Seven
Jake leaned down to cover her mouth with his own. His arms tightened around her and he leaned over her.
Madison pressed against him, standing on tiptoe to kiss him passionately.
“Jake, forgive me,” Madison whispered, pausing a moment.
“It’s in the past, Madison,” he replied. “Let it go because it’s over and can’t ever affect us again unless we let it.”
“I was as mean to you as my dad,” she said, feeling agonized as a deep frown furrowed her brow.
“Forget it now,” he ordered. “You didn’t know and I couldn’t fight your family and mine. We wouldn’t have been able to stay together because you were underage. The main thing is now you know I did not deliberately hurt you.”
Madison pulled his head down to kiss him. She wanted him with all the longing that seemed to have built through the past empty years. She wanted to love him and be loved by him, mindlessly, not thinking about yesterday or tomorrow, just to love him once again for what had been taken from them. She wanted to forget and replace the past with memories of today.
She kissed him passionately, winding her fingers in his thick hair, relishing touching him, thinking he was still the most exciting man she had ever known.
While she kissed him, she leaned away a fraction to undo the buttons on his knit shirt. Her hands went to his belt and she unfastened the heavy buckle he had won in a rodeo.
With shaking fingers she tugged his shirt swiftly from his jeans. He released her to yank his shirt over his head and toss it away.
While he slid the zipper down the back of her dress, he watched her. She glanced up and the blatant desire in his brown eyes made her weak-kneed.
As she started to move closer again, he held her away. “Wait,” he commanded. He slipped her dress off her shoulders and when he let it fall, she stepped out of it. His gaze roamed over her slowly, a tantalizing perusal that she knew was the precursor to his caresses. She inhaled, tingling, wanting to grab him. Instead, she clung tightly to his upper arms as he unfastened her bra and tossed it aside.
“Jake,” she whispered as he cupped her breasts. His hands were warm, rough, calloused from the days of digging and moving rocks, heightening sensations as he caressed her so lightly, his thumbs circling her nipples with feathery touches that set her on fire.
She repeated his name, loving the feel of it on her mouth, just as she relished the feel of his hands on her breasts. She closed her eyes and moaned with pleasure. One hand continued to caress her while his other hand peeled away her lace panties, letting them fall around her ankles so she could step out of them.
He bent to take her nipple in his mouth, his tongue replacing his thumb and driving her wild.
She held his shoulders tightly, tension mounting, desire a raging fire, while uppermost in her mind was the knowledge that she was being loved by Jake. Nothing would ever give them back the lost years, but right now, in this moment, he was making love to her. At last, she could freely make love to him in return, to try in this way to convey her regrets and long-ago feelings for him that had remained part of her life even when he had gone.
“Jake, there’s never been anyone that it’s been the same with,” she whispered. She opened her eyes to unfasten his jeans and push them off his narrow hips.
As her gaze ran over his chest, she inhaled deeply, wanting him with a building desperation. She didn’t think she could wait as long as he could hold out and continue the foreplay that built flames into a raging inferno of need.
“I don’t know how to make it up to you,” she whispered, looking up at him.
His lips were red from her kisses and his eyes still filled with naked desire.
“You can keep trying,” he whispered, kissing her breast and making her forget conversation.
She knelt to caress and kiss him, hoping to stir him to the heights where he had already taken her. She wanted him to remember this night, to know she had regrets and was trying to make it up to him. She wanted to make up in a tiny measure for lost years of loving between them.
His fingers tangled in her hair while she stroked and kissed him until he caught her beneath her arms and raised her to her feet. He swung her into his arms and carried her to his bedroom. Setting her on her feet beside the bed, he yanked back covers and then placed her on the cool sheets.
He stretched beside her, kissing her and caressing her while he held her. In minutes he moved over her, rolling her over and kissing her slowly, a hot torment as his tongue teased and desire built even more.
“It’s been so long,” she whispered.
“Too long, Maddie.”
A thrill spiraled from her head to her toes. Maddie. That’s what he had always called her before, but never once since he had been back. She wanted to hear him say it again, and again.
“Jake, make love to me. It’s been so long.” She pulled him to her, lost in desire, but then she remembered. “I’m not protected.”
He moved away, stepping off the bed to retrieve his jeans, and came back with a package. She watched him slip on the condom, looking at his strong hands that she remembered so well.
Her gaze inched over him slowly, taking in his strong thighs with short brown hairs sprinkled over them, his thick rod that was ready, his virile body, muscled, fit and vital, energy radiating from him.
His dark brown eyes studied her as much as she studied him. Locks of his black hair fell on his forehead. He was handsome, exciting, sexy, marvelous. His kisses and lovemaking could rock her and touch the core of her being, an intimacy that she treasured.
Once, she had loved him with all her heart. So much had happened between them and she had harbored bitter feelings for so long, she didn’t know what she felt now except passion and lust. She wanted his hard body against her, his thick manhood inside her, filling her, driving her over a blinding edge.
“Jake, let’s make love,” she whispered again.
“We are, darlin’. Maddie, you’re the most beautiful, exciting woman I’ve ever known,” he whispered and came down to cover her mouth with his before she could answer him. He entered her slowly, driving her wild as he pulled away for seconds and then claimed her again.
She held him tightly while she kissed him possessively, thrusting her tongue deep over his and clinging to him.
He eased into her and withdrew slowly, setting her on fire and then repeating his thrusts. Her hips arched against him, her legs pulling him closer as they wrapped around his narrow waist and held him tightly.
Sweat dotted his forehead as he continued to move with slow deliberation, holding off while building her need, until she didn’t know what she was saying to him, what she was feeling except the desire to cling tighter, move faster.
When his control snapped, he thrust quickly and she rocked with him, rising and crashing over the edge. She cried out with eagerness, climaxing in a release that dazzled her.
Rapture spilled over her along with joy because he was in her arms, loving her and sharing the most intimate moments. He shuddered and pumped with his own release, gasping for breath.
Afterward, he showered kisses on her, making her wonder if he truly felt such closeness and tenderness for her or if it was merely a response to his own satisfaction.
In some ways now, she felt she knew so little about him. They had grown up and been apart all these years. They had both lived in anger and bitterness toward the other, so she didn’t have the closeness with him that they had shared as kids.
She stroked his damp back, running her fingers along the strong column of his neck and then through his hair. She held him to her, welcoming his weight, his closeness.
He rolled to his side, taking her with him, and he smiled at her while he held her. “This is the best, Maddie.”
Another thrill rocked her. She liked having him go back to the old nickname that only he had ever called her. “It seems right to be together and in some ways it wipes out the empty years between then and now,” she said.
“Your dad cheated us of a lot of time together. No one will ever know if he was right or not and I suppose if I had a sixteen-year-old daughter, I might stop her from marrying, too. That’s young, Maddie, even though we didn’t feel it at the time.”
“We’ll never know, Jake. If we had married then, we’d probably have four or five kids by now and I wouldn’t have had an art career.”
“It’s in the past. There’s no use speculating and thinking about the ‘what ifs.’”
She gazed beyond him, thinking about what he just said, to forget their love and their times together and what they had planned. Had tonight been purely lust for both of them? What did she really feel for him and what did Jake feel for her?
She couldn’t answer her questions, but she suspected that he was no longer in love. They were basically strangers now. Sadness filled her and she ran her hands over him, unable to get enough of touching him. The memories of making love long ago were to a different person—a boy. Now he was a man and physically, as well in other ways, he had changed. She had, too. Maybe what they once had had been lost forever.
She tightened her arms around him and pressed against him, holding him tightly. For right now, she was satisfied. They had shared a closeness that was good and the anger and bitterness between them no longer existed. That had to be better.
“You used to talk more than you do now,” she remarked.
He smiled, twisting to look at her. “Another change. I’ve been alone so long, maybe in some ways, I’m all locked up inside myself. I still say life has changed. Just keep on with taking one day at a time.”
They both became silent and she wondered what thoughts ran through his mind. Had too much bitterness passed between them for them to rekindle a relationship?
Physically, it would be no problem, but there was far more to it than a physical relationship. They had lost the joy they once shared. She remembered her father’s warning to be cautious about Jake, that he might want more from this treasure hunt than he had indicated.
At the thought of her father, she recalled her afternoon visit with him.
“It won’t mean anything to you,” she told Jake, “but my dad apologized to me for what he did.”
“That’s nice for you, but it doesn’t change a thing.”
“I know, but I’m glad he did and glad he feels some remorse.”
Jake toyed with her hair and remained silent. “You’re a beautiful woman.”
“Thank you.”
They gazed into each other’s eyes. Desire stirred and he leaned closer, his gaze drifting to her mouth. She couldn’t get her breath. She wanted his kiss, needed him just as if they had never made love. She turned her face up to him and then raised her lips to kiss him.
His arms tightened around her and he turned on his back, pulling her on top of him. Her hair fell around her face as she kissed him and passion rekindled.
It was like that throughout the night. He held her in his arms and they made love often, as if they could never get enough of each other.
In the morning he worshipped her body once again, then, afterward, he held her close. “Shall we call off the search today and stay in bed?”
Smiling, she ran her finger along his jaw. “We’ll go and then tonight, as soon as Jessie Lou leaves, we’ll have the house to ourselves. How does that sound?”
“Okay, but staying in bed and making love all day sounds better.”
She laughed and stepped out of bed, taking the sheet with her. “I’m off to shower upstairs in my own bathroom.”
“Do you realize I have never even seen that sanctuary of yours upstairs? You have never invited me up for so much as a peek.”
She turned to reply to him, but her answer was momentarily forgotten. He had propped up the pillows and lay against them. A light blanket was pulled across his lap and his hands were behind his head as he looked at her.
Her mouth went dry and she wanted to go back and kiss him again, feel the reassurance of his strong arms around her. She worried that when she walked away, she was going to lose him again.
He sat up slightly and lowered his arms. “Maddie? You look upset. What is it, hon?”
She walked back to him, to sit on the side of the bed and kiss him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her onto his lap as he kissed her. He was aroused again, ready to love. She kissed him passionately, slipping her arms around him, wanting to hold him against her heart.
She leaned away finally, pulling the sheet back up. His searching gaze went over her face while he combed her hair from her face with his fingers. “What is it?”
“I’ve found you again. I don’t want to lose you a second time.”
For a moment he frowned and then he smiled and hugged her. “You’re not going to lose me. Not anytime soon.” His voice lowered, took on a husky whisper. “If we stay in bed all day, you’ll feel more reassured.”
He was teasing, making light of the moment to cheer her or to allay her fears or to just put her off. She didn’t know what he felt. She gathered the sheet, stood and turned. “I’ll still go shower and start breakfast.” At the door she turned back. He sat on the side of the bed, the blanket across his lap. It was obvious he was aroused. His hair was a tangle and he had a dark stubble of beard on his chin.
“And tonight you can come up and see my very private bedroom.”
Smiling, she left the room and quickly climbed the stairs. The sooner they got going, the sooner they’d get home. She couldn’t wait to share her bed with Jake.
As she dressed, she glanced out the window and saw Charley pause in front of the garage door. He glanced around. He had a gas can in his hand. He stepped inside the garage and closed the door quickly.
She wondered what he was doing. She yanked on her clothes and raced down the steps and out a side door, running to the garage.
She opened the door carefully, trying to avoid noise, and slid inside. The light was on and she could smell gasoline.
She tiptoed toward the truck she had been taking each day. Charley stood waiting while gas drained into the can he had been carrying.
“Charley, what are you doing?”
He whirled around and took a deep breath. “You have water in your gas tank. The last gas we got had water. I’m draining the vehicles.”
She stared at him and shook her head. “You work for me now.”
“I’m trying to take care of your truck. You’ll use it today. I’ll fill it with good gasoline.”
She stared at him, hanging on to her temper. “My dad has hired you to cause trouble for me, hasn’t he?”
Charley’s lips clamped together and his face flushed.
“You work for me now. Make a choice. You either give me your loyalty or you get another job. You no longer work for my dad. You cut the tree, or had others cut it and place it on the bridge, didn’t you?”
He stared at her without replying.
“You don’t even have to answer. Pour my gas back into my truck unless you’ve put something in it. Which is it? Do you work for me or my dad?”
Silence stretched between them as he shifted from one foot to the other. “Your dad thinks Jake Calhoun is up to no good and using the search for a reason to get on Milan land. You know your father has your interests at heart.”
“Charley, who are you going to work for?”
Another silence stretched between them. “Your father said I could come to work for him in town anytime,” Charley finally replied. “He needs a handyman and caretaker and he said he can keep me busy. I’m getting older and some of the men don’t like what I’m doing. I’ll pack and go to work for your dad.”
“Good enough. I’ll have a check ready for you at the end of the day and you can get your things and leave when you’re ready.”
He nodded. “He always said this was in your best interests.”
She didn’t reply. “Have you done anything else to hamper our search?”
“No. I remember when you were born. We go back a long way. Your father’s intentions are good.”
“Get my truck ready to go,” she said, trying to hang on to her temper because her real anger was with her dad.
She turned and left, hurrying back to the side door. She decided to say nothing to Jake until the search was over and Charley had gone. Jake might not be as kind.
* * *
After breakfast they left for another day of searching that turned out to be as fruitless as all the previous days of looking.
When they arrived back at her house, she glanced at Jake. “I heard from Wyatt today. He’s stopping by and Tony is with him. Do you care if I ask them to stay for dinner?”
“Of course not. I’ll be glad to see Wyatt. I see him around town, but we just say hello and keep going. I don’t know Tony as well, but we’ve met. Do they know I’m here?”
“Yes, they do.”
“I know Tony does not like the Calhouns at all and I’ll have to admit, my sister is pretty rotten right back at him.”
Madison smiled. “I know. I told him no fights. Wyatt is always too closed up and in control to ever lose it and get in a fight. Besides, you and Wyatt played football together and you both did well with the other’s help.”
“That’s for sure. He made me look good and vice versa.”
“Maybe he wants to talk about the old football games you played. You two helped carry that team to some championships. The quarterback and the wide receiver. You were a good match.”
“Wyatt was a fantastic receiver. He should have played pro longer than two years.”
“He didn’t like being away from his ranch. He could afford to turn down football so he did. And even though he probably will be glad to see you and reminisce about the glory days, I think he’s coming by to check you out and see what you’re up to on this hunt. They may want to see the map. Now that I think of it, I should have called them because they know the ranch better than I do.”
“I’m guessing football might not be the only topic,” Jake said with a harsh note. “Your dad probably wants Sheriff Milan to ask me a few questions.”
“Maybe, but if Tony starts the questioning, it will be purely what Tony is wanting to know and nothing more. He’s too involved in his ranch to care about gold or bones.”
Jake smiled. “Gotta love the cowboys. I saw where Tony won a bareback bronc event recently.”
“His office at his ranch is filled with his trophies and he has belt buckles galore.”
“Tell them to come on. I’ll be glad to see both of them. And I don’t mind answering Wyatt’s questions. Wyatt’s a good guy.”
“I think so. I like my brothers—most of the time.”
Jake grinned. “The same with my siblings. Lindsay can be a brat, but she’s growing up and she’s turning into a damn good rancher. We’re all scattered and now that our folks are retired and living in California, we don’t get the family together as often as we used to.”
“Us, too,” Madison agreed. “And my brothers probably call me a brat, too. Although Tony can be the real brat. Wyatt was just born grown. He’s always been responsible and levelheaded and the most take-charge one.”
“Good to have one in every family.”
“Spoken like the man who’s the one in his family,” she remarked with a grin.
He smiled back at her as they approached the rear of the house and saw her two brothers sitting on the porch. “Your brothers may have beaten us here, but I’m getting a shower.”
“Amen to that one and I think they’ll want us to shower.”
“Yeah, it’s been a hot, dirty, unsuccessful day.”
“Maybe we can do something about that later,” she teased.
“I’m holding you to that one,” he said. “And getting to visit the inner sanctum on the second floor.”
“Of course. I’ll try to wear something special.”
“Something really special would be maybe a handkerchief.”
She laughed and he grinned. “You’re laughing, but I mean it,” he added.
As they approached her two brothers, she reminded him, “Shower quickly and get in there to talk football. I’ll let Jessie Lou know there will be four for dinner.”
On the porch Tony had his tan hat pushed down above his eyes and was seated with his booted feet perched on the railing. Wyatt sat the same way, his brown hair showing from beneath his black Western hat. His badge was on his shirt while his firearm was out of sight, but she was certain it was on his hip.
Both of them remained seated until she and Jake reached the top step. Wyatt unfolded with a lazy motion and a slow grin, his six-foot-five-inch frame stretching over Tony, who was only an inch over six feet. Wyatt was the oldest and the tallest sibling. He grinned as he extended his hand to Jake.
“Good to see you again, Jake. You don’t come to town often.”
“No, I don’t. It’s good to see you.”
Madison greeted her brothers as Jake shook hands with Tony.
“We have to clean up before we can socialize, so you two will just have to get a beer and find a comfortable spot to wait,” Madison said as they walked through the back entryway. All three men removed their hats and hung them on a large hat rack inside the door.
“I take it you haven’t found any buried treasure yet,” Tony said, curiosity in his blue eyes that were flecked with green.
“No. Not a thing,” she replied.
“I’ll show you two the old map I have,” Jake said. “You both know this land, probably as well as Madison.”
“Better,” she said. “There are extra copies of the map in the library.”
“I’ve got mine right here,” Jake said, fishing a copy from his hip pocket to hand it to Wyatt. “Look at that and see what you think.”
“Will do,” Wyatt answered. “But first things first. Let’s find the fridge and get a beer. Then I’ll look at your map. As kids, Tony and I spent plenty of time digging for that damn treasure.”
“Have you had this map all these years?” Tony asked.
“Yep, my father and grandfather had it,” Jake replied. “It’s been passed down through generations. I suppose Madison told you I want to see if we can find where the gunfight was and have our ancestors’ bones moved to the family cemetery and given a proper burial with a marker. No one thought about bringing the bones back until last Christmas when we got to talking about it and that’s what brought this about. That and a deed. In our family, it’s always been said there was a deed that gave some McCracken land to the Calhouns, over where the ranches border each other.”
“That would be worth a search. Far more than any legend about a treasure, I’d think,” Tony said.
“I agree,” Jake replied. “I had some time on my hands and I figured I had put this off long enough.” He nodded to her two brothers. “For now, though, I’m going to shower. We can talk about the map when I get done. Meanwhile, you guys go study it,” Jake said as he headed for his suite.
“We’ll be in the library,” Wyatt replied.
Madison took her time to shower and change, expecting the three men to pore over the map and the aerial photos and discuss the best places to search. Maybe argue about the best places. All three were strong-willed, take-charge men.
Only one of those men dominated her thoughts right now. She couldn’t stop thinking of Jake and the night that awaited them. As if a dam had broken, she was swamped by a running current of desire. Desire she no longer fought.
* * *
Beer in hand, Jake went to meet the two Milan brothers.
As soon as he entered the library, he joined Wyatt and Tony at the table with the pictures spread before them and a map on the computer.
Wyatt wasted no time with small talk. “There’s one spot we agree on,” he said, pointing to the map. “Then we each have places the other doesn’t have. See this outcropping and this rock formation?”
Jake studied the drawing. “Yeah. Madison and I couldn’t decide what that was—it doesn’t exactly look like rocks. It almost looks as if they were trying to draw a steer—maybe to represent a herd of cattle.”
“I don’t think so,” Wyatt said. “When I was ten years old I remember where they were going to build a line shack for ranch hands to have a place to stay out on the ranch. There was a rock formation that looked like a snowman. I was a kid and wanted to save it. Dad said that it would fall apart anyway, so I watched them blow it up, but I think I remember where it was.”
“Come with us, Wyatt,” Jake said. “Both of you if you want,” he added, glancing at Tony.
“I can’t this week. I have some appointments and need to be in Lubbock for a court case that involves several counties,” Wyatt replied.
“I can’t, either. Maybe later if you don’t have success,” Tony added. “Look, I think this resembles your map,” he said, pointing to another place on the map on the computer and placing the map on the photo.
“I hope you’ve found better places than I did.” At the sound of Madison’s voice Jake turned to see her walk into the room.
When he did, he forgot the map and the treasure. All he could focus on was Madison in cutoffs. Her long legs were fabulous, muscled enough to be shapely, lean enough to be sexy. He remembered them wrapped around him last night.
He wanted to untie the scarf that held her hair and peel away her blouse.
As much as he wanted to hear Tony’s and Wyatt’s thoughts, he hoped they ended their visit quickly and left him alone with Madison.
It was an effort to turn his attention back to the map and he tried to listen to Tony, who was talking and pointing. Madison came to stand beside him, moving into a space between Wyatt and him.
Jake could detect the scent of her perfume, reminding him of moments last night when they had made love and he caught whiffs of her perfume.
He couldn’t resist just a glance at her. Once again his mind betrayed him and he was flooded with memories of last night, her warm, soft body in his arms, her luscious curves that took his breath. Would old feelings rekindle now that they both knew what had happened and who was really to blame?
“What do you think, Jake?” she said, turning to look up at him.
The only thoughts he had were on making love to her. He tried to pick up the conversation because all three Milans stared at him.
“Your brothers have some new ideas about this. They think Rocky Creek cut an entirely different path, farther to the west,” he said, hoping that wasn’t a repetition of whatever had just been said.
Jake leaned over the photos, and pointed out places to Madison that Wyatt and Tony had picked.
“Some of these aren’t anywhere near the creek,” Madison said. “I think the map looks as if there is a creek running through it.”
“I don’t think this line is Rocky Creek. I don’t think it’s a creek at all, or if it is, it dried up years ago,” Wyatt said.
“It looks like a creek,” Madison said, leaning closer.
“I agree with Madison,” Tony said. “But I also agree with Wyatt that it may have dried up before 1900.”
“We’ll hunt in different places tomorrow—away from Rocky Creek—and see what we can find,” Jake said.
Madison stepped back. “While y’all hash over the possibilities, I’ll see if Jessie Lou needs help with dinner.”
“Good idea,” Tony said, patting his flat stomach.
“Tony, you eat like a nineteen-year-old. Constantly,” she added and he grinned, flashing straight white teeth. “I’ll let you know when it’s ready,” she said and left the room.
* * *
After dinner everyone thanked Jessie Lou. She stayed in the kitchen to clean while Madison and the men returned to the library, once again studying pictures and the copies of the map. Jake thought it was a good idea because he wanted to go over the map carefully with each of them.
“Look. I haven’t attributed any significance to these small circles,” Wyatt said. “I figured it was rocks or just circles. They don’t look like something that would indicate buried treasure. At first, I didn’t even notice them and then I thought they looked like doodling, maybe to throw someone off, but they could have some purpose.”
All three Milans bent over the map on the table and Jake’s gaze ran over Madison’s back and down over her bottom. He wanted to reach out and touch her. He longed to untie the scarf that held her hair behind her head and let her hair fall free around her face.
Jake picked up the copy of the map and looked at it. “Tough part will be finding where this is as well as whatever it is. If that isn’t Rocky Creek, all we can do is look to see what else you think the circles might depict.”
“Try the places we’ve suggested,” Wyatt said.
“Frankly, I think the buried treasure is just a crazy myth,” Tony said. “I’ll be shocked if you find anything.”
“You may be right,” Jake replied, “but I’ve thought about this off and on the past couple of years. Right now I have some time when I can get away, so I’m glad the Milans are letting a Calhoun onto their land,” he said, smiling at Madison, who smiled in return.
“Let us know how it comes out,” Wyatt said, heading for the back door.
Madison and Jake followed. Wyatt and Tony each put on his hat and on the porch, Jake shook hands with first one and then the other.
“Thanks again for not objecting to my search.”
“You’re agreeing to give us the treasure if you find it and we’ll get our ancestors’ bones, too. Sounds like a good deal to me,” Wyatt said, his blue eyes searching Jake’s.
“Right. I hope to find the deed that gives us some McCracken land. He won’t miss it. He has a big ranch.”
“Well, I better get on home,” Wyatt said.
“I have to go, too,” Tony said. “I’m going out tonight.”
As the brothers went down the porch steps, Jake and Madison stood at the top step watching them go. Jake wanted to drape his arm around her, but he fought the impulse.
As soon as they stepped inside, he reached behind him to close the door and lock it and then he turned to face her. She had walked away a few steps.
“Madison, come here,” he said in a deep voice.
She turned and he didn’t wait for her. He closed the distance between them and took her into his arms.