Westward Holiday (14 page)

              She sat at a table with Jack and laughed at something the young deputy said.

              Sammi sighed.  “Yeah.  She has a crush on him.  I don’t know what to do about it.  I don’t want her to get hurt.”

              “Well, for today just let her have fun,” Jake said.

              “Oh, Lord.  He’s gonna ask her to dance,” Sammi said.

              Jack had risen from his chair and held out his hand to Rachel.  She shook her head but Jack coaxed her and she accepted his offer while she blushed furiously. 

              “Look at Mitch,” Sammi said to Jake.

              The sheriff had been talking with Gus, but as soon as he saw Rachel on the dance floor with Jack had moved a little closer and was watching them like a hawk.

              Jack and Sammi laughed quietly as Mitch’s face settled into a grim expression.  “You’d think he’d be happy that she was dancing with Jack instead of some other guy.  Jack’s about the most standup young guy I know,” Sammi said.  “I’d better go distract him before he cuts in on them or something.”

              Jake looked for his wife and saw her dancing with his father.  He smiled as he watched them together.  Calvin said something to his daughter-in-law and she threw her head back and laughed.  He could only imagine what his father had told her.  Lacey suddenly took him by the hand and he was happy to dance with his friend.

              “Marriage looks good on you, Jake,” she told him.

              “Thanks.  You, too.  So when is the next little Dwyer gonna come along?” Jake asked.

              “Soon, I hope.  Joe’s ready, too.  I want a little boy who looks just like him but acts like me,” Lacey said.

              Jake laughed.  “I can understand why.  I hope none of your kids are hell-raisers like Joe used to be.  Of course, if you find the right person, you’ll settle down.  You did that for Joe and he couldn’t be happier.”

              Lacey blushed as she said, “He’s been good for me, too.  I’m certainly not as shy as I used to be.”

              “You’re a special woman, Lacey.  Don’t forget it,” Jake said as the dance ended.

              Jake found his wife and spun her around as the band started playing a fast number.  Rebecca laughed and Jake kissed her. 

              “Did you have a good time with Pa?” Jake asked.

              Rebecca laughed.  “The best.  He was telling me about the time when you split your pants one night tending bar.  He said you were about fourteen at the time.”

              Jake laid his forehead against hers and groaned.  “I was humiliated.  There was this woman there that I was sweet on.  I’d just stooped over to pick up a keg when I heard them rip.  I stood up with it as quick as I could to get it in place, but one of Pa’s old cronies saw the rip and started laughing.  Pretty soon the whole place had heard about it.  For a long time they called me ‘Split’ until I was old enough to punch the last guy that called me that in the mouth.”

              Rebecca smiled.  “I think it’s adorable.”

              “You didn’t have to live down the embarrassment,” Jake said with a chuckle.

              They could have gone to Wolfe Point for their honeymoon, but Rebecca had said if the weather turned they might get trapped there, so they decided to stay home and keep the bar closed for a week. 

              Jake unlocked the apartment door and carried Rebecca across the threshold and stopped in amazement.  He slowly sat Rebecca down and they stared around them.  Flowers festooned almost every surface and streamers were draped across doorways.  In the master bedroom, the linens had been changed to fine silk sheets and a beautiful comforter.  Rose petals were strewn around the floor of the room.

              They found a note on the dining room table that read, “Check the storeroom.”

              Jake ran down and found a bottle of champagne nestled in an ice bucket.  Another note attached to the bottle read, “A little bubbly to start things off right.”  Jake grinned and ran back upstairs.  He was betting that Joe and Sammi were responsible for the decorating and champagne.

              He noticed that Rebecca had lit some candles and that the bedroom door was closed.  So he went to the kitchen and opened the champagne.  As he poured the expensive drink into champagne flutes, he heard the bedroom door open and turned around with the glasses in hand.  When he saw what Rebecca was wearing, Jake almost dropped the glasses.

              The shimmering satin shift with a gathered bodice and daring neckline fit her to perfection and Jake’s blood ran hotter at the sight.  In the candlelight, Rebecca’s eyes were a deep, ocean green and filled with such love that it made Jake’s chest constrict with happiness. 

              He stepped towards her and said, “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you are.”

              Rebecca took the glass he handed her and said, “Thank you.  I think you’re overdressed, Jake.”

              Jake took a drink from his glass, savored the flavor and then sat the glass down.  Rebecca delighted in the intense desire that lit his eyes as he said, “Well, we can’t have that, can we?”

              He shrugged out of his suit coat and draped it over a parlor chair.  Rebecca was impatient as he slowly took off his tie, vest, and shirt.  When his toned torso was revealed, she couldn’t resist the impulse to touch him and went to him.  Jake bent and pressed his lips against hers.  It was a tender kiss, filled with love, and Rebecca melted inside. 

              Tentatively Rebecca ran her hands up his strong arms and felt them close around her.  When she felt Jake’s hand make contact with her bare skin, she gasped against his mouth a little.  Jake pressed her forward until their bodies touched.  Rebecca began to forget her shyness and respond to Jake’s sensual kiss. 

              He backed her through the bedroom door as their embrace became more fervent.  Jake caressed her back and kissed her neck.  Rebecca shivered against him and said, “Please no teasing.  No stopping.”

              Jake looked down into her luminous eyes and said, “No teasing and no stopping.” 

              He picked Rebecca up, laid her down on the bed and followed her down.

              Rebecca woke up the next morning and stretched.  She smiled as she looked around the bedroom she now shared with Jake.  The light outside was a little strange but she didn’t think much of it as she remembered their wedding night.  Jake’s lovemaking had been all he’d promised her a few weeks back; slow and thorough.  She was a well-loved woman emotionally and physically and Rebecca had never felt anything so glorious. 

              She heard something from outside their room and got up to investigate.  She didn’t bother dressing since it was nice and warm in the apartment.  Rebecca heard Jake humming in the kitchen and tiptoed out there.  It felt naughty to parade around naked and she loved it. 

              Rebecca peeked around the doorway and saw him standing by the sink in his underwear.  She made her way slowly towards him, mindful of creaky floorboards.  A couple of times he moved and she thought he was going to turn around, but he didn’t.

              Jake finished filling the coffee pot just as Rebecca’s arms closed around him.  He jumped and almost dropped the pot.  Rebecca laughed and squeezed him tight.

              Jake felt her bare skin press against his and smiled. “You got me, lady.  You scared the crap out of me.”

              “I’ve been taking lessons from Owl,” Rebecca said as she let him go.

              Jake put the coffee on to heat and then turned around.  “I like what you’re wearing,” he said looking down at her nakedness.

              “Do you?” Rebecca asked.  “I like what you’re wearing, too.”

              She caught movement out the window just as Jake slid his arms around her.  “What’s that?”

              Jake asked, “What’s what?”

              She pointed out the window and Jake turned to look.  “Oh, it’s snowing, that’s all.”

              “What?” she shouted.  “Snow?  It’s really snowing?”

              “Yeah,” he said as she struggled out of his grasp.

              She ran to the window and looked out at the flakes that flew by.  “Snow!”  There was already a thin blanket on the ground and it looked like there was going to be a whole lot more before the storm was through.  “It’s incredible!”

              “Yeah, I like snow, too,” Jake said.

              She turned to him and said, “No, you don’t understand, Jake.  I haven’t seen snow in years.  I mean real snow!  I have to see it.”

              She ran past Jake towards the door leading to the outside.  In her excitement, she’d forgotten that she was naked.  Jake caught her and laughed.

              “Rebecca, you have to get dressed first.  Wait until after brunch and then we’ll go out in it,” Jake said.

              Rebecca laughed at her foolishness.  “Oh my goodness!  Thank you for saving me from unimaginable embarrassment, Jake.  Yes. You’re right.  There’s plenty of time.  I’ll go get dressed.” 

              She scampered off and Jake groaned as he watched her disappear into their room.  “Looks like naked brunch ain’t gonna happen.”

              A romp in the snow wasn’t how Jake had pictured spending the day after their wedding, but seeing Rebecca so excited and happy made Jake glad it had snowed.  Rebecca was thankful that she’d bought boots and gloves as they played and kissed behind the bar.  Jake taught her how to make snowballs and they had a battle.  He took it easy on her until she beaned him in the head with one. 

              When they were tired, they decided to go to the Grady House for an early dinner.  There were a few people there that they knew, but they were left alone for the most part.  They enjoyed a leisurely dinner and walked home hand in hand through the snow-hushed town. 

              As they walked, Rebecca looked at her handsome husband in adoration.  In the two and a half months since she’d come to Dawson, Jake had taught her so much.  She’d learned how to appreciate the simple things and that wealth wasn’t always measured in dollars and cents.  Rebecca now had a wonderful circle of friends.  That it included several different men was new to her.  She’d never had platonic male friendships before and it was refreshing and amusing.  Her new girlfriends made her laugh and were always willing to lend an ear or offer her advice when she needed it. 

              She, Seth, and Luke were working on some Christmas music and were planning on having a short Christmas program at the Watering Hole two nights before the holiday.  Her life had become so full in a short time that sometimes she couldn’t believe it.

              When they arrived home, Rebecca played a private performance for Jake.  He always enjoyed watching her perform because she put all of her emotion into her playing.  There was a part of her in every note that spoke to him.  Often her eyes were closed and sometimes a smile crossed her face as she played a section that gave her joy.

              Rebecca finished playing and Jake clapped.  She stood and curtsied, making Jake laugh.  Then she tried to teach him to play a song on the piano and by the time he’d fumbled his way through the song, their stomachs hurt from laughing so hard.

              As they finished, Rebecca got up and said, “Catch me if you can,” and ran from the barroom to the stairs. 

              She made it halfway up them before Jake caught her and gave her demanding kisses.  Rebecca reveled in his passion-filled embrace and pulled his shirt from his pants.  Jake unzipped her dress and picked her up so he could carry Rebecca the rest of the way to the apartment.  Once there, they undressed each other and made it as far as the sofa.

              Their honeymoon week passed swiftly but they made the most of every day.  When the bar reopened, the customers came back in droves and Jake was inundated with business.  Rebecca helped pour drinks and had to wash glasses in between so they had them to use again for new customers. 

Jake figured that what they took in the first three days that they were opened again made up for being closed for a week.  Joe and the gang came back full-force and Jake got out and danced.  He’d missed it and gave Rebecca more dancing lessons. 

              Jake taught Rebecca everything about running the bar.  He said that since they were married now, they would work the place as a team.  Rebecca was thrilled that he now considered her his partner.

              The Sunday after they’d reopened, there was a knock on their outside door to the apartment and when Jake answered the door, a man who resembled Rebecca stood on the landing.

              “Hello.  Can I help you?” Jake asked.

              “Hello.  I’m looking for my sister, Rebecca,” he said.  “I’m her brother, Ben.”

              Rebecca came to the door.  She was shocked to see her brother.  “Benjamin?  Whatever are you doing here?”

              Benjamin smiled and Jake could see the resemblance even more.  “Why I came to see my sister, Rebecca.”

              Jake said, “Come on in, Ben.”

              The two men shook hands as Jake introduced himself.

              “Boy, you two sure look alike,” Jake said.

              Ben smiled and said, “We ought to since we’re twins.”

              Jake looked at Rebecca.  “You never mentioned that.”

              “Didn’t I?  I’m sorry for the oversight.  Yes, we are twins,” she said. 

              Jake noted that Rebecca didn’t seem especially happy to see her brother.

              “Take your coat off, Ben, and make yourself at home.  I’ll put some coffee on,” Jake said.

              “Thank you, sir,” Ben said as he removed his heavy coat.

              Jake said, “It’s a shame that you couldn’t have been here for the wedding.”

              Ben sat on one of the dining room chairs.  “Yes, I’m sorry that I missed your nuptials, Rebecca.”

              “It’s all right,” she said with a small smile as she sat down across from him.

              She was suspicious of Ben’s motives for coming to Dawson.  “How did you find me, Ben?”

              “Well, your friend Simmons gave me your address and so here I am,” Ben said with a smile.

              “Why are you here?  I mean the real reason,” Rebecca asked.

              Jake came into the dining room with their coffee.  He looked at the siblings with curiosity.  There was an unmistakable undercurrent of animosity between them. 

              Ben frowned at Rebecca.  “I assure you that I have no ulterior motives, Rebecca.”

              “Frankly, I don’t believe you,” Rebecca said.  There was an angry fire in her eyes.  “If you are after money, you can leave right now.  I do not have any money to speak of, Ben.”

              Ben’s dark brows drew down.  “I do not need any money from you, Rebecca.  I came here to personally deliver some news that I did not feel I wanted to impart to you in a letter,” he said in a cold tone.

              Jake stayed close to Rebecca.  She steeled herself because she knew whatever he was about to tell her was bad. 

              “What is it?” she asked.

              Ben sighed.  “I don’t know how to say this gently, so I’ll just say it.  Father is dead, Rebecca.  He took his own life two weeks ago.”

              Jake saw Rebecca go white and he sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.  Rebecca grasped his arm for support. 

              “Why did he do it?  Because of everything that happened?” she asked.

              Ben nodded.  “He and Mama had absolutely no money and he just couldn’t take it anymore according to the note he left.  Mama is beside herself.  She is going to live with our cousin Patricia.  She will have to find work because I have no money to speak of, either.”

              “I can’t believe it,” Rebecca said.  She felt numb and couldn’t absorb the information her brother had imparted to her.

              Ben said, “I couldn’t either when Mama wrote to me.  I wasn’t upset that she sent a letter.  She was grieving, after all.  Despite everything, she still loved Daddy.”