Black Conley (21 page)

"I don't want that no-good son of a—"

"Slow down, Belle,” Roy cautioned. “I know what you think of Joe, what we all think of Joe, but we can't leave him out of this. If we do, we'll be sending the message that we're guilty, which we ain't."

"Where's Black,” Belle asked, her tone one of defeat. “Did they get him, too?"

"Hardly. They were gone when we got there. It looks like they drove the cattle in from the east and out to the west. Black followed the trail while I brought Zeek back here."

"Do you think that was wise?” Belle questioned, unable to keep the concern from her voice.

"It was the only thing we could do. We had to get Zeek back here. I'll help you girls get him in the house and then I'll go to town and fetch the doc."

Belle and Kate helped Roy lift the man's body down from the back of the horse and carry him into the house. By the time they got there, Annie had the downstairs bedroom opened up and the bedcovers stripped down to the sheets.

As soon as Zeek was in bed, Roy left for town. Alone with Zeek in the bedroom, Belle unbuttoned the blood-soaked shirt from his upper body and assessed the wound. The bullet had penetrated his chest, but on the right side and not the left, missing the heart but rendering him unconscious. When they pulled him from the horse, she'd noticed that the back of his shirt had no blood on it, indicating that the bullet was still inside his body.

"Get out of my way,” Annie ordered. “I need to clean up that wound and wash some of the grime from him before the doctor gets here. I don't need you in my way."

Belle stepped back and watched Annie work. It could easily be Black who had been shot. Just the thought of it brought tears to her eyes. She told herself that they were because the man and his wife were close friends, but she knew it was something else entirely. Her tears were for Black, and the fact that in his line of work he could be shot at any time or in any place in the line of duty.

Black herded the Double Bar B cattle into the box canyon and watched as the hands from the other ranches became specks on the horizon. Pete and Jeb made no move to follow their hands, instead they stayed with Black until the Double Bar B steers were secured and the fence had been mended.

"Thought we'd go back to the house and check on Zeek,” Pete said when he rode up next to Black.

"By the looks of the sun, it's almost noon. You boys are welcome to stay and have dinner with us. I'm certain Annie is expecting extra. Wouldn't want to send you away hungry."

"Sounds like you're runnin’ the show over here,” Jeb commented. “What would Belle think of you extending her hospitality without asking her first?"

"She'd think the same thing that I do. I'm bein’ neighborly. Now if that don't suit you, then I guess you won't be eatin’ with us, will you?"

"Black's right,” Pete agreed. “Ain't never heard of Belle turning anyone away from her table. I even heard that Joe Calhoun was eatin’ with her that first day Black was here. Besides, I'm so hungry I could eat my horse, but one of Annie's meals sounds a hell of a lot better to me."

The three of them rode toward the ranch in silence. Black figured that it had to be because they were worried about Zeek. From what he'd seen of the wound, the man was shot bad. It was hard to tell just where the bullet went in, but one thing was for sure, it hadn't come out.

It didn't take long to arrive at the ranch house. When they did, the first thing Black noticed was the carriage that had to belong to the doctor as well as Joe Calhoun's horse. Annie would certainly have a full table for dinner today.

Roy greeted them as soon as they entered the house. From the look on his face, Black knew the situation wasn't good.

"So, you finally decided to show your face,” Joe said as he got to his feet. “I figured you probably lit out after you tried to kill Zeek. I should arrest you."

"Arrest me?” Black questioned. “Roy and I are the ones who found Zeek and sent for you and the Doc. I didn't ‘light out', as you put it. Since I knew that Roy could handle things here at the house, I went to get Jeb and Pete. Together, we brought the steers from all four ranches back here and their men took them to where they belong."

"That's right, Joe,” Pete said. “After Black trailed our cattle to where they rustlers stashed them, he came and got us. We took charge from there. It's funny, this time there wasn't one Diamond A steer in the bunch. Why do you think that is?"

"I wouldn't know and I don't care. I just want to get the man responsible for Zeek's injuries."

"Well, you won't find him here,” Jeb declared. “I suggest you ride over and talk to Clayte. Seems he is the only one of the neighbors left untouched. I'm willing to bet that he's up to his armpits in this mess and for that matter, I'm not too sure about you either."

"I-I'd never..."

"Maybe not, but you're damn quick to point fingers. If you recall, we were with Black when the rustlers hit us the last time. If he was in on it, do you think he'd willingly let us check the brands on the Double Bar B herd? For that matter, the rustling started long before Black arrived in town, so I don't think you can pin it on him so easily."

Before anyone else could comment, Dr. Franklin entered the kitchen. “I got the bullet out of him,” he said as he slumped into one of the kitchen chairs. “A couple of inches to the left and we would have been calling the undertaker. He'll be fine, but I'm afraid he'll have to stay here for several days until he can regain his strength. He took one hell of a beating. I'm certain whoever did this brought him over here after they beat the shit out of him and then shot him."

"I couldn't agree more,” Black commented. “There was a lot of blood in the area where we found him, but no sign of a struggle. It was as if someone had dumped him there and then shot him. It's possible he was unconscious when they brought him to the spot where they intended to kill him. It would be the perfect way to pin all of this on Belle. Unfortunately, they're a greedy lot. They must have decided to take one last batch of cattle and make it look like Zeek was one of them. ‘Course, they weren't too smart about it. I'm certain they thought we'd think the cattle trampled him. I've seen men caught in stampedes before, and they ain't beat up the way Zeek was."

"I need to get into town and send a wire to Zeek's wife,” Joe said, pushing back his chair. “She's visiting her folks in Laramie. She should know what's going on so she can get back here to take care of him."

"There's no need for you to go into town to do that,” Belle commented. “We have a telegraph here for the stage line. We can send the wire to Bessie right now."

Black studied Joe's face. Either he was a complete idiot, or he hadn't remembered about the telegraph line running to the Double Bar B.

"Guess you're right. We should send it right away."

"Any one of the girls can do it for you,” Black said. “They all know how to run the wire, but you shouldn't be so quick in bringing Mrs. Willows and the children back here. These men are desperate. They hit Zeek once, there's nothing to say they won't try to do it again. I'd feel better if there weren't women and children in the middle of it when and if it happens. They're safer in Laramie than they are here at the moment."

Joe shook his head, but made no reply to Black's logic. The others looked at him in surprise. He certainly hoped he hadn't said too much.

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Black could feel the tension that filled Belle as soon as he pulled her into his arms. The girls had insisted that they be the ones to take turns sitting by Zeek's bedside to tend to his needs. Even so, Black knew that Belle wanted to help as well. He was secretly glad the girls had taken the responsibility from her and allowed her to be in his bed.

"What's wrong?” he asked, leaning over to nuzzle her neck.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he could feel her tears wetting his cheeks. “Make love to me. Give me your child."

"We already had this discussion, and I agreed to everything you asked. There's something else bothering you, something else that's making you cry. What is it?"

"It could have been you that was dragged from your bed, beaten senseless and then left to die. I couldn't stand it if it were you. Maybe it's for the best if you didn't continue this investigation. It's too dangerous."

"Honey, living is too dangerous for any of us. You could ride out to check on the cattle and be thrown from your horse and killed. It doesn't mean that you don't continue to do your work. It's the same with me. Ever since I was fourteen years old, I've known that someday there will be a bullet with my name on it. It's the chance I took on when I decided to be a gunslinger, and one that continued to follow me when I became a lawman. It's the cost of living for all of us."

Belle sniffed loudly. “Then give me a part of you that I can have forever. One that won't be riding away to the next assignment anytime in the near future."

Could he give her that and ride away without caring? He doubted it. Something told him that if she carried his child, he'd give up the profession that had been his for so long. He'd missed the entire life of his son in Mexico. He couldn't do the same thing to any child born of his blood in Montana.

He'd watched her intently at supper and noticed that she took her tea from a separate pot as the girls. Living with the whores on his mother's ranch, he knew that the effects of the tea would linger for a while. Maybe they would linger long enough that Belle wouldn't be carrying his child when he left the Double Bar B for his next assignment.

Is that what you really want?
the voice of reason asked.

He knew it wasn't. He wanted Belle to be his forever, but could he give up the life he'd lived for so long? The answer was a resounding yes, but the doubt that lingered was one of what would happen when he told Ed he wanted to quit being a marshal. Ed had turned Black's life around less than ten years ago. Could he turn his back on the only man he had ever called friend?

He shook his head, refusing to think of what his betrayal of Ed would do to their friendship. Instead, he lifted Belle in his arms and carried her to the bed.

Earlier they had pulled back the comforter, and he knew the sheets would be cold against her bare skin. He sat down on the bed and pulled her on top of him. The chill of the sheets prompted him to lay down without shifting her position.

"Do you want me on top?” she asked.

"Not tonight. I'm just warming the sheets for you.” Her breasts dangled in front of her like tempting toys. When he reached up to play with them, she didn't protest. Instead, she leaned forward until her nipples were so close to his mouth, he couldn't resist pulling her down so he could suckle her.

The mewing sounds that passed her lips were enough to make him completely aroused. Unable to wait any longer, he flipped her on her back and drove his cock deeply into her body. She yelped as though surprised by his intrusion, but he knew this was what she wanted.

As he pumped against her, she wound her legs around his waist as though trying to pull him more deeply into the depths of her body.

"They say that the deeper the penetration, the more likely it is that a woman gets pregnant,” she gasped.

He wanted her to shut up, but said nothing. Instead he plunged deeper into her body than he had on any other occasion. Even the thought of leaving her with his child couldn't dampen his pleasure at this moment. She was his, and his alone. Knowing that another man had been the first didn't bother him. Just the fact that he knew her heart belonged to him was enough. She had been called a ballbuster and had allowed no man in her bed before he came to the Double Bar B. One kiss had changed all that, and he was glad to be the one to have awakened her sexually.

When they finally came together, the ecstasy was beyond compare. He'd been with women before; paid companions who had brought him to climax, but it had never been like this. Somehow he knew it would never be like this with any other woman. Belle Barton had spoiled him for life. She was the only one he ever wanted in his bed.

"I stopped drinking the tea,” she whispered, as they lay entwined in each other's arms.

"I noticed. There's just one thing you should keep in mind."

"What's that?"

"I don't want you disappointed if it doesn't happen right away. The effects of that tea take a while to wear off, or at least that's what my ma always said. I want you to have my child, but I don't want to leave here with you disappointed because it didn't happen. There are couples who wait years for a child that never comes."

Belle snuggled closer to him, giving him warmth in comparison to the chill of the room. “I know. Annie told me the same thing earlier. She also told me about how she and Roy tried to have more kids, but it wasn't meant to be. They lost several children after they had Ed, and then she didn't even get pregnant again. I just pray that won't be the way it is between you and me."

He pulled her closer and cupped her breast in his hand as he started to doze back off to sleep.

"Belle, Black, come quick, we need you down here!"

Kate's frantic shouts woke Black. He bolted out of bed and pulled on his clothes as quickly as possible, leaving Belle to do the same as he strapped on his guns and ran barefoot for the stairs.

He was only halfway down when the orange blaze coming through the window sent him back up for his boots.

"It's a fire!” he exclaimed as he pulled on his boots and again started down the stairs with Belle right behind him.

The sight of flames licking at the roof of the barn was coupled with that of the girls running in and out of the burning structure to get the horses to safety.

He hurried back up the stairs and pulled on his boots. After grabbing his coat, he joined them in their frantic efforts. “You girls man the buckets,” he ordered. “I'll get the rest of the stock out of there. It's too dangerous."

One by one, he led the rest of the horses to safety and then went back in to get the saddles and other tack out of the burning building. Each time he exited the barn, he felt a shower of water dripping from the burning roof. The chill of the early morning hours combined with the cold water made him shiver.