And while they were gone, she might as wel get their
license plate number and let the air out of their tires so they
could spread the word that the Thompson pit was no place
to rip off the new boys in town.
Gee, maybe Duncan would make hera hero’s badge for
saving his fuel.
Peg stood with her back to the tree, listening to branches
snapping and an occasional curse as the men made their
way down the steep wooded knol beside their vehicle. It
sounded like three, maybe four of them, but she didn’t
recognize any of their voices or the SUV—at least not from
this distance.
Hearing them reach her beach, she peeked around the
tree to make sure they hadn’t left anyone behind, then
crouched down and quietly scurried toward the truck,
guessing they—
Peg’s scream never made it past the large hand that
pressed over her mouth at the same time an arm pinned
her arms to her sides and lifted her off her feet. She kicked
out even while trying to bite the hand al but suffocating her,
the arm around her middle nearly finishing the job when it
tightened against her struggles.
“Lady, you are one second away from feeling the flat of
my sword on your backside,” he quietly growled into her
hair.
Duncan! Peg stopped struggling, but instead of
loosening his hold or at least removing his hand so she
could breathe, he turned and headed toward the main road
like he was lugging off a— Wait, had he just said his
sword?
Wel , of course he had, because everyone knew men
said and did stupid things when they were angry. But
threaten her with a sword? Seriously?
“Ye try to trip me up with that shotgun or bite me again
and I willput ye over my knee,” Duncan said quietly. He
final y stopped when they reached the main road and set
her on her feet, ripped the gun out of her hand and tossed it
in the woods, and had her spun around and his nose stuck
in her face before she even gulped in her first decent
breath. “Are you insane or just suicidal? Ye don’t go after
men al by yourself with a shotgun.”
“Wel , gee, I don’t own a sword.”
He shook her.
So she kicked him. Or at least she tried to, but he had
her spun around and slammed up against his chest so fast,
she ended up kicking herself in the ankle.
“Where are your children?” he growled.
“Charlotte’s keeping watch in the window,” she growled
right back at him, “with the phone in her hand.”
He muttered what sounded like a curse in some
language she didn’t recognize and suddenly let her go, only
to snag her hand and start dragging her down the main
road toward her driveway. “Is there a reason you didn’t cal
your brother-in-law to come check out who was in your pit?”
he asked, stopping to give her a jerk when she dug the
nails of her free hand into his wrist. “That wasn’t an idle
threat I gave ye, Peg,” he said way too quietly.
Boy, he must be real y angry, because she real y
believed him. “Um, Galen lives twenty miles away,” she
said, shoving her free hand in her pocket. “Charlotte’s
supposed to cal 911 and then a neighbor if she hears a
gunshot. And I gave her your cel phone number,” she
rushed on when his eyes narrowed, “and told her to tel you
what’s going on. Wait, my shotgun,” she said, trying to pul
him to a stop when he started dragging her off again—only
to stumble when she saw he real y didhave a sword
strapped in some sort of sheath on his back.
“The gun’s not going anywhere tonight.” He stopped and
grabbed hold of her shoulders. “They’re almost to the
equipment,” he said softly. “I’m taking you to your house,
and you’re to go inside and tel Charlotte not to cal anyone,
especial y not 911. We’ve got this covered.”
We? Come to think of it, what was hedoing here? “Who
in hel died and left you king?” she muttered, only to lean
away when she saw the look in his eyes.
“You step a toe outside before sunrise, and I swear to
God I’m going to—”
“Oh, give it a rest,” she snapped as she stomped down
on his foot and jerked away, bolting for the house as she
wondered if she might be insane andsuicidal—although
she did have sense to stay in the shadows of the trees
lining her driveway.
The man was guarding his excavator with a friggin’
sword!
He caught up with her in less than two strides but merely
ran beside her, not touching her again until he nudged her
toward the end of the deck facing away from the pit, then
pul ed her to a stop next to the house. “I mean it, Peg,” he
said tightly. “You go inside and staythere.”
God, he wasn’t even a little winded, while she could
barely catch her breath—although that was probably
because her heart was pounding so hard it hurt.
He suddenly crushed her against his chest, threading his
fingers through her hair to hold her looking at him. “And,
lady? I ever catch ye outside after dark again not wearing a
bra, you’l have only yourself to blame for the
consequences.”
He dropped his hands to her waist, had her lifted halfway
over the railing before she even got out a gasp, and
finished helping her the rest of the way with a less than
gentle hand on her backside. She caught herself from
fal ing flat on her face and spun around with a whispered
growl of outrage, only to discover he’d vanished.
Peg took a steadying breath as she ran trembling fingers
through her hair, and brushed down the front of her
sweatshirt as she walked to the door on rubbery legs.
Okay, maybe she wouldfal in love with the sword-carrying,
chest-beating jerk, so he’d have only himself to blame for
the consequences of the Robinson curse.
The door opened just as she was reaching for the knob,
and Charlotte pul ed her inside. “What’s going on? Where’s
your gun? I thought I saw you walking out the tote road with
somebody.”
“Did you cal 911?” she asked, leading Charlotte into the
bedroom.
“No, not yet; I didn’t hear your signal.”
Peg led her over to the window and unlocked it, then
pul ed her daughter down on her knees beside her.
“Duncan’s out there,” she said, slowly lifting the window
open. “And Robbie and Alec, I think.” She snorted. “They
must have camped out on the hil side, worried about
someone stealing their fuel.”
“Then let’s cal the sheriff,” Charlotte whispered, holding
up the phone.
Peg took it from her and set it on the floor. “Duncan said
not to. And he’s right; you don’t pul into a town you’re trying
to do business in and have the locals arrested the very first
night. That’s why I was only going to give them hel if I
recognized them.”
“Is that what Duncan’s going to do?”
Peg wrapped her arm around the girl. “I guess we’re
about to find out, aren’t we? Let’s watch and listen; and that
way maybe we’l learn how big strong men deal with
trespassers. Um, speaking of which, you might get your
very first up-close look at a real y angry man tonight,
Charlie. So if Duncan comes in here acting like a chest-
beating jerk once everything is over, you just smile and nod,
okay, no matter what outrageous thing he says. You need to
understand that when men get angry, they go a bit crazy.”
She gave her wide-eyed daughter a squeeze. “But it’s
usual y only to cover up the fact that they’re scared we
womenfolk might get hurt.”