Carol Finch

by The Ranger's Woman

  “He always gets defensive and cantankerous when someone challenges his authority,” Penny whispered. “Most especially when we are the ones who challenge him. I still think we should wait and give ourselves a chance to mentally rehearse what we want to say to him.”

  Piper acquiesced, and then suddenly realized the explosions and gunfire had ceased. She predicted the Rangers had won the skirmish and were gathering prisoners. She also predicted that she wouldn’t see Quinn again. When he discovered that she had reached the garrison safely his obligation to her would be over. She expected he would ride off to take another of his endless assignments with the Rangers.

  Well, what had she expected? Piper asked herself as she settled in for the coach ride to the fort. That Quinn would come to the garrison to scoop her up in his arms and declare that life without her would be no life at all? That only happened in whimsical fairy tales. As Penny said, her own fairy tale hadn’t played out exactly as she had envisioned.

  Piper suspected that they rarely did.

  Despite the fact that Quinn had come charging into the canyon to rescue her again today he wasn’t going to magically reappear so they could live happily ever after. She predicted she wouldn’t even have the chance to tell him that she loved him, despite his request that she view their intimacy as merely passion for the sake of passion.

  Piper smiled ruefully when the memory of Quinn clinging to the side of the horse while he raced into the canyon to rescue her came to mind. Emotions had welled up inside her until she swore she was about to burst. The moment she had seen him she had ached to tell him how she felt about him, but he had been in no mood to listen to anything she had to say.

  He had been focused on getting her to safety.

  “I intend for us to be packed and ready to take the first eastbound stage out of this hellhole,” Roarke declared thirty minutes later. “When we get to Galveston I insist that you two take a month to rest and acclimate yourselves to civilization. Only then will you be allowed to accept social invitations.” His gaze narrowed meaningfully on his daughters. “I sincerely hope you haven’t forgotten how to behave like the aristocrats you are.”

  “Papa, I think you—” Piper’s voice dried up and she winced uncomfortably when Penny gouged her in the ribs and threw her a look meant to silence.

  Resigned to being lectured and ordered about for the rest of the evening, Piper sank against the seat and kept her mouth shut. Considering the mood she was in, objecting strenuously to Roarke’s plans probably wasn’t a good idea. The weary travelers probably wouldn’t enjoy witnessing a Sullivan family squabble this evening.

  Quinn eased a hip onto a chair-size boulder in the valley that had once been his home. He watched lightning flicker in the darkness, but the brewing storm had nothing on the emotions roiling inside him. Since his capture two decades earlier he had forcefully blocked out thoughts of the ranch that he and his father had moved west to establish after his mother’s death. He and his father had found peace here, even though they had foolishly laid claim to land that was inhabited by Indians.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance, vibrating through him like the upheaval of emotions he had experienced that day when the war party of Kiowas had descended from the ridges to reclaim their land from invading whites. Then Quinn’s life had changed abruptly again. He’d barely had time to deal with the loss of his mother and his unborn brother before he reeled from witnessing the death of his father. He had also undergone the difficult transition from white to Indian culture, carrying a bitterness within him that refused to die.

  For as long as Quinn could remember he had been thrust from one perplexing phase of life to another, swearing he had been cursed for reasons he didn’t understand. There were always difficult challenges to face, a riptide of emotions he had to bury deep inside in order to cope with unfamiliar situations.

  He had given up trying to dream of a better life. He had simply learned to exist and do what he did best—fight to survive.

  Quinn stared in the direction of the distant fort that was nestled at the mouth of another rock-strewn canyon. The sky flared with streaks of sizzling lightning, followed by resounding crashes of thunder. A whimsical smile pursed his lips, as the world around him grew dark and silent for a few moments. He wished he were cuddled up in Piper’s arms right about now. Being with her, teaching her the skills she needed for survival and matching wits with her had made him happier than he had been in twenty years.

  True, there had been times when that sassy female had frustrated him to no end. But when he was with Piper he felt something rather than simply going through the motions of living.

  When his horse shook itself and stamped impatiently beside him, Quinn surged to his feet. Sitting here, lost in bittersweet memories and wishing for something he would never have was a waste of his time. In a way, being out here alone at Phantom Springs—after years of avoiding the area—had helped him face his demons and make peace with his past.

  Too bad that the prospect of an empty future was still giving him fits.

  Quinn gathered the reins and led his horse along the winding footpath to the valley below. He should rejoin his battalion that was celebrating victory in town and keeping a close watch over the prisoners in jail. But he was compelled to ride to the garrison to make certain Piper had resolved her differences with her father.

  According to Captain Duncan, Roarke had arrived on the scene and had bustled both his daughters into the coach to reach the fort. Quinn planned to be on hand to provide reinforcement for Piper—just in case Roarke tried to railroad her into returning to Galveston with him.

  Or perhaps Piper had suffered through so many ordeals this week that she had lost her taste for excitement and independence. For all he knew she might have decided to head home and leave the memories of her misadventures behind.

  The thought of never seeing Piper again left a dull ache in Quinn’s chest. Sure, he knew she was better off without him around to complicate her life. He had very little to offer her. And certainly, her social status was so far beyond his that it was laughable to even picture them together.

  But if she remained in this area he could at least check up on her occasionally. If she returned to Galveston she might as well be halfway around the world—completely lost to him forever.

  Quinn muttered at his dismal thoughts as he mounted up, then reined his steed along the path. He should return to town. No sense torturing himself by seeing Piper one last time. But damn it, she was his wife. He was entitled to make sure she was all right, wasn’t he?

  Quinn looked back toward Catoosa Gulch, then trotted off, wishing he could sprout wings and fly to the garrison. If he quickened his pace he might outrun the rain that was a few minutes behind him.

  Too bad he couldn’t outrun this nagging feeling that he was about to lose someone who had become a little too vital and necessary to him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Piper paced the confines of her room in the officers’ quarters. Exhausted though she was from the kidnapping and the encounter with her father, she was having trouble settling down for the night. It didn’t help that the approaching storm made the air fairly crackle around her and set her nerves on end.

  Or was it simply her emotions that were making her so restless that she was wearing a rut in the planked floor?

  Although Penny had convinced her that it would be better to defy their father’s demands after they had enjoyed a good night’s sleep, Piper wished she could march to Roarke’s room right this minute. She wanted to tell him that she had no intention of heading east with him. Might as well get that fiery confrontation over with now instead of putting it off.

  Piper smiled, thinking that as much as she dreaded the confrontation with Roarke, she dreaded the thought of never seeing Quinn again even more. In a short amount of time he had become a necessary part of her life. Forgetting him, she predicted, was going to take considerable time and effort.

  She wheeled at the sound of the unexpected
rap at the door. Roarke, no doubt, had come to make a few more demands. Piper mentally geared herself up to have it out with her father once and for all. She was spoiling for a fight and it seemed like the perfect time for one.

  Mentally prepared to square off against Roarke, Piper whipped open the door. Her jaw dropped open when she saw Quinn smiling down at her. Reflexively she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him close.

  “You greet everyone who knocks on your door like this, do you?” he teased.

  Suddenly her world seemed a brighter place. Piper leaned back to grin mischievously at him. “No, just ruggedly handsome Rangers who keep saving me from disaster.”

  Quinn frowned as he brushed his forefinger over her bruised cheek. “I have something that will treat the sting and swelling. Come sit, Piper.”

  She sank down on the edge of her bed and watched him pull the saddlebags off his shoulder. He fished out a small tin then smoothed the soothing ointment over her bruised cheek, lips and neck.

  “Indian remedy,” he said, then grinned wryly. “Or would you prefer peyote buttons to relieve the pain?”

  Piper wrinkled her nose at him. “This is fine. It has a cooling effect.” When he came to his feet to tuck the poultice into his saddlebags, Piper stared curiously at him. “Did you round up the desperadoes and stuff them in jail?”

  “Half of them,” he reported as he looked around her small quarters. “The other half didn’t make it out alive.” His gaze darkened and his jaw clenched. “Roy and Sam Morrell left the canyon draped over the back of their horses. After six months of craving revenge for my friend’s murder, I have honored Taylor Briggs’s request to give those bastards what they deserve,” he gritted out. “Taylor was trying to scout their trail into Dead Man’s Canyon and they bushwhacked him. I didn’t find him until it was too late to save him. Now he can rest in peace.”

  Piper didn’t ask if Quinn had personally seen to their demise and he didn’t elaborate. All that mattered was that the bandits who had terrorized the area, kidnapped Piper and Penny and had murdered Quinn’s friend were no longer a threat. Justice had been served—Texas Ranger style. And that was that.

  “What about the spies working for the stage line?”

  “Commander Butler intends to round them up on his way back to Austin.”

  She smiled in satisfaction. “I don’t think this is a good time to be wearing a red bandana tied on your left shoulder.”

  Quinn returned her wry smile. “No, it isn’t.” He stared curiously at her as he sank down on the edge of the bed. “I’ve been wondering what your father had to say about our marriage.”

  Piper chuckled. “He didn’t say a thing because I haven’t told him yet. And Penny hasn’t announced that he will be a grandfather, come winter. She thinks we should grant him the night to recover from his arduous journey before we spring the news on him.”

  She cocked her head to the side and peered up at him. “Is that why you’re here? To make sure I didn’t get hauled back to Galveston against my will?”

  “Partially.”

  “And the other reasons?” Foolish hope and anticipation swelled inside her.

  “I came to say goodbye.”

  Deflated, Piper glanced the other way. Well, isn’t that what she expected? Quinn wasn’t going to get down on bended knee and beg her to make this a real marriage. He might feel lust for her occasionally, but he didn’t love her. He didn’t want or need her in his life. She knew that. She just couldn’t convince her foolish heart to give Quinn up as a hopeless cause.

  Piper cursed under her breath when she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She had ridden an emotional teeter-totter the whole livelong day. She had reunited with her sister, been abducted, rescued and overtaken by her father. She had held up without shedding a single tear. Now here she was, on the verge of blubbering because Quinn had arrived to voice his official fare-thee-well.

  That, it seemed, was the last straw that crumbled her hard-won composure.

  Turning her back, she blinked rapidly and muffled a sniff. She would not reduce herself to blubbering, she vowed vehemently. Quinn’s last memory of her was not going to be of a weepy, whiny female who sat in a pool of her own tears.

  Inhaling a cathartic breath, Piper squared her shoulders and heaved herself to her feet. “Well then, goodbye, Callahan.” She thrust out her hand and manufactured a smile, disconcerted that he was studying her astutely. “I owe you my life and I will forever be indebted to you.”

  He smiled crookedly as his hand folded over hers. “It has been interesting knowing you, Piper.”

  When he rose to his feet she looked up into his amber-colored eyes, wanting to smear that unreadable expression all over his bronzed face, wanting to strangle him because he didn’t return the feelings boiling up inside her like a geyser. Wanting to curse herself up one side and down the other for not being woman enough to make an unforgettable impression on him.

  When he turned away to walk out of her life for good, everything inside her objected. The hell with it, she thought recklessly. She was not going to let him leave without knowing that he was taking her heart with him. Her whole heart, not just an insignificant piece of it that she could live without.

  “One last thing,” she said as he reached for the door latch.

  He glanced over his shoulder at her. “What’s that?”

  Piper lifted her chin and stiffened her resolve to speak her piece before she broke down and humiliated herself. “You asked me not to fancy myself in love with you, but that’s the one favor I can’t grant you.” She drew in a shaky breath and said, “I’m sorry, but I do love you. Don’t waste your breath trying to talk me out of it, because I know what I feel.”

  His expression turned grim. Piper wheeled away because he was breaking her heart by keeping silent. If he didn’t leave quickly she might do something unforgivable—like throw herself in his arms, beg him to give their marriage a chance, and then plead with him to take her with him wherever he went.

  “I’m done talking so you can leave now,” she murmured, swiping at the betraying tears that boiled down her cheeks.

  But the door didn’t creak open, indicating that he had left so she could fall apart in private. No, he was still there, watching her teeter on the edge of a mortifying emotional outburst.

  In another few seconds that was exactly what was going to happen because Piper was already losing her tentative grasp on self-control and it was going to be straight downhill from here.

  “Damn it, Callahan. When I want you to stay you won’t. When I give you the chance to go, you won’t do that, either. Just what does it take to get rid of you?”

  “I’ll go after you answer one question. Just when did you come to the conclusion that you loved me?”

  Quinn stared at the rigid set of her shoulders and heard the tears in her voice. He ached to close the distance between them to hold her close and console her. But he didn’t dare. He knew it would probably be his undoing.

  He almost smiled when Piper lurched around and tilted her chin in that familiar expression of defiance. “When?” she said as tears bled down her flushed cheeks. “All you can say after I told you how I feel about you is when?”

  He shrugged helplessly as she glared at him.

  “If you must know I suspected it days ago. But I knew for certain while I was staked out in that canyon and I saw you charging in, hanging off the side of that horse. I kept thinking that I would at least get to see you one last time…just in case the rescue attempt went sour,” she blurted. “I know you don’t want to hear it and I know you don’t love me back, but I need to be able to tell you the truth and you need to accept it.”

  Her voice grew louder with each word as she shook her finger at him. “So do not annoy me by telling me that I’m mistaken about my feelings for you. I know what I feel! Guaranteed!”

  Quinn was compelled toward her, though common sense shouted at him to bid her goodbye and walk out the door without looking back. “An
d what am I supposed to do with this confession?” he asked as he halted a few feet away from his forbidden fantasy. “Ask you to be my wife and live out here in the middle of nowhere? Ask you to follow me through this wild country and risk having you meet with another disaster that might turn out worse than the others you’ve encountered since you came here?” He sighed audibly. “Just what is it that you think should happen here, Piper?”

  She stamped her foot in frustration and whacked him on the shoulder. “First off, don’t test my temper because I’m not in the best of moods at the moment,” she spouted. “All I said is that I love you. I did not ask you to give up your duties for me. I didn’t ask you for anything but the acceptance of my feelings for you. Can’t you just say, Thank you. That’s nice to know?”

  “Thank you,” he repeated, biting back a grin while he watched her silver-blue eyes flare in irritation. “That’s nice to know.”

  She swatted him on the other shoulder.

  “What’s that for? I said exactly what you told me to say,” he pointed out reasonably.

  Her bewitching face flamed bloodred. “You are impossible!” Her arm shot toward the door. “Just get out! Go!”

  “I’m impossible?” He threw up his hands in a gesture of futility. “One minute you are giving me hell and the next minute you’re up to your lovely neck in trouble and scaring me half to death. And if that isn’t enough to make a man crazy you suddenly tell me you love me. What am I supposed to do?”

  “Leaving would be good. It’s what you want, after all.”

  He saw another round of tears floating in her eyes and watched her Cupid’s bow lips tremble. His heart twisted in his chest because somewhere along the way everything that affected Piper affected him. Watching her cry was killing him by inches. He had to get out before he caved in and gave her whatever she wanted, even if it was the last thing she needed.

  He wheeled toward the door. “Fine. I’m gone.”