He shook his head. “Oh, no. We’ve got now. We’ve got right this moment. Untie my hands and we can finish what we started.”
She laughed and glanced at him like he’d had too much loco water to drink. “Sorry, not interested. I’ve got a bounty I need to turn in.”
A gunshot went off behind them, and Deke knocked her to the ground, covering her body with his. At this moment, he knew he could have gotten out of his ropes and taken her gun away, but he didn’t. It wasn’t like there was a lot of money riding on this guy, and he’d never forgotten how poor the McKenzie sisters had been after their father died. Deke didn’t need the money, maybe she did.
“Get off me.” She pushed him away and then whirled around. “What’s wrong, Caroline?”
Trembling, the young woman stared at Ruby, tears filling her eyes. “Oh, my God, I could have killed you. I was shaking so hard I accidentally pulled the trigger.”
“Ohhhh,” Ruby groaned. “Just guard our bounty.” She stood and watched as Deke rose.
“That’s some partner you got there.”
“She’s okay.”
He chuckled. “I’d heard stories about women bounty hunters but never thought it was you.”
Ruby dusted the dirt from her skirt. “I wish I had time to tell you all about it, but unfortunately, we need to be going. I’m sure you’ll eventually get out of your ropes, but we’ll be long gone.”
“Thanks. Glad I could do the work for you.”
“We appreciate it,” Ruby said. “Grab our horses, Caroline. Let’s ride.”
“Me?” she squeaked. “But?”
“Just do it.”
Caroline tried to shove her gun back in her holster, but it became stuck, and for a moment, Deke feared she’d shoot her foot into next week. Finally, she got the gun back in the holder.
Watching her walk away, Deke couldn’t help but laugh. “She’s a real greenhorn. I don’t think they get much greener than that girl.”
“She’s doing okay.”
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, right up until the day you get shot because of her.”
In a few moments, Caroline brought their horses into camp. She halted them in front of Ruby.
“So long, Deke, and I’m so sorry we couldn’t just pick things up where they were,” she said in a sarcastic snit.
“Don’t worry. We will,” he said confidently. Knowing he’d be behind her just as soon as he could get the ropes around his wrist untied. They had unfinished business.
“When pigs fly,” she said, and grabbed the prisoner by the arm, yanking him to his feet. Quickly, she untied his feet, so he could ride. “Come on. You’re going with us.” She pulled him toward his horse.
The man stiffened, resisting Ruby. “I’m not getting on this horse. No way I’m riding with a couple of women.”
“Suit yourself. But if I have to make you get on that horse, you’ll go with a bullet in your man parts. Get my drift?”
“For a pretty woman, you’re a mean bitch.”
She glanced back over at Deke and smiled. “That I am.” She pointed her six-shooter toward his crotch. “Now, are you going to climb on your horse or do I have to put you there?”
He crawled up on his animal. She and Caroline climbed on their horses, and Ruby turned to wave goodbye to Deke. She should feel bad for taking his bounty, but she didn’t.
As they rode out, Caroline sighed. “I’ve captured my first bounty. I’m a real woman bounty hunter.”
Ruby almost choked, trying to keep from laughing out loud. What could she say? That her cousin was a buffoon who had almost gotten them both killed? That if it hadn’t been Deke Culver, they would have faced a much tougher resistance? As it was, she couldn’t believe he just let her take his bounty.
She took a deep breath and released it slowly. Caroline had to get better if she wanted to keep from dying. “Yes, Caroline, you are an official bounty hunter.”
“Better than a pig farmer’s wife.”
Ruby laughed. “Most definitely better than a pig farmer’s wife.”
As she turned her horse toward town, she glanced back at Deke. He was standing in the center of camp, working the knots on the ropes. He’d soon be loose.
Once again, the man she’d fought Annabelle over, flirted outrageously with, who she’d begged to take her virginity, had shown up in her life. And this time, she was older, wiser, and frankly had no desire to ever see that jackass again.
When she’d needed him most, he’d turned her down. And while now she could see he was right, that didn’t ease the embarrassment or the shame at how she’d handled his rejection.
In fact, even taking his bounty hadn’t eased the pain of him declining to take her virginity. Since the day of his dismissal, she’d believed that men were ignorant beasts.
No man had changed her mind, yet.
Deke Culver leaned against the wall just outside the sheriff’s office. He was too late to take his bounty back. Ruby’s horse and her cousin Caroline’s were tied to the hitching post outside the lawman’s office. And while he could go in and protest, he really didn’t want to create the scene he knew Ruby would stage and become the star in.
No, he was better off letting the bounty go, though he wasn’t ready to let the woman go. She was still a sassy little thing he couldn’t resist and felt attracted to. Before she’d been way too young and out of respect for her father, he’d refused to participate in any deflowering no matter how much she begged.
Because then he’d have felt honor bound to marry the girl.
After realizing she was one of the bounty hunter women he’d heard about that were collecting rewards on criminals, he believed someone else had probably already done the deed, and he could just be there to sample the wares. If she’d let him get close enough. It had been a long time since he’d experienced a woman. And he was more than ready.
The door opened, and the two women walked out, unaware he leaned against the wall behind them. The dark haired woman was a beauty, but she lacked that fiery spirit he found so appealing in Ruby. Her I-dare-you-to-come-and-get-it attitude was like an aphrodisiac to him, drawing him to the blonde bounty hunter.
So unlike Laura.
“Wow, I can’t believe we made twenty-five dollars a piece,” the soft spoken woman said. “I’m going to check in at the hotel, take a bath, and rest up. What are you going to do?”
Deke walked up behind them. “She’s going to buy me lunch, since she has my bounty money.”
Ruby whirled around and faced him, her blue eyes flashing. “Last I heard, hell hasn’t frozen over yet, so I don’t think so.”
He smiled. “Now, Ruby, we don’t know that. It’s have lunch with me, or I march in there and tell the sheriff you stole my bounty. Your choice.”
It was an empty threat. He knew it, but he wanted to spend more time with her. He needed to know the McKenzie girls were doing okay. They’d been nice, and their father had been the man he’d looked up to. Who’d taught him what he knew about the profession.
“It’s your word against mine, and after I’m done with him, the sheriff is going to choose the side of the lady bounty hunter.”
“But the prisoner knows better,” he said smugly, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.
A frown appeared on her forehead as she considered his words. “Why would I want to dine with you? What is there to talk about?”
“For starters, you can tell me how your sisters are doing. How the three of you got into the business of bounty hunting. Why aren’t you at home in Zenith working on the farm? We have a lot to discuss.”
“What about you? What are you going to tell me about you?”
There was so much he could tell her had happened in the almost three years since he’d seen her, but most of it, he refused to talk about.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Not much to tell. I’ve been working, dreaming of getting out of the business.”
One brow rose. “If I have this lunch with
you, will you disappear and never come around again? Never lay claim to the bounty I just turned in?”
“The bounty is yours,” he said, knowing he was not agreeing to the disappearing and never coming round again. “You can even invite your friend, as long as she doesn’t bring her gun.”
“Meet my cousin, Caroline,” Ruby said and then smiled. “Afraid you’ll have a meeting with her bullet?”
“Nice to meet you. But you’re a loose cannon with a pistol.”
“Hrmph,” Caroline said in a soft whispery voice. “You, sir, are no gentleman for pointing out my faults.”
“You’re right,” Deke said with a grin. “I’ve never claimed to be a gentleman.”
“Caroline, I’ll meet you back at the hotel. You go ahead and get some rest.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes, I’ll see you later, and make certain the horses are taken care of,” Ruby said and turned toward Deke.
The mare neighed, and he felt drawn to the animal. He walked over and rubbed his hands over her ears and then down her side gently. He walked back to her muzzle and petted her again. “Have them give her an extra ration of oats. Ruby’s mustang has been stealing her food. Have the stable separate them.”
Ruby’s mouth dropped open, and she stared at him. “Sure, she just whispered in your ear and said ‘give me more feed’.”
He smiled. “Yes, she told me. But if you look at the horse’s sides, it’s pretty obvious. Your horse is either bloated or a little heavy. Either one is not good, and both could be caused from eating too much.”
Her brows drew together in a frown, and she shook her head. “Let’s go and get this lovely dining experience over.”
He held out his arm. “I can hardly wait.”
Chapter 2
Ruby had wanted to scream in frustration when she saw Deke standing there, waiting for them, outside the sheriff’s office. The man was tempting as the devil and yet she wanted nothing to do with him.
Sure, she’d taken his bounty from him, but he needed to consider payment due. She’d collected. Now, he could go away. Still, part of her kind of enjoyed gazing at him, his dark green eyes and black hair, his strong manly physique was something she could stare at all day long.
“Your choice of restaurants, since you’re buying,” he told her, “with my money.”
“You promised you wouldn’t lay claim,” she said, flipping back a blonde curl that had blown in her face. “You didn’t bring him in.”
“I was in the process. I had him tied up and was on my way to town.”
“Snooze and lose,” she replied.
He chuckled. “Still that same flippant, sassy miss looking out for her own interest.”
“I’m the only one who ever will.”
With her sisters married, she felt more alone than ever before. Sure, they loved her, but they were living their own lives. Happy newlyweds who gazed at their husbands like he was the only man in the west and they couldn’t wait to close their bedroom doors.
Determination pulsed through her veins. Once, she’d been a prissy girl who dreamed of a husband and kids. Now, she was a prissy woman who dreamed of bringing men to justice.
“When did you become a bounty hunter?”
They walked along the wooden sidewalk, the two of them side by side in the bright sunshine. It was going to be a warm fall day. Summer refused to end, and the heat continued on, even in late October.
“Right after you left. We were all fired from our jobs. Tired of working hard for minimal wage and being disrespected, it was either get married or starve or do something that would bring us cash and respect. We became bounty hunters,” she said, her head held high. She loved her job. She would take a bullet before she would ever get back down on her hands and knees scrubbing floors for the rich.
“So, all three of you are bounty hunters?” he asked, his eyes widening.
They stepped into the restaurant and found a table. Once they were seated, she turned to him. “Meg and I did most of the hunting until Meg married the sheriff. Annabelle stayed home and took care of the farm, until she decided to go hunting alone and met her new husband Beau. Which left only me. I’ve been training Caroline.”
Unfortunately, from what Ruby could see, the girl needed more lessons. Ruby was certain Deke would tell her what a novice Caroline was.
He laughed. “That woman is a danger to herself.”
Ruby shook her head. “I know. She still hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it, but I’m confident she will.”
“Have you been successful?”
A smile spread across her face. They’d made more money than she’d dreamed possible. Annabelle had brought in the most when she’d followed the Harris gang. But soon, Ruby would out collect her, and then she would have contributed the most to the family operation.
“We paid off the farm, and now, we have some operating cash. So yeah, we’ve been very successful.”
He frowned for a moment. “Then why haven’t you given up this life? I can’t imagine anyone wanting to continue, especially a woman.”
She could feel herself bristle. “Oh no, I enjoy the chase. The thrill of catching the criminal and then bringing him into the sheriff. I don’t want to quit. I like what I do for a living.”
People were sitting at the tables around them, deep in conversation, not paying attention to the two of them. But she had already checked out every person in the restaurant. Searching for anyone she thought looked suspicious. She was always on the lookout for her next bounty.
Shaking his head, he stared at her. “How many men have you brought in?”
“Counting your man, twenty.”
Throwing his hands up in the air, he chuckled. “The new hasn’t worn off yet. Just wait until you capture almost a hundred. You get sick of it. Especially when you bring a man in more than once. You start to question our justice system.”
She stared at him. He seemed different. The Deke she remembered had been more lighthearted, not nearly as serious as he seemed now. An ache built inside her chest as she remembered that afternoon when he’d kissed her. It’d been the best kiss of her life and the worst kiss at the same time.
“I guess I can understand why you’d feel that way, but it’s a lot better than scrubbing floors,” she said. “What would you do if you weren’t a bounty hunter?”
“I love horses. I’d raise and train them. I understand the animals,” he said, his face brightening, and it was the first and only time he appeared relaxed and happy. She could tell this was his passion. Not being a bounty hunter like herself. Odd that during the years they had reversed their roles.
She nodded. “So, why aren’t you doing that now?”
A frown flittered across his face, and then he shrugged his shoulders, like it was nothing and smiled. Why did she feel like there was something he wasn’t sharing? “I guess life has gotten in the way. What would you do if you weren’t a bounty hunter?”
Shaking her head, she knew right away the answer to that question. “Nothing interests me. I love my life the way it is right now.”
Out on the hunt for the first time in months, she felt at peace with herself. Working at the farm with her sisters and their husbands, she’d felt like the spoke of a broken wagon wheel. She’d been the odd man out, and while they did their best to include her, she’d been ready to hit the trail, earn some money, and find her own way in life. All that love floating around the farm house was enough to nauseate her.
“What happened to that flirty, crazy girl I met? That girl that wanted to get married?” He asked, staring at her intently. “The girl who wanted me to make her into a woman?”
“She grew up. She realized the only person she could depend on was herself. Not a man, not her family, no one. She’s alone in the world and has to take care of herself.” She leaned in close. “She’s independent and doesn’t need men.”
Their waitress poured them each a cup of coffee, and they ordered the special of the day. For
a moment, there was silence between them. He gazed at her with his warm green eyes and she remembered how she and Annabelle had fought over this man. She’d wanted to marry him, have babies with him, and settle down in a comfortable little house—all the dreams of a love-starved fifteen-year-old. Now, almost no man since Deke had gotten close to her. And she doubted anyone ever would.
She didn’t want or need a man. Not even Deke. She’d had all the experience she wanted with men and had decided it was so much better to be independent and self-sufficient. Deke was prettier than any man she’d ever met, but the only driver in her wagon was herself, and she aimed to keep it that way.
He stared at her. “I hope I didn’t make you hate men?”
She steeled herself against the memory of the humiliation she’d felt the day Deke had ridden out of her life. She’d been knocked to her knees and slammed into the ground by his refusal to make her into a woman. Now, she was grateful they’d never been together, though she’d never admit he’d been right.
“You could have been my first.” As soon as the words slipped from her mouth, she knew that was the reason for the tension flowing like a river between them. Only now, there was nothing to worry about. She no longer wanted Deke.
“I was not going to disrespect your papa by having a quick tousle in the hay with you. I wouldn’t do that to the man who taught me everything I know. I wouldn’t have ridden off and left you then.”
“Well, aren’t you an honorable cowboy,” she said, swallowing the lump filling her throat, thinking about that day so many years ago, when she’d been young and naive. In the space of two hours, two men had upended her beliefs about love and changed the innocent, young girl forever. If only she’d never been forced into the closet with Clay, then she would never have begged Deke. And her pride wouldn’t have smarted so bad that she’d felt the need to chase him down and fire her pistol at him.
“I do my best,” he said smugly.
She wanted the attention off of the past. She didn’t want to remember how she’d begged Deke or what had happened that day with Clay Mullins. She’d done her best to put that part of her life behind her forever.
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