by Connie Mason
Kitty lay awake long after Ryan left. Her body still tingled and burned from his loving, and she knew she’d never be able to marry Norm after tonight. Her life was more difficult now than it had been when she rode with outlaws. All she’d had to worry about then was maintaining her disguise and staying alive. Now she had Bert and Teresa complicating her life, and Ryan Delaney taunting her with his kisses.
Kitty thought long and hard about Bert. She felt sorry for him, had even grown fond of him, but she still couldn’t bring herself to love him unconditionally. As for Teresa, her stepsister was bound and determined to make her life a living hell. Kitty didn’t want to be Bert’s heir. Teresa deserved that honor more than she did.
Kitty considered Bert’s grave condition and decided his health had improved somewhat over the past few weeks. If she was going to leave, now was the time. Rather than making sad farewells, Kitty decided it would be best for everyone if she just wrote a note of explanation to Bert and another to Norm and quietly disappeared. If she remained she knew Norm would continue to pressure her for marriage and Bert would doubtlessly approve the match.
Had Kitty held the slightest hope of becoming more to Ryan than a lover, she would stay, but she knew that that would never happen. She drifted off to sleep composing notes of farewell in her head.
Kitty awakened late the next morning. Her eyes were barely open when Teresa burst into her room. She strode purposely to the bed, her nose wrinkled in disgust.
“What happened last night? This room reeks of sex. And don’t tell me you invited Norm Tucker up to your room, for I won’t believe you.”
Kitty sat up, pulling the sheet up to her chin. “Don’t you believe in knocking?”
“Why should I? This is my house.”
Kitty’s eyes widened when Teresa reached down, picked up Kitty’s discarded nightgown, and dangled it as if it were something offensive. “Were you too warm last night?” she taunted, her eyes glittering with malice.
“You could say that,” Kitty said, admitting nothing.
“Ryan was here, wasn’t he? How do you think Papa Bert will react when I tell him you and Ryan are lovers?”
“I don’t know,” Kitty said. “Do you want to risk telling him something that might or might not be true? You could damage your own standing with him.”
Apparently Teresa decided to give the matter further thought, for she spun on her heel and marched out the door. Kitty heaved a sigh of relief. The situation between her and Teresa was becoming intolerable. If she’d been torn about her decision to leave the ranch, this clash with Teresa made up her mind. She began to plan her departure as she gathered her clean clothing and went to bathe.
“You want me to what?” Ryan asked, clearly disconcerted by what Bert had just asked him. He had paid an early morning visit to Bert’s sickroom and had been floored by Bert’s request.
“I may be sick, but I’m neither blind nor stupid,” Bert contended. “I know there are strong feelings between you and Kitty. No one can be in the same room with you two without sensing the attraction. In view of my observations I don’t think I’m asking too much, or being unreasonable.”
“You want me to marry Kitty,” Ryan repeated slowly.
“I’m growing weaker,” Bert said. “I can feel my life slipping away, and I want my own flesh and blood to inherit the ranch. Unfortunately Kitty has no experience. She needs a strong man to help her and you’re the man I want my daughter to marry.
“You’re my best friend’s son. You and your family can protect her. I know Kitty is rough around the edges and lacks polish, but I feel strongly that she will make you a loving wife. Right now she’s vulnerable to outside influence and doesn’t know her own mind. You can help her through the ordeal after my death.”
“You’re asking a lot of me, Bert,” Ryan said, frowning. “My home is in Montana. I have a responsibility to my brothers.”
“From what you’ve told me, Chad and his wife are capable of running the Montana ranch without your help. And Pierce has Zoey’s ranch to take care of. Why shouldn’t you have a place of your own?”
Stunned, Ryan gaped at Bert, a thousand reasons why he shouldn’t take a wife running through his mind. “I know for a fact that Norm Tucker proposed to Kitty.”
“Tucker is a good man,” Bert acknowledged. “But he isn’t the man for my daughter. Kitty would never be happy with a mild-mannered, uninteresting man like Tucker. She needs someone to curb her wild nature without damaging her spirit. I’m damn proud of that girl, Ryan, and I think you’re perfect for her.”
“What about Teresa?” Ryan asked, forestalling his answer. “I understand she expects to inherit.”
“Don’t worry about Teresa. She will be well provided for. Teresa is a good girl at heart but lately she has displayed flaws in her character I can’t admire. My lawyer was here the day before yesterday with a new will for me to sign. Teresa will have a home here for life and a nice little nest egg to live on should she decide to leave. But Kitty is to inherit the ranch and the bulk of my estate.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Ryan said. “I’m not the marrying kind. You know about Pa and what happened between him and my mother. I vowed long ago not to let myself get romantically involved with any woman. I like women, don’t get me wrong. It’s permanent relationships I fear.”
Bert blinked, his stamina all but depleted. “Are you refusing me?” he asked weakly.
“How do you know Kitty will have me?” Ryan asked. The pressure was getting to him. Until Bert, no one had ever asked him to compromise his ideals. He asked himself if the sacrifice was worth it and didn’t like the answer.
“How do you feel about Kitty?” Bert shot back. “How much do you care for her?”
“Papa Bert! You have no right to ask Ryan such a personal question,” Teresa exclaimed as she rushed to Bert’s bedside. “I just happened to be passing your room and decided to look in on you. I heard what you said.” She grasped Ryan’s arm and smiled up at him. “Ryan and I had such a good time last night. I don’t think he cares anything about Kitty.”
“Teresa, honey, this is a private conversation.”
“That’s all right, Bert,” Ryan said. “I was ready to leave anyway. I’ll think about your request and let you know in a day or two.”
Ryan, his thoughts in turmoil, made a hasty exit. He knew he should get on his horse and ride hell for leather back to Montana and not look back. He had accomplished what he set out to do and owed Bert nothing. It had been a grand adventure, but all good things have a beginning and an end. And clearly Kitty had been one of the good things about this venture.
Kitty…
He loved the way she responded to him, adored the way she looked; her soft mouth, her slim body, everything about Kitty pleased him. But marriage …
That was asking a bit much. He didn’t know if he had it in him to be faithful to one woman for the rest of his life. He was Rogue Ryan, a man who took love where he found it and left for greener pastures when he became bored. But to be truthful, nothing about Kitty bored him. If anything, she intrigued him more with each passing day. And if he wanted to be brutally honest, he’d admit to the possibility that Kitty would never bore him. Then there was the jealousy issue. He couldn’t recall a time when he’d been jealous of another man’s attention to his woman of the moment. Yet when he’d seen Tucker romancing Kitty, he’d flown into a rage.
What in the hell had gotten into him?
He needed space, Ryan decided as he left the house and walked to the corral to saddle his horse. He always thought better on horseback, with nothing but blue skies and mountains to influence him. He was so confused. Bert’s startling request had caught him off guard, and he needed time to come to grips with his feelings for Kitty. Both Pierce and Chad had conquered their aversion to marriage and taken wives, why couldn’t he? Each of his brothers had fallen in love, but Ryan wasn’t certain he would recognize love were it to bite him.
Kitty watched from the w
indow as Ryan rode away from the ranch. He wasn’t carrying saddlebags, so she knew he’d be returning. Turning abruptly, she hurried back upstairs to write farewell notes to her father and Norm in the privacy of her room, and to pack her few belongings. How could she marry Norm when she loved Ryan? She couldn’t. How could she remain in Bert’s house, despised by Teresa and taunted by Ryan’s daunting presence? The answer was the same. She couldn’t. Her only alternative was to leave.
She had a horse and enough money to live on, if she were frugal, until she settled and found a job. Tucson was too close to the ranch and Tombstone was too dangerous, so she had to look elsewhere to settle. Perhaps north, she decided as she sat down to compose her notes. When she finished, she folded each sheet of paper in half and wrote Bert’s name on one and Norm’s on the other. Then she pulled her saddlebags from beneath the bed and packed her meager belongings.
The hallway was deserted as Kitty, clad in baggy shirt, trousers, and coat, crept down the stairs. She paused just long enough to prop the notes on the hall table before slipping out the door. The hands were in the north pasture today, so no one saw her enter the corral and saddle her horse. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she rode toward Tucson, where she intended to purchase supplies for her journey north.
Kitty didn’t dare look back. The ranch and everything it stood for—stability, a permanent home, a family—weren’t for her. Teresa was more of a daughter to Bert than she was. Had Ryan made a commitment to her, things would have ended differently, but he hadn’t, and the time had come for her to leave. She’d never wanted to come here in the first place.
Something was bothering Ryan. It nagged at him relentlessly. He had ridden to the foot of the mountains, when a gut feeling told him he should return to the ranch. Not one to ignore his hunches, he turned his mount and rode back to the ranch. He dismounted quickly and strode into the house. He found Teresa standing in the entrance hall, holding a folded sheet of paper and smiling. The knot in his stomach tightened.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ryan, I thought you’d ridden out.” She tried to hide the paper in the folds of her skirt. “Nothing is wrong. Why do you ask?”
“What are you hiding?”
“N-nothing,” she stammered.
Ryan didn’t believe her. His hand closed around her wrist and dragged forth the fist clutching the note. He plucked it away and scanned the contents.
“She’s gone! Dammit, Teresa, what were you going to do with the note? Tear it up? Burn it?”
“N-no, I was going to give it to Papa Bert. There’s another on the table for Norm.”
Ryan saw the other note, read it, and tossed it aside. “I hope you’re pleased,” Ryan hissed as he reread the note to Bert. “You never did want Kitty here.”
“She doesn’t belong here,” Teresa said pugnaciously. “I’m convinced she’s an imposter. She’s crude and unprincipled and not good enough to inherit. You found her living with outlaws! That alone should give you a clue to her character. Have you any idea as to the number of men she’s slept with?”
“I know precisely how many men Kitty has slept with,” Ryan said through clenched teeth. He spun on his heel.
“Where are you going?”
“To give Bert his note. Then I’m going after Kitty.”
“Don’t go! She’s not worth it.”
“Neither are you,” Ryan shot back as he strode purposefully toward Bert’s room.
Chapter 13
Ryan rode hard toward Tucson. He had decided, and Bert had agreed, that Kitty would probably head to town to buy supplies for her journey to God only knew where. If Ryan failed to find her in Tucson, he held virtually no hope of finding her at all.
Ryan recalled Bert’s pallor when he’d read Kitty’s brief farewell note, and he was still furious with her for abandoning her father, and him, if he wanted to be truthful. Her short, callous note of explanation contained little information beyond the fact that she felt she could never fit in or live up to Bert’s expectations. The note to Tucker was basically identical in wording, except for a terse refusal of his proposal. Kitty had left nothing, no note, not a word, for Ryan, and her neglect left a bitter taste in his mouth.
After searching his heart, Ryan had an inkling of why his brothers had taken wives when they had been as adamantly opposed to marriage as he was. They had found women worthy of their love. Had the same thing happened to him? He never considered not going after Kitty. It was just something he had to do, not only for Bert’s sake but also for his own peace of mind. He had to find out for himself if the hold Kitty had upon his heart was fleeting or something more substantial.
Even more distressing was visualizing Kitty on her own in a world she knew virtually nothing about. He had to find her before trouble did.
Ryan was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice a group of riders approaching from the west. Nor did he realize their paths would cross very soon. They were nearly upon him before he saw them. When he recognized them a moment later, it was too late to change the course of fate.
Muttering a string of oaths, Ryan identified Billy Barton and his gang of outlaws at the same time they recognized him. Moments later they had surrounded him. Billy Barton reined to a halt in front of Ryan, cutting off his escape.
“Well, lookee here!” Billy crowed. “Damned if it ain’t Ryan. It weren’t bad enough that Kit lit out, leaving us shorthanded, but I never thought Ryan was the kind to abandon his friends. Why did you sneak away in the middle of the night?”
Cursing his rotten luck, Ryan pasted on a false smile and said, “I remembered I had business elsewhere.”
“Where are ya headed?” Clank asked.
“Nowhere in particular,” Ryan hedged.
Durango grunted, sliding Ryan a skeptical look. But it was Billy who voiced his suspicion about Ryan’s destination. “I’ll be damned. You’re going to rob the bank in Tucson, ain’t ya? Well, well, ain’t that a coincidence.”
Ryan groaned in frustration. Each moment he spent in pointless conversation with the Bartons meant less time he had to catch Kitty. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“We’ve been casing the Tucson bank for a week. The payroll for the railroad arrived yesterday. We’ve got a contact at the bank who told us the best time to strike is late afternoon, just before closing. Coming upon you like this is a stroke of luck. We’re short-handed and need your gun.”
“Sorry, boys,” Ryan said. “I’ve got other business to take care of. Another time.”
He tried to ride away but was cut off by Billy’s horse. “Not so fast, Ryan. You owe us. Help us pull this job and you can go your own way afterward. There’s a lot of money involved here.”
Ryan shook his head. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Make the time,” Billy growled, tossing the reins back to Ryan. “Durango, Clank, don’t take your eyes off the bastard. We need him and he ain’t gonna split like he did before.” Spurring his horse, he set the pace.
Cursing roundly beneath his breath, Ryan had no choice but to follow. His mind worked furiously. Until they reached Tucson there was virtually no chance of escaping. But once they hit town Ryan vowed to find a way to rid himself of the Bartons. Robbing banks wasn’t exactly his line of work. With a bit of luck he’d find a way to extricate himself before they entered the bank. He thanked his lucky stars that his brothers would never learn about his stint as an outlaw. It wasn’t as if Pierce or Chad had never gotten into scrapes with the law, but he’d damn well better get himself out of this one.
The sun was disappearing behind a mountain when they rode into Tucson. The streets were emptying fast. Women were already home preparing the evening meal, and their men were either leaving their jobs to return home or on their way. Store owners were pulling down their shades, and one of the last customers had just left the bank as the Bartons rode into town.
They dismounted in front of the bank and cast furtive glances down the nearly deserted st
reet before approaching the entrance. Ryan saw his chance and lingered behind, intending to turn back for his horse and ride away while the Bartons were entering the bank. Suddenly all hell broke loose. Men sprang at them from out of nowhere, ambushing the Bartons before they could enter the bank. Gunshots were exchanged. Ryan saw Clank fall, a blossom of red spreading across his chest. Billy went down next.
At first Ryan was too stunned to react. It sure looked as if the law had known the Bartons were coming. He finally regained his wits when he saw Billy fall. But by then it was too late. He was quickly surrounded, disarmed, and held at gunpoint by two lawmen. He glanced over at Durango and saw that the half-breed was still alive but was also disarmed and being held at gunpoint.
Ryan identified the marshal by his badge and made as if to approach him. He hadn’t taken two steps before he was roughly seized and thrown to the ground.
“You’re not going anyplace, mister,” the marshal growled, “unless it’s to jail.” Someone produced a rope and bound Ryan’s hands behind him. Then the marshal hauled him to his feet. “This is one bank you’re not going to rob. Thanks to an informant, we knew you were coming.”
Durango bared his teeth and asked, “Who told you?”
The marshal laughed. “Why, your contact at the bank. Seems he wasn’t as good a friend as Billy Barton thought. Or else the reward money looked too good to him. Either way, you boys are going to hang. I’m Marshal Jeb Pringle and I’m going to make damn certain the Bartons will never ride again.”
“Now wait a damn minute,” Ryan protested. “I’m not one of the Bartons. I’m innocent.”
Someone snickered. “Sure you are,” Pringle said. “If you’re so innocent, what were you doing riding with the Bartons?”
“They forced me to accompany them. My name is Ryan Delaney. I’m a rancher from Montana.”
“I don’t give a hoot who you are. You were with the Bartons when they rode in to rob the bank. That’s all the proof I need.” He gave Ryan a shove. “Get moving, Delaney. There are two empty cells waiting for you and your friend.” He glanced down at Barton and Clank, who lay bleeding in the dusty street. “Too bad they can’t join you but I reckon they’re the lucky ones. They won’t have to face a hangman’s noose.”
