The Widower's Wife (11 page)

Dalton pulled his shirt from his back pocket and slipped his arms back in the sleeves, but neglected to button it back up. Then, instead of going back to work, he got up and walked determinedly toward the house.

Jillian was startled when the door to the house flew open. The children were spending the day at Auntie Betty’s, and Jillian was taking advantage of the time to get ahead on her cooking for the Independence Day picnic on Saturday. Dalton had left early that morning to work in the fields, and she hadn’t seen him yet today. Now, he stood in the doorway.

“Dalton, you scared me! I didn’t expect you until later this afternoon.”

Her eyes fell to his shirt. It hung open, and she could see the well-formed muscles of his chest and abdomen. The sight caused her heart rate to increase dramatically. She had never seen a man’s bare chest before, and she was surprised at her reaction. He didn’t make a move to enter the house. Instead, he just stood there in the open doorway, watching her.

“Are you hungry?” Jillian asked nervously. “I can get you something to eat if you’d like, or—” Jillian stopped talking as he took a step forward and then paused. She quickly wiped her hands on her apron and covered the piecrust she was working on with a cloth.

As Dalton began walking toward her again, the look in his eyes caused her heart to beat even faster. He tossed his hat on the table as he walked by it and came to stop directly before her. Jillian couldn’t think. Had she done something wrong? He didn’t appear to be angry. The look he wore was more one of resolve.

Slowly, he lifted his hand to her face and with his thumb, began to trace the outline of her lips. By now her heart was racing, and she didn’t dare speak. She held her breath as he slowly slid his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her forward gently, as his head descended toward hers. He paused just before their lips met, to look at her. Unconsciously, her mouth began to water. Their lips were just inches apart and instinctively she closed her eyes. It was then she felt his lips, soft and gentle, caressing hers.

Slowly their kiss increased in intensity. It was almost as if he were searching for something, an answer to an unspoken question. Finally, she felt his hands come around to her back. Jillian’s whole body began to tingle violently as he pulled her firmly to him. Her senses seemed to come alive, and she felt herself responding to his kiss, returning it with fervor. As her body took even more control, she laid her hands flat against his bare chest, and then slid them up and around his neck, entwining her fingers in the softness of his hair.

This only seemed to fuel the intensity of his kiss, and she felt herself being drawn even closer to him. Never had she imagined she could ever feel this way. Never had a man had so much power over her emotions. Then, abruptly, he broke the seal of their lips and leaned his head against the side of her face. At first his breathing was hard and fast, and she could feel his chest rise and fall, but slowly as his heart rate decreased, his breath against her skin became warm and hushed, almost like a whisper.

Dalton leaned back and looked into her eyes again, searchingly. She did not look away. Neither of them said anything as he continued to look at her. She felt her eyes being drawn to his mouth and impulsively, she licked her lips.

To Jillian’s delight, in the next moment, he pulled her even closer than he had before, crushing her to him once again, his lips finding hers with a passion they had not held before. She thought the kiss would never end, but feared it would at the same time. Then, with as much urgency as this last kiss had begun, it ended. Dalton released her, walked to the table, grabbed his hat, and went out the door, shutting it firmly behind him.

Jillian struggled to catch her breath.
What just happened?
Her thoughts spun around in her head, and she questioned whether that kiss had been real. But as she closed her eyes, she could still feel the tingle of his lips upon her own. She felt the tender skin around her mouth where his stubble had chaffed her face, and she still had goose pimples on her flesh where his arms had been around her. She didn’t know what to think. She knew her feelings for Dalton had been steadily growing. She’d tried to fight them, but the way he was with his children was so endearing to her, and the immense love they had for him spoke to her heart as well.

Slowly, with each passing day, her former wounds were beginning to heal, and her heart was both softening and turning toward the man she married. Was it possible that she could be falling in love? It wasn’t long ago that she swore she would never open her heart to a man again and leave it vulnerable to the pain it had endured once before.

Jillian turned back to her work and began rolling the piecrust again. What possessed Dalton to storm in and kiss her the way he had? He had been kind and courteous since her arrival, but she also suspected he spent a fair amount of time away from the house avoiding her. Dalton was still sorely mourning his first wife. He tried to hide it, but she noticed his sorrow more often than she would have liked. She remembered the other night when Dalton had come in from working in the cornfields.

Jillian was putting the finishing touches on supper when she thought she heard Dalton humming a little tune as he walked through the door. Turning to smile at him, expecting him to be in a good mood, she was taken aback by his expression. He just stood there, unmoving, with a look of shock and pain on his face. She turned away quickly, realizing that something reminded him of Laurellyn, presumably something she’d done. It pained her to see him still suffering so much, and she felt guilty when she was the instigator of his pain. Then, like a breath from heaven, little Lisa came to the rescue with her whimsical ways and changed his mood back around.

As Jillian tried to recall one of Aunt Betty’s recipes for pie filling, her thoughts turned to Jenny, who was slowly coming to accept her, or at the very least she was coming to accept the idea that Jillian wasn’t going away. It would still take time, but at least now there was a hope lingering in Jillian’s heart that Jenny would one day come to love her as much as she loved the child. There were still battles, but in their wake, she noticed small victories. Even between Dalton and Jenny there were some ups and downs, but all in all, the overall feeling in the home was one of love and acceptance. Despite the little upsets, a comfortable peace had begun to settle.

Jillian was startled when she heard a wagon coming up to the house. Apparently she’d been lost in her thoughts for quite a while. The children must be home already.

“Ma!” Lisa hollered, as the wagon came to a stop. “Ma, we’re home.” Uncle Ned had to hurry and hop down to grab her before she attempted to jump out of the wagon herself. Immediately when he set her down, she ran up to Jillian and hugged her. “We had so much fun!” Lisa exclaimed. “Auntie Bet’s cat Sable had her litter of kittens two days ago. They’re so soft, but really tiny. Uncle Ned says we can’t hold ’em yet, only pet ’em nicely on their backs. Their eyes are still closed, but Uncle Ned says they’ll open in a few days. I counted five kittens, all by myself. Brenn kept trying to get ’em, but he can’t hold ’em until they’re lots bigger. He might squeeze ’em and hurt ’em ’cause he don’t know no better. Uncle Ned says Jenny and me—”

“Jenny and I,” Jillian corrected with a smile.

“He says Jenny and I can hold them in about a week as long as we’re real careful. Oh, Ma, they are so sweet. You need to come next time so you can see ’em,” Lisa rushed on.

“You’re right, I must. It’s about time I paid your Auntie Bet another visit anyway.” By now Uncle Ned had taken Brenn from Jenny and put him down so he could toddle over to Jillian. She bent down and scooped him up. He put his chubby little arms around her neck and laid his head down on her shoulder. “You must have had a big day too,” Jillian cooed at him and then smiled up at Jenny. “It’s good to see you home, Jenny. I need to put some finishing touches on some of the pies I’ve made for Saturday and was hoping you could help.” Jillian thought she saw a spark light up in the girl’s eyes, but Jenny quickly hid it and mumbled that she needed to get her chores done. She wandered off to water the chickens. Jillian looked over at Ned. Despite Jenny’s reaction, his smile was encouraging.

“She’ll come around, darlin’. She’s just stubborn,” he said as they both watched her walk away. “Has Dalton come in from the fields yet? I need to run somethin’ by him.” Jillian felt a blush start to rise, but quickly tried to hide it by looking Brenn over and pretending to brush some imaginary dirt off him.

“He came in about an hour or so ago, then left again. Didn’t say where he was off to.” She chanced a look at Uncle Ned, and it appeared as though he was trying to suppress a grin.

“Well then, maybe he’s out in the barn. I’ll go have a look-see.” He turned to go.

“Make sure to thank Aunt Betty for me for watching the children today. I was able to get more done than I had planned.” She paused then added, “Before you go, I’d like to send a pie home for you to sample. I’ll bring it out to the wagon while you go look for Dalton.” Before he walked too far away, she called after him, “If you see him, tell him supper is about ready.” He didn’t turn again, just lifted his hand and gave it a wave.

Jillian thought she’d heard him chuckling to himself. Shaking her head, she wondered what he found so humorous, and then turned and headed back into the house.

Uncle Ned couldn’t suppress the grin any longer, and a small laugh even escaped his lips. Oh, he’d be sure to tell the missus alright, tell her that their plan had worked. They had figured if they’d give those to young’uns some time alone to themselves—well, nature would take its course.

When he saw the blush come to her cheeks at the mention of Dalton’s name, he knew somethin’ more than just cookin’ and farmin’ had gone on here today. Betty would be pleased. It was about time those two started acting more like married folk. Dalton was as stubborn as a mule and as blind as a bat if he couldn’t see and take the prize he’d been given. Pausing for a moment outside the barn, he quickly wiped the grin off his face, just in case the boy was in the barn after all. He pushed opened the door.

Dalton looked up when he heard the barn door open. He’d been sitting there for quite a while. He couldn’t get the thought of Jillian out of his head. The way she had felt in his arms, the softness of her skin, and the scent of her hair. But most of all, the way her lips had been eager to return his kiss. He hadn’t expected that or the effect it had on him.

When he had first headed in from the fields, he’d convinced himself that if he just kissed her once, it might help to clear his head. Maybe then things would go back to normal. He told himself that when he did kiss her, it would be different—it would feel different than the kisses he had shared with Laurellyn.

He had been right—it was different—but not different like he’d imagined it would be. Instead of clearing his head, when his lips met hers and he felt her lips soften beneath his as she returned the kiss, a fire ignited within him. A passion far greater than he had ever felt before began to consume him. It had caused him to tear his lips away from her, but he couldn’t release her entirely. Instead, he laid the side of his head to hers and waited until he could rein in his emotions. When at last he felt his control returning, he leaned back to look into her eyes. What was she thinking? Did she feel a similar pull toward him? Was she also trying to resist it? Then she moistened her lips, and at once his sense of control was lost as he pulled her body flush with his and his lips found her in a driven kiss that threatened to challenge his restraint. She was, after all, his legal and lawful wife. Instantly, guilt washed over him at the thought, and he released her.

“Dalton, boy, are you in here?” Dalton heard Uncle Ned’s voice breaking into his thoughts. He must have brought the children home. Dalton stood up and headed toward the barn door.

“I’m here, Uncle Ned,” Dalton replied as he stepped into the light cast from the open door.

“What are ya doin’ out here, sittin’ all alone in the dark, boy?” Uncle Ned asked.

“Just doin’ a bit of thinking, I reckon the barn’s as good a place as any, wouldn’t you agree?”

Uncle Ned was always teasing him about what a catch Jillian was and that Dalton was a lucky man if ever he knew one. Once he mentioned that Old Man Evanston on the other side of Willow Springs had ordered himself a mail-order bride last fall, and he wasn’t nearly as lucky.

“Well, I suppose every man needs to be doin’ a little thinkin’ now and then,” Uncle Ned replied, but he hadn’t missed the look of embarrassment that had crossed the man’s face. To tease him a little, he added, “Anything I can help you out with? You know, I’m pretty good with advice about all sorts of things like farmin’, horses . . . women.”

“No.” Dalton gave his uncle an exasperated look. “I’m fine, but thank you just the same.” He headed out of the barn with Uncle Ned on his heels. “Can I do something for you today, Uncle Ned?” he called over his shoulder. He wasn’t going to give Uncle Ned the satisfaction of seeing him squirm.

“Well, I was bringin’ your young’uns back home and thought I’d check on how your crop was comin’ along.”

“Can’t complain, I guess. It looks like it’s going to be a good crop this year.” He turned to look at Uncle Ned, now that the focus of conversation had changed. “Good thing too. I can use the extra money it will bring. I’m going to need a few things come next planting season, including a new horse. Old Decker just doesn’t have much in him anymore, and Riley can’t do the work alone.” Looking up at the hot and low afternoon sun, he added, “Wish we’d get a little more rain, though. If it stays dry like this too much longer, I might be in a bit of trouble. How’s everything with your crop?”

“Oh, it’s about the same, I suppose. You’re right about needin’ rain, though.” He added, “But not too much at one time or we might have other problems we don’t want.” Dalton nodded his head in agreement. “Well, I best be headin’ on home, I suppose. I’m sure my Betty is pretty anxious for me to get back.” He climbed up into his wagon and smiled to himself.
She’ll be wantin’ a report if anything positive has happened over here
. “Oh, by the way, your little darlin’ in there asked me to tell you that your supper is about ready. She’s as sweet as honey, that one. I wouldn’t be hidin’ out in no barn iffin’ I had that pretty little thing in my house.” He gave Dalton a knowing wink and started the wagon out.

“I told you, Uncle Ned, I was thinking, not hiding out.” Dalton hollered after him.

Uncle Ned just laughed and kept on going. Dalton shook his head and headed up to the house.

The next evening, Dalton sat contemplating his family. Jillian read from the book of fairy tales she brought with her, something about a girl and a glass slipper. Jenny pretended not to listen as Jillian animatedly told the story, but Dalton suspected she was hanging on every word. Brenn fell asleep on her shoulder, and before long, Lisa did the same, but Jillian kept reading out loud, for Jenny’s sake, Dalton was certain.

When the story was finished, Jillian laid the book out on her lap and closed her eyes to rest them, no doubt worn out from her day of hard work. Her breathing soon became soft and rhythmic and he knew that she had fallen asleep as well. Jenny quietly slipped out and went to bed. Dalton just sat watching, thinking, mesmerized by the scene before him, not wanting to disturb the serenity of it.