River Song (22 page)

"I really wish I didn't have to leave you here, but I've no other choice," he breathed.
"Maybe some other time, some other
place."

Sean glanced over at the cabin, making sure no eyes were upon them,
then
claimed her soft mouth with a quick kiss. "I'll think of you often," he promised as he took the small bundle of food from her hand. With a long look in her crystal-blue eyes, he mounted Whiskey, kicked the animal harder than necessary, and galloped out of sight.

"Some other time," Eileen echoed in a whisper as she watched him fade into the distance.

Touching her lips, knowing they would never feel the same again, she mouthed the words, "some other place," and vowed that somehow, someday, she would find that time and place.

"Then I shall walk."

Sunny flipped her hair over her shoulder and lifted her chin as she began to strut out of the barn, but she'd only managed a couple of steps before Cole's firm grip was on her arm.

"Dammit, Sunflower, hang on a minute." When she halted her stride, he blew out a sigh. "You are the most exasperating woman I've ever known."

Turning to him, she flashed a haughty grin. "Then I am pleased. It is important to me to be the best at everything I do."

Laughing, he released her arm and shook his head. "I'm not going to win this one, am I?"

"Not for all the water in the mighty Colorado, Cole Fremont." She patted the back of her skirt,
then
circled him with an exaggerated limp. "My leg and other important parts will never be the same after a day spent in that hideous sidesaddle. If you wish to show me your land, I will ride the way I want to, or I shall walk."

"Oh, Sunny."
Cole sighed and pulled her into his arms. He stared down at her features, noted the determined set of her strong chin, the stubborn Irish gleam in her deep sapphire-blue eyes. What kind of madness drew him to this half-breed, this woman whose passion had only begun to surface? She had a way of bringing him to his knees, of stripping away all his pretenses, leaving him incapable of any kind of facade. No courting games were allowed with her. This woman demanded the truth—a man's soul.

Chuckling, he rolled his eyes.
"All right, stubborn lady.
Ride any way you like, but remember it's your reputation at stake."

"It is also my bottom. I will not have it bruised any further."

Still laughing, Cole kissed her forehead and ran his fingertips down the side of her cheek to her throat. Since they'd arrived at the ranch, he'd been working overtime to catch up with spring calving and going over the books with his father. Glimpses of Sunny had been infrequent, happening most often during mealtimes when they were surrounded by family and ranch hands, all very carefully engineered by Cole.

Now as he looked into Sunflower's eyes he had to wonder if any good had come from the idea to distance
himself
from her, if he'd helped or hindered his own understanding of what they were all about. Had he really learned anything about their puzzling, forbidden
relationship,
or about
himself
during the past few days without her? He had hoped to find he'd been caught up in a purely physical flirtation, something that would bum itself out if he were to absent himself from her considerable charms and innocent, trusting nature. But he'd been wrong. The days and nights were consumed with thoughts of her, memories of her spontaneous laughter, her prankish nature, her touch, her scent,
the
way she looked at him when she wanted something from him. Oh, how he needed a few hours alone with her.

"I've missed you the last couple of days," he said thickly. "I've missed holding you through the long nights on the trail, feeling your hair against my shoulder as you sleep."

The tone of his voice, the sudden smoke in his eyes, made her heart lurch and her knees weak. Suddenly in need of air, Sunny took a deep breath. "And I you," she murmured softly.

Charged with instant desire, wanting desperately to bury
himself
in her softness, no longer wondering why, Cole vetoed the urge to keep her in his arms as his father's harsh words of prejudice echoed in his mind.

Abruptly releasing her, he stepped back and removed the offensive sidesaddle from the dark bay mare. "Let's not waste any more time around here."

After stripping the horse, Cole dug out the smallest roping saddle he could find and invited Sunny to mount, wondering what she intended to do with her skirts. But as usual, she was way ahead of him. With a playful giggle, Sunny raised her hem to reveal her brother's trousers, then gathered the bundle of grey serge in one arm and pulled herself onto the horse with the other. Sitting primly, she draped the material over the mare as if she were covering a dining table, then smiled and waited for Cole's next instructions.

Shaking his head, Cole laughed as he mounted and wheeled Sage towards the barn door. With the mare, Dust Bucket, close behind, the chestnut stallion raced down the path leading away from the Triple F ranch.

As they galloped, Sunny fell into an easy cadence with the borrowed horse and marveled at the strength beneath her, the differences between this purebred animal and Paddy, who was still resting in a corral. She could almost feel the ripple of Dust Bucket's muscles beneath the saddle as they bunched and expanded in perfect rhythm with her thighs, and dreamed of one day owning an animal of such magnificence. Suddenly Sunny wondered how much longer she'd be in a position to borrow this one. How long
did
she have before Cole, or his father, tried to send her away to a reservation or put her on a train to Yuma?
And what about her mother's murderers?
How would she ever find them now?

Lost in thought, Sunny was surprised when Cole pulled Sage to a halt and turned to her. "Well? What do you think?"

She looked over the red-rimmed crest of the small butte and sucked in her breath. "Is all
this your
land?"

Pointing as he explained, Cole's entire manner brightened as he described his property. "It goes all the way to the Verde River, then as far as you can see to the south and up to that big stand of pine trees to the north."

Awestruck, Sunny could only sigh.

"Does that mean you like it?"

"That means I think it is truly beautiful."

Grateful for her kind words, he blew her a kiss and thought back to last year when the land was in its usual spring condition. "This is nothing, Sunny. The dry winter has taken its toll, and I don't know if a few more days of rain like we had yesterday will help or not. The meadow is far too brown for this time of year."

"You forget I come from Yuma," she laughed. "I see no brown here." And again, she sighed as the profusion of rich colors seemed to blend together, comprising a palette for even the most discriminating artist. She saw not brown, but golden burnt sienna mingled with the rich forest green of the grass and junipers, envisioned Irish shamrocks instead of dying
palo
verde
trees, and delighted in the rich brick-red earth in place of the dusty sand of her homeland. But the Verde River, though not as wide or formidable as her beloved Colorado, held her captive, filled her with longing as its inviting red waters splashed up against the willow-covered banks.

Sunny began to laugh. "Your river is called
verde
, green, yet the waters flow red from the surrounding hills. Colorado means red, but my own river cannot come close to fulfilling the name the way the Verde does. I think that is very funny indeed."

Sunny's eyes sparkled as she examined his property, mirroring his own feelings for the land. Cole felt his heart reaching out for her, a moth drawn to her flame, blindly jumping into the fire of this beautiful and fascinating young woman. Tearing his gaze from her, he stared out to the river and realized he cared little if he should receive third degree burns or perish altogether, as long as she was in his arms. He shook off the implications of those feelings and forbade his mind to condense them to the one word he guessed would describe them best.

Suddenly impatient to hold her, to touch her, not to think, Cole urged Sage forward. "Come on, Sunflower. There's a perfect spot for our picnic down by the red green river."

Dust Bucket began her forward motion the minute Sage started down the hill, and before long they reached a lush, cool picnic area. Cole stripped the horses of their saddles and hobbled them, leaving them free to graze and drink their fill of fresh mountain water. While he tended the animals, Sunny spread a blue checkered cloth over a blanket on a level patch of thick grass,
then
began to unpack the meal she'd prepared.

Eyeing the fare as he eased down on the cloth beside her, Cole smacked his lips. "Is that the chicken you fried up for supper last night?"

"Yes," she said cautiously. "Did you not like it?"

"I loved it, and so did everyone else." Impulse prodded him to lean over and kiss her tawny cheek,
then
Cole settled back on his elbow and hip. "I want to thank you for helping Nellie in the kitchen while Mom's down. It's a mighty big job feeding the
Fremonts
and the ranch hands."

"Why do you thank me, silly one?" Sunny
unwrapped
a bundle of sweet cakes spread with currant jelly and offered one. “
Tis
the least I can do for my room and board, and do not forget I still owe you for my clothing from town."

"You owe me nothing, Sunflower. If anything, it's I who owe you."

"Oh?
For what, Cole Fremont?"

"For just because I say so."
Uncomfortable with the conversation, he reached for a chicken leg and sank his teeth in the crispy morsel. He closed his eyes as he chewed and murmured, "Damn this is good. Does Nellie know how to cook this?"

"She does now," Sunny laughed. "We combined the way your mother cooks chicken with the way my mother
does ..."
Did,
she corrected mentally, before she continued. "Anyway, this is what we came up with. I think it is pretty good, too."

But Cole was no longer interested in the chicken. He'd seen the shadow extinguish the sparkle in her eyes, the corners of her mouth droop in sadness. "You miss your mother a lot, don't you Sunshine?"

Warmed by his insight, the sensitivity in his tone, Sunny nodded silently and lowered her gaze.

"I wish I'd have met up with you closer to Yuma, so I could have been some help in finding the men who attacked her." Cole tossed the chicken bone towards the river and wiped his hands on a napkin. "I'm afraid it will take a real miracle to locate them now."

"I know," she agreed with a wistful sigh. "I was foolish to go after them myself or to think I might actually be following the right trail. I should have stayed home and waited for my father."

Inching across the blanket, Cole took her hand in his. "And rob me of the chance to know you? Not on your life." Opening her fingers, he kissed the center of her palm then looked into her eyes. "If it's not too painful, I'd like for you to tell me about your mother."

Tears sprang into the corners of Sunny's eyes. Cole really did care about her, her
family,
and her life before they'd met. Could it possibly be that he cared for her in the same way she cared for him? "You really wish to learn of Moonstar?"

"And your father, if you feel like talking about them both, but I'm particularly interested in your mother.
I have a feeling you were very close to her."

"Oh yes," she sighed. "My father went in search of gold as often possible, and depending on the crop season, took at least one of my brothers along with him. This left Mother and I alone much of the time as I was growing. She was very proud of the English skills Pop and the priests taught her, and by the time I was of age, she decided to be my teacher instead of sending me to the mission school my brothers attended."