by Bobbi Smith
"You know what we could do tonight, don't you?" Chet was smiling down at her, his gaze hungry upon her.
"No, what?" Stacy was puzzled by his question.
"We could sneak out of here and run off to the justice of the peace—"
"You are so romantic." She was delighted by his daring suggestion, but she had already started planning the wedding, and she wanted to be married in church.
"Then let's do it," he urged, wanting to make her his own as quickly as possible. "Next year is too long to wait."
"You know I'm tempted, but—"
Before she could say anything more, Chet found himself grabbed by the shoulder and pushed forcefully away from Stacy by none other than the drunken brute, Ben Thompson.
"You're tempted, are you, Stacy?" Ben crowed, leering down at her. "How about being tempted to dance with me?"
"What do you think you're doing?" Stacy was shocked by his crude moves. She tried to get back to Chet.
But Ben stepped between them, blocking her way.
He took her by the arm in an unyielding grip as he told her, "Forget about him. I'm cutting in."
"Wait a minute, Thompson—" Chet began.
"Get out of here, Harrison. I want a dance with the fine lady from the Dollar," Ben declared.
"Stacy's my fiancée. She's with me," he challenged.
Ben wanted to fight more than he'd wanted to dance. He deliberately taunted Chet, "Get lost. She's mine.
"Ben Thompson, let me go!" Stacy fought to pull herself free of his painful grip. She knew what he was up to and wanted nothing to do with it.
The folks who were dancing nearby realized there was trouble brewing, and they quickly backed off and got out of the way.
"I ain't letting you go, Stacy. I done claimed you, and we're gonna dance. Right now," Ben ordered. He yanked her close and started to dance, knowing his actions would antagonize Chet even more.
"Thompson . . ." Chet wasn't about to let the drunken man get away with this. He went after him.
And that was just what Ben had been hoping for.
He was ready for Chet.
With savage force, he made his move, shoving Stacy aside and hitting Chet square in the jaw. The force of the blow sent Chet sprawling backward onto the floor.
"Chet!" Stacy cried out. She started to go to him, but Ben grabbed her by the arm again and held her back.
"Come on, little sugar, we gotta finish up our dance!"
Walker had been caught up in his dance with Roni when he heard his sister's cry and the musicians suddenly stopped playing. He turned just in time to see Ben standing triumphantly over the fallen Chet, his vile hands on Stacy.
Walker wasn't sure what had happened, but knowing Ben the way he did, he knew he had to get his sister away from him.
"Stay here," he ordered Roni.
Ben saw Walker coming and smiled to himself.
His plan had worked.
He had lured the half-breed in just like he'd wanted to.
Ben deliberately pulled Stacy close again, wanting to infuriate Walker even more, and he chuckled as he saw Chet trying to struggle to his feet.
"Come on, darlin', this is our dance. Musicians—why'd you quit playin'? Let's have us some music!" he ordered boisterously.
The musicians watched and waited nervously as Walker stalked over to confront Ben, with Jim following close behind.
"Get your hands off Stacy now, Thompson," Walker said quietly.
The whole room fell silent.
"Relax, we're just having a little fun." Ben sneered. "Your little sister wants to dance with me, don't ya, darlin'?" He tightened his hold on her threateningly.
Stacy refused to give in to his attempt to force her to his will. Hot-tempered as she was, she wasn't about to put up with his bullying ways. "You're the last man I'd ever want to dance with, Ben Thompson!"
A cowgirl born and bred, she wished she had her gun with her or, at least, had her boots on so she could kick him and get herself free. But dressed like a lady, she didn't have much hope of that. All she could do was try to twist her arm out of his bruising grip, and it wasn't working. Ben was too strong.
"Why, that ain't no way to talk to me, little darlin'," Ben snarled down at her.
"You heard Stacy," Walker dictated. "Let her go—now!"
"This is between me and Stacy. Right, honey? I don't take orders from anybody—least of all you." Ben looked at Walker and smiled thinly.
"You'd better start. Get away from my sister and stay off the Dollar!" Walker had long suspected him of rustling their cattle.
"What are you sayin', 'breed?" he challenged loudly. "Are you accusing me of somethin'?"
"I'm not accusing you of anything—I'm telling you. You set foot on the Dollar again and you'll pay the price!"
A murmur of tension went through the crowd. Rumors had flown for years about the bad blood between the two ranching families, and people feared things might be coming to a head right then.
Glad that he had Walker right where he wanted him, Ben made his move. He shoved Stacy straight at Chet, who had finally stood up, and then he lunged at Walker, throwing the first punch.
Chapter Three
Chaos erupted.
Everyone in the hall panicked and rushed to get out of the way. They knew how dangerous Ben could be and feared the shooting might start at any minute.
Jim was ready to help Walker, but one of Ben's ranch hands forcefully grabbed him and held him back, and when Chet set Stacy aside to join in the fight, two of Ben's other men stopped him.
The fight was a fierce one.
Roni looked on in horror. She had never witnessed such a savage battle before. She was aware of the murmuring going through the crowd around her, and realized to her disgust that most of them were blaming Walker for the fight and hoping Ben would win, and that Ben's men were actually cheering him on. Wanting to do something to help, she hurried to Stacy to make sure she hadn't been injured.
"Did he hurt you?"
"No, no, I'm all right. I just wish I had my gun with me so I could break this up!"
Stacy was frantic as she looked around for something she could use as a weapon. She spotted some chairs pushed back against the wall and had just started to get one when Mark Davis, a deputy from town who was attending the dance, stepped in. He recruited some of the men in attendance to help him restrain Ben's ranch hands and break up the fight. It wasn't easy, but they finally managed to drag Ben and Walker apart.
"What do you want us to do with them?" one of the men asked as he struggled to hold on to Ben.
"Get them out of here!" Deputy Davis ordered, wanting to restore peace.
Ben and Walker were trying to break free, ready to go after each other again, but the other men forced them out through the front door. Ben was fighting so hard to get away, they had to physically throw him into the street to slow him down. Bloodied and furious, he landed heavily in the dirt and lay there glaring up at them. He was tempted to draw on them, but he was outnumbered.
"Get out of here, Thompson!" the deputy ordered as he went to stand over him, his hand resting threateningly on his gun. He had little use for the drunken, low-life rancher. Ben had been a source of trouble in the area for as long as Davis could remember. "Go sober up!"
Ben said nothing as he got to his feet and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. They might have thrown him out of the dance, but he was already planning his next move. He cast one last glare Walker's way, threatening, "This ain't over, Stevenson."
"You're right. It's not," Walker replied, not backing down.
The drunk moved off into the night.
Deputy Davis turned to the men who were still restraining Walker.
"What do you want us to do with him?" they asked him.
"Let him go."
They did.
Walker stood there, waiting to hear what the deputy was going to say next.
"Go on back inside for now." The deputy knew there was a definite risk
of more trouble if he didn't keep the two combatants separated.
Walker turned and was just starting back into the hall when Thompson's ranch hands came out to follow their boss. They exchanged threatening looks, but said nothing as they passed each other. They knew better than to trade barbs with the deputy standing right there.
"Where'd Ben go?" Mick asked Deputy Davis.
"To sober up. You boys should go do the same. I don't want any more trouble in town tonight or you'll all be waking up in jail tomorrow morning."
Grumbling, they moved off to find Ben and see what he wanted them to do next. They had a feeling, no matter what the deputy said, the fight wasn't over.
Walker entered the hall to find all the other people standing back, watching him suspiciously, and one of the men from town keeping the crowd restrained.
Deputy Davis followed him in and went up front to announce, "All the excitement's over, folks. Go on back to having a good time. Musicians, let's get some music going!"
The musicians did just that and the mood in the room relaxed a bit. The crowd of onlookers went back to enjoying themselves, although more than a few cast troubled looks Walker's way, clearly wondering why he hadn't been thrown out of the dance along with Ben Thompson.
Roni managed to reach Walker first, followed by Stacy, Chet and Jim. "Are you all right?"
"I'll live." He'd been in far worse fights over the years and was more concerned about his sister. He looked at Stacy. "How are you?"
"Fine, now that Ben's gone," she told him quickly.
"Good." He was glad she'd come to no harm at Ben's hands.
"That man is nothing but an animal," she said in disgust, remembering how horrible it had felt to have Ben's hands upon her.
"He won't be bothering you anymore," Walker promised, his tone serious.
"Where did he go?" Chet asked.
"Deputy Davis and the other men ran him off and told him to sober up."
"Good. We don't need any more trouble tonight," Jim remarked.
"We don't need his kind of trouble—ever," Stacy insisted. She looked up at her brother. "Walker?"
He gazed down at her and saw the concern in her eyes. "What?"
"Thank you."
He nodded, remembering the promise he'd made to their father on his deathbed to protect her and keep her safe.
"Come on, darling," Chet told Stacy. "Let's dance."
"I'd like that," she agreed, going into his arms.
Roni stayed with Walker as they moved off to the side of the room with Jim.
"Why did Ben Thompson deliberately want to pick a fight with you tonight?" Roni asked. Violent behavior always troubled her.
"He hates us because the Dollar is so successful. My father had trouble with him in the past. Before he died, he warned me that Ben might be behind some of the rustling that's been going on."
"Well, let's just hope Ben gets out of town and stays out of town for a while."
"That would be good. Real good, because I want to finish my dance with you."
Roni smiled up at him in delight. "That's right. We were interrupted, weren't we?"
He took her hand and led her out to join the other couples. When the music ended, they reluctantly started back to join Jim, and Roni noticed a woman standing with him, looking anxious and worried.
"Dr. Reynolds, I'm Polly Hathaway," the woman began earnestly when she drew near. "I need your help. It's my son—"
"What's wrong?"
"He's started running a terrible fever—"
"Let's go see him right now," Roni offered without hesitation. She turned to Walker and Jim, regretfully telling them, "I have to go."
They said good-bye and watched as she hurried from the hall with the mother to tend to the sick young boy.
"I don't know about you, but I could use a drink right now," Jim said. "Why don't we head over to the Ace High?"
"That sounds good," Walker agreed. With Roni gone, he could see no reason to stay at the dance.
They made a quick exit, glad to get away.
On the far side of the hall, one of the young ladies from town, Christie Miller, was upset as she watched Walker leave with Jim.
"I can't believe it," Christie said in a disheartened tone as she looked at her friend, Sandra Welch. "I waited all night for the Ladies' Choice Dance, and when it's almost time, Walker leaves."
Sandra understood her friend's disappointment. Christie had been talking about the handsome rancher and wanting to dance with him all night long. Knowing Christie's parents as she did, though, Sandra realized Walker's leaving was probably the best thing that could have happened.
"There are a lot of other men here you can ask to dance when the time comes," Sandra told her.
"I know, but I wanted to dance with Walker. He's so—"
"Good-looking?"
"Yes," she agreed quickly, an image of the tall, lean, darkly handsome rancher going through her mind.
"But you have to remember what your father would say about your dancing with him. You know how he feels about Walker being a half-breed."
"I know, but he is a Stevenson and he's rich. That should count for something, wouldn't you think?"
"Not with your father it doesn't, and not with a lot of folks around town. They don't approve of Walker."
"I know you're right, but I was still hoping to get the chance." The fact that her parents disapproved of Walker had made him all the more exciting to Christie, but that didn't matter now that he was gone. Disappointed though she was, Christie started looking around the hall at all the eligible bachelors, planning her strategy for claiming a dance partner as soon the Ladies' Choice was announced.
Ben met up with his men in a dark alley on the far side of town.
"What are you going to do, Boss?" Mick asked. He knew Ben well enough to know his fight with the half-breed was far from over.
"Yeah, you can't let Walker get away with this!" another man added.
"You're right. He's not going to get away with it." The pain and humiliation Ben was feeling were driving him on. It had been bad enough that Walker had been getting the best of him in the fight at the dance, but then when the deputy had let the half-breed stay and had thrown him out, he'd been beyond furious. "I'm not through with him yet. I'm going to be there waiting for him when he heads over to the hotel. He told me I was going to 'pay the price,' but tonight, he's the one who's going to be paying up."
"But what if he's not alone?"
Ben turned a deadly look on the man who'd asked the question. "Then the people with him will learn a lesson about how to pick their friends."
"How soon do you think he'll be showing up?" Mick asked.
"I'm heading over there now. I only need a few of you with me. The rest of you can go on back to the ranch."
"Why don't you just shoot him and be done with it?" another ranch hand asked.
Ben laughed. "Shooting him would be too easy. I want him to feel this and remember it."
A few minutes later, Ben and the men who remained with him took the back way across town. They positioned themselves in the dark passageways in the area around the hotel to keep watch.
Chapter Four
Walker and Jim made their way to the Ace High and settled in at the bar. Even with the dance going on, the saloon was crowded.
"What'll it be?" Antonio, the bartender, asked as he came to wait on them.
"Whiskey," they both answered.
"I heard talk there was some trouble over at the dance tonight," Antonio said as he set their glasses before them on the bar, then quickly filled them up with the potent liquor.
"News travels fast around here," Walker remarked, and took a deep drink. "What did you hear?"
"I heard you were getting the best of Ben until the deputy stepped in and broke things up."
"Yes, he was," Jim agreed. "Ben showed up at the dance just looking for a fight tonight and he got one."
"I had that feeling when he left here. He and his boys had been d
rinking for quite a while and they were getting mean before they headed over to the dance. We were real glad to see them go."
"Let's just hope they don't come back," commented Brenda Wagner, a dark-haired, sultry saloon girl who joined them.
"Deputy Davis ordered Ben to get out of town," Walker told them.
"That's the best news I've heard all night," Brenda remarked. She'd been worrying about herself and the other girls if the rancher and his men came back. They'd been known to get rough some nights. Brenda was smiling as she looked Walker and Jim over with open interest. She purred, "If you two need anything, anything at all, just let me know."
"We will," Jim promised her as she moved off to work the rest of the room.
They got refills on their drinks and went to sit at one of the tables in the back of the bar to relax for a while.
It was getting late when Walker and Jim left the saloon. Jim lived in a small house at the end of town, past the hotel where Walker and Stacy had taken rooms for the night, so they headed that way together.
Ben and the three hands who'd stayed in town with him were ready and waiting. At first, they weren't sure who was with Walker as he approached, but when they saw it was only the banker, they weren't worried. Jim might be tall, but they knew he wasn't much of a fighter, and they believed he would be easy to take down.
Walker and Jim were just coming up on the hotel when Walker sensed something wasn't right. He stopped and looked around, frowning into the night.
"Did you hear something?" he asked Jim.
"No—"
Jim didn't get the chance to say anything more. Ben and his boys rushed them from out of the shadows. Caught off guard and outnumbered as they were, Walker and Jim were dragged back into the alleyway, and the brutal fight was on.
Jim put up a good fight, but one of Ben's men hit him savagely on the head from behind and knocked him unconscious. He collapsed and lay unmoving on the ground as Walker continued to try to hold his own. Even though he was a fierce fighter, Walker was no match for the four men teamed up against him. With his ranch hands keeping Walker restrained, Ben beat him mercilessly.
"Thought I'd do what the deputy told me to do, did you? Thought I'd just ride out of town and not look back?" Ben took great pleasure in taunting Walker as he hit him. "Well, think again—half-breed! I'm going to take care of you, and then I just may go after that pretty little Reynolds girl you were so hot for tonight."
