First Love Wild Love

by Janelle Taylor

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Excerpt

  Other Books By

  Title Page

  Dedication1

  Dedication2

  Epigraph

  SILVER SPURS AND RED SATIN

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Epilogue

  Copyright

  TEMPTATION’S TOUCH

  Calinda luxuriated in the over-sized tub before pulling the cord to rinse her hair. She leaned backward, eyes closed, as the water splashed over her long tresses.

  “Need me to hold that rope for you?” Lynx asked.

  “How dare you come in here!” she shrieked, releasing the cord to sink down into the water. “You’re a devil, Lynx Cardone.”

  He chuckled softly and winked at her. His fingers grazed her flushed cheek as he moved wet curls from her upturned face. His fingers made disturbing contact with her moist shoulder, then slipped down her back as he asked, “Need any help scrubbing your back?”

  He leaned toward her, closing his mouth over hers. Her lips eagerly surrendered to his as he pulled her closer. The kiss became demanding and urgent, as did his passion. His lips caressed her face and roamed over her silken flesh.

  He groaned in mounting desire. “You’re a dangerous temptation, Calinda Braxton,” he murmured hoarsely.

  “So are you, Lynx Cardone,” she replied in a strained voice. “More than you’ll ever know…”

  ZEBRA’S REGENCY ROMANCES

  DAZZLE AND DELIGHT

  A BEGUILING INTRIGUE

  (4441, $3.99)

  by Olivia Sumner

  Pretty as a picture Justine Riggs cared nothing for propriety. She dressed as a boy, sat on her horse like a jockey, and pondered the stars like a scientist. But when she tried to best the handsome Quenton Fletcher, Marquess of Devon, by proving that she was the better equestrian, he would try to prove Justine’s antics were pure folly. The game he had in mind was seduction—never imagining that he might lose his heart in the process!

  AN INCONVENIENT ENGAGEMENT

  (4442, $3.99)

  by Joy Reed

  Rebecca Wentworth was furious when she saw her betrothed waltzing with another. So she decides to make him jealous by flirting with the handsomest man at the ball, John Collinwood, Earl of Stanford. The “wicked” nobleman knew exactly what the enticing miss was up to—and he was only too happy to play along. But as Rebecca gazed into his magnificent eyes, her errant fiancé was soon utterly forgotten!

  SCANDAL’S LADY by Mary Kingsley

  (4472, $3.99)

  Cassandra was shocked to learn that the new Earl of Lynton was her childhood friend, Nicholas St. John. After years at sea and mixed feelings Nicholas had come home to take the family title. And although Cassandra knew her place as a governess, she could not help the thrill that went through her each time he was near. Nicholas was pleased to find that his old friend Cassandra was his new next door neighbor, but after being near her, he wondered if mere friendship would be enough…

  HIS LORDSHIP’S REWARD by Carola Dunn

  (4473, $3.99)

  As the daughter of a seasoned soldier, Fanny Ingram was accustomed to the vagaries of military life and cared not a whit about matters of rank and social standing. So she certainly never foresaw her tendre for handsome Viscount Roworth of Kent with whom she was forced to share lodgings, while he carried out his clandestine activities on behalf of the British Army. And though good sense told Roworth to keep his distance, he couldn’t stop from taking Fanny in his arms for a kiss that made all hearts equal!

  Available wherever paperbacks are sold, or order direct from the Publisher. Send cover price plus 50¢ per copy for mailing and handling to Penguin USA, P.O. Box 999, c/o Dept. 17109, Bergenfield, NJ 07621. Residents of New York and Tennessee must include sales tax. DO NOT SEND CASH.

  First Love,

  Wild Love

  Janelle

  Taylor

  For:

  Tony W. and Stanley W.,

  my terrific brothers and best friends

  who shared my “tomboy” days.

  and for:

  Peggy C. and Sylvia T.,

  two very special friends for many years.

  I wish to express my gratitude to the staff of the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco and to the staffs of many Texas Tourists Bureaus across the Lone Star State for graciously and unselfishly sharing their time, knowledge, and research materials with me. I also wish to thank Debby Pitzer for sharing interesting facts about Texas and the famed Rangers, of whom her uncle was a past member. I’m indebted to Trace Taylor for supplying the Spanish dialogue. For their assistance on the history of Texas railroads and factual train robberies, I am beholden to Oliver Brown and Anne Jones.

  “…The character of the Texas Ranger is now wellknown by both friend and foe. As a mounted soldier he has had no counterpart in any age or country. Neither Cavalier nor Cossack, Mameluke nor Mosstrooper are like him; and yet, in some respects, he resembles them all. Chivalrous, bold, and impetuous in action, he is yet wary and calculating, always impatient of restraint, and sometimes unscrupulous and unmerciful. He is ununiformed, and undrilled, and performs his active duties thoroughly, but with little regard to order or system. He is an excellent rider and a dead shot. His arms are a rifle, Colt’s revolving pistol, and a knife.”

  —Giddings, “Sketches”

  “A Texas Ranger can ride like a Mexican, trail like an Indian, shoot like a Tennessean, and fight like a devil.”

  —observation of a noted Texas Ranger

  SILVER SPURS AND RED SATIN

  Adorned in Red Satin, part woman, part child;

  Meeting by chance in a land raw and wild.

  Without her red satin, she captured his heart;

  Tall, golden stranger branding love’s mark.

  Stolen moments together, Duty tearing them apart;

  Passion burning brightly, Flame of his heart.

  The gunslinger, a loner, skilled in diversity;

  A hero in an age of a half-savage country.

  Symbol of Justice, so strong and so vital;

  Averting violence with iron will and metal.

  His ivory-handled Colts flashing a deadly glint of steel;

  A shiny star, his trademark on a silver heel.

  Becoming a woman, both cautious and just;

  With grit, trading chantilly for denim and dust.

  Unaware of her bonds to a prosperous empire;

  Breaking her spirit, tho’ challenge her desire.

  Drifting in and out of her life, this golden stranger;

  By Fate or his purpose, there to rescue her from danger.

  Dark secrets of the past gradually unfold;

  No more haunting memories ravish his soul.

  Black magic Ranger, deft in his art;

  Lady in Red Satin, Flame of his heart.

  Fast rides the Ranger through an unsettled town;

  To trade in Silver Spurs
for her Red Satin gown…

  —Penny M. Thomas and Janelle Taylor

  Chapter One

  May, 1878

  Unusually warm and humid weather assailed the four people confined inside the jolting stagecoach for Fort Worth. The steady pounding of hooves mingled with the creaking of wood and the grinding of metal to noisily assault the passengers’ ears. Deep ruts in the well-travelled road prevented all comfort, even if the hard wooden benches would allow any. The narrow, oblong windows refused to allow any refreshing breezes that might have soothed irritable minds and cooled damp bodies. Although the distance between Dallas and Fort Worth was only twenty miles, the bumpy journey seemed lengthy and monotonous. By now, muscles were stiff, bodies were bruised, and restless minds sought any source of distraction.

  Hoping to improve her comfort, Calinda Braxton shifted against the torturous seat as she courteously pretended to listen to the droning voice of Cyrus Peabody as the boastful man spun his enlarged yarns of the West, Texas in particular. Seemingly endowed with endless vitality, the gregarious newspaperman embellished his accounts of many violent episodes in the area’s past and present. Although Cyrus sounded as if he had personally staged and reported those deadly events, Calinda thought he was full of hot air. Without a doubt, at the first sign of trouble or peril, a bold yellow stripe would shine brightly down the back of the talkative owner of the Austin Examiner.

  As Cyrus droned on and on, Calinda assumed a pleasant and attentive look as her mind wandered hundreds of miles from the bleak reality and loneliness before her. As much as she wished she could prevent their intrusion, the haunting memories came calling once more. Resigned to their relentless invasion, Calinda allowed her mind to retrace her puzzling and painful past.

  Calinda vainly attempted to recall life with her father, Elliott Braxton, whom she hadn’t seen since 1863 when he had demanded his wife and four-year-old child sail to relatives in England to avoid the war that was spreading viciously and rapidly toward their Georgia home. The following fifteen years had passed slowly, as she grew from a skinny and awkward child with carrot-colored braids to a graceful and bright young lady with golden red curls.

  She wondered if her vague recollections of her father were a result of a poor memory or a defensive effort to protect herself from anguish. Without her locket, could she even envision his image? She touched the golden object beneath her dress. How cruel for a father to be only a face in a locket.

  After the Civil War, her father had written to say he was heading for Texas to buy land and build a new home; he would send for them when all was ready and safe. As the years passed, his letters grew more and more infrequent, until finally none came at all. Calinda’s uncle had written to her father to reveal her mother’s sudden death in 1870. Elliott’s last response had been, “Since Calinda is only eleven and this area is too rough for a child, please keep her in school there until I am firmly established here and can come for her.”

  Calinda had borne her loneliness, disappointments, and grief and completed her schooling. But Elliott had not kept his promise; he had never come for her or sent for her. Now, Calinda was almost nineteen and school had been over since last summer. It was time to discover the reason for her father’s five years of silence. Rankin Cardone was the only clue to her father. She had nothing to lose in England. To begin a new life, she must settle her old one. The first step along her daring journey was to seek out Rankin.

  Whether or not Elliott Braxton admitted it or desired it, she was his responsibility, one ignored too long. How did she feel about this stranger who was her father? What if he didn’t love her or want her? No, that was unthinkable, unacceptable.

  When her uncle, verging on financial destitution, had sailed for America in April to settle some pressing business, he sought to relieve himself of one financial burden which he said he had covered long enough and brought Calinda along so she could join her father. Calinda had been only too happy to begin a search for her errant father and to be free of her relatives’ guardianship. She was grateful to be away from the Simpsons’ control and selfish demands. Her aunt and uncle would have been only too glad to keep her around if she had agreed to wed one of the wealthy suitors who came courting, one who might be persuaded to divest the Simpsons of their careless money problems in exchange for Calinda’s coveted hand in marriage.

  The Simpson family had never approved of Elliott Braxton. To make matters worse, Miranda Braxton and her four-year-old child had been “dumped” on them during a terrible period of history, then practically “ignored and abandoned by that selfish, worthless rake.” As long as Miranda was able to protect Calinda and Elliott sent money for their support, their existence in England had been tolerable. But after Miranda died and Elliott halted his support and letters, matters had slowly deteriorated.

  After arranging Calinda’s train passage to Dallas, Thomas Simpson had placed Calinda in charge of her own safety and fate. In Dallas, she purchased a stagecoach ticket to Fort Worth; from there she would send word to the Cardone Ranch. In her father’s last letter, he had written that Rankin Cardone was his “closest friend and eventual partner in a cattle spread west of Fort Worth.” In that letter he had promised Calinda that she would come to live on the Cardone Ranch in Texas just as soon as the partnership was finalized and she had completed her schooling in England. Why had her father ignored her since then? Soon she would have answers.

  Despite her eagerness and suspense, the trip west had been uncomfortable and intimidating. Along the way, Calinda had purchased books and newspapers to acquaint herself with her imminent new surroundings. The gentle and impressionable girl had been alarmed and dismayed to read of a rugged, lawless land. The paper novels had recounted tales of infamous outlaws, vengeful Indian raids, greedy cattle-rustling, lynchings and riots, brazen gunfights on town streets, and bloody battles with Mexicans. But there were also stories of heroic men who fought against immense odds and under terrible conditions for “law and order.”

  Calinda halted her mental roamings to listen to Cyrus’ versions of recent train-robberies conducted by a gang of unknown desperadoes. There had been four daring attacks around Dallas since February. Cyrus almost sounded disappointed that their train hadn’t been attacked. Calinda smiled to herself. She had a feeling Cyrus would have fainted from fear if one of those bandits had stuck a gun to his hawkish nose and demanded his money or his life.

  Calinda was delighted her stay in Dallas, the self-appointed headquarters for large groups of heavilyarmed detectives and bounty hunters, had been brief. The town was bursting with Pinkerton detectives, railroad detectives, bounty hunters, a U.S. marshal with countless deputies, special agents from the express companies, and secret agents from the U.S. government. Strangely, she hadn’t seen even one Texas Ranger.

  To distract Cyrus from his monotonous narration, Calinda asked him about the Texas Rangers. Cyrus was only too willing to expose his opinions and knowledge, especially to a beautiful woman. He recognized fine breeding and intelligence when he met them. But never had he faced them in such a charming and beautiful package. He had furtively admired the arresting contrasts of Calinda’s stunning appeal many times along this route. Her eyes were large and expressive, colored like velvety green leaves. The softness and shading of her unmarred complexion enchanted him. She possessed a body destined to be envied by women and desired by men. Her tumbling curls were light auburn with highlights of brassy gold; when the sun danced over them, they glowed as if containing an inner fire. Surely it was a punishable crime to look like Calinda Braxton, a sinful temptation! He leaned forward as he spoke, anxious to impress her.

  “The Rangers started back in ’35; they were dissolved during the War. But when the military pulled out and things got real bad, the Rangers were reactivated in’74. They’re a special unit of men, around four or five hundred for the entire state.” He grinned.

  “How large is Texas?” Calinda asked.

  “Bigger than the country of France,” Cyrus bo
asted.

  “If you have marshals and sheriffs, why do you need special Rangers? Are things that awful here?” she inquired worriedly.

  “This territory’s big and wild. Sheriffs have to remain near their own towns. Marshals usually work the big towns or deal with the problems that affect the American government, like the theft of U.S. mail and money. Rangers can go anywhere. Rangers don’t bow to anybody or anything. They’re feared and hated by outlaws throughout the state. Whenever there’s trouble, a Ranger isn’t far behind,” he said proudly.

  “I haven’t seen one yet,” Calinda remarked.

  “Probably wouldn’t know if you did. They don’t wear uniforms, just lots of weapons. Some say they make their own law, but they do their duty. Braver, more cunning men were never born.”

  “They sound like powerful and proud men,” she commented, pleased to have gotten Cyrus talking about something so interesting.

  “The ones I’ve met are surprisingly modest and reserved. They are very intelligent, and most are well-educated men from the best families. A Ranger can stare death in the face and never bat an eye.”

  “You make them sound infallible,” she pressed curiously.

  “They’re cool-headed and wary. Most of them work alone or in small groups. One Ranger can bluff or capture five to ten desperadoes just on his reputation as a Ranger. Sometimes they don’t even have to fight or shoot; a Texas Ranger turns even a smug and desperate outlaw into a coward. They never give up on any mission, even into hell. I’ve printed true stories about one or more Rangers riding into a riotous mob or large band of marauding Indians or Mexican bandits and winning the fight. I’ve heard they would die before yielding to any threat. We westerners are known for our courage and daring,” he bragged.