Free Cowboy from the Future by Cassandra Gannon Page B

half-certain she’s trouble.”
    “She is trouble.  A man can’t help but notice that right off.  It’s part of
her charm.”
    “Yeah,
well, I spent all morning convincing Zecker that her appearance wasn’t some
stunt to reopen the brothel.  He’s looking for an excuse to start hassling her,
just for knowing me.”
    Deke
snorted.  “That dickhead might be onto something.  We’d make a lot more gold
around here if Addy was dressed in a skimpy little omjah and carrying a whip,
that’s for damn sure.”
    Cade
slanted him a deadly glare.
    “Oh,
calm down.”  Deke snickered.  “I’m just fucking with you.  No one’s going to
touch your woman.”
    “She’s
not mine.  I think some human called ‘Michael Landon’ wishes to marry her.” 
And if Cade ever met the man, he planned to fry the bastard, just on principle.
    This
girl is supposed to be yours.
    Deke
ignored that.  “Look, we’ll keep Addy close and she’ll be safe.  The crazy shit
she says will stay between us.  Nobody else in the polis even speaks her
language.”
    “It’s
bigger than just the language.  She doesn’t understand .  Not anything. 
It’s dangerous, Deke.  Not knowing what she doesn’t know could get her hurt.”  Cade
plowed a hand through his hair.  “She actually asked if Voltyn were the same as
aliens.”
    “ Aliens?  
We killed off those tentacle motherfuckers seven hundred years ago!  Everyone
knows that.”
    “I’m
telling you, she doesn’t know it.”  Cade shrugged, equally baffled.  “Maybe
Adeline’s people are isolated from the rest of the world.  They might not know
all that we do.  She thought we still bathed in water , so it’s possible
she comes from a more primitive polis.”
    “With
those clothes?  Her coat must have cost more than the bar.”  Deke shook his
head.  “Fabric that pink and shiny sure wasn’t created by some remote cave-dwellers
living out in the Wilderness.  Hell, it wasn’t created anywhere that I
know of.”
    “That’s
just it.  I think she comes from somewhere we don’t know of.  This woman,”
Cade tried to find the words to describe what he didn’t understand himself, “she’s odd .”
    “Yeah,
I know she’s a little odd, but she still seems…”
    Cade
cut him off.  “It’s not a fucking criticism.  Adeline is special . 
Unique.  It’s like she’s from another world, Deke.  A better world.  Like she
was just dropped here and she has no idea how to survive in a place like
this.”  Cade met his brother’s eyes.  “She looks at me and I see… purity.”
    Deke
studied him for a long moment.  “Wherever Addy comes from, she is trouble.  Being pure makes her trouble.  She’s gonna attract it.  When
it all goes to hell, you’ll be blamed, just because you’re Voltyn.  Are
you ready for that?  Are you sure you want to risk everything for
Adeline Mulhaney?”
    “Yes.” 
Cade said simply.  Voltyn were bred to protect.  He’d keep her safe or die
trying.
    Deke
was quiet for a beat, considering that.  “Alright.”
    “No
lectures on how I’m being an idiot?”
    “Fuck
no.  I like the girl.”
    “You
don’t like anyone.”
    “I
like you and you like her.  That’s enough.  You’re planning to
keep her, right?”  He asked in a more optimistic tone.  Since when was Deke
ever optimistic?
    Cade
rolled his eyes.  “No, of course I’m not keeping her.  She doesn’t belong
here.  Besides, she would never want me.”  He let out a long breath.  “I just
find her presence… pleasant.”  Having Adeline in his home felt right.  Every
time he glanced her way, Cade heard that damn click.  He wasn’t ready to give
that up.  “It’s temporary.”  He insisted, trying to convince himself.  “She
won’t really stay until spring.  The mayor will be back soon and he’ll never
allow a lady to live with a Voltyn.  She’ll leave with Hugo.”
    Something
inside of him snarled at the thought.
    Deke
scowled.