The Trailrider's Fortune (39 page)

Now Rafe's sister
gave Sparkle a hard look. "I don't approve of what he does for money, but
neither do I consider it to be 'work.' A workman builds or repairs things. Rafe
does just the opposite. He destroys people and lives. Rafe weakens our social
system and risks his own life doing it."

Interesting…almost
the polar opposite of how Rafe viewed it.

Miranda shook her
head. "Travis was beside himself when Driscoll brought Rafe back here more
dead than alive. We nearly lost him, and he knows that, yet I don't think he
appreciates how rough it is for us living with the constant fear he might be
killed. I applaud your stand, Miss LaFleur. I'll support you any way I can.
Rafe has to put up his gun if he means to take a wife."

"Thank
you," was all Sparkle managed to get out after that speech.

"You won't
thank me for also reminding you that a liaison with my brother is wrong.
Immoral. We can't pick and choose which of the Lord's commandments to obey,
Miss LaFleur. A good Christian obeys all of them. I'll stay here with you. This
bed's big enough for both of us. Rafe won't be permitted to abscond with you to
that cabin again. Not that I condemn you for the passion you feel. Lord knows,
Rafe needs a strong woman passionately committed to him."

Sparkle tried to
hide her smile. "He does?"

"Indeed.
Travis would be content with a girl to simply hold his hand and gaze into his
eyes, but not Rafe. He delights in excess. His appetite for excitement is what
sends him roaming with a gun strapped to his hip. But the need for your
affection is stronger than that appetite. It could force him to give up his
wild ways, Miss LaFleur."

"That sounds
so oddly formal. Please call me Sparkle."

"Only if
you'll call me Miranda, or Rannie. I hate that, but when Rafe was young, he
couldn't pronounce my name. The nickname stuck."

"Well,
Miranda, I hope you're right. I pray Rafe will agree to change his way of life,
but I'd rather have him just the way he is than lose him again."

"Oh, I'm
right." Miranda handed Sparkle clean towels from a dresser drawer. "I
can't claim to know him better, but I've known Rafe longer than you have. He's
needed you his whole life. He's a wastrel and a murderer, who's probably
already damned for eternity." She sighed, dropping her gaze. "But
he's also my brother. I want him to be happy, to father children and have a
full life. He'll come around to our way of thinking, you'll see."

Rafe spent much of
the day checking fences for Travis, trying to concentrate on his task. He
didn't have much luck, nagged by the way things had been left dangling between
him and Sparkle. Maybe it
was
best to give her some time, but he didn't
think she'd change her mind about his peacemaker.

She'd urged him to
change his ways since the first time she told his fortune, and she hadn't even
known him then. He'd been a stranger to her. When they became friends, she'd
scoffed at him for risking his life to one day buy a saloon. Always gotten
testy over his prediction that he had a short future, hated to hear about the
bullet fated to claim him some day. Been mad as a hissin' cat over the stupid
flesh wound Bowlegs Barker had given him.

He abruptly wheeled
Snatch around and set his spurs to the sorrel's flanks. She'd been furious over
that. Christ! Why hadn't he seen it before?

He tied Snatch to
the porch rail and marched into the parlor. Sparkle was on the sofa with a
little girl in her lap. They were looking at Sparkle's cards. "Well now,
look at who's come to visit," he called, winking as the moppet glanced up.

"Uncle
Rafe!"

Kayla bounded from
Sparkle's lap and raced to him, giggling when she was swept up into his arms.

"Now, wait a
second. If you're callin' me Uncle Rafe, you must be…Whoa, that can't be right,
though. You can't be Kayla," he taunted, grinning. "Kayla's no bigger
than a minute, while you're a half-grown lady. Darned pretty one, too. Almost
as pretty as the one over there." He nodded toward Sparkle. "You like
the lady with the fancy picture cards? She's mine, you know."

"You brought
her here?"

Rafe's gaze met
Sparkle's. "Nope, she came on her own. But I'm real happy she did. She's
my best friend in this whole world, and I've been thinking she should stay with
me for good."

Kayla's arms
tightened around Rafe's neck. "Can she, Uncle Rafe? She has lots of
pictures and funny stories. She say you saved her from some bad, mean men and
Snatch helped you."

"Time for your
nap, young lady," Miranda announced, reaching for the toddler.

Rafe refused to
relinquish his hold. "You're too far along to be totin' her now. I'll take
her. Where do you want her?"

"In Travis'
bed." He nodded and followed his sister down the hall.

He was surprised to
find Sparkle fighting tears when he returned to sit beside her on the sofa. He
held out his red bandanna. This time she accepted it and wiped her eyes.
"I came to talk about this mornin'," he said gently.

She reached for his
hand and squeezed it, still weeping.

"Somebody put
another slug in me? You're upset like outside the doc's in Wichita, when those
idiots tried to steal Snatch."

"I'm not
upset," she sniffled. "I'm touched."

He openly perused
her. "Where, in the head?"

"I never
imagined you'd be so wonderful with children. You're the man who calmly
explained about hiring out to kill Slocumb. You see, you don't have to hunt
desperadoes, Rafe!"

"I see we're
still stuck on that." He sighed. "Maybe you should've taken that city
doc fella up on his proposal. Then you could be proud of your man for savin'
lives, instead of ashamed of him for takin' them."

"I'm
not…" She paused and met his dark gaze. "I'm not ashamed of you. I'm
just not strong enough to live in fear. I told you what happened to my mother.
I hate the thought of you hurt."

"That's part
of what I wanted to talk about, because to be honest, I'm plumb confused. You
were mad at me last night for bein' thinner and havin' been shot. You got all
ticked when I got shot in the arm by horse thieves. I recollect I asked then if
it would've been okay if I'd just had them arrested without gettin' a scratch.
It
was
the flesh wound you were mad about, wasn't it?"

"Of course! I
was frightened half to death. When Frazer said you'd been shot, I dropped my
bag and literally ran to the doctor's surgery, terrified of what I'd find when
I got there. I'm scared out of my mind whenever you go into a dangerous situation.
I love you."

"So you get
all mad when I'm hurt
because
you love me? That's why?"

"No, I get mad
because all the men I've hired still haven't managed to kill you yet," she
snapped back. "Of
course
it's because I love you! Why else would it
upset me?"

"So you were
already in love with me in Wichita that day? You were so boilin' mad, you
wouldn't hardly talk. When I asked if I was in the way, you only yelled louder
and insisted you were made that I was
hurt
."

"Oh, so what.
What difference does it make when—"

"A whole world
of difference to me, darlin'." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled
her close, a warm smile lighting his face. "Big Al was wrong. It was never
about just likin' me in bed. You just now admitted you loved me before I ever
took you the first time. When I'd only kissed you and held you in my arms one
night. That's why you wanted me to be your first, ain't it? Why you chose me
out of all the men in that trailhead. You were sweet on me even then."

Her cheeks went
pinker than they had being caught naked in the cabin. "Sparkle, I ain't
never seen you turn this red. I'm
right
! You were in love with me a long
time ago."

She squirmed a bit.
"I suppose I must have been. Maybe Joe Brooks just gave me a convenient
excuse to throw myself at you, as you always suspected."

"Lord, but I'm
glad you did." He kissed her deeply, then sobered. "I think I knew
I'd never get free of you the second I looked into your eyes that first time
outside the Scarlet Lady. But I stormed off and left you in Kansas City cause I
was so frustrated. Truth is, I never believed you really cared about me. Never
really deep down believed you
could
. I feel rotten that I made you come
crawlin' back. It should've been
me
crawlin' on my hands and knees to
you."

"You didn't
understand the situation, Rafe."

"Neither do
you. Remember when I told you last night about bein' a hired gun?" She
nodded, her features wary. "It's been a long while that I've been ridin'
trails, makin' bounties. All that time, I never set much store by true love or the
Good Book—or anything else but gunpowder and reward money. But God gave you to
me…dropped you right off that porch onto my feet. Maybe we were meant to be
together, like you say. But I like to think you're livin' proof He ain't turned
His back on me."

"You say the
sweetest things sometimes."

"I'm a sweet
person. Just ask anybody."

That brought a deep
chuckle from behind them. They turned to find Travis listening from the kitchen
doorway. "Come on, sweet Big Brother," he taunted. "Want to show
you somethin' out in the barn."

When they were
alone, Rafe discussed his plans and paused to grip his brother's shoulder.
"Listen, I said a few things I didn't mean before. You stood by me during
a rough time. Sorry for bein' so ornery."

"Like when you
told me to kick her off the ranch. I knew you didn't want me to. We're even.
I'd never sell Snatch. In fact, I'd buy him from you. Damned sorrel's turned
out to be a decent stud animal. Three of my mares are in foal since we let him
out in the pasture. Horse works faster than you do."

Rafe laughed, but
sobered as he met his brother's eyes. "I owe you one, Travis. For Sparkle.
I was bein' so stubborn, could have let her get away, and that would have
ripped it for good. Thanks, Little Brother."

Travis had supper
with the family, but immediately afterward got cleaned up and rounded up the
hands to attend a local barn dance. Rafe and Sparkle settled in the parlor for
a quiet evening alone, but their intimacy was short lived.

A pair of cowhands
burst through the front door, congratulating Rafe on his upcoming marriage.
Travis had made the announcement in the bunkhouse. The boisterous voices drew
Miranda from the hall. Within minutes, Kayla was awakened and crawled into
Rafe's lap. He was drawn into the kitchen as the cowboys straggled out the back
door. He'd just taken his place at the trestle table when several more men came
through the house, laughing and joking.

"Well, this
fixes my flint but good," Rafe grumbled, surrounded by his fiancée, his
pregnant sister, and his young niece. "Won't be a chance of anyone hirin'
me once the men hit the waterin' holes with this tale. Worked years to build a
fearsome reputation, only to have you gals turn me into a Nancy-boy in the
blink of an eye. I can hear the talk now. Rafe Conley gave up poker and
whiskey. Saw him sippin' hot chocolate with womenfolk. Havin' a dad-blamed tea
party."

He flashed his
darkest glower at Miranda. "I'll have to walk around with my fly open to
prove I still got a set of balls."

"Raford,"
Miranda hissed, glancing at Kayla.

"Sorry."
He downed his chocolate and reached for Sparkle's hand. "Well, good night
all. We best turn in, darlin'."

She didn't budge.
"She's sleeping in the back bedroom with me," Miranda informed him.
"There'll be no more visits to that cabin until she's your lawful
wife."

"Miranda, I'm
leavin' day after tomorrow. Won't see her for a spell and—"

"You won't be
seeing her the way you saw her this morning until you bring the preacher out
here."

Rafe swore beneath
his breath and released Sparkle's fingers. "Rannie, when Ma died, did she
nominate you the family pain in the ass?"

"As a matter
of fact, she did. She said because I was five years older and unquestionably
wiser than you—and since you were always the troublemaker of the household—I
should ride herd over you. It's a job I never wanted and don't particularly
enjoy. I'll gladly relinquish the chore to Sparkle. Thankfully, she's up to
it."

Two days later,
Rafe rode out of Pueblo.

The front door
opened and the unfriendly blonde Rafe recalled only too well stood in the
doorway, no hint of a welcome on her face. "Afternoon, ma'am. I don't know
if you remember me."

"Mr.
Conley." She glanced past him, frowning at the empty porch and walkway.
"Isn't Sparkle with you?"

Rafe flushed. This
was damned thick humble pie, no matter how he sliced it. "No, Miz LaFleur.
She doesn't know I've come. She's still back at the ranch. I'd like to have a
private word with Jace, if I might. I apologize to both of you for leaving the
way I did."