Read Online Lone Star Lover by Debbi Rawlins - Free Book Online Page A

began folding rags from a heap on the dresser. “You must eat.”
    He got the hint. No more personal questions. Fine. He had more important ones. He picked up the spoon, scooped up some of the soggy biscuit and shoveled it into his mouth. “I smelled coffee earlier. Any left?”
    “I put the kettle back on the fire. The coffee should be hot soon.”
    “What do you people have against microwaves?”
    Rebecca stopped folding and frowned at him.
    “Right. You don’t know what a car or truck or microwave is.” His annoyance ebbed when he saw the hurt in her eyes. Apparently she had no trouble understanding sarcasm. “What is that?” he asked, nudging his chin at what looked like a pamphlet that had been hidden under the pile of rags.
    She followed his gaze, and when she saw what he was looking at, sighed. “It’s Kitty’s. She wants me to learn about society.” Rebecca slightly stumbled over the word, as though it were foreign to her.
    That alone drew Jake’s interest. He’d only wanted to change the subject, but he stared at the thin publication that looked like a magazine supplement. His pulse picked up speed. If Kitty was concerned about Rebecca learning about society, that supported his theory that this was a cloistered religious sect or cult. Maybe that’s why Rebecca had urged him to leave here as fast as he could. Maybe she wanted to go with him.
    “May I see it?” he asked casually.
    Rebecca giggled. “It’s for ladies.”
    Jake smiled. “I know.”
    She hesitated, and then passed it to him, her cheeks turning pink. “I’ll get the coffee.”
    The publication consisted of one large sheet folded in half to make four pages. The printing was crude, and the title read Home Journal. Published in 1877.
    Jake blinked, thinking, hoping he wasn’t seeing clearly, but his vision was just fine. Okay, so the periodical looked new and in good shape, but that didn’t mean it didn’t belong to a collector.
    He scanned the small room, his heart pounding faster as he absorbed small details like the shelf of castor oil and two bottles labeled calomel and jalap, a package of mustard plaster, and for the first time he really got it. This wasn’t a modern-day religious sect, or even an elaborate hoax.
    Someway, somehow, he’d fallen through a wormhole, or a portal or a nightmare, and had spiraled through time, ending up in 1877 Texas, one of the worst periods in Ranger history.
    The thought chilled him.

6
    J AKE SQUINTED as the brisk air blew down Main Street and stung his face. The town wasn’t much. A two-story hotel butted up to the saloon which took up the entire corner of the dirt street. Three other rickety wooden buildings Jake couldn’t identify separated the general store and telegraph office from a rambling white clapboard structure that Kitty pointed out as Isabella’s boardinghouse.
    Even if Jake wanted to deny the mounting evidence that he had somehow crossed a time barrier, the pungent earthy smells hovering over the dreary town would undercut his rebuttal. Good thing he had a strong stomach.
    They stepped from the sagging, creaky boardwalk into the street, Rebecca supporting Jake on the right, while Kitty stayed close on his left. The light meal he’d eaten had revived him considerably, and he didn’t need the help, but for Rebecca’s sake, he said nothing. Clearly, she hadn’t wanted to leave Doc Davis’s place, and although she tried to hide her fear, Jake felt the tension radiating from her body.
    A man approached on horseback, not bothering to slow down as he passed, and left them in a wake of dust. Kitty sputtered and swore. Man, she had a mouth on her.
    In front of the saloon, Kitty stopped to dust herself off and fix her upswept hair. Rebecca clung tighter to his arm, and stared warily at a pair of geldings tied to a hitching rail.
    Kitty apparently sensed her apprehension, and said, ”That roan belongs to Will Stevens, a boy that works for Otis. He’s probably hanging around to