Page 38 of Twilight Destiny

A moment later, he opened her car door.

“Come on,” he said, taking her by the hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Anticipation turned to trepidation as she got out of the car. Thoughts of wild animals flashed through her mind.

They strolled along the twisty dirt path, their feet making little sound on the soft earth.

Rosa let out a huff of surprise when they came to a small clearing. The remains of a house stood between a ramshackle barn and what was left of a peeled-pole corral. “What is this place?”

“Back in the early 1800s a family lived in that shack. They did all right for a while, but then they fell on hard times. The husband was killed by a mountain lion and the woman packed up her kids and moved away. This is all that’s left.”

“A mountain lion?” Rosa said, glancing around.

“Relax, love, they won’t come near me.”

“You mean there might be some here?”

He shrugged. “There could be, but I doubt it.”

“Did you know the family who lived here?”

“No. Saintcrow told me about them years ago.”

She tried to imagine what it had been like to homestead in the wilderness, to endure hot summers and freezing winters, to raise children in such lowly circumstances. Back then, everything had to be made from scratch. Food had to be hunted or raised. A bad crop, a dry season, could make the difference between life and death. It made her all the more grateful that she had been born in the present time, when food and medical care were readily available.

“You said you were a cowboy for a while. Did you like it?”

“Yeah. It gives you a kind of freedom, even when you’re working for someone else. Days spent in the saddle, riding across the country. Rounding up strays, driving a herd to market, sitting around a campfire at night swapping lies. It was hard work, but I liked it.”

“Was it like it is in the movies?”

“Depends on the movie,” he said, with a shrug. “Not many of them got it right. I never saw two men stand in the street and shoot it out to settle their differences. There were a lot of gunfights, but usually over a game of poker or a woman.”

“Did you have a woman back then?”

“Dozens,” he said, with a grin. “But none as pretty as you.”

She forgot all about the past when Jake took her in his arms. Her eyelids fluttered down as his mouth covered hers in a long, slow kiss that gradually grew longer, deeper, and more intense. She clung to his shoulders, her fingers digging into him as she pressed her body to his.

Kincaid swore under his breath as his desire to bury himself in her sweet flesh warred with his desire to sink his fangs into her throat.

He swore again as he put her away from him. “Damn, girl,” he muttered. “What are you trying to do to me?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“I’d better take you home before one of us does something she’ll regret.”

He was right, she thought sadly. And wondered if she was lamenting the fact that he had stopped before it was too late, or sorry that he hadn’t.

It was fairly early when Kincaid dropped her off at Saintcrow’s house. He kissed her good night, a rather chaste kiss when compared to the last one.

Rosa stood on the porch as he drove away, sighed as she opened the door and stepped inside. What was she going to do about Jake Kincaid?

She paused in the living room doorway when she saw Kadie sitting on the sofa, reading a novel. They had met on a few occasions in the past, some good, some bad.

Come on in,” Kadie said, laying her book aside. “Rylan told me you had questions.”

Rosa nodded as she settled into the chair across from the sofa.