Satisfied that he had done everything that needed to be taken care of, he picked up the plates and another couple of logs. For a moment, he stared up at the stars. A falling star flashed briefly across the sky. He couldn’t resist making a wish.
A slight smile curved his lips as he turned to go back into the cabin. Securing the door, he set the plates down on the small, rough wood table before turning to add one of the logs in his arm to the fire.
He set the other two logs down in the wood box and banked the embers for the night. Pulling his boots off, he set them next to the bed. He removed the gun belt from around his waist and set it on the small table.
His eyes flickered to where Allie lay curled up in a small ball on the double bed. He pulled one of his pistols out of the holster and set it so he could grab it easily if he needed it. Shrugging out of his shirt, he decided it would be best if he kept his pants on.
He draped his shirt over the back of one of the two chairs in the cabin before he pulled the covers to the bed aside and crawled under it with Allie. The moment she felt his warmth, she uncurled and scooted back against him. A low chuckle escaped him when she slipped one bare foot between his legs.
Jacob sighed contently as he pulled her back against his chest and wrapped his arm around her. He stared at the firelight dancing on the wall and let his body and mind relax. The soft, fresh scent of the soap that Allie had used, washed through him as he buried his nose against the curve of her shoulder and neck.
This is what it meant to feel whole, he thought, sleepily. There is no way I can ever let her go.
*.*.*
Allie blinked as she came awake. Early morning sunlight was beginning to flicker through the narrow cracks in the wooden shuttered. She didn’t want to move. It felt so good to be warm.
She had woken once during the night and known immediately that Jacob had ‘found’ him a place to sleep. The fact that place was in the same bed as her didn’t bother her as much as she thought it might. Instead, she had wrapped her arm around him and snuggled closer as she fell back asleep.
Now, she lay with her head in the crook of his arm, her chin up under his, and her hand curled in the light dusting of blond hair on his chest. Outside, the world was beginning to wake up. A smile curved her lips as she listened to the birds. This was one of her favorite times of the day.
“Good morning,” a husky voice said.
“Morning,” Allie replied, still not moving.
“You’re not mad?” Jacob asked.
Allie briefly closed her eyes as the sound of his voice, filled with the husky morning roughness, washed over her. A sigh escaped her. Nope, she wasn’t ready to deal with the world yet, so she just continued to lay against his warm body.
“You’re warm,” she replied as an answer.
A chuckle shook her head as he relaxed and began stroking her back. Allie curled her fingers against his skin. She continued to watch the dust motes dance in the sunlight peeking into the cabin.
“So, I’m okay as long as I’m your personal blanket, is that it?” He asked.
Allie was silent for several moments before she replied. “Yep, that pretty much says it,” she retorted in a soft amused voice.
She started when she suddenly found herself on her back and Jacob lying over the top of her. Her hands were trapped between them, her fingers spread across his chest. She looked up into his serious eyes.
“I accept the position,” he declared. “Allie… I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Allie’s eyes widened at the stark vulnerability in his eyes as he made his whispered declaration. Her fingers moved up to touch his lips, as if to silence him. An uncertain smile curved her lips as she shook her head.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “It hurts too much.”
“It would be worth it to have you in my life,” he replied. “Even if it was only for a short time, I would take it.”
“Why?” Allie asked as tears filled her eyes. “Why?”
“Because it is the most incredible feeling,” he said, leaning down to press a tender kiss to her lips. “Just… give me enough time to show you.”
“I don’t want….”
Her voice faded as he pressed another kiss to her lips before rolling to the side and sitting up. Allie watched as he stood up and grabbed his shirt. Her mind was swirling in confusion as he quickly button his shirt and slid his feet into his boots.
“I need to check on the horse and feed him,” Jacob muttered, staring down at her intently. “Claire packed some dry food for us to bring back. I had some in my saddle bag if you don’t mind fixing us some breakfast while I take care of things outside.”
Allie sat up and nodded as he reached for his gun belt and strapped it around his narrow waist. He picked up the gun he had removed last night and checked it before setting it back down on the small table.
“I’ll leave this here for you,” he continued. “We are not in your time anymore, Allie, remember that.”
“I will,” she replied, glancing from the gun to Jacob. “Jacob,…”
Allie’s breath caught in her throat when he suddenly leaned one knee on the bed and wrapped his hand around her neck so he could press a hard kiss to her lips. She was gasping for air by the time he released her. Blinking rapidly, she stared up into his glittering eyes.
“Time, Allie,” he said in a hard voice. “That is all I ask. Just that you give me a little time.”
Allie watched as he grabbed his hat by the door before opening it and disappearing through it. She fell back against the makeshift pillow she had made last night. Staring up at the ceiling of the cabin, she pulled in several deep, calming breaths.
“Wow!” She whispered.
*.*.*
The rest of the day set their schedule for the next week. Allie had risen and fixed them a small breakfast of powdered scrambled eggs, grits, and dried biscuits. She had teased Jacob when he had played with the grits. Allie had fallen in love with the ground corn concoction when she had traveled to a rodeo in Georgia one year. She figured it was her mom’s way of saying she was ‘sorry’ for tricking her.
She cleaned the cabin after breakfast while Jacob cut more firewood. They spent the early afternoon hours doing minor repairs and improvements to the cabin before walking down the trail to the river. Allie sat lounging on a rock in the sun, while Jacob fished.
“I didn’t realize how much I needed this,” Allie said, watching as Jacob tossed another fish up onto the bank.
Jacob grinned as he baited the hook again. “Now, you know why I love to come up here,” he said. “Unfortunately, unless I do some serious hunting, we aren’t going to be able to stay for much longer.”
Allie pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “Why?”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but our supplies are getting low. I don’t think you would be too happy living on fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” he chuckled.
“True,” Allie replied, resting her chin on her knees. “So, what do you do for groceries? I mean, it isn’t like you can just pop down to the grocery store, can you?”
A shadow crossed his face as he remembered the ease in her time to get food. Fear twisted his stomach that she would grow to resent the lack of conveniences that she was used to. He pushed the fear away.
“No, we can’t just pop down to the stores like in your time. There are two things we can do,” he said, turning back to the water. “We can either return to the ranch house or go into Meeteetse.”
“Really?” Allied asked, straightening her legs and sliding off the rock. “We could go to Meeteetse and come back here?”
Jacob glanced over his shoulder in surprise at the excitement in her voice. He smiled and nodded. His eyes swiveled back to the fly rod in his hand as he felt another hit.
“Sure,” he said. “We can leave first thing in the morning. It’ll take a couple of hours to get there. We can stay in town if you like for the night, and return the next day.?
??
“That would be great,” Allie exclaimed as she came to stand on the bank behind him. “I’d love to see what the town originally looked like.”
“It isn’t very big,” Jacob cautioned.
“It isn’t very big in my time either,” Allie laughed. “I just think it would be cool to see an old town.”
Jacob returned to shore with his last catch. Unhooking the trout, he tossed it down next to the others. He set the fly rod down against one of the boulders next to him and pulled his knife from the sheath at his waist. He picked up the first of the four fish.
He was a little self-conscious about standing with his pant legs rolled up to his knees. He had slipped a pair of moccasins on his feet. They would dry quickly and could handle the rocks along the bank and in the water.
His eyes flickered to Allie’s bare shoulders. She had stripped off her outer shirt and was just wearing a light blue ‘tank’ top. She had removed her boots and socks and rolled her pant legs up as well.
“I don’t know how you can walk on these rocks,” he said with a shake of his head.
“I go barefoot a lot back home,” she confessed. “I hate to wear shoes and take them off whenever I can.”
“Allie,” he started to say, trying to think of the best way to approach the topic of their trip. “When we go into Meeteetse, well, people might say things… things that might be hurtful.”
Allie chuckled and leaned back against the boulder he was using as a cleaning table. She had already thought of that and had prepared herself. One thing she had learned at an early age was that only the people she cared about had the power to hurt her. The others just pissed her off, like Boseman and his ‘little’ woman comments.
“Jacob, I’m a big girl,” she said, bending so he could see the truth in her eyes. “I can handle anything, anyone dishes out and more, trust me. I’ve had plenty of practice. I didn’t give a shit when the girls in high school thought I joined the wrestling team so I could be around the guys. They could say all the nasty things they wanted, I totally kicked ass and have the trophy to prove it. Being in ranching, I was used to the snide comments from the men. They could be assholes, but they always came back with their tails between their legs if they wanted to do business with the Whitewater ranch.”
“I won’t let anyone disrespect you,” Jacob insisted.
“Jacob,” Allie said softly, cupping his cheek. “Really, I’ve got my super hero panties on. I can handle it.”
Jacob chuckled and brushed a quick kiss across her lips. “I don’t have a clue what that means, but something tells me it is important.”
“It is,” Allie whispered, rubbing her thumb on his bottom lip before pulling away. “I’d better let you finish cleaning our dinner or we’re going to be starving later.”
“Just one more kiss,” Jacob whispered.
Allie shook her head, even as her hand slid along his cheek to tangle in his hair as she reached up and pressed her lips against his. Her lips parted with his and she kissed him back with an intensity that scared her. Pulling away, she stared up into his blue eyes for several long seconds with a confused, worried frown before stepping away.
*.*.*
Jacob released the breath he was holding as Allie turned and walked back over to the rock where her socks, boots, and shirt were laying. His mind, and his body, were humming from the kiss that they had just shared. The last few days, he decided, had absolved him of every sin he had ever committed.
Hell, I should be given sainthood, he thought as he cleaned another fish.
For the past four days and nights, he had kept his hands to himself. Well, except at night when he pulled her into his arms before they fell asleep. Their second night had been the toughest.
They had both been tense as he pulled the covers back and slid in beside her. He had laid on his back, one arm under his head as he stared up at the ceiling. She had her back to him, facing the wall. After almost five minutes of silence, he had finally begun talking about the last herd of horses he had returned with. As he talked, they both relaxed. A few minutes later, Allie had rolled over and snuggled up to him with her head on his shoulder and asked him questions.
The last two nights had been easier… and more difficult. The more he held her, the more he wanted to hold her. A slight smile crossed his face as he remembered this morning when she had slid her bare leg up his. Even with his pants on, it was impossible not to recognize that he was hard as a rock.
She had frozen when she felt his engorged cock. He swore he could feel the heat in the cheek pressed against his chest. She had carefully slid her leg back down.
“Jacob,” Allie whispered, drawing his attention.
He turned toward her before following her gaze. He stiffened when he saw the five men standing across the shallow river from them. He returned their gaze, nodding his head in acknowledgement.
“Allie, come to me,” he said in a low voice when he saw them talk to each other. “Stay by my side.”
He didn’t take his eyes off the men as they started to cross the river. He recognized them as Lakota. He didn’t like that there were five of them together or that he didn’t recognize any of them.
“Háu!” Hello! Jacob called out, twisting around so that he partially hid Allie behind him.
A frown creased his brow when they didn’t answer. They had spread out as they came across. There was one in front with the other four fanning out behind him. He turned his gaze to the one in front. There was no expression on his face, but there was in his eyes. Jacob didn’t like the speculative look in them as he stared over Jacob’s shoulder at where Allie stood.
“Hogan omawaste?” Fishing good? The young brave asked.
“Yes,” Jacob replied in Lakota.
“We have fresh meat if your woman will cook it,” the brave said, nodding to Allie.
Jacob glanced at Allie just as she rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. He couldn’t quite keep his amusement hidden. He knew what the other man was seeing, Allie had a very expressive face and right now it was saying she wasn’t impressed.
“Dude, you do not want me cooking it,” Allie retorted in a mixture of English and Lakota. “If it doesn’t come in a box with microwave directions, I’m hopeless.”
Confusion flashed across the five men’s faces at her words. Jacob nodded to the rabbits hanging over the shoulder of one of the men. He knew there would be no getting rid of them now.
“I’ll cook,” Jacob said as he released an exasperated sigh. “As my woman said, she would burn it.”
The brave studied Jacob for several seconds before his eyes connected with Allie’s blue ones. The hint of a smile softened his expression as he told his friend to clean the rabbits. Two of the men set to work on skinning and cleaning their kill.
“I am Paytah,” the brave said.
“Jacob Tucker,” Jacob replied before looking at Allie. “This is my wife, Allie.”
He shot a look of warning at Allie when she started to open her mouth. He released a deep breath when she shrugged and smiled at the brave. His admiration for her grew when she began asking Paytah questions.
Chapter 21
Allie laughed as one of the men shared another one of their great hunting trips. The men had proven to be perfectly capable of doing their own domestic cooking, cleaning and setup. Allie teased them that she could have used their help the other day when she was cleaning the cabin.
“Jacob is lucky he has any pots or pans left,” she joked.
“That’s the truth. I turned around and mice are running out of the cabin, followed by my cooking pots,” Jacob replied, enjoying how Allie was leaning back against him on the ground.
They were all sitting in front of the fire that the men had built a short distance from the cabin. They were all full from a meal of fresh rabbit, fish, and the rest of the dried vegetables that Allie’s mom had packed.
A sigh escaped Allie as she tilted her head back and looked up at the stars. It was a
brilliantly clear night with the Milky Way showing like a river against the blackness of space. It was hard to believe how much everything had changed in just a few short weeks.
“What do you gaze at?” Paytah asked, looking up at the stars.
“I was just thinking it’s hard to believe that man has been up there,” Allie replied without thinking.
“You mean to the stars?” Paytah asked, confused as he and the other men grew quiet.
Allie looked at Paytah and the other men who were intently staring at her. She felt Jacob’s arms tighten around her. She didn’t know if he knew about that either.
“Not to the stars,” Allie replied in a quiet voice. “But, one day men will travel to the moon and walk upon its surface. Others will fly in great metal ships around the Earth, both in space and near its surface.”
Paytah raised his hand when one of the other warriors started to make a snide comment. There was something in the woman’s tone that told him she spoke the truth. He had known there was something different the moment he saw her resting on the big rock by the river. He had watched her for over an hour before his friends came to find him.
“You have done this? Flown like a bird in the sky?” Paytah asked.
“Allie,” Jacob whispered in warning.
That alone told Paytah that the woman had. This woman walked between the worlds of the white man and the Indian. He could see the coloring of his people in her hair and face even if her eyes were the color of the sky. Yet, it was more than that. She was dressed oddly and carried herself differently from any white or Indian woman he had seen.
“Yes,” she said in a soft tone.
“I think it is time we retired for the night,” Jacob said, rising out from behind Allie before bending to help her to her feet. “I hope you rest well. We will be leaving early in the morning.”
Paytah nodded his head, rising as well. “We will leave early as well. It has been nice to meet you Allie, wife of Jacob.”
He didn’t miss Allie’s raised eyebrow at his words. A smile curved her lips, though, as she whispered her goodnight. Paytah watched as Allie walked into the cabin before he turned to Jacob.