Holding Out for a Hero

by Ana Leigh

  “Were there any women and children with them?”

  “Didn’t see any.”

  “What do you make of it?” Rico asked.

  Bedford shrugged. “Best guess, just a hunting party looking for game. Worst guess, a hunting party looking for trouble.”

  “Want it or not, my guess is that they found it at the Cole cabin,” Hardy declared.

  “If it was a raiding party, we’d have heard more word about it by now,” Rico said. “I know Slatter killed that couple, and since I planned on riding out tomorrow to look for him, I’ll keep my eyes open for any further Indian sign.”

  “You’d better, if you want to return with your scalp intact,” Hardy called after him as Rico headed for the door.

  His room was empty when he got back to his quarters. “Dammit!” He slammed the door and plopped down on the bed.

  He trusted Jake Bedford’s opinions, and he respected Colonel Hardy’s instincts. Both men were seasoned veterans of Indian wars.

  So on top of having Jenny on his mind, he now had to consider not only Slatter lurking in the shadows, but the possibility of raiding Indians.

  As soon as Rico left, Jenny got up and slipped the bolt in place. The last thing she wanted was for someone to walk in and find her naked in Rico’s bed. If her father didn’t shoot him, “Uncle” Tom would probably put him in front of a firing squad.

  She dressed slowly, her body still tingling from his touch. Nothing she had ever read had prepared her for it—a rapturous feeling building and building within her until she thought she would explode from the pure ecstasy of it. And Rico said the best was yet to come.

  Was it possible?

  If only the knock on the door had come later. Then she would have known the fulfillment of that moment. But tonight she would be in his arms again. Tonight she would find out. And tonight couldn’t come fast enough for her.

  She glanced at her reflection in the cracked mirror hanging above a chest of drawers. Her hair was disheveled, and she searched for a comb or brush. Finding none on top of the chest, she opened the top drawer and found it was empty. A check of the others met with the same results.

  That caused her to pause and look around the room again. There was nothing personal of Rico’s in the room at all. Not a garment on the row of hooks on the wall, in the drawers, or on top of the chest.

  Other than his saddle on the floor in the corner, and his saddlebags flung over the back of the chair, there wasn’t another article to reflect that Rico Fraser occupied the room.

  Her gaze swung back to the saddlebags and she sat down to open them. A rain poncho was shoved in on top of one of them holding most of the articles she had seen before. Ammunition, utensils, a flint, a bag of oats, and the usual hygiene items. There she found a hairbrush, and as she ran it through her hair she continued the search and discovered a rosary, a Bible, and a small bound copy of Alexander the Great. She flipped through the pages, many battered and dog-eared.

  He was such a man of mystery. Her curiosity led her to open the other saddlebag. There were several changes of underclothes, stockings, several shirts, a couple pair of jeans, a neatly folded pair of black trousers and short suit jacket, a white shirt, and a black string necktie, the ends tipped with silver studs. For formal affairs, no doubt, wondering what type of formal affair he would attend, considering his wandering ways.

  As she replaced them, a package fell to the floor. It contained a narrow gold chain with a tiny cross attached, and a small, silver-framed photograph of a woman. She picked them up and studied the picture. The woman had high cheekbones, a rounded chin, and dark eyes and hair that reflected her Hispanic ancestry.

  She was quite lovely, and for an instant Jenny felt a pang of jealousy. Then a closer look at the picture caused her to reconsider. The eyes of the woman in the photograph were identical to Rico’s.

  The woman was his mother.

  She swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. His life seemed so pitifully sad. All his possessions contained in worn saddlebags; his home a stark room in an army barracks; moving from place to place with only a horse as a companion. The loneliness seemed devastating.

  Her heart bled for him, and she replaced the items in the package, retied the strings on the bags, then left the room.

  Andrea was all smiles when Jenny arrived at their quarters. “Look, dear, Cynthia Hardy loaned me her sewing machine. I’ll have my wedding gown finished much sooner than I expected!”

  “That’s good,” Jenny replied.

  “I thought the pattern was too severe for a wedding gown, so I changed the cut of the neckline and sleeves a bit.”

  “I’m sure that will look lovely, Aunt Andrea.” Jenny walked over and gazed out the window.

  Andrea stood up and moved to her side. “What is it, dear? Has something more happened? Did they discover more deaths?”

  “No, nothing that tragic, Aunt Andrea,” Jenny quickly replied.

  She was too confused to discuss her mixed emotions about Rico. Besides, this was Andrea’s shining hour, the selfless woman’s moment in the sun. Jenny resolved she would not do or say anything that would detract from that glow.

  Then her spirit lifted as she recalled those rapturous moments in his arms. Yes indeed. Rico Fraser was definitely her problem. One she welcomed with open arms. She grinned. And I mean that literally, she told herself, amused. Talk about wanting your cake and eating it too, Jenny!

  She turned with a wide smile. “I wish I had some of your energy, Aunt Andrea. I guess the events of the past few days have finally caught up with me. I think I’ll try to take a nap.” She hugged and kissed Andrea on the cheek, then sped from the room before her aunt could question her more.

  Frank Burke opened the door when Rico knocked promptly at seven o’clock.

  “Come in, Rico. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m here to pick up Jenny. I promised her a steak dinner when we got back to the fort.”

  “And I’m hungry enough to eat a whole steer,” Jenny said lightheartedly, entering the room.

  She looked lovely in a light green gown that matched her eyes. Her hair was tied back with a green ribbon, and hung past her shoulders like a young schoolgirl’s.

  He had expected she might act more reserved since their earlier encounter, but as usual he underestimated her. She greeted him warmly but politely. And anyone observing her would never have suspected that only a few hours before, she had lain naked in his bed.

  Get that out of your mind, Rico. She’s not the first girl you’ve kissed, so stop thinking like a raw schoolboy.

  But he sure as hell felt like one, as if he expected Frank to point a shotgun at him for molesting his daughter.

  “Maude’s steaks are better than the restaurant’s,” Frank advised.

  Rico nodded. “I think so too. I thought that’s where we’d go, if Jenny has no objections.”

  “I’ll do whatever pleases you, Dan’l.” The devilment in her eyes indicated she wasn’t referring to steak. “I just hope the dessert will be as good as the steak.”

  “I didn’t think you were that fond of desserts, Jenny,” Frank said. “You barely touch them at home.”

  “Since the abduction, I’ve developed a hunger for them. I never realized what I’d been missing.”

  Frank frowned in thought, then shook his head. “The abduction and a dessert? I don’t get the connection.”

  “Connection—the perfect word to describe it! I must say, neither do I.”

  The woman is going to get me shot for certain, Rico thought. “Are you ready to leave, Jenny?”

  Again, the message in her eyes could have set the room ablaze. “I’ve been thinking about it for hours, Rico.”

  Two could play at that game. “Gotta admit it’s crossed my mind as well. A man doesn’t have an opportunity too often in these parts to be able to sample a really good dessert.”

  “Then you’re in for a treat, Rico. Maude’s good at cooking up a dessert,”
Frank said. “She often makes a delicious pastry with chocolate frosting that she calls an éclair. My mouth waters thinking about it. I have half a mind to join you.”

  Rico could tell by Jenny’s expression she was as appalled at the idea as he was.

  Then Andrea entered the room. “Good evening, Rico.”

  Rico nodded. “Evening, Miss Andrea.”

  “We’re going out to dinner,” Frank said. “Would you care to join us?”

  “No, thank you. I’m working on my wedding gown. Saturday will be here before we know it.”

  “It can’t come soon enough for Captain Masters,” Rico said. “He sure was excited about it when I spoke to him earlier.”

  “Remember, Rico, you promised to be here. Don will be so disappointed if you aren’t his best man.”

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” he said, shifting nervously. His mind was still on the plans that were now jeopardized by Frank inviting himself to join them.

  “I’m so happy to hear that. You and Jenny will make such a handsome couple.”

  Jenny hugged her. “Not so, Aunt Andrea. We’ll pale compared to the bride and groom.”

  Andrea’s enthusiasm was so contagious, Rico couldn’t help smiling. He had never seen her looking lovelier; she glowed with excitement.

  “Well, there’s much to do and a short time to do it in, so I’m getting back to my sewing. You all enjoy your dinner.”

  From habit, Rico surveyed the occupants of the Boots and Saddles when they entered. As close as Maude’s was to the fort’s gate, he didn’t doubt that Slatter’s madness could make him attempt anything.

  As his gaze swept the room Colonel Hardy stood up and waved them over to his table.

  Frank hurried over to them. “You’re the last two people I expected to see here,” Frank said. “I’m glad I decided to come. Evening, Cynthia.” He bent down and kissed the colonel’s wife on the cheek.

  “You can thank Cynthia. Instead of staying home and preparing a meal, she pulled rank and had half the troop sawing limbs off the pine trees that I had previously ordered were not to be touched.”

  “Oh, fiddle-faddle, Tom Hardy. It was a single patrol and we only cut a few limbs off your precious trees.” She raised her head to accept Jenny’s kiss on the cheek. “Do sit down and join us, darling. And where’s our blushing bride?”

  “She’s sewing her wedding gown. What do you need pine boughs for, Aunt Cynthia?” Jenny asked her godmother.

  “To decorate the room for the wedding. And you’re the very person I wanted to talk to. I’m planning a luncheon on Friday, and you mustn’t breathe a word of it to Andrea. I want it to be a surprise. Setting up housekeeping at the fort, she’ll need just about everything, I imagine.” She laid a hand on her husband’s. “I’m giving her that set of china my mother shipped us years ago that you dislike so much, Tom.”

  “I know she has some favorite utensils and pans,” Jenny said. “I’m sure she’ll bring them with her when she leaves the ranch.”

  “Hold on there, daughter. Everything in that house belongs to me,” Frank said.

  Jenny looked at him in shock. “Consider them a wedding gift, Father,” she said in a disgusted tone. “In my opinion, you should give her at least a third of the Double B. She’s worked as hard as you have to run it.”

  Colonel Hardy chuckled. “Makes sense to me. What do you say to that, Frank?”

  “Just like I said: everything on that ranch belongs to me.” He directed the reply to Jenny, and they exchanged a hostile glare.

  “Does that include me, Father?”

  “You bet it does, if you’ve got any smart ideas about running off and getting married, too.”

  Cynthia Hardy looked aghast. “There’s such a thing as a dowry, Frank. Surely you don’t expect your daughter to remain on the Double B the rest of her life. She would naturally go wherever her husband chooses.”

  “Then she better marry a local rancher who can run the Double B.”

  “You’re mistaken about two things, Father,” Jenny said. “Number one, I would never marry a rancher. Number two, even if I were ever desperate enough to marry one, he’d be running his own ranch, not yours.”

  Good for you, Princess, Rico thought.

  Some of Jenny’s attitude was beginning to make sense to him now. Hardy appeared to thrive on issuing orders; Jenny disliked being told what to do. From the beginning Rico had figured her father had spoiled her, but it was the very opposite. He had tried to break her spirit with ridicule—even now, in the presence of company. But that incredible spirit of hers had enabled her to stand against even a man as ruthless as Ben Slatter.

  When they left Maude’s, Rico accompanied the Burkes to their quarters.

  “Come along, Jenny, it’s late,” Frank ordered, and went inside.

  She looked at Rico and hesitated. “Good night.”

  Her disappointment to the night’s ending was as obvious as his. “Good night, Jenny. I’m leaving first thing in the morning to search for Slatter. I’ll be back no later than Saturday morning.”

  Jenny nodded. “I know. Be careful.”

  “I will. Promise me you’ll stay inside the fort while I’m gone.”

  The door opened suddenly. “Jenny, come inside,” Frank ordered. “Good night, Rico.” This time he remained in the open doorway.

  “Promise me, Jenny,” Rico repeated.

  “I promise.” Ignoring her father’s presence, Jenny pulled Rico’s head down to hers for a passionate kiss. Then she turned, brushed past her father in the doorway, and went inside. Frank closed the door and Rico heard the slide of the bolt.

  For a long moment he stared at the closed door, then he slowly returned to his quarters.

  16

  In the days that followed, Rico checked every gorge, canyon, cave, and abandoned mine. There was no sign of Slatter, much less any Apaches.

  All that remained to check out was the section along the river that Jake Bedford had described.

  “Of course, Bucep, the old-timers say that you don’t see an Apache unless he wants to be seen,” he said, patting the horse’s flank as it drank from the river.

  He continued to follow the river and came upon the tracks Bedford had mentioned. About a mile beyond there, he discovered tracks indicating where the Indians had crossed back to the other side. He followed and saw where they came out and continued on their way.

  The tracks appeared to be as old as the original ones Jake Bedford had found. Even an occasional spoor dropping had been baked dry, but he continued to follow them until they swung away from the river and into the mountains.

  “Looks like the fort can stop worrying about an Indian attack, Bucep.” But what had caused the Apaches to even cross and risk the chance of being shot or captured? It didn’t make sense.

  Returning to the proper side of the river, Rico scaled a nearby bluff and gazed at the frothy water that snaked between the granite walls of the canyon.

  What if Slatter had tried to cross the river but the rapid current had swallowed him up and carried him downstream?

  “Reckon that sonofabitch’s body could be feeding the fish in the Pacific Ocean right now, Bucep. But why those Indians crossed this river is still bothering me. I think we’ll take another look at that Cole cabin.”

  The area around the house had been trampled by army patrols and neighbors rounding up the Cole stock. Any hope to distinguish an unshod horse among the wagon tracks and trampled footprints was futile. He was confident that had there been, he would have noticed them the day he discovered the bodies.

  The inside of the house had been thoroughly cleaned by well-meaning ladies. It was unlikely any possible clue would have been salvaged in the cleanup, but he still looked for some sign that might offer a clue. He had no doubt the culprit was Slatter, but the possibility of hostile Indians in the vicinity might dictate otherwise. Especially in the mind of the fort’s commander.

  “For damn sure, Bucep, that old couple didn’t kill each other,”
Rico murmured as he rode away.

  It was after midnight when he arrived back at the fort, so he went directly to his quarters and went to bed.

  As he lay in the dark, his thoughts returned to Jenny. During these past five days he had purposely forced thoughts of her out of his mind to keep from being distracted. But when he had bedded down at night, thoughts of her had filled his head as he drifted into sleep.

  Even now, he could see that devilish sparkle in her eyes and hear the warmth of her laughter when she teased him, or her unconscious gesture of brushing the hair off her cheek. He buried his face in the pillow and breathed in the faint scent of jasmine, as intrinsic to her as her incredible green eyes and auburn hair.

  But most of all he relived the heat of her flesh against his own, the sweetness of her lips, and her tremors of arousal when he caressed her.

  If this Slatter situation wasn’t resolved, how in hell would he ever be able to ride away from her?

  He’d sworn he’d never permit himself to fall into this kind of predicament, and until now, it hadn’t been a problem.

  The ludicrous part of it all was that he couldn’t figure out how she really felt about him. One moment she would welcome his kiss, and then he’d feel the sting of her scorn for being a “bounty hunter.”

  Right now it was better that Jenny didn’t know his real motivation for pursuing Slatter. He hadn’t found any sign that Slatter was nearby, which meant he would have to leave her again.

  “I wonder if you spend as much time thinking about me as I do about you, Miss Jennifer?” he murmured as he drifted off to sleep.

  Jenny tossed restlessly. She hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since Rico rode away. Despite the preparations and excitement of the wedding, the past five days had passed like months to her. At least she knew nothing bad had happened to him. She’d heard Colonel Hardy tell her father today that a patrol had met up with Rico and he’d told them he would be back by morning.