The Golden Rules of Love: Western Romance (2 page)

“Hi there, Mack,” Reverend Michaels called from the front of the oxen.

“Hi yourself. Noticed your wheel is breaking. If you need some help, I can surely come to your aid when the train stops.” Mack tipped his hat to the other man.

“Well, thank you kindly, Mack. That would be most appreciated.”

***

Later that evening, they circled the wagons. Campfires were built and each group was responsible for preparing their own food. They were lucky that Mack had a whole crew of men along with them. He was transporting goods over land for the miners. It gave them several more men for protection and wagons with supplies.

Annie went to get water for cooking. As she passed through the camp, she saw Mack and two other men working on a wagon. One of the wagon wheels was broken. All three men had taken their shirts off, and Annie tried not to stare at Mack’s rippling muscles as she watched him fitting a new wheel on. His shoulders were even broader then she could have imagined as his chest tapered down to a lean waist. Her mouth dried as she stared. He worked quickly and easily with the wood. It was obvious he had done this before.

Mack straightened and caught sight of her.  He gave her an easy smile and she looked away, heading off again.

“Annie, wait.” He walked over to her, still shirtless. She swallowed hard.

“Fixin’ a wheel?” She could have cringed at her own question. It couldn’t have been any more obvious what he was doing.

“Yep,” he replied, giving her a smile that sent shivers down her spine.

“You made that look easy.” She bit her lip and fixed her eyes on the river. Anywhere but his broad, muscular chest. If she didn’t look at him, maybe she would stop saying stupid things.

“Thank you, kindly. I love working with wood. Someday I’m going to have my own shipyard and build boats.” He sounded exactly like Garrett…full of big dreams. She took a half step back.

“Best of luck,” she said as she turned to leave.

He stepped forward, his eyes penetrating into hers. “Kind of you to say. I’m getting close. A few more wagon trains and I’ll have the money I need to buy the land.”

Blinking, Annie forgot to keep her eyes on the river. She stared back at him and asked, ”You’ve saved the money?”

“Well most of it. It isn’t easy crossing the country delivering goods but it pays well and if I can build the ships, it will be worth it. Besides, it’ll be good experience for running a shipping company.” He shrugged his shoulders and the muscles of his chest flexed. She blinked twice. He ran a hand through his tousled hair and then rubbed it along his chiseled jaw. As his muscles rippled and flexed with the movement, her insides melted.

“That is wonderful,” she whispered as she backed up. The sight of him was doing funny things to her insides. She needed to leave now. Swallowing hard, Annie turned and fled. Her body was betraying her and she had to get some measure of control before her head did the same.

When she got to the river, she splashed water on her face before she filled her bucket. She needed to cool her heating skin. Lord, that man did funny things to her.

This time, she was going to be smarter and stay away from handsome men. She wasn’t going to let another man lead her on a wild goose chase. She pressed her cold hands against her cheeks, closing her eyes. She couldn’t seem to control her own body. How was she ever going to succeed in this mission?

Taking a deep breath, Annie opened her eyes and filled the bucket. She told herself she wasn’t going to think about it. She would take one step at a time. The first was crossing the country. She shook her head. Was she exactly like Garrett…chasing dreams?

“Need any help there, little filly?” a man they called Cookie asked from behind her. She turned her head. He was an older man with grey hair and eyes but he was still strong and healthy. She liked the men in Mack’s crew. They worked hard and went about their own business.

“I think I got it, Cookie, thanks,” she called from the river.

“You need anything, you sing out. It’s a tough world to be alone in.”

“I’m doing just fine but I appreciate the offer. It might be a tough world but it’s easier for me to walk it alone than it ever was to be married.” She grimaced as she said the words. She hadn’t meant to reveal that much but her attraction to Mack was clouding her judgment. Grabbing her bucket, Annie began hauling the bucket back to the wagon.

Cookie gave her a long look before he asked, “How’d your husband die?”

Pausing, she blew out a breath. Annie hadn’t shared very much about herself on this trip but now that she had begun, she may as well finish. “He died in a mining accident in San Francisco.”

Realization dawned across his face. She was travelling to her husband’s resting place. “I’m sorry, Annie,” he said.

She gave him a sad smile. “Nothing to be done now but keep on moving and try to make the best I can with what I’ve got. Thanks for asking, Cookie. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go start dinner.”

“Sure thing.” He nodded once as he spoke.

Annie headed back to the wagon. Mary Beth would have gotten the fire going and they could begin cooking.

It was a much easier job for Annie and Mary Beth who only needed to feed themselves. While many of the travelers were men alone, headed for the goldmines, there were a few families looking to farm. Annie’s heart went out to those families. It was a grueling process for an adult, and she couldn’t imagine it as a child. She made an easy dish of fish with dried fruit. Her animals were already grazing and her water bags full.

The two children stared longingly at her food. Ellie and Jim were five and eight and they had walked most of the day. She shot a questioning look to their mother, who gave her a nod. Annie called the children over. “Would you like some fish?”

The children nodded eagerly and Annie set them up with food. The children dug into their plates and Annie smiled as she sat next to them. She knew lots of people didn’t share but she also knew Mack wouldn’t let anyone starve. She could afford to give these children a little of her rations. If she ran out, Mack would help her. She shook her head. When had she started trusting Mack so much?

As if her thoughts had conjured him, Mack walked by and grinned at the trio, tousling Jim’s hair.

Ducking her head, Annie looked at her plate. After her reaction before dinner, she was even more afraid to make eye contact with him than she usually was.

“Did you kids thank Miss Annie for sharing her food with you?” Mack sounded like her father had when he spoke to her as a child. It made her heart twist.

“Yes sir,” the children chorused between bites.

“It’s awfully kind of you,” he said. Annie could feel his eyes watching her as he spoke.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. His gaze locked on her for another moment before he turned to walk away. Just as he moved, Annie heard the hiss of an arrow sailing through the air. Her head snapped up in time to see it whizz past Mack’s left ear.

In an instant, he had drawn his pistols. “Attack!” his voice boomed over the camp. The children threw themselves on the ground and Annie tossed herself on top of them. She drew her own pistol, peering through the spokes of her wagon wheel but she could see nothing.

Mack’s hand came down on her back, his voice close to her ear. “Stay down, keep them safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She didn’t have time to respond before he moved just behind her wagon. He pointed a gun between the gap of her wagon and the one behind hers. Men all around the circle of wagons moved into the same position, as the first blood-chilling cries of the Indians ripped through Annie’s nerves.

She lowered her head again, not wanting to see what was coming as she clutched the children closer. The thunderous beats of horses’ hooves filled the air as arrows flew past them. Guns fired all around her.

Ellie cried softly underneath her, and Annie soothed her, stroking her hair. More guns fired as the hooves continued to beat. A cloud of dust choked them, making it difficult to see. Her eyes itched but Annie tried to squint through the dust to see what was happening.

A hoard of natives circled around the outside of the wagons on horseback. Their faces were painted and looked terribly fierce. Mack fired and one of the Indians fell to the ground. Another looked directly at her and started making his way between the wagons.

Annie was frozen in fear as his cold eyes locked on her, his war paint masking his expression. He headed straight for her, when suddenly, he was falling off his horse. She hadn’t even heard the shot, but Mack had fired. The man lay dead on the ground, his limbs stretched out at odd angles. Annie looked at the body with absolute horror.

“Keep your head down,” Mack barked at her. She did as he commanded without a thought.

The attack continued for another five minutes. Annie never picked Ellie up but the screams of the Injuns and the settlers around her filled her ears. Softly, she sang to the children, holding them close. She had to trust Mack to do as he promised. Despite the danger, she believed in him because is crew trusted him and something in her gut told her he would keep her safe. But also because of his crew. They had significantly more men than the average wagon train.

Slowly the screams died down and the shots grew further apart. Her song changed to inane words of comfort.

Annie picked up her head again. Mack was still peering between the two wagons, his entire body tense. She could see four dead bodies lying in her view. Her breath caught in her chest and Mack glanced back at her quickly, “Just another minute. Put your head back down.” His voice was gentle this time and she did as he asked.

As the silence lengthened, Annie’s initial relief was overtaken by anxiety. What if this was a new strategy by the Indians to get them to relax and then they would attack again.

She felt herself tensing when Rake, Mack’s foreman, called out, “All clear.”

“Send Tom, Finnigan, and Al out to check. Be careful boys,” Mack called back. Tentatively, she lifted her head again, in time to see Mack moving towards her. He knelt down next to her and peeled her off the children. Effortlessly, he pulled Annie into his lap. Jim and Ellie jumped into her arms too, piling on top of Mack. He reached his arms around all of them as Annie tried not to cry. She knew he had saved her life and kept them all safe.

The feel of Mack’s strong body under hers sent shivers of excitement racing through her even as his presence soothed her jangled nerves. If it hadn’t been for the children, she would have resisted but with them there, it seemed all right to take his comfort.

Jim hopped up and went running to his father and Mack’s hand moved to stroke her hair.  She closed her eyes for the briefest second. For the first time in a long time, she felt safe. It made her want to cry but she swallowed back the tears.

Ellie’s mother ran over. With a cry, Ellie lifted herself up and sprinted into her mother’s arms. “Thank you for keeping them safe,” the woman breathed as she clutched the child.

“Of course,” Annie’s voice cracked and she swallowed again. Mack wrapped his other arm around her and she pressed her face into the hollow of his neck. She knew she should get up. This was dangerous. But she couldn’t make herself leave. In all of her life, she had never been so comforted by the touch of another.

Rock hard arms gave her a gentle squeeze. His throat vibrated against her forehead as he muttered sweet words of comfort. She couldn’t understand them but it didn’t matter. She never wanted to leave this spot.

“Mack,” another of his crew called. “Can you give us a hand? We have to get rid of the―” He stopped talking. Annie didn’t know why and she didn’t care. She refused to open her eyes or even move a muscle. She knew it was wrong, but she would enjoy this moment for as long as she possibly could.

“Are you hurt?” His voice hummed against her forehead.

“I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I’ll get up in just a second. I…” words failed her.

“It’s all right, sweetheart. You’re very strong. Just sit for one more minute.” He gave her another small squeeze and she inhaled the scent of his sun-kissed skin. Her hand rested on his chest and for a brief second she wished her past could be different and she could open herself up to Mack. But she already knew how the story ended.

Her hand balled into a fist on his shirt. Slowly, she picked her head up. By degrees, she inched herself off his lap. A blush crept up her cheeks. “Thank you,” she mumbled as she awkwardly tried to stand.

In one motion, he stood himself and pulled her to her feet, steadying her. His thumb brushed lightly across her cheek. “Anytime, Annie. And I mean that.” Then he turned and left with the men.

As Annie watched him walk away, loneliness filled her chest but she pushed it back down. She was going to have to learn to walk alone in this world because she wouldn’t go through another marriage like her last.