Bushedwhacked Bride (12 page)
He appeared amazed. “Is having children lewd
?”
“The way you’d go about it? Yes!”
Cole roared with laughter.
Jessica stormed up to him. “Don’t you dare laugh at
me—”
Her words were smothered as Cole pulled her down
into his lap. She winced as her sore bottom landed against
his hard thigh. But his proximity, the sexy heat and scent of him, were even more unnerving.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” she demanded,
the words breathless.
“Clipping your wings, woman,” he replied gruffly.
“You’re making me hot, strutting about in those
trousers.”
She gasped.
Abruptly, he pulled off her hat and sank his fingers into
her hair, sending pins flying and her auburn locks tum
bling down upon her shoulders. Jessica couldn’t have felt
more unnerved if he’d stripped her naked.
“Damn, if you don’t look a sight in that boy’s getup,
with your tumbled hair,” he said huskily. “Not to mention
what you’re doing to me sitting in my lap. Lord, if there
wasn’t all this cloth between us, I’d give you a riding that would put any horse to shame.”
Jessica was sinking fast. “Damn it, Cole, let me up.”
“No. You want to have a serious talk. So let’s have it.” His hand at her nape urged her face closer, until she was
forced to meet his dark, burning gaze. “Eyeball to eyeball.”
“Cole, please, I’m sore.”
He dimpled. “Want me to kiss you where you’re sore?”
“Stop it!”
“I’m not gonna stop it, so you might as well quit your
bellyaching and say your piece now. You’re staying right
here till it’s said, anyhow.”
Jessica was left groaning. “Very well. I’ll say it. You
need to set a better example for your brothers.”
Cole laughed and released her nape. “Do I?”
“Yes. They need to be exposed to a respectable town,
decent women—”
“Like you?”
“Yes, like me,” she snapped.
He flicked his wicked gaze over her curves. “Then let’s
find out. My deal’s still good, sugar. Let’s strip off those
britches of yours and roll around in the sweet grass. If I’m
your first, you’ll be my wife by sundown. If not—hell, honey, you’re mine, anyway.”
At last Jessica managed to spring out of his lap. She
trembled before him. “You stop that! Right now.”
The rascal only grinned. “You’re shaking, honey. You want it, too.”
“Maybe you’re scaring me,” she shot back. “Have you
considered that?”
He adamantly shook his head. “Nope, I don’t think so.
That’s one thing I like about you, Jessie. You don’t scare easy. Now c’mere.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“My God, your ego is incredible,” she declared. “You
hardly know me, Cole, but you think you’ve got me
pegged, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Well, let me tell you something. I’m wise to
you.
I
haven’t known you for long, but I know you’re one of
those conceited fools who’s in love with himself and
thinks he’s God’s gift to women. You’re like one great big
gland walking around.”
He blanched. “What does
that
mean?”
“It means all you want me for is sex.”
“So?” he asked.
Jessica could have thrown something at him. “Do you
have any idea how demeaning that is?”
He squinted at her. “Huh?”
“You don’t care about me as a person. You don’t want
your mother telling me about your past. You don’t want
me knowing your wicked little outlaw secrets. You don’t
trust me, even though I’ve made no move to escape, or
to betray you. You don’t respect me. You want sex—end
of case.”
As she finished her diatribe with chest heaving, he had
the grace to appear guilty, and flashed her a cajoling
smile. “Ah, sugar, that’s not true. I do respect you. I do
want to know you.” Watching ire shoot into her eyes, he
held up a hand. “Other than in the biblical sense. ‘Sides,
do you think I’d be so hot for you if you didn’t have all
that spunk and sass?”
She glowered.
He stood and took a step toward her. “They’re all part of
you,
Jessie, and it’s not just a body I want.” His gaze
slid over her. “Not that I’ve ever seen one quite as tempting as yours.”
She fought a smile.
He edged closer. “Honey, I didn’t mean to insult you. So how ‘bout we quit fighting and make up?”
She eyed him in disbelief. “You must be joking.”
“Pretty please?” he wheedled, flashing his most winsome grin.
Jessica had to laugh at Cole’s contrite expression; he could be a charming devil. And she did need to get him
on her side. She extended her hand. “Very well. Truce.”
“Truce,” he agreed.
But when Cole caught Jessica’s hand, instead of shak
ing it he pulled her close, lowered his face to hers, and
claimed her lips. But this time Jessica found she couldn’t
mind because his kiss was sweet and gentle, a giving of
trust rather than a claiming of her will. Still, the touch of his mouth on hers was more tempting and sexy than she could abide.
She broke away and cleared her throat. “So, are you going to let me talk to you now, person to person?”
“I’d rather have another kiss,” he teased.
“Cole!”
He chuckled. “All right, sugar. Person to person.”
She regarded him soberly. “Cole, you need to start thinking about your brothers’ futures.”
He set his arms akimbo and frowned. “I’m listening.”
“Your ma showed me Mariposa today, and it’s such a
nice town. If only the whole family could go there, perhaps for church—”
“Church?” he cut in, wild-eyed. “Have you gone hay
wire, woman? That’s the fastest route to the gallows for
us all.”
“But why? There’s no sheriff in town. Your mother is
already known locally as Eula Lively. All of you could
adopt new names—perhaps similar to those you have
now to avoid confusion—and no one will be the wiser.”
He snorted. “That’s the most loco notion I’ve ever
heard.”
“Why? Why is it loco?”
“Because we’ve survived so far by laying low.”
“Really?” she mocked. “You mean by cavorting in
dancing parlors and bedding whores?”
His mouth dropped open. “Ma told you that, too?”
“She sure did. And if you can gambol in
Colorado
City
,
there’s no reason you can’t attend church in Mariposa.”
“It’s different.”
“Why?”
‘Too many miners in town might guess who we are.”
“Don’t be silly. No one should guess your real identi
ties if you act respectable.” She touched his arm. “If you
care for your brothers, you’ll give my suggestions some
serious thought.”
Although the look in his eyes showed he was wavering,
he tightened his jaw. “Why?”
“Cole, have you ever been wounded?”
“In the past, Billy and Gabe have both taken flesh
wounds. But they recovered.”
“Have you ever been arrested? Seems like your ma
mentioned something.”
Cole paled. “I was. Three years back in
Colorado
City
.
But the boys sprung me.”
“Then you already know the risks involved in your line
of work. You and your brothers have been lucky so far. But
sooner or later your luck will run out. You know as well as
I do that the inevitable fate of every outlaw is a bullet in the
head—or the gallows. You may be willing to risk that for
yourself, but don’t foist that fate off on your brothers.
Please, Cole.”
He appeared genuinely swayed by her passionate
words. “What are you suggesting?”
“We must expose your brothers to a different kind of
life. A respectable life. One they’ll want.”
Cole scratched his jaw. “Maybe.”
She sighed. “I can’t do this without your help. Think
about it, will you?”
“All right.”
Jessica flashed Cole a grateful smile and walked off to
retrieve the canteen. Cole watched her, admiring the sexy
sway of her hips. He felt so torn. Jessie was so beautiful, and he desired her so much.
But she’d been right to criticize him for lusting after
her. At first, the thought of bedding Jessie had been little
more than a challenge to him. But she’d stood up to him
repeatedly, insisting he respect her. And it was working.
Not that he wasn’t just as determined to woo her. But
something deeper was also developing between them,
that first small bond of understanding and trust. Remem
bering her passionate face when she’d pleaded with him
about reforming the gang, he couldn’t doubt that her motives were genuine, that this woman honestly wanted to
help him and his brothers.
And this scared him badly. Cole had lived a hard life
and was unaccustomed to kindness in others, particularly
women. It was simple to bed females, complicated as hell
when they got under his skin. And Jessie was managing
to do that. On the one hand, his instincts urged him to
trust her—to open up to her and tell her about his feelings
and his past, make himself vulnerable. Yet the last time he
had really trusted a female, it had all but gotten him
killed. Jessie might mean well, but her good intentions
could still send them all straight down the road to a “respectable” death.
Chapter Eleven
At home, Jessica spent some time with Ma, who took her
measurements for her new wardrobe. Afterward, in her
room, she wrote up a detailed account of the day’s ex
ploits in her journal. She included her encounter with
Cole—her frustration at his roguish behavior, her sense of
being charmed despite it all. At least he was listening to
her point of view, if not really agreeing or cooperating as yet.
Still, she had to wonder poignantly if she would ever
make it back to her own time, if she’d ever be able to
show her journal to those she’d left behind. Even if she
did manage to move across time again, would anyone
ever believe what had happened to her?
Afterward, Jessica wandered out to the kitchen and vol
unteered to help Ma chop vegetables for supper. The two
women stood at the crude sideboard working and talking.
“Well, I hear tell from Wesley you had quite an adven
ture this afternoon,” Ma commented, hacking an onion.
“Doesn’t it bother you when your boys break the law?”
Jessica asked, delicately cubing a raw potato.
“‘Course it bedevils me no end,” came Ma’s indignant
response. ‘That’s why I want you to lay down the law to
my boys.”
Jessica sighed. “You know how I feel about that. We
must be able to offer them something better in exchange.”
Ma fell grimly silent.
Jessica squared her shoulders. ‘Tell you what. Let’s
start this with baby steps.”
“Baby steps?”
“Before your boys can have a better life, they must
learn to act and behave like gentlemen.”
Ma nodded. “I agree. They’s wild as March hares.”
“You spoke today about how Cole benefited from hav
ing a teacher.”
“Yeah?” Ma prodded.
“Well, why don’t I begin by teaching your four
younger boys to read and write?”
A soft gasp escaped Ma and she appeared genuinely moved, her softening expression revealing a mother’s tenderness. “You would do that, Miss Jessie?”
“Of course. Everyone should have a right to a basic
education. What I need to know is, will you support me
in this, see that the boys cooperate when I try to teach
them?”
“Will I?” Ma declared, features rapt. “I’ll do ya bet
ter’ n that, honey. I’ll beat them little snots senseless if’n
they don’t toe the mark. Not that we have to worry, ‘cause
they’s all as lovestruck over you as dogs baying at the
moon. They’ll be buzzing about you like bees to honey.”
‘That’s what I’m afraid of,” Jessica replied soberly.
“I’ll need them polite and attentive, not flirting with me
and bickering with each other.”
Ma nodded. “You just leave that up to me, honey, and
worry about your teachin’.”
“That’s another matter,” Jessica went on with a frown.
“I’m going to have to wing this, since I don’t have any
texts or supplies—much less, visual aids.”
Although Ma scowled over the term “visual aids,” she soon grinned and snapped her fingers. “I know. I think I still have one or two of Cole’s old primers in my storage
chest.”
“Oh, that will be wonderful!”
“I’ll dig ‘em up for you tonight.”
Jessica glanced about at the sunny room. “And this
kitchen will be perfect as a classroom. So it’s decided,
then. School will begin in the morning.”
***
“Boys, I’d like to have a word with you.”
The following morning, Jessica sat in the kitchen, one
of Cole’s old McGuffey’s Readers in her lap, with the
four younger brothers gathered across from her, seated in
a row of chairs. All regarded her with slicked-back hair
and eager smiles. Ma was at the sideboard working
dough, and Cole lounged in the back doorway with arms akimbo. His powerful body backlit by sparkling morning
sunshine, he appeared the epitome of arrogant, cynical
male.
“Why’d you gather us up, ma’am?” Billy asked. “Are you ready to announce which one of us you favor?”
Gabe elbowed him. “Naw, she told us the other night
she ain’t ready yet.”
“Well, she’s had two nights to think it over, ain’t she?”
Billy shot back.
“That’s true,” chimed in Wesley. “You ready, ma’am?”
Catching sight of Cole fighting laughter, Jessica squared her shoulders. “No, I’m not ready.” She opened the primer.
“But I am prepared to give you boys a few lessons.”
“Lessons in what?” asked Gabe with a lecherous wiggle of his eyebrows.
“Yeah,” agreed Luke, rubbing his hands together. “Just
what you got there, ma’am?”
“One of Cole’s old primers that your mother lent me.”
All four men groaned. “Just what are you aimin’ to
teach us with that there primer?” asked Gabe.
“Well, to begin with, how to read and write—then how
to speak like gentlemen.”
Indignant looks greeted this statement. “You saying we
don’t talk like gentlemen?” demanded Billy.
“I’m saying precisely that.”
Gabe swung about to his mother. “Ma! You hear that?
This here lady is insultin’ us!”
Ma waved her rolling pin. “That there lady is right!”
Silence and grumpy looks met Ma’s pronouncement.
“How come you want to teach us to talk like gentle
men?” Wesley pursued.
“So you’ll be accepted by the community,” Jessica
replied.
“Huh?” Billy asked, scratching his head.
“What community?” pressed Luke.
Setting down the primer, Jessica stood. “Have you
boys given any thought to your futures?”
“Futures?” Gabe echoed with a blank look.
“Yes, your futures. You can’t just rob gold shipments
all your lives.”
“We can’t?” Luke asked. “Why not?”
“Because sooner or later you’ll want to settle down.”
“We will?” Wesley asked.
“Yes. Sociologists tell us that criminal behavior is
mainly confined to younger men.”
The boys appeared flabbergasted. Billy whispered to
Gabe, “You got any idear what the Sam Hill she’s talking
about?”
“Nope,” Gabe answered. “You got any notion, Wesley?”
“Nope. You, Luke?”
Before Luke could put in his two cents’ worth, Jessica
waved a hand. “Please, listen to me, all of you!”
The ranks snapped to attention.
“What I’m saying is, before long you’ll all want to get
married and have families.”
Billy guffawed. “Oh, that! Why didn’t you just say so,
sugar?”
Jessica balled her hands on her hips. “Well, how do any
of you expect to marry decent women if you don’t im
prove your manners?”
“But, sugar, we ain’t interested in no decent women,” Billy declared smugly. “We want you.”
Catching a glimpse of Cole holding his sides, Jessica
glowered at the boys. “Are you implying I’m not decent?”
Billy paled. “Oh, no, ma’am.”
As Billy’s brothers needled him, Ma bristled from the
stove, “Yeah, you’d best mind your manners, William
Tyler Reklaw, else I’ll be making me up some outlaw
stew for supper, if you know what I mean.”
Billy appeared thoroughly chagrined. “Yes, Ma.” He
flashed Jessica a lame smile. “Sorry, ma’am. No offense. I was just trying to point out that it’s you we’re all interested in. You’re the apple of our eyes. Right, boys?”
A chorus of eager “Yeahs!” greeted Billy’s question.
“But you can’t
all
marry me,” Jessica contended.
That pronouncement gave the men pause; then Gabe
snapped his fingers. “How come? Ain’t that what them Mormons do? We’ll just all convert and share you, eh,
boys?”
The men roared with delight, hooting catcalls and
punching one another.
Then Ma charged over and began swinging her rolling
pin over her son’s heads, prompting them to duck and
cringe. “You devils! Hush up that heathen talk. I’ll not hear you making a mockery of your religion or that of
other folks.”
“But, Ma, we ain’t got no religion,” Billy protested.
Ma glanced him across the head with the back of her
hand. ‘That’s just what I mean, you addlebrained pissant!
You’re managing to make a mockery of it, anyhow.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said her much-sobered son.
Ma waved her rolling pin toward Jessica. “Carry on,
now, ma’am. I’ll whip these varmints into line if they insult you again.”
“Thanks so much,” Jessica responded with a gracious
smile. She returned her attention to the now sullen boys and clapped her hands. “Now, where were we?”
“Ma’am, why do you want to learn us to read and
write?” Gabe demanded.
“Teach
you,” Jessica said. “I want to teach you. And
none of you will ever get far in life, much less find decent
wives, if you remain illiterate.”
The boys didn’t comment, but still appeared morose
and unconvinced.
Jessica cleared her throat. “Now, since we only have this one book, we’ll need to arrange three chairs in a semicircle. Perhaps I could sit in the middle, with Billy
and Gabe on either side of me. Wesley and Luke, you can
stand behind us and look over our shoulders.”
Gabe and Billy grinned, while Wesley glowered. “Hey,
how come me and Luke don’t get to sit beside you?”
“Yeah, how come?” Luke seconded.
Exasperated, Jessica said, “Well, we’ll switch places
from time to time. How’s that?”
Wes considered this with a frown, then brightened. “All
right with me, I reckon. It’ll be like musical chairs, eh?”
“Yeah, like musical chairs,” Luke echoed.
“Yes, something like that,” Jessica muttered. “Now,
boys, if you’ll just arrange the chairs . . . “
In the near-fracas that ensued, Jessica struggled to hold
onto her patience and Cole all but died laughing as his
four brothers scrambled to arrange the chairs, overturning
them, punching each other, and growling in the process.
At last Billy motioned to the new arrangement. “Have
a seat, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” Jessica said wearily. With primer in
hand, she sat down, only to have Billy and Gabe rush to
grab their seats beside her, while Wesley and Luke fell
into place at her rear, bending over her as eagerly as dogs
with their tongues hanging out.
Squeezed between four strapping, grinning males, Jes
sica felt as if she were drowning in a sea of spicy pomade
and muscled male flesh. She wiggled. “Must you all press
in so close?”
“If we don’t, we can’t see, ma’am,” Billy pointed out
solemnly, though his eyes gleamed with mischief.
“Very well.” Grimacing, she opened the primer, smil
ing poignantly as she saw the name “Cole” inscribed in childish print on the flyleaf. She flipped a page or two,
until she found a listing of the alphabet. “Guess we’ll
begin with the alphabet.”
“What’s that?” asked Gabe.
“It’s what I’m about to explain,” Jessica replied
through gritted teeth, “if you men will kindly quit interrupting and listen for a change!”
“Yes, ma’am,” said her chastened student.
“Now . . . the alphabet. Do you boys know anything
about letters?”
Blank looks greeted her question, and then Billy
replied, “Don’t recollect we’ve received any mail of late, ma’am.”
“No, I mean
letters,
the alphabet—you know, ABC’s.”
Gabe snapped his fingers. “Yeah. ABC’s. We know
about them.”
“What do you know?” Jessica pressed.
“Well, when we was little, Ma taught us all how to
write our names,” Gabe explained. “Ain’t that right, Ma?”
“Sure is,” Ma replied, chopping away. “I may not know much, but I sure as Sunday can spell all my boys’ names.”