Hawk's Way Collection: Faron And Garth. Joan Johnston

he wanted to. Her aroused, aching body cried out for fulfillment. She saw him hesitate, torn between taking what he wanted or letting her go.

      He whirled abruptly and headed for the sink on the back porch. He turned on the cold water full blast, yanked off his hat and threw it down, then stuck his head under the spigot. She stared as he cooled the back of his neck with the icy water. Then he stood and slung his wet hair back. His hands forked through the tangled black curls, setting them in some kind of order. Then he picked up his hat and settled it back on his head.

      Water still dripped from his nose and chin and clumped on his eyelashes. But no signs of passion remained when he looked at her again. “You’ve got some supper ready for me, I believe.”

      “Yes. I—Yes.” She turned and hurried inside, letting the screen door slam behind her. A moment later she heard it creak as he opened it and followed her inside.

      Belinda could hardly believe the gentleman who exchanged witticisms with Madelyn at dinner was the same cowboy who had kissed her senseless on the back porch. Faron was absolutely charming. She could see he was good for Madelyn. He made the old woman laugh and even blush once. Asking him to leave was out of the question, even though it was what Belinda desperately wanted to do.

      She urged Faron and Madelyn to stay in the dining room and talk while she cleared the table and washed the dishes. But she could hear everything they said through the open door to the kitchen. She cringed when she heard Madelyn ask whether Faron had ever been married.

      “No,” he answered.

      “Why not?” Madelyn asked.

      “Never found the right woman, I guess.”

      “What is it, exactly, you’re looking for?”

      There was a long pause before he answered, “I’ll know her when I find her.”

      Belinda smiled. Maybe Madelyn had met her match. Faron Whitelaw wasn’t the kind of man who could be manipulated. But she should have known her mother-in-law wouldn’t easily abandon her matchmaking efforts. Madelyn’s next question left Belinda gasping.

      “How do you like Belinda?”

      “She’s a hard worker.”

      Madelyn chuckled. “She said the same thing about you. I suppose that’s one thing you both have in common. I wonder if there are any others.”

      Again, that long pause.

      “I admit I thought Belinda was, well, a little more pampered than she’s turned out to be.”

      “Wayne wasn’t the most considerate of husbands.”

      Belinda gritted her teeth. She wasn’t about to let Madelyn start talking about her marriage. She grabbed the apple pie on the counter and marched back through the open doorway. “Dessert, anyone?”

      Belinda kept her expression bland, but she had a feeling she wasn’t fooling either of them.

      “I love apple pie,” Faron said. “I’ll take a piece. How about you, Maddy?”

      Belinda saw the flush rise on Madelyn’s cheeks as Faron turned his smile on her.

      “Why, I guess I will join you.”

      Faron turned that stunning smile on Belinda, and she felt flustered. She dropped the pie on the table and said, “I’ll go get some plates and the pie knife.

      She turned just in time to keep the two of them from seeing the color race up her throat. This situation was unbearable! She had spent so many years learning to control her emotions, learning to keep what she was feeling hidden, because Wayne inevitably used it against her. All that Cowboy had to do was smile at her and she felt young and foolish again.

      And desirable.

      Lord, Lord, Lord, he made her feel like he wanted to lick her up like an ice cream cone on a hot Sunday afternoon.

      Belinda leaned her forehead against the cool tile wall in the kitchen and took a deep breath. Then she scurried to find plates and a pie server before Faron came looking for her.

      She could hear voices again from the other room.

      “I’d love to play a little gin rummy,” Faron was saying. “Penny a point is fine with me.”

      “You sure you wouldn’t mind?” Madelyn asked.

      Belinda could hear the worry in the old woman’s voice. Madelyn didn’t like being a burden on anyone. She would know if Faron was lying about spending time with her. Belinda heaved a quiet sigh of relief when she heard Faron reply, “Maddy, there’s nothing I’d like better than skinning you at gin rummy.”

      Madelyn giggled. It was a youthful sound and one Belinda couldn’t remember ever hearing from the old woman. Had their lives with Wayne been so very grim? It was hard for Belinda to be objective. But hearing Madelyn tonight with her grandson made Belinda wish that things could have been different with Wayne.

      She put a smile on her face as she reentered the dining room. “Did I hear you say you’re going to challenge Madelyn to a game of rummy?” she asked Faron.

      “Yes, ma’am. Soon as I finish my pie.”

      Belinda served him a piece and set another in front of Madelyn. When she started to leave Faron asked, “Aren’t you going to have some, too?”

      “I’m not very hungry right now.” She kept her lids lowered so Faron wouldn’t find out the truth. She wanted to get away now, while she could still think rationally. She didn’t want to see him being nice to his grandmother. She didn’t want to see him being charming. She wanted to remember who he was and who she was and why any relationship between them other than the legal one resulting from her marriage to Faron’s father was a mistake.

      “I’m a little tired. I thought I’d go to bed early tonight,” she said.

      She was unprepared when Faron left the table and crossed to her. He stood facing her and said in a voice too low to carry back to Madelyn, “Are you all right?”

      She felt breathless again. “Yes. I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

      He put a hand on her shoulder, and she felt the pressure of it deep in the pit of her belly.

      “I made some calls while you were having lunch and hired some men to do the heavy labor. There’s no reason for you to leave the house tomorrow.”

      Her eyes flashed up to meet his concerned gaze. “I’ll do my part,” she said.

      “You don’t—”

      “I don’t want any favors from you. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

      Belinda jerked herself away and marched toward the spiral staircase. She felt Faron’s eyes on her the entire way up to the second floor. When she reached her room, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it.

      She felt like crying. Why hadn’t she met Faron Whitelaw eight years ago? It was too late now for what might have been. And what made her think things would be any different with Faron? She had learned her lessons from Wayne. Things had been fine with him, too, at first. It was only later…

      But Wayne Prescott had never made her feel the things Faron Whitelaw made her feel. Belinda was frightened. And excited. She felt a sort of anticipation for the days to come that she knew was dangerous for her peace of mind. Worst of all was the knowledge that she desired Faron Whitelaw every bit as much as he seemed to desire her.

      She had to resist temptation. She had to make herself a regal, unapproachable Princess. Maybe that would keep the Cowboy at bay.

      Belinda lifted her chin and focused her eyes on the distant canopy bed with its delicate eyelet covers. It was a bed eminently fit for a princess who had resigned herself to life in an inaccessible, remote ivory tower.

      She crossed the room and sat down on the bed with her back stiff and her teeth clenched