Contract to Wed (15 page)

“Jesus, woman, you are the sexiest thing I have ever seen,”
Maximillian whispered in her ear, making a circle with his tongue. He nipped at
her neck and pulled on her gown impatiently. “These frilly, girly gowns of
yours make me crazy.”

Maximillian got the hem of her negligee in his hand and
shimmied the fabric up her body until she was exposed to him. He pushed her
legs wide and laid a calloused hand on her. Jolene lay prone as he worked his
fingers on her and in her until she was lazy-limbed and wet. She pulled his
lips to hers and kissed him open-mouthed.

“Oh, Max. I want you inside me,” she said and moved her hand
up and down his erection.

Maximillian loomed over her then and entered her with one
swift, bold stroke. She moved with him as he set up a steady rhythm that
gradually increased in speed and urgency. She drew a shuddering breath, and
felt weightless as she relaxed under him, and felt his weight descend on her
until he collapsed, boneless and breathing hard. He shook a final tremor and
groaned.

Jolene’s face was turned towards Maximillian’s where it was
buried in her pillow. She felt his shoulders shake, and he turned his face and
rubbed his nose across hers. He was smiling.

“You should ask me for something right now, Jolene, because
if I had to walk a hundred miles in bare feet carrying boulders to get it for
you, I’d do it.” He chuckled and kissed her lips softly. He moved off of her
just a bit and ran his fingers down the side of her face. “You are beautiful,
do you know that, love?” he said and searched her eyes. “Do you know how much
you please me? Do I please you? Tell me then, if I don’t, and what I can do to
change that.”

Tears filled Jolene’s eyes. “Don’t Maximillian.”

He wiped her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. “Shush.
Don’t cry,” he whispered. “We’ll be slow and steady, you and I.”

* * *

Max drew the blankets over them and
turned her on her side so he could press up against her back. He fluffed the pillow
and let out a long sigh.

“Are you intending to sleep here?”

Max nuzzled her ear and rubbed his thumb across her breast.
“The last time, you up and left. I’ve been dreaming about waking you out of a
sound sleep, getting you hot and ready for me again. So, yes, I am intending to
sleep here . . . for a while anyway.”

“Oh.”

He was in love with his wife. As unsmiling and cool as she
could be, there was no denying it. He wanted her body, craved it, to a degree
far above anything he’d ever known. He valued her opinions and competent
management of staff and of Melinda, and he wished he could overcome her
skepticism and wariness. Maximillian had no intentions of straying; they were
man and wife, and he would be loyal to her and protect her through whatever lay
ahead for them. And there was a moment, just a flash as he stroked her face,
when he saw the whole way through to Jolene. When he saw past her masks and
hurts and fears and vulnerability to the real woman at her core. It was merely
a glimpse, but she was there, every unsure, uncomfortable bit of her, hiding
behind all the walls she’d built to guard herself from pain.

“I love you, Jolene.”

Chapter Fifteen

“My sister Jennifer is planning to
travel here in October,” Jolene said. “I received a letter from her yesterday.”

“Pass me the ham, Zeb,” Maximillian said and looked at her.
“That’s great news! When does she get here? Will she be staying past the
election?”

“This one from the Dakotas?” Zeb asked.

“No,” Jolene said and shook her head. “She’s unmarried and
still at Willow Tree. I’m shocked that’s she’s coming here.”

“Why” he asked.

“Jennifer has never been one to be very adventurous. The
idea of traveling this far must petrify her. Of course she’ll have her maid
with her, but I doubt that she’s been more than ten miles from Willow Tree her
entire life.”

“I may not have much time with her since I’ll be going to Houston
sometime that month. Can she stay for the holidays?” Maximillian asked. “Wait
till Melinda hears this. We won’t be able to live with her.”

“We’re nearly finished with the remodeling in the blue
bedroom suite,” Zeb said. “Just the carpets to be laid and whatever paintings
or decorations you’d like, Jolene.”

“Thank you. Jennifer will like those rooms.”

“Will you be planning a party while she’s here?” Maximillian
asked.

“I imagine I will,” Jolene said. “I would like to entertain
a few times and spend some time in Dallas with her as well.”

“Playing matchmaker, Jolene?” Maximillian stood, took a last
sip of coffee, and winked at her.

“Mother has been encouraging her to accept Mr. Rothchild’s
proposal. He’s been a business associate of my father’s for years.”

Maximillian picked up his hat and leaned down to kiss her,
full on the mouth, and rubbed his knuckles across her cheek. “I will see you
this evening for dinner, and we can talk more about your sister’s visit then,
sweetheart.”

The door to the dining rooms closed as Maximillian left, and
Jolene knew her cheeks were flaming. She looked up to meet Zeb’s eyes.

“I think the boss is in love,” he said dryly.

Jolene stood and walked to the door. She turned and faced
him. “Speaking of which, do not dally with Alice. She has been hurt in the past,
and I do not wish to see her hopes raised falsely.”

“I’ve been nothing but honorable to Alice,” Zeb said as he
stood. “I resent the implication I’ve been anything less than a gentleman.”

“I’m certain you have been a gentleman in that regard. It is
her feelings, not her person, I am concerned about. However, if you are
sincerely in love, that would be a different matter.”

Jolene was glad the opportunity had presented itself to
speak to Zebidiah in private. She’d caught Alice straining to catch glimpses of
him and was worried that her maid was entertaining thoughts of a relationship
with Mr. Moran. He did not approve of Jolene or her background and could be prickly,
but he managed the ranch efficiently and was a confidant of Maximillian’s. He
also had a stake in two of the more successful oil wells, Jolene had just
learned, and was amassing a significant amount of money, as well as being
well-educated and cultured, even if he did dress and act the part of a ranch
hand. But Jolene did not believe he was interested in her maid above what any
man may be interested in a pretty, young woman, even if she was in service.

“I’m not in love with anyone,” he said and slammed his hat
on his head and bolted past her.

* * *

But her husband was in love with her,
if words were to be believed, Jolene thought, as she sat and daydreamed one
October morning before a scheduled appointment arrived. Maximillian told her he
loved her before they made love, while at the height of passion, and as he held
her afterwards and kissed her temples and fingertips. Her room was only locked
a few days of the month, and even then, he pounded on her door, until she
opened it, afraid the servants would hear, and rubbed her back and held her
while she slept. He insisted on sleeping with her after they made love, and
Jolene was not looking forward to a long month without him.

She would miss the coupling, no doubt, as it had only gotten
better as they became more aware of each other’s bodies and the particulars of
exciting each other sexually. Even the thought of what she did the night before
he left was . . . well, it was too much to think about. And Maximillian had
crushed her to his chest before leaving that morning, in full view of the servants,
and kissed her, and whispered in her ear that he’d be dreaming about her mouth,
and probably wouldn’t sleep a wink until he was home in her bed and returning
the favor. But more than that, more than any of it, she would miss the feeling
that Maximillian held the world at bay when he held her in his arms and kissed
her goodnight.

“Miss Sanchez?” Jolene said as she was drawn from her
thoughts to the young woman waiting at the door of her office. “Do come in and
have a seat please.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

“I understand you have recently graduated from a teacher’s
school, Miss Sanchez.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said and pulled a hanky from her purse to
wipe her nose.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“Just a little cold, ma’am. We had already set the time and
day for this meeting. I did not want to cancel, and I’m sure I will be fine in
no time. I did not miss one day of school these past two years for sickness.”

Jolene listened closely as Miss Sanchez continued and talked
at length about her schooling and her ambitions for the students she would be
teaching. She was a good candidate, Jolene thought, and familiar with the
Hacienda, as she had lived here up until just a few years ago when she’d moved
to Dallas to live with an aunt and attend a small Catholic teacher’s college.

“I assume you’ll be staying with your parents rather than
return to Dallas today, Miss Sanchez,” Jolene said as she rose.

Miss Sanchez stood and quickly grabbed onto the desk edge.
Jolene steadied her.

“Oh,” she said. “I must have risen too fast.  Yes. I
will be visiting my mother and father until tomorrow. Thank you for your time,
Mrs. Shelby.”

Jolene found Melinda shortly afterwards to begin that day’s
studies.

“Do you remember Alcinda and Ferdinand’s daughter, Melinda?”
Jolene asked.

“Beatrice?”

“Yes. That is her name. I have just interviewed her, and
your father and I are considering hiring her as a teacher for the children of
the employees here.”

Melinda’s eyes lit up, and she clapped. “Beatrice! I adore
her! She is so kind and so pretty.”

“She is a very pretty young lady, but that is not why I am
hiring her, is it?”

“No,” Melinda said and giggled. “Not if she is to be a
teacher.”

“With getting your father ready to travel and learning some
things I may need to know during his absence, I have forgotten to tell you that
my sister, Jennifer, is coming to visit us.”

Melinda jumped from her desk chair and hurried to Jolene.
“When? When is she coming? From Boston? What does she look like? Does she ride
horses? How will she get here? How long will she stay?”

Jolene laid a hand on Melinda’s arm. “Your father said there
would be no living with you once you heard this. I suppose he was right.”
Jolene couldn’t stop herself from smiling at Melinda and her antics. She was
dancing around the room with an imaginary partner now. She turned suddenly.

“You will be having parties, won’t you? Can I come, please,
can I come? I have been good and wear clean under things every day!”

Jolene laughed. It was freeing, really, she thought, to
share Melinda’s joy. It was impossible to be near her and not. And, although
she and her sister Jennifer had never been close, she was anticipating her
visit with much excitement.

“We will be having parties, and we will introduce you to
some of the guests attending but you will not be staying up for the dancing.
Young ladies your age retire to their rooms at the usual time.”

“I cannot think about Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire
now!”

“You must. And I will be busier than usual with the election
and Jennifer’s visit. Miss Sanchez, as you will address her, will be filling in
for me with your studies.”

“Why do I have to call Beatrice
Miss Sanchez
?”

“Because she has worked and earned her degree and deserves
respect from her students and because other children will follow your lead. If
you do not show deference to her position, then it will be doubly hard for her
to gain the respect of others, especially as many of them have known her all of
her life.”

“I do not think the older ones care two bits for what I do,”
Melinda said.

“You are quite wrong. They do care.”

Melinda leaned into Jolene and played with the watch pinned
to Jolene’s blouse. “I am glad that you married Daddy.”

“I am glad as well. I wasn’t sure I would be, you know.”

Jolene put an arm around Melinda. She had not been
accustomed to touching other persons, but she was getting used to it, she
supposed. Melinda held her hand whenever possible, and Maximillian was forever
hugging her or kissing her regardless of the audience. It was completely
opposite of her interactions in her old life, and most times she felt as though
her dignified, and solitary Boston life was preferable, even desirable, for a
woman of breeding such as she. And other times, this being one of them, she was
nearly reduced to tears for craving the humanity of a loving touch from someone
dear in her life.

* * *

“Yes. You may be excused,” Jolene
said to Melinda after dinner that evening.

“I want to talk to Beatrice, Miss Sanchez, I mean. I want to
hear what it was like living at her aunt’s and about her school,” Melinda said
and hurried from the table.

“Did you know Miss Sanchez?” Jolene asked after staff
cleared their dinner dishes and served them coffee.

Zeb shook his head. “No. I started here not long after she
left to move to Dallas. I know her mother and father, though. You will not find
harder workers than them. A good family.”

“I am glad to hear that. Maximillian and I are going to
offer her a job as a teacher. I suppose he told you a classroom is being added
to . . .”

The door to the dining room slammed open. “Jolene!” Melinda
shouted. “Get the doctor!”

Zeb jumped up from his chair. “Who is hurt?”

“It’s Beatrice! Hurry!” Melinda said and ran away down the
hallway to the kitchens.

Jolene followed Zeb as he ran out the rear doors. “Where is
she?” he asked a group of men standing and staring at the family homes
solemnly. One of the men raised a hand and pointed at Ferdinand and Alcinda’s
house.

There was a crowd outside the doorway, and Zeb and Jolene
elbowed their way through until they were inside the small house, where still
others had gathered.

“Where is she?” Zeb asked. “What happened?”

Alcinda came out of a back room and hurried to Jolene. “Mrs.
Shelby! Oh please, Mrs. Shelby, can you get the doctor to come see my Beatrice?
We will pay you . . .”

“Hush about any payment, Alcinda. We will get the doctor.
What is wrong with Beatrice? Did she fall?”

“She is very sick,” Alcinda said as tears streamed down her
face. “She is burning up with fever! She aches all over and is talking out of
her mind!”

“Let me through,” Jolene said, fear coursing through her, as
she moved people aside to get through a small bedroom and to the sick girl’s
side. Jolene stared at Beatrice, looking shrunken and flushed and nothing like
the attractive young woman she’d met with earlier.

Jolene’s worst fear though, her nightmare, was real, coming
to life as she looked at Melinda sitting on a bench with another young girl,
not two feet away from the sick bed, stroking Beatrice’s arms with a rag they
jointly held.

“Melinda! Go to the house at once. Immediately!”

“But I . . .” Melinda began, shaking her head in confusion.

“Now!” Jolene said. Melinda hurried from the room. The women
left there wouldn’t look at Jolene. “Out. Everyone out of this room except
Beatrice’s mother and father.”

Zeb grabbed her arm. “Mrs. Shelby . . .”

“You too, Mr. Moran. I will meet you at the house after I
have finished here.” Jolene turned back to the sick bed and saw that Ferdinand
and Alcinda were the only ones still remaining. “I will send for the doctor
immediately. Until he arrives, keep her warm and bathe her head in cool water.
If you do not have willow bark, send someone to the house to get some. Brew tea
with the bark and give it to her now and again later in the evening.”

Alcinda nodded. “Yes, Mrs. Shelby. I have willow bark and
will make it right away.”

“Wash your hands with soap and water every time you touch
Beatrice. Do you understand? Every

time.” Jolene looked at Ferdinand. “Mr. Sanchez. Do you
understand what I’ve told you? You must stay and help your wife. I will not
allow any others in your house.”

“My baby,” he cried and covered his face with his hands. “My
baby!”

Jolene grabbed him by the shoulders. “Mr. Sanchez! Do you
understand me? You must stay . . .”

“Yes, yes, I will stay here and make the willow tea and wash
my hands. Yes!”

“I will send for the doctor right away.” Jolene hurried out
the door and lifted her skirts to run across the yard to the Hacienda.

“Why did you do that? Why did you yell at me like that?”
Melinda said, through her tears, as Jolene hurried into the kitchen. Maria was
holding her and wiping her eyes and kissing her temples.

“I will explain everything to you, but I have to send for
the doctor right now. Please, both of you, wash your hands with soapy water
right now.”

Jolene went on a search for Zeb and found him in the foyer.

“I just sent Pete to Dallas, told him to ride hard, and
bring Doctor Davis back with him,” he said. “And I don’t appreciate you talking
to me like you did in front of staff. There was no need and you embarrassed
Melinda.”