by Gigi Moore
Thayne almost laughed at the big man’s embarrassment, even if he had leaped to a logical conclusion. Thayne decided to rescue him. “Um, we’re already fixed for mutual solace, thanks.”
Cade rolled up to the bar with a big grin on his face and slapped a few bills down on the bar. “I think that should cover a round for everyone, Hank.”
“Surely will, Cade.”
“We’re going to be on our way now, but we’ll be back.”
“You’re surely welcome.”
Thayne took Maia’s hand and led her through the swinging doors while Cade followed.
Outside on the sidewalk, Cade whooped and laughed. “I still got it!”
“Yes, you do,” Thayne said.
“Did you see me in there?”
“We did,” Maia said, and Thayne could see her holding back a laugh. He held back one of his own at his brother’s antics. If Cade had a Stetson and a gun, Thayne thought he’d probably wave both in the air and fire off a round or two in celebration.
Cade looked at them and said, “I know. I need to hold it down and act like I have sense. I just feel so—”
“Accomplished?” Maia provided.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Ready to hit the general store?” Thayne asked.
As if to refute him, Maia’s stomach grumbled loudly.
She put her hand on her belly, sheepishly smiling.
“Um, we’d better hit the restaurant first,” Cade said.
“Guess we’d better.” Thayne smiled.
* * * *
Bellies full of the restaurant’s special of the day—which consisted of chili, corn fritters, sourdough biscuits, pinto beans, and corn bread—Thayne, Cade, and Maia made their way to the general store, where they got lost among the aisles of myriad items before they finally found the clothes and accessories they needed and wanted. After the general store, they headed for the town gun shop, where Thayne and Cade made their all-important purchases—Cade settling on the Smith & Wesson top-break revolver and Thayne settling on the Colt .45 caliber revolver referred to as the Peacemaker.
Thayne sensed Maia gritting her teeth through the entire process, but she never said a word, and he had to give her credit for holding her tongue when he knew it was the last thing she wanted to do.
Once back on the bustling street, Thayne started to feel like he was really a part of the landscape, like he belonged. He, Cade, and Maia didn’t get stared at half as much as they had when they’d first arrived.
Thayne looked over at his brother in his black Stetson, black leather vest over a white shirt, and gun on his left hip and thought Cade in his element before he realized they all missed one very important item.
“Horses,” Cade said the same time as Thayne.
“Guys, we can leave something to do for tomorrow,” Maia said.
Thayne chuckled at her tired expression. “You’re right. It’s been a long day.” He assumed it would be just as long a day tomorrow, since they still didn’t know exactly what they had to do back here in this time now that they were here.
Thayne looked forward to figuring things out, for the first time in a long time looking forward to tomorrow with a sense of anticipation and purpose.
Did that mean he had been on the verge of burning out at the hospital, that he had lost his way even in his chosen profession and passion?
Cade would have probably given him a resounding yes to those questions.
“So, are we off to Sabrina’s?” Maia asked.
Thayne glanced up at the dusky sky then down at the pocket watch he had purchased.
“Hopefully it’s not too late for her to expect visitors.”
“Hope not. I’m looking forward to a nice hot bath and a long, deep sleep,” Cade said.
New acquisitions in tow, the trio made their way to the end of town where a large, three-story structure overshadowed all the standard two-story buildings in town. The sign, Boarding House, announced to all a place of quality and good repute, the two words painted in fancy brown lettering and gold trim on a white background. The building itself was painted a welcoming yellow with an old-fashioned white picket fence surrounding its perimeter.
From Wyatt’s subtle description earlier, Thayne had been expecting a place in significant disrepair, something practically falling down at the seams. From what he could see of the outside, this didn’t seem to be the case. Maybe there were some structural issues inside the building or out back.
Thayne led the way past the fence to the front door. Trying the knob, he expectedly found the door unlocked and pushed it open, looking back at Cade with a smile.
“Friend of yours?” Cade teased.
“It’s just the way things are out here.” He had a moment of regret when he remembered the trusting, welcoming approach was how the intruder had gotten into Aunt Aura’s house. Now that he thought about it, he knew that the stroke his aunt had suffered had not been brought on by natural causes. “Prentice killed her,” Thayne rasped.
“Aunt Aura? Yeah, I kind of figured that out after what he did to me back at the house.”
“I’m sorry, Cade. I should have known. I should have been more vigilant, more—”
“Stop it, Thayne,” Maia said. “It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Neither of you had any way of knowing about this Prentice or what he was capable of.”
“After Mom and Dad’s warning, we probably should have,” Cade said.
“It’s twenty-twenty hindsight, and there’s nothing any of us can do about it now.”
“Are you folks going to go in, or are you just going to stand there blocking my door?”
Thayne turned at the sound of the sultry-smooth voice and saw the woman standing behind Cade and Maia, holding a wicker basket full of laundry.
Standing about as tall as Maia with long, burnished, dark-brown hair and color-change hazel eyes, the woman pushed past Cade and Maia to reach the door.
Thayne shook himself into action, dropped the bag he’d been holding, and took the basket out of the woman’s hands.
“Well thank you kindly, sir.”
“Name’s Thayne.”
“Well, Thayne, I’m Sabrina, the proprietress of this here establishment. So if you and your friends are looking for a place to stay for the night, or longer, you’ve come to the right house.” She turned her back on him to enter the main floor of the house and paused in the large vestibule.
Thayne followed her into the house, Cade and Maia on his heels with their bags. Thayne stopped by the winding staircase leading upstairs. The elaborately carved newel had been dusted and polished to a high shine, and Thayne wondered if Sabrina ran the place all by herself when Wyatt wasn’t lending her a hand.
Once inside, Thayne introduced Cade and Maia to Sabrina.
“Nice to meet y’all.”
“Wyatt mentioned your place to us,” Cade said.
Sabrina smiled. “Wyatt’s just the sweetest thing. He’s always steering people my way. I think he thinks he’s taking business away from the bordellos and brothels in town, not that you could ever stop a man from staying in those places if he really wants to, you understand.”
“You’re probably right,” Thayne said.
“I honestly don’t know whether to thank Wyatt or strangle him sometimes. As you can see, this place is huge and requires a lot of time and energy to upkeep, especially when guests are present and afoot.”
“You do all the work around here yourself?”
“Hmm, most of the time.” She gave him a sphinxlike grin and a thorough once-over.
Thayne felt like she’d sized him up for a coffin just before she turned her sharp-eyed attention to Cade and gave him the same visual inspection.
“Of course, I ain’t ever been one to turn down an offer of help from a strong and sturdy pair of willing hands.”
“We’d be more than willing to help out with whatever work you needed in exchange for a room or two,” Thayne said, counting on Sa
brina’s willingness to barter, since Cade had spent most of his winnings and they still needed money for at least one horse to start.
“Sounds like a fair deal to me.” Sabrina pointed him up the stairs. “You can start by taking that load up the stairs and leaving it outside the first door to your right.”
“Will do.” Thayne headed up the stairs, and Sabrina started up behind him before turning back to Cade and Maia.
“Well, don’t dally. If you want a room, come on up and I’ll show you what’s available.”
Cade and Maia followed behind her. Once they all reached the top of the staircase, Thayne left the basket of laundry where Sabrina directed.
“You’ll be wanting one room or two?” she asked.
“Depends,” Thayne said.
“On?”
“Well, the size of the rooms and how many beds are in a room for one,” Cade put in. “As you can see, my brother and I aren’t small, and we’ll need room to stretch out.”
Sabrina smiled, and that secret, familiar look made the blood rush to Thayne’s face. He knew his cheeks must have been flushed red from the way Maia rolled her eyes at him.
“Yep, I can see very well how you gentlemen would need room to stretch your limbs.”
“So do you have anything suitable?” Maia asked, her tone petulant.
Was she jealous? Thayne wondered.
Sabrina opened the door to the room, in front of which she stood and silently pointed them in with a flourish.
The room was sizable enough to fit the full- and queen-size beds across the room with a nightstand between them. A kerosene lamp sat on the nightstand. The foot- and headboards of the beds were sturdy oak, probably hand carved, as was the large bureau behind the door and the rocker adjacent the foot of the full-size bed.
Even with the several pieces of furniture, the space still seemed roomy, with adequate dimensions left for walking around without bumping into each other or things.
Thayne stepped across the threshold first and walked over to the largest bed by the window, sat down, and liked the firmness of the mattress right off. He noticed, too, the steam coming off the water in the basin atop the bureau, as if it had been set there in anticipation of their arrival.
“So, is this one to your liking?” Sabrina asked.
“It’ll do,” Thayne said.
“Good, then it’s settled.”
“That’s it? You don’t need anything from us like a, um, guarantee of some sort?”
“Whatever on earth for? Do you plan on running out in the middle of the night?”
“No, but—”
“Where’re you people from? Back East?”
“Mainly.”
“Well, it’s obvious you ain’t from around here. Around here, folks’ words are their bond, so if you say it’ll do, I’m trusting that you’ll live up to your end of our bargain.”
“Works for us.”
“Good deal then.” Sabrina started to leave then stopped at the door with her hand on the knob. “I’ll still be putting you to work bright and early tomorrow.”
“We’re not afraid of hard work,” Thayne said.
“We’ll see.” She gave him that enigmatic smile again. “Oh, the bathhouse is in a room downstairs on the main floor. You can’t miss it. There’re two tubs available to boarders by reservation for one-hour periods, with fresh towels and soap. It’s free for the rest of the night, so you three are welcome to it.”
“Sounds heavenly,” Maia said, and Thayne could tell she really meant it. He didn’t want to break her heart and tell her that the water wouldn’t be hot unless they heated it on a stove.
“Well, I’ll leave you all to get settled in. Have a good night.” Sabrina left, closing the door behind her.
“Maybe we would have been better off at the brothel or bordello,” Maia drawled.
“Why would you say that?” Cade asked.
“It seems like Ms. Walker is offering the same services, except here you’re working for your board instead of paying for it.”
Thayne grinned. He had his answer. Maia was jealous. “You think she’s a prostitute?” he teased as he bounced back on the bed, leaning on his elbows.
Maia lifted her bag and put it in the seat of the rocker before sitting on the bed opposite Thayne and giving him a dirty look.
“She reminds me of you,” he said.
“I thought that, too,” Cade agreed.
“What? You’re both crazy.”
“Beautiful, independent, intelligent, strong willed, frank, outspoken…” Thayne counted off Sabrina’s numerous attributes. “Yep, sounds like you to me.”
“Whatever,” Maia said, but Thayne could see her blushing now.
“I’m wondering what the Baldwins’ story is,” Cade said as if to head off an argument.
“Wyatt seemed a little—”
“Intimidating,” Cade finished for Maia. “At least to Lily he was.”
“You think he beats her?”
“No,” Thayne said.
“You say that with a lot of conviction. Did you—?”
“No.” Thayne shook his head. “Just a feeling I got. They’re both in a lot of pain. I can’t put my finger on it or explain it. Like I said, it’s just a feeling.”
Maia nodded, seeming to accept his take.
“We’ve got a heap of our own problems, too many to worry about Wyatt and Lily’s.”
Thayne hated to agree with his brother on this, but Cade was correct. They didn’t need to get involved.
Maia, however, wanted to disagree. He could see it in her gorgeous, mutinous face. “Yes?” Thayne prompted her.
“How can we just ignore them, the pain that you say they’re in?”
“Easy,” Cade said, flopping back on the bed beside her.
“What if they’re why we were brought here?”
“Here, this place, or here, this time?”
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” Maia sprang to her feet, slamming her hands on her hips and glaring down at Cade and Thayne. “We’re here now, and we have to do what we can to help.”
“I hate to break it to you, Little Maia, but we can’t afford the distraction.”
“How can you be so insensitive? And don’t call me Little Maia.”
“You think I’m insensitive?”
“Guys, arguing isn’t going to get us anywhere.”
“But Maia thinks I’m insensitive, and I think I deserve the chance to defend myself.”
Maia sighed and wiped a hand down her face. “Just forget I said anything.”
“How can I? You practically called me a coldhearted bastard. But you want to know the truth? I feel too much. I feel a lot more than I’d like to feel, Maia. I feel so much sometimes it hurts and I have to turn off my feelings just to keep my sanity.”
“Cade, I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Hurt the feelings that I don’t have?”
“I shouldn’t have said all that stuff.”
“Sure you should have. You had every right, just like I have every right to pick and choose who I need to worry about. And right now I’m choosing to focus on you and Thayne and worry about whether the danger is over. I’m wondering if we’re all safe out here, or do we still need to keep an eye out for each other, and if so, what the hell from!”
Maia gaped, unable to respond to Cade’s tirade.
Thayne stood and went to his brother, sitting beside him on the full-size bed.
Cade put out a hand. “I’m so pissed off I’m shaking.”
For the first time Thayne genuinely worried for his brother’s stability. Cade was so resilient and nonchalant about so many things in life, but not this thing with Maia. Since the dream with their parents and Maia coming into their lives, he’d turned into someone different from the careless and impulsive brother that he’d always known.
“It’s okay, Cade. Maia didn’t mean anything by it.”
She went to both of them, crouching before Cade and taki
ng his shaking hands in hers. “Thayne’s right, Cade. I’m sorry.”
“You’re touching me.”
She squeezed his hands tight. “Don’t you want me to?”
“I want it so much it scares me.”
Thayne stood from the bed and took a step toward the queen-size bed, feeling like an intruder, but Maia caught him by his wrist, forcing him to sit back down.
“Don’t go, Thayne.”
“I can’t do this with you.” His heart pounded at his words. He knew what was coming, what they wanted him to participate in.
“Do what? Make love?”
“Maia—”
“We all want it. You know we do.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s right to give into our feelings.”
“Thayne, we may not get another chance to express or show how we really feel about each other.”
He grinned in spite of himself, in spite of the situation. “Giving me the old the-end-of-the-world-is-coming line?”
Maia returned his smile. “Is it working?”
“Maia…”
“Let me help you along.” She stood before him, unbuttoning her shirt until each cream-colored cotton side fell open to reveal her lacey turquoise bra.
“Maia, please…”
“Yes?”
Cade stood up and stepped behind her to remove the shirt, discarding it across the room and bending his head to nuzzle her throat.
Thayne watched them, wide-eyed and dry mouthed, wanting to join them so badly and touch Maia’s soft skin with his fingertips and tongue he could already feel and taste her. He seized a handful of the comforter on the bed where he sat, fisting the fine-crafted material in both hands as he clenched his teeth.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes tight without knowing he did so until he felt Maia’s fingers under his chin and inhaled her subtle patchouli-and-coconut aroma.
Thayne didn’t move as she tilted back his head, her hand caressing his face before moving up from his jaw to burrow in his hair. She tightened her grip at his nape.
He didn’t open his eyes, not when she bent her head to kiss him and not when she ran the tip of her tongue around the shell of his ear and made him shudder.
“I want you, Thayne. I want you and Cade both, together,” she whispered. “Will you grant me that now?”
