Sandra Chastain (10 page)

“Oh, you’re right, Letty. But I thought that Cade would be here, and we’d …”

“Well he ain’t. And you ain’t—at least you ought not—not until that judge gets them papers ready. When is he coming over?”

“Tonight, after supper.”

“And what is this contract going to say?”

“Well, it deals with the six months we’re going to take to … get acquainted. Then if I’m—you know—pregnant, we’ll set up alternative plans for … then.”

“I see,” Letty said cautiously, “and what is Cade supposed to do in the meantime, other than get acquainted with you?”

“Well, he can ride. He can be with his daughter. He can—where is he anyway? It isn’t safe for him to go out on his own.”

“I don’t know. He didn’t say. Asked if he could use the Jeep and left. Somehow, from what I’ve
seen of Mr. McCall, he’ll find something to do. I think he can take care of himself.”

Rusty hated to admit that the same thought had occurred to her. Occupying his time hadn’t been a prime consideration when she was making her plans. She’d thought he’d act like one of the hands. But it had become obvious right away that that wouldn’t be a good idea. The men naturally looked to him for instructions. Rusty had to hand it to him. Cade had seen what was happening and backed off.

Lunchtime came and went. The meeting with Judge Meekins was confirmed, but still no Cade. Rusty met with Doak and discussed the breeding schedule for the new bull. The timing of his arrival was perfect. Most of the cows had calved in late December and January. They would soon be ready to breed again. But Rusty didn’t want to take any more chances with Pretty Boy on the open range.

With the use of a teaser cow, they could fool the bull and they’d be able to inseminate the herd artificially without using nature at all. Nine months from breeding, she’d find out how successful Pretty Boy had been. And with any luck at all, the new cows would be able to range farther with less water than this generation.

When Pixie arrived home from school, she came flying into the kitchen, books in hand, relating with excitement the events of her first day.

“Letty, there are lots of other boys and girls in my class. We have recess and movies and a lunchroom,” she explained. “Oh, Daddy and Eugene and I are going to like living here.” She turned to Rusty, question marks in her eyes, “Mrs. Rusty?”

“Oh, you don’t have to call me that,” Rusty said warmly. “You can call me—” but she didn’t know
what to say. Mother? No, she wasn’t Pixie’s mother. She wasn’t Pixie’s daddy’s wife. “Rusty,” she finished quietly.

“Okay, Rusty. Is my daddy back? Eugene said he had to see the doctor.”

“ ‘Doctor’?” Rusty frowned. Was Cade feeling sick and hadn’t told her? Now she was really worried. Leaving Pixie and Letty in the kitchen, Rusty walked into the study and sat down behind the desk. Being at loose ends was new to her. In fact, she couldn’t remember ever wandering aimlessly around the house in the middle of the afternoon. If she’d been back in Salt Lake City, she’d have found that bar again. In fact, there was no reason why she couldn’t make herself a drink. She always kept liquor in the house.

She removed a glass from the cabinet and began studying the labels on the bottles beneath. What did one put in a mixed drink? She hated to admit that she didn’t have any idea. Neither her father nor Ben thought a woman should drink. So she never had. A glass of wine with a meal was acceptable, an occasional cocktail at a party, but drinking at home for no particular reason was unknown to her.

Finally Rusty took one of the bottles and poured an inch into the bottom. To that she added seltzer water and stirred it with a swizzle stick. She didn’t have ice, and she didn’t want to ask Letty to fill her ice bucket. She’d take it straight. That’s what the hands did when they went into the Coyote Saloon.

Taking a big gulp, Rusty swallowed, and swallowed, and swallowed. She was on fire. When the liquid hit her stomach, it set off a tidal wave of sensation that cut off her breath and made her gasp.

Behind her she heard a low chuckle.

Cade was standing in the doorway, trying unsuccessfully to hold back his laughter. “Do you mind if I join you?” he asked casually, and strolled over to the liquor cabinet.

Rusty managed to still the volcano erupting inside her stomach and nodded. “Of course not.”

“What are you drinking?” He picked up the bottle and read the label. His eyes widened.

“Rum? Well, I prefer a snowbound night with my rum, but if that’s your choice, okay.”

“Truth is, I don’t know one bottle from the next, McCall. I’m not much of a drinker.”

“You called me Cade earlier. I like that better. It sounds more intimate.”

“And you called me Rusty. I like that better too. Why don’t you … mix us a proper drink. I don’t think this one is very good.”

“Why don’t we ask Letty to make us some hot chocolate instead. I think I’d rather see a future mother drinking something nutritious. Liquor won’t be good for the baby.”

“You’re so sure there’s going to be a baby?” Her voice was breathless, and she made no effort to stop it.

“I’m sure,” he said, replacing the bottle and removing the glass from her hand. “Aren’t you?”

She thought she said yes. But as his lips claimed hers, she wasn’t sure. In fact as she melted into his arms, she wasn’t sure of anything except that she’d been waiting for this all day.

In the dining room Cade saw that his plate had been moved from the end of the table to the middle of one side.

“This is a lot better,” he said, once again walking around her chair to assist her. “I like your dress.”

“I didn’t move your chair,” she muttered, promising herself to speak to Letty about her meddling. And she liked what Cade was wearing too. His jeans had been starched and pressed. The black soft sweater he’d pulled over his head had mussed his damp hair slightly and clung to his upper body shamefully. Here and there she caught the flicker of light in a droplet of water he’d missed when he’d dried himself after his shower.

Rusty looked down at the soft pink dress she’d worn and wished she’d made another choice. Pixie had chosen it during a quick visit they’d shared just before Letty called her to supper in the kitchen. The simple high-necked jersey dress hugged her breasts and nipped her waist like a display gown on a dress form, emphasizing every curve of her body.

“Moving you was Letty’s idea.” Rusty sat down in her chair and scraped the legs as she slid it forward in a desperate attempt to avoid the touch of Cade’s hands. She was too late.

Cade stood for a moment, his hands on her shoulders, then leaned down and planted a light kiss on the side of her neck. “Ah, Letty—a woman after my own heart.”

“Fine,” Rusty snapped, fighting the sensation of his lips touching her skin. “Give it to her. She’s a fool for valentines and romance.” It seemed that every time she gave in to his kisses, she began to have doubts about the ease with which he claimed them.

“Sorry, darling,” he whispered from behind her
as he straightened up. “It comes as a package deal.”

After that, conversation was strained, then nonexistent. Finally Letty, in exasperation, slammed down their plates of baked chicken and dressing, and put her hands on her hips in a threatening manner.

“Now listen here, you two, it’s obvious that Cade isn’t into basketball and Rusty doesn’t know one end of a football field from the other. You can’t exchange recipes or tips on cows. I don’t know what it is about you and mealtime that addles your brains, but if you don’t get whatever it is out of your systems and enjoy the food I prepare, I’m going to turn that wild man Eugene loose in the kitchen and let
him
cook for you.”

“ ‘Wild man’?” Cade repeated, a twinkle in his eye. “He said that you two would get along.”

“Beans and biscuits?” Rusty said at the same time in horror.

Rusty and Cade looked at each other and began to laugh.

“You’re right, Letty,” Rusty agreed. “There’s no point in letting our differences spoil your food.”

“ ‘Differences’? I don’t think we actually have any differences, Rusty,” he said. “I think that our problems are very much the same problem. Perhaps we could skip dessert for now and go into the study. I’d like to hear what that judge is going to put into the agreement.”

“Good idea, Cade.” Rusty stood up and skirted the table. “When Judge Meekins arrives, Letty, please show him into the study. If you’ll go on ahead, Cade, I’ll join you in a moment. I promised Pixie that Glenda would tuck her in.”

“ ‘Glenda’?”

“Didn’t you know? I’m Glenda, the good witch. And if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to follow the yellow brick road to Oz.”

“Is that why you’re wearing the pink dress?”

“Yes,” Rusty admitted with a blush. “Pixie said that Glenda always wears pink.”

Cade didn’t comment. He paused in the doorway, basking in a rare feeling of contentment as he watched Rusty walk down the hall. Gone was the long stride and swagger that he’d seen that first day. Instead, the woman climbing the stairs gave off an aura of gentleness and well-being that made the whole house feel content.

Cade held back the urge to follow her. It was important that Rusty and his daughter find a common bond if this relationship was to become permanent. He’d thought that Pixie might rebel at the idea of another woman intruding into their lives. But he was continually amazed at his daughter’s ability to accept what came and adjust to it. It had taken him a long time to learn to do that. And just when he’d thought he had the system licked, Rusty came along to knock it cockeyed.

Glenda, the good witch. Leave it to Pixie to put a name on a thing and turn it into a treasure. Cade stood in front of the fireplace with both hands braced against the mantle. Good witch or bad witch, Rusty had certainly cast a spell on his heart.

“Cade?”

She’d done it again, crept up behind him, and he’d been so intent on his thoughts that he hadn’t heard her. He turned around.

“All done?”

“Yes, and Pixie sent you this.” She stood on tiptoes, placed a quick kiss on Cade’s lips, and pulled away.

He swallowed hard. “I don’t suppose that I could send her a reply?”

“I think you’d better not.” They were only inches apart, and Rusty knew that she ought to step back. The judge was due any minute, and now was not the time to let herself get carried away. “I think what we need is some of Eugene’s Tundra Tonic.”

Rusty tried not to think about Cade’s kiss. But she couldn’t step away. Her legs felt liquefied. Her breasts burned to touch Cade’s chest, and she felt a great aching need as she speculated on how Cade’s hard body might feel against her, nude and aroused. She took a step forward. If she didn’t hold on to something, she would fly out into the night.

“Cade?”

What might have happened next was erased by a knock on the door.

“It must be the judge,” Rusty said tightly, and stepped away.

“Probably,” Cade agreed, forcing himself to walk over to the window and think about snowstorms. He touched the windowpane and felt its cold touch against his skin. Control, he chastised himself. It wasn’t working. Ice storms. He’d focused on sleet and avalanches. So focused was his concentration that the man who entered the room was subjected to Cade’s back for a long unexplained moment.

“Sorry I’m late, Rusty,” he was saying when Cade turned around. “Had a flat tire on the way.” He gave Rusty a quick kiss on the cheek and walked into the room. “Is this the temporary husband?”

“Yes.” Rusty took one look at the expression on
Cade’s face and stepped between them as Cade moved around the chair into the light. “Judge Meekins, I’d like you to meet Cade McCall.”

The judge was short, red-faced, and abrupt. He glared at Cade with suspicion. “Well, you aren’t what I expected.”

“That seems to be the general consensus.”

The judge gave a startled shake of his head and moved to the desk. “All right, let’s have a look at the agreement, though I don’t know why you feel the need to have one. In my day, if a woman wanted a baby, she got married and then got pregnant. I don’t think much of reversing the order.”

He placed his briefcase on the desk and snapped it open, pulling out a sheaf of legal-size papers. “I’ll just hit the high spots here. You can look them over and sign them now, or I’ll pick them up tomorrow.”

“Go ahead, Judge, tell me what they say.” Cade walked around the high-backed chair pulled up to one corner of the desk. He needed something in his hands, something he could focus on.

After the judge rattled off the terms of the agreement Cade forced himself to hold on to the chair, before saying forcefully “There are two very big problems left unanswered. First, I won’t be a kept man—for anybody, for any reason. If I stay here, I have to have something useful to do.”

Rusty looked puzzled. “I have no problem with that, Cade. What do you have in mind?”

“Obviously I don’t know anything about cattle, but I can learn. But I do know about water supplies and pipelines. I believe that I can contribute,
and I want the right to work included in the contract. Is that agreed?”

“Agreed. What’s the second thing?”

“That may be more difficult.” He walked around the chair and came to stand beside Rusty. With little regard for the judge’s surprise, Cade turned her to face him. “I was abandoned by my father. I won’t do that to my child. Any children I have will have a mother and a father, or they will never be born.”

“But—but—but,” the judge stuttered, “that means a permanent marriage, and that wasn’t part of Rusty’s plan.”

“Not necessarily. It only means that I intend to be a father to my children. The details can be worked out if the need arises. Will you agree, Mrs. Wilder?”

“Yes,” she finally whispered. “If there are children, we’ll work out those details to your satisfaction.”

“Eh—well, I suppose that I can rewrite the temporary marriage clause, if you’re sure.”

“We’re sure,” Letty said, striding into the room, dragging a broadly smiling Eugene behind her. “And we’re the witnesses. You need witnesses, don’t you, Judge?”

“Eh, well—well, yes.” The confused man’s face turned even redder. After a moment he turned to the papers and began to make adjustments. “Now, if the parties affected would just initial the changes here—” he waited for Rusty and Cade to focus their attention on the legal document and sign, “and here—and here.”