Tales of Western Romance (6 page)

When she opened the chest, she found a pair
of pants and two shirts – one red, one dark blue. She stood there a
moment, debating the wisdom of undressing with a stranger outside
and no lock on the door, but the chance to get out of her wet
clothes was too tempting. She undressed quickly, used the blanket
to dry her face and hands, then pulled on the red shirt, hoping the
color would give her courage. It was several sizes too large, the
tails hanging down to her knees, but it was warm and dry. She held
up the pants, which were miles too long. Muttering, “No way,” she
dropped them back into the chest. Taking up the blanket again, she
wrapped it around her like a skirt. Picking up her wet things, she
took a deep breath, and went back into the other room.

He was standing in front of the fire, soaked
to the skin.

A faint smile touched his lips when he saw
her. “Why don’t you spread your clothes over that chair near the
fire?”

Nodding, she did as he suggested, carefully
draping her shirt over her bra so he couldn’t see it. Wet or not,
she had kept her panties on.

There wasn’t much in the ways of furnishings
in this room, either—a dilapidated couch, a rough-hewn table, and
two chairs. A rifle stood in one corner; a canteen and a gunbelt
hung from the back of one of the chairs, a pair of saddlebags were
draped over the other one.

“
Make yourself to home,” he said, and
disappeared into the bedroom.

Bonnie moved closer to the fire. Holding her
hands out to warm them, she wondered who her benefactor was and
what he was doing out here in this Godforsaken place in this dreary
two-room cabin. She didn’t think he was married, since there were
no feminine touches to be seen in this room or in the bedroom.

She tensed when the door opened. He had
changed into the pants and blue shirt. His hair was still damp. Now
that she was warm and dry, it occurred to her that she was at this
man’s mercy.

“
What are you doing out here alone?” he
asked, moving closer to the fire.

“
I got lost in the rain and…” She
folded her arms over her chest. “I was soaked to the skin and
wondering what to do when that white horse sort of appeared out of
nowhere. I thought he was from the dude ranch…”

“
Dude ranch?” He stared at her as if
she were speaking a foreign language. “What the hell’s a dude
ranch?”

“
You know, a place where people go on
vacation.”

“
I know what a vacation is. I’m a
little confused about the dude ranch. And even more confused about
how the horse found you.”

“
I told you, I thought he was from the
ranch. I told him to take me home, but he brought me here, wherever
here is.”

“
Have you got a name?”

“
Yes, do you?”

“
Jackson Gray Hawk. Call me
Gray.”

“
I’m Bonnie.”

“
So, you told
Relámpago
to take
you home and he brought you here.”

“
Is that his name?
Relámpago
?”

“
Yeah.” Gray shook his head. “I guess
even spirit horses get lost.”

“
Spirit horses? What are you talking
about?”

“
Relámpago
is a legend among my
people. And not only among the Lakota, but the Apache and the
Cheyenne. Every tribe has stories of
Relámpago
. It is said
he is as swift as lightning, as sure-footed as a mountain goat, as
reliable as the sun. It is said if you treat him well, he will
always carry you away from danger.”

Bonnie looked at the man called Gray and
hoped the legend was true, because every instinct she possessed
told her this man was dangerous in more ways than one. “Have you
seen the horse before?”

“
No, but my grandfather told me the
stories.”

“
Well, I don’t know about any legend,
but he’s certainly not a ghost. What does
Relámpago
mean,
anyway?”

“
Lightning.”

“
Oh.” Of course, she thought,
remembering the black zigzag on the horse’s rump.

“
Do you have anything to
eat?”

“
Not much.” He pulled a leather pouch
from the saddlebag on the table. Reaching inside, he withdrew a
strip of what looked like beef jerky and handed it to
her.

Muttering her thanks, she stared at the
jerky, then took a bite. It didn’t taste like anything she’d ever
had before. “What is this?”

“
Jerky.”

“
Is it beef?”

“
No. Buffalo.”

“
Buffalo?” She stared at him. Where on
earth had he found a buffalo?

He nodded. “There’s water in the canteen if
you’re thirsty.”

The thought of putting her mouth where his
had been made her heart skip a beat.

Her gaze slid away from his. What was he
thinking? If only the rain would stop, she could get on her horse
and get out of here. For all she knew, he could be some sort of
pervert. What rational man stayed in a place like this?

“
You look wore out,” he said. “Why
don’t you turn in?”

“
I’m fine.”

“
I’m not going to hurt you, lady. Get
some sleep.”

Bonnie felt her cheeks grow warm with
embarrassment. Murmuring, “Good night,” she hurried into the
bedroom and closed the door. She stood there a moment. Suddenly
bone weary, she crawled under the covers, then stared up at the
cobwebby ceiling.

Definitely not married, she thought. It was
her last thought before sleep claimed her.

* * * * *

Blowing out a sigh, Gray stared at the closed
bedroom door. If there was one thing he didn’t need right now, it
was a woman. Which wasn’t entirely true, he thought ruefully,
because if there was one thing he did need, it was a woman. Any
woman.

Dammit!

What was he going to do with her? He couldn’t
ride out in the morning and leave her here with no food and no
water and no way to protect herself. He supposed he could put her
on
Relámpago
and hope the stallion would take her back to
wherever she came from.

On the other hand, maybe he’d give her the
bay mare, take the stallion for himself, and see if the legendary
stallion would carry him away from danger.

Gray shook his head. It was said no one could
catch the stallion, that the horse had to come to you. So, why the
hell had the stallion brought her to him? What kind of danger had
she been in that spending the night with a man wanted for murder
was a safer choice?

Muttering an oath, he tossed another log on
the fire, before stretching out on the lumpy couch. Maybe things
would look better in the morning, he thought as he stared into the
flames. And maybe hell would freeze over.

Chapter 4

With a sigh, Bonnie opened her eyes. She’d
been having such a nice dream, she hated to wake up. Only now that
she was awake, she couldn’t recall what it had been about, except
that Jackson Gray Hawk had been in it.

Rolling onto her side, she stared at the
window. Thank goodness, the sun was shining. If she asked nicely,
maybe Gray would show her the way back to the ranch. She couldn’t
think of anything she wanted more than a big breakfast and a hot
shower.

Sitting up, she noticed a newspaper folded up
on the rickety table beside the bed. Curious, she picked it up. It
didn’t look like any paper she’d ever seen. It was an odd size and
consisted of only one sheet folded in half.
The
Bodie
Morning News.
She frowned when she read the date. August 13,
1879.

Eighteen seventy-nine!

She stared at the date, and then laughed. Of
course, Bodie was an old ghost town in Northern California. This
was just was one of those papers they sold to tourists.

Amused, she scanned the front page. The big
story was about a wedding in Michigan. She grinned as she read the
first paragraph –

There was a marriage at the upper end of
the Detroit, Lansing and Northern road the other day. A big chap,
almost able to throw a car-load off the track, fell in love with a
nice young widow who was cooking for the hands of a saw mill, and
after a week’s acquaintance, they were married
.

The rest of the front page was devoted to ads
for places like Eagle Mills Lumber Yard, Sacramento Market, Bull’s
Head Market, Pioneer Brewery and Mammoth Saloon. There was a sale
at Koppel and Platt’s Clothing House, a reward for a black horse
stolen from someone’s barn.

She grinned when she read an article on the
second page that said the debt in California had been reduced by
$356,214.00 in the last four years and that the debt now was less,
than $3,500.000. It also noted that California had $1,498,450.00 in
the State Treasury.

She put the paper aside when her stomach
growled. Muttering, “I sure hope he has something besides jerky for
breakfast,” she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

She was reaching for her boots, bought just
for this trip, when the bedroom door burst open.

“
We’re leaving!” Gray said.
“Now.”

“
What?”

“
Here!” He thrust her jeans at her. “I
don’t have time to explain. Just get dressed and get your ass out
to the barn, now!”

The urgency in his voice brooked no argument.
Something was wrong, very wrong. She pulled on her jeans and boots,
grabbed her shirt, socks and bra from the back of the chair, and
ran out of the house. Gray had already thrown a saddle over the
back of a bay mare. With no word of explanation as to why they were
leaving, he shoved the rifle into the saddle boot, lifted her onto
the back of the stallion, then vaulted into the saddle of the bay,
and took off running. A gangly colt ran after the mare.

Bonnie shoved her bra and socks in the
pockets of her jeans, tied her shirt around her waist, then grabbed
hold of the stallion’s mane as it took off after the bay. Where
were they going, and why was Gray in such a hurry?

And why was she following him when she had no
idea who he was or where he was going? At least the rain had
stopped.

Filled with a sudden, nameless fear, she
tugged on
Relámpago’s
mane, but the blasted beast refused to
stop. Praying the horse wouldn’t step into a hole, she hung on for
dear life as the big stallion raced after the bay mare.

Chapter 5

It seemed like hours passed before Gray
slowed his horse to a walk and then finally to a stop.

Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief, her grip on
the stallion’s mane easing as the horse sidled up to the bay.

“
You all right?” Gray asked.

“
What was that all about?” Bonnie
asked.

“
We need to talk.”

She stared at him. Those four words never
preceded good news.

“
I’m a wanted man with a price on my
head.”

She blinked at him, speechless. A price on
his head? Was he kidding? “I don’t understand.”

He glanced at their back trial, then blew out
a sigh. “I killed a man. It was self-defense, but the jury didn’t
believe me.”

“
Why not?”

“
Why not? I killed a white
man.”

“
But if it was
self-defense…”

“
Didn’t you hear what I said? I killed
a white man.”

“
I’m sorry, but I don’t
understand.”

“
I’m a half-breed,” he said. “No jury’s
gonna believe me.”

“
But…”

He shook his head. “You’re not from around
here, are you?”

“
No.”

“
I didn’t think so.”

“
So, why were you in such a hurry to
leave the cabin?”

“
I got up before sunrise and scouted my
back trail. I found a couple of bounty hunters sacked out about
five miles southeast. I wasn’t going to wait for them to come
knockin’ on the door.”

“
Oh. But, well, even if they caught
you, wouldn’t they just turn you in?”

“
Yeah, right. The reward on the wanted
poster says dead or alive.”

Bonnie stared at him. If she didn’t know
better, she’d swear she was back in the Old West, what with all
this talk about white men and half-breed’s and wanted posters…and
newspapers dated 1879.

She took a good look at Gray. He wore a dark
blue shirt, a pair of pants that looked like they were made of
buckskin, and scuffed brown leather boots. The gunbelt that had
been hanging over the chair was now snugged around his waist and
looked at home there. Men these days didn’t go around wearing
guns.

Her mouth went dry. It wasn’t possible. What
she was thinking just wasn’t possible. “What day is it?”

“
I’m not sure, late August, I
think.”

“
What year?”

“
Eighteen seventy-nine.”

She swayed on the stallion’s back.
Eighteen seventy-nine.
How was it possible?

He frowned at her. “You okay? You look a
little pale.”

“
I think I’m going to …”

“
Faint,” he muttered, as she slid off
the stallion’s back and into his arms.

She regained consciousness moments later,
startled to find herself in Gray’s arms, surprised to find she
rather liked it there.

“
Are you sure?” she asked.

“
Sure? About what?”

“
The year.”

“
Yeah. What I’m not sure of is you. Who
the hell are you, anyway?”