Silver Nights With You (Love in the Sierras Book 1) (13 page)

She hadn't considered that possibility. His face was so eager, his fetching dimples so handsome and endearing. She decided to ignore the warning in the back of her head and test his theory.

"All right, David. Let's see, shall we? Let's see if the opera dispels my reservations."

"Good girl," he said, and for a moment she thought she detected a shade of smugness pass over his face.

Ellie must have noticed how wrapped up Lila was in her thoughts because she had to call her name three times to get her attention.

“Leave those pots to soak for a minute and come sit with me for a chat,” Ellie said and Lila complied. “You’ve quite a storm brewing in your brain there, darlin.’ Anything you want to talk about? I noticed you didn’t sit for very long at the poker game tonight. You’ve been here two weeks now. Are you warming to the place at all?”

“Oh, it’s lovely,” Lila said absently, and Ellie scrunched up her face.

“Girl, you couldn’t bluff your way past a blind man. Go on, admit it. You think we’re nothing but a bunch of backwoods ruffians planted in the dusty dregs of nowhere.”

Lila blushed and laughed at the same time. “No, I don’t think anything like that.”

Ellie shook her head reproachfully. “Hasn’t David shown you anything worthwhile? Hasn’t he given you a tour of the area?”

“Just up to Virginia City the one day and a few little shops and restaurants in Gold Hill,” she admitted with a shrug. “We’ve mostly stayed around here and played cards, but he’s taking me to the opera tomorrow night. I’m sure that will be a pleasant diversion.”

Ellie nodded. “Well, he will definitely be in his element there. He is sort of a city man.”

“I guess so since he seems to spend most of his nights up there. I wonder why he doesn’t live in the city.”

Ellie laughed. “Probably because he can never keep more than two bucks in his pocket. He’s always got to spend his money whether it’s on buying things or gambling, or God knows what. He’d get kicked out of the first place he stayed up there. He knows I’m too soft to kick him out.” Lila’s brow wrinkled hearing this, but Ellie carried on. “Well, I hope he gets you out of the city limits. There are really some neat things to see.”

“Oh?”

“Certainly! You ought to get Morgan to take you on a tour. He knows the area real well, created our first maps when he was prospecting. There’s a canyon nearby where a whole herd of wild horses come in the morning and evening to drink. Have you ever seen wild mustangs?” When Lila shook her head, she continued. “They’re so beautiful and majestic. Morgan knows where they go. He jokes about claiming the lead mare for himself one of these days. There are hot springs all over this area, too. And just beyond those giant mountains is a lake so blue and clear that you can see all the way to the bottom of it. Morgan’s got the prime spot, though, in the valley. Many a pleasant picnic can be had in that area and the lake trout is so delicious fresh-caught and roasted over an open fire. Have you been down there yet?”

“No,” Lila said, her mind wandering to the day she could have had with Morgan, exploring all of the wonderful things Ellie described. “He was going to take me one day, but it didn't work out." Her lips burned with the memory of his kiss.

“Well, you oughtta have him follow through with it. You’d really enjoy it.”

“I don’t know,” Lila mused aloud. “I don't think I want to go traipsing around with Morgan.”

Ellie sat back with a look of shock. “Why not? You go traipsing around with David."

"That's different."

"How do you figure that?"

Lila thought about her small outings with David in Virginia City and Gold Hill. "Well, when David and I are out it all feels so public. We're never alone. There are always swarms of people. It's not that way with Morgan."

Ellie's eyebrow arced up. "How is it with Morgan?"

"With Morgan…" Lila struggled to describe her feelings without revealing too much. "It wouldn't matter if we were in a room with twenty other people. I always feel like it's just the two of us. The idea of it actually
being
just the two us frightens the wits out of me. That can't be a good sign."

“Aw, honey, if you can't appreciate the affection of a man like Morgan Kelly, then I don’t think you’ll find a man within a hundred miles who is good enough for you.”

Lila felt a twinge of defensiveness. “What do you mean? David is as good a man as Morgan.”

“Now, Lila,” Ellie began with the lecturing tone of a preacher. “You know I love all my boys but Morgan is something special.” She held her hands up as Lila opened her mouth to protest. “Yes, David is special in his own way, too, but he’s a boy running around town. Morgan is a man. There’s a world of difference, darlin’.”

Lila's thoughtful gaze fell to the jagged edge of her thumbnail. “Are you saying that you think David wouldn’t make a good husband?”

“That depends on the wants of the wife,” Ellie said then reached out and covered Lila’s hand with her own. “But David is who he is…not who you want him to be.”

“Sometimes a boy just needs a good woman to pull him into manhood,” Lila offered.

“Sometimes…" Ellie drawled. "But sometimes it's the other way around.” Lila looked up into Ellie's hard stare. "I’ve seen how cold and distant you’ve been to Morgan these past weeks. He doesn’t deserve your hostility."

"Something about him frightens me," she admitted softly.

Ellie pursed her lips in thought. "Does Morgan frighten you, Lila? Or does what Morgan makes you
feel
frighten you?"

The question stunned Lila speechless. She had never considered it that specifically, but she knew as soon as the words left Ellie's mouth that the woman was right. Her heart was swollen with unspoken words, but how could she say everything she was feeling? How could she explain that her uncontrollable physical reaction to him frightened the wits out of her, but that his constant and selfless care of her touched her deeply? He embodied raw intensity in a way that both seduced and intimidated her, and she didn’t know how to respond. With David, she could flirt and smile and giggle like the girl she’d always been, but Morgan’s golden eyes didn’t accept that behavior. His words, his looks, his very touch, demanded something more, something deeper from her.

"Don't answer that," Ellie finally said as she stood and went back to scrubbing. Lila worked beside her in silent thought until Ellie spoke again. "While you're standing there thinking, think about this: Which would you rather? A man who sees everyone else in a crowded room? Or a man who only sees you?"

Lila carried the weight of Ellie's words with her up the stairs and into her room. The evening was quieting as doors shut one-by-one and lights were doused. Lila grabbed a book and sat on the bed. The second she felt her teeth bite down on her thumbnail she thought of Morgan and snapped the cover shut. There would be no escaping into a book this night. She changed into her robe and blew out the lantern light, hoping she'd find peace at least in her sleep.

It was pitch black, and she was running. Her feet were bare and thorns and rocks dug into her heels and ankles. Fire spread through her lungs as she fought to breathe. She gulped and gulped but no air would come. Suddenly, a tree appeared with a ladder propped against the trunk. She grabbed the highest rung and hoisted herself up, climbing as fast as she could until she reached the tallest branch, and then she kicked the ladder down to the ground so she couldn’t be followed.

Before she could relax, she saw a shadow of a man crawling on the limb, heading straight for her. She had nowhere to run. She tried to scramble back down the tree trunk and screamed as she felt the icy grip of fingers curl around her wrist. She lost her footing and dangled above the ground. When she peered up into the shadow's face his features slowly sharpened, and she saw the fearful gray eyes of the coach bandit widening above his bandana mask. Her free hand began to burn and she looked down to see that she held her derringer pistol. Smoke curled from the barrel and the stock brightened like a hot coal in her palm. She dropped the weapon and turned to look back up at the bandit. Fear burst through his eyes and blood began spreading from his chest.

She screamed and wriggled, fighting to remove his hand. Suddenly, he let go and she felt herself falling through the tree, limbs and leaves bashing against her as she toppled down and hit the ground hard on her stomach. The floor was soft and sandy, and she laid there until she felt an insect scurry over her arm. She rolled away from it only to come face to face with the dead body in the desert, his mouth agape, his eyes glowing in the night sky. Seized in terror, she watched as his skeletal head turned toward her and called out her name.

She let out a piercing scream and shot straight up in her bed, sweat beading down her neck and back as she panted for air. Her throat felt thick with phlegm. She couldn't swallow past it no matter how she tried. The white curtains rustled near her open window, and the moon hovered in the sky. Her eyes stung with tears. It was the fifth nightmare she'd had since the robbery, and she needed to feel the breeze on her sweaty skin. She grabbed her robe, tied it over her nightgown and made her way out to the back porch.

The chairs were still scattered from the evening’s poker game. She sank into the nearest one and wept into her hands. The night wind rolled off the mountain with a soft moan and scattered dead leaves around. The deep call of a night owl moved on the air currents. It was calming and peaceful. She leaned back against the chair and propped her feet up onto the edge of the seat so she could wrap her arms around her knees.

There was a movement in the shadows near the barn and she squinted to make it out. It moved toward her, almost like her dream, and she held her breath until she recognized Morgan. She exhaled sharply and wiped her eyes on her knees as he strode up the porch steps.

“Good evening,” he said. There was enough moonlight to read the concern on his face.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he answered. “I see you have the same problem.”

“Oh, I can sleep. I just can’t seem to do it without nightmares.”

“You’re having nightmares?”

She nodded, then slowly brought her eyes up to connect with his. “You were right about what you said before. About the way you feel when you kill someone. It sticks with you.”

“It is one of the rare occasions when I detest being right,” he said with a smirk, and she smiled. After a brief pause, he continued. “Have you spoken to your father about this?”

“No.” She shook her head solidly. “My father is…well…he’s the sort of healer who absorbs the stress of his patients. It’s difficult to explain, but it’s as though he actually suffers with them, feels their agony. It takes a toll on him. He does it even more intensely with me so I don’t share my burdens with him.” She looked at the ground. “I do not even grieve around him.”

“That’s not fair to you.” He squatted before her so that she couldn’t avoid his eyes. “You have a father who loves you. You shouldn’t have to feel alone.”

She felt the urge to lean into him, to let him wrap his arms around her, soothe her cares and chase away her demons. The look on his face, the staid brown eyes reaching out to comfort her, all told her that he would welcome her, but she remained still.

“Right now I don’t feel alone,” she said softly. “You always seem to be there to catch me when I fall.”

A smile spread softly to the corners of his mouth. “And I always will be if you’ll let me.”

Emotion flowed freely between them, though neither said a word. She felt it deep, a spark of something unfamiliar but blissfully wonderful. It was something independent of the physical yearnings they shared, something reviving like the first breath of air above water, and it was the first time she didn’t feel the urge to run away from him. It made her smile.

“Know any good remedies to cure bad dreams?” she asked him.

He smacked his lips and tilted his head to the side. “I’m afraid the only way I know is to chase them away with good dreams.”

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Know any recipes for good dreams, then?”

They shared a smile, and she shivered against the cool air. He reached out and cupped her face. His thumbs moved in a slow caress along the heights of her cheekbones. The look he gave her was one of promise. He wasn’t asking permission for a kiss. He was telling her one was coming, and as he moved his mouth toward hers, she met him halfway until their lips touched.

It was tender. It was possessing.

Her lips parted, and she felt the gentle stroke of his tongue reaching in to taste hers. He tilted his head to fit their lips together as he slowly explored her mouth with his. She followed the longing of her body and moved her tongue in a slow, sensual dance with his. He was warm and unhurried and tasted of clove with a hint of whiskey. It was a potent drug on her senses. The more she tasted, the more she wanted.

But he slowly pulled away and rested his forehead against hers with a sigh. When he lifted his head it was only to peer into her eyes for a moment before he placed a soft peck on her lips.

“Sweet dreams, Lila,” he whispered and released her, turning to walk back to the stables.