The Moon and the Stars (24 page)

“I am.” She suddenly needed him to understand something about her. “I have always been healthy and have rarely been sick a day. I don't know why I was so ill when we left San Sebastian.”

She had his complete attention. “So you were sick as far back as that?”

“I don't think so. I was more terrified of you than sick.”

Now he was watching her closely, and it was difficult for her to swallow.

Wade's guilt was growing by leaps and bounds. He fell into a brooding silence as he watched her wipe her fingers on a napkin. When she started to pack the basket, he caught her hand. “You have hardly eaten anything. That will not do.” He picked up a pastry and took a bite. “You get your wish—this one is apple. You must have some.”

“It seems to me that you are always trying to coax me into eating more than I want.”

He took another bite and then held it out to her. “Come on.”

She nibbled on the edge.

“That's not a bite.”

She took a big bite and the apple filling oozed onto her lips. When she reached for the napkin, he took her hand and pulled her to him. She gasped when he brought her across his lap and held her to him. Her eyes were wide when he dipped his head, his mouth touching hers. He heard her sigh deeply when his tongue ran over her lips, tasting the apple tart.

“Mmm. You taste sweet like an apple,” he whispered, nibbling at her lips and sending her heart rate soaring.

She could not have stopped him if she wanted to, and she didn't want to. He brought her head back and pressed his lips against hers while his hand moved over the bodice of her gown, lightly touching her breasts.

“Oh,” she said, looking up at him and not wanting him to stop.

He reached for the blue ribbon that held the front of her gown together, looking at her as if asking for permission.

She did not stop him.

The ribbons slid through his lean fingers, and he gave them a quick yank. Again he looked into her eyes as if asking permission.

Caroline said nothing. She ached for him to touch her, to hold her, to kiss her again. She gasped when he
pushed the gown open and slid his hand inside. “I don't think we should—”

“I definitely think we should.” He halted her protest with his lips. While he kissed her, he moved her off his lap and stretched out, laying her beside him, molding her to his body. She felt the swell of him and pressed her body tighter against his, fanning the flame of his passion and hers.

When he raised his head, and when she could catch her breath to speak, she asked, “Can it be right to do this?”

“We are to be married,” he reminded her in a raspy tone.

“Yes, but—”

He drew her face up to his, gazing deep into her eyes. “At any time you can tell me to stop, and I will.”

Before she had time to think, his mouth moved down her throat, and she could not have spoken if her life had depended on it.

He pushed her gown off her shoulder and slowly undid the ribbon holding her petticoat together. “
Mon amour,
I have wanted to touch you like this for longer than you know.”

Her eyes closed as he pushed the material aside and gently covered her breast. He ran his thumb around the nipple until it swelled, then he bent his dark head and touched his lips to the tip.

Her hands moved into his hair, and she threw her head back. Her body quivered when he ran his tongue over her nipple. “Wade, I can't . . . I need . . . I don't know,” she cried, wanting something more from him. What he was doing to her was causing exquisite
pain and waking a need in her that she could not understand.

He stopped and looked into her eyes. “Are you afraid of what I am doing to you?”

She shook her head and stared into his eyes, which were like storm centers. “It's just that . . . I never felt this way before. I don't know what to do.”

He studied her face, her passion-bright eyes, her innocence shining through them like a beacon, and he knew—she had never been taken this far before. “Just how long were you a wife, Caroline?”

She pulled back a bit. “Why do you want to know?”

“How long did you share Michael Duncan's bed?”

Tears gathered in her eyes, and her head fell against his shoulder. “Michael was killed on our wedding day.” She swallowed several times and shook her head. “I held Michael in my arms as he died. I tried so hard to stop the bleeding, but I could not do anything to save him.”

“Dammit!” he swore, slipping her gown back in place and retying her ribbons with trembling fingers. “I am sorry—I had no idea. I believe you need to tell me just what happened that day—but not here—not now. Tonight I want you to tell me everything.”

“Michael's death has nothing to do with you, Wade.”

“It has everything to do with
us.
”

“It is difficult for me to talk about that day. I try to forget about it.”

“What a tangled web,” he muttered, his manner turning suddenly cold. He helped her to her feet and folded the quilt, picking up the picnic basket. “I believe we should leave now.”

Caroline noticed he avoided looking at her. Why
had the sky suddenly turned dark, and why had the joy left her heart?

He packed the skiff and helped her aboard, settling her on the wooden seat. When they reached the rendezvous point, the boat was just coming into view in the distance. She stood stiffly beside him on the dock, hurt and angry.

On the trip back to New Orleans Wade was strangely quiet. He stood as still as a statue, his arms folded across his chest, and he did not look in her direction at all.

The joy that Caroline had felt on the journey up the river had faded like the sun fading in the distance.

When they arrived back at the house, Wade was just helping Caroline out of the buggy when a frantic Louis rushed up to them.

“There has been a fire at the indigo warehouse! It was contained before it could spread to the cotton storage, or we never would have been able to put it out. The workers did some looking around and concluded that the fire was deliberate.”

With worry furrowing his brow, Wade led Caroline to the door. “You will have to excuse me tonight. We will have our talk tomorrow, if that is agreeable with you.”

“Yes. Of course.”

Wade was worried, but he gave her a warm smile. “Sleep well and dream of me.”

Before she could answer, he had joined Louis in the buggy, and the team of horses raced down the curved driveway and through the gate. A fire, set deliberately, she thought. Who would do such a thing?

She entered the house and removed her bonnet. Mary was waiting for her.

“You have guests, ma'am. I put them in the morning room. Would you like me to bring in refreshments?”

Caroline frowned. She could not think who would visit her, or who would even know she was there. Her first thought was that Brace might have found out where she was staying. “Not at the moment. Did the visitors give you their names?”

The housekeeper saw Caroline's stricken face and wondered if she had done wrong to invite strangers into the house. “They said they were friends of yours. A Mr. and Mrs. Grady.”

“Oh!” Caroline took a step forward, then another. By the time she passed through the formal sitting room, her footsteps were hurried. On entering the morning room, she could hardly contain her joy.

“Nelly! Yance! It is you!”

Nelly leaped to her feet and grabbed Caroline in a hug while a smiling Yance put his big arms around them both.

“I can't believe you are here. But,” she said somewhat befuddled, “Mary told me that you were Mr. and Mrs. Grady—did I hear her right?”

Nelly clasped Caroline's hands and pulled her to the sofa. “We have been married for three weeks.” She grinned up at her new husband, her eyes soft with affection. “Yance said the first thing we'd do after we got married was go in search of you. And he kept his word.”

“I am so happy for you both!” Caroline took Yance's hand. “What tactic did you use to get her to say yes?”

“It was easy,” he said, grinning. “That gal just found me too charming to resist.”

Nelly gave him a mock scowl. “Humph. I find you to be nothing but trouble.”

He grinned from ear to ear. “See, she loves me.”

“And why wouldn't she?” Caroline stated, happy for both of them. “You are quite a catch, Yance.”

“What we really need to know is if you are all right,” Nelly said, seeing the dark shadows beneath Caroline's eyes. “And what are you doing here in that man's house?”

She didn't know where to start explaining. “This is going to take some telling. I am not sure how it happened myself. I was ill when Wade brought me here.” She saw the frown on Nelly's face. “I am all right now. What I want to know is, how you were able to find me?”

Yance looked at Caroline carefully. “Mr. Gray saw you leave town with the bounty hunter, and we put the pieces together. Then when we went to your house, we read your letter and knew what had happened. Nelly knew you were in trouble, and she wouldn't rest until we could follow you. We followed your trail all the way to San Antonio, but from there, we completely lost it. Then we found out where Mr. Renault lived, and here we are.” He looked at her guardedly. “I'm full ready to get you out of here.”

“We didn't really expect you to be here,” Nelly said, puzzled. She held Caroline's hand as if she were afraid to let go of it. “Are you really all right? Is the bounty hunter holding you here against your will? 'Cause if he is, honey, like Yance said, we'll get you right out of here. Yance will take care of Mr. Renault,” she said, nodding up at her husband.

“I don't know where to start,” Caroline said. “You are the truest friends I could ever have, rushing to my rescue like this. But I am not here unwillingly, although . . .” She drew in a deep breath. “It's a long story.” And she proceeded to tell them about how she had gone to the boardinghouse the day of the picnic, and ended up explaining how she had come to be a guest in Wade Renault's home.

There were tears in Nelly's eyes, and she carelessly brushed them away. “I should have listened to you when you said he was after you. I am so sorry that I didn't believe you.”

“You must not blame yourself. I will not have it. Even I was lulled into thinking that Wade had come to town looking for someone else. That is, until the day of the picnic.”

“I thought you acted kinda strange that day. Didn't you, Yance?”

“I didn't notice. But I believed you when you said you noticed it.”

“There's more.” Caroline glanced from Nelly to Yance. “I am going to marry Wade Renault.”

Nelly was immediately on guard, and she voiced her suspicions. “He's forcing you to marry him, isn't he?”

“No. I don't want you to think that. You must understand that Wade is a very fine man.”

Yance was wondering if this was merely the romantic fantasy of a woman falling in love with the danger surrounding the bounty hunter. But Caroline had always been such a stable, levelheaded woman. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

“I do want to be his wife.”

Nelly stood up and wandered about the room,
touching the back of a red velvet chair, looking at the marble fireplace that had been hand carved. She had never been in such a fine house. “A bounty hunter must make a lot of money.” There was skepticism in her voice. “Yance, why don't you take a walk in that fine garden we saw out back? I want to talk to my friend.”

He went directly to the door. “Not married a month, and already I'm thrown out.” He smiled mischievously. “Just give me a loud yell when you want me to come back.”

After he stepped outside and closed the door behind him, Nelly looked at Caroline. “You've lost weight.”

“I did tell you that I was ill for a time.”

Nelly sat down on the edge of a chair and concentrated on what she wanted to say, and how she would say it. “You can come away with us right now and know that we will not let him come after you, if that's what you want. Yance has a sister who lives in Sacramento, California, and we can take you directly to her. Wade Renault will never think to look for you there.”

Caroline shook her head. “He would find me wherever I went—but I do not want to leave him.” She wanted to make Nelly understand something she wasn't sure she understood herself. “I can't run anymore.”

Nelly reached across and squeezed her friend's hand. “What in heaven's name are you running from?”

“If I tell you everything, you will only worry more.”

“How could I worry more than I already am?”

Caroline took a deep breath and started telling her friend about her past life. She told her about the day
she had married Michael and how he had died on their wedding day.

Nelly was horrified. “Hens' teeth, Caroline—you kept all that bottled up inside you? It's a wonder you are sane at all. Do you know who shot your husband?”

Caroline did, but she wasn't going to tell Nelly just yet. The less Nelly knew about Michael's murder, the safer she would be. Brace had a long reach, and Nelly would never understand how dangerous he could be. “Perhaps one day I will tell you the whole story, but not now. I want you to understand that my brother-in-law hired Wade to take me back to Charleston, and Wade understands that I would be in danger if I went home alone. When we are married, he will take me back to South Carolina.”

“You don't have to marry this man just so he will take care of you. You have friends.”

“I know. And you and Yance are the sweetest friends I could ever have. But I find I want to be Wade's wife. You must believe me when I tell you he is a fine man. If you only knew all that he has done for me.”

“I was watching him the day of the picnic, and I thought for a moment that he was in love with you. But I talked myself out of that notion when he took you away with him.” She looked doubtful. “If you change your mind, there is always Yance's sister that you can stay with.”