by Stacey Kayne
“Mr. Darby,” she said, sounding a tad breathless.
Kyle flashed one of his fallen-angel smiles and there was no fighting the tension tightening in the muscles across Juniper’s back. He had to remind himself Kyle was one for laying on the charm with the ladies—didn’t matter if she was young, old, gorgeous or homely.
“I’ve got to go inside,” he said, his voice harsher than it should have been. He stood, shifting Lily onto the bench in the same motion. “I need you to sit right here.”
“Where are you going?” she asked, her eyes clouding with worry.
“To check on things. Kyle’s a U.S. marshal. He’ll stay with you.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
She glanced warily at Kyle standing behind him. “All right,” she said, though the hard slant of her mouth said she’d rather stay with him. For some odd reason, he found some satisfaction in that reaction. Which didn’t make a damn bit of sense once he reminded himself she’d been contemplating putting a bullet through him seconds before Clyde had popped out.
“I won’t be long.”
“If you’d like,” said Kyle, “I can escort the lady back to the ranch.”
“No.”
Kyle’s eyebrows shot up at his quick response.
“I need to see if she can identify the man who abducted her yesterday. I don’t want any of them to know she’s here, which is why I had them blindfolded.”
“Understood,” said Kyle.
“You feel up to taking a quick look,” he said to Lily, “to see if you recognize the one who grabbed you?”
Her expression instantly firmed, her eyes getting back some of that Lily spark. She gave a vigorous nod.
“All right, then,” he said, admiring her determination. “I’ll be back for you.”
Kyle eased onto the bench beside her.
Juniper forced himself to turn and walk away. With every step he had to tell himself he had no cause to worry about leaving her in Kyle’s care. It was the men in the house he needed to worry about. If Kyle could help in getting Lily out of here, he needed to be grateful.
Inside, Günter and Jake stood watch over the six men who’d been blindfolded with dishtowels or shredded linens. He motioned for Jake and Günter to join him in the kitchen.
His deputy ducked through the kitchen doorway, his seven-foot frame hardly accommodated in the small, dank ranch house.
“You find the others?” asked Günter.
“Two are dead and two rode out.”
“The Chandlers?” asked Jake.
“Clyde and his uncle need burying. If Billy isn’t one of those six, he rode out with the other man. They give the name?”
“Billy Chandler and a man named Mathews,” said Jake. “You going after them?”
“They’ll keep.” He leaned toward them and whispered, “Lily’s outside.”
Two sets of eyes flared wide.
“She followed me. I need to see if she can identify the man who grabbed her, but I don’t want these men to know she was here. I’m going to bring her in, real quiet like. Make sure there’s no gaps in those blindfolds.”
“I will do,” Günter said.
Juniper walked back across the yard, following the low murmur of Kyle’s voice. Nearing the shed, he found them sitting so close he could hardly make out Lily in Kyle’s shadow.
I’m the one putting her in danger, he told himself. She’d be better off under the care of any other lawman.
A cold acceptance settled over him. After he took her inside, he’d send her back to the Double D with Kyle. He’d have Kyle escort her all the way back to San Francisco if need be, whatever it took to get her out of harm’s way.
“Are you really cousins?” Lily asked.
“Our family’s a lot like one of them patchwork quilts,” Kyle answered easily. “Juniper and I may not share any bloodlines, but we’re tightly stitched.”
“So you’re only related to Jed?”
“Nope. But he did raise my stepmother and we’ve always called him Uncle Jed. When June came along that made him our cousin.”
“Claiming me as kin isn’t going to earn you any grace with Miss Palmer.”
Lily gave Juniper a startled look before he took her by the hand and tugged her up.
“While we’re inside that house, you will be silent as a church mouse. Take a quick look at the men and hold your tongue until we’re back out here. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Because if you disobey me one more time you’ll be cuffed, gagged and on your way back to ’Frisco before you can blink.”
He didn’t give her a moment to think about those options. He wrapped his arm around her stiff shoulders and ushered her toward the house.
Lily rushed along beside him, wondering what had happened to the kind, consoling Juniper. “I see you’re back to being Sheriff Barns.”
“It’s what you pay me for,” he reminded her. He pulled her closer as they approached the steps. “I meant what I said,” he whispered. “Keep quiet.”
Lily had no reason to doubt him, the memory of his handcuffs and handkerchiefs still fresh in her mind. Deep voices filtered outside as he reached for the doorknob. Lily squinted against the bright lights burning in the tiny kitchen. Her open iron strongbox sat on a small table, coins and piles of bills stacked all around it.
Juniper touched his finger to his lips as he guided her past the table. In the front room a row of six bound and blindfolded men crouched on their knees. Günter and a shorter man with curly brown hair stood on either side of them.
Lily glanced at each man. With half their faces covered it was hard to identify their features. Even so, she knew none of them were the man who’d held her on his lap. She wouldn’t forget his lips pressed against her neck as he’d made her skin crawl with the filthy promises of all he planned to do to her. They’d been a peculiar red, like rubies or the underbelly of a black widow spider.
“How can a man be arrested for trying to feed his family?” one of the prisoners demanded.
“I got four kids at home,” said a robust man near the center.
“What are we waiting for?” A younger man on the end twisted against his restraints. “I want to talk to Sheriff Barns!”
“Don’t worry,” said Günter. “You will have your chance.”
Juniper turned her toward the kitchen and rushed straight to the back door. Lily tried to stop at the table.
“No,” he said in a low growl.
“Bu—”
His hand strapped over her mouth and Lily was wrenched off her feet. She struggled against his hold, which didn’t do a bit of good. They were beside the shed before he set her back down.
“What didn’t you understand about ‘Keep quiet until we were outside’?” he demanded, his hands gripping her shoulders
“I was going to whisper.”
“I said not a word.”
“Let go of me!” Lily shrugged out of his hold.
“Did you recognize any of them as the man who grabbed you?”
“No.”
“What about the man who shot Mr. Dobbs?”
His face clear in her mind, Lily shook her head.
Juniper cursed under his breath.
“I would like to recover my cash box.”
“Not happening.”
“I didn’t come all this way to go back without my money.”
He pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “You’ll ride back to the Double D this instant or I’ll arrest you right here and now.”
“You cannot arrest me!”
“The hell I can’t. You’re impeding my investigation.”
“This is my—”
A sharp scratch and spark of light blossomed in the darkness beside her, making Lily jump with fright.
Kyle stood on the shadowed side of the shed holding a match to the tip of a cheroot. The orange glow lit up the chiseled features of his face as white smoke curled out from his lips.
&
nbsp; “You two finished bickering?” he asked as he shook out the match.
“Tell him he’s being ridiculous.”
He took a step forward, his smile bright against the moonlight. “Sorry, Lily. A man don’t have to be reasonable when he’s fretting over his gal.”
“I’m not his gal.”
“Figurative term. Might not look like it half the time, but June knows what he’s doing.”
“Gee, thanks,” Juniper said.
“Anytime, cousin.” He blew a smoke ring at Juniper before turning his smile back to Lily. “I’d be keeping you out of that house, too, and would likely be mad as raging hell if you’d snuck along on an ambush. Soon as his temper settles, I’m sure he’ll get around to thanking you for saving him from that bullet.”
Juniper simply glared at her. “Don’t count on it.”
She was fairly certain Kyle’s relaxed presence was all that kept him from gagging and cuffing her as he’d promised, and carting her back to the Double D.
“You cannot keep me from what’s mine.”
“You can pet and count your coins once they’re in The Grove office. Right now that money is evidence and under federal protection. Isn’t that right, Kyle?”
“Yep.”
Juniper shot a quick glare at his cousin, thinking he could have offered a little more support.
“I’d like to at least know what’s accounted for,” she said.
“I’m just as anxious to get that payroll squared away so you can pack up and get off the mountain for good.”
“You keep forgetting I own Pine Ridge. I might decide to relocate there.”
“I appreciate the warning. I’ll be packing my gear the second we get back. McFarland might have been rock stubborn and stone blind when it came to running that camp, but at least the man had a shred of common sense.”
Lily’s hands fisted at her sides.
“E-e-easy, June,” Kyle muttered under breath. “You’re bound to fall in that crater you’re diggin’.”
Juniper glanced at Kyle but lost the chance to ponder his warning as Lily started for the house. His fingers clamped around her wrist. He tugged her back toward the shed, ready to drag her all the way to the horses on the other side of the cliffs.
“Let go of me!” Lily raged, digging her feet as they reached the tall scrub.
“Dammit, Lily! I’ll take you back to the ranch myself if I have to, and to hell with the prisoners and payroll!”
“Then I got here just in time.” Jed’s gruff voice came from the darkness. All three turned to see Jed emerge from the shadows, leading a tall fawn horse by the reins.
Juniper exhaled a sigh of sheer relief.
“Hey, Uncle Jed,” Kyle greeted in a cheerful tone.
“Kyle. My wife will be lookin’ to tear strips from your hide once she catches wind you’re in the area and haven’t stopped by.”
“You be sure to tell Aunt Rachell I’m looking forward to a long visit, just as soon as I finish helping June clear out some of the local trash.”
“I came as soon as I realized she’d gone,” Jed said to Juniper. “She had to’ve been hiding near the barn just before you left.”
Lily didn’t dare look at either of them, not wanting Juniper to know she’d overheard him talking about her father.
“Can you take her back?” he asked.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
“She’s ready now.”
Lily glanced beside her and found Juniper staring at her expectantly. “I’ve not recovered the strongbox.”
“And you’re not going to.”
“It’s my money.”
“Anyone holding that money is a moving target until we get it locked up in The Grove,” he said, towering over her. “I will not have your blood on my conscience. Do you hear me? I won’t!”
Conviction blazed in his eyes, stopping her protest.
“Prince Charming here will make sure your money reaches that safe,” he said, jabbing his thumb toward Kyle, “since we both know it’s wasted breath to ask you to trust a gunslinger.”
Kyle’s eyes widened with surprise before he lowered his gaze to his boots, the tip of his cheroot flaring bright as he took a long drag.
Lily was quite certain she was the only one standing there who’d questioned Juniper’s integrity.
“I trust you,” she said, forcing her voice past her constricted throat.
“Of course you do. That’s why you didn’t know who to shoot first, me or Clyde Chandler.”
“I wasn’t trying to shoot you! If you had told me your plans instead of dumping me off at the ranch—”
“If I thought for a moment you’d have listened to reason—”
“You didn’t even try, you just…distracted me,” she said, spitting the words out like bitter seeds. “And then you snuck off!”
Juniper’s steady gaze bore into her. “So if I’d said, ‘Miss Carrington, rushing a house full of armed men is far too dangerous to have you along,’ you’d have just stayed on the ranch?”
First of all, he never called her Miss Carrington unless he was feigning politeness while giving an introduction, not that his choice of title would have convinced her to stay behind. Knowing she likely wouldn’t have allowed him to leave without her no matter what he’d said, she chose not to answer him.
“That’s what I thought,” Juniper said, as though he’d heard every thought in her mind. “We both know you’re single-minded and stubborn as hell,” he said in a matter-of-fact sort of way. “And if you say you didn’t have designs on pulling that trigger while I was in your sights, you’re lying.”
His intense blue eyes having the ability to see through her, she wanted to avoid his gaze. But she couldn’t. “I wanted more than anything to pull that trigger,” she admitted, “and feel nothing. To finally find closure. But I couldn’t. When I realized your attention had been diverted from the other man, I…” She shut her eyes and drew a ragged breath, the cold grip of fear closing over her.
“You saved me from a bullet,” Juniper said, the gruffness in his voice drawing her gaze. “You put your life at risk.” He shook his head, his eyes dark with pain. “I’d rather have been shot, Lily, than see you come to harm.”
Knowing he meant it, an ache settled in her chest. Several times now he’d put her life before his own. Twice she’d held a gun at his chest, and twice he’d made no attempt to defend himself.
You didn’t do nothin’ but choose to live, Jed had said to him in the barn.
Sometimes it feels like the wrong choice.
The clarity of those words closed around her like a blanket of ice. He would have allowed her to shoot him. More than that, she was quite certain he would have felt he was deserving of the bullet. For a brief moment she saw the frustration and exhaustion weighing on his spirit, felt it in her own and wanted to reach out to him, as though soothing his hurt would heal her own.
She shivered at the thought. Madness.
He averted his gaze and drew a hard breath, reclaiming his composure. “I want you to ride back with Jed.”
“Okay.”
“The payroll—”
“I trust you to take care of it.”
He stared at her for a long moment, his stoic expression unchanged. “Then you’ll do as I ask and stay at the ranch until I return for you.”
A sudden burn of tears clogged her throat. She gave a slight nod of agreement. She’d endured all she could handle for one night.
“All right, then. Where’s your horse?”
She motioned toward the trees and bushes leading into the dark channel between the stone cliffs.
Juniper held his hand out to her. She took it, welcoming the warmth of his palm against hers. No matter how odd it seemed, his presence soothed her tangled nerves, giving her strength.
“I’ll take care of it, son,” Jed said, stepping forward.
Lily’s hand tightened on his.
“I got it,” Juniper said, walking in the direction
she’d indicated. He couldn’t shrug off the responsibility he felt for her. Nor could he stand to send her away with tears shining in her eyes.
They walked slowly through a blend of shadows and moonlight, not following any real trail as they carefully maneuvered around rocks and scrub. “How far away did you leave your horse?” he asked.
“A short way beyond the gap.”
Half a mile. “You saw me leave the ranch,” he said.
She gave a slight nod.
He couldn’t believe he hadn’t detected her presence or spotted her trailing him. But then, he’d allowed his thoughts to become preoccupied, with her.
“I lost you along the way,” she said a while later. “So I just followed the ridge to the opening. I only wanted to be sure all the men were apprehended. I’m sorry if I…foiled your ambush.”
The catch in her voice tugged at his heart. “You didn’t. Other than you scaring the life out of me, I’d say it went rather well. We recovered the bulk of the payroll and none of my men were injured.”
“If I hadn’t been there, you could have caught the others.”
“Doubt it,” he said. “My men were outnumbered. I wouldn’t have pursued the others until I knew things were under control in the cabin. Either way, they’d have gotten a considerable lead. As for you getting caught in the cross fire, the whole situation was my fault.”
She shook her head. “I should have trusted you.”
“I don’t see how you could have.” Juniper knew better than to expect such a thing. He wished he’d realized sooner that it was his presence that endangered her life. Lily wasn’t stupid and he doubted she was often reckless. It was his presence that forced her to make rash decisions.
The thought of her coming to harm because of his past—it would have been more than he could bear.
Lily watched her horse come into view up ahead and felt a touch of disappointment. She glanced down at her fingers laced with Juniper’s. His palm was warm against hers, his thumb caressing her wrist in slow, lazy circles, every whispering touch sending a maddening current of tingles throughout her entire body. She was certain he wasn’t even conscious of the light caress, which only heightened the surge of pleasing sensation.
The moment they stopped beside her horse, he released her hand. She missed the contact.