That brought the girl to his mind. Sunny. It was a good name for the beauty, with her pale hair and sweet smile. He remembered the silhouette of her curves in the blue flowered dress, and he imagined lying with her in a nest of hay, her body warm against him as he kissed those full, soft lips.
“Who are you kidding?” He chided himself as he mounted up and rode out. “She’s the beauty, you’re the ugly beast. You’d be her worst nightmare. The only way you can ever possess her is to take her by force.”
The thought repulsed him, but the thought of using her for bait in a trap did not. Still, a girl like the delicate Sunny was meant to be cherished and protected by a man who would fight to the death to be the one she chose to give her love to.
Sunny looked out her kitchen window, watching the smoke curl skyward a long moment before she wiped her hands on her apron and went out on the porch. “Dad, there’s something going on over at Nate Champion’s place.”
Swen frowned. “The damned Stock Growers Association. Hurd is convinced Nate and his friends are rustlers.”
“Are they?”
“I don’t honestly know.” Swen smoked his pipe.
“Can’t you do anything to stop him?” She put her small hand on his arm. “I know I never question anything, but I saw some of those farmers in town the other day. It seems to me there’s room enough for all of us in Wyoming.”
“You know how tough things have been for us, honey,” Swen nodded. “Those homesteaders and rustlers must have been stealing my cattle for a couple of years now. I didn’t want to worry you by telling you, but if Hurd hadn’t been helping with the mortgage, we’d probably have lost the ranch by now.”
She frowned at the mention of her dad’s friend. There was something about the beefy rancher that made her uneasy. “Dad, you know good people can’t just stand by and let Uncle Hurd and those hired gunfighters murder everyone in the valley.”
“You’re right, honey.” Swen stood up. “I’ll ride into Krugerville and talk to the sheriff again. This thing has gotten out of hand.”
“It always does when people take the law into their own hands.”
“I should have said something to Hurd a long time ago, but I hated to, since he’s been so good to us.” Swen stepped off the porch and strode toward the barn.
Sunny returned to the house and the apple pie she was making.
In about an hour, she was just pulling it from the oven when she heard hoofbeats and grabbed her father’s rifle, went to peek out the front window. Hurd Kruger and a couple of his cowboys rode up. She frowned. One of them was that Joe and she had never liked the man with his weasel face and sneaking ways.
“Hello the house!” Kruger called as he dismounted.
Sunny came out on the porch, still carrying the rifle. Kruger grinned at her and fingered his black mustache.
“You’re smart to be cautious, Sunny, with all the trouble in the county.”
She started to say it was trouble he and the Stock Growers Association had created, but decided it would only cause trouble for her dad.
“Where’s your father?” Kruger looked around.
“Uh, out on the south forty checking fences,” Sunny leaned the rifle against the wall. She knew the rancher wouldn’t like it if he found out where Swen had really gone.
Kruger took a deep breath. “Umm, do I smell fresh apple pie?”
“I just took one out of the oven.” She knew she ought to be polite and offer him a slice, but she didn’t want him to stay.
Kruger turned to Joe. “Take our horses, and you men go water them. They’ve had a hard ride. I’ll visit with Miss Sunny a while.” He dismounted and took off his Stetson, revealing black hair that gleamed like shoe polish, as the others rode off to the barn.
“Where are your usual men, Wilson and Smitty?”
Kruger’s beefy face frowned. “Homesteaders got them; lynched them both.”
“What? From what I’ve seen of the farmers, they don’t seem like that kind of people.”
“Oh, but of course they’ve got a sweet little thing like you fooled. They’ve been in my house, too, took that fine rifle I set such store by.”
“With all the gunfighters you’ve brought in, I’d think your place was pretty safe.”
“Well, from now on, I’m bringing that guard dog I bought inside so if there is the slightest noise, I’ll know about it.”
There was a moment of awkward silence.
“Uh, Miss Sunny,” he fiddled with the brim of his Stetson, “ain’t you gonna invite me in for pie?”
There was no way of getting out of it without being disagreeable. “Uh, of course, Uncle Hurd, come on in.” She didn’t really want to be alone with the man, but she was too timid to know how to handle it. He followed her through the house to the kitchen, walking too close for comfort. She managed to get a chair between them.
“Sit down, and I’ll make some coffee to go with it.”
He took a chair, grinning up at her. “You’re a great cook and pretty, too. It’s about time you was thinking about gettin’ married, Sunny.”
She busied herself at the stove dishing up the pie. With him sitting down, she could see the bald spot on the crown on his head, despite the blackness of his hair and mustache. There was gray at the roots of that black hair.
“My dad needs me. I reckon it’ll be a long time before I marry, Uncle Hurd.”
She set the pie before him, and before she could move away, he took her hand. “You know, I wish you would just call me Hurd. Uncle Hurd makes me feel so old.”
He was old enough to be her father, she thought and pulled her hand away. “Let me get you some coffee.” She busied herself with the pot, wishing one of the cowboys would come to the door or her dad would come home.
“Umm,” he took a big bite. “Yep, you’re a good cook, Sunny, and you keep a tidy house. I’ll bet you’d be good with kids, too.”
She had a feeling about what he was driving at, and the thought horrified her. She poured him a cup of coffee without looking at him. “Maybe I should take some pie out to your men.”
“Aw, let them come up to the house for it,” he dismissed the thought with a shrug, looking up at her, while sucking his teeth. “You know, Sunny, I’m the richest man in the county, and lots of women been hoping I’d ask them to marry.”
“Oh? There’s that nice widow, Mrs. Crandall, if you’re wanting to marry again.” She busied herself at the stove, not wanting to get too close to him.
He snorted. “Much too old.”
“Well, there’s that new school marm—”
“Not pretty enough.” He sipped his coffee. “I can be very choosy because the woman that marries me will have anything she wants. In fact, I’m about to build a new house.”
“That’s nice.” She wished fervently that one of his men or her dad would come in and interrupt this conversation.
He leaned back in his chair and beamed at her. “Got in mind to build myself a real mansion, good as anything from back east. Yep, the boys are gonna start clearing that little hill tomorrow. You know, the one with such a good view of the valley.”
“I’m sure it will be lovely.”
“It’ll have the best of everything: them stained-glass windows and turrets, best furniture shipped in from back east and lots of servants, maybe even one of them fancy butlers. Why, if I decide to marry again, the lady wouldn’t have to lift a finger—there’ll be maids to do her bidding and lots of trips back east to buy fine dresses.”
She tried to think of something to say—anything to change the course of this conversation. In her mind, she imagined being married to Hurd Kruger. She was barely aware of what it was that men and women did to beget children, but even the idea of getting into bed with this potbellied man made her shudder.
“You know,” Kruger stood up, still sucking his teeth. “I could use a woman’s opinions on what should go into a house. Maybe this week we could take a buggy and drive up there so you could see it.”
“I’m very busy looking after Dad,” she mumbled.
“You know, when I marry, I’m gonna be generous to the whole family, forget debts and give a life of ease to old relatives.”
She thought about how hard her father worked and felt guilty. She knew what Hurd was hinting at, and she pictured the good things his money could do to help her father. Hurd stepped forward like he was going to put his hands on her shoulders, and she sidestepped, not looking at him. “I—I think I’ll take some pie out to your men,” she gulped and grabbed some forks, saucers, and the pie pan, and fled out the door.
Hurd watched her go, cursing silently. Maybe he was handling things all wrong; after all, she was a shy, innocent little thing. Maybe he was being too bold. He’d have to hold back, although it had been all he could do just now to stop himself from grabbing her and kissing her hard. He ached to throw her down across that kitchen table and take her like he’d taken many of the younger women who had worked in his house.
He shook his head. Everything with this pretty thing had to be correct and above board. He had waited a long time for Sunny Sorrenson to grow up so he could make her his. He’d been in love with her from the first time he saw her, and she had been only a lovely child then.
He would ask Swen’s permission to court her, and it would be hard for the old man to say no to him. Yep, it would all be done properly. Then he would put on the biggest wedding Johnson County had ever seen. He would have the new mansion finished by then, and his new wife would get the best of everything his money and power could provide.
He stepped to the back door and watched her dishing up pie for his men. He saw the lust in their eyes, but none would dare approach her because Hurd had made it clear that he had his eye on this beauty for the future Mrs. Kruger.
Swen. Hurd frowned. The old man would probably be glad to have Hurd for a son-in-law, despite all his talk about sending his daughter away to school. Who wouldn’t want to have the richest rancher in the county for a son-in-law?
Well, first he had to finish running all the nesters out of Wyoming. Then he would talk to Swen and start courting Sunny. She’d be swept away by his devotion and all the pretties he was going to buy her. And in turn, she would give him strong sons to help him run his empire. He pictured cold nights with the beautiful Sunny in his bed. Oh, he’d be good to her, and she’d love him as he adored her.
He went out the back door and strode to the barn, smiling at the girl as he did so. “Okay, boys, we got to go; finish up that pie.”
The men nodded, gobbling the treat and saying thanks to the lady.
As they all mounted up, Hurd smiled at the girl. “Now, Miss Sunny, I meant it about you coming over to help me make some choices on that fancy new house.”
“Sure, Uncle Hurd,” she said and looked away.
“Tell your pa we came by. Tell him he can quit worryin’ about Nate Champion and his friends rustling cattle.”
Her lovely face paled “What happened?”
“Oh, nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about.” Hurd grinned and sucked his teeth. “Swen will understand. Well, adios.”
He wheeled his horse, and the others followed, trotting out of the barnyard. Sunny stared after them, annoyed with Kruger’s attitude. He treated her like some pretty, stupid doll, but then a lot of men treated women that way. They didn’t think women had any brains or feelings about anything. Of course she’d been raised that way, too, and sometimes she felt guilty that she wanted to rebel. She felt too deep a debt to her father to embarrass him by not being a dutiful, obedient daughter.
An hour later, her dad rode in and dismounted. Sunny went out to greet him.
“Hurd Kruger was here with some of his men.”
“What’d you tell him?”
“I told him you were out mending fences.” She started to tell him about Kruger’s attitude toward her, decided against it. Dad had enough worries right now without that, and besides, he might think marrying Kruger was a good idea.
Swen sighed as he tied up his horse. “I don’t know if the sheriff can’t or won’t do anything, although, to give him credit, I don’t think he and his deputies would stand much of a chance against all those Texas gunfighters.”
“They got Nate Champion,” Sunny said as they went inside.
“I got mixed feelings about that,” Swen muttered. “I don’t know if they’ve been rustling beef like Hurd says, but I don’t think you ought to shoot men like mad dogs.”
“So the sheriff in Krugerville isn’t going to do anything ?” Sunny looked at him anxiously as she poured him a cup of coffee.
He sat down at the kitchen table with a sigh. “He said it was out of hand. He said he might wire the governor.”
“Isn’t the governor a friend of the Stock Growers Association ?” Sunny cut him a piece of pie.
“Well, yes, but if the violence gets too much, people will hold him responsible and vote him out. The sheriff said maybe Governor Barber might get the president to send in troops from Fort McKinney.”
“It’s going to be too late,” Sunny predicted.
“I’m afraid so,” Swen said as he ate the pie. “I wish now I hadn’t been so weak when Hurd first talked about this. But I’m so beholden to him for helping me keep the ranch, I guess I’d go along with about anything he wanted.”
Sunny didn’t say anything. Yes, her dad was very beholden to Kruger. No doubt if the rich rancher asked for her hand, Swen would think it was a good idea, or at least, very hard to say no to.
“Dad, don’t feel guilty. You’ve done everything you can do. Maybe Sheriff Angus from Buffalo will get involved. That area is more farmers and small ranchers.”
He frowned and paused with his coffee cup halfway to his lips. “I just hope Hurd doesn’t find out who went to the sheriff in Krugerville. It’d be real hard to get back in his good graces if that happened.”
Sunny bit her lip and kept quiet. Yes, her father might think marrying Kruger was a good idea. It would certainly solve a lot of their problems. “Uncle Hurd is going to build a fine new house,” she said. “He wanted us to come over and have a look at what he’s planning.”
“Wonder what brought that on in the midst of a range war?” Swen mused and leaned back in his chair.
“Who knows?” Sunny lied as she shrugged. If her dad wanted her to marry Kruger, she wasn’t certain she was brave enough to say no. She had always been such a good, obedient daughter that people remarked on it. They didn’t know she felt so guilty about being the cause of her mother’s death.
Swen finished his pie and went out to the barn to check on his new foal while she tidied up the kitchen. When she took a deep breath, she could still smell the smoke from the Champion ranch. Things had gotten so bad that maybe only government troops could bring order to the chaos now.
It was turning dusk as Kruger rode back to his ranch, still thinking about Sunny Sorrenson. Her lips were so soft and moist, and she smelled of some delicate scent, like maybe lilacs. He’d like his big new house to smell like her. If Sunny would just agree to marry him, he would buy her anything, give her anything she wanted. He already had money, power, the biggest ranch in the county, but nothing mattered if he couldn’t have the beautiful blonde as his wife.
He’d never even admitted it to himself, but he’d built this cattle empire bigger in the last four years just so he could lay it at Sunny Sorrenson’s feet. After they were wed, they’d take the train back east anytime she wanted to go or maybe down to Cheyenne, and he’d buy her the fanciest surrey in Wyoming with a pair of matched horses in shiny harness to pull it. When she’d drive past with his children at her side, men would take off their hats respectfully, and women would whisper in envy, “There goes Mrs. Hurd Kruger—her husband is the richest, most powerful man in the state. And aren’t his sons handsome?”
And having her in bed with him and making love to her as often as he liked. Ahh. Kruger was still grinning to himself as he dismissed his men. “Whe
re’s Joe?”
The cowboy shrugged. “Don’t know, sir—think he was checking on what happened after we left the Champion place.”
Hurd nodded. “He’ll report in then. It’s been a long day. We’ll bed down and get an early start in the morning.”
Hurd was satisfied with his day’s work as the cowboys rode off, and he started into the house.
About that time, Joe rode in at a gallop, his white mare covered with foam. He was out of the saddle even as he reined in at the hitching rail. “Boss, something terrible has happened!”
“What?”
Joe took a deep breath. “After we left the Champion place, that red-haired sheriff, Angus, from Buffalo rode up with a bunch of nesters.”
Hurd swore under his breath. “Wonder who alerted them?”
“Anyway, the sheriff’s posse chased the ranchers over to the T.A. ranch and had them pinned down there.”
“Somebody wire the governor for help?” Hurd frowned.
“Tried to,” Joe spat to one side, “but we cut the telegraph wires ourselves, remember?”
Now Hurd really cursed. “They get a rider out to Cheyenne ?”
Joe nodded. “Governor Barber contacted Washington, and President Harrison sent in the troops from Fort McKinney. Stopped the nesters from wiping us out.”
“I thought we had this thing over and done,” Hurd griped and strode up and down the porch. “What’s gonna happen?”
“The troops took all the big ranchers in to jail.”
“They can’t do that. The governor will get them out.”
Joe grinned like a big rat. “Can’t press no charges if witnesses leave the state or disappear.”
Hurd grinned. “That’s right. Take a couple of them Texas gunslingers, find out who might press charges, and take care of them. After things cool off, we’ll start all over again.”
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