Sadie wrote it all down. “Okay, I got it. Thanks for picking it up tomorrow. It’ll give Gordon a chance to put it all together. Do you want this on your tab?”
“Yeah, but I’ll clear the whole thing tomorrow. I haven’t paid you for a month and I figure it’ll be close to one hundred and twenty dollars I owe you including this order.”
“Don’t know off the top of my head, but I’ll have the total for you tomorrow.”
“Thanks, see you then.”
No sooner had they stepped onto the boardwalk than Cassie lit into him. “He’d here isn’t he? Harry Borden is here? In Creede?”
“Sounds like it. I didn’t really expect him to come looking for me, but it looks like he’s doing the tracking now. I never would have taken this job if I’d known. You have to believe that.”
“I do. I don’t believe you’d willingly put any of us in danger.”
“I’ll leave. I don’t want anything to happen to you or the kids.”
She shook her head. “Then you’d better stay. By now he knows where you are. Better you make your stand here among friends than alone somewhere.”
“No. It’s too dangerous.”
Cassie cupped his jaw in her palms. “It’s more dangerous for us if you leave. Please. Stay.”
Sam looked down at her, pulled her close and gave her a quick kiss.
“Sam.” He loved that he could make her blush. She looked even more beautiful with the pink glow highlighting her features.
They walked back to the boarding house in silence. “I need to talk to Duncan,” he said finally. “Then you and I need to talk…about us.”
Cassie hesitated, then nodded. “We can talk in my room after supper and after you and Duncan have made your plans.”
*****
Harry stepped out of the hotel and stopped cold. Across the street was his quarry, Sam Colter. He was with a pretty blond woman. He watched him pull the woman into his arms and kiss her.
He slid into the shadows and watched them go up the street and into the boarding house. It was a good thing he’d chosen the hotel instead of the boarding house or all his plans would have been for nothing. As is was, things were proceeding nicely.
Harry went down to the bath house. He needed a bath, shave and haircut if he was to put his plan into action. Thirty minutes later, Joshua Beals the new school teacher emerged from the bath house and went in search of the barber. After the haircut, it was time to see if Harry was recognizable.
He put on his only suit, it was wrinkled but clean. He walked the short distance up the street to the mercantile.
“Hello, be right with you,” said the woman behind the counter. The sound of coins hitting tin reverberated through the store. “Now what can I help you with, young man?”
Harry smiled wide and took off his hat. “Hello, ma’am, I need some supplies. I’m Joshua Beals, the new school teacher. I believe I’m expected.”
“I’m Sadie. Sadie Hawkins.” The woman dropped everything and hurried around the counter. “Pleased to meet you,” she said grabbing Harry’s hand and shaking his with both of hers.
“You too, Mrs. Hawkins.”
“Just Sadie. Everyone calls me Sadie. Now what can I be a getting you. You know where the school is, right? Your house is right next to it. At last count you’ll have eight pupils from age five to fourteen. The five year old is Mary McKenzie and the fourteen year old is my son Gordon Jr. Don’t let him give you any sass.”
“No ma’am I won’t. Now about those supplies?”
“Not to worry. I have the dry goods right here. You’ll want to add some salt pork and maybe some tinned goods. Me and Gordon, that’s my husband, will be giving you some beef every week and some of the other families will be getting you pork and chicken. We may not pay a lot but we’ll feed you well, Mr. Beals.”
Harry smiled, put his hat back on his head. “Yes, ma’am I can see that.”
“You look like you could use a good meal, Mr. Beals. You come to my house tonight. It’s right here behind the store. I’ve got a nice beef stew over there simmering. It’ll be perfect right at six for supper.”
Harry didn’t hesitate. “I’d love to Sadie. Six o’clock it is.” He walked out of the mercantile and headed down the street to the school house and his new home.
He smiled. Things were coming together well.
*****
After supper Sam and Duncan headed for the porch.
“Not so fast you two,” said Cassie. “You can discuss ideas with me and Cat in my room. There’s a table and four chairs. Cat and I need to know what the plan is so we can be prepared.”
They all went to Cassie’s room. She was the first to speak. “I know you’re both going to say that Sam should leave that it would be safer for us but we’ve already talked about that and he’s staying.”
“Cassie, it would be best if I leave. Borden will follow and …”
“You don’t know that, Sam. He could decide to hurt one of us in order to draw you back here. You need to stay here. Make your stand and capture him. Where you have people who love and care about you to help.”
“I’m afraid I have to agree with Cassie on this old friend. I think it best to stay here,” said Duncan.
“So what are we going to do about Borden?” asked Cat, moving to the bed so she could nurse Connor.
“There’s not really too much we can do except keep alert,” said Sam. “I want all the men to start carrying their sidearms all the time. Any strangers are to be reported immediately to me.”
“What do you want me to do? Anything you want, my friend. Anything at all.” A silent message from Duncan that said he would track him down and kill Borden if Sam wanted him to.
Sam shook his head. “Thanks but neither of us are murderers and we’re not going to start now. We’ll be smart about this. He won’t bother you, so maybe the kids should go stay with you.”
“Absolutely,” said Duncan.
“Absolutely not,” said Cassie. “My children are staying with me. Borden is not going to run me or my kids off our land.”
“Cassie, it would be better…” started Sam.
“No. It won’t be better. I’d be teaching them to turn tail and run when the going gets tough. I won’t do that. We’ll stand and fight for what’s ours.”
Sam covered Cassie’s hand with his. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For making me one of yours.”
Cassie blushed, only now realizing she did consider Sam one of her family. She would fight for him, beside him against this foe.
A short while later Catherine and Duncan got up to leave. Cassie gave baby Connor a kiss on the head and at Catherine’s worried look assured her “It’s going to be fine. It’s not the first time we’ve dealt with bad men wanting to do bad things.”
“I know but that was different.”
“Only because one of those men was my brother.”
Catherine nodded. “Be safe, Cassie. Don’t take any chances.”
“I won’t. I’ve got too much to lose.”
Cassie closed the door after them and rested her forehead against it not wanting to look at Sam.
He came up behind her closing his hands around her upper arms. “Cassie.” He kissed her behind her left ear. “Cassie.” He trailed kisses all down her neck. She shivered. He did the same thing to the right side and she sighed, her body trembling with pleasure.
She turned in his arms. “Sam.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her toes meeting him half way. Sam’s long body was all hard planes and muscles. She was short, the top of her head fit nicely under his chin.
The kiss was gentle, soft. Cassie tightened her hold on him and deepened the kiss. Lord, she wanted him. She hadn’t wanted a man like this since Michael.
She ran her tongue along the seam of his lips begging for entrance. He opened his mouth, his tongue clashed with hers, touched, circled, tasted and then started all over again. He straightened, lift
ed her off her feet, his lips never left hers. He walked them to the bed and laid them down upon it.
Cassie broke for air. She looked up at him and saw his emerald eyes sparkling with passion. She traced the chiseled features of his face with her fingers. “You are so handsome”
“I’m just me, but you, you’re beautiful. I’ve got to see your hair down.” He started to remove her pins.
“Here let me.” She sat up, found and removed all the pins holding the heavy mass of her hair in the tight bun. Then she ran her fingers through the waist length waves and shook her head. “That feels so good.”
“I knew it. The most beautiful hair in the world. Sarah’s got the same hair. Curly. Blonde. Gorgeous.” His fingers closed around a section of hair and he gently tugged her back down next to him. “So lovely. You are so very lovely.”
He opened first one button then the next on her shirt working it down to her waist. Then he pulled her chemise down and bared her breasts. The cool air hardened her nipples even more than they already were. She gasped and her fingers dug into his back as he took one nipple in his mouth, nipping it gently with his teeth then soothing it with his tongue. He moved to the other nipple doing the same thing and sent her flying.
He undid her pants, slipped his hand down and cupped her mound, sliding a finger over her clit. Her hips jutted up involuntarily to get closer to his questing fingers.
“Sam. Oh Sam.”
“My sweet Cassie. You undo me.”
When he started to remove her pants, Cassie came to her senses and realized what they were doing. “Sam. We can’t. Not now, not here.”
Sam stopped. He was breathing hard.
“Please don’t be mad.”
“Sweetheart, I’m not mad. Frustrated as hell,” he rubbed his erection against her as proof, “but never mad. No matter what or where we are in our lovemaking and we will be making love have no doubt about that, but you always have the power. You can always say stop. I will never hurt you, Cassie.”
She reached up and cupped his face and he leaned into her hand, turned his head and kissed her palm. “Thank you.”
He moved away from her and she scrambled to button her shirt and pants. Sam stood. “I’m going to court you Cassie. I want to marry you, you and the kids.”
“I…I don’t know Sam. That’s probably not a good idea. You work for me.”
“Then I’ll quit.”
“You can’t quit. I need you.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to make you mine.”
“Fine.” She closed the last button on her shirt and fastened her pants. “You can court me.
He grinned. “I knew you couldn’t resist me.”
She swatted him. “Go. Get. See you in the morning.”
Sam stole one last kiss and left the room.
Cassie let out a deep breath, sighed then flopped back down on the bed. She stared at the ceiling and smiled. He wanted her, really wanted her. Wanted to marry her.
What in the world was she going to do now? How could she be falling for someone so soon. Michael had been dead for less than three years, shouldn’t she feel more remorse or sadness or something. Instead she felt exhilarated. Sam made her feel like a school girl with her first crush. Happier than she’d been in a long, long time.
CHAPTER 7
Sam pulled the buckboard up in front of the general store. Gordon, Sadie’s husband, had all of their supplies stacked and waiting in front of the store. He immediately started loading it when Sam and Cassie stopped.
Cassie went inside while Sam helped Gordon.
“Hi Sadie. How much do I owe you?” She walked to the counter at the back of the store.
“I’ve got it right here, Cassie. $119.60 for the month. Grain is going up to three cents a pound next month. We just got the prices from our supplier in Denver. Thought you might want to stock up before then.”
“Sure do. I’ll send one of my men in tomorrow for another five hundred pounds. Can you add it to this bill and I’ll pay for it now?”
“That’ll be another ten dollars dollars.”
Cassie took a small bag out of the pocket of her jacket, took two one hundred dollar bills out of it and gave them to Sadie.
Sadie gave Cassie her change and a smile. “Thanks for your business.”
“See you next week. And Sadie, if anyone else asks for Sam would you send word to us”
“Will do. I’ll have one of the twins bring you the message.”
“Thanks. See you later.”
Sam and Gordon had finished loading the wagon by the time Cassie came out of the store.
She and Sam went back to the boarding house to tell Duncan and Catherine they were on their way.
Catherine was feeding Conner again. The little guy seemed to be hungry all the time. They’d waited for Sam and Cassie before heading home themselves. She tried again to change Cassie’s mind. “Are you sure you don’t want the kids to come and stay with us?”
“I’m sure. Cat, you’d do the same as I am. You wouldn’t let your children out of your sight either. And there’s no telling whether that man was Borden or some other person that may have a grudge against Sam.”
Cassie looked over at Sam and Duncan. “You both have pasts that may come back to haunt us. We can’t send the kids away every time some low life comes to town. We’d never see them.”
Cat nodded. “You’re right. The best thing we can do is make sure the boys are aware. They’re old enough to know what’s going on.”
“I agree. I plan on sitting RJ down and making him wary of strangers.”
“All right you ladies win,” said Duncan. “After Conner’s done we’ll follow you to your place. It’ll give me a chance to see if you’re followed.”
Duncan smiled down at his youngest son, “He’s a greedy little thing.”
“Just like his daddy.” said Catherine over the baby’s head.
They laughed. Sam and Cassie said goodbye.
*****
Cassie called a meeting with all the wranglers and stable boys. She included RJ in the meeting.
“I want all of you to start carrying your pistols and report any strangers that you see.”
“What’s going on Cassie?” asked Tom, the head wrangler. He was the one Cassie put in charge when she and Sam were both gone from the ranch.
Cassie didn’t want to keep them in the dark but wasn’t going to give details either. “There’s a man in town who wants to do Sam harm. That could extend to me, the kids or anyone here. I want us to be prepared. That’s all. RJ, I want you to keep your eyes on Sarah. She’s your responsibility until this man is caught. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.” There was no sass from him. He knew this was serious and was taking it as such. Cassie couldn’t have been more proud of her young man.
With that everyone went back to their jobs. Regardless of Harry Borden, there was still a ranch to run, thoroughbreds to train and mustangs to break. The work never stopped. She refused to let this man destroy everything she and Michael had built together.
Michael. He was gone and her memories of him were fading. She could still see his face and hear his voice when he asked her “A penny for your thoughts, pretty lady.” But they were getting dimmer, fainter and she knew that soon they would be gone. She wouldn’t be able to see his face or hear his voice. If not for the children he would seem like only a dream she’d had during the night and could only remember a small part of in the morning.
She didn’t want to be alone anymore and really did like Sam. She believed Michael would approve. Sometimes she wished there was a way for her to know for sure.
Cassie looked out the window lost in thought. She didn’t hear Sam come up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her back against his chest and nuzzled her neck.
“What has you frowning, Beautiful.”
He had a way of making her forget everything and concentrate on the pleasure of him. “Just day dreaming,” she answered and
at the moment it was true. “I’m going to send Bridget to visit her cousin in Taos. I don’t want her in harms way.”
“She’s not going to want to go.”
“I know but she’s old and I don’t want her to be hurt.”
“With Bridget gone, I’m going to be very tempted to finish what we started in Creede.”
“But we shall show restraint.” She pulled away from him, out of his arms and immediately felt the desolation.
Sam smiled and bowed. “As you wish, My Lady.”
Cassie laughed. She couldn’t help it. He always made her laugh at something. She felt warm when she was around him. Like she was melting from the inside out. Maybe she was. For the first time in a long time, she felt content.
Her kids made her happy, she loved them above all else, but this was a different kind of feeling. A soft feeling of joy welled up in her and threatened to burst free if she didn’t keep it under control. She wasn’t sure she was ready for any of this.
For some reason, there was a part of her that thought she was being disloyal to Michael, by falling in love with someone else. It made her wonder if she really had loved Michael or if it was a lie on her part. Maybe that’s why she accepted their lack of intimacy so easly.
“Cassie? You all right? You’ve got that far away look again.”
“I’m fine Sam. Just thinking about everything that’s going on.”
“It’s a lot I know. But everything will be okay.” He stepped forward and raised her chin with his knuckle. “Believe me.” Then he kissed her gently, turned on his heel and left.
Cassie touched her lips with her fingers. The kiss was so gentle and yet her lips burned. “Oh my.”
*****
Harry Borden watched the buggy pull out of the ranch yard. He’d followed it from Creede this morning to this ranch.
From his vantage point high on the hillside in the cover of trees, he could see all of this ranch, including the buckboard being unloaded beside the house. It appeared to be quite a large operation. Maybe he could turn this into an opportunity to make some money as well as pay back Sam Colter for Frank’s death.
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