But the hands running the Ranch while Tom and Linda were on their honeymoon hadn’t seen her, and even checking out the empty schoolhouse on their way back didn’t reveal any useful clues.
By the time they got back to main street, Phillip was hot and sweaty and had had quite enough of traipsing all over the countryside on foot. “I think I need to get my horse and saddle up,” Phillip said as they walked back through town toward the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Addams stopped and grabbed his arm. “Just tell me this. What kind of thing are you playing at?”
The affable, friendly sheriff was gone. In his place was a stern-eyed lawman with eyes that could have been cast from iron.
Phillip was a man who’d faced down lawmen and villains of all stripes since taking on his chosen profession, but even he was taken aback by the hard light in the older man’s eyes. “I…I don’t understand.”
“You hired my daughter in exchange for riding your horse. But I happen to know that beast stays in the stable more days than not. Ryan Miller told me that much. You could have just let her ride him. It would have done him a world a good to be worked.”
Phillip chafed, he wanted… needed to assure himself that Amanda was alright. “Yeah… I know… I…” He looked around and through his frustration realized that he couldn’t go find this man’s daughter unless he was open and honest about it. He swallowed hard and for the first time voiced the truth he’d been keeping buried in his heart. “I hired her because… well because that way I could see her every day. I… I just wanted to be around her.”
“Then what’s the reason for the fancy clothes and her acting goofy?” He got in Phillip’s face, and Phillip suddenly realized that a lawman of over 20 years’ experience could be one very formidable opponent indeed.
But even under that gaze, he couldn’t answer the very question that every dad-blamed individual in town seemed to think he could. “I don’t know! I don’t know what possessed her to do that though I wish to God I did!”
The Sheriff’s expression turned thoughtful. “Maybe she’s more concerned with what she’s been seeing you sniffing around?”
Phillip’s eyebrows shot up. “But… are you referring to Miss Davis?”
“There are a lot of wagging tongues in this town, and they seem to be wagging your way.”
Phillip threw his hands in the air in frustration. He needed to do something, to find Amanda, to help her, comfort her, protect her. To be doing something. Anything other than standing in the middle of the street and having to defend himself from the actions of a silly, brainless girl that he couldn’t seem to get rid of even when she wasn’t physically present.
“I wish more than you can possibly imagine that she’d find some other poor sap to bother. She’s locked on to me, and here I am supposed to represent the territory and uphold the courts including what happens at the Fort, and I can’t shake her!”
The Sheriff stared into his eyes. If there was a look that could curdle milk and turn someone’s soul to ash, this man had that ability. “Alright,” he said cautiously. “Fine. But from now on, you two stop playing games. You’re supposed to be adults by now. No more childish nonsense.”
And yet Phillip suddenly felt more a child than ever. “Yes, sir.” He said nodding. “I just… I need to find Amanda now. I want to know she’s alright.”
“Well…” the sheriff backed off a bit. “That’s what we’re here for. And if you swear to me that you’re done playing stupid games, I’ll tell you something important.”
“I promise,” Phillip swore.
“She was in the stable the entire time.” The Sheriff smiled from one end of his mouth.
“If…” Phillip was confused and more than a little angry. He knew it. He’d just known that they’d been running around on a wild-goose chase all afternoon. He should have guessed it when the Sheriff had insisted on searching the stable by himself, telling Phillip that he’d best keep watch in case she passed by on the street. He’d been played for a fool and didn’t like it one bit. “If you knew she was in there, why didn’t you say so?” he asked, his own back up, and the look he gave the Sheriff full of iron enough of his own.
“Because. She didn’t want to see you. Or me either for that matter. But I had to tell her sister, so she could get her out of there. We went to the Calvert’s to give Sarah time to….”
That was when Phillip heard the scream.
“SARAH.” The sheriff breathed. Both men looked at each other, then took off running. The sound had come from the stables. They ran together, faster than Phillip thought his tired legs could possibly carry him after having tramped several miles already. What surprised him was how fast the Sheriff was for a man his age. He was hard to keep up with. Phillip’s measure of the man rose despite the fact that he’d been deceived by him.
He’d have to puzzle that through later.
They skidded to a halt outside the stable. The might doors were shut. Barred from inside it seemed. The smaller door to the side was similarly blocked. Horses made restless by the commotion snorted and pawed in the corral, but there were no stalls opening into the pen. The stable was of a queer western design, able to be shut in completely, to keep out varmints and horse thieves.
And to hold the woman he loved in some kind of unknown danger.
Sarah was pounding on the door, and a crowd was gathering around her. Shoppers exchanged glances, and the stableman himself was calling for an ax to take down the door. Sarah fell into her father’s arms sobbing. “AMANDA! Daddy, Amanda’s in there. And Jasper’s in there. And he’s—”
But whatever she was going to say was lost, drowned out by a bloodcurdling scream that seemed to go on forever. The horses in the pens whinnied and thrashed, the crowd outside setting up a long wail in reply.
“AMANDA!” Phillip threw himself against the door, wondering where that fool was with the ax, but the sheriff pulled him back.
Phillip rounded on him, fists clenched. “WHAT YOU DOING?”
“That ain’t her screaming,” the Sheriff said with an odd little smile playing on his lips. “I suspect we ought to see how this all plays out.”
They didn’t have long to wait. The door to the stable blew open. It splintered, the wood shattering into so many slivers, the hinges swinging wildly and slapping the wall. Jasper lay where he landed, curled up in a heap, moaning unintelligibly and clutching his midsection, trying to breathe.
Amanda stepped through the wreckage of the doorway, alternatingly holding and shaking her right hand. “Man’s got an anvil for a jaw bone,” she muttered and looked up at the crowd who’d gathered for the show.
The ones who had laughed at her earlier were the ones that suddenly had somewhere else to be. Phillip watched in awe as the entire crowd disappeared, including the man who’d come running with an ax only to find the door was already so much firewood. Muttering something about taking the borrowed tool back where it had come from, he sidled back the way he’d come, alternately glancing back and shaking his head, and running as though he couldn’t get far away fast enough.
When Amanda saw Phillip, she blanched and then straightened. He stood where he’d been placed, in shocked surprise as she walked over to him and planted herself right square in front of him.
“Phillip, this is me. It’s who I am. I like to ride, to rope, to shoot. I like to dance, I like being in the sun and getting dirt and sweat and horsehair… I won’t never be a woman you can show off at a fancy ball, and I might not even be good enough for the fancy crowd. But I reckon if you can put up with me like I am…” She smiled a little. “I can probably put up with a man like you.”
Then as quickly as she’d spoken, she stepped back, cheeks flushing as if she’d just now realized what she’d said. She swallowed hard. “I mean… there ain’t nothing wrong with a man like you…” She grew flustered and looked to her father.
He shook his head and pulled out his handcuffs for Jasper. “I got work to do,” he muttered, dragging the man
roughly to his feet.
Everything suddenly made sense. “No more games,” Phillip said, stepping toward her, hand outstretched.
“What?”
“No more games, Amanda. The truth is, I can’t stop thinking of you. You’re not like anyone I ever met, nor do I expect I ever will. I… I don’t know if I have a lot to offer, I can ride, I can shoot fair enough, but I never even touched a cow that wasn’t on a plate. But maybe you can do that, and I’ll do…” he gestured down the street in the general direction of his office, “this. I would just like to try doing some of it, most of it, all of it… with you.”
Amanda was still staring at her feet, chewing her lower lip as she thought that through. “I’d like that,” she whispered, lifting her head to meet his gaze for the first time. It was like the sun coming out after a weeklong rain. Her eyes sparkled with life, and no small hint of mischief.
He held out his hand. “I may not have known you long, Amanda Addams, but I would like to get to know you better. Amanda Addams, would you do me the honor of allowing me to court you?”
“Court me?” Her eyes widened, taking on a slightly panicked look.
“It was a poor choice of words perhaps. I suspect our courtship might be…dare I say…somewhat unconventional. Maybe you won’t mind showing me some of the finer points of roping and riding, Miss Addams? If you would so agree.”
Amanda’s gaze became thoughtful as she looked past him to the street. The crowd had long since gone. The only person left was Sarah, who’d been watching this interplay with a certain rapturous delight as though her favorite novel had come to life right before her very eyes.
Amanda cleared her throat. “I think that before we go so fast and so bold, Mr. Richman, I should tell you that your horse was injured in Jasper’s attack.”
Phillip felt the blood drain from his face. He looked past her into the stable. “Champion?”
“I’ll show you.” She pursed her lips and took his hand, leading him into the dark interior of the stable.
Chapter 15
Amanda didn’t miss Sarah taking a step toward the door. For a moment she was afraid that her little sister would try and come in with them, but the girl had more presence of mind than that. Sarah simply stood in front of the ruins and dared anyone to get past her.
Phillip was at Champion’s stall, looking over the stall door. “He seems fine,” he was saying, “I don’t see any…”
Before she could lose her nerve, Amanda pulled him around to face her and put a hand on either side of his face. She swallowed and pulled him down to her, pressing her lips on his. She hadn’t really ever kissed a boy, just in play or as a joke, but never in earnest. Her lack of experience showed. He wasn’t responding and she was making a great fool of herself again, twice in one day.
She broke off and closed her eyes against the embarrassment and shame that swamped her. “I… I’m sorry, I…”
He mumbled something about “no more games.” She didn’t quite make it out, and the words made no sense. Right now, she just wanted to go hide again. Preferably somewhere very far away.
Suddenly, she was in his arms. Strong, powerful arms. He enfolded her, pressing her against him, and where her kiss had been shy and sweet, his was sure and confident. He buried his fingers in her hair, sending what was left of her fancy hairdo tumbling down around her shoulders. She hadn’t had time to put it in her usual braid and now if anyone saw there would be a downright scandal. But she didn’t care as his hand moved down her shoulder, and stroked her back, drawing her in closer as she leaned back from the passion in his kiss.
When they parted, she couldn’t breathe for a moment. She stared at him, as he stared at her, as they tried to sort this all in a series of shared glances that were struggling to redefine just what they were to each other. Something more than boss and employee for certain. Beyond that, she wasn’t altogether sure. This was new territory. New, precious, amazing, shining territory that she wanted more than anything to explore. Right now.
He seemed to have the same idea. He lifted her off the ground and started looking around.
The stable door was a ruin, leaving a gaping opening guarded by Sarah’s firm back that told Amanda that her sister was not only guarding their privacy but likely trying to cipher out this new relationship as much as she was. There would be explanations aplenty later. Right now, they needed a place to indulge in those activities that would be requiring explanation in the near future.
Smothering a giggle against Phillip’s shoulder, Amanda pointed to the tack room door, standing open a short distance away. With a certain dark look that was all passion, they passed the heap of alfalfa that was sure to be soft and comfortable for the haven of the darkened room. He set her down, to shut the door firmly behind them while she fumbled with the lantern that hung by the door until a soft glow filled the room, casting smoky light over the racks of saddles and harness, giving the space a wonderful horsey leather smell that suited Phillip and this moment so perfectly well. The floor was littered with bits of hay tracked in, that could never quite be swept up completely it seemed, adding a sweet clover smell to the mix.
It was she who found the stack of horse blankets. Laughing together, softly that no one should hear, they built a nest in the corner of the room, soft and warm. Here he lay her, following her down into the impromptu bed, laying soft kisses on her lips and neck and shoulders. His hands stroked her legs through the rough cloth of her pants. She liked it. She liked every touch of this exploration. She’d had a basic understanding of what men and women did together, her mother had educated her when she’d come of age, but nothing had prepared her for this passion that clawed at them both. This need to grab and touch and hold flesh was unbelievably intoxicating. Every kiss, every grope brought them more and more closely entwined until she no longer knew where she ended and he began.
She reached under his coat and under his vest and put her fingers on the crisp, white shirt that lay beneath, feeling the skin under the cloth with a finger. The warmth of his skin seemed to burn her fingers, and she found her breath had rushed from her body and her face was hot with the blood pounding in her ears.
“Amanda,” he breathed in her ear, and she responded. Her name on his lips tore through the flesh and touched her soul. She reached for him, though she wasn’t sure how or where, and suddenly she wanted very much to please him as he pleased her. Why had no one told her the joy that came in such a union, this intimacy that would drive them both into such a frenzy?
He lay her down, and she waited on the soft blanket as he pulled off his jacket and vest, each item of clothing necessitating a pause in between as if he was making sure she would let him carry on. Each time his eyes met hers she nodded, eager, excited. Wondering when it would be her turn to act.
She barely restrained herself from tearing the shirt off his body. He returned to her, finding her skin under her shirt in a tentative caress that left her gasping, back arched, moan escaping from her lips before she could suppress the sound. She was suddenly wearing altogether too much clothing. The shirt, the pants, the underclothes…all needed to be removed, and took time, too many small buttons to undo, each exposing only another inch of flesh that burned for his touch. When she was finally exposed to his view, he gazed at her with satisfaction. To her joy, her small, firm breasts seemed to be sized for his grip. His thumbs flicked her nipples, creating a cascade of sensation that left her writhing and begging for him to touch her further. Lower. There.
So it was that his hands moved to the belt of her pants, and dared to explore further still.
They came together, on the blankets, serenaded by the muffled noise of horses moving about in their stalls. Outside, the horses in the corral had quieted somewhat, the occasional snort or thud from a hoof filtering through the chinks in the stable. Beyond there, the sounds of the town bustling about its day proved that the community was as yet unaware that the world had changed and that two people had found happiness in each other’s arms, an
d eyes.
When she reached out to him, and buried her climax in his shoulder, when he, breathless and spent, whispered not of passion, not of need, but spoke instead softly of love, it seemed that time should have stopped and the world ended on that moment, perched on the edge of perfection.
She imagined Champion smiling as Oliver snorted derisively for a rubdown. Life demanded that they part, and they rose into a world that was shaky and new. Together they folded the blankets and returned them to their shelf, Amanda casting shy glances at the man who had touched her so intimately and left a burning imprint upon her soul. She found that she would give up anything to please him, and while it seemed a strange submissive gesture to want to give him, she also recognized that he would do the same for her, in that odd give and take that told her they balanced each other. Together they had found a harmony of passion, without having to change anything about who she was. Here was a man who could only be pleased with her if she held on to herself after all.
They dressed again, playfully, teasing, a few random gropes to keep the other from completely finishing until Sarah’s voice filtered through from the outside world, telling them that their time together was most assuredly over.
“Daddy’s coming.”
The stage whisper could have been heard across town. More than a little panicked, Amanda reached for Phillip, realizing his vest was misbuttoned. She righted the mistake with shaking fingers as he tugged at her collar, straightening her shirt.
“Let me past girl!” Her father’s angry voice could be clearly heard from outside.
At First Sight (The Sheriff's Daughters Book 2) Page 9