Indiana Wild (Spirit Pass Book 1) (22 page)

Indy rolled her eyes.
“How could you know that? I certainly don't remember ever meeting the creep before. Why would you think he had any big desire for me?” She snorted in disbelief.

Sam's eyes softened as he took in Indy's disbelieving look.
“When Hammock's home was searched they found a room with pictures of you at different stages of your life posted all over one wall. He had been very careful in making sure you were kept isolated. I remember Allie telling me once that you were upset that the few guys you dated during college never asked you out more than once. I suspect Hammock had something to do with that.”

Indy was silent as she absorbed the fact that she had been stalked for years and never knew anything about it. Her hand trembled as she reached for the hot tea Claire had set down in front of her. She looked up into Sam’s compassionate eyes, the question trembled on her lips before she forced it out.

“You…. You said I would never have to worry about Hayden bothering me again,” she said. “What did you mean by that?”

Sam sighed and pushed his empty dessert plate away from him as he searched for the right words.
“You could contest the sale of the ranch in court but it would be a lengthy and expensive fight.” He looked at Jonathan who nodded once to let him know he should continue. “Jonathan… and I talked to Allen who agreed that it would be difficult to get the ranch back. Personally, neither one of us thought you would want it anyway for several reasons. Hayden has agreed to terminate his request for guardianship and release all monies, including his share of the sale of the ranch, over to you. In addition, he has promised he would never voluntarily seek you out unless you requested to meet with him. In exchange, you will agree not to prosecute him for fraudulently signing a Will in your grandfather’s name or press kidnapping charges against him.”

Indy sat stunned.
“But, that’s millions of dollars!” She said hoarsely, looking at Jonathan.

Jonathan held her hand tightly in his, his heart pounding in his chest in fear as he waited to see what she would do. Would she choose to stay here, in her time or would she choose to return with him to his? His gut clenched as the seconds turned to long minutes as they stared at each other.

A smile curved her lips as her eyes softened. “I don’t want the ranch,” she responded in a strong clear voice. “I already have one. It’s called the Twin Rivers. Where I’m going Hayden won’t be able to find me anyway.” She turned her head to look at all her friends sitting around the huge table. “I want to go home.”

Sam smiled and reached for Claire’s hand which clasped his tightly in return.
“I’ll take you to Spirit Pass tomorrow. We can leave at first light,” he said.

Indy grinned, turning to gaze at Jonathan who let out the breath he was holding.
“Not tomorrow. I plan on taking a few things with me this time,” she said mischievously. “We’re going to need a few pack horses, Sam. Do you think you can help out?”

“
I can take care of the pack horses,” Allie said with a frown. “But, why in the hell do you need to go to Spirit Pass?” She asked looking around the table. “Papa said that place was haunted and we were to never go near it.”

Jonathan, Jacob, Indy, Sam and Claire all laughed before Indy erupted into a mountain of things she wanted to purchase and take with her. Jonathan looked at his brother who was staring intently at Allie as she joined in making a list with Indy. Jacob turned to look at his brother and nodded with determination, a wicked smile on his face.

The next few hours flew by before Indy started yawning like crazy. Jonathan finally pulled her up, wrapping his arm around her. They were almost to the door of the dining room when Indy stopped suddenly as another thought occurred to her. She turned back to look at Sam.

“
Sam,” she called out softly. “I almost forgot. You said there were several reasons why you thought I wouldn’t want to fight for the Wild Ranch. What was the other one?”

Sam raised his eyebrow at Jonathan who gave him a brief nod.
“Because I don’t think Colt and Dalton Tucker would give it up without a fight,” he replied with a grin. “The brothers are the direct descendents of the family that started the Twin Rivers ranching outfit.”

Indy tightened the strap holding her saddlebag on Midnight. Chester and Tweed were jumping around, trying to get her attention. It had taken almost two weeks to get everything finalized. She had converted the almost two and a half million dollars from the sale of the ranch into some form of wealth that she could use in the past. Most of it was in the form of high bred horses, precious stones, and some gold and silver. The rest went into other necessities that Jonathan, Jacob, and she thought would help make life a little easier, including several crates of medical supplies. She had also added fabric and Jonathan had added a trunk full of lingerie that Taylor had shown him how to order on the Internet.

Jonathan had grudgingly admitted he would miss two things about the future – the bathroom and the Internet. He and Jacob had already decided they were going to see about building a bathroom or two in the ranch house. They had researched instructions on how to do plumbing and building a septic tank on the Internet and printed them out. Both
men had spent an informative evening locked in Sam’s office with Taylor. They both decided they had learned way more about Sam’s younger son than either one of them needed to know. At twenty, Taylor had more knowledge of the opposite sex than Jonathan and Jacob combined thanks to the damn box.

“
What are you thinking so hard about?” Indy asked, coming up to wrap her arms around his waist.

Jonathan started and gave her a
wry grin. “Taylor and the Internet,” he admitted.

Indy laughed out loud.
“Say no more! Just putting Taylor and the word Internet together tells me way more than I want or need to know,” she snickered.

Jonathan looked suspiciously at Taylor who was joking around with Jacob.
“What is that supposed to mean?” He asked looking at the younger man through narrowed eyes.

“
I’ll tell you about it later tonight,” Indy said, mischievously letting her hand slide down his chest to the front of his pants. “I’m impatient to get home,” she murmured as she stood on her toes to press her lips against his.

“
Hey you two, get a room!” Taylor called out.

“
Don’t worry,” Allie said as she walked by leading her horse. “I’ll kill him before he reaches twenty-one.”

Indy frowned at her best friend.
“What do you think you are doing?” She demanded.

Allie raised her eyebrow at Indy.
“Get real, do you really think the three of you can handle this on your own? You have over forty horses and mules here, Indy. Add that in with the sixteen puppies you bought yesterday and you have your hands full. I told Papa I would come and help you guys get home. God knows why we can’t just trailer everything instead of doing it the old fashioned way, but if this is what toots your horn, who am I to complain? It isn’t like this will be my first trail ride. I told Papa and Mama I’d be back in a couple of weeks. I wanted to make sure everything is cool with you and I thought it would be neat to check out your new place,” Allie said before she suddenly stopped, a look of doubt creeping across her face. “You don’t mind, do you Indy? I mean, if you do I can just help you part of the way and come back,” she added hurriedly, turning away so Indy couldn’t see the hurt in her eyes.

“
Oh Allie, you know I would love to have you come with me,” Indy said cautiously. “I’m just not sure it is going to be what you expect. I mean….” Indy paused to look at Jonathan for guidance.

“
We are traveling a long way from your time, Allie,” Jonathan said. “Where we live, where we are going to, is a different world from what you are used to.”

Allie looked at both of them before she glanced at Jacob who was watching them intently from where he was standing next to Taylor and Aleaha. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders, breaking his gaze. She looked back at Indy and Jonathan and smiled.

“It can’t be much worse than this one,” Allie replied lightly. “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to be staying or anything. I’m just visiting for a couple of weeks.”

Jonathan nodded, putting his hand on Indy’s arm when she opened her mouth to protest.
“We appreciate your help, Allie. Let’s load up. We have a long way to go,” he said lightly, squeezing Indy’s arm and nodding slightly toward Jacob who was still gazing at Allie, a hungry, possessive look in his eyes.

Indy smiled and turned back to Midnight, mounting him in one graceful move. With a sharp whistle, Chester and Tweed bounded over to her. Aleaha and Taylor would take up the rear with Jacob while Sam and Allie lead the way. Indy and Jonathan would take the middle. Sam, Taylor, and Aleaha would not continue on once they reached Spirit Pass. After that, it would be up to Jacob, Jonathan and Indy to lead the way back to the Twin River ranch and - home.

They were all so focused on leading the long train of horses and pack mules that none of them noticed the dark figure sitting on a rock ledge off to their left watching them. The dark eyes moved over the long line of horses tied together before stopping on one of the figures towards the back. Maikoda’s blood heated as his eyes ran over the slender figure of the woman who was talking to the twin who had saved his life several years before. He almost gave his position away when the tall white man smiled up at her as she mounted her horse. He listened carefully to the words that were being spoken. He had come through Spirit Pass searching for this woman. He knew she was destined to be his, what he had not expected was to find her quite so easily. His eyes followed the line as it moved past him. From the conversation he had overheard, the one called Aleaha would be coming back this way. Maikoda smiled. He would be ready for when she did.

*.*.*

It took almost two full days of riding to get home. Allie had ridden up to Indy shortly after they made it through the narrow Pass to talk. She had confided to Indy that she had been a little spooked going through it and was glad when she could see the opening on the other side. Taylor had wanted to come but Sam had put his foot down with his youngest son, telling him he had much to learn before he could even think of traveling to the ‘other side’. Allie had joked that her dad had sounded like Rod Sterling from the Twilight Zone for a minute when he talked about Spirit Pass.

They reached the western pasture and were greeted by several of the cowpunchers that Indy recognized from her first few weeks out on the range. Trace and Butler had the grace to blush a little when they saw Indy again but their eyes opened and grins lit up their faces when they saw Allie.

“Howdy ma’am,” Trace said, pulling his hat off his head and nodding.

Allie grinned back at the two men. They looked like some of the rodeo clowns that hung out with Taylor after an event. Both were trying to smooth their hair
down before wiping their grubby hands on their pants.

“
Hi guys,” Allie said with a chuckle. “How’s it going?”

“
It’s going just fine,” Jacob snapped, stepping closer to Allie. “Don’t you two have work that needs to be done?” He demanded giving both men a look that told them in no uncertain terms that Allie was off limits.

Allie rolled her eyes at Jacob before she turned back to check the straps on several pack mules.
“You need to get a life,” she muttered under her breath to Jacob before moving away.

“
I’m going to….” Jacob started to say before he bit his tongue.

“
She’s like that with all the guys,” Indy assured him. “They are drawn to her like a bug to a bug light and then she zaps the hell out of them,” she added before walking over to help Allie.

“
What the hell is a bug light?” Jacob asked absently to Jonathan who had come to stand next to him.

“
Damned if I know,” Jonathan said appreciating the way his wife’s pants hugged her sweet little bottom. “I have a feeling it is one of the million things we missed on our trip and not one I would regret failing to learn about.”

They only rested long enough for Jonathan and Jacob to catch up a little on what had happened at the ranch while they were gone and to give the horses and dogs a rest before they finished their last leg of the journey. Indy stopped next to Allie on the small rise above the ranch house. She heard Allie’s gasp at her first sight of the beautiful homestead.

“Gosh, Indy,” Allie muttered. “This looks just like the Tucker place over near Meeteetse. You didn’t tell me that Jonathan and Jacob were related to them. They own one of the biggest ranches in the Montana/Wyoming area. It makes Papa’s ranch look like a kiddie farm.”

Indy had never paid much attention to the other ranches in the area. The Wild ranch wasn’t as profitable so Indy and her granddad had their hands full running it with fewer hands. Sam’s ranch was almost twice as large and he had turned to adding crops as well as breeding horses and cattle.

“I never thought of it,” Indy replied honestly. “Allie, there is something I need to tell you,” she said hesitantly.

Allie turned, looking at the serious expression on Indy’s face.
“What?” She asked curiously. “If you are afraid I’ll act all weird because your hubby is related to one of the richest families in the country, you don’t have to worry. I mean, I don’t really give a damn if a guy has a lot of money or not,” she said awkwardly.

“
It’s not that,” Indy replied gazing down at the ranch house. “Do you remember telling me about how weird you felt when we went through Spirit Pass?”

Allie frown in concentration.
“Yeah, it was all misty and cold and stuff. The hair on the back of my neck was like standing on end. Even the animals were all freaky. What was up with that?”

Indy drew in a deep breath and released it before giving her closest friend a smile.
“You are no longer in 2013, Allie. Welcome to my new home. The year, by the way, is 1867.”

Allie’s mouth dropped open before she snapped it shut.
“You’re shitting me, right?”

Indy shook her head.
“Nope. I felt the same way too. You should have seen the preacher and his wife’s face when Jonathan was tying me up so he could marry me. I don’t think she liked the comment I made about her dress,” she said with a grin. “It shocked the shit out of me when I signed the marriage certificate.”

Allie’s shocked expression turned to anger.
“What do you mean, when he tied you up? Why the hell did he do that?” She demanded.

“
Because a woman’s reputation is ruined if she is with a man and has no chaperone,” Jacob said riding up behind them. “Jonathan had to marry Indy to protect her.”

Allie turned sharply in her saddle to glare at him.
“That’s bullshit. Shit like that doesn’t really happen,” she snorted. “It would be a cold day in hell before I let some guy tie me up and force me into marriage just because I spent some time alone with him! Hell, I’d have been married dozens of times by now if that were the case.”

Jacob’s face darkened and a look of grim determination glittered in his eye
s. He moved his horse closer until his leg brushed against Allie. He smiled as he looked down at her defiant face.

“
There is one thing you forgot about, Allie,” Jacob said in a low, deep voice.

Allie tossed her head, refusing to give into the urge to move her horse away from him.
“Yeah, what’s that?” She asked sarcastically. “That all guys are assholes?”

“
No,” Jacob replied, reaching around her suddenly and pulling her off her horse and into his arms. “That you are no longer in your time but mine,” he whispered in her ear as he wrapped the cord he had hidden in his hands around her wrists.

Allie’s frustrated scream and loud curses filled the air as Jacob kicked his horse. Indy started in surprise at Jacob’s sudden behavior. She would have chased them but Jonathan had come up on the other side of her and grabbed Midnight’s reins, holding the huge horse in place.

“Jonathan,” Indy said worriedly, looking at him then back at the fading figures on horseback. “Jacob…. Allie….” She half way wondered if she should be more concerned for Jacob’s safety since she knew what a handful Allie could be when she was riled. She also knew Jacob would never hurt her friend. She was just worried about whether Allie felt the same way about Jacob as he obviously did about her from the heated looks he had been sending her friend.

“
Let him handle it,” Jonathan said quietly. “I want to take my wife home.”

Indy didn’t resist when he lifted her off of Midnight’s back and onto his lap. She slid her leg over his horse’s neck and leaned back with a groan as his hand moved up to cup her breast. He let the reins rest on the arched curve of the gelding
’s neck and used his knees to guide it down the slope towards the house while his other hand moved to rub her intimately.

Her soft gasp and arching into his hand, spurred him to increase the speed home. He had known his brother had something up his sleeve when he saw the determined look on his face as he rode over to Allie. He also knew his wife would jump to the defense of her friend. Now, he didn’t give a damn about anything but getting them down to the ranch house. Tweed and Chester moved up and down the long line of horses. Several of the men, including Jake, Ed and Carl had ridden out when they first spotted them coming in. Jonathan moved his hands when Jake came riding up to them.