Promises: Promises Prevail Part 35

She ducked her head so he wouldn't see the nervousness she was sure was apparent in her eyes.

Having to mingle in town was always dicey. In her restaurant she had control, but going from store to store meant exposure and risk.

"You have your meeting." She hefted Bri's weight toher hip.

His forefinger b.u.mped up her chin. "I can reschedule."

"I'm just going to get some things."

"I have an account at the store. Get whatever you want."

"You told me that twice already."

His finger stroked her cheek as the wind blew his hair around his shoulders.

"I'll probably keep saying it until I believe you mean to spend it."

"We don't need much."

"Suns.h.i.+ne, I've got more money than you could spend on your most frivolous day. It's all just been sitting there, waiting for my wife to come along."

"I'll take good care of it." She rested her fingers on his arm, loving the way his muscles flexed under her touch.

His breath hissed out from between his teeth. "I don't want you to take care of it. I want you to run amok with it." He tipped her chin up again with his thumb. The brim of his hat blocked the sun as his head tilted. "If I don't come back to find this wagon loaded to the sides with every notion and knickknack that you need or fancy, I'm going to be p.i.s.sed."He punctuated the statement with a hard kiss. It was over before it began. She licked her lips, catching a lingering flicker of his taste. "I'll do my best."

"You sure you don't want to tell me what has your tail in a twist about a day of shopping?" He smoothed his thumb over her lips, the worry still lingering in his dark eyes.

"Yes." She was one hundred percent sure. If she had her way she'd go to her grave with the information.

He held her chin and her gaze. She tried not to flinch.

She made it for as long as she could hold her breath before she had to lower hers. Before Clint, looking a man in the eye had always meant a severe beating. She felt his lips brush the top of her head.

"You're doing better, Suns.h.i.+ne."

"Thank you."

"If you need me I'll be at the bank or the saloon."

"The saloon?" It came out sharper than she intended.

The bitter taste of jealousy filled her mouth. She clenched her fingers on her cloak. It wasn't her place to question Clint's movements.

"Jasper likes to talk business over a drink."

"You don't drink."

"Sure I do."

"Oh." A drink in his office wouldn't be the same asin the saloon where there were loose women available to pour.

"And Jenna?"

The thumb under her chin insisted she raise her face.

She didn't want to. She knew he'd be able to see the truth. She didn't want another woman anywhere near him.

"Look at me, Jenna."

She did, blinking when wind whipped his hair across her face in a silken reprimand.

"You don't have to worry about me with other women."

"I wouldn't presume-"

His thumb stroked over her lower lip, pulling it away from her teeth as he drawled, "I want you to presume, baby. I want you to put your brand all over me."

She looked at him. There was no mockery in his gaze, no glimmer of humor. He was dead serious. She knew he meant that, but he didn't know everything about her, what she'd done. It was easy to make bold statements when a person didn't know everything.

"You're going to be late for your meeting."

His hand dropped from her face. "And you have a ton of shopping to do.""I've got my list." The paper crinkled in her palm against Brianna's back as she tightened her grip.

"Let me see it." She handed it over without a qualm.

She'd been very thorough in a.s.sessing their needs.

Running a house was her one area of expertise. There was absolutely no reason for his frown.

"What?" Her tone brought a smile to the corners of his mouth. The man was pure contrary.

"You forgot something."

"What."

"I've got it." He pulled a pencil from his pocket and leaned the sc.r.a.p of brown paper against the wagon. With every scratch of the pencil, her resentment grew. There was no way she'd forgotten all that. And still he kept writing. She tapped her toe impatiently. His smile broadened. "No sense tapping your foot and frowning.

I'm not making another run into town until a week from Sat.u.r.day. It's important the list be complete."

"It is complete."

"Now it's complete." With a last tap of the lead point on paper, he folded the list and handed it back to her.

She started to open it. He folded her hand around the paper and kissed her again, this time more softly and with an edge of humor. His tongue traced the seam of her lips-slow and easy-the way that he knew fractured her grasp on propriety until, right there in the street, infront of the mercantile, with her daughter in her arms, and the town no doubt watching, she leaned into him, needing more of his touch, his flavor, his heat.

"Ah Suns.h.i.+ne, you tempt me."

He didn't sound at all upset about it. Despite the blush that she knew made her cheeks cherry red, she smiled. "I'm doing my best."

The heat level in his gaze went from a spark to a flagrant roar. Against her thigh, his c.o.c.k surged and thickened. Oh, he liked it when she was bold. And truth be told, with every attempt she was liking it more and more. She liked being a temptress. At least with Clint.

"You, Suns.h.i.+ne, could burn a man to cinders." He cupped her face in his callused palm. She hadn't recognized the slight hitch in his breath before, but now she knew it for what it was. Desire. For her. A desire he wasn't shy about showing her. She liked that, maybe best of all.

She fought to hold his gaze and admitted, "I'm glad you think so."

His low laugh surrounded her like a hug. "So am I, Suns.h.i.+ne. So am I."

He cupped her elbow. "I'll meet you at the bakery in about three hours?" he confirmed as he helped her up the wooden steps.

She nodded. "Mara said Lorie has it all underShe nodded. "Mara said Lorie has it all under control."

"But I imagine you're anxious to see for yourself?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I would be."

In that case she didn't feel badly admitting the truth.

"I am."

He opened the door to the mercantile. The little bell above the door jangled as she turned. He looked over her head into the shop, and a fleeting frown creased his forehead before he took her mouth with his, kissing her hard and pa.s.sionately, like a man making a point. When she was gasping for breath, he pulled back, smoothing the moisture from her lips with his thumb. He gently flicked Bri's nose, his hard face softening as she screwed up her face in responses.

"I'll catch up with you later." With a tip of his hat to the occupants of the shop behind her, he was off. She watched him head down the wooden walk, his long legs eating up distance with that smooth, effortless grace that spoke of power. He was a fine figure of a man-broad shouldered, lean hipped, and all hers. She didn't know if she'd ever get used to it.

Bri squirmed and she s.h.i.+fted her up on her hip. The paper in her hand rustled. Bracing Bri on her forearm, she opened the list and read his additions. He wanted her to have a m.u.f.f for her hands, fancy dresses, newboots, the rose powder she liked, chocolate, cooking utensils, clothes for her and Brianna, chocolate.

The repeat of chocolate made her smile. He didn't have to look too deeply to see her liking for that, but it was what he added last that brought tears to her eyes.

She brushed the pad of her thumb over the hastily written list. There, in his bold masculine scrawl were the words, Anything your heart desires.

She was beginning to think he meant it.* * * * *

An hour later both Jenna and Brianna were played out. The mail order catalogue was filled with every conceivable item a human could want. And at prices that made her gasp. Like how much they wanted for that fancy new dress she kept coming back to over and over.

"Everything all right, Mrs. McKinnely?" Eloise Fawcett asked.

Jenna winced. She must have gasped aloud again.

She glanced between the stacks of new denims until she located Eloise. She was behind the counter portioning sugar into small bags.

"I'm fine."

"Do you need some help?" Eloise's eyes were a warm blue under her raised brows.

"Oh no. There are just so many options..."

"It's amazing, all the things they come up with back East, isn't it?" she asked without breaking her rhythm.

It was more than amazing. It was mind-staggering.

"Yes."

"Do you need more paper?" She tucked a pencil into her soft brown hair."Gracious no." Jenna didn't know how she was going to sort through everything she'd already put down as a possible.

"That Clint can be an impatient one, can't he?" Eloise didn't wait for a response, just launched into the rest of what she wanted to say. "Imagine giving a new bride only one day to make all of her purchases."

Jenna didn't correct Eloise's a.s.sumption. It was better that the pushy shopkeeper think this was a one-shot deal instead of the open invitation she had a feeling Clint intended to extend. Bri began to fuss again. She jostled her on her hip while trying desperately to add the impossibly long row of numbers. No matter what Clint had said, there was no way he could want her to spend this much.

"Why I remember when he bought Elijah's place. He wanted everything now, without a thought to the expense, not to mention how difficult it is to get items freighted."

"It was nice of you to accommodate him." She looked down at her list. She hadn't realized it would cost money to freight the items on top of paying for them.

"We were happy to do it. Fawcett Mercantile prides itself on meeting all its patrons' needs with the utmost efficiency." Eloise grabbed up the small bags, disappearing from sight for a second as she turned to putthem on the shelf behind her.

"I'm sure Clint appreciated it." And they made a hefty profit, but being a businesswoman herself, Jenna couldn't begrudge Eloise the success.

Eloise popped back into view, smoothing her ap.r.o.n and then her hair. "We are the ones who appreciate the business."

Jenna ignored the "we". Technically, Eloise co- owned the mercantile with her brother, but the one who did the work and made it a viable business was Eloise.

Her brother Mark merely pocketed his half of the profits and wandered through every gambling saloon in the west losing it as fast as she sent it. He only came back into town when he needed more money. Thank G.o.d it had been a year since his last visit.

Bri's fidgeting escalated to fussing. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to finish this later. Bri needs attention."

"Do you want to use the back room?"

Her "no" was probably a bit hasty to be polite, but there was no way Jenna was going back there. Even if Mark was hundreds of miles away. "I need to check out things at Sweet Thyme anyway."

Eloise nodded, a frown marring her pleasant features. "Lorie seems to be doing a good job, but you can never be too careful. It's not the same as you being there."No, it wasn't. But she seriously didn't know how she was going to manage running a home, being a mother, and running the bakery. Right now she was baking a lot at Clint's home and having one of the hands drive the goods in, but even that was getting difficult. It would be ideal if Lorie was a great baker, but while she did phenomenal bread, her other baked goods were lackl.u.s.ter, though getting better.

Laying Bri on the counter, Jenna folded her list and tucked it into her pocket as she reached for her cloak. She swung it around her shoulders. As it flared behind her, there was a huge crash. She froze. Oh heavens! What had she broken?

A flash of movement caught her eyes. A blur of black and brown before Eloise's husband Dan leapt out of the back room and pulled the blur to a halt.

"Got you!" It was a boy. A wild-haired, wild-eyed, filthy boy. His dark skin and darker eyes proclaimed him Indian. The torn clothes and rail-thin frame proclaimed him homeless. Dan pulled him up short by a handful of s.h.i.+rt and hair.

The boy swung around with his fist, threats tumbling from his mouth in an incomprehensible torrent of sound.

The blow glanced off of Dan's groin. Dan's curses joined the melee as he raised his fist. His fist was huge, a grown man against a gangly boy. Jenna caught her breath andreleased it on a protest, "Don't!"

Dan ignored her cry, punching the boy in the stomach, letting him drop as he doubled over and heaved. "d.a.m.n thieving Indian!"

With a quick glance to make sure Bri was secure, Jenna raced around the counter and between the aisles.

She got there just in time to hear Dan order Eloise to go get the sheriff, and to see the boy whip a knife out of his threadbare moccasin.

"No!"