Addy’s heart leapt. He did think she was beautiful! That was… “Wait, what?” Her eyebrows compressed in alarm. “Rewind. Did you just insinuate that these Outlander people might try to kidnap me or something?”
“They are Outlanders, Adeline.” Cade spoke slower, like maybe she wasn’t hearing him correctly. “They will certainly try to kidnap you. They are lawless mutants who prey on anyone who crosses their path, stealing valuables and indiscriminately killing. Do you think they will just let you be, if you smile prettily…?”
“Mutants?” Addy interrupted. “Hold it!” She held up her palms and looked around at the brothers. “You guys have mutants here? Like actual mutants?”
Jacobi frowned. “Of course. Some groups were too close to the flash. It affected them and their descendants bear the damage. Who do you think killed our parents? Who do you think Deke was fighting in the Wilderness War?”
“And you’re just mentioning that to me?!” She scanned over her shoulders like an army of C.H.U.D. might be sneaking up behind her. “Jesus, do they --like-- eat people? I bet they eat people, right?”
Deke flinched and refocused on the window.
Cade had never looked more frustrated. “Why would I have to mention the Outlanders? You should already know about them. Everyone knows them, even in Cody. How can you possibly be so oblivious to the dangers around you, lady?”
“I didn’t come from Cody! I told you, I came from Yellowstone, Wyoming, which is cannibal free! All it has are federally protected wolves, scenic mountain views, and geysers that shoot water hundreds of feet in the air.”
Deke’s head snapped around to look at her.
Addy didn’t notice. She was too busy scowling at Cade, who leaned closer to her over the bar. Mr. Personality was still in a lousy mood. Gifting giving and mutants had stressed him out.
“There’s no such place as Yellowstone, Adeline. I have checked every map there is.”
“Really? No such place as Yellowstone? Where do I come from, then?” Addy smirked, because there was no way he could ever guess. Not even she could explain her presence in Shadow-of-the-Gods. “Come on. I’m dying to hear your theory, cowboy.”
“Cade.” Deke said quietly.
Cade disregarded that. His jaw developed that familiar tick it always developed during his conversations with Addy. “I’m not sure where you come from.” He ground out. “Even if you told me, I probably wouldn’t believe it. I don’t believe one word you’ve said since you got here.”
“Oh that’s just great. Really fair. Call me a liar, when you don’t even know what the truth is supposed to be.”
“I don’t need to know the truth to know a lie when I hear it. You have done nothing but…”
“Cade.” Deke said in a louder tone, cutting him off.
Cade flashed him an aggravated glare. “What?”
“She’s not lying. During the War, I saw a land where water shot into the sky. It’s passed Cody, far to the west. The woman has been to the Wilderness.”
For once, Cade didn’t have a snide comment. He just blinked.
Addy was too excited to enjoy his astonishment. She spun around to look at Deke, her heart pounding. “You’ve been to Yellowstone? Oh thank God. Could you find your way back?”
“Yes.” Deke edged farther into the shadows. He hated being the center of attention. “But, I don’t want to. I won’t go back to the Wilderness. Not ever, again.”
She wasn’t about to be discouraged by his attitude. “Did you see a really big geyser that was sort of shaped like a man’s… um…” Addy tried to think of a delicate way to phrase it and finally settled for pointedly looking down.
“The one that looked like the huge dick?”
“Yes! You saw it?”
“How could I miss it? It was shaped like a huge dick.”
“Could you draw me a map of how to find it, again?”
He hesitated. “I suppose…”
“No, he can’t.” Cade interrupted, sounding desperate. “Deke cannot draw you a map to anywhere.”
Addy sent him a death glare. “He just said he could.”
Cade kept his eyes on his brother. “The spot you saw cannot be Adeline’s Yellowstone.” He insisted. “The Wilderness is nearly half a ganton away. How could she get half a fucking ganton all by herself? She would not last even a day out there. The woman thinks she can ride a sanbor, for gods’ sake!”
Jacobi chortled as if that was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
Annoyed with both of then, Addy arched a brow at Deke. “Did the ground steam? Did it have a huge lake with pits of boiling water beside it? Was there a deep canyon carved into multi-colored rock?”
That rundown of geologic features caught Jacobi’s interest. His eyes lit up with excitement, his overactive imagination already picturing the fantastical landscape. “Someplace like that really exists?” He looked over at Deke. “You never told us that.”
“There’s a lot about the War I don’t tell you.” Deke’s gaze flicked back to Cade. “There is nowhere else that looks as she describes. The woman was really there. There’s no denying it.”
“Of course I was really there! Now, I just need to get back.”
“Half a ganton.” Cade repeated stubbornly, as if Addy was supposed to know what a “ganton” was. “What do you propose to do, lady? Walk that distance?”
“If I have to, yes. Unless you have a car you aren’t telling me about.”
He gave a skeptical snort, ignoring that last part. “Deke, explain how many men were lost trekking in the Wilderness. More than were lost in the War itself, right?”
“Yes.” His tone was hollow. “Thousands died.”
Cade arched a brow at Addy. “Thousands of soldiers fell, but you can cross that distance?” He shook his head like he couldn’t fathom the depths of her insanity. “Do you not understand how impossible it is? I’ve made the trip to the Wilderness, Adeline, and it’s hard. How will you eat? What will you do to keep warm and to avoid animal attacks? How will you get passed the Outlanders’ camps?” He waved a hand. “Have you considered any of this?”
“Cade.” Jacobi sent his brother a meaningful look. “Remember, be softer. I get that you’re worried, now that she has a destination in mind, but you’re going to frighten her if you shout.”
“I’m not frightened of him.” Addy scoffed. Cade was big and irritable, but he was the person who made her feel the safest. He had right from the beginning. “What’s he going to do? Bitch me to death?”
“You see? The woman is not smart enough to be frightened of anything. She tried to pick up a convanta last week!”
“I thought that thing was a pizza cutter!”
Cade ran a palm over his face like he was about to blow his top and turned back to Deke. “Just… do not give her a map.” He said in a more solemn tone. “I will never forgive you. I mean it. If she has a map, she’ll leave.” He met his brother’s eyes. “Don’t, Deke.”
Deke studied him for a beat and then nodded. The Westins’ loyalty to each other was unbreakable. Cade’s siblings would do whatever he asked, no matter how stupid.
Shit!
“You want me gone, remember?” Addy glowered over at Cade, blaming him for this. “Now you think I should stay? Make up your damn mind.”
“She’s got a point.” Jacobi interjected, stacking chairs. “You keep telling her she’ll have to go in the springtime. The girl is bound to feel unwanted.”
“Did I ask you, Jake? No. I am saving her life, alright? Don’t push me.”
“You’re being an ass.” Addy corrected. “I know getting there will be hard, okay? But, I don’t have much of a choice. I have to find Yellowstone.” She willed him to understand. “It will lead me home, Cade.”
His head tilted. “Lead you home. I thought Yellowstone Why o’ Ming was your home. Where you helped the polis’ only woman doctor and worked with your incredibly wealthy boss Brian on some kind of webs.”
Drat…
Addy stared at him silently, knowing she’d just made a mistake.
“No one lives in that place.” Deke put in, his voice soft and certain. “The water reeks of sulfur and the winters are more brutal than anything I’ve ever known. She’s been there, but it’s not her home.”
All three brothers turned to look at her, their eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Double drat.
“Adeline, talk to me. Now.” Cade met her gaze with those fathomless lavender eyes. “Tell me what’s really going on, lady.”
Oh… drat.
She wanted to tell him. She really did. She wanted to tell him everything. But, if she did that, he’d think she was crazy. Hell, even she thought she was crazy half the time. What if Cade kicked her out or had her locked up in some future-y asylum? No matter what she was starting to feel for the guy, could she risk that?
Addy’s lips pressed together to hold back a weepy rush of words. “I’m going to Yellowstone National Park.” She informed him tightly. “I don’t need to explain myself. I don’t need your permission. And I don’t need your help. You won’t draw me a map? Fine. I’ll figure it out myself.”
Cade’s hands slammed against the bar in frustration. “You drive me insane, you know that? It doesn’t surprise me at all that none of your people are looking for you. You are so stubborn that…” He stopped short, his head snapping towards the entrance. “Someone’s coming.”
Deke peered out the window, just as loud knocking started at the door. “Hugo.” He muttered. “Fuck. He’s finally back.”
“He’s gonna want to meet Addy.” Jacobi glanced over at Cade, a worried expression on his face. “You know he’ll have heard about her the second he got here. What do you want to do?”
“Let him in.” Addy ordered, before Cade would answer. Whoever Hugo was, he was saving her from an inquisition. “If he wants to see me, he can see me. I have nothing to hide.”
“Of course you don’t.” Cade shot her a sneering look. “You’re always such a fountain of truth and honesty. Four gods, how does your aura still look like that, when you lie so easily?”
“Well, I polish it a lot.”
“We’re not going to get rid of Hugo unless we let him in or shoot him.” Deke reported over the continued pounding on the door. “Wanna hear my pick?”
Cade cursed under his breath. “Let him in.”
Deke said something in their language.
“You think I don’t realize that?” Cade snapped. “But, we knew it was coming. It’ll be for the best.”
“Will it?” Deke didn’t sound convinced. “Did you ask her?”
“Ask me what?”
“What’s the point in asking her?” Cade demanded. “Even if I did ask, what do you think she’d say, Deke?”
“Hell, I didn’t think she’d say most everything she’s ever said. What do you have to lose by just asking?”
“Asking what?” Addy repeated loudly.
Cade swore under his breath. He glanced down at her, his eyes roaming over her face. “Adeline, I…” He hesitated and changed his mind about whatever he’d planned to say. “Just go upstairs and let me handle this.” He finally decided. “Alright?”
Jacobi sighed at Cade and showed off his new command of English slang. “Dude, you suck.”
Chapter Six
If you encounter any wild animals during your visit, remember to stay calm and use your head.
These natural inhabitants are more scared of you than you are of them.
Brown’s Glampling Tours Official Pocket Guide
“Just got back from Hot Springs a couple hours ago.” Hugo Wode, Shadow-of-the-Gods’ mayor, said affably, even as his beady eyes scanned around the saloon. “First thing I hear is that you boys have a visitor.”
Hugo was a young man, who took pride in his appearance and tonight he seemed especially fancified. He was dressed in the same too-tight suit he’d been wearing since the election, but he’d added a gold chain to his neck and shined his boots to a high polish. His hair was waxed into place with buffalo tallow and his mustache was slicked into stylish cat’s whiskers. He would’ve blended right into at some ritzy Hot Springs’ restaurant, but he looked completely out of place standing in the Westins’ bar.
Cade’s jaw ticked. There was only one reason for this ridiculousness and she was currently peering down from the upstairs balcony. He could feel her waiting for an opportunity to cause disruption. Every instinct in his body told him to vault over the counter and drag Hugo from the building before he got within ten feet of Addy.
…Which was why he didn’t move.
Cade had been waiting for weeks for Hugo to arrive. The bastard would never allow a lady like Addy to stay with a Voltyn. Cade knew that. The mayor would insist on carting her back to his mansion on the hill. This whole situation was inevitable… and for the best.
Cade was getting way too attached to the girl. He needed to let go of her now, while he still could. Buying her gifts, so he could see her smile, and listening to her play the vianorgan was just getting him in deeper. Hugo was probably saving his life by taking Addy out of his reach.
So why had Cade sent her upstairs?
“Folks are saying she’s a real looker, too.” Hugo continued when all three Westins just stared at him. He didn’t like to stand too close to Cade, so he hovered an awkward distance away from the bar. That put him closer to Deke, though, which also seemed to unnerve him.
Possibly, it was the look of death Deke was shooting him.
Hugo cleared his throat, uneasy with the silence. “Is she hiding in her room? Any lady would, being around a Voltyn and the trash in this bar. Best let me have a chat with the poor girl.”
Jacobi flashed Cade an unhappy look. He didn’t want Adeline to go anywhere and he clearly blamed Cade for even letting Hugo through the door.
The kid adored Addy, soaking up the attention she showed him. Cade had never realized how much Jake missed having a feminine influence in his life until he watched Addy lecture the boy about his card playing or teach him Why o’ Ming dance steps. Jake hung on her every word, no matter how crazy it was. And at least six times a day, he was nagging Cade to do something so they could keep her.
Godsdamn it, wanted to. He just knew it wouldn’t work. Addy didn’t want him. There was no way. She could do so much better than Cade and she deserved so much better than this gods-awful place.
“Addy speaks the Old Language, Hugo.” Jacobi finally said in a surly tone, when it became clear neither Deke nor Cade was going to speak. “So, she’s not going to understand you. …And she’s pretty boring, anyway. You probably don’t want to waste your time on her.”
Hugo smirked. “I’ve had a bit of education, so I think I can communicate with her in that tongue.” He sat down at one of the tables, his gaze lazily tracing over the portrait of Mon-Row behind the bar and lingering on her breasts. “Boring or not, it won’t be a waste of time to help a wealthy visitor to the polis. A lady has got to have influential friends, right? She’ll be glad to have someone a little more refined to talk to.”
Deke arched a brow at that remark and switched to Addy’s dialect. “We could still shoot him.” He said casually.
“No thanks, I don’t drink ale.” Hugo reported, not understanding a word of that threat.
Jacobi had to turn his head to hide his snickering. Even Cade felt his mouth curve. In the weeks that Addy had been staying with them, all the brothers were smiling more. Deke was speaking in full sentences. Jacobi was filled with boyish speculation about her homeland. Cade woke up in the morning and didn’t dread the start of another day.
He’d told Addy to stay away from him, but he was the one who couldn’t bring himself to steer clear. How could anyone avoid the only bright spot in the house?
It was hard to explain, but the little nut somehow lightened everything around her. Addy didn’t have to do anything beyond walk into the room and the day was better. It was like she was the missing piece the West
ins had been searching for. She fit with them, completing some picture that he hadn’t known was unfinished.
Of course, she was also creating more chaos then even he’d anticipated and he’d anticipated a lot. It was impossible to predict what she was going to do or say next, because nothing she did or said made sense. She liked to tease him about being an alien, but sometime he thought she was the one who’d come from another planet.
The woman had no idea how to light a simple lantern. Every time she tried, she nearly lit herself on fire. When a sanbor prowled up the street, she watched it like she’d never seen a lizard before. The previous night, Jacobi had asked her to tell a famous story from her polis and she’d woven some crazy tale of a mermaid who fell in love with a prince and gave up her voice to walk on land. She even sang a song about living under the sea.
How the hell could Addy think of a story like that? The oceans had been dead for five hundred years. Did she not know that? How could she not know that? Where did she come from that she didn’t know the most common sense things?
The questions kept Cade awake at night. Well, that and the knowledge that Addy was tucked in bed, one room away, soft and sweet and possibly naked. Every time he closed his eyes, he could picture her flawless skin sliding against the sheets. She was so fucking perfect. Nothing so perfect could come from this shithole world. He knew that. No matter how he tried, Cade couldn’t explain her presence in any logical way.
Maybe she was the miracle Deke believed. Addy had just walked in from the snow, like she’d appeared out of thin air. Where were her people? Her baggage? Her wagon? He’d scouted the whole area and there was nothing. He couldn’t believe that she’d traveled all the way from the Wilderness alone, so, however she’d arrived, it wasn’t normal.
She wasn’t normal.
But, whoever she was and wherever she came from, having Addy around lifted the gloom that had existed over the Westins since before he could remember. Or maybe he couldn’t remember a time without it, because the oppressive cloud had descended at Cade’s conception.
Cowboy from the Future Page 10
