Daring (27 page)
She glanced up at him, staring him in the eye. The pain of leaving her rushed at him, and he knew he couldn’t live without her.
“I’m a weak, spineless man who doesn’t like to see the people I love hurt. When I care about people, I give them everything, and so when they hurt, I hurt. When they feel pain, I feel pain, and when they die…I want to die.”
He took a deep breath and released. “But right now, I’m in the worst sort of pain because I knew when you left, you weren’t coming back. There wouldn’t be another chance to prove I love you no matter that you were done. And that scared me worse than anything I’ve ever felt.”
He got down on one knee in the front yard, and she gasped.
His heart was overflowing with love for this woman, and no matter what—her dangerous activities, her recklessness, her need for adventure—nothing would stop him from loving her, from wanting to spend his life with her.
“I know I said I would never marry again. I would never take a chance of endangering your life, but you make my life fun and exciting, and I can’t imagine you not being by my side. I love you, Ruby. Please say you’ll marry me.”
She licked her lips. “You’re not going to back out again, Deke, are you?”
“Never. You make my life richer and happier than I’ve ever been. I need you.”
Ruby flew into his arms, sending him backwards onto the ground. He wrapped his arms around her.
“Yes, I’ll marry you, but I have a few conditions.”
“And they are?” he asked, suddenly worried.
“I am a strong, independent woman. You will not boss me around and tell me what to do.”
“Can we make our decisions together?” he asked.
She thought about it for a moment. “Yes. I can agree to that.”
“Okay, what else?”
Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly. “I want to train young women to be independent. To become bounty hunters if they choose. Or simply to learn how to shoot. I’ve got to have something to keep me busy, and needlepoint is not going to do it.”
Relief flowed through Deke, and a joyous laugh came out from within. “As long as you’re careful. And by careful, I mean you teach them to hit a target and not you.”
She smiled. “Deke, it took you long enough to come around.”
He held her in his arms. “Like I said, you scare me, Ruby, but I love you more than the fear you incite in me.”
“Every time I scare you, we’ll make love,” she said.
“I’ll take you up on that offer,” he whispered. “You know proposing is kind of scary.”
Ruby’s eyes widened. “What can I do to help you through your fear?”
“Well…” His lips claimed hers, and for the first time in years, Deke felt like he’d come home to where his heart belonged.
The End
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Ruby and Deke’s story Daring. I’m having so much fun writing this series that I’ve decided to add three more women. Next up will be the young girl who was sold into prostitution, Hannah in Determined. That story should be available in July. Caroline’s story is after hers and I’m hoping to have that one out in September.
Plus look for a new series I’m starting this summer called The Scandalous Suffragette Brides. This series will be about young women who wanted the right to own a business, own property and vote in a small town where women are to be seen and not heard. Look for that in mid-summer.
I have one small request. If you’re inclined, please leave a review. Whether or not you loved the book or hated it, I’d enjoy your feedback. Reviews are difficult to obtain and have the power to make or break a book.
If you enjoy western historical authors, please join the Pioneer Hearts group on Facebook. This is a fabulous group of readers and authors who enjoy westerns.
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Reading one of my books is like spending time with me, and I just want to say
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Sincerely,
Sylvia McDaniel
Books By Sylvia McDaniel
Western Historicals
The Burnett Brides Series
Boxed Set
Lipstick and Lead
Daring – May 2015
Determined – July 2015
Deceived – September 2015
Scandalous Suffragette Brides
Abigail – July
Bella – July
Callie – July
Southern Historical Romance
The Cuvier Women
Boxed Set
Excerpt from Determined:
Chapter One
Hannah Williams knew that life was hard. The last year had shown her that you never let your guard down or suffer the consequences. Her guard was firmly in place as she watched the beating in front of her.
In Hide Town, Texas, the bad guys were in control and she’d returned to get revenge on the people who had changed her life forever. To exonerate her name and kill the man responsible for her misfortune and the woman who’d helped him.
From the shadows, she watched the madam’s three goons, beat a man who hung limply between them, no longer fighting. His face was bloodied, his eyes already swelling shut, his lip was cracked and bleeding. Oh how she wanted to ride away, to leave him and the goons, and mind her own business. But what if Ruby hadn’t rescued her? What if she’d ridden away, leaving Hannah behind?
How could she walk away from someone in need?
“Enough,” one of the men said. “I think he’s damn near dead.”
“Let’s go,” the ringleader said. “It’s getting close to dark and I’ve got things to do besides beat up a stupid man.”
“What about the girl?”
Hannah sank back deeper in the shadows. What girl were they talking about? While she’d returned to town seeking revenge, she wasn’t ready to show herself just yet.
“She’s not here. He must have helped her leave town.”
“Damn, she was a pretty one. I was looking forward to getting me a piece of that young’un.”
Alarm spiraled through Hannah, yet she wasn’t afraid. Her resolve strengthened and she reached down and felt the gun at her side. Lovingly she touched the revolver knowing she didn’t fear using it on any man who would harm her.
“If you think she’s so gorgeous you chase her into a town where the sheriff doesn’t look the other way. You’ll be looking down her father’s rifle in no time with a village full of people ready to string you up for hurting one of their own.”
Another young girl must have been captured, and they tried to force her into prostitution.
Dropping the man’s arms they let him fall to the ground. “Let’s leave him for the coyotes.”
One of the men gave the senseless man a swift kick in the ribs. The body on the ground jumped, but didn’t make a sound. She wondered if he was dead.
The outlaws climbed on their horses. Hannah watched as they spurred them riding off in the semi-darkness. Now what did she do?
Creeping out of the shadows, she hurried to the man on the ground and rolled him over. He groaned, letting her know he was still alive. There was little time and he had one chance before she’d leave him behind.
She shook him. Slowly he opened his swollen eyelids and tried to gaze at her.
“Do you want to live?” she asked knowing they needed to get out of here before the goons came back to finish the job they’d started and found them both.
He groaned.
“If you want to live, you’ve got to help me get you on my horse. I can’t do this alone.”
There was no way she could get him on her horse without his help and there was no way he could walk. And there was no way she was staying here on the prairie tonight without a fire.
“Leave me. Let me die,” he groaned. “I’ll be in a better place.”
Shaking her head, she started to walk away and then went back, unable to do as he requested. “Do you want to be coyote food? Because they’re a lot of those critters around here and they’re hungry. They like to play with their food for awhile before they rip into them. You’ll taste pretty yummy to them.”
“All right, you made your point.”
She watched as the man crawl to his knees, shaking his head. Rushing to his side, she helped him to his feet. Placing her arms underneath his armpits, she supported him as he hobbled to her horse. “What did you do that angered the madam’s goons?”
“You’re in danger,” he managed to mumble between swollen lips. “Leave me.”
“I live with danger,” she reiterated. She had only one goal left to live for in this life. After that she didn’t care what happened to her. But she wasn’t dying until her revenge was complete. She’d fight from the pit of hell if that’s what it took, but she would settle the score for losing her innocence.
Helping him crawl up on her horse, she climbed up behind him. He lay over hugging the animal’s neck, barely able to ride and she feared he would fall before they could reach the abandoned shack, she’d claimed as her own.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Jackson Colster,” he muttered through swollen lips.
At the name anger rushed through her like a strong wind. This ugly man was the damn preacher who had turned his back on her when she tried to escape. The very man who her mother had gone to and told him that she feared her husband and he’d told her that marriage was forever. A man she didn’t care whether he lived or died and now she was helping him to live?
The urge to push him off her horse and leave him behind was strong, but Hannah was not going to be the hypocrite she had riding on her horse. She’d give him shelter, doctor his wounds and send him on his way.
While she prepared for the coming battle.
End of Excerpt
Excerpt from Desperate:
1876
Chapter One
“I don’t believe you. My sister was not charging boys to kiss her,” Meg McKenzie said, standing in the field of her small East Texas family farm in her father’s hand-me-downs.
Her sister’s schoolteacher stood in front of Meg with her arms folded, her expression filled with contempt, her nose wrinkling up in disdain.
This was her fourth trip out to the farm this year. Surely by now, the schoolmarm had grown accustomed to the smell of manure that permeated Meg’s clothing. Certainly, she knew Meg worked the farm alone, which was not for the faint of heart, and most definitely, she had to know Meg could barely tolerate the woman who wasn’t much older than herself.
Meg closed her eyes and wished for the thousandth time she lived the life of a normal young girl. With a living mother and a father who spent time at home. That she had a life of dancing, pretty dresses, and young men courting.
When she reopened her eyes, Meg recognized the poke bonnet and a bustle beneath the teacher’s skirt from the last catalogue Papa had brought home. The woman was wearing the latest fashion. Fashions Meg longed to design. Fashions Meg wanted to wear. Fashions that would make Meg feel like a woman, rather than an ugly hoyden.
“She was kissing boys,” the woman repeated. The schoolmarm’s reddening cheeks and narrowed eyes bespoke of the temper she seemed barely restraining as she confronted Meg about Ruby’s bad behavior.
