As Clarissa watched Travis ride off, she felt her anger mounting. She had said too much, and she knew he had lied to her in those faked telegrams and about his trip. Like her father, he wanted Rana, and he was only using her to get his way! She was growing weary of all these deceits and setbacks, and her passion for him was waning…
It was after everyone else had gone to bed for the night that Travis and Rana set into motion their plan to unblock the river. “First we steal the dynamite, then we blow it to hell,” Travis explained. “Let’s get our weapons ready, micante; this is going to be a long and busy night.” He smiled into her glowing eyes and caressed her cheek.
“I am happy you are taking me with you,” she murmured.
“I think you’ve proven you’re as good, if not better, than me,” he teased, then kissed her. “Sorry about last night. I was exhausted.”
Rana cuddled up to his firm body and ran her fingers up his back. “We will have many nights together when this foe is defeated.”
Travis’s passions were stirred by her touch and fragrance. He warned huskily, “If you don’t stop that, they’ll begin now.”
Rana laughed softly and reminded him, “We must take the weapon tonight, before he thinks to hide it. You told me it is the only way to clear the river. We must wait, but we wait together.”
“You’re so smart and clearheaded. I should put you in charge of this assignment.” He stroked her silky tresses and gazed at her.
“It is not so, mihigna. My heart beats as swiftly as the war drum, and my head spins at your nearness as if I had taken the peyote button. If you kiss me again, I fear all is lost for our raid,” she cautioned playfully, even though she knew her words were accurate.
“Let’s get moving, wife.” He gathered his bow and quiver and slung them over one shoulder. Then he checked his two knives and stuffed a rawhide strip into his pocket, for this was a night for silent weapons.
Dressed in concealing dark colors and with Rana’s flaming hair covered, they rode stealthily to within a mile of Harrison’s home. They dismounted and left their horses tethered, and continued gingerly on foot. Having heard from Rana about the place where Harrison was hiding the branding irons, Travis decided to look there first.
As silently and secretly as Apache warriors, they made their way to the barn. It was Saturday night and most of the hands were in town. After pointing out the area to Travis, Rana stood guard while he pried loose the boards. He grinned as his gaze touched on the branding irons and five sticks of dynamite. He removed only the explosives, stuffed them into a cotton sack, then replaced the boards.
“Let’s go,” he murmured against her ear, indicating his success.
They cautiously retraced their steps and headed for the dam. Rana stayed with the horses while Travis checked the blockage and carefully placed the sticks of dynamite. Time seemed to pass so slowly in the darkness and she wondered what was taking him so long. Her nerves were on edge and she continually licked her dry lips and scanned the shadows for him.
Suddenly a hand clamped over her mouth and a strong arm banded her body, locking her arms to her sides; it was not Travis’s manly odor she detected and she froze.
A rough voice whispered in her ear, “Stay real quiet and still or I’ll slice your throat. We finally caught you, you little sneak. Where’s your partner? If you shout when I move my hand, you’re both dead. Understand?” he warned, shaking her roughly.
Rana knew she had to stall for time. She nodded, then remained motionless. The hand slowly moved from her mouth. She knew the danger of shouting a warning to Travis, so she held her silence until he asked again, “Where’s your partner? What’s he doing?”
“Looking at the dam,” she murmured softly, trying to disguise her feminine voice, forgetting her figure would give her away. She knew they could not sneak up on Travis with his keen instincts. What she had to do was entice one to go seek him; then she could battle the other one.
“Go find him and bring him over here,” the voice commanded.
“It’s probably Kincade. You go, Fargo, and let me guard this one,” the other man argued nervously, unintentionally revealing her captor’s identity.
Rana shuddered, for she knew that name. Hatred began to burn within her, and she silently vowed she would free herself and slay this man. Suddenly she was turned and shoved into the moonlight and her dark covering was yanked away. With surprise, she noted the effect of her appearance on the ugly brute.
“It can’t be you. You’re dead,” he scoffed as he trembled.
Rana realized he thought she was Marissa, and she used that fear and hesitation to her advantage. “I have returned to punish all who harm those I love. Go from this place or I will strike you dead.”
Fargo was pale and shaky. He stammered, “Don’t go… go blaming me f-for what I did. It was… MiMister Caldwell’s orders.”
“I will slay him, and I will slay you if you do not leave swiftly,” she threatened, raising her voice slightly in the hope that he wouldn’t notice but that Travis would be warned of their peril.
“Be quiet, girl,” the other man hissed. “I’ll go find her partner. Let’s git this done, and git off Crandall’s property. You know he’s been posting guards ever’ where, and that Kincade’s back.”
Fargo did not respond as he stared at Marissa’s image in the flickering moonlight. Unaware of Fargo’s involvement with Marissa, the other man frowned and slipped into the shadows to head for the dam, having been told by Harrison to check it every hour to make sure no one tried to tamper with it.
“Release me, dead man,” she ordered harshly, glaring at him.
Unwittingly, Fargo obeyed. Without warning or delay, Rana yanked her knife from her sheath and buried it deep within his chest. Stunned, Fargo gaped at the knife butt protruding from his chest, then stared at the woman before him. Rana stared back, her eyes cold as ice.
“It weren’t my fault,” he wailed, then collapsed at her feet.
“He is dead, Mother,” she whispered into the sultry night.
The other man leapt from the trees and grabbed her, striking her in the abdomen to disable her. Because of her years of Indian training, she took the blow without crying out in pain or surprise. Had she done otherwise, she might have drawn more attackers to the location, and a true warrior would never endanger his companions; he would suffer, or die, in protective silence.
The man was torn roughly from her by a leather thong around his throat. “You filthy bastard! Don’t you ever touch her!” Travis warned, snarling like a wild dog. As the terrified man struggled, Travis tightened the rawhide rope until the man was dead.
He dropped the man’s body to the ground, then reached for his beloved. “Are you hurt, Rana?” he asked worriedly.
She smiled and shook her head. “I knew we could conquer them,” she stated confidently.
Travis glanced at Fargo’s body and said quietly, “I see you got him.” He was very much aware that even if one killed a man out of necessity, it was never easy, and he wondered what Rana was feeling.
She looked into his eyes and said mysteriously, “He is an old enemy. It was my right and duty to slay him. I will speak of it later.”
Travis dragged the bodies into the dry river bed. “That storm has the river begging this dam for release. When she goes, she should take those bodies a long way off. You go back to the house like we planned. I’ll send their horses running and cover our tracks. I’ll give you twenty minutes, then I’ll light the charges and get there as quickly as I can. We need to be seen there after the explosion.”
“Be careful, my love,” she told him as they embraced.
“You be careful, too. There might be other varmints around.”
Rana quickly made her way home and slipped into the stable to return the horses to their stalls. They had ridden bareback to save time and to avoid the noise of squeaking leather saddles. Nathan had made it easy for them to move about the ranch by posting guards in places that allowed them
to go and return unseen.
When she entered the house, Nathan seized her and hugged her to him. “How did it go? Are you all right?” he asked breathlessly.
“All is good… Grandfather. We must be ready to act.” She hurriedly changed her clothes and awaited the blast, which would be heard and felt this distance away as well as on the adjoining ranch.
When it occurred, Harrison Caldwell was on his way home from town, from working off his frustrations in the Silver Shadow Saloon. He knew that if he raced to Nathan’s house, he could see the guilty party returning to report. He clicked his reins roughly across his animal’s shoulders and prodded him forcefully with the stirrups.
He sped to Nathan’s stable, where hands were saddling horses and preparing to investigate the new blast. Nathan and Rana ran from the house toward the corral, and Travis was right behind them, buckling on his gun belt, his hair mussed from what seemed a recent arousal from sleep. They were all scurrying around like they were as surprised and puzzled as he was! If it hadn’t been Travis, then who…?
“What in tarnation are you doing here?” Nathan demanded.
“I was coming back from town and heard the explosion. I rode over to see what was happening.” Harrison’s eyes quickly went to Rana, and he smiled tenderly. “You all right, Rana?” he asked in a strange tone.
She looked at him with an inquisitive expression, then nodded. Turning away, she mounted and rode off between Nathan and Travis. As they galloped to the river, she suddenly realized why he had looked at her that way: obviously Clarissa had told him she was his child to keep him from marrying her! Would that woman do and say anything to get her way? she wondered. Stranger still, she mused, he had looked pleased!
At the river, everyone saw what had happened; the dam had been blasted away and the water was flowing rapidly and freely. Nathan twisted in his saddle to sneer at Harrison. “Looks like I have me a secret helper. Unless this is some new trick of yours, Harry. What’s the matter, afraid you’ll ruin the property you’re trying to steal? You might as well give up, because I’m not leaving my land.”
“Relax, Nate. I had nothing to do with this. But if I were you, I would find out who’s responsible and learn why he’s helping you. He might want your ranch more than I do.” Harrison tipped his hat, then rode off. Something odd was going on, and he aimed to discover what it was and who was behind it. First, he would talk with Clarissa!
Nathan looked at Mace and suggested, “See if you can round up enough boys to move the herds near the streams. They should fill up fast. Tell ‘em I’ll pay ‘em extra for working tonight. Things are looking sunny again,” he stated, then laughed cheerfully.
Rana nestled against Travis’s body and sighed peacefully, but as she recalled what she had to tell him, she stiffened slightly. Aware of her change in mood, Travis inquired softly, “What’s wrong, micante?”
Rana told him about her mother’s letter and what she had remembered that enabled her to find it. She also told him what she suspected Clarissa had told Harrison about her. “The truth must be kept secret forever or it will hurt Grandfather deeply. I can never call him father. Do you understand and agree?”
Travis tightened his embrace and murmured, “Yes, my love, I understand and agree. But there’s something I need to tell you, something your mother didn’t learn before she died and Nathan still doesn’t know: Marissa did not sleep and mate with her father; Nathan was not her father.” He explained what he knew and how he knew it, allowing the entire mystery to unravel. “Marissa did what she did because she believed she had committed a terrible sin with her father. If she had learned that Nathan wasn’t her father, things might have been different.”
Rana cried softly as she told him why she had slain Fargo. “He believed I was Mother and that it was she who slayed him. It was my revenge. Now, I must slay Harrison for what he did to her.”
“Let me handle him, love. Once he learns he’s been duped, he’ll be more dangerous than ever. We’ll get the evidence on him and he’ll be punished. If we kill him, we’ll lose with him. We have to do this legally, love— under the white man’s law,” he clarified.
Rana’s lips touched his, for she wanted him, not more talk. It was nearing dawn and they had so little time left together, and both were very much aware that it had been weeks since they had joined their bodies and spirits. Their hungers raged, yet neither wanted to rush these precious moments.
Travis eased off her gown and gently kissed each breast tip before drifting up to ravenously devour her parted lips. Between kisses, she murmured, “It is good to have you with me again. I am lost without you.” Feverishly she sealed her mouth to his.
The palm of his hand moved over her breast in a circular motion, stimulating it delightfully. Then he shifted to sear her quivering flesh with fiery kisses and burning caresses. His mouth explored and tasted her sweet desire and heady surrender. Aware of her unbridled passion, he labored lovingly and eagerly with lips and hands to arouse her to the highest peak before joining their bodies.
Her arms went around him and her hands drifted up and down his back, feeling the hardness and suppleness of his muscles and skin. He had set her entire body tingling and smoldering from his stirring actions. He tantalized and pleasured her from head to foot. Her body was aflame with need and scorching desire. Travis was controlling her, stimulating her to the center of her being. He whispered words into her ear that, coupled with his warm breath, caused her heart to race and her senses to soar like an eagle in flight. Each place he touched with lips or hands was highly susceptible to his skills, and he brought every inch of her to awareness and fiery life.
Travis’s pleasure mounted as he was given free rein over her body and will. He loved her and wanted her to be a part of him forever. Her nearness, fragrance, and essence were driving him wild, but he wanted to enjoy and titillate her as long as possible. Rapturous sensations attacked him as her hands wandered over his body and her lips responded to his. Her fingers slipped into his hair and drew his mouth more tightly against hers, revealing her rising ardor.
Travis’s hand enticingly roamed across her flat stomach to seek a flaming forest and a vital peak that summoned his exploration and craved his splendid skills, a place where he could heighten their desire and cause them to writhe together with barely leashed passion.
Rana’s hands likewise wandered over his body, stirring his flaming need to a brighter, higher level. Her fingers teased down his sleek sides and brazenly captured the prize of love’s war that could send her senses spinning beyond reality, beyond resistance or inhibition. Gently and lovingly she stroked it and absorbed its warmth to create more heat. She delighted in its strength and prowess and smoothness. With great satisfaction she felt his body shudder and she heard a deep groan escape his lips as they worked upon hers. This act of total giving and taking and sharing was so much more than she had ever imagined in her girlish dreams.
Unable to restrain himself further, he moved between her parted thighs, where she eagerly welcomed his arrival and entrance. His body was tense and his control strained as he made that first staggering contact. He tried to move calmly, leisurely, but he found it difficult to master his urgency to ride ecstasy’s undulating prairie with her.
As her hand trailed up and down his back, she could feel the rippling muscles that moved as his body did. She felt him enter and withdraw, slowly, then rapidly, then slowly again. She sensed the strain he was experiencing and she arched her body to meet his and set the pace for their entrancing climb. Her responses told him when she was approaching the blissful precipice and he worked skillfully and patiently to drive them over its edge at the same time.
When the triumphant moment arrived, he muffled her cry of victory with his demanding lips. Their mouths and bodies labored and came together as one as they conquered passion’s peak; then like feathers on a gentle breeze, they rapturously floated downward into a peaceful valley of contentment. Still they kissed and held fast to each other, extracting eve
ry sensation and emotion their union could provide.
They snuggled together in her bed and held each other, awed by the greater closeness and deeper bond their lovemaking had inspired. The more they were together for any reason, the more tightly their hearts and souls were bound. Both realized how much they loved and needed each other, in every facet of their lives. Incredibly, each day they were together was better than the day before. They were friends; they were partners; they were passionate lovers. They could talk and share anything, everything. They trusted each other, depended upon each other, and gave to each other. They had grown and changed together, for the better. It was a special union, unique and strong.
Because each sensed how the other was feeling and what the other was thinking, their heads turned at the same moment and their eyes fused. This time they spoke without words, and they made love slowly, tenderly.
By the next day, Harrison knew his plans were coming apart, and he did not know who to blame. He suspected that Fargo and his other hand were dead. Their horses had returned to the corral, empty, and they had been assigned to guard the dam. Yet all he could think about was Rana, or Marissa. He had to get his child back!
Clarissa entered the room and observed her father. “They were all at church this morning, gloating over their triumphs. And here you sit like you’re in mourning. We’re losing, Papa, and you’re to blame. I’d always thought you were so strong and clever, that nothing and no one could defeat you or crush you. Have you forgotten what Marissa did to you? She scornfully rejected you. She started sleeping with Todd Raines, then ran off with that gambler. She was selfish and no good, Papa. When are you going to accept that and forget her?”
“How can I forget her, girl, when our daughter looks just like her? You’re a cold-hearted bitch, Clarissa. She’s my flesh and blood, and I want her. I’m going to kill Nathan and Travis; then she’ll have no choice but to come home to me. Once she sees how much I love her and want her, she’ll be fine. You’re just worried about your inheritance, you greedy bitch. You’ll have to share everything with your sister. And if you give us any trouble, I’ll kick you out and she’ll get it all. Do you hear me, girl?” he demanded scathingly.
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