by Bobbi Smith
“I would like nothing better, but I doubt we can get away with it. I have the feeling he’s going to want to keep an eye on me every minute.”
“Well, if you truly dislike him so much, maybe one of us could pretend to be seasick,” Eileen suggested with an impish grin. “He might believe that and leave us alone.”
“I like the way you think.” Amanda laughed for the first time that day. She decided that she and Eileen Hammond were going to get along famously.
The carriage drew to a stop at the dock where the ship was moored.
“We must be a few minutes early. I don’t see Mr. Logan anywhere,” Amanda said looking out the window. It was then that she spied Bethany waving at her a short distance away. “Miss Hammond, my friend Bethany’s here!”
“Go. Visit with your friend and say your goodbyes,” Eileen suggested. “I’ll stay right here with the carriage.”
“Thank you.”
Throwing the carriage door open, Amanda climbed down and rushed to greet her friend.
“You got my note!”
Bethany’s expression was sad as she hurried to join Amanda. She couldn’t believe the events of the past twenty-four hours.
“Amanda! Tell me it’s not true! You can’t be leaving! Not today! You just can’t!”
“I’m afraid I am,” she replied, giving her friend a hug. She had sent a letter to Bethany late the evening before explaining all that had happened and hoping her friend would receive it in time. She had desperately wanted to see her one more time before she had to sail.
“This is terrible! What’s happened? Your father wants you to come back home? Why?”
“When he found out that I’d been expelled, he was very angry.” She looked up just then to see Jack coming toward her from across the dock. “Father sent Brutus there to bring me back.” She nodded in Jack’s direction.
Bethany glanced that way and saw a tall, good-looking man walking toward them. “Brutus? Is that his real name?”
“No, but it suits him. His real name is Jack Logan.”
“He’s the one who dragged you out of The Palace last night, isn’t he?”
“Yes. He thought he was saving me, but I would rather have stayed there with you and been arrested. I didn’t need him to rescue me like some knight in shining armor saving a damsel in distress. We were doing just fine at the bar.”
“Yes, we were—until the police came.”
“What happened after we left? We drove off just as they arrived.”
“They took us all down to the jail and would only release us to a male family member.”
“Didn’t that infuriate and humiliate you?”
“Absolutely, but I don’t think they’ll be forgetting us any time soon. At least, I know those in the bar will remember us.”
They shared a smile at the memory of the wild night just past.
“I bet it wasn’t easy for you to face your grandmother after what happened,” Bethany went on.
“I was careful not to tell her about the temperance protest, and thank heaven, Logan didn’t either.”
“That was lucky.” She glanced at him with renewed respect. “Maybe this Logan fellow isn’t as bad as you think.”
“Ha! He’s arrogant and obnoxious! You should have seen the way he manhandled me! I can’t wait to get away from him.”
“Well, if he had said something to your grandmother, you would have had a whole lot more explaining to do.”
“I know. I guess I was lucky that way, but it wouldn’t really have made any difference in the long run. I still have to sail for home today.”
“What am I going to do without you?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got it all figured out. When I get home, I’ll tell my father that I’m needed back here. I promise you, Bethany, I’ll return as fast as I can.”
“I hope so. I need you! With your enthusiasm and courage, the women’s movement can’t fail.”
Jack had gotten close enough to hear their conversation. His smile was condescending as he remarked, “So that’s what you call this trouble you’re involved in . . . the women’s movement? You two aren’t women. You’re just babies. That scene at The Palace last night was a game to you.”
“Babies? We’re nineteen years old!” Amanda countered.
“And this is no game. We were serious last night, and we’re serious about getting the right to vote!” Bethany insisted.
“Of course, you are,” he agreed too easily, “and your papas still pay for everything and cater to your every whim.”
Bethany shot him a disparaging look. “Our papas may give us some things, but they don’t give us what we really need and want.”
“And that is?”
“Equality with men. Women are not chattel,” Bethany declared.
“That’s right,” Amanda added. “We can take care of ourselves. We don’t need men to protect us.”
Jack eyed them both. “I’ve known some females who could take care of themselves, but you aren’t two of them.”
“Why you—” Amanda began, seething at his condescending attitude.
“Miss Amanda, our bags are already on board,” Eileen called out from where she stood by the carriage. She had seen the tall, dark-haired, very good-looking man walk up to Amanda and her friend, and she’d wondered if he was the infamous Jack Logan. She hadn’t been able to hear the particulars of their conversation, but judging from the way Amanda stiffened at his approach, Eileen felt reasonably certain that it was he. Just watching them, she could tell they struck sparks off each other, and she smiled to herself, thinking this could be a most interesting journey.
“Thank you, Miss Hammond.” Amanda was glad for the interruption. The last thing she wanted to do was waste time arguing with Jack Logan.
“Our bags?” Jack asked, glancing at Eileen and wondering who she was.
“My grandmother hired Miss Eileen Hammond to travel with me as my companion and chaperone.”
“You felt you needed a companion? I thought you were any man’s equal,” he taunted.
“I am, but since I was traveling with you, my grandmother insisted.”
“A very wise woman, your grandmother.” He grinned wickedly as he looked around. “She didn’t come down to see you off?”
“No. We said our good-byes at home.”
“Then let’s go on board. It’s almost time to sail.”
“Let me tell Bethany good-bye and I’ll be ready.” Amanda expected him to move away and give her a moment of privacy with her friend. When he didn’t, she threw him a cold look. “Is there a reason why you feel the need to hover over me?”
“I want to make certain that everything goes as planned.”
“I am not going to run away.”
“That’s right. You’re not.” His tone and expression were confident.
“If I had wanted to, I would have,” she retorted, angered by his boldness. “As I told you last night, if I travel with you today, it’s because I’ve made the decision to do so, and not for any other reason.”
The boat’s whistle blew just then, and Amanda knew she could delay no longer. It was time to board. She quickly hugged Bethany.
“It’s men like him who make us want to fight for the right to vote,” Bethany whispered to her.
“I know,” Amanda agreed with a grimace. “And to think that I have to travel all the way to West Texas with him.”
“Good luck,” Bethany encouraged her.
“Thanks. I think I may need it.”
They moved apart, smiling, but sad.
“You’ll be back?”
“As soon as I can. Promise me you’ll keep in touch and let me know what’s happening?”
“I will, and I’ll be waiting eagerly for your return.”
With that, Amanda allowed Jack to escort her to where Eileen stood. She made the introductions and then moved up the ramp with them. Standing at the rail, she waved one last time to her friend.
“Shall we go below and lo
ok at our cabin?” she suggested to Eileen, wanting to escape Logan’s presence as quickly as she could.
“Of course,” he agreed smoothly. “Allow me to show you the way.”
Amanda took one last look at Philadelphia, then turned away, ready to return to the life she’d left behind so long ago.
“Luke! Someone’s riding in,” Cody Jameson Majors called out to her husband from where she stood on the front porch of their small ranch house.
Luke had been working some of their horses in a corral by the stable. At her call, he hurried to her side. They didn’t get much company, and he hoped that, whoever their visitor was, he was bringing good news. As Luke reached his beautiful wife, he stole a quick kiss.
“I missed you, woman.”
“You were only down at the stables for an hour.” She laughed, thrilled by his ardor.
“It seemed longer,” he said with an easy grin. In the time they’d been married, his love for her had deepened. He hadn’t thought it possible to care this much for someone, but he knew now that Cody was his life. Without her, he only existed.
“Can you make out who it is yet?” she asked, shading her eyes as she tried to get a good look at the rider. “It’s not your father or your brother.”
“I can’t tell either.” He waited another minute, then realized who the man was. “Damn.”
“What?” She looked at him worriedly.
“It’s Steve Laughlin, the Ranger captain.”
“You think something’s wrong?”
“He’s not here on a social call.”
They stepped down from the small porch and went to greet Steve as he reined in at their hitching post.
“Cody, Luke.” He tipped his hat as he dismounted. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“It’s good to see you, Steve. How have you been?”
“I’m doing fine, but there’s been some trouble.”
“We figured that when we saw you riding in. Come on inside out of the heat,” Cody invited him. “Have a cool drink and relax for a minute.”
“Thanks, Cody, don’t mind if I do.” He smiled at the woman he knew to be one of the best bounty hunters in the state. She and Luke had helped the Rangers bring down the El Diablo gang, and bounty hunting didn’t get any deadlier than that.
Once they’d settled in around the kitchen table and had had a drink, Luke could wait no longer to find out the reason for Steve’s visit.
“What’s happened? Is there trouble in town?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m here because I’m trying to find Jack Logan.”
“You don’t know where Jack is? Has something happened to him?”
“Not that I know of, and I want to keep it that way.
That’s why I’m looking for him. Have you seen him lately?”
“No. We haven’t seen him since right after El Diablo was brought in. Why?”
“Well . . . Jack’s changed.”
“How?” Cody knew Jack was rock-solid, a man she could trust with her life. This news surprised her.
“The only thing I can figure is that all the treachery with El Diablo got to him. He quit the Rangers.”
“He what?” Now it was Luke’s turn to be shocked. He’d known Jack since they were boys back in Georgia before the war. After the war, Luke had ridden west and become a gunfighter, while Jack had come to Texas and become a Ranger. The Rangers had been Jack’s life. It was hard to believe that he’d abandoned it.
Steve nodded in affirmation. “He up and quit. Took to drinking and hiring out his gun. I haven’t run into him in months, but I’ve got to find him now. It’s a matter of life and death.”
“Whose?”
“His.”
At their startled looks, he quickly explained how the Sheldons had broken out of jail, killed two of the four Rangers who’d locked them up several years before and wounded another. “Jim Eskin heard them talking after they’d shot him. They’re after Jack next. They don’t intend to stop until they’ve killed all the men responsible for shooting their little brother and putting them away in jail.”
“Where have you looked for Jack so far? Have you talked to his sister in Galveston?”
“I checked with her first after I left Jim in San Antonio. It seemed the most logical place to go, but she hadn’t heard from him in months either. Jim had told me that he’d run into Jack in Corona not too long ago, so I checked there before coming here to you. He’d been there, but no one in Corona could say where he’d gone. He’d led a very solitary existence. One day he’d been there, drinking non-stop in the saloon, and the next day, he’d disappeared.
“What kind of bounty are you offering on the Sheldons?” Cody asked with interest.
“No!” Luke spoke up immediately when he recognized the gleam in his wife’s eyes.
She gave him a look that would have made any other man cringe. But not Luke. He knew her too well.
“I was just asking out of curiosity.”
“Five thousand dollars apiece,” Steve answered. Cody nodded, understanding why the bounty was so high. “They’re that deadly.”
“They’re that deadly,” he repeated for emphasis. “We want them back where they belong—behind bars—and after murdering my Rangers, I want to see them hang.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Cody said thoughtfully. “Cody—” Luke gave her a thunderous look, but she only smiled sweetly and ignored him.
“Now, about Jack,” Steve went on. “You haven’t heard anything from him? Nothing that would give me a clue where to look next?”
“No, I wish we had,” Luke answered. “I’ll ask around and see what I can find out. If we turn up anything, we’ll send word to you through Ranger Headquarters.”
“I’d appreciate it.” He stood up to go.
“You won’t stay for dinner?” Cody offered.
“As much as I’d like to, I’m worried about Jack. I’ve got to find him as quickly as I can. I don’t want to take the chance of his ending up dead like Reynolds and Everly.”
They walked Steve to his horse and watched as he rode back toward town.
“Luke—” Cody turned to her husband, smiling slightly as a plan began to take form in her mind.
“Cody, don’t start. We’ve got a ranch to run and horses to tend. There’s no time for bounty hunting.”
“But, sweetheart, didn’t you hear how much he said they were paying for them?”
“I heard, but I don’t want you putting yourself in that kind of danger again.”
“I wouldn’t be in danger. I’d have you and Stalking Ghost watching over me.”
He was adamant. “You’d still be tracking coldblooded killers. You remember how deadly the El Diablo gang was.” Even now, there were nights when he woke up in a cold sweat after dreaming of what might have happened to her while she was working undercover with the gang.
“I remember exactly how deadly they were, and that’s all the more reason why we should do this,” Cody told him, wanting to see the murderers behind bars. “The Sheldons are killers. What did Steve just tell us—that they had already killed two Rangers and seriously wounded a third? The only one left is Jack. You know what kind of men these are. They’re not going to stop until they’ve killed Jack, too—unless we stop them first. We’ve got to do this.”
“No, Cody.” Luke was firm. “This is Ranger business. Let the Rangers handle it.”
She grew frustrated, for she recognized the look in her husband’s eyes and the tone of his voice. Somehow, she had to find a way to convince him to go along with her idea, but she knew she wouldn’t win him over by arguing. She had to be more subtle. She smiled to herself at the thought.
It was later, at bedtime, when they lay together in the warm haven of their love, that Cody made her second attempt at convincing Luke.
“You know, if I’d thought like you a while ago, I would never have answered Jack’s telegram to bring in the infamous Luke Majors. I’d heard stories that Luke Majors was a deadly gunfig
hter, and I’d heard how terrible the El Diablo gang was. If I’d played it safe, I would never have met you or fallen in love with you or married you.”
“That was different.”
“Why? I didn’t know you then. All I knew was that Jack was worried some bounty hunter with an itchy trigger finger was going to bring you back dead instead of alive, and he wanted you alive. He believed in you when no one else did. How can you turn your back on him now?”
Luke lay in the dark with his wife in his arms, silently cursing the way she’d outsmarted him. She was right. He owed Jack a lot. If their going after the Sheldons would save his life, he’d do it.
Cody had been curled up against him, but she shifted to brace herself above him. She looked down at him in the darkness. “I love you, Luke Majors. If anything had happened to you, I would have missed this . . . Our life together . . . Our love.” She punctuated those words with a passionate kiss. “We have to help Jack. We have to find the Sheldons before they find him.”
Luke’s arms came around his wife, and he held her to his heart. “I love you, Cody.”
“I know. I love you, too, but how would we feel if we heard in a week or two that Jack had been gunned down by the gang?”
“I’m afraid something will happen to you,” he said in a low, emotional voice. “I don’t want to risk losing you.”
“You won’t. Don’t you remember? I’m Cody Jameson. I’m the best bounty hunter in Texas.”
“You’re Cody Majors, my dear,” he said huskily as he wrapped his arms around her and rolled to bring her beneath him. “And you’re right . . . You are the best.” His lips sought the sweetness of her throat.
“I work hard at being the best.”
“Perhaps you need some practice tonight to stay sharp?” His tone was rich and deep and filled with love.
“Practice does make perfect.”
Luke and Cody came together in a union of perfect marital bliss. They loved with their hearts, their bodies and their souls. Each caress was meant to show the depths of their adoration for each other. Each kiss expressed the sweetness of their devotion. Ecstasy was theirs. Pure rapture. They loved and were loved.
Later, their desire spent, they lay together, enjoying the beauty of being in each other’s arms.
