“Did you actually see them?”
“No. That reporter kid I introduced you to saw them when he left the church. He came back and told me he saw three armed men watching me and talking about our happy family. One of them called the other Gordy.”
Lloyd scowled. “Shit.”
“Yeah, well, it might turn out to be nothing.” Jake faced him and took the cigarette from his lips. “Just keep an eye out. I’ll go check things out at the jail tomorrow, and then I’ll find out if those bastards are still around—find out what they’re up to. In the meantime, you enjoy your new wife and spend some time with her and Stevie. This isn’t anything I need help with.”
He started toward the door again, but Lloyd grasped his arm. “Pa, I’m here for you and you know it. Don’t do something rash.”
Jake broke into a grin. “Rash?”
“You know damn well what I mean. What happened yesterday? The preacher told me he was glad you were alive and able to enjoy the wedding. I believe his words were, ‘after that run-in Jake had yesterday with Brad Buckley.’ What happened between you and Brad?”
“The kid was just a little upset that I brought his father back draped over a horse. Wouldn’t you be?”
Their eyes held for a few quiet seconds. “I reckon I’d want to kill the man who brought my father back that way.”
Jake nodded. “And there’s your answer. The only difference is, Brad proceeded to remind me that at least you and he loved your fathers.”
The room hung silent and Lloyd closed his eyes. “Jesus.”
Jake took a drag on his cigarette. “Now let’s go eat. Your mother doesn’t like me smoking in here—says it spoils the rose scent she puts in the sheets or some such foolishness.”
“You didn’t shoot Brad, did you? Did he draw on you?”
Jake opened the door as Lloyd stepped aside. “Let’s just say he didn’t get the chance, and right now he’s in a bad way. If you want to know any more than that, ask your mother. She was there.”
Jake walked out, and Lloyd felt a renewed hatred for the grandfather he’d never known. Any reference to the man and the fact that Jake had killed him brought out a dark rage in Jake, who preferred to pretend his father had never existed.
Eight
Randy awoke to dim morning light and the smell of peppermint. Something tapped her nose, and she opened her eyes to see a stick of red-and-white candy in front of her face. She turned to face Jake, and he licked one end of the peppermint.
“Remember the first time we did this?” he asked, putting the candy into his mouth and offering her the other end.
Randy grinned. “I believe you were forcing yourself on me.”
He took the peppermint from his mouth. “I don’t recall you fighting me off.” He put the candy back into his mouth.
“You’re just as much a devil now as you were then.” Randy put the other end into her mouth, and they both chewed on the stick of candy until their lips met.
Early-morning lovemaking was, for Randy, the best kind. Both of them were warm and relaxed. Already naked, Jake nuzzled her neck then as he pushed her gown up past her waist. “How about getting this gown out of the way?”
Randy frowned in mock irritation. “If you insist.” She raised her arms over her head and sat up so he could pull the flannel gown all the way off. He kissed her neck and breasts as she lay back down and admired his solid frame. When things were quiet and peaceful like this, Randy had no trouble relaxing to his touch as he explored and massaged all the right places.
Some of her women friends hinted that they seldom did this anymore…but they weren’t married to Jake Harkner, and they didn’t have to live with knowing that tomorrow their husband could be shot down. She did wonder, though, if any of those women allowed their husbands to go as far as Jake did now, making her wilt under his desire to taste her most secret places. She had once never thought she could be this intimate with a man, but intimacy meant everything to Jake, who liked to make love in every sensual way there was.
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply as he worked his magic with licking kisses to what he called her “sweetness,” and she knew she could never have allowed this with any other man. There was something about being together for years that made their lovemaking almost worshipful, an extension of a much deeper relationship that required a union of soul and spirit and not just bodies. She groaned as he circled his tongue magically until he brought her to a deep climax that made her need him inside her. He moved to her breasts, her neck, her mouth, her sweet juices still on his lips. She welcomed him between her legs to give him pleasure in return.