“You’re a godsend, Evan.” She stood on tiptoe and brushed a soft kiss across his cheek. She started to turn away when she saw the raw hunger etched across his face, but he reached for her before she could act.
Feeling his strong arms pulling her close, Cassie felt a moment of panic and wanted to flail away. Remembering the urgency of her mission, she willed her body to remain pliant, accepting his embrace. When his lips found hers, she tried to pull away, but he was insistent. In a horrifyingly detached manner, she realized how alike these brothers were, yet so incredibly different. Breathless, when he finally released her, she felt a guilt so enormous it threatened to destroy her. She only hoped her actions had been worth the deceit.
32
Cassie rechecked her ledger entries for the third time. Even with the sale of the fleece, they were still in the red. Star’s moist nose nuzzled her hand, and she dropped the offending list of figures, patting the dog’s head. Cassie was so glad he’d recovered that she didn’t mind the interruption. Sighing aloud, she was thankful Millicent was in town; her friend worried so when Cassie worked on the books.
Cassie had spent the last four weeks waiting for the order from Evan’s professor in Philadelphia—long, frustrating weeks while Shane was gone on a cattle drive. She had dreamed of the kisses and caresses they’d exchanged the night before he left.
Cassie tried to suppress her guilt, knowing how Shane would react once she obtained the order, especially when he found out she’d enlisted Evan’s aid to do so. She only hoped he would never discover the method she’d used to get Evan’s help. She flushed with guilt, shame washing over her.
Cassie remembered how furious she’d been with Shane before Star’s poisoning, but his uncharacteristic show of concern had wiped away any trace of anger she’d felt. He had let the past lie and had comforted her, made her feel safe. And now she felt an undefinable longing, something she couldn’t identify, but it stalked her thoughts and controlled her dreams.
If she closed her eyes, she could feel the roughened texture of Shane’s skin as his hard fingers gently skimmed her cheeks, and the warmth of his lips against…No! She had to stop or she’d drive herself completely crazy. As it was, the room had suddenly become confining and unbearably warm.
With a start of impatience, Cassie erupted from the chair and almost ran across the room, flinging open the heavy wooden door.
She didn’t know who was more startled. But Shane didn’t waste any time finding out. He pulled her close before she could speak. After a long, hungry kiss he backed away slightly.
“Now, that’s the way a man wants to be greeted when he comes home from a month on the trail.”
Cassie wanted to simply melt into his arms, but her irrepressible sauciness surfaced. “How do you know I was expecting you?”
Shane’s face was a comical display of mixed surprise, disappointment, and finally dawning awareness. He tweaked her nose in reply. “So, this is how you greet everybody who comes to your door, eh? I’ll have to send Wilbur over. I think he’s been sweet on you since the day you got here.”
She cocked her head in consideration. “Hmm. He’s not bad-looking. He is an eligible bachelor—and he does have a steady job.”
“But at his age, your sassy tongue would give him a heart attack.”
“Says you.”
“Says me. But I could think of worse ways to die.” He glanced around. “Where’s Millicent?”
“In town.”
“Andrew?”
“In the north pasture.”
“Um.” His voice lowered, and he paused, loosening the pins that held her hair in an orderly chignon. As her midnight-black hair fell loose, Shane buried his hands in the shining waves. “I’ve dreamed of doing this for weeks,” he murmured. Cassie studied his face, her breath taken away as one callused thumb swept the length of her cheek, just as she’d wished for.
“And this,” he continued, bending down to taste her lips. Cassie’s eyelids closed as her body swayed to meet his. All of her well-rehearsed plans to distance herself from him melted away. She forgot about her deception with Evan—the hurt and anger Shane would feel when he found out. No longer was she a Dalton and he a Lancer. In his arms, she was simply a woman, and he was very much a man. For now that was enough.
Shane drank from Cassie’s well of sweetness, feeling he could never quench his thirst for her. She was like a wild summer rose, all prickly thorns on the outside and velvet on the inside. In his arms she unfolded like winsome petals dropping in the late-afternoon sun. Just as he’d hoped she would—just as he’d imagined she would these long, lonely weeks.
He’d missed her biting wit, remembered her hidden softness, and ached for the kisses she now gave freely. On the trail he had told himself a thousand times that he would return to his senses when he got back. No more hankering after a Dalton, no more promises pushed to the background. But even as he cursed himself, he had guided the horse to her door. Just one last time, one last taste.
His head told him to turn back, to give her the speech he’d practiced out on the trail. To tell her he had used her to try to get back the land, and that she could never mean anything to him. But as her lips gently touched his, all words, all thought was lost, and the bittersweet corner of his heart ripped even further apart.
Shane lowered them softly to the soft rug in front of the hearth. With aching slowness, he traced the contours of her face as though memorizing every detail, etching them forever in his heart.
Sighing sweetly, Cassie returned his quiet caresses. He felt the gentle tug of her small hands as her lingers slipped through his hair and over his shoulders. She seemed able to find each aching muscle, each tired, sore spot. He relaxed under her ministrations, willing her to continue.
When the buttons of his shirt slipped free, Shane pulled her closer, returning the favor. When their bare skin touched, it heated with the same slow, burning intensity their souls craved.
Yet Shane’s movements were patient, controlled. Cassie sighed in satisfaction as Shane’s fingers skimmed over her skin. His languorous movements mesmerized her, her limbs suddenly weightless, her skin an instrument for him to play.
And play he did as he offered her each deliberate stroke, each whisper-light kiss. When Cassie thought she could bear no more, her eyes met his. The unspoken emotions she beheld made her breath catch, her heart stop.
Still, no words were uttered as he cupped her face tenderly in his hands. But when he finally claimed her, she knew with certainty that she was his in more than body. Her soul was tagged—and the branding iron bore the Lancer mark.
33
The bell over the door tinkled out a welcome as Cassie and Millicent entered the apothecary shop. Silas Jenkins, the nearsighted proprietor, greeted them in his usual absentminded manner. Millicent took her list to the counter, while Cassie dawdled over the musty bottles.
Looking at the uneven rows of dust-covered merchandise covering the wall and then glancing up at Mr. Jenkins’s clock, Cassie noted impatiently that the hour was growing late. She didn’t want Millicent to know she was itching to go to the assayer’s office to check the land records.
Millicent had been alarmed when Cassie confided that she finally planned to find out if her uncle’s death had really been an accident. Millicent was opposed to borrowing trouble, so Cassie kept her suspicions to herself. But now she wanted to see those records.
Mr. Jenkins ducked behind the curtain that separated the front counter from his storage area, and Cassie caught Millicent’s eye.
“You’re bored, aren’t you?” Millicent half asked, half stated.
“Well, I—”
“Do you have any other errands?”
“I did want to go by the post office,” Cassie fibbed, her fingers crossed behind her. She would have to hurry and make it to the post office, too.
“I’ll be here for a while if you want…”
Cassie didn’t let her finish. “Whatever you say, Milly. I’ll meet you i
n the mercantile.”
Rushing out the door, Cassie barely let Millicent say goodbye. Millicent frowned as she watched Cassie fairly fly down the street.
An hour later, Cassie was bent over the ancient ledgers in the assayer’s office hoping to find the evidence she sensed was just beyond her grasp. But the fragile dust-covered pages only revealed what she already knew. She sighed and turned another page. What she saw made her sit back in the chair in disbelief.
She read and reread the entry. According to the records, Shane’s father had deeded the parcel of land from the Lazy H that now belonged to the Daltons for one dollar and other valuable considerations. Those would have to be some considerations, she thought with irony.
Why would Shane’s father have given Uncle Luke a valuable parcel of land for virtually nothing if they were sworn enemies? Of course, she didn’t know for certain they were enemies. But everything Shane did and didn’t say pointed to that obvious conclusion.
Her nose wrinkled in distaste as the musty coating of dust from the page flew into the air. Before she could control herself, she erupted in a noisy sneeze.
“Bless you.”
Cassie scrabbled for her hankie while she tried to speak. “Than…thank…Kachoo!” How embarrassing. Cassie glanced up and was mortified to see the calm and immaculately groomed Albert Fredericks.
“Allow me, madam.” He produced a spotless linen handkerchief, which he offered to her.
“Oh, I couldn’t. I’m sure I have my handkerchief here somewhere…”
“I insist. It’s a very small gesture.”
She reluctantly accepted the handkerchief. “Thank you. I don’t seem to be able to find my own.”
He bowed from the waist, a courtly European gesture Cassie was unaccustomed to. “May I ask what a lovely lady such as yourself is doing in a dusty office on such a nice day?”
Cassie scrambled for an answer. “Just checking to make sure all my deeds are filed properly. I was finishing up when you came in.” Cassie rose and picked up her satchel. “It was nice seeing you, Mr. Fredericks, and thank you again for the loan of your handkerchief.”
“Think nothing of it, my dear. Oh, and don’t forget our discussion the other day.” As though she could. “My offer still stands.” Fredericks escorted her to the door and watched as she walked down the street to the mercantile.
Cassie forced her heart to stop its rapid tattoo as she strolled down the aisles of the store, looking for Millicent. The last thing she needed was to alert the town to the fact that she was investigating land records. She paused in front of a display of horse collars when a strong hand came down on her shoulder. Remembering her last encounter with Jacob Robertson, Cassie flung herself around in a startled motion, prepared for the worst.
“Ready to fly into my arms?” Shane’s droll whisper reached only her ears. Convinced, now that the dam was blown, that it would only be a matter of time before she sold to him, Shane’s humor had improved considerably. He had even casually left her papers to sign on one occasion, seeming to take for granted that she would acquiesce and sell the land. She had merely filed the papers away, allowing him to think for the moment that she might agree. But until she found out who killed her uncle, she didn’t plan to budge.
Cassie’s cheeks flamed in embarrassment and then drained to a pale hue in relief.
Shane noted the conflicting emotions chasing across her face. He pulled her out of the aisle and into the relative privacy beneath an arbor created by bolts of material. “What is it?”
“Nothing, really. You just startled me.”
His eyes searched hers, and he was less than satisfied when she lowered her lashes, trying to hide her thoughts.
“The truth, Cass.”
“I told you…”
“Nothing, as usual.” He tipped her chin upward. “I believe we’ve had this conversation before.” When she didn’t answer, he eased his thumb over the satin of her cheek. “Or was that some other fella you attacked at your front door?” His comment finally nudged a smile from her reluctant lips.
“You do look familiar…”
He emitted a mock growl. “Be glad you had the right answer, lady.”
“Hmm, I’m shaking like a leaf.”
“That could be arranged too,” he added with a devilish glint in his eyes.
“Promises, promises…”
“Lucky for you we’re in the middle of a store, young lady.”
Cassie cocked her head in consideration and caught his gaze with her own. “Lucky? Hmm, I think not.”
Shane felt sudden heat blaze within him. What a time to be in such a public place. In another minute he wouldn’t be able to walk out of the store. “I think we’d better look at those horse collars again.”
“You’re not afraid, are you?” Cassie teased, barely controlling her laughter.
Since his own control was almost gone, Shane pulled her from beneath the bolts of material and out into the crowded aisles.
“Terrified.”
34
Cassie batted away an insistent fly as she and Victoria pored over a well-marked map.
“I don’t have any idea, Cassie,” Victoria replied, pushing the map across the table. “All I can tell is that it’s a map of our area.”
Cassie sighed. She had hoped Victoria would have a clue to the mystery she wanted to unlock. Cassie had spent a number of sleepless nights pondering why Shane’s father had deeded the land to her uncle, but she still drew a blank. She knew asking Shane would be like setting a match to dry brush and watching it blaze.
“I’m really sorry.” Victoria hesitated, questioning how much to tell her. Resurrecting the past wouldn’t help Cassie. If anything, it would only harm her. Victoria shrugged her shoulders, deciding to let the past lie.
“Don’t worry. I thought you might have some sort of hunch. I’ll work it out,” Cassie responded.
Victoria got to her feet. “I suppose I’ll see you at the town meeting tonight.”
Cassie started to demur, but Victoria interrupted. “Hiding away never helped matters.”
Cassie quickly saw her point and agreed, thinking the town meeting might be the best place to start the search for her uncle’s killer.
As Cassie made her way into the crowded hall, she passed neighbors who still turned away when they saw her. Ignoring them, Cassie looked about for Victoria. Spotting her, Cassie navigated toward the front, pausing along the way to greet Belva and her noisy brood.
“How ya doin’, Cassie?”
“Fine, Belva.” One of Belva’s many children darted past, almost colliding with Cassie. A schoolteacher’s natural response surfaced instantly. “Young man, walk, don’t run.” The phrase, uttered in her most intimidating voice, convinced the youngster to settle down while craning his head to gawk at her. “Sorry, Belva. I’ve done that for so many years it just popped out.”
“But you don’t have any young’uns.”
“No, but I’ve been a schoolteacher most of my life.”
“Well, you can set my kids straight anytime. They drive me plumb crazy. Wish you’d get rid of that ranch and be the schoolmarm. Mebbe then they’d settle down for more’n a minute at a time.”
Knowing Belva meant no offense, Cassie smiled while dismissing the idea. “I don’t think the town would accept me as their schoolteacher.”
“Folks here’d do most anything to get a schoolmarm. Been almost three years since the last one died—can’t get nobody to come out here to teach. You get tired of them sheep, you got the job.”
Another of Belva’s brood ran past, and Belva took off after him.
Shaking her head slightly as she thought of Belva’s words, Cassie continued toward the front. Sliding onto the pine bench, Cassie felt a lithe movement beside her. Her heart quickened as she recognized the exciting familiarity of Shane’s tall frame.
“Do you have room for a tired range hand, ma’am?”
Cassie searched Shane’s gold-flecked eyes and seemed to con
sider his request. “I suppose so. Do you happen to have him with you?”
Shane tweaked an ebony curl that had escaped past her ear. “It seems I forgot him along with the sugar to sweeten that tongue of yours.”
“And I was so looking forward to having some sugar with my vinegar tonight.”
Shane listened absently to her banter while admiring the sparkle in her violet eyes, the faint flush to her cheeks, and the mischievous smile that danced across her face. She was like a lemon pie—tart and sweet at the same time.
Catching her eyes, he telegraphed a message of his own. Cassie’s pulse seemed to quicken, and he watched in pleasure as her chest rose and fell with the increased tempo of her breathing. How well he remembered the satiny feel of the flesh beneath those constricting layers of clothing.
Watching her moisten her lips a trifle breathlessly, Shane saw the pink end of her tongue flick back across her full lower lip and remembered the pinkness of her dusky nipples when they’d begged for his touch, how they’d glistened when he’d taken them in his mouth, and the path of fire that had ensued.
“Attention, folks!” The harsh voice of the mayor boomed over the noisy, milling crowd. “We have a lot of business to get to.”
Shane straightened his tall frame on the pine bench, willing his thoughts to find another direction because the ones he had now were causing him considerable discomfort. When Cassie laid a smooth hand on his arm, he had to force himself not to jerk away. Slowly he eased away from her, knowing he was rock-hard. And knowing there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
He suffered silently while the crowd quieted and the first ten minutes of the meeting passed without consequence as some minor business was conducted.
Despite her determination not to, Cassie found herself concentrating more on Shane than on the business at hand. She tried to listen attentively, but her mind slid relentlessly back to the hard body resting on the bench beside her. When Shane’s knee nudged hers, she swallowed and straightened up in her seat, trying to concentrate on the speaker. Her eyes slid sideways, resting on the chestnut sideburns that carved a path down Shane’s cheeks. When he turned slightly and caught her gaze, Cassie flushed but couldn’t turn away.
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