“No worries, I know all the words and will finish the song for you. Maybe if you were paying attention you can sing with me next time!” She began belting out the second verse emphatically. Not skipping a beat, she continued on her horse and rode on past him. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at his surprised expression.
Girl power, buddy. I wait, but only when I want to. “You can catch up to me,” she said ever so sweetly and began to sing again.
“You know where you are going?” he asked over her off-tune singing.
She sang lyrics in response, even louder than before. She loved the pop songs and knew every word by heart. Sabine would be damned if she would let him ruin this little bit of joy for her. It had been a rough few days and today was different. She was hopeful. Blue, brilliant skies and the ocean of flowers seemed to soothe her lost, lonely heart.
So much for soulmates.
He didn’t seem to be responding much at all to any polite conversation. It seemed that the more obnoxious she was, the more he watched or responded to it. He would either get quiet or simply stare at her. She had been sure that perhaps Eve was right: maybe they were going to click together. So far? No clicking was occurring. They seemed at complete odds. She would talk and he would get quiet. She would try to stay out from underfoot but only seemed to be creating more problems for him. He wanted her quiet or polite towards Billy, but it was not in her nature to back down. She had a driven, aggressive personality in the past… so why would it be different now?
“Oh!” she said suddenly, awkwardly pulling the horse to a stop as she came up to the top of the hill. Ahead of her was a wave of blue and reddish-orange flowers. It almost looked like a sea of them. And in the midst was a small, dilapidated cabin. “Want to go around? I don’t know if anyone is home.”
“Better not be. I worked my ass off for this land.”
“That is yours?”
“It’s not much to look at but, yes. We have been on my property for some time.”
“Wow! It’s really pretty with all the flowers.”
“They don’t last long.”
“But they are pretty while they do last.”
“I guess so.”
“Nice, uh, cabin,” Sabine offered.
“It works. It’s been about a year since I have been here, so it’s going to need work. That’s for me to do, though, after I take you on to Austin.”
“Are you in a hurry to be rid of me?”
“Aren’t you in a hurry to go?”
“Not really. I’m enjoying seeing the countryside,” she replied.
“Incredible things?” he mocked with a smile.
“You were listening and learning the song? Awesomesauce! We’ll both be Swifties before you know it!”
“I don’t know what a Swiftie is, but I don’t think so.”
“I do,” she grinned.
“C’mon, let’s get settled and we’ll figure out what to do with you,” Jack grumbled.
“I can help out around here.”
“After seeing how you reacted to the snake, I don’t think it will be cooking.”
“I can do other things.”
“Such as?”
“Well, I can help feed horses or help with your crops,” she offered gingerly. Her degree was in biological science with a minor in engineering. She had been studying her plants and making compounds in order to see how to develop homemade pharmaceuticals that could be used on another planet. It was part of the reason she had begged to be sent alone on her shuttle mission. She had wanted to make sure there was no interference or issues with grafting, compounding or growing her plants. She had thought she had made progress when in college. However, later it was found to be a cruel joke played on her. Someone had scraped debris on her plant leaves. So when she had blended it, there had been traces of it in a slide. It wasn’t funny at the time and she had been very angry. Now? She insisted on solitude when inspecting her work. That would not be an issue any longer.
“Do you see any crops around you?”
“Well, no. You know, you don’t have to be sarcastic all the time.”
“It’s a simple question. How you take it is up to you.”
“Well, it’s how you put it. What, exactly, do you do to maintain your land and holdings?”
“I’m a Volunteer, remember?”
“That’s really not an answer.”
“Sure, it is. I am a Volunteer, or some people call a Ranger. I’m rarely here so I haven’t had time to develop my land or holdings, as you put it. What you see is what you get for now. It’s a work in progress.”
“Your land is gorgeous.”
“I think so.”
“Your cabin is not,” she said bluntly, trying to cushion the blunt statement with a smile.
“It functions for one person…”
“Ouch, that was rude,” she complained.
“It works for me and that is all it’s had to do. Plus, if I am taking you to Austin…” he trailed off as he was interrupted.
“What if you didn’t?” she cut in. He gave her an odd look. “Well? What if I stayed here, but out of your way? Would you mind terribly?”
“Why do you want to stay?”
“I, uh…” think idiot! Women didn’t have degrees in the Old West. What did they do? “I would like to grow a few plants and maybe try a few recipes, if you let me. I could make your, uh, cabin very nice.”
His laughter rolled over her. Man, if he would laugh like that all the time, she’d be a happy camper. She really liked his smile and the way his voice sounded. It was intoxicating.
“You could make that cabin nice?” he questioned amicably with a grin, pointing easily at the shack in the distance.
“If you will allow me to.”
“Hell, you know what? Sure. Go for it,” he said jovially. “This, I gotta see to believe.” He kicked his horse into gear to head down the hill towards the cabin. She was feeling victorious until she got a bit closer to see what she was actually getting in to. Apparently, she was nearsighted. Badly.
The cabin, per se, was actually a worn-out shack. There were several rotted boards and the door had been propped into place to keep it shut. The panes were intact but there was a grimy film on what looked to be the inside and the outside of the glass. It looked uninhabitable. Yet, Jack dismounted and picked up the door like it was nothing and moved it to the side. Sabine’s jaw dropped as he marched right inside the darkened interior.
Hearing a gunshot, she let out a yelp and hung on to her horse as it reared up. Feeling it kick upwards again, she indelicately slid off the side of the saddle and dropped to the ground as her legs gave out under her. Thankfully, the horse had run off just a bit away from her instead of pummeling her into the dirt. Her legs were sore from riding so much. It was like when she had first started training, she had chafing and sore spots in places she didn’t think could chafe! She was definitely feeling that same soreness yet again.
“Jack? Are you okay?”
Hearing nothing, she stood up and ran shakily to the open dark doorway. “Jack?”
“I’m here.” She heard him in the darkness and stale air.
“It’s creepy with you standing there in the dark.”
“I’m looking for eyes.”
“You’re WHAT?” she yelped and backed back out of the doorway.
“Eyes. Reflections in animal’s eyes. I already got one snake. I’m just checking for more and you are blocking the sunlight.”
“Why don’t you just use a candle or lantern?”
“You got one lit?”
“No, but isn’t it careless to go into a dark building that could be infested?”
“Only if you don’t know what you are doing. Now, quit distracting me or find a lantern!”
Miffed, she turned and walked away towards the horses. She had seen the saddlebags had been crammed full of supplies and wondered if there was something in there that would serve. She’d be darned if she would be cleaning up something
that could be infested with vermin or reptiles. Tossing up the leather pouch, she dug around and found several small candles that showed they had cracked in a few spots. Surprised, she found a small, metal box that held a few matches.
“Huh! That’s cool,” she muttered under her breath. She found the candles, but quickly realized that she had no idea how to really start a fire without some dryer lint or kindling. Yeah, dryer lint was gonna be darned hard to come by for about a century or so, she thought. Hearing another gunshot, she dropped the flap on the saddlebag and ran back to the doorway.
“Here!” she ordered, thrusting her arm into the doorway. She wasn’t ready to step inside until he had finished flushing out whatever was in there.
“You like possum?” she heard him ask. Then she saw a grin as his face appeared by the candle.
“Does it taste like chicken, like the snake did?”
“Well, I have both. So if you prefer snake…”
“Actually, I may end up vegetarian at this rate,” she said quickly, wrinkling up her nose.
“Well then you haven’t had my possum – have you?” he claimed proudly. “I will start a fire in the hearth, if you clean this fella.” His outstretched hand held a white and red grizzly looking body with a rat-like tail.
“Oh, dear Lord, I think I’m gonna faint…” she said lightly, shutting her eyes.
“Do what?” he asked incredulously.
“I can’t,” she said, swallowing hard and looking away. “If I do, I will be sick. Meat is not supposed to have faces or eyes.”
Jack began laughing. “How about you start the fire and get some water? There is a pail in the corner and the creek is yonder. I will clean this varmint and cook dinner tonight. Sound like a plan?”
Nodding silently, she kept her eyes closed and her face averted. Please don’t look like an animal! Please, no faces staring at me when I eat! she thought sickly. That was one thing she would miss from her time, unidentifiable foods. Hamburgers did not look like cows. Nuggets didn’t resemble chickens. McFish did not resemble fishies at all. Yep, unidentifiable was okay in her book!
“If you see a snake in there, shoot it,” he said, chuckling and walking off.
“I don’t like guns!” she yelled out behind him only to hear him roar with laughter in the distance. “And I’m thinking Eve was so very wrong about all of this!”
“Nah, but you are a bit uptight. This is the Old West,” Eve said, poofing out of nowhere.
“Uptight? Did you see what he killed inside this shithole of a house?”
“Language! It’s a bit rough, I will give you that.”
“Rough? Rough? Do you need glasses? Are we looking at the same place? It’s a shithole!”
“Second warning about the language, my little Space Cadet.”
“That is what you are having issues with? Language? It’s an accurate description of his house! Seriously? This guy is NOT my soulmate. The electricity is there, but not the friendship. I’m in the wrong time period, too, obviously. Possum, snake? How about some normal food? Can’t you zap us both back to 2017? I think you messed up somewhere.”
“No. Are you finished with your little rant? I don’t think this is the wrong time period.”
“I do, check your facts.”
“I did before I made a cadet-cicle of you.”
“You didn’t do that, remember? You wanted to, but noooooo! I had to have a freaking heart attack on the shuttle! You do realize my body is still floating around up there to be found, right? How ‘effin messed up is that?”
“Your body is here, my little Space Cadet.”
“How can it be in both places? You are distracting me! Back to the issue at hand: the craptacular house I get to fix up.”
“It is a fixer-upper, isn’t it?”
“Oh, my stars,” Sabine muttered, frustrated, and put her hands on her face. “I’m gonna lose my temper.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Seriously, can we work out a few things? A few key issues?”
“Of course! That is why I am here,” Eve told her.
“Okay, now stay with me, Witchy Woman. This is a toughie: is my body floating in space to be found by another astronaut?”
“Nope,” Eve said with a grin and poked Sabine in the shoulder. “Your body is right here.”
“Okay. Number two on the list: This place is a dump.”
“Agreed, you have work ahead of you, if this is going to be your chosen home.”
“Is it even salvageable?” she said, aghast.
“Up to you and how you want to live. This is your life and you have to choose.”
“My life that you put me in! It’s up to me and how I want to live? I want to live with modern conveniences.”
“No, you said you wanted me to rescue you. So, I did.”
“So, if I had a heart attack and said, ‘I want to be a pampered Greek goddess in the lap of luxury’ you would have put me in a toga automatically?” Sabine demanded.
“Is there an opening for that position because that would be fun! I have a few beheaded queens, a plague victim and a murder victim to place… they would love, love, love to be Greek goddesses! Heck, I would, too!”
“Focus, woman! Oh my gosh! It’s like nailing Jell-O to a tree, talking to you!” Sabine said angrily. “Do you not listen? I like modern conveniences. Light switches, A/C and microwaves! I don’t even have running water to wash up this place. Honestly, I’m not sure that washing it all down is a good idea because it might be held up with mud and sticks!”
“They call it adobe.”
“What?”
“Mud and sticks make adobe bricks. A-do-be. Say it with me: Aaaaa doh beeee.”
“Dammit! I know what adobe bricks are! I had to make them for a project in high school! Why are you being difficult? Fix this shit!”
“Third warning and I am outta here. I’ve told you before that I have rules about language and you keep breaking them. Repeatedly, I might add! See ya, Space Cadet.”
“No wait! WAIT!” Sabine shouted and reached for Eve only to find her hands coming in contact with the wood panel on the wall. “You didn’t even answer all my questions or fix this,” she whimpered, feeling tears welling up. What a mess, she thought, looking around at the small, dilapidated shack.
Giving a massive sigh, she kneeled down and put a few logs in the small, brick hearth and held the candle close enough to light some of the small sticks she had placed as kindling. Once the fire had started, she grabbed the bucket in the corner and headed down “yonder” to where he said the creek was. She hadn’t seen a creek on their way in over the hill, so she assumed it was farther the other direction. Yonder could be anywhere and she’d had her eyes closed to keep from looking at the dead possum as he had given directions. Walking through the bluebonnets, she marveled at how peaceful everything looked and how chaotic she felt inside. She felt lost.
It seemed everything that was once going so well for her, so right… was now so very wrong. She felt out of place. But Eve had kept insisting that her “puzzle piece” was being put in the right spot. She didn’t feel like this was correct or right. Her supposed soulmate seemed to barely tolerate her, or so she felt. He acted eager to be rid of her. The sizzle was there, but not the oomph, she thought. More of a sizzle-then-fizzle, it seems.
She thought he would smile a lot because of the creases at his eyes. But so far, she hadn’t seen much of that. Oh, she made him laugh, but it was at her discomfort. When was the soulmate part supposed to come into effect? Where was the happily ever after? And where was the darned creek?
Marching up another hillside, she realized that she could see Jack off in the distance some ways from the hovel he called a house. That was nice of him. That he was doing the nastiness needed to clean and cook the possum away from her. Considerate.
The hill went quite some ways up and suddenly stopped. Staring at the edge, she realized there was no other side of the hill, but a cliff. Getting on all fours, she crawled
forward to peer over the edge and gasped. Below her was a stunning pond that had water dripping down into it. Was the water coming from below her? The cliff? It was gorgeous and looked to be pristine. Crawling slowly backwards away from the edge, she picked up the pail and circled back down the path she had just traveled. This time, she walked around an outcropping of rock to come face to face with the beautiful hideaway.
She had seen photos before on Facebook of several different Texas watering holes, but the photos hadn’t done them justice. This was magical looking. The cliff gave way to a small grotto that held a turquoise pool surrounded by some trees. It was all but private. The warmer temperatures had even dropped a bit in the shade of the cliff face. Maidenhair ferns and moss grew on the face of the rock formation giving it an ethereal glow in the lush hideaway. The temptation to swim was tough to fight, but she had been gone for quite a while now and didn’t want to be caught by Jack, or anyone else alone in the pool. Grabbing a pail full of water, she vowed she would be back to swim as soon as she had the chance.
Upon leaving the small grotto, she smelled smoke and a feeling of dread sunk in her stomach. That would be the straw that broke the camel’s back if by lighting a fire in the hearth, she had burned his only (uninhabitable) home to the ground. While she wouldn’t have thought much and believed the house had served its purpose for way too long… she didn’t want to be the cause of its destruction, either. Walking quickly as to not spill any of the water, she was relieved to see smoke coming from the chimney and that the hovel was not a flaming fireball of debris.
Seeing him kneeling with his back to her, she heard some horrific tearing sounds and gagged. He was still cleaning the possum. “Jack, I’m going to head back to the house now that the fire is lit and I have some water.”
“Set it to boil so we can wash up later.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” she muttered under her breath and walked off.
He wasn’t much for words at all and seemed to be doing everything he could to avoid her. Sabine really needed Eve’s help or guidance to make sure that Jack was actually the right person. She was pretty sure that she was in the wrong place and the wrong time. Stepping back inside, she poured the water into a cast iron pot. Placing the heavy pot onto a swing arm, she pushed it into the hearth just above the fire in order to bring it to a boil.
Enchanted by You: Timeswept Soulmates (Timeless Brides Book 3) Page 7
