Touch the Heavens (18 page)

After a huge breakfast of sausage, eggs, homemade bread and the rolls, Chris felt like she was ready to burst at the seams. The atmosphere of the cozy ranch was warm, relaxing and happy. Melvina sat ensconced between them on the old tattered couch that was covered with a hand-knit afghan of various shades of green and blue. She patted Chris’s knee.

“You know Dan is like a son to us? When Terry, our own son, died in a tractor accident at age seven, Dan was a godsend.” Melvina’s eyes got damp again as she cast a look over at Dan. “And he was such a good boy. I suppose you met Vanessa and her nest of cronies?”

Chris swallowed hard, surprised at Melvina’s sudden change in voice. “Why—uh, yes, I did meet her,” she said, hesitantly.

“You should have seen Dan when they dumped him on our front porch. Vanessa was young, foolish and didn’t want nothin’ to do with raising a child. Dan was only seven then. She was crying that the world was waiting for her and she couldn’t stay home to play mother.” Melvina snorted vehemently. “Best thing she did was give us Dan! Some people were never created to be parents, and Vanessa and Preston are two of them.”

10

N
EAR TEN IN
the morning Dan persuaded Melvina to free them for a ride. Capturing Chris’s hand, he walked toward the huge horse barn that sat north of the ranch house. Everywhere Chris looked there were large corralled paddocks with either cattle or horses in them. She smiled winsomely up at Dan as he led her into the shade of the horse barn. “I love your aunt and uncle. I can see why you think so much of them.”

“Howard and Melvina are my real family, Chris,” he answered, sliding open the first door of the box stall on the right. “They’re kind of taken with you, too,” he said, leading out a small gray mare.

“The feeling’s mutual. This might sound like wishful thinking, but they almost fit what I had wanted in imaginary parents.” She cast him a shy look. “Sounds stupid, doesn’t it? Even at my age I have a set of make-believe parents in my head.”

Dan put the mare in the crossties, coming over and placing his arms around her. “It doesn’t sound crazy at all, honey. I’ve tried to imagine what my world would be like without any family.” A pained expression crossed his face. “I think I’d feel awfully empty inside and very much alone.” He caressed her face with his hands. “That’s why I’ve tried to make the effort to be here for you. You deserve it. You’re a special lady.”

Chris leaned up, kissing him soundly, glorying in the pressure of his mouth on her lips. She relished the hardness of his body on the softness of hers, his hands sliding down the expanse of her back, coming to rest on her hips. He drew her daringly against him, making her aware of his arousal. “Mmm, you are too tempting, Dan McCord,” she whispered against his mouth. “Let me go before I melt into your arms.”

He uttered a low growl, planting a hungry kiss on her full, wet lips. “You won’t be safe here,” he whispered seductively. “Even though there are two guest bedrooms here at the ranch, I’m not sleeping in the other room tonight.”

Chris gave him an intent look. “Will your aunt and uncle understand?”

“Yes. I don’t come home with young ladies very often. So they know you’re somebody special to me. They may look old-fashioned and are in some ways, but they taught me to make my own decisions and abide by them.”

Chris gazed up at him. “Even in this short time I can see their influence on how you make decisions and the way you think.”

Dan released her, going to the tack room and retrieving a saddle, blanket and bridle for the mare. “They helped me become what I am,” he admitted, throwing the blanket on the horse.

Chris leaned up against the stall, watching him. He looked so at home there. If she hadn’t known he was an Air Force officer, she would have thought he was a Texas rancher. That particular occupation did suit him, she thought. “Didn’t you ever go back home to Vanessa after she left you here?” she asked.

Dan cinched up the saddle. “I’d visit my parents a couple of weeks every summer. The rest of the time I lived here.”

“Have you ever thought of taking up ranching, Dan?”

He released the horse from the crossties, putting the bridle over the mare’s head. “Sometimes.” And then he gave her a wicked grin. “When things get murky in the rank and file of the Air Force, I often think I should have been a cowboy instead. But after the politics clear up, I always find my desire to sit in the cockpit of a jet fighter stronger than to throw my leg over a horse.”

She smiled thoughtfully. “Maybe later when they ground you to flying a desk instead of a plane you’ll get out.”

Dan handed her the reins, going down to the next box stall and leading out a large black gelding. “That’s crossed my mind,” he admitted. “I don’t think I want to be a desk jockey the last five or ten years of my career. But that’s going to be a tough decision.”

Within minutes, the gelding, known as Blackjack, was saddled and they were trotting out toward lush green pastures dotted with white Charlois cattle. The sun beat down hotly; the temperature was already in the high eighties. The sky was a light blue; the same color as Dan’s laughing eyes as he watched her try to post in the Western saddle. Finally giving in, Chris pulled her gray mare to a walk. She marveled at Dan’s natural grace in the saddle, but then reminded herself he had almost been born to one, having ridden from age seven until he was eighteen years old.

Several cowboys raised their hand in greeting as they passed them. Most of them were older men who slouched comfortably in their saddles, their weather-beaten features rough-hewed from a combination of sun, wind and rain. Dan rode at her side for almost an hour, telling Chris the layout of the huge working ranch. They neared a small stream and a grove of cottonwoods, dismounting and giving their charges a well-earned drink of water.

Dan hobbled both horses. Removing their bridles and putting them over the saddle horn allowed the horses to munch on the grass. Then Dan led Chris over to a stout cottonwood, pulling her down so that she rested in his lap. He touched her nose with his finger.

“You’re getting sunburned, Raven. I should have thought to pick up some hats before we left.”

“Somehow, I don’t see myself in anything but a camouflaged helmet, visor and oxygen mask.”

“No cowboy hat?” he inquired, his blue eyes dancing with merriment.

Chris shook her head. “The way my legs feel right now all I want is my bird and the straps of my ejection seat harness biting into my shoulders,” she said, laughing.

“I have to remember you’re a city girl at heart,” he murmured, kissing her cheek.

“And you’re a country boy at heart.”

“Think that makes us opposites, huh?”

She closed her eyes, relishing his maleness. “We don’t have many differences, really.”

Dan nodded. “That’s true,” he conceded. The silence lulled them into the quiet of noontime. A noisy crow cawed raucously in the distance. The lowing of cattle increased the sense of peace in her. Chris was content to lie in Dan’s arms and let her mind wander into bliss.

“Happy?” Dan murmured.

“Mmm, completely. You?”

“Never happier,” he admitted huskily. He ran his fingers down her rib cage, caressing her hip. “You make me happy, Raven. Matter of fact, you touch many people with your warmth.”

She nuzzled against his neck. “Some of the guys at the school think I’m a sourpuss of sorts and others—”

“Think you’re one hell of a woman,” he finished, sitting her up and forcing her to look directly into his intense azure eyes. “You don’t hear the talk that goes on over at the O’Club afterward.”

She smirked. “That’s because I never go over there for a drink after classes.’’

“No one thinks you’re a snob for not doing that. Most of the students think you’re studying your fool head off.”

Grinning, she said, “I am!”

Dan ran his fingers up her jawline, lightly brushing the nape of her neck. “Last night,” he whispered huskily, looking levelly into her eyes, “I said something to you, Chris. Something that I’ve been wanting to say for quite a while.”

She sobered immediately, aware of the tremor in his voice. “I know....”

His grip tightened on her shoulder, his face mirroring the intensity of his emotions toward her. “I love you, my sweet Raven. Like I’ve never loved another woman before.” His eyes softened as he gazed at her. “Since the first day I met you on that aircraft ramp, you reached inside me. You made me feel things that I’ve never experienced. You’re a dream come true for me.”

She lowered her lashes, her heart pounding wildly in her breast. “I never believed in dreams, Dan.” She swallowed hard, meeting his tender gaze. “Not until you walked into my life.” She gave a helpless shrug, tears suddenly filling her eyes. “I’ll have to admit, I tried to ignore you. I—after Jim’s death, I just felt too hurt to open up again. But there you were—you made me laugh, you held me during some of the worst moments of my life and you accepted me as I was. You didn’t want to change me or mold me into something else.”

Dan caressed her cheek, cupping her chin. “Honey, I wouldn’t change anything in you except about how you feel about yourself,” he promised thickly. “If only you could see what you’ve accomplished.”

Her lips parted in response as she heard the words fall like a loving hand upon her heart. “You’ve helped me realize some of it, darling,” she murmured. “And really, I love being with you. Not just in a jet, but anywhere.”

He grinned. “Even in a cowboy hat?”

Chris laughed softly. “Yes, even in a cowboy hat.”

Dan pulled a small box from his left shirt pocket. “This is for you, Raven. Open it,” he urged quietly, placing it in her hand.

Her heart stilled as she stared down at the small red-velvet case. Her fingers trembled as she began to open it.

“Because we’re both in the Air Force and we can’t wear engagement or wedding rings during flight, I wanted to give you something that you could wear regardless,” he said, watching her expression closely.

The latch was sprung and Chris lifted the lid. A small gasp escaped from her lips. Inside, with a gold clasp and chain, was a carefully crafted violet gem in the shape of a heart. Dan picked it up, fastening it around her neck.

“It’s amethyst,” he explained, watching how the precious gem settled at the hollow of her lovely throat. “The color of your eyes, Raven.” He slowly looked up at her. “Eyes that I could lose myself in forever. I see every emotion in there, did you know that?”

She was speechless, overwhelmed with Dan’s generosity and his outpouring of love. Touching the stone carefully, she choked back a sob. “I—no one has ever given me anything so lovely, Dan....”

He pulled her into his arms, embracing her fiercely. “I’m going to shower you with gifts,” he promised fervently. “God knows, you deserve some happiness after the hell you’ve gone through.”

“But I don’t need things,” she protested softly, unable to stem the tide of tears. Chris buried her head in his chest. “I just need you, Dan....”

He rocked her, smiling tenderly. “I know,” he whispered thickly, “that’s why I love you so much. You value people, not material possessions, not money. And more than that, I love your unquenchable spirit, do you know that?” Placing his mouth against her trembling lips, he shared the salt of her tears. It was a kiss sealing eternity. Dan put as much of his soul into that breathtaking molding of his lips against hers as possible. He heard her moan, feeling the hardening of her taut breasts against the wall of his chest as he deepened the exploration of his tongue into her sweet depths. Slowly he withdrew, his eyes burning fiercely with cobalt desire as he looked down at her. “I love you,” he whispered rawly, “and I’m asking you to be my wife. I can’t conceive of life without you, honey. I never knew what living was until I met you.”

Her violet eyes sparkled with the wash of tears, her cheeks wet and flushed. “There is no life without you, Dan,” she murmured throatily. “I can only answer yes. I love you so much that it hurts,” she said, touching the area where her heart lay.

Dan groaned, pressing Chris against him, holding her so tightly that he was afraid he might crush her. “You’re mine,” he breathed fiercely. “Always mine and I’ll love you forever....”

Chris climbed into the front of the cockpit seat of the F-4. Once settled in, she took her helmet, which was sitting behind the windshield frame, and gently pushed it on her head. She tried to ignore the fact that Captain Brodie was climbing in the rear seat. Where had the past weekend gone? She hadn’t wanted to come back to TPS after spending time at the McCord ranch. Howard and Melvina had been good tonic for both Dan and herself. At last she had a family, people who loved her openly and with a lavish show of affection. Melvina was a toucher; someone who knew the value of making hand contact with Chris. And Howard doted upon her as if she were the daughter they had never had.

Chris’s eyes shadowed briefly, remembering Melvina telling her of their second child, a daughter, who had died at birth. Even now, although it had occurred thirty years ago, Chris could hear the loss in Melvina’s suddenly husky voice. And Chris had reached over out of genuine compassion, trying to console Melvina. That one touch had brought all of them together. The sense of family from that moment on had drawn Chris into their hearts, and they had bestowed love in return to her lonely heart.

Automatically her gloved fingers went to her throat where the amethyst necklace rested beneath her flight suit. It was a symbol of Dan’s undying love for her. And how many times had she touched that beautiful gem, awed by its fiery facets glimmering with hues ranging from pale lavender to almost a crimson color? Was it true? Did her eyes truly reveal all her changeable moods as Dan had said?

Her body was still vibrantly warm from their lovemaking the night before. But now, the harshness of reality, of her other world, was demanding all her attention and skills. It was 0900, and many of the students and instructors were already up and flying. Chris looked to her left, watching as Dan and Rondo clambered aboard the F-4 next to them on the ramp. She raised her hand as Dan glanced in her direction. Her heart lifted as he returned the greeting.