Yellowstone Romance Series - Bundle (# 2-5) (117 page)

Dan’s eyebrows drew together.

“Aimee left a lot of money behind when she went to live with Daniel. She inherited it from her parents when they died. It’s been sitting in an account we shared. When we moved to California together after we graduated from nursing school, we pooled our money, just in case something happened to one of us, the other would have full access. It should rightfully belong to you now. I’m sure there’s more than enough to cover all of your loans.”

Dan’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “Jana,” he said slowly. “You and I . . . I claimed you as my wife in that Sheepeater village. I think of you as my wife. Would you . . . could you consider a marriage to me in this time. Can you see yourself married to a simple schoolteacher, and seasonal ranger?”

“That is the strangest marriage proposal I’ve ever heard.” Jana beamed.

“I can get down on one knee if you prefer.” Dan released his hold on her, and was about to do just that, when Jana grabbed his arm.

“I don’t need that kind of proposal,” she whispered. “I like the one from two centuries ago.”

“Jana, will you marry me again, in this time? Officially?”

“Yes, you big dolt. I’ll marry you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. Dan lifted her at the waist, and spun her around.

Hand-in-hand, they walked toward the brink of the falls. Jana pulled the device from her pocket, and Dan found a few rocks that he added to the leather pouch. He tied a secure knot, and together they reached over the fence. Jana glanced down the gaping canyon, a small rainbow arching amidst the spray and mist from the water as it caught the evening sun.

She gasped, and clutched Dan’s arm. Standing at the base of the falls, as he had in her dream so many weeks ago, was the old Indian. He stared up at her, holding his hand out in a gesture of good-bye, his leathery face smiling brightly, nodding his head in apparent approval. Turning toward Dan, Jana hugged him close, and gazed up into his soft brown eyes. She released the pouch with the time travel device. Within seconds it disappeared from view as the waters of the Yellowstone swallowed it up. The Indian smiled, and nodded in satisfaction just before he disappeared from view, the only one other than them who would ever know about Dan’s Yellowstone Deception.

The End

Dear Reader

I hope you enjoyed the fifth, and most likely last, book in the Yellowstone Romance Series. Perhaps you’ve visited Yellowstone, and have seen first-hand some of the places that my characters have experienced. Maybe you’ve never been to this wonderful park, and might want to go see it now. I hope I was able to entertain you for a few hours with my spins on some of the historical events in and around Yellowstone.

The true-life senator who became my fictional character Robert Osborne (Dan Osborne’s great great-uncle), was a man by the name of George Vest. He was a US Senator from 1879 to 1903.
He is best known for his “a man’s best friend” speech that he gave in 1869 during the closing arguments in the trial in which damages were sought for the killing of a dog named Old Drum.

In 1882, Vest became aware of concession abuses in Yellowstone National Park. Railroads and other businessmen made outright attempts at uncontrolled monopolies in the park. Vest introduced and helped pass legislation that required the Secretary of the Interior to submit concession and construction contracts to the Senate for oversight, in order to prevent corruption and abuse. From then on, he was called the
Self-appointed Protector of Yellowstone National Park.

Dan and Jana’s journey from Lamar Valley to reach the Madison Valley was probably not the quickest route. My intent was to “tour” the park a little and highlight some of the features and landscapes, such as Mammoth Hot Springs, that I didn’t get to explore in previous books. Dan’s chosen route roughly follows a portion of the Howard Eaton Trail in the park today (with a few detours).

Titles in the Yellowstone Romance Series:

Book 1 Yellowstone Heart Song

Book 2 Yellowstone Redemption

Book 3 Yellowstone Awakening

Book 4 Yellowstone Dawn

Book 5 Yellowstone Deception

A Yellowstone Christmas (Novella)

Second Chances Time Travel Romance Series

Book 1 Come Home to Me

You can find all my titles by visiting my Amazon author page:

http://amazon.com/author/peggylhenderson

What’s next?

Book2 in the Second Chances Series, titled Ain’t No Angel (coming summer 2013)

I  have a trilogy in the works, called the Teton Romance Trilogy

Set in the Grand Teton area of the Rocky Mountains, just south of Yellowstone. Strictly historical, without time travel elements.

Look for Book 1, Teton Sunrise, to be released in early 2013

(scroll down for an excerpt of Come Home to Me and Teton Sunrise)

Find out more about me and my stories here:

http://peggylhenderson.blogspot.com

You can stay current on my book projects and happenings on my Facebook author page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-L-Henderson-author/254755581267700

I’m always happy to hear from my readers.. I can be reached via email here:

[email protected]

Come Home To Me

(Book 1 in the Second Chances Time Travel Series)

Chapter One

“Didn’t I warn you that girl was trouble? Now look at the mess you’re in. First degree murder, Jake. You’re looking at the death penalty.”

Jake Owens held the phone to his head, staring through the acrylic shield that separated him from the man facing him on the other side. On the side of freedom. Jake clutched the phone until his knuckles turned white, and he ground his teeth. He leaned forward, his nose almost touching the acrylic.  The bright orange color of the jumpsuit he wore, marking him as a convict, reflected off the clear material.

“I only told mama you got into a little trouble with the law before I flew out here. I sure as hell can’t tell her the truth.”

“I didn’t kill anyone, Tom,” Jake said, his tone clipped and harsh. He looked his brother in the eye, his gaze unwavering. At least he didn’t think he’d killed anyone. He couldn’t be absolutely sure, though.

“The evidence says otherwise,” the other man said, his face just as hard. “I was at your arraignment yesterday, Jake. I heard what that lawyer said.”

“And I’m tellin’ you I didn’t do it. That bitch set me up.” Jake’s voice grew loud and adamant, and he stood up from his seat.  He leaned heavily on his one arm, his hand flat on the table, while the other gripped the phone. He wanted to leap through that barrier and wrap his hands around Tom’s neck, choke and shake some sense into him, and make him see the truth. Dammit! His own brother didn’t believe him. But what else was new.

“I don’t know how or if I’m gonna be able to raise that bail money, Jake. I know mama would sell the ranch to get you out of here, but I’m not gonna let her lose everything she and daddy worked for their entire lives. Just because you had to go running off to the big city, because we weren’t good enough for you anymore.”

Jake cursed under his breath. He was tired of this argument. He’d left the family’s ranch in Wyoming more than six months ago, sick of slaving from morning til night wrangling horses and steers, just so a bunch of city folk could get their jollies and relive the old west. He wanted out. He didn’t know what he wanted, but of one thing he was certain: his future didn’t include busting his butt on a Wyoming dude ranch for the rest of his life, catering to rich vacationers pretending to be cowboys. He was twenty-four years old, and had nothing to show for his life but calloused hands, several broken bones over the years, and a sore back. Surely there had to be another life out there for him, somewhere.

“I warned you not to go off with her,” Tom said, his eyes blazing in anger. Jake’s mind snapped back to the present. “But you refused to listen. That’s always been the trouble with you. Chasing skirts and having a good time. When are you gonna grow up and start using that brain in your head rather than the one between your legs.”

Sandra. Jake was in lust with her the minute he set eyes on her. She was from Los Angeles, a world vastly different than his simple country upbringing in a small Wyoming ranching community. All the other hired hands ogled her, too. She drove him crazy in her tight jeans, and over the course of her weeklong stay on the ranch, had fed his desires with wild abandon, and pleasured him in ways he’d never even imagined possible.

When she asked him to come with her to the big city, he hadn’t thought twice about it. Finally, he’d found his ticket out of a dull and uneventful life, and Jake seized his chance. He’d ignored the tears in his mother’s eyes, and the look of disapproval on his father’s face. Tom had tried to physically stop him, and Jake had almost hit his brother. He focused on only one thing. That 300 horsepower car parked in front of the house, with Sandra sitting in the driver’s seat, waiting for him. This car was the only thing remotely reminiscent of an equine he wanted to be associated with from hereon out.

“Time’s up,” the stiff voice of the warden standing behind him made Jake flinch. He didn’t know he was on a time limit. He relaxed his stance, and stood up straight, pushing the chair behind him further back with the heel of his foot. In a way he was glad the conversation with his brother was cut short.

“Your lawyer’s here to see you,” the warden said. “Say your good-byes with your visitor.”

“I’ll see what I can do about that bail, Jake,” Tom said into the receiver on his side of the plexiglass.

“Sure,” Jake said listlessly. “Gotta go. Tell momma and daddy I’m doing fine.” He didn’t wait for a reply, and hung the phone on the receiver. He turned and held his hands out to the warden, who wordlessly clipped the handcuffs around his wrists.

“Why is my public defender here to see me?” Jake asked suddenly, turning toward the warden, who ushered him out of the visitor room. “Yesterday at the arraignment, he acted as if the case was already lost.”

“Don’t know,” the warden said, shrugging in complete disinterest. He stuck a piece of chewing gum in his mouth, and from the way his jaw moved up and down and in circles reminded Jake of a steer chewing on its afternoon cud. He led Jake down several corridors to what looked like another interrogation room, opened the door, and motioned for Jake to step in. Without following him inside, the warden closed the door behind him.

Jake looked around the sterile room.  A plain table stood in the center of the windowless cubicle, a chair on either side. A man in an expensive-looking business suit stood from where he sat facing Jake. This wasn’t the man who had represented him yesterday at his arraignment. With a bright smile, the lawyer reached over the table, extending his hand to Jake.

“Jake Owens, it’s good to meet you,” he said brightly. Jake stared at the man, and took a hesitant step closer to the table. He had to lift both hands to shake the lawyer’s because of the handcuffs. The man’s grip was firm when he took Jake’s hand in his, and shook his arm up and down. When he released him, he made a motion with a flick of his wrist for Jake to sit.

“You ain’t my lawyer,” Jake said warily, his eyes narrowing. He remained standing.

“Your public defender relinquished your case to me,” the man said. His cheerfulness grated on Jake’s nerves. “Have a seat. We have a lot to talk about.”

Jake’s lips curled in a mock smile. “What’s to talk about? I’m accused of armed robbery and murder. The evidence says I did it.”

The lawyer sat back in his chair, looking up at Jake. He pressed the tips of his fingers together, creating a tent shape with his hands in front of him. His icy blue eyes stared straight at him, and Jake thought the man was staring directly into his soul. Without thinking about it, as if some invisible force compelled him, he sat on the chair behind him.

“Well, did you do it?” the lawyer asked, raising his bushy gray eyebrows. The top of his head was covered with a thick mop of salt and pepper colored hair that matched the expensive gray suit he wore. His tie was an electric blue that enhanced the color of his eyes. He leaned back in his chair, seemingly in no hurry for Jake to reply.

“No, I . . .” The lawyer’s eyebrows rose even higher, cutting Jake’s words off as if he’d been gagged. The man’s stare became more intense.  Jake clenched his jaw, and inhaled a deep breath. “Hell, I don’t know,” he said coldly, and looked past the man sitting across from him to study the whitewashed brick wall behind him, just to avoid looking into the old man’s eyes. He squirmed in his seat.

“Your blood tests revealed cocaine in your system and a blood alcohol level of 1.2,” the lawyer said casually. “What do you have to say to that?”

Jake already knew what his blood tests revealed. He hadn’t been able to convince anyone yet that he hadn’t touched any drugs. Sandra had often coaxed him to try it, and he’d adamantly refused each time. One thing he was not going to do was poison his body with drugs.

True, he’d gone with her to her all-night drinking parties, and gotten drunk more than he’d ever gotten drunk in college, in an effort to please Sandra. An occasional beer with supper at home, or a couple of times when he’d been invited to a keg party at school, had been the extent of his alcohol consumption. He preferred to be sober when he was in the company of a girl. Sandra had introduced him to more exotic versions of alcohol than he could possibly remember. Doubt etched his mind. Could she have persuaded him to take drugs while he was drunk? He swore under his breath.

Anger consumed him, and his heart rate increased as the rage in him boiled. He could feel the blood vessels throb at his temples. His life had spiraled downhill the minute he got to Los Angeles.  Through his association with Sandra, he’d gotten involved with the wrong people, and now he was paying the ultimate price.

“I don’t know what happened that night,” Jake grumbled, glancing back at the lawyer. “I don’t remember how cocaine got in me. I sure as hell don’t remember sniffing the stuff.”

“You were found passed out in the driver’s seat of a Ford Mustang that witnesses saw speeding away from the liquor store. The murder weapon was in your lap, your hand prints all over it.”

Jake knew all that. Shit. Why did the lawyer have to rehash everything that he’d already been told over and over again?

“Yeah, well, all I can think of is that that bit . . . Sandra set me up.” Jake swore he would never trust another woman for the rest of his life. They were all conniving and manipulative, and the one he thought was his ticket to a better life had turned out to be nothing but a whore and a lying bitch.

The lawyer sat up straight, and leaned forward. Damn! Those icy blue eyes were downright frightening. Why the hell did the guy have to stare at him like that? It was as if he knew exactly what was going on inside Jake’s head.

“You have experience with horses and cattle, don’t you?” the lawyer asked.

Jake coughed in surprise. Where the hell did that question come from all of a sudden?

“Yeah, and if I never have to see another cow or horse in my lifetime, it won’t be soon enough.”

“You also have experience with shooting guns? Rifles? A revolver?”

Now that question made more sense. He was being asked if he had the know-how to fire the murder weapon.

“Yeah, I’ve gone big game hunting with my pa and brother since I was a little kid, and later on did some trick shooting to entertain the city slickers who came to my parents’ ranch.”

“You’ve led cattle drives through the Wyoming territory? Followed a path along the old Oregon Trail?”

Jake rolled his eyes. He ran a hand over his face. “Yeah, I done all that stuff.” He rested his arms on the table and leaned forward.  “Look, I don’t see what any of that has to do with my case right now.”

The lawyer’s stare became more intense. “How would you like to make your troubles disappear?”

Jake laughed. “You implied yourself that the evidence was against me. I don’t remember what happened that night, so I can’t honestly say whether I killed that store clerk or not. If you’re some high-falutin’ lawyer, I can’t afford to pay you, and I ain’t gonna go running to my folks for help.”

“I’m offering you a second chance, Jake. A chance to make things right, and for you to start over.”

“And how are you gonna do that if I’m gonna be sittin’ on death row?” Jake raised his eyebrows in a mocking gesture.

“I have a group of families that need to go on a trip from Missouri to Oregon. I need someone to act as their guide. There’s one young lady in particular who can use a little looking after. Get her safely to her destination, and your troubles here will disappear.”

It was Jake’s turn to stare at the older man sitting across from him. There was no hint of mockery on his face, nothing to indicate he was joking.

“How are you gonna do all that? For starters, I’m in jail, and no one is bailing me out.”

“Oh, I’ll bail you out of jail. That’s the easy part,” the lawyer said brightly, and casually waved his hand in front of his face.

Jake’s eyes narrowed. “If I make bail, I can’t leave the state until my trial.”