Blackstone Ranger Charmer

by Alicia Montgomery

  “It’s none of my business, sweetie,” Rosie said as the corners of her mouth tugged up. “But I have to say, this is going to be interesting.”

  Temperance groaned and wiped a flour-covered hand on her forehead. Maybe if I’m lucky, I won’t see him again. She did not like the way Gabriel made her feel when he was around. She wanted to squash all those butterflies in her stomach and ignore the way the backs of her knees tingled when he smiled at her. What would it be like to see that every day? To have him smile for her, and her only? And maybe spend all her days and nights with him.

  A small, internal voice scoffed at her, and she shook her head.

  Get to work, she told herself. Work would be her balm, a way to forget about the past and her non-existent future with Gabriel.

  Hours passed, and the work of getting dozens and dozens of pies ready helped Temperance focus. At least it did until lunchtime, when she heard a knock at the back door.

  “Temperance Pettigrew?” the young man said as she poked her head out of the door.

  “Yes?” Using her apron, she wiped the sweat from her brow. “That’s me.”

  “I have a delivery for you.” He held up a brown paper bag emblazoned with the local Chinese restaurant’s logo on the front.

  “I didn’t order anything,” she said.

  The teen shrugged. “I’m just doin’ my job, lady.” He pushed the paper bag at her. “It’s all paid for, even my tip. But the guy on the phone who ordered it was pretty clear about making sure I get this into your hands.”

  She stared at the bag, slack-jawed. Did she dare wonder who the “guy” was?

  “I gotta go back and make more deliveries, lady,” he said. “Just take it, okay?”

  Not wanting to keep him waiting, she took the bag. The tempting smell of fried rice made her stomach growl. “Uh, thanks.” Usually she skipped lunch or grabbed a quick bite to eat at the cafe down the street. Having food brought to her was a treat.

  I shouldn’t. She worried at her lip with her teeth. I can’t accept this. But the food smelled amazing, and the thought of throwing away a perfectly good meal made her stomach twist. Growing up poor, she never wasted a single scrap of food.

  With a deep sigh, she turned around and closed the door behind her, then walked over to the counter in the corner. When she opened the bag, she groaned. Oh my God, this smells amazing. There were several boxes of food inside, enough to feed at least four people.

  Unable to resist, she opened up all the boxes and grabbed the fork that came in the bag. Everything tasted as good as it smelled; maybe even better. There were two kinds of fried rice, noodles in a savory brown sauce, steamed dumplings, chicken with cashews, and beef drowning in a scrumptious gravy that made her want to weep. At one point, Rosie poked her head into the kitchen, glanced at the food but said nothing, though there was that mysterious smile on her face again.

  After she finished eating, she put the remaining boxes away, vowing to eat the leftovers for lunch the next day or share it with her coworkers. Feeling full and satisfied, and with the rest of the day’s orders and pies done, she could now work on her own recipes.

  When she worked on her new pies, she went into a trance-like state. Nothing could distract her as she grabbed ingredients, mixed them together, rolled out the dough, and put the finished pies in the oven. Strangely, her inspiration for today wasn’t even something she had thought of beforehand or written down in her notebook. Instead, she let her nose, taste buds, and instincts honed from years of baking tell her what ingredients and techniques to use.

  The timer on the oven dinged, letting her know it was done. Looking through the small window, she saw the crusts were perfectly golden brown, so she carefully set the two pies out onto the counter.

  “Temperance …”

  Glancing up, she saw Rosie standing by the door. “Yes?”

  The older woman took a sniff. “Something smells delicious. Like, really, really good.” Her gaze dropped down to the two pies on the counter. “Something new?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, want to try?”

  “Of course.”

  Temperance grabbed the knife and plates, then put a slice on each. “Here you go.”

  Rosie took a forkful of one. “Oh. Wow,” she said through a mouthful of pastry. Then, she took a bite of the other. “Huh.” Her eyes rolled back. “What is this? This is probably the best ones you’ve made yet.”

  “Thank you.” She stared down at the two pies, making a mental note to write everything down before she forgot it. “That first one is golden honey with lavender. And the other one is blueberry.”

  Rosie took another bite of the blueberry. “But there’s something spicy and exotic in it.”

  “Cardamom,” she said.

  “Huh, I never thought those two would go together, but they do. So,” Rosie began, “you seem to be inspired this morning. Anything you need to tell me?” When she blushed, Rosie laughed. “I’m just teasing you.” She finished both pie slices as Temperance looked on. “Wow. We definitely have to put that on the menu.”

  “I’ll work on them tomorrow,” she said proudly.

  “Now, why don’t you go home?” Rosie urged. “You looked exhausted, sweetie.”

  Glancing up at the clock, she saw it was nearly four o’clock. Usually she was out of here by two at the latest, but she wanted to spend extra time on making those two pies perfect. “I feel exhausted. Would you and Janine mind cleaning up?”

  “Not at all, sweetie. You earned it.”

  After taking her apron off, washing up, she waved goodbye to Rosie and headed out the door.

  Soon, she was back home, pulling up to the front of her trailer. As always, she was dead tired, but there was something satisfying about finishing a day’s work. As she trudged up to her front door, she suddenly stopped.

  “Oh no. No, no.” This was a joke, right? “Gabriel, what did you do?”

  Sitting in front of her door was a humungous bouquet of red roses. It was so big it nearly engulfed her tiny porch. Bending down, she picked them up, taking in a whiff of the floral perfume from the perfect buds. Each rose was the size of her fist with not a single blemish on them, so they must have cost a fortune. Taking the card attached, she opened it up.

  Pretty roses for a pretty lady.

  G.

  It was hard not to feel the giddiness bubbling up inside her, but it didn’t take more than two seconds for it to burst and deflate.

  Pretty? a voice inside her sneered. Surely that was a mistake. He can’t mean you.

  That small voice was something she hadn’t heard in a while. Her self-confidence hadn’t been great even before the fire, but certainly, it had been left in tatters when her life imploded right before she came to Blackstone.

  That self-doubting voice somehow seeded inside her head, one that always told her that she was nothing—a worthless waste of space who would never amount to anything. Coming here, getting away from it all quieted that voice, but now it was threatening to haunt her again.

  Shutting her eyes tight, she ignored the twisting in her gut. Did Gabriel have some sort of vision impairment? Or was this all part of an elaborate joke? How far was he going to take it?

  With a deep sigh, she put the flowers down on the floor, her gaze meeting Fred’s. That painted smile on his face seemed consolatory today, and she reached over to pat him on his faded cap. “Thanks, Fred.”

  He seemed to be the only male she could trust right now which was pathetic considering he was made of plaster and paint. Still, he was her only friend out here. The garden gnome used to occupy a spot in the garden of her previous home, and the day she walked away from that place—and her entire life—an impulse made her pick up the statue. She strapped Fred to the front seat of her car and drove off, never looking back.

  This couldn’t be.

  There was no way she was going to fall for a charmer and his empty promises.

  “Not again,” she whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat. Fin
ally, she’d found peace and a quiet life in Blackstone. She wasn’t going to risk all that for just another handsome face.

  The familiar alarm buzzed at three in the morning, and once again, Temperance reached over to the bedside table to turn it off. Her morning routine was so ingrained that she was still half asleep by the time she yanked the front door open.

  “Why did you leave my flowers out here?”

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” She jumped back as she nearly ran smack into a wall of roses. Taking a deep breath, she massaged her chest. “You’re here again?”

  Despite the frown on his face, Gabriel still looked handsome and surprisingly fresh as a daisy, as if he got up every day at three o’clock. Or maybe he rolled out of bed looking perfect, she muttered to herself. It totally wasn’t fair.

  “You don’t like roses?” He held up the bouquet. “That’s okay. What flowers do you like?”

  “I—” She shook her head. “What are you doing here?”

  “You’re headed to work right? I didn’t want you to go by yourself.”

  “Go by my—” With an exasperated sound, she brushed past him.

  “Hey, where are going?”

  Whirling around, she faced him again. “I told you, I don’t need to be brought to work like some kid on the first day of kindergarten.”

  Though she walked fast, he quickly caught up to her. “Hey, are you mad at me? For the flowers? Or for coming here?”

  Was she mad? She wasn’t really sure how she felt, except maybe confused and tired. “I just don’t know what you want from me.”

  “Nothing,” he said. “You don’t need to give me anything back.”

  It felt like there was an “except” coming there, but she didn’t really have time to play games today. Or any day.

  Ignoring him, she got into her car, started the engine and drove away. A few minutes later, there were headlights tailing her on the highway. Blowing out a breath, she continued driving on until she reached the parking lot behind Rosie’s. She had barely opened the door when she heard his voice.

  “Temperance!”

  But she ignored his call and scrambled into the restaurant, slamming the door in his face. With a deep sigh, she leaned back against the door and closed her eyes. What was his deal?

  “I’ll just be out here until eight,” the muffled voice came through the door. “In case you need me.”

  A thrill ran up her spine at his words, but she pushed those confusing emotions aside. If I ignore him, he’ll go away eventually, she told herself as she got ready for the day.

  Of course, that was wishful thinking on her part. At lunchtime, another food delivery came, this time from the Italian place down the street. Rosie had raised a brow at her, but remained silent. Then when she came home, there was not only a huge bouquet of sunflowers sitting on her porch, but a small crown of them around Fred’s head.

  How about these? the note on the card began. You’re as bright as sunshine.

  Her stomach flip-flopped, and for a brief moment, she felt excitement at those words. But she didn’t even need that negative inner voice to break her down. This just can’t be.

  But he keeps coming back. That has to mean something, right?

  The truth was, her instincts were so damaged, she didn’t know what to think.

  Gabriel wasn’t acting like any man she’d ever met or been with. But she knew his type.

  Tony was exactly the same. They were all alike, all those shallow, handsome men who only wanted one thing from a person. Well, in the case of her ex, he wanted two things—get her into bed and support his lazy ass for a year while cheating on her with multiple women.

  Getting herself out of that situation had not been easy and had cost her what little she had, but she did it. When she hightailed it out of Chicago, she told herself she would never let herself be fooled by another sweet-talking handsome man. She’d learned her lesson the hard way.

  Would Gabriel show up on her doorstep again? She wasn’t going to take the chance, so she set her alarm an hour early the next day. Seeing nothing but darkness out on her porch should have made her feel relieved, but there was a strange disappointment brewing in her. But she ignored it, even as she pulled up to the empty parking lot behind the restaurant.

  By the time Rosie came in, there was still no sign of Gabriel. That’s good, she thought. Maybe he got tired of following her around.

  “Everything all right?” Rosie asked as she put her apron on.

  “Huh? Yeah I’m fine.”

  “Then why is your egg wash bowl empty?”

  She double blinked before looking down at the bowl and brush in her hands. Apparently, she’d been brushing air on the crusts for about ten minutes. “Oh. Er …”

  Rosie sauntered over to the window and slyly glanced out. “No Gabriel today?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” she said, reaching for an egg and cracking it into the bowl.

  The older woman raised a brow at her. “When are you going to take pity on that poor boy?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  The redhead chuckled. “Ooh, Temperance, you really don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

  Dropping the bowl with a loud clatter, she turned to her boss. “No, I really don’t. Maybe you could let me in on the joke, because I’m getting tired of it,” she snapped. Suddenly realizing her outburst, she covered her mouth. “Crap. I’m sorry, Rosie.”

  Rosie clucked her tongue. “Oh, sweetie, no. I’m the one who should apologize.” Walking over to her, she placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “Maybe I should have told you.”

  “Told me what?”

  “That Gabriel—”

  The back door bursting open interrupted her as a large, fast blur rushed into the kitchen. “Rosie, where’s—you’re here.” His entire body froze, like someone had pressed pause on a movie.

  She had never quite seen Gabriel like this before. He laughed, teased, and smiled, but the Gabriel in front of her now was like a completely different person. His entire body was tense, like a tightly coiled spring waiting to be released. Golden brows were drawn forward, and his eyes blazed like hot blue fire as they fixed on her. Slowly, he stalked toward her, and she couldn’t help but feel like a gazelle trapped by a predator.

  “Where were you?” His voice was tight, and his hands were balled at his sides.

  “Here,” she said matter-of-factly. “At my job. Where I am every morning.”

  “I came by your place, and you didn’t come out at three thirty. So, I broke into your house—”

  “You broke into my house?” she asked incredulously, anger making her step forward boldly.

  “What was I supposed to do? You were gone!”

  “But you didn’t have to break into my trailer,” she shot back. “Why the hell would you do that?”

  “I was scared that maybe you hurt yourself,” he said. “Then I realize your car wasn’t in the driveway, and I thought maybe you didn’t come home and that maybe you’d gotten into an accident or worse. Drove all the way to Blackstone Hospital to see if they had anyone of your description, and when the ER nurse said no, I went to the police headquarters—”

  “What the hell?” Was he serious? “You thought something happened to me because I left my house an hour early to go to work?”

  He let out a frustrated growl that made her shiver. “You could have been lying in a ditch. Or kidnapped or—” Cornering her, he hunched his shoulders forward. “Why the hell would you do that? Can’t you see I only want to protect you and keep you safe?”

  “Safe from what?” Gabriel had run around town looking for her? This was crazy. “The only thing I need protecting from is crazy stalkers like you. Were you dropped on your head as a child or something?”

  “I swear, woman, you’re going to put me in an early grave.”

  “Why do you care anyway? Why can’t you just leave me be!”

  “Leave you be?” He raised his arms in frustration. “
How can I do that when you’re my m—”

  “Gabriel Russel,” came Rosie’s stern voice from behind. The admonishing tone was enough for him to snap his mouth shut. She strode over to them, hands on her hips. “Out.”

  Gabriel’s gaze flicked briefly at Temperance. “Rosie, I’m sorry for bursting in. Please, don’t kick me out—”

  She held a hand up and pointed to the door. “Wait for me out there.”

  Temperance would have been amused at how the tiny woman ordered him around despite towering over her by nearly a foot, but she was too confused. And maybe a little bit excited at the thought that Gabriel was worried for her.

  Wait, what?

  “Rose—”

  “Wait. Out. There,” Rosie ordered as she hooked her arm through his and dragged him to the door. Pushing him out, she slammed the door. “You okay?” she asked Temperance.

  “I’m s-sorry, Rosie,” she stuttered. “I don’t know why he did that. Or why he’s doing … this.” With a defeated sigh, she plonked down onto the nearest chair. “Is he playing a joke on me?”

  “A joke?” Rosie chuckled and then shook her head. “Oh, sweetie. I realize now Gabriel has been going about this all wrong, but you really can’t see it, can’t you?”

  “Can’t see what?”

  “To put it mildly, that boy is interested in you.”

  If it were possible, her jaw would have literally dropped to the floor. “In me?”

  “Yes, you.”

  “B-but why?”

  An auburn brow rose high. “And why not?”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Using her left hand, she gestured to her face and arm. “Because of this. Why would someone like him be interested in someone like me?” Saying it out loud made a knife-like pain stab into her chest, but maybe this was something she needed to hear.

  “Oh. Sweetie.” Rosie clucked her tongue. “Do you think Gabriel is that shallow?” She opened her mouth to say yes, but shut it when Rosie raised a hand. “You don’t know him, Temperance.”

  “But I have eyes, and I can see.” Her gaze dropped to her shoes. “Him and me? Can you imagine it?”

  “Why, yes. I can.”