Chapter Eighteen
Daniel
Patty had been thoughtful enough to put off actually packing the picnic basket once she’d heard the source of all the commotion. She was just coming around to check on Dancer and Pete again when I bumped into her outside the medical suite. In less than a minute, she had assessed the dietary needs of everyone who refused to leave, some for Dancer, the rest out of loyalty to Pete.
She had me walk her back to the big house and set up meals for Pete, Verica, Dr. Pallace, and the men still hanging about wanting to be useful. My father and I set up a table outside the suite while she turned her attention to my abbreviated proposal surprise and by the time I had Verica and the men taken care of, my mother was filling a picnic basket with the petit fours and elegant, little meal she had made for Rachel and me.
She handed me the basket, gave me instructions regarding which wine would work with the meal and the question, and was out the door to help serve the evening meal at the stable. Fortunately, she had done it many times during difficult births, as well as the (blessedly few) times illness had rampaged through our livestock. Patty assured me they had everything under control and urged me to relax and enjoy the evening. I still had second thoughts about proposing after such a crazy and scary event. But, as my mother had reminded me, “If she’s going to live on a ranch, she’s going to get used to a crazy life.”
With that in mind, and hoping Rachel hadn’t changed hers after finding a rattlesnake in the stable only two stalls down from her beloved Peacemaker, I knocked to announce myself and walked into her quarters.
The living area was quiet and cooling quickly as night fell, but I could hear the shower running in the bathroom off the master suite. I lit a fire in the stone fireplace and slipped Skipper a treat of hard salami before letting him into the bathroom and closing the door behind him to keep him out of the food I was laying out.
The rug on the floor was real bearskin, but better judgment prevailed and I unfolded and laid out a picnic blanket over the rug before uncovering the small trays of cheese, fruit, tea cakes, and fresh French bread from the basket and setting them out on the large coffee table.
Almost as an afterthought, I remembered to uncork the wine and let it sit, hoping that it would have long enough before she ate. I looked at the scene I’d set in the flickering firelight and wondered if it was romantic enough to, at least temporarily, make her forget that we’d almost lost Pretty Dancer today. But for her quick thinking and practical veterinary skills, I reminded myself.
I heard muffled laughter as Rachel chided Skipper for being gross and licking her feet, and did one last quick assessment of my handiwork. Pleased with my results, I remembered to take off my boots and hat and hurried to the bedroom to catch Skipper before he slipped out and went to town on the food.
Rachel was fresh from the shower, damp and lovely in her towel, long hair dripping down her back as she giggled and danced in place, trying to stop Skipper. He, on the other hand, was excited to finally have his best friend back after a long evening being cooped up alone as Rachel had dealt with Dancer. He pounced and sprang away and lunged again like a puppy on a toy. She glanced at me and her eyes lit up.
“Get Daniel, Skipper; go get him, boy!” she gasped and crouched as Skipper wagged the whole back end of his body at her. He followed her pointing finger and obedient to a fault, he leapt at me as Rachel laughed out loud at my dismay.
“Oh, down, Skip. Down boy,” I chuckled as he wriggled on his back around my feet begging for attention. I scratched his belly and his tongue fell out sideways, lolling as he grinned. Rachel took the opportunity to lose the towel, and when I looked up, she was standing completely naked in front of her closet with her back to me.
In an instant, my jeans were a hell of a lot snugger, and I breathed out in a long, low whistle. She flinched, but pretended she hadn’t heard me and kept sorting through her clothes without turning around. It only took a few short steps to cross the room and slide my hands over her skin as she gasped.
“God, you are pretty,” I breathed in her ear as she shuddered under my hands. “Don’t wear too much. I don’t think we should waste a whole lot of time to get you naked again,” I leered. I grabbed the frilly, pink panties out of her hand and threw them across the room, fighting the urge to turn around as I heard Skipper bound over the bed after them.
“He’s going to eat those,” she remarked drily as she began to pull a dress off its hanger. I didn’t answer, but slid my hands down over her breasts and her stomach and leaned into her as I slipped my hand between her legs to cup her there. She gasped, but moved her legs a tiny bit farther apart so I could gently massage the mound of her in my hand.
“My God. You’re killing me; please just take me,” she panted as I used my fingers on her.
“Not yet, love. I have to feed you first.” I kissed the back of her neck gently and tried to pull my hand away. With an almost angry growl, she pressed her hand against mine, holding it in place. She ground herself against my hand and tilted her head back to kiss me and I obliged, taking her breast in my other hand while I explored her mouth with my tongue.
Dinner forgotten, I picked her up without moving my hands from either her sweet, wet heat or her breast and tossed her on the bed. She sat up and tore at my pants, sliding them down over my hips until she released me, hard and erect, and held me in her hands, humming and licking her lips.
“Oh God, I need you,” she breathed staring up at me her mouth perilously close to my throbbing erection. “Do you want a kiss?”
I nodded dumbly, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, and my eyes closed automatically as she slid her lips over me and pushed down until I felt them against my stomach, and I was deep inside her. With a gasp I pulled away, afraid that I’d lose control right then and there.
“I want to make love to you,” I begged. I shoved her back on the bed and slid her up until her head was at her pillows. She lifted herself the last few inches so that her wet hair lay across the pillow, leaving long, wet stains that made me think of other things.
I kissed her gently from her thighs all the way up her body, leaving nothing untouched by my lips and tongue as she writhed beneath me. I whispered my love to her at every stop, paying special attention to the dripping wetness I drank in as I stared up the long line of her body. I moved up the webbing of scars that were hers, but also the failed attempt of the world to stop her, to end the force of nature that she was. I licked and teased one nipple, then the other, while my fingers found their home inside her and pulled her closer to the edge of release.
When I finally slid my slippery fingers into her mouth, I slipped inside her with a long, slow push that made her cry out around them. She lifted her hips and I replaced my fingers with my tongue, tasting her on her own lips while I thrust into her. Her hands snaked around my neck and she fisted her hands into my hair, so I did the same, winding her long, damp tendrils around my hand and pulling her head back so I could suck and kiss the soft skin of her throat.
When I released her, she kissed me hard and pulled my lower lip between her teeth, sucking it hard as I felt her tighten around me, squeezing down as she came screaming into my mouth. I felt her drag me over the edge with her and came hard and fast, slamming into her and holding her there until I could breathe again.
I collapsed to the side and dragged her onto me, where she lay draped over me, scratching Skipper’s ears as he popped his head up to check on us. Realizing we were going to be still, he jumped up onto the bed and settled himself at the foot of it after turning in circles and nosing the bedding into the semblance of a nest around him.
“This wasn’t what I had planned,” I confessed as we lay in each other’s arms. “I brought food. It’s out in the living room.”
She laughed, a low and feminine sound that made my body consider round two an actual possibility. “You could have just let me put clothes on,” she reminded me. I snorted.
“Now you’re talking crazy, woman,” I chided her. She laughed again and snuggled into my side.
“I hate to admit it, but I’m starving,” she said, pushing closer into my side.
“Me, too, darlin’. Why don’t you just throw on a robe and see what Patty set aside for us from dinner. Rachel nodded her head and slipped into a short kimono, tying the belt around her waist to keep it from falling open. My face must have shown my annoyance with her modesty because she laughed out loud and leaned over to kiss me chastely.
“Feed me now, and I’ll take it off for you again later,” she assured me as I slipped my jeans back up over my hips. I decided to forego the belt and shirt and followed her out to the living room after trapping Skipper behind the bedroom door.
The fire had burned down a little and the room was toasty and inviting as we sat and I poured her a glass of the sparkling, white wine. At first, we ate in silence, attacking the food like starving people. After a few minutes, our hunger sated, we slowed down and picked at the fruits and cheese, going over the events of the day.
I admitted that Verica’s willingness to wade in had won me over, and I was planning to cancel the other interviews. I didn’t bother sharing that a few had already canceled, not wanting to be associated with anyone who would consider working with her.
Finally, at the moment I’d been rehearsing and waiting for, I kept finding ways to postpone it, picking at the food, massaging Rachel’s shoulders until she was nearly asleep, and clearing away the remnants of supper. Out of distractions, I looked over at Rachel, who was watching me with a pleased smile on her face.
“What are you thinking?” I asked, suddenly self-conscious.
“Just thinking about how nice it will be to go to bed with you tonight,” she replied, lifting her knees to her chin as she sat on the floor. The view from my seat across the blanket was enough to make my mouth go dry and I gathered myself together to finally say what I needed, even if only to get past it and back inside her, where I belonged.
“Rachel, you have changed a lot about this place since you arrived,” I began, sitting closer to her and taking her hand in mine. She put her knees down and watched me intently. I pulled the ring out of its hiding place in the basket and opened the box for her to see the softly glinting stone in its setting.
“Daniel, what?” she began to ask before I cut her off.
“Just let me finish, before I lose my nerve.” I swallowed hard and continued. “I can’t remember my life before you, and I can’t imagine it if you leave.” I knelt on one knee and plunged ahead. “Marry me, Rachel. Be my wife and my partner, and I won’t let you down.” I held the ring in front of me as she sat there, a stunned look on her face.
“Oh, Daniel, I wasn’t expecting this,” she breathed, and I saw the telltale shaking begin in her hands. “I can’t marry you, Daniel. It’s just not fair.” She sniffed and hid her face in her hands while I sat there holding the ring. The room spun and I blinked slowly, trying to figure out what to do next. I had promised myself I wouldn’t beg if she said “no,” but the words escaped unbidden from my lips.
“Why?” the word echoed harshly in the rafters. “How isn’t it fair?” I tried to keep my tone level, but bile rose in my throat. Instead of pulling away, Rachel collapsed into my lap, and I flinched as a low wail came from her.
“I can’t give you babies, Daniel,” she sobbed in a half-whisper, her tears hot on my leg. “I just can’t. You’ve seen the scars. You know I’m telling you the truth.” She sat up and wiped her nose on the sleeve of the cotton robe. “I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid it was too much to share, that it would be forward of me to assume our relationship was even going there.” She breathed deeply and controlled her tears.
“You can’t marry me because you can’t get pregnant. You can’t get pregnant because that piece of trash put you in harms’ way and you almost died,” I said the words carefully, but the more I spoke, the angrier I knew I sounded.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have wasted your time,” she said softly from her sleeve as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You were so wonderful. I just couldn’t resist being with you as long as I could.” She sniffed again and stared at the floor.
“I’m not asking you to be my baby machine,” I scolded her. “I’m marrying you because you’re the woman I never knew I could even dream about.” I tipped her face up and forced her to look at me. “I’m asking you because I don’t want to live another day without knowing that you will be mine forever.” I fought the frustration I felt as she looked at me in shock.
“You want to marry me even though I can’t give you a son to carry on the family business?” she asked, amazed that it was even a possibility.
“I’d marry you if it meant I only had another year at the ranch,” I replied. “But, that’s not going to happen, because you’re going to stay forever, right?” I waved the ring under her nose like a bribe. She laughed and cupped my face in her hands.
“No,” she declared, adding to it before I could even pull away. “There are a couple of things we have to work out first.” She kissed my numb lips. “I can’t just quit school, and I won’t just quit you,” she pointed out, softening the blow. “I appreciate that you want me in spite of my…issues.” Rachel took the ring from my hand and closed the box, after giving it a look of longing.
“So, you’re not saying no, you’re saying…” My voice trailed off and I waited for her to finish the sentence.
“I’m saying, as soon as I know my past isn’t going to hurt your future, and as soon as I know I can still finish the work I need to do at school, I would be delighted to be your wife, even if all I’m good for is mucking stalls and forcing tubes into horses’ orifices.” She smiled. I opened the box and took out the ring.
“Then there’s no reason not to wear this,” I pointed out. “Just because we’re not setting a date doesn’t mean you get to walk around looking like you’re available, woman,” I growled at her. I slid the filigreed platinum over her slender finger, watching the diamond wink in the firelight.
“It’s beautiful,” she admitted, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
“It’s one of a kind, just like the owner,” I boasted, running my fingers through her damp hair. “And don’t think I’m letting you off the hook with this ‘my past will hurt you’ horse-pucky, either.” I waved my finger in front of her face until she giggled. “Your past, and my past, are not things we have to handle alone.” She climbed into my lap and I tried to focus on the matter at hand, instead of her tight, bare bottom resting on my thighs.
“You know he’ll probably make more trouble for you if he finds out. Can we at least keep it a secret?” she asked me in a whisper. I wrapped my arms around her and silently promised myself to hunt Steed down and teach him the meaning of repentance.
“It doesn’t have to leave the ranch,” I agreed. “But everyone already knows I was asking, so it won’t exactly be a secret,” I admitted. I ran my fingers over the cool skin of her thighs as I watched her preen and move the ring in the firelight, making little sounds of pleasure as she held it up for us both to see.
“It’s a beautiful ring,” she mused. “But what makes it even prettier is that it means you chose me.” I thought for a moment about what she’d said.
“Actually, you are the one wearing it, so by your words, what really makes it beautiful, is that you, chose me,” I argued gently.
I moved her hair away from her neck and kissed her softly moving my way up to her temple and sliding my hand into her kimono at the same time. As my hand slid over her breast, clamping her nipple between my fingers and kneading it to attention, she opened her mouth to me and we kissed. As I lay her down on the blanket and opened her robe, I thought to myself that for such a rough start, the day had turned out almost better than I’d planned.