A Good Man for Katie (6 page)

Dressed in a blue nightshift of the softest cotton he remembered fingering when he’d collected her clothes, topped by a darker blue robe that left bare more than it covered, her figure whetted the appetite. The deep valley between the plumpness of her breasts appeared luminescent and drew his eye, as did the small span of her waist.

With a will of their own, his eyes traveled upward to rest upon her face and he caught the pinkness of her tongue as she licked her lips again. The small action tempted him beyond all thoughts of propriety.

Aw, hell!

Despite the fact someone was searching his room as he stood here, despite the fact he shouldn’t even think it, Chase dipped his head and captured the sweetness of her mouth with his own.

A small sound escaped her and Kathryne stiffened, but only for a moment. The book dropped to the floor and landed with a soft thud on the carpet before her hands splayed on his chest, their warmth seeping through his shirt.

He’d made a mistake touching his lips to hers, and yet, he didn’t care. Sweet couldn’t quite describe her taste, especially when she kissed him back, her lips moving over his with a confusing mixture of innocence and knowledge. Once again, his heart rate picked up speed and pounded in his ears when she pressed closer and her body fitted against his. His hands wove into her hair, the thick mass like silk between his fingers. Her scent tickled his nose, intoxicating him more than liquor ever could.

I shouldn’t be doing this
, the thought flittered through his mind,
but I can’t stop myself. Don’t want to stop. She feels too good in my arms
. His mouth played over hers, drawing another small sigh from her before she stiffened in his arms.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered as she broke the kiss.

“I know.”

“I’m supposed to stay away from you.”

He said nothing, but the loneliness he’d felt earlier whispered through him.

The sound of a window opening and closing in the next room made him pull away, though with a great deal of reluctance. He’d rather stay here, with her, than follow whoever had been in his room. Duty called, however.

“Lock your door, Katie. Don’t let anyone in.” He adjusted her glasses, which were crooked on her face, the lenses foggy, caressed her cheek with the side of his thumb then crawled over the windowsill.

He grasped her hand, leaned in through the open window and kissed her once more, his lips brushing against hers with the lightest of touches.

“Close and lock the window.” He waited until she followed orders then crept along the porch roof. Before he jumped to the street in pursuit, he gave her a salute and a grin.

****

Kathryne closed the window but didn’t move away. She watched him until he disappeared into the darkness behind the town hall. The quarter moon didn’t offer much light but she caught a glimpse of a man running up the mountainside toward the schoolhouse before the night swallowed him.

Focused on the first man, her nose pressed against the window, she almost missed Chase as he darted between the trees before the night swallowed him as well.

Excitement rippled through her and collided with anxiety, which made her stomach tighten. If anyone knew Chase Hunter had been in her room, she would be ostracized by the town. Her chances of becoming Crystal Springs’ schoolteacher would disappear. The knowledge only doubled the excitement of his kiss.

Her lips still tingled and her hands were warm simply because she had rested them on his chest. His pure, masculine essence filled her nose and the warmth of his body seemed slow to leave. She turned away from the window, only to stop short in the middle of the room.

This is not the way to avoid scandal, Kate. Don’t you ever learn?

And yet, she couldn’t stop thinking of him, of the way his mouth had touched hers with so much tenderness, so much longing. His soft gray eyes had darkened to almost pewter and in their depths, she’d seen desire. And something else she couldn’t quite define.

And I just fell into his arms, didn’t I?

The book she’d been reading, another tawdry escapade about bandits and stagecoach robberies, lay on the floor where she’d dropped it, the cover bent, the pages creased. Kathryne picked up the novel without looking at it and tossed it on the bed. She’d never be able to concentrate on the story now.

The bed beckoned, but she wouldn’t be able to sleep, either, not with her blood sizzling through her veins. Kathryne glanced around. The tidy, little room seemed so much larger without his presence. And lonelier.

He’d left his saddlebags where he dropped them. Kathryne studied the leather pouches and fought the compulsion to search them as someone had searched his room.

“What are you thinking, Kate?” she asked aloud, her voice loud in the stillness. “You can’t rifle through someone else’s possessions.”

With the intention of removing the temptation from her sight, she picked them up. Old and worn, the soft leather felt like butter beneath her fingers. She touched the clasp…

The breath whooshed out of her with a startled cry. Her body stiffened. An overwhelming sense of sadness and loneliness rushed through her with such staggering clarity, tears pricked her eyes and her chest hurt. Her knees buckled and she reached for the bureau to steady herself, but the force of those emotions almost crushed her.

Kathryne hadn’t felt a sensation this intense since Emeline had lost her parents and come to live with them. She remembered holding Emeline’s silver handled mirror, a gift from her mother, Evangeline, and suffering through the same emotions Emeline experienced. Pain. Loss. Confusion. Fear.

At six years old, Kathryne hadn’t understood. She remembered being afraid—afraid to tell anyone what happened, afraid to touch the mirror again and feel such overpowering grief. Over the years, she was able to catch slight impressions of a person’s emotions but none as fierce as when she’d touched Emeline’s mirror until her beloved Grandpa Peabody passed away. Kathryne adored her grandfather. She’d held the rosary he always carried and felt only happiness. His contentment washed over her and eased her grief.

From that moment, Kathryne no longer questioned her ability and accepted the gift for what it was though she never told a soul. Not even Emeline knew, and Emeline knew everything.

What was it about Chase Hunter, what connection did she have with him to make her feel his emotions with such intensity?

He’s lost someone and the pain is eating him alive. He needs understanding and kindness, not the harsh treatment he gets from everyone in this town.

Her entire body trembled. The room, despite the lanterns, seemed to darken and yet, she couldn’t release her hold on the saddlebags. Without a second thought, with only the need to feel something besides the sorrow devastating her giving her reason, Kathryne opened the saddlebags. Her fingers found and withdrew a ring from the bottom of the bag. Black onyx with the initial H in gold, Kathryne clutched the ring in her hand and closed her eyes. After a moment, she felt…happiness. Confidence. The gentle waves of unconditional love. Pride.

The ache in her chest subsided and she drew in a deep shaky breath then wiped away the perspiration dotting her forehead. The beat of her heart returned to normal.

Her footsteps filled with purpose, Kathryne strode across the room, flung open the door and stepped into the hall. She hesitated in front of his door then twisted the knob and let herself in.

The mess the intruder left made her stomach lurch. Broken glass from the lantern glittered in the pale moonlight streaming through the window. His clothes were strewn about the room, the armoire doors wide open. Drawers had been pulled from the bureau and lay on the rag-rug covering the floor. Feathers from his slashed pillow dusted every available surface. Even his mattress, which rested beside the bed frame, hadn’t been spared—deep gashes exposed the padding and wads of stuffing looked like miniature clouds on the floor.

Despite the lateness of the hour and the fact she shouldn’t be in his room at all, Kathryne made a decision. Right or wrong, she couldn’t let him come back to his room and see the devastation someone had purposely left. No one should have to suffer such a hurtful act.

She righted the rocking chair left on its side by the intruder and dropped his saddlebags onto the padded cushion. There was nothing she could do about his mattress and pillow—Mrs. Rawlins would have to replace those—but she could put the rest of his room in order. She grabbed a lantern from her own room, placed it on the bureau in his, and began to clean.

Later, exhausted from her efforts, but beyond curious, Kathryne rested in the chair and waited for Chase to return.

****

For the second time this night, Chase let himself into Mrs. Rawlins’s Boarding House through the back door, but this time, no footsteps were heard above, no sound alerted him to another’s presence in his room. He trudged up the stairs. Even more so than before, exhaustion, frustration and utter sadness gnawed at him.

He’d lost his quarry near the schoolhouse, but he knew who had searched his room. The man he’d been following had been tall and lanky and ran with a peculiar gait. Chase had been in town long enough to recognize Sheriff Townsend’s slight limp, even in the darkness.

He didn’t need to ask why. He already knew.

He stopped at Kathryne’s door. A splash of light glowed from beneath the portal. He pressed his ear to the panel and listened but heard nothing. He moved on to his own room like a man older than his thirty years, opened his door and stopped. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Kathryne slept in the rocking chair, her hands folded in her lap over his saddlebags, head bent forward. A feather, small and white—he assumed from his shredded pillow—adorned her silky auburn hair. Her chest rose and fell in steady rhythm, the lace edges of her nightgown moving as well, exposing her soft flesh to his hungry eyes.

Though he hadn’t seen his room before chasing Townsend, he assumed she tried to regain some semblance of order. The matting from his mattress and the feathers from his pillow, both of which were beyond repair, along with glass from his broken lantern, had been swept into a neat pile in the middle of the room.

Her small act of kindness became his undoing. Unshed tears smarted his eyes and his breath hitched in his chest. Since coming to Crystal Springs, no one had shown him an inkling of compassion or gentleness and yet, in one stroke, she had done both.

“Katie,” he whispered as he moved toward her. She didn’t move, although she mumbled something in her sleep. “Katie.” He thought better of waking her.

Removing the saddlebag from her lap, he lifted her in his arms. Held so close, her unique fragrance filled his nose. He couldn’t help himself. He dropped a light kiss on her lips and carried her to her own room. She didn’t awaken as he laid her on the bed and covered her with a light blanket.

Chapter Five

Kathryne finished braiding her hair and inspected her reflection. The eyes in the mirror sparkled and her cheeks held a rosy glow. Perhaps she imagined it, but her mouth—indeed, her entire body—still tingled from Chase’s kiss.

For heaven’s sake! One kiss. Well…two, actually. Oh, but what kisses!

She had so wanted to see him again last night and ask him who’d been in his room, but she’d fallen asleep in the rocking chair, waiting for him to return. Kathryne vaguely remembered being held in his arms, his muscular chest pressed against her cheek, the smell of leather and spice in her nose—or perhaps she had dreamt it all for she
had
dreamt of him—vivid, colorful dreams that lingered in her mind. Even now, a shiver ran down her spine as she imagined them tangled among the sheets…

So much for swearing off men.
With a groan born of disgust, Kathryne grabbed her reticule from the bureau and pushed the vision from her mind. She had plans today, if for no other reason than to keep busy while she waited for word from the Ladies’ Society. A whole week passed since the interview, a full seven days of waiting, worrying and counting her meager supply of coins. If she didn’t get this job, she would be forced to telegraph her father for money and go home—or worse, go to Aunt Euphemia’s.

Neither choice appealed to her. She didn’t want to go home, live under her father’s thumb and bear the brunt of society gossip. She didn’t want to go to Aunt Euphemia either, the overly pious, unforgiving woman who frightened her for as long as she could remember.

Now that she’d gotten a little taste of freedom, Kathryne didn’t want to give it up. And she wanted to see Chase again, regardless of what the townspeople thought of him.

“Well, if the Ladies’ Society doesn’t want me just because I rode into town with Chase Hunter, maybe Edna does,” she said the words aloud as she strutted across the room and flung the door open in time to almost crash into Emeline and Laurel.

“Kate!” Emeline squealed as she moved aside to avoid the impact. “We were just coming to get you. The Ladies have decided in a six to one vote. You’re hired!”

Profound relief rushed through her with such force Kathryne leaned against the doorjamb and sucked in her breath. She didn’t have to ask who hadn’t voted for her, although she suspected Mrs. Maitland had been the one. It didn’t matter though. She could stay. She could see Chase again.

Filled with the promise of her future, Kathryne let out a war-whoop of triumph and danced a jig in the doorway.

“We’re here to help you clean the teacherage. You can move in tomorrow.” Laurel’s eyes sparkled and her smile beamed. “Oh, Kate, I know you and I are going to be great friends.” She grabbed Kathryne’s hand then reached out for Emeline’s and brought them all together. “Like the Three Musketeers.”

“We’ve got everything you need to set up housekeeping.” Emeline hooked her arm through Kathryne’s and led the way downstairs to the front door of Mrs. Rawlins’ Boarding House. “Curtains and drapes, courtesy of Mrs. Cabot, and fresh linens for the bed from yours truly. Laurel thought of a few other things you might need.”