Passions Wild And Free

by Janelle Taylor

  “I’m glad to see you’re getting to understand me better,” he responded. “Now you know why I love this existence so much. The freedom, the excitement, the challenges, the fun, even the danger …”

  Randee sighed dramatically and admitted, “I’m afraid I do, my handsome drifter. When our jobs are done and I have to settle down somewhere, I’m going to miss you and such stimulating times.”

  He reminded unexpectedly, boldly, meaningfully, “Don’t forget you offered to tag along on occasion.. I’ve gotten used to having you around, and I find it most pleasurable and helpful.”

  “You flatter me, partner, but I love it.”

  As Marsh remounted, he retorted, “That wasn’t flattery, my impulsive vixen; that was the truth. Fact is, I’ve been trying my darnedest to keep you from getting under my tough hide, but you surely do make it difficult, and people don’t have much use for a soft-hearted gunslinger. Rumor claims they get themselves killed too easily because they’re distracted. So if you want me to stay alive, stop tempting me.”

  “Why, Marsh Logan, how could you possibly accuse me of doing such a wicked and selfish thing?” she teased.

  He jested in return, “Because I know it’s true. You’ve been working on my defeat ever since we met. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn you intentionally bumped into me that first day. You’re a naughty girl, Randee Hollis, and a dangerous one.”

  Randee laughed and confessed humorously, “I surely hope so.”

  “Move it out, woman, before we get caught by your sweetheart.”

  When Sheriff Brody Wade reached the hotel shortly after seven thirty, he was more than angered to find Randee gone without a trace. He read her note to him, and couldn’t help but smile triumphantly. He took possession of the two letters, telling the clerk he would mail them for his fiancée. He hurried to his office, unlocked the door, and went inside. Taking a seat at his desk and lighting a lantern, he brazenly opened the letters and read both.

  The letter to the land company sent his heart to racing madly and joyfully. If she would put such revealing words into a letter, then they had to be true. Any doubts he had had about her feelings toward him vanished. Even his stony heart warmed at reading she wanted to use the money to buy a ranch for them. Since it was supposed to be a surprise, he would have to remember not to mention it to her.

  It was the other letter which astonished him. Bewildered, the insidious lawman read it a second time, slowly and thoroughly. Why did Randee want this Dee Hollis Slade to think everything was fine here in Texas, and that she was living and working in New York? Why did she write the letter as Lee Carson’s wife, and why hadn’t she revealed their deaths? The letter indicated that Dee Hollis Slade was Randee’s mother. Randee had never mentioned trouble at home or running away from Kansas! If the Carsons had known the truth, why had they concealed Randee’s presence? It was clear that Randee didn’t want someone back there to know where to locate her. The question was, why?

  A letter full of lies and deceptions … How strange and distressing. If there was trouble back in Kansas, why hadn’t she confided in him? This mystery had to be solved, and solved quickly!

  Brody pulled out a desk drawer and withdrew a copy of the advertisement which Randee had placed in several newspapers to lure a partner here. He put it into a large envelope along with a clipping of the local news story about the .raid, revealing the deaths of Lee and Sarah Elizabeth’ Carson. He included a note about Randee’s current and dangerous preoccupation with capturing the Epson Gang, aided by a notorious outlaw named Storm Hayden who was still wanted in Nebraska. He added that the Mid-Texas Land Company was eager to buy the ranch for a very large sum.

  He looked over his packet and grinned. That should lure somebody down here to explain matters to him! If, after Storm Hayden’s death, Randee attempted to hire another partner, perhaps fear of something in Kansas would compel her into his protective arms! There was also the matter of the Carson Ranch. If Randee wasn’t the Carsons’ heir, he needed the real owner to appear soon and sell it to his company. If trouble found its way here and threatened Randee, perhaps he could impress and ensnare her by getting rid of the problem for her ….

  Brody sealed the expanded envelope and addressed it to Dee Hollis Slade in Kansas. By sending it out with the mail runner today, it should reach the Wichita train by Wednesday, then the woman to whom it was addressed by Thursday or Friday. Within another week, somebody should arrive to clear up this mystery, Soon, he wanted Randee in his clutches and in his bed.

  He wrote another letter to a friend in Nebraska, asking him to check out the Storm Hayden puzzle, and telling him where the alleged outlaw could be located. If by some miracle Storm eluded Jackson Fuller, the Nebraska authorities might be interested in him!

  Lastly, he sent a letter to San Antonio to the real Durango Kid, informing the famed gunslinger of an imposter who was soiling his reputation and using it to his advantage. That should infuriate the Kid and put him hot on Hayden’s trail.

  Between all those threats, Hayden, you don’t stand a chance of living past this month. I warned you not to cross barrels with me.

  Brody took Randee’s letter to his land company in Fort Worth and resealed it with melted wax. Randee’s false letter to her mother had been enclosed in the packet, which would expose her cunning lies. He smiled wickedly. “Sorry, my love, but it has to be my way.”

  Wanting and needing to put as much distance as possible between them and Wadesville, Randee and Marsh rode all day, with only a few short rest stops. They camped late, placing them two-thirds of the way back to Fort Worth.

  They ate quickly, then cuddled on overlapping bedrolls. They were too tired to talk and it was too perilous to make love, so they only kissed and embraced for a short while. Soon, they were asleep.

  Randee could not believe what Pete was telling them: Flossie was dead, perhaps murdered in her sleep. She had been found that morning, sprawled on her mussed bed, not breathing. There was no sign of a struggle and no indications of physical injury. The stunned blonde listened as Marsh questioned Pete about a lame man with red hair, but Pete claimed she hadn’t see anyone like that and had no reason to lie..

  Worried about Randee’s safety in the saloon, Marsh took her to the hotel and registered her there. He told her to get some rest while he did some checking around,’ to which she protested.

  She paced the floor with a tormented look on her lovely face. “I knew Flossie was terrified and in danger. It’s partly my fault she’s dead, Marsh. I knew how dangerous that beast was, and I shouldn’t have left her at his mercy, or total lack of it.”

  Marsh captured her in his arms and held her tightly. “You’ aren’t responsible for her death, even if it was murder, and even if Carl Bush did it,” he refuted firmly. “She lived a hazardous life. She knew it.”

  Randee argued sadly, “She begged me for help and I promised it to her. Maybe she got scared and told him she had made that slip to me. Maybe he knows all about us.”

  “She wasn’t too bright, Randee, but she wasn’t that dumb. Let me do some nosing around. Then we can decide how to handle this. I have to meet with Willard, but I don’t want anyone seeing you visit him. Don’t forget, you have a meeting tomorrow with George Light. It wouldn’t do for him or one of his hirelings to get suspicious of you.”

  “You’re right, I can’t endanger us by tagging along today. I’ll stay put and rest, not that I need it,” she jested to calm her tension.

  “Keep this door bolted and don’t let anyone inside,” he warned.

  “When will I see you again?” she inquired nervously.

  “You’ve had little rest or sleep in two days, so get plenty of both. I’ll see you early in the morning, about seven thirty. We’ll go over my talk with Willard before you see that lawyer.”

  “Marsh, you will be extra careful today, won’t you?”

  Marsh drew her against his hard body and embraced her. Then, he lifted her chin and fused their mouths in a
heady kiss. His mouth drifted down the silky column of her throat and his hands wandered through her tawny hair. A hungry groan escaped his throat and his mouth fused greedily with hers again. Suddenly he drew away and said in a hoarse voice, “I’d better get out of here just in case we’re being watched. Someone might wonder what I’m doing in here so long.”

  “Why don’t you come back later tonight?” she asked shamelessly.

  “The way these, rooms are located, there’s no way to sneak in. I can’t risk being seen at your door during such odd hours.”

  “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me,” she asserted.

  As he caressed her flushed cheek, he corrected, “Yes, you do, Miss Hollis, and so do I. Besides, aren’t you forgetting you’re Sheriff Brody Wade’s fiancée?” he teased, cuffing her chin.

  Randee knew she couldn’t say, I only belong to Marsh Logan and I don’t care who knows it. “Suffer in silence, suffer alone …” she said aloud.

  “At least you have the pleasure of knowing I’ll be doing the same.”

  Randee frowned at his jest. “Some comfort, Logan.”

  Marsh chuckled. “Yep, I certainly do enjoy having you as my partner, you witty and greedy vixen. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Placing her arm across her forehead, she sighed deeply before murmuring, “Alas, if I don’t expire from hunger first.”

  Marsh’s hands and lips roved her sensitive flesh as he countered huskily, “If you do, my love, I’ll revive you with a tasty feast.”

  She warned seductively, “Get out of here, Logan, before I act like a wanton tart and ravish you.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he responded, grinning broadly at her.

  Randee bolted the door after his departure. She was hot, tired, restless, and hungry. She needed a good meal, a cool bath, fresh clothes, and lots of slumber. Instantly she dismissed Marsh’s precautionary orders and went about taking care of each need in order.

  Later, curled in her. bed in a clean nightgown, Randee boldly sipped the sherry she had purchased downstairs. Gradually her body and mind relaxed and she entered dreamland.

  Marsh sat on Randee’s bed going over what he had learned from Willard Mason the night before. The newspaperman had explained his futile search for the Mid-Texas Land Company’s owner or owners. Willard had explained how he had gone from town to town to trace an intricate trail of companies— one company owned by another company owned by another company and so forth, each with a different name on record, leading nowhere of interest or value.

  “So even if we both signed over our deeds, we wouldn’t have the real boss’s name on our records. Damn!” she declared in vexation. “Is that legal, Marsh, to use fictitious names as owners?”

  “As long as the real leader can prove he owns all or part of those companies, he’s in the clear, and we can’t unmask him.”

  “Damn, damn, damn,” she swore angrily. “What now?”

  “We did get one break, Randee. Carl Bush is reputed to be one of Quantrill’s ex-raiders, so we can bet some of those other bastards are too. There’s still a reward poster out on him. If we can capture him, he’s dead. So you see, you did move us forward with that sneaky piece of information.”

  “One step forward and six backward, some accomplishment.”

  “Don’t get discouraged, woman. I need those keen wits working at their best. Another thing, Foley Timms is an ex-Ranger and currently a U.S. Marshal. That surprised me, because I’d never heard of him or run across him during my travels. Seems he’s one of the governor’s best secret agents, a tough and determined lawman.”

  “You mean … Timms is for real?” she asked, astonished, disappointed, confused. That explained why Brody Wade had found her accusation amusing and why Brody had known the suspicious man. She was beginning to think that Brody …

  Marsh cut off the remainder of her budding doubt with his reply, “All we have to do is discover if Timms has become a gang member, or if he’s pretending to be one to defeat them, or only coincidentally being in the right place at the right time. Frankly, I find him suspicious.”

  “So do I,” Randee concurred. “His pattern is too accurate.”

  “I might as well give you some more bad news,” Marsh began reluctantly. “That man I had Willard check on from Kansas, he was working for your stepfather until eight months ago, and so was one of those three raiders whom I killed in Granbury.”

  Randee paled noticeably. “Is there a connection between Payton Slade and this Epson Gang?” she asked worriedly.

  “I don’t think so. It seems your stepfather employed several of Quantrill’s men at one time, but he’s let them all go. I guess to avoid suspicion. I suppose they drifted here and joined up with the Epson Gang.”

  “You don’t think it’s odd they were working with Payton in Kansas, now with this gang that’s terrorizing this area?”

  “I honestly believe it’s only a coincidence. Men like, those seem to locate and join up with others like them. They have no other place to go. The war ruined them, so they keep on raiding and killing. After what Quantrill’s men did during the war, this is nothing new for them. It’s my belief that the real leader intentionally searched out these men, knowing they had no consciences left, but plenty of greed and bitterness. He’s actually exploiting them, but they don’t know it.”

  “My heavens, Marsh, this is crazy,” she remarked sadly.

  “I know, love, but so was the war,” he replied, unaware of the pet name he had picked up recently and was using with her.

  Randee noticed it, but wisely didn’t point it out. “I might as well see George Light, even if I doubt we’ll learn anything new.”

  Randee was surprised by her conversation with the company lawyer. The man was highly educated, pleasant, and nice-looking. She hated to admit she was very impressed by George Light.

  She was becomingly attired in a soft-blue summer dress and matching hat which she had brought along from her trunks in Wadesville for this meeting. “As I said, Mr. Light, I just wrote you a letter Saturday in Wadesville, but I decided to come here and talk with you personally. I cannot bear the thought of the ranch being ruined for any reason, so I have to make certain your reasons for buying it are honorable. How did you hear about my desire to sell?”

  The man appeared totally relaxed and honest as he replied, “You have nothing to worry about, Miss Hollis. My client desires to purchase large spreads, then divide them into smaller ones which the average man can afford. He wants to see this area of Texas prosper. It’s my responsibility to locate properties which have fallen on hard times. Sad to say, most of the sales have resulted from raids by this vicious gang which is terrorizing our state. I check all newspapers for news of raids and approach the heirs about sales. As you know, most of them wish to sell quickly and leave the area. I give them as much money as possible to help them begin fresh elsewhere. Hopefully after this trouble is settled, some of them might return and repurchase their old spreads, or parts of them. Currently our plan is to hold on to the lands until the law has dealt with these murders and the areas are safe once more. Afterwards, we’ll divide the larger spreads and sell them to several buyers. With the profits, we plan to build churches, schools, and businesses. This way, numerous people will benefit from a dreadful situation. We’re interested in development, expansion, and improvements. Progress, Miss Hollis, that’s our primary goal.”

  “The ranch house is still intact, Mr. Light, and it’s beautiful— one of the few places spared by those horrid beasts. Naturally that means I’ll have to ask a higher price than you mentioned in your letter.”

  The man thought for a moment, then responded, “I’ll have to consult the company owner about raising my offer, Miss Hollis. I only have permission to spend a certain amount on each spread. I’ll need a couple of weeks to contact him and get an answer for you. Will it be possible for you to return here … say after July fourth?”

  Randee sighed artfully and said, “I had really hoped to get this m
atter settled as quickly as possible. Are you sure you can’t make an exception this time?”

  George shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Miss Hollis. My authority is limited. To be honest with you, my offer was most generous and I’m not certain I can get a “ better one for you.”

  Randee did not want to appear overly eager, so she remarked, “Yes, but it was probably based on the erroneous fact that only the land existed, as it is uncommon for a raid site to escape total destruction. Surely the house makes my spread worth more?”

  “Ah, but I did know the house was unharmed; that’s why my offer was so reasonable. Surely you read the newspaper account of the raid? It mentioned the curious oversight by that awful gang.”

  That shocked Randee, and it showed in her expression. She admitted, “No, I didn’t know about the story.”

  George smiled kindly. “You were very fortunate, Miss Hollis, but what’s to stop that gang from destroying the house before we can sell it to another buyer? You are aware that those outlaws often strike the same place again? If I get my client to raise his price and the house is burned later, he’s out a great deal of money which cannot be replaced with a sale.”

  “But, Mr. Light” she cleverly argued, “the raiders only strike a second time if people and cattle are present to make it worth their while. Since my ranch is deserted, what would it profit them?”

  George grinned broadly. “You could be right. I’ll approach my client about your request, then give you his answer on July fifth.”

  Randee grasped the polite dismissal in his tone and by the way he rose from his chair. “I can see you’re a busy man, Mr. Light, but I have one other request.” She watched the man take his seat again and look expectantly at her. “This must be held in strictest confidence. I’m looking for a nice, but smaller, ranch near Wadesville. You see, I’m to marry Sheriff Brody Wade soon and we want to get into ranching. As soon as election time comes around, he’s stepping down as sheriff. I want to surprise him with a ranch as a wedding gift. I would like for you to be on the lookout for a superior ranch in that area, but one I can afford with the sale of my land, and one which leaves enough money to buy cattle and build a home. Is that possible?”