“Brianna’s full of surprises,” Lucas said dryly.
“Like the way she talks?”
“Among other things.” Lucas looked at his companion curiously. What was there about this man that had Brianna so disconcerted? When Lucas came around the corner of the house she’d been white as a ghost. Maybe he reminded Brianna of someone, a brother perhaps, or an uncle. With that red hair and cornflower blue eyes he could easily pass for a relative.
Watching while the younger man went about the business of putting his horse away, Lucas was favorably impressed. Clearly, Ian MacTavish had a way with horses and, Lucas suspected, with people. It was impossible not to respond to his open, friendly manner.
“Where are you from?” Lucas asked.
“No place special. My mother lives in Salt Lake City.”
Lucas raised his eyebrows. “You’re a Mormon?”
“No. Ma married one a few years back, but I didn’t cotton to the life-style. I stop to visit her once in a while.” MacTavish grinned engagingly. “I’d been there about a week when my step-father introduced me to James Bromley, probably hoping I’d get a job and move on again. He doesn’t like me associating with my step-sisters.”
Lucas wasn’t surprised. MacTavish was a handsome devil if you were attracted to the lean lanky sort, not someone a man would want hanging around his impressionable young daughters. Or a beautiful young wife. The thought came out of nowhere and Lucas pushed it away in irritation. He should be so lucky. If Brianna and MacTavish did fall in love, the other man was sure to take her off Lucas’s hands, and he’d be rid of her once and for all. It would be the perfect solution.
“When do I start my new duties?” Ian asked eagerly.
“No hurry. The mail isn’t due for a couple of days and the stage won’t be through until next week.”
“Doesn’t matter. I hate to sit around doing nothing.”
“Don’t worry, there’s plenty to do,” Lucas said with a smile. “That corral is full of horses that need to be ridden and ridden hard every day. We’ve only been getting them out about half often enough.”
“I’ve heard some of them have run themselves to death on the route.”
“That’s true. It takes a lot out of a horse, even one in top condition, to gallop for ten miles. So far, we haven’t lost any from here, but I’m afraid we will if they don’t get enough exercise on the days they don’t carry the mail.”
Ian leaned on the fence and watched the horses for a few minutes. “Pretty impressive herd.”
“The best money can buy. It’s our job to see they stay that way.”
“I think I’m going to like this job,” Ian said pushing away from the fence. “It isn’t everybody who can get paid for riding horses like these.”
Lucas smiled. “It does have its benefits.”
“And one of them is home cooking. I hadn’t expected that. In fact, I’d heard the food was pretty bad at most of the stations.”
“The company doesn’t consider that a priority like they do feed for the horses. Brianna can do pretty amazing things with the supplies we do get.”
“You’re lucky your wife came with you.”
“She didn’t exactly come with me.”
“No?”
Lucas sighed. “It’s a long story.”
There was a moment of silence while Ian waited for Lucas to explain. “When will I get to meet the riders?” Ian finally asked, tactfully changing the subject as they entered the station.
“Seth will probably join us at supper. He just got in this morning and they usually sleep most of the day after a ride. Fifty miles at a dead run tends to wear a man out.”
Ian shook his head admiringly. “I really wanted to be one, you know.”
“One what?” Brianna asked looking up curiously.
“A Pony Express rider.” He smiled ruefully. “I don’t even come close to the size requirement.”
“What size requirement?”
“The one that says a rider can’t weigh more than a hundred and twenty-five pounds,” Lucas told her. “The ride is grueling enough for the horses without carrying a lot of extra weight.”
“Ohhh,” she said as though someone had just explained a great mystery to her. “That’s why Billy and Seth are both so small.”
“I wouldn’t recommend you let either of them hear you say that,” Lucas advised as he pulled out a chair and sat down. “They won’t appreciate it. Have a seat, Ian.”
“Yes, do,” Brianna said eagerly as she set a plate of food on the table in front of him. “I’ll get you some coffee, Lucas.”
Half an hour later Brianna and MacTavish were acting as if they’d known each other all their lives. Lucas tried not to view the blossoming friendship with a jaundiced eye as he pulled his pipe out of his pocket and filled it with tobacco. He liked the young man himself; why wouldn’t Brianna? So what if she seemed to respond readily to his charm?
Lucas told himself he was pleased as he lit his pipe and relaxed against the back of his chair. Let someone else listen to her inexhaustible supply of chatter. He had far more important things to think about...like how beautiful she looked and wondering if she’d dressed to please Ian MacTavish.
“What’s the occasion?” Lucas asked a few minutes later as she rose to refill the coffee cups. His voice sounded sharp even to his own ears.
Brianna looked at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“You’re all dressed up.”
She smiled and twirled around. “Do you like it?”
Like it? When the color made her eyes so incredibly blue he felt like he could drown in them, and all he could think of was pulling her into his arms and kissing her? How could he like a dress that swept away his better sense? Lucas shrugged noncommittally as he puffed on his pipe. “I don’t remember you ever wearing it before. That’s all.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders drooped slightly. “No, I haven’t worn it before. The lady on the stage gave it to me today. I was trying it on when Ian arrived and haven’t had a chance to change back.”
Disappointment was obvious in every line of her body as she turned to the fireplace and Lucas felt his heart clench painfully. Damn, he hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings. “It’s very pretty.”
“Thank you,” she said but her smile didn’t reach her eyes as she returned to the table to pour the coffee.
“I’ve had enough,” Ian said smiling up at her. “I should be getting my gear stowed. If you could tell me where I’m supposed to sleep...” His voice trailed off, and he looked at Lucas expectantly.
Lucas hadn’t given any thought to that. Seth and Billy shared the bunk Fredricks had slept in. He’d wanted to be near the horses and had traded bunks with them right at the beginning. Brianna slept in the bunk that by rights belonged to MacTavish. Lucas chewed on his pipe stem as he considered the dilemma.
“I-I guess that one is probably yours,” Brianna said looking at her bed uncertainly before Lucas could think of an answer.
Ian glanced back and forth between the two bunks. “Uh... I’d really rather sleep in the barn if you don’t mind.”
“There’s only one bunk out there,” Brianna said reluctantly. “Billy and Seth sleep in it.”
“Doesn’t matter. I can bed down in a pile of hay just as easy as not.” He stood and picked up his hat. “Thanks for the meal, Mrs. Daniels.”
“Brianna,” she corrected him. “I’ll send Lucas to get you at supper time.”
“Another meal?” Ian grinned as he put on his hat and walked to the door. “I think I’m going to like it here.”
Silence fell inside the cabin, broken only by the sound of Ian’s cheerful whistle as he covered the distance to the barn.
“Guess he thought it was pretty strange we don’t sleep in the same bed,” Brianna ventured at last as she began clearing the table.
“I doubt if he realized it.” Lucas took his pipe out of his mouth and peered down into the bowl. “No way to tell if that other bunk is used
or not the way you keep this place so neat and clean.”
Brianna frowned. “I never really thought about why there was an extra bunk. I feel guilty about using Ian’s bed. Isn’t room and board part of the job?”
“Yes.”
“There, you see, and I’m keeping it from him.”
“If it bothers you that much, we can give it to him.”
“What?”
“I said we can give him your bed.” Lucas didn’t look up as he calmly tapped the dead ashes out of his pipe. “We’ll rig some sort of a curtain between the two bunks, and you can sleep with me.”
“A curtain?”
“MacTavish probably didn’t like the idea of sharing his sleeping quarters with a married couple.”
“So what difference would a curtain make?”
“This cabin wasn’t exactly built with privacy in mind. A curtain would take care of that.”
“What are you talking about? It wouldn’t do a thing to stop sound. He could hear everything that went on!”
Lucas had to struggle to keep a straight face as he stared at her in apparent shock. “Why, Brianna, whatever were you planning on doing?”
She blushed to the roots of her hair. “I wasn’t...I thought...I... “
Lucas laughed outright. He hadn’t expected her to take him seriously.
Brianna’s eyes narrowed as she realized she’d been duped. “You think you’re pretty funny, don’t you, Lucas? Just remember, pay backs are hell and you’ll get yours.” Brianna threw her dishtowel at him as she stalked out the door. “It would serve you right if I called your bluff and crawled into your bunk with you tonight!”
The image of Brianna snuggled up against him in the narrow confines of the bunk hit Lucas with the force of a mule kick. In his mind’s eye, he could see his sun-darkened fingers against the white of her skin as he slowly slid the demure cotton nightdress down her shoulder and followed its path with his lips. He could almost feel her hands against his naked back, stroking, caressing, driving him to the brink.
The laughter died in his throat as the blood surged hot and heavy through his veins, and his body responded to the erotic pictures his imagination created. Lucas closed his eyes and swallowed hard, trying to force his thoughts into less dangerous channels. Whether she knew it or not, Brianna had gotten her revenge.
CHAPTER 17
“I’ll be outside if anybody needs me,” Lucas announced, pushing his chair back from the supper table.
Ian looked up. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“Billy should be in sometime, and we’ll send Seth out on Copernicus. Other than that, it’s up to you.”
“Just the usual routine then?”
“As far as I’m concerned.” Lucas glanced at Brianna, but she was busy clearing the table and paid no attention. Wondering why that bothered him, he went outside to smoke his pipe.
It had taken two days of hard work for Lucas to drive away the lustful images his imagination had created around Brianna’s taunt. The problem was, he’d had too little time to devote to his scientific studies. Now that MacTavish was here to take over Fredrick’s duties, Lucas could spend more time in his lab and wouldn’t have time to think. With any luck, MacTavish and Brianna would fall in love and take care of the problem once and for all. They certainly seemed to like each other.
Of course, everyone liked MacTavish, including Lucas himself. It was obvious from the moment Seth and Ian met at the supper table that they were destined to be friends. To Seth, Ian’s twenty-three years seemed a great age, and his tales of trailing cattle from Texas, riding shotgun for the Butterfield Stage and scouting for the army fascinating. On the other hand, Ian was highly impressed that Seth’s equestrian skills were good enough he’d been chosen to ride for the Pony Express.
They happily exchanged stories all evening, every evening with Brianna hanging on their words, enjoying the conversation as much as either of them. Tonight, she hardly seemed to notice when Lucas went outside to smoke his pipe. He told himself he didn’t care; that he was pleased Brianna was so attracted to MacTavish. But he found himself straining to hear the conversation inside.
“It’s called the Pony Express mount,” Seth was saying.
Ian’s tone was skeptical. “I can’t believe a horse would let you run up behind him, put your hands on its rump and vault into the saddle.”
“We haven’t exactly trained very many of them yet, but Billy and I are close. From what I hear, other riders along the route are working on it too.”
“It’s possible,” Brianna said. “I’ve seen stunt men do it on...well, I’ve seen it done.”
“Stunt men?”
“They’re...um...people who teach horses to do all kinds of tricks.”
“Is that where you learned the trick you used with Franklin?” Seth asked eagerly.
“Not exactly...Hey, wait a minute how did you know about that? You weren’t even here.”
“Billy told me. You should have seen it, Ian...”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Lucas muttered to himself as he listened to Seth’s enthusiastic tale. Sugar! He’d wondered how she’d managed to charm the brute. He smiled reluctantly. That woman never ceased to amaze him.
“No wonder Lucas managed so well for so long. You helped exercise the horses!”
Brianna gave an unladylike snort. “Not hardly. He won’t let me within ten feet of one of his precious horses.”
Ian was incredulous. “Why not?”
“You tell me. I gave up trying to figure him out long ago.”
“Maybe he’s afraid you’ll get hurt.”
“He knows better. He saw me ride.” She sighed. “I don’t know, maybe it really is a company rule. Lucas says only employees of the Overland Trail, Pony Express Stage Company can ride these horses.”
“Central Overland and Pikes Peak Express,” Seth corrected with a chuckle.
“Whatever. Anyway, I guess I can understand his attitude if that’s the case, but I sure wish he’d change his mind.”
“You can ride my horse,” Ian said.
There was a moment of surprised silence. “I can?”
“Sure, why not? You’d be doing me a favor. With as many horses as there are to exercise here, I don’t have time to ride Taffy.”
“I hardly know what to say.”
“I’m sure we’ll even the score soon enough,” Ian said cheerfully.
Brianna’s voice was warm. “I’ll do my best to think of a way.”
Lucas’s jaw began to ache suddenly, and he forced himself to stop gritting his teeth. Now, what caused that? Events were progressing exactly the way he wanted them to, he told himself. He was even able to smile benignly and say good night when Ian and Seth left half an hour later.
What he couldn’t do was go to sleep after he finally put out his pipe and went to bed. Lucas rarely suffered from sleeplessness, but tonight he lay in his bunk and stared at the ceiling. He turned on his side and stared at the wall. He flopped to his other side, closed his eyes, and tried to force himself to sleep. Nothing worked.
After forty-five minutes, a slight sound came from the other bunk and he opened his eyes a crack to see what was going on. Brianna was sitting on the edge of her bunk peering at him intently. What in the world?
Apparently satisfied that he was asleep, she stood up, tiptoed to her trunk, and lifted the lid. The hinge squeaked slightly, and she froze in place. The glance she threw over her shoulder at him could only be described as furtive. Lucas didn’t stir, and after a moment she turned back to the trunk.
By the time she had retrieved what she was looking for, Lucas’s suspicion was thoroughly roused. He didn’t have the faintest idea what she was up to, but it sure wasn’t a midnight trip to the outhouse.
As she slipped out the door and closed it quietly behind her, Lucas remembered the conversation he’d heard between Brianna and Ian that evening.
“I’m sure we’ll even the score soon enough,” he’d said.
&nbs
p; “I’ll do my best to think of a way.”
Suddenly Brianna’s words took on a new meaning, and Lucas frowned in the darkness. She was going to MacTavish. Was it the first time, or had she been there before? Something painful tightened in his chest as he thought of how pleased she’d been when the three men had built Ian a bunk in the tack room yesterday. He’d thought it was just her natural generosity showing through. Ha! She’d had plans for that bunk.
It shouldn’t surprise him; all women were deceitful, especially the pretty ones. Brianna was just more adept at hiding it. Lucas wondered how long it would be before Brianna convinced Ian to run away with her. Probably not long. Women controlled men with sex. Poor MacTavish wouldn’t stand a chance. Meanwhile, all Lucas had to do was stay where he was and let nature run its course. He hated to lose Ian; he was a good hand, but it would be worth it to be rid of Brianna.
With that settled in his mind, Lucas was out of bed and dressed in a flash. He was still buttoning his shirt as he crept out the door into the night. To his surprise, Brianna was already past the barn and moving purposefully down the path to the river. Of course, she and MacTavish couldn’t very well meet in the barn with Seth there. They must have set up a rendezvous.
A darker shadow slipped from the barn and headed down the path after her. Lucas did a double take as he recognized the short, wiry stature and familiar rolling gait. Seth? Good Lord, how long had this been going on? Seth was hardly more than a boy! If the truth were known, Brianna probably wasn’t much older. Still...
Knowing he should go back to the cabin, go back to bed, and leave the other two to their tryst, Lucas followed a discrete distance behind Seth. When they reached the river, Lucas suffered another shock. Instead of Seth joining Brianna at the river’s edge, he snuck quietly into the bushes and sat down where he could watch her.
Brianna didn’t even seem to know Seth was there as she unbraided her hair and shook it free. A moment later Lucas forgot all about Seth. Sublimely unaware of her audience, Brianna unbuttoned her nightgown and shrugged it off her shoulders. Her slender body gleamed white in the moonlight as she turned to hang the garment on a nearby bush.
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