Seducing the Sheriff

by Marie-Nicole Ryan

  “And hasn’t the sheriff had his way with you? Or were you lying about being with child?”

  “No! I’m with child all right. I don’t imagine that’ll sit very well with old Teddy.” She remembered to cross her hands over her lower belly like she’d seen pregnant women do.

  “Don’t imagine it will.”

  “Don’t listen to the bitch.” Her brother sat on a rock and started picking his teeth with a dirty fingernail. “Every word outta her trap is a lie.”

  Ignoring her brother’s foul mouth, she grasped the front of the Pinkerton’s shirt. “Please. Just take me home. My father’s spread is just outside Kenton Valley.”

  Fields pried her fingers away one by one then stepped back. “And where’s your father?”

  “On a trail drive and probably drunk.” Desperation seized her. “The sheriff will give you a reward for returning me.”

  “For bringing you back to his loving arms? Even if I were inclined to go against my employer’s wishes, I doubt the reward would make it worth my while.”

  “But—”

  “And after only a few minutes in your company, I’m of the mind your sheriff might be glad somebody took you off his hands.”

  “But—” Dammit, the man was fond of the sound of his voice.

  “Now, if you can find it in yourself to get back on that mare, we’ll be going.”

  She held her hand to her forehead in a limp gesture. “I-I just don’t know. I’m still mighty weak.”

  “She never had a weak day in her life.”

  She shot a hateful glare in her brother’s direction. If she could just get her hands on him, he’d be sorry he was ever born.

  Another long and lazy, all too knowing glance then the Pinkerton raised a dark brow. “You’re fine. At least I’ll allow you to ride astride.”

  “As opposed to being slung over the back of the horse like a sack of feed?” She sprang to her feet, ready to fight if she had to.

  “Yes, that.”

  “And my hands?”

  Her brother gave a snort and mounted his horse. “She’ll run first chance she gets.”

  “With two of us, that won’t happen, now will it? We’ll make better time if she’s not tied.” He turned to face her. “But then your brother doesn’t trust you and he certainly knows you better than I.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “Besides, Mr. Darwin says you’re a dab hand with a knife.”

  “He said that, did he?” She smiled. “He’s lucky I didn’t geld him while I was at it. Believe me, I tried.”

  Fields laughed and showed his teeth, white and even. “I’m sure you did your best.”

  “Laugh all you want. I told you. My betrothed is the sheriff of Mason County and he’ll come after me and arrest you.”

  “You might’ve mentioned that fact before. Besides, Mr. Darwin was your betrothed first. He has prior claim. In addition, he’s paying me a handsome sum to bring you to him.” He walked over to her mare and led the creature by the reins. “Mount up.”

  He waited for her response, but she averted her gaze and ignored him.

  “Now.”

  “Where’s he waiting? It figures he wouldn’t bother to ride out into the countryside to retrieve me. You have to understand—”

  “Enough. Get on your horse.” His words came out sharp and cutting as a whip.

  “Fine.” She trudged over to Dolly, stuck her boot in the stirrup, grabbed the pommel and swung a leg over the mare’s back.

  “Ain’t it a miracle.” Her brother hooted. “Looks like she’s not so weak after all.”

  Fields tied her hands together in front of her. “You can still manage the reins?”

  “Yes.” What did he think she was, some idiot Boston debutante who only rode in the park?

  And at the first opportunity, if their attention so much as faltered, she’d take off into the hills. Now that she was pretty sure where she was.

  “Don’t think you’re going to get away.” The Pinkerton kept her horse’s lead in his hand and moseyed over to his horse and tethered Dolly’s lead to his saddle.

  Still, she couldn’t give up. Had to be some way to make him see reason, even if her brother never would. “Your employer doesn’t love me. It’s a financial agreement between him and my mother.”

  “Makes no difference.”

  “What if he means me harm? You wouldn’t want something like that on your conscience, would you?”

  “Ma’am, you have no idea what I have on my conscience. As things go, this is minor.”

  “I had to defend my honor.”

  He leveled his gaze on her. “And yet you’ve already surrendered it to the sheriff. Your honor seems an inconvenient thing at best.”

  His ironic emphasis on the word honor let her know he didn’t think much of her. Let him think what he would. What did she care? All she had to do was soften him up and take whatever advantage there was. “You’re a man. You wouldn’t understand.”

  He nodded. “You’re right. I don’t.”

  She clamped her jaw and bit back the heated reply burning on her lips. Damn him. And damn Cord, too. Where the hell was he anyway? Didn’t he care she’d been kidnapped? Maybe he hadn’t come to the ranch last night after all. Maybe no one knew she was missing.

  A hard lump rose in her throat, and she choked back a sob. If Cord didn’t find her, she was doomed to live whatever kind of life old Teddy deemed fit. She’d be nothing more than his property.

  No, she wouldn’t give up. Cord would know something was wrong. He would come after her. He would.

  Until then, her only hope was reaching a town. Maybe then she could prevail on some kind soul to assist her.

  She couldn’t help it. Her mouth tugged into a smile at the thought getting away from the Pinkerton and her brother.

  “Don’t even think it. You can’t get away.”

  The Pinkerton’s words snapped her back to reality. Schooling her responses, she gave a casual shrug.

  Chapter Eleven

  The sun grew lower in the western sky. Cord whipped off his hat and mopped his forehead with his kerchief. All he could think about was Star. Would he ever see her again? Twice now, she’d been taken from him. Last time he’d been too young and too stupid to follow. And her mother had taken her clear across the country.

  Not this time.

  Half hour ago, Luis had ridden ahead, scouting the trail. At the sound of his returning hoof beats, Cord raised his gaze. His brother…in a big hurry. “What’d you find?”

  “Cave up ahead,” he gasped. “Someone’s been there recently. Tracks of three horses, two large sets of boot tracks and a third, smaller boot size. Could be a woman’s.”

  Star might be fond of her cowboy boots, but her foot was on the dainty side. His heart slammed in his chest like a battering ram. “But until now, there’s only been two sets of horse tracks.”

  “Looks like they met up with someone who smoked pricey cigars. They were all over the ground.”

  A sense of dread centered in his gut, threatening to loosen his bowels. “What else?”

  “Another trail, three horses, heading west toward Llano.”

  “Llano? What the hell’s in Llano?”

  “Don’t know. That’s just where the trail leads.”

  Unable to keep the biting edge from his tone, he glared up at his younger brother. “And the two of ’em have Star.”

  “Yeah. Been meaning to ask you ’bout that.” Luis swept off his hat and wiped his face with a sleeve.

  “Nothing you need to know, except this. We’re getting hitched on Sunday—if we can find her.”

  “Got any idea why her brother’d carry her off in the first place?”

  “I’ll be bound had something to do with money.”

  One of the posse rode up and cleared his throat. “See here, Sheriff.”

  Cord glared at him. “What it is?”

  “Some of us were talking. We’ve got things need doing back home. Heading to Llano wa
sn’t part of the deal.”

  “Dammit. Still got a missing woman on our hands, in addition to a dead man. Whoever has Starlight Tyler is a killer. I can’t force you…” He rose slowly to his feet and leveled his gaze on each man one at a time. “But I’d consider it a personal favor if you boys would give me and my brothers a hand. If you can’t, we’ll continue on our own.”

  Bud Christy had the grace to stare at the ground, but other than Cord’s brothers, the rest of the posse men turned their horses and headed back to Kenton Valley.

  Couldn’t blame ’em. Star was his fucking problem and would be ’til death parted them…if she wasn’t the death of him. Just hoped the day didn’t come too soon.

  “Let’s head out!” Cord motioned for his brothers to follow, dug his heels into the horse’s flanks and headed him northeast.

  Chapter Twelve

  Tired, hungry, more than a little thirsty, Star’d had enough. Not to mention she definitely smelled worse than her horse. And that poor creature was beginning to falter, not to mention needing a good rubdown.

  “Where are we going, Mr. Fields? I thought we were going to meet Darwin in town. Besides, my horse requires the services of a decent livery stable.” If her sense of direction was any good at all, the small town the Pinkerton was circling had to be Llano. But the sun had set at an hour earlier, and the only visible lights were from scattered campfires on the periphery.

  Her brother grumbled something low and most likely foul.

  The Pinkerton looked over his shoulder. “Won’t be much longer. My apologies for overtaxing your mount.”

  The agent and her no-good half-brother kept moving and leading her away from civilization, not that Texas cow towns were particularly civilized, not like Boston was. But at least there should be a sheriff who could…

  “My employer thought it best to have this reunion outside town. He procured a residence for the occasion.”

  “Outside the earshot of the law you mean.” She gave a huff of frustration. Somehow she had to get away before Darwin got a-hold of her. No telling what that lousy leech would do.

  She struggled against the ropes binding her wrists. They were rubbed raw, and earlier in the heat of the day, she’d perspired. Now they burned and stung like a whole passel of fire ants had attacked her.

  If, and it was a big if, Cord was somewhere behind, surely he could follow their trail.

  Damnation! She needed a bed. Her back felt like the International and Great Northern railroad had laid tracks up and down her spine, and some fiend was pounding in the stakes with every step her horse took. And even though she was accustomed to riding for long periods, the muscles in her thighs were painful. Doubtful her knees would ever meet again. Her trip from Boston to Texas had taken two months, but she’d utilized various forms of transportation besides horseback: trains, stages, even hitched a ride on a covered wagon, and none of them compared to this day-long journey into hell.

  In the blue-black distance the sky was wide and never seemed to end. Pinpoints of stars were the only illumination now that Llano was behind them. “How much longer? I’m about to pass out.” Whining was easier now. No need to pretend. Not that it did a damn bit of good.

  “Stop your damn whining. Wish I’d taken whatever I was offered,” her brother said.

  “Twenty minutes,” the Pinkerton said, glancing over his shoulder. “Surely you can last another twenty minutes.”

  She let out a groan. “You’re worse than my brother ever thought about being. You’re supposed to bring me in unharmed.”

  “Are you harmed?” He snorted. “You drank the last of my water an hour ago. I wager I’m thirstier than you.”

  “Not giving you any of mine, ya worthless female.”

  Her brother didn’t so much as turn around. He was too intent on the money he would earn by turning her over to old Teddy. “And who said chivalry was dead?” she muttered under her breath, and while she was at it, damned them both to the ninth ring of Hell.

  Cord and his brothers reached the outskirts of Llano long after the sun had set and long after they’d lost the trail of the three horses, one of which had to be Star’s.

  “Too dark. Can’t see a damn thing.” Luis rubbed his eyes and yawned.

  “Might as well camp here.” Cord dismounted. “We’ll pick up their trail as soon as the sun’s up, even if we have to backtrack. No telling where she is.”

  After caring for their horses, the three brothers each paid a visit to the town’s three saloons and turned up not a dad-blamed thing. Not a single sighting of two men accompanied by a young redheaded woman on horseback.

  Frustrated by their lack of success, Cord crouched in front of the campfire and chewed on a strip of jerky. “What if we’ve lost ’em?” He closed his eyes for a second, not wanting to believe they hadn’t caught up with the three yet. “Maybe they turned off the road and headed farther north?”

  Hunkered down beside Cord, Luis frowned and shook his head. “As long as it was light to see, those tracks led straight to Llano. Gotta be here. Or somewhere close by.”

  Nash leaned back against his saddle, his long legs stretched out in front of him. “Might as well get some shut-eye. ’Nother long day ahead.”

  Shoving his hat over his face, Cord gave a grunt. Sleep? Damn near impossible when all he could think about was Star’s slender legs parting for his mouth, her flame-red hair spilling across a lacy pillowcase. His cock hardened with the memory. Her hunger for lessons in loving and her eagerness to pleasure him left him weak with need. No man ever had a woman like Star. Losing her again wasn’t an option.

  And the thought of anybody else touching her silken skin sent red hot pokers of fire to his gut.

  He’d kill ’em. He would.

  “Twenty minutes” seemed much longer, but finally Star made out two torch lights, and through an iron gate, adobe walls and the long low roofline of an old hacienda-style ranch house. A heady flower-like scent reached her nose. Night-blooming jasmine?

  “Fields to see Mr. Darwin,” the Pinkerton said to the cowboy who ran out to open the gates.

  They rode inside, and the gates clanged shut. Were they locked or were they just for show?

  Not that the Pinkerton or her brother would give her much time for planning an escape. “See these horses are cared for,” Fields ordered the cowboy. “They’ve been ridden long and hard, especially the mare.”

  He dismounted and pulled Star from the mare. She staggered and fell against him. His chest was hard with muscle, but he was nothing like Cord.

  And handsome as the Pinkerton agent thought he was, he couldn’t hold a candle to Cord’s tall, sun-kissed self or his hard body.

  He yanked her forward by the wrists. “Let’s go.”

  Oh, God. Her breathing grew ragged. No way could she face Darwin again. Stall for time. “Please, give me a minute to steady myself. I can barely walk.”

  “If only the journey had a similar effect on your mouth.” His tone had a harsh, gravelly rasp.

  Was she too proud to beg? Not at all. “Look, you don’t have to take me to him. I’ll double whatever he’s paying you.” Somewhere she’d find the money, she would.

  “Considering my employer wouldn’t care for that arrangement, I’ll decline your pretty offer—not that I believe you have the funds to follow through.”

  “My betrothed will.”

  “That’s a pile of horse shit,” her brother said. “Haven’t exactly seen him doggin’ your trail.”

  “And,” the Pinkerton added, “I doubt he could afford to go that high. My employer could still outbid him.”

  “You’re lower than a sidewinder’s belly, Pinkerton.” She bent down to pick up some dirt to throw in his eyes. This was her last chance to get away.

  “Enough!” He grabbed her wrist with one hand and twisted it behind her back. “You’ve steadied yourself. Inside. Now.”

  “Ow!” In spite of his no-nonsense, gruff manner, he released her wrist and assisted her up th
e steps to the ranch house then led her through the massive carved mesquite door.

  Fields stopped and motioned her brother aside. “Tyler, wait in the foyer. I’ll settle with you myself.”

  Her brother grumbled under his breath, but he nodded.

  Uneasily she walked forward. What choice did she have? Her boots clicked on the Saltillo tile floors. The walls were over a foot thick, and at the far end of the main room, a fire burned in the fireplace, taking the chill off the night air. Kerosene lamps provided the only other illumination.

  Her gaze darted around the room. Where was Darwin?

  “About time you brought me my package, Fields.”

  Darwin’s familiar voice rumbled from a dark corner. “Bring her closer,” he said. “I want to see how well she fared during her arduous journey.”

  The agent nudged her toward the warm hearth, but there was no warmth in Darwin’s tone.

  “I can walk,” she said, inching toward the light. She could just barely make out Darwin’s form in the tall-backed Queen Anne chair.

  He reached out and adjusted the lamp’s wick. “Ah, yes, there you are. Such a frown on your pretty face. You should be glad I cared enough to follow you here and save you from a hard-scrabble existence in the Texas Hill Country. And your dear mother will be very pleased to know you’ll keep your part of her bargain after all.” He stood and ran his hand down her cheek, a sickening smile curving his thin lips.

  Unable to control herself, she flinched from his touch.

  “Fields will telegraph your mother tomorrow of our immediate marriage. We already have her blessing.”

  “I’m not a piece of property she can sell to the highest bidder. I won’t marry you tomorrow or any other day.”

  “It’s already arranged. The minister will arrive at ten in the morning and you will be my lovely bride by ten-thirty.”

  Gathering all her anger and will, she arched her chin. “No!”

  “Understand this. You will be my bride or you’ll be no one’s.”

  The thought of being his bride and what that phrase meant sickened her. “I’ll run away again. I won’t—”