Chapter 24
“Oh, Gabriel,” she cried. “I was so scared. I . . .”
“Shh,” he murmured against her hair, his trembling arms circling around her. “It’s all right now. You’re going to be fine.”
“But he . . . how did you . . . Collette!”
“Collette’s fine,” he said. “She’s resting at the ranch, waiting for us to bring you back.”
“But how did you know where he’d bring me?”
“It doesn’t matter, Tess,” he soothed, smoothing her hair back from her cheek. “All that matters is you’re safe now. Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
“I’m okay.” She nodded, unable to force even a small smile. “I . . . oh, Gabriel . . .” She eased back, her eyes lowered, and saw the state of her dress—of Collette’s dress. “Oh, no—look at this!”
Suddenly she realized she was half-naked, covered only by her thin camisole and drawers. She hastened to pull the ripped sides of the dress together, but Gabe’s huge hands covered hers. His tenderness only made Tess cry harder.
“Here,” he said softly. He quickly unbuttoned his own shirt and wrapped her in it, gently pushing away her hands when she tried to button it. “Let me do it.”
His fingers fumbled over every button, but at last they were all secured. Her cold hand turned Gabe’s cheek until his eyes met hers, and it was then Tess saw it—the terror she herself had felt just moments before mirrored in Gabe’s face.
“I’m okay,” she said softly, finally able to force her lips into a weak smile. “Thanks to you.”
A strange chill ran up her spine at the sight of the man in front of her. His broad, bare chest, bronzed by the sun, beckoned her toward it, toward the man who had literally given her the shirt from his own back in order to protect her dignity. He wore a strange look—the same look she’d seen some weeks ago when she’d donned the clothes from his wardrobe. It was a look of confusion, of longing, and of an almost tangible sorrow.
Tess’s hands, quivering and small, reached tentatively toward him, needing to touch him.
“Tess,” he said, his voice choking on the single word. “I . . .”
Bart shoved the hastily dressed Gribbs out of the shack ahead of him and waved his Colt in the man’s sweaty face. Blood trickled down his left temple where Gabe had hit him with the gun, and his right eye had already begun to swell—from what injury, Tess had no idea.
Her hands fell back to her sides, her entire being consumed with guilt and shame for the lust-filled thoughts she’d had just a moment before.
Bart slammed Gribbs against the side of the building, face first, sending shingles flying from the roof.
“You even think about breathin’ the wrong way, Gribbs, and I swear I’ll kill you right where you stand.” He ducked back in the shack long enough to retrieve Gribbs’s horse. He bound the man’s wrists with a rope from his saddlebag and shoved him toward his animal. “Get on.”
Without a word, Gribbs grasped the horn with both hands and hauled himself into the saddle. Bart fastened the end of the rope to the horn, securing Gribbs in place before taking the reins in his hands and climbing up on his own mount, pulling Gribbs’s animal alongside him. He turned to look at his brother and Tess.
“You okay?”
Tess couldn’t decide if his question was aimed at her or at Gabe, but either way, she couldn’t find a voice to answer him. The sight of Eli Gribbs and the thought of what he had intended to do to her, in fact would have done to her, rendered her speechless once again.
“Fine.” Gabe’s voice sounded as weak as a baby’s. Bart bobbed his head in a nod before he turned both horses back the way they’d come and spurred them toward Porter Creek, his shiny black Colt pointed menacingly at the man to his left.
The silence that followed nearly consumed Tess. Her angel had come for her; her angel had saved her from a fate worse than death; and now her angel stood behind her, his breath as ragged as her own, his chest heaving with each intake of breath. She wished she knew what he was thinking, wished he was thinking the same thing she was—how the only thing she wanted was to throw herself back into his embrace and stay there, warm and secure, for the rest of her days.
But she couldn’t let herself do it. He had made himself clear on the fact he could not let himself love her, and she was certainly not going to force herself on him or make him feel responsible for her. If he ever came to her, he would have to come willingly and because he loved her as much as she loved him.
Tess’s stomach tossed and threatened, so great was her fear. Fear not only because of her encounter with Eli Gribbs, but because of what she would see when she turned to face Gabriel. Now that she was safe once again, he would no doubt be angry with her for walking into town with Collette the way she had, and he would very probably insist she be on the next stage. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if he . . .
“Come on, I’ll take you home.” Gabe’s voice was so soft it felt like velvet against Tess’s ears.
His reaction surprised her such that she was unable to move and remained frozen where she stood.
“Are you all right?” he asked, walking around in front of her. “If he . . .”
“I . . . I’m fine,” she stammered. “J-just a little shaky, I guess.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Gabe lifted her effortlessly from where she stood and swung her up into Zeus’s saddle before climbing up himself. He shifted back as far as he could and without a word pulled Tess gently against him, her legs dangling over the left side of the horse.
“Relax,” he murmured above her head. “I’ve got you.”
I know you do,
Tess’s heart cried.
I know you do.
He urged Zeus into a slow walk, so unlike the thundering ride she’d been forced to endure with Gribbs a short while ago. Tess forced herself not to lean against him, not to notice the warmth of his skin or his acute, masculine fragrance. She had to be strong; she had to resist her urges and refuse her heart. She could not let him pity her.
“Gabriel,” she said, though it was so soft she feared perhaps she hadn’t spoken at all. She cleared her throat and tried to sit up a little straighter, but Gabe’s arms held her fast.
“Gabriel,” she repeated, slightly louder.
“Hmmm?”
“I want to thank you for coming for me.” She felt the lump beginning to build at the base of her throat, but she forced it back—twice. “You didn’t have to, I know, and I can’t even imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t. . . .”
Her voice broke at the memory of Gribbs, straddled over her wearing only his unbuttoned filthy shirt. She squeezed her eyes shut against it and took another deep breath.
“I don’t know how I can ever repay you for coming,” she said. “I owe you my life.”
Gabe’s response was to place his hand gently along the side of her head and ease it toward his chest. He spoke not a word, but his hand repeatedly stroked the side of her face with a tenderness she had never experienced before.
Gabe’s throat ached with the tears he forced back. He knew if he so much as opened his mouth, he’d fall apart right there in the saddle for all the world to see. Big Gabe Calloway crying like a baby. But damn it, he’d never been so scared in all his life. He couldn’t remember a thing Collette had said past “Tess was taken.” It was as though his whole world stopped right there and then. He might well have stopped breathing himself, so great was his fear.
For the millionth time since hearing Collette’s frantic cries, Gabe thanked God for the good fortune he had not removed Zeus’s saddle after checking the herd that morning. The few precious minutes it would have taken him to get the saddle on would have been all Gribbs needed to finish what he had started with Tess. An icy shiver raced through Gabe’s veins. If he’d been a minute longer, if Collette hadn’t made it back to the ranch, if Zeus had thrown a shoe, if Gribbs had ridden a little faster—that’s all it would have taken.
Gabe had never killed another man—had never even considered it—but he would have done it today without a second thought. His mind flashed to the sight of Gribbs leaning over Tess, exposing himself and bent on taking her whether she wanted to or not. He could have shot him right there—and would have, too, if it weren’t for the fact Gribbs would have fallen right on top of Tess.
He’d never felt rage like that before; never not cared what a man’s life was worth. But Gribbs was not a man, he was an animal. An animal who had put his hands on Tess; who had touched her, put his mouth on her. On Tess, on
his
Tess.
Gabe’s jaw tightened. Here she was, this strong, frightened little angel, sitting in his lap after what was probably the worst ordeal of her life. And it was his fault. He knew Gribbs was on the loose—hell, both Bart and Sheriff Nicholls had told him that much—and yet he had done nothing to protect her. He’d let her leave the ranch and live in town of all places! He should have known Gribbs would come looking for her. He should have kept her at El Cielo until the law hunted Gribbs down and put him where he belonged—in hell.
But he hadn’t done that. He had let Tess wander unknowingly into danger when he could have very well prevented it. And what was she doing now? Thanking him for saving her! If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have been in that situation to start with, and all she could do was thank him. Damn it all anyway, she should be mad as hell but she wasn’t.
She sat in front of him, her petite body trembling, and tried to pretend she was as brave as she could be, lifting her chin, straightening her spine, and swallowing back her tears.
God, but he loved this woman.
The realization nearly knocked him out of the saddle. He really and honestly loved Tess Kinley. He was
in love
with her and would have gladly died today if it meant she would have been safe and unharmed. Every knot in his heart loosened and an unfamiliar warmth spread over him like a flannel blanket on a winter’s day.
He loved Tess Kinley. He would never be able to let her go, even if she wanted him to. How could he have been so stupid to try and send her away? What the hell had he been thinking? He needed her, he
wanted
her—hell, he didn’t honestly think he could take another breath without her.
He was no longer concerned about her leaving him—it was a distant worry, one so tiny it was barely a flicker in his heart. He would do everything in his power to keep her right there with him, beside him, as they journeyed through life together. She would bear his children, God willing, and he would love and cherish every single minute they had together. If that was one day, one week, or one hundred years, he would spend every waking moment making her happy.
He could barely contain his excitement now. They would get married and start on a family right away—tonight if at all possible. But wait. A lady like Tess needed to be pampered, she needed a home, not just a house like he had at El Cielo. Of course, she would deny the notion and insist she’d be happy as the house was, but it wasn’t a home. It needed something . . . something that would help make it hers . . . something like that new-fangled, built-in tub Harvey Clark had on display in the mercantile!
Gabe’s smile lit up his heart. Tess loved to be clean, to soak in a tub full of hot water. He’d buy her that fancy tub for a wedding gift and have it installed right away. Maybe Rosa could help him make the place look a little more . . . lived in . . . instead of just stayed in.
Of course, Tess would have to agree to all of this. And right now she was being decidedly more quiet than he would have liked. It wasn’t like her to not have something to say.
“Tess,” he said, barely above a whisper. No answer. “Tess?”
Then he heard it—the soft, even breathing of a sleeping angel. He shifted her gently, moving her closer to him until she snuggled right up against his chest, tucking her face into the curve of his neck. Nothing in all his thirty-two years had ever felt as good as that. Nothing had ever felt as right, as perfect, as if that was how God had meant it to be.
He chuckled softly. How could she sleep at a time like this? He’d finally realized and accepted what his heart had been yelling at him all this time, and she was sound asleep. If she hadn’t been through such an ugly ordeal, he’d have woken her up right there and yelled it out for the whole world to hear.
Maybe it was for the best. He’d keep his little secret for a few more days while he talked to Rosa and got the tub installed. Then he’d tell Tess. If he told her any sooner, she’d insist he save his money, and then he wouldn’t be able to get her the tub or any other of the fancy things she deserved, like honey-scented soap and fancy satin bonnets. Hot damn, he might even shock the hell out of Mrs. Clark and buy Tess some of those red silk petticoats he’d seen in Rosa’s catalog. He’d be more than happy to go flat broke buying the woman anything and everything to make her happy.
He couldn’t wait to tell her all about his plan, about the undeniable extent of his love for her, and about the love he was going to show her—on their wedding night and every night for the rest of his life. It was going to be perfect, he’d make damn sure of that, and if he had to wait a couple days before he told her, then so be it. Better he have it all figured out than go off half-cocked and have her refuse the surprises he had in store for her.
For now, he would settle for having her in his arms, her honey scent all around them, as he took her safely home.