Sunflower (20 page)

Analisa nearly collided with him in the shadowy darkness as Caleb led Scorpio into the shelter. She stepped back inside, unsure of what to say, shivering with cold and anticipation while she watched him unbuckle the saddle and slide it off the big mount. Caleb seemed to ignore her as he set the saddle against the far wall and slipped off the bit and bridle. With a slap on the horse’s rump, Caleb turned to face Analisa while Scorpio ambled past the other animals toward the feed bin.

“You’re getting a little low on feed. I’ll get some when I go into town to pick up my baggage.” He stepped closer in order to see her expression in the soft glow from the window.

“You are staying?” She spoke through chattering teeth as she tried to still her shivering.

Caleb stood silent for a moment, debating his next move. She had not protested his comment, but simply asked if he was staying. Would she leave the choice up to him?

“Come here. You must be freezing to death without your coat.” Caleb stepped up next to her when she refused to move toward him, opened the front of his wool jacket and enfolded her inside.

Drawn by the warmth he offered, she slipped her arms around him underneath the heavy jacket and felt the heat of his back through the fabric of his shirt. She longed to rest her cheek against the strong, even beat of his heart, but resisted, determined to put emotion aside and ask him the questions that were tugging at the corners of her mind. Analisa tilted her head back and loosened her hold on him, trying to see his eyes in the dim light.

“Why did you come back?” She was afraid she would miss his answer as she listened to her own heart thundering in her ears.

“I had to.” He bent and kissed the tip of her nose, her forehead, her temple, with just a teasingly light touch of his lips.

“You had to?”

“Yes. I would find myself thinking of you at the oddest times. Once I was in a roomful of people.” He looked over her head as if he recalled every detail as he spoke. “It was a ball, as a matter of fact. I was surrounded by ladies and gentlemen in fine gowns and suits—silks, satins, jewels—and suddenly, there you were. I saw you as I’d seen you so many times. You know, the way your hair falls out of the pins and slides down your neck.” He touched her throat with his lips before he continued the hushed words. “You had on your apron and the faded blue dress you always wear when you’re working. You seemed so real, I nearly spoke to you, until I realized you weren’t there at all.” He stopped kissing her and held her close, his cheek pressed against hers as he rocked her gently from side to side. “You might say I came back because I was haunted by you. Do you know what that means?”

She nodded. “You were at a ball ... a dance?”

“Yes. Many. But no one I met compared to you.”

Analisa pulled away again, intending to look into his eyes, but her gaze was drawn to his full lips. She cleared her throat, suddenly finding the words lodged there. “Where did you get the money for all of those gifts?”

“The bank.”

“You robbed a bank?”

Caleb laughed as he rubbed her shoulderblades with his open palms. He pressed his hands against the small of her back, forcing her against his length. “No, I didn’t rob a bank. Must you always make me out to be an outlaw, Analisa? You seem to doubt my ability to earn a living.”

“You have told me nothing of yourself, Caleb. You left me with one hundred dollars in gold, with no explanation and no word all these months ...”

“Didn’t you get my letter?”

“Oh, yes ... I have it committed to memory: ‘Analisa. Hope that you, Kase, and Edvard are well. If you need anything, you can reach me through Ruth Storm in Boston, Massachusetts. Caleb.’ “

Thankful for the darkness, Caleb felt himself color as she recited the terse words of his note. It had been cooler than he remembered, and the only communication she’d received from him in three months. She had every right to toss him out.

“I have many more questions, Caleb.” Analisa no longer felt the cold, pressed as tight as she was to his body and warmed by the anger she aimed at herself as she let him take over her senses so easily.

“Ask away.” He moved with her, gently pushing her farther back into the shed until she was pinned between his warm body and the sod wall of the house. His lips were playing with her ear, and he felt a tremor run through her as his teeth gently pulled against its soft lobe.

“Who is Ruth Storm?” Analisa’s words were fading into a whisper as he toyed with her ear.

“My stepmother.”

“How do you work, to put this money in the bank?” She was beginning not to care what his answers were as his hands drew her hearer and played along her waist.

“Sometimes,” he said between kisses as he teased her lips with his own, “I am a lawyer ... and I live off an inheritance ... and I also work for the government of the United States ...” Caleb tried to continue but drew back for a moment to look into her eyes. “Do you really have to know all of this right now?”

Pressed against the sod wall, Analisa could feel the rough earth and buffalo grass scratching through the material of her dress. Enfolded inside Caleb’s coat and his tight embrace, she could think of little except the man who held her and the way her body responded to his touch. She had dreamed of him for so long, remembered their lovemaking so often, that now she was almost afraid to believe he’d become a reality, and yet she needed to experience the fullness and satisfaction she knew he could give her. She stared up into his eyes and asked the only question she truly wanted answered.

“Why did you come back?”

“I had to have you again.”

Caleb’s words were lost in a whisper against her lips as he pressed his mouth to hers in a searing, demanding kiss. Unable to restrain her need for him, Analisa let her arms move to encircle Caleb’s neck and pulled him closer. Her hands played in the waves of his hair at the nape of his neck, her fingertips delighted by the satin thickness of the soft curls. She felt his hands at her waist, on her breasts, and finally caressing her lower back and hips as he drew her against him. She became aware of the rigidity of his arousal pressing against her. Analisa was driven to seek the feel of his smooth skin against her own. She pulled at his shirt and heard Caleb’s low throaty laugh of delight as she worked the shirttail free of his waistband. Ignoring the sound, she slipped the palms of her hands under the shirt and pressed them flat against his smooth skin, skin that was hot to her touch.

The fiddle music slowed to a waltz, the notes drifting on the night air around them. Vaguely, Analisa could hear her mind telling her that it was rude to leave her guests, rude to let them wonder what she was doing alone with Caleb, but she could not seem to control her driving need for him. She felt his hands reach for the crown of braids wrapped around her head, and as his fingers began searching for the pins that bound the plaits, she pulled her lips away from his.

“Caleb, no ... They will know, then, if you take down my hair.”

“They probably know now.” Aware that Analisa would be embarrassed to face her friends with her golden hair spilling past her shoulders in disarray, he lowered his hands and began to draw her skirt up along her thighs. When his palm came in contact with her cotton pantalets, Caleb tugged at the waistband and sought the drawstring tie.

“Don’t wear these while I’m home,” he mumbled against her lips.

“No. I won’t.”

Finally, Caleb felt the offending undergarment fall free and bent to draw it off of Analisa’s legs. He ignored the rending tear he heard as he impatiently tugged the garment over her shoe and stuffed it into his coat pocket. While he worked to remove her drawers, Analisa’s fingers had nimbly unbuttoned the front of Caleb’s woolen trousers and pushed them low on his hips. She was rewarded with the feel of him as he thrust against her.

“I can’t wait to have you, lady. I’m sorry.”

With the words barely spoken, Caleb lifted Analisa against the wall and pressed upward, lowering her suddenly, sheathing himself within the warm depths of her body. He covered her mouth with his own as she began to moan and cry out, clutching him nearer, drawing him even farther into herself. He had been afraid of hurting her in his haste, and so was greatly pleased to find her as ready as he. Holding himself still within her, Caleb stood rigid, pressing Analisa against the rough wall, knowing full well that any slight movement on her part would bring him to fulfillment.

. Time stopped for Analisa when Caleb drew her onto himself. Forgotten were the freezing cold of the night and the restless animals moving next to them. She was only slightly aware that Jon’s fiddle continued to play, the music adding a strange, haunting quality to the scene. It seemed that in this one suspended moment, she could feel the earth turning beneath her as it moved through the heavens. As her body pulsed with the rhythm of life, she sought to draw Caleb into herself, to lose herself in him and him in her. Unable to hold back the desperate need within, Analisa wrapped her legs around Caleb’s hips and surrendered to the throbbing force.

Through a haze of sensation, she heard him call her name as he thrust deep into her once, twice, three times, and then held her wrapped in his embrace as he poured his love into her. His breath was searing hot against her ear, their ragged gasps for air echoing in the stillness of the tiny shed. Slowly, as their breathing returned to normal and the pulsing sensations died away, Caleb hugged. Analisa to him once more and gently slid away from her. She wanted to cry out at the feeling of loss she experienced as he left her body, but instead opened her eyes and was satisfied to know he was really there.

Caleb ran a shaking hand through his hair and pulled Analisa’s undergarment out of his pocket. She could tell he was smiling by the tone of his voice and could see a hint of his wide smile reflected in the glow from the window. He leaned forward and planted a swift kiss on her lips.

“Your drawers, my lady.” With a formal bow he presented her with the pantalets. “Would you like me to wait for you, or do you think we should go back inside separately?”

Analisa stared up at him wide-eyed, unsure of how to answer. What she craved most was to wash, put on a clean nightgown and crawl between the sheets ... with Caleb. Reality told her that her dream was impossible, that she had to return to face her new friends, her son, and a pile of dirty dishes. For an instant she wanted to wish them all away, but only for an instant. Hesitantly, she returned Caleb’s quick kiss and turned him away from her. He seemed to understand her need for privacy and walked out of the shed to stand just beyond her vision, fastening his own trousers as he went.

While Analisa readjusted her clothing, Caleb leaned back against the outer wall of the shed and looked up at the winter sky. A wide, satisfied smile lit his face as he stood with his hands deep in his pockets. Of all the homecomings he could have imagined, none could have been as much of a surprise or delight as the one he’d just received. “Thanks for the advice, Ruth,” he whispered as he looked up at the stars and, still smiling, turned as he sensed Analisa’s presence near him. He reached out to take her elbow and escort his lady back into the soddie.

During the brief walk, Caleb and Analisa decided not to offer any excuse for their absence, and upon entering, they were met by Sophie and Jon, who had obviously decided not to ask. Kase was lost in concentration as he lined the tin soldiers up on the table. Sophie bustled from the dishpan to the stove while Jon, his fiddle stowed in its case, sat at the table and lit his pipe.

“Caleb,” Jon called out, a smile lighting his face. “Come and join me for a Christmas toast while the women finish up the dishes.” He pulled a flat silver flask from his hip pocket and poured a hearty draft of whiskey into his coffee cup.

Caleb looked to Analisa, who was tying an apron over her plaid wool dress and, at her slight nod of encouragement, seated himself on the bench beside Jon. The two men began to talk of business ventures while Sophie and Analisa made quick work of the dishes and pans.

“Anja, listen,” Sophie said softly while the men talked amiably. “Jon and I want to take Kase home with us tonight, if you would agree. We haven’t mentioned it to him yet, because I wanted to see if you had any objections.”

Analisa began to protest, but Sophie hurried on. “We would love to have him stay with us. Besides, it would give you and Caleb time to work things out. What do you think?”

“Oh, Sophie ... I don’t know ...” Analisa shook her head, a worried expression darkening her radiant glow. “Kase has never been away from me, not even for a night, since the day he was born.”

“You know we will care for him as if he were our own. It’s only for a night or two. Whatever you decide.”

Glancing over her shoulder at Kase playing quietly by himself and then toward Caleb, who sent her a secret smile that warmed her to her toes, Analisa turned back to Sophie with her answer.

“You can ask Kase. If he wants to go, he has my permission. I think you are right, Sophie. This first night with Caleb back will be quite awkward with the three of us here, but Kase may want to be with Caleb, too.”

Sophie called the boy to her side. “Kase, would you like to come back to town with Jon and me and stay with us for Christmas Day and night?”

Looking at his mother with excitement shining in his eyes, Kase nodded enthusiastically.
“Ja,
Mama? I can go with Sophie?”

“If you’d like to, Kase. You will have to get your nightshirt and change into your other clothes. Find a brush for your hair, too.”

“Can I take my soldiers?”

“Yes.” Analisa nodded, watching Caleb’s reaction to the news of the boy’s sudden departure. Lifting his coffee, he met her eyes over the rim of the cup and sent her another secret smile.

“Bring your skates, too, Kase, and we will try the pond near the edge of town,” Jon added as he went outside to hitch his horse to the rig.

Finally, they were ready to go, Jon and Sophie standing just inside the doorway, wrapped in their heavy coats, Kase bundled between them. Analisa bent to kiss her son good-bye.