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

by James, Sandy

  Daniel had turned on the bench with her and was leveling a knowing stare at James. Susan wondered what the two of them understood that she didn’t.

  “Cook,” James finally said with a decisive nod. “That’s it. I need your help. To cook.”

  She laughed right to his face. “You sure as hell don’t need my help. You know I can’t cook worth a damn.”

  “But I do,” he insisted. “I need your help. We need to…um…work some stuff up to…We need to find something to serve the customers.”

  Caroline had sashayed over to stand at James’s side, grabbed his arm, and rubbed her chest against his bicep. “Why, I could help you cook, Big Jim.”

  Li’l Jim snorted loud enough they all turned to watch him finish descending the staircase. “Last thing any of us need is for Caroline to cook. God help us all if she does.”

  “It was just a little fire.” Caroline pouted her lip.

  “No, that’s okay, Caroline.” James awkwardly withdrew his arm. “Susan’s going to help.” He glanced back to Li’l Jim. “We need to cook up some stuff for the customers.”

  As he came over to the join the group, Li’l Jim shook his head. “Still don’t see the need, and I sure as spit don’t wanna spend money on feedin’ the men.”

  “Like I told you,” James insisted, “we can increase drink sales by giving the guys something to munch on. Especially something salty.”

  Susan saw where James was heading with this and agreed with him. “Appetizers?”

  He nodded. “Buffalo wings?”

  She nodded in return. “But I don’t think we can call them that.”

  “Why not?”

  Her gaze shifted to Daniel then back to James, and she hoped James would get the hint. They’d had a short discussion about changing history when she’d started working at the Golden Nugget, and she’d cautioned him against revealing anything that could destroy their children’s futures. “You know why.” She mouthed the word “paradox.”

  “Ah. That…Okay, how about calling them hot wings?”

  Daniel tilted his head like a curious child. “What’s a paradox?”

  He had her there, asking a question she couldn’t possibly answer. Einstein hadn’t even been born yet. Had he? It was too soon to talk about things like theories concerning the flexibility of time.

  “Inside joke,” James said, sparing her any sort of explanation.

  Caroline threaded her arm through James’s. “I’ll help you in the kitchen, Big Jim.”

  Susan nibbled on her bottom lip. Seeing that girl touch James bothered her more than she thought it should considering how he’d abandoned her. James didn’t seem in too much of a hurry to extract himself from Caroline’s attentions. She figured if she found herself in his middle-aged shoes, she’d be loving all that interest from such a young, beautiful creature.

  Susan suddenly wanted to claw Caroline’s eyes out.

  Daniel draped an arm over Susan’s shoulder and gently turned her attention. “No time to cook, darlin’. I wanted to take you out to the ranch to see Abigail. With her mama gone, she misses spending time with other womenfolk. I told her I’d do whatever it took to bring you back with me for the afternoon. Even swore to kidnap you if that’s what it took. The three of us can go riding.”

  James pulled away from Caroline and actually growled, taking Susan by surprise. Figuring she was the one he was growling at, she all but dismissed him and smiled at Daniel. At least he had nice things to say to her. “I’d love to go to the ranch with you.”

  A smile spread across his face.

  James slammed down the glass he’d been holding hard enough against the bar, she was surprised it didn’t break. “But… but…You’ve got to help me cook.”

  “Popcorn,” she replied.

  “What?”

  She addressed her remarks to Li’l Jim. “Make popcorn and put it in baskets on the bar and the tables. Add some salt, and you’ll sell plenty of drinks. It’s cheap and easy.”

  “Like you,” James mumbled, pulling a gasp from Caroline and making Daniel pop to his feet and take a threatening step toward James.

  Susan grabbed Daniel’s arm and dragged him back. “He was just teasing, Daniel.” As if she’d admit how much the remark truly stung her pride.

  Putting his arm around her waist, Daniel dragged her up against his side. “He damn well better learn how to talk to a lady.”

  James scowled at them both. “Yeah. Just teasing. So sorry to have offended.” His frown and sarcastic tone told her he wasn’t sincere.

  What did she care about what James thought of her anyway? “I’m sure Caroline will help you out.”

  Still unpacking glasses, James pounded them against the shelf as he stacked them and shook his head. “Never mind.”

  “Popcorn,” Li’l Jim said, running his fingers over his handlebar moustache, giving it a little more curl. “Right good idea.”

  “Li’l Jim?” Susan asked. “May I please have the evening off?”

  “You’ve been working mighty hard, so I s’pose you’re due some time off.” The bar’s owner glanced back at her, clearly taking in Daniel’s possessive gesture. “You’ll be with Daniel?”

  She nodded.

  “Should I act as a chaperone? I’m responsible for you now.”

  Daniel didn’t seem to like the suggestion, tossing a dark frown at Li’l Jim. “Abigail, Hank, and Cain will be at the ranch. We’ll have plenty of chaperones around.”

  James snorted an acerbic laugh, grabbed a towel, and started attacking the already clean bar as if he was sanding down the surface for fresh paint.

  “Then enjoy yourselves,” Li’l Jim said before leading a resistant Caroline toward the kitchen. “Maybe you can make popcorn without burning it.”

  “But, Daddy! I didn’t really wanna cook,” she complained until they both disappeared into the kitchen.

  “Do you need a shawl?” Daniel asked, still squeezing Susan tight against him. “It’s warm out now, but when the sun sets, gets a might chilly.”

  “How thoughtful. I’ll run up to my room and grab one.” She extracted herself from his near embrace and hurried up the stairs.

  James followed Susan with his eyes until she retreated down the dark second-story hallway. Then he shifted his gaze to Daniel Miller.

  God, he wished Susan had let Daniel take a swing at him. He would have loved to punch the guy in the nose, especially when he’d had his hands all over Susan.

  For close to a week he’d watched them. This man had it bad for her, and James feared she returned the rancher’s affection. He could handle her silly flirting with the customers, but he sure as hell couldn’t stand watching Daniel and Susan become…a couple.

  Daniel put his hat back on his head and strode over to the bar. He blatantly turned his back to James and leaned his elbows back against the wood.

  James tossed the first grenade. “She’s a singer in a bar.” He didn’t even care how he was painting Susan’s reputation. He needed to find some way to get this guy off her trail.

  Daniel lifted a knuckle to push the brim of his hat back as if he felt totally relaxed. “Yep. That she is.”

  “And you’re a respectable man who’s a leader in this town.”

  “Yep. Sure am.”

  The man was blatantly obtuse. “Aren’t you worried about your reputation hanging around with her?”

  Glancing over his shoulder, Daniel grinned. James wanted to smash the smile off his face. “Nope. I’m not.”

  James tried another tack. “She’s divorced.”

  “Is she now? And would that divorce be her way of getting rid of your sorry ass? ’Cause if that’s why she’s divorced, I sure as shit understand.”

  The obstinate rancher was heading for a nasty beating, and James would be more than willing to give it to him. “Doesn’t matter who she was married to, does it? She’s divorced. She’s a…” What did they call it? Oh, yeah. “A fallen woman.”

  “And I intend to cat
ch her.”

  He couldn’t be more plain than that, could he? The gauntlet had been tossed at James’s feet. Now it was up to him to decide if he would pick it up.

  Susan broke his train of thought when she came down the stairs, humming to herself as she wrapped a lacy shawl around her shoulders. She’d brushed her hair and added a sky-blue ribbon she wore like a wreath. Daniel pushed away from the bar and strode over to meet her at the bottom step.

  Panic flooded James’s mind. He couldn’t let her leave with Daniel. The man was intent on winning her, and despite all they’d been through, James couldn’t simply stand by and watch her fall for another man. He scrambled for something, anything, to keep them from leaving together. He was so flustered he couldn’t think of a damned thing. “I thought we were going to make popcorn.”

  “Not now,” she replied, looking up into Daniel’s eyes and smiling like she used to smile at her husband. “I’ve got other plans. I’m sure you can handle it.”

  Daniel offered his elbow, and Susan took it. They strolled to the door, and all James could do was search his frantic thoughts for some way to stop this. Nothing came to mind.

  Think, damn it!

  A thought bubbled to the surface. Maybe he couldn’t keep Susan and Daniel apart, but he might be able to keep an eye on them. “Do you sell horses?”

  Daniel stopped walking and turned to glance over his shoulder. “You looking to buy one?”

  James’s breath rushed out in a gasp when he realized that question had gotten to him. “Yep. Sure am.”

  Susan turned to face the bar. “A horse? James, you want a horse? Are you serious or just being silly?”

  He ignored the barb because he still held Daniel’s attention, which meant the rancher was focused on something besides Susan. “I want a horse. You know. Something to get me from here to there. Low mileage. Good chassis. Sporty color.”

  Judging from her incredulous frown, his joking had been wasted. “You really want a horse?” she asked. “After what happened last time?”

  Daniel arched an eyebrow, a smirk growing on his lips. “What happened last time?”

  Damn, but he didn’t want Daniel to hear that humiliating tale. Yet, James knew Susan would never embarrass him by telling Daniel the whole story. She might be angrier than a hornet whose nest had been disturbed, but protecting other people’s feelings was so much a part of her it had to be in her DNA. Susan didn’t disappoint him.

  “Let’s just say it didn’t go well.” Her knowing smile washed over James, telling him she might be pissed, but deep down inside, she still cared.

  The memory of his less-than-stellar experience with horses clearly made her happy, although James got no pleasure from it. He pushed the recollection aside and focused on her enchanting smile.

  His heart flickered back to life. Maybe he hadn’t lost her. Maybe she hadn’t stopped loving him after all. Maybe he could…

  Win her back?

  Was that what he really wanted? To return to a marriage that had been as stale as week-old bread? To be with a woman who seemed to have moved on so easily that they might have never even been married at all?

  No. She hadn’t moved on. She still cared. He was sure of it.

  The rhythm of his resurrected heart steadily increased as James looked at Susan through new eyes. A tentative plan of action hatched in his thoughts. Thin and translucent as the morning mist, it would need some time to strengthen and grow. He’d have to nurture it and give it time to properly develop. There were a lot of choices to be made.

  Shit. If he needed time, then James had to make damn sure Daniel didn’t stake a claim to what wasn’t his. Yes, he’d have to keep a close eye on Susan and the rancher. “I’d really like to see your horses, see if one of them suits me. Can I ride with you out to the Square Deal?”

  “The what?” Daniel asked.

  “Your ranch. You know, the Square Deal, the Ponderosa, or whatever the hell you call it.”

  “It’s the Circle M, James,” Susan corrected with a chuckle. “You’ve always been so bad with names.”

  Daniel’s smile grated on James’s nerves. “He obviously forgot yours was Hollis.”

  “I know her damn name.” And it sure as shit isn’t Hollis.

  “You really want a horse?” Susan asked.

  James nodded, trying to hide his fear so she didn’t see right through the pretense. “Yeah, I do.”

  She turned to Daniel. “Would you mind if James rode along? I’d hate to impose…”

  The anger in Daniel’s gaze told James he’d be as welcome as a guy who still had all his hair at a thirty-year class reunion.

  Daniel considered it for a good long time before Susan tried again. “Please?”

  He gave her a curt nod and hurled a frown at James.

  Now if he could only figure out how to ride a horse before they got to the ranch. “Let me tell Li’l Jim I need to be off tonight, and I’ll go with you.”

  * * * *

  Caroline watched Big Jim crawl up into Daniel Miller’s wagon. Susan glanced over at him and smiled. Big Jim smiled back.

  That singer had brought all of Caroline’s plans to a screeching halt. The man had been falling under her spell until Susan showed up and started living at the Golden Nugget.

  Rumor had it that Big Jim had divorced her, but from what Caroline could see, it hadn’t been a clean break. Every time Susan was around, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. What could he see in a woman that old? Caroline had so much more to offer. Youth. A beautiful face. A curvy figure.

  Big Jim was the answer to her prayers. He’d lived in Chicago, and once she had him wrapped around her little finger, she’d make sure he took her back there. Or maybe San Francisco. Or even New York City. He’d save her from this hellhole of a town and introduce her to the bright lights of the big city. He was a man, a real man, not like her other lovers who had been nothing more than boys.

  Susan reached over and brushed a lock of Big Jim’s hair back from where it had fallen across his forehead. Caroline had seen enough. She let the heavy curtain fall back into place, vowing to do whatever was necessary to end whatever bond existed between the singer and the bartender.

  After all, wasn’t she the queen of dirty tricks?

  Chapter 12

  James caught himself against the wooden arm of the wagon’s bench seat as he bounced hard. The condition of the road, if one could call it that, was deplorable. Ruts. Potholes. Rocks. How the horses kept their footing was beyond him. Amazing that the wagon didn’t shake apart from the vibrations.

  Susan smiled sweetly over at him. She rode in the wagon like a pro, shifting her weight every few moments with the pitch like some sailor keeping his footing on the deck of a ship on the rolling sea. Sandwiched between him and Daniel, she had to feel a bit confined. James sucked in a little air every time her thigh pressed hard against his. He felt like he was sixteen again. Full of hormones and turned on by the least little contact. Memories of the pleasure he’d always found in her arms seemed to constantly swim in his thoughts.

  He wanted her with an intensity he hadn’t felt in far too long. They’d been so young when they married, barely out of their teens. Both had been virgins, and they had taught each other how to make love. James smiled, thinking how much he’d enjoyed the task of teaching her how to please him as much as he’d enjoyed learning what she liked. Since Susan had come into the Golden Nugget, back into his life, he had to fight the growing fire in the pit of his gut just thinking about her, or he’d walk around all day with a hard-on.

  Yet James did think about her. A lot. Everything about Susan seemed enticing, alluring, and downright sexy. She wore the dated clothes as if they’d been created for her by some top-name designer. She sang like she’d been a performer all her life. She handled the ever-increasing crowds like a pro. Some nights it became agony to watch her flitting around the saloon, serving customers, because all he wanted to do was scoop her up in his arms, carry her up the stairs, and make
love to her until they were both too tired to move.

  Maybe he’d just gone too long without sex.

  No, that wasn’t right. He’d never once been tempted to cheat on his wife. Or his ex-wife. Or whatever the hell she was now. God knew he still hadn’t straightened out their bizarre circumstances in his own mind.

  The only thing James knew for sure was that he still wanted her. No matter what had happened between them, he still wanted her. He wanted to lick her taut, rosy nipples. He wanted her slim fingers wrapped around his erection. He wanted to bury himself deep inside her, to feel her heat squeezing him tight as she cried out his name…

  Susan placed a hand on his arm, bringing James back from his highly arousing thoughts. “There’s the ranch house.” She nodded at a big gate marking a long, tree-lined road that led to a house that still seemed pretty far in the distance.

  “If this is a ranch, shouldn’t there be cows somewhere?”

  “They’re in open range and out in some of the outlying pastures.” Her answer came in that teacher voice that always tweaked his temper because it made him feel like a kid again being scolded by his unreasonable father for bringing home an A- instead of an A.

  His mood changed in a heartbeat. “You know this because?” The irritation came through in his tone, and James wasn’t sure he even wanted to rein it in. How much time had she been spending with the arrogant cowboy sitting beside her? Had Daniel been educating her on his ranch because he had plans for her future?

  Susan had developed a habit of disappearing in the mornings before James or Li’l Jim got up. She always left a pot of the slop these people liked to call coffee waiting, but she was long gone. Later in the day, she would turn up, dusty and tired. She’d slip into her room to freshen up and take a nap before the customers started rolling in that evening.

  Where in the hell was she going every day? James had a sneaking suspicion it was to meet Daniel Miller, and that thought churned his stomach.

  Clearly oblivious to James’s irritation, all she did was give him another alluring smile and turn back to talk to Daniel. “I’m anxious to see Abigail again. Will Hank and Cain be there?”