“He’s waiting on you.”
“I know he is.” Chloe kept her voice as low as Granny’s. “I just needed a minute to get the kinks out of my back.”
“Uh-huh. You’d best get over there and get that wheel fixed.” Granny raised one silver brow, a knowing look in her eyes.
Chloe huffed and went back to the wagon, her fists buried in her lower back to ease the knots. She came around the side, and much to her surprise, the stranger was staring at her chest. She glanced down and noted that her pitiful tits actually looked nice and round when she pushed them out like that.
Well, holy shit, wasn’t that a first?
Her head snapped up, and she narrowed her eyes. “Something you want to say, mister?”
He appeared almost flustered as he averted his gaze and scowled at the wagon. “About time you got back here. I do have someplace to go, you know.”
Chloe wanted to find out just what he thought of her, but she didn’t want to appear to be a floozy or worse, fishing for compliments. She knew she was no beauty, but perhaps there were parts of her that weren’t too bad.
“There’s a stump I brought over. I’m going to leverage the wagon up with the rock. You’re going to have to roll the stump under there to support the weight of the wagon so we can change out the wheel.” He pointed at a gnarly looking, moss-covered piece of wood. “You need to make sure you can move it.”
Chloe hmphed and rolled the stump over to the wagon, realizing a bit too late that she’d showed Mr. Blackwood a full view of her hind end. She straightened up quickly and scowled at him.
“See, I can move it just fine. Let’s get this done without any more talking.” She didn’t want to sound mean, but her temper was frayed beyond normal.
“That’s exactly what I want to do.” Mr. Blackwood picked up the log again, reminding Chloe how strong the man was.
He positioned it in the middle of the wagon while she was close to the broken wheel at the front. With a mighty grunt, he applied pressure, and the wagon moved about an inch upward. He heaved again, and this time all the veins stood out in his face and neck. The wagon moved perhaps an inch and a half.
“Son of a bitch.” He breathed heavily as he wiped his brow with one shirt sleeve. “What the hell is in that wagon?”
Chloe turned to look. “What’s in it? Our things.” She was no fool, not about to tell this stranger exactly what they had. Who knew if he’d steal it and leave them really stranded? She had to be smarter than that.
“What kind of things?” He set the log down and stepped toward the canvas. “Please don’t tell me there’s furniture.”
“Hey, don’t touch that.” Chloe grabbed his arm as he reached for the rope holding the canvas down.
“If you want help, then I need to know why I can’t leverage up this wagon. If there’s too much weight, nothing’s gonna lift it.”
Chloe figured with just a horse, he couldn’t steal much. The weight of the things in the wagon hadn’t occurred to her. No wonder she wasn’t able to do anything with it. He was definitely smarter than most men she’d met, even if he was bossy.
“There’s the spare wheel, Granny’s furniture, two barrels of brine with meat, clothes, pots, pans, linens, books—”
“Shit.” He shook his head.
“Granny will tan your damn hide for cussing.”
“You shouldn’t cast stones. You seem to know a lot of cuss words yourself.” He stared at the wagon. “This means we’re going to have to empty it.”
“Empty it? Whatever for? We can just take some of the stuff off—”
“No, that won’t work.” He cut her off again. “The broken wheel is on the front of the wagon. My guess is that’s where the really heavy stuff is. We have to empty it or it’s not going anywhere.”
Chloe wanted to rail at him, tell him to leave, but she held her tongue. If she’d have had more sleep and less aggravation, she might have realized the wagon was too heavy to lift.
She sighed. “Fine, then, let’s get to emptying it.”
His only reply was a grunt and a muttered curse.
It was already midafternoon. No doubt it would be dark by the time they got everything off the wagon. Mr. Blackwood would be spending the night with them. Chloe didn’t know if she should be excited or nervous.
Or maybe both.
Chapter Two
“Is this chest made out of lead? Jesus Christ, I think I’m going to need a new back after this one.” Gideon thought he’d rip his arms out of their sockets trying to haul the chest out of the back of the wagon.
“No, but it’s full of Granny’s dishes.” The girl said that as if it made perfect sense.
“Goddamn it!” Gideon’s voice echoed across the field, where the deepening twilight crept through the tall grass. He winced when he realized just how loud he’d been. No doubt Granny and the little girls had heard him clearly.
“Mr. Blackwood, I don’t care how much you cuss around me, but those little girls are innocent as can be.” Chloe leaned toward him, sweat rivulets running down her face, hair plastered to her freckled cheeks. She looked wild-eyed and exhausted.
He felt the same way four hours after he’d stopped to help the Ruskin family. The whole afternoon was like quicksand. Every time he moved, he sank farther into the muck. It wasn’t Chloe’s fault, but damned if he wasn’t annoyed as hell with her. She seemed like a smart girl, so why hadn’t it occurred to her to empty the weight from the wagon? He was surprised the mules could pull it. Perhaps they were as stubborn as the little fiery-haired woman in front of him.
“Sorry. I’ll mind my tongue.” He said it grudgingly, but she nodded anyway.
By the time they got the rest of the incredibly well-packed furniture out of the wagon, the sun had set. Gideon knew in a short time he wouldn’t be able to see what he was doing. He was good and stuck for the night with the Ruskins.
Fantastic.
“I’ve got to go get a fire started so we can make supper.” Chloe pulled off her hat and wiped her forehead on her dirty sleeve. “Girls are liable to be hungry.” She glanced at the horizon. “It’ll be dark soon.”
Gideon looked at the chaos around him, the scattering of belongings that made up the family’s life. It was an achingly familiar sight, one he’d seen more than once after the war. He hadn’t had anything to carry with him when he’d left Georgia. He’d traveled with nothing but the Devils, his closest friends and all he needed. These folks had a little left, nothing but scraps to many, yet he knew it was everything to the Ruskins.
On the heels of that thought, his annoyance with them flew away on the breeze. They were simple folks trying to make a new life for themselves as he’d done a few years earlier. He couldn’t fault them for being brave enough to leave Virginia for Texas. It was a long, hard journey. The fact that a young woman, an old woman and two small girls were doing it on their own testified to their courage and fortitude.
The least he could do was repair their wheel and get them safely on their way. If nothing else, it would take his mind off Tanger for a day.
“I’ll gather some firewood.” Gideon’s muscles shook with exhaustion as he walked toward the patch of trees. Chloe’s gaze nearly burned a hole in his back, which made him twitch. At first, he’d had trouble thinking of her as a woman, and then she’d surprised the hell out of him with a pair of tits his palms itched to touch, to weigh, to squeeze. He clenched his fists to stop the urges. The girl was a mixture of brash innocence and strength, not to mention elemental passion.
She confused him, and he didn’t like that one bit. When morning came, he’d be on his way. At that point, he could leave Chloe Ruskin behind for good.
He led his horse over to the mules to hobble him for the night. He didn’t quite understand what he was seeing as he approached the animals. Surprise made him stop in his tracks and stare. Would that woman never cease to shock him?
She had tied each of the mules to a lead rope, which was secured to a rope strung betw
een two solid trees. All four mules could wander at least twenty feet with the contraption, including to the small creek just beyond the trees and to the sweet grass around the meadow. Not only did Chloe have guts and grit, she had intelligence and common sense. He’d never met another woman like her.
A little flustered by the continuing surprises, he secured his own gelding with the mules. Gideon spent time making sure all the animals were comfortable, although it wasn’t necessary. Chloe’s ingenious design already made sure of that.
Gathering firewood in the cool air helped him get his composure back. The fact he’d lost his temper wasn’t lost on him. He was not the angry Devil; he was the levelheaded captain everyone looked to for orders and for guidance. Gideon didn’t want to be angry, and he was ashamed to admit he didn’t know why the woman had set him off. Perhaps it was a combination of his escape from the pressures of everyone in Tanger acting like matchmakers along with his unusual reaction to Chloe.
If only he had Zeke or Jake to talk to. They would let him rail about the sticky situation. But he was alone, and by his own choice too. Well, not alone really, because he had the entire Ruskin family with him. At least for the next twelve hours anyway.
He wanted to get on his horse and ride like hell out of there, but he wouldn’t. Honor compelled him to finish what he started, and leaving the Ruskins in worse shape than he found them would be far from honorable. Gideon washed up in the creek, getting most of the sweat and grime off with sand from the bed. After retrieving a clean shirt to slip on from his saddlebags, he rinsed out the filthy one and hung it on a bush to dry.
By the time he made it over to the fire, he was calmer, if not comfortable with the situation. The murmur of female voices greeted him, and he frowned at the sound. He’d left Tanger to get away from women, and here he was trapped with four females. That was ironic enough to make him choke. The fire was a warm glow in the cool night air and the smell of cooking meat teased his nose. Where the hell had they gotten fresh meat?
Chloe had taken off her hat and secured her hair with something, pulling it away from her face. In the firelight, she looked younger, if that were possible. Her expression reflected the same confusion he’d been feeling all afternoon. Apparently he affected her as much as she affected him.
The two little girls sat like tiny blonde owls, staring at him with wide eyes as they nibbled on food from the same tin plate.
Granny nodded at him. “Mr. Blackwood.” She pointed to a log. “Set a spell and have some supper. Chloe snared a couple fat hares.”
She was snaring rabbits while he was fiddling with the animals and washing? Well, holy shit, didn’t he feel foolish? It was the first time in his life a woman had provided for him instead of the other way around. It made his stomach flip once, then twice. He sat down and told himself Chloe was a survivor, nothing more. She did what she needed to stay alive, and that obviously meant providing for her family.
Chloe took care of her grandmother and the two little girls alone, without a man’s help. That was a simple truth Gideon had trouble accepting. Women were not providers.
Granny handed him a plate with steaming meat and a piece of cornpone.
“Thank you, Mrs. Ruskin.” His stomach yowled noisily.
She grinned, showing a few gaps in her smile. “Call me Granny. Everyone does. A big man like you has to have a big appetite. There’s plenty, so eat up.”
He realized the girls had used one plate so he could eat with them. Not only that, but it appeared Chloe had caught two rabbits because he was there. The petty way he’d been acting made him feel six inches high. The family needed help, but they did everything they could to make him feel welcome.
Granny sat back down with a groan and a few snaps from her joints. She proceeded to pick up her plate and start eating with her fingers. Gideon was not squeamish about bad table manners or even folks who lacked them, but he’d never seen a woman eat like that. She gummed the meat, then smacked her lips.
He was hard-pressed not to crack a smile. Chloe’s glower made him swallow his amusement. The entire family was a bit odd, not that he could cast any stones.
“Where you hail from, stranger?”
“I live in Tanger. It’s about half a day’s ride west.” He took a bite of the cornpone, and a groan popped out of his mouth at the heavenly taste.
“She cooks good, don’t she?” Granny grinned at Chloe. “She ain’t much to look at it, but Chloe has skills a husband would be pleased to have.”
The bite of food almost turned to dust in his mouth. Was he not safe anywhere? He left home to get away from the matchmakers and found one in the middle of nowhere with a busted wagon wheel.
“Granny! Leave the man alone. I don’t want a husband, and I know he don’t want me as a wife.” Chloe’s scowl could have scared a pack of wolves away. “Don’t be meddling in his life for no good reason but to give yourself a chuckle.”
Granny did exactly that, chuckled until it became a guffaw, then a bite of beans snuck out the side of her mouth. As she wiped it away with her fingers, Gideon wondered if some higher power had put these folks in his path for a reason. He’d be damned if he could figure out why, since he was more uncomfortable than he’d felt in a long time.
“He’s handsome. He ain’t married—wait, you ain’t hitched, are ya?” Granny peered at him as if she could tell by counting his eyebrow hairs whether or not he had a wife.
They all stared at him, the only sounds the popping of the fire and Granny’s gumming.
“Nope.” The word was dragged from the depths of his guts.
The old woman cackled merrily. “See, there you go. If you have a mind to, I’m sure Chloe would be a good one to take to wife.”
Chloe stood and dropped her plate on the ground. “That’s enough nonsense. I don’t want to marry him, or any man for that matter. I don’t need a man in my life.”
She kissed the girls on the tops of their heads and walked toward where the mules were tethered.
“No matter what she says, that girl needs a man in her life. Life ain’t enough if you don’t find someone to share it with.” Granny continued smacking her food.
Gideon’s thoughts returned again to why he’d crossed paths with the Ruskins. Did it mean something? Did he want to know the answer to that question? Probably not, since the conversation had turned to marriage within ten minutes, and that was something he was currently running from. He just needed to get the job done and be on his way.
They finished the meal in silence, the chatter and the suggestions of husband material tucked away, thank God. He didn’t blame them for looking to him to take care of them. No doubt there’d been plenty of strangers in their path as they made their journey, and likely he was one of few people who helped them. In fact, he was sure some of them had not-so-honorable intentions. The Ruskins would be fools if they trusted him enough to marry Chloe off to him after a twelve-hour acquaintance.
The rabbit was more than delicious. It was exactly what he’d needed after hours of moving freight off the wagon. The cornpone was slightly sweet and melted in his mouth. After living above the restaurant for two years, he’d eaten everything imaginable. This simple meal was the tastiest and most satisfying one he’d had in quite some time. He refused to believe it was because of the company.
Chloe Ruskin was just a girl, a woman who would be gone from his life by this time tomorrow night.
“If’n you feel that strongly about him, you need to follow your heart,” Granny whispered. “There ain’t many opportunities for a gal to find a strong man, one who stirs her inside.”
Chloe’s heart lodged in her throat, beating madly as she stared at her grandmother. She had done many things in her life she wished she could undo. There had been no time to consider the consequences. That excuse wouldn’t work, because now it was her deliberate choice and she was scared witless.
She liked Gideon, although she’d not admit it to him. He was a handsome man who made her body feel things she�
��d not known existed. She’d been carrying around her virginity, and it had become a damn burden, especially for a woman without a man to protect her. Many times she’d been threatened by men on the trail, and it was only blind luck no one had lived up to their threats. Chloe wanted to get rid of her virginal state, and Gideon was a man who could not only accomplish that task, but she was drawn to him. More so than any other man she’d met in her life. Yet this would be giving herself to a man she barely knew, a man she would never see again.
“Granny, I’m scared.”
“What are you scared of?”
“What if he doesn’t want me?” Chloe managed to say. “I ain’t pretty, and I sure don’t know how to please a man.”
Granny waved her hand. “Ain’t nothing to it, girl. Grab hold of his man part until it gets hard and stick it inside you. He’ll take it from there.”
The crude words made her flinch. Her grandmother was outspoken, and sometimes it was too much to absorb.
“I don’t know if I can.”
“With all the menfolk who’ve tried to bed you the last few years, you’re being shy now? You’re the one who told me what you was fixin’ to do.” Granny pulled her blanket closer around her.
Unfamiliar emotions nearly overwhelmed her—she normally didn’t allow anything soft to surface. “I want to bed him. That’s the bald truth. I’ve been looking for the right man, and he is near about perfect.”
Granny shrugged. “You ain’t never gonna marry. Why you holding on to your virginity? There ain’t no way you got your virgin veil inside after riding a horse every day for nearly twenty years. Mr. Blackwood won’t notice the difference.” Granny’s coarse argument was logical. “I ain’t gonna tell you not to, because that never works. It’s your choice now.”
Young men, even old men, were few and far between since the war. A grand specimen like Gideon Blackwood was rare as a blue moon. As a child, Chloe had always thought there would be a man for her. Now as a woman who had hit plenty of rough patches in her life, she wanted to survive to be a seventy-year-old curmudgeon. Life hadn’t yet presented her with a man who stirred her, made her want things, want him. Until now.
Gideon: Devils on Horseback, Book 5 Page 2
