In a Cowboy’s Arms (17 page)

All the reasons she should avoid an intimacy with the man she’d be traveling with for one month drifted to the back of her mind. She just wanted him to go on kissing her. She wanted to pretend she could have a romance with a man without looking over her shoulder for Whit.

Bringing that man to mind was all the impetus she needed to tear her mouth from Dade Logan’s.

“Don’t ever take such liberties again,” she said, hoping she sounded affronted and not breathy with passion.

The mouth that had moved so powerfully over her own pulled into a grim line. “Sorry to have offended you, Miss Sutten.”

She offered a pained smile, but he’d already turned away from her and didn’t notice. His cold dismissal was like a northerly blast off the Rockies.

His broad shoulders were impossibly stiff and unyielding. “We need to get back to town. I’ll give you a leg-up.”

“Thank you.”

He boosted her onto the saddle and swung astride his gelding. She’d hurt his feelings and felt absolutely miserable about doing so.

But it was for the best.

Whit wouldn’t stop looking for her. He’d track her down if only to punish her. If there was a man in her life then, she knew Whit would kill him just to hurt her.

No, she couldn’t risk getting close to anybody, especially Dade Logan.

Dade had to get his damned head out of his ass. There was no other explanation for kissing Maggie Sutten like there was no tomorrow. None other than that he’d thought about it since the day he met her.

He slid her a glance and noted the stiff way she sat the saddle. She hadn’t expected him to kiss her. That was evident in that shocked moment when their lips touched and she went still as death.

Even when she did kiss him back, there was a hesitancy there. Once her shock wore off, she pulled away like he was a rattler she’d ventured too close to.

Now the little lady had her back up and for good reason.

For one thing, he’d had no right to kiss her. For another, he’d grabbed her like she was a saloon girl and laid one on her–never mind they were alone out here.

He’d taken what he’d wanted without respecting her wishes. Mind you, he wasn’t sorry he had done it. Nope, he wouldn’t trade the memory of her sweet lips moving beneath his for anything.

But now he had to deal with the consequences.

She’d likely not want to travel with him. Hell, he was lucky she was willing to ride back to town with him. But four weeks was a long time to be in the company of a man she couldn’t trust. And she surely wouldn’t trust him after that stunt.

Oh, he could tell her it wouldn’t happen again. But he wouldn’t place that bet on himself.

Nope, the best thing to do was to stick to their plans. Allis Carson was far more dangerous to her than Dade. Surely she could see that.

“You did good today,” he said, breaking the silence that had been roaring around them.

“I feel awkward on a horse.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow.”

“So soon?”

He heard the panic in her voice and grimaced. He surely didn’t have time to coddle a woman with cold feet.

“Duane Tenfeather is fitting right into the job of deputy and is prepared to take over as sheriff,” he said. “I want to be gone before Allis Carson returns.”

She was quiet a good long time, and he suspected she was weighing her options. “I don’t know if I’ll be ready to ride all day this soon.”

“You’ll be fine, Maggie,” he said.

“I’m afraid,” she said, and the troubled look she cast him proved she was telling the truth.

Damn, he should’ve figured she’d be green in the saddle. But even if he’d had another day to teach her, he couldn’t see where it would make that much difference.

“I know I’m asking a lot in asking you to trust me, but I just have a feeling we’d best get going while the getting is good.”

This time she hauled back on the reins and stared at him. Her eyes said it all. Behind the very real fear she was likely questioning if he’d decided to hustle her off quickly so he could get her alone and have his way with her.

Damn tempting, but he’d only do it if she was game. Even then it didn’t set well with him to take her as a lover when he had no intentions of marrying her.

“Trust is something one earns,” she said. “As yet you have failed to do that.”

“You’ve got every right to doubt me. Make up your own mind. Stay here and risk getting caught by Allis Carson or leave with me tomorrow.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“It is, Maggie. Help me find Daisy, and I’ll see that you’re safely delivered to that nursing school.”

She looked away from him, her gloved fingers tightening around the saddle horn. “All right. I’ll go with you, but if you force yourself on me again, I’ll run away.”

“I kissed you, Maggie. That was all.”

“Kissing can lead to other things.”

“I’d never go farther than you wanted me to,” he said.

He was many things, but he’d never force himself on a woman like she was thinking. It was the one thing he could remember his ma telling him over and over again. It was the one thing he feared would raise its ugly head in him some day.

Don’t abuse a woman in word or deed, boy,
she’d said.

As far as he could recall, he’d had the misfortune of seeing his pa wallop his ma far too many times. He guessed at least one of his uncles was just as disrespectful, for his uncle Brice had been there the last time his ma took a beating and didn’t do a damned thing to help her.

He’d just stood there while Dade’s pa knocked his ma to the ground, her belly swollen with child, her split lip bleeding.

Yep, there was bad blood in the Logans, and he couldn’t promise he’d stay civil the rest of his life. He didn’t aim to marry for that reason. If he ever did cross that line, it’d be with a woman who could protect herself from him if necessary.

History wouldn’t repeat itself with him.

He wouldn’t pass on that vicious streak to his sons, and if he ever harmed a woman–if he hurt Maggie–well, he hoped to hell she shot him dead.

They rode in silence to the boardinghouse. Dade jumped off his gelding and helped her down, careful to keep his touch proper. He wished to hell he could keep his thoughts the same, but feeling the tremors in her had him longing to pull her close.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, she moved out of his grasp. “Thank you for the lessons.”

He suspected she meant more than riding a horse. “I’ll let you know when we’ll leave at supper.”

“All right. I’ll pack and be ready to go.”

Yep, he imagined she would be in more ways than one.

He led the horses to the livery, going over what needed to be done after he finished rubbing down the horses. He’d need to secure a packhorse and supplies, but not too many provisions as they needed to move as quickly as possible from here.

That meant traveling light with just the bare essentials. He dreaded thinking how a woman would complain over that news.

“You the sheriff?” a man asked, stepping into Dade’s path after he’d corralled the horses and stepped from the livery.

“I am.” He faced the man and carefully freed his gun hand, taking the man’s measure and sensing no threat. “You are?”

“Adam Tavish, U.S. Marshal,” he said. “I need a word with you when you can spare the time.”

Dade turned back to the mare and picked up the brush he’d dropped. “Talk away, Marshal.”

“Received a wire from Lionel Payne saying his bank had been robbed yesterday,” Tavish said.

He swore under his breath, guessing the reason for the marshal’s visit to town. “Yep, but if you’re looking for particulars, you’d best ask Payne or the mayor. I wasn’t in town at the time.”

“That’s what I heard,” Tavish said. “What I found interesting is that the Logan Gang was responsible, and you just happen to be a Logan.”

Dade faced the marshal again, and this time there was no mistaking the cool regard on the lawman’s face. “I’ve done told Mayor Willis and Payne that I had nothing to do with the hold up or the gang that did it.”

“Even though you’re Clete Logan’s son?”

“I haven’t laid eyes on my pa or my uncles since I was eight years old,” he said. “Don’t rightly care if I ever do again.”

Tavish stared at him, as if deciding what to believe. “Heard you were orphaned and taken in by Kirby Morris.”

“Who told you that?”

“Reid Barclay.”

Now there was another sore spot, but this one he didn’t aim to discuss with Tavish or anyone. “My deputy and me found out that the Logan Gang had been holed up in a mine north of here all winter.”

Tavish folded his arms over his chest and rocked back on his heels, his features closed. “Then you must know a bounty hunter caught up with them. One dead and one close to it.”

Dade stared at the man, willing him to give their names. But Tavish just met his gaze without blinking. He was forcing Dade to ask for details, and damned if he’d give the lawman the satisfaction.

He’d find out sooner or later.

“Seth Logan died,” Tavish said. “Brice will be locked up, but between you and me he’ll likely die from his wounds before he goes to trial.”

One uncle dead. One dying. He didn’t attempt to drum up sympathy he didn’t feel. If the marshal thought him heartless, so be it. Like Kirby had taught him, you reap what you sow.

“Allis Carson will make a haul off their rewards,” Dade said. “What about Clete Logan?”

“He got away, but Carson vowed to bring your pa in,” Tavish said.

That was a given. So was the fact that his pa would vow to take down the bounty hunter for killing his brothers. The Logan Gang didn’t give a damn about their women and children, but they were fiercely loyal to each other.

“Carson thinks you’re the key to finding him,” Tavish said.

Dade figured as much. “Because I happen to be the sheriff in the town the Logan Gang robbed?”

Tavish nodded. “That and the fact that they wintered in a mine not far from here.”

Damn. If Allis Carson was convinced Dade could lead him to Clete Logan, he’d never be free of him.

“That was a surprise to me. Course I didn’t venture any further than I had to last winter.”

“It was a brutal one. I spent the winter in Maverick, Wyoming,” Tavish said, and Dade went as cold as ice inside. “There was talk in town that you and Trey March had rustled cattle off the Crown Seven the year before.”

“Bullshit! They were our cattle.”

Tavish nodded. “That’s what Barclay claimed.”

Dade stared at him, unable to believe the brother who’d sold him out had also backed up his claim. Had Reid had a change of heart?

He had trouble believing that. It’d been late last summer when he’d gotten word that Reid was back at the Crown.

It’d been the first time that he’d heard they all had until Christmas to claim their shares. He hadn’t been surprised that Reid had gotten there first.

“Was Trey March there too?” Dade asked.

Tavish shook his head. “Nope. Just Barclay.”

So Reid owned the Crown now. “What took you up north?”

“Tracking a horse rustler.”

“Reid’s thoroughbreds would be a temptation to a rustler,” he said. “He running cattle on the Crown again too?”

Tavish shrugged. “Right before I headed out of town I heard he sold the ranch.”

“Makes no never mind to me,” Dade said, which was a damned lie.

Anger speared through Dade, as hot and fresh as the day he’d heard that Reid had sold them out to Kirby’s cousin and gained majority shares. Kirby hadn’t been cold in his grave before his cousin ordered Trey and Dade to pay up or lose their shares.

Only way they could do that was to sell off their share of the herd. It was worth it to keep the land–the only home they’d ever known.

But when they went to sell the stock, the sheriff informed them they’d been charged with rustling. Didn’t matter that it was their own cattle because nobody believed them. They’d been double-crossed by Kirby’s cousin and Reid.

They lost their shares of the ranch and the cattle and the last of their family. They lost faith in their brother.

Trey hired on with a rancher he’d met at the stockyards. Dade decided it was past time that he find his sister. They’d promised to keep in touch, but Dade hadn’t heard from Trey since then. Hell, he didn’t even know where he was at.

He shook off his ire the best he could. That was part of his past, and he had no intentions of going back down that rocky road. If and when he did, it’d be to have it out with Reid.

“For what it’s worth, most folks I talked to in town are pleased with the job you’ve done here,” Tavish said. “That includes your deputy who speaks mighty highly of you.”

“Duane’s a good man from a good family.”

“He seemed worried about this woman Allis Carson is looking for,” Tavish said. “Swore that his description of her was nigh identical to a good many women in these parts, your sister being one of them.”

“That it is,” Dade said, and debated whether to show part of his hand now or not. “You hear why he’s after this woman?”

Tavish nodded. “Said she stole a hundred dollars or so off the lady of the house as well as a broach that’s a Nowell family heirloom.”

“Seems that piece of jewelry would be the easiest way to find her then,” Dade said.

“Unless she’s hocked it by now.” Tavish scrubbed a hand over his nape. “Seems a lot of fuss to go to for so little.”

“I thought the same.” And he still did.

It was the part of Maggie’s story that he found questionable. He hadn’t pressed her for answers before but he would once they left town.

That had to be soon. And it had to be done with forethought.

The plan he had in mind could backfire and have the marshal thinking that he and Maggie intended to meet up with Clete Logan all along, that the robbery had been set up with the Logan siblings conveniently gone from town that day. But if the marshal was as smart as Dade suspected, he’d see that notion was just too cut and dried.

Doc would back up what had taken them away–that Maggie had stayed on to help the Orshlin family and Dade had simply ridden out to check on his sister. The hold up was as much a shock to them as it’d been to the townsfolk.