The Treasure Page 5

  “Do you want me to teach you any?”

  “No.”

  “Do you mind if I sing one?”

  “I don’t care.”

  Such enthusiasm. He really needed to get Melody to work on her manners.

  All thought was knocked from his head when Lily started singing “Amazing Grace”. The absolute perfection of her notes, of her voice, nearly made his heart weep. It had been so long, so long, since he had seen, heard or felt anything so beautiful. When she launched into the second chorus, he found himself humming along in tune with her. His bass blended perfectly with her soprano.

  When the last note echoed into the winter sky, he felt a loss. He wanted her to sing again, but didn’t know how to ask. Melody saved him.

  “That one was okay. Do you know any more?”

  She did. In fact, she knew a lot of songs. She sang all the way home, everything from hymns to ballads to “O Susanna”. It was the most relaxing two hours Ray had spent in many years…at least six. He was surprised to see the ranch house come into view.

  “Home already?” said Lily.

  As soon as the wagon stopped in front of the house, Melody jumped out and took off. Ray grimaced and then sighed.

  “Was it something I said?”

  Ray shook his head. “She’s probably still upset about what happened in town.”

  “Perhaps I should talk to her?”

  “No. She just needs time to herself.” He paused, then wrapped the reins on the brake handle and turned to look at her.

  Lily was beautiful. Her silly blue hat some nun had knitted for her covered her hair, but it made her face that much more incredible. Long, lustrous lashes framed her whiskey-colored eyes. Her cheeks were pink from the cold and her lips, oh God those lips, were as red as berries. He was in trouble and sinking fast.

  “What did they say?” he blurted.

  “What did who say?”

  “Those boys at the store. What did they say that was so rude?”

  Lily lowered her gaze to her matching mittens and fiddled with them a bit. “I’d rather not say.”

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass if you’d rather not. Tell me what they said.”

  She looked at him and scowled, but remained silent.

  “Don’t push me, Lily. I can make you tell me.”

  He swore he saw a shudder slide through her body.

  “You’re a bully.”

  “Get used to it. Tell me. Now.”

  She threw her hands up in the air. “Okay, they called her an Indian bastard, then one of them pointed at me and called me a whore.”

  Ray’s fists clenched so hard, he swore his knuckles went out of joint.

  Those little fucking bastards.

  He hadn’t realized he said it out loud until she spoke.

  “That may very well be, but I believe I handled them okay.”

  “Don’t expect me to apologize for cursing.”

  “I won’t.”

  He leaned back, cocked his head to one side and looked at her. She hadn’t even flinched when he’d cursed.

  “Aren’t you a nun?”

  She laughed, a tinkling sound that tickled over him like a feathery caress. “No, I just lived with nuns. They were my teachers.”

  He grunted. “So you’re not a nun, but you lived with them. Yet cursing doesn’t bother you.”

  “I’ve heard worse than that. I became somewhat…immune to it.”

  Now he was really intrigued. “I thought you grew up with nuns?”

  “I didn’t always live at the orphanage with the nuns. I arrived there when I was eleven.”

  He pictured Lily at eleven, awkward and scared, with her bright eyes trying to adjust to living with a bunch of nuns. Probably even clumsier at that age if it were possible.

  “Where did you live before that?” It wasn’t usually like him to be so curious, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Ray wanted to know more.

  “I’m getting cold now. Could we unload the wagon and go inside?”

  Oh, so that was her game. Obviously she didn’t want to answer the question.

  “Don’t think I’m going to forget about this conversation,” he warned.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  He scowled then jumped from the wagon into the hard-packed snow. His boots squeaked as he walked around to the other side to help her down. The minute his hands touched her, another jolt of awareness hit him. It was as if his body smelled her, like a dog scenting his bitch.

  He removed his hands as quickly as possible.

  “I’m sorry they called you a whore.”

  She shrugged and walked past him. “I’ve been called worse than that.”

  She took her basket full of small goods and her new boots from the back of the wagon and went toward the house. Ray stared at her retreating back.

  She’d heard worse cursing. She’d been called worse than a whore. She lived with nuns as a young woman. Where was she as a child? Who was calling her worse names than a whore? And why?

  ———

  Lily concentrated on putting the supplies away where they belonged. As Ray brought in each bundle, she had to focus on what she was doing or she might do something she’d regret.

  Like blurt her life story to him. Something she never wanted to do. There was too much pain and humiliation in her past. She didn’t want it to taint her present. It was bad enough he knew how clumsy she was. He didn’t need another excuse to fire her.

  The truth was she liked Wyoming. She liked the wide open spaces, the clean air, and the man. She didn’t know why. He was gruff, rude and a bit of a bully. Her head knew that, but her heart seemed to be galloping off on its own way.

  Lily suddenly realized it was getting dark and she hadn’t even started dinner. She pushed the beans onto the shelf in the pantry and ran back into the kitchen.

  Straight into Ray who was carrying in the last of the supplies. She slammed into him with all the grace of a running cow. He dropped the bag of coffee beans, trying to catch her, but her momentum kept her going until she fell over backward with Ray close behind. She landed on the floor with an awful thump to her head that made her see stars. Coffee beans scattered everywhere in a symphony of plings.

  All the breath was driven from her lungs as his body pressed against her from head to toe. He was so hard. There wasn’t an inch of softness on this man. She had only touched a man once in her life, long ago, but he had been flabby. Ray was as hard as a block of wood. A block of wood lit by tinder, scorching her with heat.

  Ray tried to scramble off her, but he slipped on the coffee beans and fell back down. His head smacked painfully into hers.

  “Jesus Christ!” he shouted.

  “I’m sorry.”

  He planted his hands on either side of her shoulders and pushed up. His eyes were alight with unnamed emotions and a bit of frustration.

  “Are you all right?”

  She nodded, suddenly aware her breasts were inches from him, and her lower half pushed against his. His cock lengthened and hardened, then twitched. A lick of fire leapt through her.

  Her eyes stung as she held his stare. His heart thumped in tandem with hers, each racing at an accelerated pace. His pupils dilated and he licked his lips.

  Before she knew what was happening, he kissed her. She closed her eyes and felt the earth shift beneath her.

  His lips were firm—like him—yet supple, moving back and forth, teasing, tickling. Lily started kissing him back and discovered kissing was a hot, wet, incredible experience. Her entire body came alive under his. Heat raced through her from not only the kiss, but the full body contact. Her nipples were hard and aching, pressing against his chest.

  When his tongue touched her lips, licking lightly, knocking on the door to be let in, she started in surprise. Lily was about to open her mouth when a small voice shrieked, breaking the spell like a bucket of ice water.

  “What are you doing to her, Pa?”

  Lily broke the kiss and s
tared up at Ray. Regret, confusion and desire swirled in his eyes. She felt her cheeks turn scarlet as he hopped to his feet. Lily stood with a little less grace, fortunately without falling again.

  “Goodness gracious, I’ve made a mess. Look what I did, Melody. I bumped into your Pa and started to fall. He tried to catch me and he ended up falling too.”

  She forced herself to laugh lightly when she felt anything but light of spirit. Ray stomped over to the pantry.

  “Then he dropped the coffee and it made a mess. Goodness gracious.”

  She tried to ignore Ray as he retrieved a corn broom and swept up the coffee with jerky strokes.

  “Help me get this up, Mel.”

  Melody stared at Lily suspiciously, but knelt down on the floor and started scooping the beans back into the burlap bag.

  Lily escaped to the stove and, with trembling hands, stoked up the fire until it burned brightly. By the time a few minutes had passed, she felt more in control of herself.

  She turned and found Ray with the bag of coffee beans, alone.

  “I didn’t intend on doing that,” he said.

  “I know. I didn’t either.” She clutched her hands together in front of her. For some reason, she had a strong urge to touch him.

  “Do you want me to apologize?” His voice was tight and curt.

  She shook her head. “No. I…I kissed you back.”

  He nodded, gripping the bag tightly. “That you did. It’s been quite some time since I kissed a woman, Lily, but that…that was…incredible.”

  With that, he disappeared into the pantry, then out the back door before she could absorb what he’d said.

  The kiss was incredible. Incredible.

  Lily couldn’t contain the smile that spread over her face. She’d never been incredible in her life. Her heart felt immeasurably lighter as she started making supper.

  ———

  “Pa, why were you kissing Lily?”

  Ray was expecting it, but had hoped it wasn’t going to happen. “Men and women kiss sometimes, Mel.”

  “I know, but they’re married. You’re not married, are you?”

  He tucked the covers around her and kissed her on the forehead.

  “No, we’re not married.”

  “You’re not going to get married, are you?”

  “Melody, would you please drop the subject? We kissed, yes. It was just that. Only that. A kiss. We’re not married and we don’t plan on getting married. Ever.”

  Melody scowled at him and opened her mouth to speak.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Ray warned.

  She closed her mouth and rolled over to her side.

  With one last kiss for his daughter, Ray turned out the lamp and left the room. As he stepped into the hallway, his gaze strayed to the bedroom next door.

  Lily’s room.

  His imagination exploded with thoughts of her white nightgown and the soft, womanly curves it held. Now he was tortured by the fact he knew exactly what those curves felt like against him. What her lips felt like against his.

  His dick pressed hard against his trousers, stretching and yowling. It was going to be a long, lonely night.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning was cloudy and the cold sharp as a knife. It looked like snow, so Ray kept both of his hands at the ranch doing repairs. Clyde worked on the corral fence, and Rafe helped Ray replace the hinges on the barn door. Neither one of them liked to talk much, which suited Ray just fine. He wasn’t much of a conversationalist.

  Both Clyde and Rafe had originally worked for his father and came to work for him six years earlier when he set up his own ranch, the Double R. Of course, now it was the Single R, but the branding had already been done by the time Regina left. Now it was a reminder to him about how devious women could be.

  “Hold the frigging door straight, Rafe.”

  “I am. How about you get your ass in gear and put the hinge on there, boss?” Rafe shot back.

  Rafe was around Ray’s age, with dark black hair and steel gray eyes. He had a jagged scar that ran the length of one cheek from his eyebrow to his jaw. He never smiled. Ray privately thought it was because of how the scar would twist a smile into something that might scare small children.

  “Shut your yap and hold the door,” Ray grumbled.

  After he fitted the hinge in properly and was about to put a screw in, the music began. All of them froze like deer caught in a hunter’s sights as the first notes floated over them.

  Lily had found the piano and apparently played as well as she sang. Her beautiful voice and the lilting melody of “Barbara Allen” echoed through the air. He felt mesmerized by the perfection of the notes.

  “Damn, who is that?”

  Rafe’s question knocked Ray out of his stupor.

  “Mel’s governess, Miss Wickham.”

  “Mel’s what?” Rafe laughed. “Did you say governess? What the hell is this, a high-class ranch?”

  Ray scowled at Rafe. “Shut up, Rafe. Mel needs a teacher.”

  “And you need to get laid. Do both and get yourself a wife.”

  “Not again in this lifetime. So mind your own fucking business,” Ray growled.

  “She sure can sing like an angel. If you don’t want her, can I have a crack at her?”

  A surge of anger struck like a lightning bolt, and Ray had to restrain himself from punching the other man.

  “Not if you value your life.”

  Rafe shrugged one big shoulder. “Can’t hurt to ask.”

  Lily launched into “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” and the work stopped again. Damn, the woman had been blessed with a perfect voice. Ray felt almost dizzy and realized he was holding his breath so he could listen.

  He threw the hinges and the screws on the snow and stalked toward the house. Rafe cursed at him, but Ray ignored him and continued walking toward his quarry.

  ———

  Melody had finally come into the room. She stood near the side of the piano, staring at Lily with her unreadable dark eyes. Lily smiled and gestured for Melody to sit on the bench. Melody sidled up a bit closer, but didn’t sit.

  “Pa said my mama used to play,” said Melody.

  Lily missed a note, but fortunately picked up the melody again.

  “Anyone can learn to play. It’s wonderful to be able to play music.”

  Melody shrugged, then sat on the corner of the bench.

  “Would you like to learn a simple song? How about “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”? Do you know that one?”

  Melody nodded slightly.

  “Okay, put your finger on this key right here and press it twice.”

  Melody’s small finger sat on the key and plunked it twice.

  “Very good. Okay, now this key twice.”

  Within a few minutes, Melody had the notes down and played the song by herself. Lily clapped her hands.

  “You did it. You did it!”

  Melody looked at her and a tiny grin teased the corner of her little mouth.

  “Can you teach me another one?”

  “Why don’t we—”

  “What the hell are you doing?” came Ray’s shout from behind them.

  Both Lily and Melody jumped on the hard wood bench.

  “Did I say you could play that piano? Don’t you have something else to teach my daughter, like how to read?”

  Lily turned to look at Ray while Melody disappeared like a gust of wind.

  His eyes blazed green, his cheeks red from the cold. The dark hat sat low on his forehead, a gray scarf was wrapped around his neck, and the usual warm coat covered his broad shoulders. His gloved hands clenched and unclenched. Lily’s gaze locked on those hands, wondering if she’d been wrong about Ray. Perhaps he did use his fists to get what he wanted.

  After the initial shock wore off, Lily’s anger decided to make an appearance.

  “Thank you very much, Mr. Malloy. For the first time, your daughter was actually speaking to me, instead of run
ning from me.” She stood and approached him, her own hands clenched into fists. “And you had to come in here and rant at us. She scooted off without a sound. Now I’m going to have to work at her all over again. So thank you very much!”

  Ray’s mouth opened then closed. His eyes burned into her with restrained heat. Lily was shocked at her own words. She let her temper fly and ignored her better judgment that yanked on her hair, trying to hold her back.

  “There are a lot of things I can teach her. Music is one of them. If you don’t want anyone to use the piano, why don’t you sell it or chop it up for firewood.”

  Lily turned and stalked out the room before she said something she’d really regret. Ray’s hand on her arm stopped her. His eyes snapped with sparks of fury.

  “You have no call to speak to me like that. You work for me, remember?”

  She tried to dislodge her arm, but it wouldn’t budge. He was too strong. She took a deep breath to give him a piece of her mind and inhaled a lungful of Ray instead. His scent carried a hint of outdoors, man, and that indefinable thing that was uniquely him. Her stomach clenched as her body remembered and craved his touch.

  “I could say the same to you. You have no call to speak to me like that.”

  His grip loosened and he looked away for a moment. When he looked back, Lily saw a glimpse of some very old pain way down deep inside. A woman had caused that pain. She was sure of it. Now Ray ascribed all that was bad in the world to women. Poor Melody. No wonder she wanted to dress and act like a boy.

  “Maybe I was a little rough, but my point is the same. Melody does not need to learn music.”

  “Yes, she does. Everyone should.”

  “No.”

  “Yes.” Lily stuck her chin up and stood her ground.

  “Goddammit, Lily! This is my house and—”

  “Am I interrupting something?” came an amused voice from behind them.

  Lily turned and saw a tall, beautiful woman with long, reddish-brown hair, curls flying every which way, bright green eyes and a grin. She wore a bulky brown coat and hat, and trousers. A baby was perched on her hip, a little cherub with gorgeous blue eyes, probably six-months old. Beside her stood two children, about five-years old, with pink cheeks and matching green eyes. They both had dark, lustrous black hair.