“So Parrish let you keep my gift,” Evan remarked, pushing his hat back as Lacey walked up to them holding the reins in one hand.
“It wasn’t his decision, Evan,” she answered with a cutting edge to her voice.
“Figured with him running things, it was.”
“Well, you’re wrong. You understand that, don’t you, Luke?” But Lacey didn’t give him a chance to answer her. “Rafe and I made the decision together that he would be giving the orders. But we talk about those orders first. I warned you, Evan, didn’t I?”
“Heck, Lacey, Evan here don’t mean nothing by it,” Luke cut in. “We all heard ’bout you marrying him.”
She studied each man’s face, looking for signs of discontent. Evan turned away, but Luke’s gaze never wavered. With a brisk nod she left them. There was no point in clashing with either of them over her choice. Marrying Rafe was the right decision. It had to be.
“Wonder what I said that made her riled?” Luke asked as Bo joined them by the corral.
“You set a spur under her cozy blanket about marrying Parrish,” Evan said, “and like the half-tamed mare she is, Lacey ain’t gonna ride smooth for any man.”
Bo glared at Evan, wishing he had a good ten years lighter on his frame. He had no real liking for Rafe, but Evan wasn’t his choice to replace him. He couldn’t fight him, but he wasn’t about to let his remark go unanswered.
“Boy, you better hope that spur don’t come back and set your ass to pinchin’ none. Parrish ain’t a man to set back when his fence’s been jumped if you’re thinkin’ fool thoughts.”
Luke gazed from one to the other. There was a hard warning in Bo’s voice, reflected in his eyes as he stared at Evan. Knowing how Evan felt about Lacey, Luke pitied him, but his loyalty lay with the Reina and her owners, so he added a softer warning to Evan.
“You’d better listen to him. Rafe ain’t a man to fool with. If you want to hang on—”
“You think I’m afraid to lose this job?”
Luke listened a moment to the jeering laugh that followed. Evan stood watching him, tense now, waiting for his answer. “I ain’t talkin’ ’bout no job. I’m just tryin’ to tell you plain out, Rafe’ll kill any man that tries to take Lacey.” He grabbed Evan’s arm, shaking it. “You can’t be blind. He loves her, Evan. Asked him right out and he said as much.” Seeking confirmation, he turned to Bo. “Ain’t I right? Tell him you heard Rafe, too.”
Grinning from ear to ear, Bo spoke with a deadly calm.
“You heard him right, Evan. The man’s gonna shoot first without wastin’ time on fool questions if any man tries jumpin’ his fence.”
“I can take him, any time, any place.” Evan stepped up into his saddle without another word and rode off.
Bo spat a mouthful of tobacco juice where Evan had stood. “Best thing to get rid of snake venom, Luke.”
“Ah, don’t take on so. Evan didn’t really mean it.”
“You’d best be right. If you ain’t, that’s one man that won’t find himself an anthill to hide in if he goes near Lacey.”
Luke didn’t answer him, for Lacey chose that moment to come out of the house. She tied the basket to her pommel and mounted up, and Luke thought she looked as pretty as an ace high flush as she slowly rode away.
Lacey kept her horse to an easy canter. Craggy rocks marked the trail, scattered, then loomed with increasing frequency as she headed up into the mountains. She thought of the first time she had come this way. Sy had led her packhorse, telling her she could change her mind and he would send one of the men in her place. She had refused, determined to prove to him and to the men that she was capable of withstanding the loneliness of a four-week stay at the line shack. And Lacey had learned what it meant to be cooped up alone with only the wind, the snow, and a horse for company.
Glancing back at the lowlands supporting the open chaparral of fine-leaved mesquite, she realized how far up the trail she had come. Ahead, prickly evergreen shrubs were towered by live oaks that blanketed the hillside, and her attention was drawn to the dotted color in the rock crevices. Like vibrant gems, rose and purple blazing star flowers bloomed in riotous profusion against their dull shaded backdrop.
With an impish smile she stopped to pick a few. Her gaze was dreamy as she stroked her cheek with one flower. The first time she and Rafe had made love in the open, the field had been covered with these flowers. She recalled the almost solemn look of Rafe’s eyes as he gathered a large bouquet and, warning her to be still, had blanketed her body with them. A heated flush stole through her, and she closed her eyes, seeing the two of them. The sun-sheened darkness of Rafe’s hair as he bent to kiss her, the first flower he lifted and the kisses that followed each bit of flesh he bared. Heat spread inside her and she trembled, hearing again his husky sigh, his whisper as he reached the soft inner skin of her thigh … “This is the only flower I want for my own.”
It was a memory among many to treasure, for he had gently worshiped her with his lips beneath the blaze of the sun in the midst of tall grasses and flowers until her soft cry sang sweeter than any birdsong.
While Lacey was lost in her remembrances, two riders watched her from the ridge above. April Darcy turned to her brother. “I don’t understand why you still want her after what she did to you. Where’s your pride, Evan? She said you weren’t man enough to rule her or the Reina. And now she has Rafe.”
Evan’s smile belied the hard glint of his eyes. “But you want him, don’t you? Just do what I said. Leave Lacey and the Reina to me.”
“You’re sure he’ll be up there?”
“He’ll be there, and if you do it all right, he’ll stay.”
They both heard Lacey’s humming and watched as she mounted.
“Will you follow her?” April asked, backing her horse down the slope.
“No. I’d best get back before I’m missed.”
Lacey glanced up as a small shower of pebbles were dislodged above her. She shaded her eyes and then shrugged, thinking it was only a small animal. Further up the trail she stopped to watch a wild hare scamper through the tall grass, noting the climb of the sun, willing Rafe to be waiting for her.
But she lingered, knowing it was too early for him to have gotten to the line shack.
Waist-high needlegrass grew up around the old weathered shack, and April, with her mind set on what she was about to do, dismounted and led her mare into the lean-to. Foul-musty odors greeted her when she opened the cabin door, and she jumped back at the sound of mice scurrying to hide. Reminding herself that minutes might be all she had, she hurried to make good use of them.
With a wild, almost boyish yell, Rafe spurred his horse over the last flat run before the shack. He hoped that Lacey was waiting. Two days apart was far too long, he admitted to himself, much as he would admit, when asked, that he loved Lacey.
The past was finally behind him. He didn’t care that Curt would ride out one day and give her the letter from Sy. She agreed to marry him. She loved him. Nothing could happen to change that.
The soft, greeting nicker of a horse from the shadowed interior of the lean-to sent his blood to simmer. He was down and running into the cabin’s dim interior in seconds.
Running, straight into April’s waiting arms.
Her lips clung to his mouth with a desperation he fought free of. Grabbing her shoulders, he shoved her away.
Speechless for a moment, he raked a flint-eyed gaze over her. April’s blond curling hair was in total disarray, streaming wildly over her shoulders, spilling down the low bodice of her camisole. A flush of fury stained his cheeks. There were tears in the fragile fabric! Her shirt, boots, and hat were carelessly tossed on the bunk behind her. .
He tried to speak and couldn’t over the choking sensation filling him. If Lacey walked in and found her here with him … “You damn bitc
h!”
His hand snaked out and grabbed her hand roughly, dragging her to the doorway.
“Rafe! Wait. I didn’t know you’d be here. I swear that. I like to come up here by myself and—”
“You picked today to come here! You’re lying. Who put you up to this?”
“No one.” April hung back, her eyes beseeching him. “What difference does it make? Just as no one put me up to this, no one but you knows I’m here.”
With a frantic look outside Rafe let her go. “Get dressed and get out.”
“Stop looking at me as if you can’t stand the sight of me, Rafe. That night you came to our ranch, you didn’t—”
“—Take what you offered. I kissed you a few times. It was a mistake. Hurry up.” He stood with his back toward her, begging the powers that be to grant him time.
“Rafe,” she whispered softly behind him. “I know I’m forward for a woman, but…”
“But what?” he demanded, spinning around.
April stepped back. “Please, don’t be angry. Didn’t you care for me a little? When you kissed me—”
“What the hell do you want from me?”
“It’s Lacey, isn’t it? I heard you were going to marry her, but I didn’t believe it. I thought I meant something to you.”
The forlorn tone of her voice and pleading gaze sent a rush of guilt through him. He swallowed his anger and forced himself to her side where he picked up her shirt.
“Put it on. I want you gone before Lacey gets here. If you thought there was more between us, April, I’m sorry. It’s Lacey I love.”
April flung her arms around his neck, twisting herself so that Rafe had to turn with her. His arm swept up around her waist to keep them both from falling. April clutched his shoulders, her gaze frantic toward the door. “Rafe,” she moaned, her smile triumphant.
It was her smile that made him turn his head. Lacey stood framed in the doorway, her gaze bewildered, one hand clutching the wood, the other holding crushed flowers.
“Rafe?” Lacey heard the quiver in her voice, but it was merely the forerunner of the violent trembles that shook her body.
“It’s not—”
“Tell her,” April demanded, fighting to hang on to Rafe. “Tell Lacey where you spent the last two nights!”
Lacey listened to her, her mind registered April’s lush and tumbled appearance, but her gaze silently pleaded with Rafe for denial.
“You can’t believe her! You said you trusted me. Lacey! You said you loved me.” Beyond caring whether or not he hurt April, he savagely yanked her arms down.
“I did, didn’t I?” she whispered in a dazed voice.
In those few frozen moments April played her wild card. “If Rafe wasn’t with me, I couldn’t know about the few scars on his back, could I? Or that he laughed about your being shy when he took you in an open field?”
Lacey flinched as if she had been hit. Her stricken gaze lowered to where she had dropped the bouquet of blazing stars. Slowly she backed away, staring at the vile flowers that mocked her with their soiled beauty.
Chapter 15
Rafe ran, but Lacey was already mounted, yanking hard on the reins. Her horse reared, and he dived to grab the bridle. Lacey dug her heels into the horse’s sides, and the mare responded with a prancing leap. Rafe barely managed to fall and roll out of the way. He was up and reaching for her stirrup when Lacey flung the basket at him. She kicked her boot free and caught him square in the belly. Rafe doubled over and for a tense moment looked at her eyes.
If Lacey had a gun, she would have shot him.
He was in a kneeling crouch in the trampled grass and knew she wouldn’t believe him. He couldn’t move as she rode off. He couldn’t breathe. A harsh roar filled his ears and then another sound intruded its deadly warning.
On his left, just past his line of vision, was a rattlesnake. He drew a shallow breath, let it out slowly, not daring to move as the rattle sounded its warning again. Rafe knew it was too much to hope that the snake would slither away.
He almost smiled. Lacey had trampled the grass and likely disturbed it. That last look in her eyes wished him dead. Unless he was extremely careful now, he might grant her that wish.
Not a whisper of air stirred the tall needlegrass. His right arm strained with tension as he moved his hand by inches from the ground up toward his gun. Rafe strove to keep his balance in his awkward crouch. Sweat beads popped out over his face, and a few ran into his eyes, blinding him. The sun blazed down, but a cold shiver fingered his spine. His palm slid up and slowly curled around the butt of his gun. He was desperate to fill his lungs with one deep breath, but he knew he couldn’t chance it.
The worn, wooden grip of his gun caught for a second and then was free. He inched it upward out of the holster. Rafe prayed for time. For one clean shot.
April came running toward him.
He had a second to make a choice. Warn her or fire. He moved too fast. The flat-head, diamond-backed rattler struck once, and then once again.
Rafe cried out to April, drew, and fired. He jumped up, grabbed the knife sheathed at his side and used the bowie’s finely honed blade to cut through his worn denim pants. He had to ignore the skin he sliced with it. The bared fang marks were too high on his thigh for him to bite into them. He opened his flesh, forcing the blood to flow. As quickly as he had worked, Rafe knew he wasn’t fast enough. Intense pain shot through his leg.
April swayed where she stood and then backed away. Rafe would kill her for what she did if she stayed. But the sight of him bleeding made her hesitate.
Dragging his leg, Rafe went past her as if she wasn’t there and managed to get into the shack. He went straight for the wooden cupboard, where he hoped to find a bottle of whiskey. Even when the men wouldn’t use the shack for months, they would leave a bottle behind. And he found one in the far corner.
Ignoring the dust, he pulled the cork free with his teeth, his other hand pressing the flesh of his leg open to keep it bleeding.
He tasted the liquor with the tip of his tongue. Rotgut, the cheapest cactus juice that passed for whiskey. Damn good for snakebite but not for drinking. Rafe knew he wouldn’t drink it now. Could not, when he remembered the warning an old Mexican had given him when they had tried to save a man who was snake bit. The fool in his ignorance had finished off a bottle of whiskey before they had gotten to him. He was dead within the hour, and the old man had blamed it on the whiskey, claiming the liquor spread the poison.
He was about to pour the liquor on his leg when he saw the shadow across the floor. His heart slowed for a beat as he looked up, hoping it was Lacey.
“Let me help you,” April whispered, staring at the blood-soaked pants.
“Help?” he grated from between clenched teeth. “You looking to finish me off?”
April came to him, draping his arm over her shoulder. “Get on the bunk, Rafe. There’s water in my canteen, but don’t move around.”
Rafe didn’t have the strength left to argue. The poison was spreading, and April was his only hope. He spared her a quick look as she came back and began to build a fire.
Lifting the iron cookpot, April stripped off her shirt to wipe out the cobwebs. Rafe moaned and she cut a few strips to bandage his leg when she was finished even as he weakly urged her to hurry.
“I am,” she snapped, more frightened than she could admit to him. Everyone knew what to do for a snakebite, but she had never done it. Rafe groaned. “The water’s taking too long to heat.”
He heard the panic in her voice and forced himself to dredge up a measure of calm. “The hell with the water. Stick the knife in the fire.”
April glanced at him and blanched. He was twisting his neckerchief with his gun barrel as a makeshift tourniquet, and the blood spurted.
Using her shirt, April
grabbed the knife from the fire. The blade was hot and blackened. Ashen white, she stood at his side.
Rafe closed his eyes in despair. The sheen of sweat on her face told him she wouldn’t be able to do it. He grabbed the knife from her hand. “Hold the gun. I’ll cut. But you’ll have to—”
“I know what to do.” April dropped to her knees, forcing herself to watch him make the needed cuts deep into the bites. She swallowed bile and leaned forward. Sucking and then spitting out the blood, she lost track of time until his hand weakly pushed her away.
“I think … you got it all.”
April doubled up, staggering to the door. She knew he could hear her retching, but she didn’t care. When she was done, she leaned weakly against the cabin wall. Evan had what he wanted, and so, in a way, did she. If Rafe survived…
Surviving was the one thought Lacey allowed herself in her headlong flight down the mountain trail. She had heard a single gunshot, but with the ripping pain of the betrayal she felt, she didn’t care if April or Rafe was the target.
The pain was all encompassing, and when her mare was winded, Lacey dismounted and walked her home. With every step she took upon the land, she reaffirmed it was all that mattered. The earth would never betray her, and Rafe Parrish … She stumbled and squeezed her eyes closed, falling to her knees.
He never wanted her. Lies, all lies. The simple truth destroyed her. “Woman,” he called her. Another name for a weak fool.
Never again would she let him use her, she vowed, and repeated when dusk fell, and she made her way home.
Ragweed was sitting on the high rail of the corral fence, and Lacey, exhausted, accepted his offer to help unsaddle the mare. She couldn’t face Maggie, and lingered outside, the dejected set of Ragweed’s shoulders cutting through her own misery. Although he was an orphan, Ragweed usually had a good sense of humor despite his harsh life. She was hit with the realization that she had lost touch with the men that worked for her. Because of … No, she would not say his name, even to herself.
Western Winds Page 18