Chapter Nine
Tessa had been just about ready to go back upstairs to bed, when she thought she heard someone moving around outside, near the front of the house. She crept down the hall toward the door, listening, waiting, not sure what to expect.
It was then that the front door crashed open and a tall, dark figure came charging inside.
Tessa could see the intruder was armed, and she lifted her gun, ready to fire. Before she could even think about pulling the trigger, the man knocked the revolver from her grip. Hard, unyielding arms came around her, and she was held pinned against the broad expanse of her attacker’s chest. It had all happened so fast that she had no time to react.
“Let me go!” Tessa cried out, fighting frantically against the man’s overwhelming strength.
Jared went completely still.
“Tessa?” Jared said her name in complete shock as he realized just what had happened.
“You?” She gasped in outrage, twisting around to look up at him in the darkness.
Jared was so stunned to find it was Tessa that he stood unmoving with her still held clasped tightly to him. He was suddenly very aware of her womanly curves pressed against him. Her gown and wrapper offered little in the way of barriers between them.
“Good God, woman! What the hell were you thinking, sneaking around in the dark like that? You could have been killed just now.”
“I could have been killed?” she countered angrily. Jared’s harsh words stung, and any fear she’d been feeling was replaced by fury. She glared up at him, her eyes sparkling with the power of her emotion. “This is my house!”
“I saw you moving around in the dark and thought someone had broken in. I was ready to shoot you!”
Tessa was all too aware of being held so close against the hard, lean length of him, and in one defiant gesture, she shoved against his chest with all her might. Jared immediately released her. His anger was as real as hers. He might have killed her.
“You were just lucky I didn’t shoot you!” she challenged.
“What were you doing sneaking around in the dark?” he demanded, shaken by the realization that he might have been the one to harm her—when all he’d been trying to do was save her.
Just then Steve came running down the steps, gun at the ready, followed by the others. He peered into the darkened hallway, prepared for trouble.
Tessa saw him and quickly called out, “It’s all right, Steve!”
She moved away from Jared to light a lamp. Her hands were trembling as she struck the match, but she refused to let any of them see just how frightened she’d been.
“Are you sure?” Steve asked, his gaze narrowing as he looked from her to the man standing nearby.
“I’m fine. It’s just Marshal Trent,” Tessa told him, as if that explained everything.
Steve looked over at Jared and with the help of the lamplight made out the badge on his chest. He slowly lowered his gun as Maggie came to his side.
“What happened? Tessa? What’s going on? What was that terrible noise?” Maggie was terrified.
Jared spoke up first. “I was riding by, and I thought I saw someone sneaking around in the parlor. I was expecting trouble from Boyd, so I broke in the door.”
“And it was Tessa?” Steve asked.
“It was Tessa,” he confirmed.
“Darling, are you sure you’re all right?” Maggie asked, hurrying past Steve and down the rest of the stairs to rush to her daughter’s side.
“Yes, Mother, but I don’t think our door is,” Tessa replied as she glanced at the badly damaged door. It was hanging crazily on its hinges.
“Oh, my,” Maggie said softly. The crash that had awakened her had been a loud one, and now she understood. Jared must have used quite a bit of force breaking the door open.
“Why were you downstairs?” Jared asked again.
“Something woke me from a sound sleep, and I had to find out what it was.”
“If it had been Boyd, you would have been no match for him” Jared said angrily. He was very aware of how her silken wrapper clung to her shapely figure. She looked beautiful, and he wanted her out of the other men’s sight as quickly as possible. He concentrated on keeping his gaze focused on her face, to keep from being distracted himself, but it wasn’t easy.
“I had my father’s gun. I wasn’t helpless,” she countered. “Besides, I couldn’t just sit up in my room waiting for him to come upstairs and attack me! If I’d found Boyd in the house, I would have shot him. You’re just lucky I didn’t shoot you.”
“I’m very lucky,” Jared ground out, not wanting to argue any further with her. He’d disarmed her easily. She hadn’t had a chance against him. He was very aware, even if she wasn’t, of what would have happened to her if it had been Boyd coming through that door or if Boyd had been waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. “Since you think you heard something down here, I’m going to take a look around. I suggest you go back up to your room and stay there.”
“This is my house. I’ll do whatever I want,” she returned.
“Marshal Trent is right, dear,” Maggie told her sensibly, only now aware of her daughter’s state of undress. “Let’s get you upstairs and let the marshal take care of things down here.”
It irked Tessa to be so dismissed, but she abided by her mother’s wisdom and allowed her to lead her back upstairs.
Jared started to go outside. Steve stopped him.
“Would you like some help?” he offered.
“Sure,” Jared said. “We haven’t met before.”
“No, I’m Steve Madison. I just got into town today.”
Jared nodded, though he frowned slightly. There was something familiar about the name, but he couldn’t say quite what. “Good to meet you. I’m Jared Trent, as you’ve probably already figured out.”
“Do you want me to take a look around back?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll help, too!” Jim offered, and Sludge and Henry nodded.
“Sludge and Henry, why don’t you two go with Steve, and Jim can come with me while I check over here,” Jared directed. He doubted they would find anything, though, for even if there had been an intruder earlier, he certainly would be long gone by now.
It was nearly half an hour later when the men decided to give up the search. They hadn’t found any indication that there had been anyone around, and so they relaxed a little bit.
“I’ll send someone over to fix the door in the morning,” Jared told Maggie when they went back inside to find her waiting for them in the kitchen. He was both relieved and disappointed that Tessa was nowhere in sight. His conflicting emotions where she was concerned irritated him. He didn’t need to see her again. He didn’t know why he wanted to—but a part of him did. “Until then, I think we can tie it shut.”
“I’ll take care of it for you,” Steve said. “If that’s all right with you, Miss Maggie?”
“Thank you, Steve.”
“Is Tessa all right?” Jared asked.
“She’s fine now.”
“Good. I’ll check back with you in the morning.”
As Jared rode away into the night, he didn’t look back. If he had, he would have seen Tessa watching him from her bedroom window.
“Are you sure you’re all right, darling?” Maggie asked when she went to Tessa after Steve had secured the door and everything had quieted down.
Tessa was still up, pacing the bedroom, her mood tense and distracted. “I’m fine. It’s just that I can’t believe what happened downstairs!”
“It’s good to know that Marshal Trent is keeping such a close eye on things. He really must be worried about Boyd to do what he just did,” she remarked thoughtfully.
“We were just lucky that no one got hurt. Did they find any sign that someone had been around the house?”
“They didn’t find a thing.”
Tessa frowned, still wondering what had awakened her. “I guess that’s good.”
“Are you going to be able to get back to sleep?”
“I’m going to try, now that I know everything’s safe.”
“Well, good night, sweetheart,” her mother said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I’m glad everything turned out the way it did.”
When her mother had gone, Tessa turned down her lamp and climbed back into bed. She closed her eyes, wanting to sleep, but images of Jared as he’d looked when he’d come through the door haunted her. He had been fierce and dangerous like some avenging angel coming to her defense, except that she was the one he’d been attacking. The thought might have made her smile, if she hadn’t been so angry.
Boyd sat in the darkness in his own house very much aware that the marshal had just ridden by another time. Hate filled him. He had been drinking since midday, and each succeeding drink had left him more enraged.
He hated Sarah and he hated Tessa Sinclair.
He lifted the liquor bottle to his lips. Some of the whiskey dribbled down his chin, but he didn’t care. He smiled drunkenly to himself. He had almost gotten to Tessa Sinclair tonight, but the damned marshal had shown up and ruined everything. He’d been forced to sneak away. He’d get another chance, though, and soon. There was no way he would let that woman get away with what she’d done. She needed to be taught a lesson, and he was going to be the one to do it!
Getting to his feet, Boyd staggered into the bedroom. There were still some of Sarah’s clothes hanging in the wardrobe. The very sight of them infuriated him. He tore them from the wardrobe and ripped them to shreds. The action eased some of his violent anger, but didn’t erase it. Only getting his hands on Tessa and Sarah would do that.
Boyd didn’t like being patient, but with the lawman keeping such a close watch on him, he’d have to be careful. Nothing was going to stop him, though. He was going to do whatever was necessary to get his revenge.
When Tessa came downstairs the following morning, it was easy for her to see the damage Jared had done to the front door. Jared certainly must have hit it hard. She frowned as she thought of how angry he’d been over the incident. Tessa knew she should have been pleased that he’d broken down the door to save her, but his arrogant attitude when he’d found out she wasn’t in trouble had been most irritating.
Tessa supposed Jared was just doing his job. She knew he wasn’t hounding her because he cared anything about her. As the marshal, it was his duty to make sure everything stayed quiet in town, and she supposed that was what he’d been doing. Still, she had never given him a reason to think that she needed his guidance or protection in any way, shape, or form.
Tessa shook her head as she untied the door and opened it a bit. Steve had managed to secure it for the balance of the night, but it was going to need some major repairs right away. She’d already spoken to him about working on it today.
“What happened to the door?”
The sound of Will’s voice caught her off guard. She hadn’t expected him to show up so early.
“Will! You startled me, and after last night . . .”
“What happened last night?” he asked worriedly.
“Nothing happened, really. Marshal Trent thought there was an intruder in the house, but the person he’d seen through the window was me.” She quickly explained everything that had happened.
“You should have sent word to me. I would have come to help you right away,” he told her, immediately concerned. “Do you want me to move in here with you, so I can help protect you?”
“I don’t have any rooms left. We took on a new boarder yesterday.”
“I don’t mind sleeping on the sofa. I want to make sure that you’re safe.”
“It’s very kind of you to offer, but I’ll be all right. Why don’t you come on in and join us for breakfast?”
He followed her to the dining room, where her mother was serving the morning meal.
“Good morning, Will,” Maggie greeted him. “I guess Tessa told you all about our excitement last night.”
“She did, and I’m worried about it. What if there had been an intruder? There would have been no one here to help you.”
“I was here,” Steve said from where he sat at the far end of the table.
Will glanced at the newcomer for the first time and took an immediate dislike to him. The rest of the men who boarded with Tessa were no threat to his plans, but this man was young and good-looking, and Will didn’t like the way Tessa was smiling at him. “You must be the new boarder.”
She quickly introduced them. “Steve’s going to be staying on with us for a while, and I hired him this morning to do all the odd jobs around the house.”
She had appreciated his help the night before, and after speaking to him about repairing the door this morning, she’d proposed the arrangement. He needed money, and she needed a handyman.
Will noticed Tessa’s expression as she looked at Steve, and it irked him. He didn’t want her to show interest in any other man.
“That’s good,” Will said, gritting his teeth against his real desire to tell the man to get out of the boardinghouse and never come back. He sat down at the table and accepted the plate of food Maggie held out to him.
“On a happier note, there’s only one more day until the big dance,” Maggie said, changing the subject once they’d settled in to eat. “Are you going to go, Steve? Everyone always has a good time.”
“I hadn’t given it much thought, ma’am,” he replied. He had never been much of a dancer, but it would give him an opportunity to see more of the townsfolk.
“It’s quite a big celebration,” Tessa explained. “You should plan on it.”
“Well, if you and your mother will each save me a dance, I’ll go,” he promised with a grin.
The other men laughed except for Will. He didn’t want anyone else dancing with Tessa.
“It will be our pleasure to save you a dance,” Maggie said. “What about you, Sludge? Are you going to dance with us Saturday night? And Henry?”
Sludge blushed at being put on the spot. He adored the two women, but rarely went to any social functions. “I don’t know, Miss Maggie. I guess if you want me to, I could.”
“I would love to dance with you, Sludge,” she told him, and she meant it. He was a dear man, for all that he wasn’t the fastest at catching on to things, but he was always honest and caring. In all the time he’d lived with them, he had always been a perfect gentleman.
“What about you, Henry? Are you going?” Tessa challenged him good-naturedly. Henry had lived with them for only four months. He’d always been well mannered, but very quiet, staying to himself quite a bit. “I won’t have a dance card, but I promise to save a dance for you, if you’ll come.”
“Oh, no, Miss Tessa. I couldn’t do that.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” he finally admitted nervously.
“Well, why not?” Maggie asked.
He looked very uncomfortable. “Well, Miss Maggie . . . I, uh, I can’t dance.”
“That’s all right, Henry,” Tessa reassured him. “If that’s all that’s bothering you, Mother and I can teach you. We’ve still got time.”
Henry went still. No one had ever wanted to dance with him before, and certainly no one had ever cared enough to make such a kind offer. He had had his eye on one lady in town, but had been too shy even to think of speaking with her. If he knew how to dance, though, he could ask her on Saturday night. “Well, are you sure?”
Jim smiled at him. “I can tell you from experience that both Miss Maggie and Miss Tessa are very good dancers. If you’re going to learn from anyone, they’re the ones to teach you.”
Henry looked up at them and smiled. “I reckon I’d like that, if you don’t mind.”
“We don’t have a lot of time, so let’s have our first lesson tonight, right after dinner,” Tessa said.
“Oh, yes, ma’am,” Henry said, delighted at the prospect. He came from a long line of hardworking people who barely eked out a living. There had never been any time in his life for social skills, but now he was going to get the chance to learn to dance. “I’ll be here.”
“Me, too,” Jim said, grinning at Maggie. “I’ll play my fiddle for you, and maybe take a refresher course, too.”
Maggie blushed a little. “Why, Jim Russell, you know very well you can dance!”
His smile broadened. “But I can always use some practice with a pretty woman.”
Tessa laughed in delight, while Maggie just smiled and blushed even more.
“We should have enough time to teach you the basics,” Tessa told Henry. “You’ll be fine. It’ll give the girls in Durango a thrill to have a new man to dance with.”
This time it was Henry’s turn to blush.
Will had to fight to keep what he was really feeling from showing. Instead, he managed a tight smile. He didn’t like the idea of any other man’s hands on Tessa.
“If the lessons are open to everyone, I’d like to come, too. I’m like Jim. I never want to pass up the chance to dance with a pretty woman,” Will complimented, and he was pleased when Tessa smiled at him.
“With so many men wanting lessons, I think I’d better invite Julie over to help us,” she said to her mother, a twinkle shining in her eyes as she thought that Steve might just show up, too.
“That’d be wonderful.”