Safe Havens Bundle

by Sandy James

  The Shays could never know about Jake. “You won’t go to them, will you? I mean, all that money…”

  “No, ma’am. Don’t want nothin’ from ’em.” He glanced back at Emily, who ate another forkful of cake as she listened intently to whatever Miss Alma was saying. “Wouldn’t dream of putting Em or Beth in harm’s way.”

  Relief flooded through her.

  “Figured you might wanna hold Beth—I mean, you might wanna hold your granddaughter.”

  The subject was clearly closed for now. Knowing how hard it must have been for a quiet man like Jake to say all he did, Grace didn’t push him. She nodded, knowing that if she tried to say even one word, she would burst into happy tears. Trying to keep her hands busy, she wiped the knife clean on a towel.

  Jake smiled down at her then turned to greet Adam as he came to join them, empty plate in hand. “Cake any good?”

  “Of course. She doesn’t know how to make anything that’s not.” Adam set his plate aside and stood at his wife’s side. “Need any help, darlin’?”

  The silver cake knife was set aside, and she reached for Beth. “What I need to do is to hold this little angel.” She cradled the baby in her arms.

  Jake picked up a plate, stuffed a forkful of cake in his mouth, and grinned. With a nod, he headed toward his wife.

  She stared down at Beth and smiled.

  The baby smiled back.

  Grace’s heart melted like butter in a hot pan. “You were right, Adam.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “About?”

  “Time. All we need is time.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Matthew kicked the door closed, letting contentment wash over him.

  He was home.

  His home.

  With his new wife.

  God was truly smiling on him this day.

  They hadn’t made love again—not since the fire—but he understood why Victoria had kept him at arms’ length. They’d known a moment of passion after a frightening experience, sharing their fear and relief, but he’d promised himself he wouldn’t take her to his bed again until he made her his wife. He loved and respected her too much. Yet even the lingering ache in his shoulder hadn’t dampened his desire for her.

  Now that she was his, he wanted to get her alone and show her his love.

  Her hand brushed his cheek.

  He turned his head to nip at her fingers. “You can put me down now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m too heavy for you to keep holding.”

  “You’re light as a feather.”

  “Then take me to the bedroom and make love to me.”

  “Anything the lady wants.”

  Not that the bedroom was too far. The home only had two rooms—the larger serving as both a kitchen and parlor. But the house did have a nice private bedroom, and that was the only place he wanted to be this glorious night.

  As he carried her to the bed, she let her breath out on a rush. “Look at all this.”

  In the dim moonlight spilling through the window, the room appeared to be a haven for lovers. Flower petals had been lightly scattered over the bed, which had the covers turned back to reveal fluffy pillows with embroidered pillowcases.

  “Grace and Emily were here earlier today,” Matthew said. “Looks as though they were busy.”

  Anxious to be skin to skin with Victoria, he let her slide down his body until they stood toe to toe. He wanted to rip the pretty pink dress off her, toss her on the bed, and join their bodies. The only thing holding him back was knowing this was the beginning of their married life. He wanted it to be filled not only with passion but with love.

  She surprised him by reaching for his shirt before he could start unfastening the buttons on her bodice. Nimble fingers had his shirt unbuttoned faster than he could have managed, considering his hands trembled. He savored her cool palms slipping inside to stroke his chest and push the shirt off his shoulders.

  Her dress put up more of a fight, but he somehow found the patience to get those impossibly tiny buttons undone. His hands brushed her shoulders and breasts before he pushed the dress down her body until it settled in a pink cloud at her feet. Pulling her close, he kissed her long and deep.

  In the passion of their first coupling, he’d missed the seductive nature of undressing each other. That day, clothes that hadn’t been easy to remove were simply torn away. While that had been an incredible experience, one Matthew would always remember, he enjoyed the teasing, the nibbling kisses, the torture of waiting for the pleasure to come.

  Stepping back out of his embrace, she threw him an inviting smile as her fingers moved to the ribbons of her camisole, slowly dragging each open until the garment parted.

  His new wife wanted to drive him mad. That was the only explanation for the tantalizing way she was disrobing. While he could see the swell of her breasts, only a shadow of the nipples showed through the thin material. Instead of ripping the camisole from her as he wanted to, he decided to play along with her seductive games, admitting to himself how much pleasure he took from knowing she wanted to enflame him. If she would only glance down, she’d surely notice that he was more than ready to consummate their marriage.

  He covered her breast with his palms before sliding his fingers inside the garment to push it from her shoulders. When he leaned down to draw a nipple between his lips, her fingers dug into his shoulders and she arched forward. He fumbled with the drawstring on her petticoats until he could push them over her slim hips. As he shifted to feast on her other breast, he stripped her of her pantalets.

  She quickly kicked off her shoes and stockings while he toed off his boots.

  When she reached for the waistband of his pants, he gave thanks that the garment gave her little fight.

  They reached for each other at the same time, coming together in a tongue-dueling kiss as hands stroked and petted and worshipped. He swept her into his arms and laid her on the crisp sheets before sprawling on top of her.

  His knee parted her thighs, and he settled so his erection rubbed against her core. The dance of undressing had left him ready to bury himself deep inside her. “I want you so much.”

  Trim thighs wrapped around his hips. “I want you too.”

  Moist heat greeted him as he eased into her, making him groan in pleasure. A mewl rose from her throat as he slid deeper.

  He braced himself on his elbows to frame her face with his hands. “You’re mine, wife. Now and forever.”

  Victoria smiled up at him. “I’ve always been yours—from the first moment I saw you.” She squeezed his hips with her thighs. “Make love to me, husband.”

  Withdrawing slowly and then sinking back into her welcoming body, Matthew watched pleasure wash over her features. The rhythm grew faster as she lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. He became more demanding as the tension grew.

  With a cry of delight, her hips rose one last time as her back arched. His name spilled from her lips in a breathless moan.

  The feel of her tight heat clenching around him sent him hurtling to his own climax. He joined her in paradise, pressing his face to her neck and whispering his love.

  ***

  Adam closed the book since Grace had fallen asleep.

  She’d stretched out on the sofa, asking him to read Little Women to her after she and Daisy had finished preparing Daisy’s bedroom.

  When he glanced down, he saw brown eyes staring back at him. “Thought you’d fallen asleep.”

  “Not yet. I’m just not ready for this day to end.”

  He stroked her hair, playing with a few of the soft tresses. “It was a right fine day.”

  “I know Matthew and Victoria will be happy together.”

  A nod in reply as he let his finger lazily trace the delicate lines of her ear.

  “Thank you for bringing Daisy back.”

  “She’s always been like family, and I sure don’t want you to overdo.”

  Grace took his hand and led it to her gently r
ounding stomach. Then she grew still. As he started to caress her, she flattened his palm. “Wait.”

  He quirked an eyebrow and was about to ask what it was he should wait for when he felt the movement—weak as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, but there nonetheless.

  His child was saying hello.

  Dear Lord, but he was a content man.

  A smile spread across her face. “You felt that?”

  He gave her hand a squeeze. “Thank you, Gracie.”

  “For?”

  “For bringing so much joy back into my life.”

  “Thank you, Adam.”

  “For?”

  “For giving me the first home I’ve ever known. For giving me back my son.” Her voice choked with emotion. “And for showing me what love truly is.”

  The End

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter One

  San Francisco Bay—October 1883

  “They might be thieves and breed bastards like rabbits, but at least my family didn’t try to murder me.” Ty Bishop flexed his fingers, trying to restore some circulation to his tied wrists.

  His gaze wandered the dank, dark cave as he calculated how much time remained before the tide rose enough to turn the cave into a watery tomb.

  Sitting atop a large boulder, he pressed his back against the strong back of his best friend, Jake Curtis. Both were bound at wrists and ankles, and any movement by one affected the other. The beating they’d both taken before being subdued made every muscle in his body ache, but Ty put his pain and fear aside and scanned the cave for what seemed like the millionth time.

  Large, jagged rock walls. Bars of sand and shells that shifted as the water rushed in and out in a steady, swaying rhythm. The smell of rotting fish and stale air. He tried to breathe easy and block the image of the walls pressing in on him—his typical response to being trapped in closed spaces. There was more than enough air. He just had to constantly remind himself of that fact.

  Glancing over his shoulder, Jake gave Ty a shake of his head. “What can I say, buddy? I come from bad stock.”

  Their captor, Derrick Shay, ran his hand through his graying ebony hair. His dark eyes gleamed with amusement as he absentmindedly brushed some sand from the sleeve of his jacket.

  “I must admit I like seeing that spirit, Mr. Curtis. Shows there might be some Shay blood flowing through your veins after all.” He turned to his companion. “What say you, Robert? Do you believe that laugh-in-the-face-of-death bravado comes from my side of the family?”

  Robert Putnam’s smile now seemed reptilian, so in contrast to what Ty had wrongly judged as a friendly face. Of course, on first meeting, both Derrick and Robert had also appeared genuinely pleased to see that Jake had replied to Derrick’s invitation to come to San Francisco to meet the family he’d only recently discovered. Hell, the men had fallen all over themselves to welcome Jake into the Shay family, even hinted he might wish to drop his adopted name Curtis and accept the mantle of being a part of the Shay dynasty.

  Then things had gone decidedly wrong. Clearly Derrick and Robert were cut from the same evil cloth.

  “He’s got some Shay blood for sure,” Robert replied. “Couldn’t have inherited that kind of courage from his whore of a mother.”

  Jake strained against his bonds, causing both of Derrick’s beefy henchmen to grab him and Ty by the shoulders and push the two restrained men harder against the boulder.

  “Grace isn’t a whore!” Jake shouted, his words echoing off the cave walls. “Your brother raped her! He raped a fourteen-year-old girl!”

  Derrick gave him a derisive snort, the only indication he’d even heard Jake’s angry reply, accompanied by an exaggerated appraisal of the cave. “Look where she led you—where your greed and hers led you. You should have kept your head tucked low in Montana. Had you not sniffed out money that doesn’t belong to you—”

  “You sent for me.”

  “Simply to assess the threat you posed to my fortune. Had you not risen to the bait, you and your friend would not be here. A shame you both will drown on your little…fishing trip. I imagine it might take days—even weeks—for your bodies to wash ashore. I shall be sure to claim any body parts the sharks leave untouched and send those pieces to your loving families.”

  Ty paid little attention to the conversation, focusing instead on finding any kind of plan to get him and Jake out of this mess. The tide was already coming in, the slowly rising water swirling around Derrick’s ankles. Silently testing the strength of his restraints, Ty’s already dwindling hopes fell. Good, tight knots in thick ropes.

  “If you’ll both excuse us.” Derrick gave them a condescending bow. “We’ll be on our way.” A glance down to his sodden feet. “I fear I’ve already ruined a perfectly good pair of shoes, and my father is waiting to hear that these loose ends have been properly tied up.” He clapped Robert on the shoulder. “You have assured your place in this dynasty, my friend. My father will not forget all you’ve done today, and your reward will be substantial.”

  “I’m pleased to help the senator in his time of need, and I am ready to sign the contracts that tie your family to mine.” Robert bowed to Jake and Ty and picked up the lantern resting on a smaller rock. “I bid you both adieu.”

  “As do I,” Derrick added with a nod to his goons. “To the dingy.”

  Ty and Jake kept their silence as their four tormentors crawled into the boat and then labored to row out of the cave. They called back one last time, a laughing farewell that made him want nothing more than to be able to get his hands on his Colt. But it had been taken from him back at the Shay mansion.

  As his eyes adjusted to the dim light that managed to come through the cave’s entrance, he tried to think of any possible way out of the tangle. Not a single one came to mind.

  “Can you get loose?” Jake leaned harder against Ty, pressing their backs firmly together. Fingers brushed across the ropes binding Ty’s wrists.

  “Nope. Can you get a grip at all?”

  After several moments of frustrated struggling, Jake’s hands drifted away. “Too cold to feel my fingers.”

  Wiggling his wrists and then his ankles, Ty finally sighed in resignation, his exhale hanging like a small cloud in the frigid air. “That, and I’m bound tight enough the blood’s not even flowin’.”

  “I heard drowning’s not a bad way to go.”

  “There’s a good way?”

  He hadn’t meant to shout. Jake was merely speaking out of nervousness. He didn’t want to die any more than Ty did. Jake had more to live for anyway. A wife, a daughter—both waiting back home in White Pines, Montana.

  “Sorry, Jake.”

  “Don’t apologize. Was a stupid thing to say. If we get through this, you know there’ll be hell to pay with Emily.”

  “Your wife will be happy to tell you ‘I told you so’ for the rest of your miserable life.”

  “And I’ll gladly listen.”

  The sounds of rocks tumbling down a hill, hitting ground, and then splashing into water shut them both
up for a few strained moments.

  “Hear that?” Ty whispered.

  “Yep.” Jake nodded toward a steep, rocky slope near the cave’s entrance. “From there.”

  “Why would they come back?” The tide would keep rising, and if their captors returned, they’d likely be trapped in the cave’s waters.

  “Can’t be them.”

  Ty waited a few more moments before the quiet became agonizing. “Must’ve been a sea lion.” He could hardly contain the disappointment and near despair in his voice. “Damn, but I wish they hadn’t found that knife in my boot.”

  The tension in his muscles almost unbearably taut, he pulled against his restraints again. That failing to have an impact, he rubbed his bindings against the rock, not caring that the tender skin scraped raw while the heavy ropes stood stalwart. It wasn’t in his nature to go passively along with anything—let alone the Shay family’s plans to murder him and Jake—but he was rapidly running out of ideas.

  More rocks tumbled down the hill, the bounce and splash echoing off the cave’s walls.

  Squinting, he tried to focus on the top of the slope. A dark, slender figure formed at the peak. “Someone’s there.”

  “I see him.” Jake pushed back a little harder against Ty. “Friend or foe?”

  “Can’t decide, but I sure as hell am praying friend.”

  The shadow stepped over the edge and slid feet first down the mountain of rocks and shells, tempering the descent by dragging and shifting his weight down the slope before resting at the bottom in a crouch. Then he stepped into the stretch of deep water separating his perch from the boulders where they sat hog-tied.

  Ty followed their visitor with his eyes as the man smoothly stroked across the still pool, cutting a V through the water, leaving ripples in his path. Reaching the opposite side, he pulled himself up onto the smooth stones before shaking the water from himself like a wet dog.

  Thrilled that this was probably the only chance he and Jake had at rescue, Ty threw caution aside. Surely Shay’s goons wouldn’t have come back to possibly be imprisoned in the flooding cave, and he wasn’t about to die at twenty-three. “Over here, mister! We’re over here!”