by Lower, Becky
“Temperance?” he yelled out to the soddy.
“I’m here, Basil.” He caught the glint of a rifle from between the slats of the shutters. “We’re all here, and we’re all safe, but we haven’t been able to get out for two days. I’ve been keeping the damned animals at bay with our rifle, but as soon as I shoot one, two more appear in its place.”
“Why are you handling the gun? Where’s Justice?”
“Justice can’t hit the side of a barn from ten paces away. I have much better aim.”
Despite the dire predicament, Basil grinned at Temperance’s straightforward statement of her capabilities. “I’ll take care of the one on the roof for you. If the children aren’t already on the floor, make sure they lie down so they won’t be hit by a stray bullet.” Basil waited a few moments for her to pass on his instructions to the rest of her family. Then he took aim and killed the large wolf on the top of the soddy. The wolf tumbled to the ground with a thud, further agitating the others who were circling the small dwelling.
“I’m going to ride over and get some of the Lafontaines to help us. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Will you be all right?”
“Yes,” she yelled through the drawn shutters. “But hurry.”
• • •
Joseph and his brother Gaston joined Basil as they returned to the site of the soddy within ten minutes. Rifles and guns were out of their holsters and they were ready for battle. Basil called out to Temperance to make certain everyone was on the floor before the men began to fire off their weapons. Each man picked a target, and a round of gunfire thundered through the falling darkness.
The pack was now down to four wolves. Each man took aim on a target again and another round was fired. One lone wolf remained standing. Temperance aimed her rifle out the window, took quick aim, and fired. As the last wolf fell, Temperance opened the door and the children tumbled out, free for the first time in days.
Temperance held the rifle under her arm, the butt end of it in her armpit, as she moved wearily toward Basil. He slid off his horse and put his hands on her shoulders. “Is everyone all right?”
She nodded slightly, as tears welled in her eyes. “I thought we were doomed for certain this time. Those wolves just kept coming and there was no one to hear us. We ran out of food inside the house, had no firewood to make a cup of tea even if we had water, which we didn’t. Ma’s been so sick every morning, and only tea will quiet her stomach. It’s been an awful couple of days.”
Basil pulled her into his rough embrace. “You gave me a fright. A wolf pack has caused death on the prairie more than once. But you’re safe now. You’re all safe.” Basil’s heart, which had constricted when he spied the circling wolves for the first time, finally began to unclench and slow to a normal rhythm. Temperance backed out of his embrace quickly, but stared up at him with eyes full of trust.
“I had faith you would come sooner or later,” she whispered.
The air sparked as their eyes met. Basil noticed the trust she bestowed on him, and took a deep breath. “You realize, don’t you, that you referred to me by my given name? That’s the first time you’ve ever done so.”
He caught the sudden movement as her shoulders lifted. So that made her uncomfortable? He smiled.
“It was the stress of the situation. I would never refer to you as such in the bank.”
“But we’re not at the bank now, so it’s appropriate. Who would have guessed you were such a crack shot, though?” He smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “You killed seven of those monsters all by yourself. That’s not an easy thing to do, since they were running and darting the whole time.”
“I’m just glad they’re all dead now. What shall we do with the bodies?”
“Joseph and Gaston will load them up on a wagon and take them to the ranch. They’ll use the pelts to make clothing and blankets. Not much will be wasted. Their mother knows how to get the most out of an animal.”
He caught the involuntary movement as Temperance shuddered and ran a hand over her eyes. “I’ll have nightmares about this for weeks.”
“You’ll be all right now. All of you. I know you have a lot to take care of, having not been out in days. I’ll help you get in a supply of wood before I leave you to make the soddy right again.”
“Thank you for coming to our aid. My family is once again in your debt.” Temperance executed a small curtsy to him.
Basil had an overwhelming desire to take her into his arms again, and to kiss her full lips. As her tongue ran over them, he groaned inwardly.
“You owe me nothing. I’m glad I came before the wolf got in through the roof. We all have to help each other in the West, otherwise no one would survive.”
“Nonetheless, Basil, my family appreciates all you’ve done.” On a sudden impulse, it seemed, she grasped his arm, raised herself up on her toes, gave him a peck on the cheek and a huge smile before she ran into the house.
He controlled, just barely, the impulse to run after her.
Chapter Ten
It was the heat of the moment, that was all, Temperance told herself as she ran towards the soddy. She would not have kissed him otherwise. But she was so grateful and relieved that Basil had come to her family’s rescue. She had held off the wolves for two days, and she smelled the terror emanating from both herself and her family during the long siege. They’d thought this might be the final situation from which they could not escape. Thanks to Basil they had, but now her eyes were blurry from lack of sleep and her emotions were rubbed raw.
When Basil rode up to the soddy, she could have sworn he was on a white horse, and the sun glinted off his coat of armor. It was the tiredness, that was all. He was no knight rescuing the damsel in distress. She tried to shake the cobwebs from her tired brain to eliminate the unwanted image of Sir Basil. He might be a ladies’ man, and totally outside of her social class, but he alone had saved her from an impossible situation.
She closed the door to the soddy, took a deep breath, and plunged into the myriad of household tasks needing to be done to bring some order back to the interior of the house. Her rampant thoughts about Basil Fitzpatrick would have to wait.
Justice went through the wagon in search of any food that the wolves hadn’t found. After cleaning the soddy from top to bottom while Martha got the wood stove going so they could have a hot meal for the first time in days, Temperance finally came to a halt. She was falling asleep on her feet. Her mother quickly came to her daughter’s side.
“Go upstairs now, honey. You’ve worked long enough to save this family, and you need some rest. I can handle things from here.”
Temperance didn’t argue, but climbed up the ladder to the sleeping loft. They’d have to repair the roof tomorrow where the wolf had torn into it, but for now, she couldn’t do any more work. She needed to sleep. She had to still her wayward thoughts about Sir Basil riding to her rescue with a shield and a sword, and remember his wayward reputation. She should remove all fanciful thoughts about him from her mind and focus on what the man truly was. Her body cried out for sleep even as her mind kept spinning.
And what kind of man was he, exactly? The man threw off more mixed signals than anyone she’d ever come into contact with. He was an enjoyable man who always sought to make her see the humorous side of her family’s desperate situation, and could find something to coax a smile from her every time they were together. And he loved his own large family, which was a huge plus, as far as Temperance was concerned. Basil was her only outlet to discuss her family’s problems, and to bounce ideas off him. She had cried in front of him, only him, when her father died.
But, by all accounts, he was a reprobate. Certainly their brief encounter in his apartment showed his true colors in that regard. He didn’t let a single opportunity get by him. But since then, he hadn’t touched her. At least not in any kind of intimate manner. She wo
ndered why, since he cut a wide swath through the other ladies in this town.
She was putting herself within his sights every other day. Did she not excite him as much as his saloon girls and dance hall ladies? Despite her resolve not to be sucked in by his charm, she fell into his arms upon the death of her father and let him offer her comfort. And now today, again she found herself in his embrace. Instead of pushing away his tenderness, she rewarded him for his courageousness with a kiss!
She groaned as she tried to make herself comfortable, and not just from the hard floor she laid upon. She repeated his name over and over, allowing her mind to dwell on each syllable, each letter. It would not be wolf eyes she’d be seeing in her sleep tonight, but rather the steely blue ones of Basil Fitzpatrick.
• • •
Basil rode toward town slowly. It was dark by the time he left the soddy, after helping gather firewood for the Jones family and then assisting Joseph and Gaston while they loaded their wagon with all the wolf carcasses. So, he walked the horse down the dirt road leading back to civilization.
The moon was almost full, and kept darting in and out of the clouds, but provided some light as he meandered down the road. But he also went slowly because his mind was a jumble, and he needed to sort things out, and quickly. The horse was aware of the way back to the livery, so he barely needed to nudge him with his knees to keep him going.
What was it about Temperance that set his blood to pounding? Was it because she was the tiniest, yet the most powerful, woman he’d ever met? And why was her independent spirit appealing to him when Ginger’s well-known stance as an advocate for Amelia Bloomer and women’s rights only annoyed him? Perhaps it was because he considered Ginger’s actions only a bid for attention while Temperance was struggling for survival? Despite her desperate family situation, she was sunny, cheerful, and didn’t try to club him over the head with her views on a woman’s place in society. She merely proved every day she was his equal with everything she did.
Who would have thought she’d be the one wielding the rifle against a hungry pack of wolves that attacked young children and considered them a delicacy? Basil smiled as he remembered.
His heart had twisted in his chest when he spied the wolves circling the crude structure. The breath whooshed out of him as he took in the dire circumstances. His yell to her was more a high-pitched croak than a strong, commanding voice, but it had done the trick, and she was too wrapped up in keeping the wolves at bay to notice he had sounded like a girl.
Groaning, he ran his hand over his eyes. He had not been this frightened since his first night in St. Louis, when Joseph came to his rescue from an attack by several men outside the tavern, who were looking for an easy mark to rob. His concern for Temperance was beyond what he had ever experienced for a woman, including the actress Rachel, with whom he had fancied himself in love.
He now realized that while his feelings for Rachel might have run deep, he had never given a thought to how she would have fit into his life, or how his mother would react to her, if he should bring her home. Maybe he hadn’t been in love at all.
But what did that say about his feelings for Temperance? He’d already envisioned his mother meeting her, and loving her immediately, because Basil did.
Whoa! Instinctively, he pulled back on the horse’s reins and the animal came to a dead stop in the middle of the road as wild, unbidden thoughts rushed through Basil’s mind. Shaking his head to clear them away, he scolded himself. It was not love that he had for Temperance. Where the hell had that notion come from, anyway? He did admit he admired her courage and strength. Basil moved uneasily in the saddle as he attempted to put his wayward thoughts in order. Yes, admiration. That’s what it was. And friendship.
He sensed she had so few people she could turn to when she needed to take off the yoke of responsibility that had been thrust upon her, and he counted himself lucky to be one of the people she confided in. So there it was — admiration and friendship. Nothing more.
He shifted in his saddle again. Was that really all there was to it? Maybe he did care about her more than he was willing to admit. Definitely, the sight of her in immediate danger was more than enough to get his heart pumping and set his thoughts astir. Why did his private parts swell with need when he let himself think of her soft, mossy green eyes under their veil of long, lush lashes? Or get close enough to her to catch a whiff of her scent?
He groaned. He was not in love with Temperance. What a foolish notion! He merely needed to be with a woman, something he had too long denied himself. The rest of the ride home would be very uncomfortable indeed.
Chapter Eleven
A surprise late October snowstorm caught everyone off guard, including Basil and Temperance. She was at the bank, cleaning, when it hit. Snow was coming down so hard it was impossible to see to the other side of the street. From the second story window Basil’s heart sank as the snow began to drift into mounds.
In the past few weeks, he and Temperance seemed to have ironed out a good working relationship between them. He would let her into the bank, and spend a few minutes getting caught up on the events in her life before he’d head up to his quarters so she could clean in peace. She only came upstairs to let him know she was done so he could lock up after her, and never went farther than the doorway to his quarters. But he had a feeling, tonight was going to test their fragile relationship.
He paced to the window and glanced up at the sky. It was dark and gray, and he feared the snow would last through the night. With a mental groan, he accepted the fact Temperance would have to stay in town tonight. He pulled on his boots and a heavy coat before he went to the main floor.
He would take her horse to the livery and put it up for the night before the snow got so bad he couldn’t find his way back. Then they’d figure out the sleeping arrangements for the night. Perhaps the sole hotel on this end of town still had rooms available. Just thinking about her sleeping in the same space as him made his manhood spring to attention.
Yes, it had been far too long since he’d been with a woman. The night of the wolf attack, he’d returned home and decided to slake his desire for female companionship by visiting the newest dance hall. One of the lovely, voluptuous young ladies showered him with attention and he was sorely tempted to take her up on her offer to show him the rest of her body, which was encased in an abbreviated costume.
She sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, begging to be kissed. He gazed into her eyes. They were brown, not green, and the lashes were very skimpy by comparison to Temperance’s. He made his excuses and left the dance hall and a very unhappy young lady. When was the last time he’d been with a woman, anyway? Months now. Since about July. Since Temperance arrived in town. Was there a correlation? Good Lord, he hoped not. It was just a coincidence.
He clattered down the wooden staircase and into the bank’s large main room. Temperance was on a stool, reaching up to chase away the cobwebs from the overhead light, so engrossed in her work that she wasn’t aware of him. She stretched on her tiptoes as she dusted, and he noticed how her dress clung to her nicely rounded hips.
A sudden urge came over him to walk up behind her and cup her bottom in his hands. Taking a deep breath, he shrugged off the mental picture he had created, and waited until she finished her task before making his presence known. He did not want to startle her into a fall.
As she lowered herself off her toes, he cleared his throat and walked forward. “It’s snowing hard, Temperance, and looks as if it’s going to keep up all night. You’d better plan on staying in town this evening. I’ll take your horse across the street to the livery and put it up for you.” He reached out a hand to help her down from the stool and she glanced at him. He realized that by her being up on the stool, they stood eye to eye for the very first time. And mouth to mouth. His eyes fell to her provocative, petal pink lips, which turned up at the corners. She
stood without making a sound, following the movement of his eyes. Then, she dropped her gaze and jumped off the stool unassisted.
“Ummm, I don’t think staying here is a good idea, Mr. Fitzpatrick. Are you certain I can’t head home? The horse knows the way by now.” She dashed to the window at the front of the bank and gazed out upon the white snow, which was drifting and blowing. The wind was howling as the snow swirled in the street. “Oh, dear.” She turned around to find Basil standing behind her. He had startled her and she took a step back, pressing her body up against the cold windowpane.
Basil gazed down at her as she backed into the window. He got a whiff of her scent and it made his mouth water. Whoever thought a spring meadow could be so provocative? Tonight was going to be a long night. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted a woman before. But she was not the kind of woman who would enjoy a romp in the hay and think no more about it. There was a unique wholesomeness about her that had nothing to do with her unpainted face.
“I could not let you head out of here for home in these conditions. You’d never make it, even with your horse knowing the way. Why put yourself at risk? I’ll ask if there is room at the hotel, if you want. But there’s plenty of room right here. Let me take the horse across the street and I’ll be right back.”
He turned on his heel and walked to the rear of the building, letting himself out. He hoped to hell she’d still be able to call herself a respectable woman in the morning. Tonight was going to be challenging.
• • •
Why put myself at risk, indeed? Temperance thought as Basil left the room. She took a deep breath. Staying in his quarters tonight was going to be the most risky thing she had done since leaving Pennsylvania. She wrung her hands together, then stopped herself and stared at them. They were rough and callused, cracked and red. All she had to do was show Basil her hands and he would turn his back on her. She was not vain, only sensible. And most definitely she was not the type of woman he was attracted to. For more than one night, anyway, and she was no man’s plaything.
