Beneath The Texas Sky (24 page)

Dusty staggered slightly but easily dodged her left hook that followed an instant later.

Mariah’s voice was cold as she fought hard to control her anger. “Don’t ever force your advances on me again, or I’ll see you dead.”

Dusty rubbed his jaw. “Mariah, it will be a cold day in hell before I ever force you to do anything. But don’t lie to me or yourself. You wanted, even begged, for that kiss. What happened between us was no taking, but a giving of both.”

Mariah knew he spoke the truth, but the truth was only a cup of water over her prairie fire of anger. “Then don’t ever kiss me again.”

“I’ll not make that promise.” Dusty grew nearer, his face pale in the moonlight. “But I’ll tell you this, Mariah Weston. Someday you’ll beg me to kiss you again. For the feel of my arms will haunt your dreams from this night on.” He turned and swung into his saddle. “As the feel of you will haunt me.”

He disappeared into the trees before Mariah could answer. She rode back to the barn and unsaddled her own horse. The house was quiet as a tomb. Mariah knew Dusty wouldn’t return tonight. She remembered he’d said this was not his home. She hadn’t even thought to ask him where he slept. Did he sleep out under the stars during these cold nights? Or in the bunkhouse with his men? She wished she knew where he was, for there also were her thoughts.

Mariah wasted her time trying to sleep as the full Comanche moon followed a path across the sky. When she did lapse into fitful dreams, the memory of Dusty’s body pressing against her returned. She’d wake to find her skin cold for need of the fire he had ignited. At first light Mariah gave up the tossing and climbed out of bed. She dressed slowly with meticulous care, even pulling her hair into a mass of black curls above her head. Standing in front of the oval mirror, she admired her reflection with honest satisfaction. The image of a confident, fashionable young woman stood before her. No evidence of the bewildered, naive girl showed on the outside. She could face today, and Dusty Barfield, straight on as she had faced all the problems of her life.

Mariah spent the morning visiting with Ruth and wandering around the ranch house. The rooms that had been added to accommodate Mike and Allison’s ever-growing family during their years on the ranch were quiet now, waiting for the next generation. They left Mariah feeling hollow, like visiting an empty nursery of a childless couple.

Mid-morning, Ruth joined Mariah for coffee. The old woman explained that everything in the original wing was the same as it had been when Ben and Bethanie lived there, with the exception of a few rugs.

Mariah discovered that Ruth talked only of subjects she wished to. The old housekeeper often chose to ignore questions as if she hadn’t heard them.

After coffee, Mariah began examining all the ranch books which she found in order on top of the massive desk. Only one drawer was locked to her curious digging. Every fact about the ranch over the past ten years had been carefully documented in a clear, bold handwriting. There’d been good times and hard times, but always the bookkeeping looked complete. When times were good, Dusty had used the profits to improve the ranch. When times were hard, he’d crossed his own salary off the chart to help pay bills. She was surprised to see that he paid himself only the same as the hands. Never more, even in the best of times.

Just after ten, a knock sounded at the door, rattling like some huge woodpecker gone crazy on the porch. Mariah’s brave front was a wasted effort as she greeted only Elliot Mayson. He seemed a faded substitute of the man she’d expected. Elliot was dressed in a wool, Eastern-cut suit that seemed to have shrunk a size since he’d put it on. His round hat has been replaced by a widebrimmed Stetson, making him seem like a crossbreed of East and West.

“Miss Weston.” He smiled with a mouth blessed with too many teeth. “I hope you don’t find me presumptuous to call on you unannounced. I wanted to check on your welfare as well as invite you to go for a ride this magnificent morning.”

Mariah’s smile vanished as she noticed he drove a buggy. She loved horses and would rather ride bareback than in a buggy. She recovered enough to invite him in for tea. As she turned to fetch refreshments, she saw Ruth coming from the kitchen with a tray already made.

Mariah gracefully served tea and listened to Elliot chatter for half an hour. He seemed never to tire of telling
her of all his accomplishments. He reminded her of the young men who came to her school for Sunday teas. He saw himself and his ever-changing emotions as life’s most interesting subject. By the time they set off in the buggy, Mariah’s head was pounding from the hammering of his precisely pronounced words and the flood of his extravagant vocabulary. She even mused that Elliot’s father may have sent him away to school to lower the chatter level.

She sat quietly, her fingers intertwined to keep from taking the reins away from his incapable hands. They bounced over the land she’d galloped across the moonlight with Dusty. Now the sun was high, and the cold breeze only served to stir the dust in her face.

Finally Elliot pulled the buggy under a clump of trees at the edge of the ridge, not a hundred yards from where she had stood with Dusty looking at the stars.

Elliot helped her from the buggy as if she were senile and incapable of any actions on her own. He patted her hand as they strolled among the short shadows. He rambled on several minutes before seeming to find his direction. “I’ve talked with my father, and he is very interested in making you an offer. If he can buy your half, he will split the ranch.”

Mariah didn’t respond. She had to sell her half of the ranch to get the money for two years of schooling. But she still clung to the idea that Dusty would make her an offer. Even his behavior last night didn’t alter the fact that she’d feel guilty about causing the demise of the Weston Ranch.

A rustling among the trees drew their attention. Elliot stiffened as a lone rider broke from the green mass and rode toward them. Mariah didn’t have to look at the intruder’s face to recognize Dusty’s strong, lean body in control of his powerful horse.

Dusty stopped several feet from her and shoved his
hat far back on his sandy-brown hair. Mariah felt a smile crawl out of her planned pout, for Dusty’s face was clean-shaven. He looked younger without a beard, but the strong line of authority still set his jawline. She thought she also saw a hint of jealousy touch his golden eyes as he studied Elliot.

“Morning, Mr. Mayson,” Dusty nodded toward Elliot, then turned to wink at Mariah with a bold gesture that drew blood to her cheeks.

“Good morning, sir. I almost didn’t know you without a beard. Can’t say I remember ever seeing you without one. But then, I don’t see you that often.” Elliot seemed to make no attempt to hide his displeasure. “We were just enjoying a pleasant ride.” When Dusty made no action to move on, Elliot added, “Alone.”

Mariah studied Dusty carefully. He would had to have been a complete idiot not to get Elliot’s point, but still he sat in the saddle as if he were watching a sleeping herd and had nowhere else to go. Mariah couldn’t help but study the two men. Though Elliot was at least eight years Dusty’s junior, they were very nearly the same size. However, Mariah knew Dusty’s shoulders were wide with muscles while Elliot’s had been created by a tailor.

She could see the circles under Dusty’s eyes, and knew he’d been awake most of the night also. His voice was matter-of-fact. “I thought I’d ride out and tell Miss Weston that Allison and Mike are at the ranch.” His next words were cold. “That is if she’s finished with her…comparisons.”

Did Dusty think she brought Elliot here to get him to kiss her? Anger rushed in her veins, but a smile froze across her face. “Please tell Allison and Mike I will be along directly, as soon as I complete a little study.” There was no mistaking the master-to-servant tone in her voice.

Dusty’s face clouded in anger, and Elliot’s went blank
in confusion. Before she could say another word, Dusty kicked his horse and left in a cloud of dirt.

Mariah turned her back and wished she hadn’t been so bold. She’d ordered him around like he was beneath her station, then hinted she might complete the comparison he’d suggested. Why couldn’t she stop striking every time he provoked her? His image of her must be growing more distorted from the truth each time they met. He must think her a mindless brat. Why didn’t she let him see her other side? But how do you tell a man you’re deeply concerned about people and want to help them, when you’ve walloped him in the jaw and threatened to kill him the night before. How do you share your dreams with someone who only wants to see your flaws?

Elliot’s smooth hand touched Mariah’s arm. “Are you all right, Mariah?”

For a moment she thought he was actually interested in her welfare, but he continued with a list of negative feelings he bore toward Dusty which ended with, “My father will hear of his rude behavior.”

“Does your father know of all you do?” Mariah asked, only half interested.

“Well…no.” Elliot seemed upset by her question. “I did tell him I was coming here today, but…”

Elliot was gaining her full attention for the first time since they met. “Did your father send you the way he sent you to meet me on the train?”

“Well…he is very interested in buying your part of the ranch. But I assure you, Mariah, I would have come with or without his approval.” His eyes looked beyond her to the invisible future only he could envision. “When I think about what a surprise it would be to him if I closed this deal for him. I would just walk in and hand him half of a ranch he’s wanted all his life.”

Mariah relaxed and added another brick to the wall around her heart. Elliot was only interested in her for
the ranch, just as the others had been interested in her for the mines. He wanted to buy her half to prove something to his father. Even though it was a little disheartening to her ego, as least she could handle him knowing where she stood.

Elliot talked and pleaded all the way back to the ranch, until Mariah agreed to have a decision about selling by the following morning. She disliked being pushed almost as much as she hated his constant pampering. He, however, paid no attention to her withdrawal and continued to grow more bold with each touch, even going so far as to place his arm around her shoulder as he said his goodbyes on the porch. The idea that she wasn’t attracted to him would never have crossed his conceited mind.

When she opened the door, she was bombarded with half a dozen blond-headed cousins. Mike and Allison’s two oldest children were away at school, but Mariah wondered if anyone ever stopped to count and notice they were gone. For several minutes she hugged and laughed as they all tried to talk at once.

Just as the clan settled down, Dusty opened the door and the hugging ritual began again with even more vigor. From the way he teased and complimented each one, Mariah knew he must have long ago been accepted as part of the family. Though she’d seen most of the cousins when they had visited Colorado every few years, Dusty seemed more a part of the family.

Mariah spent the afternoon playing with the children and chatting with Allison. Her second cousin, whom Mariah called Aunt Allison, was a bubbly, plump woman who always seemed to beam whenever Uncle Mike was near. Mike had served several years in the Texas House of Representatives, and Allison had always packed up all the kids and followed him to Austin while the House was in session. Mariah smiled now just thinking of what the long train ride must be like with all these children.

Aunt Allison laughed as she rocked her youngest. “This one makes an even dozen, and we think that’s just about right. I grew up an only child and think there is nothing grander than a house full of children.”

Mariah smiled at Dusty, carrying a serving tray, as he dodged two boys running through the house. He carefully maneuvered past the girls who sat in a circle on the floor, and set the tray in front of Mariah. “If you’ll serve tea, Mariah, Ruth has lemonade in the kitchen for all the children.”

His announcement caused an instant scramble out of the room by everyone under the age of twelve.

As Mariah handed him a cup of hot tea, Dusty’s hand touched her fingers. She glanced up and found his eyes dark and unreadable. His finger slowly ran the length of her own, then he withdrew to slowly run his same finger along his bottom lip. Mariah found the action, though simple, intoxicating to her imagination. She was sorry when he moved away to the desk and began a long discussion with Mike.

After dinner, Mariah moved gradually closer to the men huddled around the desk. Dusty had been thumbing through one volume of a law book for ten minutes and didn’t even seem to notice as she moved within hearing distance. His hair half covered his eyes, and Mariah found herself wanting to brush aside the light brown mass.

“I could understand,” Dusty said, “if it were some drifter or Indian who needed food, but the cattle I’ve found were simply killed and left to rot.”

Mike nodded. “We both have a pretty good idea who’s behind this mess. He’d like nothing better than to bankrupt the Weston Ranch and then step in and buy it for next to nothing.”

“I’ll never give up.” Dusty spoke the words as fact.

“I know, but you’d best be on your guard. I’ve got to
leave for Austin in the morning, and I don’t want you getting into any trouble while I’m gone.”

“I’ve never gone looking for a fight.” Dusty stood as Mike began motioning his family toward the door.

“Yeah, and you’ve never backed down from one either, Dusty, and that worries me.”

“I wish I could go with you this time, Mike.” Dusty caught sight of Mariah as she stood nearby. He offered her his arm as they followed the guests to the porch. “But things are pretty busy right now.”

Mike didn’t follow Dusty’s gaze. “I understand, but it’s always good to have you and that mind of yours with me in the capital. Time was when all you needed to fight the bad guys was a good gun and a strong horse. Now it’s young men like you with a knowledge of the law who will win out.”

The two men shook hands in a friendly farewell. Children piled into the wagon as Allison hugged Mariah goodbye.

Mariah and Dusty stood on the porch and waved to their guests as the sun set over the ridge. She watched as their buggy moved out of sight and wished they hadn’t stayed so long. She needed to talk with Dusty.

When she turned around, he’d disappeared into the house. Mariah decided now was the time. She would simply tell him she must sell her half of the ranch and ask him if he would like to buy her out. It shouldn’t be that complicated, but somehow, with Dusty, nothing seemed simple. Even a kiss.

Mariah found Dusty clearing the table from the huge meal Ruth had prepared. She once again wondered at the kind of a man who would even think of the dirty dishes.

Dusty looked up as she neared. “I thought I’d clean these for Ruth. The dinner was a lot of work, and she shouldn’t have to face these in the morning.”

“I’ll help,” Mariah volunteered.

Dusty smiled and tossed her a towel. “I’ll wash and you dry. Try to keep up.”

Mariah laughed. She’d enjoyed being around Dusty with all the others present. He hadn’t seemed so shy. As they worked she decided to keep the conversation light. She asked questions about the ranch and when she was born. He told her about the days he worked planting her mother’s herb garden and how Ruth still practiced all the mixtures Bethanie had taught her.