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

by James, Sandy

  As he slid his pants back on, James watched the man in the distance. There was a ring of familiarity, but he’d met so many men in the weeks he’d lived in River Bend, everyone looked familiar. The guy didn’t come closer right away. He seemed to be giving them some time by simply watching them hastily dress. Only when James was buttoning his shirt and Susan was arranging her donned skirt did the man come striding over.

  Susan gasped. “Cain? What in the devil are you doing here?”

  Cain. One of Daniel Miller’s cowboys. Since James had never been disturbed during a bath before, he felt a bit suspicious as to why the one time he’d been here making love to Susan, someone popped up to interrupt.

  Had Daniel sent Cain to follow her?

  A fierce frown stayed fixed on Cain’s face, kind of like the one he’d constantly thrown at James when he’d been out at the Circle M. “Might ask you the same question. Daniel know you’re here?” he asked Susan, hostility painting every word.

  Reacting to the threatening tenor of Cain’s tone, James couldn’t stop himself from taking a step to put himself between Cain and Susan. “She’s here with me.”

  “I seen that.”

  “Look, Cain,” Susan said, “this isn’t about Daniel.”

  “Damn well is. You’re betrothed to him.”

  “She is not!” James couldn’t stop the angry outburst, but hearing that Daniel Miller thought he had some claim on his wife forced it right out of his mouth.

  Cain actually swept his hand under his leather vest and rested it on his sidearm, much like Hank had the first time James met him. “I’m sayin’ she is. Going to the dance with him tonight, ain’t she?”

  Susan seemed to be handling things with a lot more aplomb than James could manage. “I’m going with Daniel, but not because I’m his fiancée.”

  “I’m saying you are.” The kid evidently had stubborn down to an art form. “But you’re here with this varmint.” Cain nodded at James and caressed the handle of his gun before turning to scowl at Susan. “Does that make you the whore everybody says you are?”

  Susan grabbed James’s arm as he took another threatening step toward Cain. His wife’s trembling hand against his bicep helped James keep his senses. He wrapped his fingers around hers, pressing them against his arm. “She’s not a whore, and if you call her that again, gun or no gun, I’m going to break your neck.”

  The cowboy seemed to think it over for a very long minute. “Sorry, ma’am. It’s just…Didn’t expect to find you two doing…that when I went to check the cabin.”

  As Cain seemed to find a semblance of calm, James felt the tension leave Susan’s body. “Cabin?” she asked. “What cabin?”

  “Trappin’ cabin in the woods.” He nodded at a small, beaten path between some tall white pines. “Need to see if it’s got supplies.” With a long, intimidating stare, he finally turned to leave. As he walked away, he called over his shoulder, “Best not let me catch you hurtin’ Daniel like that again. Best behave like the lady he says you are.” Then he strode away, finally disappearing into the trees.

  “You okay?” James asked. Her trembling had stopped, but Susan looked like someone who had just taken a punch to the gut. “What’s wrong?”

  “He’ll tell Daniel.”

  “So?”

  A heavy sigh fell from her lips. “I don’t want to hurt him. He’s been so…kind. If it hadn’t been for Daniel, I don’t what I would’ve done when I got here.”

  Saint Daniel had been her knight in shining cowboy armor. James knew that, and he bore a lot of guilt for having left her to find her own way in River Bend. But a stronger emotion hit him harder.

  Jealousy sat like a weight on his shoulders. He tried to shove it back off, reminding himself of what she’d been begging him to do to her only a few moments ago. A woman couldn’t respond like that to a man’s touch if she wanted a different man. “You’re still going with him tonight? You’re letting him take you to that stupid dance? After…this?” The questions came through clenched teeth, but he had to know what was swimming through her thoughts.

  Her nod hurt. No doubt about it. Yet he waited for her words to see just how much pain he’d ultimately be in.

  “I can’t shame him by standing him up.” She wouldn’t look him in the eye. “And I promised him an answer tonight.”

  That sounded ominous. “An answer? You mean to his proposal. Shit, Susan. You’re going to marry him?”

  She just stared at the ground.

  It took all his self-control not to grab her by the shoulders and give her a sound shake. “After what just happened between us? After you begged me to make love to you? You’d still think about marrying him?”

  Her cheeks flamed. “I never begged.”

  James reached for her, but Susan sidestepped him. “Suz. Please. I…I don’t want you with Daniel Miller.”

  “I can’t talk right now. I just…can’t.” Bending down, she grabbed the soap and her towel. “I have to get ready for the dance. I’m going back to the saloon to take a bath.”

  * * * *

  Abigail wondered how long it would take before the explosion she saw in Hank’s eyes made itself known. Turned out, it wasn’t long at all. Caroline had clearly hit a nerve.

  Hank doffed his hat and slapped it against his thigh, making some dust twirl around his hips. “I don’t like it, Carrie. Not one damned bit. There’s not a reason in the world you need to come check on things tonight.” He swept his arm out toward Cain as he came marching from the trees toward the cabin. “Cain and me will take care of the man.”

  “Now, sugar,” Caroline said in the syrupy voice that grated on Abigail’s already frayed nerves, “I just wanna come out here once and see if everything’s going well. That’s all.” She put her hand against his chest and ran her fingers down to his stomach. “Please? For li’l ole me? Just one quick visit?”

  Nervous bile bubbled in the back of Abigail’s throat. So many things about tonight bothered her. So many things she wished she didn’t have to do. So many things that could go wrong. Very wrong.

  Each person standing by that cabin was playing a game of his or her own creation. And if things didn’t work out just right, if she didn’t end up being the ultimate winner of this chess game, every one of them stood to lose something that mattered to them a great deal. Lives could be shattered because none shared a common goal, save one.

  Daniel.

  Her father.

  His happiness would guide all their actions this night, and she silently prayed that when this important game ended, her father would at long last be himself again, that he would be happy again. He was the reason she’d manipulated her friends into thinking she was helping them and following their desires and not her own. Cain, a brother of her heart just like Hank, knew almost as much as she did. But Abigail had even kept him in the dark in some ways.

  What she had to do tonight wouldn’t be a betrayal, she told herself, knowing it was a lie. There would be plenty of time after the king captured his queen to apologize and make her friends see why she had to be the only one who knew the strategies of all the players in this game.

  Making a move, Abigail sacrificed her first pawn. “Caroline’s right, Hank. She should come out here at least once.” When he started to sputter a protest, she waved her hand in dismissal. “I know you think you planned for everything, but sometimes a woman’s touch will help more than you know. He’s liable to be really riled up, and if all he sees are men, he’s going to put his fists right through your faces. I’d come out myself, but I have to keep an eye out to make sure I can get to Reverend Charles at the right moment. Let Caroline come. She’ll help. I know she will.”

  His scowl told her she hadn’t convinced him entirely, but he finally slapped his hat back on his head and nodded. She had to swallow a relieved sigh. “But just once,” he cautioned, “and only with me.” He shot a glare at Caroline. “Got that, Carrie? Just once and only with me.”

  The pawn had been taken wi
thout too much trouble. The next move would be more difficult.

  Caroline rose on tiptoe to kiss Hank’s cheek. “Thank you, sugar.”

  He grabbed her hand and dragged her back to their horses, practically tossing her into the saddle. Turning back to Cain, he said, “You coming?”

  A nod was his reply. “Need to fix the door so we can bar it from the outside, then I need to talk to Abigail. I’ll be along directly.”

  While Cain started working on the door, Hank mounted his horse and reined him toward the path. Caroline followed right behind, giving her bay gelding a nudge with her heels.

  As soon as Abigail was sure they were out of earshot, she turned to Cain. “You know what to do. Get Big Jim here first, then Hank and Caroline have to come together. We’ve got to keep those two together, no matter how much she tries to run the show. Then you know what to do with Big Jim until tomorrow.”

  She was used to Cain’s normal sullen silence, but this time that quiet told her something wasn’t right. His face looked pinched, his lips drawn into a thin line. “Might not be as easy as we thought,” he finally said.

  No. No new problems. Not now. There were enough things that could go to hell in this game. She didn’t need a new chess piece put on the board. “Why not?”

  “Miz Susan was kissing Big Jim. Caught ’em cozying up together down by the river. They were mighty…close.”

  Even as her cheeks flushed hot in embarrassment, Abigail wanted to scream in frustration. What in the hell was wrong with Susan Hollis? Couldn’t she see how much more Daniel had to offer than that stupid bartender? The man had left her once already. Why would she keep throwing herself at his head? “How…bad do you think it is?”

  “Bad.”

  “Then we need to make a small change in our plans. He can’t come back to town now. Not for a long, long time.”

  Cain nodded, but the expression on his face had hardened. “I know what to do so he won’t come back. Just let me take care of it.”

  “What will you do?”

  “There’s a train leaving Helena for California at midnight tomorrow. He’ll be on it.”

  Although that seemed like too convenient a solution, it somehow caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. Cain wasn’t telling her everything, and he had a habit of acting without thinking about all the consequences. But what choice did she have? If Big Jim ended up in California, it would be weeks before he could come back to River Bend. The marriage knot would be firmly tied by then and impossible to undo. She had faith that her father was the kind of man no woman in her right mind could leave. Abigail finally nodded.

  Sweet Jesus, how she wished this game would be won soon.

  Tonight. Everything ends tonight.

  No more words were needed. With a nod to Cain, she threw herself into Cleo’s saddle and left the thicket before she could talk some sense into herself.

  Chapter 20

  James tried to be polite to Daniel and show Susan less jealousy and more patience. It was agony because he knew he faced a fierce battle to win her, but he was willing to fight for the woman he loved. For his wife. His Suz.

  Daniel waited for her at the bar. James bit back all the caustic comments he wanted to toss at the rancher and unclenched his fists. If he picked another fight, it could hurt his cause. No, he would let Daniel escort Susan to the dance, just as she’d asked.

  Besides, there would be plenty of talk after the dance when James convinced Susan to come back to him and to let him move upstairs. She might be escorted to the dance by Daniel Miller, but she was damn sure going home with her husband.

  Home. The Golden Nugget had become home. But would he be able to stay?

  James’s own reluctance to leave didn’t come as a surprise. The work appealed to him, especially the pleasant banter with the customers. He’d never been remotely concerned that he didn’t have a bigger bed or an electric shaver. Luxuries might be nice, but they couldn’t replace peace of mind.

  The only thing he truly missed was his family, and Susan would be here with him if he could find a way to stay. Lynne and John weren’t really children anymore, and he and Susan would be empty nesters, no matter which place they lived or which century they lived in. James loved River Bend. Would this truly be his home from now on?

  He gave himself a sharp mental slap for even thinking about forcing Susan to remain here. No, she would want to go back. This century had been difficult on her to say the least. The woman worked much harder than she had to for things that used to be simple twenty-first-century conveniences. Even taking a bath became an ordeal where she had to heat water on the stove and bathe in what was basically a big, wooden bucket.

  The river had solved James’s bathing problem, but with the autumn chill beginning to settle in, taking a dip in the river would soon be impossible. He didn’t relish the idea of cramming himself in that tub any more than he liked watching Susan work so hard for her own baths.

  The stark reality was that this place would eventually wear her down. She might be resilient and full of life and energy, but living in the nineteenth century would take its toll. The baths. The cooking. The lack of creature comforts. She’d had a terrible stuffy nose just the other day, probably her autumn hay fever, and there wasn’t a Benadryl in sight to help make her feel better. No Kleenex, either.

  What would happen if she got really sick? A shiver raced through him. A bad case of the flu. Strep throat. Appendicitis. Any one of those could kill her in this time. She didn’t have her birth control pills, and there wasn’t a pharmacy on the corner where he could pick up some condoms. Did they even exist in this era? If she got pregnant again and had the same problems she did with their premature son, she would die.

  That sobering thought knotted his gut. He owed her so much more, especially if he could do anything that might save her that harrowing fate. That meant going back.

  But he would make some important twenty-first-century changes. He would make time for his wife and for their children. He would rethink his priorities. He would bring the “Big Jim” attitude back with him.

  Leaving would be sad, but his life—their lives—lay in Chicago and the future. James vowed to spend some time every day looking for that damned rock that sent them to this place and time. Somehow, he would get his wife back to her own era and the Windy City—back to their home.

  Susan brought James’s train of thought to an abrupt halt. She also caused every one of the patrons who’d chosen to drink instead of going to the dance to suddenly find themselves speechless. Every face turned the direction of the stairs, staring up at a woman who might have been Cinderella arriving at the ball.

  The gold suited her perfectly, bringing out the shine in her eyes and the natural highlights in her hair. She’d arranged it differently now that it had grown a little longer, tucking some of the strands behind each ear where it curled lightly against her slender neck. The woman was enchanting.

  As she descended the staircase, Daniel pushed himself away from the bar to meet her. James swallowed the jealousy, reminding himself to be a lover not a fighter. But, damn, it was hard to watch Daniel take Susan’s hand and brush a kiss across her knuckles. James’s heart leapt back to life when she turned her head toward him and smiled that smile that always melted his insides. She still wanted him, which meant she had to still love him. That was all that mattered.

  Daniel threaded her arm through his and led her to the door. As they passed by, James gave Susan a warm gaze and a grin, hoping she saw the appreciation in his eyes. Her smile told him she did.

  “You’ll be there later?” she asked, her voice sounding a little shy.

  “Save me a dance.”

  He savored how her eyes widened in surprise, then she threw him a saucy smile. “After Li’l Jim’s lesson, I’m anxious for that waltz.”

  Scowling at the exchange, Daniel picked up his hat from the bar, put it on his head, and escorted Susan out of the saloon.

  James hurried to finish the
rest of his chores so he could get to the gathering and collect his wife.

  * * * *

  Susan let Daniel lead her to the church, still thinking about her future. Or was it her past? God, the whole time travel stuff got so overwhelming sometimes it made her feel like her brain would explode.

  As they reached the entrance, all her brave intentions fled as fear suddenly wrapped its cold tendrils around her heart. While she’d wanted to arrive on Daniel’s arm so she could stop being the gristle the gossips gnawed, she wasn’t sure she could follow through. If Daniel could escort her out in public, perhaps she’d no longer be the town pariah. The fallen woman. So very different than her own time where she was respected and valued.

  If she had to stay in this place and this time, she needed to be accepted. Susan couldn’t bear the idea that people, especially the women of the town, would always look at her with scorn in their eyes.

  What if it was already too late to mend her tattered reputation?

  She knew what she would face the moment she took a step inside that building. Almost everyone in River Bend thought she was a whore. That hurt more than she cared to admit. Sure, there would be some of her loyal fans, the men who came nightly to hear her sing and knew that was all she did for the patrons. But they wouldn’t acknowledge her in front of the gossipy women who still looked down their noses at her.

  This had been a bad idea. A terrible idea. How could she possibly think she could ever fit in here? How could she think something as simple as being escorted by a respected man would make people stop thinking the worst of her? Her knees threatened to give at any moment. “I…I can’t do this, Daniel.”

  He grabbed her gently by the shoulders and turned her to face him. “Nonsense. You’re just going to a dance, nothing more.”

  “I’m walking into the lion’s den.”

  His warm chuckle helped ease some of Susan’s fear. “I can guarantee you that those biddies don’t have teeth quite that sharp. All they have to hurt you are words. Just words.”