The Secret Ingredient

by Raine Cantrell

  “A strange time of night to be riding,” she murmured. Hallie couldn’t help but think that as long as they remained still, they might not be seen.

  “Ornery female. Move. They can’t be paying a social call at this hour.”

  “Stubborn cuss. I can’t leave you here alone.”

  “Then run and get my gun, Hallie.”

  She quickly judged the distance to the house as she continued to watch the two motionless strangers. She would not, could not, leave Cade alone in his condition.

  “Hallie, please.”

  “No.”

  Cade fought off the fuzzy cloud that threatened to buckle his legs out from under him. He knew she wasn’t going to leave him. He couldn’t even spare a moment to wonder what was happening to him. He had to protect her.

  He saw the two urge their horses down the rise, not at a run, but at a walk, as if they were very sure of not finding any resistance when they reached the house.

  “Get in the barn, Hallie. Don’t argue. Just move.”

  Chapter 4

  Hallie propped Cade against the inside wall of the barn next to the open doors. The pungent smells of the animals assaulted her senses. Divine sent out a questing moo, followed by Forage’s bleats and then grunts from a most disgruntled Eternal. Straw rustled as the other animals awoke and moved restlessly in their stalls.

  “Just what we need,” Cade muttered. “A damn welcome band to tell them where we are. Can’t you shut them up?”

  “I doubt it. If your sleep was disturbed—”

  “Then tell me that you stash a shotgun in the barn, Hallie.”

  “I’ve never had a reason to. Nothing like this has happened.”

  Cade groaned. It had been too much to hope for. “Get me some kind of a weapon. And hurry.”

  She worried her lower lip with the edge of her teeth. Cade could barely stand. With his legs spread wide, boots braced on the floor, and knees jutting out, he appeared ready to slide down the wall at any moment. She didn’t think he was capable of wielding a weapon.

  Ignoring the rising animal noises, Hallie peered around the edge of the door. Her attempt to locate their unexpected visitors came up empty. The play of moonlight and shadows offered no clue to where they were now.

  She wished she had Cade’s ability to dismiss what had happened minutes ago. But the truth was, she was still reeling from the potency of his kisses.

  “Are you so sure they are a threat to us?” she whispered.

  “In my bones sure. A weapon, Hallie. Now,” he demanded, in a testy voice. Cade had a feeling he was losing the fight with the fuzzy cloud that threatened to take over his body. It was too much to ask him to deal with a doubting Hallie who would likely talk him to death before she moved.

  Over the pungent smells in the barn, he inhaled her much sweeter fragrance as she leaned closer to him. He wanted to grab hold of her and kiss her senseless.

  Hallie had something else in mind.

  Wagging one finger beneath his nose until he closed his eyes to stop them from crossing he stifled another groan when she spoke.

  “I can’t give you a weapon, Cade. You can’t fight two men. Violence begets violence. Let them rob whatever they want.”

  “Including you? Don’t get huffy, Hallie. Get me something to protect you.”

  “What would you like?” she snapped, alarmed by his insistence that she would be hurt. “A post-hole digger? No, you couldn’t handle that. Too heavy. A shovel? The hay fork or manure hook? There’s a hoe, rake, and scythe. Or an axe. Of course, I can’t swear that the blade’s sharp since I’ve been buying a wagon load of firewood from—”

  Cade grabbed her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Hallie, I don’t give a damn what you buy, or from who, just get me something long and useful.”

  The fact that he had to let her go to brace his hands against the wall to stop a fall took the sting from his heated voice. Hallie wasted no more time.

  She ran down the center aisle of the barn, easily dodging the staggered line of roof support beams. The new mule Patience brayed, which made the horses snort. By the time she reached the back wall and snatched down the buggy whip, Eternal’s squeals reached an all-time high as the pig vied with Divine, Forage, the horses and mule, billy goat and burro. Hallie felt her way past the implements hanging from the harness hooks on the wall. She grabbed hold of the hay fork with its three long steel tines. Hallie stopped to open each of the animal’s stalls as she made her return trip to where Cade waited.

  She was immediately stopped as surrounding velvet noses searched for the treats she usually brought to her animals. Sweetcakes butted her thigh, Eternal’s snout lifted the back of her skirt and petticoats as she wedged a place for herself between Hallie’s legs.

  Forage bleated like a lost lamb, while Steadfast planted a sturdy body in Hallie’s path. Over the noise of the animals she heard Cade’s furious whisper for her to hurry.

  Hallie managed to untangle herself from Eternal. She led the way to Cade, all her darlings faithfully following her.

  “Get rid of them,” he ordered.

  Hallie thrust the hay fork into his hand. “They’ll be the perfect distraction. If you’re right about those riders.”

  “Stop doubting me and get over here where I can protect you.” Cade didn’t wait for her to obey him. He latched onto Hallie’s hand and yanked her beside him. “Did you get something for yourself?”

  “The buggy whip?” she asked in a hopeful voice.

  Cade pushed a questing nose away from his shirt pocket. He was breaking out in a cold sweat and his knees nearly buckled. He opened his mouth to answer Hallie, then snapped it shut. Two men were talking outside the barn. The fact that they made no effort to lower their voices told Cade more than he wanted to know.

  “I done tole you it was wasted time to search in the house. I done told you I seen them head this way. I done knowed I was right. They’re in the barn.”

  “Emmet, put a bit between your teeth. I can tell for myself where they are. Someone had to let those animals loose. But hiding in the barn ain’t gonna help them. You go inside and I’ll wait out here.”

  “You wants I should flush them out, Jeb?”

  “Yeah. Flush them out to me.”

  “You real sure it’s just him and that old spinster gal?”

  “You heard, same as me, what Miss Lurette found out. And remember what else Miss Lurette said. This time he’d better be dead. You understand that, Emmet. Make sure he ain’t gonna be able to tell anyone what we done to him. Now move.”

  The moment he realized who they were, guilt swamped Cade. There had been no way to prevent Hallie from hearing them. He was the sole reason her life was in danger.

  The gentle pat on his arm told him that Hallie didn’t quite grasp how much danger she was in. He wasn’t about to enlighten her. He couldn’t divide his attention between one hysterical female and two men bent on killing them.

  Cade had a more immediate problem to figure out. He had to find a way to get through Hallie’s ragtag flock. All the animals ignored his nudges to give him enough room to lift the hay fork so he could tackle the first man through the door.

  Fringes of fuzziness still threatened him, but Cade’s night vision had always been excellent. He spotted the extended hand holding the gun before the man’s full body came into view inside the barn doors. In the few moments that the man hesitated, Cade felt an explosion of fury that lent him strength. Sharp pokes to the animals cleared a path for him. He was ready to confront the man.

  A few more steps …

  Cade turned his head to Hallie. His lips found her ear. “Not a word,” he mouthed. He thought she nodded her agreement from the way her hair touched against his cheek. With a solid grip on the hay fork, Cade awaited the perfect moment and readied himself to charge.

  Hallie screamed. The air crackled with the snap of the whip. Faith, the youngest horse, shrilled a challenge—the
animal had never accepted being a gelding. Hope attempted to rear. Charity lashed out with her back hooves. Patience followed suit, braying to wake the dead. The pig and cow added their own loud distress cries to the din. Sweetcakes, seeing it was a stranger and male, charged. Emmet’s gun went off.

  Cade came away from the wall. He had no strength to swear at Hallie for disobeying him.

  Something tripped him. Thrown off balance, Cade’s planned tackle went awry. He bit his tongue to bury a cry as his knee on the healing leg was wrenched. The hay fork dropped from his hands. Cade lurched to the side and hit Emmet as he struggled to rise. The gun went off again.

  Panic cries from the animals filled the barn.

  Cade went after Emmet’s gun with a single-minded purpose. Forage bleated in his ear. A hoof came down on his hand.

  “Not me, you jackass. Get him!”

  Emmet bucked. Cade rolled over with Emmet on top. He managed to land a glancing blow to Emmet’s face. Now, if the billy goat was worth his feed, he’d butt the stuffing out of the son of a bitch who wouldn’t let go of his gun.

  Cade heard the snap of the whip again. It was too damn close for comfort. But one of the animals must have felt sorry for his struggles. One got hold of some part of Emmet’s anatomy. The man shrieked with a spine-tingling, curl-your-hair, shake-in-your-boots level that overrode the animal’s varying cries. Cade quickly took advantage of the man’s pain to grab hold of the gun.

  A whack with the butt silenced Emmet’s cries. Cade shoved the limp body off his own. He was on the opposite side of the barn now. Somewhere outside was the man called Jeb, who had orders to kill him.

  Cade had no idea of where Hallie was and he couldn’t call out to her. If the Lord took pity on a beleaguered male, He would keep Hallie safe and out of the way.

  He managed to stagger to his feet. Keeping his back to the wall—a position that offered him needed support as well as protection—Cade inched his way to the corner, then moved along the front wall.

  Strangly enough, the animals all milled about inside the barn and their initial panicked cries were softening. It was still too much noise for Cade. He couldn’t hear a sound from outside. And he needed to know where Jeb was. Jeb had a fully loaded gun. Cade stopped. He felt the warm metal barrel in his own hand, counted the groves of the cylinder, and noted the gun was hammerless. A Smith and Wesson model with only five shots. Two had already been fired.

  “Emmet? Answer me!”

  Cade couldn’t risk peering around the door to see where Jeb was. He had a feeling the man stood somewhat back from the doors. He had three shots and had to make one count.

  A groan and a hard thump forced his attention back to where he had left Emmet. A choked sound escaped his lips. Hallie leaned over the downed man with the hay fork pressed against his chest.

  Cade made a vow to teach that woman the meaning of obedience if it killed him. First he’d settle his score.

  “You ain’t fooling me none, McAllister. You ain’t getting out alive. Better give yourself up or the woman will die, too.”

  Cade’s directive of what Jeb could do with his threats was buried under Hallie’s begging pleas. It took seconds for Cade to realize that from the sound of her voice that Hallie was moving. He tried to find her, but she was hidden behind the shadowy shapes of the animals.

  “Stay put!” Cade yelled.

  “Like hell, McAllister,” Jeb answered.

  Cade fired into the yard. He was rewarded with a string of curses. If Jeb was stupid enough to think he had meant the order for him, Cade quickly figured what worked once, could work twice.

  Hallie once more had another idea. She shooed the animals out the door.

  “No, Hallie!” Cade watched for her, intending to grab her before she could get outside. Jeb continued cursing. He fired his gun, once, twice. Cade flung his head back against the wall. If those animals did to Jeb what they had done to him the first time, he could almost feel sorry for the man.

  Jeb’s cursing turned to yells. Cade limped out of the barn. “Call them off, Hallie.”

  “I don’t think so. He was going to kill you.”

  “Call them off before they kill him.” Cade no longer saw or heard Jeb. “Hallie, I want to see them pay for what they did to me, but that’s a job for the law.”

  Without a word she brushed by him, calling to her darlings. Hallie managed to get the horses to back away. Jeb swayed back and forth on his hands and knees. Sweetcakes found his position too tempting. Before Hallie could stop the goat, his butt sent Jeb sprawling on the ground.

  Cade heard Emmet moaning. “Better get some rope to tie them up. I’ll bring them into town in the morning and file charges against them.”

  Once Hallie had the animals back in their stalls and helped Cade tie up the two, she marched into the house. Cade was slow to follow. Now that the danger was passed, he felt drained.

  Hallie stood at the sink, working the pump. He hung back from entering and watched her for a few moments. She soaped a rag and proceeded to wash her hands.

  “Some fool would think you were angry with him.”

  “And you are not a fool, are you, Mr. McAllister.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a question, Hallie.” Cade still wasn’t sure it was safe to step inside. “I don’t know why you’d be angry with me. I did what I could to protect you. Of course, you didn’t give me all that much chance. You just had to stick your—”

  “If you don’t stop right this minute, Cade McAllister, I’ll stuff this soapy rag in that brazen mouth of yours.” Shaking in the aftermath, Hallie turned around and brandished the rag like a weapon.

  “Now, Hallie. You just be nice to me. I’m a poor, weak man in need of your tender attention.”

  “Like my foot you are.”

  “What’s wrong with your foot?” Cade limped toward her. “Did you get hurt? I should’ve—”

  “Done less than you did,” Hallie cut in. She tossed the rag into the sink and wiped her hands on the linen cloth. “Did you realize that you could have been killed?”

  “I was more worried about you.” Cade leaned against the counter. “They’ll likely tell that they saw us kissing.”

  “I don’t care if the whole county knows that you kissed me, but since you’re obviously concerned, I’ll lie.”

  Cade was too stunned to reply.

  Hallie glanced around the cleaned kitchen. “Thank you for doing the supper dishes.” She skirted the table, then couldn’t help herself. She stopped and looked at Cade, hurt beyond belief that he hadn’t denied what she said about kissing her.

  “Stop looking at me as if you don’t know what I’m talking about, Cade. You should see your face. If it became any more stiff and disapproving, I’ll use it to starch my linens.”

  “Hallie—” A fresh surge of blood sent his flesh to fight the constraints of his pants, testing the tailor’s skill and causing him to set his teeth in a wry grimace.

  “Well, you’re not denying it. And another thing, I’m not ashamed of myself. I won’t let you make me feel guilty because I kissed you back.”

  “Hallie, I’m not trying to make—”

  “You are.” She glared at him defiantly.

  “I’m not, dammit! You said you kissed me back?”

  Hands on hips, Hallie eyed his erratic stalking walk. “So what if I did.” She moved out of the kitchen and into the parlor, making sure the sofa was between them.

  Cade couldn’t follow as quickly and unwilling to let him trip again, Hallie hurried to light the lamp on the table. She blew out the match and had managed to replace the glass globe when he started around the sofa.

  He started after her, spun around, groaned, and then collapsed on the sofa as though all vital energy had been sapped. When he clutched his knee, Hallie was beside him in seconds.

  “Now look what you’ve done. Let me see.”

  Cade had his arms around her and hauled her onto his lap befo
re she could blink.

  “You tricked me.”

  “Sometimes Hallie, a man’s got to do what a man has to do.” His grin was sinful, so wicked that the temperature climbed in the parlor until she could feel a tiny pool of dampness form between her breasts.

  “That makes no sense.” His dimples fascinated her.

  “Don’t get your drawers in a twist, Hallie. You don’t understand it because you’re a woman. Now, tell me again about kissing me back.”

  “Why?” She squirmed, tilting her head to the side to give him a disgruntled look.

  “Just do it, Hallie. Think of it as part of my reward.”

  “All right. I kissed you back.”

  “And you liked it?”

  “Well,” she said, releasing a long suffering sort of sigh, “you can hardly expect me to admit that based on one kiss.”

  Cade moved one hand up to thread his fingers through her dark brown hair. She’d lost most of her hairpins in the barn. He cupped the back of her head comfortably in his palm and made her face him.

  “Hallie, I agree with you,” he stated in a serious tone. “We should definitely test your reaction again. That’s the part,” he noted in a voice of hushed intimacy, “that I’m most interested in. Kiss me, Hallie.”

  “It’s only a test,” she murmured against his lips. “A reward, too,” she added, sliding her hands into his thick black hair as he sealed their lips together.

  Cade tested reality again, and discovered, if anything, that it was much, much better than the first time. Hallie’s most enthusiastic participation allowed a leisurely indulgence, ensuring they came to no hasty conclusion.

  Unfortunately Cade was forced to end the delightful interlude, not because he had any desire to do so, or for sudden lack of cooperation on Hallie’s part, but for the reason that the pain in his leg reached an unbearable level.

  “Hallie,” he whispered, dragging his lips from hers. “You need to get up. My leg’s killing me.” His arms fell from her and she jumped up.

  “Oh, Cade, I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry this happened.”

  He was left sitting there with the feeling that Hallie wasn’t talking about his leg hurting, or the attack by the two men. But how could a woman be sorry for kissing him when she did it so well he’d have trouble unbuttoning his pants?