A Moment in Time (46 page)

      
Would Cole come after her?
 
She squeezed her eyes shut, wondering if he would realize she'd been kidnapped.
 
Again.
 
The last thing she wanted was for him to think she'd left him by choice.
 
Not after...

      
Bile rose in her throat and for a moment she thought she might retch.
 
That would finish her off quickly with this stupid rag stuffed in her mouth.
 
The headlines would read:

Time-Traveling Hairdresser Suffocates.

      
She breathed slowly through her nose.
 
No, she wouldn't let this bastard win.
 
Maybe she couldn't exact revenge from Blade personally for abandoning her and ripping her off, but she could fix his ancestor's butt.

      
And she would, too.
 
Jackie was getting really sick of good-looking con artists doing her dirty.
 
This victim scenario didn't suit her at all.
 
In fact, it pissed her off royally.

      
The creep had tied her hands and was leading her horse down the pass.
 
He sat tall and easy in the saddle of the horse in front of her, and she gave him what she hoped was the evil eye.
 
If looks could kill...

      
A lone light in the sleepy town of Devil's Gulch flickered below.
 
Remembering the first time she'd seen the town, a chill stole into the corners of her heart and soul.
 
The Gold Mine Saloon had been her haven that day, saving her from certain death in a surprise blizzard.
 
This time, she dreaded passing through those doors.

      
Cole, please find me.

      
With nothing but moonlight guiding them, Smith brought his horse to a stop and dismounted, then looped the reins over the branch of a young aspen.
 
He wandered into the trees for a few minutes, then returned, buttoning his fly and scratching himself.

      
This guy looked like Blade's double, but he sure as hell didn't have his descendant's suave, sophisticated manner.
 
Smith flashed her a grin that told her he knew she was watching, and maybe his bad manners had been deliberate.

      
And calculating?

      
He rubbed the back of his neck and stretched, then looked at her.

      
"Won't be much longer now," he said, rubbing his hands together.
 
"I'll have enough gold to get all the way ba–er, to California."

      
Back?
 
Had he been about to say he wanted to get
back
to California?
 
Blade was from California.
 
Clarke, you're imagining things.
 

      
She tried to speak and he looked at her as if surprised to see the gag.
 
"I suppose we don't need that now."
 
His voice sounded surprisingly gentle.
 
He untied her hands and hauled her off the horse, all traces of gentleness nothing more than a fleeting memory.

      
Jackie's knees collapsed and her legs trembled.
 
She remained on the ground, rubbing her wrists and waiting for her circulation to return.

      
Smith chuckled and she looked up at him.
 
Hating him.

      
His laughter died and he narrowed his eyes.
 
"Don't
 
even think about trying anything."
 
He walked behind her and loosened the bandanna holding the rag in her mouth.
 

      
The offending gag fell away and she gasped for air, running her tongue along her cracked lips.
 
"Water?" she croaked, and he handed her a canteen.
 
She took it, but didn't meet her captor's eyes, trying to think of some means of escape.

      
She took a long drink of tepid water, easing the burning sensation.
 
Finally, she passed it back to him and forced herself to stand.
 
Facing the creep, she asked, "Why did you do this?"

      
Smith gave a quick shrug.
 
"Gold."

      
"But why did you go to the cabin the other day if you planned to do this all along?"

      
His eyes twinkled and he rubbed his chin, then tapped his head with his index finger.
 
"Pretty smart, huh?"

      
Jackie barely managed to suppress her laughter.
 
"Gee, I guess I'm not as smart as you," she said, rotating her aching shoulders and making sure both arms still worked.
 
"I don't get it."

      
"First of all, I had to make sure you were still there."

      
Who?
 
Jackie or Lolita?
 
"Ah, my disguise didn't work, huh?"
 
She flashed him a grin, hoping to disarm the thug.

      
"Well, when I saw you at the Silver Spur, I wasn't sure you were really you.
 
I couldn't hardly believe it when Merriweather told me."
 
Chuckling, he scratched his head and adjusted his hat.
 
"Then I went back to Devil's Gulch and told old Goodfellow about the woman I'd seen–though I didn't tell him
where
.
 
There aren't many women in these parts with hair that matches that particular description."

      
Was it Jackie's imagination, or was Rock's speech improving and his accent waning?
 

      
"Goodfellow offered me a fortune to bring you to him."

      
Good old Rupert.
 
"How sweet of him."
 
Jackie sighed and held her hands out to her sides.
 
"So he offered the gold you told me about for my, uh, safe return.
 
Is that it?"

      
"That's it."

      
"I still don't understand why you told me to give Cole–I mean, Morrison–that message."

      
Smith leaned closer and said, "See,
that's
the smart part."

      
"Uh, right."
 
Jackie shook her head slowly, wondering how hard Rock's father had dropped him.

      
"Fooled you, huh?"

      
She gave a nervous laugh.
 
"Yeah, I'd say
fool
is the right word for it."

      
"You still don't get it.
 
Do you?"

      
A chill swept through her and she held her breath, waiting.
 
"No, I don't get it."

      
"See, I figured you would hightail it down to claim Goodfellow's gold for yourself, so I waited and watched for you to start down the pass."

      
"But I didn't."

      
"So I grabbed you.
 
Case closed."

      
Case closed?
 
He didn't sound like a man of the nineteenth century now.
 
"I guess you're smarter than you look then."
 
She had to play along until she could be sure.

      
Smith straightened, practically preening his feathers.
 
"You might be a little on the mouthy side, but I wouldn't mind having a little fun before we head to town."
 
He waggled his eyebrows.
 
"Know what I mean?"

      
Jackie's throat tightened and her belly revolted.
 
"No, I'm afraid you're
way
too smart for me."

      
He moved closer and trailed his fingertip along the side of her neck to the top of her neckline.
 
"You know, have a little fun."

      
Jackie swallowed the bile rising in her throat and drew a deep breath.
 
"No, we'd better not," she said, scanning her limited mental database of historical terms.
 
"I've had the...the pox."

      
He threw his head back and roared.
 
Obviously, being overheard wasn't high on his list of worries now.

      
"Then I guess we'll go to town."
 
He inclined his head toward her horse.
 
"Saddle up."

      
She glanced over her shoulder.
 
"I need to, uh..."
 
She aimed a thumb over her shoulder.

      
He shook his head slowly.
 
"No way.
 
I'm not letting you out of my sight," he said.
 
"Ma'am."
 
He tipped his hat again and flashed a dazzling smile.

      
How many personalities did this guy have lurking behind his pretty face?
 
Just like Blade.
 
Jackie lifted her chin a notch and gathered her skirt into her hand.
 
"Very well," she said with as much dignity as she could muster.
 
"I hope the horse won't object when I pee my pants."

      
Smith chuckled and boosted her into the saddle.
 
"The horse won't notice and neither will I."
 
His smile held a warning.
 
"You're the one who'll have to sit in it."

      
In that moment, Jackie realized the guy'd been playing dumb all along.
 
I'll bet his name isn't really Rock.
 
Then another thought made her look harder at his finely chiseled features, his glossy black hair and obsidian eyes.

      
Was
he Blade?
 
Had the dumb East Texan thing been another of Blade's cons?
 
She had no idea how he could have gone back in time with her, but she intended to find out who he was once and for all.

      
He tied her hands to the saddlehorn again, but left the gag off.
 
At least that was progress.
 
As he strolled toward his own horse and swung his leg over the beast's back, Jackie watched the way he moved.

      
Graceful–too graceful.
 
Like Blade.
 
But could Blade ride a horse?
 
She scanned her memory, then remembered something about an uncle of Blade's who owned a dude ranch somewhere.
 
Of course, that might have been a lie, too.
 
Still...

      
A dull roar filled her ears as he led her horse down into town.
 
She remained silent, studying the angle of his shoulders, the way he moved his head, everything about him.

      
She couldn't be sure, but her unease mutated until she realized she could probably never be happy knowing Blade might be running around loose in the same century.
 
She
had
to know.

      
A plan formed in her mind and she put things into perspective.
 
She'd test him.
 
That was it.
 
But she knew better than to do it out here where there was no one to witness anything he chose to do to her.
 
She'd wait until they were at the Gold Mine Saloon.

      
But what would she do if this Smith really was Blade?
 
More importantly, what would
he
do to
her
if she discovered his identity?

      
She'd face that if and when it happened.
 
Meanwhile, she had to face Goodfellow, Dottie, and the Brothers Grime again.

      
The streets of Devil's Gulch were deserted, but smoke rose from chimneys and lights filled windows in the pre-dawn hour.
 
Soon, the town would bustle with activity, as it had the morning she'd first met Cole.

      
Cole.
 
Her heart squeezed and she prayed he wouldn't assume she'd left him under her own power.
 
Even though he hadn't said the words to her, she wished now that she'd told him she loved him.

      
Great-Aunt Pearl's oppression had a grip on her even here.
 
No more.
 
From now on, Jackie Clarke would let her feelings be known.

      
I love you, big guy.
 
Believe that.
 
Trust me, Cole.
 
Trust me.

* * *

      
Cole combed the mountainside, left no boulder, no tree, nothing unsearched near the cabin.
 
He returned to the cabin shortly after dawn, wanting to be there when Todd awoke.
 
The boy realized immediately that something was terribly wrong.