by S. E. Smith
“I’m a half-breed in your world,” Allie threw out, turning to glare at him. “These people will never accept that or understand why you would marry me!”
“Then fuck them!” Jacob shouted. “I don’t give a damn about what anyone else thinks.”
“You tricked me,” she muttered. “You tricked me!”
“And I’d do it again, if it meant keeping you,” Jacob replied as he stepped closer to her. “I’d do every lowdown, underhanded trick in the world if it meant keeping you.”
Allie shook her head and turned her face away from him when he reached out to touch her. She wound her arms around her waist as she pushed away the urge to believe him. Hurt and rage at being manipulated fought with fear.
She had sworn that she would never open her heart to another man the way she had with Chris. She knew that she hadn’t been successful. Jacob had snuck under the walls she had built and attacked them from the inside out. Yet, her fear was even greater because this time period was even more dangerous than hers. The cemeteries throughout the west were filled with the stories of lives cut impossibly short.
“No,” she whispered, turning away from him again. “No.”
Silence met her soft words. It was several minutes before she heard Jacob walk over to the door. He paused for a moment before he released a tired sigh.
“I’ll take you home tomorrow,” he replied in a quiet voice. “It is too dangerous to travel at night. You can sleep here.”
“Where are you going?” She asked.
“I’ll be close if you need me,” Jacob replied. “Get some sleep. It’s a long journey.”
Allie released her breath as the door shut behind her. She hadn’t turned around because she didn’t want Jacob to see the tears on her cheeks. Wiping impatiently at them, she walked over to the bed and lay down. Exhaustion finally pulled her into an uneasy sleep.
*.*.*
Jacob watched as Allie tugged on the rope he had tied around her wrists this morning after their first stop. He hadn’t lied when he said he was taking her home. He was, but not to the one in the future.
“You can’t keep me tied forever, Jacob,” Allie growled.
“I don’t know,” he smirked. “I think having you tied to my bed might be fun.”
“Ha-ha! A regular comedian,” Allie snapped. “Really? Don’t you think this is a little low, even for you?”
Jacob glanced back at Allie’s mutinous face and shook his head. “Nope,” he replied.
“Oh lord,” she muttered in exasperation. “Jacob, be real, is this really the way you think a marriage should be?”
Jacob pulled his horse up. Pulling on the lead rope, he drew Allie’s horse even with his. He stared intently into her eyes as she glared back at him.
“Are you saying you recognize that we are legally married?” He asked bluntly.
“I don’t know about the legal part,” she said skeptically. “Married, maybe on a slightly, possible legal level that could probably be argued in a court of law.”
“Allie,” Jacob growled in exasperation.
Allie released a breath, a reluctant smile tugging at her lips as she thought of all that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Hell, she would have to be nuts not to admit that she was impressed, and not just a touched flattered, by the extreme methods Jacob had gone to. She didn’t know of a man alive in her time that would have done half the things Jacob had.
"I admit it," she finally said. "But, I'm not sure I like it. It is a pretty big commitment, Jacob. What if... What if something happens to you." She was quiet for a moment and she turned her face away from him to look out over the landscape. "I don't know if I could live through that again."
Jacob reached over and turned her chin back toward him. "I don't plan on going anywhere, Allie. There are no guarantees, but I don't have any plans of dying anytime soon. I have too much to live for now," he assured her with a smile.
"Can you untie me?" She mumbled, holding her hands out.
"I don't know," Jacob teased. "I kind of like seeing you tied up."
"You hung out with Taylor too much," Allie retorted with a raised eyebrow.
Jacob chuckled and nodded his head. "Your brother is something else. Hell, I felt like a virgin around him!"
Allie's laughter carried on the wind warming Jacob's heart. He knew he had been taking a big risk last night. He had hated hurting her, but he hated the idea of losing her more. He hadn't been lying when he said he'd do anything to keep her. He also knew that neither of them died young. In fact, they lived to be in their nineties, something that is rarely done. He knew that because of the Internet search he had done while Taylor and Jonathan were talking. He had typed in his and Allie's name and it had come up.
Jacob pulled his knife free and slipped the blade between the rope. His eyes caught and held Allie's for a moment. He saw the worry and fear still lurking in their blue pools.
"We live a long and happy life, Allie," Jacob promised. "I won't leave you alone."
"You'd better not," she whispered in a shaky voice. "You better not, Jacob Tucker, or I'll bust you something good, even if I have to follow you all the way to hell for lying to me to do it."
Jacob chuckled as he sliced through the rope. "Let's go back to the cabin. I'm not ready to share you with anyone else yet."
Allie nodded as he unhooked the lead rope from the bit on the mare. Tapping her heels to the mare's side, she followed Jacob. She really hoped he was right.
*.*.*
It was mid-afternoon by the time they reached the cabin. They would have reached it earlier, but their simple lunch turned into lunch followed by dessert. Allie rolled her eyes when Jacob jumped down off his horse and hurried back to help her down.
“I’ve been riding horses since before I could walk,” Allie said as he slid his hands around her waist.
“I know,” Jacob replied with a grin as she slid down his body. “But, it gives me an excuse to hold you again.”
Allie shook her head at him as her feet touched the ground. “You are going to have to do a lot more ass kissing than helping me off a horse to make up for last night,” she teased.
“I can do that,” Jacob promised, his eyes growing dark with need.
“You, Jacob Tucker, are a horny old cowpoke,” Allie whispered.
“Not so old,” Jacob argued as Allie pulled away.
“By my calculations you are!” She laughed.
“Not by mine,” Jacob retorted softly as Allie opened the door to the cabin. “I’ll take care of the horses.”
“Okay,” Allie called from inside. “I’ll put up the supplies and get a fire going. It is starting to get cold out.”
*.*.*
Wyatt Butte wiped his mouth as he stared at the man and woman. Turning his head, he spit out a wad of tobacco. He glanced up when Clancy scooted up next to him.
“How’s Ellis?” Wyatt asked.
“Still bleeding,” Clancy replied. “Not as bad, though.”
“We should have left his ass,” Wyatt commented, turning back to watch as the woman came out of the cabin again. He liked the way the trousers she was wearing hugged her figure. “Looks like it’s still just the two of them.”
“I didn’t see anyone else,” Clancy muttered. “When do you want to kill him?”
“In the morning,” Wyatt replied, moving backwards. “By then, we’ll know if Ellis is going to live or die.”
“I want the woman,” Clancy stated as he joined his older brother.
“You can have her first,” Wyatt said with a shrug. “Doesn’t make me no never mind which order I fuck her. Just make sure you don’t kill her. It’s been too fucking long since I had a woman.”
Clancy glanced back when he heard the sound of feminine laughter. Reaching down, he scratched his crotch. Hell, it had been a while for him, as well.
Chapter 26
Allie chuckled as she dressed. The fire was just about out, and the inside of the cabin was cold. Shivering as she sli
d her feet into her boots, she tugged on her jacket as well. Picking up the last piece of firewood inside, she placed it on the hot coals. It wouldn’t take long for it to ignite.
She crept over to the door and opened it slowly, not wanting to wake Jacob. He looked so peaceful, lying there on his side. A giggle escaped her when he released a soft snore. She had worn him out last night.
Shutting the door, she glanced at where the horses were moving restlessly in their stalls. She decided that they were feeling the nip in the air as well. Turning, she bent to pick up some logs from the pile outside the door.
A sixth sense told her something was wrong a moment before a hand closed over her nose and mouth. A band of strong arms circled her, pulling her off her feet. Allie tried to scream and kick out, but whoever had grabbed her was tall enough to lift her off her feet.
Wiggling her head back and forth enough to open her mouth, she bit down as hard as she could on one of the fingers cover it. A loud, piercing scream escaped her the moment she could breathe again.
“Jacob!” Allie screamed again.
A second man fired at the door as it started to open. Several more shots rang out, leaving a line of holes in the door. Allie fought to break free of the man holding her as he started to back away from the cabin.
“Allie!” Jacob called out.
“There’re two of them,” Allie shouted before she hissed in pain as the arms tightened to the point she thought her ribs were about to break.
“Burn him,” the man holding her ordered.
“No,” Allie forced out. “You sorry-ass-son-of-a-bitch, let me go!”
Allie caught her first good look at the man who had fired the gun at Jacob. It was the man from the General Store. Swinging her head back into the nose of the man holding her, Allie grunted as she connected and his arms loosened around her.
She dropped to her knees and rolled before rising to her feet again. The man from the General Store had picked up the lantern that Jacob had left outside hanging from a nail near the horses’ stalls. Allie focused on stopping him from igniting the wooden structure of the cabin.
She had only taken a couple of steps when she felt a hand tangle in her shoulder-length strands and jerk her to a stop. A cry of pain and rage escaped her as he pulled her back toward him.
“Allie!” Jacob called out again.
“They are going to set the cabin on fire!” She screamed as the other man who had grabbed her turned her around and struck her across the jaw.
Allie crumbled under the blow. She vaguely felt her knees hit the ground before she was dragged up by her arm. Her head turned in time to see the man from the store splash kerosene from the lantern against the front of the door before tossing it on the wood pile.
The acidic smell of a match being lit touched her before bright flames engulfed the front of the cabin. She tried to open her mouth to scream, but a piece of cloth was shoved into it before she could. Her head fell to the ground as she watched the front of the cabin go up in flames.
Pain exploded through her arms as they were yanked behind her. Her eyes drooped as she felt herself being lifted and thrown over a shoulder. She fought to lift her head one more time, but the pain rolling through her was too much. Closing her eyes, Allie reached for the blackness to sweep her away.
*.*.*
Jacob scrambled back along the floor. He grabbed his clothes, boots, and gun belt. Allie’s scream had woken him from a dream of them making love again. He had grabbed the pistol that he always kept ready and rolled out of the bed.
He brushed the blood running along his temple impatiently away. The first shot had grazed his temple. If it had been a fraction of an inch to the left, he would have been dead. As it was, the following volley of bullets had also cut a burning streak along his thigh.
He leaned back against the wall under the window outside the wood pile. A curse escaped him when he heard Allie yell there were two men. He couldn’t return fire for fear of hitting Allie. He scrambled for the piece of mirror that she had propped up in the corner. Grabbing it, he quickly returned back to the window.
Rage poured through him when he lifted it in time to see one of the men strike Allie across the face. He jerked back when additional gunfire rang through the cabin right before he smelled the kerosene. He knew the wood in the cabin would go up like a tinderbox.
Jacob strained against the large wooden shelf mounted along the back wall as the heat from the fire intensified. The shelf tilted before it fell forward to reveal the door to the caves behind him. Jacob pulled the lever and opened the door. He rose to his feet and stepped into the icy blackness, closing the door behind him.
Dressing quickly, he felt along the wall until he touched the lantern he had hanging on a peg. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the flint he carried. Within seconds, he had light. He set the lantern on the rocky floor and opened the long wooden box set against the wall. Pushing back extra blankets and furs for winter, he reached under and pulled out the Winchester Rifle that had just come out the year before. He still had his Springfield from the war, but this one was lighter and fired more shots.
Pulling out another knife, he wrapped the strap around his thigh as a cold rage built inside him. Grabbing several boxes of shells, he pocketed them in the long jacket before he slid it on. Making a quick bedroll of items he might need, he slung it over his shoulder as the hot glow of flames began to heat the door next to him.
Jacob grabbed the lantern off the floor and took off at a run. A map of the cave rose in his mind as he ran. Turning to the left, he paused to blow out the lantern and set it down before he turned sideways and squeezed through the narrow slit in the rock. The bright sunlight caused him to pause for a moment to let his eyes readjusted to it.
His eyes swept the area to make sure it was safe. Gripping the rifle tightly in the palm of his hand, he slid down the smooth rock to the ledge. From there, he ran along the narrow path that wound back down to the remains of the cabin.
An hour later, Jacob knelt in the dirt outside the cabin. Both horses were gone. His eyes followed the footprints of the men and horses. They went down the trail to the river. Following the tracks, he listened carefully to the sounds of the forest.
He paused as another set of tracks joined the ones from the cabin. Five horses, three with weight on them. He stood up and scanned the area. Turning to the left, he raised his rifle as he followed the path where the other three horses had been.
Jacob pressed his back against a tree and glanced into the small area. The remains of a fire still smoldered. Next to it was the slumped figure of a man.
Jacob braced the rifle against his shoulder and circled around the campsite. No other tracks lead into or out of it. His eyes moved back to the form of the man. From this angle, he could see the dark stain running down along his left side and into the dirt.
Jacob silently moved into the camp and nudged the man with his foot. He knew when the body fell over that the man was dead. Using his foot, he turned the body over so he could see if he recognized the man.
The sightless eyes staring up at him pulled a curse from his lips. This was one of the men from the General Store. He remembered that there had been two of them. There had obviously been one more that he hadn’t seen.
He didn’t waste time on searching the man. The evidence was clear. Three men rode in. This one had been wounded and died during the night. That left two, plus Allie. Lowering his gun, Jacob turned and jogged back down to where the trail of hoof prints had lead toward the river.
Breathing deeply, Jacob paced himself as he ran. He knew the area better than the men, more than likely. From the direction of the tracks, they were heading toward Cougar Canyon. He could cut through some areas that they would have to go around. If he was lucky, he would reach the other side before them.
Chapter 27
Allie strained against the rope tied around her wrists. Her skin burned from the raw cuts on it from her twisting. She gritted her teeth against the burni
ng in her shoulders from having her hands tied behind her.
She had woken as the man who struck her lowered her to the ground. She had kicked out at him, catching him a glancing blow to the groin. Unfortunately, he had kicked back, catching her in the ribs. The blow hadn’t broken anything, but it had knocked the breath out of her.
Her mouth was dry from the cloth they had tied around her mouth. She didn’t want to think of where it had been. The last thing she needed was to throw up and not be able to spit it out.
“Where the fuck are we going, Clancy?” The man who had struck her asked.
“You wanted to kill the other brother, didn’t you?” Clancy snapped. “This will lead us to them. Shit, Wyatt, we should be heading in the opposite direction. We killed three fucking soldiers, including an officer. The whole damn Army is going to be hunting for us.”
“I owe the other brother a bullet,” Wyatt grinned.
“Hell, it was that kid that shot you, not Jonathan Tucker,” Clancy retorted.
“Not from this time,” Wyatt replied as he held up his right hand. Three fingers were missing from it. “From when the bastard shot me during the war. The Tuckers stopped a very profitable delivery of gold that we were expecting. You might have forgotten that, but I haven’t. Jonathan Tucker took three of my fingers as I was about to put a bullet in his brother’s head.”
Allie’s eyes narrowed and she strained even more. “Yeah, I remember,” Clancy replied, looking at Allie with a grin. “You still got to kill the bastard and now we have a sweet treat to make you feel better about your missing fingers.”
Wyatt pulled the mare’s lead rope up so that Allie was even with him. He reached over and grabbed the nape of her neck when she tried to pull back. He chuckled at the fire in her eyes.
“It was sweet watching him fuck her yesterday,” Wyatt commented, staring into her eyes with amusement. “You didn’t know you had an audience, did you? Poor Ellis was too out of it to appreciate how noisy you are when you are being fucked. I especially liked how he had you bent over.”
