by Jeanne Rose
"No. I'm not doing anything more to her," Ginnie said, hopping out of her bed. "The snake was enough. I could have killed her ...or Cassie."
Her power growing with the intensity of the girl's agitation, Xosi nevertheless tried coaxing. "I only meant we should scare her --"
"No! We gotta fix the man who's trying to ruin Pa." Hugging herself tightly, Ginnie paced. "He's a damned killer and he's gotta be stopped!"
True. Xosi hadn't minded when Ginnie had claimed someone was spreading rumors of the supposed curse -- she didn't mind being responsible for putting a little fear in people's hearts -- but murder was a different story. She didn't want to be blamed for the deaths of men who had never done anything to her, men she had not even known. Then Monte would never soften toward her, and she would be trapped in this hell of her own making forever.
"Maybe the bastard needs a taste of his own bad medicine," Xosi agreed.
"But how?"
She wished she knew. As usual, not admitting her limitations to the girl, she asked, "What would most hurt him?"
Ginnie sighed. "It'd be dangerous. I could cut some of his precious barbed wire."
"Wire?" Xosi was unfamiliar with the word.
But Ginnie's dark eyes were alight with purpose. "Fencing. I'll cut his wire so his cattle can wander away, maybe even across the Rio Grande into Mexico!" She grinned. "Xosi, what would I do without you?"
More than willing to take responsibility, Xosi preened. She was proud of her young protege. With the proper tutelage, Ginnie was becoming as clever and resourceful as she herself had been forced to be at that age.
Her only consolation until she found a way to free herself of this prison permanently.
HAVING FOUND IT impossible to sleep, Iphigenia wandered outside. Though she had prayed her father would act like a human being, release her trust fund so that she could rescue Hope -- his own flesh and blood -- he'd deserted them both.
Now she would have to desert Monte Ryerson, she thought, her heart heavy.
As if thinking his name had conjured him, Monte stood in the moonlight just outside the little graveyard. Knowing she shouldn't -- that she should make a clean break as soon as possible for her own sake if not for his -- she joined him, unable to help herself. She would never be able to forget her love for him or to erase their night of passion. She didn't want to. She feared that she would never find a love so intense again, and that their one night together would have to last her whole life.
Coming closer, she realized he was standing in front of his late wife's grave, his head bowed as if he were praying. About the situation in general, or Ginnie in particular? She hesitated, unwilling to interrupt. A moment later, he lifted his head and stepped back. Then he turned and saw her.
"I could not sleep," she told him.
"Me, neither. Too much on my mind."
She nodded. While her problems were strictly personal, he had not only his family and ranch to think about, but the people who worked for him.
"I'm gonna have to stop the killer, whoever it is. I only hope to God it's Jake or Padilla or Barkley like I've been figuring."
She knew he was again dreading Ginnie being involved. "How will you ever know?"
"By facing them down. Tomorrow won't be too soon. I won't be able to close my eyes till then."
Sensing his growing tension, she drew closer. "Perhaps a walk would help."
"The way things are going, one of us is bound to step in a snakehole and break a leg."
She reached up and touched his face, as though she could smooth away the worry, the anguish, the guilt. She knew he blamed himself for the deaths. The wind soughed through the nearby cottonwoods, the sound eerie in the night.
Monte kissed her palm, wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close. "I need you, Iphigenia," he whispered into her hair. "You have no idea of how much."
Her heart beat rapidly at the words. And at her own guilt. She would have to leave him in his most desperate hour, perhaps the very next day. She couldn't stand the loss to herself ...yet she had to for Hope's sake. Tears filled her eyes and she clung to Monte, not knowing how she ever would make the break and keep her heart intact.
"Hold me," she murmured into his shoulder. "Just hold me tight."
Never let me go, she wanted to say.
"Iphigenia."
With one arm he crushed her to him. The other hand he tangled in her loose hair and pulled back her head. The moon was bright and she could see compassion softening his harsh features. He knew what she was feeling if not why. A tear slipped down her cheek. He lowered his head, kissed the tear, licked the trail of salt from her skin. She shuddered.
Inexorably, their mouths drew closer, their lips sought each other, their tongues twined and clung together desperately, as if for the very last time.
Heat spread beneath the thin nightgown and wrapper, and Iphigenia yearned for a more intimate contact. As if Monte sensed her sensual restlessness, he stroked her shoulder and ran his hand over it and between their bodies. He slipped beneath the outer wrapper and found her breast covered only by the thin nightgown heavy and ready for his touch. He flicked his thumb over her nipple, which responded instantly, pebbling and aching for more.
His kiss deepened, his tongue thrusts imitating the rhythm of two bodies joining. He picked up the same rhythm with his thumb and with his hips. Fire burning deep inside her, Iphigenia responded in kind even as her knees went weak. Monte held her upright, continued his exploration through the thin batiste. He smoothed his hand between them, down her belly. Shifting slightly, he invaded her most sensitive flesh, still through the thin material of her nightgown.
Making Iphigenia yearn and burn for him. Making her nearly lose her head. Still, she had some presence of mind left and thought to find someplace more private, for they were within sight of several windows.
And they were an even shorter distance from Amanda Ryerson's grave.
Shuddering with the realization as if hit with a good dousing of cold water, Iphigenia pulled her mouth free and pushed at Monte's chest.
"Someone might see us."
"You're right," he said in a sex-drugged voice. "Let's find someplace private."
But when he took her wrist and tried to pull her away from the graveyard, she held her ground. "No."
He stopped short, gave her a puzzled look. "Why not? We're man and wife now. And as long as we don't let on --"
"I just ...wouldn't feel right."
Not considering her plans to leave. They hadn't yet consummated the marriage -- at least she didn't think making love the night before the wedding counted. Perhaps Monte could get an annulment when she disappeared. Then he would be free to marry again.
The thought of him with another woman crushing her, she turned away and faced the house. What she saw took a moment to register. Then her eyes widened.
"Monte, look ...the attic."
His soft curse told her he saw it, too -- a greenish glow moving around the room. "Xosi!" he growled.
Monte was off in a shot, Iphigenia following, checking the attic windows as she ran. The glow suddenly faded into nothing well before Monte reached the house. Wondering if he was aware of that, Iphigenia ran faster, sides heaving, breath coming harsh. Still a distance before her, he threw open the front door and ran into the parlor, pausing only to take a lit kerosene lantern with him. Slowing, she followed, even knowing what they would find upon reaching the attic.
"Nothing!" Monte growled when she came up behind him. He was holding the lantern high. The bed was a tangle of covers. A nightgown puddled on the floor. "Ginnie's gone!"
Iphigenia wondered how much he knew about his daughter's nighttime activities. "She can't have gotten far. She's probably out back."
Even as Monte started down the stairs, the beat of hooves nearby told them they were too late. "Damn!" he cursed, continuing back to the parlor.
By the time they stood staring out the window, the horse and rider were tiny figures in the distance.
Iphigenia felt Monte's frustration.
"We could wait up for her," she suggested.
"She could be out all night. I'd go after Ginnie now if I thought I had a chance of catching her. She's as slick and fast and clever as a Comanche warrior when she wants to be. If anybody inherited my Pa's blood in this family, it's her."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Wait till morning, I guess. Then she'll give me the truth and the damned mirror or I'll shake both out of her!"
His intensity was frightening, yet Iphigenia instinctively knew he wouldn't hurt his daughter. She put out a hand to comfort him, but he avoided her touch.
"Go to bed," he told her gruffly. "No use both of us losing sleep over this."
Sensing he wanted to be alone with his thoughts, Iphigenia nodded. "Good night, then."
Monte didn't answer, merely turned his back and stared out the window. Lump in her throat, Iphigenia left the room, feeling the weight of the situation on her own shoulders. Monte had sworn he would help her get Hope. He was in bigger and more immediate trouble.
Could she really live with herself if she left him to deal with this mess alone?
She was still searching for the answer when sleep finally claimed her as dawn lit the sky.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
GINNIE HAD BEEN cutting fence for hours by the time the sky lightened. Xosi had kept her company for most of that time, but eventually she'd faded -- before daybreak, as was her habit. Ginnie had put all her fear and her fury into her work and now she was exhausted.
Stuffing the wire-cutters into a pocket of her denims, she swiped hair from her forehead with a gloved hand. For the moment she was satisfied just watching cattle wander off their own territory now that there was nothing to stop them.
If only she could tell Pa about what she'd done ...but she couldn't. No doubt he wouldn't like it. To his way of thinking, she hadn't been able to do anything right in a long time. And maybe she hadn't. Something inside her had busted when Ma died, and she'd gone a little crazy. She hadn't even been able to talk to Cassie about it. Her only solace had come along with the mirror she'd found under a chair in Pa's office, the one he'd brought back from Mexico. Xosi understood how bad she felt.
To her shame, Pa already knew she was a liar and a thief. That's why she hadn't been able to tell him about the murder. He wouldn't believe her. But she'd had to do something to make up for keeping quiet.
Hardly able to keep her eyes open, she figured she'd better get back to the R&Y before anyone realized she was missing. Before Pa questioned her and said more mean things.
She turned ...right into a hard chest.
A grizzled man with a cruel face grabbed her shirt front. "Well, looky what we have here, Dandy," he said to his companion who still sat his horse. "As I live and breathe, a little Ryerson troublemaker!"
The sound of the cattle's hooves must have covered those of the approaching horses, Ginnie realized as she struggled to free herself. "Let go of me!"
Her captor grinned, showing off several gold teeth. "I don't think so, darlin'. Not until you explain yourself to the boss."
His boss was a murderer!
Panicked, Ginnie kicked the man's shin. He yelped and let go of her, but when she turned to run, he yanked her by the hair and spun her around. Fingers clawed, she went for his face, but before she could make contact, he did. A clip to her chin stopped her short and left her dazed. Her world spun and the fight went out of her.
"A real little spitfire," the man named Dandy said.
Gold Teeth ducked and butted his shoulder into her stomach. Ginnie couldn't fight him. The next thing she knew, he'd lifted her and the ground was moving below her. And then she was being handed up to the other man.
"The boss is going to be real happy with us," Dandy said.
"Yeah, we may even get us a nice reward."
Ginnie tried not to panic. She would have to keep her head if she was going to get out of this scrape alive.
"ARE YOU GOING to leave us again?" Cassie asked.
Ensconced in the rocking chair beneath the cottonwood, Iphigenia stared out in the direction that Monte and his men had gone earlier that afternoon. Then her gaze dropped to the bluebonnets Stephen had picked for her. They were healthy and blooming, probably because Cassie had made certain they were watered. The girl would do anything for her.
And the least Iphigenia could do was give Cassie an honest answer in return. "I might have to."
"I thought maybe ...you liked being with us at least a little."
A lump grew in her throat as she caught the girl's distraught expression. "I do, Cassie, honey. More than a little. Sometimes we can't do what's easiest."
"Is it the baby?"
Iphigenia started. "How do you know about Hope?"
"I overheard something your father said to that man Graves before they left -- about you wanting him to get your baby back. Why did you let her go in the first place?"
Shoving vile thoughts about her father to the back of her mind, Iphigenia explained, "The choice was taken from me by my aunt. I fell in love with Hope the moment I held her, so I knew I had to get her back."
"That's why you answered my notice for a wife for Pa? Because your baby is in Texas."
The girl had tears in her eyes and obviously felt betrayed. Iphigenia felt her own lids sting. She rose and brushed an errant strand of hair from Cassie's eyes.
"I'm afraid so. My father had cut off my funds and I was desperate. But once here, I learned to love you all very quickly."
"All of us? Pa and Stephen and Ginnie?"
Iphigenia knew Cassie was really asking if she loved her. She circled the girl with her arms. "I care about your whole family, Cassie. Loving Ginnie isn't as easy as loving you, but that's because she's troubled." Something Iphigenia understood. "But I even have feelings for Ginnie."
"Then why would you ever leave us?" Cassie looked stricken. "Go get your baby and bring her back here," she pleaded. "I can help you take care of her ..."
Cassie's voice faded off under the pounding of hoofbeats. Iphigenia let go of her and stared out toward the oncoming horses. Her instincts warned her trouble was at hand. As far as she knew, the R&Y wranglers had ridden off with Monte.
"Cassie, get in the house."
"I'm not leaving you!"
But Iphigenia determinedly pushed the girl toward the door even as two men rode up and stopped yards from them.
"Where's Ryerson?"
"What's it to you?"
The man revealed gold teeth. "We got his girl."
"Ginnie?" Cassie shrieked, making an about face. "Where's my sister?"
She lunged toward the mounted man, but Iphigenia grabbed her and held her fast. "How do I know you have Ginnie?"
The man removed something from his pocket. He held out a silver chain, attached to which was a small hand mirror. Iphigenia's heart pounded as she stepped forward just far enough to take it from him. This was the mirror Monte had described. The mirror that held the key to the curse. But Ginnie had the mirror when she rode off the night before. Iphigenia felt sick inside. Cassie's twin was in big trouble.
Heart pounding, she asked, "What is it you want?"
"The boss wants a pow-wow with Ryerson. Tell him to come where the creek runs near Flood Canyon at dusk. And to bring the deed to the R&Y if he wants to get the brat back."
Iphigenia didn't even know what time Monte and his men would return. Likely it would be after dark. "What if he can't make it?"
"Then the girl'll die," said the other man, who until now had been silent.
"You leave my sister alone!" Cassie screamed, darting forward before Iphigenia could stop her.
The gold-toothed man slid a boot free of his stirrup and kicked the girl square in the stomach. With a shriek of pain and fury, she doubled over, her arms around her middle. Wanting to kill the man, Iphigenia grabbed Cassie and held her protectively.
"My God, Cassie, are you all right?"
A white-f
aced Cassie nodded, but it was clear the breath had been knocked out of her.
Iphigenia gave the bastard her most furious expression. "How dare you hurt a child?" she hissed, wishing she had a gun so she could shoot the smirk off his ugly face.
"I dare a lot more, missy."
"Maybe we should show 'em, huh, Murdock? The blonde looks pretty tasty."
Even as Iphigenia's eyes widened in renewed shock, the other man said, "Keep your fly buttoned, Dandy. We're not here for that. Remember, tell Ryerson to bring the deed to Flood Canyon, at dusk, alone." He had the audacity to tip his hat at her as if he'd come for a social call, then turned his horse and rode off.
The man named Dandy gave her a searing look before following.
And Iphigenia realized she was gripping the mirror so tightly that her hand began to hurt. Odd, but the pendant seemed hot as if her anger had transferred to it.
Still in Iphigenia's arms, Cassie began sobbing, turning her thoughts away from the mirror. "If they hurt Ginnie, it's my fault."
"What?"
"After she let that snake loose, I wanted something bad to happen to her, to punish her, and now it has."
"Cassie, honey, being angry with someone can't make bad things happen to them. Ginnie's being in trouble isn't your fault. It isn't even hers." Though if the girl hadn't ridden out in the middle of the night, she would still be safe. "Blame those men and whoever they work for."
Suddenly a flustered and red-faced Carmen came running outside. "I was upstairs when those men rode up. I saw what they did to my Cassita."
"I'm all right," Cassie said, though one hand still rested on her stomach where the man had kicked her.
"You must come inside and sit. I will get something soothing for you to drink."
Cassie didn't protest being fussed over. Though she was thirteen, in love with pretty dresses and manners, nearly ready to go to social events, she was still a little girl, Iphigenia realized.
