Chase Wheeler's Woman (7 page)

“Letty Sue,” he said, brushing aside the hair that fell wildly onto her face, “are you all right?”

She burst into tears then, a flood that diluted the sky-blue of her astonished eyes. Her arms wrapped around his neck frantically, pulling him down on her.

“Shh,” he whispered, “don’t cry. It’s going to be okay. You didn’t get burned. Did you?”

He pried himself up enough to gauge the look in her eyes. She shook her head. “Nooooo.”

Her arms latched onto his neck again. The length of him more than covered her entire petite body. He stroked her hair and let her cry it out. He knew he should sit her up and make sure she wasn’t hurt, but she seemed to need this more.

“Y-you s-saved my l-life, again,” she said, and little sobs escaped her throat.

“I helped,” he whispered in her ear. “But I think the layers of clothes you’re wearing saved you this time.”

Her wide eyes met his as her head moved up and down very slightly. “You think so?”

“I do.”

She wiggled underneath him and Chase’s body went rigid. She had her arms wound tightly around his neck, her breasts crushing into his chest. With pouty lips and red, swollen eyes, Letty Sue appeared like a small child, but Chase knew without a doubt she was all-woman. His body told him so, as well as the clear look of longing on her face.

Their lips were close, so close that they shared the same air. Her sweet breath caressed his face softly. He stroked her cheek with the backside of his hand, removing a bit of blackened soot. She squirmed under him again, and a shot of intense desire speared through him.

Her eyes stayed on his, and he felt the rapid beating of her heart. Chase lowered his mouth to hers, noting how she closed her eyes, ready to respond.

His whole body churned with need of her. Every male instinct he possessed hungered to show her how a man could pleasure a woman and take them both to ecstasy. His need was more than elemental. It went further than that, he realized solemnly. When he’d seen Letty Sue in flames, raw emotion had roiled within him and he couldn’t get to her fast enough.

Walk as one. Stand together.
His mother’s words played in his mind like the string on a tightened bow.

But Joellen’s words of trust echoed a moment later.

Abruptly, Chase stood, leaving the heat of her body and turning away from her. He raked both hands through his hair, drawing in a deep breath. Glancing at the broken glass on the carpeted floor, he shook
his head. “Damn it, Letty Sue, you should be more careful!”

She gasped in surprise then, and Chase felt a measure of guilt. It was better this way, he told himself, better to be at odds with her. He couldn’t afford tender feelings.

“Chase?”

He closed his eyes at the pleading note in her voice. “Did you wake up this morning and think today was a good day to die?”

“No, I, uh—”

He turned to see her puzzled expression. Slowly she rose on shaking legs, but managed to straighten to her full height. Her apron was charred, and a few tendrils of smoke still curled upward. He was tempted to reach over and untie her apron, but stood his ground.

“Well, you almost got yourself killed today.” The words came out with a bitter edge.

Her wounded expression changed to anger instantly. She glared at him. “Wouldn’t make you look good in Mama’s eyes if I got hurt, would it, Chase? That’s the only reason you’re upset. Well, I’m just fine, as you can see.”

The prideful tilt of her chin made Chase’s blood boil. He reached for her, grabbing her arms. “Don’t be a fool, Letty Sue. Next time, you might not be so lucky. Why in hell don’t you know…things?”

“I’m trying, Chase Wheeler.” She yanked free of his grasp, rubbing her wrists where he’d held her. He glanced down. “I never wanted to know before.
Mama tried teaching me, many times. But I put up such a fuss, only half listened to her instructions. I guess it just became easier for Mama to do everything herself.”

She’d given her mother a difficult time of it. That didn’t surprise him. His assessment of Letty Sue’s qualities hit the mark dead on: she was spoiled and selfish. “And you aim to change that?”

“Yes, I do,” she said resolutely.

“Just be sure all your learning doesn’t blow up the house.”

She folded her arms across her chest, her blue eyes sparking more flames than the fire he’d just put out. “It won’t happen again.”

When Chase let out a vile curse, Letty Sue only raised an eyebrow. He bent down to pick up his hat, brushing away glass particles that coated it like a fine layer of winter snow. “I’ve got to see about replacing this window.”

She nodded. “I would appreciate that.”

Chase jammed his hat on his head. “And toss that apron in the hearth before another fire breaks out.”

He slammed out the door. A crashing sound from behind made him jump. He nearly tripped down the porch steps.

Damn woman. She’d thrown something!

Ah hell, he thought. He should march back in there and turn her over his knee.

But well-honed instincts told him that if he marched back into the house, turning Letty Sue over
his knee to discipline her wouldn’t give him the necessary results.

Lust-filled images immediately came to mind of her body atop his.

He shook them off quickly, but somehow he knew that tonight, when he closed his eyes, that mental picture would plague his sleep.

Letty Sue didn’t try to hide the disgust on her face when she picked up the bloody bird she was about to cook and slapped it down on the tabletop.

“Lordy, Letty Sue, today, one way or another, you’re going to have yourself a delicious meal,” she muttered in the empty kitchen.

Each night she’d watched the ranch hands sit down to a meal cooked by Earl, the oldest of the bunch, under the thatched roof by the outdoor cooking pit. She’d been invited many times to join them—not by Chase, she mused, but by Sam and the others. Stubbornly, she refused. She wouldn’t give Chase Wheeler the satisfaction of knowing how hungry she’d been or how many more meals she’d ruined.

With great care, she cut the bird into pieces, wrinkling her nose at such a detestable chore. Good thing the ranch hands had plucked the feathers for her. She doubted she’d be able to do that by herself. Next, she coated one piece of chicken in flour and herbs and flung it into the pan. Grease splattered up, just missing her cheek. She jumped back and watched the grease settle.

She was more careful after that, rolling two chicken
legs around in the flour and setting them into the pan. So far, all she’d done was ruin meals, not injure herself. Of course, she had almost gone up in smoke the other day, along with the ranch house. She’d never be that careless again.

Loud voices from outside startled her. She glanced out the kitchen window. The ranch hands had circled around two men, and were cheering them on. Curious, she dashed out the kitchen door and lingered on the steps, watching. In a friendly wood-chopping race, Chase Wheeler and another ranch hand were busy slashing their axes with precision, splitting logs in two.

Letty Sue chuckled. The ritual, instituted by her mother, made a game of a chore most of the hands abhorred. The winner had the privilege of carving his name in the last bundle of firewood, and received a half dozen of Joellen’s fruit pies.

They’re going to have to wait on those pies until Mama gets home, Letty Sue thought with a smile. She hadn’t mastered pie baking techniques as yet. Heavens, she hadn’t mastered much of anything, and she was running out of clean clothes.

Soon she’d have to do the washing.

Lordy.

But her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Chase Wheeler stop his chopping for a moment, yank off his sweat-stained shirt and toss it onto the fence.

Sunlight caressed his broad shoulders, coating his bronzed skin like dark honey. Finely honed muscles rippled and bunched with each swing of the ax.

“Oh my,” she whispered, breathless. She’d never seen him like this, with the setting sun on his shoulders. His dark hair was tied back and his body flowed gracefully as he lifted and lowered his arms to make each cutting blow, his eyes keen on the target.

Virile. Strong.
Savage.

Mesmerized, she watched the race continue. Her gaze rested solely on one man. Chase Wheeler.

But then the scent of something all too familiar wafted to her nose. She sniffed once more and took off running. “Oh no!” She dashed inside the kitchen to the cookstove.

Burned offerings awaited her.

She wrapped several cloths around the handle and quickly pulled the fry pan off the burner, staring blankly at the shriveled pieces of chicken, singed and scarred beyond recognition.

“Ruined,” Letty Sue said forlornly. She grimaced when her stomach grumbled. “I don’t believe my stomach can take another slab of stale bread and cheese.”

Then a thought struck. She didn’t have to eat goat cheese and bread again. No, tonight she’d have herself a fine meal.

After cleaning up the kitchen, she glanced out the window. The wood-chopping race had ended and the men had dispersed. Most importantly, Chase was nowhere to be seen.

Good. She’d just wash herself up a bit and change her clothes. She did have a few clean dresses left.

Tonight, Letty Sue would eat in style.

Chase Wheeler bedded down the horses, giving his favorite, Tornado, one last handful of oats. He slapped the stallion affectionately on the back and closed the stall door.

“I’m turning in early myself,” he said to the horse. Tornado snorted in reply and Chase smiled. He wasn’t sure winning the wood-chopping race was worth the trouble. He stretched out his stiff back and sighed. He’d probably not be around long enough to get a chance at the winnings—Joellen’s pies.

The men had teased that he could always have Letty Sue bake them. Chase had scoffed at that, shaking his head. Letty Sue had been spending a good deal of time in the kitchen. He wondered if she was making progress with her cooking skills. He’d hadn’t heard or seen much of her in days.

But in the evening, he’d made sure she was “tucked in.” It was a promise he’d made to himself—to see that all was well inside the house before he turned in for the night. She didn’t have to know about it. He stayed in the shadows and waited for lights out before checking on her.

Only then could he sleep peacefully.

Chase made his way to the house and climbed the porch steps. He tugged gently on the front door and was gratified to find the door bolted. He glanced into the windows he passed on his way to the back door and puzzled over why he couldn’t see any lantern light in any of the rooms. Had Letty Sue turned in especially early tonight?

And a sense of dread washed over him like a bucketful of rainwater when he yanked open the back door. It, too, should have been bolted shut.

“Letty Sue,” he called out to the darkened rooms.

Silence.

“I’m coming in,” he said, “so get yourself decent.”

Silence.

Chase made his way through the house, calling out for Letty Sue a dozen times. She didn’t answer. Chase pretty much knew from the moment he’d pulled open the back door that Letty Sue wasn’t home.

So where the hell was she?

With long strides, he rushed to the bunkhouse, and finding Sam sitting on his bunk, ready to turn in, Chase questioned him.

“Nope, I haven’t seen her tonight. But if she took off, she’d be riding Starlight.”

“Riding? Letty Sue rides?” Now, this was news. Chase hadn’t believed she possessed any ranching abilities.

“Since she was big enough to peer over this here bunk. Yep, she rides. Darn good, too.”

Chase scratched his head. “Wouldn’t have laid down a bet on that one.”

Sam chuckled. “Surprisin’, I know. But Letty Sue’s real intelligent, and when she sets her mind to something, there’s usually no stopping her.”

“Damn. I’d better see if her horse is missing.”

“I’ll go along with you.”

Chase and Sam made a quick inspection of the corral
that housed the mares. It only took a minute to determine Starlight wasn’t among them.

“Where would Letty Sue go at this hour?” Chase asked.

Sam shrugged. “Don’t rightly know. But I do know Starlight’s got on special shoes. Seems one of Letty Sue’s beaus made them up, trying to impress her. Shod the horse right on the property just a few weeks back. And they leave a different mark on the ground. If you’re good, you can pick up on it. Here, I’ll show you.”

Sam lifted a kerosene lamp off the post and turned up the flame. Searching the dirt near the corral, he called Chase over when he spotted what he was looking for. Pointing, he said, “This one here belongs to Starlight, all right.”

Chase inspected the hoofprint on the ground. “I see it. Can’t be too hard to track.”

“You going after her?”

“Do I have a choice? She’s out there somewhere, alone, in the dark. She didn’t tell anyone where she was going, did she?”

“Don’t suppose, but I’ll check with the men anyway while you’re saddling up.”

A few minutes later, Sam met Chase just as he was mounting Tornado. “Earl thinks he saw her kick up some dust just before sunset, heading toward town.”

“Well, that’s a start.”

Sam handed the lantern up to Chase. “Want some help?”

“No. It’d be best if you stayed here, just in case
she comes back. Tie her up if you have to, but keep her locked inside the house until I get back.”

Sam rubbed his jaw, contemplating. “Letty Sue don’t like taking orders, so I might just have to.”

“Do you have any idea who’d she go visiting at night? Any special
friend?
”

Sam’s eyebrows lifted. He clearly didn’t like the implication Chase was making. He shook his head slowly, showing his displeasure with a frown. “Letty Sue’s not the type of woman—”

“I wouldn’t be too sure. Women are full of surprises. That’s the one thing I do know about them.” Chase slapped his hat on his head and rode out, leaving Sam to ponder that notion.

Starlight’s tracks left no room for doubt; Letty Sue had headed for town. Chase had picked up her trail immediately. He kept wondering whom she was meeting. Why had she left the ranch so late, without telling anyone where she was going? Perhaps he’d misjudged her altogether. She might not be the innocent woman she claimed to be. Or she just might be heading for more trouble than she could handle. Chase pressed Tornado hard, riding with agility, hoping to stop a disaster before it happened.