“I’m going to walk along I-90 and US-14 straight into Wyoming.” If I-90 and US-14 were still there, anyhow. According to PBS, Roman roads had lasted for a couple thousand years, but she had a lot less faith in modern construction. Hopefully, there would still be some trace of the interstates left. “Do you know where any --like-- street signs might be?”
“You plan to walk out?” Cade sounded incredulous. “In those snowdrifts?”
Addy hesitated. See? The frigid weather did seem troubling. He clearly thought so, too. “Well, maybe I can find a horse. Do you guys still have horses or is it all just those creepy lizards? I’m not riding a lizard.”
“You want to ride a sanbor?!”
“No, I want to ride a thoroughbred. I went through an ‘equestrian phase’ in high school and took lessons on a beautiful Arabian named Madonna. Who names a horse Madonna, right?” Addy rambled when she was nervous, something her father hated. “But anyway, I had made up my mind to be an Olympian and horseback riding seemed like the least exercise-y ways to do it. Well, that and archery. I also took archery.”
Cade stared at her, with an inscrutable expression.
She made a face. “Of course, if I knew then, what I know now, I’d have learned how to mountain climb, instead.” A new thought occurred to her. “Hey, I’ll probably need supplies, too. What should I pack for --like-- five hundred miles of roughing it?”
Cade kept staring. “How in the hell do you survive?” He finally asked, as if he couldn’t imagine why she wasn’t dead a hundred times over. “What do you do all day?”
“I’m a website consultant for a marketing firm. That’s how I make my living.” Well, that and the generous trust fund from her grandparents. “I have a feeling you guys don’t have a big call for that here.”
“I do not know what that even is.” He rubbed his forehead in resignation. “What am I supposed to do with you? You’re going to fuck up my whole life.”
“I fuck up everyone’s life. Especially mine.” She should probably lie, but she couldn’t find the energy. “Not even I expected this big a fuck up. But, if it was going to happen, I’m not surprised it happened to me. My father always said I’d die doing something stupid. He thinks I’m a scatterbrain.” She gave Cade an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry to drag you into this, though.”
His jaw ticked. “You do have a… uh… protector you can go to, right?”
Addy frowned. “A protector?” She repeated blankly. His lyrical accent made it hard to understand some of the words, so maybe she’d misheard that.
Cade looked frustrated with her confusion. “Yes. A man who looks out for you. Who sees you fed and cared for.”
“Oh. Oh!” Now she got it. “Shit, you think I’m a prostitute?” Her mind boggled at the very idea. “Really? Me?” She didn’t know whether to be insulted or flattered. “No, I don’t do that.”
Cade seemed disappointed with her reaction. “You have a husband, then?” He looked down at the floor and gave a snort. “Of course, you have a husband. Your eyes do not have the look of a professional.”
Okay, that was almost certainly an insult. “Hey, I could be a professional.” A lot of guys liked bigger girls. She’d never met one, but she’d seen it on a talk show. “In fact, maybe I’m lying and it is my profession. Call-girling could totally be my calling, for all you know.”
Cade gave a long suffering sigh. “So, is your husband the maypole of this Yellowstone?” He hesitated, searching for the correct word. “Maypole? Wait. Maybe. May… or. Is he mayor of Yellowstone?”
Geez, just when she thought things couldn’t get more depressing. “No, I don’t have a husband who’s a mayor or a maypole. I’m incredibly single. My epic failures with men cause internet dating services to shut down when they see me coming.”
Was it her imagination or did he seem pleased by that dismal news? “You have no male?” Cade put his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. “Are your parents wealthy, then? They must be, given your clothes and the odd way you talk.”
The odd way she talked?
“My mother’s dead. My father has money. He lives in Palm Springs, with his sixth wife, Mandi.” That was the other name on the impersonally stamped Christmas card Addy had received the year before, anyway. Was Cade trying to make her cry? Because, this was really getting sad. “We’re not close.” Massive understatement. She’d disappointed him from the moment she was born and he’d compensated by ignoring her for the past twenty-eight years. “I told you, he isn’t my biggest fan. Dad’s not going to even notice I’m gone.”
Cade didn’t seem convinced. “Surely, you belong to someone.”
She considered that for a long moment, wondering what he was up to with all these questions. “Hang on, are you trying to ransom me?”
“I’m trying to find somebody who will take you off my hands. Left to your own devices, you’re considering just walking off into the snow!” He made that sound like a bad plan. “Someone like you must have a team of hired idiots standing by to save you from yourself.”
“Someone like me? Meaning what?”
“Meaning you’re lost in every possible way. Do you not understand what it’s like out there?”
Honestly? No. What Addy knew about snow she’d learned while skiing in Vail. And by “skiing,” she meant “sitting by the fireplace and drinking warm cider.” The weather outside the hotel window looked pretty intense.
She chewed her lower lip. Maybe, Cade had a point. She wanted to get home ASAP, but maybe she wasn’t thinking this idea through. That happened to her a lot. Addy tended to act before she considered all the consequences.
According to her father, it was the scatterbrain thing, again.
Cade must have seen the doubt in her expression. “Four gods.” He sank down on the edge of the mattress and ran a hand through his dark hair. “You are utterly helpless, aren’t you? Have you ever had to do anything even halfway practical?”
Addy resented that. It sounded too much like all the times she’d been written her off as a superficial airhead, because she was a curvy girl from the country club. So she liked pretty clothes, and got impatient with boring details, and sometimes forgot to pay her bills. She wasn’t helpless.
“Hey, I’m doing the best I can.” She shot back, swiping at her eyes. “At least, I’m not screaming in a padded cell someplace. Try showing up in my world and see how well you do.” Five minutes in front a computer screen and he’d be crying like a baby.
“I understand very little of what you say and I still know it’s all gibberish. However, my brothers dislike the idea of abandoning you to your fate and I won’t disappoint them by letting you die. So, you can’t go off into the snow tomorrow.” He leaned closer to her. “To be clear, though, if you do anything to endanger my family, I will make you sorry. Alright?”
Addy wasn’t particularly terrified. “Alright?” Staring into his extraordinary eyes, she didn’t believe for one second that he’d hurt her. Cade was one of the good guys. And the man clearly loved his little brothers. She’d always wished she had siblings. Seeing the Westins together downstairs had made her envious of their bond. If one of them was stranded in the future, someone at home would be looking for them.
“So, now we must come up with a plan.” He continued. “A workable, practical, not stupid plan.”
Addy perked up at the implication that Cade was going to help her figure this out. Asshole or not, he seemed semi-smart and he knew this place way better than she did. “Like what?”
“If no one is coming on their own, we must summon them.”
“It’s a pretty far distance.” She hedged. If she told him she was from the past, she had a feeling Cade would toss her out on her ass for being a crazy person. Better to let him think it was just miles separating her from home.
“I don’t care how far it is. Somebody must be willing to travel here to collect you. Look at you!” He swept a hand up and down her plus-sized body. “You are clearly loved. Who wil
l give everything to get you back?”
Addy racked her brain for a moment. She had friends, but did she know anyone who would give everything to get her back? Not really. Regardless of what he thought, she wasn’t loved. Not by anyone. Jesus, she really was going to cry. She needed to tell Cade something, though. “Well, there’s Brian.”
“Brian?”
“My boss. I’m the best consultant he has,” (No, she wasn’t.), “so he’ll be really hunting for me.” Not that he’d ever, ever find her, but he’d probably look for a couple of days before hiring someone else.
Cade nodded in relief. “Good. We’ll send a message to Brian. Where is he?”
“Yellowstone.” Unless he’d already given up and gone back to Arizona, which was very possible. “It’s to the west, a long way from here.”
Cade shook his head, the stunning angles of his face set in a frown. Did the guy know how to smile? It was a shame, because he probably would’ve looked even more spectacular if he tried. “The western pass is blocked with snow. It won’t clear until spring.”
Wonderful. Addy had no idea what month it was in this time period, but she could tell it was still very, very winter. “How long until spring? A couple weeks?”
“Two months. Give or take.”
“Two months?!” She gaped at him. “I’m stuck in this town for two months?”
He seemed to take offense at her tone. “Would you prefer to camp out in forest?”
“I’d prefer to be in my heated condo. Barring that, I’d at least like to stay someplace where the bed has more than three legs.”
“I built that bed.”
She hesitated, unsure if he was messing with her. “You’re kidding.”
“No. I’m a carpenter, in my spare time. I made all the furniture.”
She looked around at the lopsided, rickety decor. “You don’t have a lot of spare time, do you?”
Cade didn’t appreciate her decorating critique. “If you are so unhappy, leave the same way you arrived. However you got here, just go back and this mess will be over.”
Addy gave a slightly crazed laugh. “I’d love to. Believe me. I have no idea what I’m doing here or how to reverse it, though. I fell and hit my head.”
“You injured your brain? Well, that explains much.”
Addy decided to ignore that. “When I opened my eyes I was face down in a pile of snow.” She shook her head. “I need to go back to the last place I remember being, which is Yellowstone.”
Cade thought that over for a long moment. “So, when spring comes you will get a message to Brian in this Yellowstone? That’s your plan?”
Jesus, spring sounded super far away. Addy didn’t have much of a choice, though. Somehow, she had to get back to Wyoming and that meant staying put until the western pass opened. “Yeah.” She lied. “When the snow melts, I’ll pony express a letter to Brian, okay? I really think it’ll work.”
“What is a pony express?”
“It’s like email on a horse.” She ignored Cade’s suspicious frown and pressed onward. “So, you’ll let me stay here until spring and it’s all settled then.”
“What? Four gods, you’re not staying here. There are other places in the polis, where you’d be…”
She cut him off, afraid of leaving this man. “No. I want to stay with you.”
Cade hesitated, his amazing lavender gaze searching her face. She’d never seen eyes like his before. The color of them was like staring into the heart of an amethyst.
“I can help around your bar.” Addy wasn’t above begging. Not when her whole life was on the line. “Really. I waited tables at a bistro in college.” For two weeks, before she’d been fired.
Addy had never kept a job for more than six months, much to her father’s disgust. Either she quit out of boredom or they handed her a pink slip. Jack of all trades, master of none. That was Adeline Mulhaney. She was always searching for something that clicked with her, so she had a little bit of skill in a wide array of fields, hobbies, and subjects… None of which were particularly useful here in the Wild, Wild West.
“Help in the bar?” Cade sounded appalled by the very idea. “Shit, we have enough fights down there. Do not go near the customers. Do not go near anyone else in this polis, except my brothers. As long as you’re here, you stay right beside one of us. It’s the only way you’ll be safe.”
Addy beamed, interpreting that grumpiness in the most positive light possible. “Does that mean I can stay with you?” She asked eagerly.
Cade blinked under the force of her grin.
“Cade?” She prompted, when he just stared at her.
“What?” He gave his head a sharp shake. “Shit. No.” He got to his feet. “This is a bad idea. You will cause disruption. I hate disruption.”
“I’m very undisruptive. I won’t disrupt anything.”
“You will.” Cade studied her for a long moment. “You don’t belong here with me. Many people in the polis will be… unhappy if you remain under my roof.”
“I don’t care. I’m not even part of this creepy town.”
“It doesn’t matter. Your reputation will suffer.”
“Like a give a rat’s ass about my popularity with the cast of Gunsmoke.” Was he looking for an excuse to ditch her? Without Cade, she was screwed. He was the one person standing between her and certain death. Addy was absolutely certain of that. “I want to stay here.”
He looked hunted. “I can find you a more respectable place to…”
“Please, Cade.” She whispered.
He groaned at the entreaty. “Fuck.” His head tiled back to look at the ceiling, no doubt praying to the presidents for guidance.
“Please?” Addy tried again, sensing his capitulation. “I’m stuck in this dump until spring and everybody else in town scares me worse than you.”
That seemed to confound him. “Why?”
“Because, you’ve been looking out for me while I had my breakdown. I’ve been locked in this room for days and not one person has bothered me, except to bring me stuff. I know that was your doing.” She arched a brow when he didn’t deny. “You might want me gone, but you’re not dangerous. Not to me. Hell, that one Stinky-Pete-looking guy tried to feel me up, right there in the bar, and you protected me.”
“Manston.” Cade nodded in disgust. “Stay away from him.”
“I plan to. I plan to stick right here with you.”
“But, you should be afraid of me. I don’t understand why you’re not.”
She tilted her head. “Are you going to hurt me, Cade?”
He gazed at her for a long moment. “No.” It was a vow. “If I wanted that, lady, I could’ve done it days ago.”
“Would other men in this town hurt me?”
“Some of them.” He admitted quietly.
“Well, there you go, genius! So, unless you drag me out the door, I’m staying with the guy who speaks English and isn’t planning a sexual assault.”
“It’s not that simple. Don’t you realize what I am?”
Crap, he was probably an alien. The future always had aliens.
Her mind could only accept so much at one time, though. Being stranded in the future and potentially raped by miners was way more pressing than Cade’s extraterrestrial backstory. Addy didn’t care where he’d come from, just so he continued keeping her safe.
She looked into his eyes and trusted him. Through the veneer of asshole-ness and long-suffering sighs, she saw someone who was fundamentally… good. Honorable. If she could stay with Cade, she would survive this. He would help her. She knew it.
“Brian will give you a huge reward.” Addy blurted out, sweetening the deal. “Like, a pirate’s chest full of gold.” She hesitated. “Do you guys still value gold, here?”
That got his attention. “Of course, we value gold! Shadow-of-the-Gods isn’t some Outlander camp.”
Whatever the hell that meant. She sure wasn’t going to ask, since it would probably set him off again. “Super, so le
t me stay until spring and my midlevel boss will shower you in riches. I’m sure of it.”
His gaze narrowed, not entirely buying that wild claim. “Brian is rich?”
“Oh, yeah. Total Donald Trump time. He’s got a whole safe full of diamonds.” She nodded like all of that was true. “And he adores me. I was his Secret Santa last year and I got him a Starbucks gift card. He was very grateful.” Addy’s tenth grade acting lessons helped her infuse her voice with sincerity. “Me staying here would be a total business arrangement. No one could object to a business arrangement, right? You run a hotel, Cade. I just want a room. One little room.”
Cade considered that, weighing each word. “If you stay, I would need a gold piece for every day you are here.” He finally decided. “That will be at least sixty.”
“Very fair.” He could’ve asked for a million gold pieces and she would’ve cheerfully nodded, since she had exactly none.
“You’re sure Brian will pay that much?”
“Absolutely.” She unrepentantly lied. “He’s crazy about me.”
“Fine.” Cade jabbed a finger at her. “But, the consequences of this are on your head. I warned you it was a bad idea.”
“You were very clear. I’ll even sign a waiver to that effect, if you want.”
“Just… do not talk to me more than necessary. And try not to be alone with me. Never touch me. Have nothing at all to do with me, if you can possibly manage it. Stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours.”
“I’ll be quiet as a mouse. I swear.” She made a production of locking her lips shut with an invisible key.
Cade’s gaze narrowed. “Just until the snow melts.” He warned, still visibly unhappy. “Come spring, I will be paid and you will go away.”
Addy gave an innocent smile, already planning to stiff the poor guy for a fortune in gold and sneak off at the second the pass was clear. “I promise, once this is over, you won’t even remember I was here.”
Chapter Three
When “glamping” in the wilderness, it’s important to respect the native habitat.
Cowboy from the Future Page 4
