Sagebrush Bride (34 page)

And then her gaze was drawn upward, to the child
sitting wide-eyed on his shoulders. The child stared back, releasing Cutter’s
chin in surprise.

To Elizabeth’s shock, Katie’s eyes were as dark
as... as Cutter’s. They were eyes that could seize you, reach into your soul.
Eyes that were sad and gleeful, all at once... eyes that, aside from their
difference in color, were so familiar, it made her heart ache. “K-Katie?” she
choked out.

Miss Mimi stood by in silence, watching the scene
unfold, her demands for an explanation cast aside as Katie squirmed excitedly,
trying to find a way down from Cutter’s broad shoulders.

Obligingly Cutter swung her down, holding her
upright when her feet wouldn’t quite work, and still the child gaped at
Elizabeth. “We’ve gotten to be pals,” Cutter assured them both, winking at
Elizabeth.

Her heart skipping beats, Elizabeth dropped to her
knees at once, opening her arms in welcome, but Katie stood transfixed. At
last, after an excruciating moment, Katie took a step forward, and when
Elizabeth thought she would rush into her arms, she dashed past her, leaving
Elizabeth kneeling empty-handed. Her eyes closed and she swallowed convulsively
as she listened to the child’s feet racing away. It was to be expected, she
told herself. Katie didn’t know her, after all. She opened her eyes to meet
Cutter’s.

There was strength in his gaze, and she drew from
it.

Miss Mimi. There were tears in her eyes, and the
tip of her nose was growing pink.

Suddenly she was aware that those same little feet
raced back toward her, skidding to a halt in front of her. And before Elizabeth
could speak, a small picture frame was thrust before her, so close that the
three figures depicted were no more than a dark blur. Reaching for it, she drew
it away from her face to see it better, then close again, unable to focus at
the distance she had held it. She held her breath as the shapes began to take
form.

Katie rocked forward on the balls of her feet, her
hands locked behind her back. “You look jus like my mommy,” she whispered
reverently, a touch of sorrow in her quiet tone. Her little eyes glazed over as
Elizabeth watched, but her tender smile negated her grief. “She went to heaven,
too. But not in the war,” she confided in a whisper, glancing up suddenly to
Miss Mimi for assistance.

Miss Mimi came forward, placing a reassuring hand
on Katie’s little shoulder, squeezing gently, her own eyes hazing.

Her heart aching, Elizabeth drew Katie’s tiny
fingers into her own. To her joy, Katie didn’t recoil from her touch, but
instead stepped closer.

Miss Mimi cleared her throat. “Katherine, you
see...” she began, only to stop short. She dabbed at her eyes.

Knowing instinctively what Miss Mimi was about to
say, Elizabeth drew Katie toward her, hoping to shield her, or at the very
least, lend her her own strength. To her surprise, Katie hurled herself into
Elizabeth’s embrace, as though she were starved for the warmth offered.

“You see,” Miss Mimi continued, “your sister
passed away during the birth of her second child... a little boy. Joshua
Elias,” she choked out. “We buried him next to his mother.”

As though her life depended on it, Katie clung to
Elizabeth while Miss Mimi spoke, and Elizabeth gave her a little reassuring
hug.

“Near six months ago,” Miss Mimi continued, her voice
breaking. She shrugged her plump shoulders. “News of John’s death took so much
of her strength, I’m afraid—” She choked suddenly on her words.

Elizabeth held tightly to the child in her arms,
hot tears pricking at her eyes, and then she gazed down over Katie’s shoulder,
to the picture in her hand.

Three smiling figures stared back at her: Katie,
perhaps at two, her hair shorter, but just as curly, her face just as sweet; a
man she assumed would be Katherine’s husband, John, his dark, wavy hair
sweeping proudly to his shoulders, his brass buttons gleaming; and Katherine,
looking so much as Elizabeth recalled.

Beautiful, beautiful Katherine.

Elizabeth laid the frame gently against Katie’s
back as a tear trickled down her cheek. “I only need to know...” She faltered
over her words, glancing up at Miss Mimi. “Was my sister happy?”

Dabbing again at her eyes, Miss Mimi nodded. “Oh,
dear, yes!” she exclaimed. “Very happy!”

Elizabeth nodded, closing her eyes, further words
failing her. That was all that mattered, wasn’t it? That Katherine had been
happy? That her life had been good? And now it was her duty to step into
Katherine’s shoes as mother to the priceless child in her arms. It was, she
thought, in a moment of revelation, what she was born to do.

It felt so right. Her free hand slid into Katie’s
curls, rubbing soothingly. “Don’t cry,” she soothed.

Katie held tighter, burying her face into
Elizabeth’s hair. “I never cry!” came a muffled exclamation, but the child held
tighter, and then she sniffled, belying her claim.

Elizabeth smiled with understanding. “Of course
you don’t,” she agreed, remembering vividly another time, another place:
Katherine had fallen, and had skinned her knees and her elbows. Elizabeth had wiped
the dirt from her sister’s dress, and then from her knees. “Look! Lookee here,
it’s mostly dirt!”

“My dress!” Katherine had wailed pitifully.

“Don’t worry, Katie, Mother will understand. Look,
it’s all gone! Don’t cry!”

With her sweet face upturned, and the blue of the
sky reflecting in the sheen of her eyes, Katherine had sworn vehemently, “I’m
not crying. I never, ever cry!” But tears had shimmered in her eyes.

Heaven help her... if it was the only thing
Elizabeth ever did in her life, she would make her sister proud. Never let
Katie forget. For the first time ever, something aside from her role as healer
moved her to her very soul, ranked just as important—more so, perhaps,
because there was something so inherently fulfilling about cradling the child
in her arms. Her little body felt so very precious. A lone tear trickled down
her cheek.

Miss Mimi gave them a moment longer, and then
joined their embrace, weeping without restraint, telling Elizabeth how much
she’d been spoken of—how well she’d been praised. And again, how much she
looked like her sister.

And then, while Cutter hauled in their belongings,
Elizabeth listened in silence as Miss Mimi expressed Katherine’s profound
regret that they’d lost touch with each other. But she could find absolutely
nothing to say in response as Miss Mimi led them up the stairs to the room they
would be occupying during their stay. There was little that could be said that
would fill the loss of her sister—a loss that, though it had occurred
years before with her parting, only now waxed complete.

Still, there was comfort in that Katherine had
thought of her—if not enough to correspond, then at least on occasion.
Yet it would always pain her that through the years their separation had become
so absolute, that had it not been for Elias Bass’ letter, she might never even
have known her only niece.

A vision came to her abruptly, of the three of
them together—she and Katie... and Cutter. Shaking her head to dispel it,
she forced her thoughts to Elias Bass.

What kind of man would he be? How could anyone not
want adorable Katie? Her gaze was drawn to the child darting ahead of them.
Opening a door, Katie dashed into the far room, and by the time the three of
them had reached the doorway, she was romping on the large four-poster bed.

“Hope this will do,” Miss Mimi said. She wagged a
warning finger at Katie, but Katie disregarded the reprimand, never ceasing in
her play. Without missing a beat, Miss Mimi turned to Elizabeth, as though
she’d never expected the child to mind her anyway, and said, “The wardrobe is
empty. Use it, if you wish. Oh, and I thought you might like a bath?”

Elizabeth smiled with appreciation, her eyes
skimming the room. “Yes. Thank you. That’s very kind of you.” She placed her
load upon the bed, flexing her arms. Without a word, Cutter set his yannigan
bag next to hers, and then went to the window, thrusting his hands into his
pockets. “The room is beautiful,” Elizabeth assured her as she watched him.
“I’m certain it will do wonderfully.”

A large birch wardrobe occupied the left wall,
while the headboard sat flush against the right. The door was behind her, and a
small window was set in the far wall, with another dresser made of birch before
it. Beside the bed sat a commode, and upon it, a washbasin and ewer of ivory
porcelain. A stiff-backed wooden chair sat in the corner next to the wardrobe,
kitty-corner to the bed.

“Mr. Bass’ late wife ordered everything from back
east,” Miss Mimi revealed. “Bless her soul—she’s been gone near to ten
years now.”

Elizabeth nodded, and having no idea what to say
in response, began to unpack. “She had wonderful taste,” she said belatedly,
looking up in time to see that Miss Mimi wore a fond smile, and was nodding in
profound agreement. Staring down at her belongings, Elizabeth sighed. There
were so few of her own items that she lingered over each one, hoping that Miss
Mimi wouldn’t notice the telltale lack. “Did Katherine live here, too?” she
asked conversationally, trying to avert Miss Mimi’s attention.

Miss Mimi threw up a hand. “Oh, goodness,
no—but they didn’t live far,” she said. “If you’d like, I’m certain Mr.
Bass will take you there tomorrow.”

“I can go, too,” Katie said, rather than asked,
falling upon the bed. She barely missed falling upon Cutter’s bag. And then
belatedly, her face screwed uncertainly. “Can’t I, Miss Mimi?”

“Of course, Katie,” Miss Mimi assured her with a
wink. “That is... if it’s all right with your aunt Elizabeth.”

“Of course,” Elizabeth agreed, smiling anxiously
as she hesitated over her very last item. Her eyes fell at once to Cutter’s
bag. She debated whether to unpack it, as well.

Glancing up, she saw that Cutter was no longer at
the window, he was leaning against the right wall, his left foot braced
casually behind him, his arms crossed. And then her gaze reverted to Miss Mimi,
who was scrutinizing her curiously. She glanced anxiously down at Cutter’s
things.

What was wrong with her? she wondered peevishly.
They were just clothes, weren’t they? Along with his toothbrush, powder, and
razor, she added mentally. Her face heated at the memory of Cutter finding her
at the river with sand in her mouth.

It didn’t matter that it made her feel strange
inside to... to touch his things. It didn’t matter that they brought back
shameful memories, because if they had, in fact, been married, then it would
have been expected of her as his wife to unpack for him, and that was exactly
what she was going to do!

Besides, she reminded herself, she had already
seen, as well as touched, his clothing—when she’d washed it in the river.
Still, she hesitated, glancing briefly to Cutter. He was grinning his lopsided
grin again, and her eyes narrowed in censure.

Swallowing, Elizabeth forced herself to reach out
and touch Cutter’s green shirt, and heard him chuckle beneath his breath. While
Miss Mimi prattled on about there not being enough hours in a day, Elizabeth
lifted it up, scrunching it, her fingers recalling the wash-worn texture of it.
And then, without thinking, in the most intimate of gestures, she brought it to
her nostrils, breathing deeply of the soap she’d used to cleanse it... and the
more elusive male scent that was as much a part of it as the fibers that bound
it.

Desire shot through Cutter like a lightning bolt
as he watched her. No longer aware of Miss Mimi, he heard her voice as no more
than a distant drone. In that moment he craved Elizabeth more than he’d ever
thought possible.

But it was more than the intense heat in his lower
anatomy that roused him, unsettled him, made him restless. It was the
satisfaction he’d attained in that one simple gesture of hers—an intimacy
to be shared only by a man... and his woman.

His woman.

The phrase hounded him like a raving wolf at his
heels. Fascinated, he watched as Elizabeth folded his shirt, placing it neatly within
the drawer. His gaze smoldered, narrowing with the gratifying memory of her
washing that same shirt in the river. He wanted her to do those things for him
always. Not that he couldn’t fend for himself, but it gave him a deep-rooted
pleasure to see her touch him in that way... without touching him at all.

It made him burn.

Even absorbed as he was, Cutter immediately sensed
the new presence, and the hairs on the back of his neck bristled. His
deliberations ended abruptly as he glanced up to see that an older man now
stood behind a chattering Miss Mimi in the doorway, observing them without
speaking, his stance nonthreatening. Yet the man’s expression was unmistakably
guarded. Cutter stiffened. No one else seemed to have noticed his appearance,
and he said nothing to alert them. He stepped away from the wall abruptly,
dropping his hands to his sides.

For a long moment their gazes met and held, each
man assessing, and he knew instinctively that it was Elias Bass taking his
measure. The man who would decide his and Elizabeth’s fate. For sure as hell
was hot, if Bass denied Elizabeth the child...

She would hate him.

It was obvious that she was already in love with
the kid. But then, it didn’t take much. It would be real easy to get attached
himself... if he allowed it. But he couldn’t afford to... and didn’t aim to.

“Lookee here, Aunt Lizabeth!” Katie flipped on the
bed, and then froze abruptly on her head when she saw her grandfather in the
doorway. “Granpapa!” she shrieked, peering at him through her little legs. She
leapt upright and off the bed, racing like a small bolt of lightning into his
arms.