A startled expression swept across her face, and she glanced at the bedside table. Taking care not to tip the mug, Jake grabbed her pillow, gave it and his own a punch, and settled his shoulders against them. “You’re up and about with the chickens.”
“We have to get up to the mine.” She perched primly on the foot of the bed, well out of his reach, he noted, and watched as he took another sip of coffee. “Did I make it to suit you?”
Jake swallowed. “It’s perfect.” He studied her for a moment, his senses registering the myriad scents in the room, coffee, vanilla, and rose hips, a blend that conjured images of home and hearth. “Indigo, about your going to the mine.”
“Yes?”
Jake couldn’t miss the apprehension that filled her eyes. He smoothed a hand over the bedspread, then gazed out the window a moment. Yesterday, she had been Hunter Wolf’s daughter, and her working at the mine had been a totally different circumstance from what it was now. As of last night, she had become his wife.
Indigo wasn’t like other women, though. Jake knew how much she loved going to the mine. He also knew it was a privilege she had come to expect. In the last few days, her whole world had been turned topsy-turvy. In addition to losing Lobo, she had been forced by circumstance to marry an older man she scarcely knew. How could he make her endure another radical change?
Shoving back his own feelings, Jake settled his gaze on her and forced a smile. “Nothing.”
Her relief was evident in her expression. Jake wished he could solve all the problems between them so easily. All it had taken was his abandoning the convictions of a lifetime.
Pushing to her feet, she made haste toward the doorway, as if she wanted to escape before he said something else. “Breakfast is already warming on the stove. I’ll dish your plate and get our lunch packed while you dress.”
Minutes later when Jake strode into the kitchen, Indigo hurried to the stove, grabbed the coffeepot, and turned to refill the mug he held in his hand. Unaccustomed to such solicitous service, he arched an eyebrow in puzzlement and studied her as she moved away. Not that he was complaining. It was delicious coffee, and he had wanted another cup, but there was something almost desperate about her eagerness to please him.
He started toward the table, and at the sound of his boots touching the floor, she threw an apprehensive glance over her shoulder. Taking great care to make no sudden moves, Jake set his steaming mug next to his plate. Leaning a hip against the table, he folded his arms and regarded her, once again assailed by the odd feeling that the nervous girl before him was an imposter.
She was obviously imagining all kinds of horrors he had no intention of inflicting upon her. He pulled his timepiece and checked the hour. Nearly six-thirty. He had some time. He slowly straightened and moved in on her, determined to give her a taste of what he did intend.
Indigo felt his nearness before his hands settled on her shoulders. With her fingers still vised around the coffeepot handle, she twisted to look at him, then wished she hadn’t. The blue denim of his shirt filled her entire scope. When she lifted her gaze, she found that he had bent his dark head so his face hovered only inches above hers.
“Did we say good morning?” he asked in a husky voice.
She couldn’t misinterpret the slumberous, determined glint in his dark eyes. A breathless, mindless panic filled her. The silence of the house moved in on her, reminding her she was alone with him, horribly and completely alone. And even if she hadn’t been, there was no one to help her, no one who would even try. She was his wife; anything he chose to do to her was his right, by law and in the eyes of God.
“I—yes, I think you—” His face drew imperceptibly closer, and she knew he meant to kiss her. Possibly more. “Good morning?” she tried hopefully.
With a knowing smile, he grasped her chin. “That isn’t the proper way to tell your husband good morning.”
“It isn’t?” she squeaked.
“No, Mrs. Rand, it isn’t,” he whispered. “Let me show you.”
His silken lips touched hers, lightly but with devastating impact. Keeping her mouth clamped closed, Indigo froze, afraid to draw away. He had every right to kiss her and might grow angry if she resisted. She would never forget how vicious Brandon had become when she had dared to tell him no.
Jake drew back and surveyed her with twinkling brown eyes. “Straining out bugs?”
“What?”
With a fingertip, he traced the line of her jaw, his eyes still dancing. Flashing her an exaggerated grin, he displayed gleaming white teeth, clenched tight. “Bugs. That’s how I drink coffee on the trail. It works great at keeping foreign objects out of the mouth, but it isn’t quite the thing for kissing. Not what I have in mind at all, in fact.”
“No?”
“No,” he affirmed, his voice dipping to a seductive timbre. He settled a hand on her waist and turned her to face him. When he noticed she still had one arm twisted behind her to hold on to the coffeepot handle, he arched a black eyebrow. “Are you planning to use that to club me?”
Indigo released the handle. “No. I just—your breakfast is ready. Fried potatoes and bacon and—” She tried to keep distance between their faces. “And eggs! With hot biscuits and fresh butter Ma made. And honey. Aren’t you hungry?”
“Famished,” he murmured and tightened his hand on her waist to draw her against him. “But the honey I’m hankering for isn’t the kind you have in mind.” Before she could react, he moved his other hand to the back of her head. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Indigo,” he whispered. “I won’t hurt you.”
“I—I’m not afraid.”
A low chuckle vibrated in his chest. “Then unclench your teeth and kiss me good morning. We have to begin somewhere.”
“Why?”
The urge to laugh came over Jake and nearly made him forget what he had set out to do. “It’s a law of nature. You can’t finish what you never start.” The tension in her body made her too rigid to mold against him. “Haven’t you ever done this? A pretty girl like you should be an old hand at kissing.”
“I never had much call to—”
“There’s call now.”
She leaned back, looking more alarmed by the moment.
Jake smiled. “There’s nothing to it. I put one hand on your waist”—he tightened his grip there to demonstrate—“and the other at the back of your head. Then I pull you close.” He drew her firmly against him. “All you do is close your eyes.”
“B-but then I couldn’t see.”
“True. But in close quarters like this, anticipating my next move wouldn’t do you a hell of a lot of good anyway.”
She lowered her gaze to his mouth. “I—your breakfast will get cold.”
He bent his head again. She strained against his hand, but he foiled her attempt to escape by knotting his fist in her braid. He wasn’t another Brandon. His hold on her was like steel, and she couldn’t twist away. His lips settled on hers, and she felt his tongue flick hers. She gasped and reared back, surprised that he allowed her to move. For an endless moment, she felt frantic and claustrophobic. Then the heat of the banked cooking fire seared through the leather seat of her pants. She jerked away, going in the only direction she could, which was forward. Her body pressed hard against his.
With a moan, he retreated a step, carrying her along. Then he slid his hand from her waist to her fanny and drew her closer so her pelvis rode his muscular thigh. At the grinding contact, her attention shifted from the alarming assault of his mouth to the strange, tingling warmth that pooled in her belly.
Shocked by the feeling and taken completely by surprise, she forgot he was kissing her just long enough for him to thoroughly invade her mouth with his searching tongue. A barrage of sensations hit Indigo with such sudden force that she couldn’t muster her scattered wits to combat any of them.
She had to get away from him, she thought wildly. She had to get away before he—The thought was lost to her. Unlike Brandon, Jake didn’
t conquer with strength alone. He used his mouth, his body, and his hands to disarm. A delicious, trembling weakness flowed over her.
As if he sensed her surrender, he dragged his mouth from hers and flashed a slow, sultry grin. “That is how you say good morning properly.”
Indigo swayed against him, senses still reeling. She felt his arms quiver around her and knew he was as disoriented as she.
“Saying good night,” he added huskily, “is even better. When we come home, I’ll give you your first lesson.”
That promise jerked her back to reality. She stared up at him, her mind racing ahead. A rush of dread filled her. With tremulous hands, she shoved against his chest to put some distance between their bodies.
“Don’t look so appalled,” he said with a teasing wink. “It’s a perfectly acceptable thing for married people to do, and it’s far nicer than saying good morning. I guarantee it.”
Releasing her, he turned back to the table where his breakfast waited. After sitting down, he took a large bite of egg and grimaced. “You were right. They got cold.” He pinioned her with a warm gaze. “That kiss, however, was worth it.”
Before going to the mine, Jake and Indigo had two stops to make, one at the jail to get an update from Marshal Hilton and another at the Wolfs’, where Jake planned to do the barn chores for Loretta while Indigo fed her wild creatures.
The news from Hilton left Jake feeling frustrated. Brandon Marshall claimed to know nothing about the accidents at the mine or Lobo’s shooting. He also had several friends who were willing to testify to his whereabouts the afternoon Lobo had been shot.
“That don’t mean a whole lot,” Hilton said. “The man’s friends would lie for him. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled—you can count on that.” He patted Indigo’s shoulder and threw a meaningful glance at Jake. “Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to take care. I don’t trust that rascal, and I’m not real sure he doesn’t have a brick or two loose.”
Jake nodded. “I’ll take every precaution.”
“You do that. Me and the missus are right fond of this little lady. We wouldn’t want to see anything happen to her.”
Grasping his wife’s elbow, Jake replied, “No fonder of her than I am, I’m sure.”
As they left the jail and headed toward the Wolfs’, Jake realized how sincerely he meant that. He had become fond of Indigo, so much so that he was glad to have chores to do while she fed her little friends. He wasn’t at all certain he could watch her feed Toothless again without interfering. No matter what Loretta said, Jake didn’t believe the cougar could be trusted, and the thought of his wife being laid open by those vicious claws made his knees weak. The farther he stayed away from the situation, the better.
Before they parted in front of the house, Jake said, “After you feed the deer, you eat a couple of those flapjacks yourself, Indigo. You never did light long enough to have any breakfast.”
“I’m really not hungry.”
Jake saw the sadness flash in her eyes and realized she was probably thinking of Lobo. “Will you eat at least one?”
“If I must.”
“You must,” he came back with a grin. “You’ve got a long day ahead of you. I’ll meet you inside when I’m finished in the barn.” Jake started to walk off, then turned back and cupped her chin in his hand. “Do me a favor and be especially careful while you’re feeding the animals?”
She lifted puzzled blue eyes to his. “Careful?”
Jake narrowed an eye. “Yes, careful. I really don’t approve of you feeding that cougar, you know.”
“You don’t?”
“No, I don’t.” He ran his thumb along the fragile line of her cheekbone. “Just thinking about it makes me break out in a sweat.”
An alarmed expression crossed her face. “But, Jake, he’s really quite harmless. He’d never hurt me.”
“Harmless?” He gave a sharp laugh and released her. “He’s wild, Indigo. You can’t predict what he might do, and don’t try to tell me you can.”
“No,” she admitted.
Taking a step back, he chucked her under the chin. “Then humor me, hm?”
With that, Jake strode off toward the barn. A few minutes later when he went back to the house, he found Indigo sitting at the table, the last few bites of a flapjack still on her plate. Jake put the pail of fresh milk on the dish board, stepped to the bedroom doorway to bid Hunter a good morning, then joined Father O’Grady to stand by the fire.
The priest gave him a nudge with his elbow. “’Tis a sad thing for me to confess, seeing that ye’re a Methodist, but I understand we’re of like mind about that cougar.”
“She told you about that, did she?” Jake met Indigo’s gaze and wondered why she looked so glum. “Does that flapjack taste that bad?” he asked her with a teasing grin.
With a notable lack of enthusiasm, Indigo lowered her gaze and put the last bite into her mouth. A moment later, Loretta emerged from the bedroom, carrying Hunter’s plate. “Good morning, Mr. Rand.”
Jake lifted an eyebrow. “Mr. Rand? I’d think we could move on to first names now that I’m your son-in-law.”
Without her usual smile, Loretta swept past him and went to the kitchen. When she saw the pail of milk, she said, “I see you did my chores again. Thank you, Jake.”
Because her tone was unmistakably cool, Jake frowned and replied, “You’re more than welcome.”
Father O’Grady reached up to touch Jake’s shoulder. “’Tis never easy for a mother the first few days after a child marries,” he whispered. “After all these years, she woke up this mornin’ to discover ye’ve stepped into her shoes and that from now on ye’ll be makin’ all the decisions. Be patient, hm?”
“Decisions?” Jake turned a questioning gaze on the priest. “I have no intention of usurping her place in Indigo’s life.”
“No. Of course ye don’t.” Father O’Grady gave him a comforting pat. “She’s just sensitive. All mothers are, right in the beginning. In a wee bit of time, she’ll settle down and accept ye. Trust me to know. I’ve witnessed a few marriages.”
Still troubled by Loretta’s cool attitude, Jake turned his attention to Indigo. “Are you ready?”
She pushed up from the table. “Yes. It didn’t take me as long as usual to get the animals fed.”
Father O’Grady patted Jake’s arm again and gave him a broad grin. “Did ye do any considerin’ last night about convertin’ to the faith? Since I’m already over this way, I’ll be stayin’ a few days to tend me flock. It’d make me a very happy man to begin yer instruction while I’m here.”
Distracted by the question and amused by the priest’s perseverance, Jake chuckled. “To be honest, Father, the last thing on my mind last night was religion.”
The priest glanced toward the ceiling. “I suppose I asked for that.”
Indigo returned from the kitchen just then. Jake took her by the arm and steered her toward the door. “I’ll get back to you when I’ve made a decision, Father. That’s a promise.”
Once outside on the porch, Jake noticed Indigo’s high color and realized she must have overheard his off-color comment to Father. Her wide blue eyes met his, then darted away. He nearly groaned. From her expression, he didn’t think he had accomplished what he’d set out to by kissing her this morning.
“Well, are you ready for a long day?” he asked with deliberate lightness.
“Yes.”
He couldn’t help but notice that her voice rang with hopeless resignation.
When Jake and Indigo reached the mine and went their separate ways, Jake’s first encounter was with Denver Tompkins, who smirked, cast a lewd look in Indigo’s direction, and said, “When we play, we have to pay. I guess you learned that lesson the hard way.”
Jake stiffened. “I take it you refer to my marriage?”
“Hell, everybody in town knew what was up when you came riding in with Father O’Grady. The only surprise was that Wolf let you wait so long to do right by her
.” He lifted an eyebrow. “It’s double trouble when you get caught messing with a squaw. How much did her pappy get you for? A horse and a couple of blankets?” He pursed his lips and whistled. “What a bargain, huh? She’s a pretty piece of baggage, that one.”
Jake froze with the shovel blade buried in the gravel. His first impulse was to beat the man to a bloody pulp and then fire him. Three things forestalled him from doing that, the most important that he didn’t want to humiliate Indigo. Secondly, if rumors were already circulating, pulverizing Tompkins would only add kindling to the fire. His third reason, though less immediate, was just as compelling. Of all the miners, he trusted Tompkins the least. Until he knew who had engineered the cave-ins, he wanted the man underfoot to keep an eye on him.
When Jake took so long to reply, Tompkins chuckled. “Not two horses? You really did get fleeced, didn’t you?” He gave a conspiratorial wink. “If you’re smart, you can triple your investment in a week. A squaw’ll do anything her man tells her, including bein’ nice to his friends.”
Jake slowly straightened. For just an instant, blind rage seized him, and he imagined how satisfying it would feel to have his hands around Tompkins’s throat. His body had already tensed to leap when his reason returned. He didn’t want Indigo to get wind of this. If he started a brawl, she most certainly would.
Counting on the surrounding noise created by the mining operation to muffle his reply, Jake said, “You’ve got two seconds to retract that suggestion and apologize.”
Tompkins took a step back. “Look, Mr. Rand. Maybe being a stranger to these parts, you haven’t been around Injuns much and don’t understand their ways. We do, and on occasion we joke about it.” Tompkins lifted his hands in a shrug. “No one means any harm. Can’t you take a little ribbing? Everybody knows you had to marry her and that her pappy, bein’ Injun, probably made you buy her. That’s how they do things.”
Tightening his grip on the shovel, Jake said, “The bride price a man pays for an Indian wife isn’t a purchase any more than the dowry a white girl takes into marriage is a bribe. If you weren’t so damned ignorant, you’d know that.”