by Sharon Ihle
After taking a deep breath to gather herself, she turned to Dimitri and said, "Please take this man out of here now. I've just got to talk to Cassie alone."
Dimitri glanced at his troubled wife. "Are you sure? This man has admitted that he is an outlaw. Since Miss McBride is his woman, you may not be safe alone with her."
Shylo sighed heavily. "Believe me, Dimitri—I'm a lot safer around Cassie right now than she is around me. Take her, her intended downstairs to the bar and buy him a beer, please." She took another hard look at the young man. "Better make that a sarsaparilla—he doesn't look old enough for beer. Just keep him down there until I send someone after you, all right?"
Dimitri still wasn't crazy about the idea, but he agreed. "We'll go, but you be careful." Then, as he ushered Buck toward the door, he told him, "We will go to the saloon as if we are great friends, but if you try to escape me, I will shoot you, no problem. Katal—Understand me?"
"Don't worry about me causing any trouble, mister." Buck waved at Cassie. "I ain't going nowheres without my girl."
After the men had left and she was sure they were out of earshot, Shylo glared at Cassie, who'd turned her back and retreated to a corner by the window. At least now her sister's odd behavior made a little bit of sense, she thought, holding herself back a moment. This in part explained Cassie's amazing survival alone in the desert, her insistence that she hadn't been hurt in the slightest, and her irrational fits of weeping ever since the train pulled out of Winslow. Yes, now it all began to fit into a very disturbing puzzle.
Stalking across the room, Shylo unleashed some of her shock and outrage. "How could you have tossed your good name away on a no-good like that outlaw? Have you gone absolutely crazy?"
Cassie hung her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Inches from her sister now, Shylo spoke in a low, guttural growl. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. I also think you weren't alone for one minute during the three nights you were stranded in the desert."
Picking at her fingernails, Cassie shrugged. "You're not my mother, and I don't have to answer to you."
Fueled by her growing anger, Shylo took her sister by the shoulders and shook the pins right out of her hair. "No, I'm not your mother, and it's a damn good thing I'm not, either."
"Then leave me be—get out."
"Oh, no. You're not getting off that easy. We've got one more day to get you straightened out before you have to face your real mother, and that's what we're going to do. Now tell me what happened out there in that desert."
Slowly raising her chin, Cassie gave Shylo a defiant glare. "What happened isn't any of your business."
Although she'd known somehow in her heart that it was true—that Cassie had experienced a lot more than a girl her age should have—hearing her all but admit her indiscretion nearly broke Shylo's heart. She wasn't Cassie's mother, she knew that intellectually, but since she'd done so much of her "raising up," she couldn't help but act a little motherly toward her. And feel a mother's pain and disappointment over a child gone wrong.
"How in God's name could you have given yourself to a disgusting outlaw?" she asked. "Have you no shame?"
"There's no shame in what I done with Buck, because I love him." Cassie shouted back. "I love Buck, and that's all the reason I needed in the world to bed down with him. Now let me be about it."
So upset was Shylo over this admission, she shook from head to toe. "That's all the reason you need to be called a whore, too, or didn't you think of that?"
Her sweet face twisted with sudden hatred for this condescending sister of hers, Cassie blurted out something she knew would hurt Shylo in return. "I think loving my man is a hell of a good reason for bedding down with him—you, on the other hand, don't even have that reason. If I'm a whore, then you're a bigger one."
Shylo drew her hand back, but until Cassie flinched and ducked, she hadn't even realized that she'd intended to pop her sister alongside the mouth. Ashamed of her violent reaction, disturbed to think it might have been prompted by something as ugly as a certain amount of truth in what Cassie had said, Shylo willed herself to calm down.
"You know," she began, hating the cornered look in her sister's pale blue eyes, "I was pretty much forced into sleeping with Dimitri. I wasn't out looking to get myself in the kind of fix you're in—it just happened. So it's not the same as what you've done—not even close."
Her fighting side up, Cassie fired another salvo. "You don't think bedding a man just to impress someone—your mother, for God's sake—isn't whoring? I sure as hell do."
"Leave me out of this. It's not me got tangled up with an outlaw, it's you." Again Shylo had to calm herself. "Face the fact that you've shamed yourself—shamed the entire McBride family name."
Cassie's lip quivered over those words, but she fought the urge to break into sobs. "That's right—I forgot that you're a 'Folsom' these days. I guess that does leave me to shame the McBride name alone."
"Cassie, for God's sake—"
"Know what else I think?" Tears were dripping off her chin, but she ignored them. "I think you're jealous, that's what. I love Buck, and he loves me—and you can't stand that it never happened to you."
"That's not true." Shylo wanted to shake some sense into her, shake her until her pink hair fell out, but she controlled the urge. "And you're wrong about me and Dimitri, wrong—do you hear me? I do love him. Understand what I'm saying, I... Oh, dear God, I—I do love him."
The moment those words were out, Shylo nearly collapsed from the surge of emotions that swept through her. How could that have happened? When? And to a woman who didn't even believe in love? Why now, of all times, the day before her big reunion with her mother? Why in God's name could any of this be happening just as everything was looking so bright for a change? A tear rolled down Shylo's cheek before she even realized she was sobbing. Wiping her face with the sleeve of her blouse, she turned away from her sister.
"Oh, please don't cry," said Cassie, suddenly feeling contrite and remorseful. "I didn't mean all them hurtful things, honest I didn't. I just wanted you to know how much I loved Bucky."
Choking back her tears—she couldn't fall apart now, not now—Shylo spoke softly, although she couldn't face Cassie yet. "I'm not crying. I just wish you'd have told me all this before when it happened. I so wanted everything to go smooth with our reunion tomorrow, but it seems the more I wish for that, the more messed up everything gets."
Certain from her sister's tone that the worst was over now, Cassie said, "I guess I wished I'd listened to you about locking my door. If I had, none of this would a happened, and you wouldn't be all upset like you are."
"Oh, I think it would have happened." Shylo finally turned to face her again. Cassie's expression was sheepish, and she was still fiddling with her fingernails, but the defiance and hatred were gone from her eyes. "I just wouldn't have caught you. Isn't that what you meant to say?"
Cassie giggled and shrugged.
"Well, it's done, and now we got to figure out how to make everything all right again." With a start, Shylo thought of Buck and Dimitri downstairs at the bar, of the conversation they might be having at this very moment. "My God—how much does this Buck know about us and our plan?"
"Pretty much all of it, but if you're worried he'll talk to Dimitri about us being sisters and all, don't be. He knows how important this reunion is to you."
"Oh, does he now? How can you be so sure he'll keep quiet, especially after what I did to him?"
Cassie frowned. "That was mean of you, Shylo, but I trust Buck. He won't talk."
"That's very... comforting." Shylo's voice was ragged with sarcasm and fatigue. She pushed her fingers through her hair and tried to sort through the newest complications to her plans, but it seemed hopeless. "I don't see any way in hell that you can present yourself to our mother tomorrow dragging that outlaw along with you. You're just going to have to tell him to stay away, or better yet, to go back to Winslow."
"I guess you haven't been listening to me. I don't care if I never meet our ma—I just care about Bucky."
Done with all the nonsense, Shylo reached for her sister, took her by the shoulders, and forcefully sat her down on the edge of the bed. Peering down at her with a narrow-eyed gaze, she said, "You don't mean that—say you don't mean that, after we've spent our whole lives waiting for this day."
With Shylo hovering over her like a vulture, Cassie couldn't help but cringe. Her voice lacked substance, but she found it in herself to declare, "It's not me who spent my life waiting for this day. Finding our ma is your dream, not mine."
"You don't mean that, either. I know you want to see Ma as much as I do."
Cassie was getting scared now, especially at the desperate look in Shylo's eyes. "You've got to listen to me, Shylo. I don't even know Colleen McBride. I have no memories of her, and I don't care if I never do."
Shylo released Cassie's shoulders and straightened her spine. "I don't see how you can say that after all we've been through to find her again."
"I'm only here because you didn't give me a choice in the matter. And you know what else? I think it wasn't me that was the dreamer all these years—it was you."
That stung Shylo's pride, but she couldn't ignore the dollop of truth in her sister's words. "I suppose in some ways I was, but at least my dreams stood a chance of coming true. They were real, a lot more realistic than your fantasy of Prince Charming riding up on a big white horse—especially now that I've seen your prince."
"Yeah, well..." Cassie's pout became more pronounced over the insult to her lover. "Buck is all the prince I'll ever want or need, and by the way—he did ride up and carry me off on a white horse."
"He did?" Cassie nodded, and in spite of their argument and her general turmoil, Shylo found herself chuckling. "Well, I'll be damned."
Joining in with her sister's chuckles, she said, "I expect the both of us will be damned over the way we've been carrying on of late, don't you?"
Feeling her usual love for her sister blossom inside her again, Shylo stroked Cassie's colorful hair. "I expect you're right." She glanced down at herself, noting her soiled and torn garments. "I also expect we've said about all we can to each other for now. I'd better go to my room and get myself washed up. Ma is coming in on the steamer in the morning, and I want to look my best."
One glance in her sister's hopeful eyes told Cassie what she had to say next. "I'll make sure that I'm cleaned up good and proper by the time you come back here with her tomorrow, too. And Shylo—I won't let Buck hang around here then, neither. I'll save that little surprise for later."
"Thanks, sis." Shylo bent over to kiss her forehead, then said as she started for the door, "Just because I'm done hollering about Buck for the time being, don't think I'm happy about you and him—you're too young for a serious beau."
"I am not," said Cassie as she followed her sister to the door.
"We'll discuss this later, but in the meantime, I don't want to find that outlaw in here again." Raising one eyebrow, Shylo issued a tongue-in-cheek warning. "I'm telling you if you don't keep him away from you, I swear I'll send for Wyatt Earp—and I don't think that man will bother to give your train-robbing, kidnapping Dilly the Kid a trial."
Cassie giggled as Shylo stepped into the hallway. "You wouldn't dare!" she said, and closed the door.
Of course she wouldn't, and Shylo had only been kidding around with her sister, but as she headed for her room, it occurred to her that telling Wyatt Earp about the baby-faced outlaw might not be such a bad idea after all. In fact, she was willing to bet her gaudy, eye-popping wedding ring that after the former lawman had a little talk with him, Bucky-boy would turn tail, jump on his big white horse, and ride out of town like his pants were on fire.
Chapter 16
Shylo had a troubled, restless night after that. Even though Buck had agreed to sleep in Ari's room so that someone could keep an eye on him, she was still concerned about his relationship with Cassie, and she agonized over what she could do about it without alienating her sister. In the back of her mind was the idea of having Wyatt Earp talk to the young man, but she decided not to pursue that option just yet. Cassie would never forgive her if Earp actually did haul Buck off to jail or to the hangman.
If Shylo wasn't worrying about Cassie, images of her fiery-haired mother stepping off the steamer in the morning would come to mind, and she'd become so excited, she could hardly lie still.
But most disturbing of all was the realization that she'd somehow allowed the impossible to happen—she'd fallen in love with Dimitri. That alone would have kept her tossing and turning all night. She'd trapped herself in a web of her own lies, tangled her deepest emotions with a man who could never truly be hers. How could she have dug such a miserable hole for herself? She'd always known that after she and Colleen were reunited, Dimitri was bound to learn the truth about her. Once he uncovered her lies and realized that he was not her legal husband or responsible for her in any way...
Shylo could hardly bear to think about it. When she did, she saw Dimitri running right over Buck and his big white horse in his haste to flee the scene of his "inconvenient marriage." What would she do if he hated her so much that he wanted never to see her again? How would she ever live through the pain? Just thinking about him leaving her behind crushed her so that Shylo could scarcely draw a breath.
Dimitri's deep, easy breathing soothed her in the darkness, and the somehow comforting sound of his light snores allowed her to think there might be a small drop of hope. What if he didn't hate her when all was said and done? After all, she had already told him the truth about most of her lies, and he'd even admitted to a few inaccuracies of his own. Didn't that make them about even in the deception department, down to the pot calling the kettle black? Other than the one little fib about being related to the president—and Shylo really couldn't imagine how that could be important to a man from Greece—she didn't see how her lies could have affected his life too much. Not enough to hate her, anyway.
Knowing that dawn was close, Shylo clung to those last few thoughts and snuggled next to her snoring husband, hoping to catch at least one hour of sleep.
Moments later worries about her sister returned, and the image of Cassie alone in her room with Buck brought her fully alert again.
"Dear God." Something she might have overlooked suddenly struck Shylo, jerking her into a sitting position. "Oh, Lord."
"What?" came Dimitri's groggy voice in the darkness. "What's wrong?"
"I—I don't know for sure. I was just wondering—doesn't Ari work nights for Mr. Earp?"
He rolled onto his side, murmuring, "Uh-huh."
"You mean to tell me it's possible that Buck has been alone in that room all night with no one to keep him from pestering Cassie?"
He took a long time answering, and when he did, Dimitri's voice was clear and sharp. "Could be—but we've interfered with them enough for one night."
Without any warning, Shylo tore back the bedcovers, grabbed her robe off the bedpost, and dashed out of their room.
"Shylo," Dimitri called, but she was too far away by then to answer. Muttering in Greek, he climbed out of bed and stumbled after her, realizing just before he reached the still open door that he was naked. Cursing in his native language, he slammed the door shut, then quickly lit a lamp and yanked open a dresser drawer in search of some clothes.
Still adjusting the sash to her robe, Shylo raced up the hallway to Cassie's room; when she reached the door, she twisted the knob and, as usual, continued her forward momentum without slowing down. This time there was no give, and she smashed into the door face first.
"Ow," she cried with the little bit of breath that hadn't been knocked from her lungs. She twisted the knob again and found—for the first time ever—that the door was locked. Locked! Sure now that her fears had not been unfounded, she began to pound on the door with both fists.
"Cassie? Open up and let me in. Do you hear me? It's Shyl
o, open up."
This went on for several minutes, and just when she thought she was going to have to find a way to break the damn thing down, the door finally opened.
"Shylo?" said Cassie, rubbing her eyes. "What in hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
After craning her neck to see into the room, Shylo pushed her sister aside and walked in. Then she turned the lamp up high and said, "I, ah, was worried about you. Is everything all right in here?"
"Sure. What could be wrong?"
Shylo strolled around the room, checking the bed, each of the corners, and even sat down at the vanity table so she could stick her foot under the draperies and check the hollowed-out space between the drawers. There was no sign of Buck. She glanced into the corner by the door again, noticing that the valise she and Cassie shared looked bloated, as if it were still packed. That was strange. They'd emptied it of all their belongings the day they'd arrived in town. Was Cassie planning on taking a little trip? Intending to check the bag more carefully on her way out, Shylo dropped down on all fours and lifted the coverlet to have a look under the bed. That's when Dimitri stormed into the room.
He'd donned a pair of pin-striped dress trousers but topped them with one of his blue denim work shirts—an item he'd buttoned so hastily, the left side of his collar was a full two inches higher than the right. And, Shylo couldn't help but notice as he stomped toward her, he was barefoot.
"Get off," he demanded.
Since there was nothing under the mattress, Shylo complied with the order she assumed he was trying to give and got to her feet. Then she favored her angry husband with a sheepish grin. "I didn't mean to get you out of bed, Dimitri. I just wanted to make sure Cassie was all right."
"I'm fine, as you can see," said Cassie, her hands planted firmly on her hips. "Were you thinking you'd find someone in here with me? Is that why you're here?"