Wanted: Fevered or Alive

by Long, Heather

  Buck and Delilah would handle the ranch. They’d relocated to Haven, so they could be on hand to help Jo with the younger children and be accessible to the town. Jed planned to keep an eye on the ranch house with Miss Annabeth and Lena looking after Cobb and Molly. Noah would also stay close to the house.

  The only source of agitation for Jason was Colonel Stanley, but Buck watched over the man’s dreams and they’d alerted the hands. If the colonel showed up on the property, a quiet alarm would go up. It was the best they could manage for the short trip.

  “We could have waited.” Olivia sat on the buckboard seat next to him. Nearly everyone else was on horseback, but he’d wanted Olivia to be as comfortable as possible. If they ran into trouble, Micah would swing around and pluck her up into a saddle while Jason, Sam, Scarlett, Cody and Mariska dealt with any interlopers.

  If she had any real concept of the strength he’d surrounded her in, she’d probably smack him.

  “No,” he told her, bumping her shoulder lightly with his. “We couldn’t.” He’d waited most of her life and nearly lost her because of it. He didn’t want to chance it again.

  “But you’re worried.” She wouldn’t let him put it off. “Everyone is. You’ve been tense since we left your land and you’re not going to relax until we’re back on it.”

  “It’s—the doppelganger is secure. Blade is dead.” Two of three problems resolved. Masterson was still out there, but his gift was passive enough that he’d have to come at them directly. An issue he or his siblings could readily handle if not one of the Morning Stars.

  “You want the other to come find us,” she spoke softly, but it wasn’t a strain to hear her. His back stiffened at the suggestion.

  “Why do you say that?” It came out guarded, but he didn’t deny the charge.

  “Because you don’t want to have to leave me to hunt them, but also don’t want to worry about him being out there. So you want to come, but you’re worried.”

  Jason smiled. Olivia saw so much, too much. “It is a calculated risk,” he admitted. “One we all discussed. You will be safe.”

  “I’m not worried about me.” Her confidence warmed him. “You let someone shoot you for me.”

  He sighed. “I’d do it again.” The lingering bruised muscles in his shoulder were nothing compared to the idea of losing her.

  “That is what worries me,” she admitted and put a hand on his leg when the buckboard bounced.

  “I have no intentions of being shot,” he told her. “We’re about to be married.”

  Olivia frowned. “I know that…”

  “Do you know that I have very improper plans for you after we’re married?” He waited a beat and then covered her hand with his. Her cheeks deepened to a rosy shade of pink.

  “Jason!”

  He laughed. The shock in her voice had carried out because Micah glanced over his shoulder toward them and grinned.

  “I can’t believe you said that.” She dug her fingers into his thigh and he felt something settle inside of him. She wasn’t worrying anymore, or at least she wasn’t worrying about him.

  “Why not? A man must think of these things.” He wondered what she would say if she knew of the conversation he’d had with his father after the scene in the sitting room. Olivia hadn’t quite forgiven Jed, though she would. Her heart was too kind and gentle. Jason, on the other hand, made a point of cornering his father.

  Jed’s response had intrigued him. His father wanted him more involved and more open to his family. He’d always believed Jason would be all right because of Olivia, but the revelations of the last year and the realization that both Kid and Jason were irrevocably different had rocked the man’s very stable world. They needed to talk, and he’d promised his father—promised himself—they would. After the wedding.

  “We’re in mixed company.” A choked laugh broke through her whisper.

  “They’re all married,” he reminded her. “I’m fairly certain they know exactly what types of things a man has to plan for, as well.” To his absolute delight she turned an even deeper shade of red. “What?”

  “Nothing,” she demurred and tried to pull her hand away, but he kept her fingers trapped. He liked having her touch him.

  “Tell me,” he coaxed. When she ducked her head and leaned toward him, he lowered his chin and listened.

  “I’ve never…you’re the only man…I don’t know exactly what happens after the wedding. I’ve never even kissed another man.” Her face had turned so red, he half-worried she might faint. “Scarlett and Jo—they…” She bit her lip.

  “They what?” The worry in her voice curbed his satisfaction at her previous admission.

  “They told me things.” She shifted uncomfortably next to him. “About what happens…after.”

  Though tempted to continue teasing her, the note of fear in her voice demanded he comfort her instead. “Well, it’s good that one of us has some advice. We may very well need it.”

  “Jason, they can hear us.” The last four words came out from between her clenched teeth.

  Sam? He waited for his brother to glance back. Can you range everyone out a little further? And ask Cody and Mariska to give us some privacy?

  Not bothering to hide his smile, Sam called something out and their little caravan widened with Micah taking the lead further up the road while Sam and Scarlett roamed to the left and Cody and Mariska took right.

  “They can’t hear us right now,” he told her.

  Olivia laughed and pinched his leg. “They’ll still know exactly what we’re talking about.”

  He shrugged. The whole world could know. She belonged to him, and they understood the consequences of upsetting her. “I can only do so much,” he told her honestly. “We’re marrying, they’re all married. They do understand. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” she huffed, but laughter took any sting from the words. “You know what to expect.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “And no.”

  “No?” She shifted on the seat, turning her face to him. Rampant curiosity took the place of her embarrassment. “Is it inappropriate to ask?”

  “Absolutely.” He grinned, and his cheeks ached from the expression. It was easy to smile around her, particularly when she was such an open book. Her face fell and she struggled to hide her disappointment.

  “Oh.”

  “I shall tell you anyway, because no question between us is inappropriate.” He’d be as open as he could manage for her. She couldn’t see his teasing looks or the way she made him smile. It wasn’t fair to keep anything else from her.

  She bit down on her lower lip and swallowed hard. “Are you certain no one can hear us?”

  “I’m sure,” he promised, but swept a glance over the others. The wolves had taken their horses to a much farther range away. Their hearing was the only one he’d been concerned about, but Cody had heard her. He’d seen that in the man’s expression and taken them further than Sam requested. Both wolves seemed to like Olivia, and Jason was grateful for that fondness.

  “Why did you say that you don’t know what to expect?”

  “I’ve never had a lover,” he told her truthfully and waited. Shock rippled across her face.

  “Never?” Was it so hard for her to believe? “I mean…”

  He waited, letting her work through how she wanted to ask the question. It didn’t embarrass him to admit his lack of experience. He understood the mechanics of the act—and it wasn’t the act that attracted him, but Olivia herself.

  “I don’t understand,” she finally admitted. “You’re a man. Wouldn’t you have…I mean…” She put a hand over her face, and grimaced. “I don’t even know how to ask the question.”

  “Olivia, darling, I can hear the thoughts of every person around me. It dilutes any possible attraction when you know what a woman is thinking.” He’d attempted it, he wouldn’t lie about the fact. He refused to give her any other details unless she asked.<
br />
  “Oh.” The deep rose color in her face faded and her expression sobered. “I never thought…”

  “Few would. I know I didn’t.” The first humiliating attempt had opened his eyes to a problem he’d never expected. After that, it had been rather a simple matter to avoid such encounters.

  “Well, it won’t be a problem for us though.” She sandwiched his hand between hers. “However, I promise even if you could hear my thoughts, they would only be about you…and perhaps a lot of questions about what you want.”

  How she could still manage to stagger him, he didn’t know. Kissing her knuckles, he teased her soft skin. Everything with her would be perfect, perfect enough to unleash the wild need he felt only for her. “I know. I trust you.” More than any person alive, he trusted her.

  “I love you,” she leaned her head to his shoulder.

  Yes, she did. Remarkable as it remained to him, she loved him. Ahead of him, the trail remained open and free of obstruction. He could sense his brothers and Scarlett. The wolves were still a blind spot, but they were alone on the trail. When they got back home, he had matters to settle—with his father, with the colonel, and the town. Those were problems for another day. The trip, the time in San Antonio, they were for Olivia.

  Bracing his boot on the footboard, Jason allowed himself to relax. She was next to him and safe. His family was around him. When the time to deal with MacPherson came, they would protect her. She would never worry again about where her home was or who would look after her. He’d make the all the arrangements.

  For now he would enjoy the time he had with her. His only regret was Kid’s absence and the rift that remained between him and his younger brother. The chasm might never heal and, despite what everyone had believed, hurting Kid had never been his intention. However, if hurting Kid had protected him, it had been the lesser of two evils.

  Olivia shifted next to him, and he glanced down at her. Buck believed that Jason protected her from his gift, had from the very beginning. If the dreamwalker and the old shaman were correct, then Jason had loved her from the moment he met her.

  He had no trouble believing that. He’d intended to push her away, to keep her safe from his life, but hurting Olivia was the greater of two evils. “I want to ask you something,” he said suddenly. “I need you to be honest with me.”

  “I’m always honest with you,” she chided him. “You’re the one with foolish ideas.”

  His lips quirked at the admonishment. “Yes, I am. I fear I will have a great many where you are concerned.”

  “I suspected as much.” She didn’t pull away, if anything, she relaxed against him further. The trust she had for him defied description. “Ask.”

  “Why did you decide on me?” Because she’d been determined from the moment she returned and nothing he’d said or done dissuaded her. Their contact had been limited in the last few years, enough so that he’d never even realized she wasn’t in the town. For that, he had only himself to blame. He’d tried to create a distance and stayed away, hoping that his life and his choices never tarnished her. The choice had left opportunities for her to find someone else—it wasn’t impossible—and the sinking sensation in his gut warned him he wouldn’t have taken the news well.

  “I’m not sure I understand the question.” She sat up a little straighter and he felt her absence keenly.

  “Why me?” he repeated. “You came home determined to marry me. I have a hard time believing it is because of the promise you extracted.” A promise she’d demanded, actually, when he’d asked her to dance.

  “I thought I was very clever,” she pouted, but a smile won over the sulk. “You felt sorry for me that night.”

  “No I didn’t.” Well, maybe he had, but it hadn’t been pity he’d experienced when he squired her onto the dance floor and she’d flowed in his arms.

  “Yes you did. You came to the dance and I sat at one of the tables. I could hear the music, full of life and joy. The fiddler kept a lively rhythm and people were clapping and stomping and laughing. They were happy. It was a wonderful sound and I wanted to be a part of it, so I sat there tapping my feet to the music.” It took nothing to conjure the memory of her face and the longing she’d worn as she canted her head toward the music. It had been a full crowd; the social a very popular event in Dorado which drew people from miles around. Sam and Micah hadn’t wasted anytime in finding girls to dance with—nor had Kid, though he’d vanished to Madame Pontfour’s before the first reel finished.

  “You wanted to dance,” he reminded her. “I saw it on your face. I arrived with my father and we were late.” It had bothered Jason, because Jed had meandered on their way into town. He’d decided it was time to have a discussion with all of his sons about responsibility and expectations.

  “I knew when you arrived,” she reminded him. “A stir went through the crowd and a lot of the other girls began to giggle. Apparently Sam and Micah were quite handsome, and then there was Kid. The girls and the women chattered about him, but always with this sense of wanton behavior that was unseemly.”

  Unsurprising considering his younger brother’s well-earned reputation, but Jason dismissed that. “I didn’t ask any other girls to dance.”

  “I know.” Olivia’s smile was so utterly smug, he had to laugh. “You came to sit with me. That made the others whisper, too.”

  He frowned. He hadn’t realized that. When he was with Olivia, the blessed peace spread over him and he didn’t have to hear the thoughts of anyone else. “What did they say?”

  “It’s not important. What was important was you came to sit with me.” She smiled. “You always found me. You could have asked any other woman there to dance, but you chose me, a girl. The blind girl. You never asked me for anything until you asked me to dance.”

  “So you decided to ask for a promise of betrothal before you’d say yes?” It had never failed to bemuse him.

  “I wanted to know if you would do it,” she admitted. “I wanted you to ask me. Which you didn’t until last week.” A serenity came over her face and the corners of her mouth curved upward.

  “What?” Curiosity nibbled at him.

  “Why did you ask me to dance that night? Why not some other girl? I know many of them there would have said yes. Was it only because you can’t hear my thoughts?”

  He couldn’t discount the contribution of the silence he experienced around her, but that was not the only or the largest reason. “I didn’t even realize any other women were there. You were the one I wanted to see. The only one I ever wanted to see.”

  “Just so,” but her expression softened, though the smugness remained. “You said I am the only one who sees you? Well you are the only one who ever saw me. Who took time to know me and what I liked. You did a hundred different things for me and you never asked me for anything in return. You were then and are now my best friend. That is why I decided on you…because I don’t want anyone else.”

  “I love you.” He didn’t say it as often as she did, but it didn’t mean he felt it any less. He couldn’t not feel around her, the tumble of emotions she unlocked in him refused to be bottled or contained.

  “I know you do.” She smiled. “I am so profoundly grateful for it.”

  They needed to get to San Antonio faster. He wanted every single minute with her he could manage. Maybe they would only have a few months. But he would make them count.

  Olivia, Silver Star Inn

  Olivia pressed her hands against her lower back and stretched. Her bottom had turned increasingly numb over the last two and a half days and she knew they’d held back. The trip had taken the private coach two days and the coachman had pushed his team of horses. Jason insisted on regular breaks and taken her for long walks to ease the cramping in her muscles. Any sign of a complaint on her part and he found a way to relieve the source of tension. Unfortunately, that meant their trip had taken longer and they’d arrived near nightfall.

  The Justice of the Peace wouldn’t be in until the next
morning. By popular consent, they’d stabled the horses and headed to the Silver Star Inn. Their arrival caused quite the stir, and the owner arrived before they’d finished checking in. His greeting to each of the Kane brothers and Scarlett had made Olivia giggle—the Kane influence reached far beyond their ranch. Though the Inn had several rooms available, they’d chosen the two furthest from the other guests.

  Olivia had thought she would share with Scarlett and Mariska, but Cody had shocked them all at the top of the stairs when he announced she would stay with him and Mariska. “Scarlett, you can protect them.”

  “What?” Olivia had managed before anyone else asked.

  “It’s the night before your wedding.” Mariska slipped an arm through hers and tugged her away from Jason. His fingers had tightened briefly, but he released her when she didn’t argue with the wolf female. “You two can’t share a room. Scarlett can look after Jason and his brothers, Cody and I will look after you. We told the innkeeper he was your brother.”

  “Olivia?” Jason’s guarded voice told her three things. They hadn’t consulted him, he really didn’t like the idea, but he wouldn’t oppose it if she didn’t object. Her tummy had twisted and her heart fluttered almost too fast. She hadn’t wanted to be separated from him, but it was the proper choice to make.

  “It’s one night,” she told him. “The last time we have to be apart.” It had been the right thing to say.

  He brushed her cheek in a light caress. “Very well. We’ll wash up and then eat, unless you’d like a tray in your room and to get some sleep.” They’d shared a quick meal in the Inn’s dining hall, and then the wolves had taken her back to the room, but only after she’d extracted a promise from Jason’s brothers that they would look after him. She was exhausted and nervous, but she hadn’t forgotten the ever-present threat of the other hunter.

  Mariska guided her into the room and the wolves both paced the place, and then told her the measurements. The deliberateness of the action had amused her and she told them as much.