Cowboy from the Future (6 page)

She
cut him off, afraid of leaving this man.  “No.  I want to stay with
you
.”

Cade
hesitated, his amazing lavender gaze searching her face.  She’d never seen eyes
like his before.  The color of them was like staring into the heart of an
amethyst.

“I
can help around your bar.”  Addy wasn’t above begging.  Not when her whole life
was on the line.  “Really.  I waited tables at a bistro in college.”  For two weeks,
before she’d been fired.

Addy
had never kept a job for more than six months, much to her father’s disgust. 
Either she quit out of boredom or they handed her a pink slip.  Jack of all
trades, master of none.  That was Adeline Mulhaney.  She was always searching
for something that clicked with her, so she had a
little
bit of skill in
a wide array of fields, hobbies, and subjects… None of which were particularly
useful here in the Wild, Wild West.

“Help
in the bar?”  Cade sounded appalled by the very idea.  “Shit, we have enough
fights down there.  Do not go near the customers.  Do not go near
anyone
else in this polis, except my brothers.  As long as you’re here, you stay right
beside one of us.  It’s the only way you’ll be safe.”

Addy
beamed, interpreting that grumpiness in the most positive light possible.  “Does
that mean I can stay with you?”  She asked eagerly.

Cade
blinked under the force of her grin.

“Cade?” 
She prompted, when he just stared at her.

“What?” 
He gave his head a sharp shake.  “Shit. 
No
.”  He got to his feet.  “This
is a bad idea.  You will cause disruption.  I
hate
disruption.”

“I’m
very
un
disruptive.  I won’t disrupt anything.”

“You
will.”  Cade studied her for a long moment.  “You don’t belong here with me.  Many
people in the polis will be… unhappy if you remain under my roof.”

“I
don’t care.  I’m not even part of this creepy town.”

“It
doesn’t matter.  Your reputation will suffer.”

“Like
a give a rat’s ass about my popularity with the cast of
Gunsmoke
.”  Was
he looking for an excuse to ditch her?  Without Cade, she was screwed.  He was
the one person standing between her and certain death.  Addy was absolutely
certain of that.  “I want to stay
here.
”

He
looked hunted.  “I can find you a more respectable place to…”

“Please,
Cade.”  She whispered.

He
groaned at the entreaty.  “
Fuck
.”  His head tiled back to look at the
ceiling, no doubt praying to the presidents for guidance.

“Please?” 
Addy tried again, sensing his capitulation.  “I’m stuck in this dump until
spring and everybody else in town scares me worse than you.”

That
seemed to confound him.  “Why?”

“Because,
you’ve been looking out for me while I had my breakdown.  I’ve been locked in
this room for days and not one person has bothered me, except to bring me
stuff.  I know that was your doing.”  She arched a brow when he didn’t deny. 
“You might want me gone, but you’re not dangerous.  Not to me.  Hell, that one Stinky-Pete-looking
guy tried to feel me up, right there in the bar, and you protected me.”

“Manston.” 
Cade nodded in disgust.  “Stay away from him.”

“I
plan to.  I plan to stick right here with you
.
”

“But,
you should be afraid of me.  I don’t understand why you’re not.”

She
tilted her head.  “Are you going to hurt me, Cade?”

He
gazed at her for a long moment.  “No.”  It was a vow.  “If I wanted that, lady,
I could’ve done it days ago.”

“Would
other men in this town hurt me?”

“Some
of them.”  He admitted quietly.

“Well,
there you go, genius!  So, unless you drag me out the door, I’m staying with
the guy who speaks English and isn’t planning a sexual assault.”

“It’s
not that simple.  Don’t you realize what I
am?
”

Crap,
he was probably an alien.  The future always had aliens.

Her
mind could only accept so much at one time, though.  Being stranded in the
future and potentially raped by miners was
way
more pressing than Cade’s
extraterrestrial backstory.  Addy didn’t care where he’d come from, just so he
continued keeping her safe.

She
looked into his eyes and trusted him.  Through the veneer of asshole-ness and
long-suffering sighs, she saw someone who was fundamentally… good.  Honorable. 
If she could stay with Cade, she would survive this.  He would help her.  She
knew it.

“Brian
will give you a huge reward.”  Addy blurted out, sweetening the deal.  “Like, a
pirate’s chest full of gold.”  She hesitated.  “Do you guys still value gold,
here?”

That
got his attention.  “Of course, we value gold!  Shadow-of-the-Gods isn’t some Outlander
camp.”

Whatever
the hell that meant.  She sure wasn’t going to ask, since it would probably set
him off again.  “Super, so let me stay until spring and my midlevel boss will
shower
you in riches.  I’m sure of it.”

His
gaze narrowed, not entirely buying that wild claim.  “Brian is rich?”

“Oh,
yeah.  Total Donald Trump time.  He’s got a whole safe full of diamonds.”  She
nodded like all of that was true.  “And he
adores
me.  I was his Secret
Santa last year and I got him a Starbucks gift card.  He was
very
grateful.”  Addy’s tenth grade acting lessons helped her infuse her voice with
sincerity.  “Me staying here would be a total business arrangement.  No one
could object to a business arrangement, right?  You run a hotel, Cade.  I just
want a room.  One little room.”

Cade
considered that, weighing each word.  “If you stay, I would need a gold piece
for every day you are here.”  He finally decided.  “That will be at least sixty.”

“Very
fair.”  He could’ve asked for a million gold pieces and she would’ve cheerfully
nodded, since she had exactly none.

“You’re
sure Brian will pay that much?”

“Absolutely.” 
She unrepentantly lied.  “He’s crazy about me.”

“Fine.” 
Cade jabbed a finger at her.  “But, the consequences of this are on
your
head.  I warned you it was a bad idea.”

“You
were very clear.  I’ll even sign a waiver to that effect, if you want.”

“Just…
do not talk to me more than necessary.  And try not to be alone with me. 
Never
touch me.  Have nothing at all to do with me, if you can possibly manage
it.  Stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours.”

“I’ll
be quiet as a mouse.  I swear.”  She made a production of locking her lips shut
with an invisible key.

Cade’s
gaze narrowed.  “Just until the snow melts.”  He warned, still visibly unhappy. 
“Come spring, I will be paid and you will go away.”

Addy
gave an innocent smile, already planning to stiff the poor guy for a fortune in
gold and sneak off at the second the pass was clear.  “I promise, once this is
over, you won’t even remember I was here.”

When
“glamping” in the wilderness, it’s important to respect the native habitat.

Observe
the wonders of nature, but be careful not to disturb them.

Try to
leave everything just as you found it.

Brown’s
Glampling Tours Official Pocket Guide

“I’ve
killed fifty-six men.”  Deke Westin reported by way of formal introduction.

That
was exactly the kind of stuff that Addy
didn’t
want to hear at nine AM. 
Giving up on the idea of hiding in her room until spring, she’d gotten up the
sixth morning of her stay and forced herself to go downstairs.  The disposable
cleansing wipes from the Glamp-pack™ only went so far.  She needed a bath and
actual soap.  She needed to talk to people and stop looking at the same four
walls.  She needed to face this damn thing head on and start dealing with the
fact she was stranded in the future.

Unfortunately,
the only other person in the empty bar was Deke.  Ten bucks said he’d been
waiting there to ambush her.  The middle Westin was nearly as big as Cade, with
a watchful blue gaze and matted black hair.  This guy had been through a war. 
Not just metaphorically, but with actual bombs and stuff.  She knew that just
by looking at him.  Deke had the air of someone who’d seen hell itself and now
couldn’t wipe the images from his mind.

The
missing hand only made him seem more dangerous.  His left arm ended at the
elbow, as if it had been lost in some battle.  …Or possibly he’d hacked it off
himself just to prove how tough he was.  If that was his plan, it was totally
working.  He was amazingly scary.

Addy
had been nearly a week without caffeine, so he was in for a surprise if he
thought he could send her back into hiding, though.  It was impossible to be frightened
of a mere mortal when you were in the midst of espresso withdrawal.  Surly as
he was, she was in a
way
worse mood.

“Really? 
I’ve killed at least fifty-
seven
men.”  She retorted in a tone even crankier
than his.  “What did yours do to deserve it?  Most of mine bugged me before I
had my coffee.”

Feral
eyes narrowed.  “I didn’t say any of them deserved it.  Some of them did it and
some of didn’t.”

“Hopefully,
there were significantly less of the ‘didn’ts
.
’”

“Does
it matter, if they’re all dead?”  Deke regarded her silently for a long moment,
weighing her on some invisible scale.  “Cade’s allowing you to stay in our
house until spring.  I wasn’t expecting that.”

“It’s
because he finds me so damn charming.”  Addy muttered sarcastically, wondering
if the future had Frosted Flakes.  She’d check the cupboards, but there
weren’t
any cupboards.  Which was probably for the best given Cade’s “carpentry”
skills.

“It’s
because he finds you so damn beautiful.”

No
one had ever called Addy beautiful before.  She blinked over at Deke, thinking
she’d misheard him.  “Cade
thinks
I’m
beautiful?”

His
expression grew even darker.  “Because he’s a Voltyn, he can’t desire a human?”

What
the hell did “Voltyn” mean?  “I’m talking about the fact that he’s gorgeous and
I’m not, you idiot.”

Cade
was the most attractive man she’d ever seen.  The more she thought about it,
the more certain she became that he was an alien.  Anyone that handsome
had
to come from another world.  Hey, maybe Voltyn was his home planet.

Deke
regarded her strangely.  They were both been speaking English, but they were
still having trouble communicating.  “Who told you that you weren’t gorgeous?”

“My
father.  Supermarket checkout magazines.  Pretty much everyone.”

Deke
shook his head, like she was the speaking craziness.  “Look, Cade is who I care
about here.  I thought he’d have fun for a couple nights, but now it’s not
looking that simple. 
You’re
not that simple.  Cade’s isn’t thinking
straight around you and that can be dangerous for someone like him.”

Addy
scoffed at the idea that Cade was somehow under her thrall.  Her initial shock
over being the object of affection to The Stunningest Cowboy in the West faded
back into reality.  “I had to promise him sixty gold pieces for the room,
before he agreed to put up with me.  I don’t think he’s planning a seduction.”

Deke
disregarded that.  “I’m not a talker, so let’s just get this clear and then we
don’t have to discuss it no more.”  He reached behind him and pulled out what
looked like the twisted offspring of crossbow, a rifle, and a laser gun. 
“Fifty-six men, but I never killed a woman.  You step outta line and I’ll start
with you.”

Addy
blinked, realizing that this conversation was actually serious.  A one-armed maniac
with crazy eyes and a future-weapon was
actually
threatening to kill
her.  Jesus!  What was
with
this place?

“All
Cade’s life, people have shit on him.”  Deke continued.  “My parents.  This
rotten polis.  Every woman who wouldn’t be seen with him in the daylight.  He’s
endured it all, but I’ve
never
seen him acting the way he does with
you.  You’re different.”  He shook his head, his icy gaze watching her through
the matted hair that had fallen into his face.  “Maybe it’s a good thing you’re
here.  …Maybe it’s not.”

“It’s
not
.  Trust me.  I’m supposed to be somewhere else.”

“Maybe.” 
He said, again.  “But, you need to understand that if you fuck over my brother,
I
will
kill you.  It’s who I am.”  Blue eyes burned into hers.  “Cade’s
a good man.  He’ll never see you harmed, no matter what you do.  I’m way less
forgiving.  Believe that.”

Oh,
she believed it.  If she hurt his brother, Deke would make sure she was dead
and that Cade never even knew about it.  For some reason, that made her like
the guy a little bit.  No one could be
that
bad, if they were looking
out for their family.

“Understand?” 
Deke prompted quietly.

“Yeah.” 
Still, Addy felt liked she should get some specifics, since her life depended
on it and all.  She cleared her throat.  “Um… Does not paying Cade the sixty
gold coins count as fucking him over?  Because, I’m probably not going to pay
him.  Like… at all.”

Deke
watched her for a beat.  Then, it seemed like the corner of his mouth
twitched.  “If Cade’s so stupid that he thinks this is about money, then he
deserves to get fucked over.”  And that was the end of the conversation. 
Turning back to the window, he stared out at the dismal town like she wasn’t
even there.

Addy
arched a brow.  “For real, do you treat
all
your customers like this? 
Why did you guys even open a hotel?”

“We
didn’t.  The rooms upstairs used to be a brothel.  It shut down, because there
weren’t enough girls to keep it going.  After that, the old owner shot himself
in the head and Cade bought the place.  He turned it into a saloon.”

“Enterprising.”

“Nobody
at the mine would hire him and we needed the money.  Jake and I were young. 
Cade was the one left supporting us.”  Deke gazed out at nothing.  “Took every
piece of gold my asshole father left us to buy this dump, but it puts food on
the table.”  He snorted without humor.  “Never underestimate what isolated men
will pay for booze, even if they have to buy it from a Voltyn.”

Whatever
the hell that meant.  Addy smiled, focusing on the only part of that she cared
about.  “Cade took care of you?”  That was kind of… sweet.

“Yep.”

Of
course he did.  The guy was clearly the “taking care of people” type.  Cade was
letting a total stranger live in his house, because she had nowhere else to
go.  He would probably move mountains to protect his little brothers.  She
wondered if they knew how lucky they were.  If Deke or Jake was stranded in the
future, Cade would come for them.  There wasn’t a doubt in her mind.  They
would never have to worry about being lost and no one noticing.

“What’s
it like?”  She asked, watching Deke with deep curiosity.

“What’s
what like?”

“Having
a family who loves you.  Is it awesome?  I always imagined it must be awesome.”

Deke’s
head slowly turned to look at her.  “Gods, I hope I’m crazy enough to be right
about you.”  He murmured.  “If I’m wrong, you’re going to kill him and I have
too much pain on my conscience, already.”

Addy
wasn’t completely sure what that meant, but she felt like it was a compliment. 
“I’m not going to hurt anyone.  Certainly not Cade.”

“Good. 
Because he’s been through enough and I’d hate to slaughter such an interesting
girl.”

She
opened her mouth to ask about Cade, still curious about the terrible life he’d apparently
led.  Who would ever be mean to such a gorgeous man?  It wasn’t natural.  Why
would they…?

No.

She
stopped herself, before she could press for more information.  Addy couldn’t
get involved with these guys and their problems.  It was none of her business
what they did here in their future-y world.  No matter how fascinating Cade
Westin was, she would try very hard to stay out of his way and not give him a reason
to kick her out.  Since Addy was a social person by nature, it would be hard to
keep to herself for the next couple months, but she didn’t have much of a
choice.

Considering
Addy had been transported into the set of that
Firefly
episode with the
creepy frontier town, she felt like was coping with this mess like a champ. 
Seriously, points to her for not having a total breakdown.  She was adjusting
to all the madness and keeping her eyes on the prize.  All she had to do was make
it through until spring.  As soon as the western pass was clear, Addy could
head to Yellowstone and find that damn geyser.  Somehow it would send her home.

She
needed
to believe that.

In
the meantime, she was would treat this experience like a temporary layover in a
really screwed-up airport.  Smile politely at the nutty travelers around her,
maybe exchange some small talk, but don’t
engage
.  Keep everything
superficial and filled with conversational lies.

Except
she sucked at lying.

Addy
sighed.  Truthfully, she had no idea how she was going to make it through the
next couple months.  She needed some kind of plan and step one was
caffeination.

“Where’s
the coffee?”  She asked Deke, rooting around behind the bar.

“What’s
coffee?”

Addy’s
head popped up, horror filling her.  “You don’t have coffee here?”  The lack of
chocolate was bad enough, but
this
…  This just wasn’t possible.

Cade
came striding into the bar, his gaze instantly landing on Addy.  Lavender eyes
widened, like he was surprised to see her there.  “You’re out of your room.” 
For a moment, he sounded almost pleased about that.  His expression brightened
and Addy was struck temporary blind by his
wow!
-ness.  Then, Cade
remembered smiling would ruin his hardass image and scowled instead.  “What’s
wrong?”  He looked at Deke.  “Why does she look upset?”

“I
told her we don’t have any coffee.”

“What’s
coffee?”

Addy
sat down on a five-legged barstool, trying to keep the damn thing from tipping
over.  Jesus, she was going to start crying, again.  The future was
supposed
to have flying cars, and helpful robots, and delicious Slurm to drink.  There
were
supposed
to be talking raccoons who sounded like Bradley Cooper and
trips to
Jetson
-y cities on the moon.  Was she the only one who
understood that?  How could things have gone so
wrong?

“I
think coffee is a Why o’ Ming food.”  Deke explained, not understanding the
tragedy of this situation.  “If it’s anything like the snickerdoddles, it’s no
wonder she’s upset.”  He arched a brow.  “Where ya been, Cade?”

“Sheriff.” 
The word was flat and full of meaning.  “He heard about the lady.  Wanted to
talk.”

Deke
gave a muttered curse.

Addy
roused herself from her depression to frown over at Cade.  “Do we not like the local
sheriff?”  In her mind, she was suddenly picturing Timothy Olyphant on
Deadwood
and it just seemed like a crying shame not to be friends with Timothy Olyphant. 
…Although, that show had been kind of weird.

“The
sheriff doesn’t like
me.
”  Cade corrected, looking way too gorgeous for
this hour of the morning.  She’d never had a thing for cowboys until she met
Cade Westin, but now she understood the attraction.  “Aren’t you going to ask?” 
He prompted when she just gazed at him.

It
took Addy a moment to catch up, which was his fault for being so handsome.  “Ask
what?  Why the sheriff doesn’t like you?”

“
No.
 
That part should be obvious.”  Cade looked annoyed.  “Ask if he likes
you
.”

Addy
blinked.  “Why wouldn’t he like me?  I never even met the guy.  Besides, I’m
very law-abiding.”