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  “What happened?” Rusty knelt beside Will, running his hand lightly over his leg.

  “I wasn’t sure if I was going in the right direction to the ranch, so I climbed up this tree to look, but the branch didn’t hold me, and I fell. I can’t walk, something happened to my leg.” He winced in pain, the skin under the dirt on his face turning a stark white.

  “Honey, we looked for you all night. We came by here three or four times, calling your name. Why didn’t you answer us?” Rachel asked.

  “I didn’t hear anyone calling me.”

  “He must have fallen asleep, and didn’t hear us,” Rusty said. “But now we have to get him to the doctor. I have a strong suspicion he broke his leg.”

  “Oh, my God.” Rachel covered her mouth with her hand.

  “It will be all right. I’ll carry him on my horse, and the doc can set it.” Rusty slid his arms under Will’s leg and shoulders. “Hold on, son, this might hurt a bit when I lift you, but I’ll try real hard to be careful.”

  “Okay.” The word barely made it out as he bit his lip and paled even further. Rachel hurried on ahead, moving branches and clearing a path for them to follow.

  “Rachel, hold Will while I mount, then gently hand him to me.”

  “He can ride with me.”

  “No, Ma. I want to ride with Mr. McIntyre.”

  She tried to hide her feelings, but Rusty picked up on it. “Honey, it’s a male thing. You can smother him with motherly love once his leg is set and he’s home.”

  Rachel sniffed her disapproval, but was so relieved they had found him, nothing would lessen her happiness. Once Rusty was settled on his horse, he reached down for Will and lifted him gently onto his lap. “You all right?”

  Will grimaced, but nodded. Rachel climbed on her horse and they headed to town.

  Mrs. Clemmons opened the door before they even were able to knock. “What happened here?” A rotund, cheerful woman, the doctor’s wife frowned with concern at Will snuggled in Rusty’s arms.

  “Will climbed a tree and fell. Mr. McIntyre thinks he broke his leg.”

  “Goodness, young man. What are you boys thinking of, doing those kinds of things that terrifies your mother?” She tsked her way down the hall, leading them to the small room at the back of the house where Dr. Clemmons treated his patients.

  “Wait right here, and I’ll have Dr. Clemmons see to you.” She shook her head as she left the room in search of the doctor.

  “Honey, help me get his pants off. I’m sure Dr. Clemmons will want to look at his leg.”

  Despite being as careful as possible, Will bit down on his lip as they maneuvered his pants off.

  “Mrs. Clemmons tells me you’ve been climbing trees, young man.” Dr. Clemmons entered the room, all bluster and vibrant energy. He eyed Will on the table and winked. “And I’ll bet it was a whole lot of fun until you fell.”

  Will smiled. “I was in the woods all night.” Now that he was safe with adults taking charge, it appeared his adventure had taken on a better light. Gone was the frightened little boy, and in his place was a young man bragging about his exploit.

  “Well, let’s see what we have here.”

  About an hour later, Will’s leg was set, splinted and plastered. “I’m afraid you’ll be unable to use that leg for a while there, young man. Might be a good time to catch up on schoolwork.”

  Will groaned, then cast a guilty look at Rachel.

  “He’s ready to go home anytime. I’ll give you some pain powder you can mix with water. Mrs. Clemmons is searching for a pair of crutches I have in the attic.”

  “Thank you.” Rachel turned to Rusty. “How will we get him home?”

  “I want to talk to you about that. Doc, we’ll be right with you.” Rusty grabbed Rachel’s hand and dragged her out of the room.

  “You can’t bring him back to the boardinghouse.”

  “Why not? That’s where we live.”

  Rusty rested his hands on his hips. “From what I’ve seen, the bedrooms are on the second floor. It will be hard enough on Will getting around on crutches, without having to climb stairs.”

  She stared at him for a minute, completely at a loss since she knew he was right.

  “I have two bedrooms on the first floor at the ranch.”

  “I’m not leaving Will in your care. You have too much to do each day to see to him.”

  “I was going to suggest that you both move into the ranch house. I can go back to the ranch to get the wagon. We can leave Will here until you can pack your things at the boardinghouse. I’ll be back to pick you both up.”

  “I can’t live at the ranch house! I have to go to work every day.”

  “Honey, Will needs you. You can’t go to work every day and leave him alone in the boardinghouse. Mrs. Beamer didn’t sign on for nursing duties. You have to leave the Café while Will is recovering.”

  Too tired to think about all he said, she lowered herself to the sofa. “I never thought about my job.” She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. “What am I going to do?”

  Rusty squatted and took her hands in his. “Let me take care of you and Will.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean? I have a reputation, you know. I could move in with my aunt and uncle while he recovers and still make it to work every day.”

  “Is that what you want? To leave his care to someone else?”

  Her shoulders slumped. “I’m too tired to think about all this now.”

  He rubbed his fingers over her knuckles. “Then I suggest we follow my plan for now and we can discuss all the details when you’re feeling up to it.”

  “My Uncle Jesse will skin you alive if I move into your house. And if memory serves, my brother, Michael is already readying his shotgun for you.”

  “Then marry me.”

  She jerked back as if he slapped her. “Marry you? No. It would never work.” She pulled her hand away and stood. “I will gather up our things and move into my old house at the ranch. Will can recover there, and I can help out in some way to earn our keep.”

  ***

  It was probably the best he was going to get out of Rachel right now. And this was certainly not how he’d intended to propose marriage. It had to be at the right time, but he was getting desperate with her arguments. He would have little opportunity to repair the damage he’d done if she stayed at the boardinghouse.

  “I can agree with that. We’ll ask Mrs. Clemmons if we can leave Will here while you pack and I fetch the wagon.”

  Five hours later they pulled up in front of the little house that Rachel had occupied when she worked as the ranch cook. They both alighted, then Rusty carried Will into the house. Rachel appeared ready to drop, and he didn’t feel much better. Right now he wanted to get them settled and then take a bath, eat, and sleep—in that order.

  Rachel hurried ahead of him. “Put him in the room Amelia used.”

  Mrs. Clemmons had cleaned the boy up and fed him while they waited for Rusty and Rachel to return. After taking a dose of pain medicine, he’d slept for the entire trip home.

  Rachel pulled the cover up over Will and sat on the edge of his bed. She trailed her fingers over his face and he grimaced at the light touch. “I love him so much. I can’t believe I almost lost him.”

  Rusty placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll fill the bathtub for you. I think a long soak will help.”

  She nodded and yawned loudly. “Oh, sorry.”

  He dragged the copper tub from the back porch into the kitchen. Once the tub was filled, Rachel must have been too tired to either realize or care that Rusty was helping her out of her clothes and into the tub, for she never protested.

  Despite his overwhelming fatigue, his lower parts came alive at the sight of her body. Forcing himself to leave, he returned to the ranch house and made a couple of sandwiches for them. Loaded down with the sandwiches, a jar of lemonade and two apples, he barely got the door to the small house open.

  He placed
the food on the table and smiled at the sight of Rachel sound asleep in the tub. She’d managed to get her hair and body washed before she’d dozed off. This was a sight he could get used to. Although he’d blurted the words out, he intended for Rachel to be his wife. Instead of forcing her down the aisle as her brother had suggested, he would talk to her, explain his shortcomings and hope she could see the love in his heart enough to forgive him.

  “Sweetheart? You need to wake up, the water is cold. You’re going to catch a chill.”

  Rachel opened her eyes and smiled softly at him. In that one instant he knew she would be his. Whatever it took, she would be his wife and lifelong partner.

  He held out the towel. “Come on, up you go.”

  Apparently now aware of her nakedness, she blushed crimson and snatched the towel from his hand, wrapping it around herself. “I’m fine, now. You can leave.”

  He motioned with his head toward the table. “I brought us some food. After we eat, I’ll go home and take a bath. You need to sleep.”

  She stepped out of the tub, the cloth securely around her body, emphasizing the curves he wanted to get his hands around. Her chin raised, she walked past him toward the bedroom where he’d placed her bag when they arrived.

  He found plates on a shelf and laid out the food. With dark circles under her eyes and lines of fatigue on her face, Rachel entered the room. She’d braided her wet hair, which hung down behind her, almost to her waist.

  “I think I’m too tired to eat.”

  “You have to eat, you’ve had nothing since yesterday. This will ensure a good sleep.”

  “I can’t sleep too long, I have to take care of Will.”

  “He’s sleeping, the doctor has him all fixed up, and there isn’t anything you can do for him except wipe his brow. That can wait.”

  They finished their meal in silence. “You go on into bed. I’m going to take a bath here and camp out on the sofa in the parlor. I’m a light sleeper, so if Will calls out for anything I can hear him.”

  She looked for a moment as if she would argue, but then shrugged and left the table, stumbling to the bedroom. After cleaning up, he checked on Rachel, fast asleep. He took another blanket from the closet and covered her. Being that tired, she needed the extra warmth.

  He sat alongside her on the bed for a while, just watching her in slumber. He smoothed the hair back from her forehead, then leaned down and kissed her lightly.

  Watch out, Mrs. Stevens. I’m about to begin the campaign to make you mine.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Since Big Bob’s housekeeper had moved with them to Arizona Territory, Rusty had never replaced the woman as a measure to cut expenses. Now that Rachel was adamant about working at the ranch while Will recuperated, she took on the task of housekeeper. A position Rusty planned to make a permanent one, but with the title of ‘wife’ attached to it.

  So far they’d gotten along quite well. While he wouldn’t say she had forgiven him, they were pleasant to each other, and the two of them, along with Will and Amelia, sat down in the evening to a meal like a real family.

  Amelia had cut back working in the cookhouse so she could concentrate on her schoolwork. Rusty was happy to discover Amelia was not illiterate, which, given her upbringing, he had suspected. She brought homework each day for Will to complete, so he was keeping up with his class.

  Taking up the slack in the cookhouse was a logical expansion of Rachel’s duties. Pretty soon she was so busy with taking care of Will, checking his schoolwork, keeping up with the housekeeper tasks, and cooking for the men, that Rusty rarely saw her outside of their family meal. That had to stop. Every time he told her he wanted to talk to her, she was either racing into the house, or out the door.

  At least he had convinced Rachel to move into the ranch house since she was his official housekeeper, and no one would think twice about her living under his roof as an employee. No one except Michael, of course, who sent a curt note to him, reminding him that Rachel was his employee, not his plaything, and he was getting his shotgun readied for a visit.

  Damnation, the man needed to use his shotgun on his sister, not on him. But no matter, tonight he was going to talk to her if he had to bind and gag her and drive her into the woods.

  He caught her coming out of Will’s room after she tucked him in for the night. Before she could whip past him, he threw his arm around her shoulders. “Time for our chat, darlin’.”

  “It’s late, Rusty. I have to do some preparation for breakfast tomorrow, and . . .”

  He continued to walk her to the front door, where he snagged her coat off the hook and slung it around her shoulders. “Breakfast preparation can wait.”

  “No, the men want—”

  He swung her around and cupping her face in his hands, took her mouth in a possessive kiss. All the pent up desire and longing for the last several weeks burst forth, setting him on fire. She attempted to pull back, but he wasn’t letting go, and eventually she let out a soft moan and leaned into him.

  Her hands slid up his arms and she encircled his neck, pulling him closer. He moved her head one way and then the other, taking the kiss deep, plundering her mouth like a fine dessert. His thumbs grazed her cheeks, then his fingers slipped into her hair as his mouth continued to sip at her nectar.

  He released her mouth and kissed the soft skin under her ear, nibbling on her ear lobe, then sucking it.

  “Rusty, the children.”

  “Are in bed.” He pulled back and regarded her with piercing look. “Where I want us to be.”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m not that type of woman. I can’t behave that way.”

  “Come with me.” He gripped her hand and led her outside. He tugged her all the way up the path to the small house that she and Will lived in for years. He opened the door and allowed her to pass through.

  She turned and crossed her arms over her chest. “We can’t do this. It’s not right.”

  He leaned his wrists on her shoulders and touched his forehead to hers. “If we go to bed tonight, it will be because you want it. I brought you here to have a long overdue conversation.”

  Her arms dropped to her side and she straightened. “Very well. As long as we both keep our clothes on.”

  “Darlin’, if we take our clothes off it will be our mutual decision.”

  She snorted and walked to the sofa. She pulled her coat closer around her as she sat.

  “Are you cold, sweetheart? I can start a fire.”

  “No. We won’t be here that long.”

  Rusty took a deep breath and joined her on the sofa. “We have a few things to discuss, but first I want to repeat what I said once before. I love you, Rachel Stevens.” He held up his hand as she started to speak. “No. Allow me to finish. I love you, I want to marry you, and help raise your son. I also want you to be a decent mother for Amelia. She’s never had one.”

  “Oh, no. You’re not going to drag the children into this.” She hopped up and rested her hands on her hips. “If memory serves, it was your vile and contemptible accusations that drove me away. I cannot even consider marrying a man who doesn’t trust me.”

  “Come here.” He held out his hand. She hesitated at first, then joined him once more on the sofa.

  “I wasn’t completely honest when I told you about Beatrice, the woman I was planning to marry.”

  She tilted her head, giving him a questioning glance.

  “I told you I returned to the bunkhouse because I needed to get another pair of gloves. Well that part was true, but I believe I purposely left my good gloves there because somewhere deep inside I knew Beatrice was cheating on me. Things she said, looks she cast at the other men. Finding her like that only proved what I had suspected for some time.”

  “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

  “Honey, with love comes trust. You can’t love someone you don’t trust. I didn’t love Beatrice, because something in her behavior told me I couldn’t trust her. But for som
e reason, I turned that experience into believing all women were the same way. And I reacted the way I did when I found you with Michael because I had just realized I loved you, and because I did, I needed to trust you, and that scared me.”

  He hopped up and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m making a mess of this. I know exactly what I mean, and what I feel, but I can’t tell you, because it all comes out wrong.”

  “What do you feel?”

  “Terrified.”

  She raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

  “I am terrified that I’m messing this up so bad that you’ll walk out that door and I’ll never get another chance to make it right. I love you so much, it kills me every day to know I could lose you at any time. I need you like I need air.”

  “Oh, Rusty.” She stood and came toward him, and for a moment he thought she was about to walk past him and out of his life. Then he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes, and the soft smile on her lips. “I love you. And I’m scared, too. Marriage to Billy wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t something I wanted to do again. Don’t you see? We’re both taking a chance. But if we don’t take a chance, we will never have that air we both need to breathe.”

  He pulled her to him, and buried his face in her shoulder, holding her tightly against his body. “Thank God.” He took a shuddering breath, and then leaned back and grinned. “I thought for sure I made things even worse.”

  “Frankly, you almost did. But I think I saved you.”

  “You will always save me.”

  He slid his hands inside her coat and around her soft body. “Remember what I said about taking our clothes off?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well?”

  “Well, what?”

  “Well, how about it?”

  “How about what?”

  He put his mouth to her ear and whispered. “How about taking off our clothes and making use of that bed in the next room?”

  “But it’s cold in here.”

  “Oh, darlin’, trust me. You won’t be cold for long.”

  ***

  Three weeks later

  “Rachel, you look beautiful.” Amelia danced into the room, swirling around so her own dress flared outward. “You are a beautiful bride.”