A Woman to Die For

by Erin Wade

  He dried then put on the only other shirt he owned. He cursed himself for not buying more clothes with the money Calloway had given him.

  “Come in.” Cage answered the knock on his door.

  “I noticed you’re traveling light, so I brought you some clean clothes,” Morgan’s blue eyes were void of the disapproval Cage expected to see.

  “Well . . . I . . . thank you.” Cage was surprised by the friendliness of the Texan.

  “Six foot, aren’t you?” Morgan continued. “Same as me.

  “Dinner, downstairs in half an hour. Don’t be late. Hassie won’t like that.”

  ##

  Cage frowned at his reflection in the mirror. The denim britches and leather vest looked odd on him. Although Morgan Jouett wore them with the air of royalty, Cage felt out of place in them.

  He opened the liquor cabinet in his room and found it well stocked with brandy and sherry but no cognac. I’ll have some ordered, he thought.

  “Cage,” Kristen greeted him as he entered the dining room. “Dressed in Morgan’s clothes it’s almost impossible to tell you two apart.”

  “Until we open our mouths.” Morgan slipped his arm around his sister’s shoulders and hugged her.

  Kristen looked up at Morgan returning his amused smile and Cage realized that she adored her bother.

  “Come.” Kristen gestured for Cage to follow her. “I want you to meet the rest of my family.”

  “This is Wallace my middle brother and you met his wife Naomi earlier. You already know Jerilyn and Reid.”

  “And we met earlier this afternoon,” Gwen said as she took Cage’s arm and led him to the table.

  “Yes.” Cage looked down at Gwen. “I would never forget meeting one as beautiful as you.”

  “I’ll have no problem differentiating between you and Morgan.” Gwen glanced at the rancher. “He never says anything that complimentary.”

  Chapter 10

  As always things had turned out to be more complicated than Cage had expected, but he was used to finagling to get his way.

  The solution was simple. He would marry Kristen and if their first child was a boy, he would become the owner of Estelline.

  As he drifted into a dreamless sleep, he thought that the welcome he had received from the Jouett’s had been unusually warm.

  ##

  The sun was midway through the morning when he awoke. He found that someone had placed more clothes in his room. He winced as he pulled on the tight boots. He found boots uncomfortable but made up his mind to get used to them.

  “Good morning.” Gwen smiled up at him as he descended the stairs. “I see you are a late sleeper too. Want to join me for breakfast? Everyone has gone to the holding pens.”

  Cage followed her onto a screened porch where a pot of coffee and cups sat on a table. “Hassie’s a mind reader,” she said as she poured the coffee. “So be careful what you think when she’s around.”

  “Where’s Kristen?” Cage asked.

  “She’s with the others working on the holding pens,” Gwen jeered. “Playing nurse maid to Morgan’s cows. All the women go with their men.”

  “Why aren’t you with them?” He sipped his coffee wishing it were laced with cognac.

  “Now do I look like a cow puncher?” She asked demurely.

  “No. No, you look like you belong to a world filled with social activities, the theater, afternoon bridge games and dinner parties.” He gazed at her intently. “That sort of thing.”

  “You’re wasting your time if you are here to court Kristen,” Gwen mused.

  “Why would you say that?” Cage raised his brow questioningly.

  “Kristen simply isn’t interested in men,” she quipped. “She’d much rather run and play with her perfect brother than converse with anyone else.”

  “Perhaps she hasn’t met the right man.” Cage smile smugly. “She’s very beautiful.”

  “Yes, she is,” Gwen snorted. “Men have come from miles away to court her when she turned eighteen. It’s been like a revolving door here. Young bucks throwing themselves at her feet and she seems utterly bored with their attention. She’d much rather go mustang hunting or brand a calf.”

  “You make her sound like a tomboy,” Cage defended Kristen. “In San Francisco she displayed all the social graces of a well-bred young woman.”

  “Yes, she would,” Gwen said jealously. “She’s equally at ease hosting a dinner party or in the saddle. Still she is twenty. She should be thinking about marriage and settling down.”

  “I hope to convince her of that,” Cage stated confidently.

  “You do have a distinct advantage,” Gwen noted. “You look like her beloved brother.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Cage chuckled. “It gives me an eerie feeling to see my face on another man.”

  “It is most disconcerting to sit across from a man who is identical to the man I want for my husband,” Gwen smiled seductively. “You must always help me, so I don’t mistake you for Morgan.”

  Their eyes locked. He stared at her for several minutes. Her auburn hair reflected the sun. Her green eyes held a promise of things to come.

  “Remember the tattoo on my left hand,” he muttered calling her attention to the star on the back of his hand.

  She caught his wrist in her cool, soft hands and inspected the tattoo closely. He could smell the sweet scent of her hair.

  She stood suddenly. “Would you like a tour of the ranch?” She asked. “I know several beautiful secluded places you might enjoy.”

  “I’d like that,” he answered. He realized she was dangerous, but she held an overpowering attraction for him.

  “Give me a few minutes to change into something more suitable for riding and I’ll be ready.” She disappeared up the stairs.

  Gwen took longer than he’d expected. She had tied her hair back with a pale-yellow ribbon and changed into a clinging yellow blouse tucked into the waist of her dark-brown riding britches. The outfit accentuated her voluptuous figure and she knew it.

  Cage was glad Hassie wasn’t around to read his mind. She held out a basket.

  “A picnic lunch.” She smiled. “I want to show you our river. It’s a good distance and we’ll be starved by the time we reach my favorite spot.”

  The cool spring day felt good. They let the horses set their own pace. He was surprised to find she was an excellent rider.

  Gwen was the first to broach the subject both were thinking about. “We could help each other,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” Cage asked innocently.

  “You obviously want to marry Kristen and it’s no secret I want to be Mrs. Morgan Jouett,” Gwen theorized. “We can help each other achieve their goal. Of course, we’d both be in the race once we’re married.”

  “Race?” Cage furrowed his forehead. “I’m afraid I don’t follow you. What race?”

  “Nelson Jouett’s will.” Gwen huffed. “The crazy old coot owned half of Texas but instead of dividing the ranch among his offspring his will stipulates that the first-born son will be the sole heir of Estelline and everyone else must leave. He didn’t believe in more than one family under one roof.

  “The old man’s will simply states that all of the Jouett properties and assets shall go to the first one of his children to produce a male heir and that the rest of the siblings must leave the ranch within one year of the boy’s birth.”

  “In other words, the heir gets everything and everyone else is left out in the cold,” Cage reiterated. “Rather a hard bargain for the losers.”

  “Nelson didn’t want the ranch split up into smaller ranches,” Gwen reaffirmed.

  “Since Morgan’s the oldest,” Cage said, “I’m surprised he hasn’t married and produced a son to hang onto the ranch.”

  “He’s too busy making the ranch the best in Texas,” Gwen said bitterly. “He has no time for courting. I’ve chased Morgan shamelessly. He is the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. He’s everything a man shou
ld be. Good, honest, trustworthy, kind, strong, honorable and all those other adjectives people use to tell you how wonderful he is.

  “For two years I’ve schemed and plotted to marry him, and he doesn’t even know I’m alive.”

  They rode in silence. Cage found it difficult to believe that Morgan could be so indifferent to the sensuous woman riding beside him. He raised his head when he heard a distant roar. “What’s that?”

  “The waterfall,” she smiled. “You’ll love it.”

  The river was as beautiful as Gwen had promised. Cage pulled the quilt from her saddle bag and spread it on the ground.

  “You were right.” Cage leaned back against a tree. “I was starved but I shouldn’t have eaten so much. I feel as if I could sleep for a week now.”

  ##

  A squirrel scurrying across his leg jerked Cage awake.

  Gwen was sleeping on her back, her full red lips parted slightly. She was beautiful but even sleep couldn’t erase the frown on her lovely face.

  Cage pitied her. Although he’d never experienced it, he could imagine nothing as frustrating as unrequited love. He leaned down and kissed her gently. Gwen slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. He realized she had not been asleep.

  Across the river Morgan leaned on the pummel of his saddle and watched them. Perhaps they’ll marry each other, he thought. Cage really should make an honest woman of her.