Cowboy from the Future (24 page)

One
of the possibly braver, possibly stupider, Outlanders closed the corral gate,
trapping Cade inside.  “You’re not going anywhere, Voltyn!”  He bellowed.

Cade
considered it options.  Starting a fire so close to the horses would frighten
them, so he couldn’t blast the guy.  Fuck it.  He and Addy could ride
together.  He just had to find her first.

Cade
swung himself onto Madonna’s back.  Clicking his tongue at the horse, he
shifted the reins and charged at the fence.  The Outlander fell back in shock
as Madonna sailed over the gate in a graceful leap.  The guy stumbled to the
ground and then scuttled out of the way on his hands and knees.

Cade
smirked, not slowing down.

Gods,
he liked horses.

And you’ll
find plenty of hot springs in this region, too.  These natural pools are much
warmer than other lakes and streams, the water heated by geologic processes under
the ground.

Be careful
if you choose to swim in one, though.  Their temperatures can get intense!

Brown’s
Glampling Tours Official Pocket Guide

“I
will kill you!”  The queen shrieked.  “You and that Voltyn scaumm betrayed me
and now you’ll pay!”

“We
don’t know that Cade did this.”  Addy argued, although she knew that Cade
totally
did this.  “It could’ve been a freak storm.  Or arson.  Or…” Shit, what else
could start a fire?  “Substandard wiring.”

The
queen turned on her with a furious screech, yellow teeth bared in a snarl of
hate.

Addy
didn’t think about what to do next.  She just did it.  The Outlander lunged at
her and Addy seized hold of her Invisible Woman-y arm, using the queen’s body
weight to flip her to the ground.  Judo classes really should be mandatory for
anyone planning to time travel.  The queen splayed on the dirt floor, shock
reflected in all of her many eyes.

Addy
didn’t wait around for the woman to kill her.  Tripping over her own feet, she
raced out of the tent.  “Cade!”  She looked around the burning camp,
desperately trying to spot him.  Christ, it was like a scene from
The Wild
Bunch
.  “Cade!”

All
around her tree and tents burned.  People ran through the smoke, pushing each
other as they fled.  Addy shoved her way through the madness.  She knew that
Cade was being kept on the far side of the village, so she needed to somehow
get to him.  Somehow
find
him, even in the midst of the chaos.

Which
would be simple if --say-- he showed up riding a big, blue horse.

Addy’s
eyebrows rose in astonishment as Cade came charging through the camp on
Madonna.  She saw him scanning around, trying to spot something in the
pandemonium.  Or some
one
.  It took Addy a moment to realize that it was
her.  Cade was looking for
her
.

In
spite of everything, Addy started to smile.

“Cade!” 
She shouted again, waving her arms.  He didn’t glance her way.  The guy rode a
horse like Brad Pitt in
Legends of the Fall
, but he couldn’t hear her
over the noise or see her through the smoke.  Shit!  Her mind racing, Addy
darted back into the queen’s tent, grabbing her backpack from the floor.  Where
the hell was that state-of the-art bear whistle?

“Human
whore.”  The queen was on her feet, again.  “You
and
your Voltyn will
die.”  She struck out at Addy with her overgrown nails, trying to slash at her
throat.

Addy
dodged to the side, swinging the Glamp-pack™ at the queen’s midsection.  The
woman doubled-over, clutching her stomach.  Clearly, the Outlander wasn’t used
to people fighting back against her.  At least not the way Addy fought.  Maybe
if she’d pulled a laser gun, the queen would know how to react, but a designer
bag to the ribcage just seemed to piss her off.  It also sent the state-of-the-art
bear whistle sailing out of the front pocket and onto the floor.

Crap.

There
was a pause as both of them stared down at it.  Then, Addy and the queen dove
for the whistle at the same time, tussling for it.  The Outlander didn’t
want
the damn thing.  She only fought for it to thwart Addy.

“I’ll
destroy you, human!”  She shoved Addy backward and grabbed the whistle for
herself, holding it above her head in crazed triumph.  “Everything that’s yours
will be mine!”

“Stay
out of my way or I will kick your ass.  In fact,
fuck you
, I’ll do that,
anyway.”  Addy kicked her in the head with the heel of her hiking boot hard
enough to break the cartilage in her nose.

Kind
of a low blow, but so what?  Had Bat Masterson given a damn about playing
fair?  Hell no!  He’d just cared about saving the pretty ranch widow from the
claim jumpers or whatever.  Addy’s pretty ranch widow was hot cowboy with superpowers,
but the principle was the same.  Wild West badasses fought dirty.  Addy
snatched the whistle’s pink cord right out of the queen’s hand, scrambling to
her feet.

The
queen fell back in pain, her hands going to her face.  “There’s nowhere you can
go that we won’t find you!”  She screamed as blood poured down from her
nostrils.  “My people are
everywhere!
”

“Then,
tell them I’ll see them in Scottsdale.”  Addy dashed back through the door,
slipping the backpack over her shoulders.  She’d even gotten her iPhone back,
because she was awesome.  “Cade!”  He was farther away now, still scanning the
burning tents.  She popped the state-of-the-art bear whistle into her mouth and
blew out the shrillest noise possible.  It was very
Rose-gets-rescued-at-the-end-of-
Titanic,
only without the sappy voiceover.

Cade’s
dark head snapped around at the high-pitched sound.  Lavender eyes locked on
Addy and she saw relief enter his expression.  He wheeled the horse around,
heading straight for her.

Addy
grinned, pushing her way through the crowd.  “Cade!”

He
leaned forward over the neck of the horse, lowering a palm towards her.  “Give
me your hand!”

He
was awesome, too.  No wonder they made such a great couple.  She reached for
him and he seized hold of her wrist.  “‘Bout time you got here, cowboy.”

Pulling
Addy up behind him, Cade swung her on the saddle.  God, he was strong.  “Are
you alright?”  He called over his shoulder.

“Yeah.” 
She gripped his waist, her body pressed up against his.  “Are you?”

“No. 
I’m fucking pissed off, Adeline.”

“I
can see that.  Is there anything around here you
haven’t
set on fire?”

“The
horses.  I like horses.”  Cade sent her a quick glance.  “And
you
,
which
is taking a shitload of restraint.”

“You
can bitch at me later.  Let’s just get out of here.”  She held tight as he
directed Madonna out of camp and deeper into the mountains.

The
guy really was a daredevil rider.  Kid Shelleen himself couldn’t have
maneuvered the horse with more breakneck skill.  That didn’t mean she
liked
seeing the trees whipping past her face, though.

Damn,
but she missed her car.

Outlanders
were probably following them, but none of them could keep up.  Or maybe they
just figured that Cade was about to die without any mutant-y assistance.  It
wasn’t such a wild guess.  He and Madonna were clearly trying to reach
eighty-eight miles an hour and travel through time the Marty McFly way.  Addy
squeezed him tight and just hoped her death was quick and painless.

Eventually,
Cade slowed the horse to a more sustainable pace, but they were still going way
too fast for her peace of mind.  Hours passed.  Just when Addy was pretty sure
they were going to ride forever, Cade finally stopped.

Addy
carefully opened one eye.  Holy cow, had she actually lived through that? 
Maybe Rushmore’s holy presidents were watching over her, after all.  She let
out a long breath and glanced at Cade.  “If this cowboy thing doesn’t work out
for you, have you considered a Derby bid?”

They
were in a secluded area, with a natural hot spring bubbling in front of them. 
Around the edges of the huge pool, grass grew and the snowdrifts were held at
bay.  Thick blankets of steam from the heated water drifted over everything for
a hundred feet in all direction.  Everything inside the oasis was fifteen
degrees warmer.  It was beautiful.  …And very, very tempting to her sore
muscles.

Cade
jumped from the saddle and turned to lift her down.  “We’re resting here for
the night.  I’m in a bad fucking mood, so don’t talk to me until I calm down.”

“Knowing
you that could take another sixteen hundred years.”  She arched a brow as he
set her on the ground.  “Why are you mad at
me?
”

“Women
should never ask that question.  It just gets them in deeper trouble, because
you should already
know
.”

She
refused to smile at his snarking.  “I hate it when you turn my own words back
on me.  It’s just petty.”  She shook her head.  “Seriously, what’s the matter?”

He
slanted her an angry look, removing the saddlebags with agitated movements. 
“Did you or did you not make a deal with the Outlanders?  Me for you?”

“Is
that
what this is about?”  She rolled her eyes.  “First of all, I
technically traded you for an iPhone.  And secondly, they were planning to turn
you into a delicious Voltron stew if I didn’t agree.  What did you expect me to
do?  Place a takeout order?”

“Vol
tyn
. 
And I expected you not to be a godsdamn idiot!  Did you seriously think I would
want you to
make
that fucking deal?! 
Ever?
”

No,
but she wasn’t going to admit that.  It would just get him angrier.  “You
weren’t around to consult.  I had to make a choice.”

“If
it’s a choice between me and you, then it is
you
, Adeline.  Always. 
There
is
no fvreing choice!”

Addy
didn’t feel like arguing, so she tried to derail his rant by knocking him off
balance.  “I don’t appreciate you using that kind of language around me, Mr. Westin.” 
She crossed her arms over her chest.  “I think you’ve forgotten that I’m a
lady
.”

Cade
gaped at her like he had no clue what to say to that prissy complaint.  She
actually
saw
his pupils dilate in total mind-blowing disbelief.  It was
kind of adorable.  Addy couldn’t quite contain her smile, as she watched him
try to catch-up.  For half a second, she almost thought he was going to
apologize.

Then
his eyes narrowed.  “You’re fucking with me.”  He accused.

Addy
made a “tsk” sound.  “Still cursing.”  She chided and headed closer to the
water.  The hot spring was fascinating and mysterious, shining with an
otherworldly blue.  After testing to make sure it wasn’t boiling, she leaned
over to take off her boots and dangled her feet into the pool.  Ahhh…  She let
out a blissful sigh.  Sonic bathhouses were fine and all, but nothing would
ever beat bubbly water.

Cade
wasn’t done with his lecture.  “Would you be serious for once?  Outlanders are
dangerous.  You can’t make
deals
with them, because they won’t honor
them.  Why would you do something so stupid?”

“I
told you, I didn’t have a choice.”

“How
in the hell did you not have a choice?  You could’ve just said
no
.”

“They
were going to
cook
you, moron.  Of course, I was going to give them
whatever they wanted.”  She unzipped her jacket, shrugging it aside.

“But,
it’s not what
I
wanted.  You are my
family
, Addy.  I would
never
choose myself over my family.  You didn’t need to ‘consult’ with me to know
that, so why would you agree to something so insane?”

No
one had ever called her “family” before and actually meant it.  Maybe because
she’d never
met
her family until she walked into Cade’s saloon.  “You
know why I made the deal.”  She said quietly.

“Remind
me.”

Did
he just need to hear the words?  She turned to look at him over her shoulder. 
“Because, I’m in love with you.”

Cade
stopped yelling.  His temper slowly faded, replaced by a new kind of
intensity.  “Sort of.”  He reminded her, lavender eyes burning hot.  “You said
you
sort of
love me.”

“And
I sort of do.”  Addy pulled her shirt over her head and started unfastening her
belt.  “…Maybe a little bit more than sort of.”

Cade
freed Madonna from her saddle so she could graze and headed closer to Addy. 
The electric glow of his palms was brighter than she’d ever seen it.  “Come
here.”  He rasped, all his attention fixed on her breasts.  It was a wonder the
lacy cups of her least-favorite bra didn’t ignite under his stare.

“Oh,
I’m not that easy, cowboy.”  Addy stepped out of her pants.  Her eyes stayed on
his, inviting him closer.  “Have you ever tried swimming?”

“No.” 
Cade edged forward.  “It’s considered… primitive.”  He let out a shuddering
breath as she tossed her least-favorite bra aside.  “Don’t let that stop you,
though.”

“I
won’t.  Speaking as someone who owns a Jacuzzi:  Primitive can be wonderful.” 
Addy slipped out of her underwear and stood before him naked.  “You’re going to
build us a fire tonight, right?”

Cade
was so mesmerized he would’ve agreed to build her a rocket ship.  “Anything you
want.”  He whispered.

“Good. 
Then, I don’t have to worry about freezing to death, later.”  Addy waded into
the hot spring, gliding under the surface.  Jesus, it felt good.  When she was
younger, she’d gone through an “Ester Williams phase,” so the water was her
second home.  She surfaced five yards out, slicking her hair back from her
face.  “Now, are you done being mad at me?”