For the Roses (32 page)

"I guess I'll go get Eleanor now. Ghost, why aren't you watching Eleanor?" he called out. The white-haired man reached the walkway in front of the house and shook his head. "I couldn't stand it no more. It weren't worth the money. Henry heard all the racket and came looking. I gave him three dollars to sit on her for a while. I ain't never doing you no more favors again, Dooley." Cole headed for the barn. "Harrison, have you ever used a rope before?" he called over his shoulder.

"I showed him how," Douglas shouted back. "He's been practicing."

"We'll go and rope those steers as soon as I get back with Eleanor," Cole yelled. Harrison stood up. "Douglas, you didn't need to lie for me."

"Go and practice now," the brother suggested. "Then it won't be a lie. Come on. I'll show you how it's done."

"Harrison, you'd better eat something first," Adam suggested. He agreed. While Douglas went to get a couple of ropes, he accompanied Adam into the kitchen. They ate at the kitchen table and talked about mundane matters all the while. Mary Rose walked into the kitchen, spotted the two men at the table, and promptly turned around and walked back out.

"Aren't you supposed to talk to me about the gunfight?" Harrison asked. "I understand Mary Rose told on me."

He was looking at the doorway and smiling.

"Yes," Adam agreed. "My sister thinks you might have deliberately provoked the man into a draw."

"I did," Harrison admitted.

He waited for Adam's lecture. The brother didn't say another word. After several minutes of silence passed, Harrison prodded him.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Aren't you going to talk to me about it?"

"I just did."

Harrison laughed.

Cole, on the other hand, certainly wasn't laughing. Eleanor wasn't cooperating with his plan. The second she spotted him coming toward her, she picked up a good-size rock and threw it at him. Cole didn't think that was any way for her to treat her savior. She should have been appreciative, not furious.

She sure was a sight to behold. Her cheeks were all flushed and rosy, and her eyes fairly blazed with anger.

"Haven't you figured anything out yet?" he asked her. "Quit throwing things, damn it." He dodged another pebble and nudged his horse closer. Eleanor stood in the center of the trail. She'd walked a good distance. He looked down at her shoes and thought her feet had to be getting blisters. She didn't seem to care. She limped right past him and continued on toward the rise.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the ranch to pack my things. I'm going to shoot Harrison because he left me stranded up here, and then I'm going to leave. I'll walk back into town."

"Mary Rose won't let you shoot Harrison. She's sweet on him."

"I don't care."

"No, I guess you don't. You don't care about anyone but yourself." He sounded resigned. She turned around and looked up at his face to see if he was just trying to make her angry or if he really believed what he'd just said.

He looked sincere to her. She straightened her shoulders. "That isn't true. Mary Rose has four strong brothers to look out for her. I don't have anyone. I have to watch out for myself."

"You're the most self-consumed creature I've ever met."

She burst into tears. They weren't forced. She hurt everywhere, and now he was deliberately injuring her pride. It was all she had left. She couldn't cling to it any longer though.

"I've had a difficult life," she cried out.

"Who hasn't?"

"Harrison left me out here alone."

"You were never alone."

Her shoulders slumped. "I know."

She turned to the bushes. "You may leave now, Henry. Cole's here."

"Thank you, Miss Eleanor," Henry called back.

She took a deep breath. "I… appreciated your company."

"I didn't mind yours neither, except when you were screaming. You made my head hurt, Miss Eleanor."

"I'm sorry."

She turned back to the trail and started walking again. Cole rode by her side.

"That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

"What wasn't difficult?" She kept her attention on the ground so she wouldn't step on anything sharp. Her feet were sticky and hot.

She felt miserable and knew she looked worse. She ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to give the curls some order and kept walking. She didn't care what Cole thought she looked like. No, she certainly didn't. She realized her top three buttons were undone and quickly latched them up.

"Being nice wasn't difficult," he said.

"Yes, it was."

He smiled because he felt the same way. "Why is it difficult?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"It makes me feel vulnerable."

He almost nodded agreement. The two of them were more alike than he'd realized.

"You're supposed to treat others the way you wish to be treated," he recited from memory. Lord, how many times had Adam suggested that golden rule to him?

"Now, why would I want to do that?"

He really didn't have any idea. She volunteered her own theory. "Do you think they'll then treat me nice?"

"Some will."

"What about the ones who don't?"

"You get to be mean to them."

She burst into laughter. She was amazed she could find joy in anything, given her dire circumstances. His words made sense, but she wasn't quite ready to admit it. She decided to try once more for sympathy.

"Everyone leaves me," she said. "Even my father ran away from me. I was abandoned."

"So?"

"I got scared."

"Who doesn't get scared every now and then?"

She gave it one last try. "I'm completely without funds."

"Too bad. Try earning some money."

"How? I'm not trained to do anything. Maybe I should just find a man and get married."

"No man would have you, even desperate ones who haven't seen a fine-looking woman like you in years."

Her eyes widened over the casually given praise. Did he really believe she was a fine-looking woman?

"Mary Rose doesn't like me. She only pities me."

"So you treat her like…"

"I don't want her pity," she shouted.

"Then tell her how you feel, but be nice about it. Mary Rose could be a good friend if you don't drive her away."

"It's too late. I've ruined everything. Everyone voted. I have to leave. Harrison said so. Do you really

think I'm a fine-looking woman?"

"Sure. I'll bet you're real pretty when you smile."

"Travis hates me. Smiling isn't going to change that."

"You might stop calling him boy."

"I forgot his name."

"No, you didn't. You wanted to irritate him. You succeeded. Now stop it." She nodded. He wasn't finished giving advice, however. "Say my name," he ordered.

"Cole."

"That's right. My name's Cole, not You There or Boy."

"Do I have to be nice to everyone?"

Only Eleanor would ask that question. "Yes."

She laughed again. "I was just teasing."

"I was right."

"Right about what?"

"You're very pretty when you smile."

She turned away. "Thank you. I was nice to Adam. Harrison said he didn't vote against me. Of course he couldn't."

"Why couldn't he?"

"Because he's head of the household. He had to abstain… didn't he?"

"I forgot."

"Do you think Adam would have voted to throw me out?"

"No."

"I didn't think so either. He's a very kind man. He can tolerate almost anything, even me."

"I'm kind."

"No, you're not."

He smiled. She was right. He wasn't kind.

"Are you going to keep on walking?"

"What other choice do I have?"

He leaned down, put his arm around her waist, and lifted her up onto his lap. She felt as light as a pillow. She was hot and sweaty, yet she still smelled like she'd just taken a bath. She was all tuckered out from her strenuous walk. The mountain air had made her feel light-headed too. She was glad Cole was letting her ride with him and knew she should thank him. She tried to come up with the appropriate words. It shouldn't have been difficult, but it was. Lord, she'd really been acting like a tyrant all these past years, ordering people around… and never showing any sort of gratitude. They rode along for several minutes without any conversation. Cole was comfortable with the silence. Eleanor wasn't. She wiggled around in his lap, pressing her backside against his groin every time she moved. He gritted his teeth together to keep himself from shouting at her. Finally, he couldn't stand any more provocation. "Quit hopping around like that."

"I'm not hopping. Thank you."

There, she'd said the words. She immediately relaxed. It hadn't been difficult after all. Unless he mocked her, of course. She tensed in anticipation.

"Why did you call Mrs. Morrison a fat cow?"

"I was helping Mary Rose."

"How?"

"Mrs. Morrison had the nerve to tell me Harrison was going to court her daughter. I informed her she was wrong. She continued to disagree with me, and one word led to another." He changed the subject. "Didn't you learn anything useful at school?"

"I could teach."

"Why don't you?"

"Children dislike me."

He wasn't at all surprised. "Do you like children?"

"I don't know. I've never been around any."

"Then how would you know if they liked you or not?"

"No one else does."

He let out a sigh. "Can you help out around the ranch?"

"Doing what?"

"I don't know. I guess you wouldn't be any good roping steers or breaking in horses. You're too soft."

"I am?" She tried to turn around to look at him.

He tightened his hold around her waist so she couldn't move.

"What about washing the dishes, or cooking, or sewing?"

"Sewing! I can do that."

"There you are."

"But it's too late. I've been thrown out, remember?"

"If you promise to try to get along, I'll talk to everyone. I'll make them hold off for a couple of days and then take a vote again. You can't be sassy, Eleanor. If you're nice to be around, they'll forget about tossing you out."

"Why are you being so nice to me now?"

"Because you're about the prettiest and meanest and sweetest woman I've ever known."

"No one can be mean and sweet at the same time."

He shrugged.

"Did you vote against me, Cole?" she asked.

"What I did in the past is forgotten."

"Does that rule apply to me?"

"Sure it does. We'll have a fresh beginning."

She turned around to thank him for his advice. She looked into his eyes and promptly forgot what she was going to say.

He turned his attention to her mouth. He couldn't make himself stop staring at her. He was thankful the horse knew the way home because Cole was too preoccupied to guide him. He knew what was going to happen before she did.

"Sorry," he muttered in advance of the liberty he was going to take. Whatever had come over him? And why was he apologizing? She saw the warmth and tenderness in his eyes and was quite astonished. She hadn't ever noticed any man looking at her the way Cole was looking at her now. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought he was going to kiss her. And then he did. His mouth settled on top of hers and took absolute possession. His lips were soft and warm against hers. He wooed her with his gentle touch. She wasn't certain if she was supposed to kiss

him back or not. He was the first man to ever kiss her, and her inexperience made her shy and unsure. All she knew was she didn't want him to stop, and when he started to pull away, she leaned into him and put her arms around his neck. Cole growled low in his throat, tightened his hold on her, and kissed her again.

He stopped long enough to tell her to open her mouth. She didn't ask him why. She let him show her. Her heart felt as if it were going to leap out of her chest so frantically was it pounding. His tongue rubbed against hers in an erotic mating game she thoroughly enjoyed.

She was a quick learner. Because of her inexperience, she didn't have any reservations or inhibitions. Her own curiosity made her bolder. She imitated his every move, wanting only to please him as much as he was pleasing her.

They were both shaken when Cole pulled away. He had enough sense to know when to stop. Eleanor didn't. At least he didn't believe she did. She wouldn't have tried to pull him back to her if she had any sense at all.

He made her turn around. Then he quickened the pace, for he was suddenly in a hurry to get home…

and away from her.

"Did you like kissing me?"

"Now, why do women always want to talk about stuff like that?" She shrugged. She wasn't upset by his surly tone of voice. "I don't know why. We just do. You're the first man to ever kiss me. Naturally, I was curious to find out if you liked it." He lost his gruff edge immediately. "You've never been kissed before?" She heard the smile in his voice. "I didn't tell you just to amuse you."

"I'm not laughing at you. You did a real nice job kissing me back."

"Thank you. Why did you stop?"

"Oh, for God's sake. Do we really have to discuss the reasons now?" She bumped his chin when she nodded. He sighed.

"Don't tempt a grizzly unless you're willing to get eaten up." She wasn't completely ignorant. She'd heard stories about what went on in the marriage bed. Quite a lot of what she'd heard sounded possible to her. Some sounded impossible. Still, she'd learned enough to figure out what Cole had just said to her.

He hadn't wanted to stop.

Eleanor smiled all the way home.

"There's Adam and Harrison in the corral together with, that ugly horse."

"Adam's going to try to ride MacHugh," Cole said. "Say hello to them, Eleanor." Adam turned when she called out to him. He returned her greeting with a smile.

"It looks like your plan might be working. Eleanor sounded almost happy," Adam said, turning back to Harrison.

Harrison nodded, arrogantly pleased with himself. As long as Eleanor kept behaving herself, life would be pleasant for the family. Of course, Mary Rose would kill him if she ever found out what he had done. She'd think he was a heartless bastard.