Marian squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t bear to watch Chad fall, but knew he would. The horse was too wild and too angry. She listened to the crowd to tell her when it happened. They seemed greatly annoyed when it did, as if they’d expected Chad to succeed.
“He lost his concentration.”
“Probably her fault, he was looking at her.”
“Rotten timing.”
Marian looked around to see who they were talking about, but the dozen or so men standing near her were all staring at her. She started blushing and turned to leave.
“Well, if it ain’t the tree-toting Eastern gal. How do, ma’am?”
Marian groaned inwardly. It was the mountain man, Leroy. She hadn’t expected ever to see him again. And he was mistaking her for Amanda—well, actually he wasn’t, but she didn’t want him to know that.
She gave him a smile. “Have we met? I’m Marian Laton. Perhaps you were referring to my twin sister?”
He raised a dubious brow. It looked rather funny, such a big man trying to look skeptical. “Twin, huh?”
“Leave her be, Leroy,” Chad said, coming up beside them, still brushing the dust from his pants from the fall he’d taken.
She was relieved to see he was only dusty and didn’t have any blood or hoof marks imprinted on him anywhere. And Leroy didn’t seem to take offense—much.
“You give too many orders, boy, when you don’ run this place yet.”
“If my pa didn’t warn you to stay away from his guests, he should have.”
Leroy chuckled. “As it happens, he did. But I heard you were gonna try your hand at breaking the bronco I brought in. Was hoping the horse might settle our debt.”
“If you want a piece of me, Leroy, just say so.”
“I’m still thinking on it.”
“They say bathing stimulates thinking. Why don’t you try it?” Chad suggested. “Pa set up a bunch of tubs in the south barn for the men.”
“I know. Wandered in there by mistake, and the little fella tending the tubs took one look at me and grabbed his shotgun. Said he wasn’t gonna lug water for all them tubs again, that it would take all of them to get me clean. Told me to go find a creek.”
“No offense, Leroy, but we’d all appreciate it if you did.”
Leroy grinned. “This is an acquired o-door. Took me years to perfect it. Snuck up on that bronco within a hand’s reach ‘cause he didn’t smell a human. When I give up hunting, I’ll bathe.”
Chad rolled his eyes. “In the meantime, you’ll forgive us if we avoid your perfected odor?”
Leroy shrugged. “Most folks do.”
Chad took Marian’s arm to lead her back up to the food tables. She’d been holding her breath for most of that conversation, and not just because of Leroy’s horrid odor. The way Chad had provoked that huge mountain of a man, as if he had no fear of him, set her nerves on edge.
“If you didn’t want to watch, why’d you come down?” he asked out of the blue.
“Excuse me?”
“You had your eyes squeezed shut. Worried I was going to take a fall?”
“Of course not,” she denied primly. “I merely had dust in my eyes. And I didn’t go there to watch you. I was just wandering, lost in thought.”
“Anything interesting?”
“What?”
“In your thoughts?”
Was he insulting her? Suggesting her thoughts were usually dull? Probably. Or maybe he thought she was Amanda. Of course! Otherwise, he would have remarked on her changed appearance. And his question could have been an attempt at flirtation with his bride-to-be. He undoubtedly expected Amanda to tell him that he had been in her thoughts.
“I heard the preacher isn’t coming,” she said. “That his wife isn’t feeling well, and he didn’t want to leave her alone in town.”
Chad sighed in disappointment. Because she’d passed up the opportunity to flirt with him? Or because he was in a hurry to set the date for his wedding?
She should straighten him out, but she was too angry that he was mistaking her for Amanda—yet again. And it infuriated her that she’d been afraid for him, not once, but twice in the span of a few minutes. She had to stop caring what happened to him. Whether he married Amanda or not, he was still lost to
Chapter 38
CHAD LEANED AGAINST A tree trunk, his hat tipped low, sipping a warm whiskey. One couple had approached, plates of food in hand, intending to sit under the tree to eat, but had sought shade elsewhere when they saw him there. He wasn’t in a sociable mood, and it probably showed.
Confusion was giving him a headache. He watched the twins, sure he knew who was who, yet he’d made such a colossal mistake in the stable that day, he wondered if he could ever be absolutely sure. Amanda, flamboyant, flitting about, animated, with Spencer following her around like a lost puppy. Marian, quietly conversing with some of the town ladies, demure, laughing softly, smiling with genuine humor.
He had no doubt today who was who. Spencer certainly didn’t have any doubt. He’d zeroed in on Amanda as soon as he’d arrived and hadn’t let her out of his sight since. Chad couldn’t tell if Spencer was having any luck wooing her, wasn’t even sure if that was still his intent. But he sure was amusing her, and she obviously enjoyed flirting with him.
Amanda was staying well clear of Chad. Smart girl. She knew she deserved a good throttling because of the trick she’d pulled on him. She just didn’t know him well enough to know he’d never hurt a woman. But he’d have no hesitation at all in telling her what he thought of her and her damn convoluted scheme to drag him to the altar.
“I thought you were pulling my leg the other day, when you said the Laton sisters are twins,” Lonny remarked as he came up to join Chad beneath the tree. “I mean, I know twins are supposed to look the same, but those two were like night and day—until now. How the hell do you tell them apart?”
“Marian’s wearing beige today.”
“Yes, I know. I told her how pretty she looked, and she blushed up a storm. But what if they were wearing the same dress?”
“Then you’d notice the mannerisms. Marian is shy. Amanda is anything but.”
“And if they’re both being quiet and shy-like?” Lonny ventured.
“Then you’re flat out of luck.”
Lonny looked at him askance, since he’d almost growled his reply. But considering where his own thoughts had been, he didn’t need it rammed home that if one of the twins wanted to pretend to be the other, how easily she could pull it off.
Lonny frowned thoughtfully before he said, “There must be another way. Surely their parents had no trouble telling them apart.”
Chad shrugged and finished off the whiskey he’d been nursing. “Probably not, but then parents get the benefit of living with them from the day they’re born. The rest of us get stuck with guessing—right or wrong.”
“You don’t sound too happy about that.”
“Would you be? If the woman you thought you made love to turned out to be the wrong woman?”
Lonny blinked then crowed, “I told you it was Amanda that day!”
“Shut up, Lonny,” Chad snarled, and walked away.
He headed straight for Marian. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say to her, but this confusion in his mind was driving him nuts. He still felt, deep down, that it had been her that day in the stable. It had just felt so right, making love to her. Yet when all facts—including Amanda—said otherwise, he knew he was wrong, and he just couldn’t bear it that he was.
He didn’t reach her before she got whisked away to the dance floor by one of the men from town. There were several other couples twirling about the stage, including his father, who was dancing with Red. Spencer was also up there with Amanda, using the dance as an excuse to hold her in his arms.
Chad watched the twins for a while and managed to calm down. You could tell them apart. You just had to observe them when they didn’t know you were watching, to see all the little things that made them
so different from each other.
Not that it was going to help him out of the mess he’d landed in. Only Spencer could do that. But even if Spencer succeeded in getting Amanda to marry him, Chad still didn’t stand a chance with Marian now. You didn’t make love to one sister, then ask the other one to marry you.
Lonny approached him again, hesitantly this time. “I owe you an apology.”
“Accepted,” Chad said absently.
“Don’t you want to know why?”
“I know why, so keep your foot out of your mouth and say no more.”
“Thanks,” Lonny sighed. Then, “You going to have to marry the wrong woman?”
“Probably.”
“Then shouldn’t you warn Spencer to back off?”
“Hell, no. I may have been stupid and blind not to realize I was getting bamboozled, but Spencer’s the only hope I have right now of being saved from a marriage I don’t want. He knows what happened and still wants Amanda. I’m wishing him all the luck he can muster.”
“Well, hell, if you wanted someone else to win her over, why didn’t you say so. I would have been happy to do you that favor.”
Chad rolled his eyes. “The old saying that I wouldn’t wish her on my worst enemy doesn’t apply—I’m wishing just that. What I wouldn’t do is wish her on a friend. She’s one woman you don’t want to tangle with, kid. And you’re going to have your hands full. I’m not going back to Red’s.”
“Because of this mess?”
“No, because you’re capable now of taking over.”
Lonny’s shoulders squared a little with pride. “I won’t let you down, or Red.”
“I know you won’t.”
The current dance ended. Lonny moved off to find a partner for the next one. Chad continued to just watch from the sidelines. Marian seemed to be enjoying herself, had men lined up waiting to dance with her, a few impatiently cutting in before each dance ended. He wasn’t going to intrude, didn’t want to put a damper on her fun with his current lousy mood, but he should have left the area, because he finally got annoyed enough to do some cutting in himself.
She was expecting the quick change in partners by then, which was to his advantage. It didn’t give her a chance to turn him down for a dance. But he sensed the change in her immediately, he just wasn’t sure what it was. Tension, annoyance, or maybe just plain dislike.
“Relax, I’m not going to step on your toes,” he told her.
“Shouldn’t you be dancing with Amanda?”
“She’s already partnered.”
“So was I.”
“Yes, but you were dancing with a man known to get carried away on the dance floor, swinging his partners about, tossing them up in the air. Women who know him tend to hide if they see him coming. You couldn’t have known.” He said it with a straight face.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re joking, right? Or do I actually owe you some thanks?”
He smiled at her. She humped, but only because she didn’t get a direct answer. He even caught the slight lifting of her lips, indicating a grin was lurking there.
“Don’t bust a gut laughing,” he said, still straight-faced.
She laughed, and the change in her was immediate, the stiffness gone, a sparkle in her eyes. God, she was beautiful when she let her guard down. And the dance floor was crowded enough by then that no one would notice if he held her a little closer than he should. Which was a mistake. Smelling her, touching her, his desire rose so quickly, he was nearly overcome with the urge to kiss her. But the music ended, and her shyness returned.
She stepped away from him. “Thank you, that was pleasant.”
He didn’t trust himself to say anything at the moment. He didn’t have to. She moved off the stage, unaware just how close he’d come to making a spectacle of them both.
Chapter 39
FOUR MEN LINGERED BEHIND the stable after the bronco riding ended. They hadn’t watched it, but the crowd there had made enough noise that no one had heard them ride in and tie their horses behind the stable.
Two of them were throwing dice on the ground as an excuse for being there, in case someone came by. Another was keeping watch around the side of the building. And the fourth man was leaning back against the wall, nursing a hangover. He’d indulged too much the night before, and had even missed the explanation of why they were there.
“You’re damn lucky my cousin Billy took that job cleaning up in the sheriffs office, hoping to get information you’d find useful,” Arnie Wilson said as he tossed the dice. It was his farm they used as a hideout in the area. “Think he’d do just about anything to join up with us.”
“He’s too young,” John Bilks replied as he stared up the hill at the crowd. “ ‘Sides, four is a nice even number for splitting, five ain’t.”
“Yeah, but he risked a lot, stealing that painting right off the sheriff’s desk,” Arnie reminded them.
“So he did us a good turn,” John said. “I thanked him, didn’t I?”
“This is crazy, our coming here,” Snake Donally complained as he took his turn at tossing the dice. “Too many people, and half of them would probably recognize you, John.”
John shrugged. “They never did prove I stole that money, and they don’t know what I been up to since.”
“Thanks to my cousin,” Arnie grumbled.
“I doubt that painting was good enough that anyone would have recognized you from it,” Snake added. “Billy said it was small.”
“Billy should have brought it to me so I’d know for sure, instead of destroying it.”
“He figured it would be better to make sure no one else saw it,” Arnie defended his cousin.
“He recognized me from it.”
“Course he would. He knows you good, and knows we pulled that train job.”
“But the cowboy who brought it to the sheriff didn’t have a name to go with it,” Snake said. “So what are we even doing here?”
“Because Billy stuck around while the sheriff was looking for the ‘misplaced’ painting, and when he finally gave up looking for it, heard him say he’d have to get the Laton gal, Marian, to paint him another,” Arnie said.
“How ‘bout answering Snake’s question,” Dakota Jack said, his eyes squeezed shut, not that it was helping his headache much. He was their fast gun—when he wasn’t drinking. “I’ve only asked three times myself. What the hell are we doing here at the Kinkaid spread?”
“If you’d get them cobwebs out of your head, you’d have figured out by now that John means to grab the painter.”
“Should just wait till she goes home,” Snake suggested. “Way too many people here.”
“Which is why no one will notice,” John said. “At her home, with only a few people around her, they’d notice she’s missing sooner. Here, they’ll just figure she’s around somewhere.”
“That don’t tell me what you’re grabbing her for.”
“To kill her, of course.”
Dakota Jack straightened up, opened his eyes. “Like hell you are.”
“Have to,” John insisted. “She painted me from memory good enough to make wanted posters. I’m not giving her a chance to do up another. They catch me, wont be long before they get the rest of you.”
Dakota Jack said no more, but only because his head was throbbing again. Snake wanted to know, “How you gonna get her down here, anyway?”
“You are. You’re looking clean enough today to join the party. The cowboys will think you’re from town. The townsfolk will think you’re one of the cowboys. And you’ve never passed through Trenton for anyone to know better. Just make sure you bring the right gal. According to Billy, she’s got a twin. Bring the wrong one, and I’ll shoot you instead.”
* * *
Marian wasn’t sure what to think as she headed toward the stable again. It looked deserted at the moment. The horse racing wouldn’t start for another hour or so she’d been told. And most of the guests were eating or dancing. But a young man h
ad stopped by to tell her that Kinkaid would like her to come to the stable for a few minutes. He mentioned something about a litter of puppies. Then he quickly slipped back into the crowd before she could question him.
She’d looked around for Chad and his father before she headed down the hill, but hadn’t seen either of them. Not that she thought she was meeting Chad. She would have stayed put if she did. But it would have been nice to know for sure.
Stuart was probably going to offer her a puppy. She’d never had a pet. Her father hadn’t wanted animals in their home. There had been a tomcat that had hung out behind their house for a few years that she had considered hers. She’d missed it a lot when it stopped coming around.
The thought of her very own pet was rather nice. She didn’t think Kathleen would object. In fact, Stuart had probably cleared it with her aunt first. She just hoped he was going to give Amanda a puppy, too. She didn’t want something else for her sister to get jealous over.
The stable was empty—of people. Both doors, front and back, were wide-open, and every stall had a horse in it. She couldn’t imagine where a dog would have taken root to have a litter. Surely not in one of the stalls where it might get trampled.
“ Kinkaid?”
“Back here.”
She didn’t recognize the voice. It was muffled because it had come from behind the stable. She headed that way, stepped back into the sunlight, and gasped as a gun was stuck in her face. It was immediately knocked away by someone else, but she had no time to feel relief because a hand covered her mouth and a thick arm circled her neck to hold her still.
“What’d you do that for?” John Bilks snarled.
Marian recognized him as soon as she got a look at his eyes. The train robbers, all four of them. Were they here to rob the guests? Had she and Stuart been unfortunate enough to run into them first? Stuart could be lying hurt, even dead, behind her. The arm around her neck wasn’t giving her much leeway to look around.
“You shoot her here, you’ll get this whole place down on our heads,” John was told.
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