by Micki Miller
They rode in silence until the sun angled between morning and mid-sky, at which time they stopped to give the horses a rest and tend to their own needs. The patch of woods through which they were riding had indeed become thicker. A man planning an ambush would have an easy time staying hidden.
Garrett walked the area at a slow pace, watching, listening, and even sniffing the air trying to catch a whiff of foul odor. His body moved as if merely taking an afternoon stroll. His eyes, however, roamed deep, continuously on guard.
A few minutes into their break, Penny said, “I don’t see why I can’t have my gun.”
Garrett’s eyes paused in their vigilance long enough to give her a direct look. “Because I don’t need you shooting my head off while you’re trying to kill Cotter.”
Penny gave a slight shake of her head. “I wasn’t trying to kill him.”
“You weren’t?” Garret asked, surprised. After his father’s murder, he wanted nothing more than to kill the man responsible. He glanced off into the woods once more before turning back. His gaze shifted to study Penny’s face. Her look of determination turned grave, and Garrett had the feeling it was an expression to which she was unaccustomed.
“No, I didn’t want to kill him. To die in an instant like that is too easy for his crime. I want him to have to face a judge and jury for what he did to my father. He has to stand trial, all right and legal. Papa would have wanted it that way, too. I was just trying to wing him so he wouldn’t kill you before you could arrest him.”
Her chin rose then. Her eyebrows lifted and retreated just a tad over an expression that shielded her pride. Although he barely knew her, Garrett already recognized that look. She was about to say something that would make him want to simultaneously laugh and shout. He wasn’t disappointed.
“My aim was only a tad off.”
Garrett nearly choked on a huff turned guffaw. “If by a tad off you mean twelve feet, then yes, you were just a tad off.”
Penny’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped a bit before she put a fist against her slender hip. “My aim is not that bad.”
“I’m only grateful you were off in the opposite direction of me,” Garrett said low, under his breath as he turned his head away, scanning the woods.
“What’s that?”
He turned back toward her. “Have you ever shot a gun before yesterday?”
“Yes, of course. Papa showed me once.”
“Once?”
“Yes. On that very gun, as a matter of fact,” she said, nodding to the Winchester now tucked in with Garrett’s gear. “I was fifteen. I didn’t care for the noise at all, but I remember everything he showed me. I have a very good memory.”
“Good God,” he mumbled, turning his horrified expression toward the woods. It was a miracle he was alive.
“What’s that?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
They rode the rest of the day in silence. She had to be saddle-sore, not being used to long, continuous days of riding. When they stopped earlier, he’d seen her hold onto the saddle after she dismounted, trying to gain her legs. She didn’t complain; he had to give her credit there.
When the shadows stretched long, ominous fingers eastward, Garrett slowed, allowing the horses to catch their breath. Soon they would stop for the night. That is, if he ever found a place that looked safe enough for them to stay until morning.
For the first time in a good long while, Garrett found himself wishing for a couple of extra men. Sleeping alone out in the wild had never bothered him. Hell, at this point in his life he probably spent near as many nights outdoors as in. Even while he slept, he had a keen sense for danger. Suddenly, though, he worried about sleeping too soundly to protect Penny should Cotter decide to circle back and eliminate the threat.
The road Cotter had taken branched off into at least a dozen different directions and so far, Garrett hadn’t lost the trail. This situation with Penny, however, blanched that satisfaction to almost nothing. It seemed no matter where they stopped for the night, they’d be easy pickings. The worry was growing as tall as their shadows.
Garrett cast furtive glances everywhere. His ears turned his attention to every sound. Keeping the pace slow, he began what suddenly seemed an impossible task, finding a safe place to spend the night. They’d passed a dozen spots that would have suited him just fine, had he been alone. Today, though, no place seemed safe enough.
Once, open spaces, especially with the light of a good moon as they’d have tonight, eased his cautious nature with a full view. Tonight, they left him feeling exposed and vulnerable. Instead of wooded areas giving him peace of mind with a series of alarms such as twigs that would crack if stepped upon, or dried leaves that would rustle when kicked, all he saw were places for a killer to hide. Again, he worried his sleep would be too sound. Or, he would have just one careless moment. That hadn’t been a concern for many a year.
Peering into the gathering darkness, Garrett’s mind flooded with horrific possibilities.
In the dwindling sunlight, as they rode beside the creek that swelled to fair-sized, Garrett questioned the saneness of allowing Penny to come with him. Every time the wind blew or a squirrel twitched its tail, he had one hand on his gun and the other ready to grab Penny from her horse and toss her to the ground. After hours of riding at high tension over mounting concerns, his nerves were beginning to ache. Every instinct he had told him this had been a mistake.
“Penny,” he began.
“I’m not going back.”
He raised a brow at her. “How did you know…?”
“I see the way you keep looking into the woods, like the devil himself is about to pounce at any moment.”
Garrett brought his horse to a halt. Penny stopped beside him, her shoulders straight, chin high, ready for a fight. As much as he admired her fortitude, now he wished she had none.
Garrett glanced off into the woods, vigilance wearing him thin, before turning back to face her. “The devil is out there somewhere, in the form of Zeke Cotter. This isn’t going to work, Penny. I can’t hunt down a killer and babysit you at the same time.”
Penny threw him a withering look. “Babysit! Did I ask you to babysit? Do you think that’s what I expect? I’m sick of people behaving as though I couldn’t so much as bathe myself without somebody watching to see that I don’t drown!”
Emotion crept into her voice. “I know it’s my own fault.” She sniffed back the tears, but more rolled from her eyes. “All my life I’ve let Papa and Pearl take care of everything for me. Now, because of my own self-imposed ignorance I have nothing!”
“Nothing? Penny, you’re upset and not thinking clearly. You have a fiancé, and I’m sure Bentley will take good care of you.”
“Bentley is not my fiancé!”
Garrett felt a loosening around his heart at that news, though he’d have to analyze that later. Right now, all he could think about were the tears filling her eyes, and how when they spilled down her face it twisted his insides. He had to squeeze the reins to keep himself from scooping Penny into his arms and holding her on his lap.
“I was under the impression you two were to be married.”
“It’s what my father had arranged,” she said, with angry swipes at her tears. “He was worried about me so he put everything in Bentley’s name so I would marry him. He meant well. But I don’t love Bentley, and I just can’t marry a man I don’t love. That’s why I can’t go back without Cotter.”
“I don’t understand. What does one have to do with the other?”
Penny then told him the idea that had formed these last days on the trail when she’d had nothing for company but her thoughts. “I can give piano lessons, and etiquette lessons. Young ladies for miles around can get the benefit of my education for a fraction of the cost. I’ll make my own way in this world, just like Coleen O’Conner did after her husband died.”
Again, Garrett looked at her with respect. This world held few opportunities f
or a woman to survive by herself, and some of those were downright unsavory. Penny had found a way to take what she knew and use it to make a life. He found himself grinning at her, as he marveled at her fortitude. No doubt about it, Penny Wills was a woman to admire.
“I’ll show everyone I can do just fine on my own,” Penny continued. “See if I don’t. All I need is a little seed money to get started, and the reward I’ll collect after capturing Zeke Cotter is it.”
Twisting his head away from her, Garrett swore under his breath. After a moment, he turned back to see her sweet face, so full of pride and determination. It killed him, knowing he was about to crush her well-laid plan to dust.
“Penny…”
“What?” she asked with a delicate sniff. From the pocket of her hand-me-down jacket, she withdrew a lace-lined handkerchief and dabbed at her face.
“I’m arresting him.”
“Yes. So?”
He drew in one long breath and told her. “I’m a Federal Marshal. You can’t collect the reward if I’m the one who takes him into custody.”
For a moment, Penny sat utterly still, utterly silent. Then she shouted, “But that’s not fair!”
“I’m sorry, Penny. I truly am. That’s the way the law works.”
“Well, the law isn’t fair! I’ve been riding and searching, just the same as you.”
“I know.”
“I even brought a gun!”
Garrett gave her a smile too full of compassion to hold any laughter. “I know. Look, maybe an attorney can help you with the way your father left things. I have a name or two I could give you.”
Penny deflated before his eyes. She’d been struck with one too many blows, the last taking her to the ground. She turned away from him and stared across the creek at nothing. Water rippled onward in a dull shimmer beneath the last vestige of light. It was near to full darkness now, in every way.
With little conviction, she said, “Maybe an attorney could help me.”
Garrett shifted his eyes to glance at the horizon. Shades of night had a chokehold on what was left of the daylight. They couldn’t ride any further. Not that it mattered. At daybreak, they’d be turning back. Garrett shifted in his saddle before saying, “We’ll make camp here tonight. Tomorrow we’ll head back to Mill’s Creek. And Penny?”
Though she said nothing, she did turn to look at him. The despair in her eyes clutched his heart. “I will catch the man who murdered your father,” he promised.
She answered with just a nod.
They ate a quiet dinner, speaking only when necessary. After making up her bed, Penny gathered her things for another bath. Garrett turned his back to the creek. She didn’t complain and he didn’t tease. He found himself missing her chafe at their banter. She bathed quickly and when she was done, he took his turn to wash off the day’s dust. When they finally climbed into their makeshift beds and said goodnight, the words they’d spoken since making camp totaled less than a dozen.
Tired and road weary, they both fell asleep before long. Garrett awoke to her whimpers.
He looked over to see her eyes closed and her body restless beneath the blankets. He waited to see if her nightmare would pass. When it got worse, when he heard the fear in her quiet cries, he rounded the fire to lie beside her and take her into his arms. She turned into him as if it were perfectly natural. It felt natural, holding her as he was. With a gentle touch, he placed his hand on the back of her head and drew her close to rest against his chest, whispering to her, trying to soothe her. It worked because she did settle.
Once she was calm, his brain told him it was time to go. Just a minute more, just to make sure her nightmare didn’t return. That’s what he told himself. By the time the third minute had passed, he was already adept at ignoring that voice of sanity.
The problem was it didn’t just feel natural to hold her, it felt right. Penny’s small hand had come to rest on his chest. Her head tucked beneath his chin where he could smell the rose-scented soap she used on her soft hair. Her body fit nicely into the curve of his. In fact, fit in perfect form. He bargained with himself to stay no more than another moment or two while his honor and his desire debated the accurate length of a moment.
Garrett knew the instant Penny awoke. Her body stiffened, and he was sure he’d frightened her with the intimacy of his presence. But when he drew back from her, Penny’s hand clutched at his shirt. Her head tipped upward, and he looked down to meet her gaze. The firelight caught in her wide eyes, giving radiance to the emerald color. Her skin was sleep-flushed, looking soft as a fairy wing in the glow of the moon. She spoke her words in a quiet voice. The pull of them, however, was as strong as a locomotive.
“Stay, please. Just a little while longer.”
Garrett answered with a slight nod. For several moments, they looked into each other’s eyes. The green of hers mesmerized him, how the color gleamed iridescent, as if she had swallowed all the stars in the sky and their light now shone from within her. Then he wasn’t thinking at all. He didn’t even seem to be acting from his own mind but rather, from instinct so primal he could have been a caveman laying stake to his claim.
As his head bent down to kiss her, Penny raised her lips to his.
She was inexperienced, he could tell right away. But Penny’s eagerness more than made up for her lack of skills. For a long time, their kisses were little more than a mere brush of the lips. Then Garrett touched her lower lip with his tongue to see how she’d react. Instead of being repulsed or afraid, as was his concern, she moaned from the back of her throat and moved closer to him. As he explored beyond her lips, she opened for him, and with a move sweetened by its awkwardness touched her tongue to his. It so aroused Garrett, his honor was shredded and left to float inertly in the far-off peripheral of his desire.
Penny tasted him once more. Her own response amazed her, awakened her to feelings she’d never known and could never have imagined. His hand was on her back, large, warm, drawing her closer. Still, she couldn’t seem to get close enough. When his hand moved down her back to cup her bottom, pulling her against him in a most intimate fashion, wondrous sensations exploded within her, taking over her body, as well as her mind.
Garrett dragged his hand up over the lush curve of her hip, further, until it rested against the fullness of her breast. She gasped and pressed herself into his hand. Impassioned, he kissed her again, more thoroughly, as his fingers teased her taut peaks. Eager to feel her bare skin, Garrett bent low enough to grip the edge of her nightgown.
Penny couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. She seemed only to live and breathe for his touch. When her nightgown whispered up her legs, and his hand slid along her thigh, a small part of her thought to tell him to stop, that this was improper. But she didn’t want him to stop, ever. Propriety be damned, it felt too good having his hands on her body. All she wanted was more.
Garrett dragged his hand along her soft, warm thigh and let it rest on the swell of her bared hip. Her skin was as velvety as the rose petals with which she shared a scent. He moved to taste her neck, her throat. With an airy sigh, she tipped her head back to allow him what he wanted and in that moment, Garrett wanted it all.
His hand slid to the inside of her thigh and inched upward. When he touched her, she cried out, gripping his arms, her small fingers digging in. In moments, she was writhing beneath him. At her climax, she buried her face against his neck, her cries of pleasure the sweetest thing he’d ever heard.
She lay beneath him then, warm and breathless. Garrett’s breath was heavy, too. Near to bursting from his clothes, he leaned back enough to unfasten his trousers. She turned her head toward him. Garrett kissed her, astounded at how hungry he was for this woman.
“I love you, Garrett,” Penny whispered against his lips.
Garrett froze. It was certainly not because he wanted to. Penny was unlike any woman he’d ever known, strong, brave, and she was as elegant as a princess was, even wearing her boy’s clothing. He could spend a lifetime get
ting to know all of her parts, inside and out. But he could not take her virginity like this. She didn’t understand the ramifications. Probably didn’t even understand her own feelings. She was innocent and vulnerable and for the duration, completely dependent on him. He would not take advantage of her. With far more will than he felt, Garrett stood and refastened his pants.
“I’m sorry,” Garrett said. After he finished righting himself, he looked down at her. Her passion had turned to embarrassment. No, it was worse than that. Shame dulled her eyes that wouldn’t quite meet his as she sat up and wrapped the blanket around her.
Garrett opened his mouth to speak. A better apology was in order, much better. However, the right words just weren’t there. Frustration strained his body. His heart and head were as spun as a wagon wheel at full speed. He needed to explain things to Penny. Things like not confusing lust for love.
He turned away and shoved both of his slightly trembling hands through his hair before looking back to her again with every intention of making her understand. The problem he had is that it wasn’t all that clear to him, not while the heat of a passion he’d never before felt with a woman was still running through him. He needed time to think. He needed to manage his words before he spoke to her.
“We’ll talk in the morning,” Garrett told her, his voice gruff with unsated need.
She nodded and lay back down, turning away from him and curling up on her side. For the first time in his life, Garrett wished he were more like his brother, Seth. Seth always had his nose in a book and was good with words. Garrett, on the other hand, did his most important talking with fists, and sometimes with his gun. He would sleep on it. In the morning he would talk to her, apologize for his behavior. Once outside this new experience, Penny would see her feelings weren’t real.
Garrett attributed the ache he suddenly felt poking at his center to his unquenched desire. He’d feel better tomorrow, too.
Satisfied with his plan, he walked back to his bed and lay down. He rested his head in his hands as he stared up at the stars. For a long time he remained awake. He thought Penny was awake, too, but he let her be. He wanted to have the words right before he spoke to her so he wouldn’t make a mess of things. By morning, he’d know just what to say.