Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (60 page)

He was placating her, she was sure of
it. But she couldn’t bring herself to rebuke his request. Never had
her late husband shown any concern over her well-being. She found
the gesture considerate, which happened to be a reaction she found
new and slightly pleasurable. Glancing once more into the fire,
Sonja was reminded of how Jeb hovered over Briann. The idea of
being cared for in such a manner struck her as pleasant, even a bit
self-indulgent, but she chastised herself for thinking such
thoughts, since that would’ve been Robert’s comment under the
circumstances. A little surprised at her own musings, Sonja agreed.
“All right, I’ll see a doctor,” she said.

Chapter 8 Close
Quarters

The city of Balch Springs
came into clear view about a mile out. Nothing more than a small
conglomeration of buildings, shacks and tents. The one reason it
prospered was the springs that Jeremiah Balch discovered thirteen
years before. The frigid, crystal clear water was a lifeline in an
otherwise barren land. From the discovery of the springs, people
came and settled, those looking to prosper from the essential
element the Argentine springs provided.

Sonja couldn’t control the
anticipation blooming as they neared the small town. Ty told her of
the bathhouses and the pleasurable experience offered there. She
was looking forward to relaxing and allowing the confusion inside
her to abate. Tyron Loflin was a mysterious man. The stoic persona
he wore so convincingly masked a troubled soul. Sonja found herself
drawn to him. Reminded of the kiss they’d shared near the creek
made the depths of her ache in a way she remembered. She’d been a
married woman and figured she understood the reaction of a woman
for a man. Still, with Ty, the sensation was without limit. He’d
reached over and gripped her hand a few hours before and a shimmer
of sensations bloomed inside her. Warmth, yearning and a thrill
spiraled through Sonja and she considered the possibility there was
much more to the experience between a man and a woman than she’d
ever experienced before.

“
Are you excited to be
visiting the baths?” Sonja smiled warmly for her Briann.

Briann’s face held the slack-jawed awe
of someone who never dreamt of standing in such a place. “It’s
lovely,” she breathed. “I never considered one day I’d be able to
experience such a luxury.

Sonja squeezed Briann’s hand. “I can’t
wait.” Her companionable giggle stalled out as Ty approached. She
grew silent as she gazed at the man approached them. His cowboy’s
hat sitting jauntily to one side, his pants hanging low over
muscled hips and spurs jingling on his worn cowboy boots. He
squinted at her from under that ever present Stetson and sent her
heart to pounding. Sonja wanted to capture the relaxed confidence
he exuded to memory.

“
Such a fine specimen of a
man.” Her sister’s words caught Sonja off guard.

“
What? Oh, I…yes, the
lieutenant is a striking fellow.”

“
That loose jointed walk of
his isn’t just for show, I’d wager, sister. The man’s well endowed,
to be sure. Don’t tell me you don’t understand what I
mean.

Sonja’s gasp was audible. Her eyes cut
to Briann’s as she brought up a trembling hand. “You should say
things like that!”

The light laughter that filtered back
to her came with a price. Her face burned red with the
embarrassment of Briann’s innuendo. Something inside her stirred,
like cooled molasses heating on a summer’s day.

“
Are we ready, ladies?” He
offered each of them an arm.

The proprietor was a gangly fellow who
peered at them with be-speckled gray eyes. His thatch of thinning
hair was dull blonde with white threaded liberally through what
remained atop his sun spotted scalp. He pointed to a board above
him, which held the prices of the establishment’s
services.

“
Ya got your ten minutes
with soap – it’s our most popular. There’s the deluxe with soap and
a hot towel, the gentlemen’s special is a twenty minute soak with
soap, a hot towel and a shave.” He eyed Ty speculatively. The smoke
from his cigar curled around his head giving him the look of a
goose egg nested in a cobweb. “I don’t guess you’ll be needing
that, will ya Injun?” Sneering, he curled his lip and bared his
decayed teeth at Ty.

“
We’ll take three twenty
minute soaks with soap and a hot towel.” His tone brooked no
argument as his eyes roamed the man in disinterested
summation.

“
Which one of these women
is your wife?” The man’s derision was obvious.

Ty glared at the man with something
akin to disgust. “We’d like three soaks, one for my wife.” Reaching
out, he took Sonja’s arm and wrapped it possessively around his
forearm before inclining his head toward Briann. “This young lady
is her sister.”

Scrutinizing the odd group, the
bathhouse proprietor pursed his grizzled mouth before quoting the
price and opening the door for them.

Once inside, Sonja and Briann went to
the women’s side of the bathhouse. The small room, which wasn’t
much bigger than the wagon they traveled in, held a copper tub, a
small side table and what Sonja guessed must be a foot bath. The
small copper pot sat next to the small table. A young Chinese girl
of no more than thirteen years stirred a sweet smelling salt into
the steaming water in the tub.

Motioning Sonja to undress, the girl
carefully hung her clothing on the hooks lining the wall. As she
sunk into the fragrant water, Sonja sighed happily. It was a
wonderful feeling to relax in a tub after so long a time. The
chilly waters of whatever stream they could find or the birdbath’s
she stingily resorted to on the trail became a bad memory as she
languished in the silky water.

Briann perched on the edge of the
small table and allowed the young Chinese girl to rub the muscles
in her neck while she waited her turn. “You know, it was awful nice
of Mr. Loflin to think of us. He could have simply left us behind.
The invitation to accompany him to town isn’t part of his job
description, I’d wager.”

Opening one eye, Sonja peered
septically at her sister’s smirk of a smile before asking the
question Briann was waiting on. “And just what are you getting at,
Briann?”

“
Oh, nothing.” Briann
consideration flitted away to some pictures hanging on the opposite
wall. Those same warm brown eyes cut mischievously back to her best
friend while she rubbed ideally at the length of her leg. “I was
just thinking how kind it was of Mr. Loflin to include us in his
little trip to town.” She smiled ruefully before studying something
else on the nearby wall. “I’d consider him a nice man, don’t you
think so?”

Sonja’s brow furrowed. Ideas formed
about his invitation. She closed her eyes and sank a bit deeper in
the tub. The heat was working on her stiff shoulder and the water
would draw some of the pain away.

Secretly though, Sonja indulged in
where Ty would place some of his more focused intentions. He’d take
her for a stroll down along the pool formed by the springs the town
was named for just outside of town. With a well-placed hand, he’d
claim her as his for everyone who passed. Reveling in the idea of
openly sharing such a declaration made her feel bold and she
relished in the sensation. Next, he’d find a quiet spot away from
prying eyes for them to pass the time while the train was in town.
He’d swoop down and capture her mouth with his, running his tongue
along the line of her teeth in a testing, probing search. His
voice, low and warm would breathe out her name, then his pet name
for her as well as his desires. She wanted to hear him speak of his
desire for her, his need to be sated and how she’d crowded his mind
the whole time since they’d last made love. Her skin tingled. Her
core heated and ached for Tyler’s shaft, the thick, throbbing
member that only he possessed.

Sonja smiled to herself as she
considered what the bit more might be. She jumped when cool fingers
touched her shoulder. Water sloshed and her sister giggled when the
Chinese girl handed her a scented soap and another towel for her
hair. Still, she drifted on blue eyes and a deep, male voice
whispering her name.

Almost an hour later, when both ladies
finished soaking, cleaning and being pampered, they emerged to find
Ty waiting for them.

He stood near the only window in the
establishment and drew long and leisurely on a cigar. The smoke
spiraled toward the ceiling in the bathhouse parlor giving him a
certain dark and sexy air.

Sonja’s first consideration was how
handsome he appeared standing in front of the window with a hand
tucked casually in the vest he now sported. He’d loosened his braid
and his gleaming jet-black hair hung about his shoulders. His
growth of a slight beard, shaved, now exposed the cleft of his chin
again. Her heart rate increased with his dark gaze settling on
her.

Slowly, deliberately his eyes moved
over her curves, leaving a trail of burning need in its wake. He
wore no hat at the present and Sonja found her fingers tingle with
the need to run her hands through the thick mass of his coal black
mane. After stepping to the entrance, he turned and his crystal
blue eyes met hers, her heart stopped, the breath left her lungs
and she found she couldn’t walk. His eyes traveled slowly down her
body with a look so akin to desire it made Sonja weak in the knees.
Sonja found she couldn’t break the connection.

He moved to stand beside her and laid
his warm hand against the small of her back as he held the door
open for her to go through.

Her heart was racing as she stepped
out into the daylight. Surely, the feeling was brought on by some
belated reaction to the steaming waters or the massage Briann and
she’d enjoyed afterward. Her reactions to things proved all a
jumble of late.

“
Um, lilacs.” Ty’s words,
deep and reverberated in the still air caused a ripple up her
spine.

Unable to look back, Sonja instead
concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other as they
progressed down the planks of the sidewalk. She needed to remain
calm. People were watching, weren’t they?

In the distance, there appeared a man
who resembled Sonja’s late husband. His height was the same as
Robert’s and he wore a dark suit similar to the one she’d buried
her husband in. Perplexed, Sonja stared hard at the apparition who
stood at the opposite end of the long board walkway. The man’s hair
was cut much like Robert preferred and danced about his face in the
breeze. Her heart leapt in her chest when he started to walk in
their direction. His gate was the same! She wasn’t at all certain
she wasn’t looking at her husband. But how could that be? Robert
was dead! She repeated the mantra several times under her breath.
Silly, she mused. The bath must have done something to addle her
brain. She needed rest – that’s all.

“
Mrs. Brooks.” He waited
until he’d gained her full attention. “There’s small café down the
street and they serve the best apple pie you’ve ever tasted. I’d
like to share a piece with you, if you don’t mind.” His fingers
rested protectively against her backbone. Marveling at how right
the sensation felt, Sonja basked in the sensation. There was such a
heat in his gaze.

“
I’d like that much, Mr.
Loflin.” She could almost taste his lips on hers. He’d practiced
their polite decorum faithfully since the trapper’s attack. Sonja,
more guarded than usual appreciated his attention to her wishes.
Maybe his change in attitude had something to do with his
examination of her injuries. There’d been something akin to pain in
his face when he’d seen what the attack had done to her. Briann was
right. Mr. Loflin held himself apart for reasons Sonja didn’t fully
understand, yet. He had a kind and concerned heart. She hoped she’d
be able to share in his kindness again soon. With a slight smile
for no one in particular, Sonja proceeded along with the others to
the small café and a lite repast.

A jolly woman, probably in her
mid-fifties greeted them as they entered. She haled Ty and motioned
them to a quiet table along the sunny window side of the bustling
café.

All eyes turned to examine the new
patrons, before shifting back to their plates and conversation. The
cheery red-checkered tablecloth covered tables lined the windows
running the length of the dining room wall. Positioned eight rows
deep, the dining room was surprisingly big and for the
mid-afternoon, surprisingly busy. Several waiters hustled among
those seated at the wooden tables serving drinks, food and
smiles.

Quite impressed with the
establishment, Sonja allowed Ty to pull out her chair. Jeb eased
Briann into the straight-back wooden chair and fussed over whether
or not she was comfortable. Noticing the tightening of Briann’s
mouth as she settled, Sonja reached out and gathered her hand in
hers. “Is everything all right?”

Briann smiled and turned her hand over
to grip her sister’s. “Yes, everything is fine, just fine.”
Glancing at Jeb, she cut him a steady stare before turning to her
menu.

Sonja found the exchange puzzling. The
waiter returned and her attention turned to giving the waiter their
orders. To his credit, Ty allowed Sonja to order for herself and
Jeb, who Sonja was certain held Briann in the highest regard,
allowed her to make her selections as well. Doing their best to be
open-minded of a woman’s place in their man’s world, the men earned
more of her respect. She smiled to herself when she considered the
implication. Their journey was proving beneficial in many ways, she
mused. Perhaps it had something to do with the frontier and a new
beginning, which gave a man the courage to ease the restraints
placed on a woman by their society.