Women, Whiskey & Gold

by Dawn, Autumn

  “We’re going to be rich!” Sydney cheered, trying to hug Charlie while jumping in excitement, nearly sending them both sprawling.

  Charlie laughed, extracting herself from Sydney’s clutches, wrapping an arm around her instead. “Yes, Sydney, I think we are. Looks like the joke’s on old Willy.” She looked out the window, imagining their stepfather grubbing fruitlessly in the dirt. Served him right.

  Dakota put an arm around her. “Does this mean you’ll make an honest man out of me? You know, now that you can support a husband?” he teased.

  She laughed and hefted the gold, missing his wistful look. “You can try to convince me again later.”

  Alex noticed, though. She followed him outside, falling into step as he headed toward the newly completed pole barn. “She’s a little gun shy.”

  He grunted.

  “She cares for you.”

  He entered the barn and rested his hands on a stall door. “She doesn’t understand.”

  “It hurts. I know.” She sighed and leaned against a support post, breathing deeply of the fresh cut pine. “I get it.”

  “I’m trying to help you,” he offered.

  She nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose I could look the other way if you needed extra “convincing” time tonight.”

  He studied her intently. “How much time?”

  “It’ll cost you.”

  He thought for a moment. “If you really want Levi, you’re going about it wrong. Nothing says you can’t seduce him.” He smirked at her raised brows. “I know it’s a girl thing to make him jealous with another man, but Tochtli is just a distraction for you. I think your lack of reaction to Levi’s distance is part of the problem. It’s confusing him, makes him think you don’t care. Maybe he’s unconsciously testing you.”

  She chewed on that. “I have a feeling I’ll be tired tonight. I might even fall asleep on the porch swing.”

  He smiled. “Levi enjoys a cold dip in the stream most nights after you go to bed.”

  She ducked her head and smiled. It was something to consider. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

  Levi took Gabe flowers. Everyone else had gone to check out the mine, so it was the perfect time to visit.

  “Must hurt,” he said as he perched on a wooden chair, nodding to her leg.

  “Yeah. It’s not broken, but it hurts like nobody’s business.”

  He winced in sympathy. Noting that her words were a little slurred, he asked, “What are you taking for the pain? Laudanum?”

  She scowled fuzzily. “Naw. Stingy there won’t let me. ‘I don’t want you to get addicted,’ she says.” Then she admitted grudgingly, “Her pain pills work, though.”

  “Of course,” Max said briskly.

  Gabe smirked. “Not as good as this.” she said, saluting her with a half empty bottle of whiskey.

  Levi shot Max a look.

  “Harmon’s idea of medicine and she didn’t drink it all,” Max assured him. “I’m keeping tabs on her. Besides, I doctored it with herbs that will prevent infection and fever.”

  Gabe peered at the bottle in disgust. “No wonder it tastes like horse pi—”

  “Watch your mouth,” Max snapped. “Just because you’re pickled doesn’t mean you get to curse. Behave yourself, or I’ll take it away.”

  Cowed, Gabe shut up, cradling the bottle protectively.

  Max nodded in satisfaction and returned to the kitchen.

  Levi waited a bit before he said, “Sorry about your horse.” In all the excitement, he didn’t think anyone had spoken about that.

  Gabe sighed sadly. “Old Henry was a good one.” She swallowed hard. “I know he was already dead, but…”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Hard thing to do, but I admire your grit. Not many could have done it. It was smart.”

  She bit her lip, but the tears came anyway.

  Levi took her hand. “It’s okay. It’s better to cry.” He handed her his kerchief, murmuring softly as she cried out the pain. “It’s good to cry, you had a bad scare.”

  Max watched in disbelief, peering into Gabe’s room from the kitchen door. Even her sisters hadn’t thought about helping the inner hurts. She felt bad, realizing that she’d been so focused on Gabe’s obvious injuries; she’d failed to address the emotional ones. How could she be so thoughtless?

  Levi stayed until Gabe fell asleep, then quietly headed for the door.

  “Levi,” Max called softly. “Thank you.”

  He nodded and left, leaving a thoughtful Max behind.

  “We might as well go to bed early,” Charlie said.

  Alex turned away from the rain sheeting the window. The heavens had let loose with a howl, scuttling all thoughts of courtship. They’d secured the ranch and spent the night indoors as the shifters prowled, alert for stampedes and trespassers. It was an unsatisfying night all around, but Alex was hopeful as she went to bed. The morning was bound to be much more interesting.

  Chapter 8

  “She and Max left this morning before I could talk with her.” Charlie stood on the porch with her arms crossed, scowling at the dawn. “You get to deal with Levi’s reaction. Speaking of which, did you speak to him about leaving Alex alone?”

  He grimaced. “He didn’t want to talk.”

  “I thought you were alpha.”

  “After my father, yes. I can order him to do certain things if I must, but he’s not going to hurt her. I can’t order him to stay away. She’s his mate.”

  Charlie turned on him. “He’s messing with my sister’s head! If he’d decide what he wanted and told her, she could choose. He’s not helping his case, behaving like this.” She blamed him for Alex’s need to play detective. Alex had been acting crazy ever since he’d shown up, and if her sister got killed because he’d messed with her head, she’d skin him.

  “It’s not that easy for him.”

  “Why?”

  Dakota sighed. “He has trust issues.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “So do I. In fact, I trust he’s going to get a hide full of silver buckshot if he doesn’t get his act together.” She stomped off.

  Alex had been riding with Tochtli for an hour when they reached the canyon that traversed his ranch and Lion’s property. Her conversation with Tochtli had been carefully neutral. Even Max had changed now that she was back in jeans. Her little sister almost looked dangerous in her flat crowned black hat and spurs, her eyes alert. Best of all, she kept quiet and let Alex do the talking.

  Tochtli’s dark energy made Alex edgy. He didn’t seem as relaxed as a man riding his own land should.

  Without being asked, he pulled up in the shadow of the canyon and dismounted. “Feel free to look around.”

  “Are you waiting here?” Alex asked easily.

  “Up there.” He gestured to the top of the ridge as he drew his rifle. There was a faint trail leading up. “Your sister is welcome to join me if she likes,” he said, noticing her tension. “She can hit me with a rock if I misbehave.”

  “Don’t mind if I do,” Max agreed, sliding off her horse. She ground hitched it next to his mount.

  There wasn’t much to see in the canyon; just dirt and old tracks. Not that Alex expected anything else. She wondered if Tochtli was using her as bait and was glad Max was up there, too. She was sharp enough to take care of Tochtli if he did something suspicious and shoot anything that threatened Alex.

  She smiled. Either Tochtli wasn’t a gentleman or he didn’t see Alex as a fainting flower. Maybe it was a little of both.

  She’d looked around for a while before she found the cat tracks. Dismounting, she studied them. Razor cat, and big, she thought, measuring the track with her spread hand. It was easily bigger than the one Charlie had shot. She wondered how many cattle Tochtli had lost as she got warily to her feet. Tochtli had a big gun, but even if he had armor piercing rounds, she wasn’t keen on hanging around to meet his kitty.

  She gave him a disgruntled look when he joined her at the trailhead. “You might have warned me you were h
aving four-legged visitors.”

  His smile was innocent. “You were so keen to investigate; I didn’t want to spoil your fun.”

  Max sent her an inquiring look.

  “Razor cat, biggest tracks I’ve ever seen.”

  Max fixed Tochtli with a killing stare.

  He sighed. “I’m not a complete scoundrel, little cat. I have men watching this canyon.” He waved a hand, indicating the walls.

  “How do we know it’s a Razor cat and not the ordinary, furry kind?” Max inquired grimly. “There are rumors you’re a bit catty yourself.”

  “Your lack of faith saddens me,” he mocked, sheathing his rifle in the saddle scabbard. He swung a leg over his horse…

  …and grunted as an armored monster flew at him, knocking him from the saddle. The ladies’ mounts shied and Tochtli’s mount bolted, wheeling about at the canyon wall, unwilling to completely abandon his master, but too smart to get close to the razor cat.

  Black and gold fur burst from Tochtli as he exploded into his cat shape, shredding his clothes. He circled the razor cat, snarling.

  Alex took it in, calculating how long Tochtli would last. “Max! Help me get his rifle; he’s got armor piercing bullets.” She spurred her horse after Tochtli’s mount. Working as a team the girls caught the snorting horse and Alex drew the rifle.

  By this time the men Tochtli had secreted in the canyon were converging on the battling cats, but with no easy way down the sheer canyon walls they had to ride around, coming in the canyon’s mouth. They wouldn’t make it in time.

  Alex raced toward the cats, taking a shot as soon as she was close enough. It was chancy, and Tochtli yowled as it peeled a strip off his shoulders, missing the target. The second shot hit the razor cat in shoulder, knocking it into the dirt.

  A neat hole punched through the armor, leaking blood.

  Tochtli’s men were close enough by then, and started firing shots. She let them; the cat was already dead.

  She waited for the milling men and horses to settle down and looked at Tochtli. He was limping, rivulets of blood matting his fur. “You need help?”

  He snarled at her.

  Max swung down from her horse with her first aid kit in hand. Ignoring his growl, she looked him in the eye, not the smartest thing to do with an enraged shifter. “I know you have better control than that.”

  He hissed.

  “Even a shifter will bleed out, given enough damage,” she pointed out. She spread out an oilcloth and laid out her tools.

  He glared at his men, who prudently withdrew a discreet distance. Rumbling, he changed shape, making it easier for Max to work. She handed him his ruined shirt to discreetly drape his lap, her face so blank it was comical.

  While Max worked, Alex examined the razor cat. She hadn’t examined the one Charlie killed, but this one warranted a closer look. She’d heard that autopsies had been performed; the cats armored hide hid ordinary muscle and bone. The cats were not shifters; shifters were quick to point out the animals did not change form. There were those who speculated that hadn’t always been true.

  There were always rumors. Some said the Aztecs had experimented on their own kind, turning low-ranking cat shifters into monstrous weapons. The cats could no longer change shape, spawning an intense hatred of those who could in already crazed minds. They escaped control of their masters and managed to breed in the wild. In fact, this male could easily have been the mate of the one Charlie had killed.

  Could there be a den of young somewhere?

  She glanced at Tochtli. Now that Max was working on him, he took the attention with stoic indifference. Infection wasn’t a problem and the wounds were slowly closing, but the bandages were necessary. “Well, that takes care of the cat. Now we have to find the rest of the rustlers.”

  His eyes still glowed. “You have terrible timing. I’m not in the best mood.” Wounded shifters were as dangerous as any wounded animal. He glanced at Max, who was working on his hip with deep concentration…and heightened color. He was silent for a long moment before he answered. “All I have are suspicions, and they aren’t enough to hang a man.”

  Alex wondered if he was protecting someone. “Are we talking about a specific man?”

  He looked away. When he looked back, his face was hard. “I’m looking for proof. Until I have it, I won’t indulge in idle speculation.”

  She looked down and kicked a small rock to release her frustration. “I have a few suspicions. In the interest of neighborly relations, I thought you might give me a chance to explore them.”

  His glittering eyes dropped to her mouth. “Neighborly relations? What exactly do you wish to explore?” He stilled Max’s hands with a touch. “That’s enough, little one. My thanks.”

  Max withdrew and silently packed her kit.

  Sensing he was trying to unnerve her, Alex kicked her maidenly unease under the proverbial bed. “You seem like an honest man. I doubt you’d hold anything back.”

  He searched her eyes, trying to decipher if her words had a double meaning. She meant to keep him guessing.

  “You like to play poker, don’t you, Miss Lions?” he said, testing her. He got to his feet, holding the remnant of his shirt around his waist like a ragged towel; a very small towel.

  Her smile was slow and confident. “I’m the best you ever saw.” Not true, but she wanted to keep his interest.

  His smile held an answering challenge. “There’s always someone better.”

  Allowing her eyes to drop and her grin to stay, she turned toward her horse. Her hands were on the saddle when she heard him say, “You can look around on one condition: that you never do it when I’m not there. My vaqueros are rough; not the sort you should meet with alone.”

  She mounted up and looked down at him. “I have a better idea. Why not invite me to a poker game? It’s safer than asking questions head on. Men are more relaxed when they’ve had some liquor and won a few rounds.”

  He looked pained. “It would ruin your reputation.”

  “I’d bring Max along. Besides, you’d be there.”

  “No.”

  She smiled, slow and dangerous. “All right. I’ll just go to the saloon in town and sit down to a game with your men. I’m sure they won’t mind.”

  His eyes widened. “You would be raped! You are not stupid.”

  Faster than the eye could follow, she drew her gun and shot a bullet between his feet. As he cursed in Nahuatl, she said coolly, “I wouldn’t mind putting that through any man who got unfriendly.”

  He cursed some more. “My cowboys would never play cards with a woman.”

  Reaching into her vest pocket, she tossed him a small object. “They would if I was betting this.”

  He stared at the gold nugget in his hand, and shot her a dangerous look. “You are pressing your luck.” He tossed it back.

  Smiling, she reined in her restless horse and asked coolly, “When and where, Aztec?”

  Alex wasn’t surprised to meet up with Levi on the border to their land. He and Tochtli exchanged curt nods in greeting. It might have been worse, but someone had ridden to his house and brought Tochtli some new clothes. He rode stiffly, but there were no obvious signs of injury.

  Levi sniffed the air. She wondered if he could smell the blood. His eyes ignited, confirming it.

  With one last burning look at Alex, Tochtli wheeled his horse and rode off. He didn’t even wait to get out of sight before he broke into full gallop.

  “Why was he bleeding?” Levi asked grimly. “Do I need to go after him?”

  Alex sent him a cool look. “I hate to disappoint you, but he tangled with a razor cat. There were no assaults to our honor.” Well, Max had gotten an eyeful, but he didn’t need to know that. Alex didn’t think he’d appreciate her comments on Tochtli’s physique, either.

  Levi looked in Max’s direction. “That explains why Max smells like his blood.”

  Max blushed fiery red and urged her horse into a trot, ignoring his narrowed eyes.


  “Don’t you have something better to do?” Alex grumbled.

  “I’m waiting to hear your story. You were gone a long time.”

  As if it was any of his business! She debated answers to that, and settled for one that would tick him off. “Tochtli is very charming. What can I say? The time flew.”

  “He has good taste, I’ll give him that.” Levi sounded relaxed, but there was a tick in his cheek. “Too bad he has an eye for things that don’t belong to him.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  He simply smiled.

  Her stomach did a slow roll. He couldn’t mean… She decided to bait him to find out. “Well, whatever his faults, the man’s an outstanding kisser.”

  His eyes ignited. “He didn’t kiss you.”

  She raised her brows.

  “You don’t carry his scent. He didn’t kiss you.”

  She hesitated and decided that keeping silent would torture him best.

  A low growl made her horse shy, and she glanced at Levi’s stone face. If he was angry, it was well deserved. Caveman.

  She ignored him until they got to the house. She had to talk to Charlie.

  It wasn’t pretty. Charlie nearly popped a gasket when she heard what Alex had done.

  “You fool! You crazy, caulk-brained fool!”

  Alex leaned a hip against the kitchen table, arms crossed, and let Charlie vent. Max stood uneasily against the wall, less confident now that Charlie was having her say.

  “Do you know what that would do to your reputation? To your safety? You could be murdered over there, or worse!”

  Alex raised a brow.

  “Yes, there’s worse than murder! Don’t you remember that poor Clemens girl? She was never the same after she was attacked.”

  “I’m armed; she wasn’t. I don’t believe Tochtli will allow anything to happen to me that could reflect on him. He’s not happy about this blackmail.”

  “Even if I trusted him, you’d still be ruining your reputation,” Charlie ground out.