Lorraine Heath (17 page)

“Pour me one of those, will you?” Charles asked as he came to stand beside Jesse.

“Certainly.” He poured one for Charles, another for himself. He downed his before Charles had lifted his off the table.

“You should dance with Maddie,” Charles said.

“You dance with her.”

Charles smiled. “I have. Several times in fact. People will begin to talk if her own brother-in-law doesn’t dance with her.”

“So let them talk. I’ve never given a damn what people think.”

“But Maddie does.”

“Meaning?”

Charles took a small swallow. “Meaning you should dance with her.”

Jesse slammed his glass onto the table. “I’ll think about it.”

He headed away from the side of the bam where Maddie was standing. He didn’t want Charles to know that at any given moment he could have told him exactly upon which piece of straw his wife was standing. He planned to let two or three dances go by, then casually stroll up to her as though the idea of dancing with her had just come to him. It was a good plan, and it would have worked, if he hadn’t caught sight of Thelma Jones grabbing Maddie’s arm and pulling her aside. Abruptly, he changed directions.

“You would not believe how shocked I was to hear that Charles had gotten married.”

A rat. Thelma Jones reminded Maddie of a rat with her tiny beady eyes. She wondered if it was the size of her eyes that made her nose wrinkle or if she was perhaps continually sniffing for cheese.

“I was visiting my sister in Houston, and when I got back, I heard the news. I almost fainted dead away. He loved Alice something fierce, you know. None of us, especially me, ever expected him to marry again.”

Maddie smiled, not certain how to respond to statements delivered in such a squeaky voice.

“Why, if I had known Charles would even consider marrying again, I would have gone after him, myself.”

She tried to envision Charles lying in bed with his arms wrapped around the bony woman standing before her. She shook her head at the thought.

“Alice was an angel, so sweet and kind. Never would hurt anyone. Always caring for people. Charles loved her so very much.”

“He still does.”

Thelma’s mouth dropped open. “But he married you.”

“Because he got drunk staring into her eyes.”

Maddie jumped as Jesse’s voice boomed behind her.

“And now, if you’ll excuse us, Miss Jones, I’d like to dance with my sister-in-law.”

Jesse whisked her away to the dance area before she could object, not that she would have. Maddie couldn’t remember putting her hand in his or resting her other hand on his shoulder. She couldn’t remember when he’d placed his hand on her waist or exactly when they’d stopped walking and begun to waltz, but she was gliding across the dance floor.

“You don’t owe these people any explanations, Maddie.”

“But I don’t want them to get the wrong impression.”

“You shouldn’t care what they think.”

“Why not?”

“Because their opinions aren’t important. You should do things because of the way they make you feel, not because of the way you think it’ll make them feel.”

She tilted her head. “Is that why you dance with the widow Parker? Because of the way it makes you feel?”

Groaning, he momentarily closed his eyes, not missing a step as he moved in rhythm to the music. “I ask her to dance because she’s the only woman here who doesn’t think I’ll slap a wedding ring on her finger. Nothing worse than a woman who thinks an invitation to dance is an invitation to marriage.”

“Is that why you asked me to dance? Because dancing with married women is safe?”

Safe? Dancing with her was anything but safe. If she realized that he held her closer than was proper, closer than he held any other woman …

“Charles thought I should ask you to dance.”

Nodding slightly, she averted her gaze, but not before he saw the flicker of pain reflected in her eyes. “Has he told you that you look beautiful tonight?”

Returning her gaze to his, she shook her head.

“Well, he should.”

“Has he told you that you look handsome?”

He stared at her. She had that familiar impish smile on her face, the one that always made him aware that he did indeed have a heart thumping within his chest. “No, he hasn’t.”

“Well, he should.”

Jesse laughed, tightened his hold on her, and swept her across the dance area.

It was wrong to enjoy dancing with Jesse as much as Maddie did. She liked the feel of her hand within his, the way his body moved, and the way her body responded in kind as though they’d been moving together since the beginning of time.

Suddenly, he jerked her toward him, then cast her aside and barrelled through the throng of dancing couples. Maddie screamed as she saw Charles crash into a distant table, his hand upsetting a lantern. It toppled to the ground. The fire within escaped to ignite the straw.

It was advantageous to be surrounded by country folk who knew the exact dangers of a fire in the bam. Jesse was the first to reach the area. He dragged Charles away from the flames licking at the straw. He bent over and pressed his head against Charles’s chest, relieved to hear the steady pounding of his brother’s heart.

Then he retrieved a blanket and took his place among the other men beating the fire into submission. When the final flames died, he returned to Charles’s limp, unconscious form and checked him for burns. The only thing visible was a red splotch on his hand where it had touched the lantern.

“Never knew Charles not to be able to hold his liquor.”

Jesse glanced at Ray Turner, Billy’s father. It was his barn that had been threatened by the fire.

“I’ll be over tomorrow to take care of the damages.”

Ray shook his head. “Don’t concern yourself with it. Not much damage done.”

“I’ll be here, anyway.” Jesse glanced around the crowd of anxious faces. “Maddie, gather the children.” Ignoring the dull pain in his side, he began to lift Charles.

“Wanna try dousing him with water?” Ray asked.

“Nope,” he said as he struggled to his feet, cradling his brother in his arms. He worked his way through the crowd of curious onlookers.

Maddie had sought out the girls and taken them by the hand when she realized a fire had begun. She found Aaron in one of the lofts, his eyes wide from witnessing the event. She was putting the children in the wagon when Jesse caught up to them.

“Aaron, I want to put your father’s head in your lap.”

Aaron positioned himself, and Jesse laid his brother in the wagon with his head on Aaron’s lap. He grabbed a blanket and tucked it in around his still body. Taylor placed her tiny hand on Charles’s cheek. “Pa hurt?”

Jesse touched her curls. “He’ll be all right.” And he prayed he would be. Turning to Maddie, he recognized the fire of anger in her eyes. He’d had it directed at himself too many times in the past not to know what it meant. “You want to ride in the back with him?”

Without a word, she hefted her skirts and marched to the front of the wagon. Jesse loped after her and assisted her onto the seat. He had a feeling it was going to be a long ride home.

A full moon graced the night sky, casting a silvery glow across the countryside. The horses plodded along. Jesse could feel the tension surrounding Maddie like a shroud. He wished he could think of a rational explanation besides the truth. With the children in the back, attentive to any conversation, he knew there was little he could say.

“Uncle Jesse?”

He glanced over his shoulder at Hannah bathed in moonlight. “What, angel?”

“Is Pa gonna die?”

He felt his heart slam against his rib cage. Holding onto the reins with one hand, he reached back with the other, lifted the tiny child, and settled her on his lap. He heard a scuffling in the back and looked back to see Taylor standing in the wagon, her doll draped over her arm.

“Maddie, this has frightened the children. Will you hold Taylor?”

He was grateful that without hesitation, she turned around and plucked Taylor out of the back of the wagon.

Maddie hugged the child against her, remembering the first night she’d felt such a keen disappointment in her father, a man she’d never truly known, but had admired and loved just the same. How much harder it must be for these children whose father was always within their reach to learn he was fallible.

“I think your father just drank too much whiskey,” Maddie offered in way of an explanation.

Jesse heard the soft understanding in her voice, and he heard the slight accent woven around her words. She was still angry, probably seething. There was no denying that, and yet she was trying not to let the children know. His admiration for her grew.

Then she began to hum a soothing melody, soon giving voice to the gentle words and filling the night with a sweet lullaby.

By the time they arrived home, the girls had fallen asleep. Jesse brought the wagon to a halt before the house and shifted Hannah in his arms. “If you’ll carry Taylor, I’ll carry Hannah to bed. Then I’ll come back for Charles.”

Maddie snapped her head around, her face set in hard, unforgiving lines. “Let him sleep out here all night. Serves him right for getting drunk, putting everyone’s life in danger, and embarrassing us like that.”

With Taylor nestled in one arm, she worked her way out of the wagon. Holding Hannah, Jesse climbed down and walked to the back of the wagon. “Wait here with your father,” he instructed Aaron. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

He carried Hannah inside and laid her on her bed. Maddie was already undressing Taylor. “Will you undress Hannah?”

She nodded.

“Maddie?”

Quickly, she held up a hand, her fingers splayed as though she wanted nothing to intrude on her anger. “You’d best see after Aaron.”

Not until he’d walked out of the room did Maddie relax her stiffened posture and bury her face in her quaking hands. She wanted to do to Charles what he’d done to Aaron when he’d shot Jesse. She wanted to shake him, lay her hand against his backside, and ask him what the hell he’d been thinking. She shuddered as a vision of what might have happened raced through her mind.

Preparing the girls for bed took an inordinate amount of time as her fingers refused to cooperate. Buttons snapped off Hannah’s dress and rolled along the floor. She was surprised she didn’t wake the girls with her clumsy attempts to get their clothes off.

Eventually, she succeeded in slipping their nightgowns over their heads. She tucked the quilts around each girl, dimmed the lamp, and stepped into the hallway.

She walked into Aaron’s room. He was sprawled across the bed, his eyes closed in slumber, his clothes still on, one boot lying on the floor, the other still hugging his foot. She worked the second boot off, gingerly slipped a blanket over him, and left the room.

She walked to her own room, stood in the doorway, and watched Jesse ease Charles’s shirt off as though he was a child exhausted from spending the day at the circus. He pitched the shirt away without a backward glance and moved to the foot of the bed.

“You damn fool,” he whispered harshly as he tugged off Charles’s boot and dropped it to the floor. Then he looked up, and his eyes latched onto hers.

“You should have left him in the wagon,” she said tersely before walking away.

Watching her go, Jesse tunneled his fingers through his hair. He heard a door downstairs close. He’d certainly understand if the woman never came back. He finished undressing his brother and tucked the quilt around him. He stood over him for several minutes, watching him, listening to his breathing. He thought he’d rather face a gang of outlaws than Maddie at this moment, but he also knew he couldn’t leave her to suffer this alone.

The moonlight sifting through the leaves in the trees guided his path. The dew had already settled in for the night, and she’d carried it away with her footsteps, leaving him a trail he could easily follow. He found her at the creek, the moon creating a silver halo around her. He sat beside her on the moss covered bank.

Maddie didn’t divert any of her attention from the stream, but she felt Jesse’s presence as though he’d wrapped his arms around her. She swiped the tears from her eyes and pulled her shawl more closely about her.

“When the family that took me in decided to go farther west, I fought against it,” Jesse said quietly. “They tied me in the back of the wagon, giving me no choice. I knew they didn’t mean to be cruel. They were just doing what they thought was best. My last memory of Charles was watching him run after me with tears streaming down his face. I swore then that I’d find him, keep my promise to my father, and look after him.”

“He’s no longer a child,” she said softly as she glanced over at him.

“No, but he’s still my brother.”

She shook her head. “I can’t forgive him for this. He got drunk right after we were married, and he promised me he wouldn’t do it again. He put everyone’s life in danger tonight.” She looked to him for understanding. “I was so embarrassed that he got drunk and made a fool of himself. I don’t know how you carried him out of there with so much dignity.”

With his thumb, he removed a glistening tear from her cheek. “He’s not a drunk, Maddie.”

“I was there. I saw him weaving through the barn.”

Jesse plowed his hands through his hair. “He’s not a drunk. Dammit. Dammit,” he whispered as though any fight he would have fought was already lost. “I told him to tell you. He had no right—”

“No right to what?”

“To marry you and not tell you.”

She watched the emotions cross his face as though he was gathering courage to face an unbeatable foe. He wrapped his hand around hers. “He’s dying, Maddie.”

She felt her heart plunge, her throat constrict. She shook her head and tightened her hold on his hand as though she could drive away the words he’d spoken. “He can’t be dying. He looks well. He’s up and about. And this hasn’t happened since we got married—”

“It’s happened … several times. He gets these pains in his head. When they get too bad, he passes out. Haven’t you noticed how weak his left side is? When he’s holding you, haven’t you noticed he has no strength?”