A Heart So Wild (25 page)

I
T was early afternoon when Courtney left the bed. Chandos was sleeping again, and this time she was determined to let him. It still upset her terribly to think of his mother and sister, but she told herself she wouldn't think about it. It had happened four years ago, and he had learned to live with it—though how, she couldn't begin to imagine.

Just as she finished dressing, there was a knock, and she glanced quickly at the bed. Chandos had heard it too, and his eyes were open. There was a warning in them, but he needn't have worried. She wasn't going to give his presence away to anyone.

She crossed quickly to the door, opening it a crack. “Yes?”

“You have a visitor,
señorita
,” said one of the Mexican girls who helped Maggie. “A
Señor
Taylor. He is waiting on the porch with
Señor
Straton and—”

“Taylor?” Courtney interrupted sharply. “Did you say Taylor?”

“Sí.”

“Thank you.” Courtney closed the door with a bang, in the grip of a rage like nothing she had ever felt before. “Reed Taylor! I don't be
lieve it!” she cried, furious. “How dare he show up after what he did? Having me kidnapped! That—that—oh!”

“Courtney! Goddammit, come back here!” Chandos shouted as she stormed out of the room. He swore savagely, because she'd kept right on going and he couldn't very well stop her without a stitch of clothes on.

In full steam, Courtney reached the front door and threw it open. There was Reed in his dark broadcloth suit and ruffled shirt, hat in hand, as immaculate as always. He was smiling at her. Smiling!

“You're crazy!” she hissed at him as she stepped out onto the porch, aware of no one but Taylor. “Do you know I could have you arrested for what you did?”

“Now, Courtney, honey, is that any way to greet me after I came all this way to find you?”

She blinked. God sakes, she should have remembered what a one-track mind he had. Everything she said had always bounced right off his thick head.

“Don't call me honey,” she said savagely. “Don't even call me Courtney. Didn't you get the message when your men didn't come back? I didn't want to be found, Reed. You had no right to send those—those cutthroats after me!”

He took her arm forcibly and steered her away from the men standing around watching. But he didn't think to lower his voice, and he didn't realize he was igniting more tempers than just hers.

“One of those men did get back, Courtney—barely alive. That gunslinger you took off with had cut out his tongue and chopped off his
hand! Good God, do you think I could leave you out there with that madman after I found out what he'd done?”

“I'm sure the story is a gross exaggeration,” Courtney said smoothly.

“I'll say,” Chandos said casually, having arrived in time to overhear. “I only slit the fellow's tongue, after he told me he'd left Courtney behind in camp to be raped by one of his cohorts. And I broke the first two fingers of his gunhand for good measure, before I staked him to a tree. He just had a low tolerance for pain, that's all. How's
your
tolerance, Taylor?”

Reed ignored that and demanded, “What's he doing here, Courtney?”

Courtney didn't answer. She was staring at Chandos, who stood in the doorway wearing only pants and gunbelt. She knew he was making a considerable effort to keep his hand away from his gun. And then she noticed the others for the first time—cowboys watching, and Fletcher, grinning from ear to ear as he gazed at Chandos, Sawtooth frowning at Reed, and behind Sawtooth…her father! God sakes, her
father!
He'd seen the whole thing!

“Reed, why don't you leave?” Courtney suggested. He hadn't let go of her, and he was now wearing the bulldog expression she knew so well. It was useless, but she said anyway, “You've come down here for nothing, Reed. I'm not going to marry you, and I'm certainly not going back to Kansas with you. And if you try to force it, as you already did once, you'll have the law on your tail.”

“You're upset,” Reed replied tersely. “If you'll just give me a chance—”

“She already gave you a chance, Taylor—a chance to leave,” Chandos growled, stepping forward. “Now you'll have to deal with me. Get your goddamn hands off my woman.”

Reed faced him, but he still didn't let go of Courtney's arm. “You going to draw on me, fastgun?” he said, sneering. “You going to shoot me in front of all these witnesses?” He nodded to encompass their audience.

“Uh-uh.” Smiling, Chandos drew his gun, twirled it, and handed it to Courtney. “This won't take long, cateyes,” he muttered just as his fist came up and connected with Reed's jaw.

Reed flew backward, and Courtney was jerked forward. But Chandos caught her around the waist, keeping her from tumbling down the porch steps along with Reed. Then he set her aside with an apologetic grin, and dived after the fallen man.

Courtney stood there at the top of the steps, watching two grown men try to kill each other with their fists. She didn't think to try and stop them. She was still in too much of a daze from hearing Chandos call her “my woman.” He'd said it in front of his father. He'd said it in front of
her
father. God sakes, did he mean it?

An arm encircled her shoulders, and she glanced up. But her father wasn't looking at her. He was watching the fight.

“I don't suppose you objected to what that young man said?” he asked casually.

“No.”

She heard a particularly grueling punch and turned to see Chandos hit the dust hard. She took an involuntary step forward, but he was already back on his feet, and throwing a hard
right to Reed's midsection. Still, she began to worry. Chandos was taller, but Reed was built like a bull.

“Can I assume this is the man who brought you to Texas?” Edward's tone was still casual.

“Yes, yes.” Her mind was on the fight.

“Courtney, honey, look at me.”

She dragged her attention away from Chandos. “Yes, Daddy?”

“Do you love him?”

“Oh, yes! More than I thought possible.” Then, she ventured, hesitantly, “Do you mind?”

“I'm not quite sure,” Edward said. “Is he always this…impetuous?”

“No, but he's always protective of me.”

“Well, at least there's that in his favor,” her father said with a sigh.

“Oh, Daddy, don't judge him until you get to know him. Just because he's a gunfighter—”

“There are lots of good men who are gunfighters, honey. I know that.”

“And he's been alone for so long that he's not used to being sociable or friendly, so don't mistake—”

“There are lots of good quiet men too, honey,” he said.

She grinned sheepishly. “You really
are
going to be open-minded about it, aren't you?”

“Do I dare not be?” He chuckled. “I wouldn't care to have a taste of those fists myself.”

“Oh, he wouldn't!” She started to reassure him, then realized he was only teasing her.

A cheer went up from the cowboys who'd been watching the fight. They'd quickly figured out who to cheer for, what with Fletcher hanging
over the porch railing, shouting encouragement in his blustery voice. Right now Fletcher and Sawtooth were clapping each other on the back as if
they
had won the fight.

Courtney looked for Chandos in the group of well-wishers crowding around him. He was bent over, favoring his midsection. His face hadn't fared too well, either.

“It looks like my services might be needed,” Edward called to her from the porch.

“Yes,” Courtney agreed, intent on Chandos.

“I meant for the other fellow.” Edward chuckled.

“What? Oh, don't waste your time,” Courtney said without an iota of sympathy. Reed was knocked out cold on the ground. “If anyone deserved a beating, he did. Why, you wouldn't believe the gall of that man. He just won't take no for an answer.”

“Well, let's hope he got the message this time, cateyes,” Chandos said as he stumbled toward her. “I'd hate to have to shoot the bastard just because he's such a stubborn, pigheaded cuss.”

“Oh, Chandos, sit down!” she gasped, leading him toward the porch.

“Don't start telling me what to do, woman.”

She pushed him down to sit on the steps. “God sakes, look at you.” She pushed the hair away from his brow, studying his face. “Daddy, you'd better get your bag.”

“Daddy?” Chandos turned to look behind him, and grimaced. “You could have given me some warning.”

She couldn't help grinning. “He enjoyed the fight.”

Chandos grunted.

“So did your father.”

He swore again, his eyes falling on Fletcher, who was giving his men orders to dump Taylor on his horse and send him back where he came from. “What is this, a goddamn family reunion?”

She knew he was being surly only because he felt cornered. “It could be if you let it,” she ventured.

“I came here for you, woman, nothing else.”

“Did you?”

“You know I did.”

Suddenly, her tone matched his, “Then say so. I haven't heard you say it, Chandos.”

He scowled. His father was standing only a few feet away now, leaning against the porch railing. Sawtooth was sitting on the railing next to him, trying not to grin. Neither of them tried in the least to hide their interest in the conversation between her and Chandos. Worse, her father was listening just as keenly.

Chandos felt all their eyes on him, but mostly he felt Courtney's, determined, fiery. And suddenly only hers mattered.

“You're my woman, cateyes. You've been my woman since I first laid eyes on you.”

That didn't satisfy her. “Say it!”

He grinned and jerked her down onto his lap, where she sat stiffly, waiting, until at last he said, “I love you. Is that what you want to hear? I love you so much I've got no direction without you.”

“Oh, Chandos.” She melted against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love—”

“Uh-uh.” He stopped her. “You better think
real carefully before you say anything, cateyes, because if you give me your love, I'm not going to let you take it back. I can't keep worrying about whether or not I can make you happy. I'll try my best but there isn't going to be any changing your mind later. Do you understand what I'm saying? If you're going to be my woman, there's no way in hell I'll
ever
let you go.”

“Does that work both ways?” she asked indignantly, and Chandos laughed and said, “Damn right it does.”

“Then let
me
lay down
my
law. You've already said you love me, and I'm not going to let you take it back, either. And I'll try my best to make you happy, too. But if you think about changing
your
mind later, let me warn you that there won't be anywhere in this whole land you can hide from me, because the first thing you're going to teach me is how to track. And the second thing you're going to teach me is how to shoot. Do you understand what
I'm
saying, Chandos?”

“Yes, ma'am,” he drawled.

“Good.” She smiled now, a bit of color stealing into her cheeks after being so bold. She leaned forward, her lips very close to his. “Because I love you. I love you so much I wanted to die when you left me. I don't ever want to feel like that again, Chandos.”

“Neither do I,” he said passionately, just before he leaned into her lips, kissing her with exquisite tenderness. “You still know how to purr, kitten.”

“Chandos!”

He chuckled.
Now
she was aware of their au
dience! He loved the way her eyes sparkled when she blushed. “You're sure, cateyes?” he said softly.

“Yes.”

“And you can live the way I do?”

“I'll live any way you want, even if I have to carry my babies around in a backtote.”

“Babies!”

“Not yet,” she whispered furiously, mortified, her eyes darting toward her father.

He squeezed her, laughing. She had never seen him so carefree and happy. Oh, how she loved him.

“But we will have some babies, won't we?” he continued thoughtfully. “Maybe a house wouldn't be such a bad idea.”

Courtney stiffened, amazed. “Do you mean it?”

“I could try ranching. The old man made sure I learned every aspect of it. He also dumped a fortune in the Waco bank in my name that I never got around to using. It ought to buy us a nice spread someplace around here. The old man could use the competition.”

Courtney was the only one who could see the laughter in Chandos's eyes as they heard Fletcher spluttering. Sawtooth choked as he tried to hold back his guffaws. Edward was grinning too as he came down the steps to join them.

“I don't think I'll need my medical bag. Anyone with such a lively sense of humor can't be hurting that badly.”

“You're right, doc. Mind if I call you doc?”

“Not at all, though ‘Edward' wouldn't be out
of line, seeing as how you'll be my son-in-law shortly.”

“All I need is a bath right now, and—did I mention marriage, cateyes?”

“No, you didn't.” She grinned at her father's expression. “Oh, Daddy, he's still teasing. Tell him, Chandos. Chandos?”

“Ouch!” He pulled her hand out of his hair. “Are you really going to put me through a white man's ceremony that's got nothing to do with feelings? I've declared myself—in front of witnesses. You've declared yourself. You're already my wife, cateyes.”

“It would make my father happy, Chandos,” Courtney said simply.

“And you?”

“Yes.”

“Then I guess I was teasing,” he said softly.