Unexpected (26 page)

She would love to be next to him again tonight and feel his touch again. As far as she was concerned, they belonged next to one another, but he was set up in the bunkhouse with Ryker and Thomas.  Hattie and Josephine were given the spare room in the house.  Wouldn’t she cause a scandal if she crawled in next to him?  She chuckled at that.  Hattie would faint.

No, she didn’t have regrets about what they had done, but she did feel a bit guilty about not being married to him beforehand.  Her religious upbringing nagged her over it.  Even though she knew they were going to be married soon, it was hard to shake that pinch of guilt.

As for the bath,
her aching bones needed it more than the men did.  Well, it was more than just her muscles that were sore.  She blushed—yes, she did.  Thank goodness no one was around to see it.  The next day proved to her that Cogan was a thoroughly passionate lover.  She hurt everywhere, even in places she didn’t know existed.  Yet, she wouldn’t trade that night for anything else in the world.  She meant it when she convinced herself she wouldn’t regret it.  However, she also developed a lot of insecurities over it.  Was she good enough for him?  Did she satisfy him as well as he did her?  Cogan had experience, and she had nothing.

At that same time
Josephine was soaking in the tub, Cogan was busy hitching up the wagon.  They had to go in and get supplies from town.  The Hamiltons ran out of the house with the clothes on their backs and nothing else.

Ryker was going with him, but Thomas was staying with Hattie
to be safe, even though he begged to go along.  Thomas enjoyed the trips to town, but after Ryker explained things to him he reluctantly agreed.

“Who’s going to stay and protect the women
, if all the men go to town?” Ryker could see his little brother mull over that in silence, with his expression showing mixed emotions.

“I guess,
” he finally mumbled in agreement.

Ryker ruffled his hair and turned to help Cogan.  There was no way in hell he’d be able to protect himself and his little brother if Butch carried through with the threats he always slung at him.

Thankfully, Doc Russell removed Ryker’s sling and told him to start using the arm moderately.  Ryker couldn’t be more relieved.   He opened and closed his fist with some slight discomfort to the shoulder, but nothing to complain about.

Soon
Cogan and Ryker headed out.  He didn’t tell Josephine because he already knew that darn stubborn woman would want to come with them.

Unknown to them,
they would have no issues in town. Butch had left for the mine after speaking with Bill. However, he’d left capable men in town to spy for him.

Chapter Eight

“She’s alive boss,” Clancy said.  He’d made the four hour ride to the mine to inform Butch.  He was glad that he was finally able to deliver good news to his him.  It wasn’t that he was afraid that he’d take the bullet if she wasn’t, because he knew Butch relied on him too much.  The issue was, every time he trained the new guys, they’d end up dead.  Hell, Cogan Reid killed half of his men already, and the man didn’t even have a scratch.

Butch had a camp s
hack constructed on the claim besides a bunkhouse for his men who supervised the workers.  He then had some of his expensive furniture shipped from town.  It looked a little out of place in the modest shack, but it’s what he liked.  Most of the labor were Chinese immigrants who didn’t speak English.  He ended up stealing them from the construction of the railroad by promising them better pay.  Once he got them there, he didn’t follow through on it, and had his men force them into work.  Oh, he fed them and gave them makeshift tents to live in, but they worked eighteen hour days with hardly a break.

It had taken a few weeks, but now the mine was operational.  If it paid out as well as the previous owner, it would make him
wealthier than the railroad would have.

“You saw her?”
That was the best news he’d received all week.

“Yes.  She’s at the doctor’s place with the rest of her family
like you thought.”

Butch nodded thinking about his next move.  It had been too long for him now and he needed a woman—well,
he needed Josephine Hamilton. “You take the boys, and see if you can get her alone.  I know that big fella rides out and checks on the herd often. I’ll make sure I’ll have an alibi.  If that gunman sees you though, he’ll put a bullet through all of you, so be careful and stay at a distance until you’re sure he’s far off and you can get her alone. I’m getting sick and tired of losing men.”

“What about Ryker?” Clancy asked.

“Don’t kill him for Christ’s sake.  I’m already under suspicion over the last time.  I wouldn’t put it past Gus to bring in a marshal, and I’ll lose the mine.  I’ll make sure I’m here in the open when Josephine goes missing.”  He was all about keeping his hands clean.  He didn’t care if any of his men got arrested, because he could always get more.

“What do you want us to do with her boss?”

“Bring her here to me, but don’t hurt her.” His eyes met Clancy’s in warning. “And don’t
touch
her.  I’ll be here later tonight, but there’s something else I have to do first.”

Clancy nodded in understanding.  Regardless of how many men Butch has lost, or the man’s reputation, he was loyal to him.
  He admired his intelligence and the way he played and manipulated people. Clancy was hoping to learn something from him.

After he
gave his orders for Josephine Hamilton, it was on to other pending business. “Did you find that coward Elroy, yet?”

“No boss.”

“Find him before Gus does. I want him buried next to his brother.”

“Yes boss,” Clancy agreed easily.
A sadistic grin lit his face.  He never liked the man anyway. He always thought he was smarter than he really was, and acted like he was ten foot tall.  Then there was his constant screwing up.  The failed lynching, the equally futile raid on the Hamilton ranch that got a few more men killed.  The man was useless as far as he was concerned.

***

Later that afternoon, after Cogan and Ryker returned from town, they started saddling their horses. They were going to do a quick trip back to the ranch and check on the herd. They dropped a load of lumber off at the ranch before making their way to the Russells to drop off the rest of the supplies and get Cogan’s stallion.  More lumber was ordered.  They had to get building soon.  There was only so long they could stay with the doctor and his wife.

Ryker was going to use the mare, just to give his gelding another day of rest.
The bay was standing in the corral with Cogan’s packhorse.  Both of them were looking over the fence knowing that they were getting left behind.  The packhorse nickered at Cogan.

“Yeah, boy
, not today,” he said softly.  The horse’s ears twitched forward.  Then he snorted his disagreement and wandered away.

Ryker heard and saw the exchange. “Do animals understand you that well?”

He shrugged while cinching up the saddle. “They sense things.  It’s the tone of my voice and the energy around me that interprets my moods.  Not necessarily what I say.”

“Really?
  I’ll be dammed.  That is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

Cogan thought that Josie would beg to differ after he carried Ryker’s bay
, a good fifteen hundred pounds, up a rocky incline into a cave, but he kept that to himself.

T
hen they started discussing what they’d heard in town.  It wasn’t until they ordered supplies from the hardware store, they found out why they hadn’t seen butch or the majority of his men. After Bill enquired about Josephine, which he was visibly relieved over hearing she was fine, he said that Butch had ridden out of town earlier in the opposite direction of the ranch. He also told him of the exchange in the saloon.

“To be honest, I think he’s got something else going on. 
There’s been rumors,” Bill offered.

To Cogan and Ryker, it didn’t matter.  He wasn’t letting go
of what Cogan did to his men, or more importantly, leaving Josephine alone.  Burning down their father’s house was an easy clue that he was still hell bent on revenge.

Ryker mounted up and nudged his horse toward the house.  Thomas was sitting on the steps looking crestfallen. 
He hadn’t had time to spend with him, and he wouldn’t take him out on the range with him until there were no more threats.  He was safer where he was.

“Are you going to be long?”

Cogan finished sheathed his rifle before he turned and looked down at Josephine.  She’d come out of the house and spoke to Ryker for a moment before she walked over to the bunkhouse where he was. She was wearing the blue dress he’d bought her and a white apron was strung around her skirt.  She’d pulled her hair up and arranged it on her head.  Her neck was long and elegant and the dress set off her lovely sapphire eyes.  She was breathtaking. Without saying anything, he moved a finger down her jaw tilting her head up to face him.  Then he bent his own and kissed her.  Then he lifted his head and enjoyed the satisfied look in her expression. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at him. “I’ll be home after dark.”

“You better be.”
Her eyes went passed Cogan to her brother who was waiting for him by the house with Thomas.  He was not looking in their direction, but there was no way he couldn’t have noticed the affection between the two.  She was glad that he didn’t object, because if he did, she’d fight him every step of the way.  She noticed that he was taking the mare, not his own horse. She felt a pang of guilt over that.  She’d already promised herself that she would never act that rash again.

She understood that
Ryker needed to assess the damage the rains had caused over the past few days, but she still worried about him. At least Cogan was going with him because Ryker still wasn’t supposed to use that arm too much.  “Bring my brother home safe.”

He chuckled and mounted his horse
without taking his deep smoky eyes off of her.  His stallion pranced sideways to balance himself under the shift in weight on his back. Then, he turned to leave, but hesitated.  His confused stallion hopped a little when he pulled back on the reins, spinning him about.  His expression suddenly became heated as he stared down at her.

Josie couldn’
t say anything.  Her breath stilled. Those deep brown eyes could melt the coldest of hearts when he used them the way he was now.  They held something deeply emotional and she somehow knew it wasn’t something he let anyone see. It was like the night in the cave when they were alone.  Nothing else existed except the passion they shared. Heat began to ebb low in her pelvis under that hot look.

It seemed as if an eternity passed, while their gazes locked, but it was still too short.  Then he smiled.  It was slow but purposeful.  It was as if he was confirming something in his mind.  She felt a smile on her own lips as well.  Along with it, came the uncontrollable wondrous spasms in her belly.

With that, he spun his impatient stallion around and tore of the yard in a cloud of dust.  Ryker nudged the mare and rode off with him. 

Josie felt her eyes water at that
unspoken confession.  It made everything that had happened over the past few months fade from her mind.  Cogan was a man her father would be proud of to have in the family. 

Thomas
was by the house swinging his wooden sword at that moment.  She supposed Magdalene didn’t want him smashing her fine china and asked him to play outside. The older couple weren’t used to children in their house so it wasn’t protected from them.  That didn’t mean they didn’t adore him because they did.  They didn’t have any kids of their own and doted on Thomas.

At the same time,
Clancy and two of Butch’s men watched the goings on at the Russell homestead, and waited until Ryker and Cogan rode away from the Doc’s.

They
stayed at a distance, out of sight, just as Butch told them to do.  Clancy even waited for a while longer after the men left, just to make sure they didn’t return. Then, he nodded to the other two with him and rode toward the Russell ranch in silence.  He was already grinning from ear to ear.

Meanwhile Father Sampson was in his private chambers going through
a book a close friend and associate from New York sent him;
The Book of Were-Wolves
by Sabine Baring-Gould
,
printed in 1865.  It caused all kinds of controversy among the eccentrics, and the Catholic Church acquired one of the first printings. This wasn’t unusual behavior for the church.

There were sectors within the church that investigated and dealt with demonic possessions and witchcraft
since early times.  Because of this, there was an extensive private library available on supernatural subjects that only a select few had privy to.
His friend was one of them.

After he telegraphe
d his acquaintance, it didn’t take much for him to figure out what Father Sampson was describing in his meeting with Cogan Reid.  The long awaiting answer was a book that came in the post that morning. Yet, what he was reading didn’t seem to fit the man he met.  Baring-Gould described these creatures as being insane or possessed, and worshipping the devil among other unspeakable things.  Cogan was about as sane and God fearing as any honest man he knew. It just didn’t fit.