Donovan's Bed: The Calhoun Sisters, Book 1 (34 page)

“I found you,” she said.

“But I wanted you to find me.” He tugged at the tie of her braid; then he combed his fingers through her loosened hair, spreading it over her shoulders. “You’re not as smart as you think you are. After all, I fooled you three years ago, didn’t I?”

“Yes,” she agreed bitterly. “You did.”

He stepped back, finally removing the revolver from her abdomen and uncocking it. “You know, you were right, darlin’. You look very tantalizing like this, in your undergarments with your hair loose. It lets the anticipation build. I’ll have my supper now, Sarah.” He gave her a hard look that made her skin prickle with disgust. “And then I’ll have you.”

Horace Plunkett’s old shack looked deserted, except for the wispy curl of smoke that flowed from the small chimney. Donovan gathered the men together.

“After I get Sarah, then you all go for Petrie. Surround the building. I don’t want him getting away.”

Everyone nodded, and Donovan turned toward the shack. Keeping to the shadows, he soundlessly crept closer. Petrie wasn’t stupid; except for the smoke, it was impossible to tell that anyone was here. He’d closed all the shutters on the windows, and no doubt he had his horse tied up in the trees nearby. But the shack was old, and it hadn’t been well-built to begin with. Donovan hugged the wall and came up beneath a window where the shutters didn’t close all the way. There was just enough space between the warped wood for him to see into the cabin.
 

A small fire burned in the grate. Near it, Petrie lounged on his bedroll, his revolver pointed at Sarah, who was cooking something over the fire. Aside from the fact that she was in her undergarments, she seemed unharmed.

He intended to see that she stayed that way.
 

Sarah stirred the stew in the pot, but every instinct was centered on Luke. He acted as if he had all the time in the world, but she wouldn’t put it past him to pounce when she least expected it. The waiting was making her nerves raw.

It had been over an hour since Susannah had escaped. She had to have gotten back to town by now. And Jack
must
be on his way. Sarah had to believe that. And because she believed that, she planned to turn the tables on Luke Petrie and get away before he decided it was time to end her life.

She stirred the stew one more time and then banged the metal spoon on the side of the pot to get every drop off the utensil.

“Is supper ready?” Luke drawled. The smug expression on his face echoed the light of malice in his eyes.

“Yes, it’s ready.” She wrapped a cloth around the handle and took the pot off the fire with both hands.

“Good. I’m starved.” Luke sat up, resting the revolver on the ground beside him within easy reach of his hand.

Sarah smiled, then flung the contents of the pot at her former lover’s face. He shrieked with pain, raking the scalding stew away from his eyes with his fingers. Sarah dove for the gun, but he anticipated her and knocked it aside with one blind swing of his hand. It skittered across the hard-packed dirt to the far corner of the room. She scrabbled after it.

Cursing beneath his breath, Luke lunged at her just as her fingers brushed the stock of the gun. She landed hard on her stomach, Petrie on top of her, just as something crashed through the window. She felt the gun beneath her hand and managed to close her fingers around it even as Luke grabbed her wrist.

He jerked her arm toward him, and she rolled with the motion, coming to rest with the gun an inch from his nose and her finger on the trigger.

He froze.
 

“Get off me,” she snapped. For a moment she thought he was going to ignore her. His face, reddened from the hot stew and still dripping broth, tightened in an expression of thwarted fury. “
Off
,” she insisted, pressing the barrel of the gun right up against his forehead. “Or I’ll shoot you first and
then
shove your dead carcass off me!”
 

“I suggest you listen to the lady,” a familiar voice said. Looking like an outlaw in his long duster and black hat, Donovan, his eyes hard and deadly, aimed his rifle at Petrie.

“Who the hell are you?” Luke demanded.

“I’m the one with the gun. Now get off the lady.”

Glowering, Luke pushed himself back onto his haunches. Sarah slid out from beneath him, holding her gun steady. It would be just like Petrie to grab her as a hostage to try and get past Jack. Once she had regained her feet, she continued to aim the weapon at Petrie’s head.
 

“Sarah,” Donovan said, “I’ve got him covered. The cabin is surrounded. He’s not going anywhere.”

Sarah didn’t look away from Luke. Her arms started to shake, but she held the gun steady with both hands. “Is Susannah all right?”
 

“We found her. Jedidiah took her to Doc Mercer’s.” He lowered his rifle and came to her, keeping an eye on Petrie. “She’s going to be all right.”
 

“He was going to kill her. He was going to kill Suzie.”

“But he didn’t.” Holding the rifle with one hand, Jack closed his other hand over hers where she gripped the revolver. “Sarah, give me the gun.”

“He was going to kill me, too,” she whispered.

“Look at me, sassy girl.”

“I can’t. He’ll get away.”

“He’s not going anywhere.” He squeezed her fingers beneath his. “Sarah, you’ve fought so hard not to bring violence into our lives. Don’t give up now.”

She closed her eyes and released the gun to his grasp. “You’re right. I don’t know what came over me.”
 

Donovan pulled her into his arms. “Survival, sassy girl. But luckily, you didn’t have to cross that line today.”

“Oh God, Jack, I would have shot him. I planned to shoot him.” She buried her face in his shoulder, shuddering from the storm of emotions that suddenly washed over her.

Still holding the rifle, he slid one strong arm around her. “Hush now, sweetheart,” Donovan murmured, slipping the revolver into the pocket of his duster. “He’s not going to hurt anyone anymore.”

A soft scuffle reached her ears. Donovan obviously heard it at the same time, because he shoved her behind him as Luke charged. In a blur of motion, Jack raised his rifle and fired. The shot caught Petrie in the shoulder, sending him tumbling backward to land slumped against the wall.

“Stupid,” Donovan said.

Pressing a hand to his bloody wound, Luke glared. “Who the hell
are
you?”
 

Sarah stepped from behind him to glare at Luke. “You can call him Blade.” The fear that filled Luke’s eyes gave her much satisfaction.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you get dressed and then stick your head outside and get the men in here,” Donovan suggested. He sighted down the barrel of the rifle, his target Luke’s chest. “I’ll keep an eye on Petrie.”

“Don’t leave me here with him!” Luke screamed, terrified.
 

Donovan glanced at Sarah, a twinkle in his eye. “Go ahead, sweetheart. As long as he doesn’t move, he’ll still be alive when you get back.”

Sarah averted her face so that Luke didn’t see the grin she couldn’t suppress as she headed for her discarded clothing. “Then can we go home?” she asked, sounding exasperated.
 

Donovan smiled, his dark eyes tender. “You bet we can, sassy girl.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Glowing with the pleasure of being home, Sarah snuggled closer to Donovan beneath the wedding ring quilt on his enormous bed. His arms tightened around her, and his hand stroked possessively over her naked hip.

“It feels as if we were apart forever, but it was only seven days,” she murmured.
 

“It was seven days too long,” Donovan replied. “I couldn’t sleep without you, sassy girl.”

She shifted up onto her elbow so that she could see his face. His hair was a dark tangle and his morning beard shadowed his jaw, making him look quite disreputable. But she knew better. Jack Donovan was the most honorable of men, despite his notorious past.

“I’m sorry for doubting you—for doubting us,” she said, brushing the cowlick from his temple. “I was so worried about your past coming back to haunt us, yet it was
my
past that almost ruined everything.”
 

Donovan took her hand and held it against his heart. “Don’t fret about it anymore, sweetheart. Petrie is in custody, and Jedidiah is going to make sure he doesn’t slip out of the hangman’s noose this time. He should have swung months ago for murdering your father.”

“But I was wrong not to trust you to protect us.”

“We were both wrong. I tried to forget my life as Blade, but you were right when you said that I couldn’t just put it aside. It doesn’t work that way.” He threaded his fingers through her loosened hair. “You know, we’ll probably argue some more over the next fifty years or so.”

“Probably,” she agreed.

“But sweetheart, I don’t think I could stand it if you ever left me again.”

His voice roughened at the end, and she leaned forward to kiss him. “That will never happen,” she promised, undone by the love she saw simmering in his eyes. “I’ve learned that you and I are stronger together than we are apart. Together, we can get through anything.”

“I was used to being alone,” he murmured, tracing a finger down her cheek.

“You’ll never be alone again. You’re a part of this town, Jack Donovan. And you’re a part of me.”
 

Their lips met in a slow, lingering kiss that echoed the powerful emotions of their hearts.
 

Then Donovan leered and patted her bottom. “I like being a part of you, sassy girl.”

“Jack!” She blushed despite herself.

“In fact, I think I’d like to be a part of you again.” With a playful growl, he rolled over, trapping her beneath his fully aroused body. “And again and again.”

She pressed her hands against his chest and grinned up at him. “I knew you were dangerous the first moment I saw you.”

“Lucky for you.”

“Very lucky for me.” She linked her arms around his neck and arched her brows coquettishly. “So, I hear you’re the best around with a blade. Feel like demonstrating?”

The slow, wolfish grin that spread across his face made her heart leap and her blood thunder through her veins. “My pleasure, sassy girl.”

Epilogue

NEW FOUNDER’S DAY CELEBRATION BRINGS PROSPERITY TO BURR

The Burr Chronicle
—June 15, 1883

This year, the town council’s idea to have local residents dress up as famous Western legends proved a huge success. Present at the Founder’s Day Festival were Nate Pearson and George Tillis as Frank and Jesse James, Jacob Mercer as Billy the Kid, Harve Heinman as Sheriff Pat Garrett, and Matt Gomez as the bounty hunter Blade.

To the thrill of the spectators, a mock bank robbery by the James brothers and Billy the Kid was foiled by Pat Garrett and Blade. Our heroes performed great feats of horsemanship and sharpshooting. This new addition to the festival brought people from miles around, making it the most successful Founder’s Day Festival in the history of the town.

About the Author

Debra Mullins is the award-winning author of historical and paranormal romances. When not writing, she is reading or traveling or working on her family tree—sometimes all at the same time. Born and raised in the New York/New Jersey area, she now lives in California with her family, where she doesn’t miss snowstorms in the least and optimistically continues her search for real pizza. Visit her at:

Website:
www.debramullins.com

Email:
[email protected]

Twitter:
@debramullins

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www.facebook.com/pages/Debra-Mullins/161717291054

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© 2011 Debra Mullins

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