The Devil's Daughter (25 page)

“Miss Blake!” Maggie’s cry carried through the closed door and out into the yard.

“Oh dear,” she muttered. “Think about what I said, Lucy. We can do this. I can help.”

“Maggie’s resting again.” Berta carried the two chairs outside and set them next to the fire. “I suggested her time might be very close, so she should get as much rest as she possibly could.”

Lucy tried to steady her breathing, but it wasn’t working very well. How could she stay calm with both Berta and Jed sitting there around the fire? Knowing her luck, Deacon would show up, too.

“You’ll join us for supper, then?” Jed asked with a smile. “Seems only fair.”

Lucy looked back at Berta and felt Jed’s gaze follow hers. He took in a sharp breath, but neither woman turned to look at him again. They simply sat staring at each other, Berta’s red puffy eyes begging forgiveness and Lucy trying desperately to make sense of everything.

“Is there something going on?” Jed asked. His voice, low, and full of concern, seemed to fill the air around them.

Lucy watched Berta for another moment. If her mother was lying to her or working with Deacon, Lucy was in a great deal of trouble. But there was something in Berta’s eyes, something deeper than fear, deeper than shame. It was like a fire burned there, but not the fires Lucy was used to.

She leveled a pointed warning glare at Berta, then turned to Jed and smiled.

“It’s fine.”

Jed shuffled on his feet, his hat twisting between his hands. “Fine like supper was fine or fine like fine?”

Lucy laughed softly. Jed Caine really was a funny creature.

“Fine like fine,” she answered, then rose from her chair to take Jed’s arm. “In fact, Berta and I have some, um, surprising news.”

Jed’s brow shot up, his gaze flipping between the women. “What’s that?”

Lucy reached her other hand toward Berta, urging her out of her chair. The other woman mopped her face before rising to her feet and facing Jed.

“We’ve just discovered Berta is my mother.”

Shocked silence stretched between them until Jed finally found his tongue again.

“Your mother?” He blinked hard and stared first at Berta, then Lucy, then back at Berta. “How the hell. . .I mean. . .how’d you figure that out?”

Berta’s expression froze.

“It’s a long story,” Lucy said.

Jed’s expression hardened, his jaw tightened. “Did you find Lucy through Deacon?” he asked.

“Deacon?” Berta frowned, her head shaking hard enough to fall off. “He’s no child of mine.”

“Deacon is my, um, half-brother,” Lucy explained, turning back to Jed. “My. . .father. . .wasn’t exactly an honorable man.”

“There’s an understatement.” Berta snorted, chuckled, then covered her face with the towel and cried through her laughter.

“Wha. . .?” Panic shot across Jed’s face, then confusion. “So Deacon’s not your son?”

“No,” Berta choked out. “Lucy’s my only child.”

“And her father. . .”

“Is the devil himself,” Lucy answered. Berta glanced up from her towel, her mouth
O
’d in shock, then she started laughing all over again.

“That he is,” she muttered into her towel. “That he is.”

“What?” Jed squinted at Lucy.

Poor Jed. Even though he was hearing the truth, he would never believe it. Most humans didn’t.

“It’s fine,” Lucy laughed. “Really. We just need a little time to get used to this is all. It’s all a bit of a shock.”

Jed blew a breath over his bottom lip. “A bit.”

“How about some stew?” Lucy dipped the spoon into the pot, and began dishing out the delicious-smelling concoction. She would
have
to learn how to make this!

She could feel Jed’s eyes on her as he peered over the rim of his bowl. She could feel the confusion clouding his mind and the worry he felt about Lucy finding her mother after all these years.

Thankfully, though, Berta’s stew was too delicious to give him time to talk or ask questions. He finished two full bowls, shamelessly accepted a third after some was set aside for Maggie, then waited until the ladies were good and full before he lifted the pot from the rocks and licked it clean.

“How long can you stay, Berta?” Jed winked at Lucy then ducked out her reach as she stabbed her fork toward him.

“Don’t you have chores, husband?”

“Not if there’s pie for dessert. . .”

“No such luck,” Lucy answered.

He nodded his thanks to Berta, then Lucy, and headed off to the barn. Lucy and Berta wouldn’t have a lot of time to talk, so she needed to get things sorted out quickly.

“How is Maggie doing?”

Berta frowned. “Does it matter?”

How could Lucy explain it? She’d seen so very little of the woman since arriving as Jed’s wife. Yet, somehow, Jed’s worry had become her own. And that worry was one more thing to wear on Lucy’s strength.

“She’s as healthy as a woman can be in her state,” Berta said with a sad smile. “That baby’s a feisty one, I’ll tell you that. Reminds me of when I carried you.”

Two fat tears slid down Berta’s cheeks. The last thing Lucy expected was to feel tears of her own for Maggie or her baby, yet there they were. And more surprising was how many fell. The faster she wiped them away, the faster they sprang up.

What the hell was wrong with her?

 o0o

The fire snapped and danced in the still evening air. Red and pink streaks faded from the sky as darkness crept in, easing the last remnants of daylight beyond the horizon.

Jed settled on the blanket behind Lucy and eased her back against him. She fit perfectly, as though she were meant to be there. It was probably not the most gentlemanly thing he could do, given her mother was sitting with them, but that hardly mattered anymore. Wasn’t so long ago Berta had seen him in nothing but a blanket.

Besides, he wanted her to know her daughter was cared for. Hell, he more than just cared for her.

He loved her. And no mother could ask for more than that.

Berta watched them for a second, a sad smile on her face. What was there to be sad about? By no small miracle, she’d been reunited with her daughter. And by yet another small miracle, that daughter was married to a man who loved her and wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his days making her happy and giving her children.

Lots and lots of children.

Neither Lucy nor Berta had offered any details as to how they became separated in the first place, and Jed wasn’t about to ask. He’d seen enough tears in the last few days to last him a lifetime. He wasn’t about to do or say anything to cause more.

“I think I’ll tuck in for the night.” Berta rose to her feet, brushing the dirt and pebbles from her dress.

“’Night, Miss Blake.” Jed rose to his feet and nodded briefly. “Much obliged for the stew tonight.”

An odd look washed across Berta’s face, but she smiled her sad smile again and nodded. “Good night then.”

“Good night.” Lucy stepped up to Jed, her back resting against his stomach.

He wrapped his arms around her, and rested his chin on the top of her head, but Lucy wanted more. Always more. She pulled his arms tighter around her, then rested her own arms atop his.

“Quite a day, huh?” he asked quietly.

“Hmmm.” She yawned.

“Come on, then,” he said. “Let’s get you tucked in, too.”

He doused the fire as quickly as he could, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders and headed toward the barn, Lucy’s teeth chattered the whole time.

Jed snickered and pressed a kiss against her head. She’d never survive winter.

“I need to tend the horses. And you--” He tapped her on the tip of the nose-- “need to tend to you.”

Lucy nodded sleepily and wandered over to their corner in search of her beloved blanket.

The irony of Jed’s life hit him like a brick.

He’d wanted to earn her respect before he took her to bed. She’d wanted to get straight to bed, respect be damned. Now he was dying to make love to her, and she wasn’t ready. And if that wasn’t torture enough, he was going to have to sleep next to her all night without touching her.

Again.

It was the most exquisite kind of torture.

With the speed of a demon, he had the horses fed and watered and the tack stored out of the way. He turned down the lantern and crept toward the last stall, aching to crawl in with Lucy – even if it meant he had to keep his hands to himself.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dimness, but there she was, curled up in a tight ball, the blanket wrapped around her like a cocoon. Still her teeth rattled. What was wrong with that girl?

“Lucy.”

“Yes?”

He swallowed his laughter. “I’m going to make a suggestion, but before I do, I promise you it’s completely innocent.” Well, mostly. “It’ll help keep you warm.”

“I’ll do anything.”

Jed wiped his palm across his mouth. “Take off your clothes.”

Lucy snorted over a shiver. “How is that supposed to warm me up?” she asked.

Jed started on his own buttons. “Our body heat will keep each other warmer than our clothes will.”

“Nice t-try, Jed.”

He finished with his buttons and yanked his arms out of the sleeves. “I know it sounds strange.” He tugged one boot off and tossed it aside. “But it works.” The other boot followed. “Trust me.”

She peeked out from beneath the blanket, her eyes suspicious. “This isn’t your way of. . .”

Jed’s fingers froze against the top button of his trousers.

“No.” He must be crazy. He couldn’t lie next to her, skin to skin, and not do anything. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all. “If you’d rather--”

Lucy stopped him before he could reach for his shirt.

“Wait.” She stared up at the ceiling for a long moment. “Do you really think it’ll work?”

His tongue wouldn’t move, so Jed simply nodded.

“Okay. But just wait there a minute.” She ducked under the blanket and squirmed around for several minutes before poking her head back out. One hand held the blanket around her chest, while the other reached back under and brought out her nightgown.

Jed’s eyes blinked about a hundred times. Why the hell couldn’t he breathe? When she was done, she snuggled deeper into the straw and smiled shyly.

Sweet Jesus.

She’d done it. She’d taken off all her clothes and now she lay there – completely naked – under one ridiculously thin blanket. And all because he promised her she’d be warmer.

When he hesitated, Lucy clicked her tongue at him.

“I’m f-freezing here, Jed. Could you hurry up, please?”

He shucked his trousers in less time than it took him to find his breath. He could do this. He was a practical man. His wife was cold and he needed to warm her up – without causing himself too much embarrassment.

Jed took a deep, steadying breath, then slid in beside her. He could do this.

He could.

They tucked the blanket around them and lay side-by-side, both staring up at the ceiling.

“Okay,” he struggled to say. “You’re going to have to slide up against me, like last night.”

Even in the dimness of the darkened corner, he could see the color fill her cheeks.

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” she murmured. “It’s going to be too hard.”

“It’s already too hard,” he muttered, then released a harsh breath. “Never mind, just come on.”

He propped himself on his side and waited while Lucy did the same. When she was settled, he ground his teeth together and moved up against her, biting back every curse he could think of.

“Is that--” she squeaked.

“Yes.” He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her in as tight as he could. “Now for God’s sake, don’t move.”

She straightened her legs and pressed their length against his. Blood crashed through his veins.

At least last night he had the bulk of the blanket between them. Tonight there was nothing. Just skin against skin.

“You. . .” God, if she didn’t stop moving like that. . . “Your legs. . .”

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I just can’t get comfortable.”

She twisted her foot slightly until it rested on top of his, and he groaned.

“Are you okay?” Lucy whispered. “Are you comfortable?”

“No,” he grunted.

“D’you want me to move?”

“No!” He hissed out a breath against her hair. “For God’s sake, just be still.”

“Sorry.”

Jed closed his eyes and tried to focus on anything else; the straw poking into his ears, the way the blanket scratched his skin, anything. Nothing worked.