by Nora Nolan
He stood poised at the front door, preparing himself to find either a stranded traveler or a criminal. He took a deep breath, threw the door open, and pointed the gun inside.
The one thing he never expected to see was a naked woman.
CHAPTER 2
Her guns were near her pack by the door, so Evie grabbed the hunting knife from the table and held it threateningly. "Don't you come near me," she warned.
"Where's your man?" Aaron asked.
"Don't have one. I don't need a man."
"These are men's clothes drying here."
"They're my clothes. It's all I have."
"Somebody set a snare out there and caught that rabbit in the pot. Where is he?"
"I did that, you ass. Don't you think a woman can catch and skin her own supper?"
"Maybe she can, but in my experience, they don't. And don't call me an ass."
"I guess the women you've been around didn't grow up with five older brothers."
He shook his head. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I don't have to tell you anything."
"Well, seeing that I have a gun aimed right at you, I think it would be a good idea. Women can be hardened killers, too, you know."
"I guess they could, but your gun trumps my knife, and I think it's clear I'm not hiding any weapons on me."
He allowed himself to look up and down her body since she mentioned it, then felt bad for looking. He was a gentleman, after all. "True. But if I put down my gun, then your knife trumps an unarmed man."
She considered his point. "I suppose that's fair. My name's Evie. I'm traveling through, saw this empty cabin. Needed to clean up some and hunt some food to dry for the rest of my trip. It seemed like a good place to do it."
"Ma'am, I'm having a real hard time not looking below your eyes. Would you please put your clothes back on?"
"They're still wet; I don't want to."
"Well, could you cover up with that quilt?"
"I will if you put your gun down. I'll put down my knife at the same time."
He sighed. "I can do that," Aaron said as he holstered it.
She put down the knife, then unfolded the quilt, shook it out, and wrapped it around herself, under her arms. "I told you who I am, now who are you?"
"Aaron. It's my cabin."
"Nobody lives here," she said defensively. "Nobody's been here in a long time. There were cobwebs all over the place I had to clean out when I got here. If I'd known anybody was going to be here, I wouldn't have stopped. I planned to leave it in at least as good a shape as I found it."
"Calm down; it's all right that you're here." He held his hands up in a calming gesture. "I don't mind anybody borrowing it for shelter when they're passing through. And, I thank you for the cleaning. It does look livable in here now. My brother and I meet up here once a year. You just happened to come along at that one time of the year."
"Look, if you want me to leave, I will. I've been sleeping outside for weeks; I can do it tonight, too."
"No, not in this storm. It looks like it's going to be bad. There's no need to go out there. We can both stay here."
"I'll sleep on the floor," she said. "I'm glad just to have a roof over my head and to be clean again."
"We can work that out later," he said. He didn't want to sleep on the floor, but he couldn't very well let a lady sleep on the floor while he slept on the cot. "I need to bring in my supplies. Can you rearrange your clothes and make room on the table?"
"Yes. I'll put them up on the hooks to dry."
Aaron went outside and began unloading Big Boy. When he turned around, Evie had walked out to help him, naked again.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "What happened to your quilt?"
"I didn't want it to get wet."
"You can't just walk around here naked!"
"Why not? You've already seen me."
He searched for a good answer but couldn't come up with one. It had been a long time since he'd seen a naked woman, and he couldn't remember ever seeing one who looked this enticing. She had a slim but well-proportioned body that she obviously wasn't self-conscious about. He'd never met a woman before who seemed to be this comfortable in her own skin. It made him a little uncomfortable in his. Thank goodness, he was still cold and wet from the rain, or his own body would be reacting. He could feel stirrings as it was. He handed her one bag with vegetables in it and another with some canned goods. She took them and turned away, walking back into the cabin. He watched her bottom until she was out of sight. Again, he shook his head to clear it. But this time, he had a wry smile on his face. This may turn out to be an interesting trip after all. That's an understatement! It's already interesting, and I haven't even unloaded the horse yet. Dear Lord, thank you for breaking Amanda's arm and keeping Matt at home.
He unloaded a few other things, his saddlebags and bedroll, and brought them into the house where he dropped them to the floor. Evie had been looking through the bags she brought in and excitedly asked if she could put a potato and a nice big carrot into the rabbit pot. He was amused at her enthusiasm and readily agreed. She washed and scraped the vegetables then cut them into bite sized pieces and threw them in. Then she took the other supplies and put them up on the shelves to free up table space. All Aaron noticed was that she still hadn't covered up with the quilt. As much as he enjoyed the view, he knew he couldn't do anything more than enjoy the sight of it. It was mighty distracting watching her stretch up on her tiptoes to reach the shelf and bend over to stack things neatly on the floor. Damn. He might be able to look, but he couldn't touch. He'd just met this woman. Double damn.
Aaron unrolled his bedroll and put a sheet on the bed, covered by a horse blanket. "You can sleep here on the cot. I'll take the floor with that quilt and this other blanket."
"Oh, no, really, I don't mind. I used to sleep on the floor at home when all my brothers were home."
He looked at her oddly. "Really? You didn't have a bed?"
"I had five older brothers in a two-room cabin. Sometimes Dad was there, too. There wasn't room for that many beds."
"Where are you from?"
"West of here."
"You never told me where you're going, either. How long have you been sleeping in the rough outside?"
"I want to go to Cheyenne. At least to Laramie."
"You aren't sure?"
"I may have an aunt in one of those places."
He pondered just how imprecise her plans seemed to be. Why won't she answer a straight question? "How old are you?"
"Twenty."
He looked at the stove. "I think the stew's done. I'll grab some bowls and spoons. Oh, I have some biscuits left over, too. Did you find them?"
"Yes. They're wrapped up in the damp towel."
"Perfect. He took a tin plate and put a couple of biscuits on it, wrapped in the damp towel, and put it on the back of the stove to heat up for a couple of minutes.
"I'll get us water to drink," she offered and got the cups down from the shelf. He tried not to drool as he watched her stretch up on tiptoes again to reach the cups.
"Evie, as much as I enjoy looking at your body, this…this just isn't right. I can't have you going naked around me all the time. Would you please wrap back up?"
"That quilt's too heavy and I can't move around in it. Do you have a shirt I could put on?"
"Um, yes, I do." He reached down into one of the bags and pulled out an old flannel shirt and handed it to her. As she slid her arm into it, he thought how watching her put on his shirt seemed as erotic as if she'd been taking off her own clothes. She buttoned it down from the third button from the top and rolled up the sleeves. It was huge on her and came nearly down to her knees. Aaron thought no woman had ever looked sexier. She looked every bit as hot as she would have if she wore nothing. That same flannel that sometimes touched him was now caressing her skin, tightening over her breasts when she moved, and hugging the delicious curves of her ass. Well, this is a first. I've never been jealou
s of a damn shirt before.
They sat down to eat, Aaron at the end of the table, and Evie at the side near him. He ladled out the rabbit stew into the bowls and gave them each a heated biscuit. At least while seated, he only saw the top of her in the shirt and wasn't seeing her bare legs hidden by the table. Very nice legs. I can imagine them wrapped around me. Damn. So much for them being hidden. Whoa, back up, Deputy. You still don't know any more about this woman than you did when you first walked in. What's her story? Where's she from? Where's she going? What's she hiding?
"Evie, this tastes good. I have to say, I wasn't expecting to find anyone here, but it sure was nice walking into a cleaned-up place and having good food on the stove already. When did you get here?"
He noticed her hesitation. "I got here earlier today. This afternoon."
"Who taught you how to set a trap like that?"
"My brothers. I told you I have five older brothers. I can trap, hunt, shoot, fish, spearfish, just about everything there is to do to get food."
"What about your parents?"
"My mom died when I was twelve. My dad wasn't around much."
"I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I imagine that would be hard, for a girl to lose her mother at that age. Especially when that leaves you as the only girl in a house full of boys."
EVIE SOFTENED AT THE THOUGHT. She rarely let herself think of sentimental things, and it made her mildly uncomfortable. "I missed her a lot. Still do, I guess."
"Where did you say you were raised?"
She looked up at him. Don't be specific—he doesn't need to know. He doesn't have to know Dad's been in and out of prison most of my life. Shoot. I shouldn't have told him I have five brothers. That might link me back to the Goodacre name.
"I didn't say. We weren't near a town. I'm from Sweetwater County, in the mountains north of the railroad."
"That covers a lot of territory."
"A hell of a damn lot, when you're walking it," she said, laughing.
"A woman who hunts and fishes like a man and cusses like one, too. I'm surprised your brothers let you do that. I would have turned my sister over my knee if she talked like that."
"Where do you think I learned the cuss words in the first place? Besides, if any of my brothers tried to spank me, they know I'd have found a way to get even. They wouldn't have, anyway." She didn't tell him they slapped and punched her when they felt like it. "They'd be gone for days at a time and depended on me to keep myself fed and have food for them when they got home. I was more like a little brother than a little sister." Until they wanted me to marry that creep, John Walters.
"Really? Where did they go for days at a time?"
Shit. I've already said too much. "They usually didn't tell me."
THEY ATE the rest of the meal in relative quiet. He didn't want to ask too many questions and make it sound like an interrogation, and she didn't want to say any more, for fear of letting on who her no good family was. It was getting dark and Aaron lit the lamp. Evie stood up and started preparing the dishwater to wash up their supper mess.
Aaron offered to help with the dishes, but she said there was no need since there weren't very many. "I think you still have a couple of bags tied to your horse—you might want to finish getting things in. I'll be done with the dishes in just a few minutes."
As he went outside to tend to the horse and get the remaining sacks that were tied to the saddle, he mused about his situation. The light rain continued, but the extra wide roof overhang provided plenty of dry area for the horse and the wood. He untied the remaining bags and tossed them toward the door. He removed the saddle from Big Boy and put it against the wall then brushed down the horse. What the hell is that woman's story? Sweet Lord, don't let her be running from the law. It'd kill me to have to arrest her. Man, what a waste that would be! What I'd really like to do is crush her to me and kiss her mouth and tease that body until she's crying out my name. There you go. That's what I want. Dammit.
FROM INSIDE, Evie could hear him talking to the horse and giving him a carrot he'd pocketed, and it made her smile. Surely, that's a sign he's a good man or at least an indication. She didn't know anything about him, really, except that he had a brother. She didn't know where he was from, what he did for a living, or if he was married. Why am I wondering if he's married? I may not even like him when I get to know him. Oh, Evelina Simpson Goodacre, whom are you kidding? He's six foot four of pure handsome, and you know it. That was the first thing you noticed when he opened the door. Most people would have noticed the gun first! All you saw was a face that made you melt a little that sat on top of a body made of muscle on top of muscle.
She finished up the dishes and straightened up the things on the table. When she moved his saddlebags, the deputy badge fell out. "Oh shit, no." She tucked it back in the bag quickly and put them on the floor. What if he finds out my dad's a fugitive and most of my brothers are wanted for bank robbery or horse theft? Even if he won't make me go back to them, he'll probably want to try to apprehend them, and they'll find out where I am. And if they know where I am, John Walters can find out. No, Aaron can't find out who I am.
She pulled her blankets out of her bag and used the extra quilt that she had wrapped herself in earlier to make a soft pallet on the floor. She rolled up her knapsack to use as a pillow. She checked her clothes to see how dry they were, but her long johns were still too damp to wear, and they were the driest of all of them. She figured they'd be good enough by morning, even though it was humid with the rains. There was only one more thing she needed to do before she slept. She pulled on her boots and stepped out on the porch with the lantern in her hand.
"I need to step away for a minute. I guess I can go behind the cabin."
"Oh, of course, that'll be fine." She started to set down the lantern, but he told her to take it since he didn't need it to finish combing down the horse. "Oh, wait! Here's a rain slicker you can wear. You don't want to get wet right before bed if you don't have to."
"Why didn't you wear it earlier? You got here all wet from the rain."
He laughed, and she enjoyed the sound of it and noticed how he looked even better when he smiled. "Because it was tucked at the bottom of the most inconveniently located pack I had. I just didn't want to stop and dig through everything to get it. I kept thinking I'd get here before it got too bad."
She pulled it on and disappeared around the side of the cabin with the light for just a few short minutes before coming back. "Thanks for the slicker. I'm still dry as a bone." As she pulled it off and handed it to him, she flashed him a smile of thanks.
"Oh wait! Give me the slicker back for a minute. I meant to go check that snare I set over there." She pointed.
"Well, I need to step away, too. I'll just step that way and check on it at the same time."
"You don't mind?"
"Of course not," he said as he grinned at her. She felt her pulse race just a little bit and thought she might have blushed. Good thing the light's not so good out here.
WHEN AARON finally went back in the cabin, Evie was on her pallet on the floor. "I meant for you to take the bed. My dad would have my hide for making a lady sleep on the floor while I was in the bed." He sat down on one of the makeshift stools.
"Well, I'm no lady, so you're safe," Evie quipped. "Sure must be a lot of whippings going on in your family. That's the second time you've mentioned it."
"Just how I was raised. You behave, or you pay the consequences. I have to admit, there's no finer way of correcting bad behavior. Much as I hated gettin' it, you do learn to straighten up and fly right. You never got in trouble as a kid?"
"When ma was alive, I did. After she died, nobody cared what I acted like, I guess. They just wanted to teach me how to take care of myself. If they didn't like what I did, they'd slap me or hit me. No spankings, though."
"Well, they did a good job of teaching you survival skills. I know men who wouldn't be able to set a snare as well as that one. But I don't approve of slappin
g or punching women and children."
She shrugged at his opinion. "It's just how they were. Thank you for the compliment, though. Although, most people would probably say it's not very ladylike."
"Is that why you say you're no lady?"
"Hell, I never even had another dress after Ma died. Just had my brothers' hand-me-downs."
"Really, you haven't worn a dress in eight years?"
"No. Sure seems like a long time when you say it like that." She found herself enjoying talking to Aaron. Her brothers only talked about their own affairs, such as which stage they planned to rob; none had any interest in her, except for wanting her to marry Walters or at least give herself to him. "It gets worse. I never went more than about two miles from our cabin in all that time, either. We used to take trips to town once or twice a year when I was young, but it never happened again after Ma died."
"That must have made you feel isolated."
"It did. But I escaped through Ma's books. She taught us all at home, so even though I never went to school, I learned. She made sure of that. She taught all of us and made us read books. She had a lot of them."
"I want you to sleep in the bed. Tonight, you're a lady."
She smiled. "I think I'd like to be. You really want me to take the bed?"
"Yes. Come on." He stood and held out his hand to her to help her up. She picked up her folded knapsack and took his hand, getting up. For just a moment, they stood very close together, almost touching. She had to look almost straight up to look into his eyes. She liked that he was so tall, on top of being so handsome. Even though she knew his height was an accident of nature, she was very attracted to him because of it. She wanted to lean into his hard-muscled chest while his strong arms held her tightly to him. Ease up, Evie, you just met him today. She turned to the cot, and the moment was broken.
