The Reward

by Beth Williamson

  Alex shook his head and waggled a bony finger at her. “You are lying, Isabella. You know he is alive, both you and Damasco. And I know what you’ve been doing with the Circle O. You want the land for the railroad. Well, you’re not going to get it.”

  Isabella’s eyes grew hard. “And how are you going to stop me, viejo?”

  Calling him old was supposed to hurt, but it didn’t. He knew he was old, but he was still kicking.

  “I already have. Rancho Zarza will be Malcolm’s when I die.”

  She threw the soiled napkin across the room where it splattered against the closed door.

  “You lie.”

  “No, it’s true. And Malcolm will stop you from hurting Leigh or the Circle O anymore.”

  Her lips curled back into a snarl. “Rancho Zarza will never belong to that bastardo. We will have it and the Circle O. You cannot stop us.”

  In a blur of movement, she grabbed a pillow from the chair beside her and pressed it into his face. He couldn’t breathe; he couldn’t push her away. He knew he was going to die and everyone would assume it would be from natural causes. As he tried desperately not to black out, to will Lorena to come back in, he knew it was too late. His last thought was that he was so happy to have made peace with his beloved son.

  ———

  Isabella was sweating. It was something she did not do. Ever. But Alejandro had forced her hand. He had made her angry and tried to ruin her plans. But she stopped him. She pressed and pressed the pillow against his hated face until he stopped struggling and still she kept it there. Finally, after what seemed like enough time, she stepped back from him and pulled the pillow away. His head lolled against the chair. She threw the pillow onto the other chair and approached him warily.

  She held her hand under his nose for a moment. Nothing. The old bastard was finally dead. For years she had hoped for this. None of the accidents she’d rigged had ever worked right. Somehow God had answered her prayers and given him a wasting sickness. She had done a jig the night after the doctor gave them the news.

  He’d forced her hand before his illness could take him, and now she was free at last. She had to find Damasco and put their plans for the raid on Circle O into motion. It had to be tonight before any legal paperwork muddied up the waters.

  But first she would take another bath. She hated to spend the rest of the day sweaty. Before her bath though, she should tell everyone the patron was dead.

  With one last smile at her husband’s dead body, she picked up her skirts and ran for the door.

  “Lorena! Lorena! Come quickly. The patron has collapsed!” she screamed after she opened the door.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Andy was standing in the hallway, wringing his hands when Leigh opened the door. His narrow face was flushed, his blond hair sticking up like he’d been pulling at it.

  “Oh, thank Gawd. Miz Leigh, there’s a whole bunch of people here. A woman dressed in trousers like you, and five other men that look a lot like her, and then a big sumbitch. Bigger than Herm—I mean Malcolm. Black hair and the coldest, meanest eyes I ever did see. He’s a gunslinger. Mark my words. I could see it. I don’t know who they are, but they wanted Herm—I mean Malcolm. Miz Leigh, ya gotta—”

  “Okay, Andy, okay. Malcolm and I will sort this out. Don’t fret.”

  She patted his shoulder and he shuddered under her hand.

  “Thank you, Miz Leigh. I was gettin’ powerful worried, what with you and Malcolm in there so long.”

  He seemed to realize what he said because his cheeks turned an even deeper shade of crimson.

  “I mean, oh, hell, why do I even open my mouth?” He sounded so miserable with himself.

  “Andy, just shut up and let’s go downstairs. Okay?”

  He nodded. When she turned, suppressing a grin at Andy’s antics, she realized Malcolm was long gone. He must have gone outside without her. Curious.

  Leigh walked down the hallway and the stairs as quickly as she could. She opened the door from the kitchen to see Malcolm with his arms wrapped around the woman Andy had mentioned.

  Her stomach dropped to her feet and her heart squeezed so tightly, she had trouble getting a breath in. What the hell was that? Jealousy?

  She surveyed the circle of men behind the hugging couple. All big men, except the one who was huge. Topped her by more than six inches and probably a hundred pounds. A muscle in his jaw ticked as his gaze fastened completely on Malcolm.

  The other men were dusty, but otherwise looked clean and reputable. Each one carried pistols slung low on their hips. Leigh didn’t know who the hell they were, although Malcolm obviously did.

  ———

  Malcolm hugged Nicky until he felt more in control of himself. To walk outside and see Nicky, Tyler and all her brothers gathered there. For him. Because he needed help. It moved him so much he actually felt like crying.

  “You okay?” Nicky whispered to him.

  “Sí,” he whispered right before stepping back. He held both her hands in his own and looked at her. She was still as slender as she ever was, wearing her jeans and blue chambray shirt, her favorite dusty boots and brown flat-crowned hat. Her green eyes were happy, glad to see him.

  “How did you get here?”

  “The railroad. It stops only about fifty miles north of here.”

  Mention of the railroad made his gut tighten, but he kept a careful rein on that story until they could talk and plan.

  “You look muy bonita. Are the babies good?” Nicky had given birth to twins three months earlier when he was at their ranch in Wyoming.

  “Yes, they’re fine. I left them with Mama and Papa.”

  He heard a catch in her voice and cocked his head. “You did not want to leave them, no? Then why did you travel all the way to Texas?”

  She sighed and looked at him with what he thought was exasperation. “I told you before, you are my adopted brother. My family. When you are in trouble, I am there for you.”

  “And I couldn’t keep her home unless I glued her ass to a chair. And even then, she’d probably climb up in a wagon, rip out the seat and drive herself here,” came Tyler’s voice from behind him.

  Malcolm smiled at Nicky although Tyler couldn’t see him. “Good to see you too, bounty hunter.”

  “I notice the accent’s completely gone now, eh, amigo?”

  He turned to look at Nicky’s husband. “Sí, I am back home. Everyone now knows me by my real name.”

  Nicky frowned. “And what exactly is your name? Tyler thought he was being funny by not telling me. Much less how he knew to even come here to this little town in Texas. All he said was, it has to do with Hermano.”

  Malcolm felt like a mule had kicked him this time. Tyler had known? Tyler had arranged for all of them to be here? For him?

  The big man finally smiled, his black mustache spreading out over his lip.

  “Sheriff Joe knew my Pa, so I’ve been in contact with him for weeks. He told me about some trouble at the Circle O, mentioned some strange Mexican that was working for its boss, Leigh. He wired me to say it was coming to a head and that I’d better come if I was coming.”

  Malcolm had no idea what to say to Tyler. They’d been at odds with each other since they had met more than a year ago in a bandito hideout in west Texas. Malcolm had tried to get the bounty hunter to give up his information using his knife, which hadn’t worked. Several months ago, when he’d helped track down and save Nicky’s brother Jack and the sweet chica Rebecca, Tyler had not even been remotely friendly.

  But Tyler had kept track of him, and came when he most needed help. Nicky was right. It was family. Something he hadn’t remembered, or forgot on purpose. Family.

  One of Nicky’s brothers cleared his throat. “Uh, Hermano, do you think you can introduce us?”

  “Yes, Malcolm, please do.” Leigh’s voice came from behind him.

  Santa Maria!

  He had forgotten about Leigh. He turned and found her standing at the foot of
the steps, hands on her hips, hat pulled down low, her mouth a little pinched. Those hazel eyes were guarded and gazed steadily at him. Her hastily donned clothes were still a bit untucked, but he didn’t care. She was his.

  He walked over to stand at her side and slid his arm around her taut shoulders.

  “Malcolm? Is that your real name?” Nicky asked.

  “Sí, Malcolm Ross. Everyone, this is Leigh O’Reilly, owner of the Circle O, and…my oldest friend. My best friend. Leigh, this is Nicky Calhoun and her husband Tyler.”

  Tyler nodded and Nicky walked over to pump Leigh’s hand. “I am so happy to meet you. Oldest friend? You knew him as a child? I think we need to find some biscuits and coffee.”

  Leigh’s expression softened a bit at Nicky’s enthusiastic greeting, but she still regarded everyone with a suspicious eye.

  “These are Nicky’s brothers. Ray, Trevor, Brett, Ethan and Jack.”

  Each man in turn tipped his hat to Leigh. All of the Malloy brothers had brownish hair and green or blue eyes. Wide, expressive faces and big builds ran in the family too. Nicky only got the height, however. In fact, Nicky and Leigh were about the same height. He’d never noticed before. Where Nicky was reed slender, though, Leigh was curvy and round.

  Just the thought of Leigh’s curves had his mind wandering. He had to clamp down on it real fast before it became obvious what he was thinking about.

  “Let’s make some coffee so we can talk about what’s going on,” Nicky said as she ushered Leigh back into the house.

  Malcolm watched helplessly as Nicky took Leigh inside. His emotions were too raw, too exposed for him to immediately follow. He sensed someone beside him.

  “So is she your woman?”

  He turned to look at Ray. The oldest of Nicky’s brothers, he’d been dealt a few raw deals in his life, took a lot on his shoulders, and was the most serious of all her brothers. His intense green eyes were very much like his sister’s. They looked at him steadily from beneath his wide-brimmed black hat.

  “Sí. She is mine.” Malcolm was surprised by the sheer certainty in his voice.

  Ray shrugged. “Just asking. She looks like a good, strong, steady woman.”

  His description was what most people saw. Leigh was all of that and so much more. She was smart, brave and beautiful. The childhood version of that “steady” woman was hiding in there, too. The reckless, fun-loving Leigh who never shied away from having a good time or a challenge. Life had kicked her so many times, she’d put up a wall to keep people out.

  Just like he had done. Dios! They were two of a kind. Two castles made of stone, standing side by side. Did he dare raise the portcullis and lower the drawbridge?

  “Hey, Hermano, I mean Malcolm, can you show us where to put the horses? I think mine’s about to start gnawing on Brett’s.” Jack was always the funny brother, full of mirth and laughter. Malcolm had helped Jack a few months ago with some outlaws who wanted to hurt Rebecca.

  He turned and smiled at Jack, whose laughing blue eyes set him apart from his brothers. Brett and Ethan resembled Ray a great deal. They were a bit more serious than Jack, but not quite as serious as Ray. Trevor was another story—the charmer who did his best to get into every woman’s drawers with his own brand of honey.

  “Just don’t stable him near my roan or he will get his own ass bitten,” Malcolm warned.

  “You still have that mean son of a bitch? He already took a bite of me.”

  Tyler and the five Malloys followed him to the barn after grabbing their horses’ reins. It gave Malcolm a few minutes’ reprieve to catch his breath. The last twenty-four hours had been so intense, and the next forty-eight promised to be even worse. The storm clouds were gathering over the Circle O.

  ———

  Leigh was nervous, and she was never nervous. Well, apparently there was an exception to that rule. She wouldn’t have believed it herself if there weren’t butterflies dancing around in her stomach like a stampede. Nervous! This was Malcolm’s friend Nicky, the one friend he told her he’d made in fifteen years. The friend who reminded him what family was all about. And she certainly was a woman. A very beautiful woman with thick, curly reddish brown hair shot with gold, gorgeous green eyes, perfect skin, and she was tall. What did Malcolm think when he compared them? A deer versus a buffalo?

  She had stirred up the coals in the stove, pumped some fresh water for coffee and put the pot on the stove. That was one thing she could do pretty well. She wondered where Mrs. Hanson was. The biscuits on the stove were cold but edible. Grabbing a plate, she put the six remaining biscuits on it and brought it to the table. As she sat, Nicky framed her face with her hands and leaned on her elbows, staring at Leigh.

  “I thought Malcolm sprang from a cactus patch.”

  Leigh was momentarily at a loss for words. “Um…what?”

  Nicky smiled. “He never told me a thing about his past. He’s been a very private man the whole time I’ve known him. Can you tell me a little bit about his growing-up years?”

  Leigh hesitated. “Some of it’s not pretty enough to tell.”

  Nicky frowned. “I kind of sensed that from the beginning.”

  “Well, let’s see. His father is Alejandro Zarza who owns the neighboring ranch. His mother is Leslie Ross, who was the cook at Alex’s ranch. Malcolm was a bit of a surprise, but very much loved by Leslie. She was a wonderful mother for him to have growing up.”

  Nicky looked surprised. “His mother is Scottish?”

  Leigh laughed and nodded. “Yup. And from the hills of Scotland, too. Her brogue was thicker than coffee on a cattle drive.”

  Nicky laughed and slapped the table with her hand. “Damn. I never would have guessed…so his father is Spanish?”

  She nodded. “One of the old Spanish hacienda owners who helped Texas during the war with Mexico. They’ve been loyal citizens for two generations now.”

  “What was his favorite thing to do growing up?”

  Leigh thought back to when they were children and couldn’t suppress the grin. “Play pretend.”

  That got Nicky snorting and slapping her thigh. In a minute, tears were going to roll from her eyes.

  “Oh my God, that’s too funny. I can’t imagine it.”

  “Oh, it’s true. We’d get the leftover clothes from the household and sneak it to our tree house in the orchard. We’d play knights or soldiers or pretend we were Indians.”

  Nicky’s smile was pure satisfaction. “I’m gonna tuck that little bit of information away and save it for a rainy day.”

  Leigh didn’t want to know why or how Nicky was going to use it.

  “Has he mentioned me to you?” Nicky asked.

  Leigh’s stomach cramped up again. “Yes, he told me about you. He said you were the reason he came back home.”

  She couldn’t help it, her voice caught on the last two words and she had the crazy notion to cry again. To remember that he had not come home for her, to find her, see her, was enough to rip the scab off a wound and let it bleed again.

  Nicky put her hand on hers. “Leigh, Malcolm loves you. I could see it in his eyes. He may have lost his way for a while, but he found it again, right?”

  Leigh nodded, not particularly reassured. “But along the way, he met you. And, you’ll pardon me, but compared to you, I’m not exactly a gold mine.”

  Surprise shone in Nicky’s eyes. “You can’t think that he compared you to me.”

  Leigh’s silence was her answer.

  “He never compared you to me. Leigh, he compared me to you.” The earnestness in Nicky’s expression was unmistakable.

  Leigh wanted so badly to believe Nicky she actually felt her eyes prick with tears, again. “I don’t know if I believe it.”

  Nicky slapped her forehead with one hand. “It’s amazing to me that the human race has even made a new generation based on the stupidity of ours.”

  She took Leigh’s hands in her own and locked their gazes. “The expression on Herm—I mean Malcolm
’s face, it’s going to take me a bit to get used to that, when he introduced you. There was joy and love. Two things I have never seen on him in the four years I’ve known him. He was proud to introduce you. He…he could barely keep his eyes off you to look at us.”

  The lantern of hope, long since snuffed out, flared to life in Leigh’s heart. Could it be true? Could Malcolm really love her?

  The tin coffee pot top rattled as the water began boiling. She stood to get the coffee and catch her breath. The old Leigh would have run out the door and found some chore to hide behind. The new Leigh was ready to face the possibility she could get her heart broken, or find the reward of a lifetime.

  ———

  There wasn’t enough room for all of them in the house, so they ate dinner in the bunkhouse with the hands. Old Moses strutted around like the cock of the walk when the Malloys politely complimented him on his beef stew. Andy Parker kept his distance from Tyler and eyed the rest of them from beneath the brim of his hat, poised to run as soon as any of them tried anything.

  Malcolm sat beside Leigh, while Tyler and Nicky sat across from them. Malcolm could hardly keep from touching Leigh. Just the heat from her leg was enough to make the hairs on his leg stand at attention. Not to mention other parts of his body. Dios! Even his damn nipples were erect.

  Leigh was recounting the last two years’ worth of trouble on the Circle O. Each time Malcolm heard it, he grew angrier. When he’d heard how many times Leigh had been shot at, which he didn’t know about, he grew absolutely furious.

  “You did not tell me about someone shooting at you,” he said through clenched teeth.

  She turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised. “I didn’t think I owed you a day-by-day explanation of my life for the last fifteen years. Were you going to do the same for me?”

  Her barb hit home. He hadn’t told her anything really, but the thought that someone had tried to blatantly blow her head off her body was painful. Loving someone as hardheaded, stubborn and secretive as he was going to make her life more interesting, more challenging and certainly never boring.

  Was that what he was concerned about? Being bored with life? Or was it sharing every day with the same person? Something he never, in his wildest imagining, thought would happen. Not for a bastard like him. A dark man who lived in the darker shadows of life.