A Hero's Heart (7 page)

She looked at Wade, who sent her a secret smile and squeezed her closer. Merciful heavens, what had she gotten herself into? Those two little words, “honor” and “obey,” were woven into the marriage vows, and even though they weren’t legally binding, she would have to obey him or at least give the appearance of obedience. As for honoring him, well, that was something that had to be earned.

“Humph!” Becky said. “You’ve made your bed and I really don’t care. But I don’t have to obey anyone’s rules anymore. I’m eighteen, old enough to make my own decisions.”

Becky stalked off to the wagon, her skirts swishing.

Rachel took a deep breath and glanced at Wade. He raised his brows, a questioning frown on his face, yet his embrace gave her a sense of security, of safety. He released Rachel as if he realized he was holding her and strolled toward the fire.

Daniel started to fuss. It was way past his bedtime and he rubbed his chubby hands across his drooping eyes. Rachel picked up the toddler, cradling him in her arms. At eighteen months, he was heavy, and she sank down in the rocking chair Becky had occupied earlier. The baby laid his head against her shoulder, his soft little body conforming to hers. Rachel kissed the top of his head, gaining strength and comfort from holding him.

When she looked at the children, she realized she would do whatever was necessary to safeguard them.

Grace wandered over to Rachel, a rag doll cradled in her arms, and stood watching her rock Daniel to sleep. “Rachel?” she finally asked her face serious, concerned.

“What is it, Sunshine?”

Grace glanced at Rachel, her big brown eyes full of worry. “Will you send me and Toby away now that you’re married?”

The child’s words pierced her heart. Rachel shifted Daniel over to one hip and made room for Grace. She reached down and lifted the child onto her lap. Daniel fussed at the intrusion.

“No, Grace. You, Toby and little Daniel are my family. I would never let anyone split us up,”

Toby’s voice cracked the evidence of his rapidly changing hormones. “Mr. Ketchum, I’m glad you married Rachel. I don’t care what Becky says.”

Wade glanced at Rachel, his eyes warm and soft, laughter in his voice. “Thanks Toby.”

Rachel couldn’t take the strain any longer. She stood up. “It’s time for bed.”

The longer this night went on the harder it was going to find it to crawl into the tent with Wade. Becky had put it bluntly. She’d made her bed, now she must lie in it. “Put the checkers up, Toby. Grace, gather your dolls.”

A round of moans from Grace and Toby followed her announcement. Daniel was fast asleep in her arms as she carried the toddler to the tent and gently laid him down. Whatever happened, she had to remember the children. They were her biggest reason for taking part in this farce.

Inside the tent was filled with shadows from the campfire. She smiled in secret triumph. Their wedding night! How would Wade respond when she told him they would be sleeping in the tent—with the children?

The fact that she knew Becky would never relinquish the wagon had led her to believe she’d still be chaste when they reached Oregon. She and Wade would spend the entire trip sleeping in the tent, beside Toby, Grace and Daniel.

But what would it be like with Wade resting by her side?

The children were gathered around Wade, watching as he made hand puppets in the shadow of the fire. Yet another sign of the man’s contradiction. How could a man who disliked children be so good with them?

“Where is Mr. Ketchum going to sleep?” Grace blurted out the question Rachel had wanted to avoid voicing as long as possible.

Rachel couldn’t contain the self-satisfied smile that overtook her lips. For once, she knew she had the upper hand, and while she tried not to overreact, the advantage felt good. “He’s going to sleep in the tent with me and you, Grace.”

Wade frowned, his brows furrowing with disapproval. “It’s our wedding night, Rachel.”

“You know Becky sleeps in the wagon, and the children and I take the tent,” Rachel innocently replied.

“That was before,” Wade calmly announced. He strode away, his determined steps carrying him to the wagon. “Becky, pack your things. You’re moving out to the tent.”

The tightly closed canvas curtain of the wagon suddenly snapped open. Becky stuck her head out. “Absolutely not! I will not sleep with those brats. You and your bride can sleep in the tent.”

Becky yanked the canvas closed. Wade jerked it open. “Let’s get this straight. You’ll sleep in the tent with the children until we reach Oregon. Or you can sleep by the fire. I don’t care which you choose.”

Becky’s mouth dropped open in surprise. She glanced at Rachel. “You’ve made a colossal mistake, big sister. And I hope I’m around when you realize it.”

She marched off to the tent, her shoulders straight, her nightgown flapping in the breeze. The image she presented reminded Rachel of a fat hen strutting across the barnyard, squawks coming from her beak, her feathers all ruffled.

Toby led Grace to the tent, following behind the queen hen at a safe distance.

“Well, Mrs. Ketchum, we’re alone.” Wade said as he sat down on a stool by the fire, his voice as chilly as the night air.

Rachel sighed. “I’m sorry Becky took the news so badly. I had hoped she’d be more accepting, since I am twenty-two years old and considered and old maid by most people.”

Wade laughed, his voice deep and resounding. “You make twenty-two sound like a hundred. A beautiful woman like yourself, I’ll bet you could have been married many times before now.”

“Me, beautiful? I think you’ve been out in the sun too long.”

“No! You’ve listened to that nag of a sister of yours for too long. You’re better looking than she is, Rachel.”

Rachel raised her hand to her chest. Her heart pounded so loudly, she was certain Wade could hear it. Was he serious or was he trying to sweet-talk his way into her arms?

“I suggest you go prepare our bed, Mrs. Ketchum,” Wade announced, his eyes twinkling with merriment in the flickering shadows of the fire.

Rachel felt as if the earth was starting to tremble beneath her. She had depended on sleeping with the children. Could she resist the man and his charm for the next three months while sleeping in his bed?

“What are you waiting for, Rachel?” Wade asked. “I thought women liked a few minutes alone while they prepared themselves for their husband?”

“You’re not my husband,” she hissed.

Rachel turned and stalked off, her feet quickly carrying her to the wagon, his mocking laughter in her ears. She scrambled inside the small, dark space and waited for the trembling to subside. Somehow she had to get through this.

She glanced around the inside of the wagon. There was barely enough room for one person, let alone two people. The boxes of Bibles, the organ and their supplies took up most of the space. They would be sandwiched together tighter than meat and bread, unless she found a way…

Scrambling out of the wagon, her long skirts almost tripped her. Wade was busy extinguishing the fire. She looked underneath the bed of the wagon to where her father carried the spare boards for repair. Pulling a wooden plank free, she dusted it off and put inside the wagon.

Crawling back in, she lit the lantern and quickly made up their bed. With the sheets, blankets and pillows all neatly arranged into two separate sleeping areas, she placed the board between them, lodging it between two boxes.

With a swish Wade opened the canvas covering and crawled into the wagon, his head bent his hat brushing the top.

“What’s this?” Wade asked, pointing to the board that lay between their pallets.

“I believe it is referred to as a bundling board,” Rachel informed him.

Wade laughed, his voice ringing in the close confines of the wagon. Rachel felt claustrophobic, engulfed by him, by his presence. He had consumed what little space was left inside the tight wagon. There was no place to move, no place to escape. Even the air she breathed held Wade’s scent, overwhelming her with his intensity.

“Did you want me to help you undress?” Wade asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief, his voice silky smooth.

“Absolutely not,” Rachel replied horrified. “I’m sleeping in my clothes.”

“You’re going to sleep in the same clothes the rest of the trip?”

“No. But neither am I going to sleep in my night rail,” Rachel said with definite purpose as she climbed under the bedcovers on her half of the pallet.

Wade shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

He pulled his shirttails out of his pants and started to undo the buttons lining the front.

“Mr. Ketchum! The light, please,” Rachel demanded.

Wade smiled and continued unbuttoning his shirt until the garment lay completely open. A light smattering of hair grew across his muscled chest, in a vee that disappeared beneath his pants. Slowly, he shrugged the shirt off his bronzed back and down the hard ridges of his arms.

Paralyzed, she watched him undress, staring at the hard expanse of his chest. She observed the rippling effect of his muscles as he laid the shirt on a box close by. Sitting down, he proceeded to tug at his boots, until they slid from his stocking feet. She took a deep breath, trying to still her racing heart, knowing she should roll over.

But she couldn’t look away.

When he reached for his pants, she gazed up into his eyes and noticed the laughter emanating from their depths. She burned from the tips of her toes all the way to her cheeks and quickly rolled over, facing the inside of the wagon. The audacity of the man! The least he could do was turn the lamp off.

Wade chuckled and extinguished the flame. The wagon was suddenly enshrouded in darkness. But the darkness only heightened the sounds, as Rachel heard the jingle of his belt and the rustle of his pants when he slid them from his body. She felt the creak of the wagon as he lay down beside her.

“Mrs. Ketchum, if you think that board, all those clothes, and your virginity are going to keep me away from you, you’re mistaken. If I had a mind to bed you tonight, nothing would stop me.” Wade paused, his words lingering in the air. “You’re starting to become a challenge, Rachel. And I love a good challenge.”

Rachel lay as still as a church mouse, her heart pounding in her ears.

“Why, Mr. Ketchum? So that in three months you could leave me in Oregon with a baby in my belly? So that I could become just another one of your women?” Rachel sighed in the darkness. “No, thank you. I want a man who will stand by my side, who will love me and the children through the good times and the bad. I don’t think that’s what you want.”

“Go to sleep, Rachel. You’re safe tonight. But I won’t promise not to try to seduce you somewhere along the trail. I’m no saint, just a man. A man who thinks you’re a hell of a tempting woman.”

Chapter Six

B
leary-eyed from lack of sleep, Rachel stared absently at the dirty diapers swirling in the tub of hot water. Wade’s handsome face swam before her eyes, his voice reverberated through her head.

She had awakened this morning to an empty pallet. Where he had gone, she had no idea, though a pesky voice whispered that last night’s promises to deliver them to Oregon were all a sham.

But she had to believe he would keep his word. Tomorrow, the wagon train was pulling out, and somehow she and the children would be following that caravan.

She took a deep breath to calm her unsteady nerves. He was probably out taking care of his horses or seeing to personal business and would soon return. But that tiny voice of doubt, wondered about his whereabouts.

Pushing back a loose strand of hair, Rachel whisked the diapers about in the tub of water. The night before had stretched on endlessly, with only short periods of rest, and today exhaustion seeped into her every joint.

Each time her eyes closed, she could hear Wade’s deep voice, in the dark, “I won’t promise not to try to seduce you.”

Hot and flushed, she had been plagued by his statement all night long. Her experience with men was limited, but never before had any man, not even Ethan, said such scandalous things to her. Worse, Wade’s husky whispers in the dark didn’t seem dishonorable. Somehow they seemed deliciously wicked, leaving her warm with curiosity.

The memory of those full lips, caressing, covering hers, made her shiver with remembrance. But how many women had he rehearsed on before he mastered the skill of making her insides feel quivery, her breasts ache to be touched?

She would have to be on guard every moment to keep his devilish lips from performing their magic on her. For surely, the way she felt when he touched her, there had to be a spell at work.

Rachel dipped the swirling diapers from the water and put them in the cool rinse pan waiting nearby. Though early, the morning sun beat down upon her unmercifully, promising a scorching day. She turned to retrieve her bonnet from the back of the wagon and almost bumped into Becky.

“Good morning, Becky,” Rachel said, in an effort to be cheerful, despite the tension from the night before.

“Where’s the happy bridegroom?” Becky asked.

Rachel’s fears and anxieties over Wade’s whereabouts tripled. What if he had deserted her? “He had business to take care of.”