“He’d have to be dead to do that,” Buc said. “There’s not a man who’s ever set eyes on you who isn’t counting the minutes until hell see you again.”
Trinity dropped back to allow them to ride abreast. After a few minutes he didn’t even hear Buc’s fulsome compliments. He had wanted to hear Victoria’s version of what happened that night, and he cursed the jealous temperament that made Buc ride thirty miles across the valley for a thirty minute ride home with Victoria.
He was also extremely angry at himself for mentioning Queenie. He had told himself it didn’t matter any more. He hadn’t spoken of her to a living soul since his father’s death.
Now, in one brief, unanticipated conversation, the bitterness and anger came spurting to the surface. But worse than that, he had been so weak as to tell it to someone else. To another woman.
In all the years since it happened, he’d never lost control. What kind of hold did this woman have over him? He’d never manage to fulfill his mission if he didn’t get his response to Victoria under control.
Or cut it off altogether.
“Tell me about the places you’ve been,” Victoria asked.
They were on their way home after another long day and had stopped at one of Victoria’s favorite spots, an outcropping of rock which afforded them a view up and down the length of the valley.
They stood side by side, next to their horses, not looking at each other—that would have been too dangerous—but at the distant mountains. In the pristine mountain air, Trinity could see with amazing clarity peaks nearly a hundred miles away.
The sun had burned away the mist, and everything below stood out in fine detail. The lighter green of maples and aspen against the darker shades of pine and fir were as vibrant as a magnificent painting. White fleabane, rose-colored asters, and the brilliant yellow of poppies, goldenrod, and sunflowers splashed colors across a landscape dominated by brown and green.
In such a spot, it was possible to feel like they were the only two people in the world.
Trinity knew they shouldn’t linger. He had already proven he couldn’t control his feelings when it came to Victoria. Just knowing he was alone with her, close to her, made his muscles ache with delicious tension. He could feel his fingers nervously flex at the thought of touching her.
Only her horse stood between them.
“There’s not much to tell,” Trinity replied, deciding to make the story of his life brief and his description of the places he’d been unglamorous. “All towns look pretty much alike. And people aren’t much different no matter where you find them.”
“I’ve never been anywhere. I grew up on my father’s ranch, moved to my husband’s, and then to my uncle’s. I’ve never seen anything but cows, and I’ve never talked to anybody but cowboys.”
“Most of what’s out there isn’t worth the trouble. It’s certainly not worth exchanging for a place such as this.”
Victoria looked at him across her saddle. “You can say that because you’ve seen it for yourself. I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anybody. No matter what Uncle Grant tells me, I know there’s more to this world than Mountain Valley Ranch.”
“Most women live out their lives on some farm or ranch.”
“But they know they can leave if they want,” Victoria said. “I can’t. Not ever. It makes me feel absolutely desperate sometimes.”
“Not too desperate I hope.”
Victoria laughed despite the gravity of the subject. “Not desperate enough to let somebody take me back to Texas, if that’s what you mean. Missing something is quite different than being cut off from it altogether.”
Trinity couldn’t resist her laugh. He turned to Victoria, a quirky smile on his lips.
“I wouldn’t recommend visiting friends in Texas just now, but I don’t see why you have to stay here if you don’t want to. There are lots of places you could go. I doubt anybody outside of Texas has heard of you. You could go to London or Paris. Even New York. There’re so many people there nobody would find you, even if they were to come looking.”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before,” Victoria said, excitement shining in her eyes. “You can defend me.”
“No, I can’t,” Trinity stated flatly. I’m not a lawyer.”
Victoria laughed at him. “And you’re not an ignorant cowpoke either, even if you do try to talk like one when you remember.”
It was impossible for him to concentrate when she laughed. It simply engulfed him. Her smile teased and tempted him, but there was a timbre in her voice which invited him to share something intimate with her.
“Maybe not,” he said, trying to push every sensation out of his mind, “but that’s a far cry from knowing the law and how to use it.”
“I’m not asking you to do anything with the law. I want you to organize an investigation into Jeb’s murder. You would hire detectives to collect the evidence and lawyers to present it in court.”
“But …”
She came around her horse and stood in front of him, her eyes looking up at his. “Don’t say no, at least not yet. Think about it.”
Trinity forced himself to step back. If he stayed that close to her a minute longer, he wouldn’t be able to think of anything but her eyes … or her lips. He might not even be able to think at all.
“Have you talked to your uncle about this?”
“Several times, but he doesn’t think it would do any good. Neither does Buc. They think I ought to be content with things as they are.”
“And you can’t be?”
“How would you feel if everybody thought you were a murderer who was only alive because your uncle broke you out of jail?” Her glorious blue eyes entreated him to help her. How could any man resist such a look?
“There’s not a man on this ranch who believes you’re guilty.”
“They’ve all been wonderful, but there’s not one of them who believes a pretty woman can commit a crime.”
“An investigation could cost a lot of money.”
“My inheritance will cover the costs.”
“If you’ve got plenty of money, why’re you wasting time with me? You ought to hire a professional.”
“How do I know he wouldn’t turn against me? No one seems able to stand up to Judge Blazer.”
“How do you know I could?”
She gazed directly into his eyes. “I just do.”
Trinity hadn’t expected that. It caused the knot which had been in his stomach for several days to tighten with a jerk.
“You don’t know that. I could be a bounty hunter or a sheriffs deputy, or even a private investigator.”
Her gaze didn’t falter. “You could, but you’re not.”
“You can’t be sure.”
“I’m just as sure as I could be of anybody else.”
Trinity felt desperate. He didn’t want to refuse. But worse than that was the feeling he was somehow betraying her, that he had become a Judas rather than a Paul.
“What would your uncle and Buc say?”
“They wouldn’t have to know. This would be between you and me.”
The words were like an electric shock. He had scrupulously avoided any thoughts involving just the two of them. He couldn’t do that any longer, the vision was too sweet.
“Why me?”
She came a step closer.
“I like you. There’s a kind of kinship between us.” Victoria looked a little uncomfortable about being so direct, but not embarrassed. “You’re different from Buc and my uncle. I haven’t figured out what it is just yet, but I tend to trust people I like. People I’m attracted to.”
Trinity swallowed hard. For three days he had struggled to control his growing attraction to Victoria. She probably liked him for no other reason than he was someone new to talk to. Only reminding himself it would be insane to become involved with a woman who was about to be hanged for murder had enabled him to maintain his control. … A control her last words shattered.
&
nbsp; Of all the futile things, he wanted to protect her: a woman surrounded by a small army sworn to defend her with their life’s blood, and he wanted to protect her. But they only protected her body. Not one of them had taken the time to get to know the woman inside. That made him feel protective.
“Being attracted to me isn’t the same thing as liking me.”
He had to touch her. He couldn’t stand here any longer and wonder what it would feel like to brush her cheek with his fingers.
“You mean I can’t be attracted to you or like you in a general way?”
Her cheek felt soft. There was a firmness to her flesh, but it dimpled beneath his touch. He twisted his finger around one of the errant locks which clustered about her face. He barely resisted the impulse to run his fingers through her hair.
“Not when it’s between a man and a woman.”
Victoria leaned closer and tilted her face up to his. He couldn’t concentrate on anything but her lips and her deep blue eyes. Victoria pressed ever so slightly against his hand. “Are you saying there’s something sexual in my feeling for you?”
What was he doing? He couldn’t afford to let an emotional bond develop between them. The scars would stay with him for the rest of his life.
Trinity snatched his hand back like it had been burned. He’d met several direct women before, but never one who would ask such a question. And the fact that it could be coming from this gorgeous redhead made it even more difficult to believe.
“Ma’am, I’d never say a thing like that.”
“Don’t call me ma’am, and don’t avoid the question.”
“Okay, if you insist, no. I don’t think you can be attracted to me without it being sexual as well.”
Boy, wouldn’t Buc love to hear him say that! He’d probably blow a hole right through him.
“Why?”
“Because I can’t be attracted to you without feeling hot as hell.”
Damnation! He could have sworn he saw a gleam of satisfaction in her eyes. Why did women always feel they had to humble a man? Couldn’t they just like him in an ordinary way?
Can you like her in an ordinary way? That was a foolish question. Only Buc could like Victoria in an ordinary way, like a stallion pursuing a mare because instinct told him to.
“Are you telling me I excite you?” Victoria asked, coming so close he could almost feel her body heat.
“Didn’t you expect I would?”
“No.”
She may have been around men most of her life, but she obviously didn’t understand her effect on them. He had to get the conversation on another track, or he’d get himself thrown out before nightfall.
Trinity stepped back. “I think it’s time we started back. This discussion is headed in the wrong direction.” He took a good grip on the saddle and started to put his foot in the stirrup.
Victoria didn’t move. “Why haven’t you said something?”
The woman was determined to get him shot. Had she been so protected she didn’t know how she affected boys like Red or men like himself?
“You’re a beautiful, desirable woman, ma’am, and I wouldn’t mind the opportunity to tell you how much I appreciate your kind of beauty. However, I’m nothing but a cowhand, and every man on this ranch is just waiting for me to make a wrong move. Reminds me of a week I spent in a small gold mining town in Colorado several years back. I didn’t find any gold, but I did find out I could live without a woman better than I could live with holes in my hide.”
“I don’t believe you scare that easily.” She took a step toward him. Trinity stood his ground.
“It’s not a question of being scared. It’s a question of common sense. And honor.” Desperation made Trinity add, “A man doesn’t jump another man’s claim.”
Victoria stepped back, her eyes flashing fire. “What a disgusting thing to say. I’m a woman, not a piece of property. Besides, I don’t belong to Buc.”
“You’d better tell him that. He and your uncle seem to think you’re going to marry him any minute now.”
“I like Buc, but I feel more strongly attracted to you than I do to him.”
Hell! Why did she have to go and say that just when he’d gotten his gumption back. He had met half the famous “ladies” of the West. He’d loved a few, he’d left them all. Yet, he’d been brought to his knees by little more than a pair of lovely blue eyes, some unmanageable locks of titian hair, an irresistible laugh, and a relentless desire to turn him inside out. Not to mention the candor to tell him she liked him more than the man she was supposed to marry.
If it were possible, that admission seemed to shock Victoria more than Trinity.
“Why?” asked Trinity.
“I didn’t mean that like it sounds.” Victoria seemed to be searching for words to blunt the impact of what she had just said. “It’s just that Buc wants to own me. That suffocates a woman. You seem more interested in discovering what I’m really like. I like that.”
Trinity gripped the saddle as though it were his lifeline. He had to get himself in hand. He needed something to block her view of the swelling bulge in his jeans.
“Why?”
“Don’t you know any other word?” Victoria asked, exasperated. “I don’t know why. Maybe you don’t have to understand why to be attracted to someone. Maybe it’s just there the moment you set eyes on them.”
“You’re a beautiful woman,” Trinity said, keeping his hold on the saddle. “A man would have to be unnatural not to feel attracted to you.”
“I didn’t mean like that,” she said, annoyed. “I meant a special kind of attraction, the kind you have when you want to know more about a person. It’s a desire to be with him, to share yourself with him as much as you want him to share himself with you. It causes thoughts of him to pop into your head all the time. It keeps you wondering what he’s doing, what he’s thinking. Surely it’s happened to you before.”
“You mean the way it happened with your husband?”
He couldn’t have checked her intensity more if he’d thrown a bucket of water in her face. She turned away from him and looked out over the valley once more.
“No, I don’t. I was sixteen years old, and my father was dying. Something had to be done about my future. Dad picked out a rich, handsome young man and asked me if I thought I’d like to marry him. He was twenty-one, charming, and devil-may-care. I thought he was wonderful, and I said yes. I knew I was supposed to. Only after I married Jeb did I realize the kind of hell I’d wandered into.”
Trinity could visualize Victoria as a helpless young wife terrorized by her drunken husband, and a dangerous feeling of sympathy welled up inside him. Much too dangerous when they were standing this close.
“I don’t think we ought to think too much on this attraction stuff,” Trinity said. He wondered if he’d be able to take his own advice.
Victoria spun around to face him. “Why?”
“I thought you didn’t like that word.”
“It’s precisely the one I want. Why?”
Trinity knew the best thing for him to do was mount up and head back to the ranch. He shouldn’t even wait to see if she followed. Leaving her to find her own way home wouldn’t get him into half the trouble answering that question would. He was a fool to have let things get this far. He was slipping. His nerve wasn’t what it used to be.
“Let’s suppose, for the sake of argument, I fell in love with you.”
“Could you?”
“Ma’am, any man would find it hard not to fall in love with a woman who looks like you.”
“I didn’t say anything about my looks,” Victoria corrected. “I said me”
Why couldn’t she ask questions like “Do you like my hair this way?” or “Isn’t this a pretty dress?” He could handle those without endangering his hide and his soul.
Trinity concentrated on keeping his hands on the saddle.
“I don’t really know you, ma’am, but I don’t imagine it would be too hard. Anyway, I’ve
wandered away from my point. Suppose a cowpoke like myself was to come wandering in here and fall head over heels in love with you. Your uncle and Buc would put a stop to that before you could take a deep breath.”
“Suppose I were to fall in love with the cowpoke?”
Any cowpoke worth his salt would move heaven and earth to make her his wife. That’s what he’d do. It’s what Red would do. But he couldn’t tell her that.
“It wouldn’t make any difference. They still wouldn’t have any part of it.”
“Even if I told them I loved him, that I’d never love anybody else?”
Her eyes had never looked as blue, as sincere. Trinity wondered if Jeb might not have been as thoroughly bewitched by his young wife.
“Especially if you said that.”
“What if I were willing to run away with him?”
She was relentless.
“He wouldn’t do that, not if he loved you.”
“Why?”
“Growing fonder of that word all the time, aren’t you?”
“Don’t stall.”
She came closer, but Trinity had managed to keep his horse between them. She looked at him across the saddle.
“Because a cowpoke wouldn’t have anything to offer a woman like you.”
“All I would want would be the cowpoke.”
“He would want to give you the world. It would kill him not to. It would be worse than turning his back on you.”
“How stupid.” Her exasperation was unmistakable. “Only a man would think of leaving a woman just because he couldn’t give her things she might not even want.”
“Not a woman, Victoria. You.”
“It wouldn’t matter. A woman wouldn’t think like that. As long as she were with the man she loved, nothing else would matter.”
Trinity found it difficult to doubt her. Yet he could never quite forget she had been found with the gun in her hand.
“Not all women are like that. Some of them want what a man can give them more than they want the man.”
“But if a man really loved a woman, he could tell the difference.”
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