Jesse had returned to his cabin late in the night, only to fall exhausted into bed. If he hadn’t absent-mindedly kissed her good-bye when he left again, she would have wondered if he had even realized she was there.
Knowing she couldn’t go back to Elizabeth’s house for fear of running into Clayton, she had paced the small cabin most of the day, alternately trying to read, then scrubbing the floors, table and stove until she couldn’t scrub anymore. She washed everything in sight, including Jesse’s long-johns which hung on a peg in the corner and which he wouldn’t need again until winter.
The second night, Jesse hadn’t returned at all, or so Ellie thought until she awoke the next morning to find a note and a glass full of daisies on the table. Now, she soaked in the brass tub in anticipation of Jesse’s return that evening.
She held the note between damp fingers and read the hastily scribbled words for the hundredth time. “Shutting down at midnight. Wait for me. Jesse.” The words were less than romantic, but Ellie kept re-reading the last sentence. Those three words had her alternating between disconsolate and euphoric. Ellie knew she couldn’t leave this world without being with Jesse one more time. The thought of their lovemaking; of the touch of his hand caressing her skin raised the water temperature in her bath as her skin heated.
It was July 3, and the minute Ellie recalled the date, her heart sank. In just one more day -- only a little over twenty-four hours -- she would be gone from Peavine, Nevada. How would she ever know if their plan succeeded? She would never again see Jesse, or Zeke or even Lucky, unless she could somehow find a picture of them in an old history book.
Could they really change history? She was a gambler; that’s how she had gotten in this trouble in the first place, but this was the biggest gamble of her life. Ellie closed her eyes, trying to recall all the pieces of their plan. Hoping everything was in place, she ticked off the elements on her fingers as she soaped herself.
Jesse would close the mine at midnight and through the next day so his miners could attend the Independence Day celebrations. She was to stick like glue to Jesse; Zeke and Lucky would keep an eye on Clayton. Late in the afternoon she would send word to Clayton to make him think Jesse had gone to the mine. She figured Clayton, or more likely someone he had hired, would already have the mine rigged, but this time the explosives would go off with no one getting hurt.
The only unclear part was where exactly she had to be. Being in the dark mine, waiting to be blown to smithereens was not a choice. Zeke and she had talked, and figured it would just happen. Since she wasn’t suppose to be here in the first place, she would probably just fade away, or disappear in a flash.
She twisted Jesse’s ring on her finger. How was she to leave him? Did he know how much she loved him? Would he love her forever instead of marrying Elizabeth? Would he even know?
The sound of heavy boots scrapping across the porch ended Ellie’s string of rhetorical questions. Her heart flew to her throat, and she reached over the side of the tub for Jesse’s revolver, which she had taken from the holster that hung by the door. Lucky had left earlier after thoughtfully bringing some stew and biscuits that Ellie had warming on the back of the stove. Who else could it be?
“You have this place lit up like the fourth of July,” Jesse commented cheerfully as he entered the cabin, swinging the door closed behind him. “I thought the celebration wasn’t until tomorrow.”
“You know I don’t like the dark.” Ellie sagged in relief as she lowered the pistol to the chair by the tub. “Besides, you’re early.”
Ellie watched Jesse’s eyes crinkle at the corners as he took in her nakedness. His lips turned up in a wolfish grin.
“If I’d known what was waiting for me, I would have been even earlier.”
As he talked, he jerked off his boots, dropped them by the door and slowly walked towards her. She couldn’t help but stare. When he stood directly in front of the tub, she slid upwards until the sudsy water just barely covered her nipples. She slid her tongue across her lips, then poked out her bottom lip in a pout. “You have way too many clothes on, woodsman.”
The grin never left his face. “Yeah, well, what are you going to do about it, city girl?” He stood there, thumbs hooked in his trouser loops, and seemed perfectly content just to look at her. The heat in his eyes, though, set Ellie’s blood to boiling, and she felt impatient for much more than he was offering.
She slid to the end of the tub, reaching up to unbuckle his wide leather belt. She threw her head back and her gaze fixed on his. She could feel the change in his desire as she undid his pants, one button at a time. Very male heat radiated from him as she slowly pulled his pants and drawers down past his knees. The instant she touched him, he jerked forward, groaned, and began rapidly shucking the rest of his clothes.
Though Jesse longed for Ellie’s caresses to continue, he had no desire to end their lovemaking so quickly, and he knew without doubt his control was already gone.
Gently, he lifted her to her feet, then turned her around so her back was to him. He stepped into the tub and settled them both back into the tepid water, her on his lap. When she murmured a protest, he nibbled a path from her shoulder up her neck to her ear. One hand caressed her breast while the other slid unerringly down her belly to her womanhood, open and exposed to his touch.
Her protests turned to welcoming moans.
“Do you like that, Ellie? Do you want more?” He whispered, before his tongue dipped in and out of her ear, mimicking the motion of his hand, and soon she was writhing in his arms, gasping for breath. She arched her back, reaching over her head to grasp his shoulders.
“J-e-s-s-e!” Her cry echoed across the small cabin as she convulsed against his hand, the heat of her causing his manhood to throb against her bottom. He smiled at her complete and utter surrender to him. She held nothing back; there was no artifice to her response, and Jesse gloried in his ability to give her such pleasure.
Before he realized what she was doing, Ellie swiveled in the water and straddled him, laying her chest against his. “You don’t play fair,” she murmured just before she kissed him, and Jesse could have made the same point about her.
The kiss, bold and hot and lush, sent fire sweeping through him. No timid, maidenly brush of the lips from this gal, that’s for sure. She took control, her tongue sweeping along the ridge of his teeth and wiggling inside when he parted his lips. Her hands started at his ears, circling then massaging down the side of his neck to his shoulders.
He hadn’t realized how sore his muscles were, or how tense he had become until her gentle strokes persuaded him to relax. As his muscles loosened, she moved her hands to his chest. Jesse held his breath in anticipation of her touch, but she bypassed his sensitive nipples and slid her hands around to his back.
Breaking her kiss, she grinned -- saucy, sexy -- then kissed his chin. “Do you like being the teasee, instead of the teasor?” Her question stumped him, but before he could understand, she slid down and kissed his nipple, then licked it until it pebbled hard in her mouth. It was too much.
Jesse slid his hands along the back of her knees, pulling them toward him. When she transferred her attention to the other nipple, he made his move. Hands on her hips, he lifted her just enough to slide into her warm depths. The exquisite, tight length of her just about finished him right there.
“So, you want control, woodsman?” Ellie straightened, arching her back and in so doing took him even deeper into herself. Jesse’s brows arched as he felt her clutch around him.
“Not if you’re going to keep doing that,” he moaned. Her breasts bounced enticingly in front of him, and he leaned forward to capture one with his lips. When she groaned, he sucked gently, hungry for her.
Ellie ground her hips against his, taking all of him and wanting more. Even when he sucked at her breast, she felt she couldn’t get enough of him. When his hands moved to lift her, she instantly picked up the rhythm and repeatedly slid down his length. She had to grip the edges of the tub to steady herself for suddenly they were both out of control. Jesse bucked beneath her, his head thrown back, stormy blue eyes capturing her gaze and holding as he carried her ever upward.
Ellie could feel herself tightening, tingling sensations zipping up and down her legs. As the first wave hit, Jesse pushed hard, paused, then stroked her quickly again and again. Together, they climaxed, Jesse’s hands firm on her hips to hold her tight against him as he throbbed his release into her body.
Ellie’s own body squeezed again and again, and in her heart she hoped she took Jesse’s seed into her womb to make a baby. If she couldn’t have Jesse forever, maybe she could have his child.
“Hey, sweet lady, why the tears?” Jesse had released her and rubbed a callused thumb across her cheek.
Ellie hadn’t realized she was crying and fought the urge to lay her burden at Jesse’s feet. If he knew about the accident, he could prevent it from happening again, couldn’t he? Or would his knowing somehow change history the wrong way? It was too complicated to think about.
With a sigh, she laid her head against Jesse’s shoulder. “It’s my prerogative to cry whenever I want to,” she murmured against his throat.
“I thought maybe the shooting stars were just too bright for your eyes.” He spoke softly into her hair.
“Stars?”
“Mmmm,” was all the answer she got as he absently rubbed her back.
“Jesse?”
“I’m in love with you,” Jesse said, the awe in his voice apparent.
“Of course you are,” Ellie answered, her heart thudding, wondering if he meant her or Elizabeth.
He pushed her back by the shoulders. Dark brows came together over blue, blue eyes as he stared at her. “I’m serious. It’s different now. You’re different. I always felt we were friends, but I never thought about being passionately in love with you.” He shrugged as though in apology. “I was comfortable with you because I’d known you half my life. I didn’t think I needed stars and bells and lightning.”
“And now?” Ellie held her breath in answer; an answer she hoped included her.
“This past couple of weeks, everything’s changed.”
“Is that bad?”
“Absolutely not.” He punctuated his statement with a kiss. “In fact, I find I kinda like the shooting stars and flashing lightning.”
Ellie laughed as he hauled her out of the tub and rubbed her dry. She clung to him as he carried her to bed, and she tried her damnedest to make sure he saw plenty of shooting stars throughout the night.
* * *
The Fourth of July, 1870, dawned rosy and clear. Ellie lay curled into Jesse, staring across the cabin at what she could see of the thin streams of pink clouds and blue sky. Her gaze surveyed the tiny cabin, memorizing all the nooks and crannies. Only when Jesse stirred in his sleep did she allow her thoughts to turn to him, knowing when she did that the tears would flow.
Would he forget her in a day? Had she given him enough love to last a lifetime? Even though she knew there was no choice, she wished for things to be different.
“Ellie, what’s wrong?” Jesse whispered, nuzzling her neck and tightening his arm around her waist.
Ellie rolled to her back, turning her head to study his furrowed brow above those wonderful blue eyes. “How do you know anything’s wrong?”
The furrows deepened. “There’s not much about you I don’t know.” His hand slid from her bare midriff down to her hips to emphasize his point.
Ellie swallowed hard, fighting the tears that still threatened. “What if tomorrow never comes?”
Jesse gave a slight shake of his head. “That’s not going to happen.”
“But what if?”
“I’d hope to catch up with you in eternity. I have too much to say yet; too much love to still give you.”
“You’d love me for eternity?”
He raised himself on his elbow and leaned forward, his lips a breath away from her own. “Ellie, I’ll love you always and then some. Believe that if you believe nothing else in this world.”
Ellie refused to let him out of bed until he proved his point. Which he did -- at great length and quite thoroughly.
* * *
If Peavine did anything well, it was celebrate, and the one celebration that year bigger than Sarah’s wedding was Independence Day. By the time Jesse and Ellie had dressed and meandered into town, things were in full gear.
Red, white and blue banners hung from every building all up and down the street. Tables were set up in the grass beside the church for the picnic to be held later. People were everywhere.
Ellie had lived in Peavine a month, and she swore she had never encountered so many people, even at church on Sunday. Then again, she supposed the miners, working in shifts all week, didn’t venture into town except on Saturdays, and she had learned early on not to wander far from home on that night.
Jesse amazed her throughout the day as he dragged her from event to event, laughing and joking with all the miners and townspeople, calling everyone by name. Since she didn’t know them all, but was probably suppose to, she just nodded and smiled, hoping no one asked her any personal questions.
“C’mon, Jesse, you gotta enter the shootin’ match. We want a chance to beat you from last year.” Several hearty souls grabbed him by the arms and dragged him away. As he went, he threw her an apologetic smile over his shoulder and Ellie thought he really didn't look very sorry at all.
She helped the ladies put the food on the tables for the picnic, smiling shyly at Amy Arnold and Suzy Miller when she happened to overhear their names spoken by one of the older ladies. Recalling what Elizabeth had supposedly said about them, Ellie really wished she could meet Elizabeth. She would like to tell the woman a thing or two.
The shooting events had been set up to the north end of town, opposite the livery. Even so, the noise from the guns, not to mention the hooting and hollering, reached Ellie’s ears. She grinned, recalling how carefree Jesse looked as he was being dragged off to join the fun. He reminded her of a little boy going out to play with his friends. The breeze had ruffled his hair; he had his shirt collar open and the sleeves rolled up, and the look of devilment in his eyes. Lordy, how she loved that man.
She didn’t have long to reminisce before the troop of men, followed closely by every child in town, came roaring back up the street, Jesse perched high on the shoulders of two of the largest. Amongst cheers and good-natured bantering, they deposited him at her feet.
“Miss Elizabeth, he sure do beat all! Not a man around can whoop Jesse Cole with a pistol.” Several men chorused in agreement.
Jesse stood before her, grinning like a banshee, with a blue ribbon pinned to his shirt. How little it took to bring joy to these people, Ellie thought, followed quickly by a feeling of contentment like she had never known. She could be just as happy here, with Jesse.
She stood on tiptoe and mimicked the men’s words close to his ear. “Well, if you don’t beat all.” Then she flicked the blue ribbon, adding, “Are you the prize at the county fair?”
Quick as lightning, he grabbed her waist and swung her around in a circle, kissing her soundly in front of everyone. “I’ll be your prize any time of year.”
The church bell began to peel, announcing the start of the picnic. Jesse and Ellie were swept up in the crowd of men as they swarmed to the food tables. Since there weren't many wives in Peavine to bake and cook enough to feed all the hungry miners, the local eateries had also pitched in, setting up huge pots of chicken and dumplings, venison stew and cooked cinnamon apples.
Ellie was too nervous to eat much, and whenever she would bypass a dish, Jesse would scoop a spoonful onto her plate, anyway. "I can't eat all this," she protested.
"You're too skinny. I have to get some meat on your bones or you won't be able to keep me warm this winter." Jesse gave her a wolfish grin.
His comment didn't help Ellie's stomach at all. She offered him a weak smile before turning away from the food-laden tables. As the day wore on, she was becoming more and more tense, until she wondered if she could swallow a single bite. Earlier, she had spied Clayton moving among the spectators as the foot races used Main Street for their competition. She didn't recall seeing him at all for the past several hours. Lucky and Zeke had taken it upon themselves to keep him in their sights, so Ellie shouldn't worry. After all, they knew what would happen if things didn't go according to plan.
Jesse had steered her to the shade of a tree back behind the church. She recalled the last time they had been out here. The night of Sarah's wedding, she had basically thrown herself at the man! Her cheeks grew warm in remembrance and she cast Jesse a look from beneath her lashes to see if her need was visible.
Jesse sat cross-legged beside her, wolfing down his food, alternating with huge gulps of cold cider. Ellie just about got sick watching him and she wondered how he could eat so much. Of course, he didn't know there was anything wrong.
He had no idea that in a few hours, his life would hang by a thread and would totally depend on Lucky and Zeke and her. In a few short hours, it would all be over and Ellie would once again be stranded in the ghost town of Peavine, waiting to be rescued.
She laughed at the irony of it all. She had already been rescued when she came back to 1870. Zeke and Lucky had brought her, albeit unwilling at first, back to a time when her life actually meant something to someone. She realized that running from city to city, hurrying to make deadlines for the magazine, carousing around town at all hours with her high-stepping friends wasn't really living.
Having a good man smile at you; taking walks through the trees and picnicking beside a creek; making passionate love until you were exhausted and then snuggling close to another person -- that was living.
"Hey, sweetheart." Jesse tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost." He brushed a finger across her cheek.
Ellie shook herself out of her reverie. It would do no good to dwell on things she couldn't change. She offered Jesse a smile. "It's just hot, that's all." Then, she couldn’t resist saying, "And I was just thinking about another event you could claim a blue ribbon in."
Jesse lifted a roguish eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? I didn't know there was a competition in that."
Ellie laughed, then leaned close to brush his lips with a kiss. "On second thought, maybe instead of a blue, I should give you best of show."
"You little minx." Jesse resettled his plate down on his lap. "I won't be able to stand, much less walk, if you keep talking like that." Ellie noticed the strategic placement of his plate and laughed all the harder.
Apparently, since Independence Day was one holiday a year when the entire town turned out and all the miners had the day off, no one was going to waste any of their time. Immediately after lunch, the ore cart races began.
Jesse, being a mine owner, couldn't compete, but his men were wearing bright blue bandannas on their arms to signify the Nightingale Mine. Other miners from the Northern Pride and the Golden Fleece had bands of green or yellow. Each team huddled close together on the side of the street.
"We didn't start these races until a few years ago, so you probably haven't seen them. Each mine has a team of five, and they have to take turns pulling one of those ore carts down the street, between the blacksmith’s and Murphy’s Mercantile.” He pointed to the start and finish of the race. "If each man in turn gets to the end of the line without stopping, they add more ore and do it again."
"If they keep doing it, how do they know who wins?"
"Each round adds more ore. If a man can't pull to the end, he's eliminated and the next on his team pulls. They keep adding ore until only one man can pull his cart the length of the race."
A cheer went up from the crowd and Ellie turned her attention to the street where a man from each team scrambled to pick up a heavy rope, sling it over his shoulder and drag the ore cart down the road.
"You don't make them do that in your mine, do you?" Ellie indignantly asked Jesse.
"Of course not. We have our carts on wheels and rails. A pulley system makes it easy for a man to stand in one place and yet get the cart to the top of the tunnel."
It took two rounds before any of the men were eliminated, and several more rounds before it came down to two miners. Tom still held out for the Nightingale Mine, and Ellie had to laugh at how easy he made it look as he meandered down the street with the ore cart trailing him. The other miner was from the Golden Fleece, the mine Scott managed. Ellie hadn't seen Clayton anywhere around and though glad, she still worried about what he was up to.
The last of the ore was loaded into the carts, and each man hefted the rope used to pull it. Ellie scooted to the front of the boardwalk, hands clutching the wood rail. As the starter fired his pistol into the air and the men began pulling, Ellie found herself yelling at the top of her lungs, urging Tom faster and faster.
He crossed the finish line half a rope length in front, and Ellie squealed and spun around, bouncing up and down as she hugged Jesse. "He won! He won!" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek then turned and joined the crowd in the street as they congratulated the huge miner.
There was a break in the festivities after the ore cart races so Jesse walked Ellie back to her house. As they walked, hand in hand, she couldn't get over how wonderful life was. The fact that she had gotten so excited over a simple foot race, as compared to the thoroughbred horses and NASCAR races she had observed, made her laugh with delight.
"What was that for?" Jesse asked.
She turned and hugged him. "Just because," she said, smiling.
He opened the door before he commented. "Am I part of that ‘just because’?"
"Always, Jesse. Always."
Her smile disappeared when Jesse gave her a kiss good-bye, explaining he wanted to bathe and put some clean clothes on before the fireworks. Ellie panicked when he told her to wait for him at the house, but he promised to return within the hour. Besides, he’d said, there was plenty of time before the fireworks since it was several hours before dark. She still wanted to go with him, but she didn’t need to make him suspicious. All she could do was wait as he disappeared into the trees.
* * *
The stage rattled into town, kicking up enough dust to chock a horse. If it weren’t for the 5:15, Elmer thought, he’d be down at the ore cart races right now.
He put the wooden step in front of the stage door, hoping to hurry through this chore and still partake in the celebrations. “Don’t know why the stage goes and runs on ‘pendence day. Who’d be traveling, anyhow?” he grumbled.
The door slammed open against the stage. Before Elmer had time to step back, a bundle of petticoats and satin tumbled out. Elmer scrunched up his mouth as he looked at the newcomer to Peavine, then scratched his head in confusion.
“Well, ev’ning, Miss Elizabeth. How’d you get on this here stage? Din’t I see you earlier today at the church picnic?”