Cautiously, she looked over Blue’s shoulder, then felt heat rushing to her face. He was a stranger, the man on the beautiful palomino horse. The man was looking down at them with outrageous amusement in every line of his chiseled dark face. He was young and, damn, the handsomest man she had ever seen. She was unreasonably mortified. Oh, why wouldn’t he stop staring?
Blue started to get up, terribly embarrassed, but Jessie grabbed on to his shirt, giving him a furious look. He had nearly revealed her state of undress to the intruder. Blue’s color heightened, and he grinned sheepishly. Jessie continued to glare at him while she pulled her shirt together. Done, she pushed at him to get up, and they both scrambled to their feet, Blue turning to face the man while Jessie hid behind him.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the man said in a deep voice that clearly indicated he wasn’t sorry at all but found the situation highly entertaining. “I could sure use a little help, so I stopped to talk to you.”
“What kind of help?” Blue asked.
“I’m looking for the Rocky Valley and a Mrs. Ewing. They told me in Cheyenne I would find the ranch after a day’s ride north, but I had no luck yesterday or today. Could you tell me if I’m heading in the right direction?”
“You, ouch—!”
“—are trespassing, mister,” Jessie finished for Blue after pinching him into silence. She stepped out from behind him, her embarrassment gone as anger took hold. “And you’re a long way from the Rocky Valley.”
Chase Summers eyed the girl standing before him so belligerently. He was taken aback by her sudden hostility. After the situation he’d found her in, he hadn’t expected her to be quite so young. She looked fourteen or fifteen, just a kid, young enough to get away with wearing pants. An older girl wouldn’t dare dress that way. And the man looked to be in his early twenties, too old to be taking advantage of a child.
But it was none of Chase’s business. His expression didn’t change, not even when the girl’s blue-green eyes shot daggers at him. Damn pretty she was, and those unusual eyes were stunning.
“But—” Blue began, but she jumped behind him once more, pinching him again.
“I didn’t know I was trespassing,” Chase offered. “If you’ll just point me in the right direction, I’ll move on.”
“Just keep riding north, mister,” Jessie answered, and warned sharply, “and don’t come back this way. We don’t like strangers crossing our land.”
“I’ll remember that,” Chase replied. Then he nodded thanks and crossed the creek, riding on.
Jessie stared after him, glaring at his back for some time before she sensed Blue staring at her in the same way. His expression was a mix of confusion and anger, and she quickly looked away. Reaching down for her gun belt, she strapped it on, refusing to look at him.
“Just a minute, gal.” Blue caught her arm when she picked up her hat and started for her horse. “What the hell was that all about?”
She tried to shrug it off. “I don’t like strangers.”
“What’s that got to do with lying?” he demanded.
Jessie jerked her arm out of his grasp and faced him, her eyes flashing with all the fury pent up inside her. Blue nearly forgot his anger then, for she was something to behold, her eyes lit up with blue-green fire, breasts heaving, her long braid flung over her shoulder, the braid end touching her narrow hip. Her right hand rested on her gun, and although he doubted she would really shoot him, the threat was there, and he didn’t try to grab her again.
“Jessie, I don’t understand. If you’ll just tell me what’s made you so angry?”
“Everything!” she snapped. “You! Him!”
“I know what I did, but—”
“What you did you’d better never try again, Blue Parker!”
He frowned. She didn’t mean that. He wasn’t about to give her up, anyway. But it would be a good idea to get her mind on something else for a while.
“Well, what’d he do? Why’d you lie to him?”
“You heard who he was looking for.”
“So?”
“You think I can’t guess why he’s looking for her?”
Blue followed her drift. “You don’t know anything for sure.”
Jessie drew herself up. “Don’t I? He was too good-looking. He’s got to be one of her lovers, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let him come to my ranch and carry on with her under my roof!”
“And just what’re you gonna do when he finds out you lied to him and comes back?”
Jessie was too mad to give it any thought. “Who’s to say he’ll be back? He’s probably from the city, like she is. He probably couldn’t find his way out of a hole in the ground,” she added contemptuously. “Didn’t you see how packed his saddlebags were? He’s the type who can’t survive without store-bought goods. If he reaches Fort Laramie or gets back to Cheyenne, he won’t be eager to venture out on the range again, where the nearest store is days away. He’ll go back where he came from and wait for her to come to him—which can’t happen soon enough for me.”
Blue shook his head. “You sure do hate her.”
“Yes, I hate her!”
“It ain’t natural, Jessie,” he said softly. “She’s your mother.”
“She’s not!” Jessie stepped back as if he had struck her. “She’s not! My mother wouldn’t have deserted me. She wouldn’t have let Thomas Blair turn me into the son he wanted. My mother died here. That woman is nothing but a whore. She never gave a damn about me.”
“Maybe you’re just hurting, Jessie,” he said kindly.
Jessie wanted to cry. Hurting? How many times had she cried herself to sleep because there was no one there to soften the pain of her life, a life she hated. Hadn’t it all been because of her mother? Every single thing her father did was to spite the whore, as he’d called her mother. He had denied Jessie boarding school because her mother had wanted her to be educated. He had denied her anything feminine because her mother had wanted her to be a lady. He had made her what she was because he knew her mother would hate her. Irrationally, he had gone into debt to build a house fit for a queen, done it solely because it was what her mother would have loved and could never have.
“I passed the point of being hurt long ago, Blue,” Jessie said in a quiet voice. “I haven’t needed her for a long time, and I certainly don’t need her now.”
Before her tears spilled, Jessie ran to her horse and took off. She didn’t mind crying, she just didn’t want anyone to see her at it. She rode south, away from the ranch, away from the cause of her tears.
Chapter 2
WHEN Jessie rode into the yard, the sun was setting, the sky to the west streaked with dark reds and violets beyond the mountains. Light streamed onto the porch at the front of the sprawling ranch house, so she rode to the back, where she could enter the house through the kitchen and not be seen. She dismounted and sent Blackstar off to the stable with a soft word and a pat on his backside. He would go directly to his stall and wait for her to come and rub him down. She was famished, had been for hours, and just wanted a little something to take the edge off her hunger before she bedded her horse down for the night.
Blackstar wouldn’t mind waiting just a few more minutes. Blackstar never balked at anything Jessie did. He would nip at other people and even try to get in a few good kicks once in a while, but he was an angel with Jessie. White Thunder had known he would be gentle with her when he gave the stallion to her. White Thunder had a way with horses that no one could match, and he had raised Blackstar from a colt, raising him just for Jessie. She had never guessed that secret, though. All the time she had thought she was just helping her friend train a horse.
It was such a generous gift. Horses were a sign of wealth among the Indians, and it wasn’t as if White Thunder had very many horses. But White Thunder was like that. Blackstar was not the only gift he had given her in the years he had been her friend. He was her closest friend really, next to old Jeb. Blackstar meant the world to her because of t
heir friendship. Just thinking about that, watching the horse trot off toward the stable, she almost forgot about food. But her stomach reminded her, and she stepped into the darkened kitchen and closed the door quietly behind her.
The smells of dinner lingered in the large room, and Jessie looked forward to coming back later and having a big plate of Kate’s stew. She scanned the counters for something to pick on quickly, and when she spotted a plate of fresh sourdough bread, she grinned. But then she heard her mother’s voice coming from the front room down the hall, and the smile died. She tore off a chunk of bread and started to leave. Then she heard another voice.
She stopped where she was, staring at the open door leading to the hall. She couldn’t have heard right. It wasn’t that voice, was it? She edged closer to the door, then crept a few feet down the hall, pausing by her bedroom. She could hear the voice distinctly, and her face flamed with color as she recalled the scene. Damn and double damn, to be caught in a lie!
She inched her way closer to the large main room, having to tiptoe because of her riding boots with their two-inch heels. Thank goodness she never wore spurs on Blackstar! She poked her head around the corner until she could see the whole room, the room filled with all the rich things that had put Thomas Blair into debt, debts Jessie had inherited.
Sitting side by side on the thickly padded sofa, their backs to Jessie, were her mother and the stranger. Jessie stared at them for a moment. He had removed his hat, revealing dark chestnut hair that curled on his neck.
“I can’t imagine who the girl could be, Chase,” Rachel was saying. “But I’ve only been here a week, and I haven’t met any of Jessica’s neighbors yet.”
“If they’re all as hostile as that promiscuous chit, then you would do well not to bother. If I hadn’t met up with one of the ranch hands and gotten turned back in the right direction, I’d be sleeping out on the range again. One night of that was enough, thank you.”
Rachel laughed. “I take it you’ve been sticking pretty close to civilization since I last saw you.”
“If you can call the cow towns of Kansas civilization.” Chase shook his head. “But any hotel room and any hot meal beat a lonely camp fire any day.”
“Well, I’m glad you got here. When I sent those telegrams, I wasn’t sure they’d get to you. You’ve always moved around so much. And, anyway, I wasn’t sure you would come.”
“Didn’t I say if you ever needed me just to send word?”
“I know. But neither of us thought I would take you up on it. I didn’t, anyway.”
“You don’t like to ask for help.” It was a statement.
“How well you know me.” Rachel laughed softly, and the sound grated on Jessie’s nerves.
“So what’s the problem, lady?” Chase asked.
Jessie stiffened. She didn’t like the tender way he spoke.
“I’m not really sure, Chase,” Rachel was saying hesitantly. “At least... it’s not anything specific yet. What I mean is, I may have asked for your help unnecessarily. I mean ...”
“Hold on,” Chase said abruptly. “It’s not like you to beat around the bush, Rachel.”
“It’s just that I would feel terrible if I’d brought you up here for nothing.”
“You can forget that right now. Whether there is anything to what’s troubling you or not, I was glad to come. There was nothing holding me in Abilene, and it was time I moved on, anyway. Let’s just call this a visit that was long overdue, and if there is anything I can do to assist you while I’m here, fine.”
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
“Never mind about that. Just tell me what the trouble is.”
“It has to do with the man who killed Thomas Blair.”
“Blair was your first husband?”
“Yes.”
“Who killed him?”
“The man is called Laton Bowdre. I met him in Cheyenne a couple of weeks ago, before I came out here to the ranch. I had gone to see Mr. Crawley at the bank, the man who sent Thomas’s letter to me. I thought he could explain to me why Thomas had changed his mind after all these years.”
“Didn’t the letter explain it?”
“Not really.”
“And did the banker understand?”
“No. He did tell me, though, that Thomas had a considerable debt with the bank.”
“You think that’s why he made you Jessica’s guardian, because he didn’t think she could handle it alone?”
“It’s possible,” Rachel said thoughtfully. “I do know he wouldn’t want her to lose this ranch. That’s all I’m sure of.”
“Christ,” Chase growled. “How are you supposed to help her? You don’t know anything about ranching.”
“Oh, Thomas didn’t expect me to run the ranch, only to see that no harm comes to Jessica before she’s twenty, or married, whichever comes first. He felt she wasn’t ready to pull her own reins, as he put it, that she would need guidance, a restraining hand, for the next few years. I’m quite sure I wouldn’t have gotten that letter if he’d died two years from now. Mr. Crawley said the letter had been at the bank for the last four years. Thomas was worried about Jessica because she’s so young. As for the ranch, Jessica runs it—and from what I’ve seen, she knows what she’s doing.”
“You’re not serious!”
“I only wish I weren’t.” Rachel’s voice held a touch of bitterness. “But Thomas had ten years to work with her, to teach her all there is to ranching. And worse.”
“Worse?”
“You’ll see what I mean when you meet her. But as I was saying, I met Mr. Bowdre at the bank. Mr. Crawley introduced us. Of course he expressed his regrets—most insincerely, I might add—and explained what had happened. It seems there was a card game in one of the saloons, and Thomas bet a ridiculous amount, sure he had the winning hand. But he didn’t, and he accused Bowdre of cheating. Thomas went for his gun, but Bowdre got to his gun first and shot Thomas.”
“What does the sheriff say?”
“He says that’s the truth. There were a dozen witnesses, and I talked to several of them. They all say the same thing. It was a fair fight. However, the question of whether Laton Bowdre was cheating was never really answered, and it’s too late now. The problem is, he still holds Thomas’s marker. A gambling debt is as good as gold in these parts.”
“As a dabbler at cards”—he grinned sardonically—“I can’t say I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Well, that’s what’s so awful. He wants his money, and Jessica doesn’t have it. I really think he would have demanded the ranch if she hadn’t confronted him about the marker in front of witnesses, forcing him to give her time to pay the debt.”
“How much time?”
“Three months.”
“And what does Jessica say about this?”
“She’s not concerned. She says she’ll take care of Bowdre after the fall roundup. She has contracts for the ranch beef with several of the mining camps up north.”
“Then what’s the problem, Rachel?”
“It’s this Laton Bowdre. Sounds like a sly weasel—at least, that’s the impression I got.” Rachel worried at her lip, then confessed, “I really don’t think he wants the money, Chase. I think he wants this ranch.”
“So you think he might do something to stop Jessica from paying him off?”
“Yes. What he could do, I have no idea. And maybe it’s all my imagination. But I would feel so much better if you would check on him, see what kind of impression you get.”
“Of course,” Chase agreed readily. “But why don’t you just take care of the debt and get it out of the way? You can certainly afford to.”
“You think I don’t want to? I tried to give Jessica the money, but she threw it in my face. She won’t accept anything from me.”
“Why?”
Rachel laughed bitterly. “Her father hated me, and he taught her to hate me, too. And she does it very well.”
There was silence fo
r a moment, and then Chase said, “When do I get to meet this stubborn female?”
Jessie didn’t wait to hear the answer. She moved back up the hall and slipped into her bedroom. She grabbed a few things, then went back to the kitchen and took the whole loaf of bread, leaving the house silently.
She was in a seething rage. How dare they talk about her? How dare Rachel call in a stranger to mess in her business? Stubborn female? The bastard! Let him go to Cheyenne and snoop around. Let him come back and report to Rachel. Then let him get the hell out of Jessica’s life. But she wouldn’t be around to meet him. She wouldn’t be back until he was gone.
Chapter 3
LATE that night Rachel became anxious over Jessica’s absence. She had already asked Chase to check the outbuildings, but he had returned alone, shaking his head. Jessica kept strange hours, but she had never been so late before. Her mother began to imagine all kinds of terrible possibilities.
She went in search of Jeb, Chase following her. He was getting annoyed with this elusive daughter who had, apparently, no concern for anyone’s feelings.
They found Jeb in the stable nursing a sick colt. He gave the clear impression of not wanting to be bothered by them. Chase was certain that Rachel was only wasting her time, for he had asked the old man earlier if the girl had returned. Jeb had answered tersely that it was plain to see she wasn’t there.
“Jeb, please, if Jessica is here—” Rachel began.
“She ain’t. She came in, saw you had company, and rode off again.”
“Rode off? For how long?”
“Can’t say.”
“Well, when did she leave?”
“Couple hours ago.”
“She should be back soon, shouldn’t she?” Rachel asked hopefully.
Jeb didn’t look up once. “Don’t reckon so.”
“Why not?”
“She was pretty fired up when she took off— like she used to get when she’d fight with her pa. I don’t reckon we’ll be seein‘ the little gal for a week or two, at least.”
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