by James, Sandy
“I’m fine,” she replied. His hand cupped her cheek, and she turned her face into his caress. Instinctively, she pursed her lips and kissed his palm. His eyes grew wide in response before he eased his hand away.
Abigail’s shouts reached her. The petite woman was weaving her way through the twittering crowd of townspeople. “Susan! Oh, my heavens, I just heard. Are you all right?” she asked as she hurried to Susan’s side.
“I’m fine. James is fine too.”
Abigail glanced over at him as if just realizing he was even there. As she opened her mouth to speak, the growing buzz from the crowd drowned her out. Susan turned to see what they were carrying on about and saw the men who had been chasing the horses leading them and wagon that had nearly hit James back up the street.
Suddenly, the crowd turned toward the shouts of the reverend as he ran down the streets, wheezing as if he’d run a great distance. Li’l Jim came out of the Golden Nugget, took a good look at the situation and hurried as fast as he could waddle to where the reverend stopped. “Charles? What in the thunder happened?”
Reverend Charles had to huff and puff for a few moments before he could speak. His gray comb-over had all fallen to the wrong side, and he kept smoothing the damp hair back where he wanted it to be. In the meantime, the horses were led to the hitching post in front of the saloon. Susan couldn’t figure out who was breathing hardest, Reverend Charles, Li’l Jim, or the horses.
Her boss ran his hands over one of the horse’s rumps and pulled back to stare at streaks of blood on his palms. “These animals been hit. This your wagon, Charles?”
The reverend nodded. “Tied the horses up next to the general store. Next thing I know, I’m chasing ’em down the street. I’m too old for this kind of nonsense.”
“Nobody hurt?” Li’l Jim said as he cast a concerned glance to James and Susan.
“Nobody’s hurt,” Susan replied.
“Damn, boy,” Li’l Jim said, grinning at James. “This must be your lucky day. You might’ve been run clean over by these animals. Our Peanut saved you.”
“She sure did.” James took Tobacco’s reins and smiled at Susan. “I’ll take him back to the livery and meet you back home.”
Home. He meant the Golden Nugget.
Where was her home now?
After the dance, she’d tell him about her discovery, and she’d sit and talk, really talk, to him about what came next. She’d open her heart, even if it meant he might break it again, and she hoped he would bare his as well.
* * * *
Shit, but James had put up with as much nonsense as he could. Three noisy, giggling women fussing over a dress. He shook his head and tried to focus on stocking the bar.
If the women didn’t finish soon, he was likely to pull Susan out of the hen party and drag her upstairs for the heart-to-heart he’d been dying to have. Instead, he finished his work while the women chattered away with Susan about how great Daniel Miller would be as a husband. Subtle most definitely wasn’t in either Caroline or Abigail’s vocabularies.
Susan stood on the chair as Abigail crouched to put the last of the pins in the hem. Caroline sat at the table, not doing anything to help with the sewing but offering more than enough commentary to make James wish he had some ear plugs. God, but that whiney teenage-girl voice of hers could set his nerves on edge, especially when she talked about only one topic.
Saint Daniel. Daniel Miller helped build the school. Daniel Miller saved some drowning boy. Daniel Miller saved Hank and Cain from a life on the streets.
Daniel Miller probably leapt tall buildings in a single bound.
James had to fight hard to get a grip on how the jealousy affected him. He couldn’t figure out what he really he wanted. To pound Daniel into the ground? To take Abigail and Caroline and haul them outside by their hair? Or to grab Susan, throw her over his shoulder, and drag her upstairs to make passionate love to her until she wouldn’t have any room in her thoughts for Daniel Miller?
Li’l Jim came strolling in from the kitchen. He looked over at Susan and smiled a big, toothy grin. “You look beautiful, Peanut.”
Susan’s cheeks flushed at the compliment. “Thanks.” She glanced back at James, as if asking his opinion.
He wanted to tell her that Li’l Jim was wrong. She wasn’t just beautiful. The word “breathtaking” couldn’t even do her justice. Not wanting to bare his soul in front of all the women or his boss, he gave Susan a quick nod that raised a hesitant smile on her face, then he went back to his work instead of telling her all he felt. No, he’d save that for when they were alone. Turning back to the bar, he saw a bar towel lying on the floor so he bent over to pick it up.
The loud pop akin to a champagne cork popping from a bottle made him straighten back up so fast he was surprised he didn’t blow out a disc in his back. A moment later, he recognized the sound.
A gunshot.
He ran to the table, pulled Susan off the chair, and wrestled her to the floor, covering her with his own body. Reaching up, he dragged Abigail down while Li’l Jim landed next to them and tugged on Caroline’s skirt until she fell to the floor.
Five people lay among the sawdust, gaping at each other.
Susan struggled under him. “What’s going on?”
“Gunshot,” Abigail answered. “Probably just a stray shot. Who’d be shooting a gun in the middle of town?”
“’Nuff cowboys here to do somethin’ that stupid,” Li’l Jim replied.
Caroline sat up and started to pick the sawdust from her hair. “It’s over. Probably an accident.”
Pushing against James, Susan tried to sit up. He wasn’t ready to let her. “Could you please get off me?”
“You’re okay?” he asked, smoothing his hand over her shoulder. His heart still sat lodged in his throat that something could have happened to her.
She smoothed her long, delicate fingers down his arm. “I’m fine. Thank you for worrying.”
“I’m fine too, Big Jim,” Caroline cooed as she got to her feet and shook the sawdust from her skirt.
He ignored her.
Li’l Jim looked at James like he’d suddenly grown a third eye. “You’re havin’ a mighty scary day, son.”
Not sure what Li’l Jim meant, he followed the man’s gaze to the wall behind the bar. On the whitewashed board right next to the mirror was a single hole where the shot had obviously hit.
James’s heart jumped in his chest. If he hadn’t bent down to pick up that towel, he would have been the bull’s eye on that target.
Susan had to swallow the bile rising in the back of her throat. That shot could have hit James. Had this been the only near miss he’d faced, she would be inclined to believe Abigail, that this was just a stray shot. After what had happened earlier with the runaway horses, she wasn’t so sure.
Was someone trying to hurt James?
That made no sense. Who would want to hurt him? Everyone here adored him. What could someone gain from laying James low? Who could—
Daniel.
Susan refused to believe the man she’d befriended could possibly do something as sordid as trying to cause an accident to get rid of the competition. She had no doubt that if she finally made a decision and talked to Daniel to let him know that she would stay with James, he would politely wish her the best and simply let her go.
That left her with no other suspects. Perhaps she simply had a suspicious nature, but Susan decided to keep a closer eye on James.
Abigail helped Susan brush the rest of the sawdust off the gold dress. “I need to be heading out to get ready for the dance. I’m riding back in with Daddy tonight.”
“I’ll finish the hem,” Susan said as she gave Abigail a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so much for all the help. The dress is beautiful, and I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“You’re more than welcome. I’ll see you tonight.” Abigail peeked out the front doors before she walked outside, clearly no longer bothered by whether anyone sa
w her coming or going from the saloon. Susan wanted to follow her to give her a huge pat on her liberated back.
As James ducked into his back room, Susan went upstairs to change and gather what she’d need for a bath.
When she came back downstairs, she grumbled to herself that she’d have to drag out the wooden tub and start putting on water to warm. Of all the things she hated doing here, bathing was the worst. While many of the natives had no problem being a bit…aromatic, Susan refused to be anything but clean. Singing and serving raucous customers made her sweat, so she went through the chore of bathing almost every day.
Pushing one of the swinging doors to James’s room open, she stuck her head in to see if he could give her a hand. “James? Could you please—” She stopped when she realized the room stood empty. After the events of the day, she couldn’t stop her heart from tapping out a faster rhythm at the thought of him leaving on his own. Dropping her clean clothes, soap, and towel on a table, she hurried to the kitchen.
“James?” The shout probably wasn’t necessary, but her panic rose with each second. Intuition? She wasn’t sure, but something wasn’t right, and she couldn’t control her growing panic.
“Peanut?” Li’l Jim looked up from where he’d been cutting up some beef jerky. “Big Jim took himself down to the river for a”—he shuddered in what she was sure was for effect—“bath. If you hurry, you just might catch him. Heads out by the sandbar behind the school. Mighty deserted out there. Folks could have all the privacy they ever wanted.” He favored her with that grin she loved, the one that made his gold tooth shine in the light. Then he winked at her. “Bet’cha can catch him. In more ways than one.”
Susan’s face flushed warm. “I just want to keep an eye on him.”
“I’ll bet you do.”
Could her face feel any hotter? “I need to go.”
Grabbing her supplies, she hurried out to find James, figuring she’d make sure he was safe and perhaps give his way of bathing a try for a change.
Chapter 19
James was splashing around in the river when Susan arrived. While she wanted to marvel at how clear and clean the water looked, she couldn’t focus on the beauty of the nature around her because when he bobbed to the surface before diving back under, she realized he was naked.
Li’l Jim had been correct. This place really was deserted. Not a person in sight. The hill behind the school had a sharp drop to get to the river, then she’d had to work her way through a small thicket of trees. Once the trees thinned, a small, secluded beach spread out before her.
She looked back to see James floating on his back, blowing water in the air like some kind of whale. He clearly hadn’t seen his Peeping Tom. Stifling a nervous giggle, she hatched a plan. For once in her life, she would push aside propriety, the risk of embarrassment, and probably a huge helping of common sense to do something spontaneous. Something daring.
She had to know for sure if that connection, that physical draw, that caring and sharing they’d always had was still between them or if their little late night tryst in the Golden Nugget kitchen had been a fire’s dying embers.
Her skirt hit the ground first, followed quickly by the petticoats, shoes, and stockings. Susan jerked at the shirt buttons, trying to get out of the rest of her clothes before James saw her. All she kept on were the camisole and the pantalets. She might be bold, but she wasn’t about to get caught skinny dipping. What she left on would be brazen enough. Once the outfit got wet, she’d look like a contestant in some wet T-shirt contest.
Taking a few steps toward the river, she came to an abrupt stop, remembering James’s wedding ring. Susan thought about letting him see it hanging from that thin blue ribbon, but her vulnerability was still there, enough to make her jerk it from the ribbon, grab up her skirt, and shove it in the pocket. She charged into the water at a run before she could talk herself out of it.
When he heard the sharp, feminine squeal, James jerked from where he floated and sank like a stone. Spewing water and coughing, he broke the surface and looked around, figuring some prim schoolgirl had seen him swimming around without a stitch of clothes and had been offended. But he didn’t find some prim schoolgirl.
He found Susan.
A laugh escaped before he could help himself. She’d come to him, followed him here as he took his bath, and she had practically stripped to join him in the river. She obviously hadn’t checked to see how cold the water was before jumping in. Standing in deep water that lapped at her ribs and the undersides of her breasts, she held her arms tight against her sides and shivered. He swam over until he could put his feet down then eased toward her.
The sun streamed down, making the natural highlights in her hair shimmer like gold. She’d splashed enough water on her thin undershirt the top clung to her like a second skin. He could see the shape of her cold, pink nipples pushing against the fabric, the tease of almost seeing them more enticing than if those beautiful breasts had been bare. Despite the icy chill to the water, his body hardened.
Hesitation at her possible reaction to his aroused state slowed his steps until the water barely covered his ribs, hiding his erection below the surface. If he let her see how much she still affected him, he would be handing her a powerful weapon to use against him. Then James dismissed that concern as fast as it had arrived.
Susan never played games with his affections, not even from the moment he’d been brave enough to ask her out the first time he’d seen those gorgeous chocolate eyes. She’d always kept his heart safely in her hands. Even through the worst of anything they’d faced, she had never bruised his heart. She wouldn’t see his arousal as a piece of information to use against him. Never. Not his Suz.
Their gazes locking, he took those last few steps until they stood an arm’s length apart and she could obviously see the reaction she’d pulled from his body.
Her lips had turned blue, and her teeth chattered as if they might crack, but she let her eyes wander from his face downward to rake his body, probably with deliberate slowness because she always seemed to know how much he loved the anticipation. When those eyes made their way back to meet his, her blue lips were smiling.
They reached out for each other at the same time, their lips coming together in a rough, wild kiss.
She tasted wonderful. He didn’t even try to slow down, pushing his tongue into her mouth, demanding everything she had to give. Putting his arms around her waist, he lifted her as she threaded her arms around his neck and encircled his hips with her legs.
She felt as if she’d been waiting for this forever. The kiss was so carnal Susan wondered for a moment if they kept at it long enough she could come without even having James inside her. His fire fed her own, and she quickly forgot that a few moments ago she’d felt as if she’d been encased in a glacier. Now heat ruled her world. His heat. Her heat. The fire raging between them.
The spark was more than still there.
When James tore his lips away to bury his face against her neck to kiss and lick, she moaned and squeezed her legs tighter around him. “I want you,” she managed to say between the mewls and sighs he forced from her with each touch of his lips to her skin.
“You’ve got me, Suz.” He waded out of the river, carrying her out of the water and gently laying her on the warm sand, covering her body with every delicious inch of his.
She’d forgotten how right this felt. His weight pressing against her body, the anticipation of knowing what was going to happen, yet still realizing every time they came together, they shared something unique. How had she ever allowed so much distance to come between them?
You’ve got me, Suz.
She wanted to believe his words held deeper meaning than the fact he was ready to make love to her. Ruthlessly pushing aside any apprehension, she refused to let her insecurities over the future ruin this glorious moment. All she wanted to do right now was revel in this heady mixture of passion, anticipation, and the sheer naughtiness of where they were having this litt
le interlude. The future could wait.
He slid down her body, drawing a nipple between his teeth and then sucking it through the damp, cold cloth. She arched into him, feeling the connection all the way to her toes. As he gave her a satisfied masculine chuckle and shifted to the other breast, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to allow him to tease for too long. “I want you. Inside me. Now.”
With an exaggerated lick of her nipple, he moved farther down her body, brushing kisses under each breast and on the material draping her navel. “Patience. All in good time.”
The fact he had any control at all came as a surprise, albeit a very welcome surprise, although the knot on the waistband of her pantalets seemed to fluster him as he fumbled with the wet ribbon. Any other time, she would have let him play all he wanted. But not now. She’d been without him for too long. Raking her nails over his shoulders, she wiggled her hips up against him, silently encouraging him to finish his quest to remove her clothes.
About to scold him that she wasn’t in a teasing mood, that they could take their sweet time next time, she let out a surprised shriek when her peripheral vision caught a figure of a man stepping out of the trees. “Wait!”
He gave her another arrogant chuckle as he kissed each hip bone and started to pull down her pantalets. “First, it’s hurry. Now it’s wait. Patience. Trust me, babe. You’ll like this.”
She tugged on his hair, trying to get him to pay attention. “James! Someone’s coming!”
Afraid for a moment Susan had regretted letting things happen between them so swiftly, he was about to work his way back up her body to kiss her into submission when her frightened words finally registered. Pushing himself up on his elbows, he turned his head to where she pointed. “Shit. Talk about bad timing.”
James grabbed for a towel and got to his knees, wrapping the cloth around his hips. He stood up and reached down to help Susan to her feet. She scrambled to grab her shirt and skirt from the ground.
