Jasmine Read online

  Mary and Harriett smiled down at the boys a bit warily. Jasmine knew what Daisy had said worried them both. “It’s nice to meet you,” Harriett told them.

  Joey nodded. “It is nice to meet us.” Lee prodded Joey in the back. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” The boy sounded miserable as he said the words he knew he should have said to begin with.

  Jacob smiled up at Harriett. “Are you Miss Sullivans Ma? Cuz we like her a lot.” Jasmine couldn’t believe just how charming his smile was as he looked at her mother. She almost felt slighted that he’d never tried to charm her that way. She’d assumed the boys didn’t know how.

  Harriett shook her head. “No, I’m her aunt.” She pointed to Mary. “That’s her ma.”

  Jacob and Joseph surrounded Mary and pulled her to a chair before climbing on her lap. “Tell us how she was when she was little.”

  Mary’s eyes met Jasmine’s as if she were asking for permission. Jasmine gave a slight nod. She wanted the boys to know she knew all about pranks, so they’d know not to mess with her. “Well, I have eight daughters,” Mary began.

  Jasmine smiled at Lee. “Are you ready to go?” She didn’t want him to hear the stories her mother would undoubtedly tell. It would be better if he found out just how mischievous she’d been after they were married.

  Lee nodded, putting his hand to the small of her back to guide her out the door. Once they reached his wagon, he helped her up. “I’m sorry I don’t have a buggy.” He could tell by the way her family dressed she’d been raised with finer things than he could provide.

  Jasmine shrugged. “I don’t mind riding in a wagon.” She sat toward the middle of the seat, so she could be close to him but not interfere with his driving. Her eyes were full of laughter as he climbed into the wagon with her. “I loved it when Joey told my aunt that it was nice she got to meet him.”

  Lee groaned. “I could have done without that nonsense.” He picked up the reins and unset the brake. “How would you feel if I took you to the restaurant in town?” If he took her for a drive, and took her to the restaurant, they’d have plenty of time to get to know one another.

  Jasmine nodded. “That sounds nice. We’d better let Mama and Aunt Harriett to know, though. They’ll wait supper on me otherwise.”

  He reset the brake and jumped down to go to the house and ask if they minded. It was her aunt who came to the door. “Would you mind if I took Jasmine to the restaurant in town?”

  Harriett nodded with a smile. “We’ll feed the boys. You two have fun.” She seemed to genuinely not mind being saddled with the twins. He was thankful her aunt and mother had been there, because he had the feeling Daisy never would have volunteered to watch them.

  Lee thanked her and ran for the wagon before she changed her mind. He climbed up beside Jasmine again, and drove off slowly. He’d decided to drive in a circle around Billings before taking her into town for supper. “So tell me about Jasmine. What happened to make you come out here?” Not many women chose Billings, Montana as a place to visit. There just wasn’t anything to do there if you weren’t a cowboy.

  “My sister, Daisy, came out here as a mail order bride and married Eli, which I’m pretty sure you know. My mother was not happy she moved so far from home, and she’d have to live without servants. We were raised in a house where there were always servants around.” She shrugged. She didn’t care that she’d had servants and didn’t now, but her mother certainly did.

  He nodded. “I have a housekeeper.”

  She wasn’t certain why he’d volunteered that so she just kept talking. “When Daisy got pregnant, Mama was worried about her being out here doing all the cooking and cleaning on her own without help, so she asked me if I’d be willing to come out and help. I knew nothing about how to cook or clean, but I agreed, because I wanted to get out of Seattle. So I’ll stay for another month or two, but then Mama really wants me to return to Seattle.” Please ask me to stay. Please ask me to stay.

  Lee looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “And do you want to return to Seattle? Is there a beau waiting there for you?” He held his breath as he waited for her answer.

  Jasmine shook her head. “Oh no. No man in Seattle would have me.” She realized as soon as the words were out what she’d said, and she covered her mouth with her hand. She needed to stop being so blunt. “Besides I’d never have come out with you if I did.”

  Lee choked out a laugh. “Why would no man in Seattle have you? You’re a beautiful girl!” He couldn’t fault her honesty. If he wanted a woman who would always tell him the truth, he’d just found her.

  Jasmine shrugged. “I…well…I was a bit of a prankster when I was younger.” She tried to downplay the importance of what she’d been like.

  He gave her an inquiring look. “How much younger?”

  “Oh, I gave all that up at least a year ago.” She managed not to even smirk as she said the words.

  His laughter filled the air. “I like you, Jasmine Sullivan.” He’d enjoyed their talks at church before, but he’d wanted to get to know her better one on one. She seemed like a truly good woman.

  Jasmine smiled, squeezing the arm closest to her, and feeling the muscle bulge from it. His arms were strong from his hours of work on the ranch. “I like you too.” That was an understatement, of course, but it was honest as far as it went.

  Lee smiled over at her. “Well, then I think I’m glad I invited you on a drive this afternoon.”

  “I know I am.”

  He talked about the different ranches as they passed them for a few minutes. “What happened to the boys’ mother?” she blurted out. She needed to hear the words from him and let him know that his past mattered to her.

  Lee’s face turned sad. “She wandered out into a blizzard and froze to death.” He confirmed what Eli had said, but added nothing. He had no desire to talk about his late wife. She’d made his life miserable.

  “Why?” Jasmine asked. If she found out he’d hit his wife, she didn’t know what she’d do.

  Lee shrugged, but his face grew harder and his arms grew taut on the reins. “I’m really not sure. She did it after she fed Joseph one night. The boys were only about a month old.”

  “How did you manage?” Jasmine couldn’t imagine a man trying to raise two babies.

  He shrugged. “I hired a housekeeper and a nurse for the boys. Between the two we managed. We went through a series of nurses, but the boys have had the same housekeeper since they were a baby.” He’d kept her around so the boys would have stability in their lives. Mrs. Banks wasn’t the easiest woman to have around, but she was a hard worker, and she seemed to like the boys. At least she seemed to like them some of the time.

  “Why have you gone through a series of nurses?” Jasmine asked. She couldn’t imagine ever wanting to leave those sweet boys’ lives.

  “You’ve seen my boys. No one is willing to work for me for long.” He hated pointing out their troubles, but he didn’t want her to be shocked if she became their step-mother either.

  “I think your boys are delightful.” Jasmine told him the truth about his boys, but she could see by his face that he thought she was crazy for even saying it when no one else could be around them for long.

  He laughed. “You may be the only person in the whole state to see them that way.”

  She shrugged. “They’re rambunctious, but they’re sweet.” She laughed softly. “You should have seen their faces when they came to talk to me this morning. I knew immediately they’d done something.”

  “My boys? My angelic boys?”

  Jasmine giggled. “Yes, your boys!” She sighed. “I put a snake in my teacher’s desk once.” She smiled at the memory. Her teacher had jumped at least a foot, and had screamed until one of the boys came to remove it. If Hyacinth hadn’t told the teacher it was her, she’d have gotten away with it.

  He shook his head. “I think you’re the perfect mother for those two.”

  Jasmine’s heart jumped. “I think so too,” she
told him. She was certain that wasn’t his marriage proposal, but she wished it was. She was ready. They needed to make a decision before Mama and Aunt Harriett left.

  “You do?” he asked, his eyes meeting hers. Could she really be saying she’d take them on? All three of them? Several women would have married him over the years if he hadn’t had the boys, but they came all together, and that scared most women off.

  She nodded. “I don’t know anyone who could manage them as well as I could.” She knew that was an understatement. Most women would have no clue what to do with boys as active and mischievous as Joey and Jacob.

  “What about me? Could you manage me?” He looked ahead again for a moment. “I kind of come with the package.” He hoped she cared about him as well as the boys, though he could see she was truly drawn to them.

  Jasmine smiled. “I could manage you best of all.” And she truly looked forward to managing him.

  Lee looked at her again, a smile splitting his face. “You think you could, do you?”

  “I know I could.” She met his eyes with no hesitation. She wasn’t a shy, retiring sort, and she wasn’t going to pretend to be for any man.

  Lee pulled off to the side of the road. It was a quiet area amongst the trees. “I’ve been watching you at church,” he told her.

  “I know. I’ve been watching you watching me.”

  He laughed. “You’re not a nervous and shy kind of girl, are you, Jasmine?”

  She shook her head. “I am not. Why would I be?” If it bothered him that she wasn’t, now was the time for him to find out.

  Lee set the brake and captured her face in his hands, cupping her cheeks as he gazed into her pretty brown eyes. “May I kiss you?”

  Jasmine nodded, her heart jumping. “I’d love that.” She couldn’t wait to feel what kissing was like. Her sisters certainly seemed to enjoy it.

  He smiled, slowly lowering his lips to hers. He knew she was young, and had probably never been kissed, so he kept the kiss light, just a gentle stroke of his lips against hers.

  Jasmine felt a tingling all the way to her toes when he kissed her, enjoying the feel of him against her. She put her arms around his neck, waiting for him to deepen the kiss. She was disappointed when he raised his head so quickly. That’s now how her sisters’ husbands kissed them when they didn’t think anyone was looking. Why hadn’t he kissed her more deeply?

  “Was that okay?” he asked, gazing into her eyes, worried that he’d frightened her.

  “I guess so.” She couldn’t keep the disappointment from her voice.

  “What did I do wrong?” he asked, surprised.

  “Well, it was nice. It was. But when my sisters’ husbands kiss them, it always looks like they’re eating each other’s faces. Why didn’t you kiss me that way?” Jasmine knew what she was saying was inappropriate, but she couldn’t help herself. Every time she saw him, she imagined Lee kissing her that way.

  “Is that how you want me to kiss you?” Lee asked with surprise. His first wife, Gloria, had always complained when he’d used his tongue when he kissed her. In fact she’d complained about him touching her most of the time. She hadn’t been a passionate woman and had made him feel guilty for being a passionate man.

  She wondered for a moment if she should admit it, but couldn’t think of a good reason not to. “Yes, please.”

  He shook his head for a moment. “You are something special, Jasmine Sullivan.”

  “That’s not something I’ve heard often in my life.” Sure, her parents had said it to her, but parents have to, don’t they? She was glad he felt that way, though, because it made him special.

  He lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers again, his tongue tracing the outline of her lips. When she opened her mouth to give him access, he stroked his tongue into her mouth and against hers.

  Jasmine moaned softly, liking this kind of kiss more than she’d imagined even. Her arms moved to his back, stroking him through the flannel of his thick shirt. She liked this and him. No wonder her sisters were always sneaking off to kiss their husbands.

  She moved closer to him, pressing her breasts against his chest, and holding him tightly. Her tongue met his stroke for stroke. She wanted to be closer to him, to feel his skin against hers. She wriggled in his arms, trying to feel more of him.

  Lee lifted his head, slightly out of breath. “Jasmine, you’re going to be the death of me.” The woman apparently didn’t have a shy bone in her body. He couldn’t decide if that was good or bad.

  Jasmine looked up at him with wide eyes, not certain what she’d done wrong. “Did I do something I shouldn’t have?” she asked innocently.

  He groaned, dropping his forehead to hers. “Not really. You surprised me though. Have you ever been kissed before?”

  She shook her head. “No, but I like it when you kiss me.”

  He smiled, kissing the tip of her nose. “I can see that.” He sighed. “Your mother wouldn’t like us kissing that way.”

  “Why not?” She knew her mother really didn’t think she should kiss anyone before marriage, but why not that way in particular? Wasn’t that the right way to kiss? Her sisters certainly seemed to think it was.

  He thought about how to answer that for a moment. “That’s the kind of kiss you share right before…making love.” Did she even know what that was?

  “Oh. Are we going to do that?” Jasmine had no earthly idea what he was talking about and didn’t really care. She wanted to be close to him, and if making love would bring them close, then she was all for it. It sounded fun, whatever it was.

  He looked at her for a moment, completely shocked. She obviously didn’t know what making love was, or she wouldn’t have asked that. “You can’t do that until your wedding night, Jasmine.”

  She sighed. “Well, that would work for me then.” She would do that with him on their wedding night. That sounded good.

  He laughed. “Does this mean you’re going to marry me?”

  “Well, I don’t know. Are you going to ask me?” she countered. There was nothing she could think of that she wanted more than marrying this man, and she wasn’t afraid to admit it.

  He kissed her again, this time just a brief hard kiss pressed to her lips. How could men look at her and see her as anything less than the absolute prize she really was? “I’d rather ask you father first,” he told her. He’d asked Gloria’s father first, as all men should.

  “Are you going to take a train to Seattle? Better to ask my mother. Or my aunt. My aunt is a great choice.” Aunt Harriett would love it if he asked her. She really had the final say anyway.

  He chuckled. “I think I’m just going to ask you.”

  She smiled waiting eagerly for the words. When he didn’t say anything for a moment, she prompted, “Well, ask me! What are you waiting for?” He needed to hurry up if they were going to get married before her mother and aunt went back to Seattle.

  “The right moment? Flowers and a ring?” Did she not care about the trappings? He felt like he should set a beautiful scene for her.

  Jasmine shook her head. “Oh, all that’s just a waste on me. Just ask.”

  He gathered her to him, hugging her tightly. “I’ll ask when I’m ready, Miss Bossy.” Why was she in such a hurry?

  She sighed. “My mother leaves in a week. Getting married before then would keep her from having to come back to Montana for the wedding!”

  “You’d really marry me that fast?” He was shocked. Gloria had insisted on a two year engagement. He wasn’t looking forward to a long engagement, but it was something he expected.

  “If my aunt says it’s fine, then absolutely!” She loved the idea of marrying the next day if possible.

  “Your aunt?” What did her aunt have to do with anything?

  “Long story. Are we going to dinner? I’m getting hungry.” She really didn’t want to explain about her aunt yet. Later. Much later.

  He shook his head at her, a little baffled at how the subject had changed
so quickly. She was a special girl, though, and she was willing to take on his boys. That was all he was really looking for. Sure, he looked forward to having a passionate woman in his bed every night, but a mother for his boys was the real priority. Mrs. Banks, the housekeeper, was aging, and they were becoming way too much for her. “Yes, let’s go to dinner,” he agreed.

  Chapter Two

  He drove toward the bustling town of Billings. Before the railroad had been run through giving Billings a stop, there’d been almost nothing there. With the railroad, it was growing every day it seemed.

  Jasmine held onto his arm as they drove, happily talking to him about her sisters. She told him about her perfect eldest sister, Rose, her tomboy sister, Lily, and her bookish sister, Amaryllis. “And, of course, you already know Daisy.” Of all of her sisters, she felt like Daisy was the best. Not that she was her favorite, but that she was just a genuinely good person. When she didn’t turn into Crazy Daisy during pregnancy that was.

  He nodded. “Daisy is sweet. Are there more flowers at home?” Lee couldn’t get over the fact that her parents had come up with so many flower names. Of course, both of his boys had J names, so he couldn’t say a lot about the flower theme.

  “Oh yes. Hyacinth comes after me. It’s hard to describe Hyacinth really. She’s very sweet, but she always seems to be off in a world of her own. I guess dreamy is the best way to put it. Then comes Violet, our artist. She does the most amazing watercolors. The baby is Iris. She’s certain she’s going to be a doctor someday.”

  “You mean a nurse, right?” He looked at her with surprise. Who’d ever heard of a woman doctor?

  Jasmine shook her head with a laugh. “No, I mean a doctor. There are a few female doctors now. Just not very many.” She personally loved the idea of her youngest sister being a doctor. Women needed to be able to do more than sit at home and sew. Especially if they were gifted healers like Iris was.

  Lee considered that. A woman doctor. He certainly wouldn’t go see her, but he could see women who were having babies preferring a female.