by Connie Mason
“Where is Jackson?” Chad asked, increasing his grip on the woman’s arm. “What do you know of him?”
“I am his woman,” Spotted Deer said with a sneer. “Or I was until he returned with that skinny white woman. You will find him at the cabin. I took his horses so he goes nowhere.”
“Where is the cabin? I’ve been combing the mountain for days looking for it.”
Spotted Deer pointed toward a ridge visible in the distance. “There, below the ridge.” She tried to escape from his biting grasp but Chad’s grip was firm. “You let Spotted Deer go now.”
Chad’s grip relaxed. “Go, but Abner remains with me. Leave one horse, I’ll need it”
Spotted Deer hesitated but a moment before leaping atop Jackson’s horse and disappearing into the forest.
“Are you all right, son?” Chad asked, dropping to his knees before Abner. “I heard you screaming. Did Spotted Deer hurt you?”
Abner shook her head. “I was screaming at her to take me back to Mama. When I wouldn’t stop she got off her horse and tried to make me behave. Are we going after Mama now? Mr. Jackson is mean to her.”
“In a minute. Why did you and your mother go with Jackson?”
“We had to. Can we go now?”
Chad wasn’t satisfied with the answer but it had to suffice. Abner appeared to be worried about Sarah and the boy wasn’t one to exaggerate. Truth to tell, he was worried about Sarah himself. Chad had no idea what had transpired between Sarah and Jackson these past ten days but obviously it was enough to make Spotted Deer jealous.
“Yes, we can go now,” Chad said, lifting Abner aboard Flint’s broad back and mounting behind him. “But we have to be careful, son. Jackson is a dangerous man. We don’t want him to hurt your mother.”
“You can help Mama, Chad, I know you can.” Abner’s vote of confidence warmed Chad’s heart.
The horse he’d taken from Spotted Deer trotted beside him as Chad grasped the trailing reins and started off toward the ridge Spotted Deer had pointed out. A short time later Chad caught a glimpse of the old miner’s cabin. It butted up against the foot of the ridge, camouflaged by the rocks, trees, and earth that blended cleverly with the weatherbeaten logs. No wonder he hadn’t been able to find it.
Chad reined in a safe distance from the cabin and dismounted. He tethered both horses, then lifted Abner from Flint’s back. He squatted down on his haunches, placing himself at eye level with the boy.
“I’m going to get your mother, Abner, but you’re going to have to obey me.”
Abner nodded solemnly. “What do I have to do?”
“Stay out of trouble, for one thing. See that boulder over there?”
Abner glanced at the large rock. “I see it.”
“You’re to hide behind that rock and not come out until I return. Is that clear? No matter what you hear or see, you’re not to come out. Can you do that? It’s growing dark. You won’t be frightened, will you?”
“I’m not afraid of the dark. Are you sure I should stay here?”
“Yes, very sure. I’ll have my hands full and don’t want to worry about you. Do I have your promise?”
“I promise.”
Chad smiled, took Abner by the hand, and led him to the boulder. Then he gave the lad a quick hug and left, praying that he understood the danger and would obey. Surprise was the only element Chad had going for him. Once Jackson realized what was going on he could turn on Sarah, or use her to gain his escape. Crouching low, Chad carefully made his way through the gathering gloom toward the cabin.
After Jackson finished eating he sat back and stared at Sarah through slitted eyes. Sarah watched warily as he arose abruptly and struck a match to the lamp.
“I want to see what I’m getting,” he said, eyeing her greedily. “I ain’t had my dessert yet and you’re going to provide it. Take off your clothes.”
Sarah shot out of her chair and raced to the door. Jackson reached it before she did, catching her in his arms. Then he dragged her to the bed. Roughly he pushed her down on the rumpled surface while shedding his gunbelt. Then he fell on top of her, pinning her beneath him.
“You ain’t going nowhere, woman. We’re gonna make us another kid. I kinda like the idea of being a daddy.”
Sarah’s throat went dry, and she gagged. The idea of being intimate with Freddie Jackson made her physically I’ll. She fought and scratched like a madwoman, unwilling to become his victim again. She wasn’t the innocent she’d been six years ago.
“Damn you!” Jackson cursed. “Hold still.”
With great difficulty he managed to open his trousers. When Sarah continued to struggle, he dealt her a stunning blow to the cheek. Sarah screamed and went limp, all the fight beaten out of her.
“That’s more like it,” Jackson grunted as he released his sex. He was attempting to raise Sarah’s skirt when the door burst open and Chad charged into the room.
Jackson leaped to his feet, reaching for his gun and cursing when he realized it wasn’t where it was supposed to be. He saw it lying on the floor and dove for it. Nimbly Chad kicked it under the bed.
“Who are you?” Jackson wanted to know. He didn’t like looking down the barrel of a six-shooter.
“Your worst nightmare. I’m taking you in, Jackson. There’s a five-hundred-dollar reward on your head.”
“So you’re that damn bounty hunter who’s been tracking me. I can make it worth your while to let me go.”
“The name’s Chad Delaney and I don’t want your tainted money. Step away from the bed.”
Jackson obliged, moving gingerly toward the door, giving Chad his first good look at Sarah. “You bastard! What have you done to Sarah?”
“You know her?” Jackson asked curiously. “Are you one of her customers? Listen, you can have her. Just let me go.”
Chad moved toward the bed, alarmed by Sarah’s pallor. She was so still he wasn’t certain she still breathed. Concern for Sarah made Chad careless. He turned his eyes away from Jackson for the space of a heartbeat Taking advantage of the brief lapse, Jackson made a mad dash through the open door. Chad fired a shot at him, heard a yelp, and ran to see if he’d hit Jackson. But Jackson had already disappeared into the dark forest. Briefly he considered giving chase, but claiming the reward for Jackson’s capture no longer seemed important Sarah and Abner needed him.
Dimly Sarah was aware of the ruckus taking place around her. Jackson’s blow had stunned her and things happened so fast after that she wasn’t certain what was going on. When her head finally cleared, she saw Chad bending over her.
“Are you all right? What did Jackson do to you?”
“Chad…How? Why? I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Yeah, well, neither can I. It’s a long story.” His voice was thick and unsteady and edged with concern. “Did he hurt you?”
Sarah sat up slowly. “I’m fine except for a few bruises that aren’t important.” Her voice held a desperate note. “Forget about me. You have to find Abner. Freddie’s Indian squaw took him. He’s just a little boy. He must be frightened to death.”
“Abner is safe, Sarah. I came across Spotted Deer not far from here. She didn’t object too vigorously when I took Abner from her and sent her packing.”
Sarah leaped to her feet. The abrupt movement left her head spinning and she reached for Chad to steady herself. Chad’s arms slipped around her. He groaned, his body remembering every subtle nuance of hers as his hands slid down to her waist to hold her more firmly against him. She was warm and soft and clinging sweetly to him.
Chad had no idea how it happened, but a moment later he was kissing her, fervently, madly, as if he’d been starving for the taste of her. And by some crazy quirk of fate she was kissing him back, their bodies melded together, their mouths fused. His hands slid down over her hips to grasp her bottom, pressing her against the hard ridge of his arousal. He thought he heard Sarah moan but couldn’t be sure.
Sarah’s mind went blank. Chad’s scorching, s
earing kiss blotted out all thought. Her arms curled around his neck as his tongue parted her lips, seeking entrance. She granted it eagerly, savoring the clean taste of him as the memory of Freddie’s repulsive kiss faded from memory.
Chad broke off the kiss. His eyes were dark and inscrutable as he searched her face. “God, Sarah, you can’t imagine how worried I was about you and Abner. I have to know. Did you go with Jackson willingly? Is he Abner’s father?”
Sarah stiffened, pulling away from him. “You think I went willingly with Freddie Jackson?”
“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking you.”
She turned away from him, her shoulders slumping with disappointment. Why is everyone so eager to believe the worst of her? “Think what you want, Chad Delaney, you will anyway. I want my son, where is he?”
Abner! Chad had been so caught up in the moment he had almost forgotten the boy. “I’ll go get him.”
Sarah sagged in relief as Chad left the cabin. She didn’t know what had gotten into her. She’d been so glad to see Chad she’d responded wantonly to his kisses. He wanted her. She could feel the proof of his need pressing against her through the barrier of her clothing. His eager kisses had almost convinced her that he cared for her, then his words made a mockery of her thoughts. Yet the fact remained that Chad was concerned enough to follow her. Or was it Abner he cared about?
Chad returned to the cabin with a sleeping Abner in his arms. Sarah gave a cry of alarm and flew to his side.
“He’s all right, Sarah. The poor boy’s exhausted. I found him asleep right where I left him. Where shall I put him?”
“In the loft,” Sarah said, indicating a rope that pulled down a retracting stairway. “I fixed a bed for him up there.”
She pulled on the rope and the stairs came down. Chad ascended the rickety staircase and laid Abner down on the pallet of straw and blankets. Sarah followed him up, tucked him in and placed a kiss on his forehead. When she would have lingered, Chad placed an arm around her shoulders and led her back down the stairs.
“Let him sleep. He’ll be fine tomorrow.” His gaze slid over her bruised face. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I will be as soon as I leave this place.”
“Why don’t you get some rest? You look exhausted.”
“You’d be tired too if you had to chop wood, carry water, and cook for four people.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been searching for you since the day after you’d disappeared. If I hadn’t come across Spotted Deer I might still be looking. This cabin isn’t easy to find.”
Sarah saw Chad’s expression change abruptly from concern to intense, unrelenting anger. “I should have wrung Jackson’s neck while I had the chance. When I saw you both on the bed, all I could think of was how badly I wanted to kill him.”
“You got here in time. Spotted Deer served him in bed, not I. He turned to me after he sent her away.”
“Come here,” Chad said, grasping her hand and leading her over to the bed. “Sit down and tell me what happened.”
Sarah perched on the edge of the bed. “Will you believe me?”
“There are certain things in my past that make it difficult for me to trust a woman, but I’ll try.”
“We’re more alike than you know,” Sarah muttered.
“Why don’t you start at the beginning,” Chad urged. “How well do you know Freddie Jackson?”
“Not well at all. I guess I never really knew him. I met him at a church social about six years ago. I don’t know why he took a shine to me. I was a painfully shy, awkward sixteen at the time and he was a smooth-talking man of twenty-five. I admired him. I even thought I… was in love with him.”
“What did your parents think about that?”
“Nothing. They didn’t know I was taken with him. I never even shared a private word with him until he found me alone one day in the church and asked me to meet him that night in the barn behind the parsonage. I was young and impressionable and thought he was a gentleman. He swore he only wanted a moment or two of conversation with me, that no one would ever know I’d sneaked out to meet him.”
“I take it Jackson wasn’t an outlaw at that time.”
“No, he was just a restless young man without much direction. His parents doted on him, giving him everything he wanted within their means. Obviously it wasn’t enough.” Painful memories made her voice crack.
“I thought it romantic that Freddie wanted to meet with me alone. I had girlish dreams like any other innocent girl of sixteen.”
“What happened?” Chad asked, fearing he already knew the answer.
“Talk was the last thing Freddie wanted. The moment I entered the barn he threw me on the ground and brutally raped me. I was afraid to tell my parents and that’s what he counted on. When I was finally able to pick myself up off the ground I felt as if my life had been destroyed by that one cruel act. The only way I could survive was to pretend it never happened. Then my world shattered when I learned I was pregnant. By then Freddie had already left town to begin his life of crime.”
“You never told anyone who hurt you?” Chad asked with disbelief.
“What good would it have done? Freddie was gone. Accusing him of rape would have hurt two old people who loved their son. Telling my parents I was pregnant was the most difficult thing I had ever done. They refused to believe I’d been raped. They called me a sinner and cast me from their house in disgrace.”
“Jackson never knew he had a son?”
“Not until he returned to Carbon recently. Somehow he learned about Abner and turned up at my door. He saw Abner and decided he wanted his son.”
“So you both went along with Jackson,” Chad said evenly.
Sarah leaped to her feet. “No! It wasn’t like that at all. He took Abner without my consent. Do you think I’d let my son go without a fight? I stole the Barlows’ horse and followed. Freddie had no choice but to take me along when he saw me following him up Elk Mountain.”
Chad pulled Sarah down on his lap, stunned by the tender feelings she aroused in him. For a man who shunned responsibilities, he had suddenly become the unwilling protector of one small woman and her son.
What was happening to him?
Chapter 8
“What you did was very foolish and very brave,” Chad said. Despite her fragile appearance, Sarah possessed more gumption than any woman he had ever known. “You should have gone to the sheriff. I understand Carbon has had a sheriff for some time now.”
“There wasn’t time,” Sarah revealed. “Besides, I didn’t want anyone to know Freddie Jackson was Abner’s father. Abner has suffered enough cruelty in his young life, he didn’t need another cross to bear.”
Chad’s arms tightened around her. He didn’t understand this strange, savage need to protect Sarah from everyone and everything. From the beginning he’d been determined not to care for Sarah Temple. Yet here he was, holding Sarah in his lap and loathe to let her go.
“Chad, I… I think you should let me up,” Sarah said breathlessly.
“I don’t think I could let you go right now even if I wanted to,” Chad whispered against her cheek. “I’m going to kiss you, Sarah. I’d like to do a lot more if you’d let me. I wanted you from that first moment I saw you. I can’t fight it any longer.”
“Is that why you followed me here?” Sarah asked.
“I suppose that’s one of the reasons,” he said moments before his lips touched hers. Her mouth was sweetly inviting and he deepened the kiss, drawing a tiny, shuddering sound from her.
“Sweet, so sweet,” Chad groaned against her mouth. He wanted to be inside Sarah so badly it was tearing him apart. He was trembling from the force of it as he eased her back on the bed and came up over her.
He kissed her hungrily, ravenously, allowing her scant time to think about the right or wrong of what they were doing. His hands covered her breasts, finding her nipples and rolling them between his fingers. He smiled as Sarah writhed beneath him, p
leased to find her so responsive. Anxious to render her naked, his fingers tugged at her buttons. Sarah uttered a protest and moved her hands to stop him.
“Don’t make me stop, sweetheart, I don’t think I can.”
“Chad…I…”
He silenced her with a kiss. A scorching, voracious kiss that effectively put an end to her objections. When he felt a tiny bubble of fear in her, it suddenly dawned on him what was troubling her.
“How long has it been since you’ve been with a man, Sarah?”
Sarah glanced up at him, then her glance skittered away. “Freddie was the only man, and that was rape.”
Chad went still. “You’ve never been made love to?”
“No,” she said in a small voice.
“That it’s about time. First we have to get your clothes off.”
“All of them?”
Chad searched her face, cursing himself for going too fast. Her degrading experience with Freddie Jackson had left Sarah scarred; she knew nothing about lovemaking, or the pleasure to be gained from a relationship with a man who cared about her.
“We’ll go slow, Sarah, I swear it. I won’t hurt you. You’ve been hurt enough in your life. I want to give you pleasure.”
“Why?”
“Because you deserve it,” Chad said uneasily. If there was another reason, he chose to ignore it. “Will you trust me?”
“Trusting is difficult, and it hurts,” Sarah observed.
“Do you want me, Sarah?”
He felt her shift beneath him and the fragility of her slender frame had an unsettling effect deep inside his gut. He sensed her tension, her fear, her agonizing loneliness and commiserated with her. Those were the same emotions he had experienced nearly every day since leaving Dry Gulch. He wanted to make Sarah smile, to hear his name on her lips when she cried out her pleasure. He wanted…
Sarah.
The ensuing silence nearly killed him. When she finally spoke he had to strain to hear. “I do want you, Chad. God help me, I do, and it frightens me. All these years I’ve done my best to preserve my reputation, though God knows I had little of it left to save. Give me pleasure, Chad. I want to experience it at least one time in my life and I want you to give it to me.”
