The Reluctant Bride (45 page)

“What are you doing back?”

It was Tim. He stood exposed on the rocks above with his rifle across his arms.

“I don’t have time to explain,” Tanzy said, “but I left to get proof Stocker was trying to pin this rustling on Russ. He’s hired rustlers to steal cattle. They mean to force their way into the valley so when the sheriff and posse arrive, there will be proof Russ is doing the rustling.”

“Nobody’s getting by me,” Tim said, beginning to unbend a little.

“Stocker means to kill you first. I’ve got to warn Russ.”

Tim called out something, but she didn’t hear. She was already galloping toward the man she loved, hoping he still loved her.

“I think you ought to go outside,” Welt said. He’d entered the cabin in a hurry, tension showing in his eyes.

“Why?” Russ asked.

“Just go.”

Russ turned and reached for a rifle.

“You won’t need that,” Welt said.

“What’s going on?”

“You’ll see.”

Russ didn’t understand, but he didn’t much care. He hadn’t cared very much about anything since Tanzy left. The cows that represented his success had become empty possessions that required much of him but gave nothing back. Even the friendships that had been so vital to him during prison and so essential to his success since had lost some of their meaning. Tanzy’s departure had ripped the heart out of everything that was important to him.

“You’ve been acting mighty peculiar lately,” Russ said as he headed toward the door.

“I’m surprised you noticed.”

He’d been moody, morose, even hostile at times. He guessed that was why Tardy had left. Thinking about Stocker and how that man had poisoned everything in his life made him so angry he was seething. It wasn’t fair to take his anger out on the kid, but now the damage was done.

He didn’t see anything different when he stepped out of the cabin. The yard looked the same. A horse in the corral whinnied and some birds squabbled in the trees by the creek, but everything else was quiet. Then he heard an approaching horse. He rounded the corner of the cabin to see Tanzy riding a paint mare at a slow gallop. The mare was breathing as if she’d been ridden hard, long, or both.

His heart leapt at the sight of her. He’d forgotten how beautiful she was, how just looking at her made him feel good, how he’d come to count on seeing her every day. Or maybe he’d just tried to forget because he’d thought he’d never see her again. It didn’t matter. His heart started beating so rapidly he felt dizzy. She was coming back. He didn’t know why, but it didn’t matter as long as she was here. Somehow he’d find a way to convince her to stay.

His second emotion, so strong it overcame the first, was anger, the feeling of betrayal, the loss of faith in himself and in her. He didn’t want her coming back, stirring things up again. It was hard enough to get used to her leaving the first time. Seeing what he’d lost didn’t make it any easier. He stood in the middle of the path, feet spread apart, arms across his chest

“If you’ve come for Tardy’s things, they’re already packed,” he said when she pulled up her horse. “If you’ve come for anything else, you can turn around and go back to Stocker.”

He didn’t want to classify her expression. It looked too much like she was glad to be back, like she loved him but was afraid he would reject her. He had to look away. If he didn’t, his will would fail and he’d be in the same trouble all over again.

“Do you hate me so much you can’t look at me?”

His gaze flew to her face. “I don’t hate you. I just don’t want to look at the face that lied to me. Would you like to know if you haunt me still? You do. I see you wherever I look, whenever I think of something that reminds me of you. You took something important away from this valley when you left. I can’t blame you if you can’t love me, but I don’t think I can forgive you either.”

“I never left, not the way you mean, but I don’t have time to explain now. Stocker hired some rustlers to steal cattle from all the ranchers, hoping he could blame it on you and hang you. When that didn’t work, he came up with a new idea. He’s planning to have the rustlers drive all the stolen cattle into your valley. He’s arranged for the sheriff and a posse to arrive afterwards so they can find the stolen cattle here.”

“They won’t get past Tim.”

“They plan to kill him. Stocker resisted killing Tardy and me, but he got a glassy-eyed look when he imagined what you’d look like when you saw the cows and knew you were going to hang. I think he’s a little crazy.”

“Where did you hear this fairy tale?” Russ asked. He didn’t have any trouble believing Stocker would sink so low, but he didn’t see how Tanzy could know something like this, or why she would tell him.

“When you left to burn Stocker’s barn, I was ready to leave. It was a feud all over again. But I realized I loved you too much to leave you to face all this cruelty alone. I also realized that simply staying here wouldn’t solve anything, so I made up my mind to find out what was happening. That’s why I went to work for Stocker. I figured being around him every day would give me a chance to learn something. And it did. I learned a stranger sometimes visited him after midnight. I heard them say something about rustling and mention your name. When Tardy came to ask if I’d keep teaching him, I enlisted his help.”

“He didn’t run away because I got angry at him?”

“Far from it. He did his best to talk me into returning. When I explained what I wanted him to do, he couldn’t wait to help.”

“What did you do?” Russ wanted to believe her. God, how he wanted to believe her, but he didn’t think he could stand being made a fool of again.

“I had Tardy study in the room next to Stocker’s office. When he saw a stranger enter, he came and got me. I listened at the keyhole, but my legs cramped when I tried to stand and they caught me. They tied me up. They knocked Tardy out and tied him up, too.”

She held out her arms for him to see the red marks on her wrists.

“How did you get out?”

“Tardy had convinced his aunt to let him come back home. When she found he wasn’t in his bed, she blamed me. When she found I wasn’t in my bed, she came after me. If she hadn’t been so angry at me, I’d still be waiting for the rustler to come back and kill us.”

“What makes you think I’m going to believe such a wild story?”

“Common sense. You may believe I don’t love you and that I’m lying when I say I left to try to stop Stocker, but do you believe I would betray you to him?”

“No.”

“Then you have to believe I want to help you. There’s no other reason for me to be here.”

“She’s right, you know.” He hadn’t realized Welt had come up behind him.

“I know she’s right about Stocker, dammit. It’s just the rest that I’m having trouble with.”

“The part about my still loving you?” Tanzy asked.

“Yes.”

She slid off her horse. “Maybe this will help.” She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled his head down until their faces were only inches apart. “I’ve done everything I could to keep from wanting to marry you, but it didn’t work. I love you enough to stand by you through a feud if necessary, but I also love you enough to take the risk of trying to stop it. This is my pledge that I’ll always love you no matter what.”

She rose on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Russ thought his legs would go out from under him. He tried to hold out against her, but the battle was brief and his surrender unconditional. If this was the way to Hell, then he would go willingly. He didn’t want to fight his way to victory without her. She was the only person who could keep him from dying inside, who could rescue the part of him that had hidden behind a tough, rebellious, unemotional exterior all his life. The effort was suffocating him. She was his only way out.

“I hate to break up your reunion,” Welt said, “but if Tanzy’s right, I expect Stocker is on his way with those stolen cows.”

Russ had to fight to pull himself out of Tanzy’s embrace, but they could celebrate later. If they didn’t stop Stocker, there wouldn’t be any later.

“We need the wagon to block the pass,” Russ said.

“I’ll get it,” Welt said, “but it won’t be enough.”

While Welt headed toward the corral at a run, Russ ran inside, got a rifle, returned, and fired it three times. “That’ll bring Buck and Oren,” he said to Tanzy. “When they get here, tell them what’s happening. Have them bring poles we can use to loosen boulders and roll them into the pass. I want to make it impossible for Stocker to force those cows through.”

“What can I do after I’ve given them the message?”

“Stay here.”

“I can shoot,” Tanzy said.

“I know you can, but this is too dangerous.”

“It wasn’t too dangerous for me to listen outside Stocker’s door or spend the night tied up and gagged.”

“I wouldn’t have let you do that if I’d known about it. Promise you’ll stay here. I won’t be able to think straight if you don’t.”

“Now’s as good a time as any, Russ Tibbolt, to make it clear I’ll never lie to you. Consequently, I’m not going to make a promise I’m not sure I can keep.”

“Are you always going to be this stubborn?”

“I’ll probably get worse once I really know my way around.”

Russ felt his heart fill with joy. “God, I love you, but I’m liable to beat you one of these days.”

“You do and you’d better never go to sleep again.”

Russ laughed. There was no time, there was no sane reason for it, and this wasn’t the place, but he couldn’t stop himself. Since the world insisted upon being crazy, it probably wouldn’t mind if he went a little nuts now and then. Then again, maybe this was the most sane his life had ever been.

“Try to stay here. If you can’t, don’t let me know it. And no matter what you do, don’t get hurt. If you do, I’ll have to kill Stocker.”

Chapter Twenty-eight

“A couple more ought to do it,” Welt said.

“I think this is enough,” Russ said. “We don’t want to make it impossible to clear the passage afterwards.”

“Do you think Stocker will show up with those stolen cows?” Buck asked.

“I believe he plans to be here today, but there’s no assurance there won’t be a hitch in his plans. Still, if he’s got the sheriff and a posse scheduled to be here at a certain time, he’s got to get the stolen cows here or he’ll prove me innocent instead of guilty.”

“Why don’t I go along a ways and see what I can see?” Oren said.

“Okay, but be careful. Tanzy says they’re prepared to kill anybody who gets in their way.”

“Nice to know how important we are to him,” Oren said.

But Oren didn’t have to leave.

“They’re coming,” Tim called from his position up in the rocks. “He’s running them. They’ll be here in minutes.”

“Keep down,” Russ called. “As long as the passage is blocked, he can’t get any cows inside. I don’t want anybody taking any chances.”

Just then they heard shots from the direction of the cabin. Not the three evenly spaced shots that was their signal for danger but irregular shots as would happen in a gunfìght.

“Somebody’s attacking the cabin,” Russ said, racing for his horse. Tanzy’s there alone.”

“I’m coming with you,” Welt said. “Three men are enough to hold the pass.”

Russ didn’t wait for Welt to catch up. He spurred his horse into a hard gallop. He’d thought when he asked Tanzy to stay at the cabin he was keeping her safe. It had never occurred to him that he would be leaving her to fight off an attack alone. If anything happened to Tanzy, he’d go crazy.

The flurry of rifle shots that had started the fight ceased abruptly. Fear drove an icy stake into Russ’s heart, fear that the fight had ended because Tanzy couldn’t fight any longer. He was so glad to hear a resumption of gunfire that he nearly sobbed with relief.

“Stay alive until I get there,” he shouted into the wind. “Please stay alive.”

The ride across the valley had always been one of his greatest pleasures. Today he cursed the miles of rich grass and gently undulating land, the meandering stream with its willow- and cottonwood-shaded banks that forced him to take time-consuming detours, everything that kept him from arriving instantly at Tanzy’s side. He cursed the mountains that rose around him for allowing killers to penetrate into his valley.

Most of all he cursed Stocker Pullet.

Apparently the invaders had heard him coming because the rifle fire had ended when he raced into the trees behind the cabin. He grabbed his rifle, launched himself from the saddle before his horse stopped, and raced for cover behind the corner of the cabin closest to the mountains.

“They’ve pulled out,” Tanzy said from inside. “There were two of them.”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Just furious I didn’t hit at least one of them.”

Russ came around the front of the cabin as Welt raced into the yard. “They ran off through the trees,” Russ said.

Welt headed off after them.

Tanzy came out of the house and Russ crushed her in his embrace. “When the shooting stopped for a moment, I was afraid you’d been hurt.”