OUT OF THE DARKNESS (THE PRESCOTT SERIES) (19 page)

“Thanks for fixing me up.” Both men glanced up as Jade came from her
bedroom.

“I’ll just t
ake these out to clean ‘em up.”

Cookie
hurried out the backdoor, bloody towels in hand, leaving no sign of blood where Jade could see.

Jade acted as if nothing had happened as she began to prepare
supper. Picking up Emma from her nap, Jason placed her in her seat with her usual pan and spoon to bang on. The more racket the little girl made, the louder she giggled. Jade gave her an indulgent smile. Her gaze met his and they shared the lighthearted moment.

~~~

Jason wondered if the nightly routine of her coming to his door and waiting for him to fold back the covers in invitation would change. A sigh of relief escaped him when the soft patter of bare feet echoed in the silent room. She stood next to his bed for a moment then crawled in. Placing his uninjured hand under her cheek, she smiled and fell asleep.

A
soft moan of anguish drew him from sleep. Jade’s nightmare had returned. A false sense of security had invaded their lives over the last weeks. He realized the sight of blood had affected her more than he’d realized.

Held in the throes of her nightmare, she flung herself half over him and her knee grazed his groin. That part of him quickly came to attention.
Desire had no place in the kind of comfort Jade required, yet, it raced through his body like hot silver. To quiet her, he whispered soothing words in her ear. His thumb touched her cheek and removed the tears seeping from underneath her closed eyelashes. A burning flame of desire kindled to life as he stroked her from her nape to her waist. With loving caresses, he urged her into a peaceful sleep.

It was late when
she quieted. What happened in her past to provoke such a reaction to the sight of blood? His hand stroked the softness of her hair. He wished he could spare her the burden she suffered during her nightmares. His admiration for this small, brave woman grew as he watched her courageously overcome each incident, each uncertainty, each fear that plagued her.

Pulling her tighter, he promised he would do all within his power to rid her of her frightening dreams. The warmth of her body, the scent that was Jade’s alone and assured by her steady breathing, Jason
closed his eyes and waited for sleep to overtake him.

A week later, Jason brushed a kiss across Jade’s luscious lips. “You get
the decoration ready, and I’ll bring back a Christmas tree when I come home,” he said with a wide grin.

He wanted the first Christmas he shared with Jade and Emma to be special. It was tradition
in his family to celebrate the Holiday with family and friends. Deep snow prevented John and Margaret from making the trip to the ranch, but Cookie, Willie, and Pete were here. He and Jade would give a party in the Prescott time-honored tradition.

Jason tugged on the end of the four-foot pine tree he had cut earlier while riding out to check on the herd in the west pasture. Placing it in the living area in a large bucket, it stood straight and tall. The
pungent scent of fresh cedar filled the room.

“Well, what do you think
, Jade?” Jason stood back to admire his tree selection. “Will this do?”

If the smile on
Jade’s face was any indication of how happy she was, Jason didn’t know if she’d be able to contain herself.

She’d strung popcorn and
wrapped it around the tree. Colorful bows, made from yarn, she tied haphazardly on the trees branches. Each gift she’d made, she placed under the tree with care. He’d wrap his gift later and surprise her on Christmas morning.

Jade
had worked furiously for two days to have everything ready. He’d helped with Emma as much as possible. Jade peered out the door for the hundredth time. Four inches of new snow had fallen during the night. By her excited smile, he could tell Cookie, Pete and Willie were tromping their way to the main house. Jade swung the door open and welcomed the three old cowhands.

“Come on in boys. Jade’s
been in a dither all morning.” Holding Emma in one arm, he draped the other over Jade’s shoulders.

Helpi
ng Jade organize this small get-together for the ranch hands had proved to be a challenging experience. He learned real quick Jade wanted things done to perfection. Thankfully, she had relived her nightmare only the one night after the incident with his cut hand. She looked happy and well rested.

“You can put your packages under the tree. Jade has dinner on the table
, and we’ve been waiting for you,” Jason said as he placed Emma in her chair.

Pete and Willie, never ones for idol conversation, ate silently except to ask for another serving of the food they had just devoured. Cookie on the other
hand was his usual long-winded self.

“These sure are good sweet taters Mi
ss Jade, you’ll have to tell me… er…show me how you fixed ‘em.” Cookie continued to praise Jade on her cooking until her face suffused with color.

Cookie stood and snatched her empty plate from the table
. “Us men will take care of this. After a delicious meal like that, it’s the least we can do. Right boys,” Cookie offered.

The
others nodded in agreement.

Jade had asked Jason to arrange the chairs in a semicircle around the Christmas tree. Emma opened her gifts first. She
rattled the rocks inside the small can that Jade crocheted around after replacing the lid. Other toys, she stuffed in the skirt of her pinafore.

Colorful scarves
that Jade had knitted hung around each man’s neck. They had accepted her gift with smiles of appreciation. She had taken particular care in choosing the right shade of blue for Jason’s. It matched his eyes perfectly.

Cookie took some good-natured teasing about his red scarf matching his
faded red long johns and socks. He countered with, “anything Miss Jade makes me I’ll wear with pleasure.”

She giggled. Since everything he wore had a red tint, she thought it was his favorite color.

Emma played on the floor with a variety of toys the men made her. Willie’s prized piece of driftwood laid in Jade’s lap along with the pair of moccasins Pete had given her, made from the mountain lion’s hide he and Jason had killed. A box, with a hinged lid, filled with recipes was Cookie’s offering. The gift that brought tears to her eyes was Jason’s exquisite hand carved mirror.

Roses, carved in tiny detail, created a charming bouquet on the back while the front held a precise circle of mirror. As the reflection gazed back at her, Jade wondered why it brought no sense of recognition. She w
as a stranger, even to herself.

Her fingers traced the tiny rosebuds and marveled at the hours
that it must have taken to create such a lovely pattern. She rose from her chair and kissed Jason’s cheek.

Jason
gazed at her as if no one else was around. Cookie nodded to Pete and Willie and headed for the door.

“We’ll see you later Jason
, Jade.”

Mesmerized by Jason’s blue gaze, she barely heard the door close.

Emma played quietly on the floor with her new toys. The flames in the fireplace cracked and popped, warming the room. But the warmth between her and Jason kindled an everlasting flame that she could only fan, nurture, and eagerly embrace by the unspoken love in her heart.

“Jade, tomorrow is Emma’s first birthday. Would you mind baking a cake, and we’ll have Cookie and the boys in for a party?”

Not wanting the past to leave a shadow over the joy of Emma
being brought into his life, he planned to happily celebrate her birthday. She had learned to walk recently, getting into everything she could find. Jade shared his joy in watching Emma take her first step and to hear her first word. Dada.

She
appeared to be tired, even though he knew she had been sleeping well these last few months. Jade had a sweet nature, contradicting her red hair, which was more common to a fiery temper. Over the months, Jason had come to appreciate the fact her fire lay in a different region of her anatomy. One he fully intended to explore after her baby was born.

Jade spent t
he day preparing for Emma’s birthday. The baby’s gift, a rag doll, she made from scraps of material. She carefully wrapped it in paper and tied it closed with a pink ribbon. She held the door open when Jason came from the barn, stomping through the fresh fallen snow, carrying a small rocking chair. Placing it on the table, he cleaned and polished it until it looked new.

She
looked at him in surprise. Running her hand over the smooth spindles she gave it a nudge to watch it rock.

“It was mine when I was a child,” Jason explained. “Margaret had it stored when she followed me west. You might call it a family heirloom. Our father made each of us one. Janey
is now using Margaret’s chair.”

Jade smiled, placed her small hand on his arm in a gesture of approval. She was glad Emma would have this small treasure left from her father’s childhood. Jason must have received his talent f
or woodworking from his father.

She tried not to think of what treasures her past might hold.
A past wreathed in mystery and darkness. A place she managed to put behind her in the safety of Jason’s arms. Over the months, she had built a future with Jason and Emma. She didn’t want her past to jeopardize their future. Yet, she longed for the pall that hung over their lives to disappear.

After the party, the men went back to the bunkhouse. Jade no longer made a pretense of going to her bedroom. Once she dressed in her nightgown, she came directly to
Jason’s room and slid in beside him.

Jason snuggled her closer, worried that her time was near.
Something woke him. The night lay in a hushed, quiet stillness. The silence of fresh fallen snow when the earth rested from all its labor. Yet, something was not quite right. Lying in bed, his arms tightly wrapped around Jade he waited, listened. He felt her stomach grow taut. After a moment, her muscles relaxed. Not long afterwards, the tautness was back with greater force. Jade stiffened in response to the pain.

Her labor had begun.
Careful not to wake her, knowing she’d need all her strength for the hours ahead, he dressed and peered out the ice-covered window.

Two feet of additional snow lay on the ground, l
eft by the storm that had blown in overnight. Clouds still lingered with the promise of more. It would be up to him to help Jade give birth.

Fear shot through him.

Jade rolled to her back. Her hand patted his side of the bed, searching.

“I’m here.” He rushed to her side and took her hand.

Eyes filled with pain stared at him. She squeezed his hand as another pain gripped her.

“It’s alright. I’ll be with you every step of the way. I’m going to take Emma to Cookie
, and I’ll be right back. Don’t worry.”

Easy words to say, he thoug
ht. He was worried sick. What made him think he could do this? He should have left her and Emma with Margaret where a doctor was on hand. Picking up a sleeping Emma, he bundled her up and took her to the cook shack. After explaining the situation, he rushed back to the house.

Hot water, towels, sheets. Jason marked each item off the list he had drawn up when he knew the
re was a possibility he would have to deliver Jade’s baby, alone. He’d purchased a bottle of laudanum when they had gone to town. The herbs, catnip and fennel, known to help bring down fevers, he bought at the apothecary. He prayed he would not have to use them.

Jade
held Jason’s hand when the pains intensified to the point she thought they would rip her apart. He encouraged her to flow with the pain, not to fight it, which seemed to ease the agony. The day passed in a blur of pain and Jason’s voice.

She had not considered the intimacies required for delivering a baby when she agreed to let Jason bring her child into the world. The first time he pulled the covers back to look between her legs, she was mortified. Her embarrassment got easier to endure as the morning progressed along with the pain. What was a little embarrassment compared to th
e anguish gripping her body.

Late in the afternoon, the full force of her labor
was upon her. Pain after pain rolled over her and through her. Jason squatted at the foot of the bed, whipping out instructions with the same demanding voice that Margaret would have.

Push. Wait. Push.
No, no, push again. Wait.

Couldn’t the man make up his mind, Jade agonized? She was in
misery and pushing helped.

“One more push
, Jade. Come on, sweetheart, you can do it,” he encouraged.

The baby slid into Jason’s waiting hands.
Red, wrinkled, and screaming. Her legs kicked in protest while her hands thrashed about. Her tiny fingers wrapped around his thumb and Jason was lost. At that moment, Jason knew this small life he helped bring into the world would always have a special place in his heart. She would be his, the same as Emma was his.