Annabelle Weston (20 page)

Jed slid his fingers over the brim of his hat. “Wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise.”

Alvin didn’t look convinced. “You’ll answer to me if any harm comes to that gal.”

Carly kissed the barkeep on the cheek. “Don’t you go fretting about me. I can take care of myself.”

It was the truth. She’d been sober for a good while, and liked making her own decisions.

She and Jed exited the saloon. Sure enough, tied to a post next to Shooter was a pretty dappled mare.

“
Will she do? Name’s Penny.”

“
She’s perfect.” Carly smiled wide, excited about their adventure. She patted Penny on her soft, warm neck. She’d ridden up into the mountains on a couple occasions with O’Dell. They’d needed to get away every once in a while, pretend
they were somewhere else, that their lives were different. She wondered what O’Dell was up to now. Probably had a babe or two to bounce on her knee. When Carly got back, she’d read the new letter from O’Dell that had arrived with the post that morning. A return letter was long overdue.

Carly envied her friend. She could admit it now. A family would never be in the cards for her. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her emotions from bubbling over.

She ran her hand over Jed’s muscled arm. “Thanks. I needed some time away. This will be fun.”

“
I plan on it.” He led her to the horse’s side and gave her a lift.

She swung her leg over the saddle horn and settled in the ladies’ saddle until the fluid motion of Jed swinging up onto his horse distracted her. She never tired of watching him move. Just watching Jed on his horse, his muscles braced, his lips quirked in such a naughty way, she wanted to share that saddle with him.

Jed nudged his horse into a trot. Carly followed, trying to catch up. She’d never ridden a horse faster than a trot, any faster and she’d be sure to fall off.

She was about to tell him when he prodded his horse into a canter. Not to be outdone, she urged Penny into a faster pace. The horse was game. They sailed over the desert, the blowing sand at their backs, and Carly hanging on for dear life.

They rode for maybe a half hour through the desert, over sagebrush-choked trails and dry gullies until they reached the base of a trail climbing into the mountains. Jed reined in his horse. Carly pulled Penny to a stop and closed her eyes for a moment. She breathed the fresh air, glad to be here. The sun was high but not as blazing hot as it usually was in town at this time of day.

Jed started up a rocky embankment. Carly clucked to her horse and followed. The horses picked their way up the mountain pass at a slow pace.

“
How are you enjoying your ride so far?” Jed asked. He turned in his saddle and gave her a good look.

“
It’s wonderful. I feel so alive.”

A thoughtful expression fluttered over Jed’s features before he turned back around.

A silence ensued for several minutes. Carly scanned the landscape. They were high up on the mountain now. The brambles and a few scattered mesquite bushes were minuscule compared to the tall cedars and pine trees. The sun glistened off the rocks, and in the distance Tucson appeared as if a mirage.

“
Think you might ever settle down?”

“
What?” she asked, wrinkling her forehead. What had brought this on?

“
Settle down.” Jed repeated it casually but the set of his shoulders, the rigidness of his spine relayed much more.

The answer was no. She didn’t see herself settling down, as much as she’d dreamed of a life with a family when she was younger. As much as O’Dell had told Carly often that she deserved happiness with a man of her own.

She didn’t want to ruin the glorious afternoon Jed planned with her with a hefty explanation. She had an inkling he wanted to change her. He wanted her to settle down with him and whip out a brood of Poole children. But he’d set his sight on the wrong woman. She wasn’t the marrying kind. She was bad news to anyone who became her friend. Just ask O’Dell.

“
I hadn’t really ever thought about it,” she answered instead of telling him the truth.

“
Maybe it’s time you did.”

She kept her voice playful. “Why? Seems I have everything I need.”

“
What happens when you get older, Carly? Who’s gonna take care of you then?”

She frowned. Women in her line of work didn’t tend to live into old age. She always figured she’d live the way she did now until she died. She bit her lip, unsure how to answer or what kind of answer would satisfy him.

Jed spoke up. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. You’re a damn resourceful woman, I reckon you don’t need anybody. Although…might be nice to have someone take care of you. I’d take care of you, Carly.”

Her stomach flipped. Had he really just said that? Did he really mean it?

“
Oh, Sheriff, how you do go on,” she teased, trying to lighten the conversation. He’d become way too serious.

Jed stopped when they reached the top of the ridge. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Carly, but I do intend for us to get to know each other better.”

Carly walked Penny beside Jed and stopped. “I’d like that.”

“
Will you look at this sight? Isn’t it something?” Jed pointed out over the expanse below. “Tucson. Our town.”

“
I’m glad you are our sheriff.”

“
I’m glad I took the job. Wouldn’t have met you otherwise. Wouldn’t have done a lot of things.” He chuckled. “And I suspect with you around, I’ll probably end up doing a lot more.”

“
I hope they are all good things. And fun things too. Nobody should live without having fun. You work mighty hard, lawman. I’d hate to see you turn into a man who was all business and no pleasure.”

Jed turned a crooked smile on her. “I think most will be good—and pleasurable. But I have an inkling you’ll be getting me into more trouble before my days are done.”

Now he was talking about a long-term relationship. He was planning on them being together until they were old and ornery.

Enough of this serious talk. She dropped a shoulder, her gown slipped ever so slightly to show off the swell of her breasts. “Is that what you brought me all the way up here for? To talk?”

Jed shook his head. Obviously, what had worked in the past no longer interested him. Was he tired of her already?

“
Are you hungry, Carly?”

Carly ran her tongue around her lips. “What do you think?”

He helped her dismount. To her surprise, he didn’t take her in his arms. Instead he took the canteen off his saddle horn and gave it to her. Then he led the horses to a shady spot next to a stand of pines.

She waited for him to return, taking in the view. He’d called her resourceful. She hadn’t always been, relying on O’Dell and Big Jim to make all the decisions, to tell her what to do. Lately, that’d changed. She’d been damn proud to help in the arrest of the two varmints who’d killed Mr. Crowley.

She was a woman of means now. With hard work, the saloon would turn into a fine establishment. She was no longer a prisoner to her drink. She was more in control now than ever. Did Jed understand how important this was to her?

Leaves crunched and twigs cracked behind her. She spun around. Jed carried a bedroll and basket. What kind of man went to this kind of trouble?

He spread the bedroll on the ground. “I haven’t been on a picnic since I was a kid.”

She plopped down on the soft flannel. She tried hard not to think about when she was a child. Flashes of a mother’s soft smile and the great big bear hugs her father used to give made Carly cringe. If only they hadn’t been taken from her at such an early age.

He sat next to her. He was hot and sweaty but she didn’t mind. He appealed to her every which way.

“
Rosy fixed up some chicken, my favorite,” he said. He opened the basket and handed her a square of calico.

Carly sighed as she arranged the piece of cloth in her lap. He piled fried chicken on a plate along with a half-dozen biscuits.

“
How many were you expecting,” she said with a laugh.

“
Just you and me.” He opened the canteen and took a gulp. When he finished, Jed held the canteen to her lips, tipping it back so the sweet water could drip on her parched lips.

She licked the droplets from her lips and gasped as Jed leaned forward, flicking his tongue over hers before capturing her mouth for a carnal kiss. She loved the way he kissed. The way his mouth slid against her, his tongue delving inside to ignite her fire. She stroked tenderly over his jaw then through his hair. Jed pulled her against him then lay back on the blanket, their food tumbling to the side. She lay on top of him, kissing, sucking, stroking. He traced a path up and down her spine, caressing her ass, tucking her closer to him. His cock was hard, ready and pressed against her mound with delicious intent.

When her stomach growled, Jed laughed and sat her upright.

“
What you do that for? I’m just hungry for you, cowboy.”

“
Is that right?” He looked so happy. “I’d be more than willing to let you feast on me for days but I think you might blow away if I did. Let’s get some sustenance into you.”

He picked up their chicken and biscuits and they ate, listening to the breeze in the tops of the trees, and Jed feeding her bites of chicken when she stopped.

She fed him a morsel of biscuit and he licked her fingers before eating it. His expression turned serious and he took her hand in his.

“
Let’s make this permanent.”

She snatched her hand back. Immediately, her brain was on alert, the tranquil moment lost by the thundering in her heart. “What the hell for?”

Jed grabbed her hand again. Irritation flitted over his face, but it quickly dissipated and once more he gazed at her intensely. “What do you think?”

She shook her head. “I’m not a woman who you want to hang your ambitions on.”

“
Let me be the judge of that.”

She’d known this day was coming, maybe even hoped it might, but she couldn’t let Jed believe there was more to their sex play than there was. It’d only hurt him eventually.

“
You see, Jed, I’m not interested in settling down to one man.”

He frowned, the lines in his forehead deepening. What she’d said hurt him. Better he find out now before he entertained any ideas she could be his woman.

He let her go and stood. A red-tailed hawk screamed overhead. He looked up and followed its flight.

Carly wished she knew how to explain. Some people just are no good at relationships.

“
Maybe we should start back?” She’d anticipated an afternoon of lovemaking. Obviously, she’d spoiled any chances for that too.

Jed rubbed the back of his neck. His silence was worse than any argument he could’ve made.

She stood and brushed the pine needles off her skirt.

“
You can’t tell me there’s nothing between us,” he said. “Our lovemaking meant nothing to you?”

She didn’t look at him. “You’re a nice enough fella and I like you a lot.”

“
Only…” He trailed off.

She exhaled loudly. “Only I don’t want any more than we have right now.”

“
You want a man who can give you independence, I can be that man.”

“
It’s more than that.”

“
Tell me.”

“
Let’s get going, I have customers waiting.”

He grabbed her arms, holding her tight. She couldn’t move away. “I won’t let you go until you tell me you don’t love me.”

They stared at each other intently. There were times in her life when she’d wondered what it would be like to love a man. It’d seemed like such a dream. Here was this man talking about love and being loved. Of course it was nonsense.

“
I suppose you deserve an explanation why I prefer not getting close to anyone.” Talking about her past stung but she had to put an end to all his thinking they could be a couple. “You talk about your ma. Well, I don’t know who my ma was. I can remember a few fleeting memories. I know she’s dead. My pa too. Nobody wanted me. No relative took me in. I ended up in an orphanage. The nuns named me after the president of the United States.” She huffed. “There were five Buchanans the year I arrived.”

“
That don’t mean they didn’t want you. Your people had to do what they thought was best, or maybe they didn’t have a choice.”

She knew what he was doing. He tried to put a shine on a rotten apple.

Time she told him about what happened with O’Dell. “My friend O’Dell was good to me when I came to saloon eight years ago. When it came time for me to help her, I didn’t. I turned to the elixir instead.”

“
What’s that got to do with you and me?”

“
Don’t you understand a thing I’m saying? I was a burden to family and friends. I won’t be a burden to you.”

He let her go. His face was bunched into a frown. Her words had landed like shards of glass.

“
I guess we all have our scars,” he said. “It don’t change my feelings for you.”

His words struck a chord deep within her. Lit hope she’d buried deep. She crushed them all with the ice that’d taken up residence around her heart. She spared him a glance. He was hunched over, dealing with all she’d thrown at him. She stomped off to fetch her horse before he made her cry.

* * * * *

Jed packed up the rest of the victuals and helped Carly onto her mare. Touching her filled him with regret for what he could’ve had if he’d kept his mouth shut.

Except he hadn’t expected Carly to turn him down. He’d thought for sure her coming to the jail meant she wanted him, that their need could last forever.

He’d made plans, big plans that included her. The woman had wounds from her past that hadn’t healed and was dwelling on her childhood, which couldn’t be undone.

He mounted Shooter and headed home. She followed at a respectable distance in no mood for conversation, he decided.