The Texan's Reward (15 page)

preacher sort of came along. I figured he’d be on his way after supper, but it appears he plans to stay awhile.”

“The preacher can take care of himself, and he’s welcome to stay in the barn, but what are we going to do with

the girl?”

“I’m glad you said ‘we,’ because I’m out of ideas.”

Nel poked him in the ribs. “Your only idea was to bring her here. Not much of an idea. What was plan B, leave

her in the woods for the bears?”

“No, I like bears too much for that. Though, come to think of it, she does appear to be eating enough to

hibernate for a spel .” He watched Nel laugh, then added, “I thought as soon as it settles down here, I’d send

out a notice. Some sheriff somewhere is bound to notice one little round pregnant girl missing. Then I’m going

after the father of her baby and beat him until he comes to his senses and marries her.”

“Maybe she’s better off without him.” Wednesday refused even to tel Nel her last name, much less anything

about the father of her child. “He sounds more boy than man.”

“Wel , from what I’ve heard of her parents, she’s not going back to them. Any father who’d leave his child out in

the middle of nowhere isn’t much of a parent. She’s better off without them.”

“I agree, but she’s too young to work and support herself, much less a baby.”

Jacob fell silent for a while, then said in a low, serious tone. “Well, then I’ll have to take her back to the stump

where I found her.”

She poked him again. “You’l do no such thing. She can stay here, at least until her parents realize they made a

mistake and take her back.”

“I’ve got to find them first,” he mumbled. “It could take a while.”

“I’ll manage.”

He closed his arms around her gently. “I had a feeling we’d figure out something. I’m glad we had time to talk it

out.”

“That’s not what I need to talk to you about, either.” She could get used to him being so close. Nel had a feeling

she’d never outgrow her need to be near him.

“All right, we got all night.” He brushed his arms over hers, warming away the chill with his touch. “We may not

get any sleep, but holding you like this, at least I know you’re safe.”

She took a long breath and twisted slightly so she could see his face. Her ranger was a handsome man, even with

a shadow of stubble along his jaw and his hair looking like it hadn’t seen a comb al day. “Why’d you kiss me?” It

hadn’t been the first question she’d planned to ask. There were so many more, so much to say. But somehow, it

tumbled out first.

His brows wrinkled together. “Why do you think I kissed you?”

“To irritate me,” she fired. “Because you feel sorry for me. Or maybe you haven’t kissed a woman in a long time

and I was available. Maybe you thought Harrison was watching.”

Laughing, he asked, “Do I get to answer, or just pick one?”

She waited, her head high, her gaze staring blindly at the flickering lights from town. What did it matter which

one he picked? Al would hurt her pride.

“All right.” He sounded angry. “I could care less if Harrison, or the whole town for that matter, watched. I’ve

kissed a few women in my time, but not one because a clock was keeping time. I wasn’t even thinking about

feeling sorry for you. And I never heard of a man kissing a woman to irritate her.”

“Answer my question.”

“I wanted to kiss you, Nell. Hell, you’re a beautiful woman when you’re not yelling at me. Can’t a man want to

kiss a beautiful woman without having to give an explanation why?” He leaned back, allowing air between them.

After a minute, he added, “All right, that’s a lie. You’re a beautiful woman even when you are madder than the

devil at me. I’ve been noticing that fact for a while.”

“I want the truth. Stop stal ing.”

Jacob moved close to her once more. “I didn’t want you to forget that I asked for you. I know I’m older than you,

and you probably think of me as your big brother, but I don’t think of you that way. Not anymore.”

“Since when?”

“Since I kissed you.” He laughed. “I thought I’d wake you up to a few facts, but it seems to have backfired. I was

a little unprepared for how good it felt. Shocked me.”

His confession surprised her. “Didn’t you like kissing me?”

“I haven’t thought of much else since. I liked it. Didn’t you?”

Nel shrugged. “I’m not sure. It happened a little fast to form an opinion. I haven’t had much practice grading

kisses. I’m not even sure I’ll know when a good kisser comes along. Not that it matters. The man I marry will

agree that we wil be wed in name only.”

Jacob swore.

She turned a little more toward him, her knees bumping against his leg. “Jacob?”

“What?” He looked at her then. Even in the shadows, she felt his angry gaze on her.

“Could we try it again?”

“I don’t know,” he said without conviction. “Don’t see much point if it’s a skil you plan to abandon shortly.” He

leaned closer until she felt his words caress her face. “Why would you want to even bother?”

Nell closed her eyes, waiting . . . knowing that he’d grant her request.

The kiss came far softer than she’d ever thought a kiss could be. Feather light against her mouth, then drifting

along her cheek, light as a wisp of hair.

“I don’t want this one to be too short for you to form an opinion.” His words brushed her ear a moment before

his lips drifted down her throat.

He tortured her with gentle pleasure, and she memorized each sensation running through her body. This

memory would have to last her a lifetime.

His whiskers tickled along her jaw as he moved once more to her mouth. This time, the kiss pressed against her

lips as his arms circled round her, holding her as if she were a treasure.

“Kiss me back.” His request blended between them as she opened her mouth, welcoming the taste of him.

“Stop bossing me around,” she whispered against his mouth, then kissed him ful y.

“You got it,” he finally managed to answer.

His finger slid into her hair and tumbled the pins free. His kisses came warm and inviting, a hypnotic pleasure

she’d never expected.

Final y, he pul ed back just enough for her to feel the cool air between them. She fought for a moment to keep

her balance, not from fear of falling off the bench but from fear of falling in love with the man who lived inside

the ranger.

“Now, maybe you’l remember being kissed.” He rubbed his cheek against her hair. “Did I tel you I love the way

your hair smells?”

“Yes.”

He brushed his lips against her ear, tickling it with his breath.

“I’m still not going to consider marrying you, Jacob Dalton.”

“Yeah, I know.” He moved slowly across her cheek. “But you at least are starting to see that there’s a man

behind the badge.”

She didn’t comment that for her there had always been a man behind the badge. She turned her face so that her

lips were only an inch from his and waited for another kiss.

This time his mouth was familiar against hers. In the short time they’d been at the windmill he’d learned what

she liked, how she liked to be kissed. Or maybe she’d simply realized that any way he kissed her was just fine.

“Again,” she whispered when he pul ed away.

He leaned forward, his words mixing with his kiss. “Stop bossing me around.”

Then she forgot what they were talking about as she drifted in pure pleasure.

“We’d better go in,” he finally whispered. “It’s getting cold.”

“I don’t feel cold.” She took a breath, trying to steady herself.

“Neither do I,” he mumbled. “Al the more reason to go in.”

He lifted her but didn’t move toward the path. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his

shoulder. There were a hundred more things they needed to talk about, but she didn’t want to spoil the

evening. He might not know it, but he’d given her a gift as rare as diamonds tonight.

He’d treated her like a woman.

THE HOUSE WAS QUIET WHEN JACOB CARRIED NELL inside. Someone had put out al but one light, and the

fireplace glowed more with embers than a fire. Jacob, as he always did, took in his surroundings with a glance.

The one thing he’d learned to hate as a lawman was surprise, but as earlier, everything seemed in place.

Rand Harrison’s night of guard duty was over. The bookkeeper had probably moved his belongings to the loft.

Now that Jacob was back, everyone understood al men would sleep in the barn. The preacher, if he planned to

return, hadn’t done so yet. They would have heard his buggy rattling from town. Jacob couldn’t help but wonder

if he was saving lost souls or joining them.

“Where is everyone?” he whispered, enjoying a few more minutes alone with Nel . “I figured someone would

stil be up.”

“I’m sure Gypsy’s snoring away. She complains about life being hard now she has to be up before noon,” Nel

whispered back as if they might be caught if they woke anyone. “Marla and Wednesday must be upstairs. I told

Marla to put the girl’s room at the end of the hall where it’s quiet. The child looked so tired she slept halfway

through supper.” Nel ’s words brushed against his ear. “Marla said she’d sleep across from me until the next

nurse arrives tomorrow.”

“When’s Dr. McClellan planning to come?”

“I got a note from Theda saying they would try to be here by the end of the week. They’ve been in Houston

learning new procedures to use during surgery.”

Jacob fought the urge to hold Nel tighter. “He’s not thinking of operating on you, is he?”

“No. It’s stil too dangerous. But they wil stop by on their way home. It’l be good to see them again. Did you

know they married two months ago?”

Jacob laughed. “I’m not surprised. She’s a good nurse, and he’s the best doctor around.”

“I agree. At first I was worried because the doctor in town didn’t have time to check on me, but now I’m glad.

Dr. McClellan is worth waiting for.”

“You think a lot of him.”

“I trust him.”

Jacob moved as silently as he could up the stairs. He was in no hurry to leave Nel . If she’d ask him, he’d hold her

like this al night. He just thought he’d had trouble forgetting the kiss from a few days ago. It’d take the rest of

his life to forget the way she’d kissed him tonight. If she’d been any other woman . . . he corrected himself. Nell

wasn’t any other woman. No matter what his body told him he’d like to do with her, he never would.

He’d spent his life learning to be tough. He could stay in the saddle from dawn to dusk. He’d fight the weather

and hunger if he had to. He’d even learned to work through pain and do his job. But none of that mattered right

now. Because for the first time in his life, he had to figure out how to be gentle with Nell.

Hel , he thought, half the time when he touched her he was more worried about breaking her than helping her.

The doctor and his bride might be right for one another, but in some ways Jacob and Nel couldn’t be more

wrong. He wouldn’t even know how to begin to love her.

“The house is filling up.” Nell’s cheek brushed his jaw as she laughed, having no idea how her nearness tortured

him.

He grinned, knowing she loved this little game she played of whispering.

“Before long it will be as crowded as it was in the old days.”

“Half as crowded,” Jacob corrected. “Only one to a bed.”

They crossed the landing, and he tapped the door open with his boot. He was smiling at her and for a moment

didn’t see Marla sitting on Nell’s bed crying. The thin woman looked like a willow rocking back and forth in

sorrow.

Nell recovered first. “What is it, Marla? Has something happened?”

The cook seemed to curl into a ball. Even her tears fell silently.

Jacob lowered Nell to her chair, then moved to Marla’s side. “What’s wrong?” He wasn’t sure why he waited for

an answer. The woman had never said a word to him. In fact, he’d asked the sheriff more than once if she ever

talked to anyone except Nell. From what he’d seen, she had nothing much to say to even old Gypsy.

Nel ’s hand touched his arm, and he moved back a few feet, knowing they’d get no answers with him so near.

“Please,” Nell whispered as she rolled her chair parallel with Marla. “Take your time, but tel me what has you so

upset.”

Marla wiped her tears.

Nell patted the cook’s hand gently as she added, “Now take a deep breath, Marla, and tell me what’s

happened.”

The frightened cook raised her head. “You’ve got to see it,” she whispered.

Nel nodded. “Al right. Show me.”

The cook crossed to the door and motioned for Nel to fol ow. They moved silently down the hal way, with Jacob

staying several steps behind. It wasn’t easy, but he tried his best to make six feet and two hundred pounds of

muscle disappear.

He barely heard Marla say, “I doctored her the best I could. She wouldn’t let me tell anyone, but she fell asleep,

so I thought you should see.”

Marla pushed open the door to what had to be Wednesday’s room at the end of the hal .

Jacob heard Nell’s soft cry a moment before he reached the opening and saw for himself.

Wednesday lay on her side with her back to the light, looking almost like a child in the big bed. The covers were

turned down and her back exposed to the lamp’s low glow.

Jacob gulped down an oath and took a step closer, wishing he could turn away. Welts crossed back and forth

along her white skin. Big, bloody welts an inch wide.

He grabbed the doorframe to keep from slamming his fist into the wall. He’d grumbled about her complaining all