Breathless (5 page)

Her orgasms had made her feel powerfully feminine and alive again. Colt was a fabulous lover. Once she’d pointed the way toward oral sex as a good way to avoid penetration, he’d taken the lead like a master.

She cupped herself, gave her mound a shimmy, to feel the aftereffects of coming. Sweet release from being with a sweet man.

With a happy spin, she went into the bath to fill the narrow tub. The apartment had all the modern conveniences. A copper water heater in the kitchen provided plenty of hot water. She indulged and found some Epsom salts to pour in. No scent, but the mineral soak eased her achy muscles. Stella’s body hadn’t had sex in way too long, and the days in bed following her accident had left her weaker than she’d been the day Blue had woken up here.

She found a new block of ice in the icebox. The milk was cold, and there was a fresh loaf of bread in a breadbox on the counter. All in all, the kitchen was well stocked, and Blue felt more at home than she imagined she would. No electrical appliances, but she recognized a lot of the kitchen gadgets from trips to the museum.

She headed down to the store and found a box of breakfast cereal she recognized. She knew corn flakes had been around forever, but this was way cool.

While she paid Jed for her purchases, the bell over the shop door rang. At the sound, she turned and saw Belle, dressed in a slim skirt and long-waisted coat. Her hat, a brilliant crimson number, was velvet, with a wide brim and long ties that fluttered over her ample breasts. The color emphasized her white-blonde hair and reminded Blue of Faye again. The women were obviously related. Aside from their appearance, the women shared one other thing that made them stand out.

They’d both been kind to Blue McCann.

Jed and Belle exchanged greetings, but Belle looked drawn and unhappy, in spite of the slight lift of her lips that she mustered into a fleeting smile.

Payback. Time to offer a kindness in return.

“I was about to make some coffee, Belle. Care for a cup?” If she could figure out the old-fashioned coffee percolator, she’d be fine.

B
elle’s expression didn’t lighten until she dropped her hat and gloves on Stella’s kitchen table. She relaxed and settled into a chair. Blue filled the coffee percolator with water and the basket with grounds. She set it on the stove, mentally crossing her fingers that it turned out all right.

When she faced Belle again, the other woman was worrying at her bottom lip and staring out the window.

“Belle? What’s the problem?” She’d been so kind to Blue at Perdition, Blue had to offer whatever help she could.

“I’m pregnant.” Belle lifted wet eyes to her and blew out a breath. “There, I said it. I feel so stupid!”

“But, how?” More importantly, “Who?” Blue asked.

“The usual way, with the usual culprit: a man I thought was a trifle but turned out to be far more. Love makes us all fools,” Belle said through a tired smile. She waved her hand. “His name doesn’t matter, and he can’t know. No one can know.”

“You need a doctor to be certain. Have you seen Colt?”

“What woman needs a doctor to know about a baby?” she scoffed. Her brows knit into a frown. “And do you think I’d see him over my own sister?” Belle’s eyes went sharp with anger, as if Stella should know better. As if Stella would understand the need for secrets.

Stella was Belle Grantham’s sister!
Blue sank to her ladder-back chair and put her hand over Belle’s in comfort. As much for herself as for Belle. “But, you’re sure?”

Belle moved a comforting hand across her flat belly. “I’m sure.” For the first time since she’d seen her downstairs, a shy joy showed in Belle’s expression, and Blue needed no more confirmation. She’d seen the look many times while she’d been in classes.

A burbling, popping sound came from the stove top and the air filled with the scent of fresh coffee. Belle stood and got down cups, saucers, and the sugar bowl, obviously comfortable in Stella’s kitchen. Naturally she’d be at home in her sister’s kitchen. She found a pie that Hope had left for Stella on the counter. “Apple, my favorite,” she said, and started to cut wedges.

Blue watched and blinked back a tear. She’d never had a sister, but her heart swelled with some emotion she was afraid to name. “Apple’s my favorite too,” she said, full of questions that had nothing to do with pie or coffee.

Belle went to the stove for the coffee, but Blue stood and stayed her hand. “You sit. No caffeine for you. You’ll have a glass of milk.” Her voice was firm and steady, which amazed her because her hands shook.

This must be why she was here. Stella was a midwife, and her sister needed her.

Belle gave her an odd look when Blue guided her to her seat. “Coffee’s not good for the baby,” she explained.

“Nonsense,” Belle snapped. “I’ll drink what I want. Nothing passes to the child, everyone knows that.”

How could she tell her that old information was wrong? “No alcohol either,” Blue said sternly, holding her gaze. “I’m serious, Belle. Pregnant women need to eat well, sleep well, and get exercise and fresh air.” Not to mention vitamins, massages, and regular checkups. She could just imagine Belle and Colt’s expressions if she mentioned any of those modern ideas.

Belle made a noise through her teeth. “Ridiculous.” But she slid her cup and saucer to the far side of the table, in a gesture meant to mollify Stella.

“I suppose you think I’m here to ask you to get rid of it, but I’m not.”

It was a sad fact that women had practiced abortion as birth control for thousands of years. Some of the home remedies were deadly. “You’re not?” Blue asked, keeping her face clear of relief. She didn’t know how Stella would react to a statement like Belle’s, so she opted for neutrality.

“I’ve thought about this ever since your accident. Life’s precious, and I want to give this child a good home,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “We’ll go to Europe for a Grand Tour where you’ll deliver the baby. We should leave next month.”

“I can’t deliver the baby!”

“Why not?”

“Well,” she blustered, “what if the delivery goes wrong? I’m your sister, Belle. I might get too emotional, too upset to think clearly.” She had the overwhelming urge to wring her hands at the idea of Belle putting her and her newborn’s life into her inexperienced hands. This couldn’t possibly be right. This couldn’t be why this switch was made.

Anyone would think it common knowledge that they were sisters, but the more she thought of it, she couldn’t recall anyone mentioning it.

And Stella looked nothing like Belle, except for their hourglass figures. They both had big boobs and trim waists.

“What are you staring at?” Belle asked.

“I’m looking for…”

“A maternal glow? Forget it, Stella. You won’t see it.”

She rolled her eyes and patted her hand where it held the forkful of apple pie. “I’ve already seen it.”

Belle blanched. “Well, fine, I do feel a…certain attachment,” she admitted. “But I won’t keep this child. I can’t keep it and expect to stay in business. No one knows we’re sisters, and no one can know I’m a mother. You and this child can be used against me. My loving you both—” Her voice broke off suddenly and tears welled. “Don’t look so surprised. I am capable of tears. I am capable of—” She broke off again and gathered her strength. “I am capable of love.”

“Of course you are!” Blue rose and went to her
sister
. She knelt by Belle’s chair and wrapped her arms around her shaking shoulders. “I love you too!” She wasn’t sure if the sisters said it much, but the words were needed now. Her chest warmed with affection, and she enjoyed a glimmer of hope that maybe she could be of help here.

“The baby, Stella. Will you raise it?” Belle whispered against her hair. She went on, “It’s a lot to ask, but what else can we do?” She ended her sniffles, dabbed at her eyes, wiped her nose, and the breakdown was over. Gone, as if it had never happened. Blue leaned back and watched in awe as Belle Grantham’s backbone straightened and her eyes glittered hard. “If I were ever blackmailed into revealing secrets, there’s no telling the damage that could be done.”

Politicians, captains of industry, they all found their way to Perdition House sooner or later. Belle was right to keep the baby a secret. If her child was threatened, Belle would do whatever was necessary to save it, even bring down a government.

With the First World War on the horizon, America needed stability. An unstable America at this point in history could mean a different outcome for the world. Even though America didn’t join in until 1917, their support was essential in winning the war to end all wars, as it was called.

“I’ll help you, Belle. Just tell me what you need me to do.”

“How involved are you with Colt Stephens?” Belle leaned in as if it were a rare occurrence for the sisters to share confidences. Which appeared to be the case, because apparently Stella hadn’t known about the man in Belle’s life.

No one had any knowledge of Belle’s private life, and it had to stay that way.

Blue wondered at all the secrets Perdition House held. “Why do you ask about Colt?” She was entitled to a secret of her own.

“Please, it’s clear as glass he’s mad for you, and the moment you woke up after that bump on the head, you looked at him differently.”

Blue shrugged. It was on the tip of her tongue to pass him off as a fling, but the memory of the way he held her, his expressive face full of true affection stopped the comment. “I like him. A lot.”

“Have you taken him to bed yet?”

Blue felt heat rise from her neck to her hairline.

Belle laughed, low and husky, a woman who knew the signs. “I thought so. Is there talk of marriage?” Her eyes went sharp again, the consummate businesswoman.

“He’s mentioned it.”

She frowned. “Make certain to marry him. Promise me again.”

Again? This was dangerous ground. “Why marriage?” she shrugged. “You don’t care about all that.”

“But our father does. And since he raised you with his wife, and not like me with Mama’s wild influences, he’ll expect you to marry. You shouldn’t disappoint him. The scandal would probably reveal me as his daughter too. The whole thing is a house of cards, Stella. Our lives will be ruined.” She stood and paced the wide floorboards.

“Marry Colt and he’ll come to Europe with us. When we come back with a baby, they’ll think it’s yours.”

Blue could only hope to stay here that long. An adventure! Intrigue! Her heart thudded faster, and she felt almost as alive and excited as she did in the sack with Colt. Delicious man.

Blue’s body had been so ill for so long, she’d never considered having a child. She wouldn’t have lived long enough to have a family. This chance to raise Belle’s baby with a good man at her side seemed like an offer from heaven itself.

“Next time he asks me, I’ll accept. It shouldn’t be difficult, he’s a good man.” She raised her eyes to the ceiling and sent up a silent prayer that this charade among Stella, Blue, and whatever force, for good or evil, could continue forever.

“Papa will be pleased one of us will make good. And this will keep his name clear of scandal, will allow me to see my child as it grows, and keep me in business.”

“If I didn’t have strong feelings for Colt, I would have to refuse.”

Belle slammed to a halt. “Which reminds me. Why have you changed your mind about him?”

Blue tilted her chin in a gesture that seemed right for the woman she’d learned Stella to be: fearless, adventurous, and kind. “He’s proven to be a much better man than my stubborn mind allowed me to see at first glance.”

Belle eyed her shrewdly. “All right. We’re agreed, then.”

“How soon do you want to leave?”

Belle slid her hand across her belly in a common gesture of maternal love. “No later than next month.”

“Fine. We’ll tell Colt about the baby after a wedding date is set. He’ll have to know about our father, and all the reasons for keeping our secrets, or he won’t agree. I think I know him well enough to know that about him.”

She only hoped she could find a way to guarantee she could live out Stella’s life. She eyed her “sister.” Belle would be devastated to learn the woman she knew as Stella wasn’t actually Stella. If Blue did manage to stay in this time, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before she felt true sisterly affection for the madame of Perdition House. Maybe that would be enough for both of them.

“How can you leave the business for months?”

“Felicity will take it over for me. She’s the only one I’d trust to keep the house running smoothly. The gentlemen like her and the captain’s not the jealous sort. Besides, we’ve been friends since we were children together in Galveston. The captain knows more about me than you do.” She smiled softly, the picture of maternal wisdom.

“Will you tell Felicity why you’re leaving?” It was a test to see how secret this baby would be.

“No one but you, Colt, and I will know.”

It should be simple enough to have Colt deliver the baby when the time came. With that out of the way, she felt a stirring of excitement. She rose and hugged Belle. “We’ll raise this baby together, Belle. You’ll be the most loving auntie any child could have.”

Then they had a sniffling good cry together.

Two days later, Colt rushed through the checkup on Mr. Henderson’s appendectomy. Satisfied with the way the incision was healing, he returned home, only to find Howard Jones in the examination room there. His cheek was swollen.

Colt took one look inside the man’s mouth and sent him to the dentist for a tooth extraction. He could have done it, but he had a gentleman’s agreement with the local dentist, and Colt always kept his word. As soon as Jones stepped outside into the cooling evening air, he locked the office door.

The half-dozen prophylactics he had in his medical bag called to him. Two days of being with Stella without being inside her was killing him.

In spite of his recent lamentable behavior with an unmarried woman, he was a gentleman. Stella was a lady, well-bred and raised by one of the leading men in industry. He had to do right by her.

He wanted to do right by her, in spite of her forward-thinking ways. She was an odd combination. For a midwife to come from her background and standing was rare. Unheard of, actually. Most midwives these days were from immigrant families, and a concerted effort from the medical community was afoot to rid the country of all of them.

He slipped into his coat, grabbed his hat, and stepped out into the gathering gloom with nothing but Stella on his mind.

All in all, she had been lucky to establish herself with the women in Perdition House. He supposed it was the measure of respect he’d seen between Stella and Belle Grantham that allowed for the easy rapport Stella had with the women who worked in the house.

He and Stella had agreed on no penetration, but he already found that agreement untenable. Preparation was the only sensible way to handle their attraction.

He wanted Stella, in ways he’d never wanted another woman. The thoughts that ringed his mind were like a band of hedonistic pleasures that tightened every hour and made his blood heat to boiling.

It wasn’t just physical release he craved. He wanted so much more. He wanted her love, her kind thoughts; he wanted a life with her and children! The thought of children with Stella made his footsteps falter and halt.

With one hand on the door of his automobile, he stood stunned at the vision before his mind’s eye. Stella with a baby in her arms and a toddler clutching her skirt.

It was all a man could wish for, as he saw the imaginary Stella raise her eyes to his with heated promise.

He climbed into his automobile and headed with determination to her apartment. They had much to discuss.