by Gem Sivad
Deacon felt like a fool. While he’d had his head blinders on, fighting the obvious attraction for a year, Charlie had been watching.
“And you?” he snarled at Sam.
“Thought you’d formed a tender for a man at first. Guess it made me look at the kid a little closer than usual.” Sam reached for the wad of tobacco in his pocket, a sure sign he was uncomfortable since he didn’t chew any longer. When he came up empty-handed he grimaced and admitted gruffly, “Hell of a lot easier handling the situation after I figured out that the he was a she.”
“And you said nothing because—?” Deacon growled.
“I had to catch my woman. You’re on your own.” Sam shrugged and grinned.
Deacon figured that kind of hell-or-high-water support was something Miri had never experienced. He wanted her to understand that she had more than a wolf at her back now. She had the loyalty of the McCallisters. She had him.
But he was uneasily aware that Miri had evidently been making her own way most of her life. She earned a good living, she secured her own safety—she didn’t need him.
From there he reached the next point. She’d seduced him, which meant that she’d wanted him. She’d trusted him enough to take him as a lover.
She used me. If the thought hadn’t been so ludicrous, he would have recognized it as moral outrage. He’d planned to keep the relationship platonic as long as possible. But dammit, it wasn’t more than hours since he’d made that decision and he was already conspiring to get his hands on her again. When they emerged from the trees to the trail, Miri was mounted on her pinto waiting.
“You had no call to jump in, but I thank you.” Her cheeks were flushed when she handed him his reins with a scold. It was not his imagination when her hand trembled, brushing his before relinquishing the leathers.
“I’d better finish up my Hawks Nest business and get a move-on fast. Even so, I expect that Ketchum will come back after that Indian.”
“Ever see him act that way before?” Deacon asked, trying to focus on her answer instead of the soft swell of her bottom lip.
“Nope. But if he tears out that Kiowa’s throat, I won’t stop him. Ketchum’s a smart animal. We’re friends by choice not have-to. He don’t hate for no reason but he’s got a hate on right now.”
“Well, tell him to keep his hate to himself until we get the hell out of Indian country,” Deacon said. He was pretty sure she meant that if the wolf killed the ranch hand it was because the ranch hand deserved it.
Miri took her whip back and coiled it while she gazed at him speculatively. “You got any more secrets you’re keepin’? Why didn’t you tell me you could handle a whip?” she demanded.
“How about you? You want to explain any more little details you might have forgotten to mention?” Deacon took the whip from her hand, waiting for her to answer him as he looped it over her saddle horn. No point in tying it down when they might need it again soon.
She had the grace to blush and change the subject. “By my count, we’ve got at least ten Hawks riders shadowing us to the ranch. Probably more now. No doubt each is close enough to take part in an altercation.” She looked past Deacon at Charlie and Sam and grinned. “You think we can get on to questioning Ned before you McCallisters find more trouble?”
Chapter Eight
Miri was satisfied to see that the Hawks Nest crew had sense enough to heed Charlie Wolf’s warning. The McCallisters weren’t men to trifle with. The fact was the infamous trio had just backed her with no questions asked. That was something she’d not expected nor had any experience in handling.
Without a doubt, after today, Deacon’s family all knew her secret. Part of her was relieved, though the reckoning would soon be at hand. She rehearsed ideas in her mind, trying to think of a nonchalant way to ease into the topic.
So, Deacon, when we coupled at the Pleasure Dome, what did you really think? Miri bit her inside cheek, trying to hold back nervous laughter.
She needed to pay attention to the job she was on, get to the counterfeiter, question him and find the plates. She also had the more immediate problem of Ketchum’s feral determination to kill one of the Hawks Nest crew. But that didn’t guide her thoughts away from carnal pleasure and into the proper channels.
So, Deacon, might you want to try that mattress dance again sometime? She carried on a one-sided discussion in her head as they traveled the path, climbing higher through the trees. She was acutely aware of the man following behind Possum on horseback, the weight of his gaze a heavy presence on her back.
Once they hit the clearing that housed the Hawks Nest stock barns, she set aside her worries. Charlie veered off to talk to Grady Hawks.
“He’s got a Hereford bull I need to get to replace the one I lost to the bear. Grady might part with this young bull if I can make a good enough offer.” Charlie’s new venture in cattle breeding interested Miri.
In a way it made her feel uneasy. He’d left the security of catching criminals for the maybe of chasing good weather and wrongheaded cows. It seemed pretty dicey to her. Then again, he was married. Maybe that made a difference.
Sam led the way to an apple tree on the high slope overlooking the corral where Dan Hawks worked. They all dismounted and tethered their animals. Ketchum drifted to her side and stretched out on his belly on the ground.
She rested her hand in his fur, scratching him behind the ears as they both peered with interest at the horse whisperer below. Casually, Deacon sat down on her other side, his leg brushing her thigh when he shifted his position, getting comfortable.
Her face flushed, assaulted by memories that would not be tamped down. She wanted to turn toward him and rub her face against his chest. Ludicrous as the timing was and the fact that they had an audience, heat pooled in her lower regions anticipating another encounter with him.
Reluctantly, Miri focused on the clash of wills taking place below. The mare bared her teeth and flattened her ears, telegraphing her savage intent before racing toward the middle of the corral where Dan Hawks squatted. The Kiowa called him Dan Two-Horse—he looked white, dressed Indian and in the past had drifted through both worlds. Some claimed the appaloosa hunter and horse trainer was also a magician and said he whispered horses, stealing their will to resist his rule.
To Miri it didn’t look as though Dan’s magic was working today. The roan appaloosa plowed to a halt, spraying dust and dirt over the man, stopping less than two feet from the focus of her hatred. Dan crossed his arms and remained completely still as he crouched in the corral. The mare shifted her weight, stretching her neck with the supple elegance of a snake and opening her jaws, ready to strike.
Miri tensed. Her elevated position gave her a balcony view of the corral and the solitary man using only his voice in the ongoing battle. He made a harsh sound in his Kiowa dialect. It was a rasping rebuke. The mare veered away, racing to the other side of the paddock, her tail in the air.
Dan Hawks stood and backed to the fence. The mare whirled and darted toward him, plowing into the wooden gate moments after he’d slammed and secured it.
“The mare’s got him flummoxed,” Sam said with disgust. “He can’t sweet-talk her and she hates males in general, including the stud we planned to breed her to.”
“Show’s over.” Deacon nodded at the barn and the man emerging with a wheelbarrow piled high with dirty straw.
“Yep. Ned’s working off his debt,” Sam explained. “He’ll finish up his chores shortly. Then you can question him.”
As a matter of fact, Ned looked different from their last encounter. Though he was hauling manure, he was a lot cleaner than when she’d left him in the Fort Worth jail. He finished his work, emptied the wheelbarrow and rested it against the side of the barn before walking to the horse trough to wash off.
Ned smiled at Dan Hawks agreeably and had Miri not known he was a liar, thief and scoundrel, she would have sworn he was Dan’s good friend. She could tell by his movements that he was aware of his audience unde
r the apple tree.
She’d tracked him all summer and knew that this was another part he was playing. Give Ned more than a moment’s head start and he’d disappear and not be caught again. Then she remembered the blanket of Indian guards covering the ranch land between here and the edge of Hawks Nest. Ned wasn’t going anywhere.
“You say he’s Lydia’s brother?” she murmured to Deacon.
“Yep.”
“That’s not a good character recommendation,” she drawled.
“Nope.”
“You think he knows where the plates are?”
“Yep.”
“Is yep and nope all you can say, McCallister?” Miri turned and stared at Deacon, irritated at his terse answers. She should have kept her eyes fixed on Ned.
“Nope.” Deacon turned his head, meeting her gaze, and it was clear to her Ned wasn’t what was on his mind. She felt her color elevate again and with heat scorching her cheeks, she looked back at the counterfeiter.
“It was good of you to tell Sam that you’ll cover his loss. We can split expenses before we divvy up,” she muttered low for his ears alone. She risked no more peeks at him.
“Yep,” he drawled. “That’s what partners do.”
His gruff tone made her belly clench. She didn’t look at him again but she could feel the heat from his body touching hers with promise.
“W-we need to focus on finding these plates,” she stammered, trying to sound like a professional bounty hunter and not a weak-kneed kid sweet on her first beau. It didn’t work.
“I’m focused,” he drawled, leaning close enough for her to feel his breath on her nape. She stifled a moan.
“McCallister, this could get real dicey if you don’t behave.” Her voice was steadier than her knees when she stood and walked down the slope toward the corral.
Ned watched her approach, recognition turning his agreeable smile to a scowl.
“You,” he snarled, jamming the handkerchief he’d been drying his hands on into his pocket.
Miri didn’t underestimate Ned’s ability to fight. He wasn’t tall but he was wiry and strong. Only the element of surprise had allowed her to take him prisoner the first time. She’d never get a second chance at him.
“Yer pretty good with them disguises,” she drawled in her best Beauregard voice. She couldn’t help but feel a curl of pride that a man who considered himself a master hadn’t seen through her own masquerade.
“What gave me away?” he asked, his expression changing from belligerent to interested in a flash.
“Might have to hunt you again, so I’ll keep that to myself,” she answered.
Ned was standing by the fence, his back turned toward the mare in the paddock. Without warning, the animal raced from the other side, slamming into the wooden rails Ned leaned on. Had Miri not reached out and jerked him clear, he would have felt the lethal bite of the wild appaloosa’s teeth.
He was noticeably shaken when Miri shoved him away from the paddock and toward Deacon coming down the slope.
“The way I see it, Ned, you’ve hurt a string of people who might like to have a word or two with you. I suspect I can find most of them if we ride back over the trail you followed this summer. I’ve got the time if that’s what it takes to find the plates.”
“You wouldn’t hold me more than half a day,” he snarled, challenging her to prove him wrong.
“Lucky for me, I don’t have to see if that’s true, because here you are.” She grinned. Deacon stopped at her side.
“What the hell do you think you’re up to, McCallister? You told Lyd I’d be in Eclipse, where there’s a sheriff and rudiments of civilization—things that my current accommodations are sorely lacking.”
“Lydia seems to think she can get you off and out. I’ve got a pile of money invested in hunting you. I need to collect the bounty, Ned. So it looks like I’m going to have to keep you secreted here away from Eclipse and civilization until the Texas Ranger arrives to take you to Fort Stockton.” To Miri’s way of thinking, Deacon’s tone was almost apologetic as he explained to Ned why prison loomed before him.
Deliberately, she laughed, letting the sound of her scorn hit Ned in his pride. That was one part of him he couldn’t hide. Whether he was playing a banker, preacher or rancher, or right now a misunderstood criminal, Ned thought he was smarter than everyone else and it showed in the tilt of his chin, the set of his shoulders and the arrogance of his stride.
As one actor of sorts to another, Miri didn’t think much of Ned’s performance. He thought he could change his wig and that was all anyone saw. She knew better. Why, old folks walked one way, men swaggered and were bold, women minced, children… The list of differences grew in her mind.
“You’re not very good at this business,” she said. “You passin’ bad paper so you can set yourself up in another line of work?”
The insult was more than Ned could handle. “You might have caught me, but you didn’t get what you’re after,” he sneered.
“Yet,” she drawled, correcting him. “I ’spect I will, you not bein’ near as clever as ya think ya are.”
Ned’s features contorted in fury and he was ready to fight. He started toward her, his fists balled and ready to go a round or two regardless of Deacon standing next to her. Then Ketchum trotted to Miri’s side and Ned plowed to a halt, his attention diverted to the wolf.
“Someday I’ll kill that sonofabitch,” Ned snarled.
“He affects some folks that away. He don’t appear to take to you either,” Miri drawled, petting Ketchum’s shoulder as he stood bristled and ready to square off with the prisoner.
Ketchum was definitely in a touchy mood. Miri hadn’t seen him like this since early days when they’d first come to know each other. The wolf’s rumble turned into a full-throated growl and he bared his fangs at Jackson. Deacon took that moment to get Ned’s attention.
“Ned, unless you’ve got some information for us, you’re wasting our time. You can stay here awhile longer and work off more of your debt.” Deacon turned away from the man as if that was the end of things.
Miri took her lead from him and tugged on Ketchum’s fur. “Come on, buddy.” She tipped her hat to Ned and turned, talking to Deacon. It was pure bluff, but apparently it worked. They’d not moved more than a few steps when Ned stopped them.
“My freedom in exchange for the information.”
“We’ll come back to get you when you’ve worked off your debt here. I think we can find the plates without your help.” Deacon brushed aside Ned’s offer and took a step.
“Yer right,” Miri agreed in Beauregard’s drawl. “I tracked this polecat all summer. It’ll take longer this way, but we’ll collect on Ned and the plates. It’s a better deal.”
“Seems to me, everything starts and ends at the Pleasure Dome. Lydia might not be able to keep you out of jail this time, Ned. She might be on the court docket and sitting beside you in handcuffs,” Deacon warned, pulling his hat down over his eyes.
“Leave Lydia out of this,” Ned said gruffly. “She didn’t know anything about it. I stumbled onto it myself. One of her customers cut me in on the deal. I’ll tell you where the plates are. You retrieve them and leave Lydia out of it.”
“Who’s your partner?” Deacon asked.
“Not partner,” Ned corrected. “Boss. I’m no more than one of his flunkies who just happens to know what he’s into because I did a little detective work of my own.”
“So why not tell all instead of one drib at a time?” Miri asked impatiently.
“I’m not a complete fool. After you get the plates and turn me in, I’ll need something to bargain with when I’m dealing with the law.”
He looked around and grimaced at the wheelbarrow against the barn wall. “Meanwhile, after due consideration, this place suits me better than Eclipse.”
Ned appeared awfully agreeable. But tracking him again wasn’t something she wanted to do. In her opinion, Ned was crooked as a dog’s hind leg and had no s
ense of shame or remorse for those he’d wronged. Prison was a good place for him.
Miri doubted he’d even be prosecuted. He had one of those trust me faces people gravitated toward. His expression was guileless and accommodating by turns. He didn’t look like a thief or a criminal.
“And the plates are—?”
“Wrapped up in memories in the attic of the Pleasure Dome,” Ned answered quickly.
“Time to be on our way,” Deacon said and, as if on cue, Sam led their horses into the ranch yard and mounted his big appaloosa stud.
Miri climbed on Possum and rode between Sam and Deacon. Neither Charlie Wolf nor Ketchum was in sight. Miri worried about Ketchum’s earlier behavior. But she was certain that wherever Ketchum was, Charlie wasn’t far behind. He’d declared Ketchum part of the McCallister force. The Indians weren’t to touch him or they’d have a fight on their hands with the bounty hunters. Unfortunately, Miri couldn’t vouch for Ketchum’s cooperation.
She’d be glad to get off Hawks Nest land. On the ride in, until Ketchum’s altercation, she hadn’t paid much attention to the shadow riders watching them. But on their trip out of the ranch, it was different.
More than one Indian rider took the opportunity to break cover and show himself to them. At first, she thought it was a threat or warning. But then she began to get the awful sense that the men were, in some oblique fashion, introducing themselves to her.
She didn’t mention it but when they rode through the gate at the Hawks Nest entrance, Sam drawled, “Guess you’re going to have some competition, Deak. Better get your ponies lined up and your presents ready.”
She knew she hadn’t broken character on Hawks Nest ranch. She knew her disguise had been in place. But it seemed as though she might as well have a sign slapped on her head wearing “female” written in bold letters.
Charlie Wolf joined them with Ketchum loping along beside, waiting until they were distanced from the other ranch before he explained.