* * * * *
Nate watched the young woman leave the store and with great effort resisted the urge to chase after her. Holy hell, just the sight of her had affected him like nothing he’d ever felt before. She wasn’t classically beautiful, or even clean for that matter, but there was something…elemental about her that made his dick stand at attention and his balls heavy with need. Her intelligence and wit were obvious, and as sharp as that tongue of hers.
“Who was that?” he asked the older man.
“Elisa Taggert. ’Twas her granddaddy, Jed Grayton, who started this town from a patch of dirt in the middle of nowhere. He brought the first head of cattle out here and set up his ranch.”
Elisa. The name fit her Irish beauty perfectly. The pert freckled nose, the deep blue eyes that practically shot sparks at him, and those lips. Hell, he was going to dream about those pink lips for the rest of his life. They were plump and pouty by nature—the kind that made him want to nibble and lick for hours. He shifted in his trousers, hoping Marvin didn’t notice the erection currently pulsing between his legs. Damn that little hellion.
“O’Shea said you could set up that advertisement?”
Nate shook his head to clear it. The fiery woman in the trousers had not only confused his body, she’d confused his mind. He’d even forgotten he was hungry.
“Yes, he did. Would it be acceptable to hang it in the window?”
Marvin shrugged. “’S all right, I suppose. Where should I send folks if they ask about you?”
“Just outside town near the clearing with the small stream. Do you know it?”
Marvin nodded. “Yep, sure do. Let’s get your paper hung up then.”
Within moments, the D.H. Enterprises advertisement that Nate had painstakingly made five copies of was hung. He only hoped that business would come along sooner than later. His stomach picked that particular moment to remind him how empty it was. After the cramp passed, he turned to shake Marvin’s hand.
“Do you need any supplies out there, Mr. Marchand? Any friend of O’Shea’s…”
Nate wanted to say no, but dammit to hell, he was so fucking hungry. Buying on credit was not a good idea, but he figured he could work it off, if necessary.
“Actually, we do, Marvin.” He rattled off a list of supplies that included coffee, something he’d probably sell his right foot for, and staples to make five men reasonable meals for two weeks. Just like that, he had the supplies and was out the door.
Nate glanced at the advertisement and smiled. Grayton was going to be the turning point for D. H. Enterprises. He could feel it in his bones, bones that would soon be fed well for the first time in months.
Chapter Two
Elisa jumped on her Arabian, Midnight, and rode out of town like her hair was on fire. The deep thunder of the horse’s hooves echoed through her body, soothing her. She’d always struggled with her temper, her impatience. This time she was impatient with herself.
The wind whistled past her ears as the late spring warmth coated her face.
For some unknown reason the stranger, Nate, had affected her like no other. That alone made her angry. The fact that he considered himself available to work for O’Shea made it worse.
Her mother’s gentleness had always helped during Elisa’s spells of fury. With her mother gone the last year, Elisa struggled almost daily with her inner devils. At the moment, they were jumping up and down on her back cackling madly.
Damn idiot. Life wasn’t complicated enough, now she had to go and get herself twisted up over a stranger. A man. Elisa’s contact with men had been limited to cowboys and her family. Of course, her father and brother didn’t count. Cowboys treated her like one of them. She’d never even once had time to think of a man as anything other than a person.
A man complicated life too much and it was already complicated enough. Elisa would have to avoid Nate. With her work at home it wouldn’t be too hard. Every waking moment was spent trying to keep the Taggert ranch running.
She passed the walnut tree that marked the edge of their property. Her tension lessened somewhat but her temper still simmered. Elisa eased up on Midnight and slowed him to a trot. As the horse breathed slower so did she. They calmed down together. By the time she reached the house, she felt more in control of her emotions.
As much control as she could have anyway. She found her father sitting on the porch where she’d left him, whittling a piece of wood and staring into his knife as if it held the keys to the world.
“Da, why are you still sitting there? You were supposed to relieve Daniel an hour ago.” She dismounted and stopped herself from shaking him. A deep breath of the sticky air did nothing to alleviate the smell of failure. The failure of the Taggert ranch and the end of their family history.
“What was that?” He looked up. The breeze ruffled his dark brown hair liberally sprinkled with gray, and his normally sharp green eyes softened with confusion.
“Daniel. You were supposed to relieve Daniel so he could have some time to sleep. He’s been up all night watching the herd, Da.” She threw her gloves on the ground. “And that damned Marvin forgot to order the tack for us. I think he’s about to stop our credit at the store.”
“Don’t curse, darlin’. ’Tis not fitting for a lady.” Her father continued to whittle away at the piece of wood that didn’t resemble anything but a piece of whittled wood.
“Lady?” she snorted. “Who the hell are you talking to? I haven’t been a lady since I was fifteen years old and had to run this ranch. Goddammit, between you and Ma—”
She never even saw him move, but he slapped her so hard, her ears rang. Elisa knew her father still had strength and speed, but it had been so long since he’d done anything but mope, she’d doubted its existence.
“Don’t you dare speak of your sainted mother when you’re blaspheming.” He shook with rage, his pale face suddenly florid. “I’ll thank you to keep a civil tongue in your mouth. I’m still the owner of this ranch and your father.”
“Then act like it.”
“How dare you.”
“I’ve dared a lot of things, Da. If I hadn’t, you’d be sitting in an alley eating scraps for meals. We’ve got to save this ranch and we can’t do it if you are still grieving. It’s been a year already.” Her voice cracked on the last word. It had been a hard three years, but the last had nearly broken her spirit.
Her father simply stared, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. His mouth opened and closed, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he sat back down on the stump and started whittling again.
Anger and frustration roared through Elisa. She couldn’t be near him much anymore without the urge to rage. It wouldn’t help matters any, so she spent as much time as possible away from her father.
With a deep breath, she mumbled, “I’ll go relieve him then.”
She threw herself back on Midnight and rode off toward Daniel. At least watching the herd would give her relief from her family. God knows she needed more than relief. She needed a miracle.
When Nate arrived back at camp, the rest of the Devils were sitting around the campfire staring glumly at what appeared to be a squirrel roasting above the flames. He hid a grin at the scowl on Lee’s face.
Gideon looked up and nodded. “Hey there, Nate. Glad you’re back. I sure as hell hope you found a deer or something on the way.”
“I had a bit of success in town actually.” He dismounted and revealed the bulging pack of supplies strapped to the back of his horse.
“Holy shit,” Jake said with a grin.
“A bit of success? Shit, you idiot, that’s more than a bit of anything.” Lee’s eyes widened at the sight of the food.
Nate couldn’t be bothered to get angry at the sourpuss. Instead, he untied the pack and handed it to Zeke, already standing at his side. The blond man took the supplies and walked back to the campfi
re. Lee tried to snatch it from him, but with a roll and a twist, Zeke moved from the one-armed man’s grasp.
“Bastard.”
“Nope, our parents were married, little brother.” Zeke set the pack down by Gideon.
Funny how the easygoing Gideon had become their leader. He hadn’t asked for it, it came by him naturally. They’d all unofficially adopted him as the man in charge, even after the war. It spoke volumes that Zeke handed the food over to his cousin Gideon without a word.
“Where did you get these, Nate?” Gideon’s quiet question made them all pause.
“In town at the store.” Nate started unsaddling Bonne Chance, knowing that Gid would not approve of buying supplies with nothing to pay for them.
“How did you get them?”
“I ran into a man in town named O’Shea. He’s a big man in Grayton. After conversing with him, I was able to hang our advertisement in the store. The proprietor”—he swallowed—“allowed me to purchase some food stuffs on credit.”
“On credit? What does that mean?” Lee demanded.
“It means he gave his word he’d pay for them, but no money changed hands.”
“That’s all right, Gid,” Jake piped up. “We can’t work if we don’t eat. Better than what I was planning on doing later.” He raised on auburn eyebrow at Nate, then winked.
“I don’t think it’s all right. With Captain Nessman dogging our tail, we don’t need to leave a debt behind we can’t pay.” Gideon eyed the burlap wrapped sack with unease on his face.
“Fuck Nessman,” Lee snapped. “I’m tired of living my life wondering if that Yankee is going to arrest us for being ex-Confederate soldiers. If that dick has nothing else to do then I say fuck him.”
Gideon frowned at Lee. “We haven’t seen Nessman in almost a month. He’s not what we’re talking about.”
“I don’t care if it’s been a month or six months. Nessman is ghosting us, Gid.” Lee scratched at the stump of his arm. “Ol’ fancy pants is getting us knee-deep in shit.”
Nate’s good mood started to fade. “I got us some food. We’re starving, Lee, not living high off the hog. Gid, it’s not chocolate and cigars. It’s flour, coffee and bacon.”
“Did you say bacon?” Jake eyed the bundle even closer.
Gideon looked at Zeke. “What do you think?”
Zeke followed Jake’s gaze then glanced at Lee. “Lee’s got a point about Nessman. Gid’s right about promising money we don’t have for food.” His gaze turned to Nate. “But I think Nate did the right thing. We are starving and even if we have to work it off for the store owner, we needed food.”
Nate breathed an inner sigh of relief. At least Zeke and Jake agreed with him, and that was three out of five. Lee leveled a dirty look at Nate, but he didn’t respond in kind. Nate’s stomach actually hurt from being empty for so long and from the constant bickering.
“How about we have some biscuits and beans?”
His simple suggestion seemed to take the edge off everyone’s anger. Zeke went to get water while Jake stoked up the fire. Gideon examined everything in the sack carefully as if gauging the worthiness of the purchase. Nothing Nate had brought back was frivolous—a word that did not exist in Nate’s world anyway.
When Gideon finished looking at the supplies, he nodded at Nate. It was an approval and Nate finally breathed normally. The last thing he wanted to do was alienate anyone in his family, something the ragtag Devils had become.
After they filled their bellies for the first time in weeks, Zeke and Jake went off to hunt, while Gideon, Lee and Nate cleaned their tack.
Gideon broke the silence. “What was this man O’Shea like?”
Nate pursed his lips. “Big, loud, dangerous.”
Gideon nodded. “I know the type. What about his clothes?”
“Expensive, down to the boots.”
“You would notice that,” Lee interjected.
“We have to find someone who can pay us, Lee. Would you rather work for someone as poor as we are?” Gideon shook his head. “Can you just listen for now? We’ll need you if we’re going to be successful.”
Lee frowned. “Fine.”
“Tell me everything you remember.”
Nate searched his memory. “The shopkeeper respected him, gave me the food based solely on mention of O’Shea’s name. He was a weasel, but easily manipulated.” The image of the woman flashed through his mind. “I expect O’Shea is the kind of man who has a lot of enemies, someone who might need extra protection.”
“Money, power and a small town. I’d say you’re right on target. O’Shea is definitely the man to work for. Anything else?” Gideon’s sharp gaze probed Nate’s.
“There was a woman there. She, ah, didn’t appear to be pleased that I even knew O’Shea.” Nate swallowed. “She was dressed in clothes that looked worse than ours. I don’t think she’ll be a problem.”
The words fell between them ringing false like a cracked bell.
“I trust your judgment. It’s a good thing too because we’ve got a rider coming.”
All three of them stood at the ready with hands resting on pistols. Like the good soldiers they had been, Lee and Nate flanked Gideon, every nerve stretched tight. A sense of calm settled over Nate and he breathed evenly, deeply.
The rider was alone, coming toward them at a steady pace on a big bay. He stopped and dismounted fifteen feet away. A tall, lanky man with a pair of well-used pistols resting on his hips, he tipped his hat back revealing jet black hair and equally dark eyes.
“Keep an eye on his right hand.” Gideon’s mouth barely moved.
“Hello the camp.” The stranger raised his left hand and waved, a smile on his face.
“What can we do for you?” Gideon replied.
Although the stranger didn’t do anything that could be construed as threatening, Nate had an itch on the back of his neck. The man had more on his mind than friendly conversation.
“Y’all are D.H. Enterprises?”
“That’s right,” Gideon responded for them.
Nate felt a trickle of sweat slide down his back as the Texas heat settled on them like a hot blanket.
“Mr. O’Shea sent me over to invite you for supper. He has a business proposition for you.” The stranger wiped his hand under his nose. “I see you’ve settled in nicely here. This here is O’Shea’s land and he’d like to offer you the use of it while you’re in town.” Another smile spread across his face.
“That’s right friendly of him,” Lee said with his usual brand of sarcasm.
Gideon quelled his cousin with one glance, then looked back toward the stranger. “We’d be honored to join Mr. O’Shea for supper. Three of us will come.”
The stranger’s gaze swept the area. “There’s more than three of you then?”
“Yes.”
Nate knew Gideon was not about to reveal their exact numbers yet.
“Just head due north, you’ll find O’Shea’s ranch in about half an hour. Be there at six o’clock.” The stranger mounted his horse again.
“Your name, sir?”
The grin seemed genuine. “You can call me Rodrigo. I am Mr. O’Shea’s foreman.”
“My thanks for coming by. Name’s Gideon. This is Nate and Lee.”
Rodrigo tipped his hat. “Pleased to meet you. Welcome to Grayton, fellas.” With another wave, he rode back from the direction he came.
Nate let out his breath slowly and looked at Gideon, who raised one eyebrow.
“I’m guessing O’Shea has more men working for him worse than Rodrigo. He’s probably the welcoming committee. You sure about this?”
“I’m sure O’Shea has money and I’m also sure we can’t survive another month without some.” Nate probably wouldn’t have spoken to a man like O’Shea prior to the war. None of them would have, but times had ch
anged. Life had changed. It was time to change with it.
By five fifteen, Zeke, Gideon and Nate were ready to leave. Lee was not happy about staying behind with Jake.
“You’re not letting me go because you want men with two good arms to go with you, right?”
“That’s a load of shit, Lee. I’m not taking you because you’re a hothead. I don’t want our first business meeting with O’Shea to end with you and your rebel yell.” Gideon didn’t get mad often, but when pushed, his voice and his will turned to steel. “None of us care if you only have one arm, so why the hell do you?”
The silence grew uncomfortable as the cousins stared each other down. Jake, as was his usual style, broke the tension.
“Well, hell, with Lee having only one arm, that just means I can beat him at tug of war.” Jake winked at Lee. “And, he never has to wash the damn dishes.”
“Idiot.” Lee’s lips twitched.
“Moron.” Jake grinned so widely, they laughed and even Lee cracked a smile.
“Let’s mount up and head over there. Wouldn’t do for us to be late for our first meeting.” Nate hated to be late, being punctual was the sign of a gentleman. He wanted so badly to hang onto the small things like that which made life bearable.
Zeke shook his head and Gideon clapped him on the shoulder.
“Let’s go then.” Gideon chuckled.
They mounted up and rode across the Texas prairie toward their future. If they somehow lost the opportunity to work for O’Shea, the Devils were in serious trouble. From what Nate surmised, O’Shea was not only powerful in Grayton, but likely in the entire county. It was critical that they make a good first impression and do all they could to garner his favor.
Nate kept a close eye on everything around them. Wouldn’t surprise him at all if Rodrigo or someone just like him planned a welcoming party. Fifteen minutes into their ride, movement in the trees on the right caught his attention. He whistled quickly under his breath and indicated the trees to Gideon. Zeke broke left, Nate headed straight, while Gideon went right.
Devils on Horseback: Nate Page 2
