"Hush talking like that."

"You love dirty talk! The dirtier the better. Well? Are you going to stand there or are you going to bring that tight little a.s.s over here?"

Della slowly shook her head and saw his face swell with rage.

"Then get that hot t.w.a.t of yours out of here!" His bellow could be heard in every corner of the house. "Cecilia! Cecilia, get your fat little a.s.s in here!"

Della went out the door as the Mexican girl slipped in. The b.i.t.c.h, Della thought. She had been waiting.

"I've done all the hard work. He's primed and ready for you," Della said sweetly, pulling her dress over to cover one bare breast.

"But he wants me."

"He needs something to poke it into. A cow would do!"

If it hadn't been so funny, Della would have slapped the satisfied smirk from the Mexican girl's face.

Cecilia could have his wobbly old p.e.c.k.e.r. She'd have his money.

Chapter Fourteen.

Kain waited a full ten minutes after the buggy was out of sight before he went into the house. What stood out in his mind was that Della was in town and she wanted the place he had planned to give to Vanessa and the Hills. Would they be strong enough to hold out against her without his being there? Would Della be able to go to court and take it regardless of the will?

An idea began to take root in his mind. As his wife, Vanessa would have the place and whatever of his a.s.sets the solicitor could salvage from the stock market crash. He would have to make sure his death was recorded in order for her to inherit.

He took the makings for a cigarette from his pocket and began to roll a smoke. Although he had tried to blot from his mind the fact that he was dying, he thought about it now. Thank G.o.d he'd had only one attack since he was shot. How much time did he have left? He knew as the end drew near the time between attacks would shorten, then come daily. When that happened he'd simply disappear in the middle of the night.

His mind kept going back to the idea of making Vanessa his wife. Was he being foolish to want her, knowing he might leave her with a child? At the mere thought of a son, his own red-haired son, growing in her body his somber features softened and a smile curled his lips. A part of him would pa.s.s on to the next generation, marking his time on earth. Perhaps he would live to see his child, although it seemed unlikely. The sheriff in Arizona had lived only a month or two after he started vomiting blood.

The door behind him opened and Ellie walked out. He dropped his smoke and stepped on it, grinding it to fragments before sweeping them away with his foot.

"Are you all right, Kain?" Ellie asked quietly.

"Sure. That was my sister, Ellie."

"Your sister? My, my. Why didn't she stay?"

"I told her to leave."

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorrya""

"Don't be, Ellie. I've seen very little of her during the past twenty years. She's not the type of person to be around you and Vanessa. She's a completely self-centered, greedy woman who caters only to her own peculiar needs. I don't talk about her or think about her."

"All right, Kain. Has your stomach been bothering you?"

"Not except for a constant little nagging pain."

"I wish you'd see a doctor."

"And have an old quack tell me I've got worms?" He smiled down into her concerned face. "Don't worry, Ellie. I may go along like this for weeks with only an occasional attack."

"I think what you eat has a lot to do with your attacks. I remember Vanessa's father telling a man back home to drink milk for a bad stomach. Of course he wasn't as sick as you are."

"So that's why you insisted on getting the cows right away. Ellie, I may hug you."

"Feel free to do so anytime." Her soft eyes smiled up at him and her expression was gentle.

"Ellie . . . do you think I'd be a selfish b.a.s.t.a.r.d if I asked Vanessa to marry me?"

"No, Kain. I think it would give her something to hold on to . . . later on."

Kain's hand went to her shoulder and squeezed it thankfully before they went back into the house.

Vanessa heard Kain walking up the stairs and slipped into her room and closed the door. She needed just a few more minutes to compose herself before she faced him. While he talked to the woman in the parlor she had had time to think about the shards of jealousy that had knifed through her, and about the life Kain had lived before he met her. No doubt he had known many beautiful women well enough to call him darling. She could accept that. The fact that this beautiful woman had neatly regulated her to the position of a servant was what had so angered her. Even that, she told herself, wasn't as bad as the insolent way she had looked at her, and the inferior feeling that had followed that look. This new, strange feeling was one Vanessa had not had before.

She looked at a sliver of sunlight on the floor without seeing it. A calmness came over her. She knew herself, knew what she was. She'd not let the woman's insensitivity touch her. She heard Kain's voice calling her name and opened the door to look into tawny gold eyes that smiled at her.

"You're not up to climbing those stairs," she scolded gently. "I was coming down."

"I'd climb clear up to the heavens if you were up there waiting for me." He came inside and closed the door. "Did anyone ever tell you that it isn't proper for a young lady to entertain a man in her bedroom?"

"It seems to me that I've heard something about that not being nice. But as you know, I don't pay too much attention to what's proper."

"I'm glad."

Vanessa wanted to bury her face in his chest and cry with relief. He was the same Kain. His feelings for her hadn't changed with the coming of the beautiful woman. The light, quick intake of his breath and the subtle narrowing of his eyes told her that he knew her thoughts and that her light words were to cover deeper feelings.

"I love your eyes, sweetheart," he said and drew her to him. "They're so honest. They don't know how to deceive." His lips found her, touching her nose as they moved over her cheeks with small kisses until he found her mouth. He covered her lips with a deep, hungry kiss. The kiss ended abruptly as he dragged his mouth away. He picked up her hand and slipped it, palm down, into his shirt, laying her fingers over his heart. She felt the warmth of his skin, and, as he held her hand there, the increasing thud of his strong heartbeat. "You do that to me, pretty little red bird. You and no one else."

"Now it's my turn to be glad," she answered softly, smiling into his eyes.

"Do you suppose we can sit down on the bed? I'll try not to attack you, though I'll be sorely tempted."

"If you promise to not try too hard," Vanessa said as Kain sat down on the edge of the bed. She wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. "You're still weak," she murmured when his arm reached out and pulled her down beside him, pressing her close.

"That woman was my sister." He entangled her fingers in his and lifted their locked hands to his mouth so he could kiss the back of her hand. "The beautiful Della Clayhill," he announced dryly with an expression of distaste.

"Your sister?" She repeated the words blankly.

"You knew I had one?"

"Yes, but I thought she lived in Denver."

"She does, part of the time. She's now out at Clayhill's ranch."

"She's very beautiful. I've never seen a more beautiful woman."

"Yes, she's beautiful . . . on the outside. On the inside, she's filth."

"Oh, Kain! No . . ."

"Yes." He tilted her chin and looked into her eyes. "My sister is a wh.o.r.e. She's a wh.o.r.e because she wants to be one. She enjoys her work. She has a place in Denver where a man can have a woman, any color, any age, any size, and any way he wants her. She specializes in the exotic. She's opened a place in Greeley, and she wants this place, The House, so she can open another. I'm telling you this because I want you to know the facts about my family when I ask you to marry me."

"You want to . . . marry me?"

"Is that so strange? You're beautiful, lovable, exciting, and the most desirable woman in the world. I want you more than I could tell you if I talked all day."

His words sent a shower of joy whispering through her. She closed her eyes for an instant and shivered with pleasure. She opened them to look into the amber depths of his eyes, and what she saw there was more love for her than she had ever thought she'd ever have. His fingers smoothed the hair back from her ears.

"I want it too." Her voice was low and full.

"I'll love you forever." His mouth found hers and covered it with fierce, hungry kisses, random and violent, different from the gentle kisses he had given her before. Clasped tightly to his chest she could feel the hammering of her own heart. "I want you so much," he whispered against her lips.

"You have me . . . for as long as you want me."

He pulled back to look at her. His eyes were bright, raw with feeling. He brushed her lips with another kiss. "I was just thinkinga"this feeling is a miracle. Do you suppose anyone else has ever felt like this?" His voice was gently curious.

"Not like this. I think I could fly!" She felt free, glowing and a little crazy. Her hands cupped his face. "When?"

"Now. The next five minutes." He turned his face and kissed her palm. "Whenever you say. I want you to be mine, wholly mine . . . soon. I want to be yours. I want what I have to be yours."

"I want you, too." She placed her lips on his and kissed him gently and sweetly, and with deep dedication. "I won't ask you how long we'll be together like this. I know you'll be in my heart forever."

"Sweetheart! Don't stop loving me." His voice was no more than a ragged whisper, a strand of breath. "It's so good to know you love me."

It had been so long since anyone had loved him, almost a lifetime. He wondered if she realized that or guessed how her sweet, caring presence filled that vacant place in his heart. He drew her close so he could feel the lovely fullness of her small b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressing into his chest. He moved his hands to her hips. She was perfect and perfectly desirable, the source and fulfillment of all his dreams.

They sat quietly for a long while just holding each other. The wonder of the love they felt for each other kept them in an awed silence. Vanessa no longer felt drab or inferior. She felt beautiful and loved. She loved this man with the golden eyes. She loved the sound of his voice, the line of his jaw, the curve of his mouth and even the scar across his cheek that had given him pain.

She made a silent vow to do everything in her power to keep him with her forever, but if fate tore them apart, she would have a thousand sweet memories to cherish. She would store them away inside so that when she was alone she'd be able to take them out of her heart like little treasures. She didn't want it to be that way, but if that was all she could have. . . .

Kain announced their plans to be married while they were at the supper table. Vanessa had already whispered the news to Ellie. The men stood to lean across the table and shake his hand. His smile was beautiful and his eyes flashed continually to the woman beside him. Her slightly flushed cheeks made her sparkling eyes seem all the brighter, clearer. Her hair was piled on top of her head and the blue ribbon Kain had given her was wrapped around the bun. Ellie looked at her with misty eyes. Vanessa had never been lovelier.

"You're going to marry Van? Well, dog my cats, Kain. You just started courting her." Henry, excited by the news, forgot what he was doing and piled more and more rice on his plate, until Mary Ben reached over and gently took the bowl from his hand.

"Have you decided when and where?" Ellie asked. "Oh, my! Will we have time to make a dress?"

"If you can do it in a week," Kain said, squeezing Vanessa's hand tightly under the table. "I'll see if we can get the preacher out here next Sunday."

"That's six days from now!" Ellie's voice squeaked.

"I don't need a new dress, Aunt Ellie. I can wear the blue silk with mutton sleeves. I've only worn it once. There'll be enough to do without you staying up nights to sew. Isn't that right, Kain?"

"You can wear just what you have on, honey. It'll be all right with me. Anything," he said with a chuckle. "Even those britches you wore on the trail."

"They were comfortable. It isn't fair that women have to wear yards and yards of skirts flapping around their legs."

"It's a shame, sweetheart, that they hide all that prettiness from the world!" Kain had to force his teasing eyes from her glowing face to look at Ellie. "Vanessa and I want to be married here. I want to invite my friends. One of them is part Indian and he and his wife wouldn't feel welcome at the church. It'll mean extra work for you, preparing food and finding places for them all to sleep."

"I don't mind that. Oh, dear, what will we have in the way of food? Thank goodness for you, Clay. Do you suppose you could get another antelope?"

"I 'spect I could, ma'am. But I got a idea. Me 'n Jeb's cooked many a steer fer a whoop-de-la. If'n ya want, we'll get ya one 'n cook it fer ya, Texas style."

"You mean dig a pit, fill it with coals, put in the steer and cover it for a few days?" Kain saw the pleased look that covered the Texan's face.

"Ya've et pit-cooked steer meat?"

"You bet! Down in Fort Worth. It'll be a treat to have it again. They've got stock pens in town. Let me know when you want to go pick one out."

"It's settled?" Ellie asked, then sighed with relief when both men nodded. "Now all I have to worry about is the rest of the food and the sleeping arrangements. How many will be here, Kain?"

"There'll be the Cooper Parnells, the Logan Horns, and my friends, Fort Griffin and Bonnie. They live down on the Blue, and I don't know if there's enough time to get word to him, but if he can't get here in time for the wedding it'll be shortly after. And, oh yes, Cooper's mother and her husband. They live on the Morning Sun and can come over with Logan and his family."

"We can use four of the bedrooms on the second floor. I'll sleep in with Mary Ben, and Henry can go to the bunkhouse with John, Jeb and Clay."

"Ma, I want to say something." Henry spoke up firmly.

"Yes, son?"

"Remember that I told you that Mary Ben and I want to get married?" Ellie's quick intake of breath could be heard in the quiet following Henry's statement.

"Henry!" Mary Ben hissed and nudged him with her elbow.

"Don't be Henryin' me, Mary Ben. I'm going to say it. I'm going to marry Mary Ben sometime, Ma. Why can't we get married when Van and Kain get married?"

All eyes turned from Henry to Ellie. "Well, sona""

"I already asked John. Kain said I ought to ask him because John's like Mary Ben's pa."

Vanessa looked at her cousin with pride. Henry had changed. He was speaking out for what he wanted.

Ellie's troubled eyes turned to Kain.

"If they have your consent and John's, Ellie, Vanessa and I would be proud to share our wedding day with Henry and Mary Ben," he said.

"What do you think, John?" Ellie asked. "Mary Ben has been with my son enough to realize what it will mean to be married to him. I'm very fond of her. If they marry, she'll be like a daughter to me."