by Linda Broday
* * *
That night, he crawled into his own bed with Nora snuggling at his side. Although he wasn’t up to making love just yet, he ran his hands down the soft lines of her back and kissed every inch of her naked body. When he placed his lips on hers, he tasted desire on her tongue, felt yearning in each touch.
In turn, his passionate wife stroked and kneaded his body into a heated mass of desire. He was as hard as a brick and aching.
She flicked, nibbled, and kissed her way down him. In short order, he found himself aroused—too aroused. Afraid-to-breathe aroused. The tiniest motion of her warm breath feathering across his skin threatened to send him over the edge.
Jack hissed between his teeth. “Stop.”
“Am I doing something wrong?”
“You’re doing everything—” He fought to steady his breath. “Doing it too right. I won’t last more than two seconds the way we’re going.”
“I see. I don’t want to spoil anything.” Nora scooted herself up.
He ran a finger down her throat to the swell of her breast. “Thank you for having patience, darlin’. I know you get frustrated with me, but I hope you never quit loving me.”
“Slim chance, cowboy.” She raised up and pulled his mouth to hers.
Heat swirled inside him and settled in his core. He used his hands to pleasure her and soon brought her close to rapture.
“Jack! More!” She arched her back and flung herself against his hand.
Judging by the strength of her clenching muscles and thundering heartbeat a few seconds later, her climax was immensely satisfying.
She panted, stiffening, clutching him tight.
“That’s it. Ride it out all the way.” Jack held her to him and let the shudders carry him with her.
Nora gradually relaxed as her last quiver died away.
“Jack.” She lay back, gasping. “You haven’t lost your touch, sweetheart.”
He caressed the curve of her cheek and jaw. “Good to know.” It wasn’t like he was going to forget how to make her breath hitch, how to cry out in the clutches of passion.
After her breathing slowed, she positioned herself between his legs and, though unsure of herself and her movements at first, Jack helped her.
As randy as he was, it didn’t take long under Nora’s willing hand until he found paradise, and that shook him to his core.
They lay in each other’s arms until dawn. Jack gave thanks for all he’d found. It had taken a long while, but his life was worth living again.
Nora surprised the hell out of him. There was nothing much she wouldn’t try, and she adapted to each situation like a trooper. He thought of Darcy Howard, and how different his life would’ve been if she hadn’t gone to the nunnery. His fervent hope was that she’d found peace and was healing.
Jack kissed Nora, holding her close. She was his lifeblood. His every breath.
* * *
Nora saw Tait Trinity almost every day, sitting in front of the hotel in the sun. He’d turned out to be quite a handsome man once he’d cleaned up and shaved. His question about the railroad up at Dodge continued to puzzle her, but Jack had told her it was best to drop it. She agreed. It would break her heart to see the man arrested or go to jail like Travis.
Although Jack never said much about his relationship with Trinity, the men sat visiting often. She knew they’d been close and that Trinity had meant a great deal to him.
Maybe he’d open up soon and tell her some more about the man he worried over. Although there were things Jack wouldn’t speak of and times when his face darkened. She was already aware of the men he’d killed who haunted him, and she also knew when to keep silent. This was Jack’s penance to work through.
Although he continued to improve, he’d stumbled over the cane twice and fallen, and he kept laying it down and losing it, which meant stopping everything and searching until they found it again. Nora watched, knowing his breaking point was coming. And soon.
The moment arrived the next Sunday. He and Sawyer had put the finishing touches on a chicken coop and Sawyer had run off to play with Ely. Jack picked up his cane and hobbled toward the stage that had just rolled in.
“Slow down, Jack. You’re not supposed to run a race on that cane.” She shifted the baby and readied to try to catch him if he fell again.
“I am going slow.”
Instead of pointing out the obvious, she clamped her mouth shut and saved her breath.
His foot caught the cane and he went down to one knee. Immense pain colored his face white, and he muttered cusswords that singed her hair.
“Are you all right?”
“Fine.” He stood with considerable effort and glared at the offending piece of wood.
His eyes locked firmly on hers, he picked the cane up, placed it over his knee, and snapped it in half.
Nora gasped. “Jack Bowdre! I can’t believe you did that.”
“I’m done.” He threw the two pieces aside and limped toward the stage, where a passenger was alighting.
She hurried to catch up, and they went to meet the woman stepping down from the coach.
“Mother, how nice to see you.” Jack kissed her cheek.
His mother? Shock ran through Nora.
“I never would’ve known you with that blond hair.” The woman laughed. “I sense a story.”
Silver streaked the attractive woman’s brown hair, at least the tresses not pinned up under her pretty hat. Doing some quick math, Nora put her in her early fifties. She instantly loved the twinkle in Mrs. Bowdre’s blue eyes and the way her slender fingers lay easily on her son’s arm.
Jack drew Nora close, introducing them. “I’m glad you came. I wanted you to meet my wife and family. Nora and I had talked about going to visit, only I’ve been laid up.”
“I figured something like that.” Maggie Bowdre slipped her arm through Nora’s. “I want you to tell me what my son won’t. He always says he’s fine.”
Nora laughed. “Yes, he does.”
“Gang up on me, will you?” Jack huffed.
* * *
Supper that night was a happy affair. Jack loved having his mother there, and she seemed to dote on the kids. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her more at peace and wondered what had put that new glow on her face.
Maybe one of his sisters was in the family way again.
Maggie reached for a slice of homemade bread. “Sawyer, you remind me so much of my Jack when he was a boy. I think your hair is darker, but you have the same way of looking at a person as if you’re trying to figure out what makes them tick.”
“Yes, ma’am. But mainly I’m trying not to mess up.” Sawyer stared at his plate. “I like it here and I don’t wanna leave.”
“My dear boy, I don’t think that will ever happen. Tell me about school.”
“We just got a schoolmaster and he’s going to teach me to read. We ain’t started yet though.”
“Haven’t started yet,” Nora gently corrected.
Jack passed the beans and potatoes. “Sawyer helps Clay milk the goats every morning, and he loves to cook. Mother, maybe you can show him how to make your chicken and dumplings.”
“I’d be delighted to.”
A cry came from upstairs.
“Please let me get her.” Maggie pushed back her chair. “I’ll only be here for a few days.”
Nora smiled and curled her fingers around Jack’s. “I love your mother. Thank you for saving her. She seems really happy now.”
“More than I’ve ever seen her,” Jack admitted. But he knew her, and there was something she wasn’t telling him.
After the women cleaned the kitchen, they sat in the parlor with the children.
“Mother, what’s going on?”
Maggie sat rocking Willow. She stopped the chair’s motion. “I’m f
ree. A Texas Ranger brought word a few days ago that your father met his end in a shoot-out.”
Anger washed over Jack. “I hope he suffered. He was a bastard if I ever knew one.”
“I know, son. He made our lives a living hell, and I’ve had to live every day with guilt that I couldn’t protect you and your sisters.”
Nora patted her knee and said softly, “We’ve all had our share of situations we couldn’t control. Don’t let it eat at you.”
“I know.” His mother gave her a sad smile. “It’s better than it was.”
Jack rose and stood looking out the window. “You did the best you could. None of us fault you for it.”
Nine-year-old Sawyer lay on the rug at Maggie’s feet, petting Scout. “Bittercreek forced me to become an outlaw. I’m glad he’s dead. I’m glad Jack killed him.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. I have a home here now with Jack and Nora and I’m gonna be a cook, and as soon as I learn to read and write, I’m gonna be smart.”
“Yes, you will. Keep those dreams, honey.”
Before long, the dark mood lifted, and they were entertaining Jack’s mother with the story about dying his hair. It was great to see her laugh and forget all those times when her tears could’ve floated a child’s boat.
He just wished he could dig up Orin Bowdre and kill him all over again.
That night in bed, Nora told him of her plan for Flynn O’Brien’s ledger. “I want to force a judge into dropping the charges against you. I think it can happen.”
“Darlin’, I’ve tried for amnesty and it didn’t work. I don’t know if I have it in me to try again.” He let out a long sigh and kissed her.
The bed creaked when Nora moved closer. “If you think I’m going to let you give up, you don’t know me well. We’ll try as many times as it takes. I have a feeling this ledger will be worth a lot to the right person.”
Ever the optimist, but that’s why Jack loved her.
Maybe this time would be different. A tendril of something resembling hope unfurled deep in a small corner of his heart.
Thirty-seven
A week later found Nora and Jack in the town of Lost Point in Sam Legend’s office. Apart from their height, Nora didn’t see a lot of physical resemblance between him and his brother Luke. Sam had brown hair to Luke’s black. But Nora loved the warmth in his eyes and ready smile and knew she could trust this lawman.
Sam shook their hands. “I don’t exactly know why you’re here, but it’s good to meet you. Luke speaks highly of you both.”
A white scar around his throat drew her gaze. Jack had told her that a mean bunch of rustlers had tried to hang Sam during his tenure as a Texas Ranger and, but for Luke’s arrival, had nearly succeeded. She didn’t know what being hanged would feel like but suspected it caused a great deal of pain. Sam was the right man for the job.
Nora removed the ledger that had almost cost her and Jack their lives. “I want to bargain. This belonged to a very bad man and in it he recorded every murder he committed, every bit of money he collected, and every name of the men he was in cahoots with. Some are governors, mayors, rich businessmen.”
“May I see it?” Sam asked and took it when she handed it over.
Silence filled the sheriff’s office while he glanced through it. Jack squeezed her hand and gave her a smile. Yet beneath his calm exterior, fear lurked. He’d suffered extreme disappointment in obtaining his freedom thus far and was afraid to even hope.
She leaned to brush her lips across his. “Relax.”
Nora recognized that this might well be a fool’s errand. But she would try.
Finally, Sam looked up. “What do you want?”
“A clean slate,” Jack answered firmly. “All my crimes erased.”
“When that happens, I’ll turn the ledger over to you,” Nora added. “Not one second before.”
“This is gold. I think I can arrange that.” Sam handed the ledger back. “Put that in a safe place. I’ll notify the governor right away, then I’ll telegraph his answer the moment I receive it.”
“Thank you, oh thank you.” Nora flung her arms around Sam’s neck. “You don’t know what this means to us.”
“I think I do.”
Nora’s face burned to have been so forward with him. “I’m sorry for attacking you.”
“No apology needed. Stay with Sierra and me. She’ll be hurt if you don’t. I want to hear all about Hope’s Crossing. I’ve been eaten up with envy every time Luke and Houston talk about it. Clay Colby and I go back a long way. How’s he doing?”
For the next two hours, they talked of home and the people they loved. Nora kept stealing glances at Jack, trying to imagine what a difference his freedom would make. She’d do anything to give him a future free of bleached hair, dark shadows, and a heap of worry.
* * *
A month later, Sam Legend rode into town and dismounted at Nora and Jack’s. She took one look at the grin and knew before he even spoke. Excitement washed over her.
“Jack’s crimes have been expunged—that is, if you still have the ledger.”
“Come in and I’ll get it. Jack’s in the parlor.”
Jack stood when they entered. “Sam, how nice to see you.”
Nora put an arm around him and met his gray eyes. “You’re free, Jack.”
He blinked hard and cleared his throat. “Are you sure? This isn’t a joke?”
Sam clapped him on the back. “No joke. The governor wiped your record clean and thanks you and Nora for helping clean up a criminal ring in New York. The lawmen there have been trying to get them for years.”
Tears sprang into Nora’s eyes. Everything that she’d suffered hadn’t been in vain. Flynn O’Brien was dead, and Jack was a free man. There was justice in the world after all.
As night began to cast shadows and the breeze cooled, Nora threw her shawl on and invited Sam to come with them. With Jack holding Willow, they went to join the others at the community fire. A good many of the town sat around, talking about their days.
Nora loved these times when a warmth drifted around her shoulders and she knew she belonged here.
It didn’t matter about a person’s past. Here, their futures blended and pieced together like an old colorful quilt.
She and Rebel had gotten close. Good thing, because the woman needed someone to help prop her up occasionally. She still pined for Travis but didn’t dwell too much on the fact that he was gone. They’d received word that the judge had sentenced him to five years in prison.
That seemed an eternity when you loved someone, but it was better than being hanged.
Tally brought Violet and the new baby out to join the others. She gave Nora a bright smile. “You’ve worked wonders with Rebel. She needs all the friends she can get.”
“I like her. She’s just trying to find her way like the rest of us. It’s hard for her, though, with those children and Travis not here to help. That’s when friends really count.”
Tally leaned back with a wide smile. “I’m so glad you came here. I would’ve missed never knowing you.”
“And I you.”
“Did Jack lighten his hair again?”
“This morning, but he won’t have to ever do it after this. He’s not wanted anymore.”
“Nora, how wonderful!”
“I know. We’re celebrating tonight.” Nora gave her a hug and kissed baby Dillon, then went to stand with Jack near the fire.
He slid an arm around her. “You’ve made a difference here, Nora, and I love you for caring about these people.”
“Why does that surprise you? How could I not?”
“Some wouldn’t. Some would see criminals, killers. Not men wanting to straighten out.” He gazed at the new buildings and the increased number of men and woman at the fire. “You
should’ve seen this place before we started making it a town. It was god-awful dreary, the men’s eyes dull and hopeless.”
She could imagine. “You were all at the end of your roads. Change had to happen.”
“Clay saw what Devil’s Crossing could be, and he got us thinking that we didn’t have to live like we were.” Jack chuckled. “We’d follow that man anywhere.”
“Everyone needs a good leader.” Nora smiled up at him. Jack didn’t know that he was every bit the leader Clay was, but one day she’d tell him.
There was nothing like the smell of new lumber to signal progress. The frame of the new church and school sat in a prominent place next to the windmill. It wouldn’t take long to finish the buildings and Sawyer couldn’t wait. He was like a sponge, soaking up everything that had been denied him.
A new couple—the Trumans—had arrived with their ten kids—all boys—so Sawyer had plenty of playmates.
Jack’s hold on Nora’s waist tightened. After she completed her ceremony, they’d go back to their house and make love. Her pulse raced. She would never tire of loving Jack Bowdre, no matter what color hair he had or how many canes he broke. Or how stubborn he got at times.
He put his mouth next to her ear and tingles swept over her. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, I am.”
Jack whistled sharply to get everyone’s attention. “If we can have a moment, my wife and I have something to say.”
“Evening, all.” Nora flashed a smile around the group. “We have something to celebrate and I want to do it with you. The ledger that came near to costing me and Jack our lives has bought and paid for Jack’s freedom. In it, I recorded every crime Flynn O’Brien committed. The names of the dead are in here and I hope, with Jack’s help, that I bought them some justice. Most were simple folk like you, just wanting to make an honest living. That’s all any of us want. Just to have families and raise kids. O’Brien tortured and killed with a zest I’ve not seen in anyone else. I lived as a prisoner in his house over ten years and feared for my life every single day.”
She took a breath. “But that’s not the only thing I’m celebrating. It’s you and the sacrifice, the pain you’ve had to bear. We are strong and we are mighty! Let’s embrace our power! Let’s take back what was stolen.”