OverTime 1 - Searching (Time Travel) by Yvonne Jocks Page A

scratched behind his ear, he relieved me by tossing his head and laughing his wheezy horse laugh. I pet his velvety nose, then looked up to see both men watching me, Garrison from atop his big black horse, Benj from the ground beside me. Again, Garrison looked away and busied himself putting his hat back on.
    "Can I feed him a carrot?" I asked, suddenly feeling greedy for having eaten two, right on top of poor Valley Boy.
    "No," said Garrison simply, riding forward to collect the reins. He thumbed his hat brim at me once more, with here-and-gone eye contact, then wheeled both horses away in an almost balletic move.
    "Now hold it, Boss," interrupted Benj, eyes dancing. "Looks to me like you 're takin' the gal's saddle along with her mount. You thinkin' of buyin' it off her?"
    Garrison didn 't stop, though his shoulders tightened—wow, I could even recognize his frown from behind! He just led Valley Boy off toward the larger remuda to the side of the herd, a whole cluster of horses strolling along as if trained to. There went another piece of the day's familiarity. Bye-bye, Boy!
    Benj chuckled at his own joke, but waited until his partner had ridden out of earshot to explain it to me. "The boys are likely ridin ' him 'bout sellin' his saddle."
    "But he didn 't sell it; he was just letting me use it."
    "The implication alone is enough for a good jape or two," Benj insisted cheerfully. "Cowboy ain't a cowboy without his saddle, darlin'. Sellin' it means he's quit the trade."
    I remembered the look I'd seen Garrison giving the herd when we approached it this afternoon. As if...as if it completed a part of him. Give up the trade? No wonder he'd stiffened at the implication. "That's not very nice."
    Benj thought that was even funnier. "Miss Lillabit, have you noticed one cowhand approach this wagon since you got here?"
    I shook my head.
    "Well that 's a mite unusual, particularly with company. Seein' as how you are female company, the only explanation I've figured is, either the whole durned outfit keeled over dead, or Boss's orders. Now which would you guess?"
    I didn 't have to guess. "He wants them to leave me alone."
    Benj touched my nose, as it to indicate the precision of my prediction. "And it 's likely eatin' them up inside. If they can vent some of their righteous annoyance regardin' these edicts by ridin' the boss about his saddle, I reckon Jacob's been lettin' 'em."
    Allow himself to be made a laughingstock—on purpose? That did not fit with the Garrison I'd been exposed to.
    "Luckily," added Benj, "that ol ' judge ain't my boss. Yours neither."
    He 'd called Garrison a judge before, but not like a title. Did he just mean, one who judged? And why did that seem so—
    But my thoughts were interrupted when, with a winning smile, Benj ducked in and kissed me.
    As far as kisses go, it wasn 't bad—it was quick, and gentle, and his lips stayed closed. My world stilled for a moment anyway, from sheer surprise. I felt flattered, sure, but also overwhelmed, which is why, when reality crashed back, I took a quick step away, still staring. I liked him, but this couldn't be a good idea....
    He winked, not at all insulted —but seemed to be studying me, like the results of an experiment. "Now let's get you onto that chuck wagon afore Schmidty heads out to Canada," he said.
    And we did.
     
    Impractical shoes and carpeted hallways....
    A large, dark room full of enemies....
    The woman fears something about this place. Of the six employees in the dark-paneled executive conference room, she is not the only woman, but she feels like it. One man, seated casually in the corner, is of particular concern. He's handsome, with an expensive haircut, but his smile is shark-like.
    She turns quickly away from him to the tall man in charge—the boss. She should be able to trust the boss. "I... your message said you had a solution?"
    "It's somewhat irregular," the boss admits, "but so is this... matter... between the two of you. I believe it's