Runaway, page 15
“It’s time for a cup of tea, Maggie. Why don’t you run in and tell your grandmother we’ve been out in the sun long enough. Maybe you can find a few cookies for us.” Her mind on the commotion beyond the barn, Cassie brushed her hands against the dark apron she wore, anxious to scoot Maggie on her way.
“What’s Will and Tall Horse doin’ out there, Cassie?” Maggie stood and peered toward the barn, unwilling to head for the back door. “That horse is makin’ an awful lot of noise.”
“Your uncle Will knows what he’s doing, honey,” Cassie assured her. “Run on in the house now.” Lifting the basket of weeds she had plucked from the fertile ground, she stepped down the row, her eyes alert for stragglers she might have missed. And then the shrill whinny sounded once more, and she cast a glance at the child, who was reluctantly making her way through the screen door into the kitchen.
Cassie dumped her basket on a pile beyond the garden and strode for the barn. Perhaps one of the horses had been hurt. Maybe Will would need her to get salve or bandages from the tack room. Her steps quickened and she ran the last few steps to the barn, blinking as she entered the dim aisle running from one end of the big building to the other.
At the far end, an open doorway led to the corral. A whirl of hooves and swishing tail flashed past the entrance and then Will came into view, leading a horse, one hand on the halter, his shoulders hunched as he gripped the animal’s mane with the other.
“Hold her, Will.” The disembodied voice of Many Fingers echoed through the barn and as Cassie neared, Will spread his feet, bracing himself as the horse he held tossed its head.
Over his shoulder, the stallion the men had brought home yesterday reared, only to settle atop the mare Will held. The stud whinnied, his forefeet covered with pieces of blanket, tied in place. The mare was quiet now, her nose pressing against Will’s chest, spraddle-legged and shivering noticeably.
“Will?” Cassie spoke his name, aghast at the condition of the pretty little sorrel mare. She looked so woebegone, so beleaguered with that enormous stallion leaning on her back.
Will looked over his shoulder and frowned. “Cassie, go on up to the house.”
Her jaw twitched and her teeth clenched as he spoke. “What are you doing, Will?” The shadows fell behind her as she stepped through the doorway, and she squinted against the noonday sun. Many Fingers stood back from the stud, obviously aware of the danger of the huge animal’s flying feet. Then, with a snort, the stallion slid to stand on all four feet and turned away, hanging his head.
Will’s mouth thinned as he looked at his wife. “We’re breedin’ a mare, Cassie. You don’t want to be out here. I told you and Maggie to stay by the house this morning.”
Cassie glared at him, an unexplainable anger coating her words. “You told me to keep Maggie away. I’m a grown woman, Will. I know how horses get bred…sort of.”
His eyes softened and he shook his head. “You don’t want to see this, honey.” Snapping a lead rope on the mare, he led her into the barn, one hand clasping Cassie’s elbow as he went. He took the mare to a nearby box stall and turned her inside the enclosure, closing the door carefully.
Then he turned to the woman who watched him. “You’ve got Many Fingers all embarrassed out there,” he said with a smile.
She pulled away from his grip and backed to the center of the aisle. “Why was the mare making so much noise? Was that horse hurting her?” Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered the pitiful stance the mare had taken.
“It’s always noisy when the stallion covers the mare, Cass,” he began.
“Well, she didn’t act like she liked it, not one little bit!” Cassie put in sharply. “You didn’t even give her a choice.”
Will shook his head. “She didn’t care, Cass. She was ready for him. She just wanted to twitch her tail a little first.”
“Well, I don’t like it that you held her and let him hurt her that way.”
“Honey, we even padded his feet so she wouldn’t get cut up. Come on, look at her, she’s fine now.” Will reached for Cassie and tugged her toward the stall, standing behind her, his arms enclosing her as he bade her to examine the mare. He rocked her a bit, his nose nuzzling against her ear.
“See, sweetheart. She’s eating already. She’s fine.” His mouth was damp against her skin and Cassie felt a frisson of delight flare from the site he had chosen to visit with his warm kisses.
Putting aside the reaction he so easily drew from her eager flesh, she lifted her shoulder, nudging him from place. “It just doesn’t seem right,” she said petulantly.
“Well, next spring when she drops her foal, you’ll be glad we bred her. I’ll remind you of it,” he said with a chuckle.
“Will.” Many Fingers stood in the doorway, holding the halter of the stallion, obviously unwilling to come any closer with Cassie in the aisle. Behind him, the big horse blew and snorted, slowly pawing at the ground with his padded forefoot, his movement languid as if he must make a display of his masculine power for the audience in front of him.
Will turned Cassie from where she stood and steered her toward the big front doors, his arm draped over her shoulder. She glanced back, at odds with the eerie sensations that insisted on curling in her belly as she watched the Indian lead the stud into a stall. That so much energy was required for the act of mating puzzled her. And that the mare had so meekly submitted after putting up such a fuss was another thing that was confusing.
Yet, perhaps it was all worth it, when the result would be a foal in the spring. She turned away from the big horse and caught Will grinning down at her.
“You’ve never seen the likes of that before, have you, honey?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’ve never seen any animals mate, Will. I guess I’m kind of sheltered when it comes to that part of life.”
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something, Cassie,” he murmured as they entered the sunlight once more, walking more slowly toward the house.
She leaned into his side, drawn by the male scent of him, the leather-and-hay blend that seemed forever attached to his clothes, the musky aroma she inhaled from his skin at night.
“Cassie, you know we’re not much different from the horses when it comes right down to it. When a male and female mate, sometimes there’s results to consider.”
She nodded, wondering at his words. What on earth was he talking about? Results? Her forehead crinkled as she pondered his words for a moment. The mare would drop a foal as a result of today’s mating. What did that have to do with her, for goodness sake?
“Cassie? Did you hear me?” He stopped, midway through the yard, halfway to the house, and his hands gripped her shoulders. “Cassie, you really don’t know yet, do you? It didn’t even occur to you that we’re probably gonna have a baby early next year?”
She shook her head. “You really think so?” One hand moved, trembling fingers resting against her belly.
Will nodded, heart beating wildly at the idea that had only now begun to feel like a fact. “I’d say we’re gonna have a child, Cass, and my best guess would be in January.”
She blinked at him, looking like a downy owl still in the nest, he decided. More than ever it looked as if his suspicions had been correct when Cassie had missed her monthly. She hadn’t shown any concern, hadn’t mentioned anything, that was true. And he sure enough hadn’t seen any signs of such a thing since they’d gotten married, and that had been almost two months already.
“Do you really think I’m in the family way?” she asked politely, her cheeks gone a rosy pink, her mouth quivering as she spoke.
“Yeah, I’d say you probably are, honey.” His mouth stretched into a wide grin.
Cassie took a deep breath. “Well, how come I didn’t know it? Shouldn’t I feel something?”
“Cass, didn’t your mother tell you about having babies? About how you don’t have monthly times and such?” Here he’d thought she was keeping it for a surprise, and now it turned out she didn’t have any idea what was going on. No matter how you looked at it, he was getting in pretty deep here, he decided. And not even too sure of his ground, to tell the truth.
“Maybe my mother better talk to you about this,” he suggested, deciding immediately that that idea had a considerable amount of merit. His arm around her waist, he turned her to the house, his steps a little quicker as Clara came out the back door.
“Ma, Cassie wants to talk to you,” he said brightly.
She stiffened against his arm, dragging her feet as Clara Tolliver moved to the railing. “It’s all right, Will,” Cassie said. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“What’s the matter here?” Clara asked sharply. “Were you out in the barn, Cassie? Are you all right, girl?” She cast an accusing look at her son. “She shouldn’t be out there when you’re breedin’ those horses, Will. You’ll have her all upset.”
Will grinned. “She’s upset, all right, Ma. But not about the horses. I think you need to talk to her.”
Cassie flushed a brighter hue. “She’ll think I’m ignorant!”
Clara’s face softened as she looked at her daughter-inlaw. “I’d never think that, child,” she said kindly. “Come on in here, your tea is gone cold while you were out back.”
Will gladly gave her over to his mother. Unless he’d read it wrong, Cassie was well on her way to motherhood, and he couldn’t have been more pleased if he’d tried. In fact, he felt a touch of the same male arrogance that fancy stud had displayed out in the corral a while ago. Damn, life was good.
“Mama, I wish you knew!” Cassie tugged the quilt over her shoulder and spoke to the empty room, wishing with all her heart that the woman she addressed could somehow hear her. A bubble of pure joy escaped her lips and she brushed quickly at a single tear that dampened her cheek.
“I can’t be sad, Mama. I miss you so much, but I’m so full of happy, there isn’t room for sorrow inside me today.” She gazed across the room to the window, where the afternoon sunshine had faded to early twilight. The sounds of voices in the kitchen below were muted, only the low rumble of Will’s tones making her aware of his presence in the house.
She swung her feet over the side of the bed, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. Taking a nap had seemed a foolish waste of time, but Clara’s admonition, along with a sudden wave of weariness, had sent her to her bed over an hour ago.
Now she recognized the scents of supper, the chicken Clara had been cooking on the back of the stove earlier, in preparation for the dumplings she would add later. A grumble in her stomach alerted Cassie that it had been hours since she’d put any food in her mouth, and she bent to locate the shoes she’d kicked off earlier.
“Cassie.” Will spoke from the open doorway and she looked over her shoulder. He leaned with negligent ease against the frame, his eyes tender as he surveyed his wife.
“I’m getting up, Will. I should have been downstairs, helping your mother.” She leaned to slip her shoes on and suddenly he was there, kneeling before her, his hands on her feet. He lifted one, then the other, putting her shoes in place, his hands big and warm against her cotton-clad flesh.
“You don’t have to wait on me, Will,” she told him, reaching to pick a piece of hay from his hair. Her hand lingered there, her fingers tunneling through his dark locks.
He looked up at her. “You’ll be getting waited on a lot for the next few months. You’re going to have my child, aren’t you, Cassie? Didn’t my mother agree with what I said?”
She nodded, her teeth settling softly against her bottom lip. “I can’t believe it, Will. After she told me all the things that happen, how her body changes when a woman gets in the family way, I knew right off she was right.”
“How do you feel about it, honey?” he asked, glancing down at her feet as he fastened her shoes. “You don’t mind, do you?”
She shook her head. “No!” Her hands rested on his shoulders and she bent forward, her mouth against his, her head turning a bit to better seal their lips in a caress. Soft as the velvet petals of violets in the spring, their mouths touched, brushing and meshing, a current of wonder flowing to capture them in its midst.
Cassie felt the touch of Will’s hands, his fingers enclosing her breasts, cupping her, weighing her tender flesh, and she whispered his name. “Will, I’ve been lying here wishing my mother could know about the baby.”
He nodded, his arms sliding to enclose her in his embrace, easing to scoot between her spread knees, drawing her to rest her head on his shoulder. “I wonder if maybe she doesn’t know, honey. Maybe part of the advantage of being in heaven is knowing all the good things that go on with the people we love. Maybe she’s already thinkin’ about a guardian angel for our baby.”
“Oh, Will! You’re just trying to make me feel better,” Cassie said with a soft laugh.
“Don’t you believe in angels?” he asked, nudging her to sit erect He looked long and hard into her eyes and an air of satisfaction touched his countenance.
Cassie shook her head. “Of course I believe in angels. I’m just not sure you do. I think you’re joshin’ me.”
He laughed aloud, then shrugged and rose to his feet, tugging her with him to stand toe-to-toe. “I just know we—”
He broke off abruptly as Maggie shrieked loudly from the kitchen. Clara shouted words Cassie couldn’t make out and then Maggie squealed again. One word resonated through the slamming of the screen door and the shouts from the yard.
In a moment of silence, Maggie’s voice rose in a cry of pure happiness. “Mama!”
Chapter Twelve
“Josie’s here.” His chin assuming a stubborn tilt, Will set Cassie aside and stalked to the bedroom door.
“Wait, Will,” she called after him. His eyes were no longer soft, and his mouth had lost its tender smile. Will had donned a cloak of anger Cassie had never seen him wear. Not even on the day he’d rescued her from the two cowhands had she found him to be so armed with fury.
He was down the stairs ahead of her, unheeding of her words, and she clattered down the steps, his greater stride leaving her behind. From the yard Maggie’s voice rose, shrill excitement coating each word as she greeted her mother.
“I knew you were comin’ back! I knew it, Mama! Grandma said I shouldn’t be lookin’ for you every day, but I knew!”
Then there was the rumble of Will’s lower tones, and Cassie burst through the screen door just as he greeted his sister. He’d managed to rein in his anger somewhat, his words not as harsh as Cassie had dreaded hearing. But the scowl he wore was mute testimony to the disapproval he felt.
“It’s been a long time, Josie.”
Cassie’s sigh of relief was echoed by Clara, and their eyes met in a mutual exchange of apprehension. If Maggie noticed any tension, it was blithely ignored as she danced around her mother.
Josie stood by the wagon that had delivered her, uneasy and travel worn, her eyes seeking first one, then another of the trio of adults before her. One hand reached to brush at Maggie’s head as the child bounced before her, her glance at the glowing face of her daughter filled with yearning.
The woman’s dress was wrinkled and bore signs of having been worn to a frazzle, Cassie thought. Not that she could afford to be critical, considering her own ragtag appearance upon her arrival at this place. Dark hair, almost the identical color as her child’s, was pulled into a knot at the nape of Josie’s neck, not a wave or curl loose to relieve the simplicity of her appearance.
She was thin, almost to the point of illness, if Cassie was any judge. Her dress hung loosely on her, and unless she had more baggage than the small carpetbag at her feet, she probably didn’t own much else to wear. Feeling an affinity for the woman, Cassie stepped forward to stand by Will’s side.
“I’m Cassie, your new sister-in-law,” she said quietly, offering her hand in greeting.
Eyes of a golden hue met hers, and a mouth that trembled in a smile repeated her name. “Cassie? Will’s wife? I guess I didn’t know he was married.”
“He wasn’t until just a while back,” Cassie returned, her fingers intent on warming Josie’s cold flesh. “Why don’t you come in and talk to your mother while I set another place at the table?”
“If we can get Maggie peeled off her long enough, I might even get a hug from my daughter,” Clara said gruffly, her eyes moist.
Josie stepped forward, almost stumbling over her carpetbag. “Oh, Mama! I’ve missed you so.” Her words broken with emotion, Josie reached for her mother and was enclosed in welcoming arms.
Will’s mouth was drawn into a thin line as he watched the reunion, his shoulders stiff as he regarded his sister.
“Will?” Cassie slid her hand into his and his mouth relaxed as he registered her presence beside him.
“Yeah, Cass.” He squeezed her fingers in a silent message. His eyes closed for just a moment, and with visible effort he relaxed his stance. “I’ll get Many Fingers from the barn for supper. We’ll be in shortly.” With a strained smile for her benefit, he turned away.
Josie’s gaze followed him sadly and then she turned back to her mother. “Will’s mad at me, Ma.”
Clara sniffed and raised an eyebrow. “Can’t see as he has much to brag about, child. He only managed to make it home himself a while back.”
“Mama, Uncle Will’s been showin’ me how to ride a horse,” Maggie bragged. “Him and Many Fingers helped Grandma’s mares have a lot of babies.”
Josie’s face brightened. “You’ve got new foals, Ma?” And then she looked baffled for a moment. “Many Fingers?”
“He’s Will’s right-hand man,” Cassie offered. “He came with us.” Not that she would volunteer the beginning of their strange friendship. No sense in telling more than anyone needed to know.
“An Indian?” Josie asked in surprise.
