Jade

  She closed her eyes and offered her lips. But instead of the expected kiss, she felt his slight hesitation as his hands tightened on her upper arms.

  Her eyes flew open. He was staring at her in a strange, guarded way. His gaze was centered on her lips, and she felt the heat as surely as if he were already kissing her. But still he hesitated, his hands moving in a slow, sensual rhythm up and down her arms.

  Wade was shaken by the rush of feelings. He realized he’d made a terrible miscalculation. Just touching her was causing all sorts of trouble. If he kissed her, he’d be lost.

  Calling on all his willpower, he released her and took a step back.

  His hands were trembling. He thrust them into his pockets and turned, staring deeply into the flames. When he could trust his voice he turned back to her.

  “I’d better see about some more firewood.” He crossed the room and pulled on his rain-soaked duster. “It looks like the storm isn’t ready to let up yet.”

  When he walked out into the darkness, Jade hugged her arms about herself. She could still feel the warmth of his hands where they’d touched her, stroked her.

  Above the storm she could hear the sound of an ax biting into wood. How was it that he could arouse her so deeply, so shockingly, with nothing more than a touch? And then just as easily walk away and go about the business of chopping wood?

  She picked up the silver comb and studied it in the light of the fire. The touch of his hand drawing the comb through her hair had been unlike anything else in her life. It had awakened feelings she hadn’t even known she possessed.

  She had tasted only one man’s lips. And that kiss had been so long ago it was probably more imagined than remembered. But it had evoked the same longing, the same desire as Wade’s touch.

  With a sigh she returned the comb to the mantel and dropped to her knees in front of the fire. She stared into the flames as though they held the answers to all of life’s questions.

  What, she wondered, caused her greater turmoil? The storm outside? Or the one going on inside her heart?

  Chapter Seven

  Wade stacked an armload of firewood inside the cabin, then leaned all his weight into the door until it was closed tightly against the spray of wind and rain. It had been a relief to vent his frustrations on the pile of logs. Still, aching muscles were no substitute for what he really craved.

  Then he turned and sat back on his heels, grateful for this opportunity to study Jade as she slept. One arm was curled beneath her, cradling her head. The other was outflung, as if reaching out to a lover. Such long, slender fingers. The thought of them touching him, stroking him, caused his throat to go dry.

  It gave him an odd, pleasant feeling to see her in his rough plaid shirt, which revealed more than it covered. His gaze trailed along her bare feet, her trim ankles, then moved upward to long legs and shapely thighs. He studied the flare of hips, and the waist so small his hands could easily span it. In the glow of the fire he could see the shadowed cleft between her breasts. With each rise and fall of her chest, he felt his own tighten.

  He wanted her. Desperately. And resented that fact. It was a struggle every time he looked at her.

  He thought of all the sermons he’d preached about resisting temptation, and doing the right thing. At this moment they were just so many empty words. If he could have but one wish before he died…

  Why was he tormenting himself?

  He got to his feet and, tearing his gaze from the sleeping figure, stared around the little cabin. He envied Jade’s peaceful rest, knowing there would be none for him this night.

  Jade was instantly awake, though it took her several seconds to remember where she was.

  The deserted cabin. The storm. Her heartbeat quickened. Wade Weston.

  She sat up, shoving the hair from her eyes. The fire had been carefully tended, with a pile of fresh logs giving off their heat.

  She stared around the cabin, and was surprised to find that she was alone. A glance at the window showed that it was still dark outside.

  She got to her feet and peered out. The rain had stopped. The sky was streaked with the first ribbons of dawn light.

  She slipped out of the plaid shirt and pulled on her silk gown, which had thoroughly dried. Sliding her feet into the kid boots, she strode across the room and out into the predawn chill.

  At first she could see nothing but the darkened outline of a crumbling corral. But as her eyes adjusted to the dim light she could make out a figure moving around the perimeter.

  Walking closer, she watched as Wade slowly circled the enclosure, running his hand along the top rail. Every once in a while he paused and stared off into the distance, as if seeing the mountains that were still cloaked in shadow. Then he continued his circuitous route.

  As he drew close Jade caught sight of his face. Thoughtful. Pensive. His brows drawn together in a frown.

  “Good morning,” she called. “Did you sleep at all?”

  His head came up. With an effort he managed to replace the troubled look with a bland one. “A little. And you, Miss Jewel?”

  “I must have been more exhausted than I realized.” She paused at the gate to the corral and waited while he slipped through the opening to join her. “I slept long enough for my gown to dry. Thank you for the loan of your shirt.”

  “You’re welcome.” He was careful not to touch her as he walked beside her toward the cabin.

  At the nearness of him she shivered slightly and blamed it on the cold morning air. She glanced around at the dilapidated ranch, with its crumbled outbuildings and overgrown fields. “It makes me sad to think that this was once someone’s home. And now it has fallen into such disrepair. My father told me that there were many ranchers who were forced to flee the rigors of Texas.”

  Wade’s frown was back, deeper than ever. “Is that what you think? That they fled the hard work to return to a life of ease?”

  She shrugged. “It’s possible. What do you think?”

  “I have more important things to wonder about, Miss Jewel,” he said abruptly.

  “Such as?” she prompted.

  “Such as how soon we can take our leave.” He crossed the rest of the distance to the cabin in quick strides.

  “I suppose you’re in a hurry to get back to the comfort of Millie Potter’s boardinghouse.”

  “You might say that.” As soon as he entered the cabin he pulled on the plaid shirt that Jade had worn for sleep. The scent of her lingered in its folds. His fingers slowed with each button as he inhaled the exotic fragrance. A rush of feelings swept over him. Feelings he hadn’t even known he possessed.

  Annoyed at the direction of his thoughts, he angrily stuffed the rest of his clothing into his saddlebags.

  “I hope you don’t mind if I use the last of your coffee,” she called.

  When he didn’t object, Jade placed the blackened pot over the fire, then removed the remains of their food from the linen bundle. While she worked, she wondered about his anger. Was it something she had said or done? Or was he simply annoyed at this disruption of his schedule?

  “It’s a good thing we don’t have to spend another night,” she commented as she handed him a biscuit and several chunks of meat. “Or we would be out of food.”

  He could think of a more compelling reason not to spend another night. One that would have her blushing clear to her toes. But he kept his thoughts to himself as he finished the biscuit and washed it down with hot coffee.

  A short time later he tossed his saddlebags over his shoulder and abruptly headed for the door. “We’d better get started, Miss Jewel.”

  She followed more slowly, giving a last glance around the tiny cabin before closing the door. Aloud she mused, “I’m almost sorry to leave.”

  “Why?” He turned to her with a look of surprise.

  “There is something cozy about this little cabin. Something that speaks of love.” Seeing the way he was studying her, she flushed. “My mother told me that I inherited this we
akness from my father.”

  “Weakness?”

  “These…fanciful thoughts that I occasionally entertain.” Her cheeks bloomed with color. “My father once told me that it was not hardheaded determination that caused him to become a successful rancher in this wilderness. It was a need to leave all that was familiar and seek out an adventure that he believed would change his life forever. But once here he yearned for home and family, and spent the rest of his life seeking it. He called himself an incurable romantic. My mother, on the other hand, believed that it was unwise to have romantic thoughts in a demanding business such as ours.”

  “And you wish to be a clearheaded businesswoman like your mother?”

  She nodded. “It has been expected of me since my birth.”

  “But aren’t you also expected to marry? You said yourself that the business must be handed down from mother to daughter. If there were daughters, there must have been husbands,” he said logically.

  “Of course.”

  “And doesn’t it follow that if there were marriages, there were romances?”

  She shook her head. “Not at all. The marriages were arranged at birth.”

  Wade smiled at her joke. But when he looked at her more closely, he realized she was serious.

  “Then your mother was married before she came to this country?”

  Jade nodded. “To a man of her father’s choosing. He sent her here, to set up a business and send the money back to China. She had always thought she would remain for only a few years. But once she opened the Golden Dragon, the months stretched into years, and she remained, though she vowed never to give her heart to any man. Of course,” Jade added, “that was before she met Onyx Jewel.”

  Wade began to understand. “So, even though she may have loved your father, she couldn’t marry him, since she already had a husband.” He had a sudden thought. “What about you, Miss Jewel? Was your marriage arranged at your birth?”

  She lowered her head and studied the toe of her kid boot. “My mother desired it. There was a family in San Francisco who had come from her province in China. They had a young son who would be suitable. But my father would not permit it.”

  For some strange reason Wade’s heart felt free of a momentary burden.

  As he started to pull himself into the saddle, he heard the thundering of hoofbeats and turned to see a dozen wranglers from the Jewel ranch, with Cal McCabe and Adam Winter in the lead. Riding between them was Deputy Marshal Arlo Spitz.

  Cal’s mouth was a tight line of worry until he spotted the exotic creature half-hidden by Wade’s horse.

  “Jade. You’re here. Are you all right?” he shouted as he drew in his mount.

  Jade nodded. “My wagon broke a wheel. Reverend Weston offered to bring me home. But a rainstorm changed our plans and caused us to seek shelter here in this cabin.”

  Cal swung from the saddle, while the others remained astride their mounts, circling the couple. “When you didn’t come home last night we were worried sick. We found your team and your carriage with the broken wheel. But the storm forced us to abandon the trail until morning.”

  Jade’s eyes darkened with concern. “I’m sorry to have caused such trouble, Cal. You know that I would have sent word to you if it was possible.”

  “I know. I’m just glad you were able to find shelter.” He patted her hand, then glanced up at Wade. “I’m beholden to you, Reverend. And relieved you were with her. I’m sure glad she spent the night here with you. At least I know she had nothing to fear.”

  Cal’s words caused a rush of guilt. If the foreman of the Jewel ranch had any inkling of the thoughts Wade had entertained throughout the night he’d be holding a pistol in that outstretched hand.

  Cal offered his hand in friendship. Wade had no choice but to accept.

  Then the ranch foreman placed a hand beneath Jade’s elbow and began steering her toward his horse, muttering, “I know you must be anxious to get back to the ranch.”

  It was all happening so quickly. One minute Jade had all the time in the world to thank Wade for his kindness. The next, she was being hustled away.

  She thought of all the things she had intended to say before they parted company. But none of them sounded adequate. And so she managed to call over her shoulder, “Thank you, Reverend. I am grateful for… for all your help.”

  “You’re welcome, Miss Jewel.” Wade touched a hand to his hat, then clenched it into a fist at his side. As Jade and the wranglers left in a cloud of dust, he felt a wave of frustration. He ought to be glad that the source of his temptation had been removed. At least for the moment. But instead of gratitude, he felt a strange letdown. And a nagging sense that this thing between him and Jade Jewel was far from over.

  Carmelita handed Jade a tray of roasted chicken spiced with red and green chilis. “I made these especially for you, Senorita Jade. I was so worried about you last night, thinking you were alone in that storm.”

  “Thank heaven you weren’t alone,” Pearl said fervently.

  “It’s a good thing it was Reverend Weston,” Diamond remarked as she settled down to supper with her sisters.

  Adam, Cal and the boys had returned to the north range, along with most of the wranglers, leaving the four sisters to share the night at the Jewel ranch. “Why is that?” Jade asked as she took a tiny portion and passed the platter to Diamond.

  “If you were with any other man, the town gossips would have their tongues wagging faster than a herd of stampeding longhorns,” Diamond muttered as she filled her plate. “As it is, I bet Arlo couldn’t wait to get home and tell his wife. And everybody knows that whatever Arlo’s wife knows, Lavinia Thurlong and Gladys Witherspoon will soon learn. And what those two hear passes directly from their lips to the entire town of Hanging Tree within an hour.”

  “But with Reverend Weston, your reputation is intact,” Pearl added. “Not even the worst gossips could entertain the thought that anything…lurid could happen between you and such a fine, upstanding gentleman.”

  While the other two prattled on, Ruby studied Jade in silence, noting the slight flush on her cheeks, the way she kept her gaze fixed on her plate. “But the reverend is an attractive man, is he not, chérie?”

  Jade’s head came up sharply.

  “Why, Ruby,” Pearl sputtered in her most outraged tone. “That’s simply scandalous. How could you say such a thing?”

  “That he is attractive?” Ruby continued to study Jade across the table, and her smile widened. “He is not a monk, chérie, pledged to a cloistered life of celibacy. He is a man. And unless we are all blind, we must admit that he is a very handsome man. No doubt with a man’s appetites.”

  “You’re as bad as Lavinia and Gladys,” Diamond said accusingly.

  “It is not gossip I spread,” Ruby said matter-offactly. “It is truth, is it not?” Her dark eyes flashed a challenge to the others. Then she fixed Jade with a knowing look and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “So, chérie. Tell us. Did the handsome preacher offer to warm your cold hands in his?”

  “Ruby, how bold of you,” Pearl protested.

  The bayou beauty turned to her with laughing eyes. “Are you suggesting that the noble Cal never tried to hold your hand, or kiss you, until he proposed marriage?”

  Pearl’s cheeks flamed bright red. She touched a napkin to her lips to hide her embarrassment. But she uttered not a word in her husband’s defense.

  “It is as I thought,” Ruby said before returning her attention to Jade. “Men are men. Whether they earn their living by preaching or rounding up strays, they have a weakness for beautiful women. Now, tell us, Jade. How did you and the reverend spend the night?”

  Seeing the high color that came to Jade’s cheeks, Diamond pressed a hand over hers and said softly, “The first time Adam kissed me, I was so scared I wanted to run and hide.”

  “You?” Jade asked in surprise. This woman, born and bred in the wilds of Texas, was the strongest, toughest woman Jade had ever met. “You w
ere afraid of a kiss?”

  Diamond nodded. “Of course, the second time he kissed me, I kissed him back. But I was still pretty scared of the whole business. I remember thinking I’d rather have broken a wild mustang to saddle than have to deal with all those feelings I had tumbling around inside me over Adam Winter.”

  She looked into Jade’s troubled eyes. “Is Ruby right? Did something happen between you and Wade Weston last night?”

  For the space of a heartbeat Jade thought about confiding in these three women. They were, after all, the closest thing she had to a family. But her natural reticence, and her years of lessons in the art of gentle deception, would not permit it. Besides, nothing had happened. Nothing but a touch. A touch that had meant nothing at all to him.

  She lifted a cup of tea to her lips and drank. Feeling her nerves begin to settle, she set the cup aside and faced her sisters.

  “The reverend is a man of honor. If he were not, he would answer to my knife.”

  Satisfied, Diamond and Pearl began to eat. But as Jade ducked her head to follow suit, she caught sight of the sly smile on Ruby’s lips. And knew in her heart that Ruby was no more convinced than she.

  Chapter Eight

  “Thank you for coming all this way just to see how I’m mending, Reverend. I enjoyed our talk, especially about the old days here in Hanging Tree, though I’ve forgotten more than I remember.” The elderly rancher hobbled to the door of the cabin, leaning heavily on a gnarled stick, which his wife had fashioned into a cane. As Wade pulled himself into the saddle, the old man called, “And thank you kindly for the flour and sugar. Nellie will put it to good use. God bless you, Reverend.”

  Wade waved goodbye and turned his mount toward town. His saddlebags were considerably lighter after a day on the trail. He’d delivered tobacco to Yancy Winslow, one of Millie Potter’s home-baked pies and a couple of live chickens to the widow Purdy, and flour, sugar and necessary supplies to Frank and Nellie Cooper. All in a day’s work, he figured. And often more welcome and more needed than any sermon he could preach.