Ride The Wind (Vincente 3) (14 page)

"Well, Mr. Starrett, your reading habits give
me very little insight into your character," she
said aloud. "My brother has this book."

The bed was covered with an indigo and green
Indian coverlet, and on the floor was a braided
rug. She saw a bootjack and a pair of boots in
the corner. There was a holster and a six-gun
hanging from a wall peg.

There was nothing of the man here. Nothing
to tell her who Reese was. There were no pictures of his family no treasures from family
members. She had the saddest feeling that he
had no childhood memories to cherish.

She went back into the parlor and glanced at
the books there. Running her finger down the
titles, she smiled. Now these were interesting,
but they puzzled her further. There was Homer's
Iliad, poems by Thomas Hood, and Phillip
Green's Guide to Arabian Horses. His choice of
books was as complicated as the man himself.

When he called out to Saber, it startled her as
if she'd been caught snooping. She quickly shoved the books back into the shelf.

"I have the kitchen warmed up. You can come
to the table and eat."

She spun around, finding him standing behind her. "I'm starved."

He glanced down at her. "I have never known
a time when you weren't hungry."

She entered the kitchen and observed that the
room had an unused feeling about it. Reese's
large size made the room feel even smaller, and
he seemed uncomfortable in this setting. He
moved to the stove, spearing bacon and placing
it on two plates.

"I'm sorry about the food. The kitchen isn't my
domain."

Saber sat in the chair he indicated and sniffed
the air, taking the cup of coffee he handed her.
"It looks delicious to me," she said, watching
him, awkwardly scrape eggs out of an iron skillet.

Reese sat across from her, and they ate in silence for awhile. It seemed that now that they
faced each other over a table, they were having
a hard time communicating. Saber had so much
she wanted to ask him, but her questions would
be prying into his private life. Now was not the
time to question him, she thought, taking a bite
of the fluffy egg.

"I cook better on the trail," Reese said, watching her carefully.

"A man shouldn't have to cook, Reese. You
should have a wife to do it for you."

He smiled slightly. "Now, I have never thought
of food as a reason to take a wife."

"Well, a wife has more functions than just putting food on your table."

He paused with his fork halfway to his mouth.
"Such as?"

"Well..." Her brow puckered. "I can't say you
need a housekeeper, because everything is neat
and orderly."

"Jake keeps the place clean for me."

"Well, you must want children. A man should
have a son to carry on his name."

"Have you appointed yourself as a one-woman
committee to get me married?" He took a bite of
bacon and stabbed his fork into another. "I do
very well without a wife, thank you. If I want a
woman--" He broke off, somehow resenting her
for thinking he needed a woman.

"I'm sorry," she said, standing up and gathering her dishes. "I know it's none of my business."

"Damned right it isn't!"

He rose abruptly and left the kitchen, returning with his coat and hat. "I'll be late. When you are ready to go to bed, you can have the bedroom."

"I don't want to take your bed."

He stared at her for a moment. "I'll bunk with
Jake and Gabe."

He was startled when she lunged at him, and
he had to catch her in his arms.

"No, Reese. I don't want to sleep in this house
alone. I want you with me." Her stomach tightened in a knot, and she could hardly draw a
breath, she was so frightened. She shook her
head, confused by her own feelings. "What is it?
What have I done to make you so angry with
me?"

His chest expanded, and he reached out to
touch her cheek. "Everything about you makes
me angry," he answered harshly, with a cruel
slant to his mouth. "You don't have any idea
what you are doing to me, do you?"

She knew what he was doing to her, but she
didn't know how to answer his question. She
shook her head and replied softly, "No, I don't."

He could feel her trembling and realized that
she was really afraid of being left alone. He
should have realized she had not yet recovered
from her ordeal.

He captured her in a protective clasp. "Of
course you don't want to be alone. I just have
some chores to do. I'll be back before dark."

Saber touched his face, feeling the stubble of
his beard, dazed by the pleasure she felt at being
close to him. "You won't forget?" she asked in a
throaty voice.

He dislodged her from his arms and walked
toward the door. "No, I won't forget."

The house felt empty when he left. Saber began doing the dishes while she tried to conquer
her fear. What if she spent the rest of her life
frightened when Reese wasn't with her? She realized that not even her brother, Noble, made
her feel safe the way Reese did.

Why was that? she wondered.

Saber cleaned the kitchen, then went into the
parlor, where she found a stack of quilts on the
chair. She spread them before the fire so Reese
could keep warm. She was so tired when she
made her way to the bedroom. A smile lit her
face when she saw that Reese had placed one of
his flannel shirts across the foot of the bed. She
was sure he wanted her to use it as a nightgown.

Cold air hit her when she undressed, but she
still took the time to pour water into the bowl
and quickly wash herself. Shivering, she pulled
the soft flannel shirt over her head. She laughed
when it fell to her knees and the sleeves covered
her hands. She rolled up the sleeves and climbed into bed, hoping Reese would have a comfortable night on the pallet.

She buried her face in his pillow and sank into
the mattress where his body usually lay. A
strange contentment came over her, and she
could see herself spending the rest of her life in
this house.. .in this bed with Reese.

The truth had been there for her to see all the
time, but she had been too confused to recognize it. She had fallen in love with Reese. Not
the idealistic love of a young girl who had been
overwhelmed by Matthew's handsomeness and
his kindness to her when she needed it most.
What she felt for Reese was the love of a woman
who wanted to share her life with him, to have
his children, to stand beside him in hard times
and laugh with him in good times. She wanted
to press herself into his arms and never leave
him.

Reese was as different from Matthew as two
men could be. Matthew was from a prominent
Philadelphia family, always saying the right
thing, his manners impeccable. He had the kind
of looks that drew gasps from young ladies.
Reese would never feel at home in a drawing
room; his hands were callused from hard work.
He was a man to fear if you were his enemy, but
a man to be trusted if you were his friend. He
was honorable, trustworthy, a man of the land.

Thinking about the cattle Reese would lose before this blizzard blew itself out brought tears to
her eyes. She already knew he was not a man to
give up. He'd fight on no matter what the odds.
He'd work hard to rebuild his herd, and she
wanted to be beside him and help him.

She rolled to her side and watched the snowflakes drift slowly past the window. Noble would
respect Reese, because they were very much
alike. She frowned, wondering if her brother
would like Matthew when they finally met. She
pulled the covers to her chin, relishing the feel
of a soft bed. In no time at all, she was asleep.

Noble Vincente's dark gaze pierced Zeb and Alejandro. "Why in the hell did you leave my sister
with that man? I don't know him, and I sure as
hell don't trust him."

Zeb bit off a chunk of tobacco and let the gran
vaquero of Casa del Sol explain Saber's actions
to her brother.

"Patron, it was Senorita Saber's wish to remain with Senor Starrett. She trusts him, and
so do I.She is in no danger from him."

Noble paced the length of the hotel room and
back again, stopping before Alejandro. "Did it
occur to either of you that her reputation might
suffer when it's learned that she's staying with
him without a chaperon?"

Zeb ambled forward and fixed Noble with a
sagacious glance. "I'm a-thinking that people
will say what they want to no matter what. I've
heard talk about her being alone with the Miller
brothers. I don't like it any, but people'll always
sink their teeth in gossip."

Noble's jaw clamped in a hard line. "What
kind of talk, Zeb?"

"I didn't want to tell you, but I 'spect you
should know."

"Just say it right out, old man," Noble insisted.

Zeb nodded grimly. "They're a-saying that she
can't be pure if she's been with those Miller
brothers. Tom Wade was saying they ain't the
kind of men to leave her alone, if you know what
I mean. I took me a swing at him and cracked
his jaw a good-un. He won't be jawing for a
time."

Noble seemed to loom over Zeb; his dark eyes
held a murderous light. "Show me the men who
have said anything about my sister, and they will
die today."

Alejandro placed his hand on his patron's
shoulder. "You can't kill the whole town. The
talk will only grow worse if we call attention to
it."

Zeb removed his hat and tossed it on the bed.
"The way I see it, Miss Saber is safe with Reese Starrett. And that frees us up to go hunting for
the Miller brothers."

Alejandro's voice was raised in anger as he
swooped toward the bed and grabbed Zeb's hat,
tossing it to the floor. "You are loco, old man!
You should know it's bad luck to put your hat
on the bed, and we have had enough of that
lately."

Zeb scooped up his hat and planted it on his
head, seemingly undaunted by Alejandro's outburst. He knew everyone's temper was frayed,
especially Noble's. He wished Rachel were there
to calm the situation down. "We got us enough
trouble and don't need to start a-fighting each
other."

Noble walked to the window and threw the
curtain aside. "When did you say Matthew Halloway and his family would be here?"

Alejandro produced the note that had been delivered to him earlier. "The note said by midmorning."

Noble stared out at the darkened Fort Worth
streets, feeling helpless. He wanted to ride out
tonight and get his sister; he also wanted to find
the Miller brothers and Graham Felton. He
could be very patient when the situation called
for it. He would take care of the men who had
dared touch Saber. He just needed to know she
was unharmed.

He glanced back at the two men who watched
him expectantly. "While we wait for the Halloways, tell me everything you know about Saber's
abduction and rescue by this Reese Starrett. And
don't leave out any detail."

Reese bumped his knee on the stone fireplace
and muttered an oath beneath his breath. As tall
as he was, he was cramped on the small pallet.
He turned until he found a comfortable position,
knowing his restlessness had more to do with
the woman who slept in his bed than the hardness of the floor.

He'd never brought a woman to his ranch. He
tried to imagine a wife doing chores around the
house, cooking, cleaning, and waiting for him
when he got home. But no woman of his acquaintance fit that picture. His imaginary
woman took on a form and a face she was Saber. In his mind he could see her slowly undressing and coming to him naked to nestle in his
arms.

He shot up to a sitting position and shook his
head to clear it of the haunting vision. Saber
hadn't been brought up to do housework or labor on a ranch. So she could cook that didn't
mean she would be willing to do without all the
comforts she was accustomed to having. He recalled Matthew telling him that he'd hired a cook and a housekeeper to take care of the house
where he and Saber would live after they were
married. No, she would not be spending her life
cooking in his small kitchen, and she sure as hell
would never come to him naked.

He placed another log on the fire, watching
sparks shoot up the chimney. Saber was getting
under his skin. He didn't know how much more
of this he could take. She had woven herself into
his mind so tightly he couldn't think of anything
but her.

He should have insisted that she leave with
Zeb and Alejandro. He'd used the excuse that he
could protect her here. Well, who was going to
protect her from him if he couldn't control this
burning passion that was ripping him apart?

When Saber awoke the next morning, she
dressed quickly and went through the house,
finding it empty. She was disappointed that
Reese had already left. She found a cheerful fire
in the parlor, and when she went into the
kitchen, she found a pot of coffee on the back of
the stove. After she'd eaten a thin slice of bacon,
she set about making herself useful. She made
her bed, swept, and dusted the house. She
washed her dirty clothing and hung it before the
fireplace to dry. She then bathed and washed her
hair and dressed in the clean trousers and shirt. Then she waited for Reese to return.