Godsend (Hell Yeah! Heritage), page 22
“No.” She kissed his cheek. “I’m going to have your baby.”
Austin closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “Everything will be fine. We’re having a baby and Garrett is no longer a threat.”
“I know.” She clutched him tighter. “I just wish I could give you back everything you’ve lost.”
Austin chuckled, his wide chest vibrating beneath her cheek. “Right now, I feel like the wealthiest man in the world. Here, eat something with me. You need to keep your strength up.” Jolie nestled in his arms and accepted a bite of jerky. “What happened with the rebellion?” Austin was almost afraid to ask.
Jolie sighed and rubbed her cheek against his coat. This wasn’t nearly as important to her as everything else, but she knew it would be important to him. “Not one single Cherokee showed up to help Edwards. When they saw the rebellion was hopeless, they fled. Mr. Bean pursued them to the Sabine River, but they escaped to the United States. When we left, Father Miguel said that Ahumada had come to Nacogdoches to restore order.”
“Good. Maybe we can put all of this behind us and just live in peace.”
“I want that too.” She pushed her fingers through his hair. “Thank you for coming back to me.” His kissed her gently. “I was heading to Antonio de Chireno’s to ask him to accompany me home to help me get you in the house. Do you still want to go by there?”
“No.” Austin shook his head. “I think I can manage to get myself out of the wagon. I just want to go home.”
When they drew near their home, Sandy jumped out and ran ahead of them, his tail wagging happily. Austin held his breath, not knowing what to expect. He knew anything was possible – the house might be damaged, his animals could be long gone, everything he owned could’ve been stolen by anyone who might have happened upon his place.
“Amigo! Welcome home!”
Jolie clapped her hands. “Look, Austin! Antonio and Ama are here!”
And so was everything else.
Austin slowed the buckboard to a stop, got down slowly and went to greet his friends. “What have you done?” he asked in wonder.
“We came and gathered your livestock. We’ve kept everything safe for you.”
Jolie hugged them both. She couldn’t believe their good fortune. “What wonderful friends you are!”
Together, they started toward the house. Austin was so grateful and thankful to find his home in good shape and waiting for them.
“I guess you have heard the good news.” Antonio walked next to Austin, ready to offer aid if he stumbled.
“Yes, Jolie told me that all of the turbulent times look to be behind us.”
“For now.” Antonio nodded. “I did hear the Cherokees executed Chief Fields.”
Austin frowned. “I hate to hear that.”
Antonio shrugged. “It was a move to pacify Mexico.” They were quiet for a few moments before he added. “I think the Texans will seek independence eventually.”
“When they do, are we going to be on separate sides?” Austin asked with a smile.
“You and I may form our own coalition, gringo. I identify with you and this land more than I do a nation I left long ago.”
“How can I ever thank you, Chireno?”
Antonio placed a hand on his shoulder. “Be happy, love well, and live a long time.”
As he followed his Jolie into their home, he shook his good friend’s hand. “I’ll accept your price, if you’ll promise to do the same.”
That night, long after Antonio and Ama had taken their leave, Austin held Jolie in his arms. He wanted to make love, but she wouldn’t let him move, afraid he wasn’t strong enough. “Well, you make love to me,” he suggested teasingly.
“How?” she asked, ready to try anything.
“You get on top, ride me.”
His suggestion made her warm all over. “I want to try.” Her enthusiasm fired his own lust. Her hands roving over his body, her lips feathering kisses, lighting upon his skin like butterfly wings. Everywhere she touched him, Austin felt the fire of his love grow stronger.
“Closer,” he urged, his lips hungry for her, his hands eager to caress her breasts.
Jolie straddled him, making her body available for his pleasure. As he rubbed and petted, making himself happy, she closed her eyes in ecstasy. Only a short time ago, she’d thought this would never happen again. That realization only sweetened the moment.
“Now. I need you now,” he said with barely contained eagerness.
“Help me,” she pleaded, settling her hands on his shoulder, her hips raised so he could guide himself into her. At the first touch, she inhaled sharply. “What do I do now?”
Austin laughed, so happy he didn’t know what to do. “Just sink down, take me inside you.”
Holding his head, their fingers entwined, she did as he said. “Ah, yes,” she sighed with a smile. “This feels good.”
Austin wholeheartedly agreed. He just laid back and loved it. Jolie rose and sank down. Over and over again. Every move she made was paradise. He watched her face, the blessing of the moment almost unbelievable.
Jolie’s motivation was to please, but as she moved, her own pleasure began to build. Soon, she had her hands on his chest and she was moving feverishly. “Austin!”
“I’m right with you. Let go, baby. Fly for me.”
Watching her face, feeling her tense, the spasms of her sex tightening around his manhood, all of these things worked to bring him right to the edge. And when she came, when she cried out his name, when she raked those little nails across his shoulders – Austin emptied himself inside of her with a shout of his own. “Jolie, my Jolie, I love you!”
* * *
Spring sprung in all of its glory. Jolie and Austin worked together, their toiling made joyous because they did it side by side. She wasn’t showing very much, but the knowledge that she carried his child made Austin overly protective. Everything she did, he watched her like a hawk, urging her to take her time, to be careful.
“I can do this,” she insisted as she kept on planting the grains of corn.
“I know, I just think you need to sit down and rest.”
“I’ll rest when I’m through, darling.”
“What am I going to do with you, Jolie?”
“Love me.”
He laughed. How could he argue with that?
“Jolie! Jolie!”
Jolie jerked her head up. “Did you hear that?”
Austin did hear it. “Sounds like a woman.”
“Jolie!” The cry came again.
“I recognize that voice. It was a voice she never expected to ever hear again. “Charlotte!”
With her cry of absolute joy, Jolie began to run.
“Be careful!” Austin urged as she took off, Sandy running behind her.
Across the field, Jolie ran until she saw them coming. Charlotte, her beloved Charlotte was running to her and she wasn’t alone. “Abraham!” Jolie threw her hands in the air and began to cry. “Oh, my Abraham!”
By the time Austin arrived, he was stunned to see the two women and the young black man in a huddled embrace. Father Miguel stood to one side, looking extremely pleased with himself.
He stood patiently by until the trio pulled apart. “Austin, this is my cousins. Charlotte Belmont and Abraham Waters. This is Austin…my husband.”
Over the next hour or so, he was amazed to learn that these two had been searching for Jolie since the day she’d been dragged from Charlotte’s home at Oak Hill. “If I’d been there that day, Jolie, they would’ve had to go over my dead body. I couldn’t believe those two harpies did that to you.”
Abraham laughed. “She left them. Miss Charlotte withdrew money from the bank and walked off and left them.”
“You did?” Jolie marveled.
“Yes, I never approved of the way they treated you, but I was young and stupid. Once Daddy died, and they betrayed you, I decided I didn’t want to live with them anymore.”
“She came and found me.” Abraham announced with pride. “I take care of Miss Charlotte now.”
“You work for her?” she asked her male cousin.
“He works with me,” Charlotte clarified. “Abraham is an artist. We have a studio in New Orleans now, we’re partners.” Her face grew solemn and sad. “I never stopped looking for you. I turned over every stone to find you. It wasn’t until Garrett Thomas sent someone to New Orleans to retrace Coffi’s movements that I found out where you’d gone. Once we did, Abraham and I set out to locate you. The men at Gaines Ferry remembered you and the others. From there, it wasn’t very hard. We ended up in Nacogdoches where we found Father Miguel and learned how you’d saved the entire settlement from the fever.”
“That she did,” Austin said proudly. “My wife is the most wonderful woman in the world.”
“So, you’re married?” Charlotte asked.
“And expecting. We’re married and she’s having my baby,” Austin announced with great pride.
Jolie nodded. “Well, we jumped the broom. I can’t get married to him, of course,” she admitted sadly.
There was a moment of silence. Just the rattle of Abraham’s spoon against his plate. Jolie had fed them sumptuously. She had no idea how they would all sleep, but she was determined to make it work somehow. Having her family with her was worth any amount of inconvenience and she had no doubt that Austin felt the same way.
Charlotte made a face. “Stupid laws. Beyond the thin layer of our skin, there is no difference. If you were to examine each of our blood apart from our bodies, who could tell the difference?”
Austin stared into the fire. “You’re right, Charlotte.” He stood. “You’re absolutely right. Father! I’d like to speak to you outside, if I may.”
Jolie watched the two men exit the room. “What’s going on?”
Abraham shrugged. “I don’t know, but I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. After what I’ve learned about Austin McCoy, I have no doubt he loves you very much.”
“He bought you?” Charlotte smiled. “Spent every coin he had?” She swooned. “That is so romantic. You have found a man among men, Jolie.”
…Outside, Austin faced the priest. “This myth about the blood. They say one drop of another race’s blood makes you a part of that race. Am I right?”
The young padre’s brow was furrowed. “I have heard this. Chief Fields was one-eighth Indian and they called him Indian.” He smiled. “No one knows this, but I am mestizo. Mixed race. My mother is half Comanche. This is why my heart ached for you and Jolie.”
“If my blood was mixed with Jolie’s, if we shared the same blood, would you marry us?”
Father Miguel gave Austin a slight bow. “I came for two purposes, to bring Jolie’s family to her and to tell you both that I will hear your vows. The God I serve would want this. I will register your nuptials and stand by my decision. After what your Jolie did for the people of Nacogdoches, I don’t expect one word of protest.”
“Well, come on, Father. What are we waiting for?”
When Austin and the priest returned, Jolie could tell something was happening. “What is it?” she asked, trying to read the expression on Austin’s face.
“Go put on your pretty green dress for me. Would you?”
Jolie rose. “It’s going to be a little tight across the middle.” She’d had to let her store-bought dress out a little. The ones he’d ordered from Boston had been full in the skirt and still fit well.
“You’ll look beautiful.”
With a perplexed expression, she pulled Charlotte with her and they stepped behind a screen Austin had erected so she could have a bit of privacy.
The three men waited. Abraham appeared to want to ask questions, but he was willing to wait.
Once the women returned, Austin came to her. “My Jolie, I know how much you wanted us to be married in front of a priest.”
“Please,” Jolie ducked her head, “it doesn’t matter. I am more than happy.”
“As I am,” Austin assured her. “But I want everything to be perfect for you.” He held out his hand. “Do you trust me?”
“Implicitly.”
She placed her hand in his and he led the group outside, finding a pretty spot to stand where the white Cherokee roses bloomed.
When Austin took his knife from his pocket, Jolie’s eyes widened.
“The laws of the land and the laws of the church state that two people can’t get married unless they are of the same blood, the same race. I don’t claim to be smart, but I do know what I want. I crave to be one with you, in every way known to man.”
As Father Miguel, Charlotte and Abraham looked on, Austin made a small cut in Jolie’s palm and a similar one in his. Pressing their palms together, they gazed into one another’s eyes as their blood mixed. “Father Miguel?”
While Austin and Jolie stood, their hands still held together, he began to recite the scriptures and say the prayers to make them husband and wife – in the eyes of the Lord and according to the edict of the church. In the presence of the ones Jolie loved the most, she became Mrs. Austin McCoy.
After the ceremony, Charlotte went into Jolie’s kitchen and baked a cake. Father Miguel played with Sandy while Abraham sketched a painting of Jolie and Austin as he sat on a log and she stood behind him, her arms around his neck, her cheek against his hair. His hand reached back to hold her close, it was as if he couldn’t bear not to touch her.
The moment was as golden as the rays of the evening sun that shone through the tall trees.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EPILOGUE ONE
“I need to push, Inola!” Jolie screamed.
Outside the door, Austin paced. Antonio de Chireno paced next to him. Holding his stomach, Austin leaned his head against the log cabin. “I think I’m having labor pains.”
Antonio roared. “You are a crazy man, amigo.”
“I am crazy.” He beat the side of the cabin as Jolie screamed again. “If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself for getting her pregnant.” He looked at his friend. “I’m never having sex again; I can’t stand this.”
Antonio shook his head. “You will change your mind, of this I am positive.”
Waah! Waah!
The cry of a strong baby broke the air.
“Oh, my God!” Austin bent double, resting his hands on his knees. “I am a father.”
“Yes, you are!”
He made for the door, only to be met by Ama. “Give us a few more minutes, proud Papa.”
“How is she?”
“Your wife is fine.”
“What is it?”
Ama laughed. “You have a son!”
A son! Austin lifted his arms to heaven. “I have a son!”
In a few minutes, the women allowed him to go in. Jolie sat up in bed. She looked pale, but very contented. “Look, Austin, I have another gift for you.”
Austin came to them, his eyes caressing her face. “I love you. I don’t want you to ever have to go through this again.”
“Look!” She held up the baby. “I want to go through this at least a dozen more times. Look what we’ve got!”
Austin finally allowed himself to gaze into the eyes of his son. His beautiful son. Austin McCoy fell in love for the second time in his life.
“What shall we name him?”
Jolie looked up at her husband with adoration and said with a straight face. “Jose Antonio.” Jose Antonio de Chireno roared and Jolie began to laugh. “I guess there are enough Jose Antonio’s in the world. I want to name him after my father and you. How about John Austin McCoy?”
“I love it.” Austin picked up the baby’s hand. “Hello, John Austin. I’m your daddy.”
As Jolie looked at the two men in her life, she thought her heart might explode with happiness. She couldn’t wait for Charlotte and Abraham to visit again. A baby needed to know his family.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
EPILOGUE TWO
Cady McCoy pressed the small oil painting to her breast. Her heart felt as full as Jolie’s. Over the last few days she’d experienced a series of dreams and visions, all related to this couple whose blood ran through their veins. With breathless anticipation, she ran to fine her phone, anxious to speak to her grandmother.
“Cady? Is that you?”
Sinking down into a chair, Cady smiled. “Nana, about that family tree you were working on…”
“Yes.” There was a pause. Surprising a psychic person was difficult. “You’ve discovered something.”
“You know how we found the information on Charlotte Belmont and Abraham, but nothing on Juliette Jolie?”
“What did you find, girl?”
Cady gazed at the portrait once more time. “I found that history has repeated itself. Joseph and I are not the first time our two families have been joined by marriage.”
“No?” Nana laughed. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Pour yourself a cup of coffee. I have a story to tell you.”
THE END
More to come in Hell Yeah! Heritage…2017
About the Author:
Sable Hunter is a New York Times, USA Today bestselling author of nearly 50 books in 7 series. She writes sexy contemporary stories full of emotion and suspense. Her focus is mainly cowboy and novels set in Louisiana with a hint of the supernatural. Sable writes what she likes to read and enjoys putting her fantasies on paper. Her books are emotional tales where the heroine is faced with challenges. Her aim is to write a story that will make you laugh, cry and swoon. If she can wring those emotions from a reader, she has done her job. Sable resides in Austin, Texas with her two dogs. Passionate about all animals, she has been known to charm creatures from a one ton bull to a family of raccoons. For fun, Sable haunts cemeteries and battlefields armed with night-vision cameras and digital recorders hunting proof that love survives beyond the grave. Welcome to her world of magic, alpha heroes, sexy cowboys and hot, steamy to-die-for sex. Step into the shoes of her heroines and escape to places where right prevails, love conquers all and holding out for a hero is not an impossible dream
