Free Tame a Wild Wind by Cynthia Woolf Page A

shouldn’t”
    “We’re adults.”
    “The kids…”
    “Aren’t with us.”
    Cassie grabbed his head and brought him close.   She kissed him hard, ravaging his mouth.   Plundering him like a desperate woman.   He returned her kiss and her ardor.   He was a starving man.   Starving only for this woman.
    They broke apart.   “Wow.” said Cassie
    Sam grinned.   “Yes.   Wow.   We should have tried that a long time ago.”
    “I’ve wanted to but was afraid you’d think I was too forward.”
    Sam shook his head.   “We’ve wasted precious time.”
    “It couldn’t be any other way.   Not really.   I’ve got children.   They come first.   They will always come first.”
    “Understood and agreed.   The kids should always be first.”   He kissed her again.   “That doesn’t mean I can’t court you.”
    “Court me?   You mean court us?   Me and the kids.   Well in your case, me and RJ.   You already belong to Sarah.”   The sweet tinkle of her laugh was music to his ears.   She hadn’t turned him down.
    “So what now?   I haven’t courted anyone in years.   I’m not sure I really remember how.”
    “You know, that even if you court me, I won’t necessarily marry you.   I don’t know if I ever want to get married again.”
    “I’m willing to take the chance that I can change your mind.   It’s not everyday that I get my socks blown off by one kiss.   That’s special Cassie and I think worth exploring.   Don’t you?”
    She nodded.   “I suppose it is.   Tell me about Jane.   We need to get to know each other after all.”
    “What is there to say?   Jane and I married for the wrong reasons, well the right reasons, but love wasn’t one of them.   Jane was pregnant and it was the right thing to do.   We were planning on getting married anyway.   She was the daughter of the towns banker and I was an up and coming Texas Ranger.   Her father thought it was a match made in heaven.”
    “But?”
    “But except for sex, Jane and I didn’t have much in common.   She was used to servants and such.   I was never going to have servants, not on a Texas Ranger’s pay.   I wanted a simple life.   Wife, home, kids.   That’s all.   Not much to ask.”
    “What happened?”
    “I was getting cold feet.   I started talking to Jane about postponing the wedding.”
    “And she didn’t want to.”
    “No.   She was ready to get out from under her fathers thumb.   She seduced me.   I was young enough I didn’t realize why she did it until later.   She wanted a father for the baby she already carried.”
    Cassie put a hand on his leg and a lightning bolt traveled from there to his loins.   “Oh Sam, I’m so sorry.”
    “It doesn’t matter now.   I loved that baby girl.   She was mine as far as I was concerned.   The fact she was a little tow head should have alerted me, since Jane and I both have dark hair, hers almost black.   But I didn’t think about it, I just thought   somewhere in her family there must have been blonds.”
    “What happened when they were killed?”
    “Frank Borden thought to capitalize on the fact Jane was the banker’s daughter.   He figured he could ransom her and the girls for a lot of money.   He was mistaken.   The only thing Jane’s father loved more than his daughter was his money.   But it doesn’t matter.   That’s not what killed them.   Borden had them tied up in the parlor of our house.   Jane tried to escape and knocked over a kerosene lamp.   It caught the curtains on fire and then the rest of the house.”
    When he looked over at Cassie, there were tears, silent tears running down her face.   “Why are you crying?”
    “I’m crying for those babies, for that young woman who made mistakes but didn’t deserve to die.   I’m crying for you, Sam.   You.   Because you blame yourself for something that’s not your fault, just like I did.”
    “It was my fault.   If I hadn’t let Borden escape Jane and