“First the barn, now this. Somebody want to tell me what’s going on?” Tom asked.
Sunny bit her bottom lip. She didn’t want to involve anyone else in her problems. But then, it seemed her men were already involved, like it or not. Erik was involved to the point of a broken leg. The men deserved to know what they were up against.
“Did you know my father owed money to Mayor Baxter?”
Tom snorted. “Who in this county doesn’t owe money to Baxter? What’s that got to do with arson and stampedes?”
“Baxter is trying to take the ranch away from me.”
“You think he’s behind what’s been going on?”
Sunny glanced at Ash. He stared straight ahead. He wasn’t going to help her explain. “Yes,” she told Tom. She told him about the lost receipt, about Baxter’s assumption that she would want to sell, his anger when she refused.
“I don’t understand,” Tom said. “What would he want another ranch for?”
“I don’t know,” Sunny said, “but he wants this one. Similar things have happened to previous owners.”
Tom shot a quick look at Ash. “What things?”
Ash glared at Tom, then looked ahead. “Stampede, threats, murder.”
Tom looked at Sunny, his expression full of doubt.
“He wants this ranch, Tom, and he wants it bad,” she said. “He wants it bad enough to ask me to marry him.”
“He what? Why, that randy old goat! He’s old enough to be your grandfather! You ain’t gonna marry him, are you?”
Sunny chuckled, even though she didn’t feel like it. “No. And that means I’ve got to come up with the money to pay off that loan. The only way I can do that is get these cattle sold at market. No telling how many pounds they just ran off, and now we’ve got no hay.”
“We can manage ‘til Conklin gets here to drive them north. Shouldn’t be more than another couple of weeks.”
Sunny sagged. Another couple of weeks. Any number of horrible things could happen in that amount of time. More of her men could be hurt. But she had to get the herd north. If only—
“Tom? Don’t I remember hearing my Daddy say something about you having once driven a herd north?”
Tom chuckled. “Sure did. Back in ‘72. Bossed a drive from below the Nueces clear up to Newton, Kansas. What a trip that was.”
She felt her pulse flutter in her throat. “Could you do it again?”
Both men looked at her, stunned.
“You mean, not wait for Conklin?” Tom asked slowly, a strange light glowing in is eyes. “Take ‘em north ourselves?”
Sunny looked at Ash. He met her gaze for a long moment. A slight smile played across his lips. He nodded.
She turned to Tom. “You wouldn’t have to go all the way from the Nueces River to Newton this time, just from Cottonwood Creek to Dodge City. Would you need extra men?”
Tom grinned, then threw his head back a laughed. She’d never seen him look so excited. “No, ma’am,” he said. “With Erik down, that leaves five of us. That oughtta do it.” Then he sobered. “But if Baxter really is behind all these shenanigans, we can’t all go off and leave you and the girls with no protection, Miss Sunny. Erik ain’t gonna be much help for a while.”
Sunny looked at Ash, wishing, hoping. Then she shook her head. She wouldn’t ask him. She couldn’t. He had come to town for a reason—to clear his name. She wouldn’t stand in his way by begging him to stay with her. “I suppose I could hire someone to help out around the place while you’re gone. Someone who wouldn’t mind waiting for his wages until you get back with the money.”
Tom nodded. “Good idea. But who’s it going to be? Only ones around here looking for work are a couple of drifters hanging out in the saloon in town. We don’t know nothing about them. Need somebody we know. Somebody we trust.” He eyed Ash thoughtfully. “Somebody who can handle himself, who ain’t afraid to go up against Baxter.” When Ash just kept looking straight ahead, Tom said, “Looking for a job, McCord?”
Sunny held her breath. Say yes.
Without turning his head, Ash said, “You trust me that much, or are you just so used to seeing me around that you’ve forgotten I just spent five years in prison?”
“Ha!” Sunny cried. “How can we possibly forget that little fact, when you keep reminding everybody every time you open your mouth?”
“Some people need reminding,” Ash said to her.
“You trust him, Miss Sunny?”
“With my life.”
“That settles it, then. You’re hired, McCord.”
“Now wait a—”
“There ain’t nobody else, McCord, and you know it. Who in this county would believe the story you two just told me?”
“Why do you believe it?” Ash asked.
Tom shifted in his saddle and looked away. “I was riding line for Cavendish five years ago. I knew your old man. Never thought of him as a man who’d pull a gun for no reason. Never thought that of you, either.”
Tears blurred Sunny’s vision. Ash had been wrong. Not everybody believed the worst about him. And if Tom had reservations about Ash’s guilt, then others must, too.
Only doubt showed on Ash’s face, but Sunny knew him well enough to feel the cautious hope he struggled to hide. “What are you saying?” he asked Tom.
“I’m saying that if you shot Baxter in the back, you must have had a damn good reason. If Baxter tried to take this ranch when it was yours, seems to me you’d jump at the chance to make sure he doesn’t get his hands on it, even if it ain’t yours any more.”
Ash didn’t answer.
The sun was up now. Just ahead, the chuck wagon hit a pothole. Erik’s colorful curses rang out in the clear morning air.
“Well?” Tom said. “We got a deal, McCord?”
Sunny held her breath again. Say yes.
After a long moment, Ash said, “We’ve got a deal, Wilson.”
Chapter Nineteen
Sunny’s sisters must have heard the chuck wagon rattling across the plain, for they ran outside and stood in the yard, waiting. Sunny raced ahead to meet them.
Ash slumped in the saddle.
What had he done, agreeing to stay on? He wasn’t entirely convinced it was the right thing to do. He knew somebody needed to stay and protect Sunny and the girls. But surely there was someone else, someone who wouldn’t be tempted by laughing eyes and golden curls and that soft, sweet voice. And memories of a night in her arms.
Hell. Any man in his right mind would be tempted by Sunny. The thought brought him up cold.
He didn’t want another man around her, dammit.
But if Ash was to protect her from Baxter, who was going to protect her from Ash?
And more importantly, he wondered, watching her laugh and hug her sisters, who would protect Ash from Sunny?
Tom had to get back to the herd. After settling Erik in the bunkhouse, Toppy followed in the chuck wagon so he could cook for the men on the range. Tom rode back to the ranch later that afternoon.
Following dinner, Sunny, Ash, and Tom met in the bunkhouse with Erik. Sunny wrinkled her nose. She hadn’t been inside the bunkhouse in ages. She’d forgotten the smell. Dust, sweat, cow manure, and dirty socks, and over it all, permeating even the walls, the sharp licorice tang of chewing tobacco. Lord, how could the men stand it?
Ash seemed glad to hand his crutches over to Erik, now that he didn’t need them himself any longer.
After Tom filled Erik in on what was happening, Tom turned to Sunny. “How soon did you want us to head north?”
“Yesterday would have been good,” she said with a wry smile.
The men chuckled.
Something swelled in Sunny’s chest. These men were accepting her, valuing her opinions, listening to her with an open mind. Laughing at her joke. Maybe she really could run this ranch.
“Toppy sent along a list of supplies he’ll need for the trip,” Tom said.
She sighed. “It’s too late today, and tomorrow’s
Sunday. The store will be closed. I’ll leave for town first thing Monday morning.”
Tom nodded. “McCord and I will go with you.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Yes it is,” Ash said.
“He’s right,” Tom said. “We can head north Tuesday, then.”
They discussed a few more details, with all three men stating emphatically that neither Sunny nor her sisters should go anywhere alone until this whole business with Baxter was settled.
“But how are the girls going to get to school?” Sunny asked. “I suppose I could—”
“I’ll ride with them, then go meet them in the afternoon,” Ash said.
“I’ll look after things while you’re gone,” Erik offered.
Ash nodded his approval.
Sunny wanted to argue, but didn’t. On this point, they wouldn’t listen to her, she knew.
She wanted desperately to talk with Ash in private, but he gave her no opportunity.
At sunup Monday morning, Sunny, Ash and Tom headed for town. She sat beside Tom on the wagon, while Ash rode his horse.
Tom pulled the wagon up in front of Miller’s Mercantile. He said to Ash, “If you’ll stay with Miss Sunny, I’ll go have a little visit with the sheriff about the stampede and the fire.”
Ash snorted. “You’d do as well talking to a brick wall. The man wouldn’t know the truth if it jumped up and bit him. Besides, he thinks the sun rises and sets in Ian Baxter.”
“Jamison’s stubborn,” Tom agreed, “but he’s honest to a fault. And he’s not stupid. With Erik attacked, the canyon burned, and the cattle stampeded, so soon after the barn fire, well, I’ll just let him draw his own conclusions.”
Tom helped Sunny from the wagon, then headed for the sheriff’s office. A quick glance told Sunny people were staring. Not at her or Tom, but at Ash. Some looked surprised, others outraged.
When Ash dismounted and tied his horse to the rail, Sunny walked up to him and took his arm. She felt him stiffen.
“Don’t do this,” he muttered.
She smiled up at him. “Do what?”
“Everybody’s going to think—”
“They’re going to think whatever they want to.”
“Sunny—”
“Let’s go get those supplies.”
Ash tried to pull free of her, but she held on and matched him step for step. At the door to the mercantile, she nodded to Mose, Skeeter, Dutch, and Harve, who sat in their usual places on the bench. “Good morning, gentlemen.”
The men apparently didn’t know quite what to say as they eyed Ash. She didn’t wait for their mumbled replies. She released Ash’s arm, praying he would follow her, and went on into the store.
“Sunny, it’s good to see you,” Henry Miller said from behind the counter. Then he saw Ash. “Oh.” He lowered his brows. “Didn’t expect to see you, McCord. Thought you were laid low by that bullet.”
“Oh, he was,” Sunny answered. “It took him weeks of hard work to be able to walk again. But as you can see, he’s well and fit now.” She was rambling, and she knew it, but she didn’t want Mr. Miller to say something Ash would take offense at.
“Well,” Miller said. “Glad to see you up and around, McCord. Guess you’ll be staying at the boardinghouse now, or will you be moving on?”
Sunny smiled at Mr. Miller. “He wanted to move back to town, but we’ve persuaded him to stay on at the ranch.”
Mr. Miller looked like he was about to swallow his tongue. “You…you did?”
“Oh, yes. You see, Erik broke his leg the other day, so we’re short handed. Mr. McCord has agreed to work for me until Erik can ride again. Isn’t that lucky?”
“Uh…uh…”
“I find myself short on supplies, Mr. Miller. I’ve brought a list.”
Ian Baxter watched Ash McCord dismount in front of the mercantile. The pencil in Baxter’s hand snapped in two.
So the bastard had recovered.
He forced himself to relax. McCord’s recovery meant he’d have to move back to town now, or leave the area. He had no excuse for remaining at Cottonwood Ranch. That was good.
Ian made plans for calling on Sunny the next day.
A few minutes later Gus entered the office. “You see who rode into town with Sunny Thornton?”
Baxter grinned. “Sure did. That means he’s out of my hair now.”
“No he ain’t,” Gus said. “The chit hired him on as a ranch hand.”
Baxter glared at Gus. “Watch how you talk about the future Mrs. Baxter.”
Gus took a step back. “You’re gonna marry her?”
“It seems the simplest way to get what I want.”
Gus frowned. “You never have said just what that is.”
“All in good time, Gus. All in good time.”
Gus sighed and shook his head. Ian knew the man was choking on questions. Had been for years. Gus had no idea what Ian wanted with Cottonwood Ranch. Ian smiled to himself. Gus may never find out.
“Yeah, yeah,” Gus said. “But what about McCord?”
“Yes. What about McCord.”
With Ash behind her, Sunny stepped out of the mercantile and ran smack into someone.
“Oh, Maria,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you. Are you all right?”
Ian Baxter’s mute housekeeper smiled and nodded.
“You’re sure?” Sunny asked.
Maria smiled again and waved away Sunny’s concern. Then the woman glanced over Sunny’s shoulder. Maria’s eyes widened. In shock, she stumbled backwards, a look of sheer terror on her face.
Sunny knew without turning around that Maria had just seen Ash. Here, then was proof, although she didn’t need it, that Ash was telling the truth about the shooting five years ago. Why else would Maria be so terrified? The woman knew what really happened, knew Ash was innocent, knew she had lied. Sunny felt her face heat with rage. Because of Maria’s lies, an innocent man had spent five years in prison. “Maria, I’d like to talk with you.”
But Maria wasn’t listening. She stood frozen on the spot, trembling, staring at Ash as though he were a ghost.
“So would I,” Ash said calmly.
Maria jerked as though shot. Her mouth opened in a soundless scream. She stroked her cheek once—her silent way of saying Baxter’s name by indicating his long side whiskers. An instant later, she turned and leaped from the boardwalk.
“Maria, wait!” Sunny cried.
Maria didn’t wait. She dashed across the street.
Just then Ian Baxter, followed by the ever-faithful Gus, wheeled down the boardwalk and met Maria. Sunny watched in frustration as Maria gestured wildly and clutched at Baxter’s shoulders.
“What’d you do, ask her about the shooting?”
Sunny turned to face Tom, who’d just arrived. “I didn’t get the chance. She took one look at Ash and panicked.”
Tom shoved his hat toward the back of his head. “Can’t say as I blame her, considering.”
“Yeah,” Harve said from his spot on the bench. “Me neither. She probably figured any man who’d shoot another in the back wouldn’t stop at shooting a woman.”
Sunny whirled to face Harve. She’d forgotten about the four old men. They’d seen everything that had just happened, and had drawn their own conclusions. She put her hands on her hips, mad enough to spit. “Now you listen to me, you—”
“Sunny,” Ash said beside her.
She looked at him, then sighed. He was right. Arguing wouldn’t change these men’s minds.
“Wait a minute.” Sunny turned to Tom and frowned. “What do you know about the shooting?”
Tom shrugged. “I’ve got my suspicions.”
She saw Ash look past her shoulder. She heard the thump and thud of Ian Baxter’s wheelchair rolling up the ramp beside the steps behind her. She took a deep breath to calm herself, then turned slowly to face the man who was trying to steal her home, the man who had put Ash in prison.
Baxter glared at Ash
for a long moment, then looked at Sunny. She could almost feel the effort it took for Baxter to smile. “Miss Sunny,” he said. “Being the soft-hearted young lady you are, I’m sure you don’t realize what being seen with this man can do to your reputation.”
A slow burning sensation started at Sunny’s toes and worked its way up. Beside her, Ash shifted as if to move. She put a hand out to stop him and glared at Baxter. “The last time I was scolded for my behavior was by my father, when I was twelve years old. I didn’t appreciate it then, and I appreciate it even less now. Who I’m seen with and what I do are none of your business.”
In the dead silence that followed, Baxter blushed. “I’m sorry, Miss Sunny. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“I’m sure you didn’t,” she answered coolly.
“Hear you’ve been having a run of bad luck out at your place,” Gus said from behind Baxter.
Sunny raised her gaze to meet his smirk. The man’s gall was unbelievable. Even Baxter looked taken aback by the bald statement.
“What is it you consider bad luck?” Ash asked.
Sunny couldn’t believe how calm he sounded.
Gus shrugged. “First the barn burns down, then a stampede. Can’t have much worse luck than that.”
Sunny batted her eyes at Gus. “Stampede? What stampede?”
For a moment, Gus looked like he’d swallowed his tongue. “Why…why…the stampede I heard Tom telling the sheriff about when I walked past the jail awhile ago.”
“She almost had you, didn’t she?” Sunny could hear the taunting grin in Ash’s voice.
If Sunny could have seen through the back of her head, she’d be willing to bet she’d see the ears on those four old men growing longer as they leaned forward and took in every word.
“How many head did you lose?” Baxter asked.
“None,” she answered.
“None? You were lucky. Both with the fire, and the stampede. Incredibly lucky, Miss Sunny.”
She decided it was time to quit pretending. “Actually, the only luck involved in those two incidents was the incredibly good luck of the perpetrator in not getting caught. I’ve taken measures to make sure the culprit isn’t that lucky again.”
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