by Sandy James
“We won’t have much time. Bud might just be going to relieve himself,” Grace said as her fingers tugged at the rough ropes binding her.
“I pray he gets lost.” Cassie’s fingers were so cold, it was next to impossible to get them to obey her wishes. “Those men surely know how to tie knots.”
“I wish I had my knife,” Grace said. “I usually carry it for protection, but I left it behind today.”
“Protection?”
“Force of habit. After Stephen raped—” Grace released a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Cassie. I keep forgetting he was your uncle.”
With a shake of her head, Cassie shifted her hands to Grace’s ropes, hoping she’d have more success. “My fingers refuse to work.”
“Mine as well. It’s too cold.”
About to grab Grace’s hands in her own and see if they could rub some warmth back into them, Cassie froze at the movement in the trees.
Grace obviously heard it as well because her gaze shifted to the woods. “Jimmy left on the other side of the campsite,” she whispered.
“Then who—”
Her question died when Ty suddenly dashed from the trees to wrestle Bud to the ground.
She wanted to cry out in joy until she felt the hand on her shoulder. Her head whipped around to find Adam kneeling behind her and Grace.
“There’s one more.” Grace raised her bound hands to touch her husband’s face.
“Ty knocked him out cold already.” Adam’s voice was gruff, and he suddenly brushed Grace’s hands away and gathered her into his arms. “You okay, darlin’?”
“I’m fine.”
Had she wanted to say anything more, she wouldn’t have been able to because Adam’s mouth covered Grace’s for a long and fairly passionate kiss.
Cassie shifted her gaze, worried for Ty’s safety. He had Jimmy on his back, straddling him as he hit the man again and again with his fists. “Ty! Stop!”
But he didn’t.
Her heart slammed against her ribcage as she tugged on Adam’s arm. “Adam! Please! He’ll kill him!”
He released his wife, stepped around the women, and ran to grab Ty by the neck of his coat. Despite his efforts, it took him a moment to drag Ty away from Jimmy.
Ty’s breath was heavy, leaving his mouth in bursts of white clouds. He rolled his shoulders and walked over to where Cassie sat on the ground. Dropping to his knees, he picked up her hands. “You all right, Cassie girl?”
There was blood on his knuckles, but she couldn’t tell if it was his or from where he’d beaten Jimmy. “I should be asking you that question. Look at your hands.”
He stopped long enough to swipe his knuckles against his pants before returning to untying her. With a frustrated growl, he finally lifted his pant leg, pulled a knife from his boot, and sliced through the ropes.
Cassie flexed her fingers to try to return her circulation while Ty removed the binding on her ankles. Rising to his full height, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. About to thank him, she suddenly found herself tugged into his arms as his mouth slammed down on hers.
The kiss caused everything around her to fade away, the world reduced to the feel on his warm tongue gliding across hers, the taste of him, and the heat of his embrace. His hand cupped her neck, holding her still as he kept up his assault on her senses.
She looped her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against his chest.
His growl told her he enjoyed her boldness. Surely, he couldn’t kiss her like this and not feel something for her.
The loud clearing of someone’s throat brought her slowly back to reality. Her cheeks hot, she stared at the ground as Ty eased away from her. She couldn’t seem to let go of him until he gently grasped her arms and pulled them from around his neck.
By the time she gathered her wits and glanced up, she found Adam grinning and Grace looking at anything but her and Ty.
Adam was the first to speak. “We need to get you back home.”
Cassie nodded before glancing over to Jimmy. Adam had evidently used the time she and Ty had been busy kissing to pick Jimmy up off the ground and bind his hands. Now, he sat on the ground, leaning back against a tree.
Before she could ask what had happened to Bud, Gideon broke through the shelter of the trees, dragging a bound Bud, who stumbled to keep up. Drew followed close behind and pushed Bud to sit next to Jimmy before hurrying over to Cassie.
He embraced her, lifting her clean off her feet. “You’re safe. I was so worried.”
Ty seized her waist, pulled her out of Drew’s arm, and held her against his side. He didn’t say anything, but the grip was tight enough she gave his hand a gentle tap to ease up, which he did.
“What do we do with those men?” she asked.
“We send them back to your family with a message,” Adam replied.
“Message? What kind of message?”
Ty shot a glare at the men. “That they leave you the hell alone now.”
How wonderful it would be if things were only that simple. Cassie knew better. Her family wouldn’t be deterred simply because a couple of their hirelings weren’t successful in their mission.
No, her grandfather and her uncle would only see this failure as a challenge.
She leaned in closer to Ty, pleased when he wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder.
Drew walked over to stand next to Gideon in front of the bounty hunters. “So do we kill them or what?” he shouted, louder than necessary.
“No!” Cassie left the shelter of Ty’s embrace and hurried over to Drew.
The rest of their group followed.
“You will not kill them,” she ordered. “Just send them away.”
Adam took the lead. “You’re lucky men,” he said to Bud and Jimmy. “The little lady here doesn’t want your hides nailed to the closest tree. We’re gonna let you go, but only because we have a message for your boss.”
“A message?” Bud asked through his puffy lips.
Cassie winced when she saw how much abuse Ty had inflicted on the man. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. “My family needs to know that I shall never go back. Tell my grandfather I have left San Francisco and that I have no intention of returning. Ever.”
“He ain’t lettin’ you go that easy, missy,” Jimmy said. “We ain’t takin’ you back, but your family’ll send more next time. Someone not as nice as Bud and me. No, the Shays will send somebody who’ll hurt you and your friends.”
“Leave her alone,” Grace scolded. “She’s made her choice, and it’s to stay in Montana.”
The horrible man snorted. “You think it’s that simple, do ya?”
Grace’s frown shifted from the odious man to Cassie. She didn’t have to say the words for Cassie to understand what she was thinking. Nothing was ever that simple with her family. Shays would not be denied.
Cassie gave Grace a brusque nod and tried to think of some message she could send that would let her grandfather and uncle know she would never marry Robert.
The right words wouldn’t come.
“You think they’ll just let you go, missy? Next time, there’ll be more than what your menfolk can handle. Why don’t you give in now? We’ll take you back—”
“I won’t go back!” She looked around, wishing Ty would say something, that he would convince the bounty hunters to never come after her again.
“You won’t have to,” Drew said, his voice barely a whisper. “I won’t let them take you back, Cass.” He stepped around her to face Bud and Jimmy. “She won’t be going back to California.” His voice grew louder and louder. “Because she’s my wife now. She’s no longer Cassandra Shay. She’s Mrs. Andrew Pearson. Tell her family that!”
Cassie’s mouth dropped open, and everything inside her wanted to scream that it wasn’t true—that she’d fallen for Ty Bishop. That if she was going to be anyone’s wife, she wanted to be Ty’s. But she held her tongue. If her grandfather’s
men saw even a note of dissent, they’d pick up on it and share that with her family. Let them believe she’d taken Drew as her husband. Perhaps that news would do what Drew hoped it would and get them off her trail so she could live her own life.
Ty stopped breathing, hardly believing what he was hearing. Everything inside him screamed to pull Cassie to his side and claim her. The thought of Drew naming her as his wife turned his insides into lumps of fury and jealousy although Drew didn’t consider Cassie as anything but a friend. The reason he’d made his announcement was to save her more kidnapping attempts by the Shays’ lackeys—but even knowing it was best that they thought her already married, he had to resist the urge to shout a denial.
His gaze caught Cassie’s, and he shot her a fierce frown that he hoped let her know this was far from over.
Her chin rose a bit, and her spine straightened. That defiant reaction made him relax. She would get through this, then they could talk about some very serious decisions that needed to be made. Sure, Drew’s idea to pretend he’d married Cassie might solve the problem now, but that didn’t mean the Shay’s pursuit of Cassie would end.
Only a true marriage would stop them.
***
Cassie shifted in Ty’s lap, trying to find a more comfortable position. He’d insisted she ride with him, and she loved the comfort she found in his arms. The warmth. The security. She felt almost cherished.
“Stop that.” His hand settled on her hips and held her still. “Quit squirming.”
“I am sorry. I just…” Just what? Want to get as close as I can?
She could smell him, masculine and earthy. She could feel his hard body. All her strength was employed in keeping from throwing herself against him and kissing him the way he’d kissed her back when he’d rescued her.
“Just what?” he whispered close to her ear. “Just want to ride with Drew? He is your husband now.”
A gasp slipped from her lips as she turned to face ahead so she didn’t have to look in his eyes. “He is not my husband.”
“That’s what he told those bounty hunters.”
“A lie. A fib. Something to try to get my family to let me live in peace.”
Ty snorted. “Sounded real enough to me.”
How could she tell him she would never marry Drew because her heart seemed to have settled on him?
Warm lips pressed to her ear. “Are you tellin’ me you wouldn’t marry Drew?”
Cassie shivered from the heat his touch sent racing through her. “I wouldn’t marry Drew.” Her voice sounded breathless, the last word nothing but a squeak as Ty’s tongue traced the shell of her ear.
“Good. I’d hate to think I was courtin’ a married woman.”
She whirled around to gape at him. “Courting? You wish to court me?”
“We’re home, Cassie girl.”
White Pines.
Home.
The town truly was her home now.
Because wherever Ty was, that would always be home.
Chapter Fourteen
Cassie sat down as Drew and Ty paced around the Four Aces.
The place was empty of customers because it was closed until the wall between the nearly-completed theater and the saloon could be knocked out.
Grace and Adam sat next to her at one of the round tables as Gideon stood with his back pressed against the wall and his arms folded over his broad chest.
She couldn’t stand the silence a moment longer. “I appreciate how worried you all are, but I assure you I’m fine.”
Ty stopped on the opposite side of the table and slapped both his palms against the surface, causing everyone at the table to jump. “Fine? You were kidnapped!”
“Well, yes, but—”
“You think I’m gonna let that happen again?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Then we need to think of a way to keep you safe.” Ty put his hands on his hips. “Somethin’ to keep ’em away from you.”
Drew came to stand at Ty’s side. “I believe I have the perfect solution.”
“There. You see?” Although she had no idea what her friend was talking about, she hoped he would bail her out of this predicament. She hated that everyone felt responsible for her, but she hated even more than she’d let the threat of harm draw so close to Ty and his family. “Drew has the perfect solution.”
Shooting Drew a glare, Ty swept his vest aside and put his hands on his hips. “And what exactly is your brilliant solution?”
Drew didn’t seem at all intimidated. “The same one I had back in the clearing, of course. I’m going to marry Cassie.”
Gideon pushed away from the wall and strode to Drew’s side. “That was just a ruse—a way to keep ’em off her trail. You didn’t mean to really do it. You ain’t marrying her.”
With a decisive nod, Drew said, “I am. It’s the only solution.”
She didn’t even have the chance to deny him before Ty slammed a fist down on the table. “No! You ain’t marrying Cassie.”
“Why in the hell not?” Drew’s scowl was every bit as fierce as Ty’s. “Her family will just keep coming back. I can give them a reason not to. If I marry her—”
“You ain’t marrying her!”
Ty stared at her. She could swear she saw pain in his eyes, which made little sense being as the man should be grateful to have her welfare placed in another’s hands. She’d been nothing but a burden from the moment she’d helped him and Jake from that miserable cave.
“I have to,” Drew replied. “There’s no other solution. After everything she’s done for me, I owe her this much.”
Gideon threw Drew a glare, turned to narrow his eyes at Cassie, and then grabbed his coat. He stomped out of the bar.
The half-doors swung in his wake, their insistent squeaks grating her frayed nerves as she shivered from the hatred Gideon had directed her way. All of this turmoil was her fault, and it was up to her to find a way out of the mess.
But how?
“Ty,” Grace said in a voice so quiet it was almost missed. “Perhaps this is a good idea. Perhaps Drew is right, that he should marry Cassie.”
“How can you say that?” Ty demanded.
Cassie waited to hear her reason, even though she thought she already understood. If she would marry Drew, she would no longer be a part of Ty’s life. He would be free—as would his loved ones—of any association with the Shay family.
“Because,” Grace replied, “we all know her family will never let her go.”
“I’ll protect her,” Ty insisted. “I won’t let her family take her.”
“Until they kill you.” Wiping away a tear, Grace took a shaky breath and pressed on. “You don’t know the Shays like I do, Ty. You don’t know what they’re capable of. Let Drew marry her. He can take her somewhere far away. He can give them a reason to leave her be. She’d be safe. You’d be safe. We would all be safe.”
“Gracie…” Adam’s voice was soft and low as he placed his hand over hers where it rested on the table. “Stephen’s dead now. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“Then why was I taken too?” Grace pulled her hand back. “The Shays want to punish me for killing him. This will never end. If they keep coming to fetch Cassie back, they’ll hunt me as well. If she’s gone…perhaps they won’t think finding me is worth the effort.”
“I’ll protect you.” Adam wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“You’ll protect Grace, but Cassie needs me to keep her safe,” Ty insisted. “I ain’t afraid of her family.”
Grace turned to Cassie. “Forgive me, Cassie. But I see no other way. You should marry Drew.”
Until the moment she’d spoken, Cassie had always held some small hope that one day Ty’s family would learn to accept her—that at the very least, they’d tolerate her being a part of Ty’s life. God forbid any of them someday find out she was Stephen’s daughter.
That fact, they would surely never forgive.
Her heart felt like a fine p
iece of crystal that had been hurled against a wall. No matter what she felt for Ty, no matter how she’d already handed him her heart, she could never have a future with him. Nor could she keep putting someone as kind and generous as Grace Morgan in danger.
She had no choice.
“I shall marry Drew,” Cassie whispered, nearly choking on the words as she did all she could to keep the tears stinging her eyes at bay.
For a long moment, no one spoke. Her heart pounded a rough cadence, the sound echoing in her ears.
When she couldn’t stand the stilted silence a moment longer, she said a little louder, “I shall marry Drew. That will solve all our problems.”
“No!” Ty stalked around the table before standing at her side and glaring down at her with hard and angry eyes. “You ain’t marrying Drew.”
All she wanted to do was throw herself into his embrace and have him tell her he would take care of her. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her middle, not trusting herself to speak.
“It’s settled then.” Drew came to stand at her other side. “We can head down to the church tomorrow and—”
“Back off!” Ty reached across her to give Drew a shove back.
Cassie found her voice. “Leave him alone. He only means to help me.”
“You can’t marry him. You…can’t.” His shout had fallen to a whisper.
“I must. It is for the best.” Why did the words hurt so much?
He grabbed her hand, pulled her to her feet, and dragged her toward the front swinging doors, not even bothering to grab either of their coats. His legs were so much longer than hers that she had to run to keep up.
“Where are you taking me?” She glanced back over her shoulder to see the confused frowns on every face they left behind.
“We need to talk.”
“About what?” she asked as he dragged her into the theatre.
The place was a mess of partially constructed walls, sawdust, and tools. She tripped over a few pieces of cut lumber that the builders had left behind on the floor. “This has all been settled, Ty.”
Ty gripped her shoulders and turned her to force her back against the wall. “You ain’t marrying Drew.”
