Arizona Caress: She Feels The Heat Of His Hot Embrace

by Bobbi Smith

  Rori's expression was as angry as Burr had ever seen it, and he wondered what had caused her to react to Broderick this way. Her cheek was bruised and bloodied, and he wondered if he'd misjudged the man he'd just agreed to guide through the mountains. Had Broderick been the one to hit Rori?

  "Rori!! What the hell's goin' on out here?!" he demanded.

  At the sound of her grampa shouting her name, Rori glanced up, and that single moment of distraction was all Chance needed.

  Chance struck out, knocking the weapon away with a powerful, numbing blow. Following through before the fierce, young, would-be warrior had time to recover, he made a grab for the boy, catching him by the shoulders before he could make a dive for the knife.

  "You vicious, bloodthirsty little monster! I ought to beat the living hell out of you, right here, right now!!" Chance prided himself on being fairly cool-headed about things, but when the boy had lunged at him intending to do him great bodily harm, he'd become enraged. The thought of throttling the ungrateful hell-raiser held great appeal.

  The moment Chance struck out at Rori in anger, Big Jake gave a snarling bark and lunged, teeth bared, intending to give Chance a deadly mauling.

  "Big Jake!! No!!" The old tracker came charging forward.

  Only Burr's shout saved Chance as the dog froze at his command. Chance looked from the dog, who was crouching menacingly within striking distance, his hackles raised, to Burr, who was pushing his way through the gawking bystanders, and wondered why the animal had obeyed him.

  "Broderick!! Wait!!"

  "What for?! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't teach this wild animal some manners!" Chance challenged, glaring down at Rori. "Instead of being thankful when I helped him out of trouble, he pulled a damned knife on me."

  "Didn't ask you for no help!!" Rori interrupted defiantly as she met his furious gaze without fear.

  Burr picked up on the fact that Chance had not discovered the truth of Rori's gender, and he wanted to keep it that way. He chose his next words carefully as he answered, "There's a damn good reason, Broderick, Rori's my grandchild."

  Chapter Three

  Chance was stunned, and he glanced over at Burr incredulously. "Your grandson?" He released Rori immediately, and those who'd gathered around lost interest and wandered off.

  "Rori's mine," Burr pronounced firmly, seeming to ignore her anger. In truth, because it was unusual for her to react so strongly to anyone, Burr was very much aware of her mood and troubled by it.

  "You know this lowdown, no-good . . .?!" Rori erupted in fury as she swung around to face her grampa. How could it be that he knew the other man? Was this the man he'd gone into the saloon to meet? A sickening feeling filled her as she realized the name Burr had shouted—Broderick—was the same as that of the man who, they'd been told, was looking for him.

  "Yes, Rori, this is Chance Broderick from Boston. He's the man who's been askin' around town about hiring me to take him up in the mountains."

  "It's no wonder he needs a guide!" she scoffed, giving him a scathing look that told Chance exactly what she thought of him, which wasn't much. "I'm surprised he's managed to find his way here or to even stay alive this long."

  "I'm sure you believe there'd be quite a lot less of me by now if you'd had your way," Chance chuckled tolerantly over the boy's unfailing hostility.

  "You're damn right! If Grampa hadn't distracted me like he did, I'da cut your . . ."

  "Rori!" Burr was growing annoyed with her challenging attitude. "Broderick here is Doug's brother."

  Rori was surprised by this news, for she liked Doug. Whenever they neared his diggings, they always stopped to visit him and the Indian woman, Nilakla, who was working the mine with him. Oddly enough, Rori found herself mentally comparing Chance to his brother, and she was startled to find that she thought him better looking than the fair-haired Doug. Some emotion she could not define jolted through her, and she frowned and looked away, filled with uneasiness at the sensation.

  "Well, he sure ain't nothing like Doug. Doug has sense enough to know when to mind his own damned business!!"

  "From the looks of your face, Rori, Broderick was justified in doing what he did. You look like you got the worst end of it," Burr told her.

  "Aw, that happened before he even got here. Those damned jackasses threw a rock at me. But I had 'em, and I was doing just fine till he came along . . ." she defended herself, suddenly becoming aware of the throbbing in her cheek.

  "I always learn from my mistakes." Chance, tired of the boy's harangue, drawled sarcastically, his gaze slightly mocking as it met Rori's. "The next time it looks like you're in need of my help, I'll restrain myself."

  "There ain't gonna be a next time, mister!" Rori snapped, her pride hurting as badly as her cheek. Her expression was resentful as she glowered up at him, hating him.

  Chance didn't notice the flash of emotion in her eyes, but Burr did, and he felt a chill shudder through his soul. Though he was sure that Rori wasn't aware of it, the look she'd just given Broderick was the same one that had always shone in her mother Atallie's gaze whenever she had looked at Jack. It was a look of yearning that came straight from the heart, and Burr panicked at the memories that assailed him. He couldn't let her come to care for this white man. She'd only be hurt!

  "I hope there won't be a next time. You're looking pretty worse for the wear right now," Chance taunted Rori. "I'd hate to see what you'd look like if you actually lost a fight."

  "You won't live long enough to see the day" she shot back, furiously snatching up the knife he'd knocked from her hand. Her eyes were glittering as she considered first Chance and then the sharp blade.

  "Oh, I don't know." He read Rori's murderous thoughts easily and grinned. "If we're both going to be traveling with Burr, we're going to be around each other a lot."

  "You've agreed to take this greenhorn up in the mountains?" She turned to her grampa.

  Chance replied before Burr had the opportunity. "He has."

  She was so mad, she was fuming. "You aren't gonna last a day, let alone the three weeks it takes to get to the mine, white man The Superstitions are the ruggedest, meanest mountains in the territory."

  "And you've been through them?" Chance asked, his expression mocking.

  "A hundred times!" Rori told him with a proud life of her chin

  Burr's fear for Rori was growing as he watched her react to Broderick. Judging from the way they were striking sparks off each other, he was afraid that she was feeling something for him. Before their untimely deaths, Atallie had often told the story of how she'd fallen in love with Jack at first sight. Burr worried now that the same thing was happening to Rori, for he'd never seen her act this way before, not with anyone.

  Though Chance was Doug's brother, Burr didn't know him well enough to be sure of him. If Rori fell in love with Broderick, he felt certain that she ultimately would be hurt, and he couldn't risk it. He had vowed long ago to protect her from white men, and his earlier resolve to keep Rori away from the handsome Broderick reasserted itself.

  Though the money would have helped out, Burr knew that for Rori's sake and for his own peace of mind he couldn't take the job. He had to end his association with Broderick right then and there, before things went any farther.

  "Broderick, this isn't going to work," Burr announced with finality. "I'm calling the deal off."

  Chance couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What do you mean you're calling it off?" They'd agreed on everything, and now the old man was backing out? Why in the world would he be changing his mind now?

  "You heard me," Burr answered firmly. "I've changed my mind."

  "You gave me your word!" Chance insisted, confused and wondering what had happened.

  Burr, felt bad, but not bad enough to agree to go through with it. "I'm taking it back."

  "Then your word isn't worth a damn cent!"

  Burr's eyes were cold as he regarded him. The insult pained him, but he knew he couldn't make the trip. "
I'll find someone else to take you."

  "I don't want anybody else! You know damn well that you were the only one Doug trusted."

  "I'll get you somebody trustworthy."

  "We had a deal, Burr. What is it, the money? You don't think five hundred dollars is enough to make the trip worth your while?"

  "Five hundred dollars?" Rori gasped, amazed by the sudden change in her grampa and by the revelation that this easterner had been willing to pay so much.

  "Isn't that enough? You want more? How much? Name your price and I'll pay it," Chance demanded heatedly. He was not accustomed to being denied.

  "Forget it, Broderick. Like I said, I'll find you somebody else to guide you." Burr turned his back on the stunned young man and started to walk away. "Whoever I get, I'll send 'em over to you at your hotel."

  "My brother trusted you, Burr. Are you telling me he was wrong?"

  Burr didn't say another word as he stalked off to where their horses were tied and mounted up, leaving Rori and Big Jake to hurry after him.

  Chance was totally frustrated as he stood in the middle of the street watching them go. Burr hadn't struck him as the kind of man who'd lie to him, but he didn't know what had happened to change the tracker's mind. The fact that he was now this close to Doug and yet had no one to take him to him left Chance angrier than ever. Aggravated and annoyed, he strode back into the saloon and ordered a double whiskey. Downing the potent liquor at the bar, he wondered what to do next.

  Hal, a big man with a drooping, sinister-looking mustache and dark hair that had a white streak in it from a losing confrontation with a bullet years before, gave his companion Tom a knowing look as they ambled slowly from the saloon where they'd been drinking for most of the day. Excitement shone in his pale, blue-eyed gaze. The plan he'd conceived was perfect, and he was eager to get Tom outside so he could tell him about it.

  "He's the one," he told Tom gleefully as he mentally rubbed his hands together. "Didn't you hear him and the old man talkin' earlier?"

  "You're sure about that?" Tom, a thin, average-looking man with less than average courage, had his doubts.

  "Hell yes, I'm sure! That old tracker warned him to keep that map safe. It's got to be the one, and all we got to do is get it away from him."

  "I ain't killin' nobody unless I'm gonna get somethin' out of it. You know I don't like killin'."

  Hal gave him a look full of scorn, for he thought his reluctance to murder in cold blood a weakness. Personally, he had always enjoyed killing people, especially when he got to do it slowly. It gave him a great feeling of power. If his plan was going to work, though, he'd have to kill this Broderick quickly and silently. He didn't want anyone finding out right away. They had to have time to get out of town.

  "I got it all figgered out already!" Hal hissed in a low, agitated voice. "We'll follow him back to his hotel and watch him until he goes up to his room. Then, when it gets dark, we'll get him!"

  "But how? What are you gonna do? You can't shoot him," Tom worried. "You do, and half the town will be down on us!"

  "I ain't gonna shoot him, fool," he told him angrily. "I'll use a knife on him. That's nice and quick and quiet."

  "What if he fights back? He's a good-sized man. What if we get caught?"

  Hal exploded in annoyance. "Look, you want out, then get out now! Me, I intend to get that map and find me a gold mine . . . a rich gold mine!!!"

  Though he was not big on murder, Tom definitely had a taste for money, liquor, and women. "You're sure about the gold?"

  "Have I ever led you wrong? We been together for fifteen years, and you're still always afraid. Hell, I don't know why I don't dump you and find somebody who doesn't question me every step of the way!"

  "I ain't questionin' you, Hal." Tom was quick to make amends, for he needed Hal. "I jes' don't like the thought of gettin' hung, that's all. I cheated the hangman once, and I don't intend to give him another chance."

  "You cheated the hangman 'cause I broke you outta jail. Don't worry, neither one of us is ever going back."

  They fell silent as they moved to an inconspicuous place from which to watch. They would wait there until they saw Broderick leave the saloon, and then they would follow him, making sure that they weren't seen. Once they found out what room he was staying in, Hal was set to sneak in, murder him, and steal the treasure map. It was going to work perfectly—he was sure of it.

  Rori looked at her grampa in open confusion as they sat around the fire at their campsite later that evening. "You mean he was serious when he said he'd offered you five hundred dollars just to take him up to Doug's mine?"

  "Yep," Burr answered, but did not elaborate.

  "And you turned him down?" she prodded.

  "You were there. You heard me."

  "How come?"

  "I don't have to explain myself to you, missy," Burr cut her off coldly, not wanting to discuss it. Broderick's accusation that he was not a man of his word troubled him, but there were times when a man had to do what he had to do, no matter what the cost to his pride.

  "But Grampa, it don't make sense . . . your backin' out this way."

  "Makes perfect sense to me," he replied curtly. "I didn't want to do it."

  "Well, who are you gonna get to take him?"

  "I'll think of somebody," Burr said sharply. "Now that's enough about Broderick. I don't want to talk about him anymore."

  Burr's evasive, stubborn ways left Rori frustrated. Knowing him as she did, though, she realized there was no point in trying to get anything else out of him. When Burr quit talking, he quit talking, and even a pack of wild horses wouldn't be able to drag anything else out of him.

  Rori thought of the white man's insult to Burr's honor then and grew angry. She knew her grampa to be an honorable man, and it puzzled her that he would let Broderick get by with what he said. Still, since Burr had agreed to take him and then backed out, it did appear that he had gone back on his word.

  Rori glanced over to where Burr sat by the fire. He looked inexplicably tired and old tonight, and she wondered if it was because of the deal with Broderick. She didn't understand what his motives were in refusing to take him, but she knew now what she had to do. Burr had always taught her that a person's honor was the most important thing in his life. If you had your honor, he always said, you could look any man in the eye without fear. Their family honor had been insulted, and the only way she could put things to rights was to go to Chance Broderick and tell him that she would take him up to Doug's mine herself.

  It wasn't all that long a trip, Rori reasoned. She knew the Superstitions as well as any man. They could leave in the morning and, with any luck, make it to the diggings in a little less than three weeks.

  A small smile quirked her lips as Rori thought of how he would react when she went to him, and she found herself growing excited at the thought. Broderick had been so damned arrogant and hateful! It would serve him right to be on the trail with her for two weeks. So he thought he was as good as she was, did he? Well, she'd show him. She'd run him into the ground and enjoy every minute of it! Not only would she get the satisfaction of watching him make an ass out of himself, she'd also get to prove to him just how good she really was. The challenge of it sent a thrill through her, and she wondered distractedly why it mattered so much.

  Rori glanced at her grampa again and hoped he wouldn't object. The thought gave her pause, but her reasoning was so logical that she couldn't see where he'd have any objection. Broderick needed a guide. Grampa wouldn't do it, so she would.

  She wasn't going to tell him, though, until after the plans were made, that way he couldn't argue with her too much. Confident that it would all work out just fine, Rori sat back to wait until she could get the opportunity to sneak off without his knowing.

  After downing two more drinks at the saloon in an effort to cool his anger, Chance had left the bar and returned to his hotel room to wait for word from Burr. As the hours had slowly passed, his frustration had grown. He was u
sed to being in command of all aspects of his life, and the fact that the old tracker had left him hanging aggravated him. The temptation to hire another guide was great, for Chance was anxious to get to Doug, but his brother's warning not to trust anyone but Burr put him off. He knew he'd have to wait, however impatiently, until he heard from the old tracker again. Leaving his room only long enough to eat dinner, he headed back, hoping to hear from him sometime that evening.

  It was well after dark when Chance returned to his room. It had been light when he'd gone out, and it hadn't occurred to him to leave a lamp burning. The heavily shadowed darkness did not threaten him as he opened the door and started in.

  Hal and Tom had followed Chance discreetly when he left the saloon, and then they had kept watch outside the hotel until they'd seen him leave to go eat. Knowing that his room was empty and that they'd have the opportunity to steal the map without violence, Tom had convinced Hal that they should break in and go through Chance's belongings while he was away. Their search had turned up nothing so they had hidden in the room to await his return. Hal was eager for the kill, and when Chance started unknowingly through the door, he was ready and waiting with his knife drawn.

  Rori had waited until Burr was asleep and then had crept off to town with Big Jake. Keeping a low profile as she always did, she made it through night-shrouded Phoenix without incident. She instructed Jake to wait outside the hotel for her and went on in. As she entered the lobby, Virgil Keeps, the owner, tried to stop her.

  "We don't let your kind in here," Virgil thundered with menace.

  Rori bristled at his ugliness, but faced him without fear. "I ain't here to cause no trouble, and I ain't plannin' on stayin'."

  "Then get out," the man sneered.

  "I came to see Broderick. What room's he in?"

  "I told you to get, and I meant it, Indian. Get out before I throw you out!"

  "Broderick's expectin' me. I got a message for him from Burr, and he'll be plenty mad if he finds out you didn't let me see him." She told the lie baldly, justifying it by telling herself that Chance was expecting to hear from Burr.