AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thank you all for your enthusiastic response to my latest fanfic!

Special shoutouts go to:

ninjagomasteroftheforce - Thanks for your kind comment, and I'm glad you liked my "Ninjago Cowboy" fanfic!

Princess Bunny - If you want to see Cole and Brooke kissing, keep reading!

lovesgod12 - Do you read about the American civil war? This story is very loosely based on it. I've visited at least four battlefields.

Kai's Girlfriend - Thank you for your kind comment and all the kind comments you've posted since the very first chapter of my very first fanfic.

Naruby7 - Glad you like Brooke! My family member measuremesky created her in the story The Fire Within as a girl who pays attention to style and fashion, so I'm going to keep that trait in the 1800s version of her.


Chapter 3 - A Courtship Begins

The small sound of distress from Brooke, a sniffle, made Cole distressed. He must have said something wrong.

Quickly he noted that right now they were about to cross a footbridge that led over a tributary of the Ninjago River. He knew there was a makeshift bench on the other side of the footbridge, so he led Rocky there and halted the gelding.

"Do you mind if we sit for a spell and talk?" he asked her, talking to her from over his shoulder. He wanted to apologize to her while facing her, so that meant he needed to get off the horse.

Brooke sniffled again. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Cole. I didn't mean to spoil your evening with my blubbering. It's...just..."

Cole went ahead and dismounted. "Here, let's sit on this bench," he urged her.

Brooke nodded and allowed him to help her dismount the horse and lead her to the bench, where they sat down. She set the lantern on the ground next to them.

From the pocket of his Sunday-best coat, still wearing it after today's wedding ceremony and barbecue, he took out his black kerchief and offered it to her. "You can use this if you want. I only used it four times today," he joked in an attempt to make her smile.

It worked. Through her tears, Brooke chuckled at his attempt at humor as she took it from him, which in turn made him feel better. He waited until she regained her composure, then he spoke.

"I'm sorry for anything I said that made you upset," he apologized.

"No, no, there's nothing for you to be sorry for," she assured him, using the kerchief to dab the last bit of moisture from her eyes. "It's just that I HAVE wanted to go back to Ogacich and visit my family, but I'm afraid to." She handed the kerchief back to him.

"What are you afraid of?" he asked as he put back the kerchief in his pocket.

She swallowed. "Actually, it's WHO I'm afraid of. That man who was married to my aunt. I don't even want to call him an uncle. He's still in the neighborhood, and I'm afraid that if he sees me again he'll...try something. Again."

Cole's anger flared up at a man who he had never met, yet whose attempts to take liberties with the lovely willowy brunette scared her so badly to the point where she feared visiting her own kin.

Then he thought of something.

"Could your family come out to visit you?" he asked.

"It would cost too much," Brooke frowned. "My oldest brother is 17, so he's old enough to fend for himself, but all my other brothers and sisters would have to travel along with Mama and Daddy."

The disappointment in Brooke's hazel eyes, illuminated by the lantern, bothered Cole.

He boldly took her dainty hands in his large, capable ones.

"I'll help you out with the money," he announced.

"Oh, Cole, I couldn't ask you to do that," Brooke protested, silently enjoying the feel of his strong hands clasping hers. "That's too generous of you. And besides, I don't know where they would all stay once they got here. I'm not sure Mr. Noble would want a passel of young 'uns running around his hotel." The hotel proprietor seemed a bit fussy when it came to maintaining an orderly environment on his premises.

"Leave that detail to me," Cole said with authority.

Brooke began to protest again. "But..."

"Not another peep from you, Miss Dawson," Cole chided her. "It's settled. I'm going to help you bring your family here to visit."

Brooke realized she was not going to change the mind of this stubborn black-haired cowboy. She accepted her defeat graciously.

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully.

Cole looked into her hazel eyes again. This time, they shone with affection. For him.

As he gazed at her, Cole focused on the sensation of her hands in his. Against his rough, calloused skin, her hands were so gosh darn silky smooth. He didn't think he could touch anything else softer on earth.

Until his lips touched hers.

He couldn't exactly explain how the space between them had disappeared, but it had. His heart pounded in his ears as he deeply breathed in her vanilla scent and tasted her exquisite kisses.

His mind swirled. For several minutes, he lost track of what time it was, where he was, even what his name was. All that mattered was her. And her sweet tokens of affection.

Their lips finally parted and they sat back on the bench.

Cole swallowed hard, reeling from the dizziness he was feeling. "I reckon we'd best be on our way," he said thickly.

"I suppose we should be going," Brooke concurred, breathing rapidly.

Blinking his eyes several times in an effort to regain his composure, Cole stood up and helped Brooke stand up, still holding on to the soft hands he had been clasping for a while. He let go of one hand to grab the lantern but still clung to the other as they walked back to where Rocky stood, patiently waiting for his passengers.

Cole set the lantern down and turned to face Brooke in order to hoist her on the horse's back. But instead of putting his hands on her hips to lift her, his strong arms - as if acting on their own accord - slid around her thin waist and pulled her tightly against his muscular frame, enveloping her almost to the point where she disappeared from sight. His lips happily reacquainted themselves with hers.

Her lips occupied, Brooke slid her arms around the neck of the kind, handsome cowboy. She was in no hurry to end the evening with her hero.

Rocky would have to keep standing there, patiently waiting.