Chapter Six

Rowan was jittery about letting Jesse into their circle. For three years they had gone into the woods together, just the four of them, all women. Tonight, a man would join them, an outsider to the ritual and the family. Yet she’d invited him, eager to show him everything about herself.

She barely ate a bite at supper, unwilling to meet anyone’s gaze. Her sisters and Bird knew what had happened but Buster and Jackson didn’t. If they caught wind of what she did with Jesse, Pa would know and then all hell would break loose. They had to keep the secret for another week. After they turned twenty-one, and the danger had passed, she and Jesse could… what? Marry?

Startled, she dropped her fork on her plate, earning a few scowls. Was she ready to marry him? After only three weeks of knowing him?

Yes.

She knew from the moment they met he was the one for her. The only barrier had been him and his reluctance to be together. The spell had taken care of that problem, but created a host of others. If she were honest with herself, she didn’t know if she would have made love to him already without the push of Murphy magic.

Now the barrier was gone, literally and figuratively. She was a little sore, but not too much. The Murphy sisters had ridden horses from the time they could sit upright on a saddle. Her body had been ready for his, completely. To her astonishment, images of their passion flashed through her mind. His mouth, his tongue, his hands, his cock plunging into her.

Her gaze snapped to Jesse. He frowned and shook his head as though he had no idea why she was spearing him with a glare. If not him, then who? No one else could possibly know what he did with his mouth or his hands. She looked at Bird, whose concerned expression told Rowan someone else was throwing the images at her like rocks.

Rowan closed her eyes and pushed out, throwing the images back from whence they came. It only lasted seconds before another slammed into her mind and she gasped at the intensity of it. The moment Jesse had joined with her, embedded within her body so they were as one.

This time Bird got to her feet and marched over, hauling Rowan up by her elbow. “I think you need some fresh air, girl. You look a bit flushed.”

Bird nearly dragged her outside, much to Rowan’s embarrassment. Then the cool night air hit her and she realized just how hot she’d gotten.

“You look like you’re having relations by yourself on that chair,” Bird hissed.

“I didn’t do anything. There are images in my head.” Rowan sat in the rocking chair, her arms clutched around her middle. “Of when I was with Jesse. Somebody is out there, throwing them at me.”

Bird gazed out at the deepening twilight, her hands on her hips. A few seconds ticked by while Rowan pushed back again. Her body, confused by the hiccupping arousal, shook against the onslaught.

“There is a shadow by the woods again.” Bird’s voice was barely above a whisper. “We won’t be going to the circle tonight.”

“What? I wanted Jesse to come with us.” Rowan would be disappointed not to have Jesse there.

“Don’t be foolish, girl. You’re about to have an orgasm on that chair and you’re worried about your man seeing the circle in the woods?” Bird smacked her shoulder. “Stop mooning over the man. He’s already yours, one look at the man and anyone could see that. Worry about who is pushing the pictures in your head and more, why.”

Rowan knew Bird was right, her thoughts and emotions were muddled. “Why do you think?”

Bird pursed her lips. “Could be a couple reasons. To keep you off-balance because it can invade your thoughts. That’s powerful magic, dark magic.” She put her hand on Rowan’s bent head. “Or to let you know it’s watching you, even when you can’t see or sense it.”

Neither possibility was a good one. Rowan wanted it all to be over and rid the ranch of whatever was threatening them. It had tried so many times to drive a wedge through the sisters, and now through Rowan and Jesse.

“I won’t let it.” She got to her feet, anger pushing aside the lingering effects of the push. “Son of a bitch. I won’t let it.”

Rowan called to her sisters with her mind and within seconds they were next to her. Neither of them asked questions, they just held hands and waited. Their bodies glowed a light purple color, just a hint of the power that lurked beneath the exterior.

“Begone,” Rowan whispered fiercely at the shadows in the woods beyond the yard. “Now.”

She pushed out with her mind, shoving at whatever dared invade her thoughts and her privacy. Talulla and Maeve joined in, their combined shove made a few trees crack and threw back bushes. It was a small demonstration but it had the intended effect.

“It’s gone. Again.” Bird shook her head. “Next Saturday can’t come soon enough, girls. This is getting worse every day.”

“What happened?” Talulla turned to Rowan, concern on her face.

“I was eating when something gave me a push. Um, from earlier today, you know with—“

The door opened and closed again and they all turned to see Jesse standing there, his hands in his trouser pockets.

“Jackson and Buster were about to stare a hole in my face. I couldn’t stay in here any longer.” He glanced at their joined hands then met Rowan’s gaze. The unspoken question in his eyes made her feel warm deep inside. He was worried.

“This is escalating. We need to cast the strongest protection spell we can on the ranch and on you girls.” Bird pointed at Jesse. “And you need to try your hand at casting too.”

He looked startled and a bit shocked. “Me?”

“You. If I’m right your mother was a powerful one, and I want to see how much has been passed to you. Come to the house at midnight and we’ll bring out the Attewode book.” Bird left the porch, the door shutting softly behind her.

The three sisters looked at Jesse and he looked back at them. “I hope you girls know what you’re doing because I don’t want to set anything on fire trying to cast, whatever that is.”

Rowan managed a shaky chuckle. “That’s Maeve’s job.”

“Shut up.” Maeve punched Rowan in the arm. “I’ll light you on fire.”

Talulla pulled her sisters close, her arms locking with theirs, then she held out her free arm to Jesse. Rowan could have kissed her for the gesture. They were beginning to accept him and that made her heart ten times lighter.

He took her arm gingerly, then looked at the sisters in turn. “I’m not going to glow am I? ’Cause that was mighty odd.”

“He might be okay for a brother, but he’s still a pain in the ass.” Maeve scowled at him.

“Then we’ll get along fine. I think you’re an even bigger pain in the ass.” Jesse nodded at the house. “Now would be the time to break up this here circle before those ranch hands get wind we’re out here making nice.”

Rowan understood what he didn’t say. He’d already been warned to leave her alone, a bell that had already been rung of course. The four of them separated just as Buster poked his head out the door.

“What in tarnation are you doing out here?” His caterpillar like gray brows grew together. “Gus is looking to talk to the boy here.”

Rowan dared not look at Jesse. “What does Pa want with him?”

“I dunno. All I knows is he wants to talk to him. Now.” Buster held the door open and waited for Jesse to step inside.

Rowan resisted the urge to hang onto his arm. She followed at a normal pace, walking behind him to her father’s room. Buster snorted and mumbled under his breath but made no move to stop her.

Jesse glanced behind him. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure you’re in one piece when you leave his room.” She knew her father and he’d been behaving for a week. Something was brewing and it likely contributed to the crazy things peppering the ranch.

The door was open and Rowan stepped in first. To her astonishment, her father was in a chair in the corner. She stopped short and Jesse plowed into her, the contact not unwelcome but startling.

“I told Buster to get him, not you.” Gus scowled at her, color in his cheeks for the first time in months.

“Pa!” She rushed over to his side and knelt. “You’re sitting up.” Emotions clogged her throat and she could only smile at him like a dunce while she thanked the earth and the sky for allowing him to heal, albeit slowly.

“I wanted it to be a surprise for your birthday and now you ruined it.” Akin to a child denied a treat, Gus pouted. Rowan didn’t care. She took her father’s hand and pressed it to her cheek.

“It’s the best gift I ever received.” She could hardly believe it. “Tell me.”

“I ain’t gonna tell you any more. You already ruined the surprise.” Gus gestured to Jesse. “I was gonna get his help to get downstairs next weekend.”

“He has a name, Pa. Jesse.” She smiled at both of them. “I’m sure he’d be happy to help.”

Jesse nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can, sir.” He stood by the door, hands in his pockets again.

“Now get out, girl, and let me speak at this young buck. In private.” Gus scowled at her, but she wasn’t the least bit intimidated. Joy at her father’s recovery kept her grinning.

“Be nice. He does a good job on the ranch.” Rowan got to her feet and kissed her father’s grizzled cheek. “I love you, Pa.”

Her father mumbled something unintelligible then pushed her toward the door. She met Jesse’s gaze for an instant and in the depths of his amber eyes, she saw what she needed to see. He loved her whether her admitted it or not. She winked and he made a choking sound.

Rowan hugged the happiness to her heart, eager to rid the ranch of the darkness that threatened, to truly keep that happiness in their lives.

 

Jesse stepped into the room with a wariness of a coyote facing a bear. Both deadly in their own way, but unmatched in strength and agility. “What can I do for you, sir?”

“Sit. I don’t want a crick in my neck from looking at ya.” Gus waved at the bed.

While Jesse didn’t exactly want to sit on the man’s bed, he didn’t want to insult him either. He perched on the edge as best he could, hands on his knees, his stomach tighter than his asshole.

“I hear from Buster that you’re working your tail off, that you have a way with the beasts he ain’t seen in some time.” Gus’s compliment knocked some of the starch out of Jesse’s posture.

“Um, thank you.”

“Eh, it wasn’t meant to flatter, just the truth as I see it. I know Buster and Jackson won’t be around forever and I need a man I can trust to be part of the Triad for good.” Gus paused, his lips twisted. “Not that I think you should stay forever but I ain’t never made the offer before now.”

Jesse stared at the man, stunned into silence. Gus had no idea Jesse had made love to his daughter hours before, or that he thought about doing it every second since. Yet the man trusted him to stay on the ranch, to become a part of the crazy pack of critters on the Triad.

A home.

It was what Jesse had always wanted, a place to belong where he never had to leave, or pack up and move on. A home where he wouldn’t live in the shadow of violence or mistrust. The possibility made his heartbeat stutter, almost as much as staring into Rowan’s eyes when they made love.

Was this what the gates of heaven felt like?

“I am hoping Rowan and young Dawson will get hitched so she’ll be set up for life.” Gus smiled while Jesse’s brief joy crumbled beneath his feet. “He’s been up to see me two or three times a week, and damned if that boy hasn’t helped me to feel better. You think it’s the wedding bells?”

Jesse managed a weak smile. “I can’t say for certain, sir.”

“No matter. He’s helped me sit up and stand, then take a step or two. I’m weak as a newborn kitten after, but it felt damn good to be standing.” Gus slapped his knee. “I expect if he keeps coming around, I’m gonna have to walk my baby down the aisle.”

Jesse’s heart pinched hard enough to make his eyes sting. “That would be something.”

“I wasn’t standing or even sitting up until he started to come by. It’s like magic.” Gus grinned, seemingly pleased with what the young buck had accomplished.

Magic?

Jesse had a terrible, dark thought that took root and he couldn’t shake it. Bird said someone was watching them, forcing the girls apart, doing all it could to keep them apart. Could it possible that the blond jackass was that dark something?

“I didn’t know Dalton was a healer. He doesn’t seem like the type.” Jesse kept his tone light, wanting to find out more information from Gus before he spoke to the women about his suspicions. It struck him as hilarious that he was consulting with four women about things. No one, least of all him, would have expected that a month ago.

“Healer? I don’t think he is.” Gus frowned. “He’s just a fella who got me off my ass.”

“That’s good. Is it something I can do when he’s not here to help you?” Jesse held out his hands. “I ain’t a healer but I’m strong.”

Gus studied Jesse long enough to make the younger man want to squirm on his perch. Dammit. The old man needed to stop that intimidating rancher shit.

“Mebbe. Tomorrow morning afore you start on chores, come up here.” Gus waggled his finger. “Mind you to knock first.”

“Yes, sir.” Jesse got to his feet. “Do you need help tonight? Just tell me what Dawson does and I’ll do the same.”

Gus eyed the bed and Jesse noted the pockets of exhaustion hanging on the older man’s eyes, like unwanted traveling bags. “I suppose I need to get back in that jail house.”

“Maybe soon it’ll just be a place to lay your head and sleep.” Jesse couldn’t imagine not being able to walk or even sit up on his own. The confining walls of prison were bad enough.

“From your mouth to God’s ears.” Gus held up his arms. “Help me to my feet.”

Jesse wrapped his arms around the big man and hauled him to his feet. The man was heavy, really heavy and Jesse thought he felt something pop in his back. Gus was at least four inches taller than Jesse, who stood at six foot two. Like hauling a heifer, he managed to get Gus back to the bed, only three feet away, which might have been thirty feet. Dawson wasn’t nearly as big as Jesse. How the hell did the man manage to move Gus?

“Hope I did it right.”

Gus waved his hand in dismissal. “Different is all. Dawson warms his hands up afore he starts, they’re warm like they been on the stove.”

Jesse settled the covers around the older man and then straightened up. The rancher looked so small on the bed. On the chair, he looked taller, more alive. Whatever Dawson did, it had been good for Gus, at least on the surface. While Jesse didn’t believe everything he’d been told, or seen, about magic, he expected there were consequences to every spell cast.

“I’ll leave you then until the morning.” Jesse backed toward the door.

“Be here early now. I ain’t got all day to wait for you.” Gus’s eyes were nearly half closed already. Just the exertion of sitting up and moving from the bed had obviously taken its toll on his healing body.

“Yes, sir.” Jesse closed the door behind him, then headed downstairs as quickly as possible. He had to talk to Rowan and Bird. Now.

They weren’t in the kitchen or on the porch. Frustrated he put his hands on his hips on the empty porch and cursed.

“You should watch your language around young ladies, Mr. Nelson.” Bird appeared out of the darkness, a dark cloak on her shoulders. She looked even fiercer with the shroud perched on her small person.

“I was looking for you.” He moved closer and lowered his voice. “Mr. Murphy said something that got me to thinking.”

Bird raised one brow. “I’m listening.”

“We need Rowan and the girls. I don’t want to say this twice.” Something in his voice must have told Bird he was serious.

“They’re upstairs. I’ll go get them. Stay here.” The little general went inside the house, leaving Jesse to his thoughts.

The day had been nothing short of spectacular, horrendous and shocking. And here he was in the twilight waiting on the four women he had formed a strange bond with, ready to tell them of his magical musings. He chuckled, feeling foolish by his own shift in thinking.

“If you plan on laughing like a loon, we can go back inside.” Bird’s voice startled him.

Jesse spun around to find all four them there, watching him. He managed not to feel as stupid as he likely looked.

“I was talking to your pa upstairs.” He focused on Rowan, her gaze the most open and nonjudgmental. “He said something that got me to thinking. About Dawson.”

Talulla’s eyebrows went up, Maeve’s went down and Bird positively scowled at him.

Rowan appeared surprised. “About Thomas? What did he say?”

“It appears Dawson has been visiting your pa regular-like, every time he’s come sniffing after you, he goes up to see your pa. He’s the reason your pa was sitting in the chair.”

Talulla gasped. “Pa is sitting in the chair?”

“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” Maeve demanded.

“He’s the reason?” Rowan joined in the frowning. “How is that possible?”

“Hush, all of you.” Bird flapped both her hands. “Let the man speak. What exactly did Gus say?”

For once, Jesse was glad Bird was there with her powerful mouth.

“He said what Thomas did was like magic. It didn’t make any sense. Dawson is smaller than me and Gus is a good forty pounds heavier than me. How the hell did he manage to get your pa up on his feet, get him to take a few steps and to a chair?” Jesse waited for that to sink in before he continued. “Gus said Dawson’s hands are always warm, like he warmed them on the stove. I don’t think that jackass knows what a stove even looks like, much less how to heat one up.”

The silence that followed was broken only by the sounds of the night creatures around them, katydids, crickets, frogs and an occasional high-pitched screech of a bat.

“Bird, could it be?” Rowan turned to Bird and looked to a logical explanation for what had happened.

Bird stared at each of them in turn until she got to Jesse. To his surprise, she took his hands in her tiny ones. “I think Jesse has found that which did not want to be found. A creature who disguised its true nature with a pretty face and shiny smile.” She turned back to Rowan. “It explains much of what’s happened.”

“Oh my God.” Talulla plopped down into one of the rocking chairs. “We let him in our house.”

“He’s dead. Next time he sets foot on this ranch, he’s dead.” Maeve and her quiet fierceness sent a shiver up Jesse’s arms. She would kill Dawson without hesitation and he wondered what had made her so different than her sisters.

“How is it possible? When we were little, he called us names, made fun of us. All the time, he was a witch?” Rowan looked hurt and confused.

“The darkest of magic presents in many guises, child.” Bird cupped her cheek. “They throw suspicion on others to mask themselves.”

Jesse held out his hand and Rowan took it, coming to stand beside him, leaning close enough to feel her body heat. Touching her made him feel better, not that he’d admit that out loud.

“What does he want?” Jesse still wasn’t sure.

“He wants to keep the girls apart so they cannot ascend on their twenty-first birthday together. He wants to keep you far away from them. And he wants Rowan for his own.”

Jesse growled low in his throat. “Never gonna happen.”

“Definitely never.” Rowan snapped. “I’d castrate him first.”

Jesse choked on a laugh that threatened. Damn these Murphy sisters were bloodthirsty. “I won’t help you with that but I can beat the hell out of him.”

“Deal.” Rowan squeezed his hand.

“That’s enough, children.” Bird held up her hands. “What we need to now is determine how to stop him.”

“Wait, there is something else too.” Rowan glanced at her sisters. “There are two of them, remember?”

Jesse had completely forgotten about the second shadow, the lurking presence behind the darker threat on the ranch. Two was harder to catch than one. “Shit.”

“Can’t be Harriett.” Maeve pronounced. “She’s dumber than a bag of hammers.”

“That’s not very nice,” Talulla chided.

“But it’s true.” Maeve crossed her arms. “Maybe it’s someone we haven’t met, someone Dawson controls.”

“Or maybe it’s someone we know.” Rowan chewed on her lips worriedly. “I couldn’t read either of them, and it wasn’t like with Jesse, where he’s completely closed. When I tried to read the Dawsons, all I saw was gray.”

“They were disguising their thoughts, cloaking their intent from your prying mind.” Bird nodded. “I think Harriett is the likeliest choice. The question now is, what do we do about it?”

“I already told you what I’m going to do.” Maeve sat down in the chair beside Talulla. “I ain’t changing my mind, either.”

“We don’t know enough about what Dawson is doing to kill him. Let’s lure him closer and see what we can find out.” Bird looked at Rowan out of the corner of her eye. “Perhaps a damsel in distress might jar something out of him.”

Jesse didn’t like the sound of it, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. Bird ran things with her three captains following her commands. He was a drifter who happened to arrive at the right place at the right time and find a woman who was the other half of his soul.

Now they were going into battle with another witch and his sister. Jesse had a feeling things were just beginning to get strange.

 

Rowan sat on the porch with Jesse after everyone had gone inside. She could hardly accept that Thomas Dawson was the dark entity that had been wreaking havoc at the Triad. It was beyond any of her imaginings. It explained the discomfort she felt around him and the aversion to being in his presence.

He was up to dark business and it was up to them to stop him.

“Your father said something else I didn’t tell you.” Jesse broke the silence and his tone made her stomach clench again.

“What did he say?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Jesse stared at the stars for a few beats before he answered. “He’s fixin’ to get you hitched to Thomas.”

Rowan’s mouth dropped open. How was it possible her father was planning her wedding, picking her groom and all without telling her? Or even asking her? She tamped down the rage that threatened. Pa always meant things for the best even if his methods were more like a bull’s.

“Makes sense. He’s handsome, rich and has good teeth.”

“He’s not a horse.” Rowan took no small measure of satisfaction at the jealousy she heard in Jesse’s voice.

“No, but he is a jackass.”

She couldn’t help the tiny chuckle that burst from her throat. He was right—Thomas was a jackass.

“You and Maeve remind me of each other.”

He reared back as though she had pinched him. “What?”

“You remind me of each other. Always ready to go in guns blazing instead of thinking with your head first—cussing, and being bald-faced honest no matter what.” She enjoyed the denial on his face. “Oh yes it’s true.”

“No, I don’t believe that. She hates me and I ain’t too fond of her either. There is no way we are alike.” He crossed his arms as though that was the end of the discussion.

She patted his hands. “You don’t have to believe me—“

“Good.”

Rowan swallowed the next chuckle. “But I know it’s true. It just makes me love you all the more.”

His arms dropped away and he stared at her, his amber eyes unreadable in the weak lantern light filtering through the window. “What did you say?” His voice was barely a whisper, skittering across the air to her.

Rowan knew it was too soon to tell him she loved him, but she couldn’t deny it. She’d loved him for years in her dreams, the man who was her mate, her other half. It wasn’t the best time or place to confess but she couldn’t stuff those words back in her big mouth.

“I said, it makes me love you all the more.” She gazed at his face, the ruggedness to the planes, the whiskers that always needed shaving, the small scars, and those amber eyes. He wasn’t perfect but he was hers to love.

“You love me?” This time his voice was barely audible.

Rowan took a deep breath. “Of course I do. I’ve loved you for ten years. I’ve been waiting for you to step into my life and make that love real.”

He got up and walked off the porch without another word. Rowan told herself he wasn’t trying to hurt her; he was running from admitting he had feelings for her. She didn’t allow herself to even consider he didn’t.

After the darkness swallowed him, she sat and rocked for a while longer, her thoughts whirling around Jesse, Thomas and the upcoming battle. Turning twenty-one should have been easy, but it was going to be the hardest birthday of her life.

 

“We’ve killed before.” Maeve stood in the stall door, a hook pick in her hand. “Did Rowan tell you that?”

Jesse stared at her, wondering how anyone could think they were alike. Hell, he was still trying not to shake when he thought about Rowan saying she loved him. Loved him! What was he supposed to say to that? The last three weeks had turned him on his ear. He could barely string two thoughts together.

He turned away from her. “It ain’t my business.”

“A’course it is. She is barely sleeping, spends time mooning, and it ain’t because of that idiot Dawson.” Maeve pointed at him. “She’s thinking about you. I thought you should know we killed before, maybe make your choice easier.”

With that, the curmudgeonly sister disappeared from view. Jesse spread out the rest of the hay in the stall before he went in search of her, just as she likely wanted him too. Witch. He found her working on one of the colt’s with the hoof pick. She didn’t even glance up at him.

“What choice?”

“To stand with us when we fight.” Maeve worked with precision cleaning the horse’s hoof, quicker than he’d ever seen anyone. She truly did have a way with the horses that went beyond normal folks. “We’ll likely kill again.”

“Is that supposed to scare me?” He squatted down beside her. “I’ve killed with my bare hands, not with magic. I can kill if I need to.” Jesse looked at his hands, wondering if he meant what he said. When he sat in that hole in prison, he made a promise to himself to be a better person. That probably meant killing wasn’t allowed.

Maeve finally looked at him. “I don’t know what she sees in you. I think you’re a strange pain in the ass.”

“Funny, that’s what I was going to say about you.” He nodded at the hoof pick. “But you do have a steady hand with the beasts.”

She frowned. “Don’t flatter me.”

Jesse got to his feet. “I wouldn’t.”

He started to walk away, to go back to trying to pretend he wasn’t thinking about Rowan and her confession. Maeve was beside him in less than a second, her grip tight on his arm.

“The scorched spot in front of the house? That was where we killed, something dark and dangerous was trying to kill us before our eighteenth birthday. We protected ourselves.” Her fingers dug into his arm. “That night took a piece of our souls we can never get back. If we have to do it again, I don’t know that we will be the same.”

Jesse finally understood what Maeve was trying to say, without saying it. She wanted him to be the one to do the killing, to save the sisters from the after-effects of taking a life, human or witch. Was he prepared to kill for them? For Rowan? It wasn’t a decision he had to think about. Whether or not he admitted to himself if he loved Rowan or not, he would do anything for her.

“My answer is yes.” He shook off her hand and continued on.

Maeve didn’t respond but he felt her gaze on his back. Whether or not she liked him, she was going to have to trust he was telling the truth. The battle time drew near.

 

Rowan looked at her reflection and made a face. Bird had made her dress in a frilly, girly thing in an awful yellow color. She didn’t know if it was Talulla’s or if Bird had found it someplace in a dark corner. Rowan thought she resembled a black-eyed Susan and an uncomfortable one at that.

Thomas was due any minute. That meant she was to lure him into thinking she was ready to accept his courtship. Another uncomfortable thing she’d need to wear—an expression of interest for a creature of the darkest kind. One who pretended to be something he wasn’t, who tried to destroy the Murphy sisters, and who coveted their powers.

Sometimes she wished she was more like Maeve and could shoot the son of a bitch. He deserved it for all he’d done and all he intended to do. She didn’t like the way Bird had done her hair either, all soft curls around her face. Made her appear thirteen instead of an adult.

No help for it, she had to get downstairs and pass inspection before Dawson arrived. Bird was probably pacing and watching the stairs to the loft. Rowan headed down, surprised to see no one waiting for her. The downstairs was empty.

She could go looking for Bird but she didn’t want anyone else to see her dressed this way. It was embarrassing enough to know she did it. She didn’t need the humiliation of others knowing too. The front door opened and she whirled to face whoever it was, hoping it was the little woman who ran their lives.

It was Jesse.

She hadn’t seen him since he’d leapt off the porch the night before, frightened by her confession of love. Her heart slammed into a gallop, every small hair on her body rose to attention. The connection between them was strong, enough to make the air crackle. She sucked in a breath as he stepped inside.

When he took off his hat, his molasses curls held the shape of the hat, with a smidge of dirt and dust thrown in. It was early but he’d obviously been working. He gestured to her dress.

“I ain’t never seen you dressed like that. And your hair.” His voice was a low rumble that vibrated in her chest.

She touched the lacy collar without breaking eye contact with him. “Bird made me wear it. Do I look like a damsel?”

He walked toward him, a lean-hipped swagger that made her pussy throb low and deep. Jesse looked like a panther stalking his prey. “Damsel?” He picked up one curl and ran his fingers from top to bottom. She shivered at the intensity in his eyes. “More like a woman. My kind of woman.”

Rowan lost control of her thoughts and wrapped her arms around his neck, yanking him close enough to kiss. The heat from his body enveloped hers, the scent of man, horses and sweat filled her nose. She kissed him with abandon, her tongue sliding into the hot recesses of his mouth easily.

They kissed endlessly, one right after the other. Each one more intense than the last. Their bodies rubbed together, pushing the arousal to a near frantic pace. Rowan heard a moan and was startled to realize it was coming from her throat. It was the sound of an animal in heat who needed more than kissing.

She finally broke the kiss and his mouth landed on her neck. He licked and nibbled at her skin while she sucked in great gulps of air. Her nipples hardened to painful points. She rubbed them against his hard chest, knowing just how marvelous it felt without the barrier of clothes.

“God, Rowan, we need to stop.”

“No, we can’t. I need you. Now.”

Jesse lapped at her earlobe. “Your pa is close enough to hear us.”

“I don’t care. We’ll go hide in the larder then. I can’t wait.” She pulled at his shirt, desperate. “Please.”

He picked her up, his strong arms holding her inches off the ground while he hurried through the kitchen. They nearly made it to the larder before a voice stopped him cold.

“Don’t you even think about it.” Bird could probably stop a cannon ball with just her words.

Jesse set her down on her feet, his hands shaking and hot against her back. “Dammit.”

“Later,” she whispered. “I promise.” She turned around, knowing she looked thoroughly kissed and her frilly dress askew.

Bird frowned, her foot tapping. “Did you think to sneak off for a few minutes and no one would notice?”

Jesse was silent behind her, probably trying to get rid of the evidence of his very hard dick she craved to be pressed up against once more.

“Yes.” Rowan knew the best course of action was to be honest. Bird always knew when she lied.

“Not today. You got dirt on her, cowboy. Look at that yellow dress, filthy now.” Bird tutted. “You won’t look much like a damsel—wait, yes you will.” She smiled broadly. “You get on to the back of the house and sit on the ground as if you fell. Let him help you up. Oh and maybe you could wrench your ankle too.”

Rowan stared at Bird, overcome by the need to turn around and race into the larder with the man she loved. The other option, pretending to be someone she wasn’t, to trap Thomas into revealing himself, wasn’t very palatable. She couldn’t imagine fooling him considering she wanted to punch him.

“Wrench my ankle?”

“Just pretend, child. That’s all.” Bird’s too-knowing gaze moved to a spot above her shoulder. “You have work to get to, Mr. Nelson?”

“Yes’m.” Jesse finally came out from behind her, but to her delight, he squeezed her fingers just out of Bird’s view.

Oh yes, later, they would find each other and continue what they started. Rowan would simply put Jesse at the back of her mind, for now. She sighed and watched the man of her dreams walk out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

“You cannot act like a pair of rabbits in this house.” Bird admonished with a wagging finger. “I want you to live to be twenty-one and you won’t if you get distracted by trying to tussle with him.”

Rowan’s mouth fell open. “You cast a spell on us so we would, ah, tussle.”

“There’s no spell on you now.” Bird was always too logical.

“It’s not a spell but it’s love, sure as the sun in the sky. I love him, Bird, and I will be with him forever. It’s normal to want to be together and, um, tussle.” Rowan felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she revealed what was in her heart.

“I know that child, I know that.” Bird took her hand. “What I need is for you to focus on what we have to do now. That cowboy is tomorrow, and we have to live to make it there.”

The thought of touching Thomas, with the ghost of Jesse’s lips still pulsing on her skin, was unthinkable. “Do I have to let him touch me?”

Bird’s eyebrows went up. “Perhaps your elbow or hand, but nowhere else.”

A knock at the door made Rowan jump. She swallowed the huge lump in her throat and headed to the back door. Bird wanted her to trap Thomas by being a damsel in distress. Hopefully he wouldn’t smell another man on her and catch on before she had a chance to spring the trap.

After stepping outside, she took a deep breath and walked into the garden. She remembered being a child and playing in the garden with her sisters. Most years, it was a pitiful excuse for a garden, but under Bird’s hands, it was a lush acre of vegetables rich enough to feed an entire ranch for a year.

Rowan walked to the back, then sat down behind the tomato plants to wait. She stuck one foot out so he could find her easily then stretched out on the ground. The smell of the loamy earth and the pungent aroma of the leaves tickled her nose. She closed her eyes and tried to find Jesse. He was in the barn, she was sure of it. With one shout from her mind, he would come running.

“Are you sure she’s out here?” Thomas’s voice echoed around her from near the house. She reached out and encountered the same wall of grayness where his thoughts should be. She could sense Pa in the house, Jackson, Buster, Talulla and Maeve all around the ranch, but there was nothing from Thomas.

How could she have been so blind as to not notice? Was she so obsessed with Jesse that she missed what was clearly in front of her?

Footsteps crunched on the dirt walk around the garden, growing closer with each second. She told herself to remain calm, to breathe slow and even, and try to look as though she’d fallen and hit her head. It wouldn’t be hard in such a frilly frock. All that lace made her off-balance.

Rowan held herself completely still, sending he stood over her, watching for a sign of deception.

“Rowan?” His boots slid on the dirt, presumably squatting beside her. “Are you all right?”

He touched her hand and she started. Dammit. Her eyes flew open and she stared at him. Just for a split second, she caught a glimpse of the darkness behind the pretty face. Tears sprang to her eyes as though on cue.

“Thomas. Thank goodness you’re here. I wrenched my ankle and fell. I-I think I hit my head.” She pressed a hand to her hair, knowing it was Jesse’s own that had mussed her hair when he kissed her so thoroughly.

“Oh, Rowan, that’s terrible. You’re filthy and your face is flushed. You definitely need to move slowly. I’ll carry you.” He scooped her up before she even opened her mouth to tell him no.

He wasn’t warm like Jesse at all, quite the opposite. Pure cold seeped through her clothes and onto her skin at his touch. This was exactly what she didn’t want, to be at his mercy. She contemplated wriggling out of his grasp but knew she wouldn’t. It was too important to keep up the pretense.

“Th-thank you, Thomas.” She refused to wrap her arms around him but she had to hang onto his shoulder or flop around like a fool. His shoulders weren’t as wide as Jesse’s, either, lacking the amazing bunches of muscles that rippled across her man.

Thomas carried her into the house quickly, much to her relief. Bird stood at the stove, stirring a pot of something, with a surprised expression on her face.

“What happened? Rowan, are you all right?”

Thomas set her down in a chair at the table with surprising gentleness. “I found her unconscious in the garden.”

Bird hurried over and started checking Rowan for the injuries she knew she didn’t have. “Where does it hurt?”

“My ankle. I wrenched it when I turned the corner too fast.” Rowan managed to sound weak even to her own ears.

“I’ll make some tea and a poultice.” Bird looked at Thomas. “Thank you for helping her.”

“Oh I didn’t do much.” His grin was all teeth. A shiver crept down Rowan’s spine at what she was seeing now that she didn’t have her head in ass.

“Please sit and keep her company while I doctor her.” Bird gestured to a chair and then made her way back to the stove. “Would you like some coffee, Mr. Dawson?”

Rowan watched Thomas out of the corner of her eye, recognizing he was never present for meals nor had he ever availed himself of any refreshments during his visits. Another thing she should have noticed weeks ago.

“I don’t think I—“

“Nonsense! It’s the least I can do. I also have some cornbread to go with it.” Bird busied herself fixing the special tea, which Rowan did not want, and coffee for Thomas.

Rowan didn’t ask but expected there was a special ingredient in the coffee. With any luck, they could find out what he wanted and why. If he drank the coffee, of course. With the nasty tea in front of her, Rowan had all she could do not to dump it on the floor. She didn’t even need it this time but she was going to have to drink it.

“Can’t I have coffee too?”

Bird frowned at her. “Drink the tea first, it will help with the swelling. Then you can have coffee.”

A minor victory but Rowan managed a small grin. “You know what this tastes like, don’t you?”

Bird shook her head. “Drink it and stop whining.” She put a mug in front of Thomas and poured coffee from the tin pot. Without a blink, she went back for the cornbread, as though she was truly serving a neighbor.

Rowan knew better, oh yes she knew better. He was a neighbor only in physical location but no other way. The man was a creature of darkness, hidden in the guise of a handsome, wealthy rancher. She should invite the princesses of the apocalypse back and offer him to them. That would be entertaining.

Holding her breath, Rowan gulped down the hot tea with as much speed as possible. Fortunately she didn’t scald her mouth in the process. She held up the empty cup.

“Coffee please?”

Bird humphed and filled her cup with the dark brew. “Sip it easy this time before you choke.”

Rowan took a noisy slurp of the coffee, the bitterness chasing away the lingering taste of the foul tea. It was only then that Thomas picked up the cup. Rowan danced inside as he drank Bird’s brew. With any luck, the secret ingredient had been in the cup, not the coffee.

“Mighty tasty, Miss Bird.” Thomas reached for a piece of cornbread. “I can see why Gus keeps you around.”

Bird’s gaze narrowed and Rowan schooled her features not to react. The housekeeper came back with rags and a poultice for an injury that never happened. She sat down at the corner of the table and began wrapping the ankle. If anyone walked in, they might have thought it was a pleasant afternoon conversation.

Far from it. Dark undercurrents hid just out of sight. Rowan’s instincts screamed and she nearly trembled with the need to confront Thomas.

“Be patient, child. I’m almost done.” Bird patted her ankle. “It will be better soon.”

Rowan could only hope Bird was right. After living for weeks on edge, she was ready to simply live each day without wondering what would threaten them next. Thomas polished off his coffee and cornbread.

Bird glanced at him. “More coffee, Mr. Dawson?”

“No, thank you.” He brushed off his hands on the table, the jackass, and started to rise. When he couldn’t get to his feet, he fell back in the chair, looking confused. “What happened?”

Bird got to her feet and crossed her arms. “Something wrong, Mr. Dawson?”

He tried once more to stand, but failed to even make it out of the chair. His lips curled back into a vicious snarl. “What did you do, you bitch?”

Rowan’s hands shot out, sparks erupting from her fingertips. Thomas flew backward, landing ten feet away when he stopped sliding. “That felt good.” She walked over to where he lay on the floor, blinking but otherwise unable to move. “I hope you enjoyed the hospitality, Thomas.”

His eyes promised retribution but for now, he was helpless. She glanced turned to Bird. “Now what?”

“Now we tie him up and make him talk.” For a moment there, Bird appeared as frightening as Jesse said she was.

Rowan went in search of rope.