Safe Havens Bundle

by Sandy James

  Fury at the man’s judgmental self-righteousness bubbled up inside her until her words came spilling out. “We’ve committed no sin. Are you casting stones, sir?”

  Drew tugged at her hand. She glanced up to see him give his head a small shake.

  Eyes narrowed in anger, he turned back to his brother. “Where is Father?”

  The smirk on Aaron’s face made her long to slap him.

  “Father is dead,” Aaron replied.

  Drew took a stumbling step forward. “No… No! When?”

  “As if you possibly cared. You brought him nothing but shame.”

  Drew’s hands clenched into fists. “When, damn you!”

  “Two months ago. This home now belongs to me, and you are no longer welcome here.” His cruel eyes fixed on Cassie, making a shudder rip through her. “Neither is your…friend. God’s hooks, you’re finding them younger and younger, Andrew. Surely you haven’t extended your indulgences to mating with children as well as men?”

  Thankfully, Ty held his silence. She wanted to turn to see his face, to discover what his real reaction was to Aaron’s condemnation, hoping she didn’t see the same hatred in Ty’s eyes she viewed in Aaron’s. If only Drew would look at her, he’d realize she thought no less of him now.

  “I’m sorry, Mother.” Drew’s his eyes brimmed with tears. “I wish I had been here when Father died. I wish… I’m so sorry, Mother.”

  “Oh, Andrew…” She bit back a cry by putting a lace handkerchief to her mouth.

  “Go!” Aaron shouted with a wave of his arm. “You will never be welcome here again. You’re a disgrace!”

  “Mother?” Drew’s word was a plea that almost made Cassie weep for the hurt he must be going through. She would never give a man like Aaron the satisfaction of knowing he’d inflicted a wound. “You would turn away your own son?” Drew asked.

  More tears spilled over the woman’s lashes. “Aaron, please. He’s your brother. Surely we should let him stay with us tonight—”

  “No!” Aaron pushed his mother back. With a sob, she disappeared into the house. Turning back to Drew, he said, “Leave! Don’t ever darken my door again!” The door slammed with a resounding bang that should have shattered the nearest window.

  Drew stood there, staring at his family home for several long minutes. Since he hadn’t dropped her hand, Cassie didn’t pull away.

  Ty had stepped up behind her, and his palms settled on her shoulders. She wondered what he thought of the revelations about Drew. Her own heart ached for her new friend, wondering how horrible it would feel to be rejected so completely by family.

  But she already understood—her relatives had chosen Robert Putnam over her or her happiness. Perhaps that was why she and Drew had connected so quickly.

  “We need to go,” Ty said softly. “We can get a few miles ’tween us and this city before we make camp for the night.”

  “Drew?” Cassie squeezed his hand. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Go?” He looked down at her, his eyes glazed and lost.

  “We’re ready to move on.” She laid a hand on his arm. “We can buy some food and bedding and make a camp for the night.”

  Tilting his head, he stared at her a few long moments. “Why would you want a man like me to go with you?”

  Fixing a smile on her face, she replied with as much conviction as she could muster. “Because you’re my friend.”

  “After everything you just heard, you still call me ‘friend’?”

  She tried to keep the smile on her, blinking to hold back the tears stinging her eyes. “‘A friend should bear his friend’s infirmities.’”

  “The Bard was indeed wise.” A sad chuckle fell from Drew’s lips. “‘I desire you in friendship, and I will one way or other make you amends.’”

  “Time to go,” Ty said, his voice gruff as he tugged Cassie’s shoulders.

  “Am I free to accompany you?” Drew asked, releasing his grasp on Cassie and staring at Ty.

  Ty shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  It wasn’t the invitation she’d hoped for, but at least he didn’t give Drew the same cruel reaction as his family. When she found a moment alone with Ty, she’d try to explain to him why she’d made the choice to keep Drew close—at least she would if she could figure out her own motivations.

  Kindness?

  Christian charity?

  A kindred spirit who knew what it felt like to be rejected by family?

  For now, she was simply grateful for Ty’s acceptance. She dropped Drew’s hand and turned to face Ty. Pushing herself up on tiptoes, she kissed his beard-stubbled cheek.

  He grunted in response, grabbed her hand, and started to drag her away.

  “Coming?” she called to Drew over her shoulder.

  Drew stared at the house while Ty kept moving up the block. Worried Drew had changed his mind, she almost planted her feet, but he finally turned and followed.

  They’d traveled less than a block when shouts caught her attention.

  “Master Andrew! Wait! Master Andrew!”

  “What on earth…?” Cassie muttered.

  The young woman, the redhead who’d been peeking at them from the second-story window of the Pearson home, ran down the street, a carpetbag in her hand.

  Drew stopped and stared at her. “That’s Brigit—my mother’s personal maid.”

  “What’s she want?” Ty asked.

  “Haven’t a clue.”

  Breathless, Brigit skidded to a stop in front of Drew. She shoved the bag at him. “Yer mother sent these for you and yer…friends.” Her thick Irish accent made it almost impossible for Cassie to catch all her words. “I’m to tell you to take the gray gelding yer brother Ashton has at the livery. It be yers now.”

  Opening the bag, Drew looked inside before nodding.

  “What is it?” Cassie asked.

  “Clothing. Enough, I imagine, for all of us.”

  Brigit reached inside her cloak and pulled out a small leather pouch that she pushed at Drew. “She sent this as well. I’m ta tell you she wishes she had more to give you.”

  “What happened to my father, Brigit?”

  “The cancer took him.” She put a hand on the fist he had clenched around the bag. “’Twas quick. He suffered little.”

  The sound of clinking coins seemed as loud as church bell chimes as he struggled to untie and open the bag. Tears had formed in his eyes, and he swallowed hard when he peered inside. “I shouldn’t take this.”

  “G’on with ya,” Brigit said with a hesitant smile and a flip of her hand. “Yer mother wanted you to have it.”

  She whirled around, obviously intent on leaving, but he grabbed her shoulder.

  “Please give Mother my thanks…and my love,” he said.

  “I will.” Brigit reached up to pat his hand before hurrying away.

  “At least I can help now.” He tied the bag closed and tucked it in his coat pocket. “I have a horse and some money to buy us some supplies.”

  “You’ll be traveling with us.” Cassie was being bossy, but she figured that was what Drew needed at that moment—someone to tell him what to do until he could figure things out for himself.

  “I don’t even know where you’re going,” he replied.

  “White Pines.” Ty’s quick answer surprised and pleased her because he revealed his willingness to allow Drew to join their little journey.

  “Might as well. I’ve got nowhere else to go. Once a vagabond actor…” His smile wasn’t genuine, but she understood. He glanced to Ty. “Don’t suppose there’s a theater in your fair town, is there?”

  “Building one now. Ain’t got much call for actors yet, though. You can get work on a farm or a ranch,” Ty replied.

  “A farm or a ranch?” Drew’s chuckle sounded sadly like a sob. “I suppose it’s good for a man to have choices in life.”

  “Then let’s go shopping,” she suggested. “We can buy some food, a few blankets, everything we need.”

  �
��There’s just three things I need,” Ty said.

  “And what would those be?” Cassie asked.

  “First, a hat. Second, a gun.”

  She tilted her head and considered the grin on his handsome face. “And, pray tell, what would be the third?”

  His eyes twinkled. “To get you home with me, where you’ll be safe.”

  Chapter Seven

  Ty cut a wedge of cheese and handed it to Cassie.

  They’d managed to find a good place to camp for the night, but there hadn’t been time to snare a rabbit. He should have bought some bacon, but then he also would’ve had to purchase cooking utensils. Better to go with simple things.

  She deserved better than cheese and bread. If they rode hard tomorrow, he’d make camp early to do a spot of hunting. One more night after tonight, then he’d have her in White Pines where she could get that hot bath and comfy bed Drew had promised.

  Drew.

  Ty hadn’t planned on him tagging along. After the humiliation the man suffered at the hands of his family, they couldn’t leave him behind. Then again, families had a way of disappointing a person.

  Ty’s father had shoved him in an orphanage when his mother died because he felt he simply had too many mouths to feed. Looking back, that abandonment had been the best thing to happen to him because he met Jake Curtis at that Denver home for children.

  “I need to wash.” Cassie stood and groaned as she arched her back to stretch. “I smell like a stable.”

  “I’m so sorry, Cass.” Drew poked at their small fire with a stick. “I promised you a hot bath.” He glanced over to the blankets she’d laid out for the night. “And a soft bed.”

  She smiled at him, the forgiveness clear in her beautiful eyes. “I am quite content with your company instead.”

  “May I escort you to the brook?” Drew asked.

  “I’ll take her,” Ty snapped.

  While some of the jealousy he’d felt over Cassie’s closeness to Drew had vanished with his brother’s revelations, Ty still resented the connection the two clearly shared from the moment they met.

  “Might I please borrow some clean clothes?” She nodded at the carpetbag sitting next to Drew’s bedding. While they’d purchased a few essentials like food and blankets, they hadn’t spent coin on clothes since Drew’s mother had sent some.

  “Of course.” While Drew dug around in the bag, she plucked the bar of soap from the supplies she’d purchased. He handed her a folded pile of clothing. “These must be my brother Asher’s. They’re too small to be mine.”

  Ty hated asking for a fresh change for himself, figuring he could just go on stinking until he got home. Hell, he’d been on many a cattle drive where the cowboys smelled worse than the stock by the time they reached a railhead.

  Drew handed another pile to him. “These are mine.”

  “I ain’t taking your stuff.”

  “Nonsense. I owe you more than a change of pants for letting me follow you and Cassie on this little odyssey.”

  “This what?” Damn, if he’d only had more of an education, he might understand all the things that Cassie and Drew liked to say, but he’d keep on asking them to explain so he didn’t feel left out.

  Coming to stand at his side, she was the one to reply. “He means a strange and daunting trip. I shall bathe first, then when I return, you may take the soap and see to your own needs.”

  “You ain’t going nowhere without me. Too many animals prowling ’round at night.” That and his fear that somehow, someplace the Shay’s bloodhounds would find her and steal her away from him.

  “I couldn’t possibly bathe with you watching.”

  “I’ll turn my back.” Ty wrapped his hand around her upper arm and started toward the trees. He’d found a good-sized stream earlier—the perfect place for a wash. “You can watch all you want while I take mine.”

  Cassie’s mouth opened and closed, but she was clearly too shocked to say a word. Heavens, he loved to get her riled up. She was such a joy to watch.

  “You two enjoy your baths,” Drew drawled.

  Ty lost sight of their camp as he weaved a path through the pines.

  She jerked her arm away. “You don’t have to drag me, sir. I can walk under my own power.”

  He simply grunted and hiked toward the stream. After only a few minutes, the clearing came into sight. The brook wasn’t too deep, but the water was moving at a pretty good clip.

  “At least I know you can swim,” he quipped.

  “That you do. Now if you’d be so kind as to stand over by those trees and turn your back, I can get this filth off me.”

  Ty marched the distance back to the woods, glancing over his shoulder a couple of times to be sure he was close enough to get to her should she need any help.

  Cassie quickly shed her coat, but when her gaze caught his the last time he peeked, she threw a glare at him so hot he was amazed sparks didn’t shoot from her eyes. “A gentleman would not look!”

  “Ain’t a gentleman.” Facing the trees, he crossed his arms over his chest and sighed in resignation.

  He had no doubt her bath would be quick. This time of year, the water had to be close to ice. Surely she was smart enough to just splash the water on her body rather than wade into—

  Her enraged screech pierced the air.

  Whirling in response, he reached for his Colt, his heart pounding a rough.

  The weapon never left his holster because there was no danger. Cassie’s bellow came from where she now stood thigh-deep in the brook, wearing nothing but the beauty God had graced her with.

  A groan slipped from his lips. The woman was perfectly shaped. High, firm breasts with nipples that had tightened to hard buds. A narrow waist. Beautifully rounded hips. Her hand had dropped to shield her femininity, but not before he got a glimpse of a V of brown curls.

  “Mr. Bishop!”

  With a smirk, he tugged on the brim of his hat. “Miss Shay. You called?”

  Hardly believing the audacity of the man, Cassie sputtered in protest, trying to cover herself and knowing she was doing a terrible job of it. How dare he not turn back around! Her unladylike scream had prompted him to face her, but once he realized she wasn’t in need of assistance, he should have given her privacy again. A gentleman would have.

  Ah, but—as Ty rightly claimed— he was no gentleman.

  “Turn around!” she ordered.

  His hand cupped his ear. “Pardon? A mite hard to hear you from over there.”

  The laughter in his voice and the leer on his face pushed her temper hot enough she forgot about the bone-chilling cold. To hell with her nudity!

  She picked up a rock and hurled it at him. As always, her aim was true. Had he not sidestepped the stone, she would have knocked the new hat from his arrogant head.

  “Take your bath, Cassie girl.” With a chuckle, he tugged on the brim of his hat again and gave her his back.

  Driven by embarrassment, Cassie knelt in the freezing water and quickly soaped her body. The scent of roses surrounded her, but she couldn’t enjoy it. By the time she rinsed the suds from her body and hair and tossed the soap on the grass, she could barely feel her fingers. As she tried to stand up, her foot slipped on a slick rock, causing a cramp to shoot up her calf. She fell back into the brook. Sputtering, she struggled to keep her head above the rapidly moving water, but her arms wouldn’t obey the commands of her mind.

  Before she could draw a breath to call out for help, Ty scooped her up in his arms. He carried her to the shore, grabbed the drying cloth she’d brought, and covered her. “Where’s the cramp?”

  How he knew her affliction was beyond her, but pain stopped her from contemplating anything but how to ease the knot in her muscle. Tears streamed down her face, and her teeth chattered so hard she couldn’t answer him. Her calf felt as if someone had stabbed her. She groped at her leg, whimpering and wishing her hands would stop trembling so she could rub out the God-awful hurt.

  Ty brushed her ha
nds away and used the heel of his warm hand to force the knot out. Cassie tried not to whine, but the pain was truly getting the better of her, and his assistance hurt almost as much as the cramp. She buried her face against his neck and tried to stop crying.

  With gentle rubs, he slowly relaxed the muscle, and she mercifully felt the agony ease. His warmth was stealing away her chill, and she was reluctant to have him move away.

  “Better?” His voice was low and tender.

  She nodded against his skin.

  “You need to get dressed.”

  “How did you know I had a cramp?”

  “Happens in icy water.” He stood up, still holding her in his arms.

  “So you won’t bathe? You smell like hell, Mr. Bishop.”

  He nuzzled her neck. “You smell like heaven, Miss Shay.”

  How in God’s name could she get him to put her down without baring her body to him again? All she had covering her was a thin drying cloth. The moment he released her, she’d—

  She didn’t have the chance to worry a moment more. He put her on her feet, turned on his heel, and walked back to the brook.

  Picking up the soap, he sniffed it. “Roses? I have to smell like roses?”

  “I’m sorry. I hadn’t thought you might wish to use it.”

  A disgusted snort floated across the way. His back to her, he put his hat aside and started unbuckling his new gunbelt while he toed off his boots.

  Taking the hint, Cassie faced away from him and worked on drying her shivering body. Dragging on the clean clothing, she fought the chill and waited for the sounds of Ty shouting at the iciness of the water. He never did, and when she realized things were too quiet, her concern made her glance back to the brook.

  His back was to her. Thank heavens, because she couldn’t have torn her eyes away if she’d wanted to.

  The man was a mountain of muscle. Defined shoulders. Narrow hips. And the most devilishly delectable dimples just above his rounded backside.

  Suddenly, she didn’t feel so cold, and decidedly wicked thoughts crowded her mind.

  Scolding herself as a wanton, she tried to regain control of her imagination.