Seduction of Saber (Saving the Sinners of Preacher's Bend #3) (7 page)

“Good God, Gill! What the hell did you do to him?”

Julia rushed down to her knees. Saber had slumped to
his butt in the hallway. He was groaning while swearing under his breath.

She quickly checked the injured man’s face for any
signs of damage or unnecessary bleeding. It had been a quick, painful slug to
the jaw, nothing more. But her father’s punch had temporarily trimmed down the
lights in his head, and unfortunately had given him a fat lip, too.

Saber was trying to shake off the pain in his jaw when
he chose to answer this. “He did exactly what I told him to do.” Each man then watched
the other, prey to predator.

“Not inside this house! And not ever will it happen
again on my watch. Or no apparent reason. ” Julia rose, storming over to her
father’s side. “Just where do you think you have any right to hit this man? ”
She was glaring dangerously at her unusually disturbed parent.

The last time she’d given him this look, she’d been
eighteen years old and giving him her version of mutiny on letting his future
wife temporarily slip out of his grasp. It worked then. She prayed it would
work now.

The eldest amongst those gathered in the hallway
announced his thoughts loudly. “He’s the one without any rights when inside
this house, young lady,” Gill said.

“Don’t you
dare
call me that!” she warned.

“What? Young lady?” Gill cocked his brow. “I wouldn’t
have to call you anything if you would just act your age for a change.”

“M—my
age?
Jesus! And what age is that, Gill?”
Julia was on the verge of tears. “The age of always being considered your baby
girl? The age of having no reasonable conscious thoughts inside my head? Or,
the age of whatever it is you say, because you dare think you can say it
without retribution?”

“Don’t you use that tone of voice with me, Julia
Margaret,” Gill warned.

Cody had glided up to his side and was now standing up
for their father’s violent actions, with a blueberry muffin in one hand and an
apple muffin in the other. The little brat took a bite from both, then smiled with
devil’s intent at Julia.

“I warned you about men like this.” Gill’s finger
pointed at Saber seated on the floor.

Julia ignored her father’s slanderous comment and took
out the rest of her fury on the youngster she had the unfortunate need to call
a brother. If Cody was this bad now, she couldn’t wait to see what the second
Hillard boy would turn out like. She shuddered.

“And you!” She pointed down, her finger trembling.
“You are the most inconsiderate human being on the planet!”

Cody stuck out his tongue. He did that a lot,
especially when he knew he could get away with it.

“See what I mean? No manners. Not a single, minuscule speck
of any inside that tiny, little twerp frame. If you would’ve punished him from
day one, he’d be at least bearable.”

Saber was trying to push himself to his feet. Julia
moved to help him gain balance. Her hand held firmly onto his upper arm.

She whipped her head toward the other two, once the
rodeo man was upright and could stand on his own.

“I would appreciate it if the two of you just left.
Now! Before anyone else gets hurt,” she said.

Gill’s feet planted firmly in the hallway, his sons’
at his side, he looked as if he wasn’t going to budge an inch. “Not until he
leaves,” he promised, eyeing Patterson with disgust.

“Well, that’s just too damn bad, Gill. Because, to my
calculations, Mr. Patterson will now be staying the week for free, all thanks
to your fist hitting his face. And, for no other reason other than an untamed
little brat lied to you and has gotten away with it, again.” She glared at the
smiling Cody. “Saber is not leaving this house, and there is no particular way that
you can make him leave without involving the local police force. So, I would
suggest you get used to the idea. Or leave, as I’ve already asked you to. One
scene is more than enough for this morning.”

Her threats were turning into a shouting match, but
she couldn’t seem to help it.

“Like hell he’s not leaving this house! If it takes
Debra to get this man out of here, then Debra it will be,” her father warned.

Julia knew it was going to be an unending uphill
battle with her stubborn father; the very moment she ignored this threat and pulled
the staggering Saber into the sanctity of her bedroom, locking the door.

Her returned argument spoken through the wooden panel
settled the deal. “Call Debra. But until you do, Saber stays here, for free.”

Thankfully, unbeknownst to her father, Saber Patterson
had already collapsed to the floor inside her bedroom only seconds after
spewing this out of her mouth.

Julia did her best to get the cowboy to wake up, tried
everything she could think of: slapped him in the face, jabbed his ribs, even
went so far as grabbing a full glass of water off her nightstand and tossing it
in his face. He was too far gone. And now he was moaning pitifully, his shirt
font soaked.

Under the circumstances, she’d be moaning too if not
so bloody damn furious with her father.

The only choice she had left was to wait until Gill
left the house, which he did ten seconds later and done in an absolute huff. He
slammed the door to the front porch and was tearing out of the drive in a rush
another minute later; with an eight-year-old tattle-tail riding shotgun in the
old red pickup.

Julia dared a quick peek through her bedroom window.
She watched the pickup roll down Main Street toward the police station. Crap. For
a brief moment, she actually feared her father would involve the police on this
matter. But, the pickup kept going. It was then that she heard the tires
screech and her father quickly making a U-turn to head back to the police station.

Julia ran straight for the telephone hung on the
kitchen wall. First, she dialed Ceril to warn him that her once-again
overprotective, overbearing, over-aggravating father was on his way, and what
he should do about it. Chief Ceril owed her a favor. She was collecting the
debt, pronto.

After the chief finally stopped laughing, he promised
her he would take care of it.

She then dialed Liddy Humphrey-Giotti.

Julia told her best friend all about Saber; whose
lights her angry father had punched out and who was now sprawled out on her
bedroom floor. Liddy promised to come straight away to see for herself.

“And don’t you say a single word about this to Jake.
Leave him in the dark for the time being. That way, if Gill asks Jake, my
father won’t be able to take it out on your future husband for not telling him
all that he knows.”

“I won’t say a word to anyone,” Liddy giggled.

“This is not funny, Liddy!”

“It is to me.”

“Dad’s really mad this time. I mean really,
really
mad. I’ve never seen this side of him before. And Saber is not coming too. What
should I do? I’ve never had a guy pass out on me before; at least not a man who
wasn’t drunk or who I hadn’t wanted to pass out. Should I give him something?
Am I doing it wrong?”

“Doing what wrong? Good God, Julia! What the devil
were the two of you doing in the first place to make Gill so pissed?”

“It wasn’t
what
we were doing, my darling
busy-body best friend. It was what I’d
wanted to do
to him, that I think
has my father so all-fired furious.”

“And what, exactly, was that, Ms. Hillard?”

“If I tell you, will you promise to stop giggling?”

“If I can,” Liddy admitted, snickering.

“Let us just say it was something you probably wanted
to do with Jake a time or two. Or have. The guys’ T-shirt caused all the
problems.” She told her friend exactly what the shirt said. “God, Liddy! The
man is gorgeous. He is so damn sexy he has my feet sweating. And my feet don’t
sweat. Ever!”

“Merciful Heavens! I’ll be right over,” Liddy said.

“I thought you’d say that. But take your time. Perhaps
I can get in some alone-time while he’s out cold. Who knows? It might be the
most fun I’ll ever have.”

“Please, don’t start having that fun without me,”
Liddy warned, clicking off the line.

“Unfortunately, I think I already have,” Julia
muttered. Her face flushed, her palms sweaty, she hung up the phone.

There wasn’t a soul inside the boarding house to hear the
confession, other than a man who was passed out on her bedroom floor from one
very well placed punch to his jaw. And he? He wasn’t placing judgment on
anyone.

Julia released her held breath, moving back toward her
bedroom. She opened the door and found Saber nowhere about.

“Mr. Patterson?”

“In here.” His voice came from inside her private
bathroom.

She moved toward it; waited outside the closed doorway.
“Are you all right, Mr. Patterson?” She added a light knock on the wood to gain
his attention.

Saber yanked open the door and grinned shamelessly at
her face. His dimples were deep and dangerous. “I’m just peachy keen, Little
Darlin’. But I thought I should wipe some of the blood off my fat lip if your
friend is coming over here to check me out.”

“Y—you, um, heard?” She grew crimson under his amused
scrutiny, the heat flushing throughout her body exponentially.

“Every single syllable,” he promised. “But don’t you
worry your pretty little head about any of it.” A light tap made on her chin
with his knuckles. “I’ll just go lie back down on that floor of yours and
pretend I’m out cold. Once she gets here, that is. No sense starting the party
earlier than need be.”

“This is not funny, Mr. Patterson!”

“No? Well, neither is being punched in the jaw by a
woman’s Pa just for being a good guy, funny. Or, getting kicked in the shin by
what I can only assume to be her evil little brother.”

“I’m really sorry about that. Cody can be…,” she
started, then paused when his brow arched.

“A real pain in the ass?” he interrupted. “A bit of a
spoiled brat who needs the sharp end of a switch?”

Unconsciously, Julia nodded. Yes. Cody was all that,
and so much more.

“I take it the little he-devil gets to do whatever he
wants?”

Saber leaned his testosterone-induced frame against
the door jamb of what she’d always thought of as her private sanctuary—until
now.

“Yes, pretty much.”

“And you don’t.” A declaration she hadn’t ever wanted
to hear.

Julia took a deep breath and eased her gaze from his. He
was making a very factual statement that grated her teeth. The moment she looked
away, his hand snaked up, his fingers set against her chin.

“When is he going to realize you’re a grown woman with
a mind of your own?”

He didn’t need to elaborate. She knew exactly what he
meant. When was she going to stand up to her father?

She tried to ease her chin out of his grasp, but Saber
moved closer still. His breath fanned her face, drawing out the gooseflesh on
her arms.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “Soon?”

Instead of adding more, he leaned down and kissed her
again, quite passionately. This time he left little to the imagination of what
his intentions were.

Satisfied with himself, he pulled back. “I’ve wanted
to do that for the last ten seconds, Little Darlin’.”

“Why?” Julia licked her moist lips.

“Damned if I know,” he rued, frowning. “Might have something
to do with your father thinking the two of us were caught in the act.”

“In a way…we kind of were,” she conceded, reliving the
moment in her head; and shamefully enjoying every single second of it.

“No we weren’t.” He smiled. “If we’d been caught in
the act, it would’ve certainly involved more of my doing…”

He lowered his head to her left ear and finished this sentence.

When her eyebrows rose in shock and a slow smile formed
at the corners of her mouth, he added further intentions. “And then, doing a
little of…”

He spoke the remainder of this into her other ear.

Julia’s whole body inflamed as the words sunk in. Her
eyes widened in shock.

She’d never done
that
before. Nevertheless,
there was always a first time for everything—as game as anyone for trying
something new in a very stagnant life.

“But when I do that,” he promised, “it’ll certainly be
worth the punch to the face. And I hope that my lip won’t be so damn painful,
that when I kiss you, it won’t hurt so bloody hell much.”

He raised the back of his hand to his lip and groaned;
a lip that seemed to be getting bigger, not better.

Without thought, Julia boldly rose to her tiptoes and very
gently kissed his swollen mouth. “I’m really sorry my father did this to you.”
She then ran her index finger over his bottom lip to help ease some of the
pain.

“So am I,” he ruled, grabbing her by the wrist. “So …am
…I.”