The Cowboy Who Strolled Into Town (102 page)

‘Are you alright?’ Lane asked, going over to Chivonn where she cowered against a wall.

‘Please go away. You’re scaring me,’ Chivonn said in reply.

‘Where are you staying? I’ll take you there,’ Lane offered.

‘I was staying…with him,’ Chivonn pointed at Bill, who was lying in a crumpled heap.

‘Come with me,’ Lane said on an impulse.

‘I don’t know you,’ Chivonn said shakily, afraid of trusting anyone at that moment.

‘How well do you know the man who was trying to strangle you?’

‘He tried to help me.’

‘Really? So where is the money you made on the gigs he got you?’

Chivonn looked away, tears sliding down her cheeks. Lane saw them gleaming on her skin in the half light and wished he could wipe them away and hold her close.

‘He said he had given me a break and I owed him.’

‘Well, you’ve paid your debt and now you can come with me and be safe.’

‘And go from being one man’s slave to another man’s servant?’

‘I would never do that to you!’ Lane said, ‘Never!’

‘You would use me…or try to…like he did.’

‘No,’ Lane said shaking his head, ‘No, I would never do that either. I just want to keep you safe until you are on your feet again or can return to your home.’

‘Why?’ Chivonn asked.

‘I don’t know why,’ Lane replied, ‘I only know I need to do this for you.’

Chivonn reluctantly slid into the seat of Lane’s Ford as he held the door open for her. He took the wheel and she looked anxiously at him as he began to speak.

‘I had a sister,’ Lane said, ‘and she died because nobody could come to her aid in time. I live with that every day. And I live to see that no other woman meets the fate she did – not on my watch anyway.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Chivonn murmured, moved. She tried to think of something else to say, but she couldn’t, and there was no further conversation as the car roared home to Lane’s estate.

When they reached the Ranch House Lane got out of the car and opened the door for Chivonn. She looked up at the house, impressed.

‘Do you live alone in this big house?’ Chivonn asked.

‘Yes. I do have help to take care of it, though…and to take care of the ranch.’

As they walked up the porch steps Chivonn turned to look up at the sky, a sudden stab of homesickness bringing tears to her eyes. Lane felt deep compassion for her. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘You are not here as a prisoner. You are free to come and go as you please. And you can leave any time you want. Just stay away from people like your former manager.’

‘I have nothing to do now. If I go back to waitressing then Bill could find me and he will be really upset. I think my life would definitely be in danger then.’

‘So stay here. You don’t need to do anything just yet. Rest awhile. You can get more gigs – probably even at the Palomino.

‘I like paying my way wherever I am,’ Chivonn said, ‘So I would feel bad to impose on you or accept your hospitality without doing something in return.’

‘Chivonn, would you please just do this for me? Saving you from Bill helped ease some of the guilt I feel over not being there when my sister was attacked. You will be doing me a favor by staying here…so please say no more.’

Lane opened the door as he said this and they walked through into a luxurious living room. There were carpets on the wooden floors and pictures hanging on the wood paneled walls.

‘You have a tastefully decorated home,’ Chivonn commented.

Lane’s eyes clouded over. ‘We used to live together, my sister and I, after we lost our parents. Mary pretty much put this whole house together. And I left it just that way.’

‘Oh,’ Chivonn breathed, ‘I’m sorry…for Mary…for what happened.’ She studied a photograph on one of the walls and turned to Lane. ‘Is that her? Is that your sister Mary?’

Lane nodded, ‘Yes, that’s her.’

‘On my way here, I was on the train when a group of bandits got on and tried to rob us,’ Chivonn said, ‘ I would have lost the only jewelry I possessed in the world and maybe even my life, if it hadn’t been for a man who jumped onto the train and saved all of us. He fought one of the bandits and got shot.’

Lane tried to keep his breathing even. ‘Did he die?’

‘No,’ Chivonn replied, ‘He was injured, but when he jumped off the train he was still alive. I am very grateful to him.’

‘What happened after the man jumped off the train?’

‘The train went on to the Station not far from where we were attacked, and I got off.’ Chivonn’s large dark eyes were on him, ‘And a few days later I met Bill…and now I have met you, and so my adventure continues.’

Lane couldn’t explain why his heart beat so hard. ‘I will show you to your room and go off to get some sleep,’ he said, ‘I’m quite exhausted.’

He led Chivonn up a flight of stairs which ended in a wide landing.  He went up to a door on the extreme right and opened it, turning on the lights as he did so.

‘Thank you so much for this!’ Chivonn said as she looked around the room – spacious, with a picture window and a queen sized bed with a pink and white patchwork quilt.

‘Goodnight Chivonn,’ Lane said, ‘My room is right across from yours, so if you need something, you just holler.’ He smiled, and Chivonn noticed how his features softened. She smiled back.

Lane walked away and then swiftly returned. ‘You will find some clothes in the closet there,’ He said, pointing to a wardrobe near the bed, ‘and a very modern bathroom between our rooms. Join me for breakfast in the dining room – right next to the living room - when you are up and about tomorrow.’

‘Thank you,’ Chivonn said again, and closed her door as Lane left. She stood by the open window for a long while, reflecting on her life. The moon slid out from behind a bank of clouds and cast a silvery glow on the paddock to the side of the house. She could just about see the stables and heard a horse neigh. Her thoughts drifted to Lane and the kindness had led him to offer her shelter in his house. She shivered when she thought about Bill and what he might do when he drifted out of his hangover in the morning. She had managed to escape his lewd advances for the brief time she had been in Baldwin County, and was glad to get away from him, but she wondered what tomorrow would bring. She sighed and turned away from the window, and walked over to the closet. When she opened it she found neatly folded clothes, and beautifully embroidered linen. She carefully pulled out a white linen nightgown and towel and washed her face in the bowl on the nightstand.  As she pulled on the white linen nightgown she knew it must have belonged to Lane’s sister Mary, and as she lay in bed she thought about what Mary must have been like. 

She woke as dawn was breaking, kaleidoscopic streaks of light filtering down from the sky. Chivonn lay in bed wondering what she would do that day; whether she would attempt to return to her home – or what passed for a home – in Tennessee. She had been abandoned as a little girl and taken care of by a distant aunt who had died just before Chivonn decided to try her luck at a career in Baldwin County, Alabama. She turned over on her side, buried her face in her pillow, and tried to keep herself from crying.

When the sun streamed through her window she left her bed, pulled on a dressing gown which she found in the closet, and went in search of the bathroom which Lane had said was right beside her room. Delighted to find a water heater in the bathroom, Chivonn ran a bath and decided to take a soak in it before Lane awoke. She used the bath salts and soap liberally, washing her hair and scrubbing herself vigorously, as if she was trying to wash away the unpleasantness of the previous day, and when she emerged from the bath she felt renewed. It was when she was standing on a warm rug, water dripping off her body, that she realized she hadn’t brought any clothes inside to change into. She wrapped a towel around herself and hoped she would manage to get out of the bathroom and into her room without being seen by Lane or the household help. The towel she had with her reached down only as far as her knees, and when she pulled it across her bosom, she was unable to hide her cleavage. But it would have to do. She darted out of the bathroom and almost collided with Lane, who sprang back, startled.

‘Oh!’ Chivonn said, pulling the towel more tightly about her. This however only served to push her breasts further up above the towel. Lane’s eyes were on her freshly washed hair, her eyes, looking up at him, her embarrassed smile, and the contours of her body. Unable to hold Lane’s smoldering gaze, Chivonn dropped her eyes to her toes. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, ‘I omitted to carry my clothes in with me. I am mortified.’

‘Don’t be,’ Lane said gently, and Chivonn sped into her room and closed the door. Inside the room she gasped, catching sight of her reflection in the dresser mirror. Her breasts rose above the towel like two coffee colored twin domes. Chivonn let the towel drop and gasped in dismay. She hoped Lane didn’t think she was trying to provoke him. Her body was like luscious chocolate that morning, freshly washed and perfumed from the soap; her breasts firm and bouncy. She cupped them to hide their nakedness, wondering what Lane must have thought of her putting her assets on display like that.

The dresses in the closet were too conservative for her taste, but Chivonn had no choice but to make the best of what was available. When she went down to the dining room dressed in a grey skirt and cream colored blouse, Lane couldn’t keep himself from imagining what lay beneath them. As it is the blouse seemed unable to contain her generously proportioned breasts and Lane chided himself silently for putting so much temptation in his path.

They were served breakfast by an elderly lady who eyed Chivonn curiously as she laid out the buckwheat pancakes with maple syrup; ham, eggs and a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice and brown bread and butter. Chivonn realized how hungry she was, and Lane kept urging her to eat more, perhaps because he didn’t want the meal to end, and also because he enjoyed watching her eat.

After breakfast Lane invited Chivonn to go to the stables and she admired his horses, particularly taken with a red stallion and a broodmare that had just foaled.

‘Do you ride?’ He asked her.

‘No, I’ve never had the chance.’

‘Would you like to?’

‘I wouldn’t know where to begin,’ Chivonn said nervously.

‘This is my favorite horse,’ Lane said, bringing Beaumont around.

‘He’s beautiful!’ Chivonn exclaimed. Lane handed her a lump of sugar and encouraged her to feed it to the majestic black steed, watching her as she hesitantly held her hand out to Beaumont.  Lane saw her hand tremble and he took it in his and extended it closer to Beaumont’s muzzle.  Chivonn felt a ripple of excitement go through her fingers as Lane’s hand closed over them. He was so close to her that she could smell him. He smelled of fresh pine and the outdoors. Her eyes misted over as Beaumont accepted the sugar and Lane gently released her hand. She looked up at him and the intensity of his gaze made her tremble as her body was suffused with an unfamiliar but gratifying heat.

‘You must think me shameless and bold after this morning,’ Chivonn said, tripping over her words. ‘In fact you must think me shameless and bold for coming here…and staying here with you…unchaperoned. What will people say?’

‘Do you care what people say, Chivonn? I honestly couldn’t care less.’

‘I do care. I have to make a living.’

‘I assure you that your staying here with me will do your reputation no harm.’

‘What will you say when people ask you what I’m doing here?’

‘I will say you are a talented singer and I want to help you further your career.’ Lane looked more keenly at her. ‘But if you feel safer, I will get one of girls from the ranch to stay in the house with us – so that you have a chaperone.’ His proximity was unnerving as all Chivonn was aware of, as he spoke, was his powerful chest and the overwhelming aura of unbridled power that emanated from him.

‘I wouldn’t put you to all that trouble if I wasn’t also concerned about what people may say about you.’

‘So it’s decided then. I shall get one of the girls who helps in the kitchen to sleep in the house.’

‘Thank you,’ Chivonn said, ‘It will only be a few days, and by then I should have some sort of a plan for what I want to do.’

‘For now, ride with me.’

‘I’m afraid of horses,’ Chivonn admitted, so Lane swung her up onto Beaumont and seated himself behind her. Chivonn’s heart was racing as Lane slipped his hand around her waist. ‘Just so you feel safe,’ he murmured, as he eased Beaumont into a canter. The rhythm of the horse’s body beneath her, and Lane’s arm around her, transformed Chivonn’s personality with an abruptness that Lane found surprising.

‘Go faster!’ Chivonn urged, and Lane spurred Beaumont into a gallop. Chivonn’s hair flew about her shoulders and she threw back her head and laughed, allowing herself to feel a freedom she hadn’t experienced before. Lane inhaled the fragrance of her hair and skin as she fell back against his chest with each movement of Beaumont’s powerful body. He fought his emotions, though his hand tightened about her waist and Chivonn could feel the heat from his body.

‘Faster!’ Chivonn urged, and Lane gave into the moment and spurred Beaumont on. They seemed to fly through the meadowland; the tree lined paths and forested stretches. They rode along the railway track and then took the path by a stream as Lane slowed Beaumont down to a trot. Chivonn was breathless with excitement and delight as Lane slid off Beaumont and pulled her down beside him. They walked by the stream, laughing and talking about the ride. Chivonn was in a playful mood as she climbed onto a tree overhanging the stream and invited Lane to join her on one of the branches.