Laney jolted awake. Her head pounded in tune with the loud banging on her door. When had she drifted off to sleep? She blinked, which only made the dry and gritty feeling in her eyes worse. The room was dark. The thin strip of sunlight streaming from behind the drawn curtain earlier was gone. She must have finally cried herself to sleep after Jason left. A quick glance at the alarm clock on her nightstand confirmed that it was nighttime. She sucked in a long, deep breath, and her body shuddered.
Laney grabbed her pillow and held it over her head, covering her ears to drown out the sound. Maybe if she ignored him, Jason would leave.
What was she going to do? She had a couple of dollars to her name, no job, and no prospects of getting one anytime soon. This was exactly what had prompted her to accept Jason’s offer the first time. The idea to leave town, and head to Montana had crossed her mind. She scoffed. She didn’t have the funds for a plane or bus ticket.
There’s one way to earn enough money.
She’d rather die first than sell herself to a man. The thought of ever being with another man was inconceivable. The love she’s known with Tyler came along once in a lifetime. She’d gambled that day when Gabe forced her to go to the reverend, and lost. Laney had been so sure that Reverend Johnson knew what was happening, and had plans to help her. A week had gone by. If he had planned on coming for her to return to 1872, surely he would have done so already.
The pillow didn’t drown out the muffled sounds of someone calling her name, and more pounding on her door. Laney finally flung the pillow to the floor, and bolted to a sitting position.
Damn him. Why couldn’t he leave her alone? Laney scooted off the mattress and marched to the door. If he didn’t leave, she’d threaten to call the police.
Laney flipped on the light in the room, then yanked the door open. “Why the hell can’t you just leave me . . .” She gasped, and her hand flew to her mouth. She stumbled backward. Tears blurred her vision, and she blinked quickly. Her eyes were playing tricks on her.
“That’s my girl.” The man standing just outside the door grinned broadly.
“Tyler. Oh, my god, Tyler.” Laney rushed forward, and flung herself at him. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, and her entire body trembled. Tyler crushed her to him.
“Didn’t I tell you I’d have to come with you if you decided to travel to the future?” Tyler whispered against her neck. He lifted her off the ground, his own arms trembling as he held her close. “I’m sorry I’m rather late.”
Laney sobbed against his shoulder. She clung to him, afraid if she loosened her hold, he wouldn’t be real.
“You came. You really came for me,” she cried.
Her limbs trembled, and her heart filled with both relief and joy such as she’d never experienced. She was about to explode with love for Tyler. If she hadn’t been sure before that he loved and cared for her, any last shred of doubt had been obliterated from her mind. Tyler came to the future for her.
“Please tell me you’re taking me home. I don’t want to live in this time,” she rasped, and lifted her head. “I want to go home to the Double M.”
Tyler set her on her feet, and touched his lips to hers. The long stubble on his jaw and above his lips scraped like sandpaper across her mouth. He looked as if he hadn’t shaved in a week or more.
Laney pulled him inside the dimly lit motel room, pushed the door shut, then she wrapped her arms around his neck again. She pressed her mouth to his.
“I love you,” she whispered against his lips.
Tyler drew his head back. He cupped her face between his hands while his eyes roamed over her. The serious expression on his face sent her heart racing in alarm.
“I might not be able to get back to my time, Laney.” His quiet words pounded in her ears.
Her eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean? The reverend must have sent you here to come and get me.”
Tyler nodded slowly. “He did, but he told me that I wasn’t picked for a time traveling chance at a new life, so I could only go one way.”
“You’re stuck here?” Laney’s eyes widened.
“Would that be so bad?” Tyler grinned. “I don’t mind staying here, as long as you don’t go and disappear on me again.” He pulled her against him. His chest rumbled with quiet laughter.
“Of course, I hope there are some open spaces somewhere. From what little I’ve seen, this city wouldn’t suit me.”
“I didn’t want to come back to the future, Tyler. Gabe made me. He threatened to kill you if I didn’t tell the reverend to send me back to my time. I don’t know why he hates you so much. He’s the one who was hurting Rap, and—”
Tyler covered her mouth with his. “Hush, woman,” he said when he pulled away. “Gabe won’t be a bother anymore. In fact, he’s going to do us a favor.”
Tyler’s eyes clouded over with something Laney could only define as sadness.
“Did you know that he’s your brother, Tyler?” Laney said slowly, gauging his reaction.
“I found out just the other day. And because we have blood ties, he can help me get back home. Reverend Johnson wasn’t certain it would work when he told me about his plan, but he’s fairly confident now.”
Laney shook her head, not understanding.
Tyler raised his head and glanced around the room with interest. Laney tried to put herself in his place, seeing things the way he saw them. Everything must look so strange to him. His gaze settled back on her.
“I need to hold you,” he said in a low tone.
His arms tightened around her. “After I came back from Fort Ellis, and you weren’t at the ranch, I thought my life would end.” Tyler kissed her neck, then her cheek, before his mouth claimed hers again.
“I would never leave you on purpose, Tyler,” Laney rasped. “I love you.”
Laney drew out of his embrace, and led him to her bed in the corner of the room. She sat on the edge of the mattress, and patted the space next to her. Tyler sat, and pulled her onto his lap.
“Where is Reverend Johnson?” she asked.
“He’s gone. He brought me here in some fancy white rig. It’s where I woke up a little while ago.”
Laney smiled, then giggled. “You’ve been in the future not even a day, and you’re already riding in a limo?”
“There you go with those strange words again.” Tyler grinned.
“Why couldn’t he come and get me?”
“He explained to me that once he offers a second chance to someone, and the job is done, he can’t have direct contact with that person again. So he sent me.”
“But you can’t go back, unless Gabe helps you.”
Tyler nodded. “Because Gabe and I are related by blood, he can take my place here in this time, and I can go home.”
Laney’s jaw dropped. “Gabe agreed to come to the future?”
“Not exactly,” Tyler’s lips raised in a wide smile. “Maybe he’ll thank me some day for saving his life.”
“You’re not making any sense, Tyler Monroe.” Laney kissed his lips. “And you need a shave, and a bath.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tyler said eagerly. He shot her a devilish smile. “So do you,” he said, his fingers caressing her cheek. “Just as soon as I get you home, we can both clean up. That tub you’re so fond of might hold both of us.”
He reached into his pants pocket, and produced what looked like two pewter liquor flasks. He handed one to Laney. There was no doubt in her mind as to what they contained.
“We’ll be home by morning,” she whispered, and eyed the containers.
“To our future,” he said, and held the flask to his lips. Laney followed his example, and gulped the contents of the one he’d given her.
Laney pushed herself off his lap, and reached for Tyler’s hand. “Since we have to wait until morning to get back to where we belong, maybe I can introduce you to one of the finer things the future has to offer.” She reached up and touched his whiskered face. “Something I’m going to sorely miss.”
She tugged on his hand and led him to the small bathroom. Tyler shot her a quizzical look.
“Indoor plumbing.” Laney pointed to the toilet and the shower. “And since we’re both in agreement that we need to clean up, how about a shower, Tyler?”
She reached for the knob and turned on the water. Tyler’s eyes widened in disbelief. He held his hand under the streaming hot water.
“I’ve heard of indoor water closets, but nothing like this,” he said. His eyes roamed around the cramped space. “What did you call this?”
“A shower,” Laney supplied.
Tyler’s head turned to her. His eyes sparkled, and his mouth widened in a grin that made her legs grow weak. “I can see the usefulness of a shower, Mrs. Monroe.”
Moments later, Laney’s arms entwined behind her husband’s neck as the soothing hot water streamed down their bodies.
“A man could get used to this,” Tyler awed, water dripping down his face.
“It’s too late to change your mind about staying here,” Laney whispered.
Tyler’s hands slid up along her back, pulling her to him.
“I’m gonna have to take a firm hand to you from now on, you know that, right? A proper rancher’s wife doesn’t go riding around the hills in britches.” Tyler’s lips twitched.
“No one ever said I was a proper rancher’s wife, cowboy,” Laney retorted, and reached for the soap on the wall. “You’re saddled with an unconventional wife, and you’d better get used to it.” She flashed him, what she hoped was, a highly inappropriate grin.
Tyler covered her hand with his, while she slid the slick bar along his shoulder and down his chest. “You’re also going to have to learn to mind your manners and do what you’re told.”
“Oh, yeah?” Laney whispered. “And what happens if I don’t?”
“I’ll find a way to bend you to my will.” His eyes smoldered with an intensity that matched the steam rising from the hot shower.
Laney snaked her hand behind his neck and pulled his face down to hers. “I love you, Tyler. You’ve changed my world.”
Tyler’s lips brushed softly against hers. “And you’re my little piece of heaven, Delaney, even if you ain’t no angel.”
Epilogue
The old man stood at the top of the hill, gazing down into the valley below. His hands were clasped firmly behind his back, and he lifted his head into the soft early-evening breeze. The sun cast a golden glow over the distant mountains. The squeaking sounds of the turning windmill blades in the yard mixed with the chirping of bugs in the nearby tall grasses. The man inhaled a deep breath, savoring the fresh scent of pine. Horses grazed contently in some of the outlying pens, completing the peaceful scene.
Two figures emerged from one of the barns, each leading a saddled horse. At first glance, the slighter figure could have been mistaken for a boy. The old man smiled. He knew better. The young woman wearing men’s britches turned to the man, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her tightly to him, and pressed his lips to hers. When they broke apart, their laughter reached the old man’s ears.
The man’s hands rested on the woman’s waist when she turned to her horse, and raised her foot into the stirrup. Her head turned toward him, and whatever she said made the man laugh loudly. Before the man mounted his own horse, the woman nudged her mount into a run, and raced from the yard toward the hills. The old man moved to stand behind a tree so as not to be seen.
Laughing, the woman reached the top of the rise well ahead of the man, and pulled her horse to a stop. She turned in the saddle, her loose golden hair blowing around her face. The wide smile on her face, and the laughter in her voice when she called to the man brought joy to the old man’s heart.
“I think you need a faster horse, cowboy. Old Charlie there will never beat Mariah.”
“You only beat me because you cheated. If I wasn’t such a gentleman and helped you onto your horse, I could outrace you any day,” the man retorted. He reined his mount next to the woman’s and reached his arm over to her. Leaning toward her, he kissed her mouth.
“How many times have I told you that I don’t need help getting on a horse?”
“You can keep telling me over and over again, Mrs. Monroe, but it ain’t gonna change a thing, like it or not.”
“If you’re so eager to turn me into a proper woman, why did you buy me new britches while you were gone?” she challenged.
The man winked at her. “You know damn well I can’t deny you anything.” He reached for her hand, and gave it a light squeeze.
The woman gazed toward the valley. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world.” She glanced over at the man. “Not even indoor plumbing.”
He grinned. “I think I’ll miss showers. That was mighty nice.” His sultry voice lowered to a mere whisper.
The woman continued to stare off into the distance. Finally, she turned to the man, a worried look on her face.
“What do you suppose will happen to Gabe?” she asked quietly.
“He wasn’t a bad man. He was deeply scarred, raised in a whorehouse, and never knew his father,” the man said. He made a sweeping motion with his hand. “Here I was, raised among all this, and I’ve learned that I never really knew my father, either. I can see how he thought I had it all.” Shaking his head, he added, “I still can’t comprehend how Jonas could reject one son, since Gabe and I both came from soiled doves.”
“I wonder where he ended up in the future. It’s a good thing that the reverend sent us back to this time before you left for Fort Ellis, or Ian might have accused you of helping Gabe escape when he was gone at dawn that morning.”
“Eddie will be a good foreman. The hands were a bit surprised, though, when I told them that Gabe had decided to move on.”
“I hope the reverend can give Gabe a second chance of his own. I only wonder how he’ll handle the future.”
The man chuckled. “He’ll have showers.”
“What do you see in our future, Tyler?”
The man’s eyes sparkled as they roamed the woman’s face. “I see you in a dress, with a parcel of kids running around.”
“Kids?” she raised her eyebrows.
“Yeah, lots of kids.” He winked.
“Then we’ll have to get started on that as soon as we come back from our ride,” she whispered softly.
The love that shone from the man’s eyes as he gazed upon the woman was unmistakable. While still holding hands, they guided their horses down the trail.
The old man smiled smugly. He had succeeded. His plan to bring two people together who deserved to find happiness hadn’t been without flaws, but everything had worked out right in the end. There was still much for him to learn about human relationships, but he was confident that, with more practice, he would become better at it.
The old man glanced up at the evening sky. His work here was completed. It was time to head to another century. His newest assignment might prove to be his most challenging case yet.
In case you missed Book 1, it’s available here: Come Home to Me
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Dear Reader
I hope you enjoyed the second installment of the Second Chances Time Travel Romance Series. I enjoy digging up pieces of history to include in my books. If you have read any of my other novels, you are familiar with my love for the Yellowstone and Grand Teton areas, and their histories. In the first Second Chances Book (Come Home to Me), I explored the Oregon Trail. In this book, I wanted to touch on a small, little-known historical fact that had to do with horses.
In 1872, an outbreak of equine influenza crippled the US economy. It came to be known as the Great Epizootic of 1872. The Long Riders’ Guild Academy, the historical organization that researched the outbreak, has said that "The Great Epizootic was the worst equestrian catastrophe in the history of the United States - and perhaps the world. When horses became unable to perform their duties in t
he eastern cities, the economy came to a grinding halt. In fact, the influenza outbreak that year is said to have been a major contributor to the economic crash in 1873.”
Out west, even the US cavalry was affected. The flu virus had spread south to Mexico and Cuba, and also to the Pacific coast. The soldiers fought their Indian campaign against the Apache on foot. The Apaches had to do the same, as their animals became infected as well.
For the purposes of Ain’t No Angel, the epidemic hadn’t been felt yet or even known about by the characters.
I chose to use a fictional town for the setting of this book. To the best of my knowledge, there is no town in Montana named Landry. While the towns of Butte, Bozeman, and also Fort Ellis, are factual places in Montana, the town of Landry comes strictly from my imagination.
Tyler Monroe’s horse training methods are loosely based on methods used by modern day “horse whisperer”, Monty Roberts.
And finally, I admit that the injury sustained by the stallion, Rhapsody’s Prince, in this story, while it could definitely cause him to underperform in a race, would probably not be substantial enough to prevent him from breeding mares. I hope all the horse people reading this book will forgive my use of literary license for this plot element.
All of my books are available here:
http://www.amazon.com/Peggy-Henderson/e/B006T2R5UG
Other Available Titles
Teton Romance Trilogy:
Teton Sunrise
Teton Splendor
Teton Sunset (coming Winter 2013/14)
Yellowstone Romance Series:
Yellowstone Heart Song
Yellowstone Redemption
Yellowstone Awakening
Yellowstone Dawn
Yellowstone Deception
A Yellowstone Christmas (novella)
Second Chances Time Travel Romance Series
Come Home to Me
Ain't No Angel Page 32
