The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance Katherine Logan (no david read aloud TXT) 📖

Austin glanced down at his boots.

“The livery stable is down the street,” Ensley said. “Let’s board the horses until the stock car gets here, and we can wash off the worst of the dirt while we’re there.”

“Which way?” Austin asked.

“Down the street on the right. Miz Fraser’s been here afore wit’ that big gold horse. She knows whar it’s at.”

Austin glanced at Ensley, and it nearly broke his heart to see tears gathering on her lashes. When he returned home, he would scour the planet until he found her another Akhal-Teke.

He took her elbow and gently turned her away from the agent. “Let’s go. The sooner we get to the train, the sooner we can get cleaned up and relax. If it’s got an icebox full of food, there should also be a well-stocked liquor cabinet.”

“Pour me a double and keep the whisky coming,” she said.

“You can get blootered for all I care.”

Remy burst out laughing. “Hey, you’re Irish. ‘Blootered’ is Scottish.”

“How the hell do you know?”

“I’ve heard the old men at the pub in Inverness talking about getting blootered. Where’d you hear it?”

“I’ve been part of the clan since I was seventeen, and except for the O’Gradys, everyone’s a Scot, and they all love whisky.” Austin followed Ensley and Remy down the town’s main street toward the livery stable.

“I’m not a Scot,” Remy said. “Ensley’s not.”

“Yes, I am,” she said. “My mom’s family came over from Scotland and settled in Selkirk in the northeastern part of the state.”

“My bad,” Remy said. “That makes sense since all the lost heroines have had Scottish ties.”

“So that’s what I was? A lost heroine? At least you didn’t call me a helpless one.”

“There’s nothing about you, Warrioress Williams, that screams ‘helpless.’ Do you remember how many times you hacked at that bear? A dozen at least.”

She grimaced, and Austin wanted to punch Remy for mentioning the attack. He watched her closely, unsure how she’d react, and he readied himself to pick her up instantly and carry her straight to the carriage if she started crying, screaming, or throwing something. Thankfully, she wasn’t holding anything she could throw. He’d seen women do all three during times of emotional distress. And to be honest, he’d done all that and more himself.

Her shoulders slumped, and she knotted her hands but otherwise held her shit together. She might not have PTSD, but nothing could hide grief and loss. He should know.

She grabbed Remy’s arm, forcing him to stop. “I just remembered the ax. Where is it? Erik wanted me to keep it.”

“I have it,” Remy said. “It’s rolled up in my bedroll. I didn’t think you’d want to see it right now.”

She let go of Remy and continued walking. “I don’t, but one day I will. Thanks for holding on to it.”

As Austin walked down the muddy street, listening to constant hammering, thinking back to Rick and Connor’s adventure to Leadville and Denver in 1878. He compared what he heard about those towns to this one, and there wasn’t much to compare. To him, Medora was a lonely place surrounded by barren hills.

Not at all like Colorado. Of all the places he’d lived, Colorado was his favorite. He loved the ranch and wanted to buy it but doubted Elliott would sell it to him. And the way Austin had behaved over the past year, he couldn’t blame him.

“This is a one-street town, for sure. Not much here,” Remy said.

“It doesn’t look like much,” Ensley said, “but right now, it’s one of the most prosperous and rapidly growing towns along the Northern Pacific line, full of grand dreams and sordid gunfights. TR said Medora was a place where pleasure and vice were synonymous. New buildings are going up as fast as carpenters can do the work, and there’s hope it might be the state capitol.”

“The capitol’s Bismarck, right?” Austin asked.

“Right. Although early on, Medora thought they’d get it. It didn’t work out. But just look around. It’s the jewel of the Badlands and has all the important businesses,” she said, pointing from one to the other. “A hotel, saloon, blacksmith, slaughterhouse, a twenty-six-room chateau on a hill, and a newspaper office—the Bad Lands Cow Boy. When I thought I was going to be stuck here, before JC showed up, I planned to apply for a job at the newspaper.”

“No church?” Austin asked.

“Nineteenth-century cowboys are highly irreligious and irreverent. They believe Sunday stops at the Missouri River and look at religion as an institution for old women and weaklings. But civilization is coming, and everything will change. The new community won’t get along with the half-tamed open-range cowboys. The sad thing is that the town will collapse by 1887. In our time, most of the people who live here work for the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.”

“I’m glad we’re only staying a few hours,” Remy said, leading the way inside the stable.

While Remy made arrangements for the horses, Austin and Ensley carried their gear out back, washed the mud off their boots, and brushed trail dust off each other.

“I’m throwing these clothes away. Never in my life did I even imagine I’d wear the same outfit for several weeks straight.”

“I’m not sure even the homeless would accept your clothes.”

“Ah!” She slapped her chest. “I’m hurt. I can’t believe you said that.”

When he laughed, she swiped her hand through the trough water and splashed him, which he didn’t mind at all. He considered spraying her back, but the temperature was dropping, and from what he could feel of her the other morning, she had very little body fat to keep her warm. But on the other hand, if she got chilled, he could be a hero and warm her up.

“I’ll get even. Just wait.” He used his sleeve to wipe drops of water off his face. “I grew up in a house full of guys, and we were constantly fighting. Drove Pops crazy. No one would get away with what you just did. If it was warmer, I’d