Cowboy Outcasts (6 page)

She stopped
struggling, her full weight settling over his body.
 
Her chest rose and fell in deep waves.
“You’re terrible,” she whispered, resting the side of her face to his chest. He
was surprised she felt comfortable enough to stay in such close contact. Most
people feared him, or at least chose to stay away. This girl accepted him, no
fear whatsoever. If only the approval could last forever.

“Just teasin’.
You can keep your teddy. And we best get to work before Mrs. Chambers comes in
and gives us both a spanking for being inappropriate under her roof.”

“True.” She
rolled to her side and looked him in the eyes. Hailey reached out and cupped
his face. “Thank you for being so sweet to me.”

He frowned. “I
did what any other man would have done,” he assured. Callum didn’t think he’d
done anything extraordinary. Certainly nothing to earn him such attention.

“No, you’re
special.”

She slipped off
the bed and pulled out a couple of empty suitcases from the closet, ending the
moment that made time stand still for Callum.

He sat up. “Everything’s
going? Including these?” He held up the bears.

“Yes,
everything, Callum.” The sound of his name on her lips was the sweetest thing.
It seemed every hour he spent with Hailey increased her beauty in his eyes. She
was no longer the annoying girl from the university. She’d transformed, and now
he swore he looked at an angel as she hurried to fill the bags with her folded
clothing. Her long blonde hair fell to the side like a silken fan, her feminine
fingers moving ever so daintily to fold and organize.

Together, they
emptied all the drawers and shelves. When he got to her bottom drawer, the ache
in his balls increased.
 
All her intimate
wear was organized into the one place—lace and cotton panties and brassieres of
every color. He couldn’t help but imagine her wearing the little bits.
 
The fact she kept well covered left his
imagination on overdrive. When he held up a whisper thin piece of black lace,
she grabbed it away.

“Hey!”

“What? I’m
helping.”

She used both
arms to scoop out all the drawer’s contents at once, shoving it into a shopping
bag. After half an hour the room was cleared out and loaded into Callum’s
truck. They were ready to head off to the market. He needed to get more food
than usual to accommodate Hailey and her special diet. Steak and chicken were
the main staples after potatoes and corn, but she wouldn’t touch them.

They drove to
the market, the sun now high in the sky. He left his shirt in the truck, only
wearing his black tank top. Even so, he still felt like he was walking in a
sauna. “It’s a scorcher,” he said.

“And you don’t
have air-conditioning at your place, do you?”

“Just the river
cutting through the west end of the property, and perhaps some shade from the
weeping willows out back.”

“I guess that’ll
have to do.”

Walking side by
side, they checked out all the fresh produce being sold at the market. He felt
an odd possessiveness about Hailey, which he had no right feeling. She wasn’t
his and he had no plans on changing that. She squeezed some fruits, knocked on
others, and smelled the rest. It was amusing watching her choose what to buy.
When he’d come alone, he’d grab what he needed and be gone in the blink of an
eye.

“What do you
think?” Hailey approached him with a watermelon in her arms. He took her load,
weighing it in his palms. “Do you like watermelon?” she asked.

It was one of
his favorites, a rare treat.
 
“There
ain’t much I won’t eat.”

“We can have it
tonight after dinner. This one has to be sweet.”

He chuckled.
“It’s passed all your tests, has it?”

His carefree
mood was spoiled when he spotted one of the objects of his angst. Jeremy Majors
and two of his lackeys entered the market. Normally he wouldn’t care about
dealing with them. He was used to their verbal abuse and was man enough to
handle anything else they wanted to dish out. But he was with Hailey. The
thought of being humiliated in front of her brought his nerves rushing to the
surface. His Tourette’s immediately flared, embarrassing guttural sounds
escaping from his lips in a rapid sequence. He felt like a spectacle, unable to
stop the train wreck he was becoming.

“What’s the
matter?” she asked, a look of concern on her face.

“Nothing. We
should go, though.” His eyes must have been zeroed in on Jeremy’s approach
because she turned around to see.

“Look, the
retard has a girlfriend.”

Chapter
Five

Hailey was
brushed aside as Callum barreled forward. He grabbed the other man by the
collar, nearly bringing him off his feet. Callum was bigger than most men she’d
ever met, tall and built. For another man to goad him was a fool’s cry for
attention.

One of the guy’s
friends hit Callum from the side, which only appeared to aggravate him more. He
tossed the man he held to the ground and threw a solid punch to the gut of the
other. His enemy crashed into one of the fruit displays, apples spilling out in
every direction. Shoppers created a wide arch of space around the melee,
careful not get too close to Callum. He looked like a born fighter, every
muscle taut and defined.

Her only concern
was that he didn’t get hurt.

“You no-good,
piece of shit,” called the first guy, picking up a broken, wooden table leg as
a weapon.

“Callum!” she
yelled.

He turned around
just in time to grab the club before it struck him. She hadn’t noticed at first
but there were three guys against Callum. As he wrestled the weapon from one,
another came up from behind and sucker punched him several times in the side.
He was weakening, the sight terrifying her. Nobody else would step in to help
even though the fight was three to one. She screamed as they ganged up on the
lone cowboy. She felt desperate, unable to help.

Just as one of
attackers got the wooden table leg free, raising it to strike Callum in the
head, a stranger grabbed it in a strong fist.

“What the fuck?”
The man turned around, coming face to face with the cowboy she only knew from
pictures.
 
“Ar–Arden O’Shea?” He grabbed
the collar of his friend, all three looking like they’d seen the angel of
death. They ran off, not looking back. She’d never seen grown men become so
afraid by the presence of one solitary man. Was
Arden
’s reputation that severe?

Callum was still
on the ground. She was about to run over to him when
Arden
blocked her way. He tilted her chin up
so she was forced to look at him square in the eyes. He looked strikingly
similar to Callum, the same height and broadness, but his hair was unruly and
eyes as blue as the mid-day sky. “You best take my little brother home.” It was
all he said, his Irish accent working magic on her libido. Then he strode off,
people clearing a path for him. He had a strong air of confidence, as if he
owned the ground he walked on.
 

Was he home for
good? Callum said he hadn’t seen him in a year. Would he take back his room
now? If so, what would become of her now that she’d given up her place at the
boarding house? The landlady said she had a waiting list, so getting it back
was an impossibility—not that she had money without a new grant.

She watched
Arden
depart, his spurs
chiming as he walked, then turned and ran over to Callum. He was already
dusting himself off with his Stetson, no worse for wear. “Are you okay?” she
asked, patting him down for injuries.

“I’m fine,” he
said curtly. “Where’s that watermelon of yours?”

She pointed to
the ground. It was still in once piece. Callum bent over and picked it up,
bringing it to the cash out. The lady took his money without a word, everyone
staring as they returned to the truck.

He started up
the engine and drove in complete silence, looking straight at the road ahead.
She felt a twisted knot in her gut, a mix of unease, pity, and insecurity.

“Who was that
guy? Did you know him?”

“Jeremy Majors.
We went to school together.”

The truck
jostled as he handled the dirt roads with less caution than necessary. She
didn’t say anything else. He was likely pissed off and embarrassed. Hailey
wouldn’t even try to imagine what it was like to live in his shoes. Once back
at the O’Shea Ranch, Callum took off, slamming the truck door, and disappeared
into the barn. She didn’t know if she should go after him or give him time to
cool off. She’d never known someone so passionate, both tender and volatile all
rolled into one.

It was probably
the worst choice, but she followed him.

“Callum?” she
whispered. The inside of the barn was dim. It smelled strong of hay dust, oats,
and leather. There was a creak in the wooden floorboards above her, some dust
raining down on her, so she knew he was up in the loft. Hailey climbed the
rickety ladder and found him standing at the open loft doors, staring out into
the fields. The sun was lowering on the horizon, not yet set.

“You shouldn’t
be up here,” he said without turning around.

“I’m worried
about you.”

“Why?”

“You could have
been hurt. Were you hurt?”

“I’m not a
fucking child,” he snapped. “I said I’m fine.”

She felt
slightly apprehensive. Was he capable of hurting a woman? Did she know him
enough to feel completely safe?

“Obviously
you’re not. It can help to talk things out.” His random noises were increasing,
along with the throat clearing. The harsh sounds stole the peaceful calm of
twilight—but she didn’t blame him.
 
Instead, she felt drawn to the mysterious cowboy, desperate to help his
plight in any way she could.

He whirled
around, fire in his eyes. “If I liked to talk I wouldn’t be living out here
alone, now would I? Everything was just fine until
you
showed up. And I’m no better off than before you came, the hogs
still running amuck.”

She took a
cleansing breath, reminding herself he was speaking out of anger. Her years of
studies flooded her mind. He was reacting to the unjust treatment, and
Tourette’s was known to flare up in times of undue stress. Still, she wouldn’t
encourage him to alienate her. “You know what? I thought you were a nice guy,
but maybe I was wrong.”

“Damn straight
you were wrong. I’m on the town’s most unwanted list, or didn’t you check
before taking the job? It was only a matter of time until you discovered what
kind of a freak I was anyway.”

“What kind of
freak would that be, Callum?” Her patience was wearing thin. His self-abuse was
unhealthy and unnecessary. “You can stop trying to scare me off because it
won’t work.”

“Are you that
hard up for a room that you’d put up with the likes of me?”

“Stop it,” she
warned. “I’m here because I want to be.”

“Well ain’t that
just dandy. I’ll stay out of your way until you get your research done. No
reason we need to deal with each other.”
 
He walked by her to leave, but she grabbed his arm. His muscles were
tense, his bicep too large to hold securely.

“Stop being such
an asshole!”

He froze for a
moment, and she wondered if she’d made a huge mistake, pushing him too far. If
he hit her, she’d survive. She braced for the worst, closing her eyes as time
stood still.

She wouldn’t be
able to stop him should he decide to leave. He would dictate the next step. When
he wrapped a hand around both her upper arms, walking her backwards, she opened
her eyes in a flash. He pressed her flat to the wooden slat wall, holding her
firmly in place so she couldn’t move. “I’m a monster, Hailey. Look at me for
what I am, dammit. You must be blind not to see what the townsfolk see.” He
leaned in and inhaled at her neckline. Her pussy moistened.

“I see a man
choosing to hide away from society rather than face his problems head-on. Stop
feeling sorry for yourself.”

He stared at her
as if seeing her for the first time. His eyes narrowed, his hands tightening
around her arms.
 
“You don’t know what
you’re talkin’ about. And you’re playing with fire, little one. Maybe I should
give you a sample of why society chooses to keep away.” There was a hint of
threat in his tone, but he didn’t scare her. Not any more. He may not know it,
but he was testing her, trying to find loyalty or betrayal. Hailey lived for
this, lived for the challenge of understanding the mind. Callum’s was both
highly complex and simple at the same time.

“Go ahead,” she
dared.

His jaw clenched
down hard, his dark eyes boring into hers. “Dangerous games you like to play.”
Callum hoisted her up over his shoulder, stealing her air, and carried her to
the far end of the hay loft where shadows dominated. He dropped her down on
some open flakes, straddling her legs and pinning her arms to the sides.