Brides of Durango: Tessa

by Bobbi Smith

  “I’ll be fine. You’re here with me, so I know nothing bad is going to happen.”

  Her words touched him deeply. He left her without saying anything more and went into the line shack. It was a gruesome job, but he had to tend to it. He wrapped Boyd’s body in one of the blankets from the bed and then put out the single lamp that was still burning. He closed the damaged door as best he could as he left the cabin. He didn’t want Tessa to accidentally get a glimpse of the body where it lay on the floor. She’d been through enough for one night. She didn’t need to see that.

  Jared brought the extra blanket from the bed with him when he returned to her side. He sat down beside Tessa as she huddled before the fire. He could see that she was trembling now, and he realized that reaction was finally setting in. He did not attempt to touch her, not wanting to frighten her in any way.

  “Here, you’ll need this tonight,” he said as he handed her the blanket.

  “What about you? I even have your shirt.”

  “I’ll be all right,” he said.

  “Thanks.”

  She took the cover and wrapped it around herself. They sat quietly together awhile longer.

  “You were right, you know,” Tessa finally admitted in a low voice.

  “About what?” he asked.

  “I should have been more careful. I shouldn’t have taken such a risk with Sarah, but she was frantic and needed help so badly,” she explained. “I knew Boyd was a miserable excuse for a man, but I understand even more clearly now why she was so desperate to get away from him.”

  “You’re too kind for your own good.”

  She shrugged slightly. “I care. I like making things better for people, but now I know that sometimes trying to make things better can end up getting you hurt.”

  “You’re right. I’ve seen what putting yourself in danger that way can do.”

  Tessa heard the bitterness in his voice and wondered at it. “What happened to you to make you feel this way?”

  “Nothing happened to me,” he replied brusquely.

  She looked over at him, seeing his taut expression and realizing that there was something bothering him deep inside.

  “Who, then?” she asked perceptively.

  Jared hadn’t spoken of his father’s death in years. Despite all the time that had passed, it was still painful for him to remember that night.

  “You can’t talk about it?”

  A muscle worked in his jaw as he glanced at her. He held himself rigidly, and, for the first time in a long time, he spoke of his father and all that had happened that fateful, terrible night.

  “My father was a minister,” he began, and continued telling her of his father’s efforts with the poor and hungry and homeless. “And then there was that night. . . . I was with him, helping him take food to an old widow woman.” Jared paused and drew a harsh breath. “It was late when we finally started home, and my father saw a man being attacked. He went to help him, but by the time my father reached him, the attacker had already fled. The beaten man was so drunk he pulled his gun and shot my father.”

  Tessa gasped at this revelation.

  “And you saw it all,” she said slowly, solemnly.

  “I saw it all,” he confirmed, his emotions under tight control. “That was when I vowed I was going to grow up to be the best damned lawman around.”

  With his revelation came understanding for Tessa. Tessa thought of their first encounter after the stage robbery and how harsh he had been with her. She remembered, too, how he’d spoken to her after hearing about Boyd’s threats. She stared at Jared, seeing him in a whole new light. In his compellingly handsome features, she no longer saw arrogance and anger. Now she could see the hidden torment he carried with him every minute of every day. Reaching out with a gentle hand, she touched his arm.

  “You are the best damned lawman around,” she told him softly. “You saved me.”

  He looked at her then, and her words touched his heart. In the moonlight she was beautiful, and she was looking at him with such yearning that he knew he had to kiss her again, to seek solace in her embrace. He leaned toward her, seeking and finding her lips in a sweet, soft kiss that spoke of pain and need and emptiness.

  Tessa turned into Jared’s arms and held him close. She wanted to somehow erase the pain that had scarred him so, but she knew it couldn’t be. He had learned to live with his father’s tragic death as best he could, and he had turned his terrible loss into a way of living that had helped others as much in his own way as his father had in his. Jared Trent was a very special man.

  When Jared finally broke off the kiss, he smiled gently down at her. “I think you’d better try to get some rest now. I’ll be right here in case you need me.”

  She nodded mutely, then asked, “What happened to the man who shot your father?”

  “The sheriff caught him. I identified him and he went to prison.”

  “Good. I’m glad.”

  “So was I, but it didn’t bring my father back.”

  They sat quietly, reflectively, for a long moment.

  “Will you hold me tonight?” Tessa asked in all innocence, just wanting to be close to him again.

  Jared bit back a groan at her request. He knew it would be a true test of his honor. “All right.”

  She gave him a tentative smile and lay down. Jared stretched out next to her. Even with the slight padding of the bedroll, the ground was hard and unforgiving.

  When Tessa shifted nearer to Jared, pressing herself slightly against him, seeking the comfort of his strength, all thoughts of the hardness of the makeshift bed were forgotten. He lay still, cherishing her closeness. He wanted her, there was no doubt about that, but he knew he wouldn’t act upon his desire for her—not after the terrible ordeal she’d been through at Boyd’s hands. He would prove to her that not all men were animals.

  And so Jared lay sleepless on the hard ground, with Tessa curled up trustingly against him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Boyd’s hands were harsh upon her, tearing at her clothes. She was twisting and turning, trying to get away, desperate to escape him. He rose up over her and laughed at her pitiful efforts.

  “You’re gonna be mine, bitch!”

  “No!” Tessa let out a cry.

  At her cry, Jared rose up, reaching for his gun. He had not really been asleep—holding her in his arms had made that impossible for him. When she had drifted off, she’d moved slightly away from him. He had started to relax then as the long, dark hours of the night slowly passed. When Tessa had begun to move restlessly in her sleep, though, he’d sensed that her rest was troubled.

  “Tessa?” He was instantly alert, ready for trouble. His gaze swept over the area, looking for some sign of danger, but there was nothing. It was quiet. He glanced at her and saw that she was trembling and crying.

  “Oh, Jared.” She breathed his name in obvious relief as she became more fully aware of her surroundings. “I’m sorry. It was terrible. It was Boyd, and . . . Hold me. Just hold me.”

  The last request was so desperate that he immediately holstered his gun and took her in his arms. He cradled her gently and could feel her trembling slowly subside and her breathing calm as he held her. He started to let her go, but she clung to him.

  “No—please, hold me tighter. Don’t let me go,” she whispered, trying to banish the last remnants of her nightmare of Boyd.

  Jared bit back a groan as she pressed herself more tightly to his chest. He did as she’d asked, enfolding her in his embrace, but he paid the price for it. His body ached at her nearness. There was no ignoring the sweetness of her curves. He was tremendously grateful when she stopped moving and just rested against him.

  “Are you going to be all right?” he finally asked, and he was thankful, too, that his voice didn’t give away any of the sensual torture he was enduring.

  Tessa nodded, but didn’t speak. She prided herself on being strong, but that last vision of Boyd coming at her had been so real, it
had unnerved her.

  “Let’s lie down again,” Jared suggested. He thought if they did, she might move a little away from him and give him some peace.

  “All right,” Tessa answered.

  Jared let her go, and she did lie down. When he stretched back out, rolling on his side to watch over her, she shifted closer to him, pressing her back against his chest, getting as near to him as she could. He knew without her saying so what she needed, and he put his arm around her.

  It wasn’t easy for Jared to remain still and just hold her, but he did it. He wondered sleeplessly if there was any kind of reward in heaven for this kind of self-control. He knew that if she tried to move any closer to him, all might be lost. So he silently prayed that she would fall asleep—and soon.

  Morning couldn’t come quickly enough for him.

  Next to Jared, Nathan was one of the best trackers around, and he was furious because he knew they had to give it up for the night. The sky had become cloudy, blocking the moonlight and making the trail too difficult to follow over the rocky terrain.

  “We’ll bed down here until sunup,” he ordered in disgust.

  “What do you mean?” Will demanded as he rode to his side.

  “I mean the trail’s too difficult here. We have to wait for daylight.”

  “No. We’ve got to keep going. Wilson’s got Tessa. We can’t leave her at that man’s mercy.”

  “I know you’re personally involved, what with Miss Tessa being your boss and all, but we’re stopping here for the rest of the night.” Nathan was annoyed enough at the situation without Will giving him any trouble. “I don’t like it any better than you do.”

  “Then let’s keep trying,” Will insisted.

  “You can’t track ’em if you can’t find the trail.”

  “Deputy Wells is right, Kenner. We’re going to have to stop till dawn,” Deputy Tom Colvin told him.

  Will barely managed to control his temper as he glared at the other members of the posse, who had already started to dismount. He wheeled his horse around and rode a short distance away. He was too angry to want to have anything to do with them. He was angry with Tessa, too, for putting herself in this situation. She’d known Boyd was looking for her. She’d known he was threatening to hurt her, and yet she’d allowed herself to be drawn away from the dance by a little boy claiming to have a sick mother. Once he had her back, he was going to make sure she never did anything so ridiculous again. Once she was his wife, she would curtail her “helpful” activities. He was going to see to it. First, though, they had to find her.

  He did not sleep, but lay a distance from the other men, mulling over exactly what he was going to do to Boyd when he got his hands on him.

  Dawn was long in coming for Jared. There were moments when Tessa stirred against him in her sleep that he thought it would never come. The night had been torturous for him, and he was greatly relieved at first light.

  Ready to wake Tessa so they could be on their way, he gazed down at her. She looked so lovely in the pale light of the morning that he could only stare at her for a moment, memorizing the beauty of her features as she nestled quietly, trustingly against him.

  “Tessa.” He said her name gently, not wanting to startle her.

  “Ummm,” was her reply, but she did not awaken.

  She stirred slightly, but remained asleep, torturing Jared even more.

  Jared had thought he had his wayward desires under control, but just that simple motion aroused him. He knew he had to get away from her. “Tessa, it’s sun up. We need to get back to town. Everyone is worrying about you.” He spoke a little more loudly than he’d meant to, but he had to wake her so he could escape her tempting nearness.

  “It’s morning already?” Tessa asked sleepily as she opened her eyes. She started to stretch and found herself moving against the hard, muscular width of his chest. The discovery was both startling and comforting. She went still for a moment as she looked up at him. “Thank you,” she told him.

  He nodded, but didn’t say anything. Carefully, he put her from him and got up, moving quickly away.

  Tessa was an innocent, and so she had no idea of her effect on Jared. She only thought he was in a hurry to return to town. She got up and tried to straighten her clothing. When she realized the futility of her efforts, she merely buttoned Jared’s shirt. It covered the torn bodice and gave her a modicum of modesty.

  “I’ll check in the house and see if Boyd had any supplies up here,” Jared called to her. He was deliberately keeping distance between them.

  It was the first time Tessa had thought about food. She had to admit she was a bit hungry. She stoked the campfire while she waited for Jared to return. She had no desire whatsoever to go back into that cabin. It was going to be difficult enough for her, taking Boyd’s body with them on the ride back to town, but she knew it had to be done.

  Jared emerged from the cabin a few minutes later with a small wrapped bundle. “Cheese and bread were all I could find.”

  “It sounds like the best of breakfasts to me right now,” she told him.

  He spread the wrapping out on the ground and pulled out his knife to cut thick slices of cheese. They each tore off hunks of the bread and ate quickly without much discussion. When they’d finished, Jared spoke up first.

  “It’ll take me a few minutes to take care of Boyd. Once that’s done, I’ll be ready to head out.”

  “Do you think the posse’s close?”

  “Knowing Nathan, I’m sure of it. I was actually surprised he didn’t catch up with us last night.” He stood up and walked back to the cabin.

  Tessa deliberately moved away, keeping her back to the cabin, not wanting to witness Jared’s gruesome task. It was almost half an hour later when they rode away. Tessa could not bring herself to look back.

  “There they are!” Nathan shouted to his men as he spurred his horse to a run to meet Jared and Tessa. He saw the body tied to the horse, and immediately knew what had happened.

  Jared raised an arm in greeting as he saw his deputy. They had been on the trail for less than an hour, and he was pleased to see the posse.

  “You’re all right?” Nathan asked Tessa as he reined in before them.

  “I’m fine, thanks to Jared,” Tessa told him. “He rescued me just in time.”

  “Tessa!” Will came charging up and stopped his horse close beside hers. His gaze went over her, searching for some sign that she’d been harmed. He noticed that she was wearing the marshal’s shirt and that bothered him, knowing that her gown must have been damaged in some way.

  “Will? You rode with the posse, too?”

  “I had to come after you. I was so worried! Thank God, you’re all right.”

  “I was just telling Deputy Wells that Jared saved me from Boyd. It was terrible.”

  “Thank you, Marshal Trent,” Will said, looking up at the other man and hiding his resentment that he had been the one to save her.

  Jared just nodded in his direction.

  “And Boyd’s dead?” Will saw the body tied to the horse.

  “Yeah, he’s dead,” Jared answered.

  “Good,” Will said, pleased with the news.

  “Jared—here,” Tom called out to him, tossing him the jacket he’d had tied to the back of his saddle.

  “Thanks.” Jared was glad to have the garment. He shrugged into it as he looked at Nathan. “We’d better head back. I’m sure Miss Maggie is waiting for us.”

  “How is my mother?” Tessa looked at Will, knowing how upset her mother must be by all that had happened.

  “She was worried and afraid, but I promised her we’d find you before I left,” he said confidently.

  “Let’s hurry,” Tessa said, glancing at Jared.

  They rode on toward Durango. Will positioned himself near Tessa for the trek. When they stopped by a small stream to rest and water the horses an hour later, he dismounted quickly and hurried to help her down.

  “Why, thank you, Will, but I’m f
ine, really.” She tried to discourage him from hovering so close.

  “I was worried about you, Tessa,” he told her as he walked with her to the water’s edge. He angled their path so they were a distance away from the others, and when they stopped by the stream, he boldly took her hand.

  Tessa was completely taken by surprise at his move. She looked up at him, a bit troubled by his daring.

  “Tessa, I just wanted you to know that I care about you—deeply. When I thought something had happened to you . . .”

  “Everything is all right now.” She tried to sound compassionate without being too cool, but she just didn’t share his feelings—no matter what her mother had hoped for between them.

  “I know, but I don’t ever want anything to happen to you again. I want to be able to protect you and keep you safe. I—”

  “Will, thank you, but I—”

  “Tessa, are you rested enough to ride some more?” Jared had already mounted up, and he rode over to where they were standing. He’d noticed something in the way she was holding herself with Will that bothered him. Then, when the man had taken her hand, she’d definitely stiffened. Jared wasn’t certain she wanted him to interrupt, but he was taking a chance that his instincts were correct. Besides, he didn’t really like seeing Will’s hands on her.

  She was glad of his interruption. “Yes, Jared. We need to get back—the sooner, the better. I can’t wait to see my mother.”

  “I’m sure the feeling is mutual,” he answered.

  Tessa drew her hand away from Will’s and started back toward her mount. Jared dismounted and walked beside her, leaving Will to follow. When they reached her horse, he helped her to mount. It wasn’t easy to do, wearing a skirt as she was, but with Jared lifting her, she made it, just as she had earlier that morning when they’d left the line shack. He helped her arrange her skirts and then mounted his own horse again. He led the way toward town, and Tessa followed close behind him, giving Will no chance to dominate her again.

  Will had remained back by the water’s edge, glowering after them as they’d walked away. He didn’t like the lawman at all, and he wasn’t too pleased with Tessa either. How dared she just walk away from him after he’d been telling her how much he cared about her!