There was, however, just one tiny, tiny cloud on her bright, glowing horizon, and knowing that she was a fool for having to ask, but desperately needing that one final doubt banished forever, Sara raised herself up beside him and gazed into his face. "And Paloma? How much did it have to do with our marriage?" She murmured tremulously.
Yancy's eyes darkened and his lips tightened. "I knew I should never have seized upon that damned clause in Sam's will to make you marry me, but at the time, it seemed so convenient!" he admitted baldly. "It was a ready-made excuse to hide behind, a public reason that could cloak my private desires. . . ." His gaze locked on hers, and absently tracing the outline of her soft mouth, he said huskily, "Sara, I wanted you, but I didn't want to love you, I can't deny it. I certainly didn't want to admit, even to myself, that my heart was involved." He swallowed uncomfortably. "After Margaret, I swore that no woman was ever going to touch my deepest emotions, that I would never allow myself to care greatly for another female—or show her much consideration!"
He smiled with incredible tenderness at her. "And then there was you . . . after one look, one sight of your lovely little face, all my grimly sworn vows went flying. I wanted you in the worst possible way—I could think of little else—but I wasn't worried—lust is a passing fancy—until I realized that it wasn'tyw^r your body that I wanted, it was youl I loved you." He searched her features slowly and then said quietly, "Once I returned to Magnolia Grove and saw you that first night in Sam's office, it was as if we had never been parted, almost as if we were picking up from the time we had kissed on the staircase, the night before Margaret was murdered. I was filled with the same elation, the same feelings of possessiveness and protectiveness I'd had then, and that enraged and terrified me and I was absolutely furious with you for having married Sam—^for not having waited for me!" His mouth curved ruefully. "I'm afraid I haven't been acting precisely rational since that moment—you became everything to me and nothing else mattered—certainly not Paloma! Paloma had nothing to do with our marriage, sweetheart, nothing to do with what happened between us . . ." He grinned mockingly. "Except that it was damned convenient for me to hide behind! Without Paloma, I might have had to court you in the traditional manner and confess my love a long time ago!"
"You should be ashamed of yourself—you treated me quite wickedly! Seducing me and then forcing me to marry you. You, sir, were a vile, underhanded scoundrel!" Sara said severely, the sweet curve of her lips and the dreamy expression in her emerald eyes taking any sting out of her words.
Yancy smiled smugly and pulled her unresisting body nearer to him. "But you love me, don't you, sweetheart?" he murmured against her eager mouth. "You love me and will until the day you die. . . ."
Kissing him back as passionately as he kissed her, Sara gave herself up to the magic that was Yancy, her heart soaring, happiness welling up through her entire body. "Oh, I do indeed," she whispered some minutes later, when she was able to. "I do love you more than life itself—you wretched beast!"
25
The days following Yancy's brush with death were deliriously happy for Sara, and no one who saw the lovers had any doubts about the strength or durability of the powerful emotions that bound them together. The love they shared was nearly tangible, and one had only to see the way that Yancy looked at Sara, or the way her face would soften at just the mere mention of his name, to know precisely how deep and lasting was their love.
It was a joyful time for them, and their joy became even greater that day in late September when Sara shyly told her husband that there would indeed be an heir to Paloma. With a great shout, Yancy caught her up in his arms, his own delight in the prospect of becoming a father clear in the unspeakably tender expression on his dark face.
The news, of course, went through the little hamlet at Paloma like wildfire and there was much rejoicing and excitement among the inhabitants. Nonetheless, not all who heard the news of Sara's impending motherhood were pleased. . . .
Risking a meeting with Hyrum in one of the newly restored bams some distance from the hacienda that same evening, Ann wore a tight and sullen expression on her face. "Have you heard?" she demanded as Hyrum slipped in between the big double doors to join her in
the cool gloom of the bam. "The little bitch is breeding!"
Hyrum nodded curtly. "It doesn't matter, I told you that! Let her child inherit Paloma! We will have del Sol!"
Ann snorted. "When? You missed the only opportunity to kill Yancy that presented itself so far, and you've told me that you think he's set his men to watch you. We can't even meet each other without great risk— and I'm sure that every time you manage to give your keepers the slip, they report back immediately to that bastard Yancy!" She took an angry turn around the middle of the bam. "I feel like a prisoner! Something has to happen soon, or I will go mad, I tell you! I hate this wretched place! I have no one to talk to, and except for dinners with the lovers"—she made the word sound like a curse—"there are no social engagements, no shops, nothing for me to do in order to pass the day. I am so boredV She cast him a fulminating look. "Do you know, I was so desperate to break the deadly monotony that the other day I actually accompanied Sara to those horrid cattle pens!" She shuddered, then fluttered her lashes at him. "Since nearly your every move is watched, I don't even have the pleasure of your lovemaking to take my mind off our troubles. If I am forced to remain here much longer, I will probably begin to look at my husband with fondness!"
Everything she said was tme; they'd had precious few moments together these past weeks, and despite the dan-gerousness of it, Hymm was starving for her. Reaching for her, he pushed her down into a stack of hay and muttered, "Let me see what I can do to change your mind about that!"
It was an urgent coupling, with few preliminaries, clothing flung aside only enough to allow them access to each other's bodies. Desperation and danger combined
with lust was a powerful mixture and rapidly brought them both to a shattering release. The last tremors of pleasure still rippling through them, they lay there for a few moments on the hay, breathing heavily, their bodies still locked together.
Her arms around his neck, Ann asked mournfully, "Oh, Hyrum, what are we going to do? If Yancy really has put his men to watch you, he must know of your plans—you'll never get a chance to kill him! And as for Tom ..." She bit her lip. "I think he suspects something. He watches me when he thinks I am not looking and he questions everything I do. He is so strange and odd these days. I hate him! I can't wait until he is dead!"
There was a soft, furtive noise nearby and Hyrum stiffened, listening intently.
"Oh, my God!" Ann muttered softly. "Are you certain you weren't followed?"
Hyrum nodded tautly. "You?" he asked tightly.
"Tom was resting in his room when I left. He probably doesn't even know I'm gone from the house."
"Are you sure? You just said he's been watching you lately."
"I was careful, I tell you!"
But the sound had alarmed them and they lay there frozen, straining to hear. Nothing except the nightly chorus of insects came to them. The minutes passed with agonizing slowness, and when nothing else untoward occurred, Ann sighed with relief and moved impatiently. Even though everything seemed normal, Hyrum was uneasy, and he silently disentangled himself from Ann and stood up in the darkness. No sound out of the ordinary carried on the cooling air, and gradually he relaxed.
Helping Ann to her feet a second later and pulling a few wisps of hay from her hair, Hyrum said carefully,
"Perhaps it's time we did do something about your husband. If he were to die, at least one of our obstacles would be gone."
Ann smiled sunnily, her blue eyes sparkling. "Oh, Hyrum, I was hoping you'd say something like that! How shall we do it? And when? Please, please make it soon!"
He frowned at her. "As soon as I can, but don't forget, I am somewhat hampered these days. I am not free to move around as I once was, and it has to look like an accident—we can't have Yanc
y getting any more suspicious than he is already."
Ann nodded and they spent a few more minutes discussing the situation, but eventually they had to part.
Not five minutes after Hyrum had returned to his house, Juan Mendoza, leaving Rogerio Duran to continue the watch, was standing in front of Yancy in the small sala in the hacienda and giving his report.
"He met the blond gringa at the big bam, just beyond the horse corrals. I did not see her arrive—she was already inside waiting for him." Uneasily turning his large sombrero in his hands, Juan said earnestly, "Senor, I think there is going to be very bad trouble soon. The blond gringa's husband was there, too, watching and listening to them."
"'WhatT Yancy asked, startled. "Tom Shelldrake was there?"
"5/', senor! I did not see him at first, but he was hidden in the shed which leans against the bam, and I only discovered him when I thought to go in there myself to get nearer to them so I could hear more clearly what they were saying. His face was pressed to one of the gaps in the boards."
"Did he see you?" Yancy inquired sharply.
Juan smiled, his black eyes dancing in his smooth young face. "No, senor. I was muy careful!" His smile
faded and he said, "It is not good that the blond gringa's husband knows what she is doing, is it?"
"No, by damn, it's not!" Yancy said forcefully. Frowning he stared at the floor for several seconds before saying grimly, "Well, there is nothing I can do about it tonight, but I think the time has finally come to get rid of that nest of vipers!" He smiled at Juan. "You did well— Vm very pleased with all of you. After you get Diego and Gil to relieve you and Rogerio, go home for the night."
After Juan had left, Yancy paced the small sala, his brow furrowed in thought. He didn't like the situation one damn bit, the news that Tom was spying on Ann and Hyrum making him distinctly uneasy.
The door to the sala opened just then and Sara walked in. Seeing his frown, she asked, "What's wrong? You look like you'd like to strangle someone."
Yancy's mouth twisted ruefully, and resting his hips back against the desk, he pulled her easily into his arms. Dropping a kiss on her upturned mouth, he murmured, "Ah, but that was before you came into the room. Now I find that I would far rather make love to my lovely wife."
Sara smiled demurely and leaned into his warm, hard length. Kissing him back, she said softly, "Which you can do, just as soon as you tell me why you were frowning so blackly."
He grimaced, but keeping her in his arms, he quickly told her of Juan's unsettling report.
"Tom knows about them?" Sara gasped. "He spies on them? How appalling! What are you going to do?"
Releasing her, he reached over the desk and picked up a piece of paper. Handing it to her, he said, "This arrived today. I think it is a partial solution to our problem." Ife Swiftly Sara read the letter. Looking up at Yancy when she had finished, she asked, "How long have you
been planning this? You had to write your friend weeks ago to have received a reply this soon."
Yancy nodded. "I wrote to John the day after the incident with the bull. I've just been waiting to hear from him."
Again Sara perused the letter. "California," she said thoughtfully. "Yes, that would do. It's far enough away from us, and the job and the money sound like something that Hyrum would find suitable." She looked at Yancy. "He's not going to like it, you know. He might refuse to take it."
"He might. . . but if he does, I'll just have to explain to him that I have no intention of keeping him working for me. It's either the job in California or nothing. Hyrum's a smart man. I think he'll take it, particularly when I say that I've written letters to the local sheriff and to my attorneys both here and in Mexico, explaining that should I suffer an untimely death, Hyrum Bumell should be questioned closely about his movements and whereabouts at the time of my demise."
Sara's face clouded and she clutched him tightly. "Oh, Yancy! Don't talk about dying—I can't bear it!"
He hugged her and said softly, "I'm not going to die, sweetheart, at least not any time soon. I intend to be around when that babe of ours is bom, and all the others I hope we will be blessed with! And their children! And their children's children! You won't be rid of me for years and years!"
They kissed tenderly and it was quite some time later before there was any more conversation in the sala. Eventually, though, the unpleasant subject had to be discussed, and resting her head on his chest, Sara asked, "What about Ann and Tom? Have you decided what to do about them?"
Yancy nodded. "I've come to the conclusion that the Shelldrakes can just as well live off me away from me
as they can underfoot! It took me a while to come up with the idea, but it suddenly hit me. I own a small rancho, just outside San Antonio, that belonged to an old aunt of mine. In the past, from time to time I've wondered what to do with the place, and it occurred to me that it would suit Ann and Tom perfectly. The hacienda should be in good repair and there are several hundred acres of land. Tom can raise cattle or horses or do whatever he chooses." Yancy grinned at Sara. "And to make certain they never land on my doorstep again, I'll settle enough money for Tom, in trust, so that he and Ann should be able to live comfortably at Rancho Domingo for the rest of their lives. It is not a grand place, but my memory of it is that it is sizable and quite pleasant. He won't be a tenth as rich as he once was, but he'll be his own master again and won't have to look to me for the food in his belly and the clothes on his back!"
"What an excellent idea!" Sara exclaimed happily. "And perhaps, with Hyrum gone to California and Tom no longer dependent on your kindness, Ann will realize that Tom is not such a bad husband, after all!"
Yancy sent her a look. "And pigs will fly!"
Sara made a face. "Well, you never know. ... I just hope that they are all satisfied with what you are doing for them!"
"Satisfied" wasn't precisely the word Yancy would have used to describe the various reactions of the recipients of his generosity. Hyrum was downright surly, but realizing that his hand had been called, he had no choice but to accept the offer of employment at a ranch in California and take the money Yancy gave him to cover his travel expenses. Dropping several gold coins on the comer of his desk, Yancy said levelly, "I'll want you gone by tomorrow morning—early! There is nothing for you here, and the sooner you reach John Westlund's
place outside Chico, the sooner you'll be building your own future."
*'You think you're so damned clever, don't you?*' Hyrum grated, his mouth thin and unpleasant.
"Only when I hold the winning hand! And remember, anything happens to me and the sheriff is going to be very interested in you—and as for marrying my grieving widow, you can forget that! She knows you for what you are!" Yancy smiled grimly. "If I die, pray the sheriff finds you before Sara does!"
Hyrum grabbed the gold and stormed out of the room, and Yancy shrugged his shoulders. Now for the Shelldrakes. After a great deal of thought and discussion with Sara, it had been decided that he would meet Tom alone. He damn sure didn't need Ann around creating God knew what sort of scenes and distractions when he explained to the other man what was planned.
Yancy had not expected there to be any great reaction from Tom when he presented his plan to him, and he was right. For several long seconds Tom sat there staring at Yancy dumbfounded. Finally, his voice thick with emotion, he exclaimed, "Thank you! I always believed that you were a good man, Yancy. Sam would have been proud of you!" He bent his head and fiddled with the sling which cradled his bad arm. "I cannot tell you," he mumbled huskily, "what your unexpected generosity means to me. I owe you a great deal."
Distinctly uncomfortable, Yancy muttered, "You don't owe me anything, Tom. I don't need the damned place, and as for the money ... If Sam had lived, I'm sure he would have arranged something similar for you."
Tom looked at him, his brown eyes curiously remote. "You've had a great deal to contend with since you first returned to Magnolia Grove, haven't you? It couldn't have been easy for yo
u to find yourself suddenly saddled with a whole houseful of people who looked to
you for their welfare. I wonder, if I had found myself in your shoes, whether I would have . . ." Tom sighed. "Ah, well, it really doesn't matter, does it? You and Sara have been most kind to me and it seems a shame that I—" Tom stopped and shook his head sadly. "You know, things just never work out the way you think they will. There are always regrets .. . times when you can let nothing stand in your way. . . ."
Yancy cleared his throat uneasily and, seeking to change the gloomy atmosphere that seemed to have fallen, said lightly, "Of course one always has some regrets, but there is no use repining over what you can't change." He smiled faintly. "I will always regret I didn't marry Sara out of hand when Sam first brought her to Magnolia Grove, but in the end, things worked out just fine!"
Tom smiled oddly. "Yes, they did in the end, didn't they? And that's all that counts, isn't it? That things work out in the end? No matter what has to be done . .."
Eyeing him keenly, Yancy asked, "Are you all right? You seem . .. distracted."
"I imagine that I am a little distracted. I have so much to plan. . .." Tom seem to shake himself. Rising to his feet from the chair in which he had been sitting, he said heartily, "Well, now, I won't keep you any longer— I'm sure you have other things to do." He hesitated for a moment, then fixed his gaze speculatively on Yancy. "I suppose that you would like Ann and me to leave fairly soon—within the week?"
Yancy saw no reason to pretend otherwise. "As soon as you find it convenient. I can have Tansy and Maria help you pack your belongings, and it goes without saying that some of my people will accompany you and Ann to Domingo and see that you are settled."
There were a few more minutes of conversation and then Tom left the sala. Yancy was surprisingly glad to
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