Defiant

by Smith, Bobbi

  “No, it’s been nice and peaceful around here, just the way I like it.”

  “Some days are better than others.”

  “What’ll it be?”

  “Whiskey.”

  Trey poured him a healthy drink in a tumbler and slid it across the bar to him.

  “Have you heard anything new on the attempted stage robbery? Has there been any word back from the posse?” Clint asked as he paid the bartender and picked up the glass to take a drink.

  “Sheriff Reynolds and the posse rode back in yesterday,” Trey said.

  “They’re back already?” Clint was honestly surprised by the news, but he was careful to hide his reaction. Even taking the longer return route that he had used, he’d expected to beat the posse back to town. Since the storm hadn’t moved in their direction and they still had a trail to follow, he wondered why they’d called off their pursuit of the gunmen so soon.

  “Yeah, they’re back, and they brought one of the ‘good’ outlaws with them.”

  “I didn’t know there were any ‘good’ outlaws.” Clint frowned, wondering what the other man meant.

  “There are. They’re the dead ones.”

  “Oh. What about the rest of the gang? Did the sheriff have any luck finding them?”

  “No. They got clean away.”

  “Does anyone know who the dead outlaw was?”

  “Not right off. Sheriff Reynolds said he was going to do some checking to see if he could find out.”

  “What’s he saying about the gunmen? Does he think they’ll be back?”

  “The sheriff seems to think they’re long gone.” Trey shrugged. “And I hope he’s right. We don’t need their kind around here causing trouble.”

  “I’m with you on that,” Clint agreed.

  Picking up his drink, he made his way to a table in the back of the saloon. He settled in to relax for a few minutes and try to figure out what to do next.

  It didn’t take him long to make up his mind. He decided to sit tight and wait a few more days to see if Tucker would show up. In the meantime, he was going to find the people who’d been on the stage and talk to them. He hoped to find out if they’d noticed anything unusual about the outlaws. He figured the stage driver was probably off on another run by now, so he decided to go to the Festival and look for the man named Hank who’d been riding shotgun—and Rachel.

  Something stirred deep within Clint at the thought of seeing the innocent beauty again.

  He forced the feeling from him.

  He was going after information on the would-be robbers.

  That was all.

  Finishing his drink, Clint left the saloon and returned to the hotel. After three days of hard riding, he needed to get cleaned up before going to the Festival.

  The Dry Springs Annual Festival was in full swing. There were booths and games and refreshments. Folks had come from all over to enjoy themselves.

  “Who are you looking for?” Michelle asked Rachel as they stopped at one of the game booths. She’d noticed how her friend had been searching the crowd ever since they’d arrived.

  “Oh, nobody.”

  “I know you better than that. Who are you hoping to see?”

  Rachel knew there was no way she could keep anything from her best friend. Michelle knew her too well. “I was looking for Kane McCullough. I haven’t seen him since I went to San Ramon with Eve, and I thought he might be here today. Have you talked to him at the hotel lately?”

  Michelle hated to be the bearer of bad news, but she had to tell the truth. “No. In fact, he checked out a few days ago and left town.”

  “He did?” Rachel was surprised at how disappointed she was to learn that Kane was gone. “I guess he really was just passing through.”

  “There’s still Pete,” Michelle encouraged, knowing the sheriff was interested in her friend. “And—speak of the devil, he’s coming our way right now.”

  “Afternoon, ladies.” Pete smiled at both of them, but it was clear his interest was in Rachel alone. “How are you doing, Rachel?” he asked solicitously.

  “I’m fine,” she said a bit stiffly. A part of her wanted to ask him if he’d heard anything more about the gunmen who’d gotten away or if he’d learned the identity of the man who’d been shot, but she didn’t want to bring up an uncomfortable subject. She just wanted to relax and enjoy herself today.

  “Are you having a good time?” Pete asked.

  “Oh, yes. The Festival is always fun,” Michelle replied.

  “What about you, Rachel?” Pete asked. His gaze was warm upon her.

  “Of course,” she said, managing a smile.

  “You ladies will be at the dance tonight, won’t you?”

  “We’re looking forward to it,” Rachel told him.

  “I’m counting on having a dance with each one of you,” he told them.

  “We’ll be watching for you,” they promised.

  “I’ll see you later,” Pete said, casting a lingering look back at Rachel as he walked away.

  “He is so sweet on you, Rachel,” Michelle sighed.

  “Pete’s nice enough,” she hedged.

  “ ‘Nice enough’? You think he’s just ‘nice’?”

  “Yes. Why? Do you like him?” Rachel turned the tables on her friend who, she knew, was trying to play Cupid.

  “Pete’s all right.” Michelle told her.

  Rachel was intrigued by her evasive answer. She’d thought she knew her friend through and through, but now she was discovering Michelle was hiding something from her. “I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me.”

  “Well . . .” Michelle looked around to make sure no one was near enough to overhear their conversation. “There’s someone I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to dance with tonight.

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s Nick—Nick Evans,” Michelle sighed dreamily.

  “Really?” Rachel was surprised. Nick was Pete’s new deputy. He was very handsome and had a reputation around town as being quite a ladies’ man.

  “He is so cute,” Michelle gushed.

  Nick had been in town for several years. He’d worked at the stable as a horse trainer for a while, then took the job as deputy sheriff a few months before, when longtime deputy Ben Taggart quit. No one had ever heard why Ben had moved on. Everyone thought he’d been happy as deputy, but one day he’d just up and left. Nick was doing a good job in his place, so nobody seemed to miss the older man too much.

  “Nick will ask you to dance tonight. You just wait and see.” Rachel sounded positive, wanting to encourage her friend. If she couldn’t be with Kane, she wanted Michelle to be happy with the deputy.

  “But so many other girls in town are after him, too,” Michelle said.

  “They may be, but you’re the one who’s going to get him,” Rachel told her confidently.

  “Do you really think so?” Michelle looked brighter at the thought.

  “Of course. You’re pretty and smart, and your father owns the only hotel in town, so you’re rich. That’s a great combination! A man would be crazy not to want you.”

  “Sure. That’s why Nick’s been courting me so wildly all these weeks,” Michelle said sarcastically.

  “He hasn’t come courting because he probably doesn’t know you like him. We’ll figure something out tonight at the dance. You just wait and see.”

  “Well, what about you? Since Kane’s left town . . .”

  The moment of intrigue and excitement Rachel had felt for her friend faded. “I don’t know. I just wonder if I’ll ever get to see him again.”

  “You could always go looking for him. You could find out where he was heading and go after him,” Michelle suggested daringly.

  Both girls shared a look as Rachel actually considered doing just that, and then they both started laughing. They could well imagine what would happen to Rachel’s reputation if she cast her fate to the wind and boldly chased after a man.

  “I think that just m
ight raise a few eyebrows around town,” Rachel remarked wryly.

  “I think you’re right.”

  “And then there is the matter of my father. You know, I don’t think he’d approve.”

  Michelle was beginning to realize just how much Rachel really did care about the stranger.

  “What was there about Kane that attracted you so?” Michelle asked.

  “I don’t know. He was handsome—there’s no doubt about that. But I’ve been around handsome men before, and never felt this way about any of them. It’s strange, because I really didn’t spend much time with him. I don’t know him at all. But there’s just something about him.”

  “Maybe it was love at first sight for you. Why don’t you start praying that he comes back to town?” Michelle encouraged her. “Your father’s the minister, so you’ve got special connections.”

  “I may just do that,” Rachel said, her mood lightening. Then, wanting to have some fun, she changed the topic. “Come on, let’s go see if we can win a quilt down at the quilting booth.”

  “There are some pretty ones. Eilleen and Cyrilla have been working on them for months,” Michelle agreed.

  They started off to visit the quilters. There were a lot of activities going on that day, and the girls wanted to enjoy them all.

  It was much later that afternoon when Rachel and Michelle approached the lemonade stand. They’d been having such a good time that they were tired and ready to sit down with a cool drink at one of the picnic tables.

  They were waiting in line when Rachel caught sight of Nick Evans walking by. Michelle was standing with her back to him, so she didn’t know he was there. Brazenly, Rachel decided to make the first move for her friend.

  Smiling sweetly, she called out, “Deputy Evans—would you like to join us for some lemonade?”

  Michelle was shocked by her friend’s bold action. She froze for a moment, but then realized she had no choice but to go along with her. She turned quickly around to smile at her dream man.

  Rachel’s invitation had taken Nick by surprise. He saw Rachel at church on Sundays and around town, but had never socialized with her or with Michelle Lofton, the hotel owner’s daughter, who was standing beside her at the lemonade stand. But just because they hadn’t socialized in the past, that didn’t mean they couldn’t start today. Rachel and Michelle were two of the prettiest women in town, and he wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to spend some time with them. He smiled as he walked over to join them.

  “Thank you for the invitation, Miss Hammond. I’d be glad to join you, but only if you let me buy,” he offered.

  “Well, first of all, please call me Rachel, and you know Michelle, don’t you?”

  “Of course—we’ve met.”

  Nick smiled down at Michelle.

  Michelle felt her heartbeat quicken as she returned his smile.

  “And,” Rachel went on, “we invited you, so your lemonade is on us.”

  “It’s not Sadie Hawkins Day,” he insisted. “It’s my treat.”

  Rachel knew when to back down and let a man be a man. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Michelle couldn’t believe what was happening. She was embarrassed that Rachel had invited him to join them, but she was also delighted that Nick had said yes. He was actually going to have lemonade with them! Her spirits soared.

  “Why don’t you find a table for us while I get the drinks?” Nick suggested.

  Rachel and Michelle looked around the crowded seating area and spotted an empty table on the far side. They went to claim it for their own.

  “What am I going to do with you?” Michelle said to her friend in mock indignation.

  “Thank me?” Rachel cast her an impish grin.

  “You’re right! Thanks!”

  They were both laughing as they settled in to wait for Nick to join them.

  It was only a few minutes later when he sought them out.

  “Here we are,” Nick said as he set the sweet, cool drinks down on the table and then sat opposite Rachel and Michelle.

  “You’re a true gentleman,” Rachel teased.

  “I don’t know about that. There might be a few around town who’d disagree with you.”

  “I don’t know who they could be,” Michelle put in.

  “Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

  They were all laughing.

  Michelle took a deep drink of her lemonade and sighed, “We have the best lemonade ever.”

  “You’re right about that,” Nick agreed, and then, looking at Rachel, he added with a wink, “And the best part is, we can drink all we want and we don’t have to worry about your father showing up in protest.”

  “You’re right!” Rachel started laughing. “But knowing how much he loves this lemonade, I’ll bet he’d start protesting if they ran out.”

  They all joined in laughter at that thought.

  “Will you be at the dance tonight, Nick?” Rachel asked boldly.

  “Yes. What about you?”

  “We will, too.”

  “Then I’ll see you both this evening,” he told them as he finished his drink and stood up to go. “I’d better get back to work now, though.”

  “Thanks again for the lemonade,” Michelle said, smiling up at him.

  Nick tipped his hat and moved off.

  Rachel noticed how Michelle watched him walk away. “See how easy that was!”

  Michelle’s face wore an excited expression as she looked at her friend. “I can’t believe you did that, but I’m so glad you did. How much longer until the dance starts? How many hours do I have to wait? This is so exciting! Nick’s going to dance with me!”

  “We’ve got an hour or so yet,” Rachel told her, happy that things had gone so well with the deputy.

  “Now all we have to do is find Kane for you, and this will turn out to be the best Festival ever!”

  “I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think he really has moved on.”

  “Have you been praying on it, like I told you to?” Michelle looked at her.

  “Yes.”

  “Then never give up! Prayers are answered. You’re a preacher’s daughter. You should know that.”

  They finished their drinks, then took the time to enjoy a few more booths and games before going home to change clothes and get ready for the dance.

  Chapter Nine

  “You look lovely, darling,” Martin told Rachel as he watched her descend the staircase in the front foyer of their home. In her demure, lace-trimmed blue ball gown with her hair done up in a cascade of curls, she was the picture of elegant feminine beauty.

  “Thank you,” Rachel said with a smile. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she went to kiss him on the cheek. “Are we all ready to go?”

  “We’re still waiting for your mother.”

  “Here I am,” Anne declared as she appeared at the top of the steps in her fancy dress.

  “I am going to be the envy of all the men in Dry Springs tonight,” Martin said proudly as she came down the steps to join them. He offered them each an arm to escort them to the dance. “The two prettiest ladies in town are with me.”

  “You are such a charmer, Reverend Hammond!” Anne teased.

  “I only speak the truth.”

  His wife and daughter both kissed him, one on each cheek. They were all laughing as they started from the house, intent on having a wonderful time that evening.

  The dance was being held outside in the parklike area near the courthouse. A dance floor had been set up, and decorative lanterns had been hung all around it. The musicians were playing on a small stage that had been built just for this night. Tables and chairs were available, so the onlookers could relax and enjoy themselves.

  “I have a very serious problem here,” Martin said, frowning as they stood at the side of the dance floor, watching the couples who were already dancing.

  “What’s that, dear?” Anne asked.

  He looked between his wif
e and his daughter. “Whom do I dance with first?”

  “You and Mother, go ahead,” Rachel encouraged. “I just saw Michelle with her family, and I think I’ll go visit with them for a while.”

  “All right, young lady, but you owe me a dance,” her father told her with a smile.

  “No, you owe me one,” she countered.

  Martin led Anne out to join the other dancers while Rachel started off to speak with Michelle. Rachel hadn’t gotten very far when she heard someone call her name. She turned to find Pete coming toward her.

  “Good evening, Rachel,” he said, his gaze warm upon her.

  “Hello, Pete.”

  “You look stunning.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Would you like to dance?”

  “Yes.”

  They moved together out onto the dance floor.

  Clint’s mood was dark as he watched the people smiling and laughing and enjoying the evening’s activities. He found that their lightheartedness only emphasized the emptiness of his life.

  There was no joy in his existence.

  There was only his unending quest for justice and revenge.

  Clint moved through the crowd, watching and listening. He glanced out at the dancing couples, and saw Rachel in the arms of Sheriff Reynolds. He stopped to watch them dance, his gaze only on Rachel. She was a vision of loveliness, moving with grace and elegance. He’d seen no sign of Hank yet, so he stayed back, waiting for the right moment to approach Rachel and ask her about the attempted robbery.

  When the song ended, Pete escorted her to where Michelle was standing.

  “This next dance is mine,” Pete told Michelle.

  “I saved it just for you,” she agreed with a smile, but as he drew her out onto the dance floor, she couldn’t help wondering what had happened to Nick. She hadn’t seen him around all evening.

  Rachel watched Michelle dance with Pete for a moment, then decided it was time to get a drink from the refreshment table. She turned away from the dance floor and came face to face with the man she’d thought she would never see again—

  Kane.

  “You’re back,” Rachel breathed, gazing up at him in amazement. He looked as handsome as ever, and a shiver of delight coursed through her when he smiled down at her.