Winter Love Part 9

The dough had risen to twice its size, and she slid the three pans into the oven before bundling Jolie into a heavy blanket, then slipping into her jacket. She picked up Jolie and the cloth-wrapped ham sandwiches she had made and left the cabin.

When Laura entered the post, Fletch had only one customer. Daniel's Maida. The new wife greeted her with a friendly smile, then looked eagerly at the bundle in her arms.

"How's the little one taking to this cold weather?" she asked. "Daniel tells me she's the prettiest little thing he ever saw." Knowing that Maida was hinting to see Jolie, Laura folded back the blanket and the little one gave them her ready smile. "Oh, isn't she precious," Maida whispered in some awe. "She does look like a live doll." She wailed a finger down Jolie's smooth cheek and said with yearning in her voice, "I can't wait to have a baby of my own."

"Would you like to hold her?"

"Yes, I would," Maida answered eagerly.

"Let's go into the back room where you can sit down," Laura said and led the way.

Fletch's dark eyes bored into Laura's back. Not once had the little witch looked at him. She acted as though he were a part of the merchandise stacked on the shelves behind him. When Milly entered the store a few minutes later, he scowled at her instead of returning her smile.

Taylor was sitting up in bed playing a lonely game of solitaire when Laura and Maida entered his room. Laura had fixed the storage room up the best she could. She felt that if Taylor had to spend at least two months there he didn't have to lie amid boxes and crates and rubble that had acc.u.mulated over the years. He had even saved a sled she had used as a youngster. Someday Jolie would use it.

After she had swept out the room, she had hung a pair of heavy drapes over the small window. No one could look in now when b.u.t.terfly came visiting at night. The next day she had had Elisha bring a rocker and a small table from her attic room while she earned a couple of colorful rugs. She nodded her head in satisfaction every time she entered the room.

Taylor's face lit up with a wide smile. "My, my, two beautiful women coming to visit me at the same time," he said. "Or should I say three beautiful females. Let me see that little scutter, Jolie."

Laura gave Maida an apologetic look as she lifted her daughter out of the blanket and laid her in Taylor's lap. Jolie immediately began chortling, happy to see Taylor. As he gently chucked her under the chin, it was clear they shared a mutual love.

Laura had noticed that the little one was becoming attached to Fletch also, Which always brought a sour smile to her lips. Poor baby, she didn't know what a rotter her father was.

When Jolie sneezed suddenly, Taylor looked alarmed. "I'm going to miss seeing this little one, but I don't think it is wise for you to be bringing her out in the cold every day. From now on Fletch can pick up my meals. We surely don't want this one coming down with pneumonia."

Laura didn't want that to happen either, but she didn't like the idea of Fletch coming to the cabin while she was alone.

But what could she say? Pa and Fletch were back on their close footing, and certainly she didn't want to cause trouble between them again. Pa would be curious and wouldn't stop questioning her until he, G.o.d forbid, got the whole truth out of her.

So she nodded agreement and, taking Jolie from Taylor, gave her over to Maida. Taylor bit into his sandwich, and it grew silent except for Maida's soft talk to Jolie and Milly's gay chatter in the store and Fletch's occasional gruff answer to some question or other.

Taylor grinned over a mouthful of ham. "That one is in here every day, and I think Fletch is getting tired of her always hanging around."

"I'm not surprised." Maida lifted her head from looking at Jolie. "She comes to our cabin every night. When she's ready to go home she hints to Fletch to walk with her, but he never does."

Laura could believe that. Fletch was an uncaring brute. It was just like him to use a woman and then put her out of his mind. Hadn't he done the same thing to her?

Laura and Maida were preparing to leave when they heard Bertha, the madam, bustle into the store. "Whew," she exclaimed, "it's cold enough out there to freeze the bails off a wooden Indian." Fletch's laugh was the first real one Laura'd had heard from him since her return.

Fletch liked the loudmouthed madam, and her girls as well. A man always knew where he stood with them. All they expected was a fast romp and then good-bye. There was no clinging on, no hinting at marriage.

"What can I do for you, Bertha?" he asked with a wide smile.

"Well, you could come visit my girls. They're complainin' that you haven't been to the pleasure house since you returned home."

"I'm sorry about that." Fletch grinned. "But I've been pretty busy with the store and all."

Milly laid a proprietary hand on Fletch's arm and said to Bertha with a warning in her voice, "I guess you know what the 'and all' means." Bertha looked at the hand gripping Fletch's arm, then up to his frowning face. Her lips lifted in an amused smile. "If you say so, Miss Howard."

Fletch started to jerk his arm free, then saw Laura and Maida come from the back room. He not only let Milly's hand lie where it was, he covered it with his own hand, an action for Laura's benefit.

If Laura saw it, he wasn't aware of it. She was busy greeting Bertha with a friendly smile. "Bertha, meet Maida. She and her husband are newcomers to Big Pine." Bertha and Maida smiled at each other; then Laura asked, "How have you been? I haven't see you or your girls since the blizzard."

"I'm fine, honey, and so are those lazy girls of mine. I tried to get them to come over to the store but they won't budge from the stove."

"You mean they ain't still in bed, restin' up from a busy night?" Milly sneered.

Bertha raked contemptuous eyes over the speaker's plump body. "How come you're up so early, talking about busy nights?"

"Well, I never!" Milly huffed.

"The h.e.l.l you ain't," Bertha came right back at her. "You've been on your back more times than any of my girls."

Milly's face became an angry red when Maida giggled and Taylor's loud guffaw sounded from his room. When Milly felt Fletch's arm shaking in silent mirth, she jerked away from him and stamped across the floor. The outside door shuddered, she slammed it so hard behind her.

With some difficulty Laura and Maida brought a semblance of sobriety to their faces. They discussed Justine's wedding, and Maida shyly asked Laura if she would help her make a dress for the affair.

"Certainly. I'd be happy to. Do you have the material?"

"Not yet. Daniel said I should pick out what I want. I was hoping you'd help me choose."

"That will be fun." Laura smiled at the girl/woman. "I love looking at material. Pa got in some new a couple weeks ago. There's some lovely woolens."

They made plans to meet at the store the next day to choose a dress length and get started on the dress. When Laura left she ignored Fletch again.

"She's such a nice person," Maida said before telling Fletch that she would like five pounds of flour, a pail of lard, and a box of baking soda.

Fletch only grunted and went about filling her order.

Laura was growing more nervous by the minute. It was nearly five o'clock, and any minute Fletch would be coming to pick up Taylor's supper. She had it ready in a cloth-covered basket. There was a small pail of venison stew, half a loaf of freshly baked bread, and several b.u.t.ter cookies. The basket sat on the table, handy for her to pick up and pa.s.s to him through the door. She didn't want him coming inside the cabin. Something warned her that it would be dangerous to let him walk through the door.

As it happened, Fletch was inside the cabin before she was aware he was anywhere near it. She remembered that he could walk as quietly as an Indian if he wanted to, and that of course he wouldn't knock on his own father's door.

"Why do you look so shocked to see me?" Fletch scowled at her. "You did talk Pa into sending me for his supper... all his meals from now on."

"I did no such thing," Laura denied sharply. "It was all his idea. He's afraid Jolie will catch cold, being brought out in the freezing temperature."

"Yes, after you put the idea in his head."

"That's not true. He said it after Jolie sneezed."

After a moment's silence, Fletch asked gruffly, "Do you think Beltran would care that much for your baby? I think not. He didn't even care enough about it to marry you. To give the little one his name."

Dragging in a deep breath, Laura said, "Pa's supper is in that basket. Will you please take it and leave?"

"There's no rush," Fletch said, pulling a chair away from the table and sitting down. "Elisha is minding the store while I'm gone." He studied her frowning face a moment, then bit out harshly, "How often does Beltran sneak over here after everyone is asleep?"

I will not cry, Laura thought fiercely, although she felt her heart was breaking. There was no way in the world she could make this man believe her. She forced all emotion from her face and out of her voice as she said, "That's none of your business. I don't ask you how often Milly comes to visit you."

Fletch's eyes watched her closely as he said, "She visits me every night."

Laura's heart gave a lurch, but she managed to say in a cool voice, "My, aren't you the lucky fellow?"

Fletch gave her a mocking smile and drawled, "Of course, you meant to say, 'Isn't she a lucky woman?'"

"No, I didn't mean any such thing, you egotistical timber wolf."

"Come on, Laura." Fletch stood up and came toward her. "Stop pretending you didn't love the things I did to you in the barn that time. Remember?"

Yes, I remember, Laura screamed inside. She could almost feel his hands and lips on her body now-making her lose control, doing things that had made her blush in the daylight.

She drew a shuddering breath, and Fletch's eyes lingered on the pulse throbbing in her throat. "Ah, Laura," he said with gruff tenderness, "I can't get you out of my mind. All the time I was gone I thought of you."

His hands came out to grip her elbows and draw her to him. "Why did you get yourself mixed up with Beltran?" And while Laura gazed up at him in openmouthed surprise, he bent his head and crushed her lips beneath his with a desperate hunger.

Laura tried to pull away from him, reminding herself that Fletch Taylor did not love her, the person. He only wanted to use her.

And though his grip was firm, he wasn't hurting her, as instead of loosing his hold he drew her tighter against the hard length of his body. She felt his manhood rising, growing hard and throbbing against her stomach. She tried again to free herself A hunger of her own was growing inside her and she was desperate not to give in to it. She had done that once and look where it had led. An unplanned baby and a farce of a marriage, not to mention her good name ruined.

"Please, Fletch," she whispered against his lips. "I don't want this."

"Yes, you do," he answered hoa.r.s.ely as he swiftly undid the b.u.t.tons of her bodice and pulled free a throbbing breast. "Look at that hard little beauty." He brushed his thumb back and forth across the nipple. "It's begging me to take it into my mouth. It remembers the delight I can give it."

"No!" Laura denied vehemently. "It remembers nothing."

"But you do," he whispered pa.s.sionately as he leaned against the table and drew her between his spread legs.

Laura pressed her hands against his chest and arched away from him. The action only brought her b.r.e.a.s.t.s forward, and his lips swept down to draw one into his mouth.

She still fought to repress the desire that was building inside her, but as he licked and suckled and nibbled, her body took over her mind. She gave up the battle and let her body relax against his. She threaded her fingers through his hair, and Fletch groaned his relief.

"Hold me, Laura," he whispered. "Caress me the way only you can do."

Laura slid her hand down between their bodies and deftly unlaced his buckskins. His thick, hard length sprang free and her palm gently closed over it. Her fingers found the hard ridge that led down to where his desire waited and slowly stroked it. Fletch groaned and suckled her harder.

Her hand still caressing him, and Fletch's mouth still on her breast, he scooped her up and carried her into what was now her bedroom. There he stood her on her feet, and together they feverishly undressed each other.

"You are so beautiful," Fletch breathed and went down on his knees before her. Holding her hips, he rained kisses on her stomach, always moving downward to the dark curls that hid what he was dying to have.

Laura gasped and held on to his shoulders when he parted the curls and his tongue sought out the little nub that waited for him.

It had been so long since her body's needs had been taken care of, it took but a couple minutes before her fingers were biting into his shoulders and her head was thrown back in mind-shattering release.

When Laura's body stopped shuddering, Fletch kissed his way up her body until he came to her mouth. He kissed her lips deeply, then gently nudged her to her knees. She cupped his full sacs in one hand and closed the other one around his pulsating length. She ran her tongue all over it, gently nibbling on the ridge that led to the part she held in her hand. When she felt that she had teased him to the point where he would go mad, she opened her mouth and slid her lips over as much length as she could manage.

Fletch watched her through pa.s.sion-filled eyes as he traced a finger around her drawing lips. How many nights he had lain in his cold bed in Canada and dreamed of watching her do this.

When his manhood began to jerk and throb, Laura knew it was time to release him. She let her lips slide slowly off him and rose to her feet. "Thank you, honey," he whispered huskily, then lifted her up and laid her on the bed.

Her arms and legs opened for him and he eagerly went into them. For a moment he just lay on top of her, relishing the feel of her soft skin, her nipples burning into his chest. He levered himself up on his elbows then, and without being told, Laura slipped her hand between them, and taking him in her hand, she guided him inside her.

"You're still so tight," he whispered in wonderment as he drove inside her, stretching her walls to take his large size.

Like the first time they made love, they reached a fast release together. Also like the first time, Fletch was still hard and wanting, and barely stopped the lift and fall of his hips. He slid his hands beneath Laura's hips, and holding steady, slowly pumped inside her, taking his time, savoring every thrust of his maleness.

Five minutes pa.s.sed and both their bodies wore a thin film of sweat. Another five minutes pa.s.sed as they made love to each other, Laura reaching to meet his every long thrust.

The time came when neither body would be denied the need raging inside them. Their cries of release rang through the room. Fletch slumped his full weight on Laura for several seconds as he fought to return his breath to normal. He rolled off her then and lay on his back staring up at the ceiling. Laura wanted to curl up against him, have him wrap his arms around her. Something warned her not to. There was a strange tightness about him.

A few minutes later she was glad she hadn't. For when Jolie fussed from her cradle in the family room, Fletch rose, drew on his clothes, and silently left the room. When she had dressed and followed him a few minutes later, he was gone, along with the basket holding Taylor's supper.

Shamed tears ran down her cheeks. She had let him use her again.

Chapter Nine.

It was snowing again, but lightly, as Laura and Maida stood in the kitchen of the Thomas cabin. "I really like this dark green you chose, Maida," Laura said as she unrolled the woolen dress length on the table. "It will look very pretty with your brown hair and eyes."

"Actually, Daniel picked it out," Maida said shyly. "He said the same thing about my eyes and hair."

"Your husband cares deeply for you," Laura said, picking up a pattern she had trimmed down considerably to fit her young friend's boyish figure. "Anyone can see that," she added as she carefully placed the paper on the material. "You are very fortunate to have such a loving husband." She picked up the scissors and, taking the first step in making Maida's new dress, cut into the green woolen.

"Yes, I am," Maida agreed, watching the scissors snip away, "and I love him the same way. I know that people look at us and wonder what I see in a man so much older than myself, and that some doubt that I love him. But they are mistaken. They don't know the h.e.l.l Daniel saved me from."

When Laura gave her a questioning look, Maida began telling her story, pouring out words that had been bottled up inside her too long.

"I was fourteen years old when my pa, Claude Henderson, was killed in a knife fight. Ma didn't even have time to grieve for him before this trapper, Festus Carter, without my ma's permission, moved in with us. She was outraged and ordered him to leave immediately. He laughed in her face and said, 'You need a man, woman. A female can't make it alone in Canada.' He grabbed her by the arm then and dragged her into the bedroom. I heard Ma yell angrily, 'Take your hands off me.' Then I heard the sharp slap of that brute striking her. A minute later the bed's headboard was thumping against the wall and Ma was crying in pain. She stopped after a while, but the bed continued to Creak for a long time. When it finally stopped I heard him order, 'Get your a.s.s in there and make me something to eat.'"

"Poor Ma. She looked so ashamed when she walked out of the room, Festus right behind her. I ran to comfort her, and his big hand slapped me up against the head, knocking me to the floor. 'I'll have none of that,' he said, sitting down in Pa's favorite rocker. When I sat up he growled, 'Crawl over here and pull off my boots.' That was to be my job from then on. That and to wait on him hand and foot."

"And my mother, it was her job to cook for him and go into the bedroom any time he told her to. Until it snowed and we were frozen in, every time Festus went hunting for fresh meat he took me with him. He knew that Ma would never go off without me."

"Festus began to bring an occasional man home with him. Money would pa.s.s between them; then Festus would force Ma to go into the bedroom with the man. I'd lie on my pallet in a corner and listen to the bed creak, hating him with every beat of my heart."

"That went on all winter, and Ma grew paler and paler and thinner and thinner. Festus no longer bothered to take me with him when he went hunting. He knew that she didn't have the strength to run away. Then when spring arrived and most of the snow had melted, Ma caught pneumonia, and in her weakened condition, died two days later."