To Protect and Cherish

by Karen Rose Smith

The way Tate had been acting, she was afraid to ask. But she wouldn’t make the same mistakes in this marriage she’d made in her last one. They had a few things to talk about, and maybe tonight was the night—before he left for the business trip to Dallas tomorrow. She couldn’t let issues slide anymore.

  “I’ll talk to him when he gets home. He’s been working long hours.”

  “See if you can fit it in.”

  Marie began wailing again.

  Above the ruckus, Ruth practically shouted over the phone, “We can always have a driver bring you down.”

  “That won’t be necessary. As soon as I talk to Tate, I’ll give you a call back, okay?”

  “That’ll be fine. You can reach me any time on my cell phone. Did I give you that number?”

  Anita had tucked the slip of paper into her purse. “Yes, I have it.”

  “Give the children a kiss for me.”

  “I will,” Anita assured her, trying to hold the phone while she jiggled Marie, trying not to make Ruth feel as if she was brushing her off.

  During the next hour, Marie wouldn’t stop crying. Anita changed her, rocked her and encouraged her to sip from her cup. She walked her through the living room, put on some music, lay her against her shoulder and patted her back.

  “Oh, baby. I don’t know what to do for you.” Just as she said the words, Marie spit up the milk Anita had managed to get her to drink.

  Amid Marie’s cries, Anita realized she had to go to the bus stop for the boys. She bundled up her fussing baby and took her out to her car seat.

  Fortunately, the boys’ bus was on time. They ran to the car and climbed inside, but backed up when they heard their sister squealing.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Jared asked.

  “I don’t know. I might have to take her to the doctor.”

  The twins could see she was worried, but that didn’t stop them from poking and picking on each other on the short ride to the house. They’d been cooped up in a classroom all day, and she knew they needed to let off steam, too.

  Still, her crying baby girl was taking most of Anita’s attention.

  “Can we play ball in the yard?” Corey asked.

  The backyard was fenced in and she could easily see them from the kitchen window. “All right. But not for too long. I want you to get cleaned up for supper.”

  Red-faced now, Marie waved her arms as tears ran down her little cheeks. Corey and Jared ran to the garage for the baseball bat and mitts, then hurried out back. A few minutes later, Anita saw Corey pitch the ball to Jared.

  Satisfied they’d be there for a few minutes, she found the ear thermometer in Marie’s room and took her temperature. It was 101 degrees. She usually took the kids to a clinic in town. Going back to the kitchen, holding Marie close to her, she tried to make a call to the nurse there, but the line was busy. Even though she hit Redial several times, the call didn’t go through. It was the end of the day. She’d just have to keep trying. In the meantime, though, she had to cool Marie down. She’d been lucky. Her baby hadn’t been sick before this, but that also meant she didn’t have any medicine on hand.

  Taking Marie to the bathroom, she began to fill the baby tub with tepid water.

  Tate drove his truck around the back of the house instead of pulling into the garage, knowing he was avoiding going inside. Since he’d made love to Anita, he’d been trying to get things straight in his head. Sensations he’d never felt before had overwhelmed him when they’d come together. She’d given him more pleasure than any woman ever had. And he’d taken more pleasure than he could ever remember taking.

  But it hadn’t been all about pleasure, and that was the problem. He didn’t like the idea of a woman shaking him up, and Anita had done that from the get-go. He’d thought the prenuptial agreement would prevent a Donna-like occurrence from happening again, but he still wasn’t so sure. He and Anita had known each other less than two months. How could any man know a woman in that amount of time?

  He wanted to just trust her but he still had his doubts….

  Anita had taken such delight in her new wardrobe yet at first hadn’t wanted to accept it. Had that simply been a ploy to convince him she was on the up-and-up?

  She’d slipped into his lifestyle so easily. On Saturday at the country club, she’d fit right in, as if she’d been practicing all her life. He’d told himself it was her genuine friendliness, not any type of manipulation, that made people like her. She’d even handled her in-laws tactfully and won them over.

  Still, he’d remembered her comment when he’d said he was going to build some cupboards. You don’t have someone who can do that for you? Had she just been practical? Or was she coming to expect that money bought privileges and made things a hell of a lot easier?

  Then there had been that night when she’d stood before him in her nightgown and robe, looking like every man’s fantasy. Why the sudden turnaround?

  He’d thought time would give him answers, but time seemed to be complicating the situation even more. And tomorrow he had to go to Dallas on business for a day or two.

  When he rounded the bend to the barn, he stomped on the brakes, not believing what he saw. Corey and Jared weren’t standing outside the corral, looking in on the horses. Instead, Corey was on the top rung of the fence, and as Tate watched, he dropped into the corral. Jared climbed up and joined his twin on the other side as Corey pulled long grass from around one of the fence posts and approached Comet, one of the Appaloosas.

  In a streak of motion, Tate was out of the truck, clamping his Stetson tighter on his head. “Corey! Jared!” he yelled. “Get away from them.”

  The boys looked startled, then afraid. Pewter Lady, Tate’s favorite of the horses he’d bought, saw the boys and trotted over to them at a fast clip.

  Tate’s heart sank into his stomach. He jumped over the fence, ran between her and the twins and caught her halter.

  “Get inside the barn,” he told the boys, keeping his voice controlled.

  They stood frozen for a moment, and he realized that if he wasn’t careful he’d have the same situation he had that day when they’d colored the plans in his office. “Go into the barn,” he said in a gentler tone. “It’s not safe for you to be out here. We’ll talk about it when I come in.”

  When Tate entered the barn, the boys were standing by one of the stalls, hands in their pockets, looking dejected and fearful.

  His heart still thudding madly, fear for their safety uppermost in his mind, memories of what had happened to his brother, Jeremy, plaguing him, Tate got control of the past, realized he was in the present and crouched down before them.

  “Didn’t I tell you never to go out with the horses alone?”

  “We weren’t alone,” Corey piped up. “We were with each other.”

  Tate almost groaned in frustration at the literal translation of his order. “I think you knew what I meant. But whether you did or not, I want to make it clear. Horses aren’t like dogs or cats. They’re big animals. I don’t think the horses I bought would hurt you on purpose, but because they’re so big, because they run so fast, they could hurt you, even not meaning to.”

  “You mean one of them could trample us?” Corey asked, looking aghast, as if he’d never thought of it before.

  “Their hooves are strong and heavy and hard. Just imagine what it would be like if I stepped on your foot. One of those horses weighs a heck of a lot more than I do.”

  “We want to ride and you won’t let us,” Jared admitted. “We just wanted to touch them and feed them. There weren’t any more apples left in the bin, so we were going to try that long grass.”

  Standing, Tate took off his Stetson, rubbed his hand through his hair and plopped it back on his head. This past week, he hadn’t been a very good dad. Now he could see why fathers had to be around…why they couldn’t expect kids just to raise themselves…why they couldn’t work fifteen hours a day and expect their boys to grow up with morals, respect and the ability to be dads themse
lves someday.

  “Why isn’t your mom watching you?” He found anger rising toward Anita for letting the boys roam around on their own.

  “She was busy with Marie.”

  When he was silent for a few moments, Corey asked, “Are you going to punish us?”

  “Since we had a little misunderstanding about what going into the corral alone meant, I’m not going to punish you this time. But from now on, you don’t set foot near a horse till I say you can.”

  They both looked crestfallen.

  “In exchange, when I get back from my trip, maybe we’ll saddle up Pewter Lady and I’ll give each of you a short ride. You can be around them more when I’m here. Got it?”

  The two boys grinned at him. “Got it,” they said in unison.

  “Now what I want you to do is go into the house, go to your room and find something to play with for a while. I have to talk to your mom.”

  As the boys ran out of the barn into the house, Tate followed more slowly, disturbed by what almost happened. What had Anita been doing? Why had she let the boys anywhere near the barn?

  When Tate came home from work, Anita was usually in the kitchen, making dinner. Tonight she wasn’t. He found her in the bathroom, kneeling by the tub, running a cloth over Marie. Why was she giving her a bath now?

  After she glanced up at him, she gazed back at her daughter. “Thanks for bringing the boys in. I had to—”

  “Your boys almost got trampled by a horse.”

  That brought her gaze back to his again. “What do you mean? They were playing catch!”

  “No, they weren’t playing catch. They were in the corral. Do you know how dangerous that is? Why weren’t you watching them?”

  “I was watching them. I mean, as much as I could. Marie has a temperature and I can’t reach the doctor—”

  When he saw the tears flood his wife’s eyes, Tate realized this wasn’t an ordinary situation. It wasn’t like Anita not to know where those boys were every second, and he should have understood that.

  Kneeling down beside her, he put his hand to Marie’s brow. “She has a fever?”

  “Yes, and a runny nose. I don’t know if anything else is going on or not. I couldn’t get through to the doctor, so I was just trying to cool her down a bit. But I have to try calling again. It’s just that I seem to need five hands at once—and a second pair of eyes.”

  Usually composed and expertly in command of her kids, Tate had never seen Anita frazzled like this before. He couldn’t keep from dropping his arm around her shoulders. “Hey, it’ll be all right. I’ll call Garth. He’ll tell us what to do.”

  “I don’t have insurance since Larry died. I’ve been paying as I go at the clinic.”

  “I put you and the kids on my policy after our wedding. You’re covered.” Tears that had welled up began to roll down her cheeks, and he wiped one of them away. “The boys are in their room playing. They’ll be fine for five minutes or so. I’ll call Garth and we’ll go from there.”

  Tate had Garth’s private pager number, and he used it. Fortunately, the physician was just leaving his office for the day. “I’ll stop by. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  Anita had just finished dressing Marie in a clean terry cloth playsuit when Tate brought Garth into the bedroom. After a quick examination, he said, “I don’t think this is anything to be too concerned about. She has a slight infection in one ear. I’ll call in a prescription and you can pick it up at the drugstore.”

  Holding her baby close and rocking her back and forth, Anita said to Garth, “You don’t know how much I appreciate this. I was beginning to get really worried.”

  “Kids can spike a fever pretty fast. You did the right thing by calling me,” he said to Tate.

  As Garth left the room, Tate clasped her shoulder. “I’ll take the boys with me. Then you won’t have to worry about them.”

  “Are you sure you want to do that?”

  “I haven’t spent enough time with them this week. We’ll stop and get takeout on our way back. How about some burgers and fries?”

  “That sounds good,” she breathed with relief. “Tate, I’m sorry they went into the corral. Can I ask how you handled it?”

  “We had a discussion. I think they understand now how worried I am about their safety. But I also told them I’d give them short rides when I get back from Dallas. I can’t be unreasonable. I was only overprotective because—”

  “Because?”

  His eyes stayed on hers. “When I was twelve and my brother, Jeremy, was ten, we went riding. He wanted to take out a horse I knew he shouldn’t ride. But he was a daredevil and so was I. We were racing and something startled his horse. He fell off, hit his head against a rock and that was that. He was gone.”

  Quiet now and exhausted, Marie lay against Anita’s shoulder.

  “Tate, I’m so sorry,” Anita murmured, hurting for him.

  “I still blame myself.”

  “You shouldn’t! Accidents happen. You were twelve. A twelve-year-old doesn’t have the judgment of an adult.”

  “A twelve-year-old doesn’t know how to follow good instincts. My gut instincts told me he shouldn’t take the horse out. Now I follow my gut.”

  And his gut instincts were telling him Anita was the real deal. If he didn’t let go of the past, he would lose her. Tipping her chin up, he gave her a soft, slow kiss. “We’ll be back in a little while.”

  As he went down to the boys’ room to fetch them, he knew Marie’s cold might keep them up all night. Even if it did, he’d be beside Anita. If they did manage to get some sleep, he’d be holding his wife in his arms.

  Chapter Ten

  It was almost four a.m. when Marie finally fell asleep, and Anita was exhausted. Tate had stayed up with her, helping her however he could. He’d even walked Marie himself several times during the night, murmuring to her. Anita had told him more than once to go to bed, but he had just given her that half smile of his and said they were in this together.

  How she wanted to believe him.

  She was undressing when he came into the bedroom. “Thank Garth for me when you see him for coming out tonight. I know doctors don’t make house calls anymore.”

  “Garth is a good friend. So is Sandy. You’ll have to get to know them better.”

  Actually, she hadn’t thought much about having a social life with Tate, but now the idea of getting together with Sandy and Garth was pleasant.

  As tired as she was, she couldn’t help admiring Tate as he undressed. They hadn’t been in the same room together—when they were awake—intimately like this since they’d made love.

  “Do you remember that I’m leaving for Dallas today?”

  “I’d forgotten,” she said with a sigh. Then she added truthfully, “I’ll miss you.”

  If she’d hoped he’d say he’d miss her, he didn’t.

  She climbed into bed first. Then Tate slid under the covers and turned out the light. But he didn’t stay away as he had since the weekend.

  Rather, he turned toward her and opened his arms. “Come here. Let me hold you while you fall asleep.”

  As she snuggled into Tate’s arms, her back against his chest, she felt his almost immediate arousal.

  “It’s okay,” he murmured close to her ear. “Go to sleep.”

  She knew she could set the course for what happened next. “I’m tired, but I’m wired, too. Do you know what I mean?”

  “Like you’ve been through a crisis and now are feeling the aftereffects of the adrenaline?” he suggested.

  Turning into his arms, she decided that if she was ever going to be bold, now was the time. She had longed to brush the lock of hair over his forehead so many times. Without hesitating, she did it now. “Thanks for helping me tonight.”

  “I don’t need thanks.”

  Was he saying he didn’t want her? Or was he saying he didn’t want sex to be a payback? “Why did you stay away so much this week?” she whispered.

  “Joinin
g our lives together isn’t simple, Anita. I needed time to think. I thought you might, too.”

  “Are you having regrets?” she asked, needing to know the truth.

  Slow to answer, he finally admitted, “Marriage isn’t what I thought it would be.”

  “So you do have regrets.” Her voice shook as her hands dropped away from him, and she began to move away.

  With one quick motion, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close again. “No regrets. As I said, I’m just sorting things out. The truth is, I’ve never lived with anybody before. Not since I left home. It all takes some getting used to.”

  Her breasts against his chest, his arousal pressing against her most secret place, she almost moaned, “Tate, I’m not always sure what you want.”

  “Right now, I want you.”

  When his thumb tenderly trailed down her cheek and neck, her breath caught. But she knew she couldn’t just enjoy; she had to give. As she stroked her hand down his broad back, he shuddered. Then he was kissing her and caressing her. Everything happened so fast that talking wasn’t as important as what they were doing. Tate only broke their kiss to give her more pleasure—to caress her breasts and taunt her nipple with his tongue until she reached for him and made him groan.

  As he rolled her onto her back and slid inside her, he commanded, “Wrap your legs around me.”

  When she did, he went deeper and she felt as if her whole world was Tate and the pleasure he could give her.

  While he brought her with him to the edge of erotic sensation, she knew she wanted so much more than pleasure—she wanted Tate’s love. Her climax echoed in his cries of completion. As he held her, for those few moments she felt as if they were truly one.

  But then the day caught up with her. Thoughts of asking her husband about a woman named Donna fled in her need for sleep. The last thing she remembered was Tate’s strong arm around her and his lips nuzzling her ear.

  In the morning, she found a note on the pillow next to her.

  Anita,

  I didn’t want to wake you. You could have another rough day with Marie. If you need anything while I’m gone, call Garth and Sandy. I’ll be in meetings for the next day or so and don’t know when I’ll get a chance to call. You have my cell number if there’s an emergency.