"What the hell is going on?" Ellie scrunched down, back against the rock that hid them from view.
Without taking his eyes off the opposite hillside, Jesse replied, "You sure have taken to swearing alot. Surely they didn't teach you that at your fancy ladies' school."
His comment was met with a sigh. "Look, Jesse, if someone's going to kill us out here in the sticks, there's something you need to know about me."
Jesse shot her a look. "Thanks so much for your faith in my ability to protect you, Elizabeth." He let sarcasm seep into his words. "Would you mind keeping your confession to yourself until I get us out of this mess?"
Compounding the assault by unknown shooters, thunder erupted close enough to cause the hair on the back of Jesse’s neck to prickle. Great. All they needed was a gully washer to finish them off.
“I hope you weren’t going to confess that you can’t swim,” he commented dryly, even though he knew that wasn’t an option and that they’d have to reach higher ground. If it did rain hard enough to cause a wash down through the hills that surrounded them, they’d never survive the onslaught of water.
“Jesse, I--” Her comments were cut off by another round of gun fire, this time coming from further down the path, followed by receding hoof beats.
Jesse held his fire. It wouldn’t do any good to shoot into the brush and trees without having a target in his sights. He’d end up killing his own horse by mistake.
“Jess--”
Jesse finally turned, keeping his head low and back against the rock for protection.
“All right, Elizabeth, spill it if you just positively can’t wait until we get back to Peavine. Which, by the way, will now take quite a bit longer, given that holding on to you caused me to lose my grip on the horses. Chances are, they’re already back at the stable.” Thunder rumbled closer behind him, and Jesse knew no one would come looking for them before morning if a storm broke loose.
Now that she had his attention, Elizabeth didn’t seem inclined to talk. Jesse reloaded his revolver before sliding it back into his holster, then he turned towards her. Her eyes were closed, her face white. Her arms were clutched across her chest. Jesse didn’t like her frightened expression.
“I didn’t mean it; about the horses being your fault.” Jesse relented. They had been teasing each other just moments before the shots rang out, and although frustrated, Jesse really hadn’t meant for her to take him literally.
“I think I’ve been shot,” the thready whisper barely reached his ears.
“What?” Jesse jerked away from the rock, frantically searching her body for a pool of blood. Not immediately seeing any, he straddled her legs and gently probed her skull with his hands. “Where?” The word left his mouth at the same moment he saw her arm.
It took less time for Jesse to clean the graze on her upper arm and wrap it with his handkerchief than it did for his heart to return to a normal beat. Even when she gave him a weak smile and assured him it didn’t hurt too terribly bad, his heart refused to quit pounding against his chest.
"Come on, we gotta get up the hill to the old Ramsey mine." Jesse tried as gently as possible to get Ellie to her feet.
She swatted at his hand. "I'm not going into any dark mine."
Even though the gunfire had stopped for several minutes now, Jesse knew the danger wasn't over for a storm seemed imminent. A crack of lightning punctuated his thoughts. "I doubt you could swim hard enough or hold on long enough to survive a gully washer."
He scooped Ellie up and shuffled up the slope, zigzagging his route in case anyone still observed them. Whoever had been shooting at them must have high-tailed it out of there, thinking they had accomplished their job when Jesse quit firing back.
Ellie looked past him to the threatening sky and sighed, pushing against his chest. "Put me down. It's my arm that's hurt, not my legs, and we'll never make it the way you're puffing for breath."
Jesse smiled in spite of himself, happy that she grumbled at him rather than fainting at the sight of blood, especially her own. And though he refused to admit she might be right, it proved much easier to take her hand and lead her up the steep slope to the deserted mine.
Fat drops of rain hit them as Jesse jerked the boards off the face of the mine. Excavated, then deserted early in the Comstock run, the rotten boards gave easily beneath his gloved hands. He figured they'd make good firewood.
One rumble of thunder and the heavens opened on them. "Grab that board and get inside, quick." Jesse grabbed what he could and dashed further into the mouth of the cave. He only hoped no wild critters had decided to make their home in the shallow entrance. As a word of warning though, he spoke over his shoulder as he stacked the wood for a fire. "Don't venture too far back. I don't know where the shaft drops."
When silence met his statement, he glanced up to find Ellie still outside the mouth of the mine.
"Get in out of the rain, for Crissake." When she didn't move, Jesse skirted the fire and reached to pull her inside. She jerked back so fast it surprised him and he lost his balance, almost ending up in the fire.
"What the hell is the matter?" He yelled, but when she lifted frightened eyes to him, he felt like a heel. Perhaps it was the after effects of the attack, or her getting shot, though Jesse knew the later wasn't serious.
He approached her softly. "El, come inside, out of the rain." He could see her shiver, and her blouse now clung to her curves like a second skin.
"It's dark."
Jesse glanced around. "Yes, the storm's going to make it dark faster tonight." He reached for her hand but she tucked both behind her back.
"It's dark in the mine. I can't go in there." Her voice quivered.
Her comment stumped Jesse. "Ellie, mines have always been dark. We used to play hide and go seek in the Nightingale while our pa’s worked."
The rain had brought a chill to the air and Ellie was getting wetter by the minute. Reason didn’t work, Jesse thought, perhaps anger would.
"Get your butt inside before I blister it like I threatened to do years ago when you wouldn't listen to me."
That caught her attention. She crossed her arms over her chest and took two very small steps into the cave. "That must have been a very long time ago, Jesse Cole, because I certainly don't remember it."
Since his comment had the desired effect, Jesse let it go and turned to put more wood on the fire so she could dry. "Move over here close to the fire."
"I'm f-f-fine," she stuttered and Jesse could hear her teeth chatter.
"For the love of St. Eligius,” he muttered, jerking off his shirt. "Here -- put this on and give me your wet one."
She continued to stare fixedly at the fire, pulling her soaked shirt off, and her chemise, and pulling on his dry chambray. She never looked at him, and while his breath quickened at the sight of her breasts, nipples peaked with cold, she seemed not to notice her nakedness.
He cleared his throat. "Since when did you become afraid of the dark?" His voice was gentle but it didn't erase the haunted look from her eyes.
"A lifetime ago," she whispered, squatting down with her back to the wall, stretching her hands to the heat.
Jesse looked at their meager supply of wood, knowing it wouldn't last til morning. He could keep her safe when the light from the fire died, if she'd let him. How odd that he never knew about her fear before. Last night...it suddenly occurred to him that there had been a lamp burning last night in her room.
"Look, I need to find some more wood." He took one of the larger boards that burned on one end to use as a torch. "Take that bandanna off your arm and rinse it off in the rain and clean that cut. It's not bad, but there's no sense letting it get dirty." He hoped giving her something to do would quiet her fear.
Jesse ventured as far back as he dared but couldn't find anything remotely resembling firewood. When he returned to the fire, he stood mesmerized at the sight of Ellie, sitting cross-legged, the creamy texture of her back reflecting the firelight. She was looking out at the barrage of
lightning, but turned to him when he dropped his torch into the fire. Sparks flew, but his heart was already ignited by the sight of her.
"The rain's pelting the ground so hard it's creating craters in the earth and washing out grooves that are like miniature streams." She sighed. "Sometimes, I used to stand outside during a storm. There's something about the excitement and the thrill of danger."
She turned her smile on him and though Jesse couldn't for the life of him understand her thinking, he would gladly live in a cave with her forever if it made her smile like that. When he had no response for her, she shrugged as if it didn't matter.
"I couldn't tie it back on one handed." She gestured to the make shift bandage. He'd forgotten she'd have to take his long-sleeved shirt off to get at her wound.
Nature surely conspired against him, Jesse thought, as he squatted down beside her to retie his bandanna around her arm. Seeing her half naked and vulnerable, he wanted nothing more than to make love to her. Given the cold rain, lack of firewood to keep them warm, and a very hard dirt floor, he sighed and settled for holding her tight.
"There's not enough wood to keep it light all night," he murmured as he tucked her head under his chin and leaned his back against the wall.
"That's OK," she said with a sigh that tickled his neck. She kissed the pulse that beat there. "I'm not frightened with you holding me like this." She wrapped an arm around his waist and nuzzled his neck like she was burrowing in for the winter. Then all was quiet.
Jesse sat the night through, holding her close. He didn't know how he deserved her trust, much less the love she seemed so adamant to give him after all this time, but he was determined to earn both. He shifted her in his arms and his hand brushed against the knot of his bandanna. Regardless that it was only a flesh wound, someone deliberately shot at them and Jesse was going to find out who. Too many weird things had been happening lately to call them all coincidences.
* * *
Zeke was roused out of a sound sleep by the stable owner's son. He stomped into his boots and pulled his suspenders up as he hurried down the muddy street, trying to dash from cover to cover so as not to get soaked. "Dang fool boy,” he muttered to himself. "This better be good."
Only one lantern lit the musky interior of the livery, but Zeke had no trouble picking out Sam in the gloom.
"Sorry to wake you, Zeke, 'specially since it’s raining, but thought you'd know what to do."
"Do 'bout what?" Zeke grunted in reply as the cold rain began to seep into his bones.
Nodding to the first stall, Sam said, "Jesse Cole's horse come back, by itself, along with the mare I saddled for Miss Elizabeth when they left for Reno."
"Holy sh--" Zeke wasn't prone to swearing, but ever since he and Lucky had come back from the dead, so to speak, he'd been doing more'n his fair share. Now, he raced over to the sorrel's side, running his hands over his forelocks and withers.
"I took the saddles and pack bags off so I could wipe ‘em down. The mare musta had a stone in the shoe, cuz she's limping, but ain't got the stone in there no more. Don't see no other harm, but I sure don't know why they'd come home by themselves."
Zeke couldn't think of a reason either; only Jesse or Elizabeth would be able to tell them that. It didn't look like he and Lucky'd be able to get out before first light. Damn, it was Ellie, not Elizabeth. Once he recalled that, all sorts of problems raced around his brain, refusing to let him grab hold of 'em, and plain giving him a headache.
He rubbed his forehead as he spoke. "Jesse Cole knows them hills like the back of his hand. For whatever reason he let the horses go, I sure as shootin' figure he's holed up in a mine on the hillside. Can't do nothing in this downpour, so Lucky and I'll go find him at first light. Judging from the pack bags, they was heading back from Reno, so I got a suspicion on where they put up for the night."
Sam shrugged, figuring his job was done, and reached up and turned down the lamp. "Suit yourself, Zeke. Night."
"Yeah," Zeke muttered, already trudging back to the boarding house, his mind full of questions as to where Jesse and Ellie were, and 'xactly how they got to be there.
* * *
"You're sure you took care of him?" Clayton Scott asked the man dressed in black. Water ran off the man's hat and coat, pooling on the porch and making mud out of the dirt from his boots. Clayton stepped back a pace or two, not caring to have contact with the likes of him.
"I said I did, didn't I?" The answer was growled from beneath the wide brim of the black hat. Scott knew the man from reputation only, and had talked to him just once when he paid him half his fee for agreeing to get rid of Jesse Cole. Now, the man had awaken him in the dead of night to get the rest of his money.
Thunder roared and the rain continued to come down in sheets. A wind came up behind it, blowing the wetness close enough to sprinkle the highly polished wood floor. He heaved a sigh, determined to get this piece of business done.
"Wait here." He left the man standing on the porch in the rain, returning a few minutes later with a fat envelope.
"Where did you take the girl?"
"You never said anything about bringing her down with me. I ain't no baby-sitter." The man growled menacingly.
"You didn't--"
"Look. I ambushed them like you said. The girl was getting all mushy and hanging on him like a damn coat, making it hard to get a shot. When I did shoot, they both went down behind a rock."
"You fool! I wanted Cole dead, not the girl. What if you hit her?" Scott was incensed and momentarily forgot the other man's reputation.
The man, however, wouldn't let him. Grabbing the front of Scott's dressing gown, he jerked him close. Scott could see the lightning reflected off the black of his eyes -- eyes that were deep and dark and soulless. "I took care of them, I said. Either she's dead or he is. Either way, the other'll be too scared to say anything. And they sure as hell won't be able to finger me."
With that, the man released Scott's clothing, shoving him backwards into the hallway. Tucking the envelope inside his shirt, he turned and disappeared into the rain, leaving Clayton shivering.
Clayton closed the door, shutting out the elements and reviewing the events of the night. He'd miss Elizabeth's warm, willing body, if indeed, she had been shot. Then again, it would mean the bank and the mine could both be his. Even if Cole remained alive, he couldn't fight ownership of the mine without the codicil, which Scott had safely tucked away in his books at the bank.
Clayton tossed back a whiskey to take the chill out of his bones; a chill caused by the stormy night, not by remorse. He had none.
Chapter 11
“Jesse! Jesse Cole -- you up there?”
Ellie heard shouts and felt Jesse’s leg tense under her head. She jerked upright, disoriented, when Zeke yelled again. Raising an arm to brush her hair out of her eyes, she felt the sting from the gunshot wound and yesterday flashed back across her mind.
She looked wildly around the cave and couldn’t believe that she had spent the night inside its black interior. Watery sunshine took some of the dark edges off, but she still shivered. As Jesse unwound his lean frame from the uncomfortable ground, she understood how she had been able to sleep. Jesse had been there to protect her.
“Well, it looks like we’re about to be rescued,” Jesse said wryly as Lucky shouted after Zeke to wait for him.
Ellie groaned. It would seem her time alone with Jesse was at an end. She took one last look at Jesse’s naked torso as he stretched, gave a heartfelt sigh, and waited the arrival of her two guardians.
Zeke wheezed as he entered the cave, a happy grin splitting his craggy features to see they were all right. Lucky came barreling in after him, so completely out of breath he had to bend over, hands on knees, and Ellie really thought for a minute that he would keel over. Zeke recovered first.
“I knowed you’d be here if’n you got caught in the rain ‘tween here and Reno.” He nodded in a self-satisfactory way. Just as quickly, his gaze darted between Ellie a
nd Jesse and his face fell. Ellie could see a dull red creep up his neck and infuse his already ruddy cheeks, and couldn’t suspect what his problem was.
“What?” she quizzed.
“You...you got--” Zeke couldn’t even finish his sentence, but pointed between the two of them as if they could guess what he meant.
Ellie couldn’t, but Lucky apparently had some insight into his brother’s logic, because the minute his head came up, he got as red as Zeke.
“Aw, gawd darnit, what’d you go and do, Miss Elizabeth?” He actually whined, and Ellie looked at him, shaking her head.
Jesse had been preoccupied with spreading the ashes of their fire, which had long since extinguished itself, but when Zeke and Lucky kept sputtering at Ellie, he took notice.
“Just exactly what are you two babbling about? Surely the climb up that hill didn’t rattle your brains that much?”
Lucky turned and said in a whisper which Ellie figured could be heard back in Peavine, “She’s wearing your shirt.”
She glanced down then over to Jesse. “Oh,” squeaked past her dry lips. She didn’t exactly know the particulars about Zeke’s and Lucky’s pact which had brought them back to present day Peavine. Had she disrupted the threads of history by making love to Jesse? Well, hell, she sure hadn’t made a pact with anyone. Besides, what she and Jesse did was none of their business.
“My shirt was wet and Jesse gave me his,” she defended him, though he hadn’t felt it necessary to comment. There wasn’t any sense in these two thinking something had happened when it didn’t.
Jesse shook her now dry, but terribly wrinkled shirt and walked over to hand it to her. “That’s right. Ellie was soaked to the skin by the time we got up here.”
“Ellie?” Zeke and Lucky echoed in unison.
As always, Lucky blamed her without knowing the facts. “You told him?” He grabbed his hat off his head and banged it against his legs. “Dang it all, anyway!”
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