The Damaged Heroes Collection [Box Set #1: The Damaged Heroes Collection] (BookStrand Publishing Mainstream)

by James, Sandy

  Too easy. As if he’d simply been looking for the right opening. What had gone so wrong in their marriage that he would leave her at the first convenient opportunity?

  Daniel answered with a shake of his head. “No bother. What good is it to be boss if you can’t skip work every now and then? Besides, this ranch isn’t as big as it used to be, at least where the stock’s concerned. It’s just Hank, Cain, and me now. I only keep a few head of cattle more as a hobby than a business. Keeps my boys out of trouble.” He gave her a warm smile.

  “I really enjoyed breakfast, and I thank you for your hospitality. Surely I’m being nothing but a bother.”

  “No, no. No bother at all.” His eyes lit with a bit of mischief. “Being as you’ve not enjoyed a good ride for some time, I was wondering if you’d like to see the Circle M? I could take you around, get you back in a saddle. Maybe we could have a small picnic for the noon meal.”

  “You should take her to the waterfall, Daddy,” Abigail chimed in. “I can pack a basket of food.”

  What Susan should do was find that damned rock, not gallivant around this gorgeous ranch with an attractive and available rancher. Then it dawned on her there was no better way to find the blasted stone that had sent her and James here than to get a good, long look around. On horseback, she could cover a hell of a lot more area than she could on foot. Maybe a ride around the Circle M might just help her find her way back home, especially since this was where her odyssey began.

  She smiled at Daniel, grateful for his thoughtfulness and hoping that she’d get lucky and find the rock. “That sounds wonderful.”

  “Be right back,” Abigail said, hiking her skirts and hurrying up the stairs.

  “I’m liable to be a bit rusty,” Susan cautioned. Rusty? If she rode for too awfully long, she’d probably fall flat on her face when she finally got off the horse. “Are we going to ride two to a saddle again?”

  Daniel shook his head. “I’ll saddle Abigail’s mare for you. Rose is gentle as a kitten.” He turned and headed back toward the kitchen. “I’ll bring her ’round front,” he called over his shoulder.

  Abigail came bounding down the stairs, carrying a weathered cowboy hat decorated with a pink ribbon. “Here, Susan. This will keep the sun off your cheeks.” She handed Susan the hat.

  Grateful to have anything that might conceal the hair she was positive had to be sticking up in twenty different directions, Susan smiled, took the hat, and planted it firmly on her head. “How’s it look?”

  Abigail smiled. “Like a woman who doesn’t want a sunburn.”

  “That bad?”

  “Oh, no,” Abigail said with another smile. “Not bad at all. Just…sensible.”

  * * * *

  James finished stocking the bar for the crowd he expected that evening. Not entirely sure where he needed to go to get a hot shower, he was about to hunt Li’l Jim down to ask when the man came trotting down the stairs.

  “Afternoon, Big Jim. You still headin’ to Neal and Sons?”

  “Yeah.” James looked down at his dirty clothes, the only ones he had. “I need to get something else to wear.”

  With a nod, Li’l Jim said, “Them shoes is so loose, looks like you’re gonna walk right outta them.”

  Glancing down at his loafers, James had to hold back a smile. After seeing the sturdy and uncomfortable looking boots all the men in River Bend wore, he could see why Li’l Jim would think his shoes seemed so odd.

  “And them denims. Why, they look like you’ve owned ’em for years.”

  James did chuckle at that comment. The jeans were his favorite and well worn. Of course, they were acid washed, so they looked pretty much like they had when he bought them. “Like I told you before, they’re probably older than Caroline.”

  Reaching into his pocket, Li’l Jim pulled out a small, folded stack of money and started counting off some bills. He handed them to James.

  “I shouldn’t take this,” James insisted as Li’l Jim pressed the cash against his palm.

  “I appreciate that, but I’m not givin’ it no strings attached. Consider it an advance on your earnings.”

  “Is there a place to get a hot shower somewhere close?”

  “Shower?”

  “Bath, maybe?”

  “The boarding house can get you a bath, but it’ll cost you. When I’m needin’ to wash up, I’ll grab some good, strong soap and head down to the river. Cheaper. Mighty cold though.”

  When in Rome…But at least Rome had boasted bathhouses with warm water. “How much for a bath?”

  “A whole dime. Might as well pick your damn pocket,” Li’l Jim replied with a snort of contempt. “Paying for water. What’s the world comin’ to? Why, next thing you know, they’ll be putting it in fancy bottles and sellin’ it for people to drink.”

  It took a great deal of strength for James not to laugh at the accurate prophecy, although he allowed himself a smile. “Worth it for me,” he said as Li’l Jim fished in the same pocket and produced some coins. He flipped a dime at James who caught it midair. “Thanks, boss.”

  Armed with cash and a short list of things Li’l Jim wanted him to buy for the saloon, James walked down the wooden walkway, heading to the general store. His own list included pants, a shirt, a towel, and soap. He doubted they’d have anything like boxers, and the idea of long johns wasn’t horribly appealing. If he couldn’t find anything appropriate, he’d just wash his boxers out and let them dry at night. Sleeping commando would be a bit strange, but he’d simply have to adapt. Perhaps he’d save the dime and bathe in the river like Li’l Jim suggested.

  When he reached the boarding house, he stopped dead in his tracks. This was the last place he’d seen Susan.

  Susan. His heart ached as the sadness hit him hard. She still hadn’t come to find him. The entire town knew James was the newest addition to the Golden Nugget, but she hadn’t bothered to even stop by long enough to let him know she was okay or to tell him where she was staying.

  He missed her. Until he’d stopped long enough to think, he hadn’t realized how much. Susan was always the one he wanted to share his day with, even when that day had been nothing but miserable. She had a way of smiling and making even a shitty day seem like it was filled with sunshine. At least she had until recently. Lately, she never smiled. Especially since the miscarriage, although she swore she’d put it behind her.

  When had she become so unhappy?

  Was it her work?

  No. Susan loved teaching. She would be one of those teachers who had to be dragged out of the building, kicking and screaming, when they forced her to retire.

  Was it her own kids?

  Again, no. Lynne and John were fantastic kids to raise. Self-motivated and intelligent, they made good choices and never gave their parents a moment’s worry.

  The answer was obvious.

  Me. I’m making Susan unhappy.

  No wonder it had been so easy for her to walk away the moment he gave her any lame reason. What had he done to make her want to leave the first chance she got? Hell, she’d dropped her wedding ring without any regret, like she’d simply been waiting for the right opportunity.

  Her ring. The thin gold band had neatly dropped between the boards he now stood on. Maybe it was still there, waiting under the walkway. Trying to remember exactly where it had slipped through, he crouched down to see if he could find it.

  James pulled his pocketknife out of his jeans, popped open the blade, and used it to pry a couple of the nails up. For once, luck was on his side. The moment he lifted the board and light filtered through the opening, Susan’s little gold ring winked at him. He plucked it from the dust and fit the board back into place, making a mental note to grab a hammer from the Golden Nugget and pound the nails back in later.

  Rising to his feet, James put Susan’s wedding ring in the palm of his hand and simply stared at it as emotions bubbled through him. Anger. Hurt. Loneliness. He wanted to see his wife, to know she was all right. He’d ki
ss her. Then he’d yell at her. Then he’d probably kiss her all over again.

  He felt like a damned yo-yo.

  His childhood sure hadn’t prepared him for being married to an emotional woman like Susan. It hadn’t prepared him for anything in life that had to do with feelings and attachments. That’s why Susan’s expressive nature had been so appealing. She gave him what he’d lacked growing up with such emotionally cold parents.

  Shaking off the melancholy of the past, James slipped the ring in his pocket and headed toward the general store. Susan would find him. Eventually. And maybe they’d work all this out. Somehow.

  * * * *

  Daniel had to hold on to Susan for a good five minutes before her legs would stop shaking enough for her to stand alone. Not that he minded. The woman had been in his thoughts since the moment he saw her sashay her way inside the school with so much confidence and single-minded purpose.

  “Thanks.” She awkwardly brushed his hands away from her waist as her cheeks flushed.

  Every time Daniel had tried to be a gentleman, Susan insisted on doing things herself. She clearly wasn’t used to a solicitous man. Wouldn’t let him lift her onto the horse’s back. Wouldn’t let him help her down, either. It wasn’t until she let go of the saddle and nearly fell to the ground that she’d allowed him to hold on to her while her leg muscles worked out their kinks and regained some strength. He’d never met such an independent woman. That autonomy intrigued him.

  It wasn’t as if the man she’d arrived with was anywhere around. Hell’s fire, Susan had slept in the woods last night. Didn’t even have a blanket to banish the autumn chill. But she never complained, not once, about her lowly circumstances.

  “Maybe we rode a little too long,” Daniel said with a frown as he watched her walk on shaky legs. Her movements reminded him of a newborn filly testing her strength. “Sorry about that, Susie. It’s just…when I’m showing off my spread, I lose track of time.”

  Susan gave him a hesitant smile as she leaned her back against a tree. “I enjoyed it. My legs just feel like Jell-O…er, I mean jelly.”

  Fetching the blanket and pack of food Abigail had given him, Daniel readied their lunch. After he spread the small quilt on the ground, he helped Susan to sit. They unpacked the bread, cheese, and apples and ate a quiet meal. Not an awkward sort of quiet. Just one where new acquaintances weren’t sure exactly what to say.

  Daniel was surprised at himself. Normally, he enjoyed talking, although he was a man who chose his words carefully. But as he sipped water from his canteen and then passed it to Susan, he found himself as tongue-tied as he’d been the first time he’d met his late wife, Elizabeth.

  The grief of losing his wife had threatened to consume him forever. Even after more than a year, Daniel was sure the rest of his life would be spent alone, grieving for the only woman he figured he’d ever love. Abigail would eventually marry. Hank and Cain would take wives and move on. Then he’d be left on his lonely ranch.

  Yet with his first glimpse of Susan Hollis, his future didn’t seem quite as set in stone.

  He’d have to fight for her. An odd notion, but Daniel had to face the truth. When Susan returned to River Bend, she’d have every unmarried man offering anything to marry her. And not because she was a single woman in a territory where single men had few choices in a mate. No, her beautiful face would have been more than enough to draw attention, short hair and bad reputation aside.

  And there was always the man who’d brought her to town. Daniel couldn’t believe any man in his right mind would walk away from a woman as charming as Susan. That idiot would probably be back, one more male to battle for her favor. She’d brushed aside any attempt to talk about him, so Daniel let the topic drop.

  Yes, he would have to fight for her, and he suddenly realized that he truly wanted to. For the first time in a long time, he decided he was ready to go courting again.

  Susan took a long drink from the canteen as she considered her escort. Daniel’s continued quiet, coupled with how intently he’d been staring at her, made her nervous. Not that she thought he would hurt her. His gaze was so steady, she had to wonder just what was flying through his mind, what he thought about her.

  Was it her short hair that made him stare? She self-consciously brushed her fingers through her wild locks, wishing she hadn’t taken off Abigail’s hat and set it aside. Heaven knew that since she’d arrived in this century, she’d had nothing but complaints about her hairstyle. Not like she could do anything about it. At least Daniel didn’t seem to be displeased with what he saw.

  A warm flush spread over her cheeks again. Every time he’d focused those blue eyes on her, she’d had the same reaction. About to dismiss her response as silly, she choked on the water as she suddenly realized exactly what that look meant. She’d seen it on James’s face years ago when he’d walked into the fast food restaurant she was working at and asked her for a date.

  Daniel liked her. He really liked her.

  Shit, what am I? Sally Field at the Oscars?

  Now what was she supposed to do?

  Daniel gave her back a couple of gentle slaps as she sputtered and coughed. “You okay?”

  “Fine,” she choked out. Handing him back the canteen, she was startled when he grabbed it, tossed it to the blanket, and then wrapped his fingers around her outstretched left hand.

  He studied the back of her fingers for a moment and frowned. “Are you married to that scoundrel? The man who abandoned you?”

  The question weighed on her heart as James’s words haunted her.

  We were never married. If this is 1880, we were never married.

  She finally chose to accept what he’d decreed when he had pronounced their marriage null and void.

  Annulment by time travel.

  “I’m not married. Not now,” she finally said, her sadness dripping from each word.

  Daniel held her hand up a little and nodded at it. “You were wearing a ring, darlin’. Recently.”

  She hadn’t even thought about how her ring finger had a small white circle where the gold band had blocked the sun from hitting her skin for the last nineteen years. “I know…But…but I’m not married now.” She emphasized the last word even though she hadn’t meant to.

  His continued frown told her Daniel didn’t believe her. She trusted him, and not being able to tell him everything that had led her to this point made Susan feel like she was somehow betraying him. About to mumble out an apology and start walking back to River Bend, she was surprised when he raised her hand to his lips, brushed a kiss across her knuckles, and released it.

  “You believe me?” she asked.

  He nodded and started to gather up what was left of their lunch. She waited for him to say something, anything, but he didn’t. She hurried to get her horse ready for the rest of the ride.

  After stowing the rolled up blanket and packed up remnants of food on the back of his saddle, Daniel strode over to put his hands on her shoulders to stop her from hoisting herself up onto the saddle.

  Susan glanced back, thinking he’d stopped her because she was looking so awkward. “This is the right side to mount on, isn’t it?”

  “You’re fine. A gentleman always helps a lady mount.”

  Before she could protest, he’d turned her to face him, wrapped his hands around her waist, and lifted her atop her horse like she weighed less than a feather. Her cheeks were hot again, but she couldn’t help it. So used to doing everything herself, it felt odd to receive so much male attention. The friendly pat he gave her thigh only made her blush more. He strode back to his horse and swung up in the saddle.

  “Got a surprise for you when we get back.” Daniel whirled his stallion around and cantered away.

  Curiosity piqued, Susan had no choice but to follow.

  Chapter 9

  Daniel’s surprise made Susan strip off her clothes faster than she ever remembered doing so. But what he offered was too tantalizing, too scrumptious, and too wonderful
to let pass without taking greedy advantage of the gift. So she jerked her clothes off and prepared for intense pleasure.

  The tub wasn’t large enough for her to sink her entire body into the hot water, but any kind of bath was heavenly. Abigail had the tub mostly filled when Susan and Daniel walked in the kitchen. Susan had been more than happy to help finish the task. After Abigail fetched a cake of rose-scented soap and a big cloth, probably an ancient version of a towel, she shooed her father out of the kitchen, telling him he needed to stay out until Susan was done with her bath. The last thing she did was hand Susan a pile of clean clothes.

  Susan looked down at the shirt and skirt Abigail passed to her. “I can’t borrow your clothes.” Not only did it seem like too much of an imposition, but Susan couldn’t possibly fit in an outfit tailored to Abigail’s much younger, slimmer body.

  “They’re not mine. They were Mama’s.”

  Susan gasped and tried to push the clothes back into Abigail’s arms. The young woman shook her head and stubbornly pushed them back at Susan. “I can’t take your mother’s clothes, Abigail. I can’t. It wouldn’t be right.”

  “Nonsense. No one uses them now. What good does it do to keep them in a trunk? They’ll be nothing but a meal for the moths, so you might as well use them. Mama was just about your size. We might need to give them a little nip and tuck or two, but they should be fine for now. We’ll alter more of them later, when you get settled in River Bend.”

  “I don’t—”

  “You could always stay here on the Circle M instead.”

  “I can’t—”

  “No? We’d love to have you, but you probably want to be closer to town. You are staying in River Bend, aren’t you? You’re not planning on leaving?” Before Susan could say another word, Abigail answered her own question. “Of course, you’re staying. Daddy will make sure you have a nice place to live for now.”

  Before Susan could correct the misassumption that Daniel was in any way responsible for her, Abigail picked up a small towel and shook it out. “When you’re done with your bath, just open the door and take the dishtowel off the knob. That’s our signal that it’s safe for the menfolk to come back inside.”