A Moment in Time (50 page)

      
"Thank you, Dottie."
 
Jackie smiled at the woman, a dull roar beginning in her head.
 

      
"There ain't nothing valuable in there anyhow."
 
Dottie turned and went to the door, pausing with her hand on the doorknob.
 
"I gotta tell you, the real Lolita's one helluva lot more trouble than you ever was."

      
Jackie laughed.
 
"How's that, Dottie?"

      
The buxom blonde rolled her eyes at the ceiling.
 
"She's been givin' that poor artist hell all mornin' over her portrait, makin' him redo things he already painted.
 
And Rupert ain't helpin' much, insistin' it be done before tonight."

      
Jackie held her breath.
 
The roar between her ears intensified and Cole reached down and put his hand on her shoulder.
 

      
"I'm sending a breakfast up for you two that's fit for kings and queens–or Lolita Belle."
 
Dottie made a face.
 
"Rupert had real maple syrup sent in for Lolita, but after seein' her for myself," Dottie shook her head and sighed, "I don't reckon she needs it."

      
Cole and Jackie both laughed quietly as the woman opened the door and Zeb rolled in a cart bearing silver trays and steaming coffee.

      
They both thanked Dottie and Zeb, then Jackie and Cole were alone again.
 
Jackie looked down at the saddlebags.
 
"Will you...do this for me, please?"
 
Her hands were shaking so badly she didn't trust herself.

      
"Sure."
 
Cole hugged her, then sat beside her and opened the pouches.
 
He pulled out a burgundy leather wallet.
 
A woman's wallet.

      
Hers
.

      
"Oh, my God."
 
Her voice was barely more than a strangled whisper as she reached for the item and opened the snap.
 
"It's mine.
 
These are mine.
 
It must've been in his pocket when..."
 
She withdrew credit cards, her driver's license, frequent flyer cards, phone cards....
 
The irony of it all washed over her and she laughed, then cried again.

      
Cole held her and rubbed her back as she wept, twenty-five years worth of tears soaking his shirt before she finally regained her composure.
 
"I...I'm sorry."

      
"No, don't be sorry."
 
He picked up her driver's license and looked at her birth date.
 
"You...were telling the truth."

      
"Yes, Cole.
 
The truth."

      
He drew a shaky breath and looked at the picture.
 
"This is you."

      
"With my hair grown out."
 
She cleared her throat.
 
"Cole, now do you believe me about...where and when I'm from?"

      
He stared at her license for several moments, then met her gaze.
 
"Yes.
 
I'm sorry.
 
Will you ever forgive me for not believing you?"

      
"Don't take advantage of this, big guy," she said, "but I'd probably forgive you anything."

      
Drawing a ragged breath, he cupped her cheek.
 
"When you were born doesn't make a bit of difference, because we're still getting married."
 
He tossed the license onto the bed and pulled her against him.
 
"I don't care if you were born in 1967 or 1867 as long as you're right here, right now, with me."

      
A sob caught in her throat.
 
"You're going to make me start b-blubbering again."

      
He shook his head slowly.
 
"If you need to cry, you cry.
 
If you need to laugh, you laugh.
 
If you need to scream, you scream."
 
Pulling slightly away, he stared down into her eyes.
 
"I mean it, Jackie Clarke.
 
You be whoever and whatever you are, because that's the woman I love."

      
She held her breath, staring into his beautiful blue eyes.
 
"Cole, I...I never thought you'd say those words."
 
Smiling, she touched her fingertips to his lips.
 
"I love you, too.
 
More than anything."

      
"Enough to be happy, married to a struggling miner?"
 

      
She nodded.
 
"But I still insist we follow your dream and go to Oregon."

      
The joy drained from his face and her heart broke.
 
"We'll try," he said dismally.

      
"Oh, Cole, don't."
 
She rested her cheek on his shoulder and held him.
 
"Let's just be happy today."

      
"Our wedding day."
 

      
"Yes, our wedding day."
 
The words sent a shiver of anticipation through her and she lifted her head from Cole's shoulder to stare at the saddlebags.
 
"I'd like to put all this behind us, Cole.
 
I don't want to stay another night in this saloon."

      
"Thank heavens."
 
He chuckled.
 
"But let's eat Goodfellow's food before we go.
 
I figure he owes you."

      
"That he does.
 
I...I'm afraid of this place, Cole.
 
I'm afraid of that portrait.
 
It might..."

      
He turned back to her and pulled her against him.
 
"Don't be.
 
I'll take care of you.
 
I promise."

      
"I know, and I love you for that, but I'm still afraid."

      
"Let's get some food in your belly and see if that makes you feel any better."

      
"All right."
 
She watched Cole rise and roll the loaded cart closer to the bed.
 
"Mmm, the coffee smells wonderful."

      
He poured them each a cup and she added cream to hers, sniffing appreciatively before she tasted it.
 
"That's the one thing you don't do well," she said.

      
"Make coffee?"
 
Cole grinned spooning food onto a plate. "Ah, here's that maple syrup."
 
He poured some over the pancakes on her plate and passed it to her.
 

      
Jackie took a bite of pancake dripping with syrup.
 
"Oh, that's sinful."
 
She took another bite and savored the richness.
 
"It's warm, too."

      
"Mmm."
 
Cole ate in silence for several minutes, then set his plate aside.
 
He rose and crossed the room, turning the key in the lock.
 
When he faced her again, a wicked gleam flashed in his beautiful blue eyes.

      
And Jackie knew exactly what he was thinking.
 
She set her plate on the cart, her mind definitely not on food now.

      
"I can think of something that tastes a whole lot sweeter than that syrup."
 
Cole started unbuttoning his shirt as he crossed the room.
 
By the time he reached her, Jackie had stripped, throwing her clothes onto the floor.
 

      
"You look good enough to eat, woman," he said, kicking off his boots and shedding his jeans.
 
His erection was huge and filled with promise.

      
Jackie licked her lips, waiting for him.
 
He put his knee on the bed.
 
She smiled, shoving the saddlebags to the foot of the bed and dragging Cole down to lie beside her.

      
"None of that other stuff matters anymore."
 
His voice was low and intense, sending her libido into overdrive.

      
"Show me what does matter," she invited.

      
"With pleasure."

      
He covered her mouth with his, branding her with his warmth, his possession, his promise.
 
Jackie arched against him, savoring the feel and taste of this man she loved.

      
He broke the kiss and reached for something.
 
A moment later, something warm trickled across her bare breasts.
   
"Have mercy," she muttered as he licked syrup from her breasts, drawing her nipples deeply into his mouth.

      
When he shifted his weight, she seized opportunity and rolled on top of him, shoving him back onto the mattress.
 
She straddled him, lowering herself onto his erection.
 
He completed her, filled a painful emptiness she hadn't recognized until she found him.

      
He reached for the pitcher and his eyes darkened to cobalt as he drizzled more syrup across her breasts and pulled her toward the warmth of his mouth.

      
She came almost immediately with him buried deep inside her and his incredible mouth kissing and licking her breasts.
 
But he was still hard and relentless inside her and she soared toward orgasm again and again.
 
He thrust himself upward and reached toward the cart again.

      
"Pass the syrup," she purred.

Chapter 18

      
They spent most of the day making love while they waited for Chief Byron and Todd to reach town for the wedding.
 
Cole sent word to the preacher that his services would be needed that evening, then turned all his efforts toward making sure Jackie was happy and untroubled on their wedding day.

      
As for himself, he was happier than he'd ever believed possible.
 
This unusual, short-haired woman from another time and place made him whole again.
 
She filled his heart and soul and made him laugh and smile.
 
Todd adored her.
 
The only thing that could make their new life any more perfect would have been planning their move to Oregon together, too.

      
His dream.

      
But he refused to allow that single failure to spoil this day with the woman he loved.
 
Toward evening, they bathed and Dottie sent up new clothes for them both with a note saying it was her wedding present.
 
Of course, Cole realized Goodfellow had unknowingly paid for his suit and Jackie's pretty pink dress.