Yours Again (River City Series) (7 page)

“Yes,
you will. I’m not letting you out of my sight until I know exactly who is up to
what.” His voice vibrated around the room. “And until I find out, I run both
ranches and everyone on them.”

She
needed to push him just a bit farther, make him believe she just might go to
extremes. “Charlie, how many men would you say go to Miss Sadie’s in a week’s
time?” She arched a suggestive eyebrow toward Taos.

“Uh,
I uh,” Charlie clearly wasn’t ready for that kind of question. “Well, probably
forty or more. Why?”

“Looks
like you’re going to be very busy, aren’t you?” she dared Taos.

“You
will not become a whore!” His growl rumbled through her, making the hair on her
neck stand up.

“I
have no intention of being a whore. Although you made it clear you thought I
had some talent in that respect.” She saw a blush creep up his neck as his
brothers glared at him. “And I believe I would just need what you cattlemen
call ‘stud services.’ Hardly the same thing.”

Taos
looked ready to explode.

She
shrugged, “You’re the one who suggested it.”

“This
is a ridiculous conversation,” Taos’s irritation was getting the best of him
and he stood, clearly wanting to be done with this.

Samantha
agreed this was ridiculous. It was so simple. She just needed to stay here for
a few weeks, why was this so hard? Something in her wanted to give him another
chance to believe her. Last night clearly wounded his pride and this morning
they’d all had some fun at his expense as well. She walked over and stood right
in front of him, her head titled back so she could see his face. He was looking
at anyone or anything in the room but her.

“Taos
. . .” She waited. Finally he glanced down at her. “I told you the truth. I
just need to stay her for a few weeks, then I’ll leave. I don’t want or need
anything else from you, nor do I plan on doing anything with the ranch.”

His
expression told her he clearly didn’t believe a word she said.

“Do
you believe me?”

“Nope.”

She
hadn’t expected a different answer, but still part of her hoped for one. She
held his gaze. “Okay, if that’s the way you want it, that’s fine.”

She
stepped closer until she almost touched him. “But make no mistake. I am staying
even if that means you spending every waking minute wondering what I’m up to,
or
wh
o
I’m with
.”

Chapter 7

“Went
a little over the top, don’t you think, sweetheart?”

Samantha
ignored Charlie as the wagon bumped along toward town. Taos assigned Charlie as
her temporary guardian with strict instructions not to let her out of his sight.

Taos’s
reaction didn’t surprise her. She couldn’t believe the words had come out of
her own mouth. Stud services? Really! As if she would even have the nerve to
mention such a thing in front of anyone else. It couldn’t be taken back now,
and it put her in a very awkward position.

She
had to do something to make him think she was going to consider it just to
stall him from booting her into the street. The man acted like women were the
enemy. She crossed her arms and swayed in rhythm with the wagon. This
predicament was entirely Taos’s fault. If he had just believed her there
wouldn’t be an issue at all.

John
was deadly serious about his treat, and she knew it. The farther away she got,
the more worried she was about her aunt. Who would take care of her if John
tried to use her as some sort of leverage? She was a tough, determined woman, no
doubt—but John was a killer.

“You
weren’t really serious, were you?”

She
looked over at Charlie. Apparently there was some doubt in his mind. Maybe she
was more convincing than she thought. She squinted and looked hard at him. Same
hazel eyes, dark thick hair, and devilish grin. Just as she remembered.

“What?”

“How
can you still be the same person you always were, and your brother be totally
different?”

Charlie’s
gazed at the horizon as the first signs of town came into view. “He’s not that
different. He’s just been through some rough times.”

“Rough
times?” They must have been horrible to make him this nasty. Maybe her ranch
had been a hardship on him. That hadn’t occurred to her. “You mean trying to
run both spreads?”

“No.
Now that he’s good at.” Charlie paused and shuffled the reins back and forth
between his fingers. “Why do you want your ranch so bad right now?”

“I
don’t, I said that.”

His
head snapped around. “Then what was all that this morning?”

“Taos
said I couldn't stay. The only other place I can go is my own ranch, but
there’s no one there to protect me. Mattie won’t know where to find me if I go
anywhere else. We agreed that I wouldn’t contact her just in case John was
intercepting her mail, and we highly suspect he has been.” She stared into
Charlie’s incredulous eyes. “I thought I would be safe with Taos. What was I
supposed to do, let him kick me out like a sack of rotten potatoes?”

“Taos
wouldn’t have kicked you out.” He shook his head. “He thinks you just want the
money and the land. All you have to do is convince him you don’t. Problem
solved.”

“I
tried that and he called me an out-and-out liar! How do you expect me to change
his mind?”

“Hm.
Got a point there.” Charlie thought for a minute. “He’s not one to back down
easily when he makes a decision either.”

“So
I gathered. I do plan to convince him, but I wouldn’t mind making him suffer a
little first.”

Charlie
seemed worried. “You’re not going to make me suffer too, are you?”

“Nope.”
She grinned. “Just him.”

Charlie
steered the wagon up and over the bank of the dry creek she’d crossed last
night. It had been almost dark then, but now she could see the land was truly
parched. The grass was thin and mostly dead. Large areas of what was once
pasture were only dirt now. You could hardly tell there had been any sort of
rain last night. The ground must have absorbed the moisture like a sponge.

“So
what happened to Tommy’s mother?” Samantha asked.

“That
was the rough time I was talking about.”

“Taos’s
wife?”

“Ex-wife.”

“They
actually divorced?” Samantha lowered her voice to a whisper. She knew of many
estranged couples, but none would tolerate the scandal of divorce and she’d
heard nothing of it at all in the few letters she’d exchanged with Darren in
the last nine years.

“Yep.
Sharisse was a piece of work alright. Her old man was after the land and the
water from both ranches. He owns a spread downstream a ways. She never wanted a
husband, only a lifestyle. They baited the trap, and Taos fell for it hook,
line, and sinker.”

“What
kind of trap?”

“It
happened at a barn dance. One like they used to have over at the schoolhouse.”

She
had watched her mother and father glide across the wooden floor of the
schoolhouse in each other’s arms all evening at those dances years ago. They’d
loved each other so much.

“Her
father arranged for them to be caught in a compromising situation, which was a
complete set up.” He shrugged at Samantha’s raised eyebrows and lowered his
voice. “She basically threw herself at him, and they were married on the spot. Her
old man had the preacher ready and everything. By the time Taos knew what they’d
done, she was expecting Tommy.”

“He
didn’t love her at all then?”

“Oh,
I think he tried to make the best of it. He humored her spending habits, which
were unbelievable. I thought she was out to put him in the poorhouse, myself.”

A
vision of Tommy clouded her thoughts. “I don’t understand how any woman could
leave her child.”

“She
never wanted Tommy and she swore she wouldn’t let Taos near her after he was born.
It was pretty rocky.”

Samantha’s
heart constricted. Tommy was the most adorable little boy she’d ever seen. “He
deserves better.”

“Tommy
or Taos?”

Both.
She couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting Tommy. As far as Taos went, her temper
still simmered. He probably deserved any nastiness his wife could dish out. But
how could any woman not want him to touch her? Even she couldn’t tell that big
a lie. While she knew it was never going to happen again, she also knew she
would remember that touch for the rest of her life. “So what finally happened?”

“Things
seemed to be smoothing out a little until she found out she was pregnant again,
and they got into a big yelling match.
She
said it caused her to lose
the baby and blamed him.”

“Oh,
how sad.” Samantha held one hand to her chest.

“It
seemed pretty farfetched at the time to everyone around here. I mean, about losing
the baby because of an argument. Sharisse was strong and healthy, and some
people talked about how maybe she caused it herself.”

“Do
you think she would do that?”

“Yep,
I do.”

“So
what does Taos think?”

“He
never talks about it. Even to me and Darren. He just paid her off and she
left.”

“Paid
her off?”

“I
don’t really know the details, I just know it cost him a lot, in a lot of
ways.”

She
nodded, turning the information over in her mind. It certainly explained some
of his demeanor, though it didn’t excuse his treatment of her.

  “Anyway,”
He paused as if gathering his thoughts. “I thought I better warn you before we
got to town. Sharisse started a bunch of rumors before she left about how Taos
abused her and beat her.”

Samantha
inhaled sharply.

“Now,
not one of them is true,” He rushed his explanation. “I lived in that house,
Sammy, and I never saw him ever lift a finger to her, honest. Though if any man
had a reason to, he sure did.” He rubbed the leather reins with his thumbs. “People
still talk though.”

“Does
she ever come around to see Tommy?

“Nope.
Not once. I haven’t seen her in more than five years now.”

“That’s
too bad.”

“No,
honey, believe me it’s not. That is one woman you wouldn’t want to meet: all
peaches and cream on the outside and stone cold ice on the inside. I’m glad
Tommy doesn’t really remember her.”

They
passed the first few of houses on the outskirts of town.

“So,
were you?” He elbowed her playfully.

“Was
I what?” She dodged his elbow.

“Serious
or not about those ‘stud services’?”

She
smiled. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“I’m
sure glad you don’t play poker,” he laughed, “Cause I’d be a real poor man by
now.”

Charlie
pulled the wagon up to Hardin’s Mercantile. Samantha surveyed the familiar
scene. Her mother would have been amazed at how few people were left. Main
Street was about the only place still muddy from the rain. Claire James had
complained frequently about having to drag her skirts through mountain mud, and
after last night’s experience Samantha completely understood why.

A
tinkling piano drifted down the street. Miss Sadie’s looked like a worn-out
Victorian home. Sort of. The lower level had clearly been a log cabin at one
point, but someone had tried to change that by adding a second story, some white
paint, and a few tattered looking gingerbread architectural accents. The paint
on the building peeled off in several places, showing the dark brown logs.

A
bright yellow sign out front announced it as “Miss Sadie’s Place” and looked
much newer. Still, it was the nicest building in town, which said a lot about
the population. Mostly single men she’d guess as she’d seen very few women
yesterday when she walked down Main Street. Unlike the other shops and
businesses in town, Sadie’s appeared to have plenty of clientele even though it
was only mid-day. She was sure the building had been there when she was a child,
but she never gave it much notice. She just knew it was a place where men went,
like the saloon. But she wasn’t a naïve fourteen-year-old anymore.

Charlie
helped Samantha down from the wagon and escorted her inside the mercantile. The
bell above the door chimed their arrival. Mr. Hardin’s shiny head popped up
from behind the counter and the rotund Mrs. Hardin bustled out of the back
room.

“Charlie
Williams!” Mr. Hardin’s gravelly voice boomed toward them. The older man
extended a hand and Charlie shook it vigorously. “Well, what have we here?” He tilted
his chin to get a better look at Samantha through his half spectacles. “Mother,
you better come have a look.”

Charlie
introduced Samantha and Mrs. Hardin’s face lit up.

“Sam
and Claire’s daughter! I should have recognized you. Why, you’re all grown up .
. . and that hair! Just like your mother’s.”

Mrs.
Hardin hurried Samantha off, plying her with questions. A tall, boney woman with
dark brown hair streaked with grey stood next to the fabric counter. Mrs. Hardin
touched her arm and pulled Samantha over. “Mertie Mae, here’s someone you just
have to meet!”

The
woman looked Samantha up and down and sniffed as if she’d just stepped in a cow
patty.

Mrs.
Hardin continued on. “This is Miss Samantha James.”

“Who?”
The woman examined a bolt of denim like she was checking for fleas.

“You
know, Sam and Claire James. She’s staying with the Williamses.”

Mertie
Mae immediately focused her attention on Samantha. “The Williamses? Is she
related to them?”

An
awkward silence fell between the women. Mertie Mae pierced Samantha with
suspicious eyes while Mrs. Hardin twirled her fingers nervously. Samantha felt
compelled to say something, anything. “They are old friends of the family.”

“But
they are
not
family, are they?” The condescension in her voice matched
her upturned nose. “You’re not staying out there unchaperoned, I’m sure?”

Samantha
had an instant dislike for this crow-like creature.

Mrs.
Hardin frowned, “Mertie Mae, this town needs more fine young women from good
families, like Samantha.”

“What
this town needs, Sarah, is respectable, quality women. Not the kind that turn
every man’s head and go about unchaperoned—and staying at the home of a
notoriously violent man to boot.”

“Mules
in dresses, that’s what she wants!” Mr. Hardin mumbled from across the room.

Mertie
Mae pinned him with a glare and Mr. Hardin disappeared into the back room. The
woman narrowed her eyes at Samantha and dropped the bolt of cloth on the
counter, slamming the door on her way out.

“I
didn’t mean to cost you a customer.” Samantha whispered to Mrs. Hardin.

“Don’t
think a thing about it. We’re the only store in town.” She patted Samantha’s
hand. “She’ll be back. You pay her no mind. She’s picked out the Williams boys
as suitable matches for her daughters.”

“Which
one of the Williams boys?”

“Whichever
one gets dumb enough to slow down!” Mr. Hardin tossed in, having reappeared at
the counter near where Charlie stood. He and Charlie cackled at his humor.

Samantha
bit her bottom lip and hesitated. She didn’t want to look like she was sizing
up the competition, but her curiosity was aroused. “Are her daughters pretty?”