Timeless Whisper (Timeless Hearts Series Book 1) Page 9

  “You’re like him. You use strange words. I thought…well, when Mrs. Jennings said you were gone. I thought you’d left too.” His eyes narrowed as he’d looked at her. “Are you wearing my shirt and pants?”

  “You wouldn’t buy me any.”

  “That solves one mystery. I through Ryder must have taken them. I’ll take you into town tomorrow and you can buy your own.”

  “I thought you said women shouldn’t wear pants and not in your house.”

  “Clearly that doesn’t apply anymore. You don’t care what I say or think. Or you wouldn’t be wearing my pants, in my house. If that’s not a slap in the face, I don’t know what is.”

  “I can show you the difference if you’d like.”

  “No thank you. My face still stings from the last slap you gave me.” He’d smiled at the recollection. The sight had set her heart on fire, until he doused it with his next words. “I don’t want you seeing Stolfi anymore.”

  “I can’t see how I can avoid him, seeing as he works here.”

  “I could fire him.”

  “Do that, and I will leave? And you can clean this mess up yourself.” She’d turn to leave, and he called out to her.

  “Raven, would you like to go into town tonight?”

  “I came back to cook supper.”

  “We can dine out.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. Go change and meet me in the living room in an hour.”

  “What about this mess?”

  “I’ll get it cleaned up.”

  “I think you should clean it up yourself. It’ll make you think twice before doing it again. I’ll see you in an hour.”

  She’d walked out, closing the door behind her, then leaned against it. Raven had felt stunned by her own boldness when her heart was reacting and hands felt clammy. She couldn’t believe she’d spoken to him that way, and he took it. She knew she’d have to rethink the male chauvinist opinion she had about him.

  Raven was brought back to the present when she heard, “Penny for your thoughts.”

  She smiled as Lance picked up the other pitchfork and began to help her.

  Chapter 22

  Raven leaned on her fork and wiped her forehead with the sleeve of the shirt she wore. She watched as Lance shoveled the last of the manure into the barrel. Even in his work clothes he oozed magnetism. His open front shirt showed a whisper of hair as his muscles flexed and rippled beneath his corduroy vest. His pants were tight at the waist and muscular thighs filled the legs, complete with knee high boots.

  He could totally rock this look in 2017.

  He stopped working, looking at her with a grin, and her knees weakened. “Why are you watching me, when you should be working?”

  “I was just thinking how much the scent in here really works on you.”

  “You do know there is no way that’s a compliment. I’m duly offended, and I will make you pay dearly for it.”

  “What, you can’t handle a little flirting?”

  “So if I called on you and told you, you smelled like horse manure, you would be flattered?” He laughed.

  The sound tickled her ears and made her body tingle. “Yes, if you were being sincere.”

  He dipped a gloved hand into the barrel and grabbed a chunk and pointed it at her. “So you won’t mind me rubbing some of this behind your ears, in order to make you irresistible to me.”

  “Why would I care? I’ve just told you, I think the smell is divine.”

  He dropped his shovel and came at her. She squealed and ran from the stable into one of the barns. He gave chase and caught her, and they fell into a heap on the hay. He rubbed his hand behind her ear, and she screamed.

  It took a while for her to realize they were skin to skin. She hadn’t seen him remove the gloves. Then she started laughing too.

  She stopped, wriggling beneath him as his weight pressed her into the hay. He gazed into her eyes and the smile fell from his face, growing serious and intense. She stared, breathless and helpless in his grasp. He lowered his head to hers, his breath brushing her cheek, her lips, and filtering down to her heaving bosom.

  He rested his forehead on hers, then grew still for a moment. His heart galloping in his chest vibrated through her. She closed her eyes and puckered up. The weight left her body, and he was pulling her up by her arms.

  “Enough horsing around for one day. We’d better get cleaned up if we’re going to that dance at the community hall.” Then he was gone.

  Raven sighed and stretched out her arms, falling backward into the hay. What was wrong with her? She practically begged him to kiss her. Did she feel dumb or what? It was all his fault. Ever since he’d trashed his study and they’d gone to the boardinghouse for dinner, he’d started being nice to her. He’d even done as she suggested and cleaned his study himself.

  What she felt for him outweighed anything she’d felt for the other Lance. Even that was strange. She didn’t know when she’d stopped calling him her Lance. This was her Lance, the one who bore the scar given to him by her ancestor. She couldn’t help feeling warm inside as she remembered the next morning after their dinner date.

  Because they’d gone out, she hadn’t washed her pants, so she went through his things again and found what she thought were a pair of leggings. She’d put them on with one of his shirts and cinched it together with a belt. Then she’d gone out to feed the chickens.

  That was how he found her standing in his boots, making kissing sounds as she feed the flightless birds clucking at her heels.

  “I see you’ve progressed from wearing my clothes to include my undergarments. Did you not find enough clothes of your own? Should I give them to Mrs. Jennings and buy you, your own closet full of menswear?”

  “They’re too bulky for working in. I can barely move. But I’d rather you didn’t give them away.”

  “And I’d like you to refrain from wearing my things. I came to tell you I was ready to take you into town to buy you your own pants and maybe a smaller shirt. I’m guessing you might be wanting some long underwear too. Let me know when you’re ready to go.” He walked off shaking his head.

  They’d spent a nice day together. He’d opened doors for her and carried her over the muddy puddles. Lance purchased three pairs of lady’s britches, a blouse as well as small men’s long drawers from Grayson mercantile.

  Her heart broke for him when he’d stopped the occasional person and asked if they’d seen Ryder in their travels. Something told her he wouldn’t be finding Ryder anytime soon, if ever. Their negative responses seemed to crush him. After he’d spoken to one of Ryder’s deputies about any secret mission Ryder might be on, he’d given up trying.

  “I have business at the bank, wait for me at the boardinghouse with Miss Cissie. I’ll bring the packages with me.” He’d cupped her cheek. “Raven, I’m trusting you to be there when I’m done.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  She had waited for Lance to cross the street and marched into Cissie’s establishment, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into the corner.

  “You crossed Ryder over, didn’t you?”

  “I didn’t have a choice. It was his time to leave.”

  “Did you or Ryder stop to think about the effect of him leaving, and what it would do to Lance? How could you?”

  “I had no choice in the matter. Neither did Ryder and nor do you. Look.” She pulled her timepiece from her bosom. Raven stared at it and watched as the hands slowly circled the face of the clock.

  “What does it mean?”

  “It means you are going to have to make your mind up whether to stay here or leave. But once the decision is made, you can never go back.”

  “How is it Ryder can go back, and not me? I need more time.”

  “Ryder got to go back because he shouldn’t have been here in the first place. But he's gone back to your time, not his. There’s no one there to receive him.”

  “Well he’s in for a shock then, isn’t he? How
much time does that thing say I have?”

  “I don’t know. Six weeks at most. Ryder asked me to give you this letter if he wasn’t back in a week.”

  The familiar sound of the door opening caught their attention. Lance came in looking happy to see her. He smiled and walked over to them. Raven slipped the letter into her pocket.

  “Miss Cissie.” He tilted his hat. “Should we have lunch here?”

  She nodded her head. How could she leave him, knowing what she did?

  Something warm against her cheek brought Raven out of her reverie. She gently pushed the goat’s face away. That was two weeks ago. By her calculations, she had four weeks, maybe less, to make up her mind. She stood and brushed the hay off her clothes. She’d better get ready. She didn’t want to leave Lance waiting.

  Chapter 23

  As Mrs. Jennings fried her hair with an old-fashioned heavy metal curling iron, Raven pondered her options. Should she tell Lance she was from the future, and would have to go back soon, or did she say nothing and stay? What did she have to go back to? She had nothing but a bank book. Both her parents were dead, and she had no siblings. After being away for five years with very little contact with her cousins, she didn’t really know them anymore. The other Lance was married, not that she was bothered.

  Since Ryder left, Lance had come to depend on her, asking her advice on ranch matters or just running ideas by her. He appeared a lot calmer and more fun to be around. Most importantly, she loved him with every molecule of her being. Her flesh came alive when he was near her.

  She’d noticed he would stop what he was doing and stare at her with that intense look in his eyes when he thought she wasn’t looking. It made her insides clench with longing and a torturous wonder of what it would be like to be loved and made love to by him.

  Were she back in her own time, she wouldn’t have had to wonder for long, as he probably would have made a move by now. She sighed. What if he was waiting for her to give him a sign that it was okay to kiss and touch her? Really touch her, not the occasional brushing of the hand and shoulders he’d do and make it seem unintentional.

  He’d softened, and she liked it. But what to do? She exhaled loudly.

  “Are you all right, Miss Raven?” Mrs. Jennings asked, picking up a lock of her hair, wrapping it around the tongs.

  “I’m fine, thank you.” Raven breathed out on a sigh.

  “I don’t think you are. You’re worried about Mr. Lance and how he’ll be when you have to leave, aren’t you?”

  Raven’s forehead barely missed being scorched by the curling iron as she jolted and turned away from the dressing table mirror to face Mrs. Jennings. “What makes you think I’m going anywhere?”

  “Moira Dunham was my closest friend when she was alive. I never told anyone, but Mr. Jennings, God rest his soul, was like you, and Mr. Ryder. She brought us together.”

  She reached into her pocket and brought out a wrist watch.

  “He said he came from 1946, an ex-military man, and fought in something called World War II.” She sniffed and put the watch back in her pocket. “This was what Mr. Springfield held over me. It was how he got me to help him abduct Charlotte. He’d found my husband’s watch and wouldn’t give it back unless I helped him.”

  She put down the curling iron and dabbed at her eyes as tears flooded her cheeks. She went and sat on the bed. Raven followed and sat next to her, putting her arm around Mrs. Jenning’s shoulder and drawing her to her bosom. Her face in her hands, Mrs. Jennings sobbed into her handkerchief. She pulled herself free and tried to speak between hiccups.

  “My Alvin told me to destroy the watch before he passed, but I just couldn’t. It was all I had left of him. He told me to take it to Mrs. Dunham. She’d know what to do. That’s how we became friends. She explained it all to me. So when young Master Ryder came through in 1866, I convinced Mrs. Thornton to adopt the boy. I burned his clothes, told him to bury whatever else he had, and not to speak too much, but to watch and learn.”

  “So it was you who taught Ryder how to cope?”

  “I had to, Moira couldn’t find a way to send the boy back to his own time. I made him look dirty and wretched, then put him in our barn so he could be found. Then I worked with him to teach him our ways. He was like a sponge and soaked up all the information. But I would hear him sometimes telling Master Lance how things used to be for him back then. My heart broke for him, being so young and trapped here.”

  “That’s why you went to him and not Lance when Mr. Springfield blackmailed you.”

  Mrs. Jennings nodded, wiped her eyes, and stood. “Come now, we have to finish getting you ready,” she said, giving Raven a weak smile.

  Standing, Raven clasped the other woman’s hand. “What do you think I should do?”

  Mrs. Jennings led her back to the dresser and gently pushed down on Raven’s shoulder for her to retake her seat in front of the mirror, before answering.

  “What do you want to do? Do you love him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then follow your heart and do what is right for the both of you.”

  “But what if he just wants me because he’s still in love with Charlotte or just missing Ryder? Like he’s settling for me because he doesn’t have anyone else.”

  Raven watched as Mrs. Jennings pouted her lips and moved them from side to side as she made a humming sound in her throat.

  “I’ve known Mr. Thornton a long time. He’s not a settler or he’d have been married by now. As for Miss Charlotte, I think he forgot her the moment he met you. He may well be missing Mr. Lucore, but he wouldn’t use a woman to replace him, that’s not his way. If Mr. Thornton wants to be in your company he wants to be with you, Raven Eyez, and no one else. Make no mistake about that.”

  Raven’s eyes locked with the other woman’s in the mirror. “What do I do if he doesn’t want me the same way I want him? He’s never been inappropriate with me. How would I know if he even desires me?”

  Mrs Jennings laughed. “What are the men like where you're from? I’ve yet to meet a red-blooded American man, or any other for that matter, who doesn’t desire the company of a woman for the simple fact she is a woman.” She chuckled some more, then sobered.

  “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He’s just being gentlemanly. All he needs a little encouragement on your part. The one thing I will tell you is this. If you’re going or staying, he deserves the truth. If you’re going to hurt him, hurt him now and get it over with so he can move on.”

  “Ryder says Lance should never know the truth about me.”

  “Ryder’s never been in love. Nothing good can come of starting a life together based on a lie.”

  Mrs. Jennings gave Raven a lot to think about. The two women fell silent and continued to get Raven ready for her big night with Lance.

  Raven was helped into her dress, then led her to the long mirror by the closet. She sucked in a breath. She was stunning, and it was hard to believe she’d ever lived in a different time. The dress Mrs. Jennings had chosen for her fitted perfectly.

  It was a deep blue evening gown, with gold horizontal piping, detailing the bust, and white lace trimmings. The color accentuated her eyes and highlighted the gold in her hair. The bodice hugged her figure perfectly. Her hair was in an updo with drop curls framing her face.

  Mrs. Jennings smiled at her through the mirror.

  “My work here is done. If Mr. Thornton didn’t desire you before, he will now. You look beautiful, my dear.”

  Tears rose in her eyes. She couldn’t argue. Mrs. Jennings was right. She’d never seen herself as beautiful. Attractive, yes, but never beautiful, until now. She didn’t recognise the woman looking back at her.

  Chapter 24

  Lance swallowed as he gazed at Raven walking down the hallway to join him at the exit. How could he have possibly mistaken her for Charlotte? There was no comparison. What was left of the sunlight beamed through the window, bouncing off her hair and circled over her head like a h
alo. She looked like an angel, his angel.

  His stomach tensed at the sight of her and his heart rate increased the closer she came. The floral scent she wore filled the hall and washed over him like a ray of morning sunshine, pulling him in, caging him like a wild animal. He had to steel himself from rushing to meet her halfway, pulling her into his arms, and showering her with hot, passionate kisses.

  If he thought Charlotte his weakness, Raven Eyez was the path to his damnation and possible destruction. She owned him heart, body, and soul. She could never leave him, not like the others. He’d hunt her down. There was no place she could hide where he wouldn’t find her.

  He’d tell her tonight after the dance how he felt and beg her to stay with him if he had to. To lose her now would be to lose himself. Just looking at her made him want to crush her to him, and growl like a bear.

  Thinking about her brought out the beast in him. He loved everything about her. The way she talked, walked, challenged him, and made him do things he never thought he’d do. He’d only ever mucked out the stables once as a boy and hated it. But when he worked side by side with her, he noticed nothing but her.

  Lance grew impatient. He wanted her in his arms, and the journey for her to reach him as she floated toward him seemed much longer than it should be. When she finally got to him, he held up the lacy silk shawl he’d bought for her. In a pale blue, it complemented her dress. He wrapped it over her shoulders and breathed her in.

  His hands lingered on her shoulders, and she seemed to lean into him. He tore his eyes away from her and looked over her head to see Mrs. Jennings smiling at him. He harrumphed, let Raven go, and began fixing his lapel.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  “Yes. Good night, Mrs. Jennings. Thanks for everything.”

  He put his hat on and bowed to the older woman. Taking Raven’s arm, he led her out to the waiting buggy, helping her up. Then he walked around to the other side and got in. The evening was warm with a cool breeze, and she shivered next to him.