“Not even this morning?”
“Nope, haven’t seen him since the dance last night.” Seeing the worry in her face, he added, “But I heard him at the livery. Have you talked to Jonas?”
“Yes,” she murmured, shoulders drooping. “He’s nowhere to be found. He was at the store around ten this morning, then Jonas said he helped him saddle his pony right after that, but that’s it. Is Deputy Kunkle around? Maybe he’s seen him.”
“I’ll ask him. Meantime, send your husband to meet me at the livery, then tell Jonas to saddle up our horses.” The shadows were lengthening by the minute, and tracking in the dark was next to impossible. Still, if Bosco didn’t know the whereabouts of the little rapscallion, they’d need to go looking for him.
“And Daisy? Have you seen my daughter?” Mrs. Gardner’s eyes narrowed, almost in accusation. Cole felt guilty as hell, but for other reasons Mrs Gardner didn’t need to know about.
“Haven’t seen her all day.”
She paused, studying him, then nodded once, and hurried down the street.
He found Bosco at Mrs. Courtney’s house, eating. He hadn’t seen either the boy or Miss Daisy, so Cole told him to take care of the town while Cole, Gardner, and Jonas went searching.
Ten minutes later, the three men rode toward the north edge of town. “Got the lanterns?” Cole asked as they passed the mercantile.
“Three of ‘em,” Gardner answered. “But I hope we find the little squirt before we need ‘em.” He waved at his wife, who stood on the boardwalk, shoulders hunched. “And who knows where that daughter of mine has gotten herself off to.”
“Let’s assume they’re together.”
Jonas shook his head. “Forrest left a good three hours before Daisy did, although she rode north, too.”
“So neither of them told you where they were going?” Cole asked, mostly to see if Jonas could remember something he hadn’t already told them.
“Nope, but they both headed out this direction. I thought maybe we could pick up some tracks here, although folks have been riding in and out all day.”
It was the best lead they had, albeit feeble.
“I brought water and food, plus Betsy threw in some bandages,” Gardner said. The quiver in his voice belied his bravado. “Damned kid, anyway. I’m gonna whoop his ass into next Sunday and back.”
“Paw prints,” Cole said. “If we find the dog, we’ll find the boy.” And hopefully, the girl. He tried not to let his pounding heart interfere with his judgement, but he couldn’t find anything good in this. He wanted her home, safe and sound in his arms.
Jonas nodded. “I’d allow you’re right on that matter. Maybe the girl, too.”
Gardner’s lips were pressed tight. His silence spoke of his fretting.
Cole could only imagine the worry Gardner held for his two children. These parts could be dangerous, especially to a curious boy and a woman who fancied herself a sleuth. “Gardner, you stay on the road. Jonas, you ride about twenty feet to the right, and I’ll ride to the left. Holler if you see anything interesting.”
A mile or two down the road, Jonas picked up the trail of the dog. The sun barely peeked over the horizon and the tracking in the dim light was slow. They stopped to light the lanterns, then Cole and Jonas followed the dog’s trail, while Gardner rode on the worn path parallel to it. The boy had obviously taken the cut-off to Silver City, but the three men followed the dog’s tracks, just the same.
The lanterns cast the only light—the crescent sliver of the moon was no help. They made slow and tedious progress, both so they wouldn’t lose the paw prints, and also to protect their horses’ legs from ground squirrel holes. Cole prayed that Daisy was with Forrest, and that he’d find them both, safe.
About an hour later, the dog’s tracks led off the trail to the right, away from the cut-off. They followed the tracks to the foothills, where the treacherous rocks were too slippery for loaded horses’ hooves to tread. The men dismounted and continued on, leading the animals.
Another fifteen minutes of searching showed nothing. No dog prints, no pony tracks. Cole was just about to suggest they camp for the night, when a dog’s whine sliced through the air. “Stay here,” Cole ordered, handing Jonas the reins to his gelding. “I’ll be able to hear more if you stay quiet and I go alone.”
Three boulders later, Cole spied the pony, saddled and groundtied, but no boy or dog in sight. “Forrest!”
“Up here, marshal!”
Cole lifted his lantern, but didn’t see a thing except more rocks. “Keep talking, junior deputy. I’ll come and get you.”
“Keep going past the next rock, then climb up here. Winky’s hurt, and I’m hungry.”
Cole scrambled up the boulder. Forrest and the dog huddled in a little dip on the top of it. “Are you all right?” The boy looked fine, much to Cole’s relief, but he wore a worried look.
“Yep, just hungry.”
The dog whimpered and licked his paw. “But a rock fell on Winky’s foot and I think it’s broken. He wanted to go home on three legs, but I wouldn’t let him, and I couldn’t lift him onto my pony. So I made him stay put, just like Daddy always told me. He says to stay in one place because it’s easier to find someone if they do.”
“Your daddy’s right about that.” He stood and hollered for Jonas. He’d need some help getting a hundred-pound dog off a thirty-foot boulder. “What the hell were you doing this far out?”
“Chasing bad men. I saw the Rankin brothers, and I know you want them in jail.”
The boy took his junior deputy status far too seriously. Still, he had to admire the kid’s spunk. “From now on, you tell me or Deputy Kunkle when you see them. You can’t go chasing outlaws on your own—we don’t even do that. A lawman always has a partner for backup. Do you know why?”
“Yes,” the boy answered slowly, “because your dog might get hurt.”
Good enough. “Right. And then the outlaws get away, and everyone has to spend their time looking for you.”
“I won’t never do it again.”
Cole patted him on the shoulder. “I know you won’t.” He heard Jonas scrambling on the rocks down below. “Where’s your sister?”
Forrest shrugged. “Dunno.” He sent Cole a pensive look. “Are you going to marry her? I saw her looking at you with love-eyes.”
Cole would give his soul to marry Miss Daisy, if he had one left to give. “Naw, your sister is a fine woman, but there’s lots better men for her than me. Besides, I’m not the marrying kind.”
The boy scowled and snapped his fingers. “Dang, it’d be great to have a marshal for a brother.”
He listened to Jonas’s progress up the rocks, then turned his attention back to the boy. “Where’d you see the Rankins last?”
“Riding past the face of these rocks. That’s why I climbed up here, ‘cause I thought I could figure out where they was headed. I saw him turn this-a-way,” he gestured with his left hand, “down where that crevice is.”
“Good tracking, son. Just don’t forget to bring a partner next time.” Cole patted Winky. “A human partner.”
Jonas clambered up to them. “Hey, your dad’s got a saddlebag full of food and a canteen of water waiting for you.”
The two men struggled to get the dog off the boulder without killing themselves in the process. Forrest tried to help, but he was more hindrance than anything else. Cole didn’t have the heart to chastise the boy, and apparently, neither did Jonas.
Once the two men got the boy and the dog back to the horses, Cole hoisted Forrest up on his pony. Gardner hadn’t said a word. Cole expected he was so damn mad and, at the same time, so damned relieved, he didn’t know what the hell to say—besides still being worried about his daughter. Jonas handed Forrest a couple of biscuits and a canteen, then Cole helped him heave Winky onto Jonas’s horse.
“It’ll be slow but the horses can pick their way out of here if we give ‘em their head,” Jonas said.
“Find my daughter, m
arshal.” Gardner’s low voice cracked as he spoke.
The Rankins were so near, Cole could smell them. But this man’s love for his daughter altered his plans. “I’ll stay and look for Miss Daisy,” Cole said to her father. “You men go home, and let Bosco know where I am.”
“And if don’t you come back by morning?”
“Send out a search party for Miss Daisy. I’ll be all right.” Cole held up his lantern so he could find his horse’s reins.
Gardner threw him a bundle and a canteen. “It ain’t much, but it’ll keep the hunger at bay ‘till you get back.”
“Thanks.” Cole tied the food to the saddle and looped the canteen over the pommel. “Let’s go, old boy.”
The dark night made negotiating the rocks nearly impossible, and the lantern didn’t help much. He walked ahead, giving his horse as much rein as possible, and held the lantern high to light as much ground as possible. The horse was game to the task, and Cole congratulated himself on his choice. He’d picked him out of the remuda the day of Bosco’s ill-fated bank robbery attempt, and the spirited gelding had served him well.
“It’s about time we gave you a name, old boy.”
The horse nickered and picked his way toward Cole.
“All right, how about ‘Nick’?” Not too original but better than thinking about Daisy—what all could happen to her if the Rankins got hold of her.
Finally, he reached level ground, the place where Forrest had said the Rankins veered left up the crevice, although it was more like a canyon—steep rock on one side and gently sloping dirt on the other. His horse raised his head, nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air.
“Smell water?” Cole lifted the lantern higher to study the area, but he didn’t see any indication of a spring—no junipers or grasses. “Lead the way, boy.”
Cole followed as the horse moved on down the gully, sniffing the air every few steps. A nice little spring would be a good camping spot. Shelter would be good, too, since the desert could get mighty cold at night, and all he had for cover was a horse blanket.
He wondered if Daisy was warm and comfortable. Hell, maybe she was home in her bed. Lordy, what he wouldn’t give to be in that bed with her right then! She’d warm him up in a hurry. In fact, he felt a little warmer just thinking about her, and just as fast, grew cold with the thought that she could be in danger, and all because of him.
Why, with all his good intentions, did he cause such heartache in those he loved? First Thomas, and now Daisy. Well, they’d both be better off once he got his affairs settled and got the hell out of the territory. He hoped that would happen soon, like tonight.
His horse nickered again, and picked his way through the rocks to a level boulder about halfway up the canyon wall. Cole followed, his arm aching from holding the lantern so high, so long. But the horse seemed to know where he was headed, and that was more than Cole knew.
The gelding came to a stop on the flat boulder and again, his nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. He stuck his head into a gap between the rocks. Cole moved up with the lantern. Hell, the old boy had found a cave! Another horse whinnied, and Nick answered. Cole led his gelding in—stepping cautiously. Snakes, mountain lions, coyotes, and any sort of other animal could be waiting, although with a horse in there, the wild animals more than likely would be named ‘Rankin.’
He pulled his Colt and stayed tight to the wall. Old Nick, however, made a beeline for the other horse, and the water bucket in the corner. Cole blinked. A sidesaddle? No Rankin would be using a lady’s saddle. Hell, that was Daisy’s mare! He lowered the lantern, smiled, and relaxed for the first time since leaving Oreana.
He continued moving along the wall until he came to another, smaller opening. He hunched his shoulders and entered.
“Stay right there, buster,” Daisy yelled, “or I’ll blow your head into Kingdom come!”
Cole froze. There was nothing more dangerous on the face of this earth than a scared woman, and while Daisy sounded more confident than he thought she ought, surely she was scared out of her wits. She kneeled by an old trunk holding a pair of handcuffs in her left hand, training a pistol on him with her right.
“Daisy?” he said softly. “It’s me.” He relaxed, relieved she was safe—and plumb tickled he hadn’t walked down the bore of one of the Rankin brothers.
“Marshal?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
“Hold the lantern up to your face so I know for sure.”
He did. She lowered the pistol and smiled.
Cole hadn’t found the Rankins, but what he had found was far more dangerous.
Daisy uncocked the pistol, set the lantern down, and flew into the marshal’s arms. She felt safe, and he must have found Forrest as well.
“I’m so glad you’re here!”
He hugged her back, a possessive hug that thrilled her to her toes. “I’m so glad I found you,” he murmured in her ear. “I was—er, we were real worried about you.” He pulled her even tighter into his arms.
Memories of what he’d done the previous night sent warm tingles from her breasts to her thighs. Her body ached for more—she wanted more. “I knew you would,” she whispered, and raised her face, licking her lips. “And Forrest?”
“He’s on his way home with your father.”
“We’re so lucky to have you for our marshal.” Daisy meant it. She’d spent hours in fear for her little brother, and yes, she felt a little guilty, too, as if she could’ve somehow prevented Forrest from his foolishness. But now…
Now nothing was in her way. Her insides were on fire. By morning, she’d have a marriage proposal from the perfect man for her.
Cole stared at her mouth, his eyes dark with the same wanting that churned inside her, she was positive. She couldn’t have been more sure. She wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back. The cave was hard and cool—the marshal was hard and hot.
“Daisy, I can’t…We shouldn’t…” He lowered his lips to hers in a tender kiss, then deepened it until he’d tasted her completely.
She flicked her tongue on his, tentively at first, then with more confidence. She urged him on, her breasts tight against his chest, her pelvis moving against his groin. She wanted more from him than he’d given her the night before. She wanted it all, now and forever. She sought—demanded—his warmth, tugging his shirttail from his britches, plunging her hands under his shirt to feel the smooth, warm skin on his back.
He gave a low groan. “Oh, God, woman. This isn’t what you want.” He pulled back, but she didn’t let him go.
She wouldn’t let him go! She’d had a taste of the wonders that happen between a man and a woman, and it had only made her hungry for more. Only with the marshal, though. Only him. She pressed her lips against his neck and ran her tongue to his earlobe. He shuddered, the movement urging her to do more.
Unbuttoning the top button of his shirt, she kissed the little indentation below his Adam’s apple, then unbuttoned the other buttons and peeled the shirt off him. He fell to his knees and pressed his face in her bosom. Tingles shot through her body with such ferocity, she thought she might faint with pleasure. She plunged her fingers through his hair and held him at her breast.
This night, she, Daisy Gardner, would find out all the wonders of being a woman.
Chapter 13
Cole breathed in Daisy’s lavendar scent. Even the smell of her made him lightheaded. Aw, damn, he could not resist this woman, yet he must. The most they could have was the pleasure of the moment—after that, she’d be a ruined woman and, with a broken heart, he’d leave her forever. If they had never met, they’d both have been better off.
He thanked God above for the small kernel of common sense that warned him to put some distance between them before the situation went from bad to worse. But he’d never had a bad situation feel so damnedably good before.
Still, a nearly painful urgency prodded him to take her then and there. It wasn’t simple lust that gripped him, but the overwhelming desire to
mark her for his own. Yet, she could never be his. Not with a noose practically around his neck. Not with the half a heart that his former fiancée, Etta, had left him with when she married Thomas.
“No, Daisy,” he ground out, shoving her away from him a bit more roughly than he’d planned. “You don’t want this.” He stood back, wrestling with his overwhelming desire to throw good sense into the wind and take her. His heart pounded and his groin ached for her. He tried to look away from her, but he could not.
Her face glowed with passion, puzzlement, and maybe even a little hurt. It couldn’t be helped—a little hurt now would be a lot easier for her to get over than a lot of hurt later. And he was bound to hurt her—that was the course of his life and he couldn’t do a blessed thing to stop it.
As for the passion, well, another man would have to show her those delights. The very thought raised his ire. No other man would love her the way he did, and no other man would make her feel the way he could make her feel. Of that, he was certain.
He snagged his shirt and put it back on, trying to think of the right thing to say. “How’d you get here? Or find this place?”
Daisy turned away from him and shrugged. “I’ve been coming here for three or four years now."” She shrugged again. “I read here.”
“Read?”
“Yes.” She lowered her head. “My detective stories. I read all about Honey Beaulieu and her adventures as a lady detective.”
He picked up the handcuffs lying on the trunk. “And where’d you get these?”
“I ordered them. Last year.”
He should have known. This explained her obsession with poking her nose in situations where it didn’t belong.
“I have dried fruit and jerky stored here, and there’s a spring in the back there, with plenty of water.” She offered him a dipper.
His fingers brushed hers as he took it, nearly undoing him all over again. “Thanks.” He drank, barely able to swallow from the wanting of her, then asked, “So why are you here after dark? The whole town is worried about you, not the least of all your mother.”
Much Ado About Marshals (Hearts of Owyhee) (2011) Page 17
