Bobbi Smith (15 page)

Wade found Fred Carter right where he had thought he would be—playing poker. Wade went to stand at the bar and watch the ex–ranch hand play. He didn’t say anything until Fred had thrown down his hand in disgust and gotten up from the table.

“Bad night?” Wade said when Fred stalked up to the bar and ordered a drink.

Fred glanced his way. “You have no idea. What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.”

“Why?”

“You still need money?” Wade knew all about Fred’s debts in town, and, from the way the poker hand he’d just played had gone, it looked like nothing had changed.

Fred eyed him in disgust. “You know I do.”

Wade nodded. “Then we need to talk. I may have a job for you.”

Fred was curious but cautious. Wade’s offer was intriguing, but he had already figured out how he was going to get the money to pay off his debt to Trey. On the other hand, it couldn’t hurt to be open to other possibilities.

“All right,” Fred answered. “Start talking. I’m listening. What have you got for me?”

“Let’s go over here.” Wade directed him to a secluded corner of the rowdy bar.

It was much later when Wade returned to the hotel, a satisfied man.

Everything was going to work out all right.

Hawk was in a serious mood as he rode to his campsite. Wade’s secret meeting with Pete Turner troubled him, but what disturbed him even more were the feelings that Randi’s kiss had stirred deep within him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t forget the beauty of her embrace.

Since Jessie’s death, Hawk had hardened himself to any tender emotions. He had had to. The pain of losing those he’d loved in the raid that day had overwhelmed him. Since then, he’d only existed emotionally.

But now Randi had come into his life, and she was threatening what little inner peace he’d managed to find.

Randi had touched his heart.

Holding her in his arms had been heavenly for him—and it had also been his hell. Logic told him to protect himself—to stay away from Randi because caring about her would only cause him pain—but there was nothing logical about the way he felt. He wanted to be with her.

Frustration and confusion ate at Hawk as he reached his campsite. He built a small fire and got ready to bed down for the night. Even as he sought what comfort he could find in his bedroll, he knew he would get little rest. His thoughts were only of Randi and the memory of their heated embrace.

Randi lay in her bed in the hotel room, thinking back over the night just past and missing Hawk. She didn’t know where he’d gone, but she sure wished that he had stayed longer at the dance with her. She had danced with Andy and several other men during the course of the evening, but none of them had stirred the feelings within her that dancing with Hawk had.

A vision of Hawk the way he’d looked smiling down at her that night drifted through her thoughts and sent a thrill coursing through her. She sighed. No other man had ever affected her this way. And even though they hadn’t known each other for very long, Randi believed, as she relived in her mind the touch of his lips upon hers, that she had fallen in love with Hawk.

The realization didn’t surprise her. If anything, finally coming to understand her feelings for him calmed her.

She loved Hawk.

Acknowledging the truth of her love, Randi rolled over and closed her eyes. A smile curved her lips as she drifted off to sleep. She hoped to dream of Hawk.

Hawk returned to town early the next morning. He was a man on a mission. He wanted to find some of the other Lazy S ranch hands, have breakfast with them, and try to find out if they had any idea why Wade would have met so secretly with Pete Turner the night before. Hawk reined in and tied up Bruiser before the hotel, then went inside. As he’d hoped, Rob and Lew were already seated in the hotel’s restaurant, so he went to join them.

“Mind if I eat with you?” Hawk asked.

“After watching you shoot yesterday, there’s no way I’m ever telling you no,” Rob chuckled.

“Sit down,” Lew invited, gesturing toward an empty chair.

“Thanks.”

The waitress appeared and took Hawk’s order.

“How about that Randi? I can’t wait to see her today and thank her. I won fifty dollars yesterday, betting on her and Angel!” Lew said when the waitress had gone.

“Randi did a fine job,” Rob agreed. “But we all knew she would. She likes to win; that’s for sure.”

The men talked easily, rehashing the events of the exciting weekend.

“And now it’s back to work for all of us,” Rob concluded. “I wonder where Wade is this morning? I expected him to be here with us.”

“I saw him earlier,” Lew put in with a grin. “He was all dressed up and heading to church with the widow woman.”

Rob was truly surprised. “I knew he was sweet on her, but I didn’t know he was sweet enough on her to go to church with her! This could be getting serious.”

Both men laughed. They’d never considered Wade the churchgoing type.

The waitress served them their breakfast, and they dug in.

“Did you have any trouble with Fred after the shooting match yesterday? I know he was mad—real mad,” Lew asked Hawk.

“No.”

“That’s good. He can be one mean—” Rob started to use a word that wasn’t appropriate for Sunday morning, so he stopped in midsentence.

“I figured as much.” Hawk knew what Rob was saying.

They spoke of other things for a while, and then, finally, Hawk found the opening he was looking for. He spotted the man Wade had met last night entering the restaurant with a pretty woman on his arm. The man nodded in greeting as he escorted the lady past their table.

“That’s Pete Turner, isn’t it?” Hawk asked as casually as he could, once the man had moved out of hearing.

“Yeah, he owns the Flying T. It’s just on the other side of the Walker spread,” Rob offered.

“He wasn’t too happy when Randi won the race yesterday,” Hawk said.

“No, he lost last year to Randi, too. Pete’s got a temper. He ain’t one to mess with,” Lew added.

“Is his ranch a big place?”

“It’s no Lazy S, but it’s decent. He’s been here for quite a few years. He and Jack go way back.”

Hawk was satisfied with what he’d learned.

“You want to ride back to the ranch with us?” Rob asked as they finished eating and got ready to leave the restaurant. “We’ll be riding out shortly.”

“No, I’ve got a few things to take care of first. I’ll see you back at the bunkhouse.”

Hawk paid the waitress for his meal and left. Mounting up, he rode for the Lazy S, but this time he took a circuitous route. He wanted to take a look around the area between the Lazy S and the Turner and Walker ranches. With any luck, he would find some sign of the rustlers.

“I have to ride out to Black Canyon when we get home,” Randi told her father as they rode for the Lazy S.

“And why is that?”

She quickly explained what Ernie had told her. “I’ve just got to take a look around.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, young lady.” Jack chuckled. “Last night you were all ladylike, dancing with the men in town, and today you want to try to track down and capture a renegade stallion.”

“Want to ride with me?” she asked, laughing, too.

“Not today. You go on and have fun, but I don’t know what you’ll do if you ever do manage to get a rope on him.”

“Why, I’ll bring him back to the ranch and break him in myself,” Randi said with easy confidence.

“If he can be broke.” Jack had his doubts. “After running wild for all this time, that stallion may be too hard to handle.”

“Let’s hope I get the chance to find out.” Randi always loved a challenge.

Fred was ready and waiting, passing time in his hotel room in town. Wade had said that he’d send word when everything was set, so for now, all he had to do was sit around. He hoped Wade didn’t take too long. He was eager to get this done and have some money in his pocket.

Smiling at what he considered his bright prospects, Fred stretched out on his bed and relaxed. He regretted that it was Sunday, and the saloons were closed. He could have used Sindy’s company. He was in the mood to do some celebrating.

Hawk had learned the boundaries of the Lazy S from Wade during his first days there. When he reached the south range, he followed the creek that marked the property line with the Walker ranch. He searched for some sign that the rustlers might have passed through there. The going proved tedious. The ground was rocky and hard. If the rustlers had crossed this way, they had left nothing behind to mark their passing.

Hawk finally reined in and dismounted to give Bruiser a rest and let him get a drink. He sat down in a shady spot to relax and study the landscape. He was looking around, taking in the lay of the land, when he noticed what appeared to be the remains of a campfire on the far side of the creek.

Hawk wasted no time crossing the shallow creek to check it out. The campfire had been there for a while. He sifted through the ashes, hoping for a clue of some kind, but found nothing. Still, this was a start. Someone had camped out in this spot. He’d have to find out from Jack if he’d known of any activity in the area.

Returning to Bruiser, Hawk mounted up. He was encouraged by his find, but knew this was just a beginning. He rode on, keeping a careful eye out for anything else that might help him learn the identity of the thieves.

Randi was excited as she rode for Black Canyon. The canyon was actually on the Walker ranch, but not too far over the property line. She knew Pat wouldn’t care if she trespassed while looking for the stallion. She just hoped the horse was still in the area. If he was, she was going to find him.

Keeping Angel to a steady, ground-eating pace, Randi covered the miles with ease. It was a beautiful day for a ride, and she was enjoying the peace of being alone. It gave her time to think about the events of the night just past and her feelings for Hawk.

Randi had looked for Hawk in town that morning, but she hadn’t seen him. Rob and Lew had mentioned on the ride back to the ranch that they’d had breakfast with Hawk, but that he’d ridden off on his own. She couldn’t help wondering where he’d gone.

Randi and Angel topped a low rise, and it was then that she spotted another rider far off in the distance, heading her way. She reined in and tried to make out who the lone cowboy was. She was still on the Lazy S, so she figured it was probably one of the hands taking the long way home.

It didn’t take Randi long to recognize Hawk and Bruiser, and she smiled. She watched him coming toward her, her gaze hungry upon him. Randi hadn’t thought it was possible for Hawk to look any more handsome to her than he had last night, but today, as he drew nearer, she could see the slight shadow of a day’s growth of beard and she thought it gave him a more rakish look. Her heartbeat quickened as he rode up.

“This is a pleasant surprise,” Hawk said easily as he stopped beside her. “What are you doing way out here?”

“Looking for the phantom. I was talking to one of Pat Walker’s men at the dance last night, and he told me that he’d spotted the stallion up by Black Canyon this past week. What about you? I missed seeing you in town this morning.”

“I left ahead of the other men. I’d ridden through here with Wade when I first hired on and he was showing me around, but I wanted to check it over again.”

“Did you learn anything new in town?” She wanted the rustlers caught as badly as her father did.

“The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was seeing Wade meeting late last night with Pete Turner out in back of the Silver Dollar Saloon. I was riding out of town when I saw them together. How do Turner and your pa get along?”

“All right, I guess,” Randi answered, surprised by this news. “But you know, Wade and Pete have known each other for years. I don’t think there’s anything too strange about their drinking together on the Stampede weekend.”

“I just thought it was worth mentioning. Whoever is behind the rustling knows exactly what they’re doing.”

“Do you think we’ll ever catch them?” Randi worried.

“Yes, we will. They’ll make a mistake eventually, and when they do, we’ll be ready,” Hawk told her.

She felt reassured by his words.

“How far away is this Black Canyon you’re wanting to ride to?” Hawk asked.

“Come on. I’ll show you,” she offered. “As good a tracker as you are, maybe you can help me find the phantom’s trail.”

“We can give it a try.” Hawk wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to spend more time with her.

Randi and Hawk rode side by side along the trail that led toward the canyon.

“I missed you after you left the dance so early last night,” Randi told him.

“I thought I’d better take a look around town, check out the saloon and see if I could learn anything.”

“It’s too bad you didn’t have better luck.”

“You’re right.”

They crossed the stream and kept on riding.

“We’re on Walker land now,” Randi told him.

“Pat Walker’s a good neighbor to you, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is, but I don’t know how long she’s going to be able to hold on to the place. Times have been hard for her. Pa’s even had to send Wade and some of our men over to help her out.”

“What about her own ranch hands?”

“Some of them quit on her because she can’t afford to pay them very much. Pat loves that ranch. She keeps hoping things will turn around for her, but the rustling has hurt her even more than it’s hurt us.”

They fell silent as they continued on. Hawk studied the trail, looking for clues to the rustling, while Randi kept watch over the hills around them for some sign of the elusive stallion.

“I think, starting right now, I’m just going to begin calling him Phantom,” Randi said in frustration as they neared the entrance to the dead-end canyon. “The name really suits him.”

“That stallion’s no phantom. He’s just smart.”

“Then I hope he’s smart enough to know that I’m never going to give up. What would you do if you were after him? How would you catch him?” she challenged Hawk.

Hawk had been thinking about just that. “The first thing I’d try to do is box him in. We already know he’s too fast to run down. Angel’s good, but she’s no match for your Phantom.”