“Rose.” She looked up at him and he inclined his head motioning her over.“Got your peace maker?”
“What?”
“Get it. This place is about to go up like a powder keg.”
“What?” She said again wondering if he had lost his mind. Then Raven screamed as someone grabbed her and Matt moved forward. She watched him approach and the man took a swing at Matt as soon as he was close. Matt dodged the blow and connected with one of his own but then someone grabbed him from behind and the first man hit him. Rose grabbed the axe handle from under the bar. It was as if the entire room had slowed to a crawl, all across the room fights began breaking out seemingly unrelated to each other. She dodged a hand that grabbed for her and ran to the store room. She retrieved the shotgun she kept behind the door. Stepping back into the room she fired it into the floor and immediately popped in another cartridge. The activity in the room ceased and everyone looked for the source of the gunfire. Matt pulled his pistol pointing at the crowd in general and no one in particular.
“Everyone out.” Rose bellowed. For a moment no one moved.
“I think you’re outgunned.” A man with dark hair said, he was standing not far from Matt and Matt turned his gun toward him.
“Don’t worry, you’ll go first.” For a half a second Matt thought the man might be considering pulling his gun but then he turned toward the door. That seemed to unfreeze everyone else. Those that had been knocked down got up. Everyone shuffled out the door. Matt didn’t holster his gun until they were all out. Rose was furious he could see it from across the room. She was still holding the shotgun draped across her arm like a shotgun rider. He couldn’t remember ever having wanted a woman as much as he wanted her right then. He could happily sling her over his shoulder and carry her off like a Viking bride. She might kill him for it but at least he would die happy. He didn’t act on that fantasy though. Opting instead to survey the damage. The damage was actually very minimal considering what it would have been if the brawl had gone on more than a minute.
“This why you don’t fight with them.” Matt’s head snapped up at the sound of Izzy’s voice and he was instantly angry.
“Are you trying to say I started this?”
“No, I am not trying to say it, I am saying it. Your hot head almost cost us our business.” He yelled.
“I had nothing to do with it. A blind man could see this was a set up.” Matt yelled back.
“From where I am sitting, you threw the first punch.”
“That’s a crock!”
“The hell it is!”
“Hey knock it off both of you!” Rose interjected, but they continued arguing. “Hey!” she yelled again, finally getting their attention. “Matt is right, there were too many fights in too many places for one to have started it. Not to mention the men fighting were not our regulars. Someone set this up on purpose and you two squabbling to be the cock of the walk doesn’t help anything.” Izzy bent and picked up an over turned chair and the girls began gathering up empty glasses. Matt relaxed a fraction and began cleaning up but he was still furious.
Matt felt a hand on his arm and turned to find Rose he straightened up and turned to her. Her eyes widened and she took a step back.
“What’s the matter?” She had such a peculiar look on her face that he was instantly on edge again. She raised a shaky finger and pointed at his mouth. He touched it and felt the sting, he pulled his hand back and found his fingers bloodstained. He quickly stepped forward and wrapped his arm securely around her waist.
“Easy, I got ya,” he whispered. He pressed his handkerchief to his split lip. He led her toward the door.
“It’s okay I’m not gonna…” before she could finish the sentence her steps faltered. His arm tightened and he picked up the pace. As soon as they were into the hall and out of the sight of the others he swept her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way. She was completely unconscious by the time he laid her on the bed. If the time before was any indication, he had some time before she woke up so he opted to make the most of it. He went back out the door and found Katrina in the hall. She took one look at him and he saw understanding in her eyes.
“Oh, you’re bleeding.”
“Well not intentionally,” he said, Katrina laughed.
“She almost drowned once you know. We were swimming and I cut my foot on a rock. Odd that the water didn’t wake her don’t you think?”
“She ah… I thought no one knew.”
“Well she would prefer it that way. Of course now it’s just me and apparently you.”
“What about Izzy?”
“I don’t think so.” Katrina shook her head.
“Do you know where her brothers are?” He wasn’t sure what made him ask but he thought if anyone would know it would be Katrina, but she just frowned at him.
“She doesn’t have any brothers that I know of. At least she’s never mentioned them. She doesn’t mention her parents either, I mean well you know.” Matt smiled, he knew what she meant.
“Will you keep an eye on her?”
“Sure.”
The girls had everything wiped down and what glass there was cleaned up when he got back. Izzy had put up most of the chairs. He grabbed a broom and began sweeping.
“Where’s Rose?” Izzy asked.
“She wasn’t feeling well. She went to lay down. Too much excitement I think,” he said without looking up.“Katrina is with her.” He added, suddenly very glad she was.
After the saloon was cleaned up Matt stepped out into the evening air. The other saloons were still open. He didn’t see anyone loitering around watching the place. It looked as though all the trouble makers had dispersed.
The room was nearly dark when he opened the door. The lamp was burning but it was low. He was surprised to see that Katrina was gone. He quietly slipped off his boots and gun belt, He took off his shirt and reached for the blanket he’d been using on the sofa.
“You don’t want to lay by me?” The quiet voice made him jump.
“I thought you were asleep.”
“I can’t sleep without the door locked.” He stepped forward and locked the door realizing he’d forgotten to lock it.
“Then why didn’t you lock the door?”
“Because then you couldn’t get in.” he had to smile at that. He blew out the lamp and then lay down beside her.
“How do you feel?”
“Stupid.” He frowned wondering for a second if she were joking.“I am really sorry.”
“Hey,” he put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.“It’s not your fault and it’s not a big deal.”
“Not this time,” she mumbled.
“I am sorry about the brawl.”
“That wasn’t your fault.” Her voice was soft and emotionless. He sighed.
“I should have seen it coming.”
“You did.”
“Not soon enough.”
“Yes it was.” He sighed he didn’t want to go back and forth with her. He looked at her in the dim light. All he could see of her eyes was the shine.
“You are really beautiful when you’re angry.” He whispered and heard her breath escape in a surprised quick burst. He leaned forward and kissed her softly. He felt her hands slide up along his neck and cup his face.
“Are you alright? Were you hurt?” She whispered and gently ran her thumb over his cut lip.
“I’m fine,” he chuckled,“I’ve been in worse scrapes than that before breakfast.” She giggled and kissed him again.
“What do you think that was all about? I mean we’ve had some fights before but nothing like that.”
“I don’t know.” Matt sighed.“It was… weird.” She wiggled closer and laid her head on his chest. He was reminded of how fiercely he had wanted her a short time before. He shifted his hips so that she wouldn’t feel just how much he wanted her. Now was not the time.
“Are you sure about this?” Matt watched Izzy follow Rose into the store room an
d pretended not to notice.
“Yes, I am sure,” she said as she walked back out, “Nothing happened.”
“But something could have happened and there will be twice as many here tonight.”
“That is precisely the point, there will be twice as many here tonight. It is not a good night to be closed.”
“We should wait until we find out who is behind this.”
“I disagree.” The two of them stood there staring at each other and then she turned to him. He pretended to be engrossed in the paper he was reading.
“Matt.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you think it is safe to be open tonight?”
“I don’t think whoever is behind this will try the same tactic twice in a row. More likely it will be something else.” He looked over the top of the paper at both of them but specifically at Izzy.“Perhaps a mistake on your last order.” Izzy met his eyes.
“The order almost never changes. It would be hard to pass that off as coincidental.”
“It would be hard to pass off a brawl two nights in a row as coincidental as well.”
“That settles it, we open as usual.”
“Whatever you say dear.” Matt said blandly, focusing back on the paper.
“That’s not funny.” Izzy muttered.
“Wasn’t trying to be funny.” Matt folded the paper and watched Rose disappear into the store room. He stood up and looked Izzy in the eye.
“Don’t worry I double checked the order. It’s a good thing I did too,it seems Mr. McGregor was under the impression that you didn’t need to place an order this week. I wonder how he got that impression.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Of course you wouldn’t.” Matt walked toward the store room and Izzy walked down the hall toward his office.
Chapter 12
Rose was right, she was more than right. They had more than twice as many people here tonight. All the regulars plus a few more though thankfully it didn’t look like the trouble makers were back. Still just to be on the safe side he stayed close to Rose. Izzy wasn’t in the saloon he wasn’t sure where he was but all the girls were here. He was certain that Izzy was behind the staged brawl but he couldn’t prove it and he wasn’t going to make the accusation until he could back it up. Now he was starting to feel like he needed to be in two places at once. If he wasn’t feeling so protective of Rose he would be tailing Izzy. He just couldn’t figure out where his efforts were better spent.
“Well there certainly wasn’t a repeat of last night. Just a lot of frisky cowboys.” Rose laughed. Matt smiled and turned the lock. She looked at him for a moment and he saw her forehead crease just before she turned away. She took off her wig and looked back at him. He was taking off his boots. He wasn’t watching her at all. She sat down and began taking off her shoes.‘
“Something on your mind?” she asked, not looking at him.
“No.” She clenched her teeth and forced herself not to look. “Yes,” he sighed. She relaxed slightly and looked over her shoulder at him. “I don’t like unanswered questions.” She felt the tension return immediately. He rubbed the corners of his eyes with his fingertips. “At the moment I have more questions than answers.” Rose didn’t respond, she wondered if any of those questions were for her, if she would be able to answer them if he asked. He stood up abruptly and wrenched his shirt off over his head. “I am this close.” He held up his fingers an inch apart. “It’s like the one missing puzzle piece that keeps you from seeing the picture.” She stood up and pulled her shirt free of her waistband.
“What pieces do you have?” She asked. He sighed and smiled at her.
“Nothing solid.” He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I’m sorryyou still don’t know what happened to your friend,” she said lightly running her fingertips on his collarbone.
“Don’t worry I’ll figure it out.”
“I’m sure you will.” He bent and kissed her and she put her arms around his neck. “Speaking of frisky cowboys.” She laughed and he grinned.
“Oh you have no idea.” She climbed up on the bed and lay down. He blew out the lamp and followed her.She was laying on her back and he stretched out beside her. She didn’t say anything she just looked into his eyes.
“What are you thinking?”
“I was wondering what you are waiting for.” She challenged, one of his brows quirked up along with one side of his mouth.
“I am waiting for an invitation.” She lifted her hands and unbuttoned each of the buttons on her shirt. The shirt didn’t fall away but it gapped open. He trailed his fingertips through the gap from her neck all the way down to her waist. He flattened his hand and laid it on her stomach. He slid it under her shirt around to her side. He heard her breathing accelerate. “You’re going to have to tell me where that line is,” he whispered, she nodded. He bent and kissed her and felt her fingers grip his shoulder. She was nervous. He could feel it. He kissed her deeply then moved from her mouth to her neck he ran his tongue behind her earlobe and pulled it into his mouth. He slid his hand up from her stomach and gently cupped her breast. It filled his hand and the nipple puckered when his palm covered it. He heard her breathing becoming more ragged. He kissed his way down her neck then continued down the center of her chest all the way to her belly button. Her shirt had fallen open all the way now in the dim light her breasts were creamy white mounds with dark rose tips. He put his mouth over one rose bud and she whimpered clutching his arms.
Rose felt such intense pleasure that it bordered on pain as if his mouth was scalding her and yet she didn’t want him to stop. She felt his tongue in her belly button and gasped. He ran his tongue slowly up her body and encircled her nipple with it. She was certain that what he was doing wasn’t right. There was no way this was how it was normally done. It felt too good. He felt too good.
“Matt,” she whimpered. He kissed his way back up her chest and up and over her chin and kissed her deeply.
“Yes?”
“What is your price?”
“What?”
“What is the price that I have to meet?” He was kissing her neck again and it made it hard to speak.
“Does it matter?”
“No,” she sighed and he laughed. She felt the vibration in her throat
“I want you,” he whispered right in her ear.“All of you, that’s it. Do you want me?”
“Yes,” she breathed. He slid his hand under her and pulled her tightly against him.“Wait, I have to tell you something.”
“Tell me.”
“I’ve never done this before.”
“What did you say?” He pulled back slightly thinking he must have heard her wrong.
“I’ve never done this before.” She repeated. It was more effective than a bucket of water would have been. He put one foot on the floor and pushed himself to a standing position.
“What’s the matter?” she asked alarmed.
“I just… I ah… need a minute.” He grabbed his shirt and walked out the door closing it softly behind him. He wasn’t sure where he was going but he pulled his shirt on and headed for the back door. He heard a thump and stopped short. He reached for his gun but gripped only thigh. He had left his gun behind. He heart began to pound a slow steady rhythm as he moved slowly forward. He heard the thump again and saw that it came from the back door. It was cracked open and thumping against the jamb. He looked up the back stairs but he didn’t see anyone. He stepped out the back door and looked both ways. He stepped back in and shut and locked the door. He thought one of those frisky cowboys must’ve left the door open on his way out. He sat down on the second step of the stair case and looked at his hands. He shouldn’t have walked out. But something inside of him has seized when she’d said she had never done that before. She lied to him. It was the first time he knew for sure she had lied and it hurt. It burned in his gut. People lied to him all the time. Every man he had ever arrested had sworn he had the wrong
guy. But this was different. He wanted to trust her, he needed to trust her. If he couldn’t then she was a suspect and right now it looked very likely that that’s what she was. In fact it was likely that she had been playing him the whole time. He only knew of one virgin mother and she wasn’t it.
Rose pulled the sides of her shirt tightly around her. She suddenly felt acutely alone. She never expected that the fact that she was a virgin would bother him so much. She really hadn’t intended to tell him but for some reason it suddenly seemed important that he know. She squeezed her eyes shut, she knew why it was important that he know. She wanted him to know that he was special. That she wouldn’t open herself up to just anyone. She loved him.
Chapter 13
Matt didn’t go back into the bedroom until she left it. Then he went in for the rest of his clothes and left by the backdoor. He was a coward for avoiding her and he knew it but he wasn’t ready to face her either. He needed to get a hold of his emotions. He had messed up this time. He had been taken in by those smoky eyes and forgotten his professionalism. All wasn’t lost though. He hadn’t done anything that couldn’t be salvaged. He would put aside his personal feelings and be the Ranger he was trained to be. After all of this was over, after he caught Benji’s killer then he would go home and lick his wounds.
“Jack.”
“Matt, good to see you.”
“You too.” Matt sat down in front of Jack’s desk and put his feet up on the corner.“Tell me you know something interesting.”
“I know a lot of interesting things,” Jack said blandly and Matt smirked.
Whiskey Rose (Fallen) Page 11