“I might.”
“And I might be the next pope.”
“You wouldn’t be the first pope to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh.”
“I don’t appreciate your humor.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
“I can see that you wish to be rude when I only have your best interests at heart... as always.” Lucy’s lower lip quivered as it did when she chose to play the noble, self-sacrificing mother.
Jo elected to be merciful and forbearing as usual. Her mother could no more help being self-centered and vain than she could sprout wings and fly. She was pretty, flirtatious and quite sure the world revolved around her. And if men liked her, she saw no reason she shouldn’t profit from their interest. “Forgive me, Mother. I didn’t intend to be rude. And Mr. Ito is gone now, so you needn’t worry.”
Lucy’s expression lightened. “You see, darling. I do know best. You can be such a sweet girl when you want to. Haven’t I always said so? And I just know you’ll find a much more acceptable beau and all this rubbishy tittle-tattle will blow over like it always does.”
This probably wasn’t the time to point out to her mother that the tittle-tattle concerning her affairs was heating up. “I’m sure you’re right, Mother.” It was easier to agree; hadn’t she always? There was little point in arguing with her mother in any event. Lucy had never been wrong.
She had better things to do than argue with her mother anyway.
She had to procure—surreptitiously, of course—a map and directions to Flynn’s ranch.
Chapter 16
Flynn had sent scouts ahead on his swift ride north and the ambush he’d been expecting was reported to him as he and his men came up on the south fork of the Sun River. The Empire had upwards of a hundred men concealed in the alder bushes and cottonwoods lining the creek banks.
Which meant he and his small crew would have to swing clear around to the western boundaries of his land to avoid them. He had no intention of riding into an ambush.
He was tempted to pick off some of Empire’s hired guns with the high-powered Winchesters they carried, but easy as it might be to use his enemies for target practice, it wasn’t sensible to draw their attention. He and his men were badly outnumbered. Raising his hand, he pointed west, wheeled his mount, and lightly spurred his sleek paint. He and his men would take the long way home.
It was almost morning when they rode into the ranch yard, the charred remains of his barn and stables silhouetted against the pale dawn. Home was always his refuge though and he was glad to be back, even dead tired, even faced with certain conflict and an extensive job of rebuilding. He’d been raised here—on the best land in the territory, his father had always said. Perhaps his father was even right. But of one thing, Flynn was sure. Empire Cattle was going to rue the day they’d come to burn him out.
“Get some sleep,” he said to his men as they rode past him on their way to the bunkhouse. And he thanked them all for their loyalty. Then, turning his horse, he rode toward the main house, wondering if he would be able to sleep with his thoughts in tumult. Should he attack or defend—where and when and how? How were his horses and cattle? Were they safe? How long would it take to bring in supplies and rebuild? But beneath the practicalities and strategy the constant, looping conundrum racing through his brain was the question of Jo’s status. Would she stay or go? And what would he do if she left?
But the moment he lay down, he fell asleep. Two sleepless nights prior to his urgent journey home, no doubt, contributed to his instant slumber—as they did to the nature of his dreams. The romantic imagery was saturated with lush memories of Jo and of the passions they’d shared. It seemed not to matter that he was at risk, under possible attack, that a sensible man would have put aside desire and concentrated on survival.
Nothing mattered in his dream world, but fevered pleasure and blissful consummation. A faint smile graced his face as he slept.
❧
Not so when he woke and heard the extent of the damage he’d sustained: three men with burns, one barn and two stables in ruins, fourteen horses dead, fifty injured. It was a daunting homecoming.
Over lunch, he and his foremen discussed their options.
“How many men are ready for battle?” Flynn asked.
“Eighty, eighty-five. We need to leave some men to ride herd on the cattle,” McFee replied.
“We could call in thirty more from Kinnert’s crew,” another of his men suggested. “They don’t take kindly to the Empire either. Had too many of their fences cut.”
“Are there men from other outfits we can trust?” Flynn could hire men like The Empire did, but guns for hire were a certain style of man; he preferred a degree of loyalty when he had his back to the wall. And after the latest attack on his ranch, he wanted unequivocal victory this time. He wanted to annihilate the Empire Cattle Company once and for all.
He was tired of fighting.
He wanted an end to the conflict.
He didn’t want to raise children as he’d been raised—in the midst of continuous war. The moment the aberrant thought crossed his mind, he tried to discount it. Children were an anomaly in his world, the notion of a family, madness. But a second later he imagined having Jo with him, here, on his ranch and the degree of pleasure he felt couldn’t be so easily discounted.
“How many rifles do we have?” he asked, brusquely, wrenching his mind back to the issues at hand, to survival. “And how’s our ammunition supply?”
Before long, a battle plan had been devised and riders had been dispatched to bring in the men they’d need to supplement their crew. If the Empire didn’t attack first, they’d ride out in two days, burn the Empire Cattle Company to the ground, dispose of their hired guns and send the blue-blood managers back to England dead or alive.
In a more perfect world, such violence wouldn’t have been necessary. Flynn’s neighbors would have stayed within the boundaries of their ranches, and the best grazing land in Montana wouldn’t have been coveted by those who had no right to it.
But since that ideal world didn’t exist, he would need well over a hundred men, triple that number of weapons, several thousand rounds of ammunition, and collective cool nerve and deadly aim to right those imperfections.
Then perhaps someday, he could raise a family in peace.
❧
While Flynn and his men were planning their strategy, Hazard was facing Trey across the broad expanse of his desk. “Are you sure those gunmen were bound for the Empire?” “Reilly usually gets his facts straight. They were asking directions for the Empire when they got off the train. Had prime horseflesh with them, too, he said. Those mounts were taken off with scrupulous care. One of the gunmen threatened to shoot anyone who caused them harm.”
“The men came in from Wyoming?”
“That’s what Reilly said. The Diamond Bar west of Cheyenne runs a rough crew. He was guessing they’d been recruited there.”
“The Diamond Bar is another English-owned outfit as arrogant as the Empire,” Hazard noted. “They called Tom Burley a nigger at the Cattleman’s Club in Cheyenne. Hell, Tom is ten shades lighter than we are. But I guess they don’t like dark Irish either.”
“And you’re thinking about teaching them some manners.” “I’m just thinking Flynn could use some help if the Empire is bringing in trash from Wyoming.”
“When do we leave?”
“Late tonight or tomorrow morning. I have to talk to your mother.”
Trey grinned. “Good luck.”
Hazard smiled. “It’s not luck so much as diplomacy that’s required. And your mother understands. She would prefer a reasonable solution, of course, as would I. I’ve never understood why people can’t stay on their own land.”
“If we knew the answer to that, we wouldn’t have to fight to hold our properties, would we?”
“Maybe someday,” Hazard said with a sigh. “And in that more charitable future, Daisy might have her wish and the courts can deal with men li
ke those at the Empire.”
“In the meantime,” Trey murmured, a sardonic edge to his voice, “I’ll make sure my Colts are well oiled and loaded.”
❧
“Must you, Jon?” Blaze set her coffee cup down and gazed at her husband over the debris of their luncheon.
“If the Empire is bringing in hired guns from out of state, they’re serious. Flynn’s going to need our help.”
“I thought he had enough men of his own.”
“If he doesn’t need us, we’ll come back.”
“When are you leaving?”
“Soon. Late tonight.”
“You’re already packed, aren’t you?”
“I wanted to talk to you first.”
“And if I were to say, don’t go?”
“Darling, please, you know how important it is to protect one’s borders. We’ve been fighting this battle for years.”
She gave him a rueful smile. “You’ll be careful, won’t you?” “We always are. Trey and I are bringing thirty men with us—enough to ride north unmolested.”
“And Jo likes Flynn, doesn’t she?”
“It looks that way. Another reason to help him, I thought.”
Chapter 17
Jo had been on the stage to Great Falls for some time when Hazard and Trey discussed their plans, and when Hazard spoke to Blaze at lunch, Jo was enjoying the scenery outside the post stop at Guthrie’s store. The map she’d purchased yesterday was carefully folded in her purse, her new saddlebags were piled into the baggage compartment of the stage and she’d been pleased to find that her riding clothes hadn’t caused a single raised eyebrow. Her fellow passengers saw nothing amiss for a woman traveling to her ranch to be dressed for riding. Although she’d had to lie about her destination, choosing a vague locale east of Great Falls and hoping no one was overly familiar with the area. But the two salesmen and the elderly lady weren’t from Montana. The young couple with them were newlyweds and too much in love to notice anyone; they could barely keep their hands to themselves.
At their most blatant displays of affection, Jo would stare fixedly out the window, struggling to restrain her own desperate longing. Although, in her more rational moments, she chose to characterize her trip north simply as one of apology. That most would view travel into an embattled area as inconsistent with personal safety, she chose to ignore.
Perhaps she had more of her mother’s personality than she acknowledged, for she was intent on having her way. Had she known her father better, she would have understood that her heritage precluded a cautionary nature. It would have soothed her occasional qualms on that long journey to know that natural selection had long ago marked her as headstrong.
Hell-bent as she was to reach Flynn’s ranch, she wasn’t foolish enough to venture into the wilds unescorted. At Great Falls, she hired a horse and a guide at the livery stable, the story she concocted having to do with meeting friends on the upper reaches of the Sun River. Already late for her rendezvous, she explained, she’d prefer traveling at night if possible. Since she was willing to pay well, her guide saw no reason to refuse the generous fee.
They left Great Falls at twilight.
The moon was full; the trail well lit.
And Flynn was waiting, Jo reflected with buoyant spirits.
❧
The same moon illuminated Hazard’s route as he and his party left Helena that evening.
It shone as well on Daisy as she walked home after a long day at the office. Surprised to see her house so well lit, she recognized something was amiss even before she found Blaze waiting in her parlor.
“Jo’s not with you?” Blaze rose from her chair, her anxiety obvious.
“I thought she was with you. She was going to help me with Flynn’s case, but when she didn’t come in, I thought she’d decided to attend Adelia’s musicale with you instead.”
Blaze frowned. “I haven’t seen her all day. Do you think she spent the day with her mother?”
“Would you like me to call on Lucy and save you the aggravation?”
“Of course, I would.” Blaze made a moue. “But with your father gone, the responsibility is mine.”
“Do you know if either Father or Trey saw Jo today?”
Blaze shook her head. “I didn’t think to ask them before they left. I assumed she was with you.”
“Why don’t we check with the servants first. If they don’t know where Jo is, time enough then to speak to Lucy.”
“How clever you are,” Blaze declared, clearly relieved. “Jo may have spoken of her plans to Mary.”
Jo’s lady’s maid, however, hadn’t seen her all day. “She told me last night she was going to see Miss Daisy, ma’am, bright and early in the morning, so I didn’t worry none when she was gone before breakfast.”
“And I thought she’d stayed with her mother when I didn’t see her this morning,” Blaze remarked, worry creasing her brow. “I’m afraid we’ll have to pay a visit on Lucy.”
❧
“You’ve lost my daughter! Is that what you’re telling me? I can’t believe it!” Lucy shouted, her eyes flashing like the new diamonds she wore with her new evening gown and new shoes and everything from the skin out that had been purchased with Hazard’s money. “You have the nerve to come here and inform me that you’ve misplaced my daughter!” She jabbed her closed fan at Blaze. “This is outrageous!”
“We thought she might be with you,” Daisy interposed, moving forward enough to force Lucy and her eye-level pointed fan to retreat a step.
“Well, obviously she isn’t! As you see!” Lucy exclaimed, in high dudgeon, sweeping her arm back and forth across the room. “I insist on seeing Hazard this instant! Do you hear me? This instant!”
“He’s ridden north.” Blaze spoke mildly, trying to maintain some semblance of civility when she was sorely tempted to rip Lucy’s fan from her jeweled fingers and beat her with it. “I don’t expect him back for some time. Did you see Jo at all today? Perhaps this morning?”
“No, I did not,” Lucy snapped. She never rose before noon, a fact she chose not to mention. “I want Hazard back in Helena,” she commanded as though she had the right. “Send him word; I want him back immediately. I need Jo’s father at my side with heartbreaking news like this.” Her voice trembled slightly at the last as she slipped into a distraught mother mode. “Tell him, our baby is gone!” she sobbed, forcing out a single tear for effect, pressing her hand to her breast with born stage presence, showing off her new emerald ring in the bargain. “Giuseppina’s in some terrible, terrible danger, I just know!” she wailed.
Gritting her teeth, Lucy’s theatrics difficult to stomach, Blaze spoke with as much composure as she could muster when she wanted to do bodily harm to Lucy Attenborough or put her on the next train, whichever would be most conducive to her peace of mind. “We’ll send our men out to search for Jo,” she said instead, the strain in her voice evident. “As soon as I know anything, I’ll see that you’re informed.”
“I’ll never, never forgive you for losing my baby,” Lucy cried, falling back onto the sofa in an exaggerated swoon, sobbing as though her heart was breaking. “Never, never, never...”
Exchanging pained glances, Blaze and Daisy left Lucy to her histrionics.
“She wouldn’t want to actively join in the search,” Daisy cynically said as they walked from the hotel.
“Jo has essentially raised herself, I understand. Why start at this late date to be a mother,” Blaze noted with disdain.
“Men,” Daisy muttered in disgust.
Blaze pursed her lips. “I agree. At times like this I’d like to slap your father silly.”
“What in the world did he ever see in her?”
“Surely you’re not that naive.”
Daisy slanted a glance at her stepmother. “You’re very understanding.”
Blaze smiled. “Your father’s had to do penance on more than one occasion since Lucy arrived. And very nicely, I might add. But I didn’t know h
im then and the past is the past. What we must do right now is find Jo. We can deal with Lucy later.”
As soon as they arrived at the Braddock-Black home, they gathered a search party and a short time later, their servants set out to comb the town.
Blaze and Daisy set about exploring Jo’s room in hopes of finding some indication of her whereabouts.
Jo had few personal belongings on display, even her wardrobe was scant despite Blaze’s urgings. But tucked under the stationary in the desk drawer, Daisy found an account ledger and some recent receipts that had been slipped inside.
“An engineer’s sensibility,” Daisy murmured, surveying the small neatly written columns of numbers in the book recording Jo’s expenditures. She held up the receipts not yet entered. “A map of Montana purchased at Harold Lloyd’s, another from Mercer’s Saddlery for saddlebags and a third for a Colt revolver from Sackett’s.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Blaze asked, softly.
“Of course.”
“She’s like her father,” Blaze said with a sigh. “Without fear.”
“And as stubborn,” Daisy added. “I should have suspected this. She and Flynn argued before they left. He wouldn’t take her with him.”
“So she went herself.”
“Obviously.” Daisy pursed her lips. “The question is when and how.”
When they inquired of the grooms though, none of them had seen Jo take a mount that morning. Neither had she rented a horse at the livery stable when they asked. The stage office was closed at that hour, but George Parsons was still up when they reached him at home. He remembered selling Jo a ticket to Great Falls. “She didn’t say she were Hazard’s daughter. If I’d known, Mrs. Braddock-Black ...” His voice trailed off in unease; Hazard was a man who generated a degree of fear.
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