Richard, to give him his due, didn't back down. "That's really none of your business."
"Not much of a compromise, Bonner," he said tightly.
He smiled thinly at Seth. "It's enough, when added to the fact that we shared a kiss.”
A muscle in Seth's jaw ticked spasmodically. “A kiss?" he asked, turning back to Nora.
"One little kiss," she said, trying unsuccessfully to shrug away her discomfort.
"She has been compromised, Seth," Elizabeth piped up and Nora regretted telling the woman not to faint. "All of us can see that. A man? Alone? In an unmarried woman's bedroom?" She clucked her tongue and dramatically shook her head. "I'm afraid there's only one thing to do now."
A long moment of quiet met that statement. A moment long enough to send a chill of foreboding sweeping through Nora's bloodstream.
She didn't like the sound of that silence.
"What?" she demanded, looking from one to the other of them.
"She means," Seth translated for her, "you and Richard have to get married."
It took a moment or two for that particular statement to sink in. When it did, she laughed. Shortly and sharply. Everyone looked at her and she quickly got the laughter under control. Shaking her head, she held up both hands in front of her. "No way," she said flatly.
"Somehow I thought you'd say something like that," Seth replied, those blue eyes of his glimmering with something she couldn't quite identify. Her stomach flipped over and Nora told herself firmly to get a grip.
"She can't refuse," Elizabeth stepped into the fray, her voice loud enough to demand attention. "Her reputation would be in tatters. She would be the talk of the county."
"It's a matter of honor," Richard managed to add through suddenly clenched teeth.
"Now wait just a damn minute," Nora said, refusing to be pushed into a marriage— any marriage, but in particular, one in which she was forced to marry a man whose kisses brought her nothing but an odd sense of… well, nothing.
"No, she won't," Hannah muttered thickly. The housekeeper's long gray braids hung across either shoulder, lying atop the frayed wrapper she had thrown on over her nightdress. The candle she held in front of her threw flickering shadows across her familiar features, and Nora wouldn't have been surprised to hear the woman mutter, "Out damned spot.”
Instead though, Hannah simply said, “No one but us knows about this, so there's no compromise."
"Word will get out," Elizabeth prompted hurriedly.
"How?" Seth looked at her until the woman's gaze fell away. "If none of us talks, no one will know."
"One of the other hands,” Elizabeth said quietly, apparently unwilling to give up the fight. "One of them might notice the lights. Ask questions. Talk."
"They're asleep," Seth said shortly.
"Yet you saw the lights."
"I was awake already," he told her.
Nora watched the woman's shoulders slump in defeat. Idly, she wondered what it was that was keeping Seth awake at night. Was he too having dreams of other lives? Other connections? Other deaths? No. Why would he? He wasn't the one being slaughtered nightly. In his previous lifetimes, he'd probably died at a ripe old age— in bed. But then, if she herself had been born into this time, she wouldn't remember any of her other lives either.
"So we're agreed," Seth said quietly with a meaningful look at Richard.
Clearly frustrated but outmaneuvered, the other man nodded abruptly. After taking a deep breath, he looked at Nora and said, "Naturally, I want only the best for the woman I love.”
"Naturally," Seth grumbled.
"Now if you'll excuse me," Richard said, straightening slightly. "I believe I'll retire to my own chamber."
Elizabeth trailed off behind him and then Hannah announced, "If the excitement's done with, I'm goin' to bed." She stepped into the hall, then stopped. She turned and looked at Seth. "I think we've had enough compromisin' for one night. You'd best head out to the bunkhouse.”
"Yes ma'am." He waited until Hannah was halfway down the hall before turning to look at Nora again. “Are you gonna be all right?”
Inhaling sharply, she blew the air out of her lungs in a rush and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."
He leaned casually against the doorjamb. "Pretty good aim you've got. How'd you think of throwing that book at him?"
"Someone once told me that anything in your house could be used as a defensive weapon."
"Really?" he asked, his voice dropping a notch until it was so low it reverberated along her spine, sending her nerve endings into a frenzied dance. “Who was that?”
Nora smiled sadly to herself. How could she explain Sam Gold's self-defense course for women? He would never believe that there would come a time when a "good" woman wouldn't be safe walking the streets alone. In his world, women were cared for. Protected. Except in the rarest cases, of course. Seth would never understand a world where women were so frightened that there was a waiting list to take Sam's self-defense classes.
And, if she was to be honest, that world was becoming less and less distinct to her too. She hardly remembered what it was like to roar down the on ramp to the freeway only to slam on the brakes and sit for an hour.
In the short span of time she had been in Montana, she had become accustomed to stepping out her front door and looking up at the mountains. No smog. No condos blocking the view.
When she stood in the yard late in the afternoon just to watch the sunset, her ears weren't assaulted by lawnmowers and leaf blowers and boom boxes. There was no daily newspaper filled with enough bad news to make most people want to hide in their closets.
Of course, she told herself, it wasn't all peaches and cream here either. No penicillin. No aspirin. No tampons.
Her eyes flew open wide. Good Lord, she'd forgotten all about that. All too vivid memories suddenly filled her mind. And to think, she'd been complaining about the damned outhouse. Hell, no wonder women had so many children in this time. Anything to get away from the uncomfortable strips of cloth and the constant laundering.
"Nora?" Seth asked. "You all right?"
"Huh?" Gratefully, she pushed her thoughts aside for the moment. "Yeah. I'm fine."
He just stood there, staring at her. After a long minute, she said, "What is it?"
"Where'd you learn to think defensively?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"That's the second time you've said that to me," he whispered.
"Well, it's true." She couldn't even imagine what his reaction would be if she told him the truth about who she was and where she was from. On second thought, yes, she could. And from what she remembered, insane asylums were not happy places in this time zone.
He lifted one hand toward her, then let it fall to his side before he could touch her. "Maybe someday you ought to test me.”
"Hmm?"
"Tell me what it is you think I won't believe." His gaze moved over her from her toes to the top of her head. She felt a slow burn creep through her in response. “I’m starting to think that when it comes to you. Nora, nothing would surprise me.”
If only that were true. For some reason, she would like him to know the truth. It would be comforting in an odd way if someone here knew her for who she really was. And liked her anyway. But that wouldn't happen, despite what he said. "Don't be too sure about that, Seth." She gave him a small, sad smile.
He smiled back. "Surprises aren't always bad, you know.”
"Sure," she said on a forced laugh. She refused to let herself believe that she could tell him the truth and be accepted. "You say that now."
A shadow of a frown crossed his face briefly as he looked at her. "Nora, don't you know by now that you can trust me?" he asked.
"I do trust you," she answered truthfully. At least, she trusted him with everything the old Nora had. She knew that he wouldn't steal from her, wouldn't lie to her, and would do all he could to make her ranch continue to be successful. So why did she want more?
"Why'd you kiss him?"
Her breath caught. She looked up into his pale blue eyes and felt herself being drawn in. "He kissed me. There's a difference.”
"I suppose so," he agreed quietly.
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. Memories of his kiss swamped her. She wanted to feel it again. Wanted to experience the rush of pleasure shooting through her bloodstream. Wanted to feel all of the things that had been missing from Richard's kiss.
She stepped in closer and sensed him tense up. Maybe this was a mistake, she thought. Maybe she should have her head examined. But then again, maybe she should stop thinking. Just for now.
"Nora," Seth said, a hint of warning in his tone.
"You said nothing I could do would surprise you." She moved in closer. She could feel the heat of his body. Reaching up, she ran the tips of her fingers across his broad, muscled chest. He flinched at her touch and she heard him suck in a gulp of air.
"Guess I was wrong," he muttered thickly.
"Kiss me again, Seth."
"Better if I don't."
"It's just a kiss," Nora told him, already moving up on her toes.
"It's more than that," he countered, adding, "too damn much more," just before he lowered his head and slanted his mouth across hers.
Danger screamed in his brain, but Seth ignored it. He pulled her tightly to him, relishing the feel of her pebblyhard nipples beneath the thin fabric of her nightgown. His body exploding with the same driving need he'd felt the night before, Seth held her tighter, closer, pressing her length along his until he knew she could feel his body's readiness.
The taste of her had haunted him and now he reclaimed it as his own.
A soft moan slipped from the back of her throat and he swallowed the sound, taking it deep within himself where his own soul cried out for her. He felt her hands on his bare back, leaving a trail of fire wherever she touched him. It was as if she was his breath. His heartbeat. He couldn't be close enough. He couldn't taste enough. He couldn't bear the thought of ever letting her go.
She tore her mouth from his and murmured his name with the reverence of a prayer. He looked down into her desire filled eyes and realized what he was doing. What he would continue doing if he didn't get the hell out of her room in the next minute.
Abruptly, he let her go, ignoring the emptiness that threatened to devour him.
"Seth?"
"Hannah was right," he said harshly, already turning for the door. If he stayed, he would only end up betraying everything he believed in. His word. His honor. He had to leave her, despite the pain that tore at him. “There's been enough compromising for one night, Nora."
"You didn't do anything wrong, Seth," she argued and took a step toward him. "We did nothing wrong."
"Not yet," he agreed with a sad smile. "And that's how I want to keep it."
"I don't get a vote in this? What I want doesn't count here?”
He knew what she wanted, because he wanted it too. "No. Nora. Not this time." Seth watched the flame of passion in her eyes flicker out.
"You and Richard make a helluva team, you know that?" she said in a strained whisper. "He goes where he's not wanted and you leave when you are.”
"Nora…"
“Forget it,” she said and he heard a slight catch in her voice. She gave him a shove toward the hall. "Get out, cowboy. I'm tired."
The door closed firmly and a moment later, he heard her turn the key in the lock. Bracing his hands on the door frame on either side of the door, he leaned forward until his forehead rested on the solid oak panel.
Closing his eyes, he told himself that the coming trip was going to last a lifetime. Endless days and nights in her company? He ought to just do the sensible thing and quit. Let her find another foreman. One who didn't follow her swaying hips with his eyes every time she walked by. One who didn't lie awake at night, imagining her in his arms.
One who wasn't going quietly crazy with want and lack of sleep.
Pushing away from the door, he gave it a long look, then turned and headed down the hallway. He'd just spend the night in the main room. Hell, he wasn't going to get any sleep anyway. Might as well stand guard. At least then, he could avoid the dreams that seemed to be plaguing him lately.
Dreams where he watched Nora die over and over again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"Will ya lookee there," Red Taylor said, then whistled, low and long.
Seth frowned at him. The laziest man in three counties, Red snatched at every opportunity to quit working. Why Seth just didn't fire the man, he couldn't have said. Except that when Red finally did decide to sweat a little, there wasn't a better horseman in Montana.
"Get back to work," he muttered, not even bothering to turn and see what had captured the other man's attention. The kid still had to finish packing the wagon and Seth wasn't about to let the cowhand forget it.
"Yes, sir, boss," Red said with a grin that made him look like a freckled jack-o'-lantern. "But you ought to see what I see."
Sighing, Seth glanced over his shoulder toward the main house. His stomach twisted into knots immediately and his heart pounded violently in his chest.
Nora. She'd cut her hair. Instead of a long, thick braid hanging across one shoulder, her shining black hair fell in loose, graceful waves that ended just below her jawline. By this time, he shouldn't have been surprised at anything she did. But he was.
His gaze swept over her quickly, thoroughly. Those jeans of hers seemed to be shrinking. They hugged her well-shaped legs and pulled tight across her hips and bottom. Her white cotton shirt was tucked into the waistband of her pants and her boots were already looking well worn. She walked purposefully, no small, dainty steps for this Nora. And yet, she managed to be more enticing than a woman draped in silks, slowly crossing a ballroom.
He reached up and tugged the brim of his hat lower over his eyes, hoping to hide his reaction to her.
"Ain't she somethin’!” Red whispered to no one in particular.
Seth flashed him a quick look, scowled, and muttered, “Why don't you get saddled up and go help Vance ride fence on the upper range?”
"Dad burn it," Red grumbled. "Boss, you know Vance don't need any help and won't want it from me anyhow."
True enough. In fact, most of the hands didn't have the patience to deal with Red's youth.
"B'sides," Red added in a last-ditch attempt to avoid riding fence, "if I'm out with Vance, I won't be around to go with ya on your cow hunt."
Seth's mouth tightened as he shot the kid a quick look.
"It's not a cow hunt," he said, disgusted. "It's a cow count."
Red laughed and shook his head. "She sure is somethin', ain't she?"
That she was. In the short time the new Nora had been around, she had half the men on the ranch trippin' on their tongues whenever she walked by. Why, he'd even heard her talking to J.T. about joining their weekly poker game when she got back from this damned trip of hers.
He glanced at the boy beside him again. True. Richard had said that he would drive the wagon so there was really no need to have Red along. But Seth would feel better with one more pair of hands to count on. At the very least, the kid could help Hannah out, since it was for damn sure that the Bonners wouldn't be offering assistance.
"So boss?" Red asked warily. “You still want me to ride out with Vance?"
"No.” Seth shook his head. "Go help Hannah get the supplies ready to be packed.”
Red grinned, jumped off the split rail fence, and hurried to the house before Seth could change his mind.
Nora smiled at the boy as he raced past her and that smile shook Seth to his toes. She walked up to him and asked, "Almost ready?"
Even her voice had begun doing strange things to him. Making him think of whispers in the night and long, deep kisses that lasted “I’ll dawn. It was almost as if he remembered being with her. Forcefully, he shook those odd sensations off. "We'll finish up tomorrow and leave the day after.”
"What time?”
"Dawn."
She sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that."
He studied her, noting the shine in her eyes. "We can still cancel the trip.”
She shook her head and he tried not to notice how gracefully her newly shorn hair swung about her face. "Nope." She deepened her voice then and affected a drawl. “Them critters're waitin' on us, pardner."
He chuckled and told himself he was in deep trouble.
Nora stepped up onto the bottom rail of the fence and folded her arms across the top one.
A long moment passed in companionable silence before she felt him lift her newly cut hair with the tips of his fingers. "Why'd you do it?” he asked.
Expectation hummed through Nora. "I never was any good with hair," she said, hoping he would touch her, afraid he wouldn't. "Who knew it would look this good short?”
After the commotion had died down the night before, she had attacked her hair with the scissors. All she had been thinking at the time was that she was damned tired of waking up in a cold sweat with her own hair wrapped around her neck like a noose.
When the deed was done, she'd looked into the mirror and been delighted to discover that once the heavy length had been chopped off, her hair had a natural wave and gentle curl to it. At last, she had no need of a curling iron or a permanent or a sixty-dollar haircut from some twit named Antoine.
Of course, no one else seemed as fond of her new look as she was. Elizabeth had stared at Nora as though she had sprouted another head during the night. Richard, thankfully, had been struck silent, and Hannah had simply shaken her head and gone back to her baking.
Nora hated to admit it, even to herself, but she had wondered what Seth's reaction would be. She knew she shouldn't care one way or the other what the cowboy had to say, but apparently, she did. "What do you think?" she asked, halfturning to face him.
His fingertips grazed her throat and her heart thudded painfully in response to the charge of heat from his touch.
He raked his gaze slowly over her face before finally looking deeply into her eyes. "I like it. It suits you."
This Time for Keeps Page 15