Despite Ty’s often annoying behavior, Ellie had, on occasion, pictured what things would be like if the situation was different—if he, just a local cowpoke, came to call. She heaved a sigh.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t a possible suitor. He was the man out to steal her legacy. Why else would he appease her Pa by inviting her to the dance? She cursed herself for caring what he thought. He obviously didn’t give two shakes about her feelings.
Ellie squinted her eyes against a light invading her cloak of darkness.
“Ellie, are you in here?” Ty’s voice called out.
Despite wanting to be alone, there was no use trying to hide. She knew he’d find her eventually. He was like a blue-tick hound.
“Over here.” Her voice came out flat and emotionless.
He hung his lantern on a hook near the door and ambled closer. “I came to apologize—again. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”
She sat straight and squared her shoulders, hoping her eyes showed no trace of redness. “You didn’t hurt my feelings; you made me mad, as usual.”
“Well, what can I say except that I sure didn’t mean to. Your pa put me between a skunk and a stone wall by bringing up that blasted dance.”
Her feigned attempt at indifference failed when her heart sank. “So…you had no plans of asking me in the first place—it was all Pa’s doing?” She knew it was so, but it hurt to hear it.
Ty nodded. “He was trying to look out for you. If I tagged along, then he wouldn’t worry. Despite Ben’s tough exterior, he frets about you when you’re away from Fountainhead. With things the way they are with the Bryants, he doesn’t want to take any chances.” Ty paused, pushing aside that same lock of hair that always drooped down his forehead when he was hatless. “Don’t be mad at him. He loves you, Ellie.”
She took a deep breath to quell the tears she felt welling again and cursed the landslide of emotions that ran her moods lately. One minute she wanted to shoot Ty and the next she wanted to kiss him. Right now she was somewhere in between.
Sometimes, his nearness released a million butterflies in her stomach, but now, instead of a fluttering feeling, she felt empty and sad. She struggled to find a voice. “Well, do me a favor. Next time Pa tries to talk you into doing something you don’t want to, tell him. I felt like a fool in front of all the hands.”
He plopped down next to her, grimacing as he plucked a sharp shaft of hay from his thigh. “I should’ve spoke my mind, but to tell you the truth, his idea didn’t sound all that bad. I thought about asking you before he ever mentioned it, but it seems lately, where you’re concerned, I don’t know if I’m comin’ or goin’. I figured you wouldn’t be interested.”
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She lowered her head to avert his gaze, not wanting him to know how that pleased her. She stared into her lap.
“I know I haven’t been the easiest person to be around lately, but sometimes you can be quite annoying, too. You’re bossy, nosy and always in my father’s favor.”
He made a clucking noise with his tongue. “Well don’t hold anything back. Tell me what you really think of me.”
Her smile blossomed into laughter; she turned to look at him. “I’m sorry if that sounded mean, but you are all those things. You always want to know where I’m going and when I’m coming home—you act like my father. I’m not a little child. I can take care of myself.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I reckon you can, at least most of the time, but I worry about you, too. No matter how tough you think you are, you aren’t a match for a man. You just don’t have the same strength.”
The stubborn streak in her mind screamed, No, but I have a gun and that evens things out a bit. Instead, she shrugged, remembering how helpless she felt with Jeb’s hands on her. “Maybe, but it depends on the situation. I have to be a little more careful, that’s all.”
Thinking about the encounter made angry blood pulse in her temples, and her eyes locked with Ty’s. “Just because the Bryants have everyone else running scared, I’m not going to let them cripple me with fear. I’m going to that dance no matter what.”
She stood and brushed the loose straw from her pants, wondering when she had changed her mind. Until that very moment she had no intention of going to that silly social function. Now she had something else to kick herself about.
She still didn’t have an escort. Maybe she’d have to ask Percy to take her, heaven forbid. She flinched at the thought.
Her mouth gaped into a large surprising yawn, and she raised a hand to cover it, realizing she was exhausted from the gamut of emotions. She stretched, reaching high in the air. “Hmmm, I guess I’m more tired than I thought, so I’ll say good night.”
“No hard feelings?” He peered up at her.
Lantern light danced in his eyes, bringing back those darned butterflies. Her hand flew to her stomach. “No…no hard feelings.” She started out of the barn, waiting until she was out of hearing range to mutter, “Just good ones.”
“It’s too bad.” he called after her.
She peeked through the doorway. “What’s too bad?”
“That you’re already going to the dance with someone else. I sure would like to be the one to take you.”
Words bubbled out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop them. “Well, then I guess you will be, because I lied about Percy.”
The bold admission shocked even her, but before Ty had a chance to say a word, her happiness erupted into a bombarding explanation. “I only said I was going in the first place to make Pa happy. I planned on getting out of it somehow, but you should have seen the smile on his face when I told him about my plans to make a new dress. You would have thought I…”
Her mind’s eye locked on the bullet-riddled material bought from the mercantile. A serious search of her armoire was in order. Leaving Ty hanging on her last word, she rushed toward the house to find something in her wardrobe that would pass for new. Her heart raced with excitement.
Ty arched his back to ease a pestering kink and ran both hands through his hair. Still in disbelief, he leaned forward, staring at the loose hay covering the barn floor. How had he gone from being a villain to becoming a willing dance partner in such short order? He rubbed the back of his neck and opened his mouth in a yawn that rivaled Ellie’s.
The palm of his hand made a scratching sound as it slid across his whiskered cheek, reminding him to shave in the morning. It wouldn’t do well for Roselle Fountain’s escort to look unkempt. He chuckled at the thought of having her on his arm instead of at this throat.
Drawn by the appeal of his bunk, he stood and crossed the barn to the lantern and plucked it from the wall. He sighed, thinking about what a confusing girl…no, what a confusing woman he’d involved himself with.
There was nothing childish about Ellie’s curves, and lusty thoughts raced through his mind. The sweet smell of her toilette water still mingled with the fresh scent of hay. Even the not-so-appealing odor of manure didn’t interfere with his mental image of holding her close and burying his face in that mane of fiery hair. God, what she did to him. The lamp flickered, begging for more wick, and interrupting Ty’s fantasy.
He turned the lantern knob, sparking the flame back to life, and replayed his conversation with Ellie in his mind. Scratching his head, he wondered what she meant about him always being in her father’s favor. He’d have to ask her. He stifled another yawn and headed toward the bunkhouse, pausing halfway across the compound to do a few practice waltz steps. He nodded in approval. “Yep, I still know how.”
* * * * *
Ellie awoke to bright sunlight streaming through her window. Using curled fists, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up.
Clothing she’d pulled from her armoire littered the foot of her bed. Her attempt to find something suitable for the Fall Festival had proved futile. So much time had passed since she’d worn any of her dresses; half of them didn’t fit her well-developed bosom and the other half were six inches
too short.
Disgusted and tired, she’d given up and gone to bed. All she’d succeeded in doing was making a mess.
She swiveled around and dropped her feet to the floor. Cold from the wooden planks penetrated her toes and crept up her bare legs. A path of goose bumps peppered her skin.
Ellie yanked the hem of her nightgown down and stood. One look at the clothing heap made it clear she had a problem. With her feeble sewing skills and little time left before the dance, she needed to pay another visit to the mercantile and buy a store-made frock. A shiver ran through her, but not from the cold; from the recollection of her last trip.
She gathered everything off the bed. “Like I told Ty, I’m not about to let the Bryants keep me holed up here on Fountainhead.” Talking aloud helped bolster her courage. “Besides, I’ll take my gun and be more careful this time. It’s only a ride to the mercantile and back for heaven’s sake.” She had to admit, she sounded convincing.
Ellie dumped the stack back in her armoire. Sorting through them was a chore for another day. Right now she had more important things to tend to.
Hugging herself, she did a little dance around the room, smiling at the recollection of Ty’s invitation. In her mind, it was his arms that held her, warmed her. Forgetting the morning chill, she two-stepped over to the washbowl and filled it with water from its matching pitcher.
She paused for a moment, admiring the intricate roses decorating them, and her elation was suddenly replaced with a longing for someone she barely remembered. The two porcelain pieces were cherished mementos from her mother.
A glance at the small framed photo on the bureau made her wonder again what things would be like had Ma lived. Maybe she’d provide answers for the million questions Ellie had about the strange feelings she’d been experiencing, and about men…yes, those cocky, good-looking, blue eyed ones in particular.
Ellie peered into the mirror hanging above her toilette area, and before washing her face, pulled her long hair back and secured it with a ribbon. The almond-shaped eyes reflecting back at her looked much the same as those in the picture.
Tilting her head, she studied the structure of her jaw, her perfect eyebrows, and the slight dimple in her chin. She smiled at her reflection, happy she had her mother’s best features, and wishing Ma remained alive to see them. “If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.” She sighed. Where had she heard that before?
Pushing aside depressing thoughts, Ellie plunged her hands into the tepid water, cupped her palms to hold the liquid, and then bent to bury her face in its refreshment. Blindly, she reached for the soap dish, picked up the small slice that was left, and lathered her face. She rinsed then dipped a cloth into the sudsy water and performed a quick toilette on the rest of her body. The cobwebs of sleep vanished, and she felt revived and ready for the day.
After dressing, Ellie sat on the bed, pulled on her well-worn boots, and let her thoughts drift back to Ty. She flashed back to last’s night conversation, the part where he had actually admitted wanting to accompany her. That same familiar warmth spread throughout her body again. How had things changed so fast?
A few days ago she thought she hated him for his cocky attitude and the way her father always kept him under a protective wing. Now she couldn’t wait for the dance. Dance? Ellie jumped up.
Stripping the ribbon from her hair, she shook her long tresses free and quickly ran a brush through the sleep squiggles, effectively removing them. In a repeat of her earlier fashion, she re-tied her hair with same the piece of satin. She glanced down at the sudsy liquid still in her washbowl, vowing to empty it and refill the pitcher when she returned, but right now what she needed was a new dress and more bullets.
Chapter Seven
Ellie shielded her eyes against the morning sun as she walked out the kitchen door.
The compound was in an uproar. Hired hands scrambled from the bunkhouse to the barn, strapping on their holsters as they ran. Ty and Pa stood next to the corral. Judging from their faces and Pa’s wild gestures, they discussed something serious.
She snuggled down in her jacket to ward off the October chill and dashed across the yard to where the two men stood. “What happened?”
“Somebody came on our land during the night and slaughtered the whole herd of cattle we had grazing on the south range.” Ben’s jaw grew tense as he spoke.
Ellie’s mouth gaped. “Slaughtered? How?”
Ty slowly shook his head. “Shot. Every single one of them. Just senseless killing.”
Anger fired along Ellie’s veins. How could such a thing happen on their ranch? “Who was supposed to be keeping watch, and where was he?”
“We’re still trying to figure that out, and believe me, someone is going to answer for this.” Pa kicked a pebble and sent it flying across the yard.
“Why would someone do something so cruel? How many did we lose?”
“Two dozen, at least. We’ll know for sure when the men come back from checking the other pastures.” Ty slapped his thigh. “Damn! We know who did it, but how can we prove it?”
Losing one cow was sad, but twenty-four? Ellie’s stomach knotted. She didn’t have to ask who was responsible; she knew. The Bryant’s were the source of every problem since they came to the area, bullying people into selling their land, making threats, and generally riding roughshod over anybody who had the misfortune to cross their path.
This brutal act was too much of a coincidence right after Pa turned down their last offer for Fountainhead.
“Well, we can’t just sit back and let them get away with it,” she said. “We have to do something.”
“We are,” Ty assured her. “The men are gathering the rest of the cattle together in one location. We’ll rotate guard duty and keep two men with the herd at all times. It was almost time to gather them together anyhow. It won’t be long before it snows.”
A gust of wind almost whipped Ellie’s hat off her head and set her teeth to chattering. She yanked the brim down, turned her back to the breeze and huddled down in her jacket. “It’s so cold. I think it could start, now.”
“I guess it wasn’t too chilly for whoever did this. We made a mistake in assuming the culprits wouldn’t pull anything this underhanded so soon after hitting the other neighbors. We were wrong, but it won’t happen again.” Ty’s lips twitched, his eyes turned steely.
Ben Fountain removed his stained Stetson and ran a hand through his silver hair. His brow held deep furrows. “Ty, it probably won’t do any good, but I want you to ride into Sparta and report this to the Sheriff.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ty nodded. “It never hurts to let word get out that we have a pretty good notion who killed the livestock, besides it’ll give me a good excuse to take the black out on the trail. I think he’s ready.”
Ty was going to town? Ellie’s heart raced. If she went in his company, she’d feel a lot safer. Following her run in with Jeb, and in light of what had happened last night, she wasn’t eager to press her luck. The Bryants were getting bolder in their attempts to get Fountainhead.
“Oh, that reminds me.” She acted like the idea just popped into her head. “I have to go into town, too. Ty, do you mind if I ride along? While you see the Sheriff, I can pick up a few things I need from the mercantile.”
His grin was the only answer she needed.
Ty and Ellie rode in silence except for the snorting of Ty’s mount as he nervously tossed his head and occasionally sidestepped away from Ellie’s horse. His uneasiness was contagious. The mare cast wide eyes at the other steed and did a little crow-hopping of her own. Ellie leaned forward and patted the Chessie’s neck. “It’s all right girl.”
Ty held the black in check for the first couple of miles, until the stallion settled down, and both horses obediently trudged along the rutted road leading to town.
The chilly morning turned into a mild day with intermittent sun filtering through the trees along the trail. Even with half their leaves gone, the foliage was sti
ll thick and colorful, but Ellie had a hard time getting last night’s kill out of her mind, and asked, “We know who did it, but what do they expect to accomplish?”
Ty relaxed the reins, waiting to see the stallion’s reaction. When it was clear the horse had grown used to bearing a rider, Ty pushed his hat back further on his head and relaxed against his cantle.
“Your pa told me that years ago he secured quite a hefty loan from the bank to buy the cows. He’s paying it back as he can, but Dude Bryant is smart enough to know that the animals are the collateral Ben used. If your pa fails to repay the money, the bank will take the cattle, but if there aren’t any, they get the ranch.”
“Well, that just steams me.” Ellie spoke through clenched teeth.
“Me, too. The cattle mean a lot.”
“That’s not what I mean,” she snapped. “I’m referring to the fact that Pa tells you all his personal business while I know nothing. See what I mean about you always being in his favor? I swear he treats you more like his offspring than me.” She glared ahead with lips drawn into a tight line. It hurt that Pa kept her in the dark about so many things. What else didn’t she know?
Ty heaved a loud sigh and adjusted himself in the saddle, and then the silence between them returned. The only sound was the horses’ hooves clopping on the hardened trail.
Her mind spun. Pa was indebted to the bank? How much did he owe? Were they destitute? Ellie fretted over his liability, but it didn’t matter; she didn’t have the money to repay the loan if it came due. Maybe she could get a job, but doing what, and where? Or, she could make a plea to Joshua Bryant for his family to leave Pa in peace. He was nothing like the other two. She nodded. That’s what she’d do, just as soon as she could figure out how to isolate him from his evil twin.
Ellie's Legacy Page 6
