As if reading his thoughts, Brianna glanced back over her shoulder, that sexy smile of hers still intact.
“Mrs. Dawson,” one of the women called out as the group waved in greeting.
“Hello, ladies,” Brianna chirped far too sweetly. She was up to something.
In several long strides, he made sure he was standing beside her. “Ladies,” he said, tipping his hat.
Their attention shifted to his bare chest and Jake found himself wishing he had taken Brianna’s advice that he put a shirt on.
“If I had known you were coming,” Brianna said the wagon rolled to a stop beside her, “I would have baked a pie.”
“No need to go to any trouble,” the leader of the group assured her. “We just wanted to make sure you were settled in and...” Her gaze swept down Jake’s lean form. “...that you were being treated well.”
He slipped an arm around his ‘wife’s’ shoulders, waiting for her to make good on her threat of convincing the women he wasn’t doing his husbandly duty in the bedroom. And the second she did, he was going to pull her into his arms and show them exactly how attentive of a husband he was. Hell, he’d have the old hens fainting all over his yard and enjoy every second of it.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Brianna said, her response not at all what he’d expected. “Especially in the bedroom.”
Jake’s eyes widened.
“Oh,” one of the women gasped, pressing a hand to her breast.
Another sat fanning her flushed face. The other women just sat there in shocked silence.
He grinned. “I’ve discovered that her bedroom skills make up for her lack of sewing skills.”
More gasps.
Seconds later, the women were high-tailing it away from the ranch, leaving a trail of dust rising up behind them.
“That oughta give them something to talk about,” Jake said with a chuckle.
“You’re so bad,” she exclaimed with a conspiratorial giggle.
He gathered her against him. “I’m about to show you just how bad I can be.”
“Promises. Promises,” she taunted as he swept her up in his arms and carried her back to the cabin.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jake stabbed the pitchfork he was grasping in his hands into the pile of hay at his feet. Frustration and anger boiled to surface every time he thought about Brianna leaving. In less than twenty-four hours she would be on the stage bound for his brother’s place in Montana. He’d have sent her away sooner but she’d needed dresses made to go with the other female necessities he’d purchased for her on his last trip into town for supplies – shoes, underthings, and ribbon for her hair.
Jake frowned, hating the thought of sending her away, of returning to the life of simply existing that he’d led for the past year since leaving the Texas Rangers. She made him laugh. Made him welcome each new sunrise, knowing he’d awaken with her in his arms.
He’d kept his feelings for Brianna to himself. Telling her that he had fallen in love with her would only make her leaving harder – for the both of them. Lord, how she’d grown on him in the two weeks she’d been there. She was the sassiest female he’d ever known. Independent as all get out and too damn sexy for her own good.
“Jake?”
He looked up as the woman in his thoughts stepped into the barn, her smile lighting the dusty room. “Over here, darlin’,” he called out.
She walked up to him, her arms sliding around his waist with such ease it tore at his heart. She belonged there damn it. His hatred for Deke deepened. Not only had the bastard taken his profession away, he was taking the woman he loved away as well.
“What’s wrong?” she asked looking up at him with those big, beautiful amber eyes of hers.
He forced a smile as he reached up to stroke her cheek. “Nothing a kiss from you won’t fix.”
Her smile returned. “As if you’d settle for just a kiss.”
She knew him well. Capturing her face between his hands, he lowered his mouth to hers, tasting her fully. His fingers worked open the front of her new blouse, needing to touch her.
“Mmmm...” she murmured. Her hands skimmed down the back of his shirt to latch onto his ass, drawing him to her as she rubbed against his thickening cock.
“Brianna,” he murmured against her mouth. “Keep that up and I’m gonna fuck you right here on this straw-littered barn floor.”
Her hands went to his belt buckle, working it free. “Maybe I’ll fuck you on this straw-littered floor instead.”
He groaned. If she were on top, she’d ride him without mercy until his self-control shattered and he came far too quickly. Before he could reply, could tell her that he was damn well gonna take his time making love to her, the sound of an approaching rider cut through the silence.
His head snapped around. “Shit.”
Her hands froze. “What’s wrong?”
He withdrew his hand from the warmth of her breast and set her aside. “Someone’s coming.”
“The women?” she asked as he moved past her.
“Single rider.”
Her face paled. “Deke?”
“I don’t know,” he said as he drew his gun from its holster. He reached for the barn door and paused to look back at her, pinning her with his gaze. “Stay in the barn, Brianna, and don’t come out until I tell you it’s safe to.”
“But...”
“Stay.” He didn’t wait for any more argument from her. There wasn’t time. The rider was coming towards the ranch at more than a casual pace.
Jake stepped outside, his gaze shifting to the approaching rider and the cloud of dust left rising in his wake.
Brianna stared at the barn door, her heart pounding. A lone rider. What if it were Deke? What if the outlaw succeeded in his quest for revenge and she lost Jake forever?
No. She wouldn’t lose him. Couldn’t. Not when she’d finally found true love. It wasn’t having a man take you to dinner in some fancy restaurant or having the best seats at a concert. It was laughing together by the fire. It was watching the man you love eat burnt eggs and have him tell you how good they are just to see you smile. More simply, it was Jake.
Why hadn’t she told him how she felt before he left? What if something happened? She leaned back against the door with a shudder. She wanted so badly to follow him out. To make sure that Jake was safe.
Her gaze fell on the rifle Jake kept mounted on the barn wall. The same one he’d let her use that week when teaching her how to shoot. Lifting her skirts, she ran for it. Jake would not face Deke alone.
Rifle in hand, she slipped out of the barn and moved along the outer wall toward the corral. When she reached the end of the weathered building, she peeked around, her gaze searching for Jake.
Much to her relief, she spotted him standing about ten yards away from the cabin. The rigidness she’d seen in his posture when he’d left the barn had eased visibly. His gun hand dropped to his side and he started toward their unexpected visitor in long, quickened strides.
The man on the horse said something to Jake in greeting. A second later, he was off his horse, grinning as he walked toward Jake.
Relief swept through her as the two men fell into a fleeting embrace. Jake knew this man. She stepped away from the barn, drawing the stranger’s gaze her direction.
Jake turned, a dark brow lifting. A deep frown furrowed into his brows as she moved toward them. “I thought I told you to stay in the barn until I told you it was safe to come out.”
“I was bettering the odds,” she announced, motioning to the rifle in her hands. “Two against one.”
“Gawddamnit, Brianna,” he growled. “You shoot about as well as you cook. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m so fucking good in bed,” she snapped. So she couldn’t cook and she hadn’t done very well shooting at the targets he’d set up for her. He didn’t have to announce her failures to the world.
The stranger looked Jake’s way with a sno
rt, drawing a scowl from Jake.
“You shook his hand,” she added in her own defense. “I doubt you’d have done that if he were a threat to you.”
The man beside him chuckled. “Sassy. I take it this is the wife I heard rumors about in town.”
“Word travels fast,” Jake muttered. His gaze dropped to her blouse and his eyes rounded.
She glanced down. “Oh, shit.” She hurried to button her blouse back up.
“Bad timing on my part I see,” Jake’s acquaintance said with a grin. “Should’ve figure, you two being newlyweds and all.”
“It’s not what you think,” Jake attempted to explain.
“What I think,” he said, his gaze moving over her again in a more thoroughly assessing manner, “is that you’re one hell of a lucky man to have found yourself a wife like her.”
“We’re not married,” Jake said. “She’s here, but it’s not by choice.”
The man’s thick brows shifted into a menacing scowl. “You’re holding her here against her will?”
“No,” Jake replied with a sigh.
“That’s a damn good thing,” the man replied. “I’d hate to have to shoot a friend.” He flashed her a toothy grin. “Jake here and me rode together with the Rangers. Should still be ridin’ together,” he added, his gaze shifting to Jake.
“I’d trust this man with my life,” Jake admitted with a nod.
The Texas Ranger held out his hand to her. “Name’s Hank Lafferty.”
“Hank?” Jake repeated, a dark brow lifting.
“Lafferty to most folks,” the man replied. “But you can call me Hank.”
“Brianna,” she said, sliding her hand into his much larger one.
“Pretty name for a pretty gal.” He shook his head. “I have to say I never thought any woman would be able to hog-tie my boy here, but I can certainly see why he finally decided to give up his rough riding ways.”
Hank Lafferty was a smooth talker and a flirt, but she liked him. And she couldn’t blame him for not believing what they’d told him. “It’s nice to meet you, Hank.”
“Brianna’s here because she fell back through time and landed in my corral.”
Hank turned to her. “Has he been drinking?”
She shook her head. “No.” Apparently Jake did trust this man implicitly. “I’m not sure how it happened, but somehow I really did fall back through time and land here.”
He studied them carefully and then shrugged. “Reckon you two are free to dress up the way you met any way you want. With a filly as pretty as her, keeping her is what you gotta worry about.”
Jake wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her up against him almost possessively. “What brings you all the way to Wyoming?”
The Ranger’s expression sobered. “Can we have a word in private?”
“Darlin’?”
She smiled. “I don’t mind.”
Jake stepped aside to speak to his friend. Not far enough to keep their conversation secret.
“I’ve been hot on Deke’s tail for the past two weeks.”
Deke? Brianna’s ears perked up.
“Lost him a couple of days ago,” the Ranger admitted with a frown.
“Damn it, Lafferty,” Jake muttered with a glance her way. “You might have mentioned that sooner. Shit. I have to get Brianna out of here - today.”
“I’m not leaving,” she said stubbornly.
“The hell you aren’t! And why are you listening in on our conversation? It was supposed to be private.”
“Then maybe you two shouldn’t speak so loudly,” she pointed out.
“You might not wanna get her too riled up while she’s holdin’ that rifle in her hand,” Lafferty noted with a grin.
“I’m damn well gonna paddle her ass with that rifle if she doesn’t stop being so gawddamn stubborn,” Jake growled as he walked over and removed it from her hand.
She planted her hands on her hips. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Yep,” Hank Lafferty nodded. “She’s the perfect woman for you.”
“That’s what I keep trying to tell him,” she said with an I-told-you-so smile aimed Jake’s direction.
Jake muttered several curses. “Does either of you get the seriousness of the situation?” Grabbing Brianna by the arm, he headed for the corral.
“What are you doing?” she said, struggling to break free of his grasp.
“Getting a horse for you.” He glanced back at Lafferty who was following right behind them. “You’re gonna take Brianna back to town with you and keep her there until tomorrow’s stage comes.”
“But I’m not ready...”
“I’ll send your things on another stage,” he said, ignoring her protests.
She jerked free and slipped through the corral fence in a flutter of skirts. “I’m not leaving. I landed here,” she said pointing to the spot, “for a reason. Fate sent me to you, Jake Dawson. You need-”
Her words were cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Wood splintered as the bullet clipped the top rail of the corral fence. Brianna shrieked.
A second gunshot rang out.
“Brianna!” Jake cried out as he scrambled over the corral fence to get to her.
There was an odd, burning sensation in her arm. She looked down at the blood on her sleeve and then up just as Jake reached her, shielding her with his body. Everything went into slow motion around her.
Jake fired into the distant woods. “Keep your head down,” he said, his words tight with emotion.
“You’re gonna pay for killin’ my brother, Dawson!” Deke Johnson hollered from his hiding place along the edge of the woods behind the barn. “And I’m gonna start with your wife!”
“You’re gonna have to go through me to do it,” Jake snarled, firing again.
“You’re gonna have to go through two of us,” Hank hollered as he sprinted away from the tree he’d taken cover behind.
Deke fired, missing the Texas Ranger as he cut behind the barn.
Jake fired again. “Hold on, darlin’,” he said as he shielded her with his body.
A second later, a volley of gunshots rang out in the woods. Deke burst out of the pines and made a run for new cover – the wagon.
Jake rose up and fired another shot. Deke stumbled and fell, slamming into the side of the wagon.
“Got you, you bastard,” Jake muttered as he stood.
Lafferty moved in for a closer look, nudging Deke’s lifeless body with the toe of his boot. “Deader than a doornail,” he shouted.
Jake lowered his gun with a heavy sigh. “It’s finally over.”
Brianna got to her feet, swaying unsteadily. “Jake...”
He turned, all color draining from his face as his gaze dropped to her bloodied sleeve. “No,” he gasped.
“I love you,” she managed to get out before the blackness claimed her.
* * *
“Brianna,” a familiar voice called out to her in the darkness.
“Jake,” she murmured.
A soothing hand caressed her cheek.
She fought to open her eyes, only to close them again, the glare of the arena lights above nearly blinding her.
Arena lights? Her heart sank. That meant she had fallen back through time. Or, even worse, that she had never left in the first place. Had everything she’d shared with Jake all been a dream?
“Come on, darlin’, I need you to open your eyes for me.”
Her thick lashes fluttered as she willed her eyes to open. A familiar face hovered above her, making her gasp. “Jake? You’re here.”
He smiled. “Did you honestly expect me to let you go traipsing off through time right after you tell me you love me? A man has a right to respond to something like that, you know?”
“You followed me?” she said, stunned.
“I’d follow you to the end of time,” he replied. “Or, in our case, into another time, just to be with you. I love you, Brianna.”
People rushed over to them in a sh
uffle of feet.
“Should we call the doctor?” a man asked from the crowd.
“Bri!” Marissa gasped, pushing through the circle of riders to kneel beside her friend. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s just a scratch,” Jake assured her.
“Thanks to you,” her friend replied. “I don’t know where you came from, but when you went over the rail with her you probably saved her life.”
“Seems to be a habit of his,” Brianna muttered.
Her friend placed a hand to her breast. “Oh my God, Brianna, when I saw you fall I about had a heart attack. And...” her rambling trailed off as her gaze shifted. Confusion swept across her friend’s face. “What are you wearing?”
Brianna lifted her head to find she was still wearing the blouse and skirt Jake had bought for her. No wonder her friend was looking at her that way. “It’s a long story. One I can’t wait to tell you about. But I’ve held up this rodeo long enough. Jake...”
“Darlin’.” He lifted her up into his muscular arms, something he did so well, and carried her out of the arena and to their new life together. Her hero. Her love. Her cowboy for all time.
A Touch in Time Page 5
