Promise Me Texas (A Whispering Mountain Novel) (11 page)

He placed his hands on her waist as if to steady them both. When she finished and started to step away, he pulled her against him and lowered his mouth to hers.

The kiss was demanding, not giving her time to object as he parted her lips and made her forget all about not wanting to kiss him. His body was warm from his bath as he drew her against him. His hands moved up and down her back slowly, pressing her against his chest.

One kiss answered all the longing she’d felt during the night.

When he moved from her lips to her throat, she leaned her head back, loving the feel of his mouth against her skin. “I didn’t tell you that you could kiss me,” she managed to say as she tried to breathe.

“I didn’t ask, and I’m not asking now.” He returned to her mouth for another long kiss that left her breathless. “If you don’t want to kiss me,” he said against her swollen lips, “you’d better yell and kick and scream, because I’m not stopping and I’m not spending another night awake wishing I’d kissed you.”

Her fingers dug into his damp hair. “I know how you feel. I couldn’t sleep either.”

He rained feather kisses over her face. “So for as long as you’re here as my wife, there will be a good-night kiss. There will be no pretending about this one thing between us.”

His hands closed around her waist, pulling her solidly against his chest. She would have kissed him again, but he lifted his head so he could look into her eyes. “Swear,” he demanded. “I’ll not ask for more, but you’ll come to me.”

“I swear.” His mouth was on hers again before the words were fully in the air between them. This kiss was full of passion and need. There was nothing safe or soft about it. His big hands spread up her ribs and brushed against her breasts as he caught her moan and deepened the kiss.

She was almost lost to all thought when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

Andrew pulled away so fast she almost tumbled forward.

“You folks are up early.” Madie’s voice sounded cheery as she stepped into the room.

“We were lighting a fire before everyone else woke,” Beth managed.

Andrew turned toward the study without a word, but not before she heard his chuckle.

CHAPTER 11

T
HE SUN HAD REACHED THE ROOFTOP OF THE HUGE
metal barn of the train yard when Colby Dixon straightened and offered his arm to Madie Delany. “Now stand beside me and let me do all the talking. If your Micah is in here working, I’m far more likely to get past the yard boss to talk to him than some half-grown girl who thinks he’s her man.”

“I’m not half-grown and—”

“I don’t want to get into that again, Madeline. Just let me do the asking about him. You may think you’re grown, but I’m older. I know best.”

“Fine.” She gripped Colby’s arm as they moved into the huge barn whose very walls seemed to rattle. Machinery was everywhere, and the sound of hammers ticked out an uneven beat. The floor seemed made of tracks crisscrossing. The building had been built in the round so that an engine could be completely turned inside.

Colby felt her shaking even through the thick cotton of his shirt sleeve, so he patted her hand where it rested on his arm. She reminded him of a puppy someone had mistreated, and he saw it as his duty to help her out. In a few minutes, either she’d be in her man’s arms and happy, or she’d be crying on Colby’s shoulder. Either path, he’d see this through to the end.

They were ten feet in when a man jumped off an engine and confronted them. “Something I can do for you folks? We’re working here. This ain’t no ride at the fair.”

Colby straightened all the way to his six feet. “I’m here to ask about Micah Summerset. I understand he works here.”

“Who wants to know?”

“His family,” Colby said, figuring he was only half lying. When she married him, she would be family. “We’ll only need a minute of his time and then we’ll be on our way.”

“I’ll go get him.” The foreman didn’t look too happy about it, but Colby’s serious expression must have convinced him that he had bad news that couldn’t wait.

“I want a little more than a minute of his time, Colby,” Madie whispered. “We’ve got a lot to talk about now that we’re starting our lives together.”

“I know, but he can tell you where to meet him when he gets off. The man’s working, and that has to come first, girl.” Colby suddenly felt very old.

She pouted, but he acted like he didn’t notice.

“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” she whispered. “It’s too hot and smoky in here.”

“You’ll be fine. This is what you wanted, isn’t it, Madie? Now he won’t have to come get you. You’re already here in town.”

They stepped a few feet closer to the open doorway, where the air was cleaner. Colby swore the girl was turning green with fear. She’d woken him early, asking if he could be ready to leave right after breakfast. She wanted to find her man, but she didn’t want to go alone. Now they were here and she looked like she might bolt at any moment.

As minutes passed, Colby began to have a bad feeling about this whole thing. A man who wanted a woman usually went after her. He didn’t leave her forty miles away waiting for weeks without a word. For all Colby knew, Madie had made up the whole story, probably building her hopes on a few kind words or a passing flirtation. His pa always said that if a fellow smiles at a girl too wide she starts packing her hope chest, and if he dances with her more than once, she’s writing down her name tied to his.

In truth, thanks to his pa’s advice, Colby was more afraid of girls than of a herd of wild longhorn. On the cattle drives he’d had a few saloon girls about his age try to cuddle up to him, but he couldn’t seem to form enough words to talk to them. He could stand equal to any man, but women were another story. This one beside him wasn’t full-grown and she made him nervous.

“Promise you won’t leave until I’m ready for you to leave.”

He frowned. “How am I going to know you’re ready?”

“I’ll say, ‘Good-bye, Colby.’” She laughed nervously. “That’ll be our secret clue for you to go.”

He stared at her, deciding his father was right; women were put on this earth to drive men crazy. He barely knew this one and she was already doing a great job.

He turned when he heard footsteps and saw a man heading toward them. The worker was built short and square, with powerful arms and frown marks embedded in his dirty forehead. Colby swore he was growling as he rushed toward them

“What is it?” he yelled. “I got work to do.”

Madie turned around. The smile on her face wilted as she stared at the man before her covered in grease and dirt. He wasn’t young either. He had to be in his thirties, and this morning his age seemed to show itself to her for the first time.

His face didn’t soften when he recognized Madie. She might be plump, but she looked small now, even next to Micah.

“What are you doing here?” The muscle in the man’s jaw jerked as if he were barely controlling his anger. “I told you to stay in Dallas. I never said you could come bother me at work.”

Madie lifted her head, but her voice shook slightly as she said, “I came to be with you, Micah. I thought we could get married like we talked about doing. I don’t care about the little house you’re building. We can live anywhere until you get it built.”

Micah turned to Colby. “Who are you and why’d you bring her here?”

Colby widened his stance. He might be ten years younger than Micah, but he’d learned on the trail never to back down from a bully. Without thinking about it, he brushed his jacket aside so he could reach the gun strapped to his leg if needed.

Micah wasn’t a fool; he backed a step away and calmed. “She don’t belong to me, mister, no matter what she says. She’s a skirt I lifted a few times when I was working out of town.”

Colby considered shooting the man, but before he could draw, Madie reacted. She flew at Micah in a rage, hitting, scratching, screaming. Colby didn’t know whether to grab her or join the fight, so he stood there while she beat on Micah.

The little man might have wanted to hit back, but he didn’t dare with Colby so close. One blow from his powerful arms might have knocked the girl out.

Finally, she stopped and said almost in a whisper, “You said you loved me. I thought you meant it. I thought you meant everything.” Tears ran down her face as she gulped for air.

Micah didn’t answer, but his prideful cockiness was gone. After a moment, he said in a tired voice, “I thought you understood we were just having a good time. That was all.”

Madie nodded. “You’re not building me a house, are you? You’re not going to marry me.”

“I already got a wife. You’ll find someone better than the likes of me. You’re just a kid.”

“You said you loved me.” She gulped out each word.

He hardened, obviously tired of listening to her whining. “You were more than willing that first night. It wouldn’t have mattered what I said. Street trash like you know how to get a man to promise things he don’t even mean. You may be young, but I could tell what you was the minute you smiled at me. I happened to be the first, that’s all. The first of a very long line.”

Colby swung before he thought. In one blow the man went down, hitting the ground so hard that dust billowed up around him.

Madie stared down at the only person who’d ever said he loved her. He’d lied.

“Get me out of here, would you, Colby?” she asked as she turned away from Micah. “I never want to see him or this place again.”

Colby stared down at Micah, daring the man to stand and fight. When he didn’t, Colby offered his arm to Madie. “All right, Madeline, we leave. There is nothing here that even needs to be remembered.”

She managed to lift her chin and he nodded, thinking she might just have grown a little taller.

They walked out of the train yard and along the wide main street. Neither said a word until they were almost back to Andrew’s town house. The morning was sunny, but neither of them felt the warmth.

“Can we tell the others we didn’t find Micah?” She finally broke the silence. “I don’t want them to know how dumb I was.”

“It’s not your fault. He was twice your age. He should have known better.” Colby swore under his breath, thinking he should have made the coward stand so he could hit him again. “As far as I’m concerned we didn’t find the man you were looking for.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it ever again.”

“Then we’ll say we couldn’t find the man you knew. In my opinion, that would be the truth.” Colby wished he hadn’t heard what Micah had said. He’d always thought that women who lifted their skirts, as Micah put it, were ladies of the night. Madie wasn’t one of those women; she was still a girl. She worked hard and cared about people. She treated Levi and his brother as if they were hers. “Forget all about him. He was wrong about you,” Colby said. “You go on like this morning never happened.”

She nodded. “That’s what I’m going to do, only I don’t never want anything to do with another man for as long as I live.”

“We’re not all like that,” he said. “You’ll see when you’re older.”

For once she didn’t try to remind him that she was grown; she just looked at him and said, “I think it hurts too much to get older.”

They walked the last few houses in silence. Beth was the only one home, so Madie told her about how Micah must have moved on. Colby couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He paced the empty rooms of the house. For a time he thought of going back to the train yard and waiting for the short man to start home. Halfway there, he could easily pull him aside and beat him up.

Only Colby didn’t have all his strength back yet, and he might be the one who ended up being beat up. Even if he won the fight and Micah was broken, it would only mean he couldn’t work, and his wife and children would probably suffer.

Colby teetered between avenging Madie and maybe causing extra sorrow for some woman he didn’t know. He finally decided that doing nothing was his only option. He had worries of his own.

After lunch he walked the few blocks to the telegraph office and sent his pa a note. The old man would be furious that he hadn’t come straight home. He’d taught Colby how to run a ranch, how to work cattle, even how to handle himself in a fight, but he’d never taught him how to be kind. As he walked back from the telegraph office, he resolved he didn’t want to be like his pa.

No one, including him, meant anything to the old man. When his mother left one night, all his father did was burn everything in the house that belonged to her and make Colby swear he’d never speak of her again. He’d kept his promise, but at night, when all was dark and quiet, he’d think of her, remember what she’d been like. He’d remember how his pa never talked to her or touched her or even seemed to notice she was around. He never said hello when he walked in the house, or good-bye when he left to work. Maybe she couldn’t stand being invisible any longer and she had to run.

Colby walked back into Andrew’s house and saw the two women at the makeshift table shelling peas. “Hello,” he said, then cleared his throat. “I’m back.”

“Good.” Beth motioned him toward the empty stool. “Have a seat. I’ll pour you some coffee and you can keep us company.”

Colby hung his hat on the peg near the door. “I can get my own coffee, but thanks for the offer.” His attempt not to be like his old man would start right now. He’d talk to folks. He’d even keep the ladies company, whatever that meant.

At first, he couldn’t think of much to say as he sat at the table. The women were talking of how it wouldn’t cost much to fix Andrew’s place up. Colby listened.

When they finally changed the subject to horses, Colby joined in but noticed Madie didn’t have much to say. The only topic of conversation they all jumped on was Andrew. He’d left the house dressed in a black suit and tie, and all three agreed he looked far better in his western clothes.

The day aged and Colby felt himself getting more and more restless. Finally, he guessed his telegram had had plenty of time to travel the lines to the small town near his ranch. The operator would have to ride two miles out of town to his pa, and then his pa would have to hitch up a team and drive to town, before he could send an answer.

Colby took the two boys with him and went back to the telegraph office, hoping there would be news waiting but realizing he might have to make more than one trip before his pa’s answer came.

Levi talked most of the way, and they slowed him down some by stopping to look in every store window. They barely made it to the office before it closed.

“No answer from your father,” the operator said, “but if you’ll leave an address I’ll run it over if it comes in late.”

Colby wasn’t sure what to say. “Two streets south, second town house on the left.”

The operator jotted it down. “I think I know where that is. About a block down is a whole row of new houses going in.”

“Right.” Colby had never lived anywhere that might have a real address. When he left the telegraph office, he took the boys by the construction. It was exciting watching men building more than one house at a time.

The boys loved watching, but all the way home Colby thought that maybe his pa had been in the field and the runner had left the telegram on the door. Or maybe he was out hunting or down by the smokehouse slaughtering a hog. There were a dozen reasons his pa hadn’t had time to answer, but one kept sticking in his mind.