Page 2 of Rainwater
The smooth change of pitch in his voice caused Jennifer to wonder what the cryptic comment meant. It sounded as if he had more to say. She could almost hear him finish the sentence,And I’ve never gotten out.Well, after this confrontation he would be gone and she would never know. She surprised herself by wanting to know, and the thought suddenly saddened her.
“Why don’t you mind your own business, chief?” Jay sneered the word as if it was distasteful to say. He stepped forward but halted at the imperceptible movement of the stranger’s body. He backed up, as though finally recognizing the danger he was in.
“I’m making it my business, cowboy, so you better back off.”
“Jay, come on,” Tucker said in a firm voice.
“Who the hell do you think you are, coming into my town and telling me what to do?” He violently brushed off the young boy’s hand.
Jennifer opened her mouth to tell Jay off, when the stranger put his hand on her arm. She was shocked at the heat of him even through the leather glove. “I don’t pay any mind to braying jackasses, ma’am.”
She had to concentrate on not laughing, but her twitching lips gave her away.
“Bitch,” Jay growled, lifting his hand to strike her.
With breathtaking speed the stranger reached out and grabbed Jay’s fingers, bending them back. A tiny amount of pressure had Jay on his knees in the dust.
With a soft threat in his voice, the stranger said, “Apologize to the lady.”
Jay’s eyes narrowed in pain and anger.
“Now!” the stranger ordered.
“Sorry,” Jay said tightly.
The stranger let him go, then turned his gaze to Tucker. “You all right, kid?”
Tucker’s head lifted and his nostrils flared. For a long moment he stared at the tall, dark man with a look of wariness passing quickly through the chocolate-brown depths of his eyes, but Jennifer sensed he wasn’t afraid of the man. It puzzled her, but before she could even think about the quiet exchange, Jay once again caught her attention.
He’d scrambled back to his feet. Eyeing the stranger with hatred, he rubbed his fingers, and then glared at Jennifer. “You’ll be sorry, Jennifer, you little bit—” He glanced back at the stranger who pulled his gaze from Tucker and lifted his dark eyebrows, just waiting.
“I already am,” she murmured shakily, rubbing her wrist where Jay’s hold had made the skin tender.
As if with a will of their own, her eyes lifted to the stranger’s and her blood seemed to slow and heat. The lethal quality she’d sensed in him hadn’t diminished at all. There was deep anger in this man, she thought. An anger that went down to the soles of his boots and suggested he would like nothing better than to rearrange Jay’s face.
She also sensed that he was holding back because of her. He intrigued her. Why would a man obviously not a citizen of Silver Creek, Texas, stand up for her? No one else had come to her rescue because they were all afraid of Jay and his brothers.Clovis, who was twenty-seven and the second oldest, was vicious and mean. It was rumored he killed one of his own dogs when he brayed too loud one morning and wakened Clovis after a night of drunken brawling. Jackson, at twenty-four, liked to say obscene things to women for their sheer shock effect. Emmett, twenty-one, would do anything Jay told him to do, even hold down the owner of the feed store while Jay punched him until he agreed to a lower price on feed. And there was talk that Stuart, the youngest at eighteen, had smashed a truck owner’s new vehicle just because it was better-looking than Emmett’s truck. The Butlers were men who thought they were above the law and terrorized anyone who got in their way.
But not this man. He showed no fear of Jay at all. She had a feeling even if he knew about the dark rumors circulating about Jay, he still wouldn’t care.
“Take a hike, cowboy,” the man said. The menace in his voice was unmistakable and Jennifer felt an unaccountable thanks for the act of kindness he was showing a perfect stranger. She had no doubt that if he hadn’t stepped in, Jay would have slapped her.
Jay gave her one more vicious look, a wealth of dark promise in his eyes. Grabbing Tucker by his upper arm, he stalked away.
Jay’s departure seemed to cue the crowd that the excitement was over for the moment. Some of the onlookers began to leave.
The stranger turned toward Jennifer and pushed the hat off his head to hang by the joined cord. Pulling off his gloves, he tucked them into his belt just like a rodeo rider and raked his hands through his straight dark hair.
It gave Jennifer a moment to study his strong features, and she discovered that he was really easy on the eyes.
Loner. The word came to her mind suddenly. Not only alone, but this manwantedto be alone. She realized how much of hissolitude he was risking to defend her, and it struck a chord inside her. “Thank you for involving yourself in my problems, Mr.…”
“Rainwater. Corey.”
“Jennifer Horn,” she said as she extended her hand. He pushed his sunglasses up into his hair and clasped her hand, gently, but firmly. Her pulse stumbled from the electrifying feel of his bare palm against hers, as if her hand had hit a live wire instead of warm callused flesh.
But the electricity of his touch was nothing compared to the sheer shock effect of his eyes.Green eyes. Dark, fathomless and hot. Honest, straightforward eyes that could melt solid steel, see into the deep recesses of her soul and learn her most private secrets. Eyes a woman could sink into and get lost in. Yet she felt that in those deep turquoise depths, she would find the shelter and warmth she’d been craving ever since she was stupid enough to marry that good-for-nothing, rodeo-riding, womanizing Sonny Braxton and allow him to father a child.
No way, Jennifer, she admonished herself silently.No way are you going to get mixed up with a man that looks this good, a man that looks as elusive as the wind. A loner who clearly wants to stay alone. So stop looking at him like that. She pulled her hand away as if burned, but either didn’t notice or didn’t care. He probably had women swooning at his feet all the time and was used to being stared at. Even though she told herself to stand firm, she couldn’t seem to stop the quick, fluttery feeling in her stomach.
