Cameron, Paige - Commando Cowboys Rescue Their Bride [Wyoming Warriors 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Polyromance) (15 page)

She frowned at him. “I don’t want to wait. Can’t we talk now?”

Ignoring her question, he pulled on his clothes. Then he raised her where she knelt on the bed. “We need more time than we have now.” He kissed her. Taking long strides, he crossed to the bedroom door. “Get some sleep.” With that she heard his boots tramping across the wood floor to the front door. The door opened, and the lock clicked shut.

He was gone. Just like that, he’d left her. She sat with her knees pulled up and her chin resting on them. She was confused and needed to talk with someone. The only one she really knew around here was Sara. She hated to whine to her again, but that was exactly what she planned to do.

Early dawn light shone through the split between her curtains. Sheer tiredness had her lying down, but sleep eluded her. Too many questions chased around in her head like a hamster running round and round in his cage. She might as well get up and shower. It was going to be a long day.

In the shower, the caress of the warm water reminded her of Justin’s hands sliding over every inch of her skin, raising her temperature to sizzling and making her feel an insatiable hunger for him. But what about Ethan? Her feelings had her totally confused.

Chapter Nine

Sara wasn’t home. Morgan clicked her phone shut. Now what? She was stuck with her own thoughts. She took her time eating breakfast and then washed her dishes and watched the hands of the clock move slowly to ten thirty. The bright morning sun tempted her to explore, but there was sure to be animals about, especially dogs. If only she could rid herself of that childhood fear.

She’d dressed in jeans, her pretty new boots, and a blue-and-white shirt. All dressed up and nowhere to go, as the saying went. Her boots clicked on the floor as she paced. When she glanced at the clock, for the hundredth time, it was as if the hands weren’t moving. She sat by the window. A young mother walked by, holding on to a small child’s hand. Two cowboys rode toward the barn. She searched the cabin. Nothing to read, and she hadn’t thought to bring a book. She’d be crazy by the time Justin came for her.

What she didn’t want to do was think about last night. She’d betrayed Ethan, which made her feel sick. But she had such strong feelings toward Justin, too. What had caused his sudden change? She tried to ignore the voice in her head questioning his sincerity. Had he been pretending last night, and just took what she’d offered so easily? Her face flushed with heat at that thought.

Hell, she’d go outside. Staying in here was making her crazy. After checking her appearance, she stepped out and locked the door behind her. Fresh air with just a nip of coolness greeted her. She took a deep breath. In the far distance a range of mountains rose toward a clear blue sky. Seeing no animals in sight, she walked down her sidewalk to the dirt road and turned in the opposite direction of the barn. Wildflowers grew along the side in a profusion of yellow and white colors.

With each step she took, her confidence went higher. At a fork in the road she spotted a large building off to her right. Curious, she headed in that direction. When she got closer, she saw several horses tied to a rail at the front of the building, and a couple of cars parked across from it. The big sign read, General Store. Slowly opening the door, she peeked in. The place was huge.

“Welcome, come in and browse.” A white-haired woman standing behind a register motioned to her. “You must be the lady staying in the visitors’ cabins. I’m Hilda and that’s my husband.” She pointed to a man stocking the shelves. “This is our store. We carry food, clothes, books, most anything you might want or need. Look around.”

“Thank you. I’m Morgan. I decided to go for a walk, and saw your place. No one told me you had such a wonderful store, right here on the ranch.”

“Guess they thought you’d find it, and you did.” She turned to ring up a customer, the woman Morgan had seen earlier. The little boy stood at his mother’s side, eating a cookie. The woman glanced at her and smiled shyly.

Morgan returned the smile and started down the closest aisle. The store was amazing, stocked like a large grocery on one side, and on the other an assortment of clothes. To the back were toiletries and miscellaneous items like magazines and books. She chose a various assortment of teas, milk, bread and peanut butter, several books, two magazines, and a new cowboy shirt in green with white trim, before she headed toward the front to check out.

“I see you found a few things to your liking,” Hilda said.

“Yes, thank goodness you have books. I left in such a hurry I forgot to pack any. I love to read.”

“Nothing like reading a good book on a cold night, sitting in front of the fireplace.”

“Or I can think of a few other things more interesting to do,” Justin whispered in her ear. Morgan jumped and turned her head to find him right behind her.

“I’d have warned you, but he motioned to me to be quiet,” Hilda said, a big smile on her face. “Now what are you up to, big guy? Aren’t there some sick animals that need you?”

“Nope. I’ve got them all well, and anyway, Sahale is taking over my shift.” He put his arm around Morgan. “Come with me. I have our horses ready to go.”

“Wait, I have to pay for my stuff.”

“Put it on my bill, Hilda.”

“No, I…”

“Will do, Justin. You two have fun.” She handed the bags to him, and he nodded at Morgan to lead the way out. “It’s a good thing I brought my truck.” He glanced in her bags as he put them in the back seat. “Hmm, I see something missing. Wait here.” He helped her into the front seat and ran back into the store.

What did I miss
? She watched the doorway, and in a few minutes he came out carrying a brown bag.

He swung into the cab of the truck. “Open the bag. You’ll find a bandanna. All real cowgirls wear them.”

Morgan turned the mirror on the visor down, arranged the brightly colored bandanna around her neck. She studied her appearance. Outwardly, she’d changed. She suspected the bigger alteration had begun to happen inside. Uneasy with her thoughts, she flipped the mirror shut and the visor up.

“I went by your cabin and became concerned when I realized you weren’t there. I thought you’d be too frightened to take off on your own.” He glanced at her. “You’re supposed to let me know where you are at all times, remember?”

He had such a handsome profile. She noted the strong lines in his face, a no-nonsense type of face and man.

“I didn’t want to spend the day with my own thoughts. I’m sorry. I just forgot about calling, but I have my ring on.” She noted the clock on the dash. “You must have finished early.”

“Yeah, after what you said early this morning, I guessed you’d be upset until we had our conversation.” He flashed a killer smile in her direction. “We’ll get the talking done. Afterwards, we can spend our time more enjoyably.”

He parked the truck in front of her cabin and got her purchases. “We’ll put these in the cabin, and then walk to the barn for the horses.”

She waited until he’d brought in the bags. She put the few groceries away before turning to confront him.

“I can’t do this.”

“Do what?”

“Have an intimate relationship with you and Ethan. I’m not that kind of person.” She bit her lip, trying to think of how to explain her mixed-up feelings. How to make him understand what she didn’t even comprehend herself.

“Let’s go for our ride. Don’t worry about it for now.”

“You won’t try to push me into something I don’t want?”

“Never, darlin’.” He stared at her. Her body almost melted into a puddle of warm honey from the sweet heat of those springtime green eyes.

She swallowed around a lump in her throat. How could she ever choose between them? She’d have to leave after this was all over, and not come back for a very long time, if ever. Tears pooled in her eyes. Always alert, he saw them.

“Please don’t be sad. It will be all right.” He brushed his lips across her mouth. “The horses are waiting.” Taking her hand, he led her outside and they walked toward the barn.

His stallion and the mare she’d ridden before were saddled. Justin gave her a boost up, and they headed in a more westerly direction. She noticed a rolled bag fastened behind each saddle. She didn’t ask about them, deciding instead to enjoy the moment.

Justin had plopped her hat on her head as they got out of the truck. The brim shaded her eyes and hopefully hid part of her face from his keen observance of her emotions.

They were silent as they rode along, but it was a companionable quiet. Scents of grass, wildflowers, and cattle blew on the breeze. Several cowboys were guiding a herd of cows closer to the main part of the ranch. Two hawks did a ballet over their heads.

“I’m so surprised.”

“About what?”

His question startled her. She hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud. “That I like this so much.” She spread her hands to indicate all around them. “The wide-open pastures, seeing the men working, nature all around me. It’s not something I’ve experienced before, or ever would have agreed to in a normal situation. I mean if I hadn’t been thrown into it.”

She glanced across at Justin. He fit in this environment. The perfect picture of a cowboy. She had a more difficult time picturing Ethan in this setting. He gave the impression of being more sophisticated. But then, he’d been playing a part. Perhaps even with her.

“Quit frowning, or you’ll mess up that pretty face.”

“Thanks.” Morgan turned her nose up at him and he laughed. “Are we trying to reach those mountains ahead?”

“No. They’re much farther away than they look. We’re almost to my favorite spot.”

They’d been riding along at a moderate pace. Justin gave his stallion the lead, and the beautiful horse took off. Feeling much more confident, Morgan encouraged her mare to follow. They rounded a small mound and headed for a large grove of trees. Morgan saw a flash of silver, and realized a wide river flowed just beyond the trees. They rode through. Justin stopped and dismounted. Morgan did the same. Her reins in hand, she walked to his side.

“Ethan and I used to come here and play like we were grown cowboys looking for rustlers.”

A sweet smile curved his delicious mouth upwards, and her insides went to mush. She had to hold herself back from wrapping her arms around his middle.

“Did you always get the rustlers?” she asked.

“Of course, we were mighty cowboys.”

She laughed, releasing some of the tension she’d carried all day.

“That’s better. I like to see you happy. We’ll camp here for the night and—”

“Oh, no. We came out to talk, that’s all.” Her heart pounded at just the thought of being here with him through the night. Fear, whether from that thought, or her natural fear of animals, had her on guard.

“I told you we wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want to do.”

“True, but sometimes the things we want to do aren’t necessarily good for us or others.”

“Fine. We won’t stay the night, but I will build a small fire and catch our dinner. We’ll ride back in the moonlight.”

Without waiting for her answer, he unrolled his pack, showing another bag within holding a few grocery items and a frying pan. He pointed to the river.

“Our main course, fish, will come from those waters. But first I have to find a strong piece of wood to use for a pole.” He pulled fishing line and a hook from his pocket. “You can walk along the side here and look for firewood.”

“So I have to work for my food?”

“By all means. We are settlers in a foreign land. The women are tough and resilient.”

“Boy, did you bring the wrong woman along.”