muscled chest as if molded for it. His hips were clad in ebony pants and his feet in freshly polished midnight boots. From the rich colors and excellent condition of his garments, she concluded, they were new. She wondered if he had purchased them to make a good impression on her, and she wanted to believe he had done so. A black hat rested comfortably on his dark head of neatly combed hair, and a matching bandanna was tied loosely around his neck, its edges fluttering playfully in the breeze created by the carriage’s movement. His ever-present gunbelt hung below his waist, the holsters strapped securely to hard thighs. Her heart beat faster as his overpowering looks and nearness enchanted her. Courting, she decided, was delirious fun, with the right man.
T.J. asked, “You like Mexican food, Miss Starns?”
“Love it, Mr. Rogue.”
T.J. wondered where an Eastern girl, even one from St. Louis, had learned to “love” Mexican food. He had seen her stop to eat at a small Mexican cafe the other day and had thought it strange. He headed for the other end of town as he, too, furtively studied the woman beside him. The gunslinger decided she looked vivacious and stunning in the yellow dress that made her appear so much the lady. He was glad she was not attired in one of those depressingly dark gowns which she seemed to favor for some odd reason. This color was sunny and warm, like she was. His hands begged to slip around her waist, which looked so small in its snug confines. His fingers itched to caress the silky skin of her arms that was exposed by her elbow length sleeves. Tonight, she seemed as delicate as the lac
e on her dress; yet, he knew she was a woman of strength and will, a ravishing woman of compelling traits.
T.J. halted the carriage behind a large building. He helped her down—wisely not allowing his hands to linger too long and inflamingly on her body—and escorted her inside. As he walked behind her, he watched the gentle and enticing sway of her hips beneath the flowing skirt. Although he had never been one to attend many socials, he wondered what it would feel like to have her pressed against his body while dancing dreamily to romantic music. Every time he was with the flaming redhead who got under his skin, he felt hot and itchy all over and he had to be extra careful to keep himself under tight control.
A dark-haired woman greeted them and smiled at T.J. before she led the couple to a back table. T.J. assisted her with her chair and was rewarded with a radiant smile. Lordy, he thought, how those beautiful eyes glow when she smiles. He asked himself if he was crazy to spend time with this unobtainable lady. He yearned to touch her soft hair, and to catch another whiff of her fresh and heady fragrance. He cleared his throat and asked, “How do you like my choice?”
Carrie Sue glanced around. It was decorated with Mexican tapestries, sombreros, a bull’s head, colorful ponchos, braided lariats, silver spurs, and other items to give the flavor of Mexico. A mariachi trio was strolling around the front of the room, playing their native music for the customers. The serving girls were dressed in Mexican clothes. Delightful aromas filled her nostrils. She closed her eyes, inhaled, and smiled. She was out for the evening with the most appealing man alive. “It’s wonderful, T.J.,” she remarked, opening her eyes. It reminded her of times she had spent over the border in hiding with Darby, but those were good memories of lazy and pleasant days.
The woman returned to take their order. Relaxed and happy, without notice, Carrie Sue ordered her favorite dishes in Spanish.
T.J. noticed, but he quickly ordered in English. After all, she was a teacher and they often knew more than one language. He watched her listen to the musicians and sway her head in time to their beat, as if it were a natural thing to do. He realized that she was utterly relaxed with him and that was why her guard was down, because she did have a guard up on most occasions. Certain things she had said and done raced through his keen mind. Who, he mused, was this beautiful woman who had him at a loss of wits? Why did she seem like a born and bred Westerner hiding behind an Eastern face? If that was true, why the act? From whom or what was she hiding? How would it affect him?
Kiss Of The Night Wind Page 11
