“Be careful, Mama,” Nancy called. Sammie Jo knew better than to object.
Fearfulness ruined Anne’s concentration.
Lord, I have a foolish streak, and I know it. Seems like I always have to prove something. She grabbed the reins, stepped into the stirrup and swung onto the saddle. As if stung by a swarm of bees, the horse reared. Anne dug her knees into his sides and held on. Her heart raced, pumping excitement through her veins. That quickly, his head touched the ground, and his rear legs aimed for the sky. If she hadn’t watched the stallion’s habits, she’d be lying in a heap of bruised flesh looking up at the sun—and listening to Clancy scold with an “I told you so.” It could happen yet.
About the time that thought emptied her head, she lost balance and hit the hard ground. Thatcher Lee headed her way, but she waved him off and spit out a mouthful of dirt. The young man grabbed the stallion’s reins, and she mounted the horse again.
With a twist of powerful muscles, the horse jerked and twisted in midair. She heard nothing, saw nothing, and concentrated on the massive animal beneath her in an attempt to sense its every move. After several minutes, the stallion began to slow. Good thing, for she was ready to give the job to the nearest ranch hand.
Some days she didn’t have a lick of sense.
Finally, the stallion ceased its rearing and snorting and allowed her to walk him around the corral. The others shouted her on. She tossed them a smile. This is the last time I’m doing this.
When she finally dismounted and handed the reins to Thatcher Lee, she thought her legs had turned to matchsticks.
“You all right?” Thatcher Lee whispered.
“Yeah,” she said. “If I mention doing this again, remind me I have two daughters to raise.”
From beneath his hat he nodded and grinned.
Anne glanced at Clancy, who narrowed his eyes. No doubt he had his lecture all worked out. She deserved it. Her gaze swept to Colt. Curiosity rested in his dark eyes. Usually admiration greeted her from the ranch hands.
Pride goeth before destruction. That’s why she wasn’t breaking any more horses.
Anne glanced at her girls standing on either side of Clancy. Nancy’s face had turned ashen. She’d apologize to her baby girl. Shame had made its point. She walked over to her girls.
“Good job, Mama.” Sammie Jo lifted her chin.
Anne nodded and cupped Nancy’s quivering chin in her hand. “I won’t be breaking any more horses, darlin’.”
The little girl swallowed hard and swiped at a single tear rolling over her cheek. “Thank you.”
She caught Colt Wilson’s gaze again. This time he offered a thin-lipped smile.
“Young’uns have a way of setting us right,” he said.
Fire burned her cheeks. “I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your remarks to yourself.”
“Just making an observation, ma’am.”
“I can take care of my girls just fine.”
“I reckon so.”
His words were like kindling on a crackling fire, but she dare not lose her temper in front of the girls or Clancy. What made matters worse was that he’d spoken rightly. To prove herself equal to a man, she’d risked her life, but she didn’t need him pointing out the truth. And that’s what made her even angrier.
Chapter 3
Three days later, on Saturday night, with a belly full of smoked ham and beans, Colt brushed down his mare in the ebb of daylight. He’d already decided to take an evening ride and think through the mess he’d gotten himself into. Decisions needed to be made soon, because his idea of a good job didn’t mean taking orders from a woman. He’d looked up Will for a reason, and those reasons still needled at him.
The sound of sloshing water snatched his attention. He watched a couple of the ranch hands hustle about heating water over a fire and adding it to a watering trough in the middle of the barn.
“What’s going on in there?” he asked Thatcher Lee.
“Bath night,” the muscular young man said.
“Why?”
“ ’Cause we smell. Mrs. Langley demands it.”
“Why?”
Thatcher Lee scowled. “For church. We all go to church on Sunday morning with Mrs. Langley and the girls.”
Colt laughed. “Not me. I haven’t set foot in a church since my ma carried me on her hip.”
“Well, on the Double L, you either get to church or hit the road.”
Irritation bubbled up inside Colt, but he swallowed it. This wasn’t the first time he’d heard strange notions coming from Anne Langley. The more he thought about the Double L, the more he realized she had to know about what he and Will had done. Where else had she gotten the money to build up this ranch? He’d learned from Clancy that Will had purchased it about a year before he had the accident.
That meant a portion of this fine acreage was Colt’s. All he had to do was convince her of his partial ownership. Except every time he considered Anne Langley as a business partner, his insides shook.
“What if I don’t have any clean clothes?” Colt asked.
“We have extras.”
“I’d rather take a bath in the creek.”
Thatcher Lee tossed him a cake of soap. “Me and Clancy feel the same way. I’m on my way now. You might as well join us.”
“Since I don’t have a choice, I reckon so.”
A bath and church. This woman would drive him crazy. He nearly laughed aloud. The sight of the Langley women stepping into church with their jeans and boots instead of dresses and bonnets must amuse the locals. No matter. He’d catch up on his sleep during the sermon.
Sunday morning he dressed in clean clothes and stomped the dirt and manure off his boots. He mounted up with the rest of the hands, thinking his brothers would never let him live this one down. Clancy had a Bible. No wonder the old Indian didn’t curse or tell a good story now and then. As far as drinking, he doubted if Clancy did that either, since the boss lady didn’t allow it on the ranch.
Up at the house, Colt did a double take. The Langley women sashayed onto the front porch dressed like fine ladies. Why, they looked quite fetching—especially Mrs. Langley. All three had ribbons in their hair and wore shoes instead of boots. But what he noticed the most was how Mrs. Langley curved out nicely in a corn-colored dress, and her walk still took his breath away.
Stop it, Colt. You’ll get shot for such thoughts. He lifted his hat and brushed back his hair, hoping no one could hear what raced through his mind. Every time he considered Will and the boss lady married, he simply couldn’t picture it. Will’s take-charge nature and the strong-willed woman Colt secretly called “Boss Lady” would have been like fire and dynamite. And he wouldn’t have wanted to be around for the explosion.
Oh, he should be fair. The boss lady did have her gentle moments; he’d witnessed her tender side with the girls and Rosita—and even Clancy.
The small church stood out in the middle of nowhere with plenty of room for wagons and horses to crowd around the wood-framed building. He expected folks to be solemn, but they were laughing and calling out to each other as if they were on a picnic. Peculiar. Real peculiar.
He swung over his horse and watched Clancy help the boss lady and her daughters down from the wagon as if they’d break in two. Mrs. Langley sure played the part well.
Colt waited as long as possible before he mounted the wooden steps to the church. Spending his morning with Bible thumpers didn’t appeal to him. Not at all. He took his place on a bench with the other hands while Clancy sat with the Langley women. The arrangement made it easy for Colt to sleep and her not to know.
The preacher stepped up to the front. “Open your hymn books to ‘Shall We Gather at the River?’ ”
Colt grinned. The man must have been at the creek last night when he, Clancy, and Thatcher Lee took their baths. In the next instant he closed his eyes, and that was all he remembered.
Anne could barely hear Preacher Rollins for the snoring behind her. A quick glance told
her it was Colt Wilson. Later she’d tell him what she thought of desecrating the Lord’s day by sleeping in church. Heathen. She must have been touched in the head to hire him on the spot last week.
But that day she had no choice after firing Hank and Thomas for pulling their guns on Clancy and Thatcher Lee. The two had been caught red-handed cutting a few head of cattle from the herd. Since then, the other hands tried to keep up with the work, but it was nearly impossible. A week later and ten more longhorns were missing. She’d filed a report with the sheriff, but the man had laziness written across the seat of his pants and a nagging wife that wanted him at home.
Hank and Thomas held their own with a gun, and the thought frightened her a bit—not for herself, but for the girls and the other men. Anne blinked. Surely Colt wasn’t working with them on this. He’d known Will, but Hank and Thomas had never met her dearly departed husband. Colt’s riding in must have been a coincidence. Anne didn’t believe in coincidences any more than she did in fairytales. God must have purposed Colt Wilson to arrive at the exact time. He looked like neither an angel nor a saint—and he didn’t snore like anything heavenly, either. Why God might have brought him into her life was beyond her thinking.
This morning when Anne caught sight of Colt all cleaned up, he looked right handsome. And he did have those big gray eyes with flecks of gold…and eyelashes a girl ought to have. Too bad he was an outlaw, and most likely he wasn’t worth the lead to send him to kingdom come.
She inwardly scolded her wandering thoughts and focused on the preacher. God knew how she felt about all this, and He’d handle it. But, oh, how she wanted to take off after those two cattle thieves herself.
Colt sprang from his bunk. Rifle fire cracked a second time. In the dark, he grabbed his pants and rifle then tore through the bunkhouse with Thatcher Lee right behind him. In the light of a full moon and a sky filled with stars, Clancy leaned against the side of the bunkhouse, fully dressed. Before him stood Sammie Jo.
“What are you shooting at this time of the night?” Clancy asked. “You could have been killed by one of us.”
“I got him.” Sammie Jo’s voice rose in the stillness. She held up the tail of a coyote. “He won’t be stealing any more of our chickens.”
“Well, I reckon you did.” Clancy laughed.
“Rosita was carrying on something awful yesterday with another hen gone.”
The excitement in Sammie Jo caused Colt to burst out laughing. The Langley women never ceased to amaze him.
“You hightail it back to bed, and I’ll get rid of that coyote,” Clancy said.
“I want him skinned.”
“Sure thing. You and I’ll do it tomorrow.”
“Can we make a hat?”
“I suppose. Now get going before your mama finds you missing.”
Sammie Jo gave the old man a hug and raced toward the main house, but Thatcher Lee caught up with her. Colt watched them disappear into the darkness. That gal acted just like her mama.
“I’ll never understand women,” he said in the stillness.
“You mean Sammie Jo or Anne?” Clancy asked.
Colt shrugged. “Neither one of them is like any woman I ever knew. I never had sisters, and my ma acted…well, normal.”
“She hasn’t always been this way,” Clancy said. He studied Colt. “I hear you knew Will.”
“We had some business together.”
“You best keep that business to yourself. Anne doesn’t need to hear any of it.”
“I figured so.”
Colt gazed out into the night, as though staring after Thatcher Lee and Sammie Jo. His thoughts narrowed in on what Clancy must know about Will, and what the boss lady didn’t know.
“How fast are you with a gun?” Clancy asked.
“Fair. I prefer a rifle.”
“Stick around here until a few matters are settled. Anne’s going to need all the help she can get.”
“Trouble? What kind?” Colt asked. An image of Huntsville settled on him like a bad case of the backdoor runs.
“The kind that can get a body killed. I buried Will, and I don’t plan to bury her or them girls.” Clancy released a heavy sigh. “She may look and act tough, but that’s a cover for something else. And”—he turned and stared at Colt face-to-face—“we didn’t have this conversation.”
“Why me?”
“I see more in you than I reckon you do. This might be your one chance to straighten out your life.”
Colt bristled. “What do you mean?”
“I’m no fool. You ride in here looking for a dead man, which means you’ve done time. No family. No money. No purpose in life. No relationship with the Lord. But I do see a shred of decency.”
Colt swallowed hard and was grateful for the darkness hiding him from humiliation—and anger.
“No need to answer,” Clancy said. “Will you stick around until the trouble’s gone?”
“I need to know what kind of trouble.”
“Let’s take a walk.” Clancy headed out into the blackness toward the corral, and Colt followed. More out of curiosity than interest.
“Thatcher Lee and I caught two of Anne’s men rustling cows. They would have killed us if Anne hadn’t ridden up and surprised them. She run ’em off, but they threatened to burn her place to the ground with her and the girls in it.”
Those words did set off Colt’s temper. The two men needed a hangman’s noose.
“What about the local law?”
“Aw, the sheriff says those two are long gone, but I don’t believe it for a minute. Besides, ten of our cows are gone.”
Colt let the silence filter his thoughts. He didn’t much care about getting shot or interfering in someone else’s trouble, but threatening womenfolk wasn’t right. Another thought entered his head. By helping the boss lady with this problem, she might feel grateful enough to give him what was rightfully his. That thought pricked his conscience. He didn’t have any business taking advantage of a woman, even a woman like Anne Langley.
I’ve gotten mean and hard. But if I don’t look out for myself, who will?
“What do you say?” Clancy asked.
“Yeah, I’ll stick around to help,” Colt said.
He made his way back to his bunk and tried to go to sleep. His mind sped ahead about his predicament. He kept learning new things that interrupted his original plans. Anger surfaced again toward any man who would threaten a widow and two little girls. At least they weren’t defenseless. Those two hands who’d rustled cattle might have had other things on their mind. Maybe they got wind of Will’s activities before he died. Maybe stealing a few cows was to cover up for something else.
A short while later, Thatcher Lee eased onto his bunk beside Colt’s.
“Took you long enough,” Colt whispered.
“We were talking.”
Colt nearly came out of his bunk. “That gal is fourteen years old. Too young for you to be thinkin’ on courtin’ matters.”
“You ain’t her pa.”
“No, but I knew him well enough to figure out what he’d have done to a young whippersnapper after his little girl.”
Thatcher Lee mumbled something under his breath.
“Give her about three or four years, and let her grow up proper. Filling her mind with woman things instead of letting her find out about life on her own is downright wrong.” With those words, Colt turned over away from Thatcher Lee’s bunk.
From Clancy’s bunk, he heard a muffled laugh.
Chapter 4
Colt leaned against the corral fence and pumped the well over the watering trough. The day had been a scorcher, and his mouth tasted as dry as the dirt beneath his feet. He’d been working at the Double L for more than three weeks, and not one more cow had been stolen. His fears about the two men using thievery as a cover for something else were unfounded. He had no doubt they’d long since left the territory.
Water began to flow from the spigot, and he cupped his hands for a cool drink. Once
he doused his face, he stood and glanced up at the house. Why did he stay? Was it the money, or was it about being a decent man?
With no answers, his gaze focused on Nancy high up in a live oak tree. How did she get herself up there? And how did she plan to get down? He walked over there until he stood beneath the branches of the tree.
“Miss Nancy, how did you get up there?” he asked.
He saw the little girl rub her nose. A faint sob escaped her lips.
“Are you stuck?”
“I think so.”
Colt shook his head. “Did you climb up there?”
“Yes, sir. I tried and tried. Then I got the ladder and finally made it. It fell, and I couldn’t figure out how to get down.”
He wanted to chuckle but thought better of it. “Can you make your way to the lowest branch?” On the far side of the tree, the ladder rested on the ground.
She nodded and slowly descended until her bare toes touched on the branch.
“Jump and I’ll catch you,” he said.
“Promise?” Her lips trembled—a trait he’d seen when the boss lady had ridden the bronc.
“Promise.”
“And you won’t tell my mama or Sammie Jo or Clancy?”
“I promise.”
She took a deep breath and jumped right into his arms. Made him feel real protective.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, sir. Would you put me down before someone sees?”
He grinned. “Sure, and I’ll keep our little secret.”
He set her on the soft ground, and she scampered off. Shaking his head, he picked up the ladder and headed to the barn. His swaybacked mare awaited him to join the others.
“Thank you.”
Colt swung around to find the boss lady speaking to him from the back porch.
“You’re welcome.” He waved and continued on.
“Got a minute, Colt?”
Great. Wonder what he’d done wrong. The tongue-lashing over sleeping in church had kept him awake the past two Sundays. Bored, but awake.
“Is there a problem?” he asked.
Texas Brides Collection Page 39