Darlin' Druid Read online

  Nevertheless, he was going to have a devil of a time keeping his hands off the lovely redhead after today. He shifted slightly, grimacing as the fiery pain in his shoulder eclipsed the lingering ache of unsatisfied desire.

  “You’re right, Jessie Devlin,” he muttered, “I never should have kissed you.”

  * * *

  Mrs. Cooper gave him a frosty look as she applied a fresh dressing to his shoulder. “You’re lucky, Captain. The bleeding has almost stopped. I feared I might need to apply another hot poultice, and I doubt you would have enjoyed that.”

  “No, ma’am, I expect not,” he said. Restored to his position on the bed, with the sheet and patchwork quilt covering his lower half, he rolled his head on the pillow to watch her work. A smile tugged at his mouth. The woman might look like a kindly grandmother, but she could dress a wound better than an army sawbones. He could see she was also no fool. She’d guessed there was more to his mishap than a premature attempt to get out of bed, as Jessie had implied.

  “I’m sure you’ll exercise more caution from now on, won’t you,” she said, flinty eyes making her double meaning very clear.

  “Yes, ma’am, you have my word on it.” Turning his head, he eyed Jessie, who stood near the door with her hands primly folded, avoiding his gaze.

  “Jessie, dear,” Mrs. Cooper said, “will you help the captain sit up for a moment so I can wrap this bandage around him?”

  Wary bluebonnet eyes met David’s, then skipped away. Nodding silently, she stepped over to the bed and gingerly planted one knee on the mattress beside him. “I’ll need to slip my arm under ye,” she said, reaching out her hand but stopping in mid-motion.

  “Go ahead,” he replied curtly. He had resolved to keep his distance from her, but her reluctance to touch him rankled. Again, he cursed himself for overstepping the line a while ago.

  She leaned close, sliding her arm beneath his shoulders. Her touch triggered an electric jolt that shot through him. He drank in her intoxicating scent as she helped him sit up, and to his chagrin, hot blood rushed to his groin. When her breast brushed his arm, he groaned and swiftly raised one knee to conceal his growing problem beneath the covers.

  “Hang on, Captain,” Mrs. Cooper said, misinterpreting his sound. “This will only take a minute.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he muttered between his teeth, praying he wouldn’t embarrass himself and the two women.

  “What a lovely ring you have on that chain, Captain,” his gray-haired nurse remarked, winding the length of bandage around his upper torso. “Is it your wife’s?”

  Ordinarily, David would have balked at her prying question, but right now he welcomed any distraction. “No, ma’am, I’m not married,” he replied. “The ring belonged to my mother. She died when I was a boy. My father gave me her ring when I turned sixteen. I guess he hoped I’d pass it on to my bride one day.” He hadn’t meant to say that much, but the words seemed to spill out of their own accord.

  “I’m sure that’s the case.” Mrs. Cooper gave him a motherly smile as she tucked in the end of the bandage. “There, that should do it. You can let him lie back now, Jessie.”

  David sighed when his head hit the pillow, relieved to escape the Irish temptress’s touch. Keeping the covers tented with his bent knee, he willed his unruly body to settle down as Jessie backed away.

  “We’ll leave you to rest for a while, Captain,” Mrs. Cooper said, gathering up the soiled bandages. She motioned for Jessie to follow as she headed for the door. “If you need anything, just call.”

  David hastily cleared his throat. “Excuse me, ma’am, but I wonder if Miss Devlin might help me with a small task.”

  Jessie stopped short and threw him a startled look tinged with panic. Again, her skittishness nettled him.

  Mrs. Cooper arched her eyebrows at him. “Certainly, Captain, so long as this task doesn’t involve any more exertions on your part,” she replied, glancing pointedly at Jessie.

  He chuckled. “No, ma’am, I promise it won’t.”

  “Good.” Sending Jessie a reassuring smile, the older woman turned and walked out, leaving the door ajar.

  As her footsteps receded, David watched Jessie avoid his gaze and nervously finger her collar. “Relax. I’m not about to jump off this bed and attack you,” he said irritably.

  She looked at him, eyes glittering angrily. “And I’m not about to give ye the chance,” she retorted, hands clenched at her sides.

  Relieved to know she’d regained her fighting spirit, he let her sharp comment pass. “I need to let my commander at FortSanders know I’ve been delayed,” he said curtly. “Will you take a message to the telegraph office for me?”

  She gave him a tight smile. “I’ll be happy to, Captain. After all, ’tis my fault you’re hurt, as ye reminded me. And since I owe ye my life, I’ll do anything I can to repay my debt to ye. Anything proper, that is.”

  “Your gratitude overwhelms me,” he gritted. “And don’t worry, I won’t offend your sense of propriety again.” He was tempted to tell her she could catch the next train to Utah for all he cared, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Instead, he ordered her to fetch pen and paper.

  Minutes later, following Milly’s directions to the telegraph office, Jessie walked Grand Island’s dusty streets with David’s message in hand. Along the way, she sorted through her jumbled feelings for him.

  He was the most high-handed, infuriating man she’d ever met, with the possible exception of her father. Come to think of it, he reminded her of Da. And she was destined to love this man?

  “Mother Mary, protect me!” she prayed under her breath.

  Then she recalled David’s fierce kiss and blushed. She’d been kissed by a number of her old beaus, but none had devoured her mouth like a plundering pirate the way David had. And they certainly hadn’t dared touch her breasts. She would have slapped them silly if they had!

  Aye, but they were little more than boys, while David Taylor was a man, and none of them had made her feel the way he’d made her feel at first – ‘all warm and willing’ as he’d put it. She shivered at the memory of the bone-melting sensations David had aroused within her. She had finally tasted desire, she realized.

  But then he’d gone from tenderly wooing her to virtually attacking her in the space of a heartbeat, frightening her out of her wits. Remembering how often Tye had warned her to be cautious with her beaus, saying a man could sometimes forget himself, she now knew what he’d meant.

  She sighed, wishing David would show her the gentleness he’d always shown in her dreams. Dear God, she was so confused, so afraid she’d made a terrible mistake in seeking him out.

  Perhaps she should tell him about her dreams and her prophetic vision of him. If he knew, might he love her as she yearned for him to do? But what if he regarded her second sight as the devil’s work the way her father did? Worse still, he might think her mad and simply refuse to believe her.

  So what was she to do, abandon her quest because David didn’t meet her expectations? She shook her head and squared her shoulders, refusing to give up on him and admit defeat. Not yet, anyway.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Jessie steadied her hand and carefully applied the razor to David’s jaw. Just a few more strokes and she’d be done, thank heaven! The cursed man was driving her mad.

  He sat propped up by several pillows, bare to the waist except for the swath of white bandage circling his upper chest and shoulder and the small towel draped around his throat. She had to constantly fight the urge to stare at his muscular form, and his unique male scent, so familiar to her by now that she would recognize him blindfolded, made her long to lean close and nuzzle his skin. Adding to her discomfort, he watched her every move, straining her taut nerves almost to the breaking point.

  Chancing a quick upward glance, she caught him staring at her lips. His eyes met hers and for a split second she saw raw hunger in their depths; then it was gone, but it was enough to shatter Jessie’s fragile control. In
haling sharply, she stared at him, unaware that her hand had begun to shake until David jerked away from the razor.

  “Damn, woman, be careful with that thing!” he barked, pressing a finger to his jaw. It came away bloody.

  “Oh! I’m sorry!” Snatching up a corner of the towel, she dabbed at the inch-long cut. In her haste, she got shaving soap in it.

  “Ouch!” He grimaced and swatted her hand away. “Let it be! And if you can’t handle that razor, I’d as soon grow a beard and keep what’s left of my hide.”

  “Saints above! If you’d stop watching me, ye great oaf, perhaps I’d be able to concentrate!” Jessie fired back. She regretted cutting him, but she was out of patience with his foul moods.

  His dark brows shot up in surprise. Canting his head, he studied her while absently scratching his chest below the bandage. A mocking light intensified the green of his eyes, and he grinned.

  “Why, Jessie darlin’, I didn’t know I bothered you so much.”

  “Don’t call me that!” she cried, feeling her face catch fire. “And I’ll have ye know I don’t enjoy being stared at by anyone.” She wasn’t about to admit how much he truly did bother her, not after the rude way he’d treated her over the past two days.

  He cocked an eyebrow and continued to grin.

  “D’ye want me to finish shavin’ ye or not?” she demanded, her brogue thick with annoyance.

  The grin gave way to his usual cranky scowl. “Go ahead. You can’t do much worse than you already have.”

  She glared at him, biting her tongue to contain her temper. Thankfully, he closed his eyes and kept them closed until she finished scraping his jaw. Afterward, she curtly asked if he wanted her to help him bathe and dress, since Milly had declared it safe for him to get up.

  “No!” he barked, shifting against his pillows. “I can wash myself and I sure as hell don’t need help putting on my pants. Just give me some fresh water and get out.”

  “With pleasure!” Springing to her feet, she dumped the whisker laden water out the open window, poured clean water into the washbowl and marched back to the bed. She set the bowl down next to him none too gently, sloshing water over the side. Ignoring his angry curse, she tossed a towel and washrag in his lap and stomped out, slamming the door behind her.

  “Ungrateful man!” she muttered, stalking down the hall.

  She found Milly out back in her garden, hoeing the potato patch. The matron wore a dirt-smudged smock over her dress and a faded bonnet to protect her face from the morning sun. Not caring that she hadn’t donned her own bonnet or that her ancient blue dress would get dirty, Jessie dropped to her knees by the pole beans and began to yank weeds from the dusty earth. She ignored Milly’s curious stare.

  “Jessie? Weren’t you going to help Captain Taylor clean up?”

  “I shaved him. He can do the rest himself, so he says.” Jessie snorted in disgust. “That man is the surliest devil on the face of the earth! He swore at me because of one wee nick on his precious face.”

  “Ah, I see,” Milly said, amusement lacing her tone. “You know, dear, you mustn’t take to heart anything he says right now. He’s tired of being confined and he’s taking out his irritation on the handiest person – you.”

  “Humph! The handiest fool I am, or I’d not put up with his insults.”

  Milly laughed outright. “As you’ve told me, the man saved your life. Staying to care for him even though he makes you furious doesn’t mean you’re a fool. It means you have a good heart.”

  “Aye? Well, at the moment I’d enjoy boxing his ears.”

  Another laugh. “I understand. I’d like to do exactly the same thing to Charles now and then.”

  Pausing in her assault on the weeds, Jessie glanced at the older woman, who had resumed her own excavations. “Ye would?”

  “Of course. That man can be so irritating.” Milly’s tone softened. “But then he’ll give me a special sort of look, and I’ll immediately forgive all his little foibles.”

  A look of love, Milly meant. Jessie had seen that look in David’s eyes in her dreams, but she’d nearly given up hope of ever really seeing him look at her that way. No matter how she tried to atone for the pain and trouble she had caused him, he seemed bent on making her miserable. When he wasn’t taunting and snapping at her, he treated her so coldly that she wanted to cry – except for that moment a while ago when he’d stared at her with a hungry look in his eyes. That had surprised her.

  “You’ll know what I’m talking about, dear, when the right man comes along,” Milly said. “Or perhaps he already has.”

  Frowning, Jessie sat back on her heels and picked at her bouquet of weeds. “If ye mean Captain Taylor, he doesn’t even like me.”

  “You think not? But you haven’t seen the way he watches you when you’re not looking, as if he very much wants to kiss you.”

  Jessie jerked her head up. “Oh,” she said faintly, stunned to learn this morning wasn’t the only time he’d gazed at her that way.

  “Exactly. But I fear he took my warning the other day a bit too seriously. And time is running out.” Milly gazed pensively at the dark gray clouds off to the west, where rain appeared to be falling.

  “He’ll be strong enough to travel soon, and then he will return to his post, while you will go on to Salt Lake City with your brother, I suppose.”

  The same thought worried Jessie. Coupled with David’s surly disposition and the antagonism between them, the prospect of parting ways with him made her dreams even less likely to come true.

  “But you never know, a lot could happen in the meantime,” Milly said with a casual shrug, and she went back to hoeing.

  Aye, I could give up and go home, Jessie thought glumly. But how would she pay her way back to Chicago? Tye needed what little money they had to purchase prospecting supplies. Besides, what was there for her to go home to? Supposing Da would even speak to her, he’d never let her forget the mistake she’d made in leaving, and sure as anything, he’d soon be after her again to marry someone she didn’t love. No, she could not go back.

  “You started to tell me about the Chicago Fire yesterday,” Milly said, interrupting Jessie’s brooding thoughts. “I’d be interested to hear more, if you don’t mind talking about it.”

  Jessie did not relish the subject, but maybe it would take her mind off David, for a little while at least. Bending to her task, she picked up the tale where she had left off yesterday.

  The rain arrived about a half-hour later, coming down in sheets and driving the women indoors. By then Jessie had described the great fire, glossing over the worst parts, and Milly had begun an account of her years as a nurse during the Civil War. She continued her story as the two of them set about cleaning the parlor.

  Down on her knees again, scrubbing the fireplace hearth while Milly swept the floor, Jessie listened in horror to tales of dreadful battles and even more dreadful battlefield hospitals. She was shocked and saddened to learn the Coopers had lost their eldest son in the war.

  “When it finally ended,” Milly added, “we needed a fresh start, so we came west from Indiana and put down roots here in Grand Island. Our younger son, John, wasn’t old enough to serve in the war, for which I will be eternally grateful.” She paused to smile proudly. “John is back east now, studying to be a doctor.” Her voice became barely audible over the patter of rain on the roof. “We’re lucky that he’s such a dedicated young man, but I do miss him so.”

  Jessie set down her scrub brush, climbed to her feet and walked over to Milly. “He’s the lucky one to have you for his mother,” she said, hugging the older woman fiercely.

  Returning her embrace, Milly sniffed then stepped back and patted Jessie’s cheek. “You’re a sweet child. I truly hope you find the happiness you’re looking for.”

  A man’s cough sounded before Jessie could reply. Turning her head, she saw David standing in the parlor entrance.

  “Why, Captain, don’t you look fine,” Milly said briskly. “Come h
ave a seat.” She waved him toward the sofa.

  Jessie eyed him warily, conceding that he did indeed look fine. He’d donned the black sling Milly had fashioned to support his right arm, and under it he wore a red shirt. The bright color set off his glossy brown hair and rakish features to perfection.

  He met her gaze, lips twisting in a mocking way that told her just how he felt about her. Then he smiled broadly at Milly, causing Jessie’s throat to constrict. He had never smiled at her that way. And he never would, she painfully concluded.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” he replied, “but if I’m intruding . . . ?”

  “Not at all. We were just visiting. You’re more than welcome to join us, isn’t he, Jessie.”

  Jessie shrugged and turned away. Ignoring David as he settled on the sofa, she stepped over to the fireplace, bent and scooped up her brush and pail. “I’ll scrub the captain’s room while he’s out here,” she said.

  “But, Jessie --”

  “I’m sure ye can find plenty to discuss without me,” she added in a shaky voice. Fearing she might burst into tears, she hastened from the room.

  “My goodness!” Milly exclaimed behind her. Then, in a flustered tone she said, “Well, um, you haven’t mentioned where you’re from, Captain.”

  “Texas. West of Waco,” David replied, his voice reaching Jessie as she marched down the hall. He sounded vaguely distracted, but not because of her, she was painfully certain.

  Milly laughed. “Ah, I thought I recognized your drawl. I met quite a few Texans during the war, being a nurse. Most of them wore gray, of course. I imagine you did, too.”

  “No, ma’am, I served the Union,” he said.

  Their words grew indistinct once Jessie entered David’s bedroom. Not that she cared to hear anything he had to say. She’d taken all the insults she could stomach from him. Furthermore, she had no hope left for the two of them, no matter what Milly said. As soon as she got a chance, she would let Tye know she was ready to leave, and the sooner the better.