by Tanya Jolie
She pushed the bar up into her sleeve, but shook her head at the same time. “I’m not leaving you behind.”
“Caroline.” He cradled her face between his cold hands. “The only way I’ll die happy is knowing you’ll live.”
Before she replied, a blast shattered the air. Jonah turned his head and saw the Travers brothers coming around the cabin. He notched an arrow before he stepped outside, and released it.
Andy uttered a shrill scream as the arrow pierced his thigh. As the smaller man went down Jonah notched another and targeted Don’s chest.
“It’s all over, boys,” Jonah told them. “I’ve radioed my brothers. They’re on the way, with the sheriff. You’re going to jail.”
“Where is that fucking bitch?” Don roared.
Caroline stepped out of the shed. “I’m right here. You want me, Don?” She darted over to the scorched hearth, and hid behind the chimney. “Come and get me.”
Jonah shot Don in the bicep, forcing him to drop the shotgun, but the big man kept running for Caroline. He reached the chimney before Jonah could notch another arrow.
“Come out here, you bitch,” Don demanded, grabbing his arm as he stumbled over the rocks in front of the hearth.
Caroline uttered a savage cry as she struck the crumbling bricks from behind with the breaker bar. The treasure hunter looked up and screamed as the old chimney collapsed on top of him.
After retrieving the shotgun, Jonah strode over to Caroline, who was standing over Don’s still, partially buried form. She dropped the breaker bar and hurled herself into his arms.
“It’s all right now, sweet lady,” he said. “We’re all right.”
Something glittered in the rubble, and he reached down to pick up a broken brick with a gleaming golden core.
Jonah put his arm around Caroline as they surveyed the pile of gold bars that had been hidden inside the bricks. “I think you can afford that plane now, ma’am.”
Chapter Five
Caroline gratefully accepted a cup of coffee from Ethan Boone, who added another log to the fire he’d built in the cabin’s hearth. She watched the men milling around the cabin from the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jonah. Andy Travers had already been carried down the ridge to the paramedics summoned to take him to the hospital. His brother’s body and the hidden gold that had killed him now lay covered by a shroud.
Ethan sat down on the couch beside her. “I’d like to thank you for saving my brother’s life, Ms. Scott, but I’m not quite sure I’ve got enough words.”
“Caroline, please.” She took a sip of the coffee and held it between her chilled hands to warm them. “And the truth is I nearly got your brother killed. He’s the one who saved me.”
Caleb, the youngest of the Boone brothers, came in with one of the deputies. “Ms. Scott, the sheriff was able to reach your folks, and let them know you’re okay. They said they’ll drive down from Helena in the morning to fetch you.”
“Thanks, Cal.” The thought of going home should have cheered her, but Caroline felt suddenly depressed.
“Once you’re done with the sheriff, we’d be happy to put you up at the ranch for the night,” Ethan said. “We’ve got plenty of room, and one of the best cooks in Montana to make you dinner. Or you could stay in town with my brother, Chris, and his wife, if you’d rather put some distance between you and here.”
“Chris and Becca live in a great big mansion on a hill,” Caleb put in. “You’ll never see fancier digs, either. They got these little soaps in the bathroom shaped like seashells and such.” He saw the way Ethan was looking at him and grinned. “Well, they do.”
Caroline smiled at him. “I appreciate the offer, but I should really just get a hotel room.”
“At least have dinner with us,” Ethan urged. “It’ll keep Jonah home for night before he rides off again.”
She glanced at the window, and saw Jonah talking with the sheriff. “He prefers to be alone, I suppose.”
“It’s our Cheyenne blood,” Caleb told her. “Our mom said he got stuck with most of it. If that boy could live out on the land with just a tent and a horse, I think he would.”
Ethan eyed him. “Caleb, isn’t it about time you head down to the cottage and look after Merlin for your brother?”
“Yes, sir.” Caleb tipped his hat to Caroline. “Ma’am.”
When the youngest Boone took off, Ethan sighed. “I keep telling myself he’ll grow up and stop running that mouth one day. He never does.” He glanced at Caroline. “Since our folks passed I’ve been riding herd on these boys. Sometimes I feel more like their old man than a brother.”
The love in his eyes and voice made her heart twist. “I envy you.”
She jumped a little as Jonah strode in, and then forced a cheerful smile. “Everything all right?”
“Not just yet.” He came over and scooped her up in his arms, startling a cry out of her. “Ethan, leave. Now. Take everyone with you when you go, too.”
His older brother nodded. “We’ll see you back at the ranch.”
Jonah carried her back into his grandmother’s bedroom, where he placed her on the bed and drew the curtains. He then stretched out beside her, his dark eyes searching her face. “Close your eyes. We’re taking a nap.”
“You don’t have to stay with me.” She couldn’t help stroking his arm. “I’ll be fine.”
“We’re taking a nap, and then I’m taking you home.” He pulled her closer. “Then you’re spending the next week in my bed.”
“We were scared. Afraid for our lives.” She sighed. “What happened was amazing, but I’m not going to hold you to anything you said to me.”
“That’s a shame, because I’m holding you to everything you said.” He tipped up her chin and brushed his lips over hers. “If there weren’t five hundred strangers outside, I’d be inside you, right now.”
“You could lock the door.” Caroline closed her eyes and tucked her face against his neck, finally and completely at peace. “I like your brothers.”
“They like you, too.” He sighed. “Now sleep.”
#
That evening Jonah arrived at the ranch house with Caroline, who seemed genuinely pleased to the rest of his family. Over a noisy family meal they both filled in the rest of the Boones on what had happened up on the ridge.
“I can’t believe Great-Granddad hid all that gold in his chimney,” Liam said. “Why didn’t Grandmother ever tell anyone?”
“Maybe she was happy with what she had,” Jonah said, and smiled at Caroline.
Once Caroline used their phone to call her parents, Jonah took her to up to his bathroom so she could shower and change.
“Jessa, Ethan’s fiancée, is about your size.” He put some clean clothes on the counter for her. “There’s some of her shampoo and stuff in the cabinet, too. You’ve got the spare bedroom next door, if you want.” He nodded in the direction of his bedroom. “I’ll be down the hall. Last door on the right.”
Before she could say anything, he retreated. Once he used Ethan’s bathroom to take a quick shower he went to his bedroom. He kept it tidy, so he didn’t have to rush to clean up. He did open the curtains to stare out at the stars, and make a silent wish.
Jonah knew Caroline might choose to spend the night in the spare bedroom. If she didn’t come to him, then he’d have to let her go. Somehow.
After what seemed like hours, a gentle knock sounded on his door. Caroline slipped inside, her damp, pale hair pinned up in a knot. She’d put on the robe he kept in the bathroom, and it swamped her slender form. “So this is the amazing bed of Jonah Boone. If I’m not impressed, this might cost you a tattoo. A painful one, too, considering how long my full name is.”
He hadn’t considered that. “What is it?”
“Caroline Elizabeth Scott.” Her eyes twinkled at him. “You can still call off the bet, you know.”
“Yeah, but I’m a gambling man.” He grinned. “Climb on in, Caroline Elizabeth.”
Sh
e took off his robe, revealing her bare body for a moment before she slipped under the sheets. Settling back, she wriggled and then rested her folded hands on her belly. “Well. This isn’t quite what I expected.”
Jonah climbed in beside her. “Give it a minute. It grows on you.” He switched off the lamp.
She looked up at the tiny glowing stars he’d painted on his ceiling. “When did you do that?”
“My mom did, when I was nine. She didn’t want me sleeping on the roof.” He turned on the lamp again and reached for her hand. You’ll have to come with me to the tattoo parlor. I’m afraid of needles.”
She made a scoffing sound. “I don’t think you’re afraid of anything. Except dark caves, of course.”
He brought her hand to his lips, and kissed her palm. “I’m afraid you’re going to leave tomorrow.”
Caroline turned on her side. “I have to, Jonah. I have my job, and an apartment, and my family back in Helena.”
“Yeah.” His throat tightened. “I know, sweetness.”
“I meant to quit in a year to start my own business. Now that I can afford the plane and laser scanners I need to do air-to-ground surveys, I can give my notice.” She rolled on top of him. “I’ll break my lease, but I need to explain things to my parents. They’ll want to meet you, too. They’re worriers.”
Jonah brought her head down to his to kiss her with all the joy and relief he felt. “So I guess you’re not spending a week in my bed.”
“Not until next month.” She laughed as he rolled over with her. “Then I think I’ll need more than a week. I think I’ll need to spend the rest of my life in this bed. Would that be okay with you?”
“Oh, yes, ma’am.” He look down into her beautiful eyes. “That’ll be just fine with me.”
Cherished by the Cowboy
Love in Ghost Lake Ranch
Book 6
(Can be read as a standalone book)
By: Amber Duval
Cherished by the Cowboy
Chapter One
“Tell me there isn’t a stripper,” Ethan Boone muttered from the side of his mouth as he grinned at the mass of cheering friends and cowboys crowding the roadhouse.
“Caleb planned this bachelor party,” Robert Boone told his oldest brother as he clapped him on the shoulder. “Expect a whole army of strippers.”
“All right, old man,” Chris Boone said, his giant frame looming over Ethan. “Let’s get you crowned.”
Rob grinned as family and friends swept his laughing brother off to a throne-like chair. The men then hoisted Ethan and the chair up and carried him to the center of the dance floor. Behind a curtain of chicken wire, a local garage band played a funeral dirge. Rob’s youngest brother, Caleb, switched Ethan’s Stetson for a gold paper crown covered with glittering square foil packets.
“Aw, that’s so pretty with the jewels,” Margie, the bartender said as she offered Rob a dark bottle of beer. “Why are you snickering like that, boy?”
“Those aren’t jewels, ma’am,” he told her as he took a drink. “They’re more like, uh, jewel covers.”
She peered and then released a belly laugh. “Well, at least your brother will have all he needs for the honeymoon.”
Rob nodded as he leaned against the bar and surveyed the interior of the roadhouse. All of his brothers and every one of their friends had come, which made him feel satisfied. When their parents had died, Ethan had given up most of his dreams to come home. He’d worked tirelessly to take care of his six brothers and help them run Ghost Lake Ranch, the family cattle spread. Seeing him finally have something just for himself – namely, his lovely fiancée Jessa Cooper – made Rob happy for him.
It would never happen for him, of course. When it came to girlfriends and love, Rob considered it a public service to run away from both as fast as he could.
When Caleb came over to order some beers Margie leaned her elbows against the bar. “I know you’re too much of a tom cat to settle down, Cal. But when will we be hosting your last night as a free man, Robbie?”
Rob nearly choked on his beer, and spent the next minute clearing his throat.
“Rob’s never getting married,” Caleb told her. “We’ll be lucky if we can find him a date for the wedding.”
Rob glared at him. “I told you, no dates. None, zip, zero.”
“Why not?” Margie asked as she lined up four more bottles on the bar. “You’re just as big and handsome as your brothers.”
“Sure, but he’s the only one who’s cursed.” Caleb expertly dodged Rob’s half-hearted swat. “Go on, bro. Tell her.” He grabbed the four bottles and hurried off.
Rob sighed. “I’m not cursed,” he assured Margie. “I just have bad luck with dating women.”
The hard-faced rancher sitting on the stool next to him snorted. “Boy, we all do.”
He took a long drink of his beer. “Not like mine.”
“Well, come on,” Margie urged. “I want hear all about it.”
Rob hunched his shoulders. “My first date in high school was with Miranda Logan. We went horseback riding, or tried to. When she rode out of the barn, a garden snake spooked her horse. She fell off and broke her leg.”
Margie waved her hand. “Oh, sweetheart, that couldn’t be your fault.”
“That’s what I thought.” Rob turned to the rancher. “My second date was with Sally Makepeace. We met at the movie theater in town.”
The older man frowned. “There’s no movie theater in town.”
Rob nodded. “That’s because it caught fire the night we went there, just as the movie started. The equipment overheated or something. Anyway, everyone got out all right, but the building burned to the ground in less than twenty minutes.”
“Coincidence,” Margie said, although she didn’t sound quite as sure this time. “You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Rob sighed. “On my third date, also with Sally, we went to the bowling alley with her folks. I thought with them there nothing could happen. And then her dad’s bowling ball slipped off his fingers and hit Sally in the face. Broke her nose and knocked out her front teeth.”
The rancher grimaced. “Damn.”
“I stopped dating for a while after that, and waited all the way until Prom before I asked out Ruby Stephens.” He smiled as the bartender gaped at him. “Thought you might recognize her name. She was in all the papers.”
To the rancher Margie said, “She’s the girl that had a baby at Prom, in the restroom. He wasn’t yours, was he?”
“No, ma’am. I just delivered him.” He set his bottle down on a cocktail napkin. “To be fair, Ruby really didn’t know she was pregnant. She thought her stomach was upset because she’d just broken up with her boyfriend.”
The rancher whistled. “You have had some awful luck, cowboy.”
“I don’t understand,” Margie said, scowling at him. “I’ve heard plenty of women talk about you. They got all kind of stories about how you tear up the sheets with them. Not a one ever mentioned getting hurt.”
Rob winked at her. “That’s because I don’t date them. Excuse me.” He walked across the bar to intercept the stripper sneaking up behind Ethan and slipped her fifty bucks. “Keep most of your clothes on, sweetheart, and no lap dances. Okay?”
She nodded and tucked the bills in her bra. “Old-fashioned?”
“Yeah, and truly in love.” Rob returned to his bar stool, where the rancher held out a fresh beer to him. “What’s this for?”
“Luck,” the older man said, smiling now. “You never know when it’s going to change.”
#
“Can I hide out in here with you?”
Malory French glanced at the green-eyed, strawberry blonde who had just come in the restroom. She leaned against the exit door as if she meant to hold back a tide of demons. “Sure. Are you sneaking away from the bridal shower or the baby shower?”
“Bridal.” The other woman glanced down at the colored dot stickers adorning the front of
her pretty lace blouse. “They’re playing Love Bingo — without the cards. If I go back out there I’m going to hurt someone.”
Malory chuckled. “I was roped into the baby shower. They’re planning to bob for nipples next. The baby bottle variety. You know, I think there’s a back door through the kitchen.”
“I love you. Want to have my baby?” The other woman grinned and held out a slim, capable-looking hand. “Jessa Cooper, equine vet.” She nodded as Malory inspected her small but lovely engagement ring. “And bride-to-be, I’m afraid.”
“Malory French, head librarian. Happily unmarried and childless. Since I came in last in the Diaper Derby, probably for the best.” She shook her hand and then rolled her eyes as a very pregnant young woman darted inside and closed the door.
“They’re sticking tiny clothespins on me now.” Becca Boone began pulling them from her collar and sleeves. “Make them stop.”
The three of them laughed together, and Malory congratulated them both before making her excuses.
“Becca, I am so happy for you and Chris.” She turned to Jessa. “That goes for you and Ethan, too, Jessa. But I have to get up early tomorrow, so I’m going to call it a night. I almost forgot.” She reached for her purse, and took out her gift for Becca. “It’s that book on natural childbirth you couldn’t find at the library.”
“Oh, thank you for remembering.” Becca gave her a somewhat awkward hug. “Now I just have to hide it from Chris. He nearly passed out when they showed the childbirth film at our last Lamaze class. Then he asked the instructor if he gets any anesthetic in labor and delivery.”
As she drove home to her little apartment across town, Malory tried to hold onto her good mood. She didn’t often socialize, but Becca Boone had become one of her favorite regular patrons at the library. She also liked her gentle giant of a husband, Chris, who obviously adored his wife. Thank heavens neither of them seemed to remember her from high school.