Saving the Gunslinger

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Wow.. You weren't exaggerating about the mess."

Zachary sighed as he slid from Blaze's back. "No, I wasn't."

Samantha swallowed hard as she looked at the pile of burned rubble and ash that had at one point been a home. Not much was left. A few charred timbers, smoke-stained remnants of the chimneys, and fire ravaged bits of crumbling furniture here and there.

"We'll have to get that cleaned up to make room for the new house. We'll just put it in the same spot, we can hook it into the cellar that's already there and the well is close by. No sense in putting it in a new spot and having to dig new wells and cellars."

Samantha nodded at Zachary's logic. Zachary reached out and took her by her hips, pulling her from Athena's back and holding her close to him as his gaze remained locked on that pile of rubble and ash. Samantha sighed, laying her hand gentle on his stubble covered cheek. "We'll make it a home, Zachary. Our home."

Those brown eyes turned to her before he bent down and pressed a tender kiss to her brow. "Yeah."

"Well, let's get the horses put up and get to work sorting through the rubble," Samantha urged. "There may be some things in there worth saving."

Timothy had stayed behind in town to ride out with the wagons delivering the building supplies later in the day. Zachary had also talked to Joseph Anders and the man agreed to put together a team of eight men together to work for Zachary, not only cleaning up the old house but also building the new one.

With those eight men plus Zachary, Timothy, and Samantha, Joseph Anders had seemed certain they could have all the work completed in about two weeks time. Of course, then they would have to paint, decorate and furnish the house to make it a home but Samantha knew it would have to be something they took one step at a time—if she focused on everything that needed to be done, she would get overwhelmed.

Samantha followed Zachary to the barn and marveled at how different it looked. New boards had replaced the rotting ones, the hinges and latches were new and gleaming, it didn't seem like the same building.

"It could use some paint but Tim and I have been working hard out here," Zachary admitted. "We have this barn done, the other is almost done and the corrals have all been fixed up. We still have to get the stable fixed up for the horses we'll breed and sell and fix up the other outbuildings...."

"Zachary?" Samantha cut in to stop his out of character rambling. It was obvious he was desperate to not only impress her but also assure her that this would be a good home and ranch for them. His mouth slammed shut and he rubbed at the back of his neck. She smiled. "Your parents would be proud of you and the work you've done. And so am I."

He simply grunted but said nothing. Once they settled the horses into the barn with plenty of hay, water and a bit of oats, Zachary led her to the blackened ruins of the farmhouse. "I'm gonna get started digging a hole to bury all this in. Probably over behind the barn. We'll use the wagon and the wheelbarrow to haul loads and dump them."

"It's going to be a lot of work," Samantha admitted, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of charred wood they were going to have to move.

"You don't have to help with this, Sam. There will be plenty of folks here to help me." He smiled as he took her hand and pulled her into chest.

Samantha felt that quickening of her pulse and that breathlessness in her lungs as she pressed herself against his warm, hard body with those strong arms holding her in an embrace that was protective and possessive and tender somehow all at the same time. Her mind instantly went to the bath they had shared the night before and the way his fingers had expertly taken her to heaven before he had laid her down in the hotel bed and loved her body back to earth.