Unexpected (21 page)

He went up the stairs and walked by her room, then paused.  She’d left her door open, probably hoping to hear him return, but it looked like exhaustion had gotten the better of her and she’d fallen asleep.

She really did look like an angel. He stood there and stared at
her for a long time.  The lamp was still burning beside her bed and he entered her room in near silence to shut down the flame.

She stirred and mumbled his name, then her eyes flickered open seeing him. She started then recognition came over her features.

“You left your lamp on,” he whispered as not to wake the others.

“You are not allowed to just ride off like tha
t anymore and scare me to death,” she scolded groggily.  She reached up and brushed her long hair out of her face as she sat up.

“Yes ma’am.” He gave her a sloppy smile.

“I was worried,” she finally admitted.

“I’ve survived worse than this.” He nodded to the streaking lightening in the sky outside her window.  Rain pounded
against the pane with the wind, spackling it noisily.

“Cogan I—” she was going to apologize, but he lifted his hand to silence her. Her eyes went over his naked upper torso. When the lightening flashed it illuminated his form
and with it every masculine perfection he had.

“You had a right to be angry Josie.  I’ll see you in the morning.”  With that he turned and left closing the door behind him.

“Oh, sweet lord.” She breathed deeply and clutched the collar of her nightgown.  She honestly didn’t want him to leave.  She was curious.   Well, she should be more truthful with herself. She was craving his touch again.

She wasn’t the only one.  When Cogan wanted female company, it was easy to find.  Yet, it wasn’t just any woman he wanted.  Josie was a virtuous woman, not what he usually sought out, or sought him out.  There would be a wedding soon, and he would wait for her to give herself to him if she wanted to.  When he was a Templar he had an oath of chastity, but over the years, it was proven to be a useless oath, to a useless cause.  He may have felt guilty about breaking those vows, but now, it didn’t bother him.  He was a man, well, mostly man, and he had primal needs like any other man.  Chastity did not make a man focus at all. Sex was needed just like a man needed food.

He stripped of his pants and stood naked in his room. Feeling Josephine Hamilton’s soft feminine body under his would definitely be no less than heavenly.  He already knew that if it went that far, he’d never give her up—ever.   He rolled his shoulders, stretched his back and then got into bed.

***

The Hamiltons got word about Deak’s funeral the next day when the doctor did his regular check on Ryker, and Josie was hell bent on going despite her brother’s and Cogan’s disapproval.

“He deserves some respect.  He had n
o family,” she argued.

Ryker waved his arm and turned away. 
Arguing with his sister was sucking the life out of him. The discussion was going on a half an hour and he still hadn’t gotten her to change her mind, even when he demanded it. She was going to go no matter what he said.

Cogan released a heavy sigh also reading that from her.
Yet, he should know that she had a soft heart for the young man even if he worked for Butch.  It was just the way she was and he wouldn’t have her change for anything.

“Thomas can stay home with Hattie, but I’m going.”
She averted her determined expression on Cogan because her brother stormed out of the room.

“Butch may be there,
” he stated calmly.  Her brother already tried matching her volume, and that didn’t work.  Cogan rarely raised his voice anymore, but she was sorely testing him.

“I don’t care.
I’ll go by myself if neither one of you are coming along.”

“I someh
ow knew you would say that.”

She thrust her hands on her hips.
“Well, are you going to take me or not?”

“Considering you are not giving your brother and
me a choice in the matter, I suppose.”

She released a frustrated noi
se, and stared up at him.  Then she saw amusement flash in his eyes at her defiance.  It just made her angrier.  “Cogan I swear, if you—“

“Josie,
I
swear
you grow prettier the angrier you get.”

She
snapped her jaw shut and blushed.

He chuckled seeing her anger dissipate. “I’ll take you.  I just want you to be aware that Butch and his men will most likely go.  He’s the type of man that likes to see his
handiwork through to the end.”

“
He had no one Cogan.  He wasn’t a cruel man.  I could see it in his eyes.”

Cogan nodded.  She was right.  If it wasn’t for Elroy, more than likely he’d be knocking on the Hamilton’s door the next day, not end up in a pine box
because of they were unsuccessful in killing him. 

Cogan wasn’t worried about Butch making a public display toward him because as far as he knew, he still worked for the
railroad.  He wouldn’t want to rock the boat there and lose out on a big payday.  However, while he was staring down at beautiful Josephine Hamilton, he was wondering how much Butch was really obsessed with her, and how far would the bastard would go to have her.

Little did Cogan and the
Hamiltons know, the only women Butch took to his bed were redheads that had similar features to Josephine.  It worked for a while imagining that they were Josie, but no matter how abusive he was with them, or how he told them to behave, it wore out. Now he could barely get hard enough to get in one of them.  It was infuriating him.  He usually took it out on them too.  The last one needed a doctor when he was through with her because he couldn’t finish.  It enraged him.  What did he care?  They were disposable, just like everyone else in his employ.  His temper was becoming more difficult to keep in control lately.  It was because of the Hamiltons.  He was at the point where he’d rather have Josie than the wealth of the railroad real estate.  What did he care?  He was already rich.  Also, it was giving him a headache.  He didn’t like his ongoing outbursts or the headaches.  Losing his cool and shooting Deak was a good example.  No, he didn’t have remorse, but the sheriff actually had the balls to ask him his whereabouts.  Four men vouched for him.  He laughed in Gus’s face, but sooner or later, he was going to do something stupid over his rash behavior.  And he wasn’t stupid.  In fact, he was smart enough to know that the railroad was a lost cause. He already had a number of other projects on the go that were going to make him wealthier than the railroad.  He’d just acquired a prosperous silver mine only last week.  Yet, he wasn’t done with the Hamiltons at all. They owed them for the loss of control he’d displayed, loss of time he invested, the loss of his men, and he would get payment. Josephine Hamilton would do.

There was a cool fall breeze and it had been raining every day this week. The rain seemed to pause long enough for the funeral though, but the ground was wet.
Butch flipped his collar up and pulled his coat straight on his shoulders as the small crowd gathered around plain pine box that Deak’s body was in.  Yet, his eyes were on the lovely Josephine the entire time. Even dressed head to toe in black, she was still a striking beauty. She had her arm over Cogan Reid’s whose eyes, were directly on him.  He could feel the heat of that deadly stare under the brim of his hat, but it didn’t bother him.  He knew the possessiveness the big man had with Josephine.  He would feel the same way if Josie was his.  And she will be soon enough.

He
finally shifted his gaze to Cogan and smiled, accepting an unspoken challenge.  The large man didn’t even change his deadly expression.  He also smiled because the townsfolk kept their distance from him.  They no longer trusted him because of the rumors he spread about him.  He was sure that didn’t bother Cogan, but that wasn’t his intent.  He wanted the Hamiltons to throw him off their land, but yet, there he was.  He must’ve been quite convincing because they were righteous people and it looked as though Josephine was infatuated with him still. Regardless, he still had plans.  He was going to start a war, and Josephine would be the prize.  He didn’t know why he was so obsessed with her.  Maybe it was because she was the only thing he couldn’t have.  So he would take her.  He would take her, again and again until that proud woman begged him, then he would take her again.  His grin grew as he felt himself harden. 

Cogan saw the desire
in Butch’s eyes and the heat in his chest almost became unbearable.  He had a vision of ripping the man’s arms off.

“Don’t look at him,” Josie whispered under her breath as Father Sampson gave the last rights before they lowered the coffin into the ground.
  She also refused to be intimidated, but this was about Deak, and she was there to pay her respects.  She wasn’t going to give Butch the time of day.

Cogan looked down at the top of Josie’s head.  Obviously she could feel the bastard’s eyes on her, but also knew Cogan was
glaring back at him.  Again, this woman was braver than most men he knew. Butch was intimidating.  Not to him, but just about everyone else shrank from him.  Yet, here was this little gal not willing to even give the man an inch of fear.  Little known to her, he found that very desirable. Unfortunately he wasn’t the only one.  His eyes met Butch’s again and the man had the balls to grin. Bastard.

Cogan then
looked around the crowd, which was minimal, just a few more God fearing folk paying their respects to Deak.  It wasn’t a bad turnout considering who the young man worked for.  So he must’ve made an impression to some.  Yet, they eyed him with more fear and suspicion than they did Butch it seemed.  Again, gossip in a small town can create that ridiculous mob mentality.  He chose to ignore it.  Townsfolk will believe rumor mills faster than the truth.  The witch-hunts he’d witnessed in the sixteenth and seventieth centuries educated him quickly.  Women accused of atrocities because they angered someone in one way or another.  All it took was one accusation and someone to back up their claim. Then an innocent life was taken.

Men started to shovel dirt onto the coffin and people started leaving.  Josie felt tears well up in her eyes for the young man.  He didn’t even have a chance at this life. 
Elroy didn’t even show up probably because he was more terrified of Butch than attending his only brother’s funeral.  It was all so sad.

“Shame.
  He was so young.” Butch finally said from across the grave. There wasn’t one ounce of remorse in that statement.  If anything he sounded amused.  The slight smile that followed that statement confirmed it.

Well, that wouldn’t get a rise out of Cogan.  He knew Butch was trying to instigate something.  Unfortunately not everyone was as calm as he was.
  So much for Josephine ignoring him.

Josie had enough.  She released Cogan, marched around the
unfilled grave, and slapped Butch across the face, hard enough that a trickle of blood started in the corner of his mouth.  People that were still within hearing distance gasped.  The two grave diggers stopped in mid-shovel to gape at the display.

Butch didn’t expect that.  He never thought that any man or woman had the courage to touch him.  He was actually smiling at her with cynicism until she’d hit him. 
Surprisingly, for a little lady, she could strike pretty hard.  His instant reaction was to strike her back. His arm twitched, but then that big gunman interfered.

Cogan
came up behind her and pulled her back out of Butch’s reach in case he thought of retaliating.  After Josie slapped the smile off his face, his expression became deadly and he didn’t doubt that he thought of it.  “I’d think twice, Butch,” Cogan stated evenly.  He knew the bastard was going to strike Josie, and no way in hell was he going to let him put his hands on her. Then two of Butch’s men pulled their guns and Father Sampson immediately stepped between them facing Butch.

“Not here.  This is
a place of God.” Although no one seemed to notice, he was terrified.  He was trembling beneath his robes.  “Please let this be.”

Butch didn’t answer right away.  He gave both Cogan and Josie a look of warning. 
It was deadly and full of revenge. Again, Josie didn’t even look away, but met his cold stare with furious eyes.  He expected it from Cogan because that man had no fear, but Josie was a woman.  Women could be intimidated in more ways than one. Oh, how he was going to love breaking her spirit! “Sure thing Father,” Butch finally said after a tense stretch of silence.  He touched the corner of his mouth with his finger, felt the blood, and tasted it by slowly inserting his finger in his mouth. All the while he kept his eyes steady on Cogan and Josie. There was unconcealed rage in his pale grey stare. “Control your cat.”

Josie narrowed her gaze and
instantly tried to step toward him but Cogan took her arm and held her firmly against him. “Did you let your new hires know what happened to the last crew?” Cogan smiled acerbically. The men behind Butch exchanged puzzled looks.

Butch smiled
as if it didn’t bother him, but it did. However, like he thought before, he had to learn to get his anger under control before he made mistakes. His eyes went from Cogan to Josephine with an unspoken promise. Then he looked at Father Sampson. “My apologies Father.” With that, he turned and walked away with his men following close behind.