Chapter Five

Cory headed to the back door off the kitchen. She grabbed a pair of well-worn leather boots she wore for mucking the stalls in the barn. Tyler watched as she lifted the hem of her nightgown to step into the high boots. He was looking at her bare legs, but she hoped the dim light kept him from seeing clearly. A cloak for chilly mornings hung on a peg, but the light broadcloth was too warm for tonight. The thin robe was a better choice and certainly modest in the dark. She stared at Tyler’s bare chest.

“Do you need the cloak?”

Tyler looked up. “No, I’m warm enough.”

“You could have a fever.” She didn’t dare touch him to check. “You should stay here. Don’t forget your injury.”

“The exercise will do me good.”

“You don’t have a shirt on.”

“It doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t bother you.”

She shrugged. “Why should it bother me?” The sight of Tyler’s nakedness had stirred an erotic response she’d never experienced. But how did a scholar acquire sculptured muscles that rippled with power at every movement? She wouldn’t obtain the answer through silent pondering. “How did a Harvard lawyer become so strong? Carrying books around?” She hoped her witty remark camouflaged her embarrassment. How could she ask such a personal question? She turned away and lit a lantern on a peg by the door with her candle.

Tyler grabbed the lamp and whispered in her ear. “They were very big books.”

Cory opened her mouth to argue but had a feeling she wouldn’t uncover the truth. She looked around. “Do you think I should take Hiram’s gun?” It was in the parlor but needed to be reloaded.

“Haven’t you shot enough men tonight?”

“What if there’s an intruder? He could be dangerous.”

“I think I can handle him.”

“Are you going to quote him the law?” She followed him into the dark yard.

****

Tyler chuckled. He liked her. It had been a long time since he’d met a woman he genuinely enjoyed being with for any length of time. Too many young ladies had a singular objective toward matrimony with ambitions of marrying a rich man. He had not yet acquired enough wealth to tempt anyone. The less greedy women he had met lacked any personality or depth of character to occupy his interest. Yet, Cory was not only a teacher and nurse; she had a sense of adventure. Had she seen a light in the barn? It didn’t matter. He was more than willing to play along if it gave him an opportunity to take advantage of the dark.

When they reached the barn, Tyler opened the door. Rusty hinges sang in the quiet night air. Tyler waved the light to dispel some of the darkness inside. The pungent smell of earth, manure, and animals assaulted his nostrils as the more subtle scents of leather, hay, and wood tempered the stronger odors. The lower level of the barn was separated in three long sections with the stalls for the horses behind a half wall in front of them. Harnesses hung from a rack on the center section of the near wall. A wooden wheelbarrow and pitchfork rested beneath. A few remnants of hay and manure lingered on the tines of the pitchfork.

The cows mooed in their pen beyond a steep staircase next to the horse stalls. On the opposite side of the barn were two large empty pens and a cold storage bin for milk built with cut stone. The middle section was empty except for a tack box for the horses and a hay bin underneath a chute from the upper level.

A brown mare with a white blaze across her nose poked her head over the first stall. “Have you seen anyone, Nell?” Cory asked.

Two draft horses were in the neighboring stalls. Tyler paused at the bottom of the staircase. “What’s upstairs?”

“Hay, oats, and straw along with the buggy and wagon. And Hiram’s workbench and tools.”

He lit another lantern hanging on a wooden peg on one of the thick support beams and handed it to Cory. Tyler walked up the steps to the storage level of the barn. Cory followed. Tyler glanced around for any sign of an intruder. Hiram’s workbench was located at the top of the stairs along the back wall of the barn. His tools hung on the side wall near the grain storage room. The sharp metal edges of the sickle, saw, rake, hoe, and shovels reflected in his light. A pile of fresh hay was stored on the near side of the barn with straw on the other side. In the middle was a wagon and single-seat buggy.

Tyler searched the long wooden wagon used for hauling. He waved the lantern over the buggy. “Nothing here.”

****

Cory couldn’t see past the small circle of light into the darkness. If someone was hiding in the barn, she no longer wanted to know. Tyler was methodical in his search and taking too long. The upper level of the barn was stifling, and Cory could feel a ball of sweat roll down her back. Her nightgown clung.

“I must have been mistaken.” Cory hastened to the stairs but took each step cautiously, feeling her way to the dirt floor. She waved her lantern around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She stood in the center of the barn and listened to Tyler’s footsteps above her. Should she wait for him or go to the house? A barn cat jumped on the wall of the nearby empty pen and startled her. She screamed. He had a mangled mouse in his mouth and dropped it down on a storage box in front of her like a sacrificial offering.

Cory gagged and swung around from the gruesome sight. Her lantern caught a movement in Nell’s stall. She froze as she stared harder into the darkness, trying to decipher the shadows in the dim light. It was too big to be another cat. She stepped toward the stall, and the light from the lantern illuminated the man briefly before he ducked down into the stall. He was a black man. It could be the man from Tyler’s flier, or it could be any runaway slave. What should she do?

If the slave belonged to Tyler, she had an obligation under the law to turn him over to his master. If she didn’t, and Tyler found the man hiding in the barn, he could accuse her of aiding him. Even if a judge didn’t send her to jail, she’d have to pay a fine. All her money would be gone, her family would be embarrassed, and the scandal would ruin her plans for marriage.

She needed time to talk to Adelaide. Did she know about the slave? Maybe it was the reason she had insisted Tyler not sleep in the barn. Why hadn’t she confided in her about the runaway? Cory heard Tyler’s footsteps on the stairs. She needed to get him out of the barn before he discovered the man’s hiding place.

“I heard you scream.”

“A cat!” She waved at the feline batting the dead mouse back and forth between its sheathed claws. “He startled me.”

“I didn’t find anything.” Tyler hung his lantern back on its peg and blew it out. “So what do you propose we do next?”

Cory recognized the husky change in his voice and dismissed it. “I propose we go back inside, Mr. Montgomery.”

Both turned at the sound of a thud against Nell’s wooden wall. “It’s Nell kicking the wall,” Cory excused.

“I better check.” Tyler grabbed the burning lantern from her hand.

Cory followed behind him. She needed to prevent him from discovering the slave’s hiding place. She couldn’t overpower him. What could she do?

Tyler’s body blocked the lantern’s light, and Cory bumped into him when he stopped at the stall wall. Her instinct was to back away, but instead, she reached out with her hands to locate him. She ran her fingertips upward to his shoulders as she pressed herself against him. Cory rested her cheek against the bare skin of his wide back. “Your skin is so cool.”

He froze.

Now what? She remembered something her mother did when her father had an exhausting day. She caressed his shoulders with her hands, shocked by the hardness beneath smooth flesh. Her fingertips danced downward along the damp skin of his back and circled beneath the strip of white bandage to hold him in a gentle grip. “I’m so hot.” Her lips brushed against his back. “Let’s get out of here.”

The lantern shook in Tyler’s hand. He placed it on the stall wall, turned, and captured her in his arms. “Let’s see what I can do about the heat.” His deep, throaty tone sent a shiver through her body.

Cory had started something she had no way of stopping. She recalled her parents always retired to bed after one of her mother’s massages. Why hadn’t she remembered that earlier? She panicked as Tyler drew her close against his body.

She gasped as his mouth found hers, plundering her lips with a savage hunger. This was no chaste peck or quick pluck she had experienced from other men. Even those who had kissed her more fervently had failed to ignite this unfamiliar heat building within her. Her body reacted against her common sense.

She should have been insulted by his actions. She should have pulled away. She should have slapped his face. Instead, she encircled his neck with her arms and kissed him in fevered abandonment.

Cory surrendered control to desire, passion, and lust. A mere kiss had never caused such wanton seduction. Her traitorous body responded with a sinful will of its own, and she rubbed against the hard, unyielding form that defined manhood in all its magnificence.

She had never touched a man, and her hands moved freely as she explored the size and hardness of his body. His bare skin flowed smooth and cool beneath her fingertips. She caressed his arms, shoulders, neck, and tangled her fingers in his hair. Cory refused to let him escape as she tasted the saltiness of his skin, felt the rough bristle of his cheek, and plundered the soft moistness of his mouth.

She gasped for breath. This strange fever clouded any clear judgment or thought of consequence.

He kissed her face and neck, blazing a trail lower and lower as her breath caught in her throat. Her pulse beat at a shattering pace beneath his mouth. A groan escaped her parted lips.

His hands explored the curves beneath her flimsy robe and lowered the fabric to reach naked flesh. He kissed her bare shoulder and caught the strap of her gown with his teeth until it came undone and fell away. His hand cupped the heavy fullness of her breast and gently squeezed. His thumb skimmed over her smooth nipple, teasing it to a throbbing peak. He lowered his mouth and suckled the swollen fruit.

Cory’s eyes widened at this new and surprising sensation. She had seen the look on a new mother’s face when a baby was placed on the breast to nurse. Was it like this? A wave of contractions traveled through her body and nestled between her legs. The place babies came from. He was exploring forbidden territory. She shoved against his chest. “Stop! Stop! Stop!”

Tyler raised his head, his mouth moist from feasting. She backed away, stealing the bruised fruit from his lips. Her trembling hands snatched the fallen corner of her nightgown, and her fingers fumbled at the ties as she knotted the strap.

“Where are you going?” He followed toward the door.

Cory grabbed the pitchfork in the wheelbarrow and raised it in defense.

Tyler stopped short and raised his hands. “What did I do?”

“You were taking liberties!” A sob escaped her throat. She stabbed the pitchfork in his direction.

“You were hot. I may have started the kissing, but you certainly didn’t resist.”

He spoke the truth, but pride dictated she protest. “I lost my head.”

He stepped closer.

“For a moment.” She pointed the sharp tines at his chest. “I’m a virgin and have every intention of remaining one until my wedding night.”

He stopped in his tracks. A silent pause separated them. “Are you sure you want to save yourself for one man?”

Cory’s arms shook. “How many holes do I need to put in you?”

“One is quite enough.” He backed away and grabbed the lantern he had left near the stall. “I think it’s time to go in.”

Cory returned the pitchfork to the wheelbarrow and opened the barn door. Tyler reached to hold the door, but she bolted at his nearness and raced to the house. She didn’t want to be with Tyler a minute longer. She didn’t trust herself. She needed to erect a barrier preventing any repeat of her wanton behavior. She had kissed a man she barely knew. And more! The shame of it. If anyone found out, she’d be ruined. And a slave owner, too. What had happened to her standards? Her self-control? Her future plans?

Tyler entered the kitchen after her. “So, now what?”

Cory raised her hand as she struggled out of her work boots. “Let’s promise never to talk about it again.”

She stumbled, and he offered his hand. She jerked away.

“I was only going to help you.”

“I know, but touching leads to kissing, and kissing leads to…babies.”

“Are you that fertile?”

She put her hand on her hip. “My mother had six children in less than twelve years. Even a Harvard lawyer should be able to figure out the probability.”

“So, we should plan on a large family.”

“You’re a slave owner. I don’t want to marry you.”

“Honey, you should work harder to discourage me.”

She grabbed the edges of her robe and made sure her breasts were covered. “I know I behaved shamelessly.” She couldn’t tell him about the slave. “I have no explanation. Please, forget it ever happened.”

Tyler removed the disfigured slug of lead from his pocket. “This trophy won’t let me forget.”

She recognized the bullet. “Give it to me!”

He raised it above her reach. “The memories tied to it are too valuable now.”

“You’d ruin my life to brag about your conquest?”

“Your villainous opinion of me isn’t flattering.” He thrust the bullet into his pocket. “Don’t worry. No one will ever know about your slip from society’s Puritan principles.” He raised his hand as if in court. “I swear it.”

Cory lit her candle and blew out the lantern. She hurried to the foyer. She paused on the bottom step. Tyler joined her. “Do you promise never to kiss me again?”

Tyler chuckled.

“Hush.” Cory glanced upstairs to Adelaide’s bedroom. She cautiously climbed the steps, pausing when one creaked beneath her weight.

“That, my sweet, is one promise I won’t make.” Tyler patted her bottom.

Cory elbowed his side. Unfortunately, it was the one with the wound, and he nearly buckled, crying out in pain.

“I’m sorry.” She put her arm around him and helped him climb the remaining steps.

They paused by his door. “I can tell you’re not accustomed to having a man around, but I’ll grow on you.”

“Go to bed.” She slipped out from under his weight and dashed to her room. She tore off her robe, jumped into bed, and snatched the blanket over her head. She had let a man touch her in an inappropriate manner, and not any man, but a Southern slave owner too handsome for mortality, who made her forget all the teachings of restraint. “Marriage first. Marriage to a respectable man like Douglas.” She poked her head out from under the thin cover. She needed to think rationally, but doubts persisted. What if Douglas didn’t make her weak in the knees like Tyler? She had tasted the forbidden fruit and doubted she would ever be satisfied with basic bread and butter. She groaned as she closed her eyes and wished for the answers.