Free Tales of Western Romance by Madeline Baker Page B

9
     
    Gray woke with a groan, his hand
automatically straying toward the ache in his side. He frowned when
he felt the bandage swathed around his middle. What the hell? And
then he remembered. He’d been shot escaping the bounty hunter.
    Ignoring the pain in his side, he bolted
upright. Where was Bonnie? Surely she hadn’t gone off and left him
here alone? He was about to swing his legs over the side of the bed
when she entered the room, a tray in her hands.
    “ Good morning.” She placed the tray on
the table beside the bed, then laid her hand on his forehead. “How
are you feeling?”
    “ Sore as hell.”
    “ I’m not surprised.” She pulled a
bottle from the pocket of her apron, opened it and shook some pills
into her hand. “Here,” she said, offering him the pills and a glass
of water.
    “ What is this?”
    “ Aspirin. It’s all I’ve got for the
pain. Are you hungry?” She gestured at the tray. “I made bacon and
eggs and coffee.
    “ Thanks.”
    She sat on the edge of the bed while he ate.
Earlier, she had gone up to the main house where she had learned
that the Collins’ had sent a search party out to look for her but,
due to the storm, her tracks had washed out. Another search party
had left this morning, and were still out. Surprisingly, she
discovered that time in the past and time in the present were not
the same, and while she had been in the past for several days, she
had only been missing for two days here.
    “ I’m going to tell Mrs. Collin’s that
you’re my husband, and that you arrived late last
night.”
    Gray nodded.
    “ We’ve been married for a year and we
live in California.”
    He nodded again.
    “ If anyone asks, you train horses for a
living. I bought you a change of clothes. They’re in the closet.”
She chewed on her thumbnail. “Say something.”
    He finished the last of his eggs, then wiped
his mouth. “You’re a good cook.”
    “ Gray…”
    “ What do you want me to say? I’m
obliged to you for taking care of me.”
    “ What are you thinking? I mean, you’re
in the future. Are you, I don’t know, scared? Worried?”
    He lifted one brow. “Scared?” He set the tray
aside, then pulled her up against him. “Why should I be scared?
I’ve got you.”
    “ What does that mean?”
    “ Well, you know your way around here. I
reckon I can learn how to get by. And I kinda like the idea of
being your husband.”
    “ Do you?”
    “ Yeah. I figure that gives me the right
to do this,” he said, brushing a kiss over her lips. “As often as I
want.”
    “ You’re incorrigible, you know
that?”
    “ I’m not even sure what that
means.”
    “ In your case, it means
impossible.”
    “ Honey, I’m very possible. And as soon
as my side heals up, I’ll prove it to you.”
    “ Oh, you will, will you?”
    He nodded. “In every way I can.”
    * * * * *
    To Bonnie’s amazement, Gray was up and around
the next day. When she suggested he should stay in bed another day
or two, he shook his head.
    “ I want to see this world of
yours.”
    It was an adventure, touring the ranch with
Gray. He was fascinated with everything she showed him – cars, TV,
computer games, cell phones, instant coffee, stoves and washing
machines, the swimming pool behind the main house.
    They were standing by the corral that held Relámpago , admiring the stallion, when Bonnie heard a
scream.
    Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a
riderless horse racing across the yard at a full gallop, stirrups
flapping.
    “ Olivia!” A woman came running out onto
the porch of the main house, her face pale as she ran down the
steps toward the little girl sitting on the grass, playing with a
doll.
    Bonnie felt like screaming herself as the
horse ran on, apparently headed straight for the little girl, and
the barn that lay beyond.
    Bonnie turned to look at Gray, only he was no
longer beside her. She watched, aghast, as he sprinted forward,
grabbed hold of the horse’s mane, and vaulted onto its back. How