Distraction (23 page)

Angus leaned casually against the front of a massive
desk and pulled out a small white stick of tobacco like I’d seen
Cade smoke. My fists clenched tightly as I glowered at him.

He laughed smugly to himself as he lit his tobacco.
Once again, he had won. He looked over at Carson. “Sheriff, don’t
you have some streets to patrol or something?”

Carson stuck his hat on head and hurried out the door
without a word.

Angus returned his attention to me. “My dear, you
don’t seem as happy to see me as I am to see you.”

“As you well know, Angus, you are the last person I
ever want to see. But I take comfort in knowing that if you’ve
found me, Nonni won’t be too far behind. Was it my magic that
helped you find me?”

“Magic?” He pushed off the desk and walked up to me.
The blood in my veins went cold as it always did when the man
neared. “I don’t need magic to find the woman I love.” He reached
up with his long fingers and took hold of my chin. The bench hit
the wall as Cade stood and grabbed hold of the bars. He looked
angry enough to bend the bars open and grab Angus’s throat. But as
brave and strong as Cade was, he was no match for the villain. I
pulled my face from Angus’s grasp and he roughly grabbed my arm. It
felt as if my bones would snap between his fingers.

Cade pounded his fist on the bars. “Let go of her
now, you snake!”

Angus sneered over at him. “This girl is no longer
your concern.” He turned back to me. “And you probably shouldn’t
spend too much time waiting for your grandmother to come save
you.”

Terror sent a wave of shock through me. “What did you
do to her?” I yanked my arm from his grasp.

“I didn’t do a thing to the old hag. But when The
Council heard she’d been an accomplice in breaking a blood pact,”
he lowered his face to mine, and it took all my will not to slap
him, “our blood pact, they stripped her of her powers.”

“I hate you!” I shoved him but he didn’t budge an
inch. I raced over to the cell and pushed my hand through the bars.
I pressed my palm against Cade’s cheek, and he closed his eyes
against the feel of my hand. “No matter what happens, you will
always be
him.
”

Cade opened his eyes. “What are you doing? You can’t
marry him, Poppy.”

Angus walked up behind me and I shuddered. “This is
quite touching. Too bad it has to end.”

Cade looked past me to Angus. “That wolf— that was
you out there?”

Angus spun me around harshly. “You told a mortal
about us? The Council will punish you.”

“Me? I wasn’t the one lurking around in another
creature’s form. I believe The Council will have plenty of
admonishment for both of us. Frankly, I hope they put me in a
dungeon and throw away the key. Then I would never have to lay eyes
on you again.” It was subtle but I was certain Angus flinched at my
words.

“Well, I don’t know who this council is, but why
don’t you just head back to wherever the hell you came from and
leave Poppy with me. Then neither of you will suffer the
punishment.”

Angus’s laughter rocked the small room. “You won’t be
much good to her swinging from a tree,
thief
.”

“You put those cows in that field.” I looked at him
with disgust. “You made the Sheriff ill.”

Angus shrugged his wide shoulders. “I thought it was
a creative plan. I needed to get this one away from you, and I
decided a hanging might be entertaining.”

“I guess that would depend on which end of the rope
you were,” Cade said darkly.

Angus looked at Cade. “I will give you credit, Poppy,
for finding such a courageous mortal. I didn’t know any
existed.”

“You have me now, Angus. Let Cade go, and we can go
back to Salem immediately.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that now, my dear.
We can’t leave behind a mortal who knows about us.” He took the
white stick from his mouth and squinted at it. “Besides, I find
that I rather like this century. This place is much better than
that pious, self-righteous town of Salem.”

I was truly confounded by what Angus was saying. “Are
you suggesting that you plan to stay here?”

“Yes, until I’m no longer amused by it.”

“We could stop the amusement for you real quick,”
Cade said. “Then you can leave . . . without Poppy.”

Angus waved his hand and Cade was thrown against the
back wall of the cell. He pushed to his feet and rubbed his
shoulder.

“Do you see what I mean?” Angus said arrogantly.
“Amusing.”

I pressed my face against the bars. “Are you all
right?”

“Yeah, I’m just great. I’ve got an idea,
Wolfe
. Why don’t you and I take our pistols outside and
count ten paces. Without your magic of course. Unless you’re too
cowardly to face me without it?”

“Courageous, yes. But short on brains,
unfortunately.” Angus drew in a long breath of tobacco and blew out
perfect rings as he peered into the darkly lit cell. “You’ve
already shot me once, remember? It didn’t have much effect on me,
did it?”

“So I did hit you. I’m just glad to know I haven’t
lost my touch,” Cade said. “I don’t usually miss. But as you said,
it didn’t have much effect; otherwise your mangy hide would be
hanging on the living room wall right now.”

I grabbed hold of Angus’s arm. “Enough. You two sound
like brawling roosters. Angus, you’ll let Cade go now. He won’t
tell anyone about us. Then you and I will return to our century and
Salem.”

“You would leave me that easily, Poppy?” Cade asked
quietly.

“Believe me, my heart and soul will remain here with
you. Angus will have merely an empty shell for his wife.” I stared
icily at Angus. “He doesn’t care as long as he gets his way.”

Angus walked over to the desk and sat down, propping
his feet up on the top. “Shell or not, you will be mine . .
.forever. And I’ve decided on a new plan. I will let him go after I
erase all memory of you. It will be as if he never knew you.”

“That will never happen.” Cade looked down at me.
“There’s no way I can ever forget her.”

His words made my heart leap, but I knew Angus had
the power to wipe his memory clean.

Angus dropped his feet to the ground, leaned forward,
and paused in thought for a moment. “Yes, this plan is perfect.
Poppy will be a stranger to everyone in this town except me. Once
I’m through with the spell, you’ll be known only as the demure,
pretty, and dutiful wife of U.S. Deputy Marshal West.”
“We’re staying?” I asked with disbelief.

“Weren’t you listening, my sweet? I will leave when
this place no longer entertains me. He won’t know you, but you will
definitely know him. It’s the main reason I have for letting him
live. It should be quite amusing.”

Cade reached out and grabbed my arm. “It won’t work,
Poppy. I will not forget that I love you.”

I lifted his hand to my mouth and kissed his
knuckles. “Open this cell and let me inside, Angus. You can grant
me one last moment with him before—” My words broke off.

Angus considered my wish for a moment. Surprisingly,
he walked over and opened the door to the cell. I walked inside and
he shut me in with Cade. “I’ll finish this tasty smoke
outside.”

Heat surrounded us as we stared at each other in the
shadowy interior of the dank smelling cell. Cade grabbed my hand
and pressed it against his chest. “You are right here forever, and
no magic tricks or sorcery can pry you from my heart.”

I reached up and pushed his long hair off his face.
“Angus is very powerful, Cade. But you’ll be free, and that’s all
that matters.”

Cade took hold of my hand. His calloused fingers
traced lightly over the skin of my forearm and across my palm. Even
a simple touch from him made me react both physically and
emotionally.

“You were meant for me, Poppy. I can feel it in my
fingertips when I touch you.” He lifted my hand and pressed my
wrist to his mouth. Then he pulled me to him. “And next time I hold
you, I won’t have this fat lip so I can give you a proper
kiss.”

I smiled up at him and then hopped up on my toes to
kiss him lightly.

He squeezed me against him. “Hmm, I think it’s
feeling better already.”

I was never going to be held by this man again and
that thought was too much to bear. “I have suffered with Angus’s
obsession since I was fifteen. I always thought he’d give up on the
idea of having me. Now that I’ve found what true love feels like, I
hate him even more.” I couldn’t keep my voice from breaking up.

“I can’t fault the man for his obsession with you.”
He kissed my forehead. “I’m sorry I spoke harshly to you yesterday,
Poppy. It was just a lot to take in.” He looked toward the door.
“But I’m a believer now.” He studied my face for a moment. “My
angel, my Poppy, this isn’t over. I won’t let him have you.”

I pressed my face against his chest, and the heat of
his body comforted me until the dreaded sound of the door opening
jarred me back to reality.

“Times up.” Angus’s ugly voice echoed off the brick
wall of the cell. He opened the barred door, and I peeled myself
off of Cade. “Have a seat at the desk, Poppy,” Angus commanded.
Cade’s hand fell away from mine as I left the cell and shuffled
across the rough floor to the desk.

Angus chanted some unfamiliar words and waved his arm
once. Nothing felt different, and for a moment, I wondered if the
spell had truly worked.

Angus shoved his key in the door lock. “Good news,
Boy,” his tone was lighter and completely unfamiliar sounding,
“they’ve dropped the charges. You’re free to go home.”

Cade glanced around with a look of profound
confusion. He stepped out of the cell and nodded at Angus. I sat
forward into the light as he walked past the desk. He stopped in
front of the desk. Everything about him, his handsome face, his
pale, magnetic gaze his strong shoulders, was breathtakingly
familiar, and my heart skipped a beat as it always did when he
looked at me. I held my breath. . . hoping.

He stared at me a moment and then nodded. “Miss.” It
was the only word he uttered before walking out the door with my
heart.

***

A small hawk stood on the fence post in front of the
house, waiting for some unsuspecting creature to wander out. Just
weeks ago, I would have looked out onto the Montana landscape and
marveled at its vast beauty. But now I hated the bleak, endless,
colorless land.

Angus’s large, cold hand squeezed my shoulder, and I
went rigid beneath his touch. “I have to go into town. One of the
bank’s windows was broken last night.” His confidence and arrogance
had waned in the past weeks as he realized that I was far from
willing to accept a life with him. “You need to eat something,
Poppy. You are shrinking away to nothing.”

I looked up at him and my head spun slightly from
hunger. “Am I? Then my plan is working. When there is nothing left
of me, you’ll have to move on and find another girl to
torment.”

He pulled his hand from my shoulder. “I’ve provided
you with this nice home.”

I laughed. “You’ve provided me? You act as if you
built it with your own hands. You killed the man who once lived
here so you could sweep in and take his job.”

“Poppy, you didn’t think you were going to stay here
forever with that cow farmer. It is hardly the life for a
witch.”

“He’s a rancher, and yes, I would have stayed here
with him forever.” I pushed to standing and swayed on my feet.

Angus took hold of my shoulders to steady me. “You
have to eat or you’ll—”

“— die? Precisely. And that should be reminder enough
that I am hardly a witch. My blood is mostly mortal, and unlike
you, I will grow old and die. What will you do with me when I’m
wrinkled, gray, and hunched over from age?”

From the expression on his face, it was obvious he
had not dealt with that reality yet.

“You will toss me out on the street and find someone
new. That is why I’m meant to live amongst mortals not witches. You
and I were never meant for each other.”

“That’s not true.” He pulled me into his iron grasp,
and I struggled futilely against him. “You will grow to love me, or
I will make sure you do.”

I pushed hard against his chest and he released me. I
stared up at him in utter disbelief. “You would cast a spell to
make me love you? You are that desperate? That is beyond pathetic,
even for you, Angus Wolfe.”

“You can’t go on like this forever. Eventually you
will have to eat, and eventually you will have to come out of this
state of melancholy.”

“You’re wrong. I can go on like this forever. But I
will eat again if you take us back to Salem. If I at least had
Nonni and Mari in my life, the desolation would not be so
stark.”

“Why would you want to return to that period of time?
This era provides us with so many more conveniences.”

“You can create any convenience for yourself you
want. You’re not going to tell me we’re staying here simply because
we can have light without candles. And you can’t possibly be
entertained by mundane tasks such as checking on the bank’s broken
windows.”

He shrugged his massive shoulders. “Perhaps I just
enjoy the power I have over the mortals in this town.” He glanced
down at his star. “And all because I’m wearing a shiny badge.
Mortals are so ridiculous.”

“You had power in Salem, too, when you were
masquerading as a pastor.”

“Yes, but it seems lawman is much better suited to me
than a man of the church. Besides, I could no longer stand their
state of perpetual ignorance. It grew tiresome.”

I looked at him for a moment. There was a glimmer of
uncertainty in his eyes. “Angus, are you hiding from something? Did
something happen in Salem that earned you banishment? I mean, as
silly as the people of Salem were, even they would have eventually
discovered that you were not a man of the cloth.”

He waved my suggestion off. “I was caught once or
twice with a woman, but I used the same magic I used on your
rancher
. Then all was forgotten. I assure you I left there
with the simpletons paying me as much reverence as always.” He
walked to the hook on the wall and lifted off my shawl and bonnet.
He’d conjured me an entire wardrobe, but I still wore the dresses
Libby had traded pie for. “I insist you walk into town with me. The
fresh air will do you good and spur your appetite.”