Ruby glanced up at the man wearing the badge. “What do you need, Sheriff?”
“I just received a telegram from Sheriff Taylor that outlaw John Jones is in Dyersville. They fear he’s going to rob the bank. They’re asking for assistance in catching him. There’s a five hundred dollar bounty. Are you interested?”
“Yes,” Deke said.
“He didn’t ask you,” Ruby replied. “The sheriff is talking to me.”
“Why don’t you both go?” the sheriff asked. “He’s too dangerous for one person and needs to be caught.”
“I don’t need Deke’s help,” Ruby said, thinking how inept Caroline had proven. She was so green she glowed with lack of confidence, and Deke…had learned from her father.
“Oh yeah, your current helper will certainly keep you safe,” Deke said laughing.
“She’s learning. Give her a chance. This is her first outing.”
This man knew just how to touch on all of her fears. She wasn’t worried about her own personal safety so much as she was about Caroline. What if the woman froze or, even worse, repeated what she’d done today and accidentally pulled the trigger?
“I hope she lives through the next shootout.”
The sheriff laughed. “It’s a good thing you two aren’t married. You’d kill each other.”
Ruby spun around to him. “I’ll take care of it, Sheriff. As soon as I finish my lunch, I’ll head over there.”
Deke threw his napkin down. “I’m finished. I’m on my way.”
Ruby grabbed her water glass, gulped down a sip, threw down her napkin, and stood. “I’ve had enough. I’m on it, Sheriff.”
The man with the star laughed. “This criminal is in so much trouble. Don’t kill each other on the way.”
“He is. See ya,” Deke said and started walking toward the door.
“Deke Culver, don’t you dare go after my bounty,” she called, rushing out the door after him, her legs moving as fast as she could in her boots. She probably owed him a bounty, but she wasn’t one to give up, especially to a man who’d hurt her.
“Don’t forget to pay the bill.” He held up his hand and waved. “First man, woman, there, gets the bounty.”
*
As Deke walked down the wooden sidewalk toward his horse, he heard someone running behind him. It had to be Ruby. She was either going to run past him, or she was going to stop and negotiate a joint effort.
“What if we work together?” she called out to him.
He stopped and turned to face her. Her blue eyes flashed with anger. She really didn’t want to work with him. He could see it in her expression and the way she stood there with her arms crossed, a frown gracing that full mouth he longed to kiss. “Why should we?”
“Because three against one is better than one against one, and we don’t want him to get away,” she admitted, her lips turned down in a pout. The woman had a face that could awaken a dead man. “I expect at least a third of the bounty.”
“Understood. We do things my way,” he said, knowing he was pushing things, but not really caring.
“We do things the way that works best,” she countered.
Oh, she would be a handful. But he needed something to make this job more interesting. He needed some excitement to keep from shriveling up inside. The last few years had not been easy. They’d been damn hard. He could use some entertainment right now. And these two women would keep him on his toes.
“How long will it take you to get Caroline?”
“About five minutes. How far is it to Dyersville?”
“A day’s ride. If we leave now, we’ll arrive this evening.”
“We could have this all wrapped up by tomorrow morning,” she said.
“And then you could go home in time for the birth of Annabelle’s baby.”
“And you could go do whatever it is you do when you’re not bounty hunting.”
The image of Laura washed over him, and he hurriedly pushed the thought away. He didn’t want to go back. He couldn’t go back. “Let’s go.”
*
The next day, Deke watched as Ruby talked to the hotel desk clerk where their outlaw had been staying. She smiled at the man, leaned over the counter, and chatted with him like he was the most important person she’d spoken to today. Envy flowed through Deke’s veins as he watched her laughing with the clerk, her manner easy and outgoing.
Years ago, she’d responded to him that way, but not anymore. Not since the day he’d kissed her until desire surged through both of their veins like fire water, scorching them with its power. God, he’d wanted her so badly that day, but he’d walked away. And regretted it ever since.
“She’s good at getting the information she needs, isn’t she?” Caroline said, walking up to stand beside Deke.
“Yes,” he said. “Is this how she found out where my bounty had gone?”
Caroline laughed. “All we knew was that he’d been seen leaving town, riding north. We didn’t know you had captured the man.”
At least they hadn’t deliberately followed and taken his bounty, though somehow if Ruby had known it was him, she might have done the same.
“Good, that makes me feel better. I feared she’d done this on purpose.”
“We didn’t know who was with him until we rode into your camp last night.”
Deke turned and gazed at Caroline. This woman was so far out of her element. She sounded like she should be serving tea to the ladies auxiliary or something more feminine. Outlaws were not going to take her seriously, and when her hand shook so badly holding her gun, she was a danger.
He turned back to see Ruby laughing with the desk clerk. She shrugged her shoulder and flirted outrageously with the man, and jealousy spiraled through Deke, surprising him.
There was no reason for him to be envious of this man, yet he was. What would he feel if Ruby gazed at him the way she was looking at that clerk?
His dick hardened at the idea of her flirting with him.
No, Ruby and any other woman were completely off limits. There was no room in his life for a woman. None.
“How often does she interview people like this?”
Caroline shrugged. “I don’t know. This is my second hunt with her. But I know Meg says she’s way too good at being a bounty hunter. Meg fears for Ruby’s safety and wants her to quit, but she refuses.”
That was information he doubted Ruby would appreciate Caroline sharing. “Did Meg say why?”
“They don’t need the money any longer, and it’s a dangerous way to make a living.”
“What did Meg think of you going out with Ruby?”
“She wasn’t happy at all. No one was pleased that the two of us were going hunting together. Not Meg, Annabelle, or my mother. No one.”
Deke laughed and then glanced back at Ruby. “Here she comes with the information.”
“Let’s go,” Ruby said, as she walked past them and through the lobby of the hotel.
They stepped outside into the bright sunlight.
“What did you learn?” Caroline asked.
“The desk clerk is single. He’s the son of the hotel owner. He wants to have dinner Friday night, and the man we’re looking for checked out this morning.”
The urge to go back inside the hotel and punch that little dandy in the nose was overwhelming, but Deke gritted his teeth and resisted. Why should he care that this man had invited Ruby to dinner? That she’d flirted outrageously with him? It didn’t matter. She was just a girl he’d kissed when she was younger.
“Darn it, we’re too late,” Caroline said with a soft sigh. “I was looking forward to us rounding up another outlaw.”
Somehow, Deke didn’t believe her. Caroline felt relieved and thought the chase was over, but it had just begun.
Ruby smiled. “Our man told the hotel clerk he had some errands to run, and then he’d be leaving town.”
Deke held his breath. “He’s going to buy supplies then rob the bank. Come on, we’ve got to hurry.�
�
“Exactly,” Ruby said. “Wait. Caroline, check your weapon. Do you have bullets in the chamber?”
Deke thought he was going to bust a gut either laughing or screaming. He didn’t know which one. But for Ruby to remind Caroline to check her gun was like the cowpuncher asking the cow to let him put his rope around his neck.
“Yes,” she said, swirling the tumbler with her finger. “I’m all set. What about you?”
Ruby smiled at her. “My gun is always loaded with a bullet in every chamber.”
“Deke?” Caroline asked.
He shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. I’m always prepared.”
“Oh,” she said dejectedly. “I’m prepared as well. Let’s go.”
Ruby started walking toward the mercantile and Deke followed.
When they reached the store, he placed his hand on her arm. “What’s the plan?”
“I’m going to scout out the store, talk to the clerk, and see if he’s in here. Then I’ll come out and let you know. If he’s in there, I’ll signal from the window. You wait out here with Caroline.”
He frowned. “Okay, but I don’t like this plan.”
She smiled at him sweetly. “You don’t like being told what to do by a woman.”
“That too.” What could he say? He’d never taken orders from a woman before, and no, it didn’t sit well. But then again, Ruby liked to think she was in control. And he’d let her continue to think so, though he knew the truth.
Turning on her heel, she strolled into the mercantile like she didn’t have a care in the world. Like she was invincible, but he knew differently. He’d seen her hurt.
Glancing through the window, he saw her talking to the man behind the counter. He hated standing around and waiting. Maybe that was one of the reasons why he no longer loved his job. It seemed like all he did was wait on criminals. Wait on getting paid and wait on the next one. It was like a constant round-robin. Wait. Wait. Wait.
Nothing appeared to move inside the mercantile. He turned and glanced around the street and spotted their prey.
John was walking toward the bank.
“Damn, there he is.” Deke hurried toward the man.
“Wait,” Caroline said. “I’ll go with you.”
Oh, that was so not what he needed. He didn’t need a greenhorn who couldn’t shoot getting in the way or even possibly shooting him.
“No,” he said and turned around. “Get Ruby. Then you two meet me in the alley behind the bank. I’m going in.”
He’d give them a job to keep them busy and out of his way, while he captured their criminal. Then he would ride off without them, with the bounty. All in all a good day’s work.
Chapter Three
Ruby was talking to the mercantile owner when Caroline came running into the store. “Ruby, come quick. Deke spotted the outlaw and has gone after him.”
Her feet didn’t want to move fast enough as she hurried out the door. Stepping outside into the bright sunshine, she glanced up and down the street, looking for Deke. “Where? Where did they go?”
Caroline stopped beside her, her eyes large. “He was headed toward the bank, and Deke was going to stop him.”
Fear trickled down her spine like a wild river current, and she took a deep breath. She didn’t want to feel anything for this man. She didn’t want to care that he might be in danger, but damn it, she did.
“Why can’t that man wait,” she said, walking toward the Texas Bank and Loan, her steps sure.
“I tried to tell him,” Caroline said, all but running to keep pace with Ruby.
The bank sat on the corner of First and Main, glass windows framing the front of the building. She could see customers milling about.
Suddenly, screams came from inside. Her heart leaped like a Mexican jumping bean in her chest.
Deke was in the bank.
Ruby ran to the side of the building and peered around the corner into the glass windows, keeping out of the line of fire. There was her outlaw, with a gun in his hand waving it wildly, his arm wrapped around Deke’s neck. He put his gun up to Deke’s skull and yelled at the people gathered in the bank, trying to herd them all to one side of the room.
Fear rose like bile inside her throat, almost choking her.
Deke. She had to save Deke.
“What do you want me to do?” Caroline asked, peering over Ruby’s shoulder.
“Pull your six-shooter out and stay close.”
She watched as the gunman yanked Deke’s revolver out of its holster and shoved him aside. The clerk handed a sack full of money to the outlaw. He backed slowly toward the door his pistol trained on Deke.
As much as the handsome cowboy frustrated her, she didn’t want to see him die. No matter what had happened between them in the past, she’d do everything she could to save him and keep the criminal from walking out of the bank with the money.
“Caroline, go behind the building and come up on the other side of the door. Be ready. When he comes out, we’ll each be on one side of the door. We can stop him.”
“What do I do?”
That was not the kind of question she should be asking. They were in a situation, and she should know instinctively to do everything to protect Deke. Caroline needed lots more instruction.
“You train your weapon on our bad guy and tell him to stop or you’re going to shoot.” Ruby shook her head. “Never mind. Just have your weapon ready. I’ll do all the talking.”
Ruby observed her cousin as she disappeared around the back of the bank. She came around the building on the other side of the door. Ruby would have to remain hidden until the outlaw emerged from the building, so he wouldn’t see her through the window. But then she’d be ready for him.
She waited, the seconds ticking slower than honey dripping on a biscuit. Unbelieving, she watched as Caroline struggled to get her six-shooter out of her holster. When she finally had the gun out, Ruby could see her cousin’s hands visibly shaking like a limb blowing in the wind. The weapon pointed in the direction of Ruby. If the bank robber didn’t kill her, there was a good chance Caroline would.
The door opened slowly as the outlaw eased out, waving his gun in both directions, toward the bank and the street, the money bag in one hand, his hat low as he scanned the street. Deke was nowhere in sight.
Ruby stared in horror as Caroline stepped out from behind the door, her gun quivering. In a weak, wobbly voice, she said, “Stop. Put down your weapon. You’re under arrest.”
Startled, the outlaw jumped. Tilting his head, his eyes gazed at Caroline, and he began to laugh. “Lady, get out of my way, or I’m going to kill you.”
Before Ruby could get to her, Caroline pointed her pistol at the man’s chest and fired. The bullet hit him in the foot.
Oh, my God, this was quickly spinning out of control like a Texas tornado churning up the prairie. Ruby had never been more frightened for her cousin. If the gunman turned his gun on her, she was dead. Swallowing her fear, Ruby ran.
“Dang it, I closed my eyes,” Caroline said, raising her pistol to fire again.
“My foot,” the man screamed, hopping on one leg, trying to maintain possession of the money and his firearm.
Ruby rushed at the bank robber just as Deke busted through the door. They tackled the man, sending him sprawling into the dusty street. Ruby took his left hand and Deke his right. They wrestled the gun from him while he screeched in agony.
“You bitch. You bitch, you shot me,” he cried.
“You’re lucky it was just your foot and not your head,” Ruby told him.
“Get me a doctor. And get that damn woman away from me,” he yelled.
Caroline looked down at him in the street, a frown on her beautiful face, her gun still dangling from her fingers. “I’m sorry,” she said in her whispery, soft voice. She heaved a big sigh. “You scared me. All you had to do was drop your gun. But you threatened to kill me. That’s not nice.”
Deke yanked the man up, and Ruby quickly tied
a rope around his wrists. They half-carried, half-walked him the short distance to the sheriff’s office.
“That woman is dangerous,” the man said, his brow sweating from the pain. “I can’t believe she shot me in the foot. She looked like a nice miss!”
“She’s a bounty hunter,” Ruby informed him.
“Yeah, I am,” Caroline said in that soft voice that sounded more like an invitation to tea.
Though technically, Caroline had yet to learn the trade. In fact, she was just a bit too reckless and scary enough with that pistol that Ruby knew she had to go home. It was that or watch Caroline be killed, and Ruby wasn’t going to be responsible for the death of her cousin.
“We’re collecting on you,” Deke told the man.
He groaned as they walked him into the jail.
“Why don’t you find us a hotel room, while we take care of Mr. Jones,” Ruby told the girl, just wanting her to get off the street before someone else decided to test her shooting skills.
“All right,” she said, jamming her gun back into her holster. “I’ll meet you there.”
Half an hour later, Deke and Ruby strolled out of the sheriff’s office into the bright Texas sunshine. The town had resumed its normal activities, and the street was once again teeming with wagons and horses and people hurrying along the wooden sidewalk.
Deke separated the bounty money for the three of them, giving Ruby both women’s shares. “You know it’s a wonder one of us didn’t get killed by that bullet of Caroline’s.”
While Ruby knew he was only saying what she already understood, she wanted to tell him to mind his own business, but she didn’t. This was Deke. The man who had unbeknownst to him given the girls a lot of pointers about being a bounty hunter over supper one night years ago.
“Yeah, I know.” Ruby sighed and hung her head. “I’m sending her back to Zenith. From here on, I think it’s best I go it alone.”
“That’s dangerous,” he said. “Why don’t you go back with her?”
She turned and glared at him. Since Annabelle’s disappearance and then subsequent marriage, Ruby had been at home. Sitting and waiting and sitting and waiting until she’d been about to go crazy with the need to chase bad men again. “Because I hate farming. I hate chickens. And I get bored sitting around staring at the four walls. I’m not exactly into needlepoint.”
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