Sheriff's Desire: Time-Travel (Escape To The Wild West Book 1)

by Chyla Stormer

  It was fun? What the hell was that? He had talked about introducing her to his family just the week before! They had discussed moving in together!

  She was heartbroken and had dreaded bumping into him at work, which was inevitable as her work area was just down the hall from his lab. She'd stayed in her cubicle or at her workstation during her breaks, cutting down the number of times she had to see him to about twice a day if she was lucky. They were polite but rarely spoke more than one word to each other. It was awkward. She had definitely learned her lesson about dating a co-worker.

  She found out through the office grapevine that not only had he started dating a lab technician two floors above them but, also, that he had already been seeing the woman before he had messaged her with the awful text. It hurt. She had loved him, but she had also realized that their lifestyle and values were very different. Deep down, she knew it was better that they had broken up before it had gone any further. After the initial sting had worn off, she actually felt kind of grateful that he had just texted her. If he had done it face-to-face, it would have been harder on them both. She would have felt worse if he had been a stand-up guy who broke up with her the honorable way. But he had done the deed in the most cowardly way possible, and she felt justified in her low opinion of him. She could understand a text breakup after a few weeks but not after a few months and living together had been discussed. In her view, it was a low-down, dirty-dog thing to do!

  Kenna noticed the time on the computer screen and realized that she wouldn't be going back to town today. It would be late afternoon by the time the link was complete, and she definitely wouldn't ride after sundown. It was a new moon and would be pitch black outside at night. There were no streetlights, and she couldn't use a flashlight to help her see in the dark.

  The computer beeped loudly and she looked over at the monitor. The drop-down menu was visible again, so she made her way back to the console, tapping away at the keys until a face appeared on the screen with the Chicago lab in the background. She recognized Arthur, one of the software engineers.

  "Hey, Arthur, can you hear me?"

  He tapped his ear and made the time-out sign. Kenna leaned back in the chair and waited. A few minutes passed after he disappeared from her view.

  "Kenna?"

  "Yes, I'm here."

  "Great, it works! I can hear you!" The familiar face came back to the screen. "How's it going in the Old West?" he asked with a happy chuckle.

  "Everything's good. I'm going to have some explaining to do when I get back to my boarding house tomorrow, but I'll think of something."

  "Yeah, just act dumb. Say you didn't realize how late it was and it just got dark, so you had to stop and camp for the night."

  She laughed. "Yeah, that's the plan!" A wave of relief and happiness had swept over her as she spoke to this familiar face from home. She felt proud of herself for having successfully accomplished the first part of her mission.

  He laughed with her as he tapped away at his keyboard on his side. "So did you see Barrett anywhere?"

  "No. I didn't see him around town. When I came into the base, the emergency lighting and ventilation were working, but there was no one here. I looked everywhere. There's no sign of anyone outside, either. No footprints, litter or broken bushes."

  "Or bodies," Arthur added.

  She wrinkled her nose at his grotesque interjection even though she had been worried about that exact thing earlier, and he laughed.

  "No bodies, thank goodness! He did leave a mess in here, though. There were food containers and garbage all over. I've cleaned up some of it."

  "Yeah, Barrett was never tidy. I wonder what happened to him? He seemed a bit agitated the last few times we spoke, saying he wanted to get out and look around. I guess he did."

  "The food left on the counter in the kitchen is dried out, and there's a pretty thick layer of dust everywhere. He must have left at least a month ago."

  "That sounds about right. We waited a couple of weeks after we lost contact before we sent you through the Chicago portal. We were hoping you'd find him there and be able to talk him into coming back so we could replace him with someone more reliable. He's ignored our communications for a few days at a time before, so we didn't think there was a problem until after a week or two. It looks like our timing was way off. Sorry, Kenna."

  "Yes, well, I'm here and ready to do what we have to so I can come back home," she said eagerly. Her mind drifted to the sheriff. When she was here, he seemed like a distant dream and she was able to push him out of her mind. Well, sort of.

  "Are you up to running some tests? What does the portal platform look like?"

  She turned her nose up in disgust. "It's dirty, just like everything else here."

  "Okay, I'll get things set up here. If you can clean the platform, then we can start testing things out."

  "Sure. Call me when you're ready," she said in a professional tone.

  Arthur nodded and went about his business, and so did she.

  They proceeded with their tests on the platform for several hours, trying to send objects back and forth through the portal. Inanimate objects arrived without issue, but anything living, like a vegetable, came through reconfigured. Arthur made adjustments on his end and walked her through the controls on her side. They finally gave up in the early evening.

  "That's it for now. I need to figure out what's going wrong here. It'll take me a while."

  "Okay, what's the next step for me?"

  "Check in with me in the morning, and I'll let you know if I've made any progress. But I think this is going to require some major work. You can probably just head back to town for a week or so, and we'll keep working here. Hopefully, we can get the platform and the portal up and running by the time you get back. You can jump back through when everything's functioning properly."

  "Okay, see you in the morning, Arthur."

  "Goodnight, Kenna."

  She turned off the monitor and went to the kitchen to look for food. She remembered seeing cookies of some sort on one of the shelves and also found some tinned food, pop, and a stash of chocolate bars that weren't stale. Yum! Apparently, Barrett didn't have a sweet tooth and preferred savory. A lot of potato chip bags and empty cracker boxes were scattered everywhere, but the chocolate was undisturbed. She was very grateful that her predecessor had a different taste in snacks. Kenna hadn't had good chocolate for weeks!

  She found a lot of DVDs on one of the shelves, so she pulled one off and nibbled on junk food while she watched a movie on the big screen. When it was over, Kenna pulled the dirty, slept-in sheets off the bed and miraculously found clean linen in one of the storage units. She made the bed, lay down, and fell asleep immediately.

  * * *

  Kenna had forgotten to set the alarm she'd noticed on the nightstand and, without Pauline there to knock on her door or windows to let in the morning sun, she slept in. She grabbed a can of caffeinated pop from the small fridge and a couple of chocolate bars from the stash, then she started the uplink process to check in with Arthur before she hurried back to town. She had no intention of riding in the dark.

  "Good morning, Arthur!" she said lazily, not entirely awake.

  "Good afternoon, you mean! We got worried when you didn't check in this morning, but Michael said you probably were just sleeping in." He grinned at her good-naturedly.

  She didn't feel anything when she heard Michael's name. Not even a twinge of regret. Thank goodness, she must be over him. Maybe because there was a new man to think about! Kenna pushed the sheriff out of her mind. She could think about him on her way back to town, along with her excuse for being gone for almost two days. And she had to come up with a name for her horse.

  "So, did you guys figure anything out last night?" she asked.

  "We did some brainstorming and narrowed it down to some errors in the programming and an issue with the equipment. Barrett must have done a fair bit of tinkering before he left. It'll take us a while to go through
everything. You head back to town and come again next week. That'll give us some time to figure out the next steps. It'll be at least a couple weeks before you can come home."

  "Okay, will do. See you soon," she murmured then yawned.

  Arthur smiled and nodded to her.

  Kenna shut down the console and went to the bathroom to freshen up before her trip back to town. There was no tub here, either, but there was a shower, and it felt incredibly good. It was the first time she'd felt completely clean since leaving Chicago.

  She took the modern-day packaging off some food so she could eat something on her way back to town without raising suspicion and saddled her horse—she had decided her name was Arwen. It reminded her of home and one of her favorite movies. Or, actually, series of movies. Her horse looked noble. Arwen always arched her neck and held her tail high with pride. She was small boned, and her face was delicate with a slightly dished nose. She must have some Arabian or more likely one of the Spanish breeds in her bloodline. It might be hard to explain her name to Wyatt. Oh, well, it was her horse.

  Kenna and Arwen left the base and galloped at a brisk pace back to town. When they reached the stable, Wyatt was forking hay into a corral.

  "Where the hell've you been?" he said as she rode up.

  "I lost track of time and had to make camp for the night," she explained. She dismounted in her baggy men's clothing. With her six-shooter on her hip and her hair in a bun under her hat, Kenna could definitely pass for a small man at a distance.

  He looked at her in disbelief. "Is that gun loaded? Don't go shootin' your foot off!"

  "I know how to use a gun. Thanks for being concerned, though," she said as she led Arwen over to the hitching rail and unsaddled her. She took the bridle off and replaced it with the halter, then she went to the other side of the barn and picked out a regular brush, a hoof pick, and a curry comb. She came back and cleaned the small stones and dirt out of Arwen's feet with the hoof pick before brushing her down.

  Wyatt sat on a hay bale and watched her, wide-eyed, while he smoked a cigarette.

  Kenna suspected he was surprised that a city girl knew her way around a horse. She took care of the little buckskin like she'd been doing it all her life.

  "So what did you name her?" he asked in a much calmer voice than before.

  "Arwen."

  "Arwen? What the hell kind of a name is that?"

  "It's Welsh; it means 'fair' or 'fine'. I think it suits her. I knew someone with that name back home. I've always liked it."

  "Arwen. Huh. Okay, I'll try to remember it. I can finish takin' care of her if you want to go have dinner. You must be hungry after all that wandering around and looking at the countryside," he said as he took a long drag from his cigarette. "And... I think the sheriff wants to have a word with you." He smiled at her and nodded as if to confirm the importance of his statement.

  Kenna sighed. "Yes, I suppose he does." She thanked Wyatt for taking care of her horse and strolled back to the boarding house. She wasn't in a hurry to be lectured.

  4

  Sheriff's Office

  Kenna tiptoed up the stairs to her room without being detected. She locked the door quietly behind her, took off her riding clothes and cleaned up for dinner. It felt good to be in a light summer dress and look like a woman again.

  When she had mustered the courage, she went downstairs and braced for the worst as she sauntered to the little table in the corner. It was early, and she decided to sit facing the windows so she could occupy herself by staring out at the trees in the yard rather than at the unfamiliar faces surrounding her. The only drawback was that she couldn't watch the people coming into the room without turning to look. Oh, well. Kenna was happy to sit and eat in peace tonight. If all went as planned, she would leave this town for good in the next week or two.

  She could see the kitchen entrance in her peripheral vision and took a deep breath as Pauline approached her with a glass of water and her dinner.

  "Where the hell have you been? The sheriff went out looking for you this morning after he talked to Wyatt. We were worried about you." Her tone of voice was quieter than usual. Kenna knew she was angry.

  "I'm sorry I made you worry," she said. "I lost track of time and had to camp overnight. It was such a nice day, so I didn't hurry home." At least the last part was the truth.

  "It wasn't a good idea to stay out all night by yourself. You're lucky you got back to town safely," Pauline said, hands on her hips as she shook her head.

  "I know. I won't do it again." Kenna tried to sound convincing, even though she knew darn well she'd be gone again next week.

  "All righty then. You must be starved. Eat your dinner." Pauline turned and hurried back to the kitchen. The dining room was filling up.

  Kenna slowly picked at her meal. She didn't really feel like eating because she'd finished off all of the junk food she'd packed with her.

  When she heard several loud greetings, she turned around to see the sheriff come into the dining room and sit down at another table. Relief flooded her as she was happy not to be scolded again, but she was also disappointed that he wasn't worried enough to come over and make sure she was okay. Apparently, she wasn't that important to him—probably just another potential conquest.

  She ate a bit more of her dinner and finally gave up. She made her way to the sitting room without incident and picked out a random book, then she began to read quietly. Kenna knew she should go straight to her room to avoid the sheriff, but she was restless and didn't want to sit in her room for hours by herself, waiting to fall asleep. After reading a chapter of the most tedious book she had ever encountered, she heard the familiar footsteps come into the room. Her heart started to pound.

  "Let's go for a walk, Kenna," the sheriff said as he offered her his arm.

  She looked up at him, worried that he seemed too nonchalant. Something was up. He probably wanted to take her outside to yell at her instead of making a scene in front of everyone in the dining room. Oh, well, might as well get it over with! She closed her book as she got up and took his arm after a moment of hesitation.

  He escorted her out and down the street without a word, then he stopped in front of the jailhouse. He took a key out of his pocket, opened the heavy wooden door and guided her into his office.

  "You don't seem to understand the rules out here," he said, lighting a lantern and setting it on a hook on the wall. "Maybe it's fine back east for a young woman to roam around outside of town by herself, but here, it's different." He spoke conversationally, with no trace of anger in his voice.

  He pulled the window blinds down and faced her. "There are wild animals that can tear you apart. You can be thrown off your horse, get injured and die alone with no food or water. And most men in these parts would love to take a fine young woman like yourself home for company and entertainment whether she's willing or not."

  "I know it's dangerous, and I'm sorry I made you worry. I just lost track of time—"

  "I don't need to hear an explanation," he said, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Talk is cheap and don't mean a thing in a situation like this." He moved a sturdy chair to the center of the room.

  "Since you don't listen to reason, I'm going to have to make you understand that there are consequences for putting yourself in harm's way." He looked at her with his brows drawn tightly. "The only way I know to teach you is how my parents taught me. You'll learn right quick! I did."

  He seized her arm and pulled her toward the chair.

  "Ouch, what do you think you're doing? Let me go!"

  He ignored her and sat down on the chair, yanking her over his lap so that she was facedown. Her arms and legs flailed as she tried to get off him, but he was much stronger and outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds. Kenna had no chance of escape from the big, powerful man who pinned her arms behind her back with handcuffs and held her so she could barely move. With his free hand, he pushed her dress up past her waist and pulled her underwear down to her knees.


  It had all happened before she could realize what he was doing. She let out a surprised shriek and tried to squirm away after the punishing hand landed sharply on her backside.

  What the hell? He is spanking—

  She didn't have time to finish the thought as his hand came down on her bottom again. He kept going, smacking her with his big hand over and over. Kenna felt her eyes well up with tears and couldn't think; all she could do was cringe under the rhythmic impact of his hand. She had never been spanked as a child—this was a new experience. She heard herself sobbing involuntarily and wriggled to try to get her raw backside away from his stinging slaps.

  Then he mercifully stopped and caressed her sore, bruised cheeks.

  She collapsed into his lap, sighing audibly and sobbing as the pain subsided, his gentle rubbing easing the hurt. He moved his hand off her hot, red bottom and began to stroke her hair, from the crown of her head to where it fell almost to her waist. After a moment, he leaned over and released her from the handcuffs, then pulled her underwear up and her dress down to cover her.

  He turned her over and lodged her sore butt between his spread thighs so she wouldn't be in pain, and he held her in his arms, one of his large hands resting on her thigh. She continued to sob quietly as she wrapped one arm around his sturdy waist and rested her other hand on his chest. Kenna felt safe. How could she feel safe with a man who had just beaten her? She understood that, in his mind, he was doing this to deter her from venturing outside the town. Jack wanted to protect her.

  She felt his hand slowly drift upward from her thigh until it cupped the soft mound between her legs. When she responded to the warmth of his fingers with a soft moan, he closed his eyes and dropped his forehead to rest on the top of her head, stroking her through her light summer dress. Another moan escaped her parted lips. Jack slid his hand down her dress and worked his way underneath so he could gently rub her through her undergarment. He found her hard little nub and moved his fingers in a circular motion. She couldn't help pushing her hips up to meet his probing fingers. He kept going until she felt herself losing control, suddenly stiffening and letting out a gasp and then a moan. He maintained the pressure and probing. She trembled and curled her knees up toward her chest in ecstasy as small convulsions ran between her legs. It never felt this good when she did this to herself! She became aware that he was breathing hard, of his hardness resting against her hip. His hand stopped moving when he felt her relax, and he pulled his hand from beneath her dress to rest on her thigh again.