A Kiss for Cade (23 page)

“You left Cade alone with her?”

“Serves him right.” Zoe grinned. “Maybe she’ll put the fear of the Almighty in him.”

Gracie laughed again, and Zoe joined her. “What else can go wrong? From the minute Cade arrived, it’s been one disaster after another. I’m barely keeping up with the laundry. Thank heavens you and Glori-Lee are feeding the sick. I don’t know if I’d have the time or the food, for that matter. I’ve run out of produce, but it doesn’t make much difference. No one’s buying anything.” She leaned back in her chair. And each day spent with Cade was another day to mourn what could have been. Cade could have been an upstanding citizen instead of a man who would remain homeless for the rest of his life, however long or short that might be. Only through the grace of God had he not been shot and killed by now.

“Oh, Gracie, what am I going to do? If Miss Wiseman takes those kids, I won’t be able to bear it. They’re scared to death of her.”

Gracie frowned. “I never approved of John’s shenanigans. It wasn’t right of him to frighten those kids like that.”

Zoe sighed, reaching for the creamer. “I’m glad Addy doesn’t have to witness this. Do you realize Laticia is the children’s only relative other than Cade? If anything were to happen to him—” She couldn’t finish the thought. It was too disturbing.

“How’d she get past the quarantine?”

“She made Abraham drive right through. Harry said they tried to run him down.”

Gracie laid her head back and laughed heartily. “I’ll bet Harry was fit to be tied.” Her laughter dwindled to a smile. “Abraham. Is that old black driver of Laticia’s still alive? I thought about him just the other day. Wondered what that old woman would do without him.”

Zoe took a sip from her cup. “He takes good care of her. I never understood how he stays so pleasant and soft spoken. Over the years, when Laticia visited John and Addy, Abraham was always a gracious gentleman.”

Gracie smiled as she stirred her coffee.

“Did you know,” Zoe continued, “that Laticia’s daddy gave Abraham to her when she was just a girl? Even with slaves being free and all, Abraham went right on waiting on those folks like they were his own kin.”

Gracie chuckled.

“Laticia is fortunate to have him,” Zoe went on, “but neither one should be raising children at their ages.”

“I’ll tell you something,” said Gracie. “Abraham is wiser than anyone gives him credit for. If you stop and think, he’s the only one who knows how to keep ‘Miz Laticia’ in line.”

Zoe lifted a brow. “How so?”

“Ever hear him say, ‘Now, Miz Laticia, we ort not do that,’ or ‘We ort not think that way’?”

Grinning, Zoe nodded. He said it constantly.

“Ever see Laticia do what she said she would after Abraham warned her not to?”

Zoe shook her head.

Gracie slapped her thighs with both hands. “I should say not. He’s the only one who knows how to handle her.”

“Hmm.” Zoe bit into a warm cookie. “Maybe I’ll have a little talk with Abraham. Perhaps he can make Laticia see how foolish it would be for her to take the children. Her health won’t hold out forever. If she were to get sick, Abraham couldn’t take care of all of them.”

Gracie patted Zoe’s hand. “The way to Laticia is through Abraham. Yes, I’d say a talk with him is in order. And soon.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

O
n her way back to the store, Zoe stopped by the livery to pick up the children and briefly chat with Abraham.

“Oh, Miz Bradshaw, I don’ think Miz Laticia would pay me no mind should I say somethin’ about those young’uns. She pretty well set her hat for ’em. Said we need somethin’ to look after, fill in the time o’ day.”

Zoe gently covered the black man’s hand with hers. “Abraham, a woman her age has no business raising four young children. What Laticia needs is a pet. Maybe a pretty cat.”

Abraham crowed. “Now, that would be a mite easier on me, Miz Bradshaw. A nice quiet cat.” His gaze roamed the stable. “Saw one here a minute ago. Right friendly. Black. Reminded me of Miz Laticia.”

Zoe hugged the old man affectionately, taking solace in his soft, chocolate-colored eyes. “You’re a good man, Abraham.”

“Yes’m. You go on home now. Don’t be frettin’ no mo’.”

Zoe’s gaze wandered over the rustic stable. “I wish there was a better place for you to sleep.”

“I be jist fine, Miz Bradshaw. Jist fine.”

After supper, Zoe ironed for an hour and then wandered onto the back porch for a breath of fresh air. It was the first moment she could call her own since early dawn. She held a glass of water to her neck and savored the coolness against her flushed skin. She was wondering how Cade was doing with the patients when he rounded the building.

She sucked in her breath. His unexpected presence made her knees wobbly. She quickly sat down before she fell down.

“What are you doing over here?” She couldn’t help noticing how the moonlight heightened his tired features. She wondered if he regretted coming back, if he longed for his old life, a life free of children and family pressures.

“I got the night off. Seth offered to spell me.”

Patting the step beside her, she motioned for him to sit. The past few days hadn’t been a picnic for him, either.

Sinking down next to her, he removed his hat and then leaned back, his eyes sliding over her with easy familiarity. “You get prettier every day. Anyone ever tell you that?”

“Only men who are in sore need of spectacles.”

Resting back on his forearms, he gazed up at the star-studded sky. “You’re supposed to say, ‘Why, thank you, sir.’ Then you flutter your hand in front of your pretty eyes and say, ‘How you do go on.’”

She made a face. “Do you ever have a serious thought?”

“Not often. At least, I didn’t until lately.”

Tree frogs sang near the livery pond. Silvery moonbeams filtered through the branches of the old oak standing in the backyard.

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live a normal life, Cade?”

“I wonder, occasionally.” Sitting up, he ran his fingers through his hair. “Don’t change the subject. You’re a beautiful woman. Take the compliment or leave it.”

“Put in such romantic terms, how can I refuse?” Her dress was water stained, her flyaway hair a disgrace. She hadn’t had time to look in the mirror for, what? Days? She must be a ravishing sight indeed. But then, he’d always thought her pretty. That was still nice to know.

“Have you eaten?” she asked.

“Glori-Lee brought extra food to the jail tonight. I skipped the peach pie and cream.”

“Kids weaned you from that, huh?” She shivered. Once the sun went down, the night air cooled quickly.

Slipping to the step above her, Cade gathered her close. Shifting slightly, she sought to escape, but he held her firmly. After a moment, she stopped struggling. There had been a time when she’d considered his intimate gestures as natural as drawing the next breath.

“Better?” he asked.

No
, she thought, shaking her head. Worse. His closeness brought back too many unwanted memories.

Leaning closer, he sniffed her hair. His breath, warm against her cheek, sent shivers up her spine. “How do you always manage to smell so good? Like lemon and French soap.”

“And what would you know about French soap?”

He nuzzled her neck. “I know I like the smell.”

“Cade, please.” She tried to move away, but his hold tightened.

“You smell nothing like Laticia. What is that stench on her?”

Zoe grinned in spite of her effort to ignore him. “She always smells like that.”

“What is it?”

“Mothballs, maybe? I dare you to ask.”

“And get my head knocked off with that weapon she calls a cane? No thanks.” His fingers found her funny bone and tickled. Squirming, she giggled, hating herself.
Stop it. Zoe! Get up and go inside. It’s insane to sit here, letting him tickle you and responding like a smitten fool!

Twisting aside, she scooted away to distance herself from him. He grinned, clearly flirting with her now.

“If you’re not cold, I am.” She sucked in a long-suffering breath and then relaxed in defeat as he scooted closer and drew her back to him. It was insane, but she couldn’t say she didn’t enjoy his company. If nothing else, they had shared young love and almost a child. She sighed. God did not intend them to be husband and wife, but little changed the fact that they were friends, and she’d have to deal with that. Resting her head on his shoulder, she gazed at the stars. “Admit it,” she said. “You’re getting attached to the children.”

“I’ve never said I wasn’t.”

It was true. He might not openly express his affection, but his eyes gave him away. Each time Missy or Holly climbed into his lap, he was theirs for the taking.

“They adore you, you know.”

“They’re good kids.”

I adored you. Once. So much so, I thought I would die when you didn’t come back.
She blinked back tears, reminding herself the past was the past. Painful though it was, the time had come to bury it. “How are things at the jail tonight?”

“No new cases.”

“Still, I worry sick about the kids. They were around John and Addy constantly, even though I tried to keep them away.”

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, warming them. “I think Lilith’s soap’s causing it.”

She sighed. “A fever? Right.”

“Bonnie swears it gives her a rash.”

His fingers eased to her shoulders, massaging weariness away. Her bones turned to liquid as he gently worked the tension out of her neck.

“Relax, Red.”

His low baritone aroused feelings she had considered dormant. She and Jim had had a satisfactory marriage bed, but he had been gone a year. She hadn’t realized she missed a man’s touch until now.

“You work too hard.”

Sensitive understanding mixed with the proper amount of pity. A deadly combination. Did he know what he was doing? How easy it would be to fall prey to his tenderness. His fingers worked magic through her tense muscles. Every bone in her body hurt. She’d like nothing more than to lean into his calm assurance and stay there for the rest of her life.

He lifted the small gold chain around her neck. “Is this the locket I gave you?”

She pushed his hand away. “I wear it out of habit.”

His mouth brushed her ear. “I could buy you one made of real gold now.”

“I like this one. You gave it to me the night you left.”

“And you’ve kept it all these years?”

“I keep a lot of things, Cade. Don’t read anything into it.” Changing the subject, she murmured, “I’m sorry you’ve had to stay so long.”

“Don’t be. I’m not. I like being an uncle to the kids. Too bad it took Addy’s death for me to see that.”

She almost felt sorry for him, maybe because she was tired and weak, needing his comfort and support more than she wanted to admit. He’d been thrust headfirst into a chaotic situation, losing his sister, gaining four children, and becoming a nurse and surrogate sheriff until Pop’s injury healed all in a matter of days. He was holding up well, considering. “I wouldn’t blame you if you walked out and never came back.”

“I did that once and regretted it.”

His words barely registered. She was bone tired. She would just close her eyes for a moment, and then she’d feel better. As he stroked and kneaded the tension out of her body, events didn’t seem nearly as bad as they had an hour ago. The patients were improving, she had only a half bushel of ironing left, and tomorrow…well, tomorrow was a new day…

She felt him draw her against his chest, and she drifted off to sleep, barely aware when he picked her up and carried her into the house.