Ana Leigh (17 page)

Chapter 17

W
hen Zach went downstairs he saw no sign of the gang, so he headed for the Harvey House. After last night, he couldn’t stand aside and let her marry Rayburn. He doubted he would have even if she
hadn’t
come to him last night. Just the thought of her made him hot and hard. Lord, she was under his skin! He had never let any woman get that kind of upper hand with him before.

The hot bath he’d taken had rejuvenated him and succeeded in washing the scent of her from his body, but somehow he still smelled the jasmine as though she were standing beside him.

The bell tingled overhead when he entered the Harvey restaurant and paused to look around. The morning train had come and gone, and now only a few locals were eating. He saw Bull and Joe sitting at a table in the corner. There was no sign of Tait, Pike, or Cain. Good. The last thing he needed this morning was those three. He’d have liked to avoid Bull and Joe, too, but it’d be too noticeable, so he sauntered over to them and pulled out a chair.

“Where’s Tait?” If Tait was out to kill him, he sure as hell wanted to know where the bastard was. He also wanted to know who Tait had been talking to last night. It looked like things were starting to move faster, and he had to warn Will.

“Ain’t you heard?” Bull asked.

“Heard what?”

“The sheriff locked him up. Last night Jess got drunker ’an hell and started to slap around one of the whores at the Long Horn. When the bartender tried to stop him, Jess knocked the fella out and started to bust up the joint.”

“What’re Pike and Cain doing—sitting in Tait’s cell holding his hand?”

“They rode out somewhere early this mornin’,” Bull replied. “Said they had an errand to run for Jess.”

“What kind of errand?”

“Didn’t ask. Weren’t none of my business,” Bull said pointedly.

Joe joined the conversation, his eyes glowing. He thrived on bedlam. “Can’t believe you didn’t hear that ruckus last night.”

“I was occupied.”

Bull and Joe exchanged lewd grins.

“Bet I know with what.” Bull’s beefy face twisted into a smirk. “She must’ve been damn good for ya to miss hearin’.”

“She was.”

“Then don’t be greedy, MacKenzie,” Bull pursued. “Let Joe and me in on some of that action. Who is she?”

“Not a chance. You’d wear her out, Bull, and I’d be out in the cold,” Zach said lightly, knowing how the man considered himself to be a great stud. Truth was, Bull’s testicles were huge, which was how he had earned the moniker. He took great pride in them, confusing their size with sexual prowess.

“Betcha it wuz that skinny-ass blonde at the Long Horn,” Joe said. “The one who said we’d have to take a bath afore she’d climb into bed with us.”

“Betcha yer right, Joe. Wuz it her, MacKenzie?”

“Fellas, you’re wasting your breath.”

Joe poked Bull in the arm. “See, wha’d I tell ya. It wuz her, all right.”

Zach saw Rose come out of the kitchen and carry plates over to two cowboys at a nearby table. She looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Even her step had a spring to it. He was amazed, considering how she’d spent most of the night.

When she remained at the table laughing and joking with the cowboys, he began to feel resentment. Was this her way of telling him that last night hadn’t meant anything other than a good romp? Or was she trying to make him jealous?

With a belligerent glare, he decided it was the latter. Well, she was wasting her time if she thought Andrew Zachary MacKenzie was the type to get jealous over anything or anyone. From now on, he only wanted one thing from her—and he knew now how to get it: just light her fuse and she blasted off like a Roman candle. He cast another annoyed glance in her direction.

“Can we have some service here?” he called out.

Rose patted one of the cowboys on the shoulder and walked over to them. “Good morning, gentlemen. I thought you were waiting for your other cohorts. Do you wish to order now?”

Joe scratched his balding head. “What’s a cohort?”

“A colleague in crime. Your glorious leader,” she said.

“Ya mean Jess? He’s in the calaboose right now.”

“Now, why doesn’t that surprise me?” Rose said.

“Yeah, he busted up the Long Horn last night. You mean you ain’t heard about it?”

“Not a word.”

Bull poked Joe. “She mustta been
occupied
same as MacKenzie.” The two men snorted with laughter.

Rose gave Zach a scathing look. “If you gentlemen intend to order breakfast, that’ll be seventy-five cents in advance from each of you.”

“Dammit, Rose, how long is this going to go on?” Zach declared, tossing down a silver dollar. “I’ve always paid for what I ate.”

“Blame your friends, not me. I have my orders. Mr. Harvey isn’t running a charity house for riffraff and petty outlaws.”

“You talk too smart, lady,” Bull said.

“It’s not too
smart
of you to speak so nastily to your boss’s future wife, Mr. Bull.” She smiled at him. “Fortunately, I don’t hold a grudge.”

Bull threw down his money and offered no comeback.

Joe slowly counted out his coins and added them to the pile. “ ’Sides, Miz Rose, weren’t our idea not to pay before. Jess’s the one who thought of it.”

Rose picked up the money. “I’m afraid the specialty is all gone by now, but I can offer you ham and eggs.”

“Sure. From what MacKenzie’s been tellin’ us,” Bull said, “sounds like after last night he could use some lead in his pencil.” That elicited another snort from Joe.

Rose’s eyes clouded with anger. “What about you two?”

“Yeah, bring me some eggs for sure,” Bull declared, “but Little Joe here don’t need none—he don’t know how to write.” Bellowing with laughter at his own joke, he slammed the table several times with the palm of his hand.

After a disgusted look at Zach, Rose spun on her heel and walked away.

“Bull, can’t you swallow that filth in front of ladies?” Zach groused. “And like she said, she’s gonna marry the boss. I’d watch what I say in front of her.”

His gaze was drawn magnetically to the sway of Rose’s hips. Recalling the feel of those hips in his hands, the satin-smooth texture of those rounded cheeks, he clenched his hands into fists to curb the itch that had begun in his fingers. Adding to his discomfort, he could smell the faint aroma of jasmine. His blood heated up and he moved his chair closer to the table to conceal the growing erection straining at his jeans. Dammit! He was as disgusted with himself as he was with Bull.

Zach purposely avoided any further conversation with Bull and Joe, who were making comments about the physical attributes of the other Harvey Girls who were scurrying to finish up the breakfast trade before the luncheon train’s arrival in three hours.

When Rose returned with a tray of food, she placed heaping plates of ham and eggs in front of Bull and Joe, then slammed Zach’s plate down in front of him.

She was pissed with him, all right. What in hell had he done, other than give her the best sex she’d probably ever had? If he lived to be a hundred, he’d never understand women.

As Zach ate, he concentrated on how he could get back to being on the good side of her—or any side of her, for that matter. Recalling the delights of last night, he’d take her any way she wanted.

Rose put down the dishes she’d carried into the kitchen and, closing her eyes, she leaned back against the wall. How could he have done this to her? From Bull’s lewd remarks, she could imagine what he’d told them. Hadn’t last night meant anything to him other than something to boast about to those animals?

Tears slipped from under her eyelids and trickled down her cheeks. How she’d wanted to believe he was different from them, but he wasn’t.

Yet could she resist the temptation to see him again? She trembled, recalling the thrill of his kiss, his touch. For her own welfare and her plans for the future, she knew she mustn’t ever make the mistake she had last night. Zach MacKenzie was a drifter running with a gang of no-goods. You couldn’t pick your relatives, but you could your friends—and Zach had chosen these men. One day he’d end up the way they would: in prison, or dangling from the end of a rope.

Her tears increased at the thought of Zach’s endearing grin erased, his mesmerizing sapphire eyes closed forever, or the warmth of his laughter stilled in death. She could never remain immune to whatever Fate had in store for him. Last night had linked more than her body to him; it had linked her soul.

When she had wakened that morning in Zach’s bed, she’d felt guilty and ashamed for her actions. And despite all her former hopes, she’d planned to tell Stephen she couldn’t marry him. Until last night she’d always believed she could be a good wife to him, but now she had betrayed him. And she knew, despite the heartache she now felt, that as long as Zach MacKenzie was near, she’d do it again—and Stephen deserved much better than a cheating wife.

Yet her attraction for Zach was hopeless, and could only end in tragedy. She’d wire Mr. Harvey today and ask to be transferred out of Brimstone.

Rose felt a gentle touch on her arm and opened her eyes.

Kate’s brown eyes were filled with compassion. “Rose, what is it?”

Wiping away her tears with a napkin, Rose forced a smile. “Nothing, really. I just have a headache.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

Although Rose usually faced trouble head-on, she needed some time alone to collect her thoughts.

“Would you mind finishing up my tables? Perhaps if I go back to my room and lie down, I can get rid of this headache. I’ll come back in time for lunch.”

“Of course I will.” Kate put her hand on Rose’s elbow and led her to the rear door. “You get some rest, dear, and I’ll explain to Mr. Billings.”

The fresh air felt good on Rose’s flushed cheeks. She hated not being entirely truthful with Kate. Although the two women were becoming closer every day, there hadn’t been time to form the type of relationship Rose had had with Emily Lawrence. How she wished Em were here now!

Inside her small room, the walls seemed to close in on her immediately and she opened the window. Then she plopped down on the bed, pulled the bow and pins out of her hair, and shook it out. As she lay back, she thought of Emily again. At least it had all ended happily for Em—Josh and she were crazy in love.

Rose’s smile slowly dissolved. “Crazy” was right. A person would have to be crazy to become vulnerable enough to fall in love.

Her last conscious thought before drifting into slumber was that there was no way her relationship with Zach could ever have the same happy ending.

“More coffee, gentlemen?”

Zach looked up to see Kate McDermott holding a coffeepot. For the past fifteen minutes there’d been no sign of Rose, and absorbed with his thoughts about her, he’d been unaware of Kate’s approach.

“Yeah, cutie,” Bull said, holding up his cup.

“What happened to Rose?” Zach asked. “She give up on us?”

“Rose is feeling under the weather, so she went back to her room. Last night’s party totally exhausted her.”

Kate was a good-natured woman, Zach thought. And besides having a pretty face, her body was just as appealing—which unfortunately made her a target for some of Bull’s and Joe’s crude remarks.

As Kate refilled his cup, his thoughts returned to Rose. If she’d gone back to her boardinghouse, it would be a good time to catch her alone and find out what had made her angry with him.

He took a gulp of the coffee, then shoved back his chair. “I’ve gotta go. See you fellas back at the Long Horn.”

“Yeah,” Bull grunted, “you don’t want that gal of yours to cool off.”

“That’s right, Bull,” Zach said, and headed for the door.

Hoping Rose had left her window unlocked, he went to the rear of the boardinghouse. His luck was better than he expected: the window was open. After a glance around to make certain he wasn’t observed, Zach climbed into the room.

He sucked in a breath when he saw her lying on the bed asleep, that gorgeous red hair fanned out on the pillow. She looked so peaceful. Somehow, in the course of their chaotic relationship, he’d always associated some tension with her. But last night he’d discovered another side to her nature that she’d kept disguised with all her talk about marrying for money. She had made love as if she was in love with him; she hadn’t even realized she’d cried it out once at the height of her passion.

Seeing her now, deep in slumber, she looked so different—serene and utterly beautiful. The same way she’d looked last night in the moonlight. This was the Rose he wanted to know better. The kind of woman who would love a man as deeply and intensely as the passion she brought to the bed. That same kind of love his parents felt for each other.

Rayburn was getting more woman than he deserved—more than any man deserved.

He yearned to lie down beside her, slip her hand into his, and smell the sweet jasmine of her scent until he, too, fell asleep. But waking up to find him beside her would probably just anger her more.