Promises Kept

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my ranch. Any man who’s willing to put in a good day’s work will always have a job with me, but no man takes from me what he hasn’t worked for, or that I haven’t freely given,” Colt stated firmly.

  There was no doubt in T. J.’s mind that Colt would protect what was his. He’d worked for old man McBride and admired him for what he’d done with the ranch. In truth, Colt drove himself hard making the ranch more successful than it had been under the elder McBride. Colt worked side by side with the men and he worked harder than any of them. He’d proven himself to be a good businessman, and to T. J.’s thinking he was one heck of a lot tougher than his old man. He’d seen Colt in action with his fists and his guns. A wise man didn’t take him lightly. There wasn’t a man on the ranch who didn’t hold him in high regard, because he’d earned their respect. Those same men would follow him straight to the gates of Hell if need be. Wallace had gotten word out that he’d pay higher wages than Colt paid, but every man stayed with Colt. They thought that much of him.

  “Would you look at that,” T. J. commented when they reined in at the church.

  “I can’t believe she is here with him,” Tate grumbled, sounding disappointed.

  Colt glanced up and saw Wallace standing beside Victoria, talking with the pastor and his wife. “He works fast,” Colt ground out.

  Bartholomew was standing near the rail and heard Colt’s comment. “You can say that again. He came by this morning asking Miss Victoria to the picnic. He told her I could ride along with them. Wouldn’t you know when that cagey no-account shows up, he’s in that little buggy of his. Weren’t no room for me in that thing, so I took the buckboard and rode along behind them to make sure he kept his hands to himself.”

  They laughed, and Colt asked, “So you were playing chaperone?”

  Bartholomew nodded. “Yes sir, I held my scattergun in my lap the whole time, just hoping he would do something improper.”

  “We stopped to see if she wanted to go with us,” Tate told him.

  “You youngsters were just too dang late! The picnic was over a long time ago.”

  “We just wanted to dance anyway,” T. J. added.

  Victoria was talking to the schoolteacher when the music started, and T. J. approached. “Could I have this dance, Miss Victoria?”

  Wallace had excused himself, saying he had business to see to, so she didn’t feel it was necessary to wait for him. She allowed T. J. to escort her to the dance floor. After the first dance with T. J., she danced with Rex, and then T. J. appeared again for the next two dances. As he twirled her around the room, she spotted Colt out of the corner of her eye talking with a lovely woman she hadn’t met. Each time she glanced in their direction, the woman had her hand on Colt’s arm. It didn’t seem like Mr. McBride lacked female attention, judging by the way women flocked around him. She noticed his Stetson was absent, but not his gun. He did look boyishly handsome with that black curly hair falling over his forehead. As if he read her thoughts, she watched him rake his fingers through his hair.

  When they rode by Victoria’s and found no one home, Colt had had a feeling she might be with Wallace. Seeing her beside Wallace at the dance with his hand on her back, he decided then and there that he was through wasting his breath. If she preferred Wallace, then so be it. He’d spent way too much time thinking about her as it was, but no more. He needed to be thinking about ranch business, and that was what he was going to do from now on. He’d still have his men keep an eye on things at her farm. Any good neighbor would do that, he reasoned.

  He’d keep his distance from her tonight, and seeing as how several women were already surrounding him, that wouldn’t be difficult to do. Mavis Connelly, a lovely young widow with three young children, was one of the ladies vying for his attention. He’d escorted Mavis to dinner and other social events over the years, and he liked her, but the relationship had not developed past friendship. At least, not on his part.

  Every so often Colt would look around to find Tate, to see if he was doing okay. He’d danced every dance with the youngest Detrick gal, and it looked like T. J. had taught him well. Just as he predicted, old man Detrick made sure his daughters were never far from his sight.

  Even though he was resolved to stay away from Victoria, he’d still managed to notice every man she danced with. He knew this was T. J.’s fourth dance, and he looked like he was just warming up. It also hadn’t escaped his notice how lovely she looked in the pink dress she was wearing. Not that it showed off her curves as nicely as that silky robe, but it didn’t hide them either.

  The dance ended, and T. J. steered Victoria in the direction of Colt and Mavis.

  “T. J., you’re still the best dancer around,” Mavis said after the introductions had been made. She leaned into Colt’s side and linked her arm through his. “I haven’t been able to talk Colt into dancing tonight.”

  T. J. picked up the hint. “Would you like to dance with me, Mavis?”

  “I’d love to, if your partner doesn’t mind,” Mavis replied coyly, looking directly at Victoria. She was well aware that Victoria had arrived on Euan Wallace’s arm, but when he excused himself, she’d had her choice of dancing partners. She’d also noticed Colt had kept an eye on her all night. She thought she might make him jealous by accepting T. J.’s offer.

  “T. J. is not my escort tonight,” Victoria replied.

  T. J. took Mavis’s hand and led her away, and Colt was alone with the one person he promised himself he was going to avoid. When he looked at her, all he could think about was how beautiful she was. “Are you having a good time?” he asked politely.

  Colt’s question was pleasant enough, yet she thought he seemed distant. “Lovely. T. J. is an excellent dancer,” she replied.

  “What about your escort?” Colt hadn’t seen Wallace dance with her. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Wallace since shortly after he arrived. He was wondering why the man would leave her alone. “What happened to him?”

  It surprised her that he knew she had arrived with Wallace. “He had business that needed his attention.”

  Over Victoria’s shoulder, Colt saw Wallace making his way toward them. “Would you care to see if I measure up to T. J.?” he asked abruptly.

  “Are you asking me to dance?” she asked, clearly surprised.

  Colt took her by the hand and pulled her into his arms. “Yes.” He danced away from Wallace. So much for staying away from her.

  Victoria gave him a quizzical look. “I didn’t think you were dancing tonight.”

  “Looks like I changed my mind.” His large hand engulfed hers in a light grip, and the hand on her back spanned the space from her waist to her shoulder blades. He held her close, too close for comfort in her estimation. She made an attempt to put some space between their bodies, but the muscled arm around her back was immovable. She didn’t smell whiskey tonight, just a pleasing scent of soap and leather.

  Colt liked the feel of her close to him, the way her soft curves pressed against his ribs. She smelled like she had last night, sweet and feminine, and it made him think of things he promised himself he wouldn’t. He lowered his mouth to her ear, and lowered his voice. “I like your hair better down, like it was last night. I bet it would look real pretty in the moonlight.”

  She felt the brush of his lips against her ear all the way to her toes, and she jerked her head away from his mouth. “This is the latest style,” she answered, flustered.

  He chuckled at that. “Men don’t care about style. They like to feel it.”

  Before she could form a reply, he asked, “Have you decided when you are leaving for St. Louis?”

  The change in conversation confused her momentarily, and she tried to concentrate on what he was saying instead of his warm breath on her ear. “I received a telegram from Mrs. Wellington today. She told me not to come, that she was due for an adventure and was bringing the boys to me. I’m not sure that is a good idea, but she sounded so excited.”
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br />   “That many miles with two young boys will definitely be an adventure.”

  “I’ll worry until I see them here safe and sound. That is a difficult trip, and Mrs. Wellington is not a young woman.”

  Colt pulled back far enough to see a frown crease her brow. “No sense borrowing trouble. Don’t worry until you have a reason.” Good advice. Now if he would follow it himself, things would be perfect in McBride’s world.

  “Mind if I cut in? I haven’t had the pleasure of dancing with my date yet,” Euan Wallace said.

  Victoria felt Colt’s shoulders tense and his grip on her hand tighten. He stopped dancing and turned to face Wallace. “Another bad decision on your part.”

  “I intend to make up for my failing manners.” He held his hand out to Victoria.

  Victoria saw Colt’s jaw muscles start to twitch, and she tried to remove her hand from his, but he was obviously not ready to release his hold. “Thank you for the dance, Mr. McBride,” she said, giving her fingers a slight tug.

  Colt pulled his dark eyes from Wallace and flashed her that rakish grin. “It was my pleasure, Miss Eastman.” He pulled her fingers to his mouth and brushed his lips across the back of her hand, imitating Wallace.

  She wasn’t fooled by his attempt at a cordial demeanor; that cold, hard look was back in his eyes. He kissed her hand simply to irritate Wallace, and she was equally sure Wallace was aware of his intent. She had no reason to share Colt’s opinion of Wallace, and tonight he’d been a polite companion on the way to town. Of course, it was comforting to know Bartholomew was right behind them. Since Wallace hadn’t broached the subject of buying her farm again, she thought Colt was wrong about his involvement in the trouble with the ranchers. So far, the only thing that troubled her about Wallace was the fact that Bandit didn’t like him.

  Colt saw Tate in line to get punch and he walked in his direction. He figured it was time to go home since they had to get up early in the morning. Before he reached Tate, he saw old man Detrick approach, and from the set of his jaw, Colt knew he was angry. As soon as Detrick reached Tate, he started yelling.

  “What’s the problem here?” Colt asked, interrupting Detrick’s tirade.

  Detrick jabbed a finger at Tate. “This here boy tried to take my girl behind the church.”

  Colt glanced at Tate. He knew the boy wouldn’t disregard his warning, so he wasn’t going to insult him by asking.

  Tate said, “That’s not true, Mr. McBride! We just walked over here to get some punch. We’ve been on the dance floor all night.”

  “I know,” Colt told him. The punch table was located next to the area where the teenagers would sneak around to the back of the church. Colt smelled whiskey, so he figured Detrick was spiking his own punch and spoiling for a fight.

  “Detrick, if Tate says he was having punch, you can take his word for it,” he said calmly.

  “Why would I take his word for it? He’s nothing but trash that was living in a wagon before you gave him a job and a home,” Detrick spat. “He ain’t good enough for my gal.”

  It didn’t matter to Colt if they were on church grounds or in a saloon; nobody was going to talk about Tate that way. He grabbed Detrick by the shirt and lifted him up on his toes. “Apologize to the boy!” he demanded.

  The music stopped and everyone turned their attention to the confrontation. T. J. and Colt’s other men moved to Colt’s side in case Detrick’s men tried to get involved.

  “Take your hands off me!” Detrick demanded.

  “I said to apologize,” Colt ground out.

  Tate moved to stand beside Colt. “That’s okay, Mr. McBride, he’s just looking out for his daughter.”

  Tate was more generous than he was. “Then he ought to have the good sense to ask his daughter what was going on before jumping to conclusions. He’s not only insulted you, but Alice too.”

  “Tate’s telling the truth, Pa, we were just having some punch,” Alice added in a shaky voice, clearly afraid of her father.

  “I’ve told you to stay away from that piece of . . .” He couldn’t finish his sentence. Colt slammed his fist in Detrick’s jaw and sent him flying into the punch bowl, splintering the glass and table at the same time.

  Detrick was lying on the ground drenched in punch and broken glass. Colt stood over Detrick, wanting him to stand so he could beat the tar out of him. “Get up!” When Detrick didn’t move, Colt leaned over and jabbed him in the chest. “Your daughter would never find a better young man than Tate. Don’t ever let me hear you say another disparaging word about him, or call him a liar.” With that said, he stalked off through the throng of onlookers. One man slapped him on the back and commented, “Way to go, he had it coming.” Colt was heartened that the people of Promise knew what a fine boy Tate was. He couldn’t have been more proud of him. He hoped one day he had a son as fine as Tate. He’d never met anyone who didn’t speak highly of him. Until tonight. It had been a long time since he’d allowed anyone to make him so angry, but Detrick had managed to do so. He told himself that he hadn’t exactly set a good example for Tate on how to handle a dispute, but it sure did his heart good to see Detrick dripping with punch.

  T. J. put his arm around Tate’s shoulders and followed Colt through the crowd.

  “I’ve never seen Mr. McBride so mad,” Tate said. “He didn’t have to do that. I don’t care what her pa says.”

  “Colt cares about you, and he takes care of his own. Detrick insulted you and Colt wasn’t about to let that go,” T. J. explained.

  “But won’t that just cause more trouble between them?”

  “That won’t matter to Colt, and Detrick had it coming.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “We took care of some more cattle today,” Hoyt Nelson informed Wallace when he sat down at the poker table.

  There was only one man at the table who didn’t work for Wallace, but Wallace was not pleased with Hoyt’s careless comment. “Let’s not discuss ranch business in here.”

  “I was just commenting on our cattle,” Hoyt snapped. He didn’t like Wallace censuring him in front of the other men.

  Picking up the cards in front of him, Wallace gave Hoyt a look that said he didn’t appreciate any comments when he gave an order. “That may be, but I learned a long time ago it’s wise to keep business private.” He threw more bills to the table, making his bet. “And when I give an order, I will not tolerate anyone ignoring it.”

  The men around the table looked from Wallace to Hoyt. They didn’t think it mattered much to Hoyt what Wallace was paying him; he wasn’t a man to make angry. What they didn’t know was that Hoyt had been promised a large bonus when he completed his job, so he’d put up with Wallace to a point. Hoyt stared at Wallace, debating on how much more he would take from him.

  Ignoring Hoyt, Wallace looked at the stranger across the table. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you before.”

  The man glanced at Wallace and figured he was the rich boss man the cowboys had been talking about. “Gage Hardy. I’m new in town.”

  Wallace nodded. “Euan Wallace. Where are you from?”

  “I’ve been seeing the country,” Hardy answered noncommittally.

  Wallace’s eyes didn’t leave his cards. “Planning on staying around?”

  Hardy looked at him over his cards. “Why are you interested?”

  Wallace raised his bet. “Thought you might want a job.”

  “You hiring?” Hardy called his bet.

  “Are you any good with that gun?” Wallace threw his three aces to the table.

  Hardy laid down four eights. “You need to be a gunslinger to work cattle now?”

  Wallace cursed at losing the hand and threw his cards facedown. “We’re having some trouble around here. I need men capable of handling a gun if necessary.”

  Hardy pulled his winnings to him. “How’s the pay?”

  “More than you’ll make with any other rancher.”

  Hardy had listened to the conversation around th
e table before Wallace showed up, and he had a good idea who was behind the trouble. Since he’d found Delilah he wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon, and he wasn’t one to turn down a job that fell in his lap. “I’m good enough with a gun, I reckon, and I’ve worked cattle all my life.”

  “We’ll discuss the details when you show up at the ranch in the morning. Right now, let’s play poker.”

  Hardy reached for Lucy’s arm as she passed the table. “Darlin’, would you bring us another bottle?”

  “When you get back, Lucy, come over here and talk to me,” Hoyt said.

  Lucy stared at Hoyt. She didn’t want him using his fist on her again. “You drunk?”

  “Now, why would that make a difference?”

  “You get mean when you’re drunk,” Lucy replied.

  Face flushed, Hoyt jumped to his feet and snaked out an arm and pulled her to him. “Look here—”

  “Careful, Hoyt,” L. B. warned, moving up behind him.

  Wallace looked at Hoyt, silently indicating he should take a seat. “No problems here, we just ordered another bottle.”

  Hoyt’s grip tightened on Lucy’s arm. “Let’s go to the bar, honey.”

  “Not now, Hoyt.” Wallace pointed to the bills stacked where Hoyt had been sitting. “Looks like you’ve been lucky and the boys want to win some of their money back.” He didn’t want Hoyt talking too much to Lucy when he was drunk.

  The men at the table chorused their agreement. “Yeah, we do.”

  Hoyt smiled at them. “Later.”

  Wallace put his hand in his vest pocket, his fingers resting on his derringer. “I think the boys want to keep playing now.”

  “Lucy, get them that bottle. It’s on the house.” L. B. pulled Lucy’s arm from Hoyt’s grip. “Mind if I sit in a few hands with you boys?”

  Wallace nodded his approval. “I hope you aren’t as lucky as normal.”