To Tame a Renegade (8 page)

C
had desperately wanted to turn Flint around and ride hell for leather out of town, but something stopped him. That something had a name. It was Sarah Temple. He hadn’t wanted to come here. He hadn’t expected to see Sarah again, but some perverse demon demanded that he dismount and go inside. It was almost as if he could hear Sarah’s plea for help and it annoyed the hell out of him.

Chad despised the idea of being needed. He didn’t want to feel any strong emotion for a woman. Yet something had drawn him to Sarah’s house like a bee to honey. Resignation set his feet into motion as he approached the front door. He didn’t knock. He merely opened the door and stepped inside. The house was small. He could see straight through the parlor into the kitchen, where Sarah sat staring with consternation into a bowl of oatmeal.

Sarah sensed his presence and swiveled around to face him. “If you’ve come to tell Abner goodbye, he’s not here.”

Chad strode into the kitchen, noting with satisfaction that, for the first time since her accident, Sarah was fully dressed in a gray gown that looked as if it had seen better days. “Mrs. Barlow must have been here this morning. I’m glad it’s working out.”

Sarah glared at him. “Why are you here?”

“Damned if I know.” He glanced at the bowl of oatmeal sitting in front of Sarah. “That’s going to get cold. Don’t you like oatmeal?”

“I…” She glanced down at her hands and shrugged. “Carrie had to leave and my hands won’t hold the spoon.”

Chad spit out a curse. This wasn’t going to work, he could see that now. Carrie Barlow’s family came first and Sarah was likely to starve before she was capable of feeding herself. With resignation he sat down and picked up the spoon.

“Open your mouth.” His voice was harsher than he intended but he was so damn frustrated he couldn’t think beyond the fact that Sarah was this way because of him.

Sarah’s chin jutted out “You don’t have to…”

“Yes, I do. Just do as I say.”

Sarah’s mouth fell open and Chad shoved a spoonful of oatmeal into it She chewed and swallowed and opened her mouth again when the spoon returned to her lips. In a surprisingly short time the bowl was empty.

“Have you had enough?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“You could pretend to be grateful.”

“Why? I wouldn’t be helpless now if you hadn’t turned up on my doorstep.”

“I rescued your son from a beating.”

Sarah grit her teeth. “I already thanked you, what more do you want from me?”

Chad stared at her, his expression troubled. “I wish I knew.”

Sarah felt the searing heat of his gaze and stared into the carved, compelling contours of his face. Her insides clenched as she nervously dampened her lips. She sensed a recklessness in him; a kind of raw energy that was now focused on her and it unnerved her.

Chad tried to control the stirring in his blood, cursing the way it thickened and settled in his lower regions. His gaze settled on Sarah’s full breasts, uncomfortably aware of the way they rose and fell with her breathing, pressing against the worn material of her dress. He recalled how firm and white they were and he ached to test their weight in his hands. He didn’t want to remember the softness of her shapely body but that single glimpse he’d had when he’d undressed her made him desperate to have her.

Whatever she was, whatever she had been in the past, the fact remained that Sarah Temple was a beautiful young woman, shapely, sensuous, and alluring. Unwelcome as the notion was, Chad admitted that he wouldn’t mind sharing a night or two of passion with Sarah.

Suddenly Chad noticed a tiny drop of oatmeal clinging to the corner of Sarah’s mouth and he leaned close. His glittering gaze held her immobile as he flicked out his tongue and lapped the oatmeal from her lips. A groan slipped past his throat. She tasted delicious and that one taste wasn’t enough. Leaning closer, his lips covered hers. He felt Sarah stiffen when his tongue delved deep, devouring her with shameless satisfaction.

Chad wanted to pull her against him, to mold the length of her warm body to his, but feared he’d hurt her. He had to satisfy himself with cupping her breasts in his large hands and rolling her nipples between his fingers.

He heard her whimper of protest and wondered if any man had touched her since Abner’s conception. He could tell she enjoyed his touch, and he felt something powerful and erotic jolt through him at the thought He began to gently massage her breasts, savoring their softness.

He felt Sarah stiffen and pull away from him. “No! Stop! I can’t do this.”

Chad’s jaw hardened. “You should have told that to Abner’s father.”

Sarah looked as if she’d been struck and Chad felt a brief stab of remorse. She rose awkwardly to her feet and shrugged him away when he offered to help. Unable to use her arms, she lost her balance. Chad saw what was happening and swept her into his arms scant moments before she toppled over. He held her against him, barely able to contain his amusement.

“Where do you wish to go?” Chad asked.

“The parlor will do,” Sarah said, “but I can walk. There’s nothing wrong with my legs.”

The corners of Chad’s mouth tilted upward into a wolfish grin. “Damn right there isn’t. Your legs are damn near perfect.”

“You’re incorrigible, Chad Delaney,” Sarah said, glaring at him.

“Guilty,” Chad agreed. He lowered his head as if to kiss her again.

Sarah stiffened in his arms. “Don’t do that!”

Chad remembered the blood-pounding desire he had felt when he’d kissed her, the way she had returned the kiss for those brief few moments, and he wanted to feel her mouth soften beneath his again. His lips hovered inches from hers as he stared into her compelling violet eyes, stunned by the turbulent emotions he saw stirring deep within them.

Suddenly the front door was flung open. It hit the wall with an explosive bang.

“Harlot! Thank the merciful Lord we’re here in time to prevent you from sinning again. You have been seduced by the devil. He forces you to fornicate with any man with coin to pay for your services. You are doomed, I say!” the reverend intoned loudly. “Doomed to everlasting hell.”

“Father! Mother!” Sarah shuddered.

“So, the rumors are true,” Hezekiah charged, eyeing Chad with righteous indignation. “You are living in sin with this man. Repent now or suffer the fires of hell.”

Chad set Sarah carefully on her feet, his temper dangling by a slim thread. “You have a poor opinion of your daughter, Reverend.”

“I have but one daughter, her name is Ruth,” Hezekiah intoned. “Ruth is a fine, God-fearing woman.”

Chad’s unrelenting gaze bored in on Sarah’s mother. “Have you come to help Sarah, Mrs. Temple?”

“I wish to bring a sinner back to God,” Hazel said, glancing submissively at her husband. “I pray for Sarah’s soul every day.”

“Wouldn’t you like to see your grandson?” Chad asked.

“Chad, please,” Sarah begged.

“No, Sarah, I’d like to know what your sanctimonious parents think about their grandson. Abner is a fine boy; they should be proud of him.”

“The boy is a whore’s get,” Hezekiah claimed in a holier-than-thou voice. “He is nothing to us. Isn’t that right, Hazel?”

A fleeting look of remorse crossed Hazel’s face, but it was so brief Chad thought he must have imagined it “Yes, Hezekiah, you’re absolutely right The boy is nothing to us.”

A strangled sob escaped from Sarah’s throat “Say whatever you want about me, Father, but please leave Abner alone. He’s an innocent child and doesn’t deserve your scorn. If you opened your heart to him you’d…”

“I did not come here to talk about your bastard,” Hezekiah said, his thin chest puffed out with self-righteous fury. “I’ve come to redeem a sinner. To turn her away from the devil. But I see now that Sarah does not seek redemption.

“Sarah is an embarrassment to my family and must be punished. Fornicating openly, without shame or remorse, is evil.”

“Father! I’m not what you think. You must believe me.”

Hezekiah snorted in derision. “Do you even know who fathered your child? How many men had you lain with before conceiving the devil’s spawn? And don’t think for a minute that I believe your story about being forced. Even as a child you were disobedient, unruly, and a liar, nothing like your sweet sister.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Father. I’ve been truthful with you but you refuse to believe me.” Her chin raised fractionally. “I no longer care what you think. Nor will I allow you to hurt my son. You cannot make me leave Carbon. I have no other place to go.”

Chad’s hands clenched at his sides. He wanted to toss the preacher out on his ear so badly he had to exert tremendous restraint to keep from doing so. He moved closer to Sarah, unconsciously lending support.

“You leave me with no choice,” Hezekiah thundered as he pointed a bony finger at Sarah. “On your knees, sinner! It is my duty to beat the evil-ness out of you.”

He turned to Chad as he removed a leather strap from somewhere beneath his rusty black coat. “I suggest you leave, sir. I strongly advise that in the future you curb your lust Consorting with whores will lead you to perdition.”

Chad eyed the length of leather in the reverend’s hands and snarled in outrage. “And I strongly advise that you leave this house and not return. If you raise that strap to your daughter, you’re placing your life in serious jeopardy.”

Sarah refused to cringe beneath her father’s hurtful words. In her heart she knew she’d done nothing of which to be ashamed. What really distressed her was the fact that Chad had to hear all this. This was the first time her father had turned up on her doorstep since he’d disowned her, and she prayed it would be the last.

She stared with awe at Chad. No one had ever defended her before. She had managed on her own before Chad Delaney walked into her life and she could do so again.

“I can defend myself, Chad. Father beat me once but I won’t allow it to happen again.”

Her words had no effect on Chad, and in fact, Sarah had no idea whether Chad had even heard her, so intent was he on the reverend.

“Your daughter has suffered enough for her mistake, Reverend, and paid a hefty price. Leave her alone, she’s not bothering you.”

The leather strap wavered in Hezekiah’s hands. “Sarah’s presence in town upsets my family. She knew what she was doing when she first sinned with a man. You do not know her evil nature, sir. Be off with you and leave (he sinner to me.”

He took a menacing step toward Sarah, but Chad deliberately blocked his path. “Are you going to leave or must I throw you out?”

Hazel pulled on her husband’s arm. “He means what he says, Hezekiah. Perhaps we should leave and return at another time. He will tire of Sarah soon and leave town. His kind never sticks around long. They flit indiscriminately from whore to whore.”

Sarah made a strangled sound in the back of her throat. To be called a whore by her own mother deeply saddened her. She knew her mother was completely dominated by her over-zealous father but she’d harbored a slim hope that her mother would relent one day. That hope
was
now shattered, just as quickly as her life had been ruined by a man. Fortunately Chad intervened before Sarah broke down completely and made a fool of herself.

“Listen to your wife, Reverend,” Chad advised.

“Leave now while you still have two good legs to carry you.”

“Are you threatening me, sir?”

“You’re damn right I am! Get out, get out now.”

Hezekiah sent a threatening glance at Sarah, then grasped his wife’s elbow and headed for the door. “Very well. I cannot abide the stench of corruption,” he said, directing his words to both Sarah and Chad.

“And I cannot abide a sanctimonious sermonizer who sees only black and white. Good day, Reverend.”

Hezekiah dragged Hazel out the door as if the devil was nipping at his heels. He did not look back as he marched away, his body rigid with outrage.

Sarah watched her parents leave, her eyes awash with tears. She thought they had broken her heart years ago, but that was nothing compared to what she now suffered. How could they be so unfeeling toward their own daughter, so unforgiving? A preacher’s duty was to save sinners. Not that she had sinned, for she had been sinned against, and was paying dearly for it As a result, her trustful nature had been seriously impaired and her innocence lost forever. Fresh tears flowed down her cheeks in silent mourning as she turned her face away from Chad.

Chad cursed beneath his breath. He’d known heartless people before but the Temples topped the list. He glanced at Sarah, saw her tears, and felt something inside him give. He marveled at the fact that he cared so much. He thought he’d lost that ability long ago. Women were devious creatures; he didn’t want to feel anything for them. Sarah had a son but no husband. The townspeople called her a whore. Her own parents had disowned her. Who and what was the real Sarah? he wondered.

Despite his grave misgivings, Chad reached for her, moved by the perplexing urge to offer comfort Carefully he brought her into his arms and lifted her face to his.

“Don’t cry. They’re not worth it.”

“It’s not just them,” Sarah admitted. “It’s everything. This town, the people, the difficulty of putting food on the table. I’d take Abner far away if I could, but I can barely feed us let alone find the money to settle in another town. I’m not a whore, no matter what you’ve heard. Granted I’m an unwed mother, but that doesn’t make me a bad person.”