His Brother's Wife (23 page)

Reaching for the gun, Rafe
took it from her, having to tug a bit to get her to let go. She
frowned at him but released it anyway. When Ben and his men were
back on their horses, Ben threw him a look that said they weren't
finished.

They rode away, their
laughter rolling over the hills and it wasn't until they grew small
on the horizon that Rafe turned to look at Grace. She was staring
at him, her eyes holding so many emotions he wasn't sure he could
name them all. He lifted his gun and grinned at her through
cracked, busted lips. "I didn't realize you could handle a
gun."

"I'm not some weeping
flower unable to take care of myself, Rafe Samuels. I'm highly
capable of many things."

He chuckled and started
toward his horse. "I'm beginning to see that. I'll have to remember
not to dismiss your talents before I've seen them myself in the
future." Placing the gun back into the scabbard attached to his
saddle, he turned to Grace. Her eyes still seemed a bit too wide
but at least she wasn't crying. He wasn't sure he could handle a
hysterical woman. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

She visibly relaxed. Rafe
saw it move through her body like a living thing. Her shoulders
lowered, the breath she'd been holding was released and the wide,
terrified look in her eyes vanished. He smiled at her and watched
as another emotion filled her pretty violet eyes. Anger.

"Rafe Samuels, if you ever
do something so foolish again, I'll shoot you myself!"

He stopped himself from
laughing and crossed the distance between them. She reached for his
face, touching his busted lip. He hissed a breath and tilted his
head. "It'll heal."

"Maybe but you won't be
nearly as pretty until it does."

"You think I'm pretty?" He
smiled and wished he hadn't a moment later. His battered lips
didn't like the sudden movement and ached from the
action.

Reaching for her, Rafe
grabbed a handful of her hair, his fingers lingering in the long
locks as they dangled by her face. He sighed at the sight of his
busted knuckles, dried blood crusting his hands. He could only
imagine what his face looked like.

The busted lip wasn't the
only blemish. His left eye felt a bit funny too and his cheek was
throbbing. "Jesse will want to know what happened."

Grace nodded her head.
"What should we tell him?"

Rafe released her hair and
sighed. "Hell if I know." They stood staring at each other for long
minutes before Grace started back toward the creek bank. She sat,
put on her wet boots and tucked her stockings into her pocket
before standing back up.

"I suppose we can always
tell him the truth." She turned to face him and lifted one
shoulder. "I'd leave out the part where I was half undressed and
the fact that we were…."

Her words trailed off as
her cheeks reddened. Rafe smiled and rounded up the horses. She
followed without another word.

When he reached for her,
and settled his hands on her waist to lift her onto the horse, he
lowered his head, giving her a soft kiss. "I'll think of something
to tell him." He lifted her, waited until she'd settled before
gaining his own saddle. "And I'll leave out your wanton, unladylike
behavior." When she gasped, Rafe grinned and turned the horse
toward the house.

He'd gotten nothing he'd
set out to do that day done but he wasn't complaining. Grace had
given him more than he could ever ask for and the sudden thought of
marrying her didn't leave him feeling so hopeless as it once did.
Maybe she wouldn't leave him like he thought she would. If he were
lucky, she might even come to love him.

Of course, hell might
freeze over, too.

* * * *

Arriving back at the
house, Grace knew a fight was brewing before they even got the
horses stopped. Jesse was on the back porch, pacing the length of
it, his lips an angry slash across his face. They rode to the barn
as Jesse jump from the porch to follow. Rafe was helping her
dismount when Jesse slid to a stop beside them.

"Where the heck you two
been?" He flashed her a look before glaring at Rafe. Once he got a
good look at his face, his eyes widened. "What
happened?"

Rafe threw her a look
before grabbing her horses reins. "Ran into Ben and two of his
ranch hands while we were checking the fence line."

Jesse tilted his head to
look at Rafe's face. "They all three jump ya or are you just
getting slow in your old age?"

Rafe ignored the jab and
walked the horses into the barn.

Grace wondered what he'd
tell Jesse but turned toward the house when they left her standing
in front of the barn. She hurried into her room, changed her
clothes, braided her hair, and rushed back down to the
kitchen.

She busied herself with
supper, scrambling eggs and onions and laying out the left over
biscuits from breakfast. She'd set everything on the table and was
filling their glasses with water when the door opened.

Jesse was the first to
enter, his face still red with anger. Grace set the glass in her
hand down and gave him a tentative smile. "I'm sorry I didn't have
time to prepare you something more than eggs, Jesse. It's been a
busy day."

He stopped, his ears
turning red to match his face before he ducked his head and sat
down. "It's all right. I don't mind them so much when you fix
them."

Grace sighed in relief and
looked toward the door, waiting for Rafe. She wondered what he'd
told Jesse and not knowing was eating her up inside.

She pulled her chair out
and sat down. "So, how was school?"

Jesse looked startled and
shook his head at her. "Fine. I don't want to talk about it." He
shoved his mouth full, gulped a large amount of water and nodded
his head at her. "Rafe had no business takin' ya out on the range
like that. You're safer here. Next time he tells you some story
about you being safer with him, just know he's lying."

Grace didn't argue with
him and ate in silence. When Jesse finished eating, he excused
himself and went to his room. Grace cleared the table, glancing out
the window every few minutes, trying to see Rafe. The moon was
cresting the mountain by the time he walked into the
house.

Laying the towel in her
hand down, she watched as he hung his coat and hat. "What did you
tell him?"

Rafe grinned and walked to
the sink. "Nothing remotely close to the truth." He washed his
hands and turned toward her, reaching for the towel. "He knows how
Ben is. It didn't take much to convince him that Ben provoked a
fight. You've seen first hand how easily he can do
that."

Grace nodded. "Yes, I
have." Rafe sat and ate while Grace finished cleaning the dishes.
She'd dried the last one when Rafe brought her his plate. When he
walked away without another word, she watched his retreating back
until he disappeared into his room.

She hated when he did
that. Dismissed her without a flicker of a glance back. She
finished the dishes, dried her hands and looked around the room.
There was nothing else for her to do now but going to bed was the
last thing on her mind. She glanced at the doorway to Rafe's room
and hesitated only a second before walking to his door.

He was standing by the
dresser, rummaging through a small box. Grace cleared her throat
and waited for him to turn to look at her. "Can I get you anything
before I go upstairs?"

Rafe stared at her for
long moments before he shut the lid on the box. He crossed the
room, grabbed her hand, and pulled her inside, shutting the door
behind her. The moment they were shut off from the rest of the
house, he kissed her.

Grace gave little thought
to his busted lip as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing
him back with every ounce of passion she felt for him. Long minutes
passed before they broke apart, both panting for breath. She looked
at his face, ran a finger lightly over the bruises she could
already see forming, and sighed before laying her head to his
shoulder. "What are we doing, Rafe?"

His hold on her tightened.
"I don't know, Grace." He lowered his head, brushing his lips
across her forehead. "I really don't know."

Chapter
Twenty-One

A week after the run in
with Ben Crowley and his men, Grace was still no closer to
understanding what Rafe wanted. They spoke little in the evenings
when Jesse was home but every day at lunch, Rafe would come into
the house a different person from the one she'd seen the night
before.

It took ages to get him
out from under foot most days. He insisted on helping her with the
dishes. He'd laugh, talk about his plans for the ranch, and spent
more time stealing kisses than he did washing their dirty
plates.

He'd left her weak kneed
and staring at the ceiling in dreamy bliss before leaving to finish
his chores minutes ago. The urge to rush to the window to try and
get a glance of him was intense. She had trouble doing the simplest
of chores, her mind wandered to him so often, and even though his
motives were unclear there was no doubt she was losing her heart to
him.

Glancing toward the
window, she wondered if he was out in the yard, and was walking
across the room to check when the thud of horses hoofs hitting the
road caught her attention. It was more than one from the sound of
it and she instantly thought the worst.

She'd been waiting for Ben
to come around and cause trouble for them since the fight at the
creek a week earlier but so far they hadn't seen him.

Dropping her broom, Grace
ran to the window, peering out into the yard. Two men on horseback
and a wagon were pulling to a stop by the barn.

It wasn't Ben. These men
looked clean, their hair dark under their hats, and they both
looked lean as they sat their horses. But the sun was directly
overhead, shining in her eyes as she looked at them. She couldn't
see either man clearly.

Her heart was slamming
against her ribcage until she looked at the wagon. A woman dropped
the reins and stood, waiting as one of the men walked toward her,
then helped her down.

When she turned to the
house, a smile on her face and a basket perched on one arm, Grace
realized they had visitors. The first to drop by since she'd
arrived in Willow Creek.

Trying to tidy her hair,
she rushed to the kitchen, fetched a pot of water and smiled when a
soft knock tapped on the back door. Grace dropped the coffee pot on
the stove and hurried to the door, relieved to see another woman
for the first time in weeks.

"Hello," Grace said,
smiling.

The woman was beautiful.
She was dressed in her Sunday best, her blonde hair pulled into a
fancy uplift of curls. She returned Grace's smile. "Hello. I'm
Sarah Avery. I'm sorry I haven't been able to come visit you
sooner. May I come in?"

"Oh!" Grace blushed and
stepped out from in front of the door. "Yes, please,
do."

When Sarah swept past her,
Grace couldn't help the bubble of excitement that caused her chest
to tighten. She had a guest. One who smelled like delicate flowers
and brought a basket of goodies with her.

She shut the door, turning
to her visitor and hesitated when Sarah stopped in the middle of
the kitchen. "I've always wondered what this house looked
like."

Sarah sat her basket on
the table and then removed her cloak, draping it over the back of
one chair as her gaze ran over every surface in the kitchen. "We've
ridden past this place countless times but there was never anyone
for me to visit. Colt, my husband, told me Rafe had a woman in his
home and I nearly danced with excitement."

Grace listened to Sarah
ramble, nodding her head when appropriate until it seemed as if she
finally ran out of steam. She stopped talking, exhaled a long
breath and laughed. "I'm sorry. As you can tell, I don't get out
much."

"That's all right," Grace
said. "Neither do I."

They shared a laugh and
Grace busied herself with the coffee, chatting about nonsensical
things until it was done. She poured it into the mugs she and Rafe
used every morning and urged Sarah to sit. "I don't have any tea.
The mercantile was out last time I was in town."