Deborah Camp (21 page)

“Yeah, poor gal.” Deputy Land pumped Zach’s hand. “We’ll take care of him before he has a chance to hurt anyone else.”

“Thanks, Deputy.” Zach glanced at his pocket watch, wishing he could go tell Jennie about the meeting with Judge Olson, but he had cases he needed to prepare for and a new client he was meeting at the office in twenty minutes. His good news would have to wait until after work.

The moment Jennie saw him standing on the front porch of the boarding house, she knew something good had happened. His blue eyes sparkled and he looked as if he couldn’t keep himself from smiling if his life had depended on it. The sun was setting behind him, limning him in gold.

“Good evening,” she said.

“Partner!” Oliver ran past her and skidded his a halt in front of Zach. “Are we going to ride today?”

“Not today.” Zach reached down and swung Oliver up into his arms. “I’m here to talk some business with your mama.” He looked at the little girl standing behind Jennie’s skirts. “Hello, Molly. How are you today, sweetie?”

“Fine,” Molly answered in a voice that could barely be heard.

“That’s good. Hey, partner, I have something for you.”

“What?”

Zach reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a loop of leather with two feathers attached it it. “This is a genuine Indian’s headband.”

“No kidding?”

“Well … I made it myself, but it looks just like the real thing. Let me put it on you.” He set Oliver on his feet and fitted the band around his head, then adjusted the two feather so that they stuck up straight at the back of his head. “You look like an Indian brave, partner.”

“Mama, look at me!” Oliver threw out his chest as he turned toward Jennie, striking a pose.

“Very impressive,” Jennie said.

“Miss Molly, I have a little something for you too,” Zach said, reaching into his other coat pocket and pulling out several pieces of wrapped candy. “Sweets for the sweet.” He placed a couple of the pieces in Molly’s palm and then looked past them to where Dottie Dandridge stood in the doorway. “Hello, Mrs. Dandridge. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, it’s okay. Thank you.”

He reached out, holding the last piece of candy. “One for you, Mrs. Dandridge.”

“How thoughtful.” Dottie took the candy from him with a shy smile.

“We just finished supper,” Jennie said. “If you had arrived a few minutes earlier, you could have joined us.”

“I grabbed a bite in town. It’s been a busy day.”

Dottie rested a hand on Jennie’s shoulder. “I can take the children out back to play if you want to speak privately with Mr. Warner.”

“Would you mind?”

“Of course not. You watched Molly most of the day for me while I ran errands and met with my attorney.” Dottie smiled and took Oliver and Molly by the hand. “Come along. I’ll push you in the tree swing.”

“See you later, partner!” Oliver said over his shoulder as he was led away.

“We will have another riding and roping lesson in a day or two, partner,” Zach promised, then smiled at Jennie. “He’s a great little guy.”

For a few moments, she couldn’t speak because sweet emotion had coated her throat. Seeing him bond with Oliver had filled her with yearning and then his way with Molly and Dottie had made her feel proud. Proud? She chided herself. He’s not yours to be proud of, she told herself, and the truth of that squeezed her heart.

“What’s this? No smile for me?” he cupped her elbows in his palms and bent his knees to be eye level with her. “I have some wonderful news for you, Jennie.”

“You do?”

“Yes!” His hands slid down her arms to clasp her hands in his. He looked around at the porch and then nodded at the shadow draped porch swing. “Come over here and sit down with me.”

They settled on the porch swing and Zach turned sideways to look at her. He kept one of her hands sandwiched between his.

“The land is going to be placed in a trust for Oliver.”

The statement was made so confidently and quietly that Jennie thought for a few moments she hadn’t heard him correctly. She blinked, then realized she wasn’t dreaming. “What happened? How did you convince them to give it to us?”

“Oh, they aren’t giving us anything. You are taking back what was always your son’s. You always believed that in your heart of hearts, Jennie, and you were right.”

“Charles didn’t marry her?” Her voice broke with emotion.

His smile dimmed. “No, honey, he did marry her, but the marriage wasn’t legal. You have to be divorced six months before you can remarry here. He was only divorced for about three months when he married Luna. So, she has no right to the land.”

She drew a hand across her forehead, trying to straighten her thoughts. “How did you find this out?”

“The Bishop’s maid was a client of mine. Luna treats her badly, so she has no allegiance to her. She had been in court the day Charles obtained his divorce, so she knew that he hadn’t been divorced long enough to marry Luna.”

“And no one at the courthouse realized that? Why didn’t they stop them from marrying if the law forbids it?”

“That’s where it gets ugly. Judge Bishop removed Hastings’ original divorce decree and changed the date on it so that it was recorded that he was divorced in January instead of March. Then he forged another judge’s signature on it.”

Jennie shook her head, still feeling dazed by the unfolding scheme. “But why didn’t he just sign it? He’s a judge.”

“He’s retired and he didn’t preside over the divorce docket. He handled land and mineral rights. Judge Olson and two other judges handle the divorce docket. I went to Judge Olson’s office this morning to tell him about it and Judge Bishop was already there, trying to make Judge Olson take pity on him or see it his way, I’m not sure which.”

“But the other judge … he wasn’t on his side, was he?”

Zach shook his head and squeezed her hand. “He was as disgusted by what Judge Bishop and Luna did to you as I was. Well, maybe not as disgusted, but close. Judge Olson will make sure that they are charged with forgery and theft. You can bet on that.”

Jennie fell back against the swing, limp with relief. “I can’t believe it. I was thinking we wouldn’t be able to get even an acre of land and now the whole ranch will be Oliver’s.”

“And yours. You will be the trustee until Oliver is twenty-one and can legally inherit it.”

“Hopefully, it will be a working ranch by then and Oliver will have a sweetheart or even be married and —.”

“Whoa!” Zach chuckled and settle back against the swing, draping an arm around her shoulders. “One day at a time, darlin’.”

“Oh, I can’t help myself. I’m a dreamer. When I close my eyes at night, I see my future or at least the future I want for myself and for Oliver. You have to have a dream to shoot for, don’t you?” Happiness bubbled up in her and she felt like she might burst. “I can hardly believe this, Zachary! Thank you, thank you so much.” She couldn’t help herself. She flung an arm around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth.

He must have been stunned because he froze for a moment before his mouth moved against hers and his lips parted. Cupping her head in his hands, he slanted his mouth on hers to deepen the kiss. Passion flowered in her and she became blazingly aware that they were sitting in the open where anyone could see them. Reluctantly, she pushed him away and smoothed her hands over her hair.

“We shouldn’t be doing this out here,” she said, smiling. “What if Oliver or Molly or – anyone should step out onto the porch?”

“You’re right.” He ran a hand along the side of her head, his fingertips combing lightly through her hair. “Come back to my place.”

She inched back to get a better look at his face. He wasn’t teasing her. “Now?”

“Could Mrs. Dandridge watch Oliver for a spell?” He leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “We should celebrate and we can’t do that here.”

His warm breath fanned her ear, and with her lips still tingling from his kiss, she was in no condition to deny him – anything.

Chapter 16

The minute the door was closed to his room Zachary took her into his arms and rained kisses over her face and neck. She trembled and grasped his hands, encouraging them to move deftly over her clothing, unbuttoning, unlacing, tugging, pulling, until she wore nothing but her chemise and stockings.

An urgency bloomed inside her and she wanted to tell him everything he had come to mean to her, but she also didn’t want to say a word. She just wanted him to love her.

He sat her on the bed and rolled her stockings down slowly, first one leg, then the other, pausing to kiss her knees and thighs. Jennie braced herself on her arms and flung her head back and closed her eyes to relish every nuance of sensation.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he murmured, removing her stockings and kissing her knees. “All I could think about today was you, you, and you.”

She smiled and opened her eyes to take in the beauty of his muscled torso, her body humming with desire for him. He joined her on the bed in a tangle of limbs. He grabbed the hem of her chemise and pulled it up and over her head. His chest hair tickled her bare breasts and teased her rosy nipples. He was as ready for her as she was for him and he entered her with a swiftness that stole her breath, her heart, her reason. At his moment of release, he called out her name as she clung to him, her breath soughing in her throat as wonder drifted through her like sparks from a dying fire.

“I never knew it could be so consuming,” she whispered after her heart beat normally again. “When I’m with you like this, I hardly know myself.”

He turned onto his side and pulled her closer to him. “You flatter me – and I love it.”

She pushed gently at his shoulder. “Oh, you! But, I must say, that you are well equipped.”

“Madam Hastings, I do declare!” He fluttered his lashes, making her laugh. “How you talk!”

With her fingertip, she drew circles in the hair on his chest. “I love being with you like this.”

“So do I.”

“I feel free now. Free of every shackle I had when I arrived here.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “Soon, you can leave it all behind you. There are just a few strings left dangling.”

“What strings?”

He smoothed her hair back from her forehead and temples. “Judge Bishop and Luna. They will be arrested and jailed, probably. I imagine the judge will put up bail for both of them. But they will be ruined. They will lose everything, including their standing in town and any shred of respect.”

“She was his downfall.”

“She was. From all appearances, he was a good man before Luna got her clutches in him. Women can make men perform all sorts of foolish deeds.”

She kissed his frowning mouth. “You are speaking from experience?”

“I am speaking as an observer,” he amended, dipping his head to kiss her fingertips and the back of her hand. “Can you spend the night with me?”

“No, I can’t. I must get back to Oliver.” Looking at him, her heart swelled. “You’re so good to Oliver, Zachary. I really appreciate the time you spend with him.”

“I’m fond of the little man,” he said. “It’s time well spent.”

Cuddling closer, she allowed her hand to drift lower, over his hard belly and finally her fingers closed around the silky hardness of him. He drew in a quick breath and his blue eyes darkened. She kissed him, telegraphing her passionate need with her tongue and the stroking of her fingers.

With a sound that was a mixture of a groan and a growl, he took in his arms again and made the world slip away.

Jennie stood in front of the shaving mirror and used Zach’s brush to remove tangles from her hair. Zach appeared in the mirror behind her. He buttoned his trousers and then his shirt. She smiled, loving the intimacy, remembering how he felt and moved against her.

“I have some other interesting news,” he said.

“What?”

He swept the curtain of her hair away from the side of her neck so that he could press a warm kiss there. “Melvin Parks is going to be arrested. In fact, he should already in jail.”

“In all the excitement, I had nearly forgotten about him,” she said. “But I’m happy to hear that he’s locked up. Guthrie is safer tonight, for sure.”

“All is right with the world,” he said, grasping her shoulders and pulling her against him. Their gazes met in the mirror. “You look like a woman who was just made love to.”

She smiled, knowing it was true. “And you look like a satisfied man.”

“Oh, I am.” He kissed the side of her neck again. “But I can’t go for long without having you, Jennie.”

His confession emboldened her. “Where are we headed, Zachary?”

“Mmm?” he murmured, nuzzling her ear.

“How do you feel about me? Do you love me?”

His gaze bounced to hers again in the mirror. “That’s a mighty big word. Love.”

“A big word for a big emotion,” she said, then released a long breath. “I love you.”

“Do you? Are you sure?” he asked.

“I am positive,” she answered without pause.

“Well, I guess that makes me the luckiest guy around.”

Jennie held his gaze in the mirror, willing him to say the words that she felt for certain were dancing on his tongue. Just when she thought she’d been wrong, he sucked in a gulping breath.

“I love you, too, Jennie.” He let out the rest of the breath. “Whew! There. I said it.”

“Was it that difficult? I thought you fell in love every time you were with a woman. That’s what you told me once. Remember?”

He glanced up at the ceiling. “Using my words against me? That’s no fair.”

She laughed lightly and turned around to face him. “You didn’t mean it?”

“Oh, I meant it – at the time. That’s before you had lassoed and hog-tied my heart. You and that little boy of yours proved too hard to resist.”

She walked the fingertips of one hand up the front of his shirt. “Well, when two people are in love, they usually make plans to marry.” It felt as if the temperature in the room suddenly changed, becoming noticeably colder. Jennie looked up at Zach through the veil of her lashes and saw the tension in his face and that the smile was gone from his lips. “Zach?”

He captured her hands and took a step back. “Jennie, you’re moving a mite fast, don’t you think? Remember how I told you that I don’t put much faith in marriage?”

“Yes, but I was hoping you had changed your opinion.”

“I haven’t. Oh, now, don’t look so sad. I would rather be honest with you than to fail you, and that’s what would happen if we married. The odds are that we would not continue to be happy with each other and we would either stay together and be miserable like my parents or we would be in divorce court.”

“It doesn’t have to be either of those options and you know it,” Jennie said, tugging her hands from his. “You have seen good marriages. You just prefer to ignore them.”

“I have seen
a few
good marriages and many, many more bad ones.”

“That’s because it’s your job to deal with the bad ones. If you were in some other work, you would not be so jaded.”

“Jennie … Jennie, listen to me.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and waited for her gaze to find his. “I want to be with you. I want to live together. We can live in your house while I build us a bigger one. I’ll treat Oliver as if he were my own flesh and blood. We will take it one day at a time.”

The depth of her love for him was deeper than she’d even known until that moment when she was all but ready to agree to live with him and be his lover. But then a small face swam into view – a face with big, brown eyes and a Cupid’s bow mouth. She loved that face more than life itself.

Jennie shook her head. “Zach, I love you so much that being your lover and not your wife probably would be enough for me. Oh, I would always yearn to be Mrs. Warner, but I would believe that I would wear you down after a few years and you would finally make it so.”

“You’re right. You probably will,” he said, chuckling under his breath.

“But I have someone else to consider. Oliver. And my son deserves a father and not a boarder.”

If she had splashed him with ice-cold water, he wouldn’t have looked more chilled. His hands slipped down her arms to her wrists and she felt a slight tremor in his fingers.

“Jennie, it doesn’t have to be that way. Marriage is only a piece of paper. Oliver wouldn’t care if we had the document or not.”

“That document would make you Oliver’s relative – his step-father, his
only
father. It’s more important than simply a piece of paper and you know it, Zachary. You are witness every day in court to the importance of that paper. It binds people together and to break free of it, they can’t just wave good riddance. They have to legally dissolve the union. People think long and hard before they take that step, especially when children are involved.” She moved away from him to stand by the window where moonlight had pooled.

For a minute or two they were silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Jennie looked over her shoulder to see that he was sitting on the bed, his head in his hands.

“Your parents might have stayed together because of you and your siblings. Maybe they couldn’t bear the thought of either one of them moving away from the family, the children.”

“That’s a romantic way to look at it, but I don’t think they cared that much for any of us.”

“They cared enough to provide a home for you. They could have busted up and farmed you out to relatives. I hear about people doing that, although I can’t imagine it.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen that happen. I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I suppose my ma and pa could have taken an easier path. I know it was hell most of the time for them to live under the same roof. I always wondered why one of them didn’t just pack it in.”

“Children change everything, Zach. They change how you feel, how you think, how you see the world, and what you will endure.” She drew in a breath as she moved across the room to him. “I hope someday you will know this for yourself because then you will understand how, aside from burying my husband, telling you that I can’t accept just being your friend and lover is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” Touching his shoulder, she felt her heart expand almost painfully when he lifted his head and his shimmering blue eyes focused on her. “I love my son and that is why I can’t accept anything less than a man we can call our own.”

Arriving back at the boarding house after leaving Zach, Jennie felt melancholy and yearned to be in her room alone with her thoughts. Her plan crumbled when she stepped into the parlor and saw that Sarah was waiting for her.

“I hope you don’t mind my dropping by,” Sarah said, rising from the settee. She wore a gray and rose jacket and skirt that Jennie had added piping to along the hem, collar, and cuffs, giving it a crisper and more modern look.

“I’m so happy you did,” Jennie said. “Did you see Oliver? He’s around here somewhere.”

“Yes, he breezed through here with a little girl a few minutes ago. I believe they were headed for the kitchen where Mrs. Philpot was serving up glasses of milk and oatmeal cookies.”

“Let’s sit down.” Jennie chose one of the chairs and Sarah sat on the settee again. “I could make us some tea, if you’d like refreshments.”

“No, I can’t stay long. I came by to let you know that I’ll be leaving Guthrie in a day or two.”

“Oh? Why?”

“My divorce is final. My court date was yesterday and my divorce was granted. It’s done. I’m a free woman now.”

“I’m happy for you, Sarah.” Jennie marveled at the irony. Here she was pining for a husband and Sarah was thrilled to be rid of one. “But I will sorely miss you. You are my voice of reason. I can always come to you for sound advice.”

“It’s a load off my shoulders, having this business behind me now. Guthrie has been an adventure, but I miss my children terribly.”

“Oh, yes. You must. It’s been so many weeks since you’ve seen them.”

“Although they are older, they still need their mother and their mother still needs them.” She tilted her head to one side. “Have I made you sad?”

“Yes, but I’ll survive.” She knew that her sadness had more to do with Zach than with Sarah’s departure, but she wasn’t ready to discuss that with anyone – not even Sarah, who had become her confidant. “I can’t imagine being away from Oliver for months. You will have such a happy reunion with them!”

“I hope your problems are soon ironed out, Jennie. I will be sending good wishes your way every day.”

“Oh! I must tell you, Sarah, that I received good news about that. Oliver is going to inherit the land and I will be the trustee until he is twenty-one.”

Sarah gave a gasp and her eyes widened. “When did this all happen?”

“It hasn’t quite happened, but it is in the works. Zach discovered that Charles was not divorced long enough to marry, so his marriage to Luna is unlawful.”

“Splendid! I love thinking of that hateful biddy getting her comeuppance.” Sarah popped a fist into the palm of her other hand and her dark eyes sparked with triumph. “Do you think Luna knew that he hadn’t been divorced long enough to remarry?”

“Oh, yes. She knew.”

“So, she was knowingly keeping the land from you and your son? That is unforgiveable. I daresay there is a special corner in Hell for people like her.”

“We reap what we sow,” Jennie said with a shrug. “Which is why things have turned out for you, Sarah. You are a good person and you have been a good friend to me. Will you write?”

“Only if you promise to write back.”

“That, I will.”

They stood up in unison and laughed, then hugged each other. Jennie felt tears sting the back of her eyes, but she managed to keep them from spilling.

“Take care, Sarah.”

“I will, and I will think of you and Oliver happily living in your little house outside of Guthrie.”

Jennie walked her to the door and around to the side of the house where she had left her horse and buggy. Sarah climbed up onto the seat and Jennie recalled their meeting and how she had ridden with her to the dry goods store.

“I owe you so much, Sarah,” she said, smiling up at her. “Thank you.

“Be happy, Jennie. Life is short.” The buggy gave a jerk and then rolled away.