Cowboy from the Future

by Cassandra Gannon

  Judging from the glares he was receiving from passersby, Voltyn weren’t exactly embraced by the local community, either. Cade strongly suspected that staying in the hotel was going to be a problem. The innkeeper was not going to be a happy when he checked in. Jacobi and Deke had secured them rooms in the nicest place in Big Rock, which Cade knew was for Addy’s benefit. The Westins themselves would’ve slept anywhere. Having a lady in the family changed the way they did things, though.

  Not that she’d be with them too much longer.

  Cade closed his eyes briefly. Addy would be safe and happy when she got back to Yellowstone. He knew that. It was what needed to happen. But when she returned to her own time, his life would stop. Just stop, with no hope of it ever starting again. Every step west brought her one step closer to leaving.

  And she seemed to be an all-fired hurry to leave.

  Ever since they’d had sex, Addy had been furious at him and she wasn’t even trying to hide it. Cade had no idea why. One second, she was telling him that everything was beautiful. (Which it had been. Nothing had ever been so beautiful.) The next she was jumping to her feet and grabbing her clothes in stony silence.

  Whatever had pissed her off, Cade knew it was for the best. Any kind of attachment was doomed and he was already so fucking attached to this woman. The closer they got, the more it would hurt when the end came. But that logic didn’t do a damn thing to cure the sick feeling in his gut as she glowered at him. He couldn’t stand it when Addy was mad. He wanted her happy and smiling and telling him that she sort of loved him.

  Gods knew, he loved her back. Adeline Mulhaney was every hopeless fantasy of his life made real.

  Addy headed up the steps of the hotel, barely glancing his way. “Deke, why in the world are you wearing overalls and no shirt?”

  “It’s a mauwat. You said to buy new clothes, so I bought new clothes.”

  “Those aren’t clothes. Those are a Dexys Midnight Runner video.”

  Deke looked affronted, even though her words were in some kind of code. “This is what they sell here, Addy.” He gestured to his mauwat, which really was pretty stylish in Cade’s opinion. “Look around! Everybody’s wearing it in Big Rock.”

  She rolled her eyes, because he was right. “In the ‘70s, everyone wore polyester. It was still God-awful.” She waved aside his next protest. “Don’t worry. I’ll take you shopping later and we’ll find something nice for you. Right now, I just want to lie down in an actual bed and pretend I’m in a place with more fashion sense.”

  “We got you a room on the second floor.” Deke frowned as she swept passed, refocusing the conversation. “So… He didn’t ask, did he?”

  “What do you think?” She marched into the lobby, red curls swinging. “Oh and he lost my travel guide, too. Hopefully, you can still remember where Strickland Geyser is.”

  Deke snorted. “How many ganta-high dicks that shoot water can there be, even in the Wilderness? Trust me. I can draw you a map.”

  Cade disregarded that. “Why is it my fault that the Outlander stole your book, Adeline?” Granted, he should’ve thought of grabbing the damn thing back from Quel, but he’d been a little busy not dying. Besides, a large part of Cade was happy to see that guidebook go. He wasn’t exactly mourning the loss of anything that would help her leave him.

  Addy kept her attention on Deke. “It was Cade’s fault.” She assured him. “I’m telling you, I’m ready for the aliens to show up at Devils Tower and beam his ass back to Planet Vulcan.”

  “It’s Voltyn and I’m not a godsdamn alien.”

  “All aliens probably say that, Spock. Right up until the glowy music starts playing and Richard Dreyfuss gets on your spaceship.” She waved a hand towards the stone monolith that dominated the skyline.

  The grey stone tower was larger than Cade thought it would be, looming even higher than the buildings in Adeline’s moving pictures. More than just its massive size, the essence of the landmark impressed him, though. Cade couldn’t explain it, but it felt like the rock gave off some mysterious energy. His Voltyn instincts were humming, every time he looked at it.

  Hell, they were humming anyway. Ever since he’d made love to Addy, Cade felt charged. Being with her had unleashed something that couldn’t be recaged. At the hot spring, his whole body had been glowing and he really had been able to see the impressions of auras that people left behind. Cade couldn’t really explain that, but he knew it was because of Addy. She accepted his powers, so he wasn’t holding them back as firmly as he always had before. Emotions were leaking in, weakening his control. His energy was growing stronger and coming out in new ways.

  He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

  Deke spared the giant pillar a confused glance, clearly having no clue what Adeline was talking about with her complaints about aliens. Since the woman was impossible to understand most of the time, he quickly gave up and went storming after her. “Addy, wait. You can’t just…” The door slammed shut behind him, cutting off whatever he said.

  Cade was pretty sure he didn’t want to hear it anyway. He set about unpacking the supplies from Madonna’s saddle. “Where’s the stable around here, Jake?”

  “Up passed the church.”

  “There’s a church in this polis?” That didn’t seem likely, considering all the lawless reprobates that lived there.

  “Up passed the abandoned, burned-out shell of where the church formerly sat.” Jake corrected. For once, his blue eyes were serious. “Ya know, there will never be another woman for you, Cade. Addy’s it. She was made especially for you and you don’t even see it. That girl is supposed to be yours.”

  “I see it.” Cade focused on the horse. “You think I’m blind? I’ve seen it from the fucking beginning. But, I also see that this isn’t her time.” He tossed one of the bags at Jake. “She belongs someplace better.”

  “Her time has a lot of amazing shit. No doubt about that.” Jake agreed, slinging the saddlebag over his shoulder. “But, how is it better for her? If Addy goes back there, she has nobody to take care of her. Who the hell is going to look for her the next time she gets lost?”

  Cade hesitated. Jake had a point. Addy said she had no family. When she returned to her time, she would be alone and the woman got into more trouble than any six normal people. It was amazing that she’d survived this long. The gods must truly look after their miracles or she’d have been dead fifty times over.

  “There are men in her world.” Cade finally muttered. Just saying the words had his teeth grinding, but he forced them out. “She will pick one and he will be her family.”

  Fuck.

  That imagined human male existed in another century and Cade would still find a way to kill the bastard if he touched Addy. The thought of her loving anyone else had his powers sparking, heating the air. She was supposed to be Cade’s.

  “Addy could’ve already had a man from her world, if she wanted. Instead, she stayed a virgin until she met you, moron. You think that’s going to just…?”

  “How do you know she was a virgin?” Cade interrupted hotly.

  Jacobi rolled his eyes. “Because, I’m not an idiot. She was a virgin and now she’s not. I mean how much more obvious…” He paused, when Cade just glowered at him. “Four gods, Cade, tell me you knew she was a virgin. You had to know.”

  Cade kept glowering.

  “You didn’t know? How did you not know?” Jake shook his head, like he was suddenly a world weary older brother. “What you don’t know about girls is a lot.”

  “I figured it out eventually.” Cade muttered. “Not that it’s any of your fucking business. What does her virginity have to do with anything?”

  “It has to do with the fact that she doesn’t want just any guy. She wants you. She picked you. And when a lady like that picks you and you let her, you have a responsibility towards her afterwards. You taught me that, Cade.”

  “Damn it, I’m not…”

  Jacobi cut him off. “What if sh
e’s pregnant? Did you think about that?”

  Cade scrapped a hand over his face. Why was Jake making this harder for him? Didn’t he see that it was already ripping Cade apart? “She’s not pregnant.”

  She couldn’t be, right? It was only one time.

  …But, now his mind was racing with the possibility. Shit. He hadn’t used anything. He always used something. He hadn’t even thought of it with Adeline. Or maybe there had been some tiny part of him that ignored the contraceptive, because Addy was… Addy. His wife in his mind and heart, if not in reality. She was the one who was supposed to have his baby.

  Those boyhood dreams drifted back. A loving home, and a smiling woman, and happy children. The family Cade had always wanted was right in front of him. How was he supposed to let that go?

  “You don’t know she’s not pregnant.” Jake persisted. “Are you willing to take the chance on sending your own child away?”

  “Yes.” That part wasn’t even a question. Every instinct in Cade’s body told him to keep the baby safe, no matter the pain it cause him. Protecting the child was all that mattered. “I would want my son or daughter far from this hellhole. Being a Voltyn here means hatred and scorn. I won’t have that for them. Addy’s world is a far better place for a baby to grow.” There was no choice. He ran a palm through his hair, hating that he had to give up everything he wanted most. “Besides, what kind of father would I even make?”

  “The best.” Jacobi said simply. “You were a father to me and you were the best, Cade. I know I’m a screw up, but I’d have turned out way worse without you to guide me.”

  Cade was touched by that. “You’re not a screw up. You just haven’t found your moment, yet.”

  “I’m a screw up.” Jacobi repeated firmly. “But, I’m trying to fix it. I swear.” He nodded. “You’ve looked out for me since I was a kid and, right now, I’m looking after you.”

  “You are, huh?” Cade started walking down the street, leading the horse. “Well, I appreciate that, Jake. But I know what I’m doing.”

  No, he didn’t.

  “No, you don’t.” Jake tagged along after him. “You’re always telling me that you’re programed to protect the people you love. Well, Addy needs you. Pregnant or not, she’s yours. If you let her go, you’re not acting like the man who raised me.”

  Cade let out a long breath. “I can’t keep her here. I don’t even have a house for her to live in. She isn’t meant for this kind of life.” He began counting off reasons it was hopeless. “She complains about the weather, when it isn’t even cold. Her skin is smooth as silkca. She can’t start a fire. She can barely ride a horse. I had to stop her from eating yankt berries. Twice. She’s helpless, Jake. If she stays here, she’ll be in danger every day.”

  “But, she’s smart, Cade. She can change. Addy can learn how to survive here.”

  “I don’t want her to change. I love Adeline just as she is. The woman is like sunlight. You can’t change sunlight. You just bask in it.” He shook his head. “A world this dark will grind her up.”

  “Fine. If she can’t stay, then you need to go.” Jake decided. “You need to travel into the past with her, Cade.”

  Since Jacobi didn’t lower his voice when he made that announcement, several passersby shot them strange looks. Time travel sounded insane when you hadn’t experienced it firsthand.

  “Go back to Addy’s time?” Cade stopped walking, his mind whirling. Returning with her hadn’t occurred to him. It was ridiculous. Impossible. …But his heart began to pound with hope. “How?”

  “I don’t know. I guess you’ll need to figure it out.”

  Could he do that? Would it really work? Cade tried to be logical. “If I traveled back there, I would have to start all over.”

  “Like that’s a bad thing? Everybody here wants you dead, dickhead.” Jake waved his hand around Big Rock. The entire place was filled with felons and Cade was one of them.

  He had to admit, there was nothing about this world that he’d miss. “I don’t know anything about her time. I’d be lost there.”

  “Addy would teach you. You saw her in that cave with the moving pictures. She wanted you to understand her world. To like it.” Jacobi paused. “Besides, you couldn’t be lost if you were with her. She’s where you belong.”

  Cade frowned, because that was true. All of it. Traveling back to Addy’s time solved so many of his problems. Except… “She hasn’t asked me to go with her. Addy might not want me. Not really. She’s very mad.”

  “Sure she wants you. Pissed or not, she slept with you, right? Addy wouldn’t have sex with a guy unless she really wanted him. It’s why she stayed a virgin so long, when nobody stays a virgin so long.”

  Cade couldn’t argue with that, either. Addy might call herself a scatterbrain, but the woman was really just uncompromising. To Adeline, sex meant something… pure. That didn’t mean she was thinking about forever, but it probably meant she was thinking about thinking about forever. Even a chance of having Addy forever was worth any…

  “It’s why I steer clear of ladies.” Jake continued chattily, cutting off Cade’s silent contemplations. “Too much trouble to deal with a girl like Addy. It’s so much easier just to pay for one, ya know?”

  Cade slanted his brother a dark look.

  “What? It was a compliment.”

  “Stop talking.”

  Jacobi rolled her eyes. “You take everything the wrong way. I love Addy. You know I love Addy. She’s funny and nice and weird in all the best way. All I’m saying is, personally I would rather sleep with a woman who takes her clothes off for money.”

  “Just stop talking.”

  He kept talking. “I think it’s cute that Addy doesn’t take her clothes off for money, though.” Jacobi paused. “Even though she could get a hell of alotta money for taking her clothes off, because she’s superhot. Best body I ever saw. No doubt.” He gave an expansive shrug, like all of that was completely reasonable. “How is that not a compliment?”

  It truly was a wonder the kid had survived to adulthood, given his lack of a functioning brain. “Stop talking, Jake.”

  He subsided with a pout. “Fine. Be a dick. Addy would get what I was saying. She always gets me, even when no one else does.”

  Cade rolled his eyes. First Deke was buying new clothes and now Jake was sure that only Addy understood his rambling. His brothers were smitten with her and, at the moment, Adeline liked them more than she liked Cade. He might as well just leave the three of them alone to bitch about him in peace.

  It was galling.

  …Well, a little galling. If he was honest, Cade was thrilled that she cared about his siblings and vise versa. Addy was right to scoff at the idea that Voltyn didn’t feel love. All his life, he’d been looking after Jake and Deke. He loved them with all his heart and Addy fit right into their family. It was like they’d been waiting for her.

  They had been waiting for her.

  “If I do go back to her time, you and Deke are coming with me.” Cade warned Jake. “At the moment, I have no idea why I’d care about never seeing you again, but I know I’d eventually miss your jabbering.”

  “Hell yeah, I’m going. Did you see Addy’s world? They got metal wagons without horses attached and shit that can make people fly!” Jacobi beamed. “I wanna see all of it. Deke’s gonna be a harder sell, though. He says he won’t go back into the Wilderness.”

  Cade grunted. Deke still had too many nightmares about what he’d seen in the west. Cade had no idea how to get him farther than Big Rock.

  “We should get Addy to convince him.” Jake suggested. “Deke listens to her.”

  Adeline could talk the Westins into anything, so that might work. “The real problem is Addy. How am I going to persuade her that she wants us to come along?”

  Jake pondered that with an intensity he usually saved for a winning hand of cards. “Romance?”

  Gods, Cade would never escape that word. “How many times must I explain that V
oltyn can’t be romantic? There is no…”

  He stopped short, his eyes falling on another Voltyn. The man walked passed on the sidewalk, his eyes downcast and beaten. He was no different than Cade, except he believed all the lies and hatred. There was no freedom for him in Big Rock or anywhere else. He didn’t think he could change his grim existence, because no curvy little redhead had ever shown up to save him.

  Cade watched the guy for a long moment and felt something shift in his consciousness. All his life, humans had told Cade what Voltyn couldn’t do, and couldn’t feel, and couldn’t be.

  …And it was all total bullshit.

  Bigoted lies weren’t going to stand between Cade and the one person he wanted. Addy liked the fact that he was a Voltyn. Cade would never forget the look on her face when they’d made love. The glow of his skin hadn’t scared her. On the contrary, she’d moved onto his lap, her eyes bright and full of trust. No hesitation. No fear. She accepted him just the way he was and that gave him strength.

  As long as he had Addy, Cade could do anything.

  Even romance.

  An insane plan formed in his mind. It was crazy, but he was going to do it anyway. The gods had given him a miracle and he wasn’t letting her go. Desperation was apparently the mother of invention. Well, desperation and thievery. It was a potent combination. Cade wasn’t above stealing courtship ideas from more successful men. Not if it meant keeping Addy and the life they were supposed to have together.

  Maybe Cade didn’t know how to be romantic… But Patrick Swayze did.

  Chapter Fifteen

  During the Cretaceous Period, a vast inland sea cut North America in two parts and covered the middle of the continent in water. It stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean and from the Appalachians to the Rocky Mountains.

  Look around you, traveler! This environment still bares the evidence of that great ocean. Fossils of fish can be found on mountain tops. Sandstone rocks, formed under the sea, still dot the horizon. We are part of a continuing chain of existence that stretches for eons, before and after us.