Brazen (24 page)

"Good. I was concerned."

"Thank you." She looked up at the handsome rancher,
wondering what had been so important to bring him to
see her at this time of night.

John glanced down at her hand and noticed she wasn't
wearing Donovan's ring. His hopes soared for a moment,
thinking she'd broken off the engagement to him already.
"Aren't you engaged to Michael anymore?"

"Oh, yes. We're still engaged. 1 wear the ring on a chain
to keep it safe."

"Oh." His previous thought that this trip might have
been unnecessary was gone. "When I didn't see you wearing it, I thought you might have heard the news already."

Casey frowned. "News? What news?"

John was more ready than ever to tell her. "When I was
in town today, I heard Ernest from the hotel talking-"

"About what?" Casey couldn't imagine what the man
had to say that would cause John to ride all the way out
to the Bar T tonight.

"According to Ernest, there are some new guests staying at the hotel two women."

"So?"

"So, one of them a woman named Karen Whittington-is Michael Donovan's fiancee from back East."

"What?" Casey didn't know what she'd expected him
to say, but his announcement left her in complete and
utter shock.

John's manner was serious as he related all the gossip
he'd heard.

"But how could Michael promise to marry me if he was
engaged to another woman?" A tumble of emotions assailed Casey confusion and fury along with humiliation
and, unexpectedly, pain.

"I don't know," John offered in his most sympathetic
tone as he gazed down at her. He reached over and took
her hand. "That's why I rode out here to see you. I thought
you deserved to know the truth as soon as possible.
Casey" he said her name tenderly "I'm sorry."

Stunned, Casey looked up at him. "John"

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" he offered.

"No. I don't know," she responded, struggling to keep
her runaway emotions under control.

John knew this was his opportunity and he drew her
closer, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "You know
how much I care about you, Casey. You know if you ever
need me, I'm here for you."

Casey almost let herself relax against John. He was offering her comfort and protection and she longed for
both, but as quickly as the urge came, she realized she
would be no better than her lying, cheating, miserable
excuse for a fiance if she went into John's arms. She
pulled back and stood up to move away.

John was thoroughly annoyed, but he told himself to
be patient and bide his time. The news he'd given her
was devastating; she would need time to adjust to Michael's betrayal.

"I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you, but I didn't want you to be caught unaware. You know how much I
care about you, Casey," he repeated earnestly as he stood
up beside her. "If you ever need anything, you only have
to ask."

She nodded as she lifted her gaze to his. "Thank you,
John."

He stared down at her in the moonlight. Casey was
lovely and soon, very soon, she would be his. He
wanted her, but he would wait. In a gentle, nonthreatening move, he bent down and pressed a single kiss to her
cheek.

"Good night, Casey."

John left her alone with her thoughts. He strode to his
horse, mounted up and rode away. Things hadn't gone
exactly as he'd hoped, but he'd started the fire, now he
just had to wait for it to rage out of control. He was smiling
as he rode off into the night.

Casey stood unmoving on the porch, staring after John
until he had ridden out of sight. Only then did she sink
back down on the bench. Her thoughts were racing as
she tried to decide what to do.

Her first instinct was to get her gun and go after Michael.

She realized, though, that she wasn't willing to spend
the rest of her life in jail or to be hanged over the likes of
a miserable, no-good liar like Michael Donovan.

He wasn't worth it.

Casey wondered why John's news about Michael's secret fiancee hurt her so badly. She'd known from the beginning that their engagement was no love match, but this other woman ...Michael must really love her. But if he
loved Karen Whittington, why had he agreed to their marriage?

Casey had always prided herself on being strong, and
when tears unexpectedly pricked her eyes, she grew even
angrier at herself for her weakness.

Casey got up and walked away from the house.

She needed to be alone in the darkness.

She didn't want anyone to see her cry.

It was late that night when Nick found Michael drinking
alone in his father's study.

"Are you that worried about seeing Karen tomorrow?"
Nick asked.

"I'm not looking forward to it," Michael ground out,
taking a deep drink of whiskey. "Karen can be a very
determined woman when she sets her mind to it."

"There's really nothing for you to worry about," Nick
assured him. "Just tell Karen the truth and send her on
her way. You're going to many Casey. That's all Karen
needs to know." Nick smiled at him. "You're man enough
to handle her, I'm sure."

Michael chuckled. "I may be man enough to handle
Karen, but what if Casey hears about this?"

"Then you'd better run for cover," Nick laughed.
"Casey's a whole other story."

"That she is."

The tone of his voice changed so much that Nick
frowned. "You do want to marry Casey, don't you?"

It was the first time that anyone had really asked him
that. He looked thoughtful as images of his wildcat fiancee played in his thoughts.

He saw her breaking the bronc-

He saw her standing before him soaking wet after he'd
dunked her in the river

He saw her in his arms as they'd kissed

He saw her as he'd carried her across the threshold of
their new home

Casey

She had tormented him from the beginning

She had stolen his clothes

And now

Had she stolen his heart?

Nick waited, puzzled by Michael's silence. Finally he
asked him point-blank, "Do you want to go through with
your marriage to Casey? Or do you want Karen? You'd
better decide right now."

Then Nick quit the room, leaving Michael alone with
his thoughts.

It was long past midnight when Michael finally made
his way upstairs to bed. Despite all the liquor, he did not
fall asleep right away. He lay in bed, thinking about the
future and wondering about the wisdom of the decisions
he'd made.

Casey stayed out of the house until she got her emotions
under control. When she went inside to her bedroom, she
lit the lamp on her dresser and caught a glimpse of herself
in the mirror. She stood there unmoving, staring at her
own reflection. The evidence of her crying was apparent
in her swollen eyes and reddened cheeks, and she was
thankful her father had been asleep and hadn't gotten a
look at her tear-stained face.

She poured fresh water in the bowl at her washstand
and scrubbed her face. She didn't want anyone to know
she had shed tears over Michael Donovan.

After undressing, she donned her nightgown, put out
the lamp and climbed into bed. She couldn't decide if
she was eager for morning to come or if she was dreading
it. Either way, she was going to confront Mr. Michael Donovan about his fiancee first thing tomorrow. She wanted
answers to the questions that were tormenting her.

The hours passed slowly. There were times when Casey
thought morning was never going to arrive. When dawn
finally brightened the eastern sky, she got up and dressed.
She left a note on the kitchen table for her father, telling
him she was making a quick trip to see Michael and
would be back soon. Then she strapped on her gun belt
and strode from the house.

A few of the ranch hands saw her ride out, but none
of them questioned her. They knew better than to mess
with Casey when she had that look on her face.

Casey rode straight for the building site, believing Michael would be there working. When she found the house deserted, her first thought was that Michael must be off
seeing Karen.

In frustration, she started off toward the Circle D ranch
house. She would have preferred to have this discussion
with him in a more private setting, but one way or the
other, she was going to have it out with him this morning.

Nobody played her for a fool and got away with it.

Nobody.

"Hey, Michael!"

Michael was in the stable saddling his horse when he
heard one of the men calling him. He went to the door
and looked out.

"What is it?"

"You got company coming."

He looked down the road and immediately recognized
Casey riding his way. He drew a ragged breath, trying to
ignore the pain pounding in his head from his overindulgence the night before. He went out to meet her.

"Good morning, Casey," he said. He tried to give her a
smile, but the sun was hurting his eyes as he looked up
at her in the saddle. He noticed she was wearing her sidearm today, and he was surprised. "Are you expecting trouble?" He gestured toward the gun.

"Trouble is already here, Donovan," she ground out,
dismounting and facing him. "I had a visitor last night."

He wasn't sure what she was leading up to, but judging
from her fury, he knew it would be bad. "Who?"

"John McQueen."

"What did McQueen want?"

It seems John was in town yesterday and heard that
your fiancee from Philadelphia had just arrived in town!"

"Casey, I"

Before he could say more, she drew her gun and fired
at the ground near his feet.

Michael jumped nervously as he faced the full brunt of
her fury. "Casey, put that damned gun away before someone gets hurt!"

"I'm a veiy good shot," she answered coolly.

"Karen is not my fiancee!" he protested, staring at the
gun in her hand.

"Liar!" She got off another round and found she enjoyed seeing him dance to her tune.

"Dammit, woman! I'm not lying to you!"

"Oh, yeah?" she snapped. "Then how come everybody
in town thinks she is? Everybody in town knows all about
her being engaged to you. I don't abide liars, Michael
Donovan."

"And I don't lie, Casey Turner!"

They glared at each other for a moment in silence, unaware of the crowd that had gathered to watch the excitement.

"You are my fiancee, Casey. I've never proposed to
Karen. Now cool off."

"Cool off?" she repeated in outrage. "You and your Eastern sweetie have just humiliated me before the entire
town of Hard Luck!"

"I haven't humiliated you. In fact, I was just on my way
in to town to meet with Karen and"

"So you knew she was here!"

"Only because I got a letter from her late last night. She
had one of the men from the stable deliver it to me."

"And you were going in to Hard Luck to see her and
you weren't going to tell me about it?" Her rage grew.

"I was going to see Karen so I could tell her about our
engagement."

"Sure you were," she sneered in disbelief.

"That's right. I was. Now" he changed the tone of their
exchange "I want to know why McQueen felt it was his
business to tell you about this."

"John was just being a friend to me. He didn't want me
to be caught off guard by all your lies."

Michael grew even more angry. "I'm not going to tell
you again, Casey. I haven't lied to you." He closed the
distance between them to speak to her in a quieter tone
so no one else could hear what he was saying. "What does
it matter to you anyway? This marriage of ours is going to
be in name only, so what do you care if I have a girlfriend
back in Philadelphia?"

Casey stiffened as she stared up at him. "You're right,
Donovan. 1 don't care."

In a smooth move, she holstered her gun and turned
her back on him. Without another word, she mounted up
and rode away.

Michael stared after her for a moment, then started
back into the stable to get his own horse.

He had to pay Karen a visit.

When Michael turned around, he realized he'd had an
audience the whole time.

"What are you looking at? Go to work!"

Just then, Elizabeth came hurrying around the side of
the stable to see Cassandra disappearing down the road.

"Michael! I heard gunshots!" Elizabeth called out.
"What happened?"

"Casey stopped by to take a little target practice."

"But"

"I'll see you when I get back from town," Michael said,
cutting her off as he swung up in the saddle. He'd done
all the talking he wanted to do. He put his heels to his
horse's sides.

Elizabeth looked around at the hands who'd gathered
there, but they were already drifting away. Frustrated, she
returned to the house.

"Karen, dear, I am so sorry," Dorothea told her in her most
sincere tone. She knew how humiliated her daughter was
that Michael hadn't come in to town to see her yet. "I
never dreamed anything like this would happen."