by Marie Piper
He climbed out of the water and back into his pants after he knocked the dried dirt off them. Braxton was nowhere in sight, though Copper was gone. Matthew figured he was off doing whatever he did in his spare time. Braxton seemed somehow both like a friend and a stranger much of the time, but Matthew was confident he would return.
Matthew dropped his and Braxton’s bedrolls on the ground by a small fire. After a hearty and hot dinner, the boys all quickly fell asleep, exhausted.
Not Matthew. He stayed awake for a while, lost in his thoughts, watching the flicker of the fire.
How had he come to this? Like the fire before him, he burned for a woman who burned for him right back. They’d both been so foolish and impulsive that they stood on the edge of throwing away a lifetime together, and for what? For a few kisses stolen by a man Haven had admitted she didn’t love. She loved Matthew. But she’d gone to Hank.
He groaned at his jumbled thoughts and blew air out into the night.
“Nice night, ain’t it?” Braxton asked quietly as he approached, so as to not wake any of the other boys who slept.
“Where have you been?”
“Riding. Checking.”
“You see anything?”
“Nope.” Looking sore and beat, Braxton bent down and picked up the whiskey, tipping it to Matthew before taking a long drink. “Suppose you’re thinking about joining the drive.”
“I ain’t not thinking about it,” Matthew answered as he flipped the pocket watch around in his fingers. The gesture soothed him.
“Only a fool would give up a woman like yours to spend time with stinkin’ cowboys.”
Matthew didn’t answer.
Braxton spoke again. “You’re a better man than he is.”
“Who?”
“You know who I mean.” The bounty hunter handed the bottle over to Matthew.
Matthew accepted it. “I suppose everybody knows.” He took a long drink before he handed the bottle back. “Cricket Bend sure does love to talk.”
“Not everybody. Hell, probably just me and Callie know, and we ain’t ones to talk about other folks’ business.”
“You’re spending a lot of time with Miss Lee.”
“No matter what you think of her, she’s worth spending time with.”
“You sweet on her?”
Braxton grinned as he settled onto his bedroll and took off his hat. “Yep. Ain’t no point in lyin’ about it.”
“Don’t it bother you that she’s been with so many men?”
“Nah,” Braxton answered. “I ain’t exactly a porcelain doll myself, you know. Callie is tough and smart, and I like that. She and Haven are a lot alike, you know.”
“Shut up,” Matthew said. “They’re nothing alike.”
“Mine’s tough, and smart, and can take care of herself. If you threw her out in the woods, she’d fight, and scrap, and survive. She’s a fighter, and tougher than she looks. So’s yours.”
“Hell, I don’t even know if she’s mine anymore. It seems she’d rather spend time with Porter and Miss Lee.” Matthew threw a handful of dirt at the ground and pulled his knees up to take off his boots. “Things ain’t the same.”
Braxton’s face was serious. “You want my opinion?”
“Why not?”
“Folks, especially young folks, make mistakes. Haven’s smart, and I ain’t saying she’s not at fault, but she’s no match for a man like Porter.” Braxton was looking at him funny. “I ain’t sayin’ it’s your fault either. I just been around long enough, and been with enough women, to know that scoundrels like Porter can smell a woman’s desire a mile off. Men like him know how to play their cards and work their way into an empty bed just like that.” He snapped his fingers.
“You got a lot to say about this,” Matthew noted. “That’s more words than I’ve heard you say as long as I’ve known you.”
“Hell yes, I got lots to say. I know Hank Porter. Run into him before a few times. Last time, little over a year ago, it was a town like yours, and he came riding in and smiled at the mayor’s pretty daughter, like he does. By the time he was run out of town for running cards, she was said to be with child.”
Matthew looked at him, aghast. He’d never thought Hank was any kind of angel, but to hear he was a downright rascal infuriated him.
Braxton kept talking. “I was there at the saloon. I saw Haven running out of Porter’s room like her hair was on fire. I was rude to her, and she decked me good. She went out the window to get out of that place, did you know that? Climbed out the window and off the roof. I saw her face the whole time. Even if she went there plannin’ to go to his bed, I’d bet my life she changed her mind real fast once she got there.”
“You think I should forgive her?”
“I think you love her too damn much not to,” Braxton said as he lay back on his bedroll and pulled his hat down over his eyes. “Just my two cents, though. Do what you want.”
Matthew finally noted another thing the bounty hunter had said, something that slipped by the first time. “You said you were rude to her?”
Braxton waved a hand as if it was nothing. “I see a pretty woman, I can’t always help myself.” He rolled over to his side, but Matthew could see the smirk on his face. “Don’t you worry about Haven. She hits hard when she needs to.”
“We leave at sunrise,” Matthew growled, and the bounty hunter grunted in acknowledgement. Not two minutes later, he joined the snoring chorus of cowboys.
Braxton had been at the saloon with Haven. Nothing had happened. Haven had told him the truth. Though he was relieved to hear it, Matthew clenched the pocket watch in his hand so hard he was worried he’d break it. He’d rather have broken Hank Porter’s handsome face, but that would have to wait.
The morning couldn’t come fast enough. The drive had been good for thinking and sorting things out, but Matthew knew he needed to get home.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Haven
When Doc told her that Matthew had left town, Haven felt like dying inside. She hadn’t seen him since their confrontation by the livery. Since then, he’d come across a murdered man and ridden out without saying goodbye. Every time she thought of him, she hated herself for doing what she’d done. Haven knew she deserved his anger. When she’d gone to Hank, she’d been so frustrated she’d only thought of her own feelings. She was Matthew’s fiancée. She should have been true to him and never even allowed thoughts of another man to fill her head.
She’d have given anything to make it right.
Now he was gone, and she fully understood that she may never see him again. Walker was still out there somewhere. He could go after Matthew, or come after her, and who knew what else her fiancé would encounter out on the plains? Yes, Braxton was with him, but they were only two men.
Luke stationed himself in the rocking chair outside the jail. Haven took occasional peeks at him through the window as she worked. He eyed everything that happened with such a hard expression Haven wouldn’t be surprised if he shot at a cat that ran by too quickly.
Inside the clinic, Doc moved so slowly that Haven, a nervous wreck, sent him back upstairs to bed. She promised to scream her loudest if there was trouble, and to keep her father’s shotgun at her side. Few people went out onto the streets since Luke had spread the word, and the town had effectively gone into lockdown.
No one came into the clinic, so Haven busied herself washing every surface in the place, even though it was pretty darn clean to begin with. She especially scrubbed the table where the dead man was just a few hours earlier. Cleaning the table, the counters, and the dust off the floors seemed to remove a little of the fear, and she was grateful for the chores.
“Psst!”
Haven bolted upright, ready to dive for the gun, when she saw Hank peeking around from the back storage closet of the clinic. He’d snuck in the back door. She was sure she’d locked all the doors and windows, but of course, Hank would find a way.
“What are you doing here?” s
he whispered loudly in response. Doc still hadn’t moved upstairs, and she didn’t hear anyone else coming.
“Come here,” Hank whispered and ducked back into the closet.
She had promised Matthew she would end things with Hank, and she aimed to. Though she hadn’t been able to figure out how it would transpire, he’d appeared and made it easier than she expected. Standing up, she straightened her skirt and her posture and marched around the corner to bid him a firm farewell, trying not to remember the arousing way he’d touched her only a few days prior.
Matthew was the one she loved and wanted to be with, charming gamblers in supply closets be damned.
Hank barely waited until they were hidden to pull her to him and kiss her hard, his hands roaming down her back. He lifted her up against the wall, holding her legs around him. He pressed his body into hers, his mouth devouring hers.
Haven gasped as the fabric of her skirt rose up against his powerful legs. The urgency and passion of the act stunned her. A few days prior, she would have flown away with him to wherever he wanted to take her. His kisses were as hard as his manhood as it pressed against her through his pants, and she knew he’d take her right there in the closet if she’d let him.
Letting him was out of the question. She’d promised Matthew. And she’d heard Callie’s warning.
Hank’s lips broke from hers for a second. “Stop,” she breathed.
“No one will see,” he answered, reaching into her skirt to pull down her bloomers.
His warm fingers against her bare skin startled her. Haven turned her face away from his. “Hank, stop. I can’t do this,” she said, holding her hands firm against his chest. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“Your deputy won’t be back for days.”
She felt his hot breath on her neck. “Hank, stop!”
The devilish grin she adored so much slipped away, and in its place cold eyes stared at her. He didn’t let go of her, didn’t let her feet go back to the floor, but he did stop trying to kiss her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Everything. I’ve been foolish and reckless, and this has to end right now. I love Matthew, and I’m going to marry him.”
Hank ran a hand sensuously over her bottom. “And you still can marry him. No one will ever know about us. I promised you that.” He dropped a hot kiss on her throat. She tingled for him.
“We can’t,” she managed to say.
“I think we can,” he said before he kissed her again.
Hank’s voice sounded different. The charming jovial tone he’d used in all their earlier conversations had changed, and he spoke in a deeper voice. His hands gripped her tighter than she remembered, and his kisses were rough. Though his passion excited her, something had changed. His warm fingers slipped between her legs, and Haven pushed herself away from him, finally getting her feet on the ground.
She spoke in a firm tone. “Hank Porter, I said no. I would hope you would respect that.”
“Run away with me.”
“Hank, no!”
“Tonight.” He gripped her arms tightly and looked around. It almost seemed as if he feared someone would find them. Never had she seen him scared of anything. “I’m leaving Cricket Bend tonight, and I’m not coming back. You have to come with me.”
“I can’t.”
“You have to, Haven. You don’t understand.”
“My father, Matthew—my whole world would fall apart.”
“Let it,” he urged. “Let it all fall to hell. We can go away. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.” Haven saw his desperation, and the terror behind the green eyes she’d once admired.
“I don’t want to run away,” she answered. “I’m going to marry Matthew, and I will have a good life. I might even have an amazing one. I will always remember you with great fondness, but this ends here and now.”
He let a growl that shook her to her bones, and he punched the wall next to her face. Haven ducked away from the blow, but he held her other arm firmly. Hand still on the wall, he leaned into her. “If you don’t want everyone to know what we’ve done, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll come with me tonight. I still have the dress you left in my room.”
The way his face peered at her reminded her of Theo McKenzie during the cowboy brawl. If given the chance, Theo would have done terrible things to her against her will. She wasn’t sure the same thing wasn’t on Hank’s mind.
Haven yanked her arm out of his grip and looked up at him with all the strength and defiance she could muster. “Matthew already knows about us,” she revealed, standing firm even while terrified. “If people find out, I will deal with the consequences. Threatening me won’t work.”
A little softness came back to his face. “You’re right. I apologize for behaving like a brute. But please come with me. I’m leaving just after dark.”
Haven shook her head. Hank reached for her again, but she darted out of the closet and grabbed the shotgun she‘d left on the counter. Something wasn’t right, and she found herself scared of him. She held up the shotgun and aimed it at his chest. “Get out of here, Hank. And if you’re really leaving tonight, then I guess this is goodbye too.”
“Don’t be stupid,” he said. A pleading desperation had come into his voice. “Come away with me. We’ll go to Galveston and get on a boat to New Orleans. I’ll dress you in diamonds, and red silks, and you’ll hear the best music. We’ll go to a beautiful hotel, make love all day long with the windows wide open, and not care what anyone thinks of us. Isn’t that what you want?”
The adventure and passion offered in his words tempted her. Only a few days earlier, it had been all she thought she wanted out of life. Her longing for a life full of passion and wanton desire had almost led her to ruin.
Matthew loved her. Hank didn’t.
The scoundrel took a step forward. “There’s no point in lying to yourself, my love. You want me.”
Haven cocked her gun. “What I want is for you to get out of here before I have to shoot you. I am the daughter of the sheriff, and the fiancée of the deputy. If you think I don’t know how to use this gun, you’re a damn fool.”
“All right,” he said, stepping back toward the rear door of the clinic. “I’ll go. But my offer still stands. If you want to be safe, you’ll meet me tonight and never look back at this place, or these people.” He said it with disgust, as if Cricket Bend was beneath him and everyone was mud under his boots.
“I love this place and these people.”
“Bad things are coming, Haven. Take care of yourself.”
“What bad things?” she asked, but he’d already gone out the door.
Rushing after him, she locked the door and leaned against it as she let out the breath she was holding. Keeping her shotgun in hand, she went to the front door of the clinic and watched as Hank went around the corner and headed back toward the saloon. Her father sat outside the jail and nodded to Hank, who continued on his way.
“Everything all right?” Doc asked. Groggily, he came down the stairs and indicated the shotgun she was still holding.
Haven covered for herself fast. “Every little creak makes me jump.”
Doc put his hand on her shoulder. Haven looked up at him and knew she’d done the right thing. Cricket Bend was her home, and not even a man she desired would make her run away from the people who made up her life. Doc stood next to her, reliable and good. They may not have been related by blood, but he was family, and she loved him. “I’ll be fine here,” he said. “You go get some sleep.”
Not needing to be told twice, Haven bid him farewell and crossed the street to the jail with the shotgun still in her hands. Wanting to be near her father at that moment, she sat on the bench by his chair. She didn’t need to fake the yawn that escaped her before she could even say hello.
Many times in her youth, she’d taken cat naps on the cots in the jail cells on quiet days. “I’m asleep on my feet. Mind lockin’ me up for a bit?”
Until Matthew returned t
o town, to her, she’d keep her eyes on the ground and plow through the days with hard work. Hank Porter was out of her life. She’d promised Matthew she would end things with Hank, and she had. It had taken a shotgun, but she’d done it. Whether it would be enough to win back Matthew’s heart, she didn’t know. But she could hope.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Matthew
Braxton and Matthew returned to town after being gone a little over six days. Both men were dusty, in need of a bath and a shave, and both were dragging with exhaustion.
“Go and get yourself some rest,” Luke ordered Matthew. “Also, some things you ordered came in at the general store.”
“I’ll get them and head to the house. I'll be back in town this evening,” Matthew offered.
“You go on home and take your time. Keep your eyes open,” Luke said. “I appreciate you going with Braxton.”
“Seemed the right thing to do,” Matthew replied.
Luke studied him closely. Matthew wanted to tell him so many things, the way a son could confide in a father, but it wasn’t the time or place. Besides, it wasn’t like he could ever tell Luke about Haven’s rendezvous with Hank.
He brushed off Luke’s concern.
The Harpers at the general store wanted to be brought up to date on everything Matthew knew about the murder of Theo McKenzie, which admittedly wasn’t much. He told them where he’d been, placed the items he’d ordered on Copper's back, and rode out to the house, breathing relief when it came into sight.
