by Bobbi Smith
Josh couldn’t help laughing. “No, Miss Harriet’s not here.”
“Good, because I wanted to kiss you one more time.” She rose up on tiptoe to kiss him sweetly.
“Just once more?” he asked.
“We never know when Miss Harriet will show up.”
“You’re right, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint Millie.”
“Millie?”
“You told me she thinks I’m your guardian angel. That means I’m supposed to keep you out of trouble.”
“And you’re doing a fine job. Miss Harriet would be proud of you—and Millie, too.”
They settled in to pass the time as the rain continued into the night.
Chapter Sixteen
George had stayed up at the house talking with the ladies for the rest of the afternoon, and when Miss Harriet invited him to join them for dinner, he’d gladly accepted. It was late afternoon, and they were just getting ready to sit down and eat when they heard riders come in. Thinking Emmie and Josh were back, George and Millie hurried down to the stable. The ranch hands greeted George, remembering him from his last visit to the Rocking R.
“Where are Josh and Emmie?” Millie asked them.
“They aren’t back yet?” asked a cowboy named Mike.
“No. We haven’t seen them since you rode out this morning,” Millie said.
“We found what we thought were two different trails, so we split up. They rode with Burley”
“Did you find any sign of the rustlers?” George asked.
“We didn’t turn up anything. I hope they have better luck than we did, but I doubt it.”
“Why’s that?” Millie asked.
“There’s a bad storm rolling in,” Mike told them, pointing to the northwest.
They looked that way to see ominous black clouds on the horizon.
“And that’s the direction they were riding. From the look of things, I’d say what ever trail they were following got washed out.”
“So they should be back soon,” Millie said hopefully, worrying about her friend.
“Not if they got caught in the bad weather,” he explained. “They’ll have to hole up somewhere until it passes, and if the storm lasts until dark where they are, we won’t see them until morning.”
“They won’t be in any danger, will they?” Millie asked worriedly.
“This kind of storm can be dangerous, but Josh and Burley know what they’re doing. They’ll make it back all right.”
Millie felt a little relieved at Mike’s confidence in the two men, and she told herself Emmie was in good hands with Josh. “Thanks.”
“Have you seen Steve?” Mike asked, puzzled that the other man wasn’t there.
George looked down at Millie. “Go on up to the house. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Millie looked a little stricken and quickly hurried off, leaving George to explain to the other hands what had happened.
A short time later, George returned to the house and joined Millie and Miss Harriet for dinner. When the chaperone heard the news about Emmie being caught in a storm, she immediately began to worry—about Emmie’s safety and her reputation.
“Don’t worry” George assured her. “Your Emmie will be safe with Josh.”
“She will, Miss Harriet. I know it,” Millie agreed.
Millie’s quick defense of Josh surprised George, for he knew she’d known his brother only a short time.
As sunset approached, they heard the distant rumble of thunder, and those gathered at the ranch house accepted that they probably wouldn’t see Emmie, Josh, or Burley anytime that night. George and Millie decided to go outside on the porch to watch the storm move in, while Miss Harriet chose to observe it safely from a sitting room window.
“Thank you for inviting me to dinner to night,” George said as he and Millie stood together at the top of the steps. His gaze was upon her, and he knew he’d never seen a prettier woman than the lovely blonde. “Kate’s cooking is some of the best around. After all these days of riding and eating my own cooking, this meal was definitely special.”
“An invitation to dinner is hardly thanks enough for what you did to help me today.” She looked up at him, seeing a hero and wondering if they grew heroes here in Texas or if George and his brother were unique.
“I’m glad I was there to deal with Steve. I’m just sorry it happened at all, and I’m sorry about Hank. Your friend Emmie must be going through a difficult time right now,” he sympathized.
“She is, but she’s strong. It’s not easy for her, but she’s handling it.” Millie was about to say more when she caught sight of a single rider in the distance. It looked like he was leading a saddled but riderless horse. “George! Look! Something must have happened!”
They both rushed from the porch and ran down to the stable. They were waiting for Burley there when he reined in. Burley recognized George and greeted him as he dismounted.
“Isn’t that the horse Emmie was riding? Where is she? Why isn’t she with you?” Millie demanded.
“We ran into bad weather and Emmie was thrown.”
“What? Is she all right?” Millie asked.
He quickly told them what had happened.
“You mean you just rode off and left them with only one horse, not knowing whether Emmie was hurt?” she asked incredulously.
George put an arm around her to reassure her, for he knew his brother. “I’m sure they’re all right.”
Millie looked up at him. “How can you be certain?”
“Josh is my foreman, Millie,” Burley told her. “I do what the man tells me to do, and he told me to get Emmie’s horse and not to come back for them. He said he would bring her in.”
“Any idea where they might have gone?” George asked, knowing Burley had done what any good ranch hand would have done—he had followed the boss’s orders. He understood Millie’s concern, though, and had already made up his mind to ride out in the morning and look for Josh and Emmie, just in case.
“There’s an old line shack up that way. Knowing Josh, he headed there.”
“A line shack?” Millie asked, looking from one man to the other.
George quickly explained what it was.
“I hope they made it there all right,” Millie said.
“If anybody could make it there in this storm, it’d be Josh,” Burley said reassuringly. “He knows his way around.”
They bade him good night and returned to the house to tell Miss Harriet what had happened, just as the rain started to fall. After George had left them, Millie went into the parlor and sat with Miss Harriet on the sofa. Both women were too upset to even think about going to bed yet.
“What makes this so hard,” Millie was saying, “is that there is nothing I can do to help her right now. I know Emmie is more accustomed to ranch life than I am, but she might have been hurt being thrown that way.”
“There’s only one thing we can do right now,” the chaperone advised.
“What’s that?”
“Pray that they come back home safely.”
They shared a look of understanding, knowing they would both do just that, and Millie gave Miss Harriet a hug.
The bounty hunter was sitting by his campfire, staring down at a wanted poster.
The bounty hunter had been surprised when he’d heard that Josh Grady was a wanted man. He’d never met the other bounty hunter, but he’d heard stories about the number of outlaws he’d tracked down and brought in over the years. He knew Grady was a dangerous man, but up until now he’d always been on the side of the law. He wondered why the other bounty hunter had turned to killing.
He told himself it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was the reward, and the reward for bringing Grady in was a big one—five hundred dollars. He fully intended to claim it.
He had heard talk that Grady had quit bounty hunting and just disappeared, but he knew better. Some cattlemen he’d been drinking with a few months back had mentioned how Hank Ryan of the Rocking R had taken on a par
tner a year or so ago. They’d told him they’d thought the man’s name was Grady. The bounty hunter was riding for the Rocking R now to check the story out.
If Josh Grady did turn out to be the man at the ranch, it wouldn’t be easy to corner him and get the upper hand on him. The bounty hunter wondered, too, if Grady even knew about the wanted posters the lawman had put out on him. Sheriff Dawson was not the most upright lawman, but that didn’t much matter. To the bounty hunter, only the money mattered. Nothing else.
He glanced at the picture again, then folded the wanted poster back up and put it in his saddlebag before bedding down for the night. He needed to get some rest. He had a lot of miles to cover over the next weeks.
“Good night, Josh,” Emmie said softly as she lay in bed, wrapped in Josh’s blanket.
“Good night.” Josh was stretched out on the upper bunk, staring at the ceiling of the line shack, listening to the pounding of the rain and wondering if he would ever get to sleep. Though it had been a long day, the night promised to be even longer with Emmie bedded down so close to him—especially after the kisses they’d shared. And in the morning, when the weather cleared up, they would be riding double back to the ranch. He wasn’t sure which would be harder on him—holding her in front of him as they rode or having her ride behind him. Either way the feel of her was going to be torturous for him—enjoyable, but torturous.
Josh found himself smiling into the night. Of all the difficult situations he’d found himself in over the years, this was one of the most complicated. As he’d told himself earlier when he’d forced himself to move away from Emmie, she was Hank’s daughter. She was not some casual acquaintance who would move on out of his life after a time.
She was his partner.
No matter what happened between them, they were going to be working side by side on the Rocking R from now on, and he had to figure out how to make their relationship one of trust. He just hoped he was smart enough to do it.
Emmie rolled over and closed her eyes. She tried to sleep, but she couldn’t put the memory of being in Josh’s embrace from her. In her mind, she was reliving the thrill of his kisses again and again. She couldn’t forget the excitement that had filled her when he’d trailed kisses down her throat. A shiver of sensual awareness went through her, and she wondered if she was going to get any rest at all that night.
Josh awoke just as the eastern horizon began to brighten. He was glad to see that the rain had moved on. They could head out early, and he was more than ready to get back to the ranch. The thought of some of Kate’s cooking was definitely appealing to him after missing dinner last night.
Josh swung his long legs over the side of the bunk and dropped down as quietly as he could so as not to wake Emmie. He figured he’d let her sleep while he went to check on the horse. He was surprised to find her bed empty, and Emmie nowhere in sight. Concerned about her, Josh put on his shirt and boots and went to search for her. He didn’t have to look far. He found Emmie fully dressed, sitting on the step that led into the line shack.
“What are you doing out here?” Josh asked.
Emmie looked up at him and smiled. “I woke up a while ago, and you were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to disturb you. I decided to just come outside and watch the sunrise.”
“It is a glorious sight, especially after yesterday,” he said, staring off toward the brightening sky.
“That’s for sure. You won’t hear me complaining about dry weather for a while.”
“How are you feeling this morning?”
“Not as bad as I thought I was going to feel. I’m still sore, and I’ve got some bruises, but other than that I’m all right.”
“You’re tough, just like your father,” he complimented her, impressed.
“Thank you.” His approval meant a lot to Emmie.
“How soon can you be ready to ride?” Josh asked.
“I’m ready whenever you are. I know Millie and Miss Harriet are probably worried about us, so the sooner we get back, the better.”
“All right. Let me take care of things inside and we’ll go.”
“How long will the ride take us?”
“We’re a good two hours out, but we should make it back in time to get some breakfast.”
“So you like Kate’s cooking, do you?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said with a grin.
Josh went back in to make sure the fire in the stove was completely out and to get his bedroll ready and gather up the rest of his gear. Then he went down to the shed to saddle his horse. Emmie was waiting for him when he rode up to the line shack.
“Do you want to ride in front of me or behind me?”
“It’ll be easier for you if I ride behind you, won’t it?”
“Yes,” he answered, but he knew that either way, having her so close was going to test his self-control.
“Then I’ll ride there.”
“Let’s go home,” Josh said, offering a hand up.
Emmie took his hand and swung up behind him. She put her arms around him and held on tight as they headed out. She smiled to herself, enjoying being so close to Josh.
Josh concentrated on riding, but he was fully aware of Emmie pressed so tightly against him as they covered the long miles home.
Chapter Seventeen
George was up before dawn and riding out just as everyone else was starting to stir. He’d gotten the general directions to the line shack from Burley the night before and headed that way now, taking another saddled horse with him. He’d asked Burley which horse to take along for Hank’s daughter, and Burley had shown him the smoothest-gaited one in the stable. They both knew she would probably be hesitant to get back on her regular mount right away, after being thrown. George hoped there had been no further trouble, and that he would find Josh already on his way back to the ranch with Emmie.
George had been riding for over an hour when he came to the top of a low hill and reined in. He spotted a rider in the distance and immediately recognized his brother’s horse. Putting his heels to his mount’s sides, he hurried forward.
“Someone’s coming,” Josh told Emmie when he saw a rider heading their way leading a saddled horse.
“Is it one of the hands?”
“I’m not sure.”
It took Josh a moment to recognize the other rider, and once he did he started smiling.
“I know who it is.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “It’s my brother, George.”
“Your brother is here?” Emmie asked, surprised. “The gambler?”
“He must have come to the ranch for a visit.” Josh kneed his horse to a trot and rode to meet his brother.
George could see Josh riding along with a beautiful girl hanging on to him tightly, and he thought, My brother sure has a rough life here on the Rocking R. He was chuckling to himself as he reined in.
“You like riding double these days, Josh?” His gaze was warm upon the pretty, dark-haired girl who had her arms around his brother.
“Some days,” Josh answered. “George, this is Emmie Ryan. Emmie, this is my brother, George.”
Emmie looked up at the other man and thought there was no mistaking the resemblance between them. They both had the Grady good looks, with thick, dark hair and deep-set eyes. Looking at George, though, and seeing the glint in his eyes, she quickly decided he could be trouble—fun, but trouble. It didn’t surprise her a bit that he was a professional gambler. “It’s nice to meet you, George. Josh has told me all about you.”
“Is that good or bad?” he asked, giving her a smile.
She couldn’t help it; she laughed out loud. “It was all good.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Emmie. Do you often go out looking for rustlers riding double with Josh this way?”
Josh wanted to groan. He knew George’s sense of humor and guessed he wouldn’t be hearing the end of this for some time.
Emmie appreciated George’s humor and laughed. “You didn’t hear the talk? I’m an Eastern girl, a
nd I have trouble staying in the saddle. So we thought it was safer for me to hang on to him.”
George immediately decided he liked this woman. Not only was she gorgeous, she was smart and quick with a comeback, too. “So you trust my brother?”
Emmie considered that question seriously. She did trust Josh, especially when she thought of the way he’d treated her with such respect last night. “Yes. My father trusted him, and I do, too. He’s my partner, you know.”
“So I heard. Emmie, I was sorry to learn about your father. He was a good man, and I’m sure he’s missed.”
“Very much,” she managed.
Josh decided to put a word in. “Did Burley and the rest of the men get back to the ranch safely?”
“Yes. Burley rode in last. He told us that you were thrown.” George looked at Emmie. “That’s why I rode out this morning with a horse for you. I take it you’re all right?”
“Thanks to Josh I am, and thank you for bringing another horse.” Even as she spoke, though, Emmie felt disappointed that she was going to have to ride the rest of the way on her own.
“Burley said this one would be easy on you.”
Josh helped Emmie down, and then dismounted to help her onto the other horse. He knew he was going to miss having her riding with him. Once he was certain she was comfortable in the saddle, he remounted his own horse.
“Let’s get on back,” Josh said.
“I take it you met Millie and Miss Harriet?” Emmie asked as they covered the miles back to the ranch at an easy pace.
“Yes, I did. They were very worried about you. Yesterday was a pretty rough day for them.”
“Why?” Josh asked, glancing his way.
“Your not showing up last night wasn’t the only trouble. There was a problem with one of the ranch hands, a man named Steve,” George began, knowing that his brother needed to be told about the incident.
“Steve?” Emmie asked quickly. “What did he do?”
George explained what had happened.
“Poor Millie!” Emmie was horrified, but grateful for George’s timely arrival and quick action.
