by Dee Burks
“After you tied her up and gagged her?” Charlie arched his eyebrows. “You deserve anything she dishes out and then some as far as I‘m concerned.”
“So then what happened, Sammy?” A little voice squeaked. Tommy stared with his big round eyes in rapt attention. “Did the bad guy chase you?”
The adults in the room had almost forgotten he was there. “Not exactly.” She picked at the buttery flapjacks, reminding herself to leave out some of the more seemly details that weren’t really fit for the ears of a seven-year-old. “Mattie thought I needed to get as far away as possible until the fraud could be investigated and John arrested.”
“So you do want something from me?” Taos eyed her suspiciously.
She ignored him. “She suggested that I come here for a while. I thought I might check on things—you know, my ranch and all—while I was here. I really appreciate you all taking care of it for me.”
Silence blanketed the room. Taos’s coffee cup paused in midair, and Charlie and Darren exchanged a nervous glance.
“Who sent for you?” Taos growled.
The sharp demand brought Samantha’s head up quickly. “No one. Why would someone send for me?”
“You know why.”
Samantha’s anger flashed. “Do you just wake up every morning and decide to be nasty, or is today special?”
“It’s always special when I know someone is lying to me, honey.”
“Lying about what? I told you the truth.” She looked at Darren. “What exactly has been going on here? Why doesn’t he believe me?” Panic seeped into her voice. They had to believe her, she had nowhere else to go. Charlie and Darren stared at the table. If they didn’t believe her, what then? She couldn’t go back to Mattie. And how would her aunt find her if she left? She wasn’t about to stay at her ranch alone. She’d come here for protection, and now Taos couldn’t wait to throw her to the wolves.
She stared at him. What happened to the hero she remembered? His gaze was unyielding and hard. She suddenly realized she had no idea who this man was now and she’d obviously been wrong to think he would help her. He didn’t have an ounce of empathy in that oversized body of his.
“There’s been a drought going on for a few years here,” Charlie said. “It’s gotten kind of ugly with some of the neighboring ranchers.”
“Ugly?”
“There’s been some livestock killed . . .”
“And a few shots fired.” Darren said.
“It rained last night, I’m sure that helped.” Samantha offered.
“Not really. Too little too late for a lot of folks. Many are selling out, and others are just doing without,” Charlie glanced at Taos and continued. “’Bout the only decent water left is on our ranches.”
“If things are that bad for everyone, I’m sure we can shar-”
“No.” Taos slammed his empty cup on the table. “There’s barely enough to keep our own head watered. It’s none of your concern anyway.”
His patronizing attitude felt like a slap in the face. She stiffened her back. How could she have kissed those lips or wanted his hands on her last night? What was she thinking? “What goes on within the borders of my ranch is my business.”
“It’s not your ranch, yet.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sure you know the terms of you parent’s will.” Taos’s voice was cool and even.
“What terms?” her heart pounded in her throat.
“You inherit the land and house that your parents had along with the profit the land has earned over the years.” He watched her closely as if waiting for a reaction.
“So what’s the problem?”
“You only get it if you marry or show up with an heir in tow. I’m assuming you plan on marrying soon. Maybe to the same man who sent for you?”
What? How could her parents do this? What were they thinking? She hopped up and paced the length of the table. Thank goodness her investments had done so well. That must have been why Mattie never pushed her to marry. She didn’t need the ranch to live well. “I have to stay here, that’s how we planned it.”
“We?” He smiled and shook his head, “Like I said last night, you should be on the stage somewhere.” He was so smug and sure of himself. Samantha stopped pacing and met his glare.
This man was a stranger to her. That safe feeling she’d had since last night crumbled. Taos couldn’t protect her from John. No, he wouldn’t protect her. She was already alone. An empty feeling crept across her soul. Tears stung the back of her eyes, and her lower lip quivered.
Charlie shook his head and reached for her hand. “Aw, Sammy, don’t cry. We’ll get this all worked out. In the meantime, you’ll stay right here with us.” Darren nodded his agreement and shot an angry look toward Taos.
“I want to see the will.” Her voice was barely a whisper; hot tears rolled unheeded down her face. If she didn’t have a right to be here, she knew now that Taos would never let her stay. He clearly thought nothing of her and wanted her gone as soon as possible. How ridiculous it felt now that she reveled in his touch last night; he would have cared more for her if she had actually been a prostitute. Charlie pushed her toward a chair and poured her some more coffee as Darren went to collect the papers.
Samantha captured Taos’s gaze with hers and silently pleaded with him. He grunted and looked away. She stared at her fingers. How could he have changed so much? She remembered him kind and giving, not cold and heartless. She needed to think clearly.
Darren handed her a copy of her parents’ will and Samantha stared at the words. Her mother’s handwriting. Large loops with a perfect, flowing penmanship. Tears splashed on the pages as she turned them. There were only four, and the last one held both her parents’ signatures. She ran a finger across the letters, desperately wanting to touch the hands that made them. She never felt as alone as she did right now.
Taos cleared his throat and tapped his finger on the table, motioning Tommy out of the room.
Samantha concentrated, scanning the pages until she found the passage concerning the transfer to her: All aforementioned property, livestock, money and interest earned will be transferred to Samantha Kay James upon her marriage or directly to her heir.”
“You’ll see that there is no room for any other alternative unless you marry.” Taos stated. “I’m curious to know how quickly you were planning the wedding, since there is no other way to get your hands on the land.”
Her irritation with this insufferable man grew in leaps and bounds. How could she have ever kissed those snarling lips?
“First of all, I don’t need or want the ranch. That’s not why I came here.”
“Right,” his sarcastic tone made her want to smack that chiseled chin.
“And just to be perfectly clear, it doesn’t say here that I have to be married.” She stared right
through him, dashing away tears with the back of her hand.
He talked with slow and deliberate words like she was slow witted just as he had at the mine last night. “It is in black and white right in front of you. Just because you are pretending you don’t want it that way doesn’t mean it will change. Why don’t we get down to what you’ve already planned and stop this little game?”
It took all her willpower to stay seated. She growled instead. “It says right here in black and white that I can either be married or have an heir.” Really? Why did men assume a woman couldn’t read a basic legal document? “It’s an either/or statement, not a both/and requirement.”
Confusion crossed his face, followed by anger.
“Do you mean you are planning to . . . You can’t do that, I won’t allow it.”
Her eyes flew open as she realized that he thought she was planning to get pregnant! Ridiculous! She covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. He didn’t know her at all, and that just might work in her favor. It really didn’t matter what he thought of her as long as she could get the protection she needed for a few weeks. She had to think quic
kly.
He leaned forward and his voice shook. “I’ll make sure no man comes near you.”
She matched his angry stare without blinking. “How? You said I won’t be staying here.”
“Yes, you will. I’m not letting you out of my sight until I know exactly who is up to what.” His voice vibrated around the room. “And until I find out, I run both ranches and everyone on them.”
She needed to push him just a bit farther, make him believe she just might go to extremes. “Charlie, how many men would you say go to Miss Sadie’s in a week’s time?” She arched a suggestive eyebrow toward Taos.
“Uh, I uh,” Charlie clearly wasn’t ready for that kind of question. “Well, probably forty or more. Why?”
“Looks like you’re going to be very busy, aren’t you?” she dared Taos.
“You will not become a whore!” His growl rumbled through her, making the hair on her neck stand up.
“I have no intention of being a whore. Although you made it clear you thought I had some talent in that respect.” She saw a blush creep up his neck as his brothers glared at him. “And I believe I would just need what you cattlemen call ‘stud services.’ Hardly the same thing.”
Taos looked ready to explode.
She shrugged, “You’re the one who suggested it.”
“This is a ridiculous conversation,” Taos’s irritation was getting the best of him and he stood, clearly wanting to be done with this.
Samantha agreed this was ridiculous. It was so simple. She just needed to stay here for a few weeks, why was this so hard? Something in her wanted to give him another chance to believe her. Last night clearly wounded his pride and this morning they’d all had some fun at his expense as well. She walked over and stood right in front of him, her head titled back so she could see his face. He was looking at anyone or anything in the room but her.
“Taos . . .” She waited. Finally he glanced down at her. “I told you the truth. I just need to stay her for a few weeks, then I’ll leave. I don’t want or need anything else from you, nor do I plan on doing anything with the ranch.”
His expression told her he clearly didn’t believe a word she said.
“Do you believe me?”
“Nope.”
She hadn’t expected a different answer, but still part of her hoped for one. She held his gaze. “Okay, if that’s the way you want it, that’s fine.”
She stepped closer until she almost touched him. “But make no mistake. I am staying even if that means you spending every waking minute wondering what I’m up to, or who I’m with.”
Chapter 7
“Went a little over the top, don’t you think, sweetheart?”
Samantha ignored Charlie as the wagon bumped along toward town. Taos assigned Charlie as her temporary guardian with strict instructions not to let her out of his sight.
Taos’s reaction didn’t surprise her. She couldn’t believe the words had come out of her own mouth. Stud services? Really! As if she would even have the nerve to mention such a thing in front of anyone else. It couldn’t be taken back now, and it put her in a very awkward position.
She had to do something to make him think she was going to consider it just to stall him from booting her into the street. The man acted like women were the enemy. She crossed her arms and swayed in rhythm with the wagon. This predicament was entirely Taos’s fault. If he had just believed her there wouldn’t be an issue at all.
John was deadly serious about his treat, and she knew it. The farther away she got, the more worried she was about her aunt. Who would take care of her if John tried to use her as some sort of leverage? She was a tough, determined woman, no doubt—but John was a killer.
“You weren’t really serious, were you?”
She looked over at Charlie. Apparently there was some doubt in his mind. Maybe she was more convincing than she thought. She squinted and looked hard at him. Same hazel eyes, dark thick hair, and devilish grin. Just as she remembered.
“What?”
“How can you still be the same person you always were, and your brother be totally different?”
Charlie’s gazed at the horizon as the first signs of town came into view. “He’s not that different. He’s just been through some rough times.”
“Rough times?” They must have been horrible to make him this nasty. Maybe her ranch had been a hardship on him. That hadn’t occurred to her. “You mean trying to run both spreads?”
“No. Now that he’s good at.” Charlie paused and shuffled the reins back and forth between his fingers. “Why do you want your ranch so bad right now?”
“I don’t, I said that.”
His head snapped around. “Then what was all that this morning?”
“Taos said I couldn't stay. The only other place I can go is my own ranch, but there’s no one there to protect me. Mattie won’t know where to find me if I go anywhere else. We agreed that I wouldn’t contact her just in case John was intercepting her mail, and we highly suspect he has been.” She stared into Charlie’s incredulous eyes. “I thought I would be safe with Taos. What was I supposed to do, let him kick me out like a sack of rotten potatoes?”
“Taos wouldn’t have kicked you out.” He shook his head. “He thinks you just want the money and the land. All you have to do is convince him you don’t. Problem solved.”
“I tried that and he called me an out-and-out liar! How do you expect me to change his mind?”
“Hm. Got a point there.” Charlie thought for a minute. “He’s not one to back down easily when he makes a decision either.”
“So I gathered. I do plan to convince him, but I wouldn’t mind making him suffer a little first.”
Charlie seemed worried. “You’re not going to make me suffer too, are you?”
“Nope.” She grinned. “Just him.”
Charlie steered the wagon up and over the bank of the dry creek she’d crossed last night. It had been almost dark then, but now she could see the land was truly parched. The grass was thin and mostly dead. Large areas of what was once pasture were only dirt now. You could hardly tell there had been any sort of rain last night. The ground must have absorbed the moisture like a sponge.
“So what happened to Tommy’s mother?” Samantha asked.
“That was the rough time I was talking about.”
“Taos’s wife?”
“Ex-wife.”
“They actually divorced?” Samantha lowered her voice to a whisper. She knew of many estranged couples, but none would tolerate the scandal of divorce and she’d heard nothing of it at all in the few letters she’d exchanged with Darren in the last nine years.
“Yep. Sharisse was a piece of work alright. Her old man was after the land and the water from both ranches. He owns a spread downstream a ways. She never wanted a husband, only a lifestyle. They baited the trap, and Taos fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”
“What kind of trap?”
“It happened at a barn dance. One like they used to have over at the schoolhouse.”
She had watched her mother and father glide across the wooden floor of the schoolhouse in each other’s arms all evening at those dances years ago. They’d loved each other so much.
“Her father arranged for them to be caught in a compromising situation, which was a complete set up.” He shrugged at Samantha’s raised eyebrows and lowered his voice. “She basically threw herself at him, and they were married on the spot. Her old man had the preacher ready and everything. By the time Taos knew what they’d done, she was expecting Tommy.”
“He didn’t love her at all then?”
“Oh, I think he tried to make the best of it. He humored her spending habits, which were unbelievable. I thought she was out to put him in the poorhouse, myself.”
A vision of Tommy clouded her thoughts. “I don’t understand how any woman could leave her child.”
“She never wanted Tommy and she swore she wouldn’t let Taos near her after he was born. It was pretty rocky.�
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Samantha’s heart constricted. Tommy was the most adorable little boy she’d ever seen. “He deserves better.”
“Tommy or Taos?”
Both. She couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting Tommy. As far as Taos went, her temper still simmered. He probably deserved any nastiness his wife could dish out. But how could any woman not want him to touch her? Even she couldn’t tell that big a lie. While she knew it was never going to happen again, she also knew she would remember that touch for the rest of her life. “So what finally happened?”
“Things seemed to be smoothing out a little until she found out she was pregnant again, and they got into a big yelling match. She said it caused her to lose the baby and blamed him.”
“Oh, how sad.” Samantha held one hand to her chest.
“It seemed pretty farfetched at the time to everyone around here. I mean, about losing the baby because of an argument. Sharisse was strong and healthy, and some people talked about how maybe she caused it herself.”
“Do you think she would do that?”
“Yep, I do.”
“So what does Taos think?”
“He never talks about it. Even to me and Darren. He just paid her off and she left.”
“Paid her off?”
“I don’t really know the details, I just know it cost him a lot, in a lot of ways.”
She nodded, turning the information over in her mind. It certainly explained some of his demeanor, though it didn’t excuse his treatment of her.
“Anyway,” He paused as if gathering his thoughts. “I thought I better warn you before we got to town. Sharisse started a bunch of rumors before she left about how Taos abused her and beat her.”
Samantha inhaled sharply.
“Now, not one of them is true,” He rushed his explanation. “I lived in that house, Sammy, and I never saw him ever lift a finger to her, honest. Though if any man had a reason to, he sure did.” He rubbed the leather reins with his thumbs. “People still talk though.”
“Does she ever come around to see Tommy?
“Nope. Not once. I haven’t seen her in more than five years now.”
“That’s too bad.”