Capturing the Cavedweller's Heart

by Shanna Hatfield

The blue paisley western shirt Thor wore accented the gorgeous color of his eyes along with the breadth of his shoulders. Thigh muscles strained against the denim of his jeans while the boots on his feet and the straw hat on his head completed the picture of a mouth-watering cowboy.

  Thor grinned at her then picked up Rachel and kissed the baby’s cheek, drawing a happy gurgle out of her.

  “Will we go now?” he asked, moving toward the door. His gaze roved over her, from the curls that spilled around her shoulders and down her back to the pink cotton blouse and dark jeans she wore. “You look… nice.”

  “Thank you. So do you,” Hannah said, picking up the baby’s diaper bag and opening the door.

  Thor gawked at the sight of so many vehicles and people when they arrived at the rodeo. Hannah took Rachel out of her car seat, slipped the diaper bag over her shoulder, and led the way through the crowd to the seats Jill had saved on the top row of bleachers near the chutes.

  Since she’d grown up in Prineville, Hannah stopped several times to speak to people she knew. Everyone eyed Thor, but he kept an impassive face as he met them, neither scowling nor smiling. Hannah wasn’t sure if he was about to have an episode brought on by too many smells, sounds, and humans or if he was merely processing everything.

  By the time they reached Jill and their seats, Hannah’s stomach clenched in worry and tension tightened her shoulders in a painful grip.

  Thor sat beside her, and she felt him immediately relax. Hannah held Rachel until Jason appeared and the baby flapped her hands at her father. Jason grinned and took her as he sat on Jill’s other side. Even as he visited with friends and neighbors, he was attentive to his daughter.

  Thor wavered between watching the baby and the rodeo arena up until the first bucking horse shot out of the chute. Although they’d tried to explain to him what would take place at the rodeo, Thor still seemed amazed and slightly awed. He clapped when the crowd clapped and asked Hannah questions about each event.

  When the steer wrestling began, he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “I could do this,” he said. The confidence in his statement made her think, if given the chance, he would certainly try.

  Jill went to get everyone drinks and hamburgers, returning with a box full of food. Thor gobbled his burger and fries, ate part of Hannah’s, and drained his large cup of Dr Pepper in record time.

  Jason finished his meal then left to get ready to compete. They cheered loudly as Jason roped with one of his cousins and came in with a second-place score.

  Before the barrel racing began, Hannah excused herself to the restroom. When she returned to their seats, Thor was gone.

  “Where did he go?” Hannah asked. She glared from her sister to Jason, who had rejoined them. In the five minutes it had taken her to use the restroom and make her way back to her seat, Thor had disappeared.

  “I thought you two were going to keep an eye on him?” Hannah’s voice rose in panic. “Which way did he go?”

  Jill grabbed her hand before she could rush out of the bleachers and begin searching.

  “He wanted another Dr Pepper, so I gave him five bucks and told him where to go to get it. He’s right there.” Jason pointed to the concession stand visible from their seats.

  Hannah plunked down on the bleachers with relief then felt tension coil through her again. Two women bracketed Thor as he stood in line. He laughed at something one of them said while the other practically draped herself over him.

  Jealousy — raw, ripe and vividly green — clawed through Hannah with unfamiliar, unsettling turbulence. How could she possibly be jealous? Thor was nothing to her. Nothing more than a crazy man in need of a little help.

  At least, that was what she’d tried to tell herself throughout the day.

  But seeing him bask in the attentions of the women pushed Hannah to the edge of a place she’d never gone. In that moment, she wanted to march down to the concession stand and snatch both of those women bald. While she was at it, she’d knock that sexy grin right off Thor’s face, too.

  She wasn’t even aware he knew how to flirt but there he was acting like, like… a handsome, charming man.

  When Hannah huffed in irritation, Jason chuckled, and Jill hid a smile by turning away. Rachel, who’d fallen asleep, probably would have laughed too had she been awake.

  “It’s not funny,” Hannah said, glaring at her sister.

  “It kinda is,” Jason said, continuing to grin at her. “The first time you bring home a guy, you tell us he’s a whack job who thinks he’s a cavedweller. You’ve complained about what a pain he is and how you can’t wait to get rid of him. Then you look like you’re about to start a catfight when a couple of buckle bunnies want to take him home. Admit it, Hannah. You’re jealous, and you like him.”

  Hannah bristled. “I’m not admitting anything.” She was jealous, and to say otherwise would be an outright lie, but she hated that Thor had gotten to her. He’d gotten under her skin and into her thoughts, and she’d only been around him two days!

  Yet, as she looked down to where he stood with the women, anyone could see he was handsome and rugged, not to mention a little untamed and wild. Dressed in his new western clothes, he seemed to be a magnet to women on the prowl.

  “Other than the issue of him thinking he lived in prehistoric times, he’s a really nice guy, Han. We like him,” Jill said, giving her an encouraging smile. “He’s so good with Rachel, too. Do you think he really has a daughter?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.” Too distracted by the women hanging all over Thor, she couldn’t concentrate on anything else at the moment. Finally, Thor paid for his pop and began making his way through the crowds to his seat. A few more women stopped him, leaning close to talk to him. Each time, he shook his head and gazed toward the bleachers. When he noticed Hannah watching him, he lifted a hand and waved while a broad smile broke out on his face. He strolled up the steps and took a seat beside her then handed Jason his change.

  Jason looked surprised Thor had given the money back but dropped it in his pocket as they returned their attention to the rodeo.

  Thor nearly spilled his pop when the first bull roared out of the chute. He barely moved during the entire bull riding event, but the moment the last rider flew into the arena’s dirt, he peppered Hannah with questions about the event, bulls, and if cowboys were brave or stupid.

  “Both,” she said with a grin as they gathered their things and prepared to leave.

  Jason took Rachel and cradled her against his shoulder with one hand while the other rested on Jill’s back. When Thor placed his hand against Hannah’s back in a similar gesture, she thought his fingers and palm might sear through her blouse and brand her skin. Heat unlike anything she’d imagined swirled from that point of contact to every extremity, leaving her languid.

  And annoyed.

  What was it about this man that disconcerted her so much?

  She was still puzzling over that question the following morning as Thor sat beside her at church. Crammed into the pew, thighs touching, she couldn’t help but be hyper-aware of him, of everything about him.

  In spite of her protests that it might be best for her to skip church and stay home with Thor, Jill convinced her to go. Thor wore the other pair of jeans she’d purchased for him, along with a soft blue shirt with tiny white pinstripes. He looked burly and far too handsome as he sat beside her, trying not to fidget on the hard wooden seat.

  Rachel crawled into Hannah’s lap then reached out to Thor. Without hesitating, he took her and settled her against his chest. He bent down and whispered something in the baby’s ear, and in no time, she fell asleep.

  Hannah glanced down at her niece, held so lovingly in the man’s big hands, and wondered, again, who Thor really was. Each time she asked, he would give her a disappointed glance and say, “I told you.”

  Frustrated with herself and him she didn’t know what she was going to do about Thor. She still didn’t like the idea of dumping him at the hospital or
turning him over to the authorities, but she couldn’t very well keep him forever. Could she?

  She gave herself a mental shake as they sang the closing hymn. Thor joined them as they stood. Jill offered to take Rachel, but he shook his head and cuddled the baby closer. “She is fine,” he said. He followed as Jason and Jill slowly made their way toward the door where the pastor and his wife waited to greet everyone.

  Introductions were made, and Pastor Wilcox invited Thor to come back again. He nodded in agreement then walked outside and over to Jill’s car where Jason fastened Rachel into her car seat.

  Thor had asked a multitude of questions yesterday about car seats, high chairs, playpens, cribs, and how modern humans viewed babies.

  Hannah had been afraid to ask how people from his time cared for babies and children. She didn’t think children were valued highly, at least not until they could be useful, helpful.

  With her thoughts running off again, Hannah pulled them up short. The more time she spent around Thor, the more she found herself thinking of him as a cavedweller. It was ridiculous. Maybe she was tired. Maybe she just needed a few hours of quiet to herself. Maybe she was the one who needed to visit a mental hospital.

  Before she could further contemplate the likelihood of Thor’s outlandish time-travel theory, they arrived back at the ranch.

  Hannah never tired of coming up the drive and seeing the big farmhouse where she’d grown up. She’d been fifteen and Jill twenty-two when their father died unexpectedly. Their mother tried to keep the ranch going, but her heart wasn’t in it. When she announced her plans to sell, Hannah couldn’t imagine someone else living in the house, someone else’s animals in the barn or grazing in the pastures.

  By that time, Jill and Jason were married. Jason grew up on the neighboring ranch and had known from the time he was six that he was going to marry Jill. Jason and Jill put together a business proposal, scraped up enough money for a down payment, and bought the ranch.

  Hannah had danced with joy to know the ranch would stay in the family. Her mother packed up and moved to Florida to take care of an elderly aunt and rarely came back. Whenever she could, Hannah returned to the ranch. Jill and Jason kept her childhood bedroom for her to use whenever she liked and assured her she’d always have a home there.

  Which is why, once they ate lunch, Hannah decided to go for a walk to clear her thoughts.

  “We’ll keep an eye on him,” Jill whispered as Jason engaged Thor in a conversation about sports.

  Hannah assumed her brother-in-law would turn Thor into a Seahawks fan before the afternoon was over. Jason recorded football games and watched them in the summer when the teams weren’t playing just to be able to get his football fix.

  “Thanks, Jill. I appreciate it,” Hannah said, giving her sister a hug then hurrying outside and down the walk. She thought about going inside and changing so she could take her horse out for another ride, but instead she wandered along a path that took her past the pond. Eventually, she made her way to a big cottonwood tree in the pasture behind the barn where she’d spent many happy hours as a child, sitting on a thick branch and dreaming about her future.

  Jason had added a swing to the tree a few years ago. Hannah settled onto the wide plank board and pushed with her toes to set the swing into motion.

  She closed her eyes, tipped back her head, and let the sway of the swing and the peacefulness of the summer afternoon seep into her soul and soothe her tumultuous thoughts. No matter what the future held, what tomorrow might bring, she was grateful for this moment and for the opportunity of meeting Thor. Despite how frustrating, irritating, and annoying he could be, she knew something inside her had changed the moment she’d set eyes on him.

  Chapter Eight

  Thor leaned against a tree and watched Hannah. He knew from Jason explaining the playset in the yard at the house she was on a swing, but he never imagined the simple back-and-forth motion could be so hypnotic.

  The floral dress she wore to church fluttered around her with each forward movement of the swing. Her hair spilled over her shoulders and hung down to brush against her hips in a light-dappled cascade of amber and copper curls, making him long to bury his hands in the thick mass.

  Hannah was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen. Her height did nothing to distract him from her beauty. In fact, those long legs of hers only increased his attraction. Everything about her was entrancing, intriguing, and feminine.

  And so soft.

  The few times he’d brushed her skin, it felt like the petals of a flower against his skin. The scent of her was better than any bloom he’d ever encountered. Even as he stood several yards away from her, the breeze carried her fragrance to him and made him want her all the more.

  Last night at the rodeo, women kept coming up and talking to him. He had no idea why they bothered him, and half the time he couldn’t even figure out what they were saying, but the feeling he got was that they wanted something from him he wasn’t willing to randomly give. He didn’t know those women. Didn’t want them. Had no interest in them.

  But he’d seen Hannah watching him, so he pretended to enjoy the attention. Instinctively, he’d known she was jealous.

  Thor was no stranger to emotion. He’d experienced everything from fear to pride, despair to hope. Although he’d cared for Beena and held genuine affection for her, it was nothing compared to what he felt for Hannah. She stirred feelings in him he’d never known before. Feelings of longing and yearning, but also feelings to protect her, cherish her. Love her.

  Ah, there it was.

  Love.

  That’s what was different about his feelings for Hannah.

  Thor had no idea how it had happened, but love for the woman had blossomed in his heart from the moment he’d heard her singing in the cave. He no longer thought her a witch who’d cast a spell to pluck him from his home and bring him to the future.

  In truth, he had no idea why he’d been brought to the present day or how he would return to his clan. But he was grateful for the opportunity if for no other reason than to meet Hannah.

  She was smart, funny, and incredibly kind. He’d watched her interact with enough people to see she was liked, admired, and loved by her family and friends.

  The way she interacted with Jill and Jason made him glad to see the close ties of friendship and kinship she shared with them. He couldn’t get enough of watching her with Rachel. If it wasn’t such a crazy dream, he’d allow himself to envision her holding their child.

  As it was, Rachel made him long to see his own daughter. He’d always put the needs of the clan above her, but if he returned to his time, things would be different. Jason adored his daughter and wasn’t afraid to show it. To Thor, it didn’t make him less of a man or a leader but strengthened his position through his care and affection for the baby.

  Thoughts of never seeing Ilee, Tilia, Lusk, or the others again weighed heavily on Thor’s heart, but he didn’t want to think about it today.

  Today, he just wanted to impress the image of Hannah on the swing into his mind and heart, where distance and time could never take it away from him.

  Unable to stop himself, Thor needed to be closer to Hannah, to feel the warmth of her spirit enfolding him. He strode toward her until he stood behind the swing then gave it a push.

  Her eyes popped open and she glanced down at him. Surprise shone on her face followed by a look of welcome. The laugh that bubbled out of her made him smile.

  “What are you doing out here? I figured Jason would have you watching hours and hours of football.”

  “I watched for an hour. Football is a good sport. I can see why Jason likes it, but I missed you,” he said honestly. “Jill said I’d find you here or down by the pond.”

  “Tattletale,” Hannah muttered, but Thor heard her. He would have to discover the meaning of that word, but he had a good guess.

  “I will leave you to your swing.” Thor took a step back, reluctant to go.

  “No, it’s oka
y. You can stay.” Hannah glanced at him again over her shoulder. “Would you like to swing?”

  He felt another smile quirk up the corners of his lips. “I would.”

  “Hold onto the rope, and I’ll stop,” she said. When the swing ceased to move, she stood and motioned for him to take a seat.

  He did and waited for her to give him a push.

  “Ooof. You weigh more than you look like you do,” she said, pushing against his back.

  “I am sturdy. Yes?” Thor grinned at her as the swing moved forward.

  “Yes, you are. Now, pump with your legs,” she said.

  He’d watched her long enough to understand what she meant and soon had the swing soaring into the sky.

  Pure joy carried on his laughter. He looked down to see happiness on Hannah’s face, too. She was truly amazing. How he would miss her when he returned home.

  For now, the only home he wanted to think about was the home he was finding in Hannah’s heart. For today, it was enough.

  He slowed the swing, and when it almost stopped, he reached out and grabbed her, holding her on his lap as he pumped the swing back into motion.

  “You’re gonna dump us both on the ground,” she said, holding onto the ropes in a tight grip.

  Thor kept one hand wrapped around her waist as they went higher and higher into the air.

  Hannah relaxed against him, and her skirts wrapped around his legs as they swung. Silky curls of her hair brushed against his cheek and twined around the hand he had wrapped around the swing’s rope. Her scent ensnared his senses while her smile rivaled the sunbeams dancing through the branches of the tree.

  Thor couldn’t ever remember experiencing such a moment of perfect bliss. He never wanted it to end, but they couldn’t stay on the swing forever. Finally, he ceased pumping his legs, and the swing slowed to a stop.

  “That was fun,” Hannah said as she attempted to stand.

  Thor wasn’t ready to surrender his hold on her. Wasn’t ready to let her go. But he did.

  She stood and held out a hand to him. He took it but didn’t relinquish his grip when he was on his feet. Hannah didn’t pull away from him as they began walking back to the house. From beneath long lashes, she glanced at him several times.