Jake, Devils on Horseback, Book 2 (6 page)

He kept his eye on Zeke and Allison. She was a shy little thing who barely lifted her eyes and that was only to look at Zeke. He appeared to be equally as taken with the petite woman as she was with him. Jake hoped she was amenable for Zeke to court her, because Jake would bet the two nickels in his pocket it was going to happen. Too bad she was the minister’s daughter, which might put a pinch on a budding romance.

Gabby kept glancing at the blonde couple as well, almost as much as Jake looked at the luscious black-haired beauty. She laughed with her whole body, a hearty laugh that echoed in the empty restaurant. Jake’s heart squeezed each time she smiled. He wanted to kick his own ass for acting like such an idiot, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. She’d become an addiction so quickly it made his head spin.

“Jake, are you listening to me?” Gideon elbowed him in the ribs.

Jake almost jumped out of the chair. “No, I wasn’t.”

Everyone laughed and he couldn’t help but grin at Gabby. She raised one dark eyebrow and didn’t say a word to him. He couldn’t be certain if she was flirting with him or not, a fact that annoyed and excited him. Women were generally not immune to his charm, as evidenced by the experiences he’d had with the fairer sex. Jake discovered early that making a woman feel beautiful and desired provided a more than pleasant method to getting what he wanted. The truth was, Jake loved women of all shapes and sizes. Each one had her own unique charm and scent. It was one of the first things he noticed as a young, strapping fifteen-year-old in the backroom of the saloon he worked at—the scent of a woman was intoxicating.

Gabby’s scent would be the last thing he remembered and the first thing he thought of each day. She didn’t wear perfume, rather it was a mix of woman, flour, fresh air and her. Fascinating to say the least. Jake sat next to her at the table as they ate the simple ham sandwiches and drank lemonade. Each time she took a drink, Jake watched, and hungered.

He wanted to taste her lips, feel her tongue on his as they shared the tart flavor left in her mouth. Jake shifted on the chair, realizing his usually calm dick had woken with a vengeance and strained at the buttons of his trousers. He needed to stop fantasizing about Gabby and work on charming her, because judging by the frown on her face when she glanced at him, he had a ways to go.

“How long have you lived in Tanger, Miss Delmont?” Zeke sat straight and tall across from Allison.

“All my life.” The blonde looked up from her plate at Zeke. “When Gabby moved to town we were inseparable from the first minute we met. My mama used to say we were like salt and pepper.” Her face paled, apparently at the memory of her mother.

Zeke reached over and put his hand over hers, completely covering her tiny one. “I lost my parents too. It’s never easy to talk about them. I understand completely.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.

Jake nearly swallowed his tongue. Zeke was acting so unlike his normal self, it was almost scary.

“What the hell’s gotten into you, Zeke?” Lee could always be counted on to be brutally honest. “You sick or something?”

Zeke scowled at his brother. “Watch your language around the ladies.”

“Sure thing,
Ezekiel,
” Lee taunted. Calling the Blackwood brothers by their hated Biblical names never failed to rile them.

Zeke stood, knocking his chair back. “Don’t ruin this day too,
Cornelius
. It was going along right fine until you opened your mouth.” His cool glare pinned Lee. “Apologize to the ladies.”

The air hummed with tension as the brothers stared each other down. Lee was the one to turn away, to glare at Gabby then at Allison.

“You’d best make your choices wisely, brother.” Lee snatched the sandwich off his plate and stormed out of the restaurant, slamming the door behind him.

After his footsteps faded away, Jake glanced at Zeke, who was still standing like a statue in a park. It was Allison, however, who saved the moment from utter disaster.

“Please sit down, Mr. Blackwood. It’s all right. I’m sure your brother didn’t mean any harm.” Her gracious tone worked on Zeke like nothing else ever had. His face softened and he sat back down without punching a thing.

Jake choked on his lemonade.

Gabby slapped him on the back until Jake held up one finger. “Thank you, Miss Rinaldi. I will be forever in your debt.”

Allison laughed while Gabby fought back a grin. “You are a charming fool, Mr. Sheridan.”

“Jake. Please call me Jake.” He smiled, his heart doing a somersault when she smiled back.

“All right then, please call me Gabby.”

At that moment, over the sandwich crumbs and the lemon seeds, Jake slid from being fascinated into being just a bit in love.

It was hotter than hell by eight in the morning on a cloudless day that threatened to become even more scorching. Captain Elliot Nessman wiped the sweat off his brow with one perfectly pressed handkerchief. He eyed the evidence of a campfire at the creek and knew in an instant it was the Confederate demons he’d been chasing for months. The fire pit, long since cold, had rabbit bones, a cigar and what appeared to be bandages.

He clenched his fist in the leather glove in victory. He was close, right on their tail. At first the information from the drunken sot about a red-haired man with three others had been more than suspicious. However, it had proved to be the kernel of freedom he’d been searching for.

Elliot smiled as he smashed the bones beneath his boot. Those damn Johnny Rebs would be his so very soon.

Chapter Four

The mill stood at the other end of town backing to the river, a hulking building nearly twenty feet tall. The weathered boards had been constructed well to create a solid building. Jake was impressed with the outside alone. He expected the inside to be just as impressive. From what he could find out, Gabby’s father had designed the current mill water flow and had made numerous improvements with his own hands. Some kind of accident earlier that year had left him unable to walk. Jake figured Gabby had learned her fierceness, passion and drive from her father.

The sound of hammers and saws rang through the morning air—Zeke and Lee were over at the church while Gideon assisted at one of the ladies’ houses in town. No doubt Allison was fluttering around Zeke as they worked. As Jake walked toward the mill, he felt someone watching him again. The same person who had been watching him since he’d arrived in Tanger three days earlier. A chill raced up his spine. Whoever watched him didn’t do so out of curiosity. There was malevolence in that stare. Jake whirled around and saw nothing but Marchison’s store. No one was there or anywhere within at least three blocks. He stared hard at all the windows overlooking the street like silent sentinels.

After a few minutes, he started walking again, resolved to investigate the mysterious watcher another time. Darkness would be a better cover to snoop around anyway. Besides, he’d promised Gabby he’d be there and he sure as hell didn’t want to let her down.

“We’ll meet soon, stranger, I promise,” he muttered.

When he arrived at the mill, Jake knocked, curious to find out what was making the racket on the other side of the door. No one answered his knock, so he tried the knob, which opened under his hand. He poked his head inside.

“Hello? Anybody here?”

An older man with salt and pepper hair and a stooped back walked past the door and barely gave Jake a glance. He was covered in an off-white dust Jake assumed was flour.

“Gabby!” The man shuffled toward the other side of the room. “You got a visitor.”

Jake stepped in and the great hulking machinery in front of him spun, turned, and made a thwapping sound as grain was ground into flour. The wheel mill outside turned with the water as it powered the mill. He looked up and saw pulleys and wheels in an intricate symphony of machinery moving in time with each other.

“Jake.” Gabby appeared beside him wearing a huge leather apron, smudges of flour and grease on her cheeks, and a frown marring her beautiful face.

Just the sight of her made Jake lose his ability to speak for a moment as he lost himself in her dark eyes. She cleared her throat and he jumped at the sound.

“Good morning, Gabby.” He pointed up at the mill’s equipment. “Impressive. I’ve never seen one up close before.”

She swiped a hand across her forehead. “It’s a design my father helped with down in Guenther’s Mill in San Antonio. It separates the middlings layer—” She stopped and shook her head. “That’s not important. We haven’t had a decent speed in the mill for months, not since the waterwheel was damaged. Harvey would drown if he even tried to get out there.”

Jake smiled. “Can you explain to me how the mill works? It would help if I knew what needed to work so I could fix it.”

“Are you really interested in the mill?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Absolutely. I’m from a long line of drunks and cotton pickers.” Jake shrugged. “I’ve never even been inside a mill, but I do want to learn about it.” He knew it was the right thing to say when Gabby’s eyes lit. The strange thing was, he meant what he said.

“Okay, but if you become bored, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.” She started by giving him a tour of the mill, explaining how the pulleys pulled the grain through to the iron rollers, and all the various steps that brought the wheat kernels to the flour he was used to seeing.

Gabby spoke of the mill as a mother does a child, with passion and love. She could talk about it for hours on end, Jake was sure. He lost track of how much information she gave him, and he didn’t follow all of it completely, but he understood the basics of the mill and what the problem was.

The waterwheel had half its boards damaged, the other half were rotting off. From what he could see through the opening, it would be a hell of a lot of work to fix it. No wonder the old man couldn’t do anything about it.

Jake climbed onto the ledge, ignoring Gabby’s protest. “Can you stop the water flow?” he called.

“Yes, but that’s something you’re going to have to help me do.” She hoisted herself up next to him and pointed down. “We have to stop the wheel down there.” The warmth from her body meshed with his and he had to tighten his hold of the sill to avoid grabbing her. A rush of sensation flew through him as quickly as the water that rolled past the mill. Her scent today was a combination of flour, grease and woman, which tickled his senses.

Her physical agility should have surprised him, but it didn’t. He took it as part of who she was, even if she wasn’t one of the sweet Southern ladies he was used to. Gabby was different, very different. Jake smiled into the cool spray from the water and glanced at her. Tiny bits of moisture clung to her smooth cheeks and full berry-colored lips. Jake’s mouth went dry as a pulse of pure arousal slammed him.

He wanted to kiss her, more than once. God, he wanted to taste her, to find out if she was as sweet and delicious as she looked. Jake shook with the need, the hunger that bit into him. Gabby turned to him wearing her perpetual frown.

“What is it?”

Jake shook his head. “Nothing. Not used to heights I guess.” He smiled. “Can you show me the bottom of the wheel?”

“Sure.” Her even white teeth gnawed on the plump bottom lip. “If you don’t think you can do it, tell me now. I don’t want to get my hopes up, or worse yet, my father’s hopes up, over nothing.”

“Oh, I can do whatever you need me to.” Jake’s voice rang with conviction. “No matter what you think of me or my friends, we will help Tanger. I will help
you
.”

Gabby nodded and jumped down. From the expression on her face, she wasn’t convinced Jake would or could do the work, but he wasn’t about to let her down. Suddenly being around Gabby and making her happy became the most important thing in the world to him.

* * * * *

The water sounded like thunder when they stood behind the wheel. The combination of the splashing and slap of the paddles added to the cacophony. It was one of Gabby’s favorite places. She loved to sit on the stone wall that ran behind the mill and watch the wheel turn, feeling the spray of the water on her face. Truth was, she did her best thinking sitting there. Ever since she was little, it was her spot, especially when she was troubled.

Today that trouble stood beside her in the form of a redheaded man with a devastating grin and beautiful blue eyes. Jake Sheridan was unlike any man she’d ever met. He was charming, smart and funny, enough of a distraction to make her nervous. Gabby’s world was too small for a man as big as he was. In every way, he was just too big. She was used to handling problems and being the voice of reason—he threatened that control.

“I think I finally understand how it all works.” He tipped his black hat back. “At least enough to know what you need me to do.” With a grin, he knelt down at the water’s edge and stuck his hand in the current.

Gabby had the insane urge to push him into the water, whether to cool him off or to make herself feel better, she wasn’t sure. Her fingers actually itched to touch him, to feel the texture of his shirt, the heat of the skin beneath it. She wondered if his freckles covered his body or if they were just on his face. That led her to imagine exactly what the freckles would taste like. She swiped her tongue across her damp lips instead.

Gabby shook her head to dispel the strange urges and thoughts floating around there. The very idea of fantasizing about a man she’d known for such a short time was preposterous enough—she didn’t need to turn into a silly-headed idiot over him.

Control, Gabby.

“Have you lived here all your life?” He sat on the stone wall, patting the space next to him.

Although her feet dragged, Gabby walked over and perched next to him, unable or unwilling to stop herself. “No, we moved around a lot. We only moved to Tanger about five years ago. The mill used to belong to another man named Abel Freeman. After he died his wife sold the mill to my father and left town.” She paused, remembering the joy her father felt in finally owning a mill.

“Why a flour mill?” He picked up a pine needle and swept it back and forth across her hand.

Gabby shivered from the contact and pulled away from his touch. “My father had worked for a man down in San Antonio who taught him everything about the design and running of a mill.” She had absorbed every drop of knowledge from her papa, like a thirsty sponge. “When the mill came for sale, my father used every cent he had to buy it. After we moved to Tanger, my father’s dream came true.”

The memory of her father getting hurt six months ago slammed into her without warning, eliciting a gasp from her throat. She closed her eyes, remembering the sound of his screams as his leg was pulled into the machinery. The blood coated the equipment and it had taken the better part of two weeks to get it all out. She swore there were still stains on the dark wooden floor beside the grinder.

“Gabby.” Jake cupped her face in his big hands. “Are you all right?”

Without thinking about what she was doing, Gabby kissed him. It was a quick, hard kiss against his soft, surprised lips. Before he could react, she moved away, covering her face with her hands and breathing like a bellows. What had just possessed her to do that?

She jumped up and backed away from him, trembling at her foolish actions. Jake didn’t say a word. She assumed he was watching her as she paced in a circle, grasping her self-control with both hands. After she found her balance, she peeked at him. She expected him to be smiling or at worst, smirking at her. Instead, he was frowning, actually
frowning
at her. Gabby wasn’t feeling stupid anymore, now she was embarrassed.

“Are you all right?” he repeated.

Gabby sat back down hard. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“God no.” She sighed. “I feel dumb enough.”

“There’s no reason to feel dumb.” He touched a fingertip to her lips, sending a shiver of pure need through her, totally kicking aside the embarrassment. “Thank you for the kiss.”

Gone was the charming, silly flirt, and in his place was a man showing concern for her. At least, that’s what Gabby saw in his eyes. She tended to trust her instincts since they’d saved her more than once. Jake showed her a side she hadn’t seen before, a true gentleman, and for that she started respecting him.

“I was thinking about my father’s accident,” she whispered. “He nearly died. Between you and me, sometimes I think he believes he might as well have because he’s been a ghost ever since.”

Jake shifted closer, the heat from his body permeating her cotton shirt. She leaned toward him, a shiver wracking her body. The water and her memories had brought a chill.

“I’m sorry.” His expression was filled with understanding and a deep recognition of grief. So he knew a great deal about ghosts too. It didn’t surprise her because in her experience, men who’d survived the war had suffered more than their share of sorrow. “I’m not sure if you believe me or not, but I think I know exactly how he feels. You are a loving, devoted daughter from what I see and you’ve kept the family together, kept the mill together.”

“Thank you.” She cleared her throat. “He lies in bed and watches out the window all day, won’t look at an invalid chair or even speak. The doctor says he’s healed up, just…lost.”

Jake’s arm crept around her shoulders. “I’ve been there myself. Maybe he just needs a reason to find his way back from wherever he’s gone.”

Gabby blew out a breath, the pain and frustration of not being able to help her father racing through her. “I wish I knew how.”

“We can start by fixing the mill. Maybe if he hears her running smooth and sweet, it’ll help.” His deep voice rumbled in his chest, giving her comfort for the first time in so long, she didn’t want to move an inch.

“That would be wonderful.” She imagined her father smiling again or laughing in his big booming way. Gabby missed him, confused by the shell he’d become.

Jake tipped her chin up with his finger. He seemed to be asking permission, which Gabby couldn’t refuse. After an almost imperceptible nod from her, he bent down and kissed her. A light, sweet touch danced across her lips, gentle flutters like angel wings. She closed her eyes and savored every second of it as he pulled her into a fog of arousal before he’d even truly kissed her.

It stopped as quickly as it started. Gabby opened her eyes and locked gazes with Jake. Lord help her, she was in trouble.

Zeke hadn’t seen Allison since the day they’d shared a meal, but she was never far from his mind. She reminded him of what beauty was, how much he’d lost in the last four years, and the gnawing hunger to get some of it back had grabbed hold of him. He couldn’t shake it off, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

He’d chosen to work on repairs to the church in hopes of seeing Allison again. Pitiful fool that he was, he spent the day trying not to fall off the roof while keeping watch for her. Just a glimpse would do, enough to ease the ache in his chest. Lee kept leveling disgusted looks at him, but Zeke ignored his brother. The church roof needed to be fixed and it was, after all, the spiritual center of Tanger. Zeke’s explanation made his brother roar with laughter.

It was nearly the end of the day before Zeke saw Allison. She opened the front door of her house and poked her head out. His heart hammered louder than he thought possible. Damn tingles raced down his skin at the sight of her. Was he a lovesick idiot?

As if she sensed him watching her, she glanced up, her eyes wide with fear. Zeke forced himself to smile, while inside what he wanted to do was scramble down the ladder and kiss her until she didn’t look afraid anymore. He waved one gloved hand, but she ducked back into the house like a scared rabbit.