The Ranchers: Destiny Bay Romances Boxed Set vol. 1 (Destiny Bay Romances - The Ranchers)

by Helen Conrad

  Jessie knew what was coming. There was no need for him to go on. Furtively she glanced at the door, irrationally planning to run for it.

  “This week lo and behold, what should I find, but you and that Michael guy on the front page. Do you want to explain this to me?”

  He spread the paper out in front of her. The pictures were smaller, but they were the same ones she’d seen the day before. The headline read, “Pair still at large.” She didn’t want to read the story.

  “Just what the devil are you two up to?” Fred demanded, his voice rising with his concern.

  “It’s hard to explain.” She bit her lip, not sure if she should try. Maybe it would be simpler just to bolt for the door and call to Michael. Maybe they could get away. Maybe they couldn’t. The cops had helicopters these days, didn’t they? She shuddered.

  “Okay.” She turned to her uncle, all business. “This is it. Michael’s been accused of a crime he didn’t commit and he’s looking for the man who can clear his name. I tried to kidnap him down home, but he kidnapped me, instead, and now I’m trying to help him look for this man.”

  Fred shook his head, his face stern. “This is all craziness, Jessica. I think it’s time to put a stop to it. Before you get hurt.”

  “No, Uncle Fred...”

  “Harley is my brother. We’ve had our differences, but I’ve got to look after his daughter, same as I’d expect him to look after mine.”

  She got up, that fierce sense of protectiveness alive in her again. “What are you going to do, Uncle Fred?” she asked evenly.

  He rose, too, and faced her, his hands balled into fists. “Call the sheriff.” he started for the telephone.

  She stepped in his way. “Please don’t do this,” she said firmly. “I can’t let you.”

  His eyebrows came together in a ferocious scowl. “Oh, you can’t let me? We’ll just see about that.” He pushed her aside and reached for the phone.

  For an older man he was still surprisingly strong. Jessie stumbled when he pushed her, but she quickly regained her balance and lunged forward, slamming her hand down on the hook of the old-fashioned phone and cutting off the call even as he was dialing it.

  “Jessica!” He grabbed her hand and they stood glaring at each other. “I’ve got to do this, girl. He’s a criminal!”

  “You can’t do this, Uncle Fred,” she stormed. “I’m in love with him.”

  That stopped him for a moment. His face crumpled, and then he grimaced, as though in pain. “All the more reason, honey,” he said sadly. “Don’t you see?”

  There was love in his face as he told her that. Could you really hurt someone so badly out of love? “I’ll never forgive you if you do,” she warned him, eyes flashing.

  “And I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t,” he cried back. “You’re too blind to see—you’re just like your father. Now you get away and let me do what I have to!”

  Jessie blinked at him, licking her lips. She knew she could stop him now, but what good would that do? He’d just wait until she left the room and then telephone. Or wait, even, until she and Michael were off down the dirt road. The sheriff could be here in no time. Glancing outside, she saw Michael leaning over the front fender of the truck, working on the engine. Inside stood her uncle, his weathered face set with determination. What was she going to do?

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  It Was All A Lie

  “Daddy.”

  They both swung around to find Cerise standing in the middle of the room. Clad in a flowing dressing gown, she looked like a blond princess awakened from a refreshing sleep and looking forward to a day of entertaining activities.

  “Put the phone down.” Her tone of command suggested she was used to telling her father what to do and he was used to obeying.

  Fred frowned at his daughter. “I’ve got to call the sheriff, Cerise. That Michael’s an escaped criminal.”

  “Put the phone down, Daddy. We’re not calling any cops.”

  “But we’ve got to. He’s no good.”

  Cerise looked from her father to her cousin. “He’s Jessie’s man, Daddy. You know how that is.”

  To Jessie’s relief, Fred slowly lowered the receiver into the hook. “Do I?” he asked a bit plaintively.

  Cerise smiled and came up to pat his cheek. “Sure you do. You’ve been through the mill with all us girls, but you know how it is when love strikes. You’ve got to follow your dream and take your chance.” Her voice rose dramatically. “You’ve got to lean out and try for that big brass ring, Daddy. That’s all Jessie’s trying to do. You can’t stop her. You can’t protect her.” She turned and smiled at her cousin, tears shining in her eyes. “Go ahead and nag her to death if you want to, but don’t go calling any cops. It’s not fair.”

  Jessie stood stock-still, numb. “Thanks, Cerise,” she managed to get out.

  Cerise nodded. “Daddy told me about Aunt Jessica’s money. That you all don’t have any either, never did.” She shrugged. “Sorry I was so mean to you, Jessie. Can we be friends?”

  She held out her hand and Jessie took it gladly. “Friends and cousins,” she amended.

  Meanwhile Fred turned and looked at her sadly. “Jessie, honey, I only want to do what’s best for you.”

  “I know that, Uncle Fred.” She reached out and took his hand, too, her eyes beseeching understanding. “He’s really not guilty.”

  “How do you know that, honey?”

  She shrugged, smiling, half-embarrassed. “I know him. And I believe him.”

  Uncle Fred didn’t believe him. Cynicism born out of a lifetime of disappointment shone in his eyes. But he nodded. “Okay, honey. Okay.”

  She went to the bedroom to cool down, lying on the bed and going over what had happened. Too much had happened, too fast. She was beginning to have difficulty keeping everything straight. Her hand went automatically to twist her bracelet, then she remembered.

  Jimmy. No, she didn’t want to think about that. She didn’t want to think about what her uncle had said, either. She needed to see Michael.

  She knew he was shifting his things from the Mustang to the truck, because she’d seen him pull his car up beside the Ford. Suddenly she thought of something. Her bracelet. Maybe it had fallen down behind the seat somewhere—maybe Jimmy hadn’t stolen it after all. If only that were true, then everything else would be so much clearer for her. She got up quickly from the bed and ran out to tell Michael to check carefully, but when she rounded the corner of the house, the first thing that caught her eye was the flash of fire in his hands.

  His back was to her and he was doing something furtively. But there was a second when his hand slipped to the side and she saw them. Diamonds. A row of exquisite diamonds.

  “What’s that?” Her voice didn’t even shake. She was proud of herself for that.

  He whirled, his hands cupped tightly, his face wary, his silver-blue eyes blank. They stared at each other for what seemed like a lifetime, each shocked.

  “Listen, Jessie, this isn’t how it looks,” he began, but she’d been through enough and she was cold as ice.

  “Looks like diamonds to me. Are you going to tell me I’m seeing things?”

  He hesitated, then sighed and opened his hands. The jewels glittered like evil things. “Of course these are diamonds, and yes, they are the ones on the warrant, but listen, Jessie...”

  Pain sliced into her head, shooting behind her eyes. For some reason she was short of breath. A lie. It was all a lie. Everyone was right. Her uncle was right. She was the one who was wrong.

  Michael was speaking, saying something, but she couldn’t hear the words. The pain was all through her now. He’d lied about the diamonds. He’d lied about everything.

  It was all a lie. She’d been tricked, cheated. And worst of all, she had to face the fact that he wasn’t what she’d been so sure he was.

  To Michael she looked almost normal, her face stony, but quiet. He didn’t realize how stunned and uncomprehending she was. H
e was working hard at explaining to a woman who didn’t hear a word he said.

  “Listen, Jessie. It’s not the way it seems. I didn’t steal these. They didn’t belong to Sky Matthews at all. I just took back what belonged in my family to begin with. They were my mother’s and Vanessa had them there in her safe, so I took them. I told her why at the time. They didn’t belong to her.”

  But Jessie didn’t hear the words. All she saw was his face, his eyes intense, his mouth moving, and the diamonds still sparkling in his hand.

  “You lied to me,” she said with seeming calm. “A convenient lie at a very convenient time.”

  That stopped him in his tracks. “Oh, God, Jessie, you don’t think—“

  “You lied to me,” she repeated, and now fury was building in her eyes. “You lied to me when I trusted you most.”

  She started to back away, and he stepped forward as though to stop her. “Jessie, wait.”

  “Don’t touch me. You just fix that pickup truck and get on out of here. I’ll find my own way home.”

  He stopped, his eyes emotionless. “You’re not coming with me?”

  “No.”

  He reached for her. “Jessie...”

  She jerked away from him. “Go on, get out of here, Mr. Innocent as the Driven Snow. Go tell your stories to someone else.” Whirling, she stalked off.

  She’ll get over it, Michael thought as she disappeared into the house. Sure. She would go and think things over, then she would come back out and smile and...

  He clenched the jewels, not even noticing how they cut into his palms. It was all baloney. She wouldn’t do that at all. He’d hurt her. Cut her to the quick. How was he ever going to do anything to change that?

  He swore viciously as he hid the diamonds in the driver’s door panel so that he could get back to work on the engine again. He didn’t have time to make up with her. He didn’t have time for anything. He had to get to Las Vegas, find Kerry and clear his name. There was no time for anything else, especially not sitting around and thinking about what some damn woman thought she needed to make her happy.

  He looked up. She was walking across the yard toward the stables, her head held high. He watched her go, and something twisted inside him. Making love to her had been one of the best, one of the cleanest things he’d ever done. She disappeared into the stables and he went back to work, but the image of her proud walk stayed with him.

  Jessie kept herself busy with the horses, brushing down the gray gelding and getting fresh oats for the bay mare. She’d been a fool. For some insane reason she’d let her guard down the past few days. She’d let people get close, and sure enough, she’d been hurt.

  There had been something about Jimmy that had touched her heart. She hated to remember the rest—the bracelet. Or the fact that there was something about Michael that had touched more than her heart. First the boy and now this. Wasn’t there a man in the entire world who was true to his word?

  With sudden perception she saw the past two days as a circle, from suspicion to doubt to caring to risking— and back to suspicion again.

  Cerise arrived after she’d been working for a few minutes. She sat and watched Jessie for a while, then finally spoke. “From the look on your face, I’d say you’re mad at something. Is it him?”

  Jessie didn’t turn. “I’m not going with him.”

  Cerise looked out at the man leaning over the engine of the pickup truck and her eyes narrowed. “Hmm. Maybe I’ll go with him. I could use a little vacation.”

  Jessie’s heart flip-flopped and she looked up at her cousin, her feelings in her eyes.

  “Oh, Jessie.” Cerise laughed, shaking her head. “You’re crazy about the guy. Go with him. Take a chance.”

  Jessie frowned. She hadn’t told Fred and Cerise why she’d changed her mind and she wasn’t going to.

  She went into the house and tried to decide what she wanted to do. She could call Harley and ask him to come and get her. Or she could get Fred to take her to the nearest bus stop. She started to dial Harley twice, but put down the phone before she’d finished the number each time, sitting on the couch in indecision.

  Uncle Fred came in. “He’s going.”

  She looked up listlessly. “I’ve already said goodbye.”

  Fred stepped out on the porch and began waving. “Come again, young fellow,” he called out, seeming to have forgotten that Michael was supposed to be a criminal. She could hear the engine of the truck come to life with a roar. She snuck a look out the window. The truck was off down the road, kicking up dust behind it.

  He was gone. As she watched the dust settle, a huge emptiness yawned inside her. He was really gone.

  Cerise looked at her with pity for once. “Now what?” she asked.

  Jessie shook her head, refusing to meet the other woman’s eyes. “I’ll have to call Harley and see if he can come up here and give me a ride home,” she said evenly, not about to let Cerise see her pain.

  Cerise made a sound of disgust. “Boy, are you ever a fool,” she said vehemently. “I don’t know what you got so all fired mad at, but nothing could be worth throwing a good one like that back in. You just gave away the rights to a gold mine, honey. You’re going to regret this for the rest of your days.”

  She probably was, but she wasn’t going to admit it to Cerise. Retreating into the bedroom, she found a radio and turned it on loud so she wouldn’t have to hear Fred and Cerise discussing her foolishness. There wasn’t anything to pack and the bed was made. She threw herself down on the length of it.

  She’d lost him. He’d lied to her. But she’d lost him. The two sentences kept echoing through her head until the room seemed to spin. She’d been a fool to trust him. But had she been even a bigger fool to let him go?

  If she closed her eyes she could feel his touch on her skin, feel a shadow of the ecstasy he’d created for her the night before. Never to experience that again.... The pain sliced through her. She’d been a fool to let him go without her, a stubborn fool.

  “Jessie?” Fred was at the door of the bedroom. “Turn that radio down, would you? There’s some little boy here to see you.”

  “Boy?” She blinked at him, then gasped, coming back to life. “A boy? What’s his name?”

  Fred shook his head. “He didn’t say. Nice looking kid, about eleven...”

  “Jimmy!”

  She leaped from the bed and ran to the living room, rounding the corner and looking straight into Jimmy’s big brown eyes.

  “Jimmy.” Joy welled up in her chest despite everything. It was so good to see him again. Jimmy was a link to her time with Michael. If she could see Jimmy again, maybe, just maybe... “Oh, Jimmy, I’m so glad to see you! Did you find your mother?”

  “My mother?” His huge, unsmiling eyes reminded her of a whipped dog. “No.”

  “What is it?” Frightened for him, she took him by the hand and led him to the couch. “Here, sit down and tell me what’s happened.”

  “Nothing.” He sat down and avoided her eyes.

  “What happened to your mother?”

  He shrugged. “Uh, she went on ahead. I’ve got to go find her.”

  She took his hand in hers, still confused. “Something’s wrong, Jimmy. Tell me what it is.”

  “Nothing. I mean...well, here.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out her silver bracelet. “I... I must have put it in my pocket by mistake,” he mumbled, his eyes still avoiding hers. “I thought you might need it.”

  Jessie took the bracelet and stared at it, and suddenly her eyes filled with tears. “Jimmy,” she whispered. She longed to hug him, but his stiff shoulders told her that wasn’t what he wanted at all. So she touched his hair, patted his shoulder and contented herself with repeating his name a few times. She’d known he wasn’t a thief. At least, she’d known he wouldn’t stay one. Joy filled her. If Jimmy could be reformed, if affection and caring could turn him around, what did that say about Michael?

  “How did you get here?” she asked h
im at last.

  “I hitched from Bullhead City. I got pretty close. Then he found me on the highway.” He gestured toward the front door and Jessie turned, her heart in her throat.

  Michael stood leaning against the doorjamb, watching her carefully. Her gaze locked with his and her heart seemed to melt inside her.

  “You coming?” he asked softly.

  She glanced from Michael to Jimmy and back again.

  “Someone’s got to take care of the boy,” he said, giving Jimmy a half smile.

  She looked at Jimmy in surprise. “You’re going with Michael?”

  He nodded, eyes huge as saucers and full of hope.

  “Yes,” Michael confirmed. “His mother seems to be right on our path once again. So I guess we can take him along.”

  Jessie noted the use of the word we. She looked into Michael’s silver-blue eyes. Did she love this man? She wasn’t sure. Whatever she was feeling was bittersweet, and as wild as a flash flood, but right now she wouldn’t trade it for any other feeling.

  “Let’s go,” she said, her voice cracking only slightly.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Bright Lights, Sin City

  Michael swore silently as he drove along the bumpy road, the old Ford truck bouncing and groaning with every mile. He would never have uttered such words in front of a woman and a child, but he sure as hell said them to himself.

  He was a first-class idiot, and probably had a death wish besides. Suicidal, that’s what a shrink would probably call it. Flirting with danger just for thrills. Or was he just plain dumb?

  He glanced across Jimmy’s dark head and his gaze met Jessie’s. Soft brown eyes stared at him from beneath the brim of that crazy hat, and then she jammed the sunglasses on and hid her feelings from him. He wanted to step on the brakes, turn off the road and take her in his arms right then and there. His hands tightened on the wheel. What was wrong with him? He’d never felt this way about a woman—especially a cowgirl—before.