Champagne and Candlelight

A couple more weeks went past with no change in Victoria’s attitude. Jarrod resigned himself to the fact he would never have the close relationship with his mother that he enjoyed in the past, but was grateful his brothers and sister went out of their way to include him and Amber in their lives as much as they could. But as if to compensate for that loss, Jarrod’s love for Amber continued to grow stronger. She was proving to be an invaluable asset to his practice, Jarrod’s comment to her about making a good lawyer being more true than he expected. His passion for the law was transferring to her and they spent many late nights debating court decisions and upcoming cases before losing themselves in the heat of their desire for one another.

The sun broke through the window, waking Jarrod. He stretched languidly, enjoying the fact that it was Saturday with no pending court dates or paperwork to drag him out of bed. He turned to take in the sight of his wife, still curled up under the covers. Her silky hair was spread out across the pillows, glinting a dark gold in the sunlight. Jarrod carefully slipped the quilt off her, exposing her creamy shoulders and the smooth skin of her back. Neither of them had bothered to dress for bed after last night’s passionate lovemaking, they just drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.

Jarrod gently kissed the back of her neck, lips traveling across to her shoulder. Amber murmured contently, but showed no sign of waking. Jarrod spooned behind her, his hard length pressing against the curve of her buttocks and he slid his arm around her waist, running his hand up her stomach to caress her breast. Continuing to kiss her back, his fingers found her nipple and teased it until it was hard with desire.

Amber moaned in her sleep, pushing back against his swollen maleness. Jarrod took that as a good sign and slipped his hand down again to find that warm place between her legs already wet with wanting him. His fingers played with her delicate nub and Amber pressed against them, Jarrod chuckling at her enthusiasm even while sleeping,

Carefully rolling her on to her back, Jarrod parted her legs and knelt between them, taking his shaft and pressing it against her entrance. He pushed in ever so slowly and was starting to thrust as Amber’s eyes blinked open. He leaned down and kissed her, stifling her squawk of surprise.

“Good morning, Amber,” he breathed into her ear. Amber, recovering quickly from the shock of waking to the feeling of her husband buried inside her, reached down and grabbed his ass, encouraging him deeper.

“Morning,” she whispered back and arched her hips, driving Jarrod further within her. Her movements only made him want her more and for a few minutes the only sounds heard were Jarrod’s rhythmic grunts and Amber’s moans as he fucked her with abandon. Suddenly, Amber’s moans grew louder and Jarrod drove into her as deep as he could and they both came hard, crying each other’s names in ecstasy.

“Well, that’s one way to wake up,” Amber said, kissing Jarrod as he rolled off to lie beside her.

“Mmm hmm,” Jarrod agreed, stroking her hair. They lay together in contented bliss until Amber heard Jarrod’s stomach rumble.

“I guess that means time to get up and fix breakfast,” she told him with a laugh.

Finishing their coffee, Jarrod made a suggestion. “Why don’t we pack a picnic and go for a ride? Looks like it’ll be a perfect day for it.”

“And we could go swimming,” Amber added with a mischievous smile. Jarrod leaned over and kissed her.

“You pack the lunch, I’ll saddle the horses.”

*

They galloped along, enjoying the feeling of freedom as the wind blew across their faces. Amber suggested a race to the pond and her grulla briefly overtook Jingo. A barbed wire fence was coming up and Amber was prepared for the jump when her horse refused, stopping suddenly.

Flying forward over the grey’s neck, Amber landed in the fence, hitting the wire. It pulled off the fence post and the wire supporting her broke and Amber fell to the ground. Jarrod watched in horror as the wire coiled around Amber as she tried to get out. The more she struggled, the more entangled she got.

Jarrod vaulted from Jingo’s back and didn’t even notice as the sharp barbs ripped through his hands as he tried to tear the wire from Amber’s body. Her clothes were spotted with blood wherever a barb had torn her skin, ripped where the wire cut into her and she lay still, unable to move.

“Please, Jarrod…” Amber’s agonized voice implored.

Jarrod took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and attempted to keep his voice even and reassuring. “Hold on, sweetheart, hold on. It’ll be all right, I promise.” He looked at the bloody mess and every painful breath Amber took cut straight through him. There was no way he could untangle her with his bare hands and looking down, he was surprised to see they were bleeding from his earlier attempt to free her.

“I have to get help, Amber.” His gut clenched at the thought of having to leave her alone and in pain, unable to move, but he didn’t have a choice. “I can’t---” His breath caught in his throat. “I can’t get you out…”

Amber closed her eyes against the tears of pain leaking out and nodded slightly. “Please hurry.”

Jarrod brushed a gentle hand across her face, wiping away some of the blood and tears. “I love you, sweetheart. Just hold still. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He mounted Jingo and spurred him into a gallop, unable to look back at the pitiful form tangled in the wire.
It seemed like an eternity before he ran into Nick and Heath, who were riding fence not quite a mile away. They looked in shock at the blood on their brother’s shirt and the panic on his face.

“There’s been an accident,” he gasped. “Amber…thrown into the fence. Need help.” Not waiting for their response, Jarrod whirled his lathered horse and raced back the way he came, Nick and Heath hard on his heels. When they reached Amber, Jarrod leaped from Jingo’s back and hit the ground at a run, wasting no time to get to her side. Her eyes were full of pain and Jarrod was appalled by the amount of blood soaking her clothes and the ground around her.

“Jarrod?” she moaned weakly.

Jarrod cradled her head in his hands as his brothers wasted no time cutting the wire. Every whimper that escaped her lips as the wire was cut brought Jarrod pain and he had to close his eyes tightly, unable to watch the agony Amber was in. Her body trembled in shock as they struggled to free her, and Jarrod fought back his own tears.

Finally cutting the last strand of wire, Nick’s voice cut through Jarrod’s consciousness. “Pappy, sit her up so we can get her out of this mess.”

Jarrod carefully sat Amber up and leaned her against his shoulder. He could feel her shaking and tried to reassure her as his brothers efficiently cleared away the remaining wire.

“You’re out now, sweetheart,” he whispered.

Heath brought Charger over. “Jarrod, Nick went to get the doc, but I think we need to get Amber to the house as quick as we can. Jingo’s about done in, but I can take her on Charger.”

Jarrod shook his head. “I’m taking her, Heath.”

Heath didn’t argue and reached down to take Amber from Jarrod’s arms. “You mount Charger and I’ll hand her up to you,” he told his eldest brother, trying to not to cause her any more pain. Jarrod nodded and got to his feet. His hands were painful and slippery with blood but he managed to grip the saddle horn and swing himself onto the big bay’s back. Heath carefully handed Amber up and Jarrod cradled her tightly to his chest before turning Charger toward home.

They made it to the yard and Jarrod headed straight for the house. Heath quickly dismounted and tied off the bay while Jarrod spoke softly to Amber.

“We’re here, Amber. Just hold on, sweetheart.”

Heath held Amber steady as Jarrod slipped off behind her. He reached up and pulled Amber from the saddle, cringing as she moaned in pain.

Silas heard the door and walked into the foyer, stopping short when he saw the bloody mess Jarrod held in his arms. He didn’t even hesitate as he looked up the stairs and called, “Mrs. Barkley! Miss Amber is hurt!” He turned back to Jarrod. “I’ll send someone for the doctor, Mr. Jarrod.”

Jarrod didn’t pause to answer, he just carried Amber up the steps.

“Nick’s bringing him, Silas,” Heath said. Victoria and Audra came out of Audra’s room and stopped on the landing. Audra hurried forward, but Victoria stayed where she was, unable to move at the look of distress on her son’s face and the unexpected feeling of worry for the young woman she so despised.

“Jarrod, put her in the guest room,” Audra directed and turned to ask Silas for bandages and water, but the perceptive man was already gone.

“What happened, Jarrod?’ his sister asked as Jarrod lay his now-unconscious wife down on the bed and started removing her blood-soaked clothes with fumbling fingers. Audra pushed his shaking hands away and took off Amber’s clothes herself.

“She got caught in the fence,” was Jarrod’s hoarse reply. “There was so much blood…”

Silas came in with a basin of warm water and a pile of bandages. “I’ll go wait for the doctor,” he said, setting down his burden and exiting the room. Audra prompted Jarrod to put pressure on some of the deeper cuts across Amber’s ribs and stomach while she cleaned and bound several gashes on the young woman’s arms. Even though she was unconscious, Amber still moaned in pain as they tended her injuries and Jarrod ached to gather her into his arms and tell her everything would be all right.

It seemed like an eternity before Nick appeared with the doctor.

Dr. Merar took one look at the pale figure on the bed, then looked over to Jarrod.

“Jarrod, why don’t you clean up while I check over Amber?” he suggested.

Jarrod shook his head wearily. “I need to stay with her, doctor.”

The doctor put a hand on the lawyer’s shoulder. “You can come right back. I don’t think it would do Amber any good to wake and see you looking like this.”

Jarrod gave in and walked slowly out the door where he found Nick and Heath waiting.

“I’ll get you some clean clothes, Jarrod,” Heath offered while Nick took his older brother to the bathroom. Jarrod tried to unbutton his bloody shirt, but a searing pain in his shaking hands made him gasp.

“Whoa, there, Pappy, let me take a look.” With surprising gentleness, Nick took hold of Jarrod’s hands. “God, Jarrod, your hands are ripped to shreds!”

Jarrod looked at the torn palms uncomprehendingly. “I tried to get her out, Nick. I tried and I couldn’t and I just had to leave her there…” Jarrod’s shoulders shook in heart-rending sobs and Nick pulled his big brother close.

“It’s all right, Jarrod, we got her out and you got her home and everything’ll be okay.” The tall rancher saw his blond brother come to the door with a clean shirt and pants. “Heath, can you get some of those bandages?” he said in a quiet voice, still holding Jarrod. “Pappy here got his hands tore up pretty bad.” Heath nodded and Nick sat Jarrod on the stool in the bathroom. He grabbed a towel and ran some hot water over it and cleaned the cuts on Jarrod’s hands.

“I need to get back to her, Nick,” Jarrod said, trying to pull away from Nick’s grasp.

“You ain’t going nowhere until we get these hands clean,” Nick growled. “Doc’s right; it won’t do Amber any good to see you all cut up like this.” Heath arrived with the bandages and they cared for their big brother’s hands and helped him into some clean clothes.

Jarrod arrived back in the guest room in time to see Dr. Merar pull a blanket up to cover Amber.

“Doctor?” he asked, concerned.

The physician looked at him gravely. “She’s lost a lot of blood, Jarrod. I hate to do it, but I’m going to suggest a transfusion. If we don’t, the shock from blood loss could prove fatal.”

Jarrod sat on the bed and reached under the sheet to take Amber’s hand. “I’ll do whatever it takes, doctor. I can’t lose her.”

Dr. Merar nodded. “I’ll go ask Nick or Heath.” Jarrod started to protest, but the doctor silenced him with an upraised hand. “You’ll need your strength to take care of her. She’s their cousin too, either one has the same potential for a match as you do.”

Nick offered first and Jarrod sat with Amber, holding her hand as the life-giving fluid was transferred from his brother to his wife, then finally let the doctor look at his hands.

“Now keep a close eye out for infection and try to get as much fluid into her as possible,” Dr. Merar advised as he repacked his black bag. “I left a bottle of laudanum for the pain by the bed. Don’t hesitate to send someone after me if you need to and I’ll be back to check on her later this evening. Jarrod, I’ll check your hands again then, too.”

Nick saw the good doctor out, leaving Jarrod alone at his beloved’s bedside.

As he tenderly held her hand, the tears he’d been fighting back wouldn’t be denied any longer. “Oh, Amber,” he whispered, “please come back to me, love. Don’t leave me like this. I want to see that beautiful smile of yours again.” He bowed his head, tears flowing freely.

“When I first found out who you were, I knew it wasn’t right to want you like I did. I tried to fight it, but I realized I loved you too much to let you go. And then to find out you felt the same way…” Jarrod’s voice choked on a sob. “Maybe Mother is right. Maybe I should have asked you to leave or just left myself before we went too far. If this is our punishment for loving…I’m so sorry, Amber.” Jarrod started at the gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Never apologize for loving, Jarrod,” came his mother’s soft voice.

Victoria saw the look of anguish on Jarrod’s face as he carried Amber’s bleeding body up the stairs and her heart broke at the pain her son was going through. She saw how he held her as Audra cleaned Amber’s wounds, every moan of pain from her lips reflected on Jarrod’s face. Retreating to her room, she couldn’t help overhearing Jarrod’s torment as Nick tended to his brother and she started to wonder if she hadn’t judged her son too harshly on his unconventional marriage. Echoes of words overheard and spoken to her played over in her mind.

*“I love Amber, and we plan to be married.”

“You ain’t ever seen him so happy as he is when he’s with her.”

“I can’t explain adequately what happened to cause my cousin to be the woman I love. But it happened and pretending it didn’t isn’t going to change that fact.”

“You came to terms with finding out about Tom’s infidelity when Heath joined your family. Can you really deny your son the same understanding?”

“I love her, Mother.”*

The truth to every one of those statements hit her with full force. She remembered the few times she’d glimpsed Jarrod and Amber together in town, the contentment and happiness shining from both faces.

Suddenly, Victoria felt ashamed. She always prided herself on her open-mindedness, but here she was, judging her own son just because she didn’t think what he was doing was right. She may not agree, but as Jarrod told her, there was no law against it and even Rev. Stacey condoned the marriage. If Amber was the one to make her son happy, who was she to stand in his way?

Victoria heard the doctor leave and hesitated at the door to the guest room, uncertain what she should say. But hearing Jarrod’s anguish made her know she had to go to him. She crossed the room and laid a hand on her son’s shoulder.

“Never apologize for loving, Jarrod.”

Jarrod turned his tear-streaked face toward her. “Mother, I--- ”

Victoria sat beside him, careful not to jar the bed. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I’ve treated you and Amber unfairly. I didn’t take the time to look beyond my own prejudices and see how happy the two of you are together and how much she means to you.” She blinked back a tear of her own as she cupped Jarrod’s face with her hand. “Can you ever forgive me?”

Jarrod gently placed Amber’s hand back on the bed and put his arms around Victoria. “Of course I can, Mother. You’ll always be the first lady in my heart.”

Victoria smiled and shook her head. “No, Amber’s the first lady in your heart,” she corrected gently, “as it should be. But I’m glad I still have a place.”

“Always,” Jarrod assured her with a kiss to the temple before turning his attention back to Amber.

Victoria rose to leave. “I’ll bring you something to eat, sweetheart. You need to keep up your strength.”

“Mother?’ Victoria turned back to the room at Jarrod’s voice and was gladdened by the love she saw shining from his eyes. “Thank you.” Victoria left the room, a warm feeling in her heart.