A Cowboy Christmas

by Janette Kenny

  And now it would mark one of the darkest days of her life.

  The last person he expected to see swaggering down the boardwalk toward him was Burl Erston. But then today marked the deadline to claim the shares of the Crown Seven, so it stood to reason Erston would come forward.

  “I trust your two partners have not braved arrest for cattle rustling and come forth to claim their shares,” Erston said, smiling because he knew damned good and well that Dade and Trey hadn’t shown up.

  Reid refused to give him the satisfaction. “The day’s not over.”

  “Indeed not, but I’ll be glad when it is so I can return to England,” Erston said.

  He snorted in agreement. “It’ll be a damn fine day for me when I buy you out.”

  “Whether you do or don’t is no concern of mine,” Erston said. “If you can’t afford to buy my shares, I have a gentleman in line who is most interested.”

  “Who?” he asked, dreading that Erston would sell out to one of the larger cattle outfits.

  “I’m not at liberty to say.” Erston made to move around him.

  Reid stepped in his path. “I’ve got a right to know who is interested in the Crown Seven.”

  “You have a sixth interest and that’s all.” He pushed past Reid and headed down the walk.

  “You’re bluffing,” Reid said.

  Erston stopped and faced him again, his smile downright sinister. “Quite the contrary. Depending on the outcome of today, I’ll either sell my third of the ranch tomorrow, or the two thirds I’ll gain from your partners’ default.”

  “Damn you!” Reid bunched his hands at his sides when he longed to drive a fist into Erston’s pompous face. “You gave your word that you’d give me time to buy you out.”

  “Oh, you’ve had ample time, but now you have until midnight.” Erston smiled and tipped his hat. “Merry Christmas.”

  Go to hell, he thought.

  “What are you going to do?” Ellie asked as he escorted her toward the buggy.

  “There’s not a damn thing I can do but hope my partners get here today.”

  For it was possible that tomorrow he wouldn’t have a place to hang his hat, or pen his herd.

  The Chinooks continued to reduce the snow to slush and made the buggy ride back to the Crown Seven comfortable, but Reid didn’t comment on the balmy weather or anything else. He was just too mired in worry over the ranch and doing the right thing by Ellie.

  She was silent, too. He suspected her thoughts centered on her pa, for she clearly cared deeply about the old outlaw.

  Kincaid was just as concerned about his daughter, and for good reason.

  Frank Arlen was dangerous, and it was anyone’s guess what he aimed to do next.

  “Your pa is right. It’d be best if you headed to California,” he said, breaking the silence at last.

  He felt her gaze on him, but he stared straight ahead. “Are you anxious to get rid of me?”

  “Not by a long shot.”

  He wanted her where he could watch her, hold her in his arms as she slept, and make love to her. But Arlen was out there skulking around. He had no idea who Erston had cut a deal with. And he was losing hope that Fitzmeyer would arrive in due time and buy the thoroughbreds.

  He glanced her way. He’d never seen her look so forlorn. God knew she had good cause.

  Hell, she shouldn’t be alone in this world. She shouldn’t be teaching girls how to live the life that she wanted to lead.

  He knew she’d looked forward to spending this Christmas with her pa. She’d been cheated of that. She’d been cheated of so much.

  “Did you know that Kirby Morris saved my pa’s life once?” she asked.

  He shook his head, not having a clue. “When did that happen?”

  “Three years ago,” she said. “A couple of cowboys caught him stealing a horse and strung him up.”

  He vaguely remembered hearing a couple of cowpokes brag over hanging a rustler.

  “They must not have known who he was,” she went on, “or they’d have hauled Pa to the marshal to collect the reward.”

  The reward wouldn’t have been worth near what it was after the shooting in Laramie. “Kincaid don’t look nothing like his wanted posters.”

  She smiled. “I know. Actually, I didn’t recognize him right off.”

  That told him she hadn’t seen her pa in far too long, reminding him she’d been alone. “How’d Kirby figure into this?”

  She caught his gaze this time, and the sadness in hers was a gut punch that caught him off guard. “He found Pa swinging from a rope and cut him down.”

  Reid laughed at his benefactor saving an outlaw’s life. “Kirby was good at lending a hand to those in need.”

  “Pa spoke highly of him,” she said. “You never did tell me how you came to know Kirby Morris.”

  That memory was clear as window glass. “Dade, Trey and I were living on the streets in St. Louis when we came on two thugs beating the hell out of a man who turned out to be Kirby Morris. I was the oldest at twelve and Trey had just turned ten.”

  “You were just boys,” she said, concern ringing in her voice.

  He smiled. “We didn’t let that stop us from jumping in and fighting off the others. When Kirby found out we were street urchins, he offered to take us west with him.”

  They’d wanted to be cowboys, and going with Kirby put them closer to finding Dade’s sister. Or so they thought. They hadn’t any idea just how big and untamed the West really was.

  “We took him up on his offer and became a family of sorts,” he said.

  They topped a rise and the ranch came into view. His breath caught like it always did when he saw it this way.

  This was home, and he damned sure was willing to fight for it, and the legacy Kirby left them.

  To Ellie’s surprise, Hubert had taken the turkey from the oven when he deemed it was cooked. Shane had added his culinary contribution of salt pork and beans. Booth Howard had boiled enough potatoes for an army.

  With the biscuits she’d made this morning, they had a passable Christmas dinner. As before, the cowboys ate in shifts so at least three were always on guard.

  Sharing Christmas dinner with these hardworking men reminded her of her youth in the outlaw camp. There was no pretense there either. Just smiles and appreciation for the food before them and another day of freedom.

  She could get used to this. But would she be denied the chance?

  “I rode over to Rocky Point around noon,” Shane said when the meal was over and he was sipping his coffee. “The Pearces are anxious to move back to their spread.”

  Though it wasn’t a glamorous honeymoon, Ellie would be content to do the same with Reid. She’d be happy with him anywhere.

  “How much longer will Cheryl and Kenton have to stay there?” she asked.

  Reid helped himself to more coffee that was as strong and addictive as he was to her senses. “Until Erston gives up trying to ruin their lives and goes home.”

  “I wonder where Erston is staying?” she asked.

  “Hard to say,” Reid said. “So far nobody has owned up to taking him in.”

  The hard glint in his eyes told her that worried him most of all. Erston still held Reid’s future in his hands.

  “Arlen’s the one to watch,” Reid said. “He’s got his eye on the horses, and he’d do anything to get them.”

  The men murmured agreement, but the nervous glances they shared with each other scared her. Arlen had abused a woman and killed her in cold blood. She dreaded to think how low the man could sink when it came to stealing a herd of thoroughbreds.

  “He won’t be able to pin the blame on Pa,” she said.

  “Maybe that’s his angle,” Shane said. “With Kincaid in jail, he figures we’ll let our guard down.”

  Reid stroked a finger over his chin as if mulling something over. “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “What’re you getting at?” Shane asked.

  “Simple. We le
t Arlen think we feel secure now that Kincaid is in jail.” He pushed to his feet and the men did the same. “He’ll make his move then.”

  Shane slid her a passing look before turning to Reid. “If we’re all keeping watch over the horses, who’s going to keep an eye on Miss Cade?”

  “She’s heading west on the train tomorrow,” he said.

  She stared into his emotionless eyes and wanted to scream. He wouldn’t even take the time to drive her into Maverick, preferring one of his men haul her off his ranch, and out of his life.

  “Is that what you want?” she’d asked him, her chest too tight with heartache to draw a decent breath.

  “It’s the best thing, Ellie.”

  No. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

  The walls of Ellie’s room pulsed in the hushed quiet. It had to be close to midnight, and though this day had been exhausting, she wasn’t the least bit sleepy.

  She stood at her window and looked out over the Crown Seven Ranch bathed in moonlight. The probability that Frank Arlen was lurking in the shadows had her nerves throbbing.

  Coming here had sounded so simple when Mrs. Leach had asked her to assume her position at the ranch. She thought she’d have ample opportunity to talk her pa out of satisfying his vengeance, and spend Christmas with him as well.

  But everything had gone wrong.

  She hadn’t expected to get involved with Reid Barclay and fall hopelessly in love with him. She certainly hadn’t suspected that Reid was Slim Cullen, the man her pa was gunning for.

  Her head ached anew as she tried to sort it all out. Reid was Slim Cullen. He’d been arrested for Lisa True’s murder.

  But according to her pa, he was innocent.

  Frank Arlen was the real killer.

  Ellie fisted her hands against the cold window glass, letting the chill seep into her soul. She was frustrated and heartsick that her pa was in jail. He could hang for something he hadn’t done and there wasn’t a thing she could do to help him.

  Yes, he’d chosen this life long ago. But he was her pa. The worst crime he’d committed was stealing horses. She didn’t want to see him die.

  Like Reid, he wanted her to take the train to California tomorrow. He wanted her away from here in case the worst came to pass and he was hanged.

  California seemed a lifetime away from her now.

  Yes, she was qualified to take young ladies under her wing, and she enjoyed helping others. As Irwin had commented, her job at the Denver Academy was the proper one to hold.

  She grimaced at that. She’d lived so many years being proper.

  Even her tryst with Irwin had been appropriate to a degree, for he was her fiancé. They’d been weeks away from the date he’d set for the nuptials—never mind that she advised the young ladies in her charge to abstain from such lurid activities in the event the wedding was cancelled, either by design or tragedy.

  She’d been so hungry for love she’d ignored her own advice. To think of the pains Irwin went through to make sure the lights were out.

  Why, the first time she made love she’d expected light-trails in the sky. But she never saw so much as a spark.

  He’d fussed that they only bare what was necessary for their coupling. He’d gone about his duty with the same punctuality he employed in business, getting it over and done with in an economy of movement.

  Irwin would never have fed her molasses pie with his fingers. He wouldn’t have held her close to his heart in the dead of night. Skin to skin. Hearts beating in tandem in that slow, sultry rhythm that begged for the night to go on and on.

  She dropped her forehead on her fists and closed her eyes, shivering as the structured walls of her future rose around her like a cold, damp fog. The two men she loved wanted her to take the train to California tomorrow morning.

  Her pa wanted her safe and settled in her new position.

  Reid simply wanted her off the ranch in case trouble descended. He hadn’t even looked her in the eyes when he’d shuffled her out of his life, letting Shane drive her to town.

  This would be the last night she’d spend in this house.

  Ellie pushed away from the window, hugging herself when it was Reid’s arms she longed to have enfold her. She wanted his lips tempting and worshipping hers in turn, his body pressing her down in the mattress and taking her to a place where there was only pleasure.

  All she had to do was let her heart go and feel the love that surely must brighten the room on the darkest of nights. A shudder of remembered delight skidded through her, too quickly gone, too brief to sustain her.

  Should she follow the safe, structured road, or her heart?

  Her fingers closed around the gold band dangling from the ribbon around her neck. He couldn’t or wouldn’t ask her to marry him with his future up in the air.

  All she could be was his lover, and even that couldn’t last much longer. But she had tonight—

  Her foolish heart begged her to toss respectability to the winds. Her heart knew it needed the love and attention Reid offered her to flourish. Her heart only knew he could fill the empty void she’d lived with all her life—if not forever, then at least for now.

  Ah, but her mind was the enemy. It reminded her that even with commitment, the heart could be broken.

  She’d gone on after Irwin ended their engagement without suffering a broken heart. In fact, she’d been furious with the self-righteous man, and with herself, for trying to fit into his world.

  With Reid, she wouldn’t be able to walk away unscathed. Though she’d harbored an affection for Irwin, it was nothing compared to the all-consuming love for Reid Barclay that warmed her blood.

  He was the love of her life.

  He had the power to destroy her.

  Yet even knowing it, there was no way in hell she’d leave tomorrow morning. She couldn’t walk away without talking to him one last time. Without kissing him. Touching him. Loving him with all her heart and soul.

  Ellie shook her hands at her sides and expelled a heavy breath, having made the only decision she could. She’d have tonight with him.

  She’d march to his room now, just like she did before. She’d offer herself to him, no promises, no regrets.

  She tiptoed to the door, heart thudding madly as she relived that long walk down the hall to Reid’s room. She turned the knob and eased the door opened. And bit back a shriek.

  Reid stood outside her door, somehow managing to look relaxed and virile at the same time. A crooked smiled tugged at his mouth.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked, his voice pitched to a seductive whisper.

  “To you.”

  He held out a hand, palm up. She slipped hers in his and marveled at the power he exuded, the chafe of his calluses that sent shivers of awareness coursing through her.

  He stared at her the longest time with only the barest ribbon of moonlight swirling around them. She feared he’d change his mind—that he’d be noble and send her away.

  Before she could find the words to beg him to take her, he drew her down the hall and into his room, and closed the door. “I’m not giving you the chance to change your mind.”

  “Good, because my mind is set.”

  The only thing she wanted at that moment was to love him like there was no tomorrow, because for them there likely would only be this moment.

  When Mrs. Leach returned, Ellie would make the trek to California and assume the life that had seemed so enticing months ago. And every night she’d dream of him, of this sizzling passion that arced like sheet lightning between them, and of what could have been.

  Then he kissed her, and she melted into him and pushed all thoughts of responsibility and morality from her mind. Tonight she wanted nothing to encumber her. She refused to let anything or anyone mar this night.

  Her hands tore at his shirt while he seemed in no hurry to remove her clothes. Even his kisses were leisurely samples of pleasures to come.

  “I need you, Reid. Now.”

  “Slow down
, sweetheart.”

  The endearment brought her up short. She could never be anything more than his lover.

  She pulled away, barely able to make out his features in the semidarkness. “Why didn’t you light a lamp?”

  “Prying eyes,” he said as he whisked her dressing gown up and off her, leaving her standing there in nothing but a flush of need. “As much as I long to admire you in the altogether, I won’t risk drawing attention to my room tonight.”

  Because Arlen could be watching, she knew. It gave her yet another reason to resent the man, for he was robbing her of embedding this visual memory of their last night together on her mind.

  “I’ll open the curtains,” he said, fitting action to words as he drew back the coverings on both windows.

  A silvery glow spilled into the room and left her standing in a pool of moonlight. She covered herself, then thought the gesture foolish as he stalked toward her, a predator intent on its prey.

  “Never hide yourself from me,” he said, and she hoped that meant there would be more nights like this for them.

  His palms skimmed up her sides and set off sparks a blind man could see. She dropped her head back on a moan. Is this what she’d have as his mistress? Would their passion flare in the dark only to die in the light of day?

  His mouth closed over one breast and he suckled her dry, driving all sane thoughts from her head. For surely thinking that this was how she wanted to spend the rest of her life wasn’t sane.

  She was an educator. A woman who’d worked hard to achieve that distinction. Yet here she was, naked as the day she was born and frolicking in the arms of a man who couldn’t offer her anything but this moment.

  Surely love was a divine madness. Surely this was the best moment of her life, she thought as he picked her up and laid her on the bed. He followed her down, his mouth meandering down her body to linger at her belly.

  She sucked in air and grabbed for him, waiting to pull him back up over her, knowing she had to touch him. To hold on. For what was to come would leave her undone.

  Her body quivered and bowed upward to his seeking mouth, her flesh hot and wet and taut with expectation. She breathed the heady musk of him into her lungs, absorbed the salty essence of him through her skin.