And she’d thought the Emergency Room back in Dallas provided excitement, until now.
“Won’t they move if they think you might lead the authorities to the location?”
“I doubt it. Its way back in the hills, almost impossible to find unless someone knows where to look. It’s too good a spot to abandon unless they must. I’m pretty sure they know I took a bullet and I doubt they think I could survive the fall. They’ll be wary but I don’t expect they’ll move yet. And when they do, they’ll head south toward the border.”
So much information clogged her mind and froze her senses. Tina spent a few moments trying to process it and sort everything out. Visions of armed men storming the A-frame cabin filled her imagination but instead of increasing her fear, the idea brought anger. So far, one of their group had broken out of the state penitentiary and the others did their damndest to kill Joshua. Although she didn’t know him well, Tina pegged him as a good man. They’d hurt him in the process and if they learned she sheltered him, they’d want to kill her too. “You can’t let that happen,” she cried.
His fingers released her chin and he trailed his hand across her hair. Joshua caressed her cheek, slight and soft. “You’re a fighter,” he said. “I don’t intend to, honey. But I have to stop and think. If I don’t play this right, they will get away or we’ll die. Or both.”
Despite her distraction, she caught his casual endearment and liked it. “Can’t you call the Marshal’s service for backup or something?”
“I could and will, eventually.” He hesitated and then told her what he hadn’t shared with anyone else. “Thing is, I think there’s an informant in the district office, someone who blabs too much to the wrong people. I don’t know who and I lack any proof, but my gut says he exists. If I do and he talks, it could make a bad situation much worse. Right now, I think it’s better to lay low and think this through.” He became more agitated as he talked and she watched, worried.
Tina’s nursing instincts took over. She checked his pulse and found it rapid. He remained pale and despite the fire in the hearth, his skin seemed cool beneath her touch. “I agree. Right now, you need to warm up and rest. I’m glad you remember, Joshua, but it doesn’t change the fact that you need to heal.”
Joshua slumped and he covered his face with one hand. “Oh, I hear that.”
“You don’t look very well,” she said. “How do you feel?”
“My side’s likely to kill me. It’s the worst, although I’ve got a bitchin’ headache now and I still hurt all over. I’m weaker than I should be. I feel like I’ll keel over if I try to walk from here to the kitchen.”
“You might but it’s natural to be more sore the second day. You need something some substantial to eat than a few cookies, and you need a lot more rest. I made chicken and noodles, if you’re interested.”
His face lit up as he glanced at her. “That sounds pretty good.”
Tina stood and pointed to the recliner. “Get settled in the chair and I’ll bring you a bowl to save you the trip.”
When he protested, she shook her head and offered him her hand. “Come on.”
Once she made him comfortable and tucked the blanket around his knees, she headed to the kitchen. Tina returned with a bowl of noodles, bread and butter, and a glass of iced tea. The tray fit over his legs and into the seat perfectly.
“Where’s yours?” he asked.
“I’ll go back and get it. Go ahead and eat if you want.”
He inhaled and sighed. “It smells awesome. Is it homemade?”
“The noodles and broth both are,” she said, pleased he noticed. “I cooked the chicken but it came from the supermarket.”
Joshua dipped the spoon in the broth. “I haven’t had food like this in forever,” he said. “Thank you.”
They ate together, Tina balancing her food on a pillow in her lap, Joshua in the recliner. He ate two bowls and by the time he finished, his color had returned. His relaxed posture indicated his pain had lessened, due in part to another dose of pain meds, but Tina thought the warm meal might’ve helped too. “Feel better?”
“Yeah, I do, a little, thanks. What time is it?”
“It’s around four o’clock. Why?”
A yawn emerged from his mouth and he covered it with one hand. “I’m sleepy. I thought it must be later.”
“Get some rest and go to bed.”
“Huh-uh,” he mumbled. Stubborn, she thought with a smile. “I’ll shut my eyes and stay here. All I need is a nap.”
Tina pulled the blanket up over him. “Whatever you think, Joshua. As long as you’re comfortable, it’s okay with me.”
“I am.”
Within minutes, his breathing shifted into a lower, slower sleep rhythm. Tina removed the tray and returned to drink him in with her eyes. She admired his lean physique, the light copper shade of his skin, and the way his close-cropped dark hair fit against his skull. His black eyelashes rested against his cheek, thick and lush. His nose bent a little to the left, something that added character. High cheekbones accentuated his Native American appearance. Joshua’s well-shaped, thin lips made Tina long to kiss them but she didn’t want to wake him.
His eyes were beautiful, heavy, and black as midnight. By any standard, Joshua could be called attractive, but Tina realized his inner strength drew her to him as much, if not more. He’d handled his situation with amazing aplomb and despite his numerous hurts, he hardly complained.
No matter what happened, she wanted to keep him in her life, one way or another. Unless she’d lost the knack, he experienced the same overpowering sense of connection that she did. She hated long distance relationships and didn’t believe in them but if she decided to stay, his home in Sallisaw was an hour or less away. If she returned to Dallas, Tina knew any chance of something more with Joshua wouldn’t happen.
She had remained this long without any more reason than that she dreaded to return to the city, to urban sprawl, and rush hour traffic. Now, Tina thought she might stay awhile longer, to explore the possibilities with Joshua. Maybe they would get together, maybe not, but she wanted to try.
First, though, his situation had to be handled. Reminded of the danger he’d brought into her life, Tina drew a long breath and held it for a moment. Then she sighed. She admitted to a little fear, but concern trumped the fear. If anything more happened to Joshua, she would be pissed, and revenge didn’t seem out of the question. Gramps always swore Tina possessed a warrior’s heart under her feminine façade, and he was right. Should the fugitive’s pals come calling, she would shoot first and ask questions later, no matter what Joshua wanted. Defending her land and home came naturally, probably hardwired into her DNA. Her family had been among the earliest white settlers of Oklahoma and they hadn’t lost all the independent pioneer spirit, even after five generations.
Gramps had predicted she would stay, too, Tina remembered. A few days before he died, she had sat in his hospital room, numb to the bone with the reality of his imminent death. He’d been alert almost to the end, his pain diminished with morphine, and he had taken Tina’s hand in his frail one. “You’re not goin’ back,” he had said. It hadn’t been a question but a statement. “I know you’re not. That’s why I left you the place, so you’d have something. Someday you’ll be ready to settle down and get busy with life, so you’ll have my little piece of heaven to do it.”
Then, she had figured she would be back at work living in Dallas, sharing space with the other two nurses, and she’d shaken her head. “Gramps, I’ll keep the land and I’ll spend time here, but my life is in Texas now.”
“Nope,” he had replied. His eyes had twinkled with good humor. “You think so now, but things change and they’re fixin’ to soon.”
She had thought he meant his death but now, with no desire to go back to the life she had built, Tina realized maybe he hadn’t. His claim to be the seventh son of a seventh son, with a knack for premonitions and knowing the future, didn’t seem as antiquated or silly
as she’d once thought.
Maybe he’d known what he was talking about after all.
Chapter Six
Joshua slept through the night and when he woke he thought for one brief moment he was at home, in his small house near Sallisaw. He often crashed in the recliner, falling asleep while watching television and until he shifted position, which brought pain roaring back, he figured that was what had happened. His side hurt, however, and his body ached as he became aware of his surroundings. He remembered everything then, where he was, what had happened, and Tina.
The need to piss roused him from the chair and when he lowered the elevated footrest, he groaned. His muscles remained sore, although his headache was gone. Standing brought agony through most of his body, but Joshua took his first step. When he moaned again, the pile of blankets on the couch shifted and Tina emerged, blinking and sleepy-eyed. She stayed beside me when she could have gone to bed and slept. She’s one hell of a woman. “Good morning,” he said.
She sat up, rubbed her face, and returned the greeting. “Good morning. Don’t get up. I’ll go make coffee.”
His bladder would burst if he didn’t get up. “I need to use the bathroom,” he said. “Then I’ll limp to the kitchen.”
Her blue eyes, the color of sky and turquoise, sparkled. “Do you need some help? I doubt you want to collapse on the floor.”
“I won’t,” Joshua said and stepped forward. Agony shot through his body, powerful enough to make his head spin. He could walk but it would take more effort than he had anticipated. “Well, maybe I do.”
Tina rose and stepped forward, her body mere inches from his. “Better safe than sorry,” she said. Her arm circled his waist from behind, and because he wanted more than needed to, Joshua leaned against her. She cinched her grip tighter and in response, he put his arm around her. They walked like a couple in love to the bathroom, and when Tina untangled to let him do his business, her breast brushed against his arm. Heat roared through him with the voracious appetite of a brush fire and kindled his desire. He hadn’t been intimate with a woman in awhile, and it’d been longer since he’d connected with one. He wanted her, and if pain hadn’t reigned over his body, he thought he would have taken her. And she’d let me.
She fixed breakfast, crisp bacon, hard fried eggs, and toast. He savored her strong brewed coffee, black, the way he preferred it, and tucked into the meal with genuine appetite. After they ate, Tina insisted he take the antibiotic and Vicodin but he cut the pain pill in half.
“I know you’re still hurting,” she said. “Take the recommended dosage.”
He’d seen enough addicts to decline. “I’m all right. Yeah, there’s still pain but it’s tolerable and I don’t want to get hooked.”
Laughter bubbled from her mouth, soft and sweet. “Tough guy,” she said. He thought she meant it, although she tossed it at him, flavored with sarcasm.
“I am. You got any witch hazel?”
Surprise widened her eyes. “I doubt it.”
“It’s a tincture.”
“I know what it is,” Tina said. “But why do you want it?”
“It’s good for bruises,” he replied. “It’ll help the pain, prevent infection, and help heal the skin.”
“I thought it was for bug bites.”
Joshua grinned. “It works for those too. I know it’s kinda’ old-fashioned, but my grandma was a healer. Just be glad I’m not asking for comfrey powder.”
She surprised him. “I can get it. They have it at the health food store and sell it by the ounce. It can work wonders. They sell witch hazel just about anywhere, but I’ll have to go to town to get it—and comfrey.”
It would be easier if she had the products on hand. “How far is it?”
Her lips twitched until she smiled. “It’s further to Poteau about nine or ten miles, and almost six to Spiro. Poteau’s bigger, though, and where the health food store is located. I don’t mind going if you think either will help.”
“I’m sure they would but I hate to put you out.”
Tina stretched her hand across the table and touched his. “I don’t mind. I need to go to the supermarket anyway. Plus, I could scout the river a little and see if anyone’s nosing around.”
“No.” He raised his voice more than he intended but Tina didn’t cringe. In a softer tone, he added, “I don’t want you to do that. It’ll get you more involved than you already are.”
“Really?” She gazed around the room and at him. “I’ve been harboring you for almost two days since I pulled you out of the water. I saw you go off the trestle bridge near Coal Creek and I got a look at the men chasing you. I probably couldn’t identify them in a lineup but they won’t know that. Joshua, I’m already involved, so let me help.”
If any other woman had asked such a thing, he would’ve refused without discussion. Joshua opened his mouth to say no, then closed it. Unless he wanted to call into the district office and talk to his supervisor, he needed assistance to get on track. And he hesitated to phone because if the leak he’d long suspected did exist, the bad guys might know what the U.S. Marshals planned. “You’d have to go armed just in case you ran into trouble,” he said, and didn’t believe he said it. “Don’t go asking questions or drawing any attention to yourself either. Maybe it’d be better if you went into town, which I’m guessing is a routine trip for you.”
“It is…”
“Good. Then after you get back, maybe you can take the boat out again to get a gander.” Her sigh reminded him of storm winds, potent and powerful.
“I could, but I don’t own a boat, remember? I’d have to call my cousin, Charley, and borrow it. I suppose I can do that, but he’s gonna’ wonder. I don’t go fishing all that much or float the river.”
Shit. It had to be complicated. He repressed an urge to swear long and loud. “Okay, scratch that plan then.”
“I trust Charley. He won’t tell anyone, he’ll just give me a hard time.”
Joshua shook his head. “It’s not a good idea, Tina. The less people involved, the better.”
“Then we go back to my plan.”
As much as he enjoyed hearing the plural pronoun, Joshua shied away from it. ‘We’ meant two, a pair, and worse than that, a couple. Sometimes he longed for companionship, a woman to come home to at night, someone to wait and worry, but he feared it too. If he gave all and got nothing, he’d be shattered. It had happened once before, and he preferred not to experience heartbreak again. Better to live lonely than to risk it. But if he did, it would be with Tina.
“All right,” he said after a long pause. “Same rules, though. You’re going armed, don’t attract any attention, and don’t take any risks. None. And tell me you really can handle a gun.”
Chin up, she met his gaze and gave it back. “I can. Would you like a demonstration?”
Damned if he wouldn’t. “Sure. What did you have in mind? Target shooting?”
He imagined discarded bottles lined up on a stump in the backyard, or something basic like paper targets, but at least he could determine if she could shoot.
A slow grin spread across her face. “I can do better than that.”
“Clays?” It was the only other option that came to mind.
Tina laughed. “No. Gramps built a shooting range in the basement. It’s probably not the professional caliber you’re accustomed to but it’ll do. I told you he was into firearms.”
“This, I’ve gotta see.”
Navigating the steep basement steps proved difficult and painful but he managed. He might not have, if not for the railing. At the foot of the stairs, a neat laundry area boasted a washer and dryer pair but in the room beyond, just as she’d said, there was a small range. The narrow space had enough room for two shooters, one on either side of the supports. Each slot had a shelf where the person firing could rest his or her arms if necessary. The thirty foot long space ended in a padded wall, complete with targets. A classic bull’s-eye rested beside a six foot tall black silhouette of
a man. On one side of the room, near the entrance, there was a gun safe. Obviously homemade, it still impressed Joshua. “This is awesome. I wish I could have met your grandpa. He must’ve been quite the man.”
Tears filled her eyes but she smiled, too. “He was and I’m glad you like it.”
“Let’s see what you can do.”
Her smile widened, then turned wicked. “You bet, Joshua Jericho Jenkins. Sit back and watch how it’s done.”
With slow and easy movements, he lowered himself to sit on the hard-packed earthen floor. He might never manage to get up but he’d be comfortable while she fired. Tina opened the safe and handed him a pair of earplugs. “It gets pretty noisy.”
He watched as she inserted a pair into her ears, then selected a .45 pistol. Like a pro, Tina checked the weapon, then loaded it. Her stance stood as ramrod straight as any LEO’s and when she shot, Joshua watched as she nailed the target with expertise. Tina didn’t miss, not once.
When she glanced over to see his reaction, he gave her a double thumbs-up. “Damn, honey, you’re good.”
“I told you,” she said, grinning wider than a possum. “Would you like to see me with a long gun?”
“I’ll take your word for it. If you’re going to town to do a little recon, you’d probably better get started.”
“I agree.” She kept the pistol, pulled a box of ammo, and led him upstairs. Tina dropped the gun into her large purse. “I’ll clean up the dishes, make a list, and go.”
At his place, he used paper plates as much as possible and dishes tended to accumulate before he washed them, but Joshua said. “I’ll wash up. Make your list and go.”
If he surprised her, it didn’t show. Tina nodded. “Okay, thanks.”
Joshua watched her scribble her list: comfrey powder, witch hazel, and a half a dozen grocery items. She glanced up. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to eat? I’m going to the store anyway so it’s no trouble.”
Quite the Catch Page 4