Back Home

After 3 months of intense uphill struggle Mrs. McInerney died, leaving her two unmarried daughters behind. Shane had had time for nothing else but taking care of her mother and when it was finally over, she breathed a sigh of relief for her mother's sake as well as hers.

As soon as the funeral was over, Shane started making her preparations to return to Copper Creek.

"Alex, you don't have any other option. You have to come to Colorado with me."

Alex looked at Shane with complete disinterest. "I've already told you Shane. I'd rather die than end up in that dusty little town."

"Alex, don't be stupid. What other options do you have?"

Indeed, Alex had no other options; no profession, no other family, no money and no potential husband who'd be willing to take care of her. She finally agreed to move to Copper Creek.

As Shane expected, Alex did not fall in love with the little town. She was bored to death and caused more trouble than she was worth.

Meanwhile, Shane and Oliver were officially courting. The entire town knew and approved of it wholeheartedly. They sat together in church every Sunday and had lunch at the inn afterwards. However, while they were getting to know each other better, their time was often interrupted by having to look for Alex and rescue her from one pickle after another.

One Saturday, Oliver had to go to the saloon and fetch her, as she was gambling in that less than suitable establishment.

Another weekend, the town had to form a posse to find her in the woods. She had befriended Jerry Polevich, the sheriff's new deputy. He was a rather chubby, unfit city man who invited Alex for a stroll in the woods. They ended up lost and in grave danger when Jerry was thrown from his horse when it bolted and broke his ankle. They were found eighteen hours later, hopelessly lost in the Rockies, cold, hungry and exhausted.

Shane was getting to the end of her patience and running out of new ideas to help Alex.

"Oliver, I don't know if I can look after Alex much longer. She has been nothing but trouble since she arrived here. She's disinterested in learning anything or helping in anyway." Oliver started to think about options. He remembered a conversation he had with Sam and Marie from the Star Lily Ranch. They needed help on their ranch. Oliver thought this would be a good opportunity and change of scenery from Copper Creek for Alex, where she had far too much time on her hands and not enough to do.

Shane did not give Alex any other options. "You either move there and help out or you can find your own way through life. I won't stop you, but I will no longer indulge your lazy ways either."

On the following Saturday, Oliver hitched Meshach to his wagon, taking Shane and a very unhappy Alex to Sam's ranch. They dropped Alex at the ranch. Both Sam and Marie reassured Shane that Alex would be ok. She wasn't the first rebellious woman they had helped and it seemed Hoke Carey, their old manager, had already taken her under his wings. She would thrive under his guidance, they had no doubt. Alex would become useful, whether she liked it or not. Shane was not convinced, but felt great relief regardless and had a grateful heart.

On their way back, Shane was sitting rather snugly next to Oliver. During the few weeks they had been courting, they hardly ever had any chance to be alone. They both were cherishing this opportunity and enjoying each other's company. Oliver took his eyes off the path to give Shane a quick kiss. He was distracted long enough for one of the wagon wheels to sink into a deep rut, breaking the axle with a loud noise.

"Oh my goodness!" Oliver said, worried.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no! What shall we do?" Shane looked panicked.

"There's nothing we can do regarding the wagon. However, we can still get home by riding together on Meshach. I'm sorry I don't have a side saddle, Shane. You're going to have to ride astride behind me." Shane blushed deeply, thinking about riding the horse and sitting astride pressed closely to Oliver's backside. He noticed and apologised.

"I'm sorry, Miss McInerney."

"Oh, no, don't worry. It will be fun."

He raised an eyebrow at her and she felt her blush getting deeper when she realised how that sounded.

"I didn't mean…. I meant… oh, never mind." She looked around for a place where she could curl up and die of embarrassment. He chuckled, amused at her embarrassment. He got down and reached up to help her down. Instead of letting her go, he pulled her into his arms and whispered as though he was telling her a secret.

"I agree, I also think it will be fun."

She reached up and pressed her hands against the nape of his neck, playing with the ends of his hair. He looked at her with his intense blue eyes and she felt her knees going weak under her.

He took her lips agonisingly slowly. Tasting her, drinking her in, their tongues were in a dance of their own, utterly in concert. They eventually separated to draw a breath. She whispered his name and he took her mouth again, this time ravenously. She felt so good in his arms. It was where she belonged and where he wanted to keep her. Eventually he knew they needed to get out of there or he would do something he'd deeply regret.

He unhitched Meshach from the wagon and mounted. He reached down and helped Shane to mount behind him. She tried to leave space between them, but he reached behind her and pushed her lower back forward towards him until they couldn't fit even a blade of grass between them. She was plastered to his back. Her legs folded behind his legs in a perfect fit. He then grabbed both her hands and crossed them around his middle, "We don't want you falling off, Miss McInerney." He said with a husky voice.

Shane held on tightly. She laid her head on his back and breathed deeply of his delicious manly scent. He filled her senses, he was intoxicating! From the side they looked like they were one person, as one couldn't tell where one started and the other finished.

Oliver was not in a hurry, as he was enjoying every second of the impromptu ride with Shane wrapped around him. Neither of them spoke. They were lost in each other's touch, daydreaming about the day there'd be no more restrictions between them. For almost the entire duration of the ride into town, Oliver's hand caressed her knuckles, playing with her fingers and feeling her pulse. Although it was just their hands touching, it was so sensual and delicious. Their touching was wreaking havoc with their hearts.

As they approached town, he dismounted and asked her to move forward on the saddle as he led the horse on foot. Her reputation was precious to him and he wasn't prepared to have her good name soiled or give the townspeople any reason to gossip about her. He dropped her off at her home and went directly to Henry Barrett the blacksmith to engage his services to rescue and fix his wagon.

The following weekend, the town got together to raise a new barn at Dale's ranch. They had quickly rebuilt a temporary replacement after the fire, but a permanent larger barn was needed for the winter, which was fast approaching. While the men were busy, the ladies were cooking up a storm and the wonderful smells were drifting through the work area.

Dale had given Shane her blessing concerning Oliver, assuring her she loved him like a brother. Shane felt she would eventually become good friends with Dale.

Throughout the day Shane and Oliver couldn't take their eyes off each other. They were drawn to each other like magnets. Every time she looked up at him, perched on a beam, hammering a nail, he would look down at her and vice versa. She would smile lovingly at him and he'd stop hammering and smile back.

At one point, Joe told Oliver to get down and work on the ground, as he didn't want him falling and breaking his neck. To Joe's great surprise, Oliver offered no resistance to his dad's suggestion and got down in a hurry.

As his feet touched the ground, he stopped and fixed his eyes on Shane. Exactly at that moment, Bobby Richards rounded the corner with a wheelbarrow filled with freshly cut shingles made by the children. He ran directly into Oliver, sending him flying onto the hard ground.

Shane dropped the tray of lemonade with a bang on the table and ran to him in a panic. Dr. Josh was also by his side in seconds. Oliver sat up, disoriented and shook his head. He had an open gash over his ribs on the right side, which was already bleeding profusely. Josh and Shane each got under an arm and helped him into the house.

"It's a flesh wound, Oliver. It's quite long though, you were lucky." Josh said, as he peeled off Oliver's shirt to reveal the extent of the gash, along with Oliver's well-toned midsection. Shane gasped as she saw his naked torso.

Josh left the room to get his medical bag from his wagon, leaving them alone and Shane putting pressure on the wound.

"I'm sorry, Oliver. I distracted you."

He grabbed her hand and kissed it. "How is that your fault, Miss McInerney?" He then grabbed her other hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing her knuckles. He then placed it over his heart, holding it firmly under his hand. She opened her palm over his heart as he pierced her with his intense, magnificent blue eyes. She could tell his heartbeat was accelerating, but it wasn't due to his injury. She blushed from their physical contact, feeling herself heating up all over. His skin felt deliciously warm under her touch. He pulled her face to his with his free hand and gently touched her lips with his, hovering over them.

All of a sudden, the door opened with a swish and Joe rushed in, halting abruptly when he saw his son kissing Shane. He laughed heartily.

"Oh well, I'm glad to see you recovered already. And here I was worrying for nothing."

Shane jumped; yanking her hand away from under Oliver's and blushed deeply. Oliver looked at his dad with a combination of annoyance and amusement. Joe continued teasing his son.

"I'm so glad I ordered you down from the roof rafters, as I could tell Shane's eyes were going to bring you down from there eventually, one way or another."

Oliver would normally enjoy this kind of banter had he been alone with his dad, but realised it was too much for the sensitivities of a young lady.

"Dad, please."

Josh came in and put an end to the teasing. Shane watched carefully as he stitched up Oliver and wrapped the wound.

"You're going to have a nasty bruise for a couple of weeks, Oliver. Luckily, there's no fracture, thank goodness. Make sure you change the dressing every single day, as we don't want you to get an infection."

Turning to Shane, he asked. "Can I trust you to do that, Miss McInerney, or do I need to do it?"

She nodded confidently. "No, I can do it Josh, don't worry. I will take good care of him."

All three men smiled discreetly, trying to hide their smiles, but Joe couldn't remain silent and said with a chuckle. "I'm sure Oliver will enjoy Shane's ministrations. Don't drag it out longer than necessary, son."

Oliver glared at him as Shane blushed yet again.

The doctor gave him some painkillers and instructed him to take them as often as three times a day as needed.

They helped Oliver sit up and took him back outside. After about an hour of doing nothing but sitting with the women, he felt utterly useless. He asked Shane if she would drive him home. She agreed immediately.

As they arrived at Oliver's home above the post office, their roles reversed, as Shane got down from the wagon and assisted him down. He leaned on her quite heavily. It was a struggle as Oliver was in significant pain. They made it upstairs, Shane supporting him under her shoulder as much as she could.

It was the first time Shane was seeing the inside of Oliver's house. Like him, it was orderly, very clean and very manly. She pointed to the couch, but he shook his head. "I need to lie down in my bed."

Shane took a deep breath and carried on, supporting his weight as he led the way to his bedroom. She turned down the covers and helped him get in. He lay down carefully. As she let go of him, she felt the cold of his absence, of his body pressed against hers. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down to sit next to him. They were both keenly aware of how inappropriate the situation was, but neither one of them was resisting it.

He pulled her towards him and kissed her gently. She had her hands resting on his chest. The kiss grew passionate quickly, as he seemed to forget his pain. She was the one who pulled back at last. She looked at him regretfully, as she would rather stay right where she was and kiss him like this for the rest of her life.

"I should go." She said, breathlessly. "I'll return later to check on you."

He nodded and again kissed her knuckles. "Thank you." He spoke softly; looking at her with his best smouldering look he knew always melted her heart.

Shane returned as promised and brought him dinner. He was fast asleep. She looked at him, peacefully sleeping and her heart did a summersault. She gasped and realised if she didn't marry this man soon, there was no way she'd be able to resist him for much longer. She was head over heels in love with him and she craved his touch. He was the first thought she had in the morning and the last one before she fell asleep. He occupied every tiny bit of space in her heart and head. There was no room for anyone or anything else.

She touched his face gently now and softly called his name. "Oliver!" He turned towards her voice and lazily opened his eyes. Once his eyes focused on her, he smiled. He had removed his shirt as it was catching on the bandage. The blanket slipped down and Shane inhaled sharply as she saw his naked torso again. He was magnificent. Shane had to summon all her wits to remain focused.

His bandage had shifted and she needed to put it back in place. "Ok, we need to re-attach your bandage. Can you sit up please?" She tried to sound focused and efficient. He obeyed her. She realised he had made a mess of the bandage and she needed to redo the whole thing. First she had to untie and untangle it from around him. She sat on the bed and started undoing it, passing one end of the bandage to her other hand at his back, repeating the process until she got to the end of it. Her face was actually touching his bare chest. He kept looking at her without deviating his stare.

She finished undoing it and re-fastened it in place, making it a little tighter this time. Once she was done, she tried to get up and catch her breath, as she had been holding it. But he held her face in both his hands, "Shane!" He whispered and lowered his mouth to hers.

He started kissing her gently but she reached to the back of his head, digging her fingers desperately into his hair. She was hungry, desperate for him and not holding back. He was surprised by her passion. She moved and sat on his lap. She pushed him back onto the bed and fell on top of him.

He groaned in pain and she snapped out of her fog of desire.

"Oh my goodness, Oliver, I'm so sorry. What am I doing?" She scrambled to her feet and ran out of the room.

He got up, wincing in pain and went after her. He threw a shirt loosely over his back putting his left arm through the sleeve and pulled the shirt over the right arm just enough to appear decent.

"Shane?" He called to her desperately. She was in the kitchen, opening the food containers trying to look busy by putting food on a plate but looking extremely unhappy.

"Shane?" He called again. She turned her back to him, hiding her face in her hands. Her whole body was shaking, as she sobbed silently. He approached her and pulled her against him.

"Shane, sweetheart…"

"Oh, Oliver, what you must think of me now? That I'm a loose woman who throws herself at injured, defenceless men to entice and seduce them?"

He laughed, despite the seriousness of the situation.

"I'm thinking no such thing!" He turned her around to face him. Her tears ran freely down her face. He wiped them away with his thumbs. She leaned into his touch.

"I'm thinking how fortunate I am that a woman like you would give me any of her precious time and attention." He hugged her as she cried in his arms. As she calmed down, he informed her, that in the future, he'd like her to bring along Norman or Rita or whoever was available when she came to change his bandages.

"Despite what you may believe Miss McInerney, you are in more serious danger of being enticed and seduced first." She looked up at him.

He smiled self mockingly. "You drive me crazy, did you know that?"

They looked at each other lovingly, realising they had their work cut out for them when it came to resisting each other.

He kissed her softly. "I love you... Shane!"