by Lana Dare
“Eb and Jeremiah obviously love you and are taking good care of you. You’ve settled here and are happy. That’s all I needed to know.”
Maggie paused and turned to her, a frown marring her features.
“That sounded awfully final, Savannah, like we’re never going to see each other again. Aren’t you staying here? I thought—”
Taking her friend’s arm again, Savannah steered her away from the annoying shopkeeper and his apparent attempt to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“I just wanted to make sure that you were happy and settled in your new home before I moved on.” She didn’t want to mention that if Maggie had been unhappy, or mistreated, Savannah would have taken Maggie with her when she left.
Maggie stopped abruptly and yanked her arm out of Savannah’s hold, almost knocking over a display of tins.
“What are you talking about? You’re not staying? Where are you going? What happened to those two handsome U.S. Marshals who couldn’t stay away from you?”
The fear in Maggie’s eyes tugged at Savannah’s heart. Wondering if there was something wrong that Maggie hadn’t told her, she ignored the reference to Wyatt and Hayes. She couldn’t talk about them, too sensitive about the subject to even try.
“Are you sure everything’s all right with you? Are you really happy?”
Maggie slapped her arm, her eyes narrowing in impatience. “Of course, I’m happy. I’ve always loved Eb and Jeremiah. You know that. Now, stop trying to change the subject. Where are you going?”
Savannah sighed and turned to level a cold stare at the shopkeeper, who’d crept closer again. Inwardly pleased when he reddened, Savannah lifted a brow, not turning away until he harrumphed and went back to the counter.
Turning back to Maggie, she smiled and tried to inject some enthusiasm into her tone.
“I’m going to Texas. I hear it’s wide-open country and a great place to disappear. If things don’t work out for me there, I may head for California.”
Maggie’s eyes went wide.
“Disappear? You can’t! Stay here. No one would ever be able to get to you here.”
Maggie didn’t even make an attempt to keep her voice down, the distress in her tone once again drawing the attention of the shopkeeper.
He rushed over, obviously pleased to have a reason to confront Savannah.
“Mrs. Tyler, is this woman bothering you? If so, I’ll get rid of her right quick. I don’t want no trouble in my shop, and I know the Tyler brothers wouldn’t want you gettin’ upset.”
Savannah had always considered herself to be too tall for a woman, but took great satisfaction in it now. Straightening to her full height, several inches taller than both Maggie and the shopkeeper, she faced him straight on and planted her feet. Raising a brow, she kept her tone cool.
“Mrs. Tyler happens to be a good friend of mine, and I don’t appreciate your interference or your eavesdropping one bit.”
“Now, look here, you troublemaker—”
“That’s enough, Tillman!”
Eb’s voice cracked like a whip over the small store, making the red-faced shopkeeper flinch and back away.
With eyes glittering like ice, Eb rushed to Maggie’s side, his concern evident as he pulled her close. He gestured toward Savannah, arrogance in every line of his body.
“This is Miss Savannah Perry. She’s my wife’s best friend and under my protection. I’ll take any slight to her personally.”
When the shopkeeper’s face reddened even more, Eb nodded once, obviously satisfied that he’d gotten his message across.
“Anything Miss Perry wants, just add it to my bill.”
Wishing she could take the time to enjoy the shopkeeper’s discomfort, Savannah kept her voice low, gritting her teeth in frustration. “You’re not paying for my things!”
Eb lifted a brow in that arrogant way she remembered, one that had the shopkeeper taking refuge behind the counter.
“Is that a fact?”
Savannah had a slight advantage over the terrified shopkeeper. She’d grown up around Eb and knew he had a soft spot for her. She knew, also, that he’d never yell at her in front of Maggie, especially in her condition.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she smiled.
“That’s a fact.”
Pleased with herself, she stood her ground, but only seconds later found herself shifting under Eb’s steely glare.
His slow, knowing smile sent a chill through her, while his eyes promised retribution if she defied him further.
“I’m afraid you’re going to find out things are a lot different in my town than they are in Kansas City. Until you accept a claim, you’ll be our responsibility. Once we get to the ranch, everyone there will look after you and make sure you’re safe.”
Forcing a smile, Savannah raised a brow, amused that he’d become even more arrogant than she remembered.
“I know you think of me as the little girl you bought peppermint sticks for, but I’ve been on my own for months now. I appreciate all you’ve done for me, but I’m not, and never have been, your responsibility. Thank you for the offer, but I’m just going to have to pass.”
Eb’s rare grin made her even more nervous.
“Wyatt and Hayes are going to have their hands full with you. Good. We need some entertainment in Desire.”
Savannah gasped at the mention of the two men she’d run from and had been trying to forget, wondering just how much he and Jeremiah knew. “Oh, dear God almighty. Please tell me they’re not here.”
Maggie, though, chose that moment to lift her head from Eb’s chest. With her hands over her swollen abdomen, she stuck her bottom lip out in a pout that Savannah knew had always worked with Eb and Jeremiah.
“You’re not coming to the ranch? You’re going to ride off into the sunset—”
Savannah smiled. “I’m leaving at dawn, Maggie.”
Maggie glared at that and stuck her lip out even farther. “You’re going to leave me here to worry about you in my delicate condition?”
Savannah knew her best friend well enough and had watched her get around Eb and Jeremiah often enough in the past to understand exactly what she was up to.
With her hands on her hips, she grinned.
“You didn’t look so delicate a few minutes ago when you were yelling at Eb.”
After a shocked silence, Maggie sighed and smiled.
“Savannah, please stay. The ranch is wonderful.” She smiled up at Eb. “Eb and Jeremiah are wonderful, but I’m lonely for a woman’s company, especially with the baby coming. I miss you so much and I’m a little scared.”
She ran a protective hand over her stomach as Eb wrapped his arms around her from behind. Hiding a smile from her husband, she stared at Savannah thoughtfully before nodding as though she’d come to some kind of a decision.
Recognizing the calculated gleam in Maggie’s eyes, Savannah sighed.
Maggie looked up at her husband adoringly. “Eb, Savannah’s delivered quite a few babies. I would feel much better if she would stay. Savannah, please stay, at least until the baby comes. It’s only a few more months.”
Eb nodded. “It’s settled then. Savannah’ll stay at the ranch until the baby comes. I have a feeling, though, that it’s going to be much longer.”
His eyes dared Savannah to defy him.
“Maggie wants you there, and I want you protected. No one would dare hurt you in my town.”
Savannah smiled at his arrogance, having already made the decision to stay with her friend until she delivered. After all Maggie had done for her, she couldn’t refuse her.
“Same old Eb. Always bossing everyone around. You know, the ranch got much quieter after you left again.”
Lifting a brow, he smiled coolly. “How would you know? You left right after we did.”
Savannah got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“How did you know that?”
“We told him.”
Too shocked to hide her g
asp at the deep masculine voice that came from somewhere behind her, Savannah swallowed heavily, staring at a wide-eyed Maggie. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to turn around and face the men she dreamed about every night.
The sight of Wyatt Matlock and Hayes Hawkins, as always, stole her breath and made her insides flutter and grow warm.
Wyatt towered over her, his brown eyes appearing even darker and more watchful than usual. Steady on hers, they held a knowledge and intimacy that made her nipples tighten and her stomach clench.
The lines around his eyes, lines formed by years of squinting into the sun, seemed even more pronounced now than they did the last time she saw him, but it did nothing to detract from his good looks.
His features, always hard and masculine, seemed even harder now, the anger in his face and in his stance more intimidating than she remembered.
Sliding her gaze to Hayes, she swallowed again, fighting not to take several steps back.
Hard. Cold. Deadly.
Looking at him now, she had trouble believing he was the same man who crooned to her, holding her close and caressing her after taking her.
Standing an inch or two taller than Wyatt, Hayes eyed her coldly, his green eyes glittering like chips of ice. His hair appeared dark inside the store, but she knew that in the sun, it shone with a reddish tint, one that hinted at the temper that had been known to make even the most hardened criminals cautious.
For a split second, tenderness shone in his eyes, before it was quickly shuddered, and she saw a glimpse of the man he’d been that night. No matter how hard he appeared, he wanted her.
She knew it with a certainty she seldom felt about anything.
The knowledge scared her to death.
His hands clenched at his sides as though he had to restrain himself from reaching for her, but she knew that if they’d been alone, she would have already been pulled into his arms and nestled against his massive chest.
U.S. Marshals from head to toe, Wyatt and Hayes looked every inch the hard-nosed lawmen, men with reputations for being the best.
The coldest, the meanest of lawmen.
Men who went up against the worst outlaws and always came out on top.
Men who could track anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Men who made even the most seasoned gunslingers shake in their boots.
Men she hadn’t seen since the night she left Kansas City.
The night they’d taken her virginity.
It took every ounce of self-control she possessed to smile coolly and nod in their direction, while her insides twisted with nerves.
“Wyatt. Hayes.”
Unsettled by their anger, she ignored Eb’s low chuckle coming from somewhere behind her. Her breath caught when Wyatt stepped closer.
Standing directly in front of her, he effectively blocked the shopkeeper’s view and reached out to touch her cheek, leaving a trail of fire behind.
“Don’t take that cool tone with me. I know better. You’re trembling.”
Savannah’s face burned, and she tried to step back, but he caught her arm, preventing it.
His gaze moved over her face for several long seconds before he nodded once in satisfaction. “You should be embarrassed for running away like that. You were almost attacked twice, and it’s only because Hayes and I took care of those men before they could get to you that you arrived here unscathed. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll be allowed to be alone again.”
Glancing at Hayes, Savannah swallowed again, his intense scrutiny leaving her shaken.
“What are you talking about? You had no idea where I was. You couldn’t have tracked me.”
Lifting a brow, Wyatt grinned coldly.
“We’ve been following you ever since you left Kansas City.”
Savannah blinked, not even attempting to hide her surprise. “Why?”
Shaking his head, Wyatt smiled faintly. “You know the answer to that, Savannah.”
She couldn’t stop glancing at Hayes, unnerved by his cold silence. “What you want from me isn’t possible.”
Wyatt’s smile widened. “Of course it is. We want you with us. We’ll make it possible.”
Suddenly aware of Eb’s and Maggie’s attention, she forced a sarcastic smile. “If you wanted my company so badly, why didn’t you ride with me instead of trailing behind?” The thought of being watched made her uneasy.
Wyatt stepped closer and bent, keeping his voice low. “We wanted to know where you were headed.” Cupping her jaw, he slid his thumb over her bottom lip.
“We figured you were shaken by leaving—and other things—and that you needed some time alone.”
Hayes, with his hands on his hips, dangerously close to the guns he wore there, turned his head to glare at the shopkeeper, who’d moved closer in an obvious attempt to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“What do you want?”
The shopkeeper paled. “I couldn’t, uh, help but overhear. Uh, she called you Wyatt and Hayes. You, uh, wouldn’t happen to be the U.S. Marshals, Wyatt Matlock and Hayes Hawkins, would you?”
Every hard line of Hayes’s body tightened with threatening menace.
“Yeah. So?”
Shooting a smug look at Savannah, the shopkeeper came forward, pointing at her.
“I knew she was trouble. She’s a thief, isn’t she? And look how she dresses! What kind of woman, other than an outlaw, wears pants and a holster? I knew she was no good. I knew it. I told Emma that she looks like trouble. I been watchin’ her every time she comes in here, just to make sure she don’t steal nothin’. She must have really done something bad for you to be after her. Did she kill somebody?”
He eyed Eb nervously, but straightened to his full height as though proud that he’d done something that Eb would be thankful for.
Amused, Savannah lifted a brow, sharing a look with Maggie.
Wyatt, on the other hand, looked far from amused. His face turned to stone, devoid of all expression as he turned and faced the other man squarely, placing his body between the shopkeeper and Savannah.
A muscle worked in Hayes’s jaw, his eyes turning even colder.
“Miss Perry is no outlaw. She’s the daughter of a preacher and happens to be our woman.”
He took a step toward the shopkeeper, beating Wyatt by a split second.
“If I hear any talk about her, or if I hear about you treating her with anything but the utmost respect, I won’t be happy at all.”
Reaching out a fist, he grabbed the shopkeeper by the collar and lifted him several inches off the floor.
“You might want to pass that along.”
Even Savannah shivered at his icy tone.
She imagined the looks on their faces as the ones they wore when facing outlaws and, seeing them this way, understood just how they’d earned their reputations.
The shopkeeper looked as though he might pass out.
“Y–Yes, s–sir.”
Hayes spent no more time on him, releasing the stuttering shopkeeper to scramble away before turning back to Savannah.
“We’ve been staying in the room across from yours in the hotel.” At her look of surprise, he raised a brow, as though daring her to protest.
“You really didn’t think we were going to let you out of our sight, did you?”
Her face burned at the intimacy and possession in his hooded gaze, a look she saw in her dreams, night after night. Shifting restlessly at the moisture that dampened her thighs, she looked away, promising herself she wouldn’t be taken in by that look ever again.
Aware of Maggie’s rapt attention and the amusement and suspicion gleaming in Eb’s eyes, Savannah cleared her throat, careful to keep her voice at an angry whisper.
“Perhaps you didn’t understand when I told you that there could never be anything between us, especially…you know.”
Wyatt stepped closer, touching her arm.
“With both of us?”
With her face even hotter, Savannah nodded.
“Yes, and I don’t appreciate you telling the shopkeeper otherwise.”
She eyed both of them and straightened to her full height in an instinctive effort to intimidate them, clenching her jaw at the amusement in their eyes at her ineffective ploy as they towered over her.
“You expect something from me that I just can’t give you.”
Wyatt’s slow, devious smile made her belly tighten with arousal and more than just a small amount of trepidation.
“We’re the sheriffs in Desire. Living there, you can give us exactly what we want.”
With his hands on his hips and the hard glint of challenge in his eyes, he looked every inch the dangerous lawman, the amusement curving his lips making him even more dangerous to her senses.
“Appreciate you getting here on your own and saving us the trouble of dragging you here.”
The knot in her stomach turned cold.
“I’m not staying.”
Hayes gave her one of his rare smiles.
“Oh, yes. You are. And you’re going to marry us. Both of us.”
Chapter Two
After the meal at the hotel the men had insisted on, Savannah had a full belly for the first time in weeks. Not long after that, she found herself and Maggie surrounded by not only Eb, Wyatt, and Hayes, but several of the Circle T ranch hands as they rode out of town.
She couldn’t blame the people who stopped to stare as the large group of them rode by. From what she’d seen so far, the men who worked at the Circle T were an intimidating bunch.
All tall, broad shouldered, and hard eyed they drew the attention of every person they came across. Even in a town filled with men, they stood apart.
Men eyed them with respect, while women eyed them with fear and scurried to get out of their way.
The first they appeared to take as their due, while the second seemed to irritate them more each time it happened.
Once they left the outskirts of town, the men seemed to become even more alert, scanning the area constantly with their razor-sharp eyes, but within minutes, broke their cold silence and began to talk.
Distant from the others in town, the men seemed very comfortable with each other, allowing her to see a side of them she wouldn’t have expected.