"Anything but that. I'm surprised she didn't slap you then and there."
"I warned her about the killer."
"Do you love her?"
The question startled Tyler into silence.
"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it. She has. She's in love with you, you know."
"How . . . " Tyler was unable to finish the sentence.
"I could tell by looking at her, by the way she talked about you. She was in love with you the night you brought her here."
Tyler didn't know what to say. He just stood there like a huge wooden carving.
"I don't know why men have to be so stupid about these things," Laurel complained. "It makes it so much harder on women." She gave Hen a severe look. "Randolph men seem to be particularly hard headed."
"But we do finally learn," her husband said.
Laurel's sternness melted. "You did, but I don't know about your brother." She turned back to Tyler. "Do you love her? You're got to decide. You can't leave her wondering. She deserves to know, to be able to forget you, to make room for someone else."
This whole conversation had moved too fast for Tyler. He thought he had known why he came back, but after the encounter in the lobby, he wasn't sure. After Guy announced their engagement, there seemed no point in trying to make sure.
"It doesn't matter. Guy Cochrane said they were going to announce their engagement in a few days."
"She's still in love with you."
"Then why is she marrying Cochrane?"
"I can't answer that, but I imagine she will if you ask her."
Because Cochrane was rich. Because it was the easy thing to do. Because she was afraid to be on her own. Because marrying someone else was the easiest way to forget him. "She's made her decision. Nothing I do matters at this point."
"It does if you love her."
"I could never love a woman who would consider marrying another man."
"Then you don't love her," Laurel said angrily. "If you did, you'd go after her, beg her to change her mind, to give you one last chance. You wouldn't care about anything she did or thought of doing, only if she loved you."
The idea of being reduced to such a cringing, groveling condition appalled Tyler. No woman -- not even his hotels -- was worth such a loss of pride. If this was Laurel's idea of being in love, he was glad it hadn't happened to him. He couldn't understand how it could have happened to Hen.
"It's pointless to discuss it," he said, stiffly. "I'll be going back tomorrow. I'm glad to see you and the baby are well. How much longer will you be here?"
"A couple more weeks," Hen said. "I want to make certain Laurel is strong enough before we begin the trip."
"I won't be unless you let me up for more than a few minutes at a time," Laurel told her husband. "It'll take me weeks to learn to walk again."
"I'll carry you wherever you want to go."
Tyler quickly excused himself. He felt uncomfortable in the face of Hen's devotion to his wife. It made him feel Hen had somehow lost control. That was something Tyler feared. He couldn't control the world around him, but he could control himself. Ever since that day in the hay barn when his father found him crying, it had been the only constant in his life. He had jealously guarded it, had built a wall around it nothing could penetrate. He had clung to it all through the last years in Virginia, the move to Texas, his mother's death and his father's desertion, the terror of the years before George came home.
Now Laurel was telling him he must tear it down, become vulnerable to all the emotions that had almost destroyed him. He couldn't do that.
He'd be useless if he fell in love with Daisy the way Laurel thought he ought. He wouldn't be able to work. Everybody would pity him and try to take advantage of him. Nobody would be able to depend on him because he wouldn't be in control of his own life.
But he was perilously close to that now. He had left his claim on the verge of making a strike. Even though he knew Daisy was about to marry another man, he hadn't left town. Even worse, he was considering staying still longer. He couldn't go to Daisy and plead with her not to marry Cochrane, but he couldn't leave as long as she was unmarried. Until she became Guy's wife, there was always a chance.
So he was in love, just as deeply and foolishly as Laurel could have wished. Only he didn't feel good about it. He wondered if Daisy felt any better.
* * * * *
Tyler cursed himself for a thousand kinds of a fool. He told himself he ought to turn around and get back to the hotel as fast as he could. He told himself he should have left for the mountains the minute Guy told him of their engagement. He told himself he was the biggest fool in New Mexico. Despite all this, he didn't slow down. Neither did he hesitate when he reached the Cochrane house.
He had heard Regis Cochrane was the most respected man in town. And the most feared. He'd also heard Guy would do anything his father wanted. He couldn't rest easy as long as people like that had any control over Daisy. He had to know why she hadn't been to the hotel in the last two days.
No one was home but Adora. He was surprised by the petite, rather hesitant dark-skinned brunette who entered the parlor. She seemed an unlikely friend for Daisy. They were such opposites.
"Dolores said you were asking after Daisy." Adora's gaze was hostile.
"She hasn't visited my sister-in-law in two days. I was worried about her."
"Did your sister-in-law ask you to make this inquiry?"
Tyler felt no matter what he answered, he would be guilty. "Naturally she's concerned. We all are."
"Then I'll be happy to send her a note explaining Daisy's absence."
"Wouldn't it be easier to tell me, since I'm already here?"
"I'm not sure Daisy would want you to know."
Tyler was perplexed. He had been prepared for unfriendliness but not animosity. "I don't understand."
"I didn't think you would. You don't seem to understand anything."
Tyler was beginning to get a little angry. He was tired of being blamed for difficulties that were not of his making.
"I might, if you would be so kind as to explain what you mean."
"I don't think you deserve an explanation."
"Daisy's the only one who can make that decision. Since she's not here, and apparently hasn't asked you to withhold the information, I think you should tell me."
Adora made a couple of passes across the end of the room, leveled a particularly angry glare at him, started her perambulations again. She whirled. "You realize you've ruined her life as well as my brother's. She's broken her engagement and gone off to live on that ranch."
"But she has no house to live in."
"I pointed that out, but it made no difference. It seems you told her she could do anything she wanted, and she's gone off to prove it."
"Why should she do that?"
"Because she's in love with you, you fool! Can't you see that? Though I can't see why she should prefer you to my brother. Why couldn't you have stayed in those mountains? If you had, she would have married Guy and tried to be happy. But you had to come back to Albuquerque. She hoped you had come back because you loved her. She was devastated when she found out you were as hardhearted and unfeeling as ever."
Tyler felt like he'd just been knocked silly by a mule kick. Common sense told him Adora couldn't be right -- he was beginning to wonder why everybody in Albuquerque should know Daisy's feelings but himself -- but common sense had also told him to stay in the mountains. He ignored it then, and he meant to ignore it now.
"She says I'm a dreamer, a fool chasing gold. She says I try to dominate her, that she'd be an old maid before she married a man like me."
"She's still in love with you."
"It doesn't make sense."
"Daisy said love didn't, that it was dangerous but that was part of the excitement."
"Do you know what she's talking about?"
"Of course. Any woman would."
"Can you explain it to me?"
"No. Now I
want you to go back to your gold mines as fast as you can. No matter what you do, don't go bothering Daisy. I'm hoping she'll soon get over you and marry Guy. My whole family misses her already."
"Does she have anybody to help her?"
"Yes, an old man who used to work for her father. She'll be all right. Guy checks on her. Just go away. You've done enough damage already."
"Didn't she understand when I told her the killer had followed her."
"The sheriff found out who he was, but the man has headed for Montana. She has nothing to worry about from him any more."
But as Tyler walked back to the hotel, feeling about as well liked as a sewer rat, he wasn't certain the man had moved on. It didn't matter. He was going to see Daisy. He couldn't rest knowing she was at that ranch alone. He had to be certain she was okay. Besides, he ought to know by now he couldn't stay away from her.
Chapter Twenty-two
"There's a lot of cows in these hills," Rio said to Daisy as he dismounted and came to the campfire, "but too many of them are unbranded."
"I don't understand," Daisy said. She handed him a cup of the strong black coffee he liked.
Jesus, the old man's nephew, rode in at a fast trot. "Rider's coming in," he said even before he dismounted.
Daisy stiffened. Mr. Cochrane said the killer had left the territory, but unknown riders still made her nervous. She picked up her rifle. She wasn't sure she could hit anything -- Rio had shown her how to use it just two days ago -- but she figured nobody else would know that. She felt no relief when she saw Bob Greene ride up with two of his hands.
Greene stepped down out of the saddle and approached the campfire. Daisy wanted to tell him to leave, but instead she offered him a cup of coffee. He accepted it and took a sallow.
"Sorry to hear about your father."
"Thank you."
"You planning to run this outfit by yourself?"
"Yes."
"You need a better place to stay than that," he said pointing to the tent.
"I'll rebuild the house when I get some money."
Greene reached into his shirt pocket and brought out a roll of bills. "This ought to be enough to do it."
Daisy didn't move. "I'm not selling my land."
"This isn't for your land. It's for the cattle I sold."
Daisy felt she was understanding less minute by minute. "I don't understand."
"Each year some of your father's cattle get mixed up with mine. Rather than drive them back to his land, I brand the calves for him and sell the steers, though not as many this year as last. Manuel Cordova, your neighbor to the south, does the same thing. I'm sorry to be so late with the money, but the snow kept me busy."
Daisy's mind was in a whirl. She remembered they had always gone to stay in a hotel in the winter. Her father told them the money came from his investments.
"You ought to hire a couple more men and start branding," Greene said. "You've got a fortune's worth of cattle up there." He pointed to the hills. "You're lucky nobody's rustled the lot of them. Manuel and I tried to get your father to let us brand them for him. Hell, I even offered to round them up for free. I figured if rustlers started in on his herds, they'd be after mine next." He frowned angrily. "I was right, but the old fool wouldn't let us set one foot on his land. I figured he thought we were after his gold mine."
Her father never made any money from his gold mines or investments. Everything he got, he got from his neighbors. Daisy felt a helpless fury rise within her. All those years, doing everything he asked, treating him like a king, and he'd been lying the whole time.
"Rio and his nephew are helping me," Daisy said. "We plan to start branding tomorrow."
Greene offered the money again, and Daisy took it. He threw out the remainder of his coffee, handed her the cup, and caught up his reins. "You got some mighty big stock out there. You're going to need more than an old man and a boy. A remuda, too. I can spare a couple of hands for the next month or so. I'll throw in the horses."
Daisy wanted to refuse, but common sense told her she would be making a mistake. She couldn't believe Greene had anything to do with her father's death, not anymore. Until she got on her feet, she needed all the help she could get. "Why are you doing this?" she asked.
Greene smiled. "We've got to stick together. Ours are the only ranches Cochrane doesn't own. Maybe he's got so many cows he can stand the losses, but I can't. If it keeps up, I'll have to sell out. By helping you, I'm helping myself. I'm sure Cordova feels the same way." He turned to Rio Mendoza. "You keep a close watch on her. She's got a lot to learn."
* * * * *
"What didn't you tell her you think Cochrane is behind the rustling?" one of Greene's men asked when they were out of earshot.
"She's engaged to marry his son. It's supposed to be a secret, but the Cochrane boy's been whispering it about. No sense in setting the girl against her father-in-law. It can only get her in trouble."
"Maybe she don't want to marry the boy. Maybe she wants to run this place and be her own boss."
"It doesn't matter what she wants. Cochrane will see she marries his son. He always gets what he wants."
* * * * *
Daisy allowed her horse to head the cow and calf toward the area where Greene and Cordova's men were helping Rio and Jesus with the branding. She was learning to work a cutting pony. She was so sore, stiff, and tired sometimes staying in the saddle was all she could manage. It would take her a while before she felt completely comfortable on horseback, but she was proud of her progress.
"You're bringing in more cattle than anyone else," Rio observed. "You sure do learn fast."
"The horse knows enough for both of us," Daisy said. "Mr. Greene said it was one of his best."
But as Daisy headed back into the scrub growth that seemed to stretch for miles in every direction, she knew it wasn't just the horse. The cattle seemed to be finding her more than her finding them. She had hardly gone a mile when she saw another cow and calf trotting in her direction.
Daisy pulled up to see what the cow would do. It stopped and started to browse. It didn't seem the least bit concerned about Daisy's presence. Suddenly the cow threw up its head, uttered a bawling protest, and started in Daisy's direction once more.
Daisy pulled her rifle from its scabbard. Something in the brush had scared the cow. Being careful to keep her rifle pointed straight ahead, Daisy urged her horse forward. Following the trail the cow had taken, Daisy looked left and right, studying the growth of vegetation already thicker than any season she could remember.
She noticed a patch of brown in a juniper thicket that didn't match its background. She circled carefully until she was behind the concealing brush. She was determined to flush her quarry. Raising her rifle, she fired into the tangle of grass, bushes, and stunted trees.
"What the hell do you mean going around firing into bushes!" Tyler demanded as he emerged from the clump of pine and juniper.
Daisy nearly dropped her rifle when he stood up. A frisson of excitement shot through her body from toe to scalp. He hadn't gone back to the mountains. She felt all her hopes revive. There was only one reason for a man to follow a woman this many times, especially a poor woman. Tyler might not know it yet, but he loved her. He was no more capable of leaving her than she was of forgetting him.
Before Daisy could recover from her shock, Tyler pulled her out of the saddle and kissed her fast and hard. Then before she could recover her breath, he lifted her into the saddle again.
For a moment, Daisy was unable to move or speak. She decided the entire world had gone crazy. Certainly Tyler had if he thought he could kiss her and everything would be forgotten. He did love her. She couldn't doubt that any longer, but it was obvious he wasn't burning to tell her. He was the same distant, unreachable man he'd always been, coming and going in her life, keeping her emotions in constant turmoil, reviving hopes he seemed to have no intentions of fulfilling.
Well she was not the same woman he had rescued and lef
t twice before. She might love him, but she wasn't going to let her emotions run away with her this time.
Using every bit of self-control she could muster, Daisy tried to speak as naturally as possible.
"What are you doing here?"
"You look lovely," Tyler said. "Hard work agrees with you. I really do like your hair. Don't ever pin it up."
Accepting his compliments as just one more thing Tyler did to keep her off balance, Daisy struggled once again to talk to him like he was nobody special. But it was hard with him looking up at her, his big brown eyes warm and shining.
"You've been driving the cows toward me!" she accused. "That's why I've been finding so many." No matter what she did, he couldn't stop trying to take care of her. But it wasn't enough anymore. Not nearly enough.
"I thought you might need some help getting started. I didn't realize you would have half the country helping you."
"You mean you followed me from Albuquerque so you could hide in the bushes and chase cows toward me when I wasn't looking."
He brushed off some dry needles clinging to his clothes. "I'm the reason you're out here by yourself. I came to make sure you're okay."
He was as bad as Zac. He acted like the universe revolved around him. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm here because I couldn't marry Guy without loving him. You can head back to your mines right now."
Tyler didn't seem the least bit disconcerted. "I'd better get my horse."
"I thought you only rode mules."
"I grew up in Texas," Tyler called over his shoulder. "Mules and burros are for prospecting, horses for working cows. You can't fool me there."
He wasn't acting like himself. Daisy walked her horse after him. "You sound like Zac. What's wrong with you?"
"You didn't like me as I was. I thought maybe you'd like Zac better."
"I never liked Zac better than you." She hadn't meant to let that to slip out.
"Poor Zac."
Tyler had concealed his horse, a huge seventeen-hand gelding, behind a ridge. Mounted he looked magnificent. Daisy swallowed, the caustic remark hovering on her tongue, forgotten. It was hard to be scathing when she'd just had the wind knocked out of her sails. It wasn't fair his mere physical presence could render her witless. Her father had always said the mind was more powerful than the body. But he hadn't told her it would be such a close call.
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