Page 47
DOYLE
It washard to concentrate as Doyle finished up the remaining tours. Sadie didn’t show herself once, and he itched to go burst into that stubborn woman’s bedroom and prove how hard this was for him, too, by making mad love to her again.
But if he did that, how would he ever be strong enough to actually leave when the time came? And it was coming soon, whether they found the saboteur or not. In three days, the machine was due home, and if he understood Nicole Bennet, he’d bet money she wouldn’t want any appearance of possible malfunctions. The people back home may not notice them all gone for more than a minute, but the hundred people on board were keeping track.
Maybe he should’ve kept his damn mouth shut and said goodbye after the dinner Sunday when she was all settled and safe with a store of extra food and supplies that he planned to sneak out of the TCR to help her out. Doyle swallowed hard recalling the way she’d kissed him and teased him with the possibility of sending Teddy off later. Memories of what they’d done after the stove incident flooded in, and Doyle’s cock didn’t care about responsibilities, it just wanted more of her. He had no choice but to be honest or end up being even more of an asshole than she already thought he was.
He’d let his cock win out the other day, and look how bad things were now. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to regret the feeling when he and Sadie finally joined together in ecstasy. The moment was so raw and real, unlike any of the other women he’d been with in his life. He didn’t know if it was the timeframe, the setting, the excitement of the west, or…
No, who was he kidding? It was Sadie. The woman had the independent, stubborn, wild, beautiful, loving… Well, he could list adjectives all day long, but the thing was, he had it bad. He would’ve never suspected someone could actually fall in such a short time span. He thought that was the stuff of fiction novels. But here he was, miserable, preoccupied, and completely smitten.
He’d helped Teddy fix the stove while they ate jerky for lunch, hoping she’d appear when she heard her son laughing. But she’d stayed inside the room. Teddy caught him looking at the door more than once and just shook his head like Doyle was a fool. He wasn’t wrong.
Saving her and Teddy’s life, inadvertently or not, along with giving her the supplies and deed to the ranch in her name, had to be enough. He’d strong-armed Amos into it and done all he could to set them up for good lives.
Doyle pulled the envelope from his breast pocket. He hadn’t given it to her yet—hadn’t even told her. He stroked the crisp paper with his thumb as he mourned what might’ve been. When the last group laughed in unison at Darcy bucking and knocking a pail over, he stuffed it securely back inside his pocket, right over his heart.
With a sigh, he clapped his hands together and announced the last group needed to head off. He slapped Teddy on the back for a job well done and promised he’d see him Sunday.
“Take care of your ma,” Doyle told him.
“Sure will,” Teddy said. “She’ll be fine by Sunday.”
Doyle nodded and rubbed his strawberry hair affectionately. Damn if a piece of his heart didn’t belong to this kid now.
Thunder cracked, making Doyle nearly jump out of his skin.
Teddy looked up. “Monsoon season’s here late this year. It’ll be good for the earth, but it always scares the animals.”
Doyle adjusted his hat as murmurs broke out among the final group. “Monsoon?”
Teddy rolled his eyes, and Doyle could almost hear Sadie telling him they’d get stuck, though if they hadn’t by now, he doubted even Teddy would buy it. “Summer storms. Heat gets bad. Humid. And the storms flood the desert. But don’t worry,” he added in response to Doyle’s expression. “They leave as fast as they come. The desert drinks it up in minutes most of the time.”
“All the more reason to get back before the storm hits,” Doyle said, marveling at the idea of floods in a desert.
With a tip of his hat, he said goodbye again and led the group away from the ranch with hopes of making it back to the TCR before everyone was drenched.
His feet knew the way on their own by now, he’d been back and forth so much. So he marched as quickly as he dared through the desert with ten people behind him. One more visit, one more chance to see her, to hold her, to kiss her.
A fat raindrop splattered on his hand, and he looked up just in time to get a face full of water. He glanced over and was relieved to find the machine in sight, the sky beyond lighting up in a blinding flash, followed by crackling bolts of electricity singing the pink-tinged clouds that almost never gathered there.
“Let’s book it, folks!” he yelled over the following roll of thunder.
He didn’t have to ask twice. They rushed forward as a group, their chattering voices mixing with the patter of the drops’ assault on the hard dirt beneath them. They reached the steps that led back up into the TCR.
Doyle counted each person as they ascended into the ship, leaving behind the lingering scent of ozone and laughing like giddy school children about what an adventure they’d had. Weather controls in their time made random storms a fun luxury. But like everything else about the desert, Doyle knew the wild and unpredictable nature wasn’t something meant for them to play with.
He just hoped Sadie and Teddy would be fine at the ranch.
