A Moment in Time (21 page)

      
Did he sleep in the buff?
 
A lump formed in her throat and her pulse did the tango through her veins.
 
She rolled onto her side, trying not to picture the way his bare chest had looked with those red suspenders....

      
And failing.

      
It didn't help matters at all that she'd actually
seen
his bare chest when he'd given her his shirt earlier.
 
The sexy image in her mind was more than her imagination.
 
It was a pure, unabridged–and damned nice–memory.

      
After a moment, she heard him climb into his own bunk, and his sigh drifted up to the loft.
 
She wrapped her arms around herself and bit her lower lip, forcing herself not to wish for the warmth of Cole's arms or the strength of his shoulder to rest her head upon.

      
But as sleep claimed her at last, her dreams found her running from Blade's double, straight into the protective circle of her captor's embrace.

* * *

      
Morning sunrays stretched across the loft, startling Jackie awake.
 
She rubbed her eyes and crept to the edge of the loft to peer down.
 
Cole and Todd sat at the table eating breakfast.
 
She shouldn't have slept so late.

      
Then again, maybe it would be best if Cole left before she went downstairs.
 
If she concentrated more on Todd and less on his handsome father, she'd be a lot less distracted.
 
Maybe then she could develop a reasonable plan to find her way home again.

      
"I remember visiting Grandma and Grandpa in St. Louis," Todd said.

      
"Do you now?"
 
Cole's smile was wistful, and he reached across the table to squeeze his son's hand.
 
"You were still wet behind the ears then, but your ma would be proud that you remember her folks."

      
Jackie's eyes blurred, but she rubbed them clear again.
 
Cole and Todd both obviously missed Elizabeth.
 
Jackie fingered the lace at the neckline of her nightgown.

      
Elizabeth's nightgown...

      
"But I still remember."
 
Todd reached for his cup and took a long drink.
 
"I remember lots."

      
"I'm glad."
 
Cole cleared his throat and refilled his coffee cup.
 
"I want you to always remember your ma.
 
She loved you more than anything."

      
Todd bowed his head for a moment, then looked up at his father again.
 
"I remember when she died, too.
 
And what you promised her."

      
"Oh?"

      
Cole looked nervous, as if he didn't want his son to remember this.
 
Jackie listened more intently, sensing this was important.

      
A loud knock on the door made Jackie gasp.
 
Cole glanced up at her before he went to the door.
 
Their gazes met and Jackie understood his silent plea.
 
Stay hidden.

      
"Todd, go out back and get fresh water, please," his father said.
 

      
"But–"

      
"Do as I say, son."

      
Jackie held her breath as Todd obeyed his father and headed out the back door.
 
Poor Cole still didn't want his son to know what he'd done, and he obviously didn't want her to know
why
he'd done it.

      
She inched back, peering through the floorboards as Cole opened the door.
 
Recognizing the Brothers Grime from the Gold Mine Saloon, she held her breath.
 
The last thing in the world she wanted was to go back with
them
.

      
Even if it would put her back where she started, and closer to her time portal?
 
Damn.
 
All she had to do was reveal herself to them, and they'd take her back to Goodfellow and that unfinished portrait.
 
Think, Jackie. Think!

      
Good old Zeb said, "We're lookin' for Miss Lolita.
 
You seen her, Morrison?"

      
"Miss Lolita?"
 
Cole rubbed his chin, obviously planning to play dumb.

      
"Yeah, that crazy woman you kept from gettin' run down over to Devil's Gulch.
 
Remember?"

      
Cole nodded slowly.
 
"Sure, but why would you think she might be here?"

      
And why wasn't Jackie seizing this opportunity?
 
You're weak, Clarke.
 
All right, she knew why.
 
She didn't want to expose Cole as a kidnapper.
 
After all, he was a single father.
 
What would happen to Todd if his father went to jail?
 
No matter how much she needed to see that portrait completed, she couldn't bring herself to jeopardize the Morrisons.
 
She'd find a way to do it herself, without incriminating Cole.

      
Even if he had kidnapped her.

      
She rested her forehead against the cool wood.
 
I'm a stupid, trusting fool.
 
Even so, she remained silent.

      
"Goodfellow reckoned maybe you changed yer mind 'bout helpin' her, since she asked you," Zeb's equally filthy cohort said.
 
"Did ya?"

      
"Nope."
 
Cole straightened to his full and impressive height.
 
"I have work to do.
 
Tell Goodfellow he sent you two on a wild goose chase."

      
"I told him so," Zeb said, slapping his thigh.
 
"But he's hell-bent on findin' her before that Frenchman's hand heals."

      
"Frenchman?" Cole asked.

      
"Yep, that fancy painter feller."
 
Zeb chuckled and shook his head.
 
"'Pears he broke his little finger when he fell, and swears he can't hold his paintbrush just yet."

      
"How bad was he hurt?"

      
"The day Miss Lolita disappeared," Zeb continued.
 
"He said some man with a rifle took her, then he fell and broke his finger."

      
"That's too bad about his finger."
 
Genuine regret sounded in Cole's voice, and Jackie suspected he blamed himself for Henri's injury.

      
Zeb's comrade snorted with obvious disgust.
 
"Gol durned pantywaist, if'n you ask me."

      
"The Frenchman'll mend," Zeb said.
 
"And we gotta fetch Miss Lolita back there before he does."

      
"I can't help you with that," Cole said quietly.

      
"You give a yell if you hear from her," Zeb said.
 
"Hear?"

      
"Maybe."

      
Zeb chuckled as the pair left.
 

      
Jackie had to admit that Cole Morrison was one smooth operator.
 
Was he conning her with his single daddy charm as well?
 
No–that would make him no better than Blade, and she refused to believe that.

      
Cole closed the door behind the Brothers Grime, but stepped to the side to peek through the window as Jackie climbed down the ladder.

      
"So old Rupert is looking for me, huh?"
 
She paused behind Cole and peered over his shoulder.
 
"Those guys give me the willies."

      
"Willies?"
 
Cole glanced back at her, his eyes widening as they drifted languidly down to her bare toes, then back to her face.

      
Probably the first time he's seen a woman in his dead wife's nightgown.
 
Guilt made her breath catch and her heart pressed upward.
 
His gaze dipped to her breasts and she wondered how transparent the worn fabric was in the bright light of morning.
 
Was he wondering what she had on underneath the soft white cotton?
 
Shaking herself, she closed her eyes, then remembered his question even if he didn't.

      
"Uh, willies means they give me the creeps."
 
Jackie watched the grungy pair until they were out of sight, then turned her attention to the breakfast table.
 
"Is there any coffee?"

      
"On the fire."
 

      
Jackie poured herself a cup and took an appreciative sniff, then tasted it.
 
"Yuck, Morrison, never apply for a job at Starbuck's."

      
"Starbuck's?"

      
"Never mind."
 
She took another drink.
 
"I'll get used to it, and caffeine is caffeine.
 
Also my drug of choice."

      
"Drug?
 
Caffeine?"

      
"Sorry, never mind."

      
Cole went to the back door and peered out at his son.
 
"I'm going to the mine as soon as Todd gets back with the water."
 
He rubbed his chin, a thoughtful expression on his handsome face.
 
"I don't like strangers coming here when I'm not around."

      
"And I don't suppose you want anyone to see me either."
 
She arched a brow when he looked at her sharply.
 
"Let's face facts, Cole.
 
You don't want Todd or anybody else to know it.
 
If anybody sees me, they'll know who I am."
 
Rather, who they thought she was.
 
"And you don't want Todd to know the real reason I'm here."

      
A muscle twitched in his jaw.
 
"All right, you found my weak spot."
 
He pinned her with his gaze.
 
"Now what do you plan to do about it?"

      
Jackie stared at him for several seconds, then sighed.
 
"Nothing.
 
Yet."
 
She shook her head and set her coffee cup on the table.
 
"I told you last night I plan to ask you for a favor, and I still do, but not just yet."
 
Dummy.
 
"I'll keep quiet, for now, if you'll tell me why you need that gold badly enough to resort to kidnapping."

      
"What makes you so sure I need a reason besides wanting the gold?"

      
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that, Morrison," Jackie said quietly.
 
"What did Merriweather call you?
 
Oh, yeah–'a straight arrow.'"
 
She gave an emphatic nod.
 
"So why'd you do it?"

      
"I..."
 
Cole raked his fingers through his collar-length hair and gave her a sad smile.
 
"It's a long story.
 
I'll tell you tonight after Todd's asleep."

      
She studied his eyes, so blue she could drown in their depths, and as sincere as any she'd ever seen.
 
No, this man wasn't a con artist, and he couldn't become one no matter how hard he tried.
 
Sure, he'd kidnapped her, but every passing moment made her more certain he had powerful motivation for doing so.

      
"Fair enough."
 
She held out her right hand.
 
He stared at it for a few moments, then shook it.
 
The warmth of his hand sent shivers up her arm and skittering down her spine.
 
"Tonight," she whispered, unable to prevent other possible and impossible meanings to that word from flooding her certainly addled mind.

      
But she had to stay focused–convince him to take her back to Devil's Gulch and that damned portrait, before it was too late.

      
He continued to hold her gaze as he held her hand, his expression intense and unwavering.
 
"Tonight."