Moonlight on Water (29 page)

His hand brushed her breast, and she moaned against his lips. Delighting in her pleasure, which fired his own, he stroked her supple curves until she quivered with a need that tantalized him.

At the sound of footsteps in the corridor, he reluctantly released her. His fingers lingered on her cheek as he said, “I'll make sure K. C. gets home before supper tonight.”

He thought she might ask him to join her and K. C. for the evening meal, but she replied only with, “Thank you.”

Walking out of her office, he wondered what she was hiding. K. C. must not know, for Rachel would not have allowed the little girl to go with him, knowing how K. C. liked to chatter. This was a mystery he was going to have to unravel on his own.

Rachel was startled to see Wyatt and Kitty Cat waiting in the cottage when she arrived back there at day's end. They had opened all the windows that she had closed, fearing the heavy clouds building to the west meant rain. The clouds had passed overhead without releasing any rain, and now the sky was once again clear.

Kitty Cat ran up to her, prattling about the decorating she had done with the children in Haven and interrupting every sentence to say: “And wait until you see it, Rachel!”

“I can't wait.”

“So,” Wyatt drawled, “does that mean you're coming into Haven tomorrow for the parade and social?”

“Several people from River's Haven have expressed interest in attending the celebration,” Rachel replied, hanging up her bonnet, “and Miss Hanson and the other teachers have decided that the children in River's Haven should have a recitation like the students in Haven will. I don't want to miss Kitty Cat's hard work.”

Kitty Cat cheered and danced around the room.

Wyatt watched the little girl. “K. C. tells me that you play the guitar well.”

“The guitar?” She had not expected him to change the subject so abruptly.

“How about showing me after dinner?”

Rachel laughed. “You're about as transparent as a handful of water.”

“I didn't intend to be mysterious, too.”

She picked up a bucket of vegetables that she had asked to have delivered from the Community's garden. Sitting at the table, she began to chop the ends off the onions and early potatoes.

He plucked the knife from her hand. “Let me while you serenade us.”

“I thought you wanted to wait until after dinner.”

“So am I invited to stay?”

Smiling, she said, “I don't think I have much choice.”

“Honey, I've told you over and over that you've got all kinds of choices. You just have to grab the one you want.”

When he held out his hand to her, she slipped her fingers through his. Wyatt infuriated her. He was demanding, sure of himself, and yearned to remake the world to meet his expectations. In those ways, he was like her. As he ran a crooked finger along her cheek, she reveled in the thought of how different he was as well, so male and dangerous.

“There are some choices I don't have. I can't keep you here with Kitty Cat and me,” she whispered.

“No, but—”

“Don't make your offer to me again.”

“Why?” he asked, looking up from the vegetables. “Because you might accept it?”

“Because we might have another argument, and I don't want to quarrel again when you're leaving on
The Ohio Star
so soon.”

When Kitty Cat bounced into the kitchen to sit next to Wyatt, she watched as the two of them teased each other during the preparations for their simple supper and throughout the meal. Kitty Cat adored Wyatt, and Rachel could understand why. He treated the little girl with a mixture of tenderness and teasing and with honesty.

As soon as the dishes were done, Wyatt sent Kitty Cat to retrieve Rachel's guitar. The child was barely out of earshot before he asked, “Why didn't you tell me that it was her birthday tomorrow?”

“I don't like to think about it.”

“Why not? Don't you celebrate birthdays in River's Haven?”

“Of course we celebrate birthdays. It's just that Kitty Cat is turning seven.”

“So?”

She could evade the question as she had before, but Wyatt had to know why Kitty Cat would not be coming to
The Ohio Star
after tomorrow. “When a child turns seven at River's Haven, that child goes to live with the other children in a special section of the common house.”

He stared at her. His mouth opened, then closed. With a curse, he strode across the main room to look out the window. “Why didn't you tell me this before?”

“I've been trying to put it out of my mind. I don't want her to go.”

“Does she know?”

“She knows the rules, but I don't think she's connected them with herself.” She said nothing else as Kitty Cat came into the room, balancing the guitar with care.

“Play my favorite song first,” the little girl requested as she sat next to Rachel on the sofa.

Setting the guitar across her lap, Rachel asked, “Wyatt, are you going to join us?”

He nodded and walked back to sit on her other side. Sorrow lengthened his face, just as it had when he had fought the fire on
The Ohio Star
. It startled her, for she had not guessed he would care about Kitty Cat or anything or anyone else as much as he did his boat.

Rachel pretended not to see his expression as she asked quietly, “Are you set to sing?”

“Why don't you warm up your fingers,” he replied. “Then we'll sing K. C.'s favorite song.”

She tried to respond in a cheerful tone. “You sound as if you don't believe I can play very well.”

“I've no doubts that you do everything well.” His fingers teased her nape, and she closed her eyes to bask in the fleeting caress.

“C'mon and play, Rachel.” Kitty Cat jumped up. “I want to sing and dance.”

Rachel chose a piece that required every bit of her concentration. That way, she must think of the notes and not of how Wyatt's leg brushed hers as she bent over the guitar. The music lilted through the room, lingering even after she had played the last note.

“Lovely!” Wyatt clapped.

Kitty Cat giggled. “I told you she played very pretty music.”

“So you did.” He tapped her on the nose. “I guess I'll have to listen more closely to you from now on, K. C.”

“She's going to teach me to play!”

“Is that so?” His expression was somber as he turned back to Rachel. “After your birthday?”

“It's tomorrow!” Kitty Cat spun on her toes again. “My birthday and the country's birthday. Don't you think it is just perfect that we both have the same birthday?”

“I think I'd like to hear you and Rachel sing.”

Rachel settled the guitar on her lap and said, “You can sing, too, Wyatt. Do you know ‘Greensleeves'?” When he nodded, she picked the first few notes on the guitar. She smiled at Kitty Cat and said, “Now.”

Wyatt started to sing, but let his voice drift away as he listened to Rachel sing with the little girl. Rachel let K. C. take the melody while she and the guitar combined to create the harmony for the haunting tune. The sad song in its minor key took on new life as they sang it together. If he had not known before, he could see now how much Rachel needed this little girl and how much K. C. needed her. It would not matter whether they lived in the middle of this silly utopian experiment or in the little village of Haven or in the biggest city in the land. They belonged together.

His arm tightened around Rachel's waist as she swayed with the gentle rhythm her fingers drew from the strings. When she and K. C. finished the first verse, her hands remained on the strings, but she did not continue to play. His breath caught as Rachel raised her eyes to meet his. The rhythms still swirled through him, enticing and urging him to sweep away the song's sorrow as he brought her to the pinnacle of sensation when he was once more a part of her. The subtly passionate words touched him as never before. All he wanted was his arms around her and his mouth on hers.

K. C. throwing her arms around him halted him from giving into that temptation. He looked past her to see Rachel smiling.

When she began to play another song, he was not surprised that it was a lighthearted tune that suggested no illicit pleasures. Her voice and K. C.'s entwined again.

Wyatt looked toward the door as he heard footsteps. Neither Rachel nor K. C, who was skipping about the room in time with the music, seemed to take note of them. They were having too much fun singing.

Foley appeared in the doorway, frowning as he pulled off his hat. He walked in without waiting for an invitation.
As if he already could claim Rachel for his wife
.

Silencing that thought before it burst out of his mouth, Wyatt warned himself to take care. Foley could not hide his growing rage that Rachel was sitting next to another man. When Browning and his new wife appeared behind Foley, Wyatt wondered if they had come along in hopes of forcing Rachel into something she wanted to avoid or just in hopes of seeing the confrontation. They might get more of an eyeful than they had hoped for, because Foley had his arms locked tightly over his chest and wore an expression that suggested he had caught Rachel in a heinous crime.

Something must have alerted Rachel. She looked up from the guitar and paused in midnote. K. C. gave her a curious glance, then turned. She edged closer to Rachel. Leaning the guitar against the end table, Rachel put her arm around the little girl's shoulders.

“Good evening, Mr. Foley,” said Rachel as she rose. “And Merrill! You brought Helga with you to pay a call. This is quite the surprise.”

“Apparently,” Foley growled.

“Too bad you weren't here to join us for dinner, but you're welcome to join us in singing. It's a wonderful way to forget the day's heat.”

Foley did not move. “What is
he
doing here?”

“Wyatt kindly brought Katherine back from Haven after she went to work on the decorations for the Centennial celebration.” Rachel's pause was so slight that Wyatt was unsure if he had heard it. “Just as you persuaded the Assembly of Elders to agree to.”

“They did not agree for Colton to loiter here.” He refocused his glower on Wyatt. “Colton, I trust you'll remember that Rachel is going to marry me, not you. I'd regret having to be forced to remind you of that again.”

Wyatt smiled coldly, resisting the temptation to retort that Foley was lying. Foley would be glad to find a way to make him pay for each visit to River's Haven.

He stood and picked up the guitar. Running his fingers along the strings, he did not let his smile waver. “I've never forgotten that. Surely even you can find no sin in singing.”

“Just stay away from her!”

“That's enough, Mr. Foley,” Rachel retorted. “Wyatt is our guest at River's Haven. Where are your manners, Mr. Foley?”

He swallowed so hard that Wyatt could hear him gulp, but said, “Excuse me, Miss Browning.”

“Thank you,” she replied with a graciousness Wyatt knew he would never have been able to summon. “Would you like to join us for some singing?”

Wyatt thought Foley would refuse. Instead Foley glanced at Browning and his wife. Browning's nod was barely perceptible. All three came into the room and Rachel's brother brought chairs from by the kitchen table for himself and his wife. Foley walked toward the sofa, but K. C. squeezed past him and sat on Rachel's left. Wyatt resumed his place on her right.

“You're looking for trouble,” Rachel murmured as she bent to retune a string.

“I thought I was trying to halt it,” he replied.

“I don't know if anything can.”

Those were the last words she addressed to him for the rest of the evening. Each time she started to speak to him, Foley or her brother would interrupt. Browning's wife was silent. At first, Wyatt dismissed her as a well-trained disciple of this Community. That was before he noticed how she fluttered her eyelashes in his direction and gave him a smile he had last seen on a harlot's face in a saloon outside Louisville. He chuckled and wondered if she had started looking for her next husband as soon as she married Browning.

He was not sure how long they would have all sat there with such fake expressions and long silences if Rachel had not said she needed to get Katherine—how strange to hear of K. C. called that formal name!—to bed, because the next day was going to be so exciting. When Foley and her brother rose to bid K. C. and Rachel good night, he did the same because he suspected they would not leave until he did.

As he walked out the door with the others, he caught a glimpse of Rachel's taut face. That was enough for him to be on guard and avoid Foley's attempt to grasp him by the shirt. He sidestepped away from Browning's grip as well. His fist clenched, but he would not swing first.

“Stay away from here, Colton,” Foley snarled. “And stay away from
her
”

“You're not going to have to worry much longer.
The Ohio Star
is going to be on its way as soon as we finish the repairs.” He rested one hand on the door frame, so no one could sneak up behind him. “We probably would have been on our way by now if someone hadn't started fires on the upper decks.”

Even in the thickening twilight he could see the glances Browning and Foley exchanged. They might not have held lucifer to the greasy rags themselves, but they knew who had.

“It's too bad,” Wyatt continued in the same friendly tone.
“The Ohio Star
could have been long gone from Haven by now, and you wouldn't be getting all hot under the collar simply because I did Rachel a favor and brought the kid out here from town.” With a smile, he added, “Good evening, gentlemen, Mrs. Browning.”

“Miss Page,” she corrected in a soft coo. “We keep our maiden names here at River's Haven.”

He bowed his head toward her. “Good evening, then, Miss Page.”