Outlaws Of Phantom Canyon (Savage Series) Page 6

  Upon entering the cook’s shack, Julianna saw that it was supper time and that Barry was very busy. She started to turn away, but then walked up to Barry and asked him, “What can I do to help?”

  Surprised, it took Barry a moment to answer. “Well, you can start by washin’ those dishes over there.”

  By the time they were done for the night, Julianna was back in her element of taking charge. Not only did she do all the dishes, but she accepted payments, took orders while Barry did the cooking, and helped clean up before closing for the night.

  Barry walked Julianna home since it was now getting dark out. “Thanks for your help tonight. Most of our Phantom outlaw gang is gone with Clayton, but another one is in camp holdin’ up right now.”

  “You’re welcome Barry. I’ll come again tomorrow to help you.” As they reached the door to her shack, Julianna turned and said, “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight Julianna.” Barry turned and headed back to his cook’s shack where he had his own bunk in a small room, in the back of the shack. As he neared his cook’s shack, he saw Angel sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch.

  “Evening Angel. Can I fix you up a cot inside?” Barry had liked Angel since the moment he met her around a year ago, but he knew she had been considered Gabriel’s woman. Although he didn’t really consider her Gabriel’s woman, because she’d come and go as she pleased. Often gone for long periods of time.

  “Thanks Barry. I’ll take you up on that offer, but why don’t you sit down and join me for a while first.”

  As he sat down in a rocking chair beside Angel, Barry wondered if it was over between her and Gabriel now that he had Julianna living with him? He secretly hoped so. Barry wanted to ask her, but wasn’t sure the best way to go about it.

  Before he could say anything, Angel continued knowing what was on Barry’s mind. “Yep, it looks like it is over between me and Gabriel. I knew it wouldn’t last. I’m just glad he wants to stay friends.”

  Excited at the news Barry replied, “Well, you have a place to sleep here anytime you want.”

  “Thank you,” Angel said and actually meant it. With the seed of gossip planted, Angel spent the next couple hours enjoying idle conversation with Barry. Finally the moon told the hour to be really late, and Barry went indoors to make Angel’s cot up.

  Once Angel had come indoors, Barry tried to convince her to take his small cot in the back room and he’d take the one out front, but she refused. So telling her goodnight, he went back to his room to bed. When he arose the next morning … She was already gone.

  *

  While Gabriel was gone, Angel kept an eye on Julianna from afar. She had tried once to join Julianna in conversation, only for Julianna to walk away with hatred in her emerald green eyes. Angel assumed Gabriel didn’t have the time to tell Julianna who she really was, and that was probably best for now. The less Julianna knew, the safer she would be.

  Before Angel had gone to bed in the cook’s shack last night, she checked her ivory handled Colt Peacemaker, and then headed out the door to make one final check on Julianna. Having found nothing unusual at Gabriel’s shack as she peeked into the old window, she went back to the cook’s shack, and went to sleep on the small cot Barry had set up for her. As daylight crept into the big canyon, Angel headed to the stream to bathe before the rest of the camp woke up.

  For the rest of the duration of her stay, Angel kept watch over Julianna as she promised Gabriel she would. Since Julianna had decided to help out Barry, it gave Angel an excuse to hang out in the cook’s shack and spend more time with Barry.

  *

  A couple nights later, just as Julianna had finished cleaning up in the cook’s shack, she heard the camp dog barking, and stepped outside onto the cook shack’s porch to see what was the matter.

  Headed her way was the Phantom outlaw gang. When she spotted Gabriel in the pack, she instantly ran to him and put her arms around his neck as he climbed down from his big stallion.

  Gabriel was so relieved to see Julianna safe, that he didn’t care who was watching as he kissed her long and hard. She was all he could think about when he was gone. With his strong arm around her small waist he said with a big smile, “Let’s go home.”

  Home? That had a nice ring to it. She smiled back at him. “Yes, let’s go home.”

  On their way to their shack Gabriel asked her, “So what did you do while I was gone? Did you go see Ruby to get another book to read?”

  “Yes, I went to see Ruby a couple of times, but only to visit. I spent the majority of my time helping Barry in the cook’s shack.”

  “Oh really!” Gabriel was surprised. “And here I was worried about you. Sounds like you stayed busy.”

  “Yes, another gang was in camp.” And Barry was busy entertaining Angel. But she didn’t want to talk to Gabriel about her. If Angel’s name never came up again she would be happy.

  “Well I’m glad you found a way to keep busy while I was gone,” Gabriel interjected into Julianna’s thoughts as they walked into their shack, and Gabriel closed the door behind them.

  “Now where were we?” Gabriel said as he turned Julianna into his arms and claimed her lips in a hungry kiss that took her breath away. Julianna’s response was no less fierce than his own. She was just as hungry for him as he was for her.

  Gabriel gently brushed her cheek with the back of one of his big hands, taking a moment to look into Julianna’s smoldering green eyes. He wanted to make sure she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Satisfied, he wrapped his arms around her lower back and pulled her tightly up against his hard lean body.

  He kissed Julianna again and again. Then he kissed her neck and trailed kisses down to the front of her throat where the top of her dress stopped him, just as Julianna let out a moan. Gabriel was on fire now as he unbuttoned Julianna’s dress, and dropped it to the floor with the rest of her undergarments.

  Lifting Julianna with ease, Gabriel carried her to the small bed and laid her down gently. He stood staring at her beautiful body as he undressed. Once all his clothes were on the floor with hers, he climbed onto bed beside her.

  Julianna was nervous and a little scared, but her passion for Gabriel overruled. Julianna wasn’t completely naive, she had seen animals mating on the farm she grew up on in New York, but when she watched Gabriel undress, she was amazed at his arousal.

  Gabriel began to kiss and caress Julianna all over, until he had her whimpering and arching for more. When he couldn’t control his own needs anymore, Gabriel climbed on top of Julianna and slowly entered her. As he breached her maiden head, she cried out. Gabriel stopped for a moment till her pain eased, then he began a slow rhythm that made Julianna forget all about the pain she had just felt.

  As their needs rose, so did the speed of their lovemaking. Just as Gabriel was not sure he could contain himself any longer, Julianna went over the edge and was lost in ecstasy, and Gabriel quickly followed. Spent, they laid in each other’s arms and drifted off to sleep.

  *

  A couple of hours later, Gabriel laid in bed awake wondering what he’d just done to Julianna. What was he thinking? But that’s just it, he wasn’t thinking! They weren’t married and she could possibly even be pregnant now.

  As Gabriel climbed out of bed, Julianna woke up and asked sleepily, “Where are you going?”

  “Out,” was all Gabriel said harshly, as he hastily put on his clothes and went out the shack door headed for the outlaw gang’s saloon. He needed a drink and needed it bad!

  Julianna was confused and scared. She knew something was wrong. Did she not please him tonight? Maybe he wished he had been with Angel instead? Where was he going now? To Angel?

  Julianna was full of questions she had no answers to. As her eyes filled with tears, she pulled the covers up. She let the tears flood out until she cried herself to sleep.

  *

  Hours later, Gabriel came home and climbed into bed. Instead of snuggling up to Julianna like he had been every nig
ht, he faced away over by the edge of the small bed, and went to asleep.

  Julianna heard Gabriel come in. She had hoped he would come to her and tell her everything would be alright. Instead he went to sleep facing away from her.

  When Julianna woke early the next morning, Gabriel was already gone. She laid there for a while thinking about last night’s wonderful lovemaking as all the same questions came back to her. Determined, if it was about Angel she would make him forget about her. And if it was her … well, she would get better with practice.

  Julianna had found that she enjoyed helping Barry, and had no intentions of stopping just because Gabriel was back in camp. She climbed out of bed realizing she was sore from their lovemaking and slowly dressed, brushed her hair up into a bun, and went out the door headed to the cook’s shack.

  Julianna had just cleaned up from the breakfast rush when Gabriel walked in, and sat at his usual table in the back corner. He watched her work as Barry brought him some breakfast. He visioned her cleaning dishes in their own home with their children under foot.

  He knew he needed to apologize for last night when he had run out on her. Having finished his breakfast, Gabriel walked up behind Julianna and quietly said, “Let’s go for a walk.”

  Gabriel’s warm breath on Julianna’s delicate neck instantly ignited a fire inside her. As she laid the dish cloth down she nodded and asked, “Do I need to tell Barry I won’t be back in time to help with dinner?”

  Gabriel whispered to her, “That would be a good idea because we need to talk.” Nodding her head again, Julianna walked over to Barry and quietly told him she wouldn’t be around to help out for dinner.

  As they walked out of the cook’s shack, Gabriel took hold of Julianna’s hand and gently squeezed with a warm smile on his face. He was trying to ease the tension between them and it seemed to help some, as Julianna timidly smiled back.

  They walked hand in hand out of the outlaw camp and up to a ridge that overlooked the valley, that held the camp’s livestock. Julianna was amazed at the total amount of cattle the Phantom outlaw gang had.

  “Robbing banks and stagecoaches is not the only business the Phantom outlaw gang is into. They rustle cattle, alter the brands, and then ship them off to be sold. Of course they keep some for eatin’ purposes,” Gabriel explained to Julianna.

  Gabriel then led Julianna over to sit under a natural bluff overhang, that shaded the ground from the intense sun. He then began … “I’m so sorry for what I did to you last night.”

  At first Julianna thought he was referring to him walking out on her last night, but soon discovered he was talking about their lovemaking as he said, “It shouldn’t ever of happened. I took advantage of your innocence and it won’t happen again.”

  “You didn’t take advantage of me. I knew what we was doing and I wanted you to make love to me.”

  “That still don’t give me no right to take away your innocence, and ruin you for your future husband,” Gabriel explained.

  Future husband? Julianna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “The only man I want as my husband is you!”

  Not realizing he had been holding his breath, Gabriel exhaled and said sadly, “I want you too, but once I kill those men, I won’t be any good to you. You deserve a better man than me.”

  Hurt and angry, Julianna jumped up and stormed a few feet away before she turned on him as he stood up. “What gives you the right to decide what I deserve?”

  “I’m only doing what is in your best interest.” Gabriel knew she would be upset, but he did not expect her to lash out at him in this way.

  “My best interest. You have no idea what is in my best interest!”

  Gabriel couldn’t help but be aroused by the fire and temper in Julianna as she raged at him. Her hand swung at his face to slap him as she said, “How dare you.”

  But Gabriel was quick to grab her arm before she made contact. Too many years having lived on the edge, to not stay alert for all quick movements. Gabriel pulled her hard against him, and kissed her with such force it bruised her lips, but not hard enough that she didn’t want more. She put her arms around Gabriel’s neck, and pulled him down for another kiss. This time much gentler, as their lips parted and their tongues continued the battle.

  When they came up for air, Gabriel looked into Julianna’s deep green eyes as she said, “You’re the only man I will ever want. I love you.”

  If there had been a turning back point, it was gone now. The world, her father, could damn him forever, Gabriel didn’t care. He wasn’t going to let her go. Hoarsely, from raw emotions Gabriel said, “I love you too.”

  Chapter 5

  Gabriel took Julianna home and made sweet passionate love to her the rest of the late afternoon and into the early evening. He only left long enough to go see Barry about a couple steaks and baked potatoes for their supper. While he waited for Barry to cook up the steaks, Gabriel visited with some of the outlaws eating supper in the cook’s shack.

  As he was about to leave with two platefuls of food in hand, Ted walked in with his wife Ruby. Gabriel nodded hello to Ruby as Ted said, “Gabriel we head out at daybreak.”

  “I’ll be there,” was all Gabriel said to Ted, as he hurried back to Julianna with their plates of food. He did not want to ruin his good mood right now. Tomorrow morning would come soon enough …

  Their passion momentarily satisfied and their bellies full, Gabriel sat across from Julianna at the table looking at her dressed in only his shirt. He was already getting aroused again. As he tried to keep his mind on the matter at hand he said, “I will be gone in the morning when you wake up. Ted told me over at Barry’s that we leave out at daybreak.”

  Julianna tried not to show her fears. She wanted to be strong for him and for herself. But she knew that there was real danger in what he was about to go do. With the faintest glimmer of a tear in her green eyes she said, “How much longer must you keep doing this?”

  “A little while longer.” Was all Gabriel would say on the matter as he dug through his trunk and pulled out a .38 derringer. “I’m going to show you how to use this, and you carry it in your skirt pocket while I am gone.”

  “Gabriel you are scaring me. What do I need that for?”

  “Just in case, baby.” Gabriel played it down. “I don’t expect anything to happen, but I don’t want to take any chances. Angel isn’t here this time to watch out for you, and I will feel better knowing you have that derringer in your pocket while I am gone.”

  “You had Angel, your mistress, watching me?” Julianna questioned in anger.

  “Mistress? Angel is not my mistress. I had her keeping watch over you because she is the best shot in this outlaw camp with a pistol, or her buffalo gun.”

  “If she is not your mistress, then who is she?” Julianna demanded.

  Gabriel had already told Julianna too much about what he was doing here in the Phantom gang’s camp. The more he told her, the more danger she and the lives of others were in. Because of that he was careful how he worded things. “She is a messenger. We would pretend she was my woman so she could come to camp to deliver and take messages.”

  “And if I asked you who she was delivering messages to, would you tell me?”

  Julianna was relieved to learn there had never been anything between Angel and Gabriel, but she still wasn’t sure she liked Angel.

  “No, it is better you don’t know. For now, you just go along as being my woman, content living in an outlaw’s camp, and you will be safe.”

  That wasn’t going to be hard for Julianna, as she was happy being his woman. She would be content anywhere as long as she was with Gabriel.

  Before going to bed for the night, Gabriel showed Julianna how to load and fire the .38 derringer. Making her promise that she would not leave their shack without it.

  *

  Upon awakening, Julianna could tell by the position of the sun that she had slept in longer than she had planned. Hurriedly she dressed and went to go help Barr
y in the cook’s shack. Julianna didn’t like the idea of putting the pistol in her skirt pocket, but she had promised Gabriel she would. Grabbing it from the table, Julianna put it in her pocket as she was headed out the door.

  Julianna’s days while Gabriel was gone were uneventful. Majority of her daytime she spent helping Barry in the cook’s shack. She would visit Ruby at the mercantile store after the breakfast rush was over, and she would read in the afternoon before supper time. By the time she made it home from cleaning up the cook’s shack with Barry, she was tired and ready for bed.

  *

  The Phantom outlaw gang rode hard all day. They had left just before daybreak, and it now was getting dark as they stopped a couple miles away from the stagecoach road into Texas Creek.

  “BJ said the stage is due to come through this area tomorrow afternoon. We will stay here until then. That way our horses will be good and rested before we hold up the stage tomorrow, just in case we need to make a fast get-a-way,” Clayton explained to his outlaw gang.

  “Boss, how about a couple of us go on into Texas Creek, scout around to see what’s going on, and get a couple bottles of whiskey so we don’t go stir crazy tonight?” Chet suggested, eager to have a drink of whiskey and a whore, and not particularly in that order.

  “Not a bad idea. Levi, Tate, you two go. But don’t draw attention to yourselves and don’t stick around long,” Clayton ordered, knowing it was ill advised to send Chet into town. Chet was the youngest of the outlaw gang members, and still had a lot to learn.

  “Boss why can’t I go?” Chet was not ready to give up hope of going to Texas Creek yet.

  “Because BJ also said there is a Calvary regiment roaming around, and I don’t need you screwing this up by getting drunk and in a fight, and then thrown in jail. I need every man here to be able to carry off the gold that is going to be on that stagecoach,” Clayton said with finality, not leaving it open for anymore discussion.

  Clayton was a little worried about what BJ had said about the Calvary roaming around lately. With BJ owning the Wolf’s Den Saloon, he was in the perfect place to learn the gossip and going-ons around the town in Colorado City.