Ballad Beauty

by Lauren Linwood

  She was on her side and faced the fire. She could see two shapes on the other side and knew it to be their company.

  She suddenly realized she lay against Noah, which explained why she was so toasty, despite her face being cold. He was pressed up against her, his arm wrapped firmly around her waist. She could feel the hard muscles of his chest against her back. He emanated an immense heat. Why, if he were always this hot, he had no need of a coat!

  The twinge hit her, and she knew why she’d awakened. She had forgotten to relieve herself before she turned in for the night. The strangers had made her so nervous, it slipped her mind. There was no way she could go back to sleep unless she took care of this.

  Gently, she picked up Noah’s hand so as not to wake him. She lifted it from her and slipped out from under the blanket, gathering her cloak about her. The chilly night air caused her to shudder. Already, she longed to be back next to Noah’s heat, but nature called.

  She tiptoed from the campsite and made her way over the rise. She wouldn’t need two minutes of privacy before she was back under her blankets. She attended quickly to her business and started back toward the glow of the fire in the distance.

  An unexpected hand gripped her waist and yanked her back, hard. Another hand covered her mouth as cold fear nestled around her heart.

  “You are a sight for sore eyes, Miz Webster,” breathed someone on her neck. “A sweet morsel like you shouldn’t run around alone in the dark.”

  A rough hand worked its way under her cloak and grazed against her breasts as she squirmed.

  “No corset?” the voice whispered. “You are a brazen one, Miz Webster. No wonder your husband’s so taken with you.” The man pinched her nipple and twisted it. Jenny tried to scream out behind the hand, but it died in her throat. She began to struggle.

  The man clutched her waist more tightly, choking the breath from her. He twisted her head to the side, his hand still over her mouth, and nuzzled the back of her neck. The stiff whiskers rubbed into her delicate skin as his lips and tongue ran across it. She thought she was going to be sick.

  He lifted his hand from around her waist and moved it to the collar of her dress. He locked his fingers inside it and jerked down, ripping the bodice to her waist. The cold pierced her skin, with only her shift now between her and her assailant. Fear paralyzed her, but she knew she couldn’t turn coward now. She did the first thing that came to her mind.

  She pretended to faint.

  CHAPTER 16

  Noah feigned sleep as Ned got up and shuffled through a saddlebag. Through squinted eyes, he saw a match light in the dark. Moments later the smell of cheap tobacco drifted through the air. The cigarette floated along, away from the campfire, as Ned Perkins moved quietly in a northeast direction. Noah hoped a quick smoke was all the man desired.

  He tried to relax again and enjoy being next to Jenny. Before he could take any pleasure in that, she gently raised his arm and scooted away from him. Where in tarnation did that woman think she was headed? He had enough to worry about with those Perkins boys around. He didn’t need to traipse after her in the dark. Lord knew what would happen if he did.

  He was already certifiably insane as it was. Lying next to her soft curves for the past hour drove him thus. He had done it for show to begin with, but it was funny how it showed him a thing or two. While he’d lain close to her, his arm around her to demonstrate to their company what a happy, loving couple they were, he realized this was how he’d like to spend the rest of his nights. With Jenny in his arms. And that was plain foolish.

  She was just a woman, and he’d had plenty of women in his time. Some homely, some pretty, some downright beautiful—but a woman was a woman. You were polite and treated her right, but you used her for what she was good for and then left. He was a Ranger. He refused to settle down. Ever.

  Especially with a woman who’d go slip away from him when two dangerous strangers were ten feet away, even if she had headed in a different direction than Ned. She didn’t have a lick of sense in her pretty little head, a head filled with book knowledge and the sayings of that pathetic Milton Mulholland. No matter how much he desired her, it could never be. He couldn’t get involved with a lady like Jenny McShanahan.

  He eased the blanket away from him, ready to go drag her back from whatever she thought was so important. He’d wait till morning and their guests were miles down the road before he gave her a piece of his mind that would make her ears sore just from listening to it.

  He stopped, his senses honed to every shift in noise around the campfire. Through slitted eyes he watched Homer sit up and stare in his direction. He breathed steadily, allowing his chest to rise and fall in the rhythm of sleep, wondering what the bald man was up to. He must’ve played possum well because Homer was satisfied enough to rise silently and go to Noah’s saddlebags. With the grace of the best of thieves, he began to rifle through their contents.

  Noah reached for his Walker Colt and rolled in a blurred motion to the same spot. In a matter of seconds, his cocked revolver rested behind Homer’s ear.

  “Feeling a bit nosy, Mr. Perkins?”

  The older man stammered an excuse that Noah chose to ignore. Instead, he slammed the bunt of his gun into Homer’s scalp. The big man grunted but didn’t go down. He turned and threw a wild punch at Noah, who ducked it and tossed back an uppercut. Homer wobbled a bit and made an effort to try again, but Noah drove a fist into his gut. The man doubled over and then lay still.

  He took Homer’s pistol and tucked it into his pants. If one brother was a thief, he could imagine what the other might be. He found Ned’s gun under his blanket and pocketed it, as well. He quickly went through their gear and found no more weapons. He didn’t want any available to the duo.

  Jenny.

  It hit him that she was still out there—and so was Ned Perkins. He ran up the short hill and looked across it. He spied both of them. They weren’t more than fifteen feet from him. A blinding fury tore through him as he saw the man’s hands on her. He drew his gun as Ned ripped open her dress front. Jenny went limp, and he supposed she’d fainted.

  With dead weight in his arms, Ned struggled to pull her around. As he did, Noah aimed and fired just as Jenny leaned forward and slammed her head back but good into Ned’s face. Noah didn’t know if the high-pitched scream was from his broken nose or bleeding hand.

  The man dropped her. Holding his hand, he scampered away, only to run smack into Noah.

  He grabbed Ned’s shirtfront and growled, “Touch her again and the next bullet goes through your heart.”

  He shoved Ned from him. The man fell and hurriedly jumped back to his feet. He ran toward the glow of the campfire.

  Noah didn’t pursue him. Ned blubbered like a baby and didn’t seem a threat at the moment. Instead, he went where his heart led him. To Jenny.

  She sat on the ground, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. He knelt and put his arms around her and kissed her briefly. It was a kiss of comfort, not passion, and it made her cry all the harder.

  Jenny tugged at the fabric that hung in front of her, trying to cover herself. He pulled her cloak around her, as much to keep the cold night air out as to protect her modesty.

  “Stay here, honey,” he said gently and smoothed her hair. “I need to go check on those men.”

  She clung to his shoulders, her nails digging in. “Don’t go,” she whispered.

  “I have to, darlin’. I’ll be right back.”

  He looked at her wild eyes and trembling mouth and leaned in for another kiss. She clutched his shirtfront as he stroked her cheek a moment. He broke the kiss and headed back to the Perkins boys.

  Ned had bound his hand with a handkerchief. Blood still flowed from his nose, which he noted with pride that Jenny had indeed broken. Ned shook Homer hard, and his brother finally opened one eye.<
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  He walked straight to them. He whipped out his badge. “I’m a Texas Ranger, boys, and not in a mood to be messed with.”

  The men looked startled. Both inched away from him instinctively.

  He fought to sound matter-of-fact, when he longed to crack their skulls open. It was a fight to keep his temper under control. He hoped his anger was an obvious warning as he spoke to the two scoundrels.

  “I’m on special assignment and don’t have time to deal with the sorry likes of you now. You can take a canteen each, and then I want you to start walking in the direction I say, or I’ll take you in. And I wouldn’t be happy about that interruption.” He glared at them. “Understood?”

  Both men nodded. He went to their lone saddle bag and tossed out items till he came to their canteens. He threw them at Ned. “Fill ‘em. Now. Be quick about it.”

  Ned tucked one under each arm and rushed to the stream. All his swagger was a thing of the past. He completed his task and returned, handing one to his brother.

  “It’s time to hit the trail, boys.” His eyes burned with anger. “And if I ever see you again?” He paused. “I’ll shoot first and guess where you want to be buried later.”

  He pointed and the men struck out in that direction, canteens hung over their shoulders. He didn’t think they’d come back for him without a gun between them, but he wanted to be sure. He waited several minutes with his Winchester cocked, just in case.

  The crack of thunder sounded throughout the quiet night. He looked up. It was too dark to see any gathering clouds, but he smelled the rain. It would hit soon. He needed to attend to Jenny.

  He crossed the rise and saw her hunkered down, her head resting on her knees, her arms wrapped around them. At his approach, her head popped up, then she relaxed. As he came to her, the first sprinkles hit his face.

  “You want to pack up and move on?”

  She nodded. He held out a hand. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet. She dropped his hand and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “May I change clothes first?”

  “Sure.” He wanted to put an arm around her. He wanted to protect her from the memory of what had just happened. He didn’t think Ned hurt her too badly, probably just bruised her with his rough handling. Still, he knew a big part of the hurt wasn’t physical.

  He followed her as she briskly returned to the camp. She paused at her saddlebags and removed a fresh dress, unrolled it, and shook out the wrinkles. A moment of panic hit her as she looked around.

  “You can stay right with me. I’ll turn around, and you can change here. You don’t have to go anywhere.”

  She nodded stiffly. Noah turned away and presented her with his back. He felt a few more drops of rain on his face as he waited.

  “I’m finished,” she said. He turned around and saw how she tried hard to keep from giving into the tears that glistened in her eyes. He cursed the Perkins boys and wished he’d just shot both of them dead and been done with it.

  He closed the gap between them in three strides and placed his hands on her shoulders. She jerked away from him, fear on her face.

  “It’s all right, Jenny. You’re safe.” He wrapped her in a bear hug and could feel the tremors course through her. She tried to pull away again, and he held her tightly.

  “Noah,” she said weakly, “you’re scaring me.”

  He eased up on his grasp and looked at her. “Now why in hell would I be the one scaring you? Dammit, woman, I’m trying to un-scare you.”

  She attempted a feeble smile, but it failed to materialize. “It’s your eyes, Noah. They’ve gone all . . . cold. They’re like dark storm clouds.” Her face puckered. One fat tear slid down her cheek. “You don’t look like you.”

  “Ah, honey.” He held her to him again, more gently this time. “Don’t be alarmed. It’s just my mad face. Believe me, I’m plenty mad right now.”

  They stood together a few moments until her shaking subsided. He hoped she could draw strength from him. He finally broke away.

  “I’m darn proud of you, Jenny. You thought fast and broke that buzzard’s nose. I don’t think you needed me at all. You were smart and protected yourself. Like a true Western woman.”

  Her smile almost lit up the entire prairie.

  “Now it’s time to put on your poncho. We’re in for a soaking.”

  He hurried to their supplies and pulled out a slicker for each of them. He lifted it over her head and smoothed it out, then did the same for himself.

  “What do you say we press ahead and see if we can find us some kind of shelter?”

  She shrugged.

  “I promise we’ll still get some sleep. Besides, it’s too dark to travel very far. Let’s go.”

  He lit a kerosene lantern and doused the fire before he saddled the horses as the rain began to pelt hard. He hesitated at the nag that had been left behind. He didn’t think that the poor creature could make it very far. He was tempted to slap its behind and shoo it away.

  “Noah, you can’t leave him here.”

  He heard the ache in her voice. Without a word, he tied the animal to their packhorse and climbed on Star.

  “I’ve tied our horses together, but I want you to keep talking to me. I’ll guide us with the lighted lantern, but I don’t want us to get separated. Understand?”

  “I’ve never had anyone tell me to keep talking, Noah. Usually, the teachers at The Thompson School asked me to stop talking.”

  He shot her a grin over his shoulder. “That’s my girl.”

  He led them slowly in the opposite direction from Homer and Ned Perkins. Flashes of lightning cut across the sky in bright, jagged lines, followed by thunderous booms that made the horses skittish. Jenny kept up a constant stream of conversation to which he paid no heed while he concentrated on Star’s footing.

  “I see something,” he called out a few minutes later.

  She fell silent, seemingly talked out. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled encouragingly. He knew she was running out of steam.

  He got off Star and held the lantern high. “Don’t move an inch, Miss McShanahan,” he said lightly. “I will be joining you again momentarily.” He bowed formally and walked away from the horses to investigate. He watched for an overhang or some kind of opening in the rock formation that might offer shelter. The driving rainstorm had picked up momentum. Between it and the sudden wind, he was chilled to the bone.

  He finally spotted what he’d wished for and returned to Jenny. “We’re in luck,” he said as he eased her down from Sassy. “I’ve found a good-sized opening.”

  “A cave?”

  “Not exactly, though I didn’t go in far enough to explore that possibility.” He tied the horses up, grabbed a few of their bags, and slung them over his shoulder. He hated to leave the animals out in this raging storm, but except for their new addition, they were hardy. The storm might spook them some, but they could survive being out in the elements more so than Jenny.

  He reached and took her hand firmly in his. “Come on.” He guided her with the help of the lantern until he spotted the entrance again.

  “In here.”

  They took a few steps in, and he dropped the bags. “Sit here. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

  He returned with two blankets he’d wrapped in oilcloth before they’d set out from Texas. This area wasn’t known for rain at this time of year, but he always liked to be prepared. He unwrapped the blankets and spread them on the ground.

  “Don’t think we’ll able to have a fire just yet, but we can wrap up and aim to get warm.”

  He heard her teeth rattle. Her jaw danced up and down despite her efforts to control it. She was deathly pale and soaked to the skin. Her hair had come undone from its single, long braid and was tangled around her face.

 
; “Let’s get you out of those clothes, hon.”

  Her eyebrows lifted a good two inches. “I’m not going to take off my clothes, Noah Webster. Despite the circumstances, I am a decent woman.”

  He gave her a stern look. “You’re drenched. Either you’ll take them off or I will. Your choice.”

  “Noah! That’s not proper.”

  “You should have left your respectability in Boston, Jenny. I’m trying to be practical here. You’ve got to get out of those wet clothes, or you’ll catch the pneumonia.” He gazed at her steadily. “I signed on to be a guide, not a nursemaid. Now what’s it going to be?”