Texas
May 1878
A single longhorn stood in Sadie’s garden. The brute eyed her indifferently, chewing on a mouthful of greens.
She grabbed her broom and waved it at the beast. “Get out of my vegetable patch, you pointy-headed devil.”
The steer sauntered through the broken fence, leaving her to survey the destruction.
“Some things never change,” she muttered under her breath.
“Having difficulties, Mrs. Ballantyne?” a deep, rumbling voice inquired from behind her.
A current of heat curled up her spine, leaving a tingle of anticipation in its wake. She laid her broom against the remnants of the fence but didn’t turn around. “I seem to have the same trouble every spring.”
Reaching around her, Noah gently drew her back until she leaned against his chest. “With cattle?” he whispered close to her ear.
“And cowboys,” she replied on a sigh.
When he laughed, his breath filled the shell of her ear, heating her straight through. “Didn’t your husband tell you to stay inside the house?”
“Didn’t I tell my husband to keep his cattle out of my garden?”
A rumble of appreciation vibrated in his chest as his hands moved to caress her swollen belly. Then he lifted her into his arms. “The baby’s due any time, and you agreed to lie down and rest.”
“I’ve spent enough time in that bed,” she grumbled.
He nuzzled her neck. “Are you complaining about your husband’s lovemaking?”
“My husband’s made love to me in every room inside our house and many locations outside too, so my remark about the bed is irrelevant.” She couldn’t have stopped her satisfied smile even if she’d tried. She didn’t try.
Noah carried her into the house and up the stairs. “You sound like a wicked woman. I learned you worked in one of the most notorious saloons up north. Do you deny it?”
“No.” She held onto the word, letting it slip from her mouth with a slow deliberation that matched the pace of her hand exploring the muscles inside his shirt.
He swept through their bedroom door and rocked to a halt by their bed. Under her hand, his heartbeat raced in time with hers. So did the pulse in his neck. His strength, solid and warm as stone heated by the sun, continued in a nerve-tingling roughness as she traced the line of his jaw. The same determined line she’d gazed up at when he’d saved her from his herd while she’d cursed him for the Devil.
His arms tightened around her as if loath to let go. “And the lies that came between us?”
“I no longer need them.” She added her lips to her exploration of the determined ridge that ended at his ear. “The truth is my husband was my first and only lover. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. So you see…” she caressed the curve of his ear with her tongue, “…my past isn’t very scandalous after all.”
The smile she craved lifted his lips. “I still think you’re wicked.” He set her on the bed, leaning over to nip her neck before drawing back. “Deliciously so.”
She tugged him down beside her on the mattress and sighed when he wrapped his arms around her again. “So are you, Mr. Ballantyne,” she whispered against his lips. “And thank heavens for that. It wouldn’t be any fun being wicked without you.”
The End
AUTHOR NOTE
The spark for Between Love & Lies came from the letter below and my collection of Time-Life Old West books containing these lines: “The longhorns were carriers of a microscopic tick. The Texas animals were immune to the parasite, but the same tick produced deadly splenic fever in local cattle.”
I imagined a small farm, held together only by the grit and hard work of its owner, might not survive such an event. I wondered what might happen next, both on that unlucky farm and in the nearest town: Dodge City, the Queen of Cattle Towns—where life would be challenging for a woman who luck had deserted.
~ Jacqui Nelson
January 1, 1878 - Letter in the Washington, D. C. Evening Star
“Dodge City is a wicked little town. Here those nomads in regions remote from the restraints of moral, civil, social, and law enforcing life, the Texas cattle drovers, from the very tendencies of their situation the embodiment of waywardness and wantonness, end the journey with their herds, and here they loiter and dissipate, sometimes for months, and share the boughten dalliances of fallen women.”
DEDICATION
For my readers who waited so long for this story. Thank you for your wonderful words of encouragement while I strove to find my own words to finish this new venture into the Old West.
DEAR READER
Welcome to book one in my Gambling Hearts series. Lewis Adams and Doctor Rhodes’ adventures are coming next. I hope you enjoyed reading Noah and Sadie’s gamble for love in Between Love & Lies. If you did, please consider writing a review or say hello via the usual places including email. I look forward to hearing from you!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jacqui Nelson writes historical romantic adventures set in the American West. Her stories include an Oregon Trail scout, an ex-Rebel spy turned government rabble rouser, and a Dodge City cardsharp gambling with love and death. Those are her heroines. Wait till you meet her heroes! Her love for the Old West came from watching classic Western movies while growing up on a cattle farm. She’s been nominated for over 20 awards and won the RWA® Golden Heart® for Historical Romance and the Laramie® for best Western Romance Drama.
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PRAISE FOR MY BOOKS
“Spellbinding stories that whisper to your soul.”
—LINDA BRODAY,
NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author
“[Ms.] Nelson easily lures readers along on a romantic, suspenseful ride…with high stakes, a realistic setting, and larger-than-life characters.”
—VANESSA KELLY,
USA Today Bestselling Author (on B & N’s Love Rocks column)
“Pulled me into the American West faster than a shot of whiskey could be downed on a hot day.”
—GAEL, Amazon Reviewer
“If you like Hell on Wheels, you’ll love Adella’s Enemy. It has enough to tempt and interest all readers with great characters and attention to historical detail to make you feel as if you’re there during the building of the railroad...a story of revenge, forgiveness, mistakes made and lessons learned.”
—MUST LOVE BOOKS, Amazon Reviewer
BOOK LIST
Between Heaven & Hell
On a trail full of danger,
will he guide her to heaven or hell?
Hannah knows one thing the moment she enters Fort Leavenworth—she's arrived in Hell. But inside is the means to a new life, a position as a scout on a wagon train bound for the Western Territories. All she has to do is convince the wagon master, Paden Callahan, she's the right person for the job.
After his wife was murdered by the Comanche, Paden let his work as a Texas Ranger consume him. Now he wants nothing more than to disappear into the West. Unfortunately, the one man he can't refuse has asked him to guide a wagon train full of tenderfoots across thousands of miles of Indian land. But Paden's greatest challenge turns out to be Hannah, a woman his heart won't allow him to ignore even though she was raised by an enemy he hates.
Adella’s Enemy
The War Between the States ended five years ago, but she still pursues her enemy…
Rebel spy turned government rabble rouser Adella Willows receives her mission straight from a Washington senator—play havoc with the Katy Railroad and derail its bid to win the race. The senator craves wealth. Adella craves revenge against the man responsible for her brother’s death.
But her plans crumble into chaos when she enters a battle of wits with the railroad’s foreman.
An ocean separates him from his failures in Ireland, but he’s still haunted by those who died...
Seasoned railroad foreman Cormac McGrady’s sole desire is keeping his workmen safe and employed, which means keeping the Katy ahead of its rivals. But the beautiful spy bedeviling his railroad needs protecting as well. Cormac must choose between winning the race and winning Adella’s heart, while Adella must choose whether she lives for revenge or dies for love.
Passion’s Prize
An anthology in the Steam! Romance & Rails Series featuring three interlinked novellas: Adella’s Enemy by Jacqui Nelson, Eden’s Sin by Jennifer Jakes, Kate’s Outlaw by E.E. Burke.
Outlaws, soldiers, and spies bedevil the Katy Railroad as construction crews race to reach Indian Territory before their rival. The prize—a fortune in land rights for the winning line. Stakes are just as high for three women whose lives hinge on the outcome.
COPYRIGHT
Between Love & Lies is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2015 Jacqui Nelson
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book in whole or in part in any form.
Cover design by The Killion Group, Inc
Published by Jacqui Nelson
ISBN eBook: 978-0-9936387-3-2
Between Love and Lies Page 27