chapter 6
A testy Logan gritted his teeth against the angry throb in his knee as he dismounted and made his way into the office of the lumber mill.
Why you limping, Logan?” Old Man Crane asked.
Knee’s bothering me.”
The wife’s got some liniment up at the house. You want me to fetch you some?”
No thanks. Just want to put in an order for some board feet so I can get my bunkhouse rebuilt.”
Finally going to get it done, huh? How much you need?”
They spent a few minutes figuring out just how much. Once that was decided and the price agreed upon, they walked back outside and Logan limped over to his stallion with as much dignity as he could.
You sure you don’t want that liniment?”
Yeah, but thanks again.” As he remounted, he fought to keep the ache from showing on his face. “You sure you’ll have the lumber ready for me by day after tomorrow?”
Yep. I’ll start running the saw tonight.”
Thanks. I’ll send Eli over to haul it back.”
Welcome. Take care of that knee. You get rheumetiz in it and it’ll be all she wrote.”
Logan nodded, wheeled Diablo around and rode slowly back toward home. Although he was determined not to think about her, his mind was filled with images of the firebrand known as Mariah Cooper. He still found it hard to believe she’d actually kicked him. As he’d noted earlier, most women tittered and batted their eyes when he came around. Not a one ever dragged their hand across their lips after his kiss, or registered their complaint in such a pointed and painfully memorable manner. Admittedly, he’d provoked her, but her provoking him with that sassy, kissable-looking mouth was what set the whole episode in motion to begin with. He had no logical explanation as to why he’d kissed her that way, other than having been driven around the bend by her sassiness. He’d never done anything that insane to a woman before. She was knee-high to a bumblebee and weighed less than his saddle, yet she’d challenged him as if she were one of Queen Calafia’s Amazon warriors. Damnedest experience of his life. And now, he was riding back from ordering lumber, something he hadn’t even thought about doing when he picked her up at the train station that morning. He didn’t want to delve into why he finally put in the order because he was too busy trying to determine when he’d lost control of the situation. One moment, he’d been in charge, and the next . . .
The pain in his knee flared up as if to remind him just how formidable an opponent she was. And her callused hands? That was a surprise as well. She was a housekeeper, so he hadn’t expected her to have the soft unblemished hands of a woman waited upon by servants, as Alanza had before she married his father, but the Cooper woman’s hands had been hardened by work—real work, and not just the run-of-the-mill scrubbing of floors or polishing silver. She claimed to have chopped wood and pumped water since an early age. Had there been no men in her family during those years of her life? Had her husband Henry been an invalid, and thus unable to take on the responsibilities usually shouldered by a man? The questions tied to his new housekeeper were stacking up like cords of wood, and he had no answers. What he did know was that he’d underestimated her and he’d be damned if he let it happen again. If she wanted a test of wills, he’d give her one because he refused to be bested by a short whirlwind of a city woman who couldn’t even sit a horse.
An hour into clearing the parlor, Mariah was outside adding more items to the pile of belongings when a fancy black coach pulled up. Out stepped a beautiful ivory-skinned woman with shining black hair whose face and attire made Mariah stop and stare. She was wearing a divided black riding skirt, a white ruffle-front blouse with long blowsy sleeves, a short black vest with silver buttons, and fancy black boots also shot through with silver. The hat perched saucily on her sleek pulled-back hair had a flat crown. Mariah thought her look odd but very stylish, and wondered who she might be.
Hello,” the woman called in an accented voice. “I’m Alanza Yates. Are you Mrs. Cooper?”
Yes, I am.”
Welcome to California. When did you arrive? Why hasn’t Logan brought you to the house so we could meet properly?”
Mariah wondered how to explain the volatile afternoon. This was his stepmother after all.
Eli Braden walked out with his arms filled with shovels and dropped them on the pile. “Afternoon, Senora.”
Eli. Where’s Logan?”
He glanced at Mariah and started to chuckle. “Kind of a long story. I’ll let Mrs. Cooper tell it to you.”
Mariah wanted to call out, “Coward!” but kept silent.
Mrs. Yates assessed her silently, until Mariah finally confessed, “In all honesty, your stepson is very hard to get along with, Mrs. Yates.”
A small smile played across her lips. “I find that to be true at times, as well. So, what happened? Where is he? You haven’t killed him, have you?”
Mariah wasn’t sure whether to show how amusing the last question was or not. “No. He went to purchase lumber for the new bunkhouse.”
Surprise filled her face and voice. “The one he’s been putting off building for nearly a year?”
Yes, ma’am.”
What brought that on?”
Me, I suppose. I kicked him in the knee.”
Her eyebrows rose above her widened eyes.
Two of the ranch hands walked out and added more items to the pile. After nodding a greeting to Mrs. Yates and giving Mariah a smile, they returned to the house.
You kicked Logan in his knee?”
Yes, ma’am. He kissed me and I took exception to it.”
I see.”
I’m fairly sure he’ll fire me when he returns, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back inside and empty the parlor of as much of the clutter as possible before he does. Thank you so much for my train fare. I’ll wire my aunt in the morning for a ticket back to Philadelphia. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”
She hurried back inside.
The stunned Alanza watched her go. She kicked Logan in his knee—for kissing her? And yet, he hadn’t beheaded her or fired her on the spot. Alanza knew nothing about the woman except for the information included in Mrs. Brown’s recommendation, but deciding she needed more insight into the beautiful golden-eyed housekeeper, Alanza went into the house to offer her assistance.
When Logan rode up, there were people crawling over his house and property like ants. Men were carrying things outside and loading wagons, and women were washing his windows. He spotted Alanza’s buggy and assumed she’d somehow gotten herself involved with the effort. If she’d joined forces with the widow, he’d be cooked goose for sure. Gingerly dismounting, he took a moment to free Diablo of the saddle before slapping the stallion on the rump to send it galloping off toward the stable. He placed the saddle on the ground near the house. Mentally pledging to strangle anyone who tried to move it, he went inside.
Ants outside, beehive inside. Walls were being washed along with the inside panes of the windows. A small stream of people were moving in and out the hall that led to his bedroom carrying myriad items that had once been stacked against the walls. Eli and a man who usually worked in the vineyards were hauling the old stove toward the door.
Welcome back,” Eli tossed out as they passed by. “How’s the knee?”
Logan growled.
She’s in the kitchen.”
Logan took off in that direction. The parlor was nearly cleared out, and he could actually cross the floor without having to watch his step. Entering the dining room, he was surprised to see the top of his dining table free of the rain slicks and tarps that had covered it for the past year. Also gone were the coils of rope that had once stood in the corners.
In the kitchen, the widow and his stepmother were looking up at his cabinets. What they were planning was beyond him, but he figured he’d find out soon enough.
Alanza noticed him in the doorway and smiled. “Ah, there you are, Logan. Mrs. Cooper and I are trying to decide how many new cupboards you’ll need in here.”
He met the golden eyes of his housekeeper. “May I speak with you a moment? Privately.”
Certainly.”
Logan expected her to show signs of remorse, but instead she raised her small chin in challenge. He noticed Alanza’s amused interest, but ignored it and gestured the firecracker toward the kitchen door that led outside to the back porch.
Once they were there, she took up a position with her back to the railing and faced him with folded arms. “I assume you’ve decided to fire me, so I’ve already told your stepmother I plan to wire my aunt in the morning for train fare back to Philadelphia.”
You’re not getting off that easy.”
She looked confused and that pleased him because he doubted she was caught short very often. “I’m not firing you, but if you want to turn tail and run back to Philadelphia, I’ll understand.”
For a moment she didn’t respond. It was as if she was trying to decide if he was telling her the truth. “You deserved that kick.”
And you deserve to be fired, so let’s call it even.”
She studied him for a moment longer. “My actions to the contrary, I don’t like causing other people pain.”
Could’ve fooled me.”
Decent women don’t like being manhandled.”
Did you storm around like this with your beloved Henry?”
I didn’t have to. He was sweet and kind and understanding.”
Uh-huh.”
You don’t believe me?”
Doesn’t matter. How’re your hands?”
She showed him her still wrapped palms. “They’re fine.”
Have you eaten?”
Not yet, but your stepmother has invited me to supper.”
Good. If the two of you could kindly shut down this work detail, I’d like to sit in my tub and soak my knee in peace.”
She looked down at his knee and for a fraction of a second he did see guilt. Pleased to know she did have a conscience beneath all that sass, he offered an olive branch of his own. “Sorry about manhandling you. I’ll use a better approach next time.”
Her mouth dropped, but before she could begin railing at him, he left her with a small smile and walked back inside.
Mariah stood alone on the porch. She had to have misheard him. Next time? Surely that didn’t mean he planned to kiss her again. She swore to herself that if he even looked like he was intent upon that, she’d kick him in both knees and sock him in his nose.What a conceited, egotistical . . . Deciding not to let him get her blood up again, she calmed herself and left the porch to rejoin Mrs. Yates.
Logan wants us to clear everyone out, so he can soak his knee in peace,” Alanza told her.
I know, he said the same thing to me.”
Alanza peered into her face as if searching for a clue as to how the talk on the back porch had gone. “You two didn’t argue again, did you?”
Not really. We decided to call our battle a draw.”
Good, then while he’s using the tub, why don’t you grab your things and come home with me? I’m sure you’d like to clean up before we eat and you can do it there and not have to wait for him to get done.”
I’d love that.”
If he shows up for dinner, fine, and if he doesn’t, that’s fine as well.”
Mariah was looking forward to ridding herself of the perspiration and grime of the day. “Let me get my clothing and toiletries. I’ll let him know I’ll be leaving with you.”
While Alanza went to speak with the workers, Mariah walked down the now clutter-free, empty hallway and knocked on his bedroom door.
Come in.”
When she entered, she found him standing shirtless. For a moment, she was mesmerized by his sculpted bare shoulders and torso and then immediately turned her back. The heat of embarrassment washed over her cheeks.
You need something?” he asked, sounding amused.
I wanted to let you know I’ll be going home with Mrs. Yates.”
Okay.”
She’d never seen a man’s naked chest before and she swore the sight of his rock-hard frame was now permanently etched in her mind. Who knew a man could be so beautifully made?
Anything else?”
Truthfully, she wanted to feast her eyes on him again, which shocked her even more than the sight of his bare chest. “No.”
Then I’ll see you later.”
She fled.
After her departure, Logan chuckled. He’d never seen a woman turn her back so quickly. Had she never seen Henry shirtless? As prim as she acted, he tended to think not. Many married couples went to their graves having never seen each other totally nude, and even made love mostly clothed. He on the other hand slept nude and made love the same way. Women like Mrs. Cooper might consider that shocking, but he didn’t, and the women who shared his bed didn’t either.
Mariah rode the entire way to Alanza’s home thinking about Logan, but soon put him aside when she was escorted into the large bathing room. Not only were there two such rooms but both had running hot water.
She stared in wonder at the luxuriously appointed room with its white flocked walls and large tub.
Logan’s house has hot water as well,” his stepmother informed her. “There are boilers outside feeding the pipes.”
Mariah wondered if she’d died and gone to heaven. There’d been indoor plumbing in the flat she’d shared with her mother back in Philadelphia, but the only way to have hot water was to heat it on the stove first. And there certainly hadn’t been a tub. Hip baths had been the order of the day for as long as she’d been alive.
Alanza showed her how to work the spigots and then left her alone.
As much as Mariah longed to lounge in the water for an hour or more, she didn’t wish to keep her hostess waiting, so she washed up quickly, dried herself and dressed. Upon leaving, she glanced back at the tub with the hope that sometime in the near future she’d be able to linger for as long as she desired.
After dinner, Mariah and Mrs. Yates sat outside at a table in the courtyard while dusk rolled in. The sun dropping below the mountains was a beautiful sight to behold but she was so tired she was having difficulty keeping her eyes open. Her day had begun that morning on the train and ended with the emptying of her pigheaded employer’s home. Dinner had consisted of spicy beans and strips of meat wrapped in what Mrs. Yates called a tortilla, and the best lemonade she’d ever had. The wonderful meal in tandem with the work-filled day were threatening to put her asleep in her chair, but she was too polite to excuse herself from her hostess so she could make her way back to her room and bed.
I believe you will be good for my son,” Mrs. Yates was saying. “Other than myself, he’s unaccustomed to a woman who’ll stand her ground as you did today.”
Hopefully, we’ll find a way to get along. I don’t wish to spend every day wanting to boil him in oil.”
In spite of all the head butting, Logan is a decent, honest man. You could work for worse.”
Had she the strength, Mariah might’ve debated that, but the weariness was weighing her down like a thick winter coat.
It must have showed. “You look ready to keel over, Mariah.” She suddenly looked up and smiled over Mariah’s shoulder. Without turning to see who might be approaching, Mariah somehow knew it was her employer.
Good evening, Logan,” his stepmother said brightly. “Have you eaten?”
He took a seat at the table. He was dressed in blue shirt and denims.
Yes. I ate with Bonnie inside.”
Good. Mrs. Cooper needs to go to bed.”
Mariah glanced his way and saw him as she had in his room without his shirt and she immediately looked elsewhere.
How are your hands?” he asked.
Fine.” Mariah wanted to be distant and aloof, but it was difficult to do so around a yawn wide enough to stick a mountain into.
This is why you should’ve rested up today instead of tackling the house.”
Thank you for pointing that out, Mr. Yates.” It was a weak response but she was too tired for another round of verbal fencing with him.
He said to his stepmother, “She needs a lamp and a chair for her room. Do you have anything she can use?”
Mariah was surprised that he’d remembered, and inwardly pleased that he had. She heard them discuss searching a barn, but it was the last thing she remembered. She’d fallen asleep in her chair, thus missing Logan shake his head and utter softly, “Fool woman.”
She also missed him gently scooping her up into his arms.
Take her inside,” Alanza said. “She can sleep here tonight.”
At first, Alanza thought he might challenge her decision. She studied the determined set of his features and the way he held the young woman against his heart and found both actions quite surprising. Rather than questioning him about it, she stood and led him into the house.
Once he laid her down, Alanza discreetly watched his face as he observed his sleeping housekeeper, and saw an uncharacteristic softness that was also surprising. “You can come back for her in the morning.”
He nodded but took a moment to remove her shoes. Alanza covered the fully dressed young woman with a quilt and they both tipped out.
In the hallway, they returned to their earlier conversation concerning furnishings for Mariah’s room. “Take whatever you think she can use from the stores, and definitely replace that old mattress.” The room used to be the place where the tack was stored.
Will do.”
How’s your knee?”
Sore.”
Although Mariah Cooper had been in her son’s life less than a day, Alanza could see that she’d affected him in a grande way. Even now he was staring at the closed door as if he could see her sleeping on the other side. She doubted he was even conscious of what he was doing. “Go home and rest your knee. She’ll be fine here.”
He gave one last look at the door and departed.
Logan was sitting in the dark on his back porch smoking a cheroot and recalling the day. He’d gone to the train station to pick up a woman he figured wouldn’t last any longer than the previous women he’d employed, but instead found a golden-eyed virago with more temper than a teased rattler, and as prickly as a desert cactus. In less than twelve hours, she’d called him out on his manners, accused him of being judgmental, given him a kick in the knee worthy of an irate mule, and made him buy lumber for a bunkhouse he’d had no intention of building until he got good and damn ready. And now, she was sleeping in one of Alanza’s spare rooms. From the peaceful look on her face, one would never know that with her eyes open, she was hell-bent on making his life, well, hell. He’d gotten a clean house out of the deal, however, and although he hadn’t been a party to the decision, he was grudgingly pleased by the outcome. What didn’t please him was the idea of having to do battle with her every time she got it into her head to take charge. She was so fiercely determined, not even slicing open her palms on that wire bed frame had slowed her down, but dios, she was lovely, and that was the part that seemed to be giving him the most trouble. Were she as dried up and ugly as he’d assumed she’d be, he’d’ve spent the day growling at her until she quit and fled like the others. However, there was no quit in Mariah Cooper, just a body that drew his eyes, and a mouth he wanted to kiss until spring—neither of which was something he needed to be dwelling upon, considering the steep price he’d already paid. He rubbed his knee. A man with any sense would leave her to her duties as housekeeper and forget about the draw of all that loveliness. Deciding that was the safest road to travel, his reverie was interrupted by Eli Braden stepping up on the porch. “Thought you’d gone home,” Logan said suspiciously.
Nope. Too scared I’d miss something. How’s the knee?”
Knee’s fine, and she’s sleeping up at Alanza’s, so show’s over for today.”
Too bad.”
Logan reminded himself that Eli was his best friend.
Couldn’t believe she kicked you like that.”
Noticed how funny you thought it was though.”
You have to admit it was.”
Not as funny as that pan of dishwater that was dumped on your head a few months back.”
Let’s not talk about that. That suit cost me half a week’s pay and it’ll never be right again.”
Told you trying to make her jealous was a harebrained idea.”
Eli was in love with a woman named Naomi Pearl. She owned a diner on the outskirts of Guinda, and was as much a handful as Mariah Cooper.
Nobody ever said love was easy,” Eli out.
Uh-huh.”
Did you get the lumber ordered?”
Yes. Crane says he’ll have it ready for us to pick he day after tomorrow. And don’t ask me why I changed my mind. I don’t want to talk about it.”
But Eli was smiling.
What?”
Nothing, just enjoying the show. Regardless of how you feel about her, she worked her fancy little behind off today. Not afraid of work.”
Logan agreed. “No, she’s not. Not afraid of much else either, apparently.” He kept remembering the soft weight of her in his arms while carrying her to bed. For some unknown reason it felt right and he found that oddly disturbing. “I may go see Valencia in a few days.”
Need a female that asks ‘how high’ when you say ‘jump’?”
Don’t you have a house and a bed a few miles from here?”
I do, and I’m going, but I’ll be back first thing in the morning for a ringside seat. Sleep well, my friend.”
With that, Eli mounted his horse and galloped off toward his home, leaving Logan alone to contemplate the questions and chaos brought into his life by his golden-eyed housekeeper.
In the dream it was night, the moon was full, the stars twinkled like diamonds in the sky, and Logan was on the seat of the buckboard slowly opening the buttons of Mariah’s white blouse. Her lips were parted and swollen from his kisses. He moved his mouth down to the hollow of her bared throat and inhaled her sweet scent while his tongue tasted the soft skin. He felt her tremble and sigh with rising passion. Taking a moment to recapture her lips, he slowly set about coaxing more response while his hands lazily explored her form. More buttons were conquered and he greeted each newly exposed patch of skin with hot flicks of his tongue until nothing stood between his lips and her breasts but the lace-edged top of her shift and the corset beneath. Wanting her with a need as broad as the mountains, he moved the shift and corset aside and freed one dark-tipped beauty. Lowering his head, he savored it lustfully. She crooned in the silence, whispering his name, and when he had his fill, he freed the twin; sucking, licking and biting her gently. Her lilac-scented skin was warm, the sight of her bare breast in the moonlight so arousing he wanted more, so he gently eased her skirt and slips up her thighs. When he touched her in the dark valley that held her treasures she was wet with wanting. He played and parted and teased the tiny nubbin that anchored a woman’s delight until she was gasping, twisting, and arching against his hand. He placed her astride him and gently pushed his near bursting erection home. Stroking her with an increasing pace, he filled his hands with her tantalizing hips. Moments later, she cried out her release and he came tumbling after, laid low by an orgasm that made him shout her name to the night. And then he woke up.
Logan sat up panting. Disoriented, he looked around and realized he was in bed and that he’d been dreaming. Dragging his hands down his face, he couldn’t believe how erotic the dream had been or how incredibly hard he was. Falling back against the mattress, he quietly cursed her and closed his eyes, but the dream kept replaying itself. Frustrated by his inability to escape the images, he threw back the sheet and got up. Walking out to his back porch, he sat down, but the lust-filled memories continued to tease and taunt. It was his hope that the cool night air would bring him relief, and it did, but it took a while.