by Dawn, Autumn
It was a lovely blue-sky day, fluffy white clouds moseying across the sky. She didn’t hurry, but kept a steady pace, enjoying the peace…until a shot tore through her shoulder.
Cursing, she spurred her horse into a run, not difficult on a spooked animal. She dared a look back toward the canyon and caught a flash as another shot hit the scrub to her left.
A black horse charged at an angle on her right, followed by two other riders. They ran toward the canyon, and she realized they must have heard the shots. This close to the property line, he would have disregarded the boundary and investigated.
Wheeling her horse, she followed his charge, unwilling to let him take on the danger alone. Well ahead of her, Tochtli raised his monstrous big gun and fired. The shot caused a green flare against the canyon wall, and then all was silent.
Alex blinked. She needed a gun like that.
“Let me handle this,” Tochtli ordered when she caught up to him, then he noticed the blood drenching her shirtsleeve. Swearing, he dismounted to bind her shoulder, berating her in his native tongue. “Now go; we will see to this.”
She grit her teeth against the pain. “I need to know what happened to our guards; we had men working this mine.”
“It will not be good,” he predicted, swinging back into the saddle. At least he gave up arguing.
The mine was new, and there hadn’t been a need to put up support timbers yet. They didn’t have to get close to see the bodies lying around, or the splashes of blood. She breathed deeply as they got close enough to see the mess. It looked like some of the men were shot full of arrows, with others bludgeoned to death, judging by the Aztec war club Tochtli found. He sniffed it as the men dismounted to investigate…and one of the men stepped on something that clicked.
Kaboom! The cowboy shot upward as the blast threw them all back. Alex’s mount toppled, throwing her. She landed hard on her back and struggled to breathe as dust and pebbles rained on her.
“Alex!” Tochtli crawled to her, coughing. He checked her for broken bones and helped her to sit up, supporting her as she wiped at the grit in her eyes. “Here.” He fetched a canteen and rinsed her eyes. She took a drink and swished and spit, looking around. “What happened?”
“A trap,” Tochtli said grimly. “It killed Louis and Vaqi hit his head. He’s dead.” Tochtli’s clothes were shredded, and blood seeped through the healing burns and lacerations.
She groaned and limped to her horse. He was hurt, but it looked as if he’d live. It was amazing that he’d stuck around.
“You can’t ride him, and we need to get out of here,” Tochtli said, whistling for his mount. He picked her up and seated her behind the saddle, ignoring her groaned protest. “Let me know if you feel faint; the last thing we need is for you to fall off.”
“Bossy cuss,” she grumbled. Everything hurt.
“Son of kings,” he corrected. “I was meant to rule.”
“Modest, too.” Her head pounded and she could hardly focus. She wanted to puke.
Seeming to sense this, Tochtli kept up a light stream of banter. “It is the way of things. Men like me are born leaders, women like you crave leadership.”
She slouched, listing dangerously, and he reached around and gathered her, pulling her into his lap. “See, you can’t resist,” he said softly, guiding his mount with his legs. He glanced up, judging the trail of dust ahead of them. As they topped a rise, he could see riders coming their way. They must have heard the explosions and come to investigate. “Stay awake, beautiful.”
Sounded like good advice, but it was hard to obey. She was barely aware of what she said in reply. “No man will rule me.”
He smiled. “Every woman wants a man to rule her. But maybe…” he watched Levi’s face turn white as he got close enough to see Alex’s bloody form. “Maybe I wasn’t the right man.”
He kept a close eye on her as Levi collected her, making sure she stayed awake during the explanations. “Careful of the bodies; there may be more traps.”
Levi looked at him, his heart in his eyes. “Thank you.”
Tochtli nodded. “Better get her home; she needs attention.”
Dakota rode up to the Lions’s ranch at a gallop, certain Charlie wouldn’t have summoned him if there weren’t an emergency. He found her closing the shutters over the kitchen window. He could see the relief as she looked at him. “What is it, sweetheart? What’s going on?”
She took a ragged breath. He listened with concern as she told him about her dream, nodding as she told him how worried she was. When she finished, he looked at her seriously and asked, “Would you like Levi and I to sleep in the house? It’s close to the full moon and we’ll be more comfortable as our animal selves, but we don’t mind if you don’t.”
She stared at him for moment and said gravely, “I’ll marry you, Dakota Eagle. You name the time and place, and I’ll be there.”
Stunned, he asked, “You’re not messing with me, are you?”
She shook her head and put her hands on his chest. “I love you. I should have told you a long time ago, and I’m going to stop wasting time.” She kissed him passionately, sliding a hand into his hair. When she finally let him up, he was dizzy.
“Whoa.”
She grinned and pulled him into the house. “Come on, cowboy. We have a lot to do.”
Alex finally gave up trying to sleep and pulled her pants on under her nightshirt. Her head throbbed, and Levi’s scent seemed to fill the house, tormenting her.
He looked up from his place before the banked fire as she entered the great room, watching as she curled up on the couch with a blanket. With a heavy sigh, she finally closed her eyes and slept.
Levi stretched out beside her with a satisfied sigh, his fur brushing against the couch. Content, he rested his head on his paws and smiled. The man in him knew he needed to speak with her soon, but the coyote was content. His mate was with him, and all was well.
A scratching sound came from the front porch, and the oily, metallic scent of razor cat seeped under the door. Dakota looked at Levi, who silently nudged Alex’s hand. Levi stared at her and then looked at the door.
Alarmed, she hurried on stocking feet to wake Charlie and the girls.
Claws skittered over the shingles, and he could track the sound of a cat’s movement by the creak of the roof. The sound of ripped shingles made his hackles rise, and in moments he saw the bright flash of claws.
Shots came from the direction of Harmon’s cabin, and more from the bunkhouse. Something slammed against the door, rattling it, though the heavy crossbars held.
Alex came out of the bedroom, pointed her shotgun at the roof and fired. There was snarl, skittering, and another thump as the first cat was joined by a second. Alex eyed the roof, waiting for her moment. “Charlie and Gabe are guarding the other windows, shooting through the shutters. I told them to hurry this way if anything got close to coming through.” She watched as Sydney ran to the shuttered kitchen windows and began firing.
“How many do you see?” Alex asked Sydney calmly as she fired at the roof again.
“Too many!” Syndey called, high and panicked.
“Deep breaths, baby. I’m here,” Alex soothed.
“They’re coming in!” Gabe yelled as she and Charlie hurried into the kitchen. Levi bounded past her and stationed himself in the hall, hackles raised. The front door Dakota guarded was toothpicks, so Charlie shot through the gaps while Gabe took over the sitting room window. Dakota joined Levi, leaping on a cat that grabbed hold Levi’s flank.
Alex blasted the first couple of cats to make it through from the back rooms, but had to turn her attention to the widening hole in the ceiling; any moment a cat would be able to jump in.
The front door shuddered.
A deep blast rattled the house, shook the walls. Knickknacks and pottery crashed and Gabe and Sydney flinched. The next blast blew the shutters off and threw them from the windows. Sydney was thrown against the table and crumpled to the floor, whi
le Gabe crashed into a chair.
Levi finished his opponent, breathing hard. The sudden silence was broken by calls from outside. “Hello, the house! It’s clear out here.”
Cautiously, Charlie opened the door, gaping at the smoking razor cat remains littering the yard. Harmon, surrounded by cowboys, sat on his horse with a huge gun resting across his thighs. He looked the girls over as they came out. “Good,” he grunted when he saw Charlie was alive. He glared at the cowboys. “Well? Make sure there aren’t more of them!”
Charlie gaped at him. “Harmon? What…?”
“Borrowed a gun from Chief Eagle.” He looked at Dakota and Levi meaningfully. “You let the men sleep in the cabin? There better be a wedding in the works.”
Charlie huffed out a laugh. Of all the things to worry about, he would single out that. “As a matter of fact…”
They escaped with minor wounds for the most part, though Charlie needed stitches for the claw marks on her forearm. Gabe had a broken wrist to add to her other injuries, and Sydney was the worst hurt with several fractured ribs.
According to Dakota, Lester Bennett’s scent was all over the cats. They were talking about forming a posse to get him when Tochtli and several of his men arrived. Toc was a bloody mess, and his men tossed a roughed up Lester at their feet. “Looking for this?” He looked around. “It seems trouble visited us both tonight.” His eyes gleamed as he stared at Lester. “I’d suspected my half-brother of lusting after my land. It was confirmed when he tried to kill me tonight.”
“Your brother?” Alex demanded.
“My father has many by-blows,” he said grimly.
“But only one works for you.”
He canted his head and looked at her insolently. “I gave him a chance. Are you mocking me for it?”
“No. Your daddy’s doings aren’t your fault.” She stared at Lester. “You were behind everything? The rustling, stealing our gold, shooting Gabe’s horse?”
He sneered. “Stupid kid. Gold belongs to whoever’s strong enough to hold it.”
“Guess that’s not you,” Charlie observed. She looked at the cowboys. “Stick him somewhere until we can take him to the sheriff.” She looked at Tochtli. “Thank you. You look beat. Want some…” she paused as she remembered the state of the kitchen and what she might serve. “Whiskey?”
He smiled. “Thank you, but I need to return and see how much damage has been done to my home.”
“Wait a minute!” Alex called as he turned to leave. “How did Lester control the razor cats?”
“I don’t know. Persuasion didn’t work, though he boasted that he sent the cats against you. In the end I thought it best to check on your family’s welfare. Perhaps you can be more persuasive than I. If you manage to get answers, do share.” His smile was vengeful.
Dakota watched him ride off. “That’s not a good man to anger,” he said thoughtfully. He glanced at Harmon, who was painfully dismounting. “Neither is he.”
The wedding plans were formalized the next morning after they’d assessed the damage. Charlie and Dakota would have wanted it soon even if Harmon hadn’t insisted.
As for Alex, she managed to avoid a long discussion by saying she needed to talk it over with Levi, who’d slunk off to heal. She tracked him down in the stream, smiling as he caught sight of her. “A couple of days and you won’t be able to tell you were mauled by a spiked locomotive.”
Waist deep in the water, he scowled. “You throw the worst sleepovers.”
She smiled and spread the blanket on the grassy bank. “Do I?” She calmly began to undress.
His eyes widened. “Alex?”
Shy, but determined, she waded into the water. “We have a lot to discuss, Levi. But first…”
Charlie wasn’t surprised when they informed her there would be a double wedding the next day, and Dakota grinned at Levi’s arm around Alex’s waist. He couldn’t seem to stop nuzzling his mate.
“Shut up,” Levi growled happily.
Dakota laughed. “I thought mating was supposed to make you more relaxed.”
Levi snorted, but he was smiling. “You’ll find out tomorrow.”
Dakota’s eyes gleamed as he watched his fiancée He waited until they had a moment alone, and then suggested, “Walk with me?”
Charlie looked at him skeptically. She had a good idea what his walk would entail. “I should make you wait; it builds character.”
He ticked off points on his fingers. “I proved I’m a good provider.”
“Old news,” she said, pretending boredom.
“We have Harmon’s permission.”
She snorted. “You’re not shy about stretching the truth, are you?”
He smiled winsomely. “I did help save the day.”
She bit the inside of her cheek but couldn’t help her smile. “So you did.”
He pulled her close. “You were there, saving the day right along with me. That entitles us to a celebration, don’t you think?” He nuzzled her.
She chuckled and caught her breath as he gently bit. “Well, you are a good provider; you built me a barn and battled monster cats for me...”
He laughed and swept her off her feet before she could change her mind. “Race you to our happy ending!”
“How does that work if you’re carrying me?” she demanded, but her heart was glad.
“Trust me; it’s going to be happy.” His eyes were glowing.
He was right. With a love like this, she’d expect nothing else.
The End
About the author:
Autumn (also writing as R. Lilly) is a professional writer and stay at home mom with three kids, a dog and an active imagination. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, John, who is known to bring her flowers "just because".
After 34 years in Alaska, she moved to Washington with her family to enjoy a state with actual seasons.
She started self-publishing in 2010 after a string of rejections that read, “We love your writing, but we’re not sure how to market it.” She published on Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes & Noble, which lead to a number of bestsellers. After The Charmer hit #1 on Barnes & Noble for fantasy romance, she threw herself into editing and uploading her backlist.
The next year and a half passed in a blur as she worked non-stop, and productivity declined as she took time to homeschool her autistic son, who was suffering from bullying issues. With boxing lessons and a year to boost his confidence and academic skills, he’s looking forward to attending mainstream high school in 2012.
The strain of maintaining a business and home schooling while taking care of her family was draining, but God blessed her efforts and the results were worth it. Her income for 2011 was $100,000, far exceeding her best year with traditional publishing.
Though she remains grateful for the opportunities traditional publishing provided, Autumn is currently pursuing the self-publishing market full time.
Connect with me online at:
www.autumndawnbooks.com
http://authorautumndawn.blogspot.com
Bibliography:
Spark Series:
When Sparks Fly Dorchester
No Words Alone Dorchester
Solar Flare
Anthology for the Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance:
Hemlock & Iron
Indie books:
Dark Lands Series:
The Charmer
Dark Lands: Homecoming
Scent of Danger
The Golden Bell
Ghost in Her Heart
Beast Wars
Dark Lovers Anthology (includes Homecoming & Scent of Danger)
Dark Warriors Anthology (includes GIHH & Beast Wars)
Ladies in Waiting:
The Woman Inside
The Other Woman
Through the Looking Glass
Draconian Series:
Ride the Stars
Careful, He Bites
Aliens Do it Better: Anthology featuring Careful, He Bites
and Interstellar Lover
Interstellar Lover
Under the Bridge
Women, Whiskey & Gold
