Tales of Western Romance

by Baker, Madeline

  After dinner, Bowdry secured two rooms in the hotel, then asked the desk clerk for lots of hot water to be sent up to their rooms as soon as possible.

  Macie felt somewhat lost when she entered her room and closed the door, along with an unexpected sense of disappointment that they wouldn’t be sharing the same room—and the same bed. She shook the feeling away. What was she doing here, anyway? Surely whatever fate had sent her here must know she could end her life in this century as easily as her own.

  Moving to the window, she pushed the white lace curtain aside and stared at the street below. How was she going to get back home? If she asked Relampago to take her, would he? There had been times in her life when she felt like she didn’t belong, but in this case, it was true. She definitely didn’t belong here, and never would. Yet even as she yearned for home, she knew she would be sorry to see the last of Ace Bowdry. There was no denying that she was attracted to him. And he to her.

  Maybe Relampago was more than a time-traveling horse, she thought with a smile. Maybe he was a matchmaker, as well.

  * * * * *

  The following morning, Bowdry knocked on her door bright and early. “You awake in there?”

  Scrambling out of bed, Macie wrapped a sheet around her nakedness and opened the door.

  Bowdry grinned at her. “You ready for breakfast?”

  “Do I look ready?”

  “You look ready for something.”

  The hungry look in his eyes caused a shiver of excitement in the pit of her stomach. With his gaze focused on hers, he backed her into the room and shut the door behind him.

  Macie stared up at him, her heart pounding, her lips slightly parted, as he reached for her.

  He’s going to kiss me. Breathless with anticipation, she closed her eyes.

  There was no hesitation in his kiss. His lips were warm and firm, confident without being demanding.

  Needing something solid to hang on to, Macie clung to the sheet with one hand, the other curling over his shoulder as he deepened the kiss. He made a throaty growl when her tongue slid over his lower lip.

  Muttering something unintelligible, he backed her toward the bed, lowered her gently onto the mattress, and covered her body with his.

  “Damn, woman, what are you doing to me?” he asked, his voice gruff.

  “What are you doing to me?” she retorted.

  He grinned at her, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “I don’t know,” he said, stripping her of the sheet, “but whatever it is, let’s not stop.”

  Chapter 4

  Macie woke abruptly. For a moment, she stared up at the ceiling, unable to recall where she was. And then it all came rushing back. The horse. The journey through time.

  And the man. Ah, yes, the man. She turned her head to see him lying asleep beside her. Just looking at Mr. Tall, Dark, and Sexy made her toes curl. They had sex. No, it had been more than sex, but before she fell too much harder, she should probably find out a little more about him. Like, was he married?

  The thought sent a cold chill down her spine. Maybe she should have found that out before they tumbled into bed.

  Slipping carefully out of bed, she pulled on her sweatshirt, stepped into her jeans, pulled on her boots. She had never been one to have casual sex, and although there had been nothing casual about what they’d done, the thought of facing Bowdry had her stomach tied in knots.

  The creak of the bed, the rustle of sheets, told her he was awake. She could feel his gaze on her back.

  “Goin’ somewhere, freckles?” he asked.

  “I need to…ah…use the…”

  “It’s under the bed.”

  Under the bed? Good Lord, did he expect her to use a chamber pot while he watched?

  “Give me a minute and you can have some privacy.”

  There was no mistaking the amusement in his voice. Maybe she was being silly to be so modest after what they had shared, but she couldn’t help it.

  She bit down on her lip, listening as he dressed, remembering all too well how he looked in nothing at all. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed to keep from turning around.

  Her stomach fluttered wildly when his arms slid around her waist and he kissed the back of her neck. “I need coffee, and lots of it,” he said, his breath warm against her cheek. “How about you?”

  “You’re a man after my own heart, Ace Bowdry,” she replied, feeling breathless. “I’m about a quart low.”

  Murmuring, “I’ll meet you downstairs,” he kissed her again and left the room.

  * * * * *

  Later, after eating breakfast in the hotel, Bowdry suggested they buy some new clothes. “You should have a dress,” he said. “Something blue, to match your eyes. And I need another shirt. I could use a hat, too. Lost mine awhile back.”

  With a nod, she fell into step beside him, and they walked down the boardwalk to the mercantile. Oddly, it never occurred to her to object when he paid for her dress and a few other items she needed. Of course, the fact that she didn’t have any money accounted for part of it, but, oddly enough, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to be shopping with him.

  “I’ve got a place about twenty miles from here,” he said as they walked back toward the hotel. “I haven’t worked it in a while, and it’s pretty run down, but I’ve been thinking about fixin’ it up, maybe running a few head of cattle.” He removed his new hat and ran a hand through his hair. “Seein’ as how you’re new here, that is, if you’ve got no place else to go…hell, woman, I’m askin’ you to… Hell, it’s probably too soon, but…”

  “If you’re asking me to come with you,” Macie said, smiling up at him. “I’d love to.”

  “Well, hot damn!” he exclaimed, and lifting her in his arms, he twirled her round and round, oblivious to the startled looks on the faces of people passing by.

  Her decision called for another trip to the mercantile, where they stocked up on necessities—blankets, canned goods, coffee, salt, flour, sugar, baking soda, and matches. From there, they went to the livery stable where Bowdry bought a horse and a wagon to carry their supplies. He lifted her onto the high spring seat then swung up beside her. Picking up the reins, he clucked to the horse.

  Relampago trotted alongside the wagon.

  Macie’s initial burst of excitement faded as they left the town behind. What was she doing here with a man she hardly knew?

  It was a thought that haunted her in the days which followed.

  * * * * *

  As Bowdry had said, the place needed work and they spent their days cleaning up the rough four-room cabin. Bowdry made a trip into town and bought a gallon of white wash and they painted all the rooms, which brightened the place considerably.

  Macie had never been much of a seamstress, but she bought several yards of gingham and sewed curtains for the windows in the kitchen and the bedroom. She ordered drapes for the living room from a mail-order house in the east. On another trip to town, Bowdry bought a new mattress and pillows for the bed.

  At the end of three weeks, the cabin looked a hundred percent better, and Bowdry went to work repairing the barn and the corrals. Macie helped as best she could, but she had never been proficient at swinging a hammer and after she smashed her thumb for the third time, Bowdry sent her back to the house to bake a pie.

  It wasn’t the best looking apple pie she had ever seen, but Bowdry praised her efforts.

  As their life settled into a routine, Macie grew more and more depressed. She missed going to the movies and shopping at the mall, she missed watching TV, hot running water, and her computer. She didn’t like doing her laundry in a wash tub over a fire, or hanging clothes on a line stretched between two saplings, or cooking on a wood stove. She missed her microwave and junk food.

  They had been living together just over a month when Bowdry said they needed to talk.

  “I can’t help noticin’ you’re not happy here,” he said, not quite meeting her eyes. “I know you’re probably used to better
than this…” He cleared his throat. “And I know I’m not much…”

  “It’s not you,” she said quickly. And it was true. She loved him more every day they spent together. He was strong as an ox, yet tender with her, considerate of her needs. She had only to ask for something, and he did his best to get it for her.

  “Then I guess you’re missing your old life. If you’re truly unhappy here, I reckon Relampago will take you back home, if that’s where you’re meant to be.”

  That night, Macie stayed up long after Bowdry had gone to bed. Did she want to go back home? There was nothing for her there. And no reason to take her own life. In spite of what she had lost, she still had a lot to live for. She was young. She was healthy. And she had a man who loved her. But did she want to stay here? Could a woman from the twenty-first century, accustomed to all the conveniences technology had to offer, ever be happy living in the Old West?

  She was still mulling the answer to that question when she woke in the morning.

  Stepping outside, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders to ward off the chill, she gazed at the land, and at the tall, dark-haired man who was chopping firewood near the barn.

  She was about to go back into the house to start breakfast when Relampago trotted up to the porch. “Hey, boy,” she murmured. “What should I do?”

  The stallion shook his head, then whinnied softly.

  “I’ve been asking the wrong question, haven’t I? The question isn’t whether I can be happy here, in the past. The question is, can I be happy in the future without Bowdry. And you know what? The answer is no.”

  With her decision made, laughter bubbled up inside Macie. Life wouldn’t be easy here, but suddenly, it didn’t matter. She was here, with Bowdry, and that was where she belonged. In a flash of intuition, she saw herself married to Ace Bowdry, saw them raising half a dozen kids, growing old together, living happily-ever-after.

  Bowdry looked up just then, a smile curving his lips when he saw her. He sank the blade of the ax into a block of wood, then strode toward her, his dark eyes alight.

  Still smiling, Macie patted the stallion on the neck. “You can go now,” she called over her shoulder as she hurried into Bowdry’s arms. “I’m home.”

  The End

  The white stallion, Relampago, travels through time as he hears the call of someone in danger. With a toss of his head, the stallion began to run, mane and tail flying in the wind as he raced swiftly over the rolling hills.

  It was not an Apache warrior who needed saving this time. Or a young woman contemplating suicide. But a woman looking for love in all the wrong places...

  Capture the Lightning

  Prologue

  The white stallion grazed peacefully on a patch of sun-warmed grass beside a slow-moving river. The Lakota horse herd grazed nearby, never getting too close. In the distance, smoke rose from the lodges of the People.

  The stallion did not belong to the Lakota. Or the Apache. Or the Cheyenne. Or any other tribe. He was Relámpago and he belonged to no one. The Apache called him a ghost horse because of his pale color. The Cheyenne called him a spirit horse because he could travel the shadow road between the past and the present, but he preferred to make his home in the past.

  A gentle breeze stirred the leaves of the trees, carrying with it a voice from the present. A voice only the stallion could hear.

  With a toss of his head, the stallion began to run, mane and tail flying in the wind as he raced swiftly over the rolling hills. It was not an Apache warrior who needed saving this time. Or a young woman contemplating suicide.

  But a woman looking for love in all the wrong places.

  Chapter 1

  “And they lived happily ever after.”

  Bonnie Daniels sighed as she closed the book, then pressed it to her heart. Movies, books, and popular songs all had happy-ever-after endings. Why couldn’t she? What was wrong with her?

  Laying the book aside, she went into the bedroom and studied her reflection in the mirror over her dresser. Long brown hair, brown eyes, pointy nose. So, she was a pound or two overweight. Okay, ten pounds. So, she wasn’t as beautiful as Angelina Jolie and she couldn’t sing like Taylor Swift or dance like Jennifer Gray. It was said that everyone had a talent; she just hadn’t found hers yet.

  Maybe the problem was there were just too many beautiful, talented women running around these days. She should have been born in the Old West, where the men outnumbered the women. Even ugly women had been prized back then. And she wasn’t ugly, just not movie-star gorgeous.

  In the eighteen hundreds, she could have been a mail-order bride. Or, more likely, an old maid school teacher. She grinned at her fanciful thoughts.

  “You’ve been watching too many old westerns,” she muttered. But hey, could she help it if she liked the romance of the Old West? After all, who could resist a tall, lanky cowboy wearing a black Stetson? Even homely cowboys looked sexy in a hat.

  Life had been slower back then. There had been time to appreciate the things that were important, like friends and family. People had actually talked to each other instead of sending text messages or email. Families had stayed together and prayed together. It wasn’t like today, when everything was hurry, hurry, hurry, and nobody took the time to appreciate the simple things in life.

  “Geez, Bonnie, how maudlin can you get?”

  But who could blame her? Since her father retired, she hardly ever saw her parents any more. They were always on a cruise ship to some exotic location. Her brother had recently been promoted to CEO of his company and moved to New York. Her younger sister had been accepted at Harvard Law.

  “And what have you done with your life, Bonnie Daniels? Nothing. Not one darn thing.”

  She was a receptionist in a pediatrician’s office. She’d had three failed relationships in the last four years. None of them had been serious. Her love life was currently in the toilet, and she knew it was all her fault. There had been nothing wrong with Wade or Will or Luke. Except that they weren’t cowboys… Of course, real cowboys were hard to find these days.

  Unless you spent a lot of time at rodeos. Or stayed at a dude ranch.

  Bonnie smacked her forehead. Of course! Why hadn’t she thought of it sooner? Her vacation was only a few weeks away. She would go to a dude ranch and indulge her fantasies.

  Filled with a sudden excitement, she sat down at her computer and did a Google search for dude ranches. She hadn’t expected there to be so many. She checked those in Colorado, California, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming, and decided on the one in South Dakota because the scenery was spectacular. According to the online brochure, the ranch had been in the Collins family for over two hundred years, and had once been a working cattle ranch. They offered hay rides, volleyball, a swimming pool, bingo, fly fishing, river rafting, square dances, riding lessons, and trail rides.

  It sounded perfect.

  Chapter 2

  The Collins Dude Ranch was everything Bonnie hoped it would be. She stared, wide-eyed, at the ranch house, the barn, the horses in corrals, the cattle grazing along the river with the mountains in the distance. If it wasn’t for the SUVs parked in front of the house, she would have sworn she had stepped back in time.

  Excitement fluttered in her stomach as she checked in at the main house. Mrs. Collins gave her a schedule of events, advised her that meals were served at seven am, noon, and six pm, and gave her a key to one of the ten cabins located behind the main house.

  Bonnie thanked Mrs. Collins, picked up her suitcase and hurried toward the log cabin that would be her home for the next two weeks.

  The cabin was rustic and adorable. The living room was square, with a stone fireplace, a flowered sofa, and a wagon-wheel coffee table. White lace curtains fluttered at the open window. There was a double bed in the bedroom, an antique dresser, and an old-fashioned rocking chair. The bathroom was tiny, the kitchen not much bigger, but that didn’t matter, since she would be taking her meals up at the house.


  She quickly unpacked her suitcase, then changed into the brand new jeans, Western-style shirt, and boots she had purchased before leaving home. Standing in front of the mirror on the dresser, she settled her brand new cream-colored Stetson hat on her head, grimaced at her reflection, and left the cabin.

  Since it was Sunday, there were no events planned other than a get-together after dinner so the guests could meet the hosts and get acquainted with each other.

  Since she had a few hours to kill, Bonnie decided to take a look around. A narrow trail looked promising and she strolled in that direction. The scenery was amazing. Acres of forest surrounded the ranch. Snow-covered mountains rose beyond the forest. The trail ran along a narrow winding stream that was crystal clear.

  “So beautiful,” she murmured. Being born and raised in the city, she wasn’t used to wide-open spaces, air that was so clean, or a sky that was such a bright blue, it almost hurt her eyes to look at it.

  Time lost all meaning as she wandered on. Every turn in the trail revealed another sweeping vista. The trail ascended gradually until she reached a plateau. She came to an abrupt halt when she spied a deer. She had seen them in zoos and on TV, of course, but to see one in the wild was a new experience.

  The deer stared at Bonnie.

  Bonnie stared back. How beautiful the creature was, with its big ears and liquid-black eyes.

  She took a step forward, gasped in dismay when her foot broke a twig and the deer bounded away.

  Bonnie was thinking it was time to turn back when the sky overhead suddenly turned dark. She shivered as a brisk wind sprang up. How had the weather changed so quickly? A flash of lightning, a rumble of thunder, and the heavens opened.