by Jolene Faye
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Some things looked so familiar, but it was possible this had been the same place. So many miles he'd traveled the same idea haunted him. He had gone so far and so fast that he'd lost track of where he'd actually been. He'd spent countless days a few weeks back digging into every burrow he'd come across. While the hope he'd find the right place kept him pushing on, the fact that it had been over a year gave him a defeated feeling of hopelessness. If only those women had stepped up that night and told of the gambler who'd been pushing the girls for part of their wages, he wouldn't have lost her or such a big chunk of his life. The soft friendly bark of the black and white bird dog broke him from his thoughts as she greeted him coming out of the woods. "Hey Bird, ready to head home," he chuckled toward the old dog as she fell into pace with his stallion. Home, the word and the thought turned his mind back to Sybil. He could picture his home and already knew it could be anywhere as long as she was there. Nudging against the sides of his stallion, Cole picked up the speed of their gait as he neared the farm and the growing feeling of anxiousness crawled over his skin. He wanted to see her, talk to her and tell her that he didn't want to leave. As he rounded the last bend in the path, Cole looked ahead to the farm and pulled back on the reigns spotting the horse at the porch. Guiding his horse slowly off the path, Cole narrowed his eyes toward the two silhouettes on the porch. There was no mistaking the shapely curves of Sybil as she stood talking to a well-built dark haired man. After making sure he was far enough off the path, Cole leaned back in his saddle watching around edge of a boulder as the two embraced. Much too long for his liking, Cole shifted in his saddle fighting against the heat of jealousy rising in his throat before moving his horse around the backside of the large boulder. As the man's horse approached at a fast walk, Cole clinched his fists around the saddle horn and watched him until he disappeared around the bend of the path. "The father," he muttered flatly as he recalled the earlier encounter with the law man and his cold stare. He had to be, Cole decided as he slowed his horse back onto the path. If she'd been married, any kind of husband wouldn't have left her alone this long. If he was a big time lawyer and they'd had a fling that produced a child, he could handle that but the embrace he witnessed between them left much to his vivid imagination.
Watching him ride up, Sybil smiled and stepped from the porch waving. The coolness of the midday wind nipped at her still flushed cheeks as she walked toward the barn and Cole. As he approached she pulled the barn door open and stepped inside. Sybil wrapped her arms around her waist and smiled as he slid from the saddle and untied his satchel. She was certain now that she wanted him to stay. After talking to Robert, she'd realized the feelings she'd once had for Robert were not the same as she'd been feeling about Cole. As he started tugging on the straps of the saddle, his silence weighed on her shoulders. "I cleared a stall for him," she started softly as she walked around the front of the stallion and softly stroked his face. She'd hoped all morning that by her making a permanent space for his horse, Cole would realize she wanted him to stay. A quick nod and sharp grunt wasn't exactly the response she'd expected but as he turned to set the saddle over the rail she noticed the strained paleness of his face. "Cole, are you feeling ok," she stepped forward raising her hand to check for fever. A small gasp slipped from her lips as he startled her, grabbing her wrist and stopping her from touching him. "I am fine. The doctor said I'm right as rain," he muttered flatly as he let go of her arm and turned away leading the stallion into the stall. Still shocked by his actions and cold demeanor, Sybil stood there with her mouth open in disbelief as she wringed her fingers around her wrist. Closing the stall gate, Cole turned back toward her and watched the deep rise and fall of her chest as she stood gaping at his reaction. "Cole, I don't understand. Are you angered with me? Why are you acting so cold," her soft voice flittered into the stifling heat of the barn as the beginning of tears glimmered in her eyes as she watched him. God she is beautiful, he thought. Watching the moisture pool in the corners of her eyes, his heart thumped loudly in his ears. His breath caught in his throat as the idea of making her cry tore at his heart. With a quick step forward, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. Watching her eyes widen at the speed of his movements, Cole grinned as he lowered his head pressing his lips firmly over the soft curves of her mouth. Feeling the straightness of her surprise soften under the weight of his arms, Cole teased the tip of his tongue over the seam of her lips. Her mind whirled as the quickness of his arms left her feeling dizzy. The searing heat of his mouth wrapping over her lips, forming perfectly against the plump curves of her mouth had Sybil holding her breath until she relaxed, almost melting into the warmth of his arms. She had dreamed of this so many times in the past two weeks but the warm sweetness of his breath was more than her inexperienced mind could even begin to know. As the soft, pleading teases of his tongue pressed into the soft seam of her lips, Sybil sighed. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned into the firmness of his body and parted her lips feeling the moist softness of his tongue slip over hers. Her slow rolling moans slipping between the soft passions of the kiss wrapped around them in the warmth of the barn as they tenderly teased and explored the depths of each other's mouths. Her heart pounded against his chest as the heated tingle playing over her body seemed to center into the depths of her stomach. "Cole," she whispered between the gentle rushes of heated kisses. The tightening of the soft mounds of her breasts ached as the hardness of his chest pressed against them. Sliding her fingers along the buttoned seam of his shirt, she pulled at the buttons slowly. Letting her fingers press against the heat of his skin under his shirt, Sybil moaned softly. Her mind whirled with the heated thoughts of falling to the ground wrapped in the strength of his arms, wanting to feel the bareness of his skin against hers and the rush of passion as he made her feel whole. Pulling his lips from hers, Cole pressed several soft kisses over her lips, smiling for a moment as her eyes opened and gazed dreamily into his. The heated hue of redness in her cheeks affirmed he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do, but the soft moans and the stroke of her fingers against his skin brought a burning flame of desire over him. The last few nights his thoughts had twisted around his desire to have her, to make love to her so passionately, but the blaze of jealousy betrayed his thoughts as the image of her in the lawyer's arms returned. Straightening his back and loosening his hold around her waist, he twisted the soft smile into the form of a cocky grin and stepped back. "Even the kid's father didn't make you blush like that." Shaking her head at the rawness of his tone, Sybil pressed her fingertips to the heated wetness of her lips and looked at him slowly as the words sank into her mind. Before it all could settle and make sense, she watched as Cole's face paled and he swayed falling fast to the ground.