by Carol Finch
From the hill overlooking the stone ranch house, Coop grabbed his field glasses from his saddlebag to watch Alexa step onto the porch to confront the posse, which was comprised mostly of Webster’s gunmen. A backdrop of light from the doorway and windows silhouetted Alexa while she stood like protective armor in front of Percy Hampton so he wouldn’t be shot.
Coop cursed her daring, but he couldn’t say he was surprised to see her stand up to the riders. He admired her for being a champion for whatever noble cause needed her immediate attention. But damn it, if she got herself shot he’d never let her hear the end of it.
Pensively he surveyed the group of riders then the corrals that sat a quarter of a mile from the house. He wondered if Webster had some of his men plant the rebranded cattle in Hampton’s pen earlier tonight. That had to be what this evening confrontation was all about.
Coop blew out his breath in frustration and his thoughts ran in a dozen directions at once. He had told Alexa what he thought Webster was planning, but she was in no position to blurt out the information to Gil without drawing Webster’s suspicion. Coop doubted Webster would take it kindly if he discovered the woman he hoped to marry, to obtain more wealth and political influence, was actually here to investigate his unlawful activities.
Webster would become vindictive, Coop predicted. Which was why Alexa needed to clear out and let him handle a case that was becoming more complicated with each passing minute.
“First things first,” Coop murmured as he took another sweeping appraisal of his surroundings.
He needed a distracting diversion to counter Webster’s scheme. Inspiration struck and Coop twisted in the saddle to retrieve a box of matches. Nothing like an unexpected fire to grab attention and send Webster dashing off to prevent the flames from consuming his property.
Dismounting, Coop jogged to the fence line that separated Hampton’s property from Webster’s pasture to the north. In a matter of seconds, he had ignited the tumbleweeds that were tangled in barbwire. In another moment smoke rolled from the dry grass beneath the fence. The south breeze sent flames dancing across Webster’s pasture.
As he’d hoped, the fire caught the attention of the posse. Coop bounded onto Bandit’s back to circle toward Hampton’s ranch house. With any luck, Webster would dispense with the search for rustled cattle and save his pasture.
Sure enough, the riders aborted their intended inspection of the corral and thundered toward the flickering flames while Coop raced off to avert disaster.
“Coop,” Alexa whispered to herself when she saw the unexpected flames illuminating the darkness.
She wanted to hug him for his quick thinking. He had managed to send Webster’s hired guns riding off in the opposite direction before they could descend on the stock pens. Wheeling around, she dashed into the house to dress. She was up the steps in nothing flat. She wished she could don her breeches, but she didn’t want to explain her unconventional attire, in case someone saw her.
“Lexi? Where are you going?” Kate questioned as she breezed into the bedroom.
“To prevent a range war, I hope,” she said as she darted onto the terrace. “Make sure your parents stay in the house.”
“Why?” Kate demanded as she followed in Alexa’s wake.
“Just do it,” Alexa said shortly.
Kate opened her mouth to fire another question, but Alexa waved her off as she jogged toward the back steps.
“Miguel?” Alexa called out.
“I’m here.” He stepped from his covert position by the side of the house.
Alexa noticed that he carried a rifle, just in case shooting started. She was thankful it hadn’t…yet.
“Fetch the horses, pronto. Coop should be here any minute.”
“I’m already here,” came the deep voice from the shadows of the trees. “We need to—”
“—I know,” she cut in as she hurried toward him. “You saved the day. I could kiss you for your ingenuity.”
She could see a flash of white teeth in the shadows. “I’ll collect later. And thank you for not getting yourself shot when you faced down the posse. I would have hated to have to kill someone on your behalf.”
She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was displeased by her attempt to block Percy from view and spare him from being gunned down. But she had done what she felt she had to do to prevent bloodshed. They could argue about her methods later, if he were so inclined, but definitely not now.
Miguel scurried forward, holding the reins to two unsaddled horses. Alexa grabbed the nearest horse. When Coop leaned away from his mount to give her a boost she grabbed his arm and pulled herself up.
“Can you ride bareback?” he questioned skeptically.
Miguel smirked. “Of course she can, gringo. I taught her. She can handle a pistol and knife expertly, too.”
Coop glanced at Alexa then frowned at Miguel. “So you are responsible for the way she is.”
Miguel scoffed as they trotted their horses toward the corral to check for planted cattle. “Have you ever tried to tell this woman no? She is relentless when she makes up her mind to do something.”
“I see your point,” Coop conceded.
In the moonlight, Alexa could read Coop’s expression and hear the subtle change in the tone of his voice. He was referring to how she’d had her way with him during their tryst. She had made a thorough, erotic study of his masculine body…and he had allowed it.
She was grateful that the darkness concealed her blush, for her face pulsated with heat and her mind stumbled over the remembered sensations of their passion. Willfully she pushed aside the thought and concentrated on removing damaging evidence so they could clear Percy Hampton’s good name.
“There.” Miguel pointed out three head of cattle sporting fresh H brands.
“Here are two more,” Coop reported. “That accounts for the ones I noticed recently.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Alexa, open the gate so we can sort off the cattle.”
She bounded to the ground and hurried over to let the men into the corral. When the five steers had been cut out then herded into the pasture, Alexa secured the gate and used the fence rail as a makeshift ladder to climb back on her horse.
“No, you stay here,” Coop ordered when she tried to rejoin him. “If Webster circles back tonight it will look suspicious if you aren’t here.”
Alexa couldn’t argue with that logic. She wanted to, though, because she wanted to remain involved in this case.
As the two men rode away she heard Miguel say, “You won one, gringo. How’d you do that?”
“I think she let me win,” Coop replied.
She smiled at Coop’s comment then rode off to return her horse to the stable.
Chapter Ten
When Alexa bounded up the back steps to the terrace a few minutes later Kate was primed and waiting for an explanation.
“What is going on and where the devil have you been?” she asked without preamble.
Alexa whizzed past her curious friend. “I can’t tell you.”
Kate grabbed the hem of her dress and hauled her back to the terrace. “You will tell me,” she demanded. “Have you forgotten that I was your partner in mischief for years? Don’t try to pass me off as one of those prissy socialites we met in school. This involves my father’s reputation and I demand to know what is going on so I can help!”
“Keep your voice down,” Alexa said with a quiet hiss.
“Start talking. Now.”
Alexa sighed in defeat then pulled Kate into the bedroom. She secured both doors and the window. “If you breathe one word of this to anyone, it might endanger my life, Miguel’s life and Coop’s.”
“You know perfectly well that I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you or Miguel.” She stared curiously at Alexa. “But what does Coop have to do with this?”
“He and I are investigating Elliot Webster’s shady business practices for my father.”
Kate’s brown eyes nearly popped out of her head
. “You and Mr. Cooper are working together?” she croaked.
Alexa nodded as she motioned for Kate to sit beside her on the edge of the canopy bed. “He is following Elliot to monitor all his activities. My supposed interest in him as a potential husband provides me with an excuse to enter and leave his home and mercantile store without drawing suspicion.”
“My, isn’t that something. I can’t believe your father agreed to this…” She smiled wryly as she appraised Alexa. “He doesn’t know, does he?”
“No, he is unaware of the extent of my involvement.” She gave Kate the evil eye. “You aren’t going to tell him.”
Kate sniffed in offended dignity. “Of course, I’m not. Did I tell him that I was your companion for your daredevil escapades at school? Did I mention the late night rides, dressed in men’s clothes, when you claimed you needed a breath of fresh evening air? I certainly didn’t tell anyone about the mountain climbing expedition that nearly got us washed away in the flash flood during a storm.”
Alexa grinned conspiratorially at her friend. They had enjoyed several exhilarating adventures that most women hadn’t experienced and didn’t intend to. Kate was still a bit of a daredevil at heart herself.
Alexa’s expression sobered when her thoughts circled to the precarious situation at hand. “Elliot planted his recently rebranded cattle in your stock pen and showed up here tonight with the marshal in tow to accuse your father of rustling.” She paused momentarily to allow Kate to gasp and mutter in outrage. “If not for Coop’s quick thinking we wouldn’t have been able to remove the steers from the corral before the marshal saw them.”
“I want Elliot’s head,” Kate said vengefully.
“So do a lot of people. You’ll have to get in line.”
Kate expelled an exasperated breath and squeezed Alexa’s hand appreciatively. “Thank you for what you’ve done. Sometimes my father can be stubborn and hidebound when it comes to his expectations for me, but he is an honest man. I don’t want his reputation ruined by Webster’s underhanded manipulations. And thank God you aren’t considering that shyster as a husband. I’ve been thinking you’ve lost your mind.”
“Believe me, I only want Elliot to receive his due,” Alexa assured her. “Which is why it’s vital that you keep this information in strictest confidence. An unknown informant in my father’s political circle is passing privileged facts to Elliot. We want to catch him as well.”
Kate nodded determinedly. “I will help you any way I can. I can provide an alibi for you if you need to be two places at once. I can pass information to Miguel or Mr. Cooper, if necessary, too.”
“Thank you, Kate. I must admit it has been a strain trying to keep this from you since we’ve never kept secrets. Also, if your father decides to retaliate against Elliot, you can try to talk him out of it. In addition, you can forewarn us so we can head off another volatile confrontation.”
After Alexa changed back into her gown and robe, she and Kate descended the stairs to watch the mounted posse return from stamping out the grass fire.
Elliot pointed an accusing finger at Percy. “More of his doing!”
“He was standing here when the fire started,” Gil pointed out reasonably.
“Nonetheless, I suspect he was the mastermind behind the scheme.” Elliot flapped his arms in expansive gestures to gain attention. “Let’s check the cattle pens and see if my livestock are there.”
Alexa swallowed a chuckle as Elliot, Oscar Denton and the other hired guns raised their torches to look over the cattle. She was pleased when Gil called an end to the futile search and announced that he was returning to town. However, she was concerned when Percy mounted up and called upon some of his cowboys to escort Elliot and his hired guns to the boundary line between their properties.
“Kate and I will come along,” Alexa called out, startling the men on horseback.
“Stay here, Alexa,” Elliot ordered sternly.
She mentally thumbed her nose at the sneaky sidewinder and strode to the stable to have a horse hitched to her carriage. Although Percy strenuously objected to his daughter’s involvement, Kate bounded into the buggy. They joined the procession and Alexa made certain that she and Kate remained directly in the middle, shielding Percy from Elliot’s heavily armed entourage.
Clearly Elliot was perturbed with her, as was Percy. But she pretended to be blithely unaware of the tension. There would be no range war or bloodshed on her watch, she silently vowed.
“Tomorrow we need to have a serious talk,” Elliot said to Alexa as he lingered beside the pasture gate.
“I shall look forward to it,” she replied with false enthusiasm. “I’m glad Kate and I came along. It is a lovely night for a ride.”
“I would have preferred that you remain at the house,” Elliot grumbled.
“At least we were able to clear up that silly misconception about my dear friends. Cattle rustling? Indeed!”
Alexa swallowed a grin when Elliot’s face puckered in a sour scowl. When he rode off to rejoin his men Alexa breathed a gigantic sigh of relief. Another disaster averted. Trouble would continue, however, if she didn’t ferret out the informant from Santa Fe and expose Elliot’s unethical business methods.
“I wish I knew what his next strategy might be,” Alexa murmured as she and Kate drove back to the house.
“Maybe we could just shoot him, and then we wouldn’t have to worry about it,” Kate suggested.
Alexa glanced disconcertedly at Kate who shrugged and said, “I’m just saying…”
“Appealing as it sounds, taking the law into our own hands might earn us a life sentence. I don’t think our jailer would permit midnight rides when the need for adventure and fresh air strike us.”
Kate sighed heavily. “I suppose you’re right. But I still think Elliot deserves a good shooting.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Alexa murmured as she headed for the stable.
“I am paying you good money to set up situations like the one I had to arrange,” Webster growled at Cooper, who had been summoned to the back office of the mercantile store during his lunch break. “Where the hell were you last night?”
“Doing what you asked,” Coop replied calmly. “I was riding the fences between your place and Andrew Barrett’s.”
Webster waved him off while he paced back and forth across his office. “It’s the Hamptons that I’ve decided to focus on exclusively. Even though they’re both being considered—” He stopped short. “What I mean is that I want my future fiancée to realize that she should align herself with me, not the Hamptons.”
Coop knew that both of Webster’s neighbors were being considered for the government contract but he kept his expression carefully blank. “Is Miss Quinn easily managed? Will she do as you request?” As if he didn’t know.
“No, damn it,” Webster muttered. “She’s a bit too independent minded to make a subservient wife but time and relentlessness will tame her down.”
Coop seriously doubted it. Her irrepressible spirit refused to be stifled. If Webster dared to lay a hand on Alexa to force her into submission Coop would give him a taste of his own medicine.
“I want Alexa away from Percy’s influence.” Webster wheeled around to pace in the opposite direction. “That nuisance of a man needs to have a conveniently timed accident that incapacitates him…at the very least.”
“I don’t arrange accidents,” Coop let him know immediately. “Besides, it’s too soon after your confrontation.”
Webster huffed out his breath then raked his fingers through his tawny hair. “Forget I said that.”
Coop shrugged nonchalantly. “Okay. Anything else?”
“Yes.” His brows furrowed pensively. “The owners of the mercantile shop in the town square should at least run into a little bad luck. Hampton, Barrett and Figgins need to suffer the setback of a fire because they’re stealing my customers by undercutting my prices.”
Coop silently cursed. He suspected that his grass fire inspire
d the idea of burning out Webster’s competitors. Damn it, Webster would become suspicious if someone overtook his henchman before he could torch the store. “I wouldn’t advise that right now, either,” Coop replied. “Considering your unfounded accusations of rustling last night, you will be the prime suspect for arson, too. Then your reputation will be in tatters and you might find yourself under arrest.”
Webster mumbled and grumbled as he went back to his pacing. “Curse it, you’re right. I’d need a time delay for that. I think Hampton was a mental step ahead of me last night. He must have been waiting for me to show up so he could make me look like a fool. He, or one of his men, must have spotted the rebranded cattle and removed them from the pen.”
“Did you locate the missing livestock?” Coop asked, although he knew the answer already. After all, he and Miguel had tucked away the cattle for safekeeping.
“No, and Hampton better not be holding them for evidence.” He checked his timepiece then shooed Coop toward the back door. “I have a dinner engagement with Alexa. I’m going to convince her to take a room in the hotel so she won’t be in the middle of my ongoing feud with Hampton.”
Coop just listened, careful not to give himself away. He didn’t want Alexa taking sides, for fear she might be hurt. However, he knew she would always vouch for a friend. Hell, she even stood up for him the night Miguel caught them wrapped in each other’s arms near Webster’s house.
“I’ll swing by your home later if I have something to report,” Coop offered as he limped away.
“Don’t bother. Alexa will be with me. I don’t want any interruptions tonight. I intend to get her to accept my marriage proposal, one way or another.”
The thought of Webster coercing Alexa into a betrothal by forcing himself upon her turned Coop’s mood sour. He reassured himself that Alexa was quick-witted and capable of handling Webster. Still, if Webster overpowered her, Coop refused to let him get away with it, even if it meant blowing this case wide-open and exposing his real purpose for being in Questa Springs.