Early Dawn (37 page)

When she got back to camp, she realized it was time for lunch. She had to eat to maintain her strength, so she prepared a midday meal and then forced herself to eat every last bite. After washing the dishes, she found a small slab of shale to use as a spade and dug a hole so she could bury the deer bones. She was sweating like an overworked horse by the time she finished the excavation, but surprisingly, she wasn’t so tired that she wanted to collapse. All that sleep truly had put her right. Her ribs still hurt, but not as much as they had. She didn’t get light-headed. No knifing pains. She was on the mend.

So what next? She decided she should fashion a spear for hunting and a pole for fishing. Sitting by the fire, she used a rock to sharpen the knife with which she’d cut up the deer. When it had an edge like a razor, she found a fairly straight branch and went down to the stream to slice off strips of the skirt to use as binding. Soon, she had the meat back in the water and had fashioned a halfway decent spear. Practice at hunting would begin first thing in the morning. She probably wouldn’t get anything for a few days, so she needed to learn that skill while she still had the deer meat to sustain her.

The sunlight was starting to fade by the time she got around to making a fishing pole, no easy task. It was simple enough to find a limber branch, and she’d salvaged a couple of her hairpins and stowed them in her pants pocket. She could use those to fashion hooks. But she had no fishing line.

If she unraveled one end of the wool blanket, the strands would be thick and visible to the fish. She needed horsehair, or something like that, but she had no horse’s tail handy. What she did have was her own mane of hair. She didn’t relish the thought of plucking herself half-bald. It would hurt, for one, and she’d have to triple-strand the line to make it strong enough, but needs must. Her hair was coarse enough to work.

She sat by the fire and set herself to the task, jerking long strands of hair out by the roots, her scalp smarting with every pull. When she had several lengths, she began working three strands together into a thin braid. It took a lot of tugging to braid a line that was only four feet long. She needed it to be long enough for casting. She truly might be half-bald by the time this project was completed. Her hair would grow back, though. If she starved to death before her brothers found her, there would be no second chances. Clenching her teeth against the sting, she began plucking more strands from her head, determined to have a fishing line made before she started supper.

“I knew you’d be worried, but I didn’t think I’d find you in such a state that you’d be pulling out your hair.”

Eden jumped with a start and jerked her head up.
“Matthew?”

He stood at the opposite side of the fire, his long legs braced wide apart, his big hands riding low on his narrow hips. The battered Stetson shadowed his eyes. He wore no jacket, and his clothing was coated with reddish brown dust.

“You were expecting someone else?”

Eden shot to her feet, raced around the fire pit, and launched herself at him. When his hard arms closed around her, she let loose with a sob.

“It’s really you!” she cried. “Thank God, thank God. I thought for sure you were dead.”

He tightened his embrace, pulling her more firmly against him, and began to sway back and forth, his face pressed against her hair. “You aren’t going to get rid of me that easy. The Sebastians just proved to be a little wilier than I thought, and losing them took me longer than planned.”

Eden wrapped both arms around his neck and stepped up onto the toes of his boots to hug him tightly. A tangle of emotions coursed through her: relief and joy mingled with a rush of desire. “I’m so glad to see you. So very glad!”

“I’m glad to see you, too,” he murmured. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, too.” Eden leaned back to gaze up at his dark face through a shimmer of tears. “Did you lose them, then?”

“They’re as lost as last year’s Easter eggs. Let’s just hope they stay that way. I’d like to get you to Denver before they figure out the trick.”

Eden no longer cared about reaching Denver. As long as she had Matthew, she had everything. Her happiness welled so huge that her heart felt as if it might burst.

He bent to kiss her. The brim of his hat bumped against her temple and toppled from his head. He paid it no mind as he slanted his mouth over hers. Eden’s heart truly did almost burst with happiness then.
Matthew.
As the kiss deepened, she felt as if every nerve in her body started to hum. She couldn’t feel her feet, and the pleasure made her dizzy.

When he finally came up for a breath, he flashed one of those lopsided grins that she’d come to love. “Have I ever told you how very beautiful you are?” he asked.

“That’s a compliment that I will happily hear more than once.”

“You are so beautiful that my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth when I look at you.”

“It felt to me as if your tongue was stuck to the roof of mine.”

He gave a startled laugh. “Complaining?”

“No. I hope it takes up permanent squatting rights.”

He chuckled again. “Will you settle for occasional visits? I won’t get much done if I’m kissing you constantly.”

Keeping her fingers intertwined at the nape of his neck, she leaned back the length of her arms to gaze up at him. She loved every line and angle of his face. “You are a sight for sore eyes, Matthew Coulter.”

“So are you, Eden Paxton. I tried to get back sooner. I knew you’d be worried sick. But I couldn’t shake the bastards.”

“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

He glanced to where she’d been sitting by the fire. “I know it’s probably a stupid question, but why were you yanking your hair out?”

“To make a fishing line.” She told him about her day’s activities. “If you were up in heaven watching me, I wanted to show you that I
do
have what it takes to be a rancher’s wife.”

He grinned again. “If I had been in heaven, why would that have mattered?”

“I wanted you to be proud of me.”

He searched her gaze. “I am. It’s good to know that if something ever happens to me, you will be okay.” He arched an eyebrow. “How are the ribs?”

“Much better. You were right: All I needed was a lot of rest. I’m feeling good, and my appetite is coming back. Speaking of which, you’re probably hungry. I’ll go down to the stream and get some meat for supper.”

He loosened his hold on her so she could step away. Then, before she could, he grabbed hold of her hand to give it a hard squeeze. “Don’t be long. I swore all the way back that I’d never let you out of my sight again.”

“It’s not that far away.”

“I’ll tend to the animals while you’re gone. Then I’ll help fix supper.”

While Matthew unburdened the horses and mule and then set to work rubbing them down, his thoughts remained on Eden. He wasn’t sure which he wanted more, a bite of food or a taste of her. She was so damned beautiful. After all she’d been through with the Sebastians, though, he didn’t want to rush her. He decided he’d be smarter to just eat supper and keep his hands off her. She didn’t seem wary of him, but with Eden, it might be hard to tell. She had a way of pretending she was stronger and braver than she actually was.

After watering the animals and giving them each a bit of grain as a well-deserved treat, Matthew went to the creek for a much-needed bath and shave, washed his clothes, and then joined Eden at the fire. He peeled potatoes while she floured the steaks, put them in the skillet to fry, and started making a salad.

As he worked, visions of her body ricocheted through his head. Though he’d tried not to look that night when he’d interrupted her bath, he’d taken in details in spite of himself. Her skin was the color of fresh cream, pale and silky-looking. And she had beautiful breasts, small but plump, and tipped with strawberry pink crests. Her narrow waist flared out to temptingly full hips that made his hands itch to stroke them and knead her soft flesh.

Thirty minutes later, the meal was finished and Matthew was already in need of another dunk in the creek. The realization both frustrated and amused him. As much as he loved being with Eden, it was sweet torture, too.

Determined to get his mind off sex, Matthew sat beside her and went after his food like a starving man. The lady could flat cook. “I missed your steaks and salad while I was gone. Nothing I fixed tasted half as good as this.”

She smiled softly. “I hope you missed me for other reasons as well.”

“Lots of other reasons. Playing hangman by myself was boring as hell.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a romantic.”

Matthew remembered how much he had regretted not telling her that he loved her before he left. “I may not be much of a romantic, but that doesn’t mean I love you any less.”

Her gaze shot to his. “What did you say?”

“I said that I love you. You got cotton in your ears?”

Her eyes went sparkly. “No cotton. I just didn’t think—”

“That I’d ever get up the guts to say it?”

She smiled tremulously. “I thought you’d get around to saying it eventually, in your own time and in your own way.”

Matthew looked at her expectantly. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Aren’t you gonna say it back to me?”

Her cheek dimpled in an impish grin. “I love you, Matthew Coulter. Now that we’ve both said it, what are we going to do about it?”

Matthew circled that. “Sweetheart, it pains me to say this, but I reckon we should just sit on it for a while, give ourselves time to get used to the idea.”

She set aside her plate and mug. “I’m already used to the idea. Now I think it’s time to make it official. Don’t you want to make love with me?”

He almost choked on a half-chewed chunk of meat. When he finally got it swallowed, he stared at her, not sure how to answer that question. At last a reply popped out. “Of course I do.”

“Well, then?”

He gave the last of his spuds an agitated stir. “Well, then, what?”

“Don’t you think you should . . . do something about it?”

He gave up on eating what little was left on his plate and set aside his meal. “But we’re not married yet.”

“If you don’t marry me as soon as you can, I’ll tell Ace to get out his shotgun.”

Matthew shook his head. “I think you delight in shocking me, Eden Paxton. Maybe your mama never got around to explaining things to you, but this isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”

“Ah. I suppose it’s unseemly for a woman to confess that she wants to make love. How improper of me. So how is it supposed to go, Matthew?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I test the water and decide when the time is right. Then I—” He broke off and shrugged. “You’ve been through one hell of a lot. What kind of man would I be if I pushed you before you’re ready? You’re also a lady, through and through. If we do anything, you may regret it in the morning.”

“Nobody pushes me to do anything I don’t choose to do, Matthew. And I’m as ready as I’ll ever get. I won’t regret anything in the morning.”

She rose lithely to her feet and disappeared into the cave. When she returned, she carried the bedroll in her arms. After laying it out beside the fire, she straightened to take off her jacket. Her hands went to the buttons of the shirt, and Matthew’s heart started to pound in his chest like the hooves of six runaway horses.

“What are you doing?” he croaked.

“Taking my clothes off.” Her lovely blue eyes found his. “A lady has no choice when a man won’t do it for her.”

Matthew sat frozen as her slender fingers worked their way down the front of the shirt. When the last button came free, he was on his feet without realizing that he’d even moved. He circled the fire pit to grasp her wrists.

“I prefer to unwrap my gifts myself.”

She relaxed her arms. “Then I’ll leave you to it.”

“Have I ever mentioned that you’re the damnedest woman I’ve ever met?”

“I do believe you have.” Her chin came up. “When I thought you were dead, I had two terrible regrets. The first was letting you go without me. The second was that I had missed my chance to know what it would be like to make love with you. Now you’re back, hale and hearty. I’m not a person who likes to make the same mistakes twice. We can’t predict what lies in wait for us around the next turn, Matthew. I don’t want to die without ever being with you that way. Call me bold, but I want to experience it at least once, and, if I’m lucky, many, many times. No need for promises, no need for a ring. I was joking about Ace and the shotgun. I know a huge part of your heart still belongs to Livvy and that you may not be quite ready for all of that. It doesn’t matter. All I ask is that you make love to me.”

Matthew had never in his life wanted a woman as much as he wanted Eden. When he thought of all the times he’d stood neck deep in ice-cold water trying to squelch his desire for her, he almost laughed. Instead he cupped her sweet face between his hands and lightly brushed his lips over hers.