Yellowstone Romance Series - Bundle (# 2-5) (47 page)

“That’s how every man wants to die,” he mumbled.

“I beg your pardon?” Kate looked up at him, a puzzled look on her face.

Kyle grinned, and elaborated. “Held in the arms of a beautiful woman. That’s every man’s wish before meeting his maker. That is one lucky worm.”

Kate blushed, and averted her eyes. An overwhelming urge to pull her to him and kiss her flooded his senses. He gripped his knife in his hand, and balled his other fist at his side.

Ignoring his wayward thoughts, he asked, “Do you want to hang it on the hook, or should I?” He watched closely for her reaction, hoping she hadn’t formed an attachment to the invertebrate.

“If you’ll tell me how, I’ll give it a try,” she said tentatively.

Kyle’s eyebrows rose again.  In mock outrage, he said, “Miss Devon, you are full of surprises. I didn’t think you had it in you to end the life of this precious worm.”

“Perhaps I’m beginning to understand that there is more to living than sitting in a parlor, sipping tea,” she responded quietly. As if she had suddenly come to a decision, she squared her shoulders and raised her chin.  Her eyes held a certain sparkle when she looked at him. “Teach me how to catch a fish, Kyle,” she said in a heated voice. “I want to learn everything I can while I’m here, before you take me to Virginia City.” Kyle hadn’t heard her speak with such determination or confidence before. His heart sped up. Things were definitely moving in the right direction.

Chapter 15

Kate held the wriggling worm in the palm of her hand. It felt cold and a little wet. The creature squirmed and writhed as if it knew it was about to meet its end. She wasn’t about to let Kyle see her apprehension about holding it, much less ending its life by skewering it onto a hook. Something he had asked her when he tore down her wall of resistance earlier this morning stirred in her now.

Haven’t you ever just allowed yourself to follow your feelings?

The truth was, no she hadn’t. All her life, she had done what others told her to do. And she’d been miserable for it. Would she be married to Hiram Devereaux right now if she had been more outspoken on the matter, and not allowed her mother to dictate her life? She’d been weak and feeble-minded, and she suffered the consequences for it.

Kyle had opened her eyes to an entirely new world. A place where her opinions and feelings mattered. He had encouraged her to speak her mind, and given her the freedom to make her own choices. It was as if she finally awoke from a deep sleep, to realize she didn’t have to be someone else’s puppet, but could set the course for her own life. Sadly, she’d made too many mistakes, and she was paying the price now. It was too late for her to go back on her marriage, but at least she could enjoy her freedom for the moment.

She loved Kyle. The thought didn’t scare her anymore. Rather, it was exhilarating.  Even if she could never fully act on her feelings for him, she would relish the time she had with him now. The real world might still catch up with her once she left the sanctuary of this beautiful valley. If the day came when her husband found her, she would at least have the memories of having lived each day to its fullest.

Guilt nagged at her. Kyle had a right to know that she wasn’t a free woman. Fear overrode any thought of coming forth with the truth. He would be honor-bound to return her to Hiram if he found out.  Bile threatened to rise in her throat at the thought of returning to her former life, and to the man who abused and mistreated her.

She would tell Kyle the truth, but not before she reached Virginia City. She would find a way to move on, and explain everything to him in a letter, after he left on his assignment. She would let him know how sorry she was for the hurt she’d caused.  To ask for his forgiveness would be too much. Her actions were unforgivable.

For now, her behavior was purely selfish, and she despised herself for it. Kyle had awakened the woman in her, and the yearning for a man’s tender touch overruled all else. That he had feelings for her was obvious. Once he found out she had lied to him and been deceptive, he would hate her, and she deserved nothing less.

“Are you paying attention, Katelyn?” Kyle’s warm hand on her arm jolted her out of her thoughts.

She looked up, and a writhing worm hung skewered from a hook on a fishing line in front of her. She quickly glanced at her hand. Her worm still lay cradled in her palm. It had stopped squirming, lulled into a false sense of security.
I’m sorry I’ve deceived you. You trusted me, and that trust will cost you your life.

Kate squared her shoulders. “May I see the other hook?” she asked with a determination that surprised her.

Kyle grinned, and handed her the other fishing pole. He held the hook and line out to her. “Just make sure you don’t stab yourself,” he warned.

Kate inhaled deeply, and picked up the docile worm. It immediately began writhing again between her fingers, as if it knew it had been deceived. She closed her eyes briefly, and squeezed her lips together, then impaled the creature’s body through the sharp hook with a quick jab.

Don’t think about what you’re doing
. It was part of the natural order of things. The strong always preyed on the weak. Wasn’t she living proof of that? The worm twisted and turned with frenzied movements. Kate vowed never to be weak again.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she whispered frantically, one hand darting to cover her mouth. Kyle laughed.

“Congratulations, Kate. You’ve made your first kill.” He continued to laugh, clutching his stomach as he sat in the grass, writhing much like the worm did in his obvious enjoyment of her committing murder.

“It’s not funny,” she squealed. Her hand dashed out and she swatted at his arm.

Kyle looked up at her, and he stopped his loud outburst. His eyes twitched in amusement, and the grin that remained on his face caused her heart to beat faster. “What are you going to do when you catch a fish?” he asked. “You have to kill it, too.”

Kate gritted her teeth. “What do I have to do now?” She glared at him.

“Cast your line in the water, like this.” With a quick snapping motion, the line of his fishing pole swooshed through the air, and the worm hit the water with a quiet plop. Mercifully, it sank instantly, and Kate no longer had to witness its demise.

Unable to look at the worm on her hook, she tried to imitate Kyle’s motion. Too late, she realized she’d cast her line in his direction. His reflexes were lightning fast as he ducked out of the way of the flying worm. The line descended over him and landed in the water.

“For God’s sakes, woman, warn me before you do that,” he called.

Kate sat up straighter, and smiled. Kyle’s narrowed eyes and open-mouthed surprise as he glared at her didn’t intimidate her as it would have a mere week ago. Pure joy flooded throughout her body, and she began to laugh. Truly laugh out loud for the first time in her life.

She barely perceived Kyle’s movement as he grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her to the ground. Leaning over her as she lay in the soft grass, he growled, “Is that how it’s gonna be? I think I need to teach you a lesson for your unlady-like behavior.”

For a split second, Kate’s heart seemed to stop, and terror seared through her. Then her eyes focused on his face. This wasn’t Hiram. This was Kyle. He wouldn’t hurt her. One arm was firmly wrapped around her waist, his other hand cradled the back of her head, and his face lowered to hers. His dark eyes smoldered as they met and held hers, and Kate stopped breathing.  The feel of his weight on her, and then his lips on her mouth  sent adrenaline rushing through her body, settling in the pit of her stomach. Without thinking, her arms reached up and entwined around his neck, pulling him closer.

Kyle moaned and adjusted his position to keep his full weight off her. His lips slid over hers, coaxing a gentle response from her. This was so wrong, but it felt so right. His hands caressed her back, and along her sides, sending chills down her spine with each stroke.

Abruptly, he pulled back, panting. Her own breath came in short, quick gasps as she stared up at him. Her arms relaxed around his neck, even as she wanted to pull his head back down and beg him to kiss her again.

“We’d better check on those lines,” he said hoarsely, and pushed himself to a sitting position. He reached for her hand, and she allowed him to pull her up.

“Kate.” He stared at her, and wrapped an arm around her waist as they sat by the river’s edge. “Promise me you’ll tell me if I’ve overstepped my bounds. I may not be able to stop next time before things get out of hand.” He plucked some weeds from her hair. “And you mean more to me than a roll in the grass. I’ll never force myself on you, I swear it.”

She looked away. When he held her and kissed her like that, the world around her simply ceased to exist. It was one thing to be kissed by him, and held in his embrace, but to commit adultery was inconceivable. She mustn’t let things get out of control like that. Would she have the strength to stop herself?

His gentle hand under her chin brought her head around to meet his gaze. The intense look in his eyes sent her nerve endings on edge.

“Kate, I . . .” he said slowly, his face moving closer to her, when suddenly his head jerked around, and he grabbed for the fishing pole lying between them. “I think you’ve got a bite.” He shoved the pole into her hands. “Pull back slowly, and reel the fish in.”

Startled, Kate did as instructed. In a way, she was glad for the diversion. A small part of her wished he had finished what he was about to say. She’d never find out now what he meant to tell her.

The pole in her hands felt heavy and something tugged at it, as she fought with the struggling fish.

“I caught one! I really caught a fish,” she called, and her heart sped up from excitement. Kyle reached for the end of the line, and the flopping fish hanging off the hook as she pulled it to shore.

“Here, grab hold of it so I can remove the hook,” Kyle prodded. She reached for the wriggling fish, and shrieked when it fought for freedom between her hands. The wet and slippery creature threatened to jump from her grasp, and she didn’t know how to hold it to prevent its escape.

“Hold on tight,” Kyle said, and he pried the hook from the fish’s gullet. Part of her worm was still attached to the hook. “There, you can use that again as bait for the next one,” he beamed.

Kate shuddered, and swallowed back her nausea at the grotesque image of the mangled worm. She was determined not to show her apprehension. A deep sense of accomplishment filled her. She smiled brightly at Kyle, and held up the fish in triumph, which had ceased its furious struggle for life. Only its tail continued to flop feebly between her hands. Her eyes met Kyle’s, and she swallowed involuntarily. His intense smoldering look heated her from the inside out.

“That’s more like it,” he whispered. “You should always smile like that, Kate. It suits you better.” His hand reached up and his fingers lightly grazed her cheek. Heat crept up her neck.

“This has been a wonderful experience, Kyle. Thank you.”

“The day’s not over yet,” he grinned. “We have a few more fish to catch. I’m just sorry those otters haven’t shown up.”

Kate still held the fish in a firm grasp, and it gave one final shudder. “What should I do with this?”

“Just drop it over here in the grass, and cast your line again,” Kyle suggested. “But toss it in the other direction this time.” She giggled at the warning look in his eyes.

An incredible sense of warmth and belonging came over her. She had never known the kind of peace and contentment she felt at this very moment, sitting along a riverbank in the middle of nowhere, smelling like fish, with a rugged and handsome woodsman by her side. She wished she could freeze time, and never let go of this day. Then she wouldn’t have to think about her troubles anymore.

The morning turned to afternoon, and Kyle produced some biscuits and meat from his saddlebags for their noon meal. For the most part, they sat in companionable silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts.

Kate caught three more fish to Kyle’s two, and each time, the task of reeling them in, removing the hook from deep in their throats, and re-baiting the line with a new worm became easier.

“Look over there, Kate,” Kyle said quietly, pointing to a spot along the riverbank further upstream. “Looks like the otters decided to make an appearance after all.”

Kate squinted, trying to see what he pointed at. She didn’t notice anything for a few minutes. Then, the water along the shore rippled in a different way than the slow current, and she focused her eyes on the spot. At first it looked like fish surfacing, but as the creatures moved closer, she could see sleek dark bodies gliding through the water, surfacing momentarily, then disappearing again beneath the waves.

“Do they live in the water?” Kate asked.

“Most of the time. They’re more agile there than on land.”

Kate counted four little black bodies tumbling through the current, moving closer to where she sat. One otter stuck its head out like a telescope, watching her intently, just as she watched it. Seconds later, its head dove back underneath the surface. She had trouble following their agile movements as they glided through the water. A moment later, one of the otters darted out of the river right next to her, and Kate yelped involuntarily in surprise, grabbing Kyle’s arm. 

“I’ll protect you, Kate,” he whispered against her neck. She glimpsed the purely mocking grin on his face, and hastily scooted away from him.