Texas Blue

chapter 18



EM WOKE IN A THUNDERSTORM MOOD. SHE COULDN’T believe she’d let Lewt kiss her last night. No, she corrected herself. She didn’t just let him kiss her, she’d almost begged him to. And then, he’d kissed her, really kissed her. It had been so much more than she thought a kiss could be.

Crossing to the mudroom, she bathed, put on her oldest clean clothes, and joined Rose, already in the kitchen. As she combed her hair by the fire, Em made up her mind that the only way to deal with what happened on the porch last night was to stay as far away from Lewt as possible. He’d be on the ranch only three more days and then he’d be gone and forget all about her and the kiss. And she’d stay here, glad things were back to normal, only she’d remember the kiss and cherish it. She might never marry, but she’d have the one perfect kiss to remember.

Braiding her hair, Em was lost in thought when Rose finished the biscuits and finally had time to join her in a cup of coffee.

As usual, Rose didn’t mess around. She said what was on her mind. “We have to stop this game, Em. I almost called Tamela by her name last night. I really like these men and suddenly the game doesn’t seem fair. They’re all decent and honest. What are they going to think if they find out that Tamela isn’t a McMurray, she’s just a look-alike Emily because the real one wouldn’t give up working with the horses?”

“Don’t worry. We only have a few more days. After the party Friday night we will all say good-bye and I’ll have Sumner drive them into town. They can spend the last night at the hotel so there is no chance they’ll miss the train Saturday morning. You can say you think that would be easier on Mrs. Allender.”

Rose didn’t like the idea, but it did seem easier to continue the game than change it now. “Beth and I thought we’d take the men into town just to show them around. I’ll stop by the hotel and ask one of the waitresses to deliver lunch to the little house. It’ll be so much nicer that going into one of the crowded cafés.”

Em nodded. Most of the time the family was in town they either brought their own food or had one of the hotels deliver a meal. Their papa hated what he called “eating with strangers.” The girls never minded. Often Em and their mother would stay at the house while everyone else went shopping, and then they’d all ride home together talking of their day.

“Will you come with us?” Rose asked as she stood and began breakfast. The two girls from town they’d hired to help for the week never seemed to make it up for breakfast and weren’t that good at cooking. So Mrs. Watson and Mrs. Allender pitched in with helping prepare lunch and dinner and left the cleanup to the girls from town. It was a schedule that worked well, only Rose had began to notice that the meal deliveries to Boyd’s man in the barn seemed to take longer each time.

“I’ve got too much work to do here,” Em answered. “I saw more mountain lion tracks yesterday. It’s getting cold enough that the cats might be hunting this low. I told Sumner to make sure every man riding out had a rifle. He told me he’d already issued the order.”

“I don’t like the idea of one of the mountain lions being killed, but I’ve seen what they can do to a colt.”

“If we see them, we’ll fire in the air first and try to chase them back into the hills, but if they come back, we’ll have to protect the herd.” Em knew that deer in the mountains were not plentiful as in years past because of a bitter cold winter last year. If the cats and wolves came down, they were just doing what they do: hunting for game. Much as she hated it, she had to do what she did: protect the horses.

“Will Lewt be going with you?” Em asked, hoping to get Rose’s mind off the cats.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him to ask.”

“Ask what?” Lewt surprised them both. He stood in the doorway to the hall, looking all ready for winter in his wool work clothes and coat.

Rose smiled at him, her usual pleasant, not-too-friendly kind of smile Em had seen her give people on the street. “Would you like to go into town with us today, Lewton?”

“Who’ll stay here with Emily?” he asked, acting concerned. “Surely she’s in no condition to travel.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Watson will keep her company. Mrs. Allender said she’ll go along with us if we’ll take the buggy and lots of blankets.”

Lewt hesitated, then shook his head. “Much as I’d like to accompany you ladies, I think I’d better stay here. I promised to help Em for a few hours this morning, and then I might be able to make myself useful and visit with Miss Emily if she’s not resting. She told me she liked to play card games. I’m sure we can find one we both know.”

Rose was busy putting biscuits in the oven. Lewt looked at Em as if for help. She could understand his feelings. Going into town with a group sounded only slightly more fun than cleaning the barn. “Oh,” she said, knowing he expected her to say something. “I forgot, you did offer to help. We’d better eat and be heading out.”

Rose faced them. One of her lovely eyebrows lifted, but she didn’t say anything. A few minutes later Mrs. Allender joined them for a breakfast of ham, scrambled eggs, and biscuits with gravy. The dear lady had a habit of always discussing the next meal. She liked to plan lunch while eating breakfast, and dinner while still having lunch.

Em thought she was kind of like an oral menu board. And, not surprisingly, since she raised a large family, she was quite the cook. Em had noticed Rose jotting down instructions on how to prepare a few dishes Mrs. Allender suggested.

When the little woman finished her morning questions about lunch, silence fell over the group.

Em finally made an effort to talk about work. Rose talked of town. Lewt didn’t talk at all. In fact, he didn’t even look in Em’s direction. She had no doubt in her mind that his wanting to stay at the ranch had more to do with him not wanting to go to town than any notion that he should help her.

As he downed the last of his coffee, she motioned for them to go. He said his good-byes to the women and promised he’d check in on Emily when he got back.

Em didn’t say anything. Her mind was already filled with all the things she had to do. They walked to the barn without a word, and within minutes they were both in the saddle and riding out. She took off fast, and this morning he followed like a shadow.

He’d learned a great deal, and since dawn he’d worked beside her as if they had been a team for months.

At midday, they stopped to let the horses rest and she finally turned to him. “You should have gone with the others to town. It would be a good chance to talk to the McMurray women.”

“I didn’t want to.” He didn’t look at her when he answered.

“Then you should have stayed with Emily.”

“I’d be of little help there, and by now I’m sure I would have strangled Mrs. Watson. The woman reminds me of an out-of-tune wind chime set off by the slightest breeze. I’ve seen rivers that babbled less.”

When Em didn’t comment, he added, “Miss Emily is sweet, though, too sweet. There’s something about all that shyness and sewing that makes me nervous. You’d think she was getting paid, the way she works.”

Em shrugged and pulled off her hat to wipe her brow as she tried not to laugh. “Then I guess you’d better stay with me. I may work you to death, but at least we’ll have no shyness or sewing.” She smiled. “Of course, unless I’m sewing up your hide.”

He mumbled a swear, then laughed. “I’m afraid if she did the stitching on my leg, I’d have French knots and needlepointed initials.”

She laughed with him. “So I guess Miss Emily is out of the running?”

“She was never really in it. When a man is looking for a mate, there has to be some attraction there.”

“But she’s pretty.”

“I know. Beautiful, in fact, but I . . .”

He didn’t finish, and Em didn’t know if he had no answer or if he just didn’t want to tell her.

He turned away from her and was silent for a while as he watched the horses, and then he whispered, “About last night.”

“Last night is over,” she said, too quickly to be casual. “Thank you for showing me what a kiss was like, but I’m in need of no more lessons. What happened last night was a mistake.”

“Fine,” he said between clenched teeth. “I wasn’t asking for a thank-you or a repeat.”

“What’s the matter?” she snapped back at him. “I thought we were going to be honest with one another.”

“Nothing,” he answered, moving toward his horse. “Let’s get back to work.”

They rode north, following a set of mountain lion tracks. Neither talked, but when Em pulled her rifle, he did the same.

For the tenth time that day, she slipped from her horse and studied the tracks. “He’s close,” she said.

“You can read that in a track?”

“No, I can feel it. I’d swear he is the same big cat that came down last winter. We never saw him, never even got one shot off at him, but I remember one of the men saying he was missing a few claws. The prints show that now.”

“Maybe he’s too old to hunt? Or maybe there are more deer up in the hills than you think?”

She looked up at him, making no effort to hide the worry in her face. “Or maybe, he’s back.”

They followed the cat’s trail for another hour, and then the wind turned cold and Em knew it would be wise to head home.

Just as they turned, she caught a movement at the edge of the clearing.

Lewt saw it a second later. Without a word they moved closer, both rifles ready to fire.

Twenty feet into the shadows of a stand of tall pine, they recognized what lay in the grass. A colt, not three months old, tried to stand, then tumbled into the grass.

“He’s hurt,” Em said, as she kicked her mount and closed the distance to the young horse.

Lewt remained frozen in place as she jumped down and ran to the colt. Blood from what looked like a puncture wound dripped from his side, and he stared at her with wild, frightened eyes.

Just as she reached the animal, something moved in the trees, and she realized too late that the mountain lion must have smelled them and had moved into hiding but had not left.

Before she could pull her sidearm from the holster, she heard a rush in the brush and knew the lion was rushing toward her. Instinct allowed only a second for her to lean over the downed colt, and then the blast of a rifle whistled just above her head. One long silent moment later she heard the thundering thud of something falling in the bush between the trees.

Em looked up to see Lewt jumping from his horse, his rifle still in his hand as he ran toward her.

“Stay down!” he yelled as he passed her and crossed into the trees.

Em wanted to help the colt, but she knew what she had to do. If the mountain lion was wounded and not killed, he might still be in the brush. She ran for her rifle and chambered a round. She stood a few feet from the colt, ready to fire if needed.

The north wind was the only sound she heard besides the pounding of her own heart. She’d been an idiot to leave her rifle and run to the colt. Her papa would be furious at her for risking her life. How many times had he told her in the past to take precautions? She’d be no good to the stock if she managed to get herself killed.

A rustling came from the edge of the pines. A moment later Lewt appeared, his rifle pointing down as if at rest. “I got him,” he said simply. “He’s dead.”

Em gulped down air. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath. “If we’d been a few minutes later, he would have finished the colt off.”

Lewt reached her side and took the rifle from her hand.

“If you hadn’t been here”—she met his gaze—“the lion might have finished me off too.”

Lewt set the rifles on the cold grass as he knelt beside the horse. “Get your saddlebags and the canteen, Em; don’t panic. You can thank me later; we’ve got to see to this horse first.”

She followed orders, but as soon as she began to work on the wound, she snapped, “I wasn’t panicking. I never panic. I was just so worried about the horse I forgot to take proper precautions.”

He helped her doctor the wound, which didn’t seem so bad once they got the blood cleared away. Over the days they’d learned to work well together, almost reading each other’s thoughts. When the wound was treated, they watched the colt stand. He was too big to carry, so they watched him walk away.

“Shouldn’t we do something, like take him back with us or build a pen to hold him for the night?”

“He’ll be all right. He’d only hurt himself more fighting his way out of a pen. He knows where his mother went. I’ll come out tomorrow and check on him.” She shoved her rifle back in place and put her hat on the saddle horn so the cold air could cool her cheeks and calm her nerves.

They walked their horses, following the colt until he spotted the rest of the herd.

“I thought you didn’t know how to shoot,” she said, breaking the silence.

“I said I didn’t like guns, not that I didn’t know how to use them.”

Em nodded. “You’re a mystery, Mr. Lewton Paterson.”

“Not really. Half the time when people ask me what I’m thinking, I’m not.”

Em laughed. “All right. What are you thinking now?”

He turned toward her. “I’m thinking I’m glad the lion didn’t get you because I sure as hell would like to kiss you again. Same rules as before. No strings.”

Before she could think of an answer or react, he circled one arm around her and pulled her close. His mouth covered hers. The kiss was raw with a need that surprised her, and she didn’t fight the feeling shooting through her body as the kiss deepened.

She’d wanted it too. One more taste. One more time to confirm just how good it had felt. One more time to remember forever what a kiss could be.

His arm was around her, holding her, but not imprisoning her. She could have jerked away if she’d wanted to, but the feel of his mouth against hers made her want more. Lifting her hands, she tugged his hat off and let her arms rest on his shoulders as her body leaned into his. There were a thousand reasons she shouldn’t be kissing him, but she’d think of them all later. Right now, all she wanted was to feel alive. One hundred percent alive for the first time in her life.

Lewt felt her surrender and gentled his hold around her. The kiss deepened as his hands moved over her, gently stroking her back from her shoulder to just below her belt.

When he finally broke the kiss, he brushed her cheek with his lips and moved across her face with light kisses until he reached her ear. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day,” he whispered. “And it was every bit as good as I thought it would be.”

She let out a sigh, agreeing with him. No matter how many times she’d told herself she never planned to kiss him again, she couldn’t keep from thinking that she was glad they’d had this one last time.

His hands gripped her sides just above her waist and tugged her against him as he whispered, “Don’t say a word, Em. Just let me hold you for a moment. I felt like I’d been kicked in the chest when I realized something was stalking you from the trees. I knew if I fired too soon I might miss, or if I waited a second too long, it might be too late.”

She cupped his face in her palms. After days of yelling at him for doing everything wrong, she said the only thing she could now. “You did it right. You saved my life.”

He brushed her mouth with his words. “I’m glad.” He kissed her again with a gentle kind of tenderness she never would have thought him capable of, and then he just held her tight in his arms for a long while.

Finally, she whispered, “I’m freezing.”

He laughed and let her go. “Me too. We’d better get back.”

For once, she let him help her up onto her horse, and she didn’t miss the way he slid his hand along the length of her leg as if it were a natural thing to touch her so. To her surprise, she didn’t mind. Sometime over their days together she’d learned to trust him and the truth shocked her.