Yours Again (River City Series) (6 page)

What
was last night?
Some kind of game to tease him and make him feel like an
idiot? It had worked, and his brothers were in on it too. They obviously knew
exactly who she was. He’d never hear the end of this. She had played him for a
fool all right, and he fell for it. He should have known better. He had learned
how dangerous a woman could be, even if it was Sammy. Nine years was a long
time, and he really didn’t have any idea who or what she was now. She hadn’t even
been here one day, and he’d already proved he was the same sucker he had been
with Sharisse. His eyes stared at her lips. Her tongue darted across them and
his gaze met hers. Heat built in his chest, part irritation, part . . . something
else.

“Well,
the cat’s out of the bag now, isn’t it?” Charlie polished off the last of his
bacon as he watched Taos. Charlie nudged Darren with an elbow and nodded a head
toward their brother. Taos realized that Samantha’s face glowed red—probably a
mirror image of his right now. Charlie wasn’t stupid, unfortunately.

“Now
this is interesting,” Charlie waved his fork as he talked. “I mean, I think
there’s more went on last night than you let on, Sammy.”

“Like
what?” Darren stuffed more bacon in his mouth.

“This
might be just what we need to liven things up around here.” A half smile played
around Charlie’s mouth as he forked down another bite, ignoring Taos’s hot
glare.

“So
what’s the story with that guy that’s after you?” Darren asked.

Samantha
sat at the table and started in on a flapjack of her own.

“What
guy?” Charlie’s attention focused on her, as did Taos’s.

“A
couple of weeks ago, Aunt Mattie’s investment advisor Ty Lawson died. His son,
John Lawson, took over his father’s business. But Ty’s death was very suspicious,
and I honestly think John had something to do with it. Anyway, he showed up at
Mattie’s saying that he was executing a power of attorney over her assets and
he slipped something into her drink.”

Taos
watched her closely as she spoke. She seemed to fidget under his gaze. Was it
because she was lying, or were her thoughts on last night too?

“Mattie
doesn’t trust John and has no intention of turning over her finances to him. I went
through and balanced the financial ledgers for her and realized that there was
quite a bit of money that had already gone missing. So I confronted John about
it.”

“By
yourself?” Taos’s sharp tone drew everyone’s attention.

“Well,
yes. I didn’t realize how dangerous he could be.”

“You
thought he killed his father, but you didn’t think he’d be dangerous?” Taos
snorted in disbelief. “Are you stupid?” Samantha did her best to bore a hole
through him with her glare, but he was unimpressed.

“Did
he h-hurt you?” Darren’s concern was genuine, of course, and she gifted him
with a smile. Darren would believe anything she said. Taos knew all Darren
remembered was the friend he grew up with. He’d had zero experience in how
manipulative women could be.

“No,
not exactly.” Samantha said, “He just threatened me and basically told me that
I was going to marry him. But he just wants to get his hands on Mattie’s money
and the second he has me I know he’ll do away with her and probably me too . .
. eventually.” Her words hung in the air a moment.

Taos
knew exactly what an unscrupulous man would do with Samantha—pretty much what
he wanted to do with her last night. He clamped his teeth together, pushing
that image out of his mind, and observed her closely. She didn’t seem all that
upset, so was this story the truth? A half-truth? A complete lie? Why had she
shown up unannounced, and with this wild story? Why had she kissed him instead
of telling him exactly who she was? It seemed like a little game last night,
and now this morning she was in some kind of mortal danger?
Bullshit.

Charlie
pushed his plate back, angry. “Why would he think you would agree to that?”

“Maybe
she encouraged his attention.” Taos stared evenly at her.

“He
threatened me! I have never
encouraged
anyone!”

“Now
I know that’s not true.” He pinned her with his stare.

“Where
did that come from?” Charlie snapped.

“Most
men don’t like a woman who’s a tease.” Taos continued to stare boldly at
Samantha.

“I
am not a tease!”

“Are
too.”

Samantha
rolled her fork back and forth between two fingers and fumed. She’d never
considered silverware a deadly weapon until this moment.

“You
could have told me who you were.” Taos sipped his coffee.

“After
you tied her up and gagged her?” Charlie arched his eyebrows. “You deserve
anything she dishes out and then some as far as I‘m concerned.”

“So
then what happened, Sammy?” A little voice squeaked. Tommy stared with his big
round eyes in rapt attention. “Did the bad guy chase you?”

The
adults in the room had almost forgotten he was there. “Not exactly.” She picked
at the buttery flapjacks, reminding herself to leave out some of the more
seemly details that weren’t really fit for the ears of a seven-year-old.
“Mattie thought I needed to get as far away as possible until the fraud could
be investigated and John arrested.”

“So
you do want something from me?” Taos eyed her suspiciously.

She
ignored him. “She suggested that I come here for a while. I thought I might
check on things—you know, my ranch and all—while I was here. I really
appreciate you all taking care of it for me.”

Silence
blanketed the room. Taos’s coffee cup paused in midair, and Charlie and Darren
exchanged a nervous glance.

“Who
sent for you?” Taos growled.

The
sharp demand brought Samantha’s head up quickly. “No one. Why would someone
send for me?”

“You
know why.”

Samantha’s
anger flashed. “Do you just wake up every morning and decide to be nasty, or is
today special?”

“It’s
always special when I know someone is lying to me,
honey
.”

“Lying
about what? I told you the truth.” She looked at Darren. “What exactly has been
going on here? Why doesn’t he believe me?” Panic seeped into her voice. They
had to believe her, she had nowhere else to go. Charlie and Darren stared at
the table. If they didn’t believe her, what then? She couldn’t go back to
Mattie. And how would her aunt find her if she left? She wasn’t about to stay
at her ranch alone. She’d come here for protection, and now Taos couldn’t wait
to throw her to the wolves.

She
stared at him. What happened to the hero she remembered? His gaze was
unyielding and hard. She suddenly realized she had no idea who this man was now
and she’d obviously been wrong to think he would help her. He didn’t have an
ounce of empathy in that oversized body of his.

“There’s
been a drought going on for a few years here,” Charlie said. “It’s gotten kind
of ugly with some of the neighboring ranchers.”

“Ugly?”

“There’s
been some livestock killed . . .”

“And
a few shots fired.” Darren said.

“It
rained last night, I’m sure that helped.” Samantha offered.

“Not
really. Too little too late for a lot of folks. Many are selling out, and others
are just doing without,” Charlie glanced at Taos and continued. “’Bout the only
decent water left is on our ranches.”

“If
things are that bad for everyone, I’m sure we can shar-”

“No.”
Taos slammed his empty cup on the table. “There’s barely enough to keep our own
head watered. It’s none of your concern anyway.”

His
patronizing attitude felt like a slap in the face. She stiffened her back. How
could she have kissed those lips or wanted his hands on her last night? What
was she thinking? “What goes on within the borders of my ranch
is
my
business.”

“It’s
not your ranch, yet.”

“Excuse
me?”

“I’m
sure you know the terms of you parent’s will.” Taos’s voice was cool and even.

“What
terms?” her heart pounded in her throat.

“You
inherit the land and house that your parents had along with the profit the land
has earned over the years.” He watched her closely as if waiting for a reaction.

“So
what’s the problem?”

“You
only get it if you marry or show up with an heir in tow. I’m assuming you plan
on marrying soon. Maybe to the same man who sent for you?”

What?
How could her parents do this? What were they thinking? She hopped up and paced
the length of the table. Thank goodness her investments had done so well. That
must have been why Mattie never pushed her to marry. She didn’t need the ranch
to live well. “I have to stay here, that’s how we planned it.”

“We?”
He smiled and shook his head, “Like I said last night, you should be on the
stage somewhere.” He was so smug and sure of himself. Samantha stopped pacing and
met his glare.
This man was a stranger to her. That safe feeling she’d had since last night crumbled.
Taos couldn’t protect her from John. No, he
wouldn’t
protect her. She
was already alone. An empty feeling crept across her soul. Tears stung the back
of her eyes, and her lower lip quivered.

Charlie
shook his head and reached for her hand. “Aw, Sammy, don’t cry. We’ll get this
all worked out. In the meantime, you’ll stay right here with us.” Darren nodded
his agreement and shot an angry look toward Taos.

“I
want to see the will.” Her voice was barely a whisper; hot tears rolled
unheeded down her face. If she didn’t have a right to be here, she knew now
that Taos would never let her stay. He clearly thought nothing of her and
wanted her gone as soon as possible. How ridiculous it felt now that she
reveled in his touch last night; he would have cared more for her if she had actually
been a prostitute. Charlie pushed her toward a chair and poured her some more
coffee as Darren went to collect the papers.

Samantha
captured Taos’s gaze with hers and silently pleaded with him. He grunted and
looked away. She stared at her fingers. How could he have changed so much? She
remembered him kind and giving, not cold and heartless. She needed to think
clearly.

Darren
handed her a copy of her parents’ will and Samantha stared at the words. Her
mother’s handwriting. Large loops with a perfect, flowing penmanship. Tears
splashed on the pages as she turned them. There were only four, and the last
one held both her parents’ signatures. She ran a finger across the letters,
desperately wanting to touch the hands that made them. She never felt as alone
as she did right now.

Taos
cleared his throat and tapped his finger on the table, motioning Tommy out of
the room.  

Samantha
concentrated, scanning the pages until she found the passage concerning the
transfer to her:
All aforementioned property, livestock, money and interest
earned will be transferred to Samantha Kay James upon her marriage or directly
to her heir.”

“You’ll
see that there is no room for any other alternative unless you marry.” Taos
stated.  “I’m curious to know how quickly you were planning the wedding, since
there is no other way to get your hands on the land.”

Her
irritation with this insufferable man grew in leaps and bounds. How could she
have ever kissed those snarling lips?

“First
of all, I don’t need or want the ranch. That’s not why I came here.”

“Right,”
his sarcastic tone made her want to smack that chiseled chin.

“And
just to be perfectly clear, it doesn’t say here that I have to be married.” She
stared right

through
him, dashing away tears with the back of her hand.

He
talked with slow and deliberate words like she was slow witted just as he had
at the mine last night. “It is in black and white right in front of you. Just
because you are pretending you don’t want it that way doesn’t mean it will
change. Why don’t we get down to what you’ve already planned and stop this little
game?”

It
took all her willpower to stay seated. She growled instead. “It says right here
in
black and white
that I can either be married or have an heir.” Really?
Why did men assume a woman couldn’t read a basic legal document? “It’s an
either/or statement, not a both/and requirement.”

Confusion
crossed his face, followed by anger.

“Do
you mean you are planning to . . . You can’t do that, I won’t allow it.”

Her
eyes flew open as she realized that he thought she was planning to get
pregnant! Ridiculous! She covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. He
didn’t know her at all, and that just might work in her favor. It really didn’t
matter what he thought of her as long as she could get the protection she
needed for a few weeks. She had to think quickly.

He
leaned forward and his voice shook. “I’ll make sure no man comes near you.”

She
matched his angry stare without blinking. “How? You said I won’t be staying
here.”