But now... When he lowered his mouth to hers, she returned his kiss with fervor. Melding her lips to his, slipping her hands up to his neck, through his hair.
At first, his kiss seemed tentative. Waiting for her response. Even when she gave herself into the act, he held back.
Then something broke loose inside him and he took her mouth with a hunger she’d never felt from a man. Not even when Neil grew forceful.
Yet even in his intensity, Aaron didn’t push. He gave. He put his full self into the kiss, giving and giving as though he would never have the chance again.
A cry finally broke through her awareness. The tiny wail of a newborn.
She pulled back, struggling for breath. She had to get to Sarah. They’d left her asleep in her crate, but she must have awakened hungry.
Before she pulled out of Aaron’s arms though, she met his gaze once more. His eyes had darkened to that midnight blue that usually concealed their depths, except this time they hid nothing from her. Not the intensity of what he felt for her.
He leaned in and brushed a final kiss across her lips, then pulled back enough for his breath to caress her. “Go get that sweet baby.” The huskiness in his voice sent a shiver all the way through her.
She reached up for her own final kiss, then forced herself to pull away. It took all her willpower to leave his arms and hurry into the cabin.
* * *
Katie eyed Aaron as the team maneuvered the downward slope. He sat slumped on the bench, his arms wrapped around himself and his head lolling a little to the side. He couldn't be asleep, for when she ducked her head to peer into his face, his eyes were open. Glassy, but open.
They’d been on the road nearly two full days now, and Aaron seemed to grow worse with every hour. She'd stopped talking to him, for every time he tried to speak, the words dissolved into a coughing fit. Sometimes, the rasp of his breathing rose even over the jingle of harness and swish of the wagon wheels in the snow.
He needed to be tucked in a warm bed with a cozy fire burning nearby and a cup of echinacea tea with honey. Should she stop early for the night to get him out of this wind?
There would be no more cabin along the way to take cover in, but last night she'd cleared snow from a patch of ground beside the wagon, which protected them from the worst of the wind. She’d even managed to start a campfire using his tinderbox to light the spark, thanks to his encouraging direction each step of the way.
In another couple hours, it’d be time to stop for their second night on the trail. She'd thought managing the team and steering the wagon up and down slopes and around tight mountainside corners would be the hardest part of this journey. Or maybe keeping Sarah warm and protected from the elements. But they'd used sticks to form a curved frame over Sarah's crate, then draped blankets to protect her from the wind. She slept peacefully in the little shelter they’d created.
When Katie needed to nurse her, Aaron took over the reins, but the last two times, he'd seemed to barely have the strength to guide the team. She wasn't sure she dared let him attempt it again.
He should lie down in the back of the wagon. She'd tried to send him there several times today, but he'd refused. She should make him go now.
But what if she needed an extra set of hands to care for Sarah? And though she'd learned a great deal about how to maneuver the rig in these snow-covered mountains, sometimes Aaron offered advice on a situation she never would've known she needed.
He didn't look like he even saw the trail ahead though.
As soon as they reached a spot level enough to halt the team, she pulled hard on the reins. "Ho, Abel. Ho, Cain." It took much of her weight to slow the mules as they used their bodies to stop the wagon.
Once they halted, she set the brake and turned to Aaron. He hadn't moved, and his bleary gaze still stared forward. The rasp of his breathing sounded louder now, but its steadiness eased the fear building in her chest. At least he was alive, though his eyes looked nearly lifeless.
She reached over Sarah's crate and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Aaron. Let's move you to the back where you can lie down."
He turned his head with a movement achingly slow. "All right."
He didn't get down, though, so she dismounted on her side, gripping tight to the wagon so she wouldn’t slip on the icy wood. The mules stood with their heads down as she walked by them, and she rubbed each of their muzzles when she passed. "Rest a minute, fellas. I need to help Aaron. Pray for him." Why did she keep asking incapable creatures to pray?
When she'd begged the Almighty to keep Aaron alive and help her find him that day, both of those requests had been granted. Maybe God would hear this petition too. For Aaron. Surely He loved Aaron.
God, heal him. Let me get him to this Settler’s Fort town in time. Don't let him die here on the trail.Giving voice to that thought, even in her mind, raised a surge of panic within her.
She couldn't lose Aaron. He wasn't just another man she depended on. Slowly but surely, he'd won her heart. The heart she'd never intended to give a man. But he'd proven himself worthy of her love.
She couldn't lose him.
When she reached Aaron’s side, she pulled his walking sticks from where he’d tucked them under the bench, then gripped his arm. "Come down and I'll help you back to the bed."
Like a wooden doll, he turned his upper body toward her. Even that action brought on a series of coughs that doubled him over, his arms around his middle.
