The Taming (The Black Thunder Series) (30 page)

“Highway
Fifty,” said Kate aloud as she read the marker alongside the road.

“That’s right.” Jack
nodded. “Loneliest road in America, according to National Geographic.”

“Why is it the loneliest road?”

“Because it’s a road full of nothing when you head east past Fallon,” he stated as he veered the truck off the main road and into the parking lot of the grocery store. “Actually, you could take the freeway all the way cross country ‘til you hit the Atlantic.”

“Have you ever done it?” she asked
as they pulled into a parking space.

“Nope,” he chuckled a
nd turned off the engine. “Got as far as Utah, but that’s it.”

Jack climbed from the truck and scooted around to open the door for Kate
. He took her hand and led her into the grocery store. Jack grabbed a cart and pushed it in front of Kate to drive. He went to the beverage section first, placing a case of water and a six pack of beer in the cart.

“Do you want a wine cooler or something
?” He asked her.

“No, the water is fine,”
she replied politely. Jack put one in the shopping cart anyway in case she changed her mind. They continued on through the aisles as he loaded the cart with an assortment of snacks.

“Let’s head to the deli. T
hey make killer submarine sandwiches.”

As they made their way to the deli several of the locals greeted Jack by name
. Each time they said their Nevada hellos they paused to stare at Kate. By the time they reached the deli Kate thought she was in a freak show and she was the main attraction. Jack stepped up to the counter and placed their order.

“Two Italian submarines, Bernie,” he ordered from the deli clerk.

“You want everything on them, Jack?” Bernie asked as his attention went to Kate.

“You want everything on yours, baby?”

“Hold the onions and tomatoes,” she stated.

“One with no onions and the other with no onions or tomatoes,” said Jack
. “Oh, and throw in a pound of macaroni salad.”

“You got it,” said the clerk as he gave Kate a quick once over and then went to make the sandwiches.

“You don’t like tomatoes?” asked Jack as he leaned on the counter.

“I don’t like fresh tomatoes on sandwiches,” explained Kate as she saw him give her an odd look
. “It’s a texture thing. It makes me gag.”

“Well I’m glad there are some textures that don’t make you gag,” he leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“Did anyone ever tell you that you have a way with words?” She frowned.

“All the time,” he winked at her
and she couldn’t help but laugh.

Her laughter was short lived
though, when two elderly gents walked past, nodding their Nevada greeting to Jack then took one look at Kate and did a double take as if they’d never seen a woman before. If she hadn’t seen them scratch their heads and prod each other like they were fascinated by her species, she would have never believed it. She watched the old geezers disappear round an aisle and it was her turn to scratch her head.

“Do I have something stuck in my teeth or is there something sticking on my face that I should know about
?” She asked as she searched her reflection in the glass deli encasement.

“Not that I can see,” said Jack taking a step closer
. “Let me have a look.” Kate tilted her head upward and bared her teeth in order for Jack to inspect. “Nope, nothing,” he smiled as he closed her mouth. “Except for maybe all those damn freckles.” He tapped each brown spot with the end of his fingertip as if he were trying to connect the dots then he planted a kiss on the bridge of her nose.

“Oh good,” she said relieved
. “For a minute there I thought it was me.” She went to laugh then stopped. “Do you know why everyone keeps staring at me?

“Maybe it’s because most folk aren’t used to seeing me with a beautiful woman by my side baby,” answered Jack.

“They should be- if what they say about you is true.” The words just spilled from her mouth before she could stop them and she saw his green eyes narrow just a hair. “I mean-“she backpedaled.

“I know what you meant
.” He interrupted her. “And no they’re not.” His eyes softened. “I had only one use for a woman before I met you Kate and it wasn’t going grocery shopping if you catch my meaning.”

“Oh
-” she stated not sure if she should be flattered or mortified.

“Here you go,” said Bernie
the deli clerk interrupting their awkward moment. “Can I get you anything else?” He looked at Jack then at Kate and back to Jack again.

“
No, we’re good,” said Jack placing the items in the cart.

Jack took control of the cart
again and their mood as he proceeded to another aisle. Kate frowned when he stopped at the suntan lotion. Jack scanned the lotions with his overbearing radar and found the one he was looking for. Without consulting her, he tossed it into the cart.

“We’re done, baby,” he stated moving the cart through the aisle and toward the check- out lanes.

“I’m not using that lotion, Jack,” said Kate walking alongside of him. “I don’t need sixty protection. I’ll never keep my tan using that.”

“You think?” he grinned and kept walking.

Kate gave up.
What’s the use
, she told herself. There was no arguing with Jack McBride when he got something in his head. She followed him to the check-out. Jack began to place their items on the counter. Kate picked up the wine cooler and set it on the rubber top.

“No baby, let me do that,”
he stated. She stepped back and watched as he unloaded the cart. It was kind of sweet for him to not want her to help.

The cashier looked up and saw Jack
. She smiled with familiar recognition. “Hey stranger, haven’t seen much of you lately,” said the dark-haired woman as she batted her lashes and flashed her baby blues at him.

Kate couldn’t help but
notice the open flirtation. It made her nervous and she felt like shriveling up in a corner somewhere never to be seen again. Why did she always feel like disappearing when women came on to her men? Maybe it was because her ex always flirted back and made her feel inferior, or perhaps it was because he treated her like she was invisible and not worth the attention.

Kate could only see this woman, this cashier, stealing the attention of Jack though
she had no clue if he was returning the flirtation since she took several steps back into the front aisle of the store.

“I need two bags of ice, Michelle,” said Jack dryly
.

Michelle rang up his order and gave him a warm saucy smile
. “You going to the Wild Horse tonight?” she asked him. “There’s going to be a band and some of the boys from the rodeo are in town. I know they would love to see you there.” She leaned over the counter and ran her finger over his hand. “I get off at seven.”

  Jack frowned and pulled his hand back
. “What do you think, baby?” said Jack to Kate. “You want to head over to the saloon after we’re done at the lake?” He looked up when he heard no response. He saw Kate melding in with the magazines. “Kate,” Jack called to her as he pushed the cart through to clear the aisle. He walked over to her and took her hand then proceeded to make her follow him up to the counter.

“Michelle, this is Kate,” said Jack as he wrapped his arm around her waist
. “Kate’s agreed to move in with me, haven’t you, baby?” Jack leaned over and kissed Kate on the lips. He lingered a little then withdrew.

“That’ll be seventy dollars.” Michelle stated matter-of-factly as she looked at Jack then at Kate
. Kate fumbled in her purse and pulled out her credit card.

“Put your money away,” said Jack firmly as he removed his wallet from his pocket
. “You don’t ever pay. It’s my job to take care of you.” She nodded and put her card back in her purse. Jack handed Michelle the cash then loaded the packages back in the cart.

“See yah round, Michelle,” Jack called over his shoulder as he shuffled Kate and the cart out the door.

Once they were to the truck, Jack placed the items in the cooler.

“Here,” he said gruffly handing her the suntan lotion
. “Put this in your bag.”

Kate blinked and wondered why he suddenly seemed in a foul mood
. If anyone should be annoyed it should be her. Why that woman was practically salivating all over him and in front of her to boot. Jack opened the cab door for her.

“Get in,” he barked.

“Are you mad at me?” She asked as she slid into her seat.

He
ignored her and slammed the door closed. He walked around the truck and entered on the driver’s side. He started the engine and pulled out of the parking space. She glanced over at him and saw cold steel eyes focused on the road.

He drove to the far end of the parking lot and pulled in to a space far away from the other vehicles
. He put the truck in park then turned and glared at her.

“Hell yes, I am mad at you,” he shouted as he slammed his hands on the steering wheel
. “What the hell was that back there?”

“Maybe I should be asking you the same question,”
she said as her back pricked with irritation. “Who is Michelle?”

“I’m not going there with you
.” He shook his head in frustration.

“Well maybe you should,” she spouted
attitude. “I don’t want any surprises shoved in my face.”

“You want to know who she is?” he shouted throwing his hands up in the air
. “Fine, I’ll tell you if that’s really what you want to hear.”

“I do
.” Kate leaned back against the window and folded her arms across her chest.

“She’s just a girl I fucked,” he
snapped. “There’re a lot of women I fucked.”

“Like me,”
she said as tears formed in her eyes.

“No, not like you,” he shouted angrily
. “Never like you.”

“Stop yelling at me!”
She barely got the words out as a lump formed in her throat.

“There’re going to be other woman, just like Michelle, who you’re going to meet,” he continued his rant
. “You need to get a backbone and stand up to them rather than shrink away.”

“I didn’t shrink away
.” She lied, too proud to admit he was right.

“Oh Kate, you did,” he
said and began to settle down seeing how upset she was. “You need to make them see that you are proud and strong standing beside your man, otherwise they will run right over you.”

“I don’t have to prove anything to those women,”
she said and burst into tears. “If you want them so badly then go back to them and leave me the hell alone. I’m not about to fight over any man who doesn’t want to be with me.”

“Oh baby, he really did a number on you
.” He felt her pain and it made his own heart ache. “Come here.” Jack pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. Kate folded into him as tears ran down her cheeks.

“I want you Kate, just you
.” He kissed the top of her head. “Those women are nothing more than history, and history remains in the past. You are my present and my future.”

“I want to believe that, Jack,”
she sobbed. “But it’s kind of hard when you’ve had the rug pulled out from under you before.”

“I know that, baby
.” Jack lifted her chin and placed a sweet kiss to her lips. “You don’t ever have to worry about me being unfaithful to you. You’re the only woman I want in my bed, having my babies, and sharing my life. Now dry your eyes.”

Kate sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes
. Jack put the truck in drive and pulled out of the parking space, driving through the lot until he hit the main road. He drove for another hundred yards and pulled off, stopping in front of an old building housing two stores.

“I’ll be back,” said Jack as he climbed from the truck
. “You wait here.”

Kate watched
him enter one of the stores. Her eyes drifted upward to the sign over the front door. It read Dayton Valley Pawn Shop. Kate waited wondering what he needed at a pawn store. With Jack anything was possible. Several minutes later, he returned. Jack walked over to the passenger side and opened the door.

“Give me your hand,” he ordered.

She gave him her right hand.

“The other one Kate,”
he bellowed and took her left hand.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out two plain silver bands
. He slipped it on her finger and it fit perfectly. He slid the other large thick band on his own.

“These are move-in rings,” he stated firmly
. “Now it’s official. You belong to me and I belong to you. Remember that when some woman tries to say otherwise, and trust me I’ll do the same if some guy even looks at you the wrong way. You got that?”