Claimed by the Lawman (Lawmen of Wyoming Book 4)

by Rhonda Lee Carver

  “I don’t know what I would have done these last few weeks if I didn’t have you.” She brought her hand up to cup his cheek and an electrical jolt passed between them.

  “Tyler…”

  The magnet grew stronger. Her eyes turned a darker shade of blue as she stood on tiptoe and kissed him. A low growl escaped his throat as all restraint broke and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. Her mouth opened, allowing him entrance and he took his opportunity to taste her, sample her sweetness. His body hardened and he ached to take her right there on the couch, but something stopped him. She’d been through something that made her vulnerable and he couldn’t take advantage of her, even if she seemed willing. It was a hard battle as he took a short step back, seeing her confused expression.

  “Kace?” His name fell off her lips like honey.

  “Not tonight, sweetheart. Tonight, I’m Sheriff and you’re the victim.”

  Chapter 12

  TYLER SCRUBBED HER hands down her dirty jeans after brushing the horse and placing him back in the stall. She’d been back at the ranch for a few days although she’d spent most of her time helping on the ranch and getting the ball rolling on the theater. She hadn’t seen Kace since she left the morning that she’d spent at his house. Remembering how he’d rejected her left her chest tight.

  The sun was at its hottest when she stepped out of the stables. She saw that her mare, Spark, was saddled, and foreman, Roy, had her reins in his hands.

  “What’s up, Roy?”

  “I remember how you used to ride on the land after a day’s work. I thought you might like to start that tradition again. You deserve it, girl. You’ve worked your bottom off.”

  “Thank you, Roy,” she said as she reached into her pocket and took out an extra carrot for Spark.

  Roy took out his radio and shook his head. “Damn. I wish that boy would answer,” he ground out.

  “Who?” Tyler asked.

  “It’s that boy of mine. He is on fence duty and he’s so scatterbrained. Now he’s not answering. He can’t afford to lose this job. Your dad has been kind enough to offer it to him. I can’t babysit him every minute. I have work to do.”

  Tyler didn’t know the entire story, but Roy’s son, Randy, had been into some trouble a few years back and he’d had a hard time finding employment. “How about I ride that direction and check on things? Maybe he just fell asleep. We’ve all been known to do that a few times.”

  Roy swiped a hand down his whiskered jaw. “I couldn’t ask you to do that, ma’am.”

  “You didn’t ask.” She offered him a smile. “If he’s anything like his daddy he has ranching in his blood. He’ll do fine.” Leading Spark from the pasture, Tyler squinted against the bright sunlight and pulled the rim of her hat down lower on her forehead.

  She climbed into the saddle and Spark pranced as if she anticipated getting out on the land. Smoothing her hand down the horse’s neck, Tyler was rewarded with a friendly neigh.

  There was nothing quite like being back in the saddle. She could forget her troubles—almost.

  Rogue and her father were working on the new fence when she passed and he looked up and gave her a wave. She turned her cheek and started Spark at a gallop. Eventually she and her father would have to talk, but for now, she was back working the ranch and that would have to be enough. Baby steps were needed.

  Picking up speed as they crossed the field toward the west fencing, she hadn’t made it far when she heard heavy hooves hitting land. Expecting to see her father, she was shocked to see that it was Kace and he was galloping her way. The horse was eating up dirt. Her heart slammed into her chest. He looked magnificent as he rode like a pro rider. Once he got up next to her, he tipped his hat and winked.

  “Care for some company?” he asked.

  “Should I be flattered that you took the time out of your busy schedule to hang out with me?” she teased.

  “I thought since you and I haven’t talked in a while, I needed to catch up, literally.” His smile competed with the sun.

  Sweat beaded between her breasts and she felt a little woozy as she steered Spark west and motioned for Kace to follow. He stayed with her and she felt his gaze on her profile. Several minutes of silence ticked by and she kept her eyes ahead, not letting him make her squirm. When the combination of his stare and the heat of the sun became too much, she turned to look at him. His grin made her nipples harden. “Do you have something you’d like to say?”

  “No. I’m just enjoying the view.”

  With his eyes directly on her, she realized he was talking about her. She clasped the leather reins around her hands and gave Spark a gentle touch to send her at a faster pace. When Kace was next to her again, she didn’t look at him when she said, “Did you just come out here to play games, Sheriff?”

  “Now you know me better than that, Sassy. I don’t play games.”

  “I beg to differ. What do they call it when a man heats up the frying pan but doesn’t plan to cook anything?” She clicked her tongue and Spark obediently picked up her pace.

  Kace and the stallion easily kept up. His laughter reached her ears. “I gather you’re the pan in this analogy.”

  “Well, if the shoe fits…”

  “Not in a million years would I liken you to a pan, sweetheart. I see you as more of a golden chalice.”

  She gave him a quick glance but dragged her gaze away before he saw inside her soul. “There you are again. Teasing me relentlessly.”

  “Aw, so now I’m a tease.”

  Tyler didn’t have to look to know his brow was lifted. “It’s the better name of the two that I was tossing around.”

  “You’re still angry with me.”

  “Of course not. I should be thanking you,” she purred.

  He chuckled. “You baffle me. I like a challenge.”

  She dared look at him then. “A challenge? How so?”

  “Oh, one would just have to look into those blue eyes and see the wild and amazing thoughts flowing through that beautiful mind. You’re not sure whether you want to kiss me or slap me. Isn’t that right?”

  Sucking in a breath, she tried to control her emotions and the twitch between her legs. “Still full of yourself. I want to do neither.”

  “How about we stop these pretenses and be honest. I want to kiss you.”

  She cursed the fact that her body reacted with a need so overwhelming that she had to hang onto the reins tight so she didn’t fall off the saddle. “Really? What changed from the other night? Change your mind that I’m no longer the victim?”

  “I wanted to kiss you then, and I did. I’ve learned a valuable lesson. Anything worth having is worth taking slow. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been fantasizing.”

  “Just for the record, I’m not a victim. My sister was a victim.”

  “Point noted.”

  “You really do have quite a large ego,” she squirmed in the leather and the vee of her thighs pressed against the saddle that set sparks in her bloodstream. She was sensitive…too sensitive.

  He laughed and the rich sound found its way straight to her inner thighs. This struck up her anger.

  “I say we call a truce. I forgive you for what you did fifteen years ago, and you forgive me…well, for whatever is giving you that expression that makes me think you want to slice me in two.” He winked.

  “A truce? Have you forgotten the real events of fifteen years ago?”

  “Not quite,” he said in a lowered voice.

  She snapped her chin up. “So, was the other night some way of seeking revenge? Kiss me, prove that I want you and then pull back?”

  His expression softened. “I wouldn’t use touching you as leverage for revenge, but I’m glad you do want me.”

  She clenched her teeth. “You’re insufferable.”

  “Now, now. Let’s be nice.”

  “You know what, I did plan on coming back, Kace,” she said softly.

  After a good length of hesita
tion, he looked up at the sky and then back to her. “Let’s not lower ourselves to lying, shall we?”

  She stopped the horse and turned all her attention on him. “I’m not lying. I didn’t want to break up with you.” Spark must have sensed her irritation because the horse pranced.

  “No, you just wanted to go live your own life for fifteen years while I waited for you to return. Yeah, that sounds like a good, working relationship.” He exhaled slowly.

  “It wouldn’t have been that way. I-I needed to explore what was out there. I thought you would understand. I thought you would confess…”

  “What? And how would I understand? You wanted me to comprehend that there wasn’t enough here in Wyoming to keep you? When in that equation did you even ask what I thought?”

  “You left too. Why was it okay that you could leave and I couldn’t?”

  “Hell, maybe because I had plans to come back and you…well, you say you wanted to come back but the proof is in your actions.”

  “We were young, Kace. What would we have done? Married, had a few kids and lived here at the ranch? Hell, you couldn’t even tell me how you felt.” When he turned away, leading his horse onward, she swallowed against the pain in her throat. “Kace?” She gave Spark a nudge to catch up. “Is that what you wanted? To marry me?”

  His jaw was lethally tight, and he didn’t look at her, but instead kept his gaze steady on the land ahead. “Oh, I had that silly idea run through my brain, but it ran its course.” The tone of his voice brought chills through her.

  “Why didn’t you say something?” She stopped Spark again. When he kept on, she yelled, “Stop and talk to me about this. I deserve that much.”

  He turned the horse and faced her. “You deserve this, do you? Are you trying to tell me that I did something wrong?” His face became stone hard.

  “What I’m saying is that we had a good thing. That’s agreeable, but not once did you tell me your feelings. Whenever we talked about the future it seemed to be in joke, not truth.”

  His jaw softened some. “Is that what you needed to hear? That I loved you, wanted to spend my life with you? That I bought a ring and planned to propose? Would it have made a difference?”

  She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Looking back, she remembered how deeply she loved Kace. How she couldn’t wait to see him, to feel his body wrapped around her, holding her. Maybe she’d hoped when she had told him about pursuing her dreams in New York he would have convinced her to stay, or at least confessed his love. To give her a reason to stay in Wyoming, or come back soon. Instead, he’d bid her good luck. “You can’t do this now. It’s unfair.”

  He pushed his hat back onto his forehead. “Do what?”

  “Pretend that you had emotions for me back then to make me feel bad now.”

  “That’s sort of hard to prove, isn’t it? I guess we’ll never know.”

  “What the hell?”

  “I said, I guess…”

  “No. I heard what you said. I’m referring to that.” She pointed to the saddled horse that was munching on the grass. “It must be Randy’s horse.”

  “Randy?”

  “A hand here.” She rode Spark across the short space checking the abandoned horse’s saddle. “Roy had been trying to reach Randy and he wasn’t answering.”

  “You should go back, tell your father and I’ll go in search of Randy. He might have fallen.”

  “I’m not going back. I’m coming with you to find him.” She pulled the radio from her belt. “I can radio them. Randy was out here watching the west fence,” she said with a straight back, her head held high.

  “Keep your eyes open. If he’s hurt, he might not be able to call out.”

  ~~**~~

  They didn’t have to search far. Kace was the first to see the man sprawled out on his back in the tall grass.

  When Tyler spotted him too, Kace heard her gasp.

  “Oh my God.” She was off her horse and running.

  Kace slid out of his saddle and caught up to her. He knelt down to check Randy’s pulse. “He’s alive.” There was a bloody gash on his forehead and blood had dripped down his temple and cheek. “Hey, you okay?” Kace gently shook the man.

  Randy’s eyes rolled under his lids.

  “Randy? Wake up.” Tyler also shook his shoulders.

  After several more shakes, he finally opened his eyes into slits. He tried lifting himself up onto his elbows, but with difficulty. Kace helped him up. “You okay, buddy?” He looked into the man’s eyes.

  “I-I was bent over…fixing the fence then I was hit over the head. It was one of Bane’s men.”

  “Bane’s man did this?” Kace met Tyler’s gaze for three heartbeats.

  “Tyler, use your radio and have him picked up. He’ll need emergency care,” Kace said.

  Once she did as Kace requested, she stood and started for the horse, a new energy in her step. “Where are you going?” Kace called after her.

  “I’ve had enough of this! Who would do something like this to a defenseless man?” She was already up in the saddle.

  Frustrated, Kace raced across the short distance and grabbed the reins of her horse. “I don’t know what you have in that head of yours, but it’s not going to happen. Now take yourself down from that saddle.”

  “Move, Kace. It’s time Bane realized he can’t push us Poseys around and get by with it.”

  “Like hell I’ll move. You’re going to get yourself killed, woman,” he muttered.

  “Then you’ll know who the murderer is unlike the person who got away with killing my sister.” She pulled back on Spark’s reins and the horse lifted her front hooves, whinnying. Then Tyler and the horse took off, kicking up dust and dirt as they sped toward Bane’s property…and a whole lot of trouble.

  “Fuck!” Kace looked back at Randy. “You okay until the men get here?”

  Randy nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. Go get her. Bane’s a dangerous man.” He waved his hand.

  Jumping into the saddle, Kace turned the horse in the direction where Tyler flew off. With a groan, he set his horse into a fast gallop, leaned into its neck and soon he was catching up to Tyler, although she kept a good distance from him. He had an idea to drag her over his knee when he caught up to her.

  By the time they were neck to neck, she was already riding up to Bane’s house and several of his hands came running out, shotguns aimed. Kace cursed as he slid out of his saddle and caught up to Tyler, grabbing her gently by the elbow. “Don’t try to stop me, Kace!”

  “Don’t try to stop you from what, my dear?” came a man’s voice.

  Both Kace and Tyler brought their chins up to look at Bane who was standing on the steps to the porch. He was looking down at them with a smug grin.

  “Boss?” one of the men with a shotgun said, then spit in the grass.

  Bane waved the handful of men back. “I got this, boys.”

  “Are one of you the man who came onto my father’s property and hit a hand over the head?” Tyler pushed through clenched teeth.

  Bane straightened his back and hooked his thumbs in his front pockets. “I’m afraid we’ve never met. I’d remember.” He ran his slitted grey gaze down her body.

  “This is Johnny Posey’s daughter. One of his men was struck over the head and he named one of your men as the assailant. I’m here to ask some questions and Tyler rode along.” He met Tyler’s gaze sending her a silent message. With a narrowed eye, she shifted and sighed. “Randy is pretty banged up. I’m sure he’ll be filing a report, Bane.”

  He shrugged arrogantly. “Well, rightly so he should file a report against the man who did this, but I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. All my boys have been right here, working.”

  “You’re lying!” Tyler snapped.

  “Feel free to ask them, Ms. Posey.” Bane jutted his chin.

  Kace turned and eyed each of Bane’s men, several of his sons were among the group. “Any one of you know about this?”

 
; The oldest, Kent, chuckled. “We’ve been here working. Just as Pa said.” The rest of the crew nodded in agreement.

  Just as Kace figured it would be. This was a waste of time.

  “See, son. Our hands are clean,” Bane said with an arrogant grin.

  “Be forewarned that I’ll be back,” Kace said calmly. “Come on, Tyler. Let’s go.” He reached for her hand.

  “What do you mean? One of his men hit Randy over the head. Is he just going to get away with it?” Tyler’s eyes turned a shade darker and her bottom lip trembled.

  “Let’s go back and speak to Randy.”

  “This is completely ridiculous.” She turned to Bane and pointed. “You won’t get away with this. You think because you have money that you can do anything. My ranch is off limits.”

  “You mean your father’s ranch?” Bane shifted his boots. “You ain’t ready to take on the helm, pretty lady.” He turned to Kace. “Can’t you control your woman, Sheriff? I hear she’s the one wearing the badge these days.”

  The surrounding men laughed.

  Kace worked his jaw. He understood how men like Bane worked. They found a man’s buttons and pushed them. For Kace, Tyler was his weakness and that was a terrible thing, especially when she flew off the handle all too easily.

  He looked down at Tyler. “Now get on that horse or I’ll put you on,” he whispered.

  She cursed and stomped toward Spark.

  “I’ll be in touch,” Kace told Bane who was still smiling.

  Tyler didn’t look at Bane or his men. She kept her face forward as she started toward home.

  “Tyler, I—”

  She turned on him, her eyes blazing, her shoulders lifted and tight. “What’s the use in wearing a badge if you don’t plan on using it?”

  He realized she was angry, but so was he. “Wearing this badge doesn’t give me the right to do as I please. There’s a process. I don’t plan on running this county like Mansfield did.”

  “There’s a process alright. Men like Mansfield and Bane get by with bullying others. So now you are stepping aside and letting them get by with their old mischiefs. I wouldn’t put it past Bane to have killed Susy and also played a role in the fire and intruder at the theater.”