Maureen McKade (15 page)

After the young woman had left, Jake removed his clothing, folding each article carefully, leaving his revolver on the top of the pile within easy reach. He didn’t plan on any interruptions, but it was those unplanned intrusions that he always expected
.

Sinking his saddle-sore body into the hot, sudsy water, Jake sighed in ecstasy. He leaned his head back and lit a cigar, savoring the silence and the tobacco
.

Kit pressed her palms against her heated cheeks. Her overactive imagination had little trouble envisioning the picture she painted with her words.

“I don’t think that little scene would make it past my editor,” she said, fanning her face.

Taking a deep breath to regain her composure, she opened the door and stepped into bedlam. Her eyes widened at the scene that greeted her, and her nostrils rebelled under the onslaught of tomatoes and skunk odor. Jake and Johnny, looking like bloody ghouls, were involved in a tomato fight. Red sauce splattered everything within ten feet of the barrel, including Jake’s clothes, which lay scattered on the floor.

She lifted her gaze to Jake, whose drawers stuck to his body like a second skin. Following the line of his back down to his rounded buttocks and muscled thighs, Kit swallowed hard.

“Hi, Ma!” Johnny broke the spell.

Kit blinked, and she felt a hot flush crawl up her neck. “Ah.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “It looks like you and Mr. Cordell have been busy.”

Jake turned to her, and his dark eyes twinkled devilishly.
Did he suspect her unladylike thoughts? Oh, Lord, how could she look him in the eye?

Jake arched a saturated brow, where a glop of tomato had dripped down from his hair. “Care to join us?”

She quickly turned her back and moved to the sink, where she fiddled with the dirty dishes. “That’s all right. You seem to be doing fine without me.”

“The more the merrier,” Jake pressed.

The suggestive note in his voice brought a tremble to her insides. If she was going to retain any shred of dignity, she had to leave. Immediately.

“Why don’t you and Johnny go ahead and rinse off in the tub? I’ll just take your clothes out and put them with Johnny’s,” she said quickly.

Using a broomstick, she picked up his clothing.

“What am I supposed to wear when I’m done?” Jake asked. “Not that I’m ashamed of my body; it wouldn’t bother me to run around naked as a jaybird until my clothes are dry.”

Startled, Kit twirled around to stare in openmouthed amazement. “That would be … improper.”

“I thought you didn’t care about things like impropriety,” Jake challenged.

“Even I have my limits,” Kit replied stiffly.

Valiantly she tried to keep her line of sight fastened on his seed-littered hair. In spite of her effort, though, Kit’s uncooperative gaze drifted to his chest and lower, and found the tomato-soaked woolens had stuck to everything in the front, too.

“I can see that,” Jake remarked with a knowing grin.

She pivoted on her heel and fled the kitchen, Jake’s laughter tumbling after her. Kit ran until she arrived at the barn. Leaning against a post, she struggled to regain her breath.

“Good to see a man get the better of you,” Pete remarked, emerging from the shadows.

Drawing her shoulders back, Kit tried to regain some semblance of control over her tumultuous thoughts. “Jake Cordell did not get the better of me. He simply—” The outline of his masculinity beneath the soaked drawers slipped into her mind. “Surprised me.”

Pete chuckled. “That’s one way of putting it.”

Kit pursed her lips, and thrust the broomstick with the skunk-smelling clothing at him. “Here’s Jake’s clothes. They need to be soaked, too.”

“You know where the tub is,” Pete said. A sly grin crossed his leathery face. “I figure the stream’s right cold this time of year, if you’re interested in a quick dip.”

Kit tried to muster up a degree of outrage, but failed. She shook her head, giving in to her embarrassment. “What am I going to do, Pete?”

He shrugged. “What do you want to do?”

Heat flooded her cheeks. “Something I’m sure Bertie Wellensiek wouldn’t approve of.”

The old Indian snorted. “Who gives a rat’s turd what she thinks? Besides, you’re raising Cordell’s son already.”

“So you saw the resemblance, too?”

“They both take after Judge Cordell.” Pete rubbed his prominent jaw.

“What am I going to do?” she reiterated plaintively.

“Marry Cordell and give Johnny some little brothers and sisters.”

Kit’s heart leaped at the fantasy. If only it were that simple. “There’s a little matter called ‘love’ that enters the picture. I don’t love Jake, and he doesn’t love me.”

“You marry Cordell, and the rest’ll happen in its own time.” The Indian’s wizened face gentled. “I can see you have feelings for him, Kit, and Cordell isn’t blind to you. His pa was a fair man, and I’d say Jake’s cut
from the same cloth. He looks to be a good one to ride the river with.”

Kit contemplated Pete’s words. Though she respected his advice, there was too much to lose if he was wrong.

She glanced down at the smelly bundle. “I’m going to take care of these, then get Jake and Johnny some other clothes to put on after their baths.”

A quarter of an hour later, Kit handed Ethan a pile of folded clothing for Jake and Johnny. Fortunately, her father had been close to Jake’s size, and Kit had found a pair of pants and shirt for him. “Could you take these in to them?” she asked.

Ethan nodded. “Sure, Miz Thornton.”

As he disappeared into the kitchen, her stomach flipped nervously. How could she face Jake now, with her imagination conjuring up visions of what lay beneath his clothes?

Ethan returned. “They’re almost done.”

“Thanks,” Kit said with a weak smile.

“I’d best get started on chores.”

The young man left, leaving Kit to wait alone. A couple of minutes later, Johnny and Jake emerged.

“How do we smell?” Johnny demanded, stepping up to her.

Kit sniffed tentatively, but only the faint scent of lye met her nostrils. “Much better.”

She glanced at Jake nervously. Her embarrassment fled when she noticed the fit of her father’s old clothes. The trousers stopped above his ankles, and Jake clung to the waistband to keep them from falling down.

“I guess they don’t fit you as well as I thought they would,” Kit said, then burst into laughter. “I think I can find you a pair of suspenders.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” He leaned close to her, his brown eyes twinkling. “Jake Cordell lives for danger.”

Kit crossed her arms. “I doubt if T. K. Thorne had
that type of danger in mind.” She noticed Jake and Johnny’s matching cowlicks in their damp hair. “Looks like both of you need your hair combed.”

Upstairs in Johnny’s room, she handed Jake a brush. “Here. I’ll go see if I can find those suspenders.”

When Kit returned, she found Jake sitting on the bed with Johnny standing between his knees, trying to tame the boy’s mussed hair. She paused in the doorway, watching and listening to their conversation.

“I never knew my pa,” Johnny said. “Ma says he was a good man, though.”

“Do you ever wish he was here?”

Johnny shrugged. “I got Ethan and Charlie and Pete. I figure that’s like having three pas.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Jake licked his palm and smoothed Johnny’s cowlick. “There, that oughta pass your ma’s inspection.”

Johnny turned to face Jake. “You can be my pa, too, if you want.”

Jake studied the boy for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “I’d be proud to be your pa.”

Kit’s breath caught in her throat. Maggie had told her Jake Cordell wasn’t meant to be a father, and if he learned he had a child, he’d end up being miserable. Maggie had said Jake didn’t want to be tied down, and she’d made Kit promise not to burden him with the news of his son.

Had Maggie been wrong? Could Jake be ready to settle down?

Kit rubbed her eyes. She didn’t have to make a decision this moment, but she couldn’t keep ignoring it either. Later…

Pasting on a smile, Kit entered the bedroom and held out the suspenders. “Here you go, Jake.”

“Thanks.” He stood and took them from her, his fingertips brushing hers. “Could you give me a hand?”

She seemed to approach timidly, as if afraid to touch him. Afraid of him? Or of herself? He’d have to be blind and a hundred years old not to notice her reaction to his body in the kitchen. Since he was neither, he knew his attraction to her wasn’t one-sided. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her.

He turned around, passing the suspenders over his shoulders. She clipped the ends to his waistband as he listened to her uneven breathing. It took her longer than he thought it should, and he imagined her fingers trembling. Glancing down, he noticed his own hands weren’t exactly steady. And he was suddenly glad the trousers were too large.

“There.” Her husky voice feathered across him.

“Thanks,” he replied, and was surprised by his own raspy tone.

Her gaze flitted from his face and down to his toes, and her cheeks pinkened. “At least you won’t lose them now.”

At least, not unintentionally
.

“When do we get pie?” Johnny asked.

“Oh, I forgot. I’ll have to get the kitchen cleaned up first,” she said, flustered.

“We alre—”

Jake clamped his palm over Johnny’s mouth. “We already, uh, digested our dinner.”

Kit looked at him quizzically, then shook her head and hurried out of the bedroom.

Jake lowered his hand.

“Why didn’t you let me tell her?” Johnny demanded.

“Because I want to see her face,” Jake replied. “Come on, let’s go.”

Johnny grinned and followed Jake down the stairs. Despite the suspenders, Jake kept a firm hold on his trousers. He paused by the door.

“Ready?” he whispered to the boy.

Johnny nodded eagerly.

They burst into the kitchen.

“Surprise,” Jake exclaimed.

Kit stood in the middle of the spotless kitchen.

“When did you have time to clean it up?” she asked, her eyes round behind the spectacles.

“While we were waiting for our clothes,” Johnny answered. “It was Mr. Cordell’s idea. He said it would shock your drawers off.”

Kit’s pretty face flushed with embarrassment. “He does have a way with words, doesn’t he? How did you get the tub and barrel out?”

“Ethan and Charlie did it,” Johnny said.

She glanced questioningly at Jake.

“When Ethan brought our clothes in, I asked him if he and Charlie would take care of them,” Jake explained.

“Thank you,” Kit said sincerely.

“You’re welcome.” Jake rubbed his palms together. “Now, where’s the pie?”

“Give me a few minutes to put some fresh coffee on.” She turned to Johnny. “Run out and get the others.”

The boy dashed out the back door, leaving Jake alone with Kit.

She bustled about pumping water into the metal pot. After adding some ground coffee, she set the pot on the stove. Leaning over, she reached into the pie pantry and pulled out four tins.

“I want to thank you for taking care of Johnny,” Kit said, as she cut into the first pie. “He adores you, Jake.”

“I like him, too,” he said. “Reminds me of me.”

“Oh?” she commented, her voice breathy.

“Only Johnny’s got his mother. By the time I was his age, Ma had left Pa and me.”

Kit’s heart clenched. “I can’t imagine leaving Johnny
behind.” She met Jake’s eyes. “I’d want to crawl away and die if I couldn’t be with him.”

“I wish my mother had felt that way.” A long-abiding sadness showed on his face. “She must’ve really hated me.”

Kit finished slicing the last pie into fourths, then wiped her hands on her apron. “I can’t imagine a mother hating her own child. It seems so unnatural.”

“Pa told me one time that some women weren’t made to be mothers, and that my ma was one of them.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “It was probably for the best, anyhow.”

The solicitude and understanding in Kit’s eyes made him wonder why his mother couldn’t have been more like Kit. It was that all-consuming unconditional love that Jake had searched for all his life and never found.

Kit reached out and laid her slim hand on his arm, her warmth scorching Jake through his shirtsleeve. “You don’t believe that, and neither do I.” Her gaze became unfocused, as if looking at an image in her mind. “A child needs his mother.”

Jake settled his hand over hers, enjoying the silky skin beneath his touch. “Maybe I would’ve turned out differently if I’d had mine.”

The front door opened, and Kit drew away from Jake. Johnny entered the kitchen with the hired men following closely.

“I got ’em, Ma,” Johnny announced.

While Kit dished out thick slices of pie, Jake poured coffee. After everyone had eaten their fill, Kit picked up the empty plates.

“We’d best go check on the horses,” Charlie said as he stood.

Ethan and Two Ponies also got to their feet, and Kit walked the three men to the door. Jake and Johnny remained sitting by the table.

“Thanks for dinner and all, Miz Thornton,” Ethan said bashfully, as he worried his hat brim in his hands.

“You’re more than welcome,” Kit replied with a smile.

She watched Ethan and Two Ponies walk away, the older Indian speaking to Ethan in his native language. She turned back to Charlie. “Do you need any help with the horses?”

He shook his head. “We can take care of it. Me and Ethan’ll take turns sleepin’ in the barn in case one of the mares start foalin’.”

“All right, but remember to come get me.”

“Don’t we always?” Fond exasperation colored his words.

Kit grinned ruefully. “Sorry.” She sobered, staring off into the growing dusk. “The note’s due in a couple weeks. If I don’t sell a few horses before then, I’ll lose the place.”

“You got any buyers?” Charlie asked somberly.

She shook her head. “Sam Roberts from Cheyenne said he was looking to buy more horses. I sent him a telegram a couple of days ago, but I haven’t heard from him yet.”

“You got a few others that are always interested in your stock. Maybe you should wire them.”