Deborah Camp (38 page)

He growled low in his throat, and his hands slipped down her back to spread over the swell of her hips. “Sugar, there might not be a cure.”

“You might be right.” Her lips melted under his in a hungry kiss that left her panting for more. “This fever might be permanent, flaring up when we least expect it.”

“That’ll make life interesting,” he murmured, kissing her shoulder while he unfastened the back of her dress.

Her lips rubbing his, she whispered, “That’s a sure bet, gambling man.”

“Get ready,” he said, his tone devilishly sexy, his breath warm on her skin. “This gamblin’ man is about to claim his winnings.”

“Oh, you feel lucky, do you?”

He nodded and covered her breasts with his hands. “My Midas touch is back.”

She flung back her head, her body responding to his touch, her lips parting on a sigh. “Reno, darling, it never left.”

S
ix months later the 10:42 stood on the tracks, waiting for passengers and another load of wood.

Adele hugged Little Nugget close, loath to let her board and head for a questionable future with a man she’d never met.

“Are you sure?” she asked the young woman.

“I’m sure,” Little Nugget said with authority. “I’m going to be a married lady. My husband-to-be has lots of land and needs himself a wife. After a spell we’ll have children. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”

“But you don’t know him,” Adele said, clutching Little Nugget’s small shoulders. “You’ve never met him. What if he’s a horrible man?”

“Hey, he’s willing to marry me, sight unseen, so he can’t be too bad.”

“Let her go, Dellie,” Reno said, stepping close and resting a hand on her shoulder. “Remember, you promised to let people live their own lives, to trust them to make their own decisions.”

“I know.” Adele sighed. Her hands slipped down Little Nugget’s arms. “You’ll write?”

“Yes’m.”

“Write me, too,” Doris McDonald said, taking her turn to hug Little Nugget. “If you don’t, I’ll hop on a train and hunt you down.”

“Now that I know how to write, nobody can stop me,” Little Nugget said with a proud smile. “I’ll be sending so many letters you won’t have time to read them all.” Laughing, she drew in a deep breath as she gazed at the people who had come to see her off. Reno and Adele Gold, Doris, Colleen, and Helen. All dear to her. “I’ll miss you. Every last one of you. But I have to take this chance at having the kind of life I’ve always dreamed of. And Kansas ain’t so far away.”

“You’ll make him a fine wife,” Reno said. “But remember you can always come back here.”

“I’ll remember.” She shifted the doll she called Miss Tess from one arm to the other. “Guess I’d better go now. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!”

“
All aboard!
”

The call for passengers brought tears of farewell to Adele’s eyes. She embraced Little Nugget once more before opening her arms and releasing her for the last time.

Reno slipped an arm around her waist, his fingers moving over her slightly protruding stomach, where their first child grew. “I’m proud of you,” he said. “I know how hard it is for you to let her go without giving her a stern lecture on the hazards of a mail-order marriage.”

She looked up into his blue eyes. She hoped their child inherited those eyes. “How could I lecture her about that when I’m part of such a marriage?”

He arched a brow and grinned. “True enough. But our situation was different.”

“Yes, the bride ordered the groom instead of the other way around.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He pulled her closer, his gaze drifting down to her midsection, where a miracle flourished. “If she finds even half the happiness I’ve found with you, she’ll be uncommonly blessed.”

“Oh, Reno.” Adele rested her head on his shoulder and counted herself unbelievably lucky. “I love you.”

“I know.” He kissed her temple as the locomotive strained forward, bells clanging and smoke rolling from its stack.

Little Nugget stuck her head out a window and waved happily.

“Be sure and write to tell me if y’all have a boy or a girl!” she called. “I’m betting it’s a boy!”

“We’ll miss you! Take care, Little Nugget!” Adele said, waving her soggy handkerchief.

“The name is Cassie,” she called back, the train picking up speed and noise. “Cassie Mae Little! And in a few days it will be Mrs. Cassie Dalton!” She laughed, eyes shining with excitement and adventure.

“She’s so young,” Adele said, shaking her head.

“But she’s a tough one,” Mrs. McDonald said, wiping a tear from her eye. “And she knows how to make a man happy. Mr. A. J. Dalton of Kansas is getting himself a good, hard-working woman for a wife.”

“What do you think?” Reno asked Adele.

“I think Mr. Dalton is a fortunate man.”

“No, I mean, which do you think? A boy or a girl?”

She smiled. “I think it will be … a baby.” She
looped her arms around his neck. “A beautiful, spoiled-rotten baby.”

“That’s a safe bet,” he agreed. “Boy or girl, this child will be mightily loved.”

“Another safe bet.” Adele pressed her mouth to his, forgetting about everyone else, as was her custom when she looked into her husband’s eyes or enjoyed his kiss. “And I bet we’ll be the happiest couple in Whistle Stop.”

Framing her face in his hands, he touched his smiling lips to hers. “Dellie, darlin’, we already are.”