Randall Honor (7 page)

He looked at the two cupcakes in his package and figured they’d last him about two seconds. But they were better than nothing. Ripping off the packaging, which he slipped into his jacket pocket, he practically swallowed them whole. But he found them surprisingly satisfying.

“I think it’s all the chocolate, but they always pick me up, don’t you think?” Tori asked him.

“Yeah. You wouldn’t happen to have any more, would you?”

She offered another package, much to his surprise. “I was actually joking,” he admitted. “I’ll split them with you.”

She grinned. “I have another package, too. This is a hard trip. It takes a lot of energy, even for an experienced rider. You’re doing very well, but we still have a couple of hours to go.”

They munched in silence, listening to the raindrops hitting the leaves overhead. It was an amazingly peaceful place.

Until a bolt of lightning ripped the sky.

“Ooh! We’ve got to get away from the tree. So I guess we’d better go ahead. Hopefully we’ll ride out of the storm soon.”

Jon could only agree.

While he wouldn’t recommend four cupcakes as a snack, he agreed with Victoria. They had an amazing effect on him. It had to be the chocolate. He’d have to remember to put them on his shopping list if he
ever planned a trip into the mountains again. Especially if Tori accompanied him.

He’d watched her tongue dig into the cream center, pleasure in her eyes. It hadn’t taken a second to want to see that look on her face again, her tongue seeking something else. In spite of his aches and pains, he was finding this ride amazingly pleasurable.

The trail took a dip into a small valley. Jon preferred riding up to riding down, though he had no choice but to follow Victoria. At least the rain wasn’t in his face so much with his head down.

It was easy to pretend it was a hundred years earlier and he was a man heading west to build his life with his woman, his wife. The courage of the pioneers had been remarkable. That thought gave him something to think about besides Tori.

When they reached the bottom, Tori pulled up and waited for him to reach her side. “I just wanted you to know that the cabin sits on the top of this ridge. It’s only half as high as the one we just crossed. We’ll be there in about an hour, then we’ll be able to get out of the rain. Are you soaked?”

He nodded. “Pretty much, but thanks for the encouragement.”

With a nod, she started off again.

One hour. He could last that long, surely. Even though his legs were aching, his rear was sore, his—well, everything below the waist was in pain, he could last one more hour. Too bad Tori didn’t offer him any more cupcakes. Eating seemed to dull the pain.

The rain was a little lighter as they rode, but the
nearby trees were shedding their water, so they were still getting just as wet. Jon wished for the warm sunshine back in Rawhide. Back in civilization. Then he chuckled to himself. He’d considered Chicago to be civilization when he’d first arrived.

But beggars couldn’t be choosers.

W
HEN THE CABIN CAME
into sight, Tori’s heart beat faster. She had thought she remembered the way, but she was afraid she’d miss it, especially in the rain. Of course, she hadn’t told Jon that.

Then she noticed there was no smoke coming out of the chimney. It was a chilly day up here in the high country, especially with the rainstorm. There were no lights in the cabin, either. Kerosene lights. That’s what they used up here. Maybe Russ had fallen asleep and didn’t realize it was so dark.

Forgetting about Jon, she spurred her horse forward, picking up the pace for the first time in hours. Her anxiety about Russ was greater than ever.

She could hear Jon coming faster, too. Still, it took several minutes to cover the distance. She pulled Snowflake to a halt and swung out of the saddle. “Russ? Russ? Where are you?”

The door didn’t open. Silence was the only response.

She tied the reins to the hitching post and ran up the wooden steps, out of the rain. The door was unlocked and she shoved it open and stepped inside.

Nothing moved. He wasn’t here.

She turned to go back out and ran into Jon.

“He’s not here.”

“Maybe he went out for the day and hasn’t come back yet,” he suggested, his voice hopeful.

She rushed around him.

“Where are you going?”

“To see if his horse is still here.”

His favorite horse was in the repaired corral. There was grass growing inside the corral and a water barrel, so a horse could manage for quite a while without a man to feed him.

She walked slowly back to the cabin, wondering if Jon could be right and Russ would come back in a while.

Or was he gone forever, like Abby.

Jon moved to the porch of the old cabin and waited for Tori. He was glad to be out of the rain, but he shared Tori’s concern about Russ.

She rounded the cabin, her head down.

“Is the horse there?”

Her head snapped up, as if she’d forgotten his presence. “Oh, yes. The horse is there.”

“So maybe he went for a walk, Tori. It’s not like he knew we were coming.”

“Yes, of course. I’m going to unstrap the saddles. Can you lift them off and put them on the porch? Then I’ll take the horses to the corral.”

“Won’t they need food and water?”

“There’s grass growing in the corral and a water barrel that was filled today from the rainstorm.”

They unsaddled the horses without comment. When Jon offered to take the horses to the corral, she refused, asking him to carry all their supplies inside. “Otherwise, we’ll awake to a family of bears treating themselves.”

He piled their supplies on the big table that seated
eight in the middle of the kitchen part of the cabin. There were also four sets of bunk beds against the walls in the living area with a fireplace in the middle, and that was all the furniture. He’d noted the wood piled on the porch and brought some in to start a fire. By the time Tori came inside, he’d started a small fire.

She glanced at it as she shrugged off her wet jacket. “Thanks.” Then she looked in a corner and brought out an old-fashioned laundry rack. She spread her jacket out and told him to do the same to his. “We don’t want to start out wet in the morning.”

He couldn’t agree more. “Is there anywhere in particular you used to visit when you came up here?”

“There’s a lovely view at one place. The guys used to call it—” she paused and caught her breath “—Lover’s Leap. You don’t think—I can’t believe—no!” She turned away and moved to the kitchen area, taking down two glass lamps. She reached under the sink to pull out a can of kerosene and filled both lamps.

After lighting the first, she set it on the window ledge over the sink. The other she carried to the mantel over the fireplace.

Without speaking, she stood staring down into the fire.

“Is it very far?” he asked quietly.

“I—I don’t know. It’s been a long time—we’ll have to wait until morning.” Her voice sounded leaden, heavy.

“He may be back before then,” was the best Jon
could offer. He didn’t know Russ well enough to guess what he might have done.

She walked back over to the table and began digging into the supplies.

“Looking for something?” he asked.

“Dinner. I’ll have it ready in about fifteen minutes.”

“Do you think Russ did any cooking?” Jon asked. “There’s a pile of dirty clothes over here and his sleeping bag on this lower bunk, but either he’s very neat or he hasn’t been preparing much food.” Jon moved closer to Victoria, waiting for her answer.

“Whatever he did, he’s almost out of supplies.” She pulled four big cans of stew out of their pack and set them on the table. “Good thing I brought plenty. We may be here for several days.”

He’d figured as much. He guessed Tori didn’t intend to go back home without Russ, if possible. By the time they found Lover’s Leap and climbed down and back up again, half the day would be gone.

They couldn’t start back then, or if they did they’d have to camp overnight on the trail. “Anything I can do to help?”

“No, thank you.”

There was a small potbellied stove in the kitchen for cooking and Tori quickly built a fire in it and poured the cans of stew into a big pot, putting it on the top of the stove. Then she mixed batter for biscuits and baked several of them in a Dutch oven. In a few minutes the smell of beef stew, even canned, and baking bread only increased the hunger Jon was feeling.

When she filled two bowls and set the bread on the table, she didn’t have to call him to dinner. He was standing beside the table, waiting.

After he sat down, she walked to the door and opened it, looking out into the night.

“Did you hear something?” he asked, not sure if he should join her or not.

“No. I just thought—it’s already dark.” She closed the door and came back to the table.

He waited until she picked up her own spoon before he started eating. He didn’t look up again until his bowl was empty, “That was great,” he told Tori, feeling he’d been greedy.

She barely smiled, then reached into a sack. “These are our only desserts.” She slid out onto the table two packets of cupcakes. “Sorry there isn’t more.”

He lifted her hand to his lips. “You’ve provided great food, honey. You’ve handled everything, in fact. Thanks for taking care of me.”

She jumped up from the table, mumbling “You’re welcome” and grabbing her bowl and spoon and putting them in the sink. Jon instantly followed, not wanting her to think he expected her to clean up without him. “Why don’t you sit down and rest and I’ll wash up.”

“No!” Even she seemed surprised by the snap in her voice. “I—I have to have something to do.”

“You wash, I’ll dry,” he suggested softly, understanding her discomfort.

They did the dishes in silence, until Jon asked, “How often have you come up here?”

“Every summer,” she said after a silence. “It became a dad-and-kids trip. The moms stayed on the ranch and the brothers let all the kids ten and up come on the ride. I was so excited the first trip. And scared. I wanted Dad to be proud of me. And I thought it was so great that Jessica didn’t get to go yet.” She smiled faintly. “I wish she were here now.”

He watched her out of the corner of his eye. “You two don’t seem much alike.”

“No. I don’t look like any of them. Mom says I look like her mother. I began to wonder if I was really a Randall, but Mom says there’s no doubt of that.”

Jon chuckled. “She’s right. You’ve got that stubborn determination, that sense of right and wrong and the willingness to do for others. From what I’ve seen, those are all Randall traits.”

She looked at him in surprise. “Do you think so?”

“Yeah, I do. You and Russ are close, aren’t you?”

She closed her eyes and he saw a tear slip past her guard and trail down her cheek and he could have kicked himself.

But she answered almost at once. She nodded and said, “He always seemed to be in Rich’s shadow. I never felt like I fit in, either, and he helped me out a lot. But all my cousins are like brothers and sisters. We may fuss and fight among ourselves, especially the boys, but no one criticizes one of us, without having to face us all backing each other.

“That’s why I had to come find Russ. He needs us
now. He needs—” She broke off in a sob. “We need to hold tight, to get through our sorrow.”

He put down the towel and put his arms around Tori. She didn’t come to his shoulder, but he didn’t for a minute think of her as a child. What he felt for Tori had nothing to do with children.

“Hold on, Tori. We’re going to find Russ. It’s going to be all right.” He stroked her back soothingly, praying he was right. She pressed against him, burying her face against his chest.

“I can’t stand it, Jon. It hurts so much.”

He didn’t know if she meant Russ or Abby, but he felt her pain and sympathized with her, and he wasn’t even family. “We’ll get through this, Tori, we will.” He kissed her forehead, the top of her head, and pressed her tighter against him, wanting to do anything to please her, to distract her.

She lifted her head and tried to smile, to thank him for his comfort, and his lips covered hers. Gently he caressed her, his mouth leaving hers to press gentle kisses on her face, but it kept coming back to her soft lips.

When her arms went around his neck, lifting her breasts against his chest, it was as if lightning raked his skin, leaving heat in tender trails on his skin.

He lifted her, bringing her mouth even with his and the kissing smoldered, melting his bones and making him hungry for more, more touching, more heat. He crossed the room to the first bunk and lay her down on the thin mattress and joined her, only leaving her lips alone briefly.

His lips trailed to her slender neck. The taste of her skin was like honey, but he returned to her lips. When she responded to his searching tongue, he lifted her against his chest, allowing him to get even closer.

But it wasn’t all physical. He’d first doubted her willingness to go the extra mile. He now knew her heart was the biggest part of her. She’d done everything possible for Russ. She’d mourned for Abby, too, yet she’d kept her composure and done her job.

She’d taken a long trip on horseback to save her cousin’s life, and brought Jon along, too. Her care was evident in everything she did.

Her heart was an aphrodisiac, urging him to draw closer, more deeply, into her life. Even now, with her in his arms, stirring his senses, her spirit was entwined around his heart. It was too soon, of course, to think of commitment. And they still had the issue of his departure, but he wanted more. He wanted Tori.

Tori’s right hand began stroking his chest. Then she pulled his shirttail out of his jeans and slid her hand under his shirt, flesh to flesh, and his skin shimmered with desire. He wanted her to touch him all over. He wanted to touch her.

When she made no resistance, he started on her shirt buttons and then got rid of her bra. The silken softness of her breasts almost had him losing control. He didn’t remember when a woman had so turned him on.

“More, Jon. Touch me more,” she whispered, shoving his shirt off him. He decided to help her by unzipping his jeans and shoving them down until his
boots impeded his actions. “Damn, my boots,” he complained, and started to sit up, but Tori, with her arms wrapped around his chest, clung to him, and separating from her was more than he could do.

He felt his entire body bathed in her warmth, her scent, her loving. She wasn’t large enough to match him inch for inch, but the only part of him that lived was what she touched. He kissed her as if he would devour her, and she returned the favor. He could scarcely breathe, but that didn’t matter. He needed Tori. When they were finally naked, there was no way he could hold back.

For the first time, he felt the true sense of what being one with a woman meant. He’d made love before, but he’d never felt a part of his partner, a togetherness that would never end. A mixing of emotions that would bind them together. On the outer edge of his mind, he recognized fear. But it wasn’t enough to block the path he was rushing down.

When he felt her explode with passion and completion, he joined her with relief, with celebration, with completion. An incredible experience. Nirvana. True happiness.

He couldn’t bear to put any distance between them. He trailed his fingers down her back, cupped her hips, stroking her flesh, wishing he never had to release her. Though they had a lot to work out, his mind began planning a future, a time when he could hold her close whenever he wished. When her care and concern would be focused on him. When she would turn to him for support. They’d share everything.

And, eventually, they’d share their lives with children. He imagined Tori, her flat stomach rounded with his child. Of course, he’d wait until she was ready but—he panicked, terror rising in him.

They hadn’t used protection.

All the passion, the pleasure, was wiped away. He sat up abruptly.

T
ORI WASN’T
that experienced. But she couldn’t imagine ever having sex with anyone but Jon ever again. She felt connected, loved, celebrated…and exhausted. She never wanted to move from his arms.

Then he jerked upright. “Are you on the pill?” he demanded.

She automatically answered, “No.” Then she stared at him, as if he’d been speaking a foreign language. Did he feel nothing? Hadn’t their lovemaking meant anything? Had he simply wanted to get lucky? She hoped she hid her sob as he got out of the narrow bed and grabbed his underwear to cover himself.

She lay there on the bare mattress with no sheet to cover her and wanted to scream in his face.

“We didn’t use protection!” he pointed out. “You could be pregnant. Is it the right time of the month? Do you know?”

She rolled off the mattress and grabbed the various articles of clothing she’d willingly shed not so long ago. Then, without answering, she went to the small, rough bathroom that opened off the back of the room.

“Tori? You didn’t answer me,” Jon called through the door.

With tears running down her cheeks, she dressed. Then she wiped her cheeks dry, drew a deep breath and entered the main part of the cabin again. Jon was dressed, pacing about the room.

“Tori—” he began.

She held up a hand to stop him. “I have no idea, and no, I’m not pregnant.”

“I didn’t mean—I shouldn’t—how do you know?”

She didn’t answer. The first man she’d shared her body with had been quite blunt about wanting her but not wanting anything permanent, like children. It broke her heart that Jon was the same way. Crossing to the potbellied stove, she took the old coffeepot, filled it with water and put it on the top burner to heat.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said coolly, not looking at him.

“But Tori—”

The front door opened and Russ Randall staggered into the cabin.

“R
USS
!” T
ORI SCREAMED
. She raced to his side, getting there even before Jon could catch him. “Russ, are you okay?”

“C-cold,” he muttered. Then he collapsed.

“Dear God, please—” she prayed, falling to her knees beside him. He was soaked to the skin and he looked as if he’d lost a lot of weight. His skin was pale. He obviously hadn’t taken care of himself as he’d grieved over Abby’s death. Tori began struggling with his sodden jacket.

Without a word, Jon held him up while Tori removed the jacket. He stopped her when she started on the shirt. “I’ll strip him and put him in his sleeping bag. You fix something hot for him to drink. Is there any of that stew left?”

“Yes, I saved some in case—for Russ. I’ll heat it up.” She hurried to do as Jon asked. She wanted to do the best for Russ right now, no matter how she felt about Dr. Jon Wilson.

“Do you think he’s okay?” All she cared about right now was Russ’s condition.