Courting Kate (26 page)

“Who’s there?” she called out, peeking through a crack between the curtains.

“It’s Tanner.”

“Step into the light so I can see you,” she ordered, pulling one of the curtains to the side.
 

He took off his hat and moved so that the light revealed his identity. “Kate, it is Tanner. See?” He bent and peered directly at her.
 

Something screeched across the floor; a moment later Kate cautiously opened the door. “Come in.”

Tanner stepped inside.

Fluffy eagerly greeted him by jumping up to lick his face. His own gaze hungrily devouring Kate, Tanner absently ruffled the dog’s fur.

She quickly pulled the curtain shut, then locked the door.
 

Observing her odd behavior, he frowned. “Kate, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” she said, motioning him to a chair. “Like you said, a woman alone has to take precautions.”

Her behavior seemed more than precautionary to him. She looked jumpy as a bug in a pen full of chickens. “Has anybody bothered you?”

“No. Don’t be silly,” she said, too quickly for him to think it was the truth. She touched the dog’s shaggy head. “I have Fluffy, remember?” She turned toward the cookstove.
 

Tanner dodged the dog’s tongue. “The way he’s behaving right now, I’d say he’d be more inclined to lick someone to death, rather than bite anybody.”

“He’s just happy to see you.” She handed Tanner a cup of steaming tea.

Taking the cup, he locked onto her violet eyes. “Are you happy to see me?”

She blushed and lowered her lashes. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” She cast a glance toward the doorway, then raised her cup to her mouth. Her hand shook. When she saw that he had noticed, she set the cup back onto the saucer and clasped her hands in her lap.
 

“Am I making you nervous?” he asked, determined to get to whatever was bothering her.

“Whatever gave you that idea?”
 

“Kate, something is wrong. Don’t try to deny it. I’m not about to leave here until I find out what it is.”

“All right, if you must know, I was trying to figure out how to tell you that I am leaving Jacksonville.”

“What?” Feeling like she’d knocked the pins from under him, he shook his head. “You can’t go anywhere until I finish that contract. Then, if you’re still determined to leave, I’ll pay your fare back to Georgia.”

“It’s not a matter for discussion. I have no intention of going back to Georgia. I’m moving farther north— to Portland, or maybe Seattle.” She raised her chin as if daring him to try to stop her. “And I don’t need you to pay my fare. I have my own money. I have earned enough selling my pies to repay the money you spent in my behalf. I only need to get it out of the bank.”

“Keep your damn money. You don’t owe me a dime.” Tanner got to his feet. The idea that she thought she could just run off on her own... “I’ve got to get out of here,” he muttered, struggling to keep hold of his temper.
 

“Don’t let me keep you.” She followed him to the door and unlocked then jerked it open.

He stopped on the threshold.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”
 

“We’ve got to get something straight first.”

She stared past him, her jaw set.

He cupped her chin and made her meet his gaze. “You’re not to leave Jacksonville until I say you can go.”

Her eyes shot violet fire. “You can’t tell me what to do,” she said furiously.

“On second thought, I might not let you go at all.” He pulled her into his arms.

“You can’t stop me,” she said defiantly.
 

“Oh, can’t I?” He bent his head, capturing her mouth with his.
 

Her lips were stiff and unyielding.

His were fierce and determined. He forced his tongue between her teeth and hungrily plundered her honeyed sweetness. She struggled, pushing against him.
 

He tightened his grip. He wouldn’t set her free. He couldn’t.

He cupped her breast and felt the nipple knot beneath his circling thumb. He kissed her long and thoroughly, his tongue mimicking the movements his body longed to make.
 

She swayed toward him, her body molding to his. She was soft and warm and smelled of cinnamon and spice.
 

He slid his fingers into her hair, loving the feel of it. Like strands of finest silk. His kiss grew more gentle, his mouth conveying everything he was loathe to speak aloud. Finally, knowing things were bound to get out of hand if he continued, he forced himself to break away. There were so many things he wanted, needed, to tell her. But not now.
 

“Oh, Tanner.” Her eyes like dark pools, she gazed up at him. Her trembling hand caressed his cheek.
 

He brought it to his mouth and kissed her palm. “You will not leave.” Satisfied that he’d made his point, he broke away and strode down the steps and into the darkness.

* * *

She was still leaning against the edge of the door, staring after him, when he rode out of sight. Dazed, she fought to regain her composure. She had wanted to scream at him, tell him he had no right to interfere in her life. Instead she’d melted in his arms. Allowed him to take liberties—again. “Damn him. Damn him to hell!”

He hadn’t kissed her because he loved her. He was only trying to show her he was boss.

“Well he isn’t
my
boss. And he can’t tell me what to do.”

A noise in the alley made her aware that she was silhouetted against the lantern-lit room. She squinted into the darkness. She knew it wasn’t Tanner. She had watched him leave.

And it couldn’t be Fluffy. When she’d opened the door, the dog had seized the opportunity and raced off in the other direction, in pursuit of a stray cat.
 

Feeling vulnerable without her pet, she clapped her hands together, hoping he would come. “Fluffy. Come on, boy.”

A noise sounded again, closer. This time from the darkness at the side of the house.

She whirled. “Fluffy?”

The dog bounded up behind her, coming from the opposite direction. Panting, he stopped at her side. He raised his head and sniffed the air. A growl, low and deep, rumbled from his throat.

She touched his back and felt the ruff on his neck rising. It’s probably the cat again, she told herself.

But what if it wasn’t? What if it was something—someone—else? Someone skulking in the darkness. It might be one of the Chinese going home, but they were always off the streets before dark. They were too afraid for their own safety to cause a problem for anyone else.
 

Could it be the miner from that morning?

What if there were more than one person? One man could easily overpower her. Two, and she wouldn’t have a chance.
 

Except for a tinkling of music from the saloon down the street, the streets were silent and empty. No one would hear her if she cried out. If the dog took off again she would be left all alone.
 

She wrapped her hand around Fluffy’s collar and tugged the resisting dog into the house. Once they were inside, she released him and slammed the door. She threw the bolt, then twisted the lock. Then she dragged a kitchen chair across the room and wedged the back of it under the doorknob.
 

A sound that could have been a man’s laugh drifted on the clear night air.
 

Could he see through the curtains? She went to the table and blew out the lamp. She stood in the darkness, staring first at the door, then at the windows.
 

Was it her imagination? Or was someone out there in the darkness, watching, waiting?

God help her, she didn’t know, and she wasn’t about to go outside and find out.
 

The dog moved to her side. He, too, was tense, uneasy.

Seeking comfort, she tangled her fingers in his thick fur.

She didn’t know how long they stood there. Five minutes? Two hours? More? She only knew she was frozen with fear, the metallic taste so strong in her mouth she found it hard to swallow, almost impossible to breathe.
 

The dog finally broke the spell. He stretched and yawned. Then he licked her hand. He left her side and flopped down in front of the fire.
 

Kate took a few wobbling steps and collapsed on the settee. When she finally did go to bed, she took the stove poker and placed it beside her. She did not undress, and she did not close her eyes.
 

She stared into the darkness, longing for the strength, the protection of Tanner’s strong arms. He’d told her he wouldn’t let her leave. But he also didn’t give her any reason to stay. Loving him the way she did, she’d didn’t dare remain in Jacksonville. Tears seeped from her eyelids and made wet patches on her cheeks. Each bittersweet parting only made her miss him that much more.
 

It was dawn when exhaustion finally claimed her, dragging her into a restless sleep.

* * *

Kate awoke determined to put her fright of the night before behind her—until she discovered boot prints in the mud beneath her window. A chill crawled over her, leaving her faint and trembling. She hadn’t imagined it. Somebody had been here.
 

She whirled, her gaze examining every bush, every building, anything large enough to conceal a man. She saw nothing.
 

Stop it! He’s not here now.
 

Forcing a calmness she did not feel, she walked to the mercantile and purchased the spices she needed. As she turned to leave she noted a display of firearms. A gun?
Don’t be ridiculous.
With her luck she’d probably end up shooting herself instead of the prowler. She shuddered, doubting that she could ever bring herself to fire the weapon if she had it. The idea of spilling another person’s blood filled her with horror.
 

Still, a gun would be protection.

No.
But as she turned away, one of the guns caught her eye. It had a mother-of-pearl handle and was small. It would easily fit into a purse or a pocket. It didn’t look dangerous, or big enough to kill anybody. But it might make enough noise to scare a person off.

“Howdy, Miss Kate.”
 

Lost in contemplation, she hadn’t known anyone was there until she heard her name. She whirled. Recognizing Chauncey, she managed a shaky smile.

The miner’s bushy gray eyebrows drew into a frown. “Are you thinking about getting yourself a shootin’ iron, Miss Kate?”

“Uh, no. Not really.”

He stepped to the case and gazed down at the weapon. “Pretty little thing, ain’t it? Might be kind of handy for a lady to have around.” He eyed her intently.

“Do you think so?” She bit her lip and looked at the gun again. “I wouldn’t know how to shoot it.”

“I could teach you,” he offered. “But if you really wanted to protect yourself, it might be better if you had something bigger—like a shotgun. You wouldn’t have to be accurate. You could just point it and shoot. Be impossible to miss. You’d blow a hole clean through anything that aimed to bother you. Why, I remember one of doc’s patients had all his innards...”

Kate’s stomach rolled. Bile rose in her throat. “Thank you, Chauncey. I’ll think it over.” Before she disgraced herself, she clamped a hand over her mouth and fled from the shop.

Chapter 19

All through the night, Tanner pondered Kate’s behavior. The next day it was still foremost on his mind. She had appeared scared, uneasy, and he didn’t think it had anything to do with him, or worry about her reputation. When he’d arrived at her house he’d heard a noise inside. Later he’d realized she’d had a chair wedged against her door. Before she’d allowed him to enter, she had returned it to its place by the table.

Why? What was she so afraid of? And why didn’t she want him to know?

The more he thought about it the more certain he became that he had cause for alarm.
 

Instead of working until dark as had become his custom, he quit early and headed for the house.
 

“Tanner, is something wrong?” Matt asked when Tanner strode through the door.
 

“I’m not sure. I think I need a second opinion.” Tanner removed his coat and hat and hung them on the rack, then he poured himself a cup of coffee. “Why don’t you and Mark gather round the table here and see what you think.”

When they were settled on either side of the long wooden table, Tanner told them about the visit he’d made to Kate and her strange behavior. He also told them she had been planning to leave Jacksonville, but that he had managed to change her mind.
 

He didn’t tell them about the argument they’d had.

And he certainly didn’t tell them about the kiss.

Not only because he considered it none of their business, but also because he didn’t want to rile them up when he needed their help.