Chase Wheeler's Woman (23 page)

Sally grasped her hands tight and said quietly, “It’ll work out for you, too, Letty Sue. I have a good feeling about you and Chase.”

Letty Sue didn’t allow her smile to falter, yet in her heart, she knew nothing at all was working out the way she wanted.

Chase sat next to Letty Sue in the front row of chairs set up for the invited guests. Wearing pale blue satin, the color more than bringing out the deep-sea hue of her misty eyes, she’d never looked lovelier. A fancy matching hat no bigger than a flapjack sat on her head, over dark sable curls as big and round as sausages.

She dabbed at her eyes as Sam and Sally said their vows. Little Jake squirmed in his seat, and Chase put a hand on the boy’s shoulder to calm him.

He had an urge to take Letty Sue’s hand to comfort her, although he hoped her tears were ones of joy for her friends. She’d been so quiet lately, almost sad. He’d seen a forlorn look on her face for days now and wanted to ask what was wrong, wanted to console her. But since that night in the parlor when she’d pleaded with him not to touch her, he hadn’t.

Not once. Not in any way.

And it was killing him.

His fingers itched to entwine with hers and squeeze gently in reassurance. He wanted to wrap an arm around her shoulder and bring her close. He did none of those things.

Once the vows were spoken, the festivities continued outside, under thick, shady mesquite trees decorated by the Henderson clan with paper hearts and colorful streamers. Food and spirits were in abundance, and after they’d all filled their bellies, the music began.

Jake ran off to play with two of the younger Henderson boys. Chase kept a vigilant eye on the lad, but his attention was also on his wife, dancing a polka with Bud Henderson, the young man closest to Letty Sue’s age.

Chase stood rigidly, watching man after man cut in and whirl Letty Sue around the dance area. Her hat was gone now, and the sable curls bounced against her cheeks and along her throat. Chase drew in a deep, sharp breath.

“Do you dance, Chase?” the bride asked. He hadn’t noticed Sally approaching until just then.

“Some.”

“Well then,” she said gaily, “I do believe this is our dance.”

The music slowed to a more sedate tune, and Chase glanced once more at Letty Sue, who was just starting to dance with the groom.

“I do believe it is,” he replied with a smile, taking Sally’s hand.

They moved to the music, Chase guiding her smoothly. “It was a nice ceremony, Sally. You and Sam look happy together.”

“Mmm. We are. It’s amazing how we only just got to really know each other. If his horse hadn’t thrown him that day, we might never have gotten together. Sam says sometimes what we want is under our very nose and it just takes some looking to find it.”

Chase arched a brow. “Sam says that, does he?”

“Oh yes. ’Course, he was just speaking about me and him, nobody else.” Sally cast him a coy smile.

“Of course,” Chase agreed.

After a minute, Sam sidled up next to them. “I’m cutting in, Chase. Switch partners. I want to dance with my
wife
. ” He grinned when he said the word, as if enjoying the sound of it on his lips.

Chase turned Sally over to him, then stared at his new dance partner, Letty Sue. He had an uncanny feeling he’d been set up by the groom, or the bride, or maybe both.

“Care to dance, darlin’?” He would let her decide if she wanted contact with him. They’d hardly spoken
all week, except for polite conversation, most of it regarding Jake.

Her skin glowed from the exhilaration of dancing, casting a sheen of moisture to her face, but her eyes held a cautious look. She hesitated for a brief second before answering. “I—I’d like that, Chase,” she answered softly, and nearly floated into his arms.

Together, they moved and swayed gracefully to the music. Chase tucked her head under his chin, bringing her closer, and waited to see if she’d pull back.

She didn’t. Instead, she sighed into his chest. “It was a glorious wedding day for Sally and Sam.”

“It was. Different than ours,” he said, then wished he hadn’t. He didn’t want to dredge up the past, but rather relish the feel of Letty Sue’s pliant, giving body in his arms. He’d ached to touch her, to hold her, and didn’t want to destroy the moment. He’d have to hold this image in his mind and keep it there to bring up on cold, lonely nights.

“Ours was…” she began, but didn’t finish.

“Pretty bad?”

“That’s not what matters. Not really, Chase.”

Letty Sue wouldn’t elaborate. There was no need. She’d already decided it wasn’t the ceremony that bound two people together, but the love between them. She knew Sally and Sam had that, and tonight they would share their hearts, their bodies, their souls. It’s what marriage was truly about—loving and being loved.

Being in Chase’s arms, feeling their hearts beat in
rhythm and their bodies blend so remarkably together, felt so right to Letty Sue.

She thought of Sally and what she would learn tonight in the arms of her husband. It was what Letty Sue wanted as well. She’d often thought that giving in to Chase would be settling for less than what she truly deserved, but now she knew differently.

Giving herself to the man she loved wouldn’t be “settling” at all, but rather a precious gift she could hold in her heart forever, a reminder of what might have been. She wanted to help mend Chase’s heart, but if that wasn’t going to happen, at least she could show him love, true love, and hope that one day he would recognize it as such and trust in her enough to believe that they had a future.

Time was running out.

Tonight, Letty Sue decided, she would know her husband in the real sense.

And she silently prayed that the man she loved wouldn’t turn her away.

Letty Sue put Jake down to sleep. His nightmares had ceased, thankfully. He’d had several more after that first one, and each time, she and Chase would calm and console him with love and tenderness. Chase had many stories to tell, and she would read to the child or placate him with a treat.

She stared down at Jake, sleeping peacefully in her bed, and sudden panic welled within. The uncertainty of her future involved the two males in her life—her
husband, who was out seeing to the horses, and this one trusting little child.

She’d made her decision about Chase tonight, yet her feet were suddenly unable to move. Her heart raced erratically, thumping against her chest, the full impact of what she’d planned finally settling in.

If Chase cast her aside, the hurt and humiliation would be too much to bear. But if he didn’t, then maybe she’d have a chance at gaining his trust and healing his heart.

It was what she wanted, more than her next breath.

Spurred on by her bold resolve, she kissed Jake softly on the cheek and strode purposefully to her mother’s bedroom. She found the key Joellen kept in a sculpted mahogany jewel box, then moved to the foot of the bed and bent to open the large rectangular chest there. The pungent scent of cedar filled the room.

From amid the collection of finery, china plates and odd pieces of silver, Letty Sue lifted out a snow-white lace-and-gauze nightdress. With a silent gasp, she stroked the exquisite gown, running a finger along the lacy edge of the bodice.

The nightdress was a special gift from her mother, to be included with Letty Sue’s dowry. Joellen had commissioned a French dressmaker she’d once met in Fort Worth to design the gown for Letty Sue in the event of her wedding.

Letty Sue couldn’t think of a better time to wear it.

With swift efficiency, she removed her clothing and
donned the beautiful gown, buttoning up the tiny front buttons, which barely came to the top of her ribs. The bodice dipped tight and low, barely containing her bosom.

Oh Lordy, Letty Sue.

If words failed her, Chase would certainly know what she had in mind with just once glance.

The back door closed with a slight thud. Chase had entered the house.

Right then, sudden realization dawned, like a storm cloud parting, allowing golden sunlight to peek through. Letty Sue knew that to earn Chase’s trust, she’d have to lay the truth out before him. There was no other way she could come to him, no other way to start clean and fresh.

She straightened her gown needlessly, the fabric flowing to the floor with smooth grace. She dabbed jasmine water onto her throat and shoulders, a bit between the valley of her breasts, then drew in a deep, steadying breath of air, calming her jittery nerves. Leaving her mother’s bedroom, she walked down the hall to the parlor door.

Her fate and her future lay on the other side.

Chapter Nineteen

C
hase crouched down by the hearth and, with a long iron rod, poked at the fire he’d just built. A startling burst of blazing light illuminated the room before quickly dying to a low even flame. Deep in thought, he stared into the fire, recalling how he’d held his wife in his arms and danced with her at Sally’s wedding earlier.

It was a good memory, one he could take to his grave, as his grandfather would say. When you got old, the memories were what you had left, he’d often advised. Chase hadn’t understood his grandfather at the time, his young mind filled only with “todays,” but now he understood what the old man had meant.

“Chase?” Letty Sue’s soft voice filled the room.

He didn’t dare look at her, not now, when he was still reeling from having her in his arms. “Is it the boy? Another nightmare?” He kept his focus on the dancing flames.

“No, Jake is sleeping peacefully. I, uh,” she began, “I wanted you to know Mama is returning home. She
wired that she’ll probably be home at the end of the week.”

Chase squeezed his eyes shut, a deep pain slashing his gut. He’d known this day would come, he just hadn’t expected the impact to feel so damn miserable. Hell, he should be letting out a whoop of joy. He’d be free soon, his commitment to Joellen more than served, his vow to keep Letty Sue safe honored.

But he didn’t feel like celebrating.

Far from it.

“Chase?”

“Thanks for letting me know,” he muttered, still facing the hearth. “You can get back to bed now.”

“Chase, I intend to go to bed…with you,” she said quietly, her voice trembling.

Confused, Chase turned his head from the fire, then rose slowly, his gaze caught by the vision standing in the doorway. His mouth went bone dry and his chest heaved, tight and heavy, as he viewed his wife. She looked like some lovely, unearthly spirit, dressed in white. “Letty Sue?” he managed to croak. The vision stole almost all of his breath.

Her chin went up, but she spoke tenderly. “I want a wedding night, Chase.”

He blinked back his surprise, but found himself moving toward her, his willpower as charred and hollow as the timber he’d placed in the fire long minutes ago.

When he reached her, he took her hands in his, then let his gaze travel the length of her, lazily drinking in her luscious body with his eyes. The nightdress did
nothing to hide her figure. She was exposed to him, through fine lace. He’d known she was beautiful, but tonight she was so much more.

She was pure, coming to him like this, giving him claim to her body. And honest, telling him of Joellen’s return.

“This is between the two of us,” she whispered boldly. “No one has to know.”

She was giving him a way out, letting him know she wouldn’t protest when the time came to dissolve the marriage. Her courageous act warmed his heart. But he couldn’t think of that, or anything else beyond the woman he’d wanted since he’d set eyes on her two months ago.

He brought her close, cupping her face with his hands. “Sweetheart, I couldn’t deny you tonight if I wanted to.” He kissed her briefly on the lips, then bent to lift her into his arms. “Where?” He headed toward the only unoccupied bedroom.

Letty Sue shook her head. “No, here, where you sleep, Chase.”

Chase smiled and set her down on his blanket in front of the fireplace. She lay before him, her nightdress fanning out around her and dark sable curls teasing the rosy peaks of her high, full breasts. He stretched out beside her, his body ready and taut with need. “Are you sure?” he asked, searching her blue eyes.

“I’m sure. Make me your woman, Chase.”

His groan was long and deep, coming from the
depths of his chest. He wanted this woman, there was no doubt about that. But was she
his woman?

Walk as one, stand together
.

It was too much thought for a man whose body had been denied all these months. He bent his head and kissed her full on the mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, thrusting her tongue into his mouth, turning his mind to mush.

He broke off the passionate kiss minutes later, to whisper in her ear, “Sweetheart, tonight you’re mine.”

Letty Sue wanted to be his forever, but if tonight was all he was offering, she’d wouldn’t complain. She’d love him with the whole of her heart, hoping to heal his wounds. Hoping that, one day, he’d love her back.

He slid his hand down her throat to her chest, where he caressed the swells of her breasts. His touch sent her senses reeling. And when he unfastened the tiny buttons of her gown, parting the fabric and lowering his head to her awaiting peaks, she closed her eyes from the sheer pleasure.

“Chase,” she murmured, when his stroking became too much. She needed more from him, the heat deep within her escalating, building in intensity.

“I know, sweetheart,” he whispered, “trust me.”

She did trust him, perhaps foolishly, but he held her heart. “I do,” she said softly, “so very much.”

Chase kissed her again then, his passion sweeping her away in a swift and sudden storm. She’d never
felt this way before, as if her heart and body were in rhythm, as if senses she’d never experienced before.

She could feel his heat, his desire. It filled the air and consumed her. She needed this man, and the time was right.

With gentle pressure, she pushed until he slid to the floor at her side. She reached for the buttons on his shirt and with trembling fingers managed to undo all of them quickly. Spreading his shirt open, she laid her palms on his chest, finding his skin sleek, smooth and so very hot. With her hands, she sought every inch of him, stroking gently, her fingertips moving with precision. Then she pressed her lips to his skin, kissing and drawing her tongue over both flattened disks. His body tightened.