A Very Lusty Christmas (5 page)

“I promise,” Patrick said.

“I promise.” Gerald understood his family history as well as any man in Lusty did. He thought of his grandfathers, Caleb and Joshua, as well as his “honorary” grandfathers, Adam and Warren. As one of their oldest grandsons, he’d received more than one lecture—and more than one private chat not suitable to be recounted in front of the ladies.

So he imagined he understood why his mother had demanded such a promise from him, though of course he generally chose not to imagine that his mother had ever been a young woman, being wooed by and passionately in love with his two very virile fathers.

Hell, she’s a middle-aged woman still passionately in love with her husbands.

Maybe because Gerald was so newly a man in love himself, and had so recently entertained images of what he would love to do to and with Katherine Wesley, he really hated to think of his mother in that same light.

“Well then.” Amanda nodded and gave him and Patrick one of her best smiles. “It befalls me to go to the train station in Waco tomorrow to meet Major Wesley. Dalton will be driving me.” She turned to Sarah. “Do you know, every time I go to the train station, I cannot help but remember that it was
there
I first laid eyes on those two lawmen of mine.”

Sarah grinned. “You thought they were going to arrest you.”

“I really did. We had ourselves quite an adventure, the three of us.” Amanda laughed softly. “It was also at that very same train station that my men persuaded me to stay—after they let me take care of that blackguard, Jonathan Marley, first.”

“While half of Waco, along with both Bat Masterson
and
Wyatt Earp looked on,” Sarah said. “You have no idea how many times I wished I’d been there and seen that.”

Amanda sighed. “They’re all such wonderful memories, cousin.” Her eyes seemed brighter and Gerald knew she was fighting tears. He’d seen firsthand the depth of the love both of his grandmothers had for their husbands. Like the love his mother showed his fathers, he’d long ago known he wanted nothing less for himself and Patrick.

It hadn’t been very long since Adam Kendall and Warren Jessop had passed. They’d lost Adam about a year before Pearl Harbor, and Warren had died just last summer.

Amanda Jessop-Kendall straightened her shoulders and Gerald knew she’d gotten control of her emotions. “I suppose that missing them is just a part of the whole of it, isn’t it?”

“I think it is.” Sarah reached over and took Amanda’s hand in hers. “We were such exceptionally lucky women to find our heart’s desire, when we didn’t even know at the time what that possibly could be.”

Amanda nodded. “And luckier still, I think, in our children, and our grandchildren.”

“Yes.” Sarah turned her gaze on him and Patrick and smiled. “We’ve both been incredibly blessed. Gerald?”

“Yes, Grandmother?”

“Be gentle with that young woman—but not
too
gentle. If you’ve both fallen in love with her, then she must be the woman meant to be yours. I believe that with all my heart. That seems to be the Benedict way.” She slanted a look at his mother, who nodded. “Treat her like a lady, and in this case, an officer, in public. But don’t underestimate her strength, nor the depth of her passion. No real woman truly wants to be treated like a lady in the bedroom.”

Gerald would have sworn his grandmother couldn’t surprise him. He would have been wrong. He nodded his head, and then looked over at Patrick.

“Please excuse us,” Patrick said. “We need to be heading out now to report to duty. We’ll be home again in a couple of weeks, if we can.”

The ladies all nodded, indicating they’d been excused. Of course Gerald and his brother took the time to kiss cheeks and give gentle hugs.

The women in the family cherished displays of affection almost as much as the men cherished lavishing them upon them.

When they stepped out onto the porch of the Big House, Patrick exhaled heavily. “Did you ever think we’d be given instructions by our
grandmother
on how to make love to our woman?”

Gerald rubbed his hands over his face. “Never. Of course the moment she said those words, I recalled that one evening around the campfire when our grandfathers got into the whiskey, and decided to give us a complete how-to lesson on double penetration.”

“Jesus.” Patrick’s face turned beet red, which matched the heat Gerald felt on his own.

Then Gerald laughed. “The grandmothers have written diaries that only the women are allowed to read—just as Joshua and Warren wrote journals meant only for male eyes. Kind of makes you want to read the advice our grandmothers have penned, doesn’t it?”

Patrick laughed. “I don’t know how I should answer that, big brother.”

Gerald slapped his brother—his best friend—on the back. “Never mind. Come on, let’s go grab our things and get on the road. It’s a long drive to the airfield.”

It would be at
least
two weeks before they could return for an evening and finally see their woman. He hoped to hell she didn’t find out, in the interim, the lengths to which they’d gone just to bring her to Lusty.

They’d tell her the truth about everything, of course—eventually. But they wanted the chance to win her heart, first.

Kate didn’t quite know what to make of the small town of Lusty, Texas. From the elderly lady who’d met her at the train station in Waco and had accompanied her here, to the folks at every one of the businesses she’d passed or ventured into, everyone had been so very welcoming.

She’d been delivered straight to the Convalescent Home she was now responsible for running. Patients would begin arriving in just over two weeks. Kate had understood that fact even before she’d arrived, and had hoped she’d be able to get the building ready for the wounded soldiers in so short a time. But as she’d toured the place upon her arrival, she realized there was virtually nothing left for her to do.

The Home appeared spotless, had been stocked up with supplies, and was ready to receive its first guests.

With nothing much to do, Kate had quickly unpacked her bag—she could
not
believe the size of the bedroom, or the
bed
itself that Mrs. Jessop-Kendall had insisted be hers!—and then had taken a walk to explore her new hometown.

Kate found herself enchanted by the small community. It hadn’t taken her very long to get her bearings. There was a dry goods store, a five-and-dime, a grocery, and an apothecary. The town also boasted its own library and doctor’s office. The drugstore was complete with a soda counter, but otherwise there was no restaurant in town.

She’d found the kitchen in the Convalescent Home stocked with a full larder and the most modern of refrigerators. She did love to cook, so eating certainly wasn’t going to be a problem.

Walking back toward the very large Victorian on the quiet, tree-lined street, Kate let herself take in the beauty of the building, and the almost pastoral setting in which it had been built. The Home itself was nothing short of majestic. General Erickson had told her the town had built this house near the end of the last war, and then, when it had no longer been needed, had simply closed it.

Kate could see no sign that the building had sat vacant, for it appeared freshly painted and well maintained.

Even the gardens had been tended to, and she found herself wondering what sort of plants one would grow here in this climate so different from the one she was accustomed to.

As she began to ascend the steps toward the porch, the sound of automobiles approaching caught her attention. She turned and watched as two fairly new-looking Fords pulled to the curb and came to a stop right in front of the house. The driver’s door on each vehicle opened and a woman emerged, one from each car. The lady who’d driven the lead car appeared to be a fair bit older than the other one. Both presented wide smiles as they approached.

“You’d be Major Wesley.” The older woman didn’t appear the least bit shy in inspecting her. Kate didn’t sense there was anything unfriendly in the regard both ladies subjected her to, so she smiled in return.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m Major Katherine Wesley.”

“General Erickson sent word that you were a most capable nurse and officer, Major. Welcome to Lusty. I’m Sarah Benedict, and this is my daughter-in-law, Madeline.”

Kate accepted Sarah Benedict’s handshake. “I’m pleased to meet you, Mrs. Benedict.” She nodded to the older woman then turned her gaze on the younger—although this lady looked to be about the same age as her own mother. “And you, Mrs. Benedict.” Both women had confident handshakes. Kate felt a slight shiver of unease, but dismissed it immediately. Benedict was a common enough name, after all, and Texas was a very large state.

Besides, if there weren’t such things as coincidences, there never would have been a word created to describe the circumstance.

Kate pulled her attention back to the moment. “Won’t you both please come in? I’ll brew a pot of coffee for us, if you’d like.”

Sarah Benedict smiled. “That would be lovely, Major, thank you.”

Kate wasn’t certain where everything was in the kitchen, but her unexpected guests didn’t make her feel nervous or uncomfortable in the least about that fact. Neither did they get up to show her where everything could be found. They sat, graciously making small talk, and allowed her to be their hostess.

She had a moment’s thought that her own mother could learn a thing or two about being a gracious lady from the Mesdames Benedict.

I should feel guilty for such a thought.
Perhaps she should, but her mother’s loud hue and cry when Kate had informed her parents that she was being sent to Texas still played heavily on her mind, and the implied insults still stung.

Kate believed that her mother genuinely wanted her happiness. The only problem was that Mildred Wesley believed that a woman’s happiness could and should
only
be found in making a socially and financially advantageous marriage.

To hear her mother tell the tale, Kate’s being sent from home, even if it was in the service of her country, meant she was already a fallen woman.

“Are you homesick, Major?” the younger Mrs. Benedict asked. “Forgive me for asking, but you looked a little sad just now. It must be difficult to suddenly find yourself so far from home.”

“Perhaps I am, a little.” There was just something about these women that set her completely at ease. She had the uncanny feeling that she could tell them anything, and they would not only welcome the confidence, but guard it well. Feeling heartsick for having parted from her mother with hard words between them, Kate decided to trust her instincts.

“My mother wasn’t pleased that I had been given orders to come to Texas. She doesn’t, I’m afraid, hold a very high opinion of young ladies who pursue any agenda that doesn’t embrace matrimony and motherhood.”

“These are trying times,” Madeline Benedict said. “Life is changing on us all so fast.” She sat back and sighed. “Two of my own sons are over in Europe right now. Letters from over there have been few and far between. It’s a difficult time to be a mother.” She paused and looked at her mother-in-law. “Or a grandmother.”

“I’m an only child,” Kate confessed. “Which means that I am the sole receptacle of all of my mother’s hopes and dreams. I’m trying to understand her position. I’m really not a disobedient daughter, at heart. At least I don’t think I am. I’m not trying to dash all her best wishes for me. I just…I
need
to do my part right now.”

“Of course you’re not a disobedient daughter.” Madeline Benedict patted her hand.

“And I’m quite certain that you’re not trying to disappoint her. And aren’t we all, in this time of war, simply trying to do our part?” Sarah Benedict lowered her voice. “As to the question of disobedience, I can tell you firsthand, Major Wesley, being a disobedient daughter isn’t as horrible a thing as some might think.” Sarah Benedict nodded her head, and Kate believed her.

The coffee was ready, so Kate turned the burner down under the pot and set about putting cream and sugar, cups and spoons, on the table. A cookie jar on the counter had been filled with fragrant cookies. The scent of vanilla that wafted up when she lifted the lid made her mouth water. She put several of the cookies on a plate and brought that to the table as well. Then she poured out three cups of the beverage, and sat in one of the empty chairs at the table.

“I don’t imagine you’ve had much of a chance to inspect your new home,” Sarah said.

“Not completely, no. I need to memorize where everything is, but I did make a quick tour after I unpacked. I thought I’d have a lot of preparation to do in order to begin to receive patients. But even the beds are made!”

“We built this Home to house returning soldiers in 1918,” Sarah Benedict said. “And then when it was no longer needed, we closed it. When the decision was made recently to offer this building for the use of the army, I found it both a comfort and an upset that the planning and supplying of this haven for the wounded came naturally, and that the experiences of the past rose to the surface of my memory so easily.”

“Now, we didn’t want you to think for one minute that we expected you to do everything yourself.” Madeline set her cup down. “You’re to be in charge, of course, of the running of the Home. Jeremiah—Doctor Parker—will be by later today to introduce himself to you. He’ll be on call, and will come around on a regular basis to see to the needs of the patients.”