Heart Of Texas (Historical Romance) (28 page)

She stepped outside onto the porch and listened to the rain peppering the roof. She had
always loved it when it rained because she thought
of the water's nurturing power, but tonight she
felt as if the sky were weeping with her.

She glanced toward the barn as the figure of a man detached itself from the evening shadows.
Her hand went to her mouth. It was Gabe; she
was sure of it!

What could he be doing there?

Ignoring the downpour, she ran across the yard
toward him and caught up with him just as he was
about to mount his horse.

She was soaked to the skin, and so was he. "You
were going to leave without seeing me?"

Gabe took her hand. "Let's get you out of this
weather."

He led her into the dark interior of the barn,
his hand lingering on her arm. "I only came to
leave something for jenny."

She already knew what it was; she could hear
the yelp of a puppy coming from the tack room.
"You are the kindest man I. have ever known,
Gabe."

"You didn't always feel that way."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

He felt her shiver with cold. He didn't know
how it happened, but the next moment he slid
his arm around her and brought her body against
his heat.

In the darkness their hungry mouths crushed
together, fingers intertwined, and desire burned
inside them.

"Sweetheart, I didn't mean for this to happen."

She pressed her hands to his face. "I know. It
just happens when we are near each other."

Wet clothing was stripped away and thrown aside. They couldn't get close enough. In a fury
of passion, Gabe tore the canvas covering off the
buckboard and threw it onto the ground. He then
picked Casey up in his arms and laid her on top
of it.

When he came down to her, Casey's arms
opened for him. For a long moment she just held
him, brushing her fingers through his damp hair,
rubbing the other hand up and down his back.
This was the only way she could think of to comfort him.

Gabe lay against Casey's naked body; his passion forgotten for the moment. He needed something deeper than desire from her. He needed
her closeness, the touch of her hand, his head
lying against her breast in comfort.

"Rest, Gabe. Close your eyes and don't think
about today." She felt him settle against her, and
she bore the full weight of his body. Time passed
as she nestled him in her arms, touching her lips
to his face, whispering comforting words much as
she would to jenny when the child was troubled
about something.

"Even in your day of sorrow," she said, her hand
settling on his back, "you thought of jenny."

In Casey's arms, Gabe seemed to throw off all
the troubling shadows that had darkened his life
for so long. Her gentleness had healing power; it
was like a warmth spreading throughout his body.
And he wanted all she had to give him.

After a moment the soft body beneath him be came more than a comfort; it became a temptation. Gabe nestled his face against hers. "I want
to make love to you," he said almost pleadingly.
"Give yourself to me and hold nothing back."

"Yes," she moaned.

There was not a place on Casey's body that
Gabe didn't touch while he kissed her into burning submission. He spoke seductive words, and
she ached for him to do the things to her that he
was whispering in her ear.

Casey ground her lower body against his, and
she felt rather than heard him hiss through his
teeth.

A cry of longing escaped her throat when he
dipped his head, his tongue sliding around her
nipple, then drew it into his mouth.

Gabe could stand no more. He opened her legs
and eased inside her, gritting his teeth at the intense pleasure that stabbed through him.

Casey felt her emptiness fill with his warmth.
She wanted to hold on to this moment for the
rest of her life. When he probed deeper, she
sighed with even greater pleasure.

It was hard for Gabe to harness his desire. For
so many nights he had lain awake thinking about
doing this to Casey. Now it was almost impossible
to hold back, but he did manage to slow his movements.

Casey was overcome with emotions. One had
hardly registered before another took its place,
making her tremble beneath Gabe.

When the tremor hit them both, they clung to
each other as they reached for the moon.

After they caught their breath, Gabe rolled to
his side and adjusted Casey to his body. Long moments passed as his fingers interlocked with hers,
and he raised her hand to his lips. She slid her
hand from his and pushed his hair back, kissing
his full mouth.

"Will you marry me, Casey?"

She still had the same questions as before.
"Why?"

His hand swept across her back. "Because we
are good together."

"That's not much of a reason."

"Casey, I could have gotten you with child."

"That's a reason, but not enough of one. The
last time I talked to you, Gabe, you wanted to
leave town."

"I still do."

She closed her eyes, her heart aching. He was
running away, just as he had when he had left to
join the Confederacy. He had to stop running
from the past, from Nora's death. But that was
something he would have to decide for himself.

"You want to leave me?"

"No, Casey. I don't. You, Sam, and jenny can
come with me."

She pushed his arm away and sat up. There was
such strength in him when it came to helping others, but he didn't know how to help himself. And she couldn't help him either. "We can't go with
you, Gabe."

He had known what her answer would be. He
grasped her arm and pulled her to her feet. "It
sounds like it's stopped raining."

Casey fumbled around in the dark and found
her clothing. If it were just her, she would go anywhere with Gabe, but she had Sam and jenny to
consider.

When she was dressed, he took her hand and
raised it to his lips. "I do want to marry you,
Casey."

She tiptoed and kissed his mouth. "I'm going
to go in now because I don't want to watch you
ride away."

"Casey!"

"Yes?"

"I will spend the rest of my life remembering
tonight."

She waited. She needed to hear him say he
would spend his life loving her. "Is there anything
else you want to say to me?"

"Casey, you have to understand-I can't stay
here. There are too many memories."

"Good-bye, Gabe."

She hurried across the yard and didn't stop until she was inside the house. She closed the door
and leaned against it, clamping her hands over
her ears so she could not hear the sound of departing hoofbeats.

Gabe lay on a lumpy bed in the Randolph Hotel,
his hands clasped behind his head, an empty feeling in his gut.

He wasn't sorry he'd come back to Texas. And
he wasn't sorry to be leaving. He would be sorry
that he'd be leaving behind the woman who'd enabled him to feel emotion again.

With Casey he had found hope and, for a few
short hours, joy. He might have been better off if
he had never met her. Then he wouldn't know
what he would be missing for the rest of his life.

There was a rap on the door, and he called out
in irritation, "It's open."

Harwood poked his head around the door. "I
was told you were here. And I heard you were
heading out in the morning. So I've come to try
to recruit you into the Rangers."

Gabe sat up and waved the Ranger to a chair.
"What makes you think I'd be interested?"

"You're just the kind of man we're looking for:
dedicated, honest, not afraid of a damned thing."

"I'm not your man, Harwood. I'll be leaving
Texas."

"Is that right? I thought you'd be sticking
around."

"I'm getting out of here as fast as I can." Gabe
smiled slightly. "Thank you for what you did for
me out there. I'd be dead if it weren't for you. I
find myself in your debt."

"Think nothing of it. All in the line of duty."
Harwood rose from the chair and walked to the
door. "I kind of thought you'd be staying around
here for a certain young lady."

"I can't see why you'd think that."

"Well, I tried to get you to join us. If you change
your mind, the Rangers could always use you." He
turned with his hand on the doorknob. "By the
way, Mr. Murdock has been tearing the town up
looking for you. Unless I miss my guess, he'll be
coming up those stairs anytime. He's a very persistent man."

"Good-bye, Harwood."

When the door closed, Gabe lay back and
stared at the ceiling. What was Casey doing at that
very moment?

He had not meant to see her when he'd delivered the pup for Jenny. But when he touched her,
his resolve went right out the window, just as it
always did. He couldn't be anywhere near her and
not want to touch her.

Gabe closed his eyes, remembering the feel of
her soft skin. His body tightened, and he swore
under his breath.

He had to let her go.

Since he'd been camping out on the Spanish
Spur, he hadn't slept in a bed for a long time. He
shifted his weight, trying to find a comfortable
position. He was weary, and he just wanted to
sleep and forget about the last two weeks.

Tomorrow he would sell his horse and saddle
at the livery stable and take the noon stage for
Arizona.

At first Gabe thought he was dreaming the loud
noise that pounded in his ears, sounding like gunshots. The old nightmare had returned. In his
dream he was trying to get to Nora and prevent
her from shooting herself. But the banging noise
wouldn't go away.

He sat up, staring into the dark, his body covered with sweat. The banging persisted, and he
realized someone was knocking on the door. He
grabbed the towel that hung on the wrought-iron
headboard and dabbed the sweat from his face.

Rolling off the bed, he wrenched the door
open to find Bart Murdock standing in the hallway.

"I was afraid you'd already left town when you
didn't answer my knock right away."

Gabe planted himself in the doorway, not issu ing an invitation for the attorney to enter. "Do
you have any idea what time it is?"

Murdock brushed past Gabe, clutching a brown
leather satchel to his chest. "I don't care what
time it is. It's critical that I speak with you."

"If you came here thinking you could convince
me to go to court to try to gain title to my father's
estate, you're talking to the wrong man. I don't
give a damn about Casa Mesa or any of Cyrus's
other holdings."

The attorney settled in a chair and dabbed his
face with a snow-white handkerchief before opening his satchel and thumbing through it.

"What I have to tell you won't take very long.
When I'm finished, then you can have your say."

Gabe pushed his tumbled hair out of his face,
glad that Murdock had woken him from the
nightmare. But he didn't want to talk about Cyrus. Not tonight, not ever.

"I see I'm not going to get any sleep until
you've said all you came to say." He swept his
hand toward the attorney. "Go ahead, tell me
what's on your mind."

"The document I have here," he said, studying
a single sheet of paper, "was drawn up at your
father's request when he came to see me just the
day before his death. Cyrus had me take down his
words exactly as he said them. Then he insisted
that the document be filed at once. Looking back
to that day, I think he knew something was going
to happen to him."

"I buried Cyrus today; I don't want to hear anything he had to say that concerns me."

"Gabriel," the attorney said in an imposing tone
of voice. "Sit down and shut up until I've had my
say; then you can have yours."

Gabriel grinned and sat back on the bed. "Go
ahead."

"Now," Murdock began, studying the document. "It's not very lengthy as wills go." He
cleared his throat. "These are Cyrus Slaughter's
words: `I, Cyrus Slaughter, being of sound mind
and body, do hereby bequeath all my lands, holdings, titles, money, and all thereupon to my only
son, Gabriel Slaughter, and his heirs. There will
be no bequest to any other living person.'"

Gabe stared at Murdock as if he'd lost his mind.
A dark hand - seemed to settle on his shoulder,
weighing him down. "Cyrus wouldn't leave me a
damned thing."

"I can assure you he has left you everything.
After I drew up this document, he insisted that
we go directly to the courthouse where judge
Whitney notarized it, and Dave Hargrove and two
other men witnessed it."

Gabe was stunned. He couldn't find his voice
for a moment. When he did speak, his tone was
grave. "Why would Cyrus do such a thing? I never
expected him to leave the..." He stood up. "No.
I can't do this. I won't."

"I'm not quite finished, Gabriel. There is a per sonal message from Cyrus. Do you want to hear
it?"

"No," he said gravely. Then, "Yes."

"Cyrus wrote this down in his own hand, so bear
with me as I try to read it. Or perhaps you'd like
to read it yourself?"