Maureen McKade (25 page)

Gradually their breathing slowed, and Jake rolled to her side, although he kept a possessive arm around her waist. Kit turned on her side to face him and found his contented gaze upon her. Unable to stop herself, she brushed back an errant lock of hair from his sweat-slicked forehead.

He captured her hand and kissed the back of it. “I’m sorry.”

She tilted her head, puzzled. “For what?”

“I shouldn’t have blackmailed you into marrying me.
You took care of my son for five years, and I rewarded you by threatening to take him away. I had no right doing that to you, Kit.”

She saw the sincerity in his troubled expression. “We both wanted what was best for Johnny.”

“And what about what’s best for you, Kit? Would you have married me if I hadn’t blackmailed you?”

“I always thought I’d marry for love,” she replied evasively.

He drew the back of his forefinger along her jaw. She tried to ignore the little shivers that raced along her nerves, to focus on his abject expression.

“I don’t know if I have any love inside of me to give you. All I know is that I want you—and not just here, in bed,” he said.

Kit nodded, moisture blurring her vision. This was the tender, honest Jake she loved. “I understand,” she whispered. “Do you regret marrying me?”

“No. I care for you, and I want to make a fresh start with you and Johnny.”

Her heart lifted, and she bent forward to kiss the corner of his mouth. He wrapped his strong arms around her, and drew her close.

Within her heart, Kit whispered her words of love to Jake and prayed for the day he would be able to reciprocate.

Chapter 17

J
ake carried the breakfast tray into the bedroom, pushing the door closed with his shoulder. He stood for a moment, observing Kit as she slept peacefully, her hair fanned across her pillow and her cheeks rosy. Although she was covered to her neck with the sheet, Jake had no trouble envisioning her womanly curves. He’d explored every inch of her satiny skin throughout the long night of making love.

His wedding night had been more satisfying than he could have imagined. Kit’s inexperience was compensated for by her unquenchable curiosity. She’d matched his passion with her own eagerness to learn and accept the pleasures he taught her.

In spite of the shaky beginning, Jake believed their marriage would work out—and if every evening proved as exhaustive as their wedding night, Johnny would soon have many brothers and sisters. The thought of a little girl with Kit’s blond hair and startling blue eyes stirred something in him, something that squeezed his heart and sent a wave of wonder through him.

Taking a deep breath, he approached the bed and set the tray on the nightstand. He leaned over and kissed Kit’s full lips. She stirred, wrapping her arms around his
neck and drawing him down onto the bed beside her. The covers fell from her chest, exposing her breasts to his appreciative gaze.

Reluctantly, Jake drew away from her sweet mouth. “Good morning, darling.”

Kit blinked the sleep from her eyes, and a saucy grin lit her features. “I know how to make the morning even better.”

Despite the many times they’d made love throughout the night, Jake responded to her as if he’d been without a woman for weeks. “You’ve become insatiable.”

She arched a winged brow. “You have only yourself to blame.”

Half an hour later Jake sat with Kit on the wide bed, the empty breakfast tray between them.

“I didn’t know you were such a talented man, Jake,” Kit said.

He swept a deliberate gaze across her robe-covered body.

She laughed and her cheeks flushed. “I’m not talking about that talent, although I must admit you don’t seem to be lacking there. I meant your cooking—even though the eggs were cold.”

“And whose fault was that?” Jake teased.

Her twinkling eyes and mischevious tone warmed Jake. He wasn’t accustomed to an easy camaraderie with women after spending the night with them. However, Kit wasn’t someone he’d leave the next morning. She was his wife, and he found himself wanting to spend all his mornings with her.

She glanced out the window, at the sun climbing above the horizon, and sighed. “Johnny’ll be up soon.”

Although he’d married Kit for his son’s sake, Jake found himself wishing he could have her to himself for the rest of the day. He grinned at the irony. “You’re right. We’d better get up.”

He pulled on his shirt, tucking it into his waistband, then tugged on his boots. Kit dressed in her usual tantalizing trousers, and Jake slipped around to hug her, his palms curving around her shapely backside. After kissing the tip of her nose, he whispered, “Those pants could make a man forget everything but what’s beneath them.”

Kit’s cheeks flushed. After all they’d shared, he could still make her blush.

Taking her hand, Jake led her downstairs.

Johnny was already in the kitchen, eating a piece of bread with plum jam on it. “You musta been awfully tired,” he said. “The sun came up a couple of hours ago.”

Jake winked at Kit. “That wedding must’ve tuckered us out.”

“I been waiting forever for you to get up,” Johnny said. He glanced at Kit. “Can I give him his present now, Ma?”

She nodded, a gentle smile curving her lips.

“What present?” Jake asked.

“It’s a surprise,” Johnny replied.

Puzzled, Jake allowed the boy to tug him out of the kitchen. Kit took hold of Johnny’s other hand and the three of them walked to the barn. Once inside, Johnny led him to a stall that held a mare and a young colt.

“He’s yours, Pa,” Johnny announced. “He probably isn’t as smart as Zeus, but I’ll bet he’ll be nearly as good.”

Jake turned to Kit, who nodded. His chest felt like an anvil rested on it.

“I can’t take him,” he argued.

“Why not?” Kit demanded. “Johnny’s right-Smoky can’t replace Zeus, but if you start with him this young, he might come close.” She slid her hands into
her pockets, and glanced down. “Besides, I feel responsible for what happened to Zeus.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

She lifted her gaze. “Please, Jake, take the colt. I’d feel better if you did.”

“I’ll help you train him, Pa,” Johnny volunteered.

If he refused the generous gift, he’d hurt Kit and Johnny’s feelings. “With an offer like that, how can I refuse?” He squatted down and hugged Johnny. “Thank you.”

Looking past his son, he saw a tear trail down Kit’s cheek. She understood how much Zeus’s death had hurt him, and how much Johnny’s gift meant to him.

Jake stood, picking Johnny up, and wrapping his other arm around Kit.

“Thank you both.”

A month later, as Kit placed the last of the breakfast dishes in the cupboard, she heard Johnny’s bright laughter and Jake’s deep-timbered chuckles. She glanced out the window and saw them hitching up the horses to the buckboard for the trip into town. Crossing her arms, she smiled at the two people she loved most in the world.

Her marriage to Jake had given her more happiness and contentment than she could have believed possible. She’d spent the days side-by-side with Jake as they’d worked with the horses, and Jake had taken Johnny riding each day. Sometimes Kit accompanied them, but more often she allowed them the time alone to get to know one another. Watching Jake become more and more like a father to Johnny had convinced her she’d made the right decision to tell him of his son.

The nights, however, were for her and Jake alone. Thinking of the wondrous raptures they’d shared, Kit found herself wanting the evening to come more quickly. The only dark cloud in her perfect world was
Jake’s inability to love her, or at least to speak the words. How could they share the things they did without him loving her? Often her own declaration would be on the tip of her tongue—and although her pride kept her from saying it aloud, it was getting more and more difficult to keep her true feelings hidden from him.

Mentally shaking herself, she brushed back the stray tendrils from her forehead and smoothed her skirt. Even though Jake had gone to town a few times each week to work at his office, this would be the first time they went into Chaney as a family, and Kit wanted to make a good impression.

She joined Jake and Johnny out by the wagon. With tail wagging, Toby greeted her, and she scratched him behind a floppy ear.

“Did you bring the list?” Jake called to Kit.

She nodded, patting her reticule. “Right here.”

He walked to her side, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “I forget how well you remember things.”

His eyes twinkled suggestively, and heat crawled up Kit’s neck. Nonplussed, she turned to see Charlie leaning against the corral fence. “Is there anything you or Ethan need, Charlie?”

The ebony-skinned man shook his head, his eyes sparkling with humor. “We’re just fine, thanks, Kit.” He glanced at Jake. “You want me to keep workin’ that paint?”

“Good idea. We’ve got a buyer coming up in a few days who’s interested in her,” Jake replied.

“Can we go now?” Johnny interjected.

Jake smiled and lifted the boy into the back of the wagon, then turned to assist Kit up to the springboard seat. He joined her and picked up the reins.

“We should be back this afternoon,” he called out to Charlie.

The hired man waved his acknowledgment.

Jake drove the team down the road, his side pressed against Kit’s. She enjoyed the feel of his firm muscles through the layers of clothing between them, and she relaxed against her husband’s secure strength. Raising her face to the clear blue sky, she allowed the sun’s hospitable rays to play across her cheeks. She couldn’t remember a more splendid morning.

Jake Cordell removed his well-oiled gunbelt, then the Colt that resided within the holster. He’d killed men with the weapon, but he’d done so with a clear conscience. They’d been murderers and thieves with no sense of right or wrong, like wolves gone rabid
.

But now it was time to hang up his gun. He no longer lived in a world filled with darkness and evil. Now his life revolved around his family: the woman he loved and the son she’d given him. He didn’t want to go back to a dull, colorless world
.

Jake slid the Colt back into its scabbard and wrapped the belt around it. Raising the lid of the trunk that held his family’s legacy, he laid the gun on his wife’s wedding dress. He closed the cover, locking away the past
.

No longer would he be Jake Cordell, bounty hunter. All he wanted now was to be a good husband and father. Maybe it was all he’d ever wanted
.

“Woolgathering?” Jake asked.

She glanced up to find him studying her, and she shrugged self-consciously. “I was just thinking how perfect the day is.”

“Just the day?”

She smiled. “You, Johnny, me. We’re a family.”

He fixed his gaze on the road ahead, his expression pensive. “Have you been happy, Kit?”

The somber tone of his question startled her. “Yes, happier than I’d ever imagined.”

Jake turned back to her, his hat brim nearly brushing
her forehead. “Me, too. Maybe it’s because I finally have what I’ve always wanted.”

Kit threaded her hand through the crook of his arm, and with his free hand, Jake clasped her fingers.

“I love you, Jake.” The words slipped past her lips before she could censor them.

Surprise widened his eyes. “I—”

Kit shook her head quickly to stop him before he could tell her he didn’t love her. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. I understand.”

Jake squeezed her hand. “That’s all right. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

With a wry smile, she said, “I wasn’t either. I didn’t mean to.”

“Say it, or fall in love?” he asked gently.

She stared into his mesmerizing eyes, straight into his soul. “Both.”

He pressed his lips to the back of her hand. “I don’t know if I deserve your love.”

“I don’t think love cares whether a person deserves it or not. It just happens.”

He studied her as if trying to decide whether he believed her or not. She wished he would tell her what he was thinking, but he remained silent, his eyes not revealing his thoughts. Concentrating on regaining the euphoria she’d tasted minutes earlier, Kit turned her attention to the chattering birds in the budding trees and the greening hillside speckled with wildflowers.

She wouldn’t lose her faith. Someday he would be able to say aloud what she knew was already in his heart.

Jake stopped the wagon in front of the mercantile, then hopped down. He swung Kit to the hard-packed street, his strong hands wrapped around her waist and his fingers grazing the underside of her breasts, sparking now-familiar desire with a single touch.

“I’m going to see Patrick, then I’ll meet you back here in the store,” he said.

Kit nodded. “All right.”

Jake turned to Johnny. “You want to go with me to see Sergeant O’Hara?”

The boy scrambled to Jake’s side. “Okay.”

Kit crossed her arms in mock disappointment. “You mean you’re going to leave your poor mother all by herself?”

Johnny blinked, and shuffled his feet. “I guess I can stay with you, Ma.”

“I was just teasing you, sweetheart. Go on with your father.”

“Thanks, Ma.”

Kit winked at Jake, and waved after her son and husband. She entered the store, retrieving the list from her purse.

“Hello, Kit.”

Startled, she stumbled and David Preston reached out to steady her. She pulled out of his grasp and said stiffly, “Thank you, David.”

She studied the newspaperman, wondering how she’d ever thought him handsome. He was shorter than Jake, and less muscular, almost effeminate. His greased hair gave him a malevolent appearance. All he needed was a waxed moustache to complete the sinister picture.

“I assume you’re finding marriage to that so-called hero suitable?” he asked with a sneer.

Kit resisted the urge to lower herself to his level. “We’re very happy, thank you.” She lifted her chin and attempted to stride past him. He caught her arm, spinning her around.

“Let go of me, or I’ll scream,” she said, pitching her voice low so the other customers wouldn’t hear.

David released her and held his hands up. “I was merely going to tell you something.”

“And why do you think I’d be interested in anything you have to tell me?”

“Still the same Kit, claws and all.” He brushed an invisible speck of dust off his immaculate jacket. “I heard a disturbing piece of news the other day.”

“News is your business,” she retorted dryly.

“This news pertains specifically to you.”

Despite herself, Kit found her curiosity was piqued. “And what was that?”

“Your beloved husband bought the loan papers for your ranch.”

Kit’s heart warmed at the thought that Jake would protect her like that. “Since it’s
our
ranch now, I’m not surprised he’d want to keep it safe.”

David shook his head, his close-set eyes narrowing. “He bought the papers two weeks after he moved back to Chaney. I checked.”

For a few moments Kit was confused, then her vision darkened and the store blurred around her as the meaning of his words sank in. “You’re lying. He’d have told me.”

“I just can’t figure out why he married you. Pity, perhaps. All he had to do was wait for you to miss the payment and the ranch would’ve been his,” David pressed. “And he’d have had every right to throw you and that whelp of yours out into the cold.”

Kit struggled to make sense of his words. If she hadn’t been able to meet her loan deadline, he’d have gotten the ranch anyway—the ranch he’d offered to buy when he’d first come to visit.

The room seemed to close in around her, and she turned and scurried out the door. Standing on the boardwalk, she gulped in deep draughts of air. Sickness threatened her, and she choked back the bitterness.