Brody (4 page)

Olivia understood his logic, but that didn’t make it easier to accept. How was she going to control her wild attraction to him?

“Agreed.” She walked back to the shack to retrieve Benjy’s coat and the rest of the canned food. They could use it on the trail. “Where are we going?”

“We need to find a man named Sanchez. He is our lead to Stinson’s outfit.” Brody kept his gaze moving, constantly scanning the horizon for movement. “Where is your horse?” He picked up his hat from the ground where it had fallen, then wiped it on the grass. She didn’t want to watch, knowing he was getting rid of the last vestiges of the gore from the stranger’s head.

“Right near yours.” She’d ridden her mare, the quarter horse that had been her eighteenth birthday gift from her father.

“Is it fast?” He started searching the men’s bodies, taking their weapons and whatever else he found.

Olivia had no right to be shocked; after all, the men would have done the same thing to them. They might have even raped her before killing her. Yet taking from the dead left a bad taste in her mouth.

Of course, the men wouldn’t have been dead if it wasn’t for her. She had no call to cast stones.

“Yes, she’s a good horse.” Olivia wrapped the canned goods in the small brown coat, keeping her calm by remembering the jacket had no blood on it. Benjy was alive when he’d lost it.

“A mare?”

“Don’t go judging Mariposa until you see her fly.” She followed him as he walked toward the woods where the horses were. The man had a swagger that distracted her, again. She focused on the woods instead, anything to keep her mind off her attraction to Brody.

“Mariposa, huh?” He snorted. “Figures I pick a woman for a partner and she has a horse named ‘butterfly.’ Somewhere God is having a laugh at my expense.”

Olivia ignored his jibe and kept walking. He didn’t know her horse and therefore couldn’t possibly judge her. Mariposa had heart.

When they arrived at the horses, he eyed the mare but didn’t say anything else. Olivia was so glad to see Mariposa, her silly eyes pricked with tears. She swallowed the huge lump in her throat as she carefully put the coat and cans into her saddlebags.

By the time she was done, the ranger was on his horse looking down at her.

“We’re going to have to have rules if we’re going to travel together.” His gaze was unblinking. “First rule: Don’t make me wait for you.”

He kneed his horse into motion, leaving her standing there, mouth open, and temper rising. Olivia threw herself into the saddle and went after him. There was no way he was going to leave her behind.

Brody rode in silence for the next hour. He wasn’t ready to talk to his new partner, to face the reality of what had just happened. He’d let his guard down because of her, yet she’d saved him by killing two men. If he hadn’t lived through it, he wouldn’t have believed it. He’d thought Olivia was a spoiled rancher’s daughter with a sharp tongue and a stubborn streak a mile wide.

Now he realized that beneath the exterior she showed the world, Olivia had a spine of steel and more guts than most men. She should have been hiding in the shack while he dealt with the men. Yet she hadn’t and without her courage, it might have been his brains decorating that field back there.

She was also perceptive, smart and observant. Her skills put her far above many men who might want to be a Texas Ranger.

She must have been thinking about what had happened as well because she didn’t say anything. It was a blessing to have quiet. Their partnership might not be too bad after all.

They came upon a stream and he pulled his horse to a stop. She, however, kept riding. Brody realized he could either call her back or wait until she realized he wasn’t beside her. He decided to let her keep going.

The paint eagerly lapped at the water as he watched her riding away. She had an amazing seat on a horse, which showed him she had lived on a ranch all her life. Her ass was nicely shaped too. He should not be noticing her at all, much less staring at her hind end.

“Olivia.” He was surprised to find himself calling her.

She pulled the horse to a stop and looked back at him. “What are you doing?”

He didn’t answer, waiting for her to ride back to him. Brody wasn’t one to talk much and he wasn’t going to change for her.

After apparently wrestling with herself for a few moments, she rode back toward the stream. Her jaw was set tight enough that he thought he heard her teeth grinding together.

“It would have been nice if you had told me you were stopping.” She dismounted with grace, even though she was clearly annoyed. Another positive feature he wouldn’t tell her about.

“Stop leading and you would have noticed.” He refilled his canteen and splashed water onto his hair. There were still bits of gore stuck there. He hadn’t put his hat on yet because he didn’t want it to smell for the next five years. The water was clear and he felt better just having rinsed his hair. If Olivia hadn’t been there, he might have stripped down and jumped in.

“I wasn’t leading. I was riding beside you.” She came up beside him. “I thought you said I was your partner. Is this how you treat a partner?”

He wiped his hands on his pants. “Don’t know. I never had one before.”

She waited exactly one minute before she opened her mouth again. He wanted to groan. Did the woman never shut up?

“You’ve never had a partner before? Don’t most rangers have a partner?” She wiped her hands clean in the stream as she chattered. “I guess you fought in the war. Wasn’t there anyone you had at your side?”

The memory of his brothers was sharp and bittersweet. He didn’t know her well enough to tell her about his life or his loss. It wasn’t her business.

“You talk too much.”

She put her hands on her hips. “You talk too little. How can we be partners if I don’t know anything about you?”

“You know enough. I’m a ranger and I uphold the law. That’s it.” He hung the canteen on his saddle and did a quick check of his horse’s hooves.

Olivia stuck her face right in his. “No, that’s not enough but it’ll do for now because you’ve agreed to be my partner.”

He snorted at her. “Your partner? No, Miss Graham, I’ve allowed
you
to be
my
partner. Don’t forget that.”

Olivia didn’t speak after that but he could almost hear her yelling at him in her head. The woman had too much passion for her own good. He liked his women meek and quiet. She was neither—quite the opposite actually. If he’d had to pick a partner, she wouldn’t have been it. Rangers never let anyone get under their skin, but she could probably accomplish that task.

The idea that he was stuck with her until they finished the investigation hadn’t really sunk in yet. It could take weeks, possibly even a month.

And he was stuck with Olivia Graham until then.

Brody let his decision wash over him as they rode. She was going to be helpful, but at what cost? His sanity more than likely. Then there was the attraction he’d been fighting since the moment he’d seen her three months earlier. Those apple-sized breasts, that beautiful skin and eyes, and her hair. He’d had dreams about her soft, brown hair, about how it would look spread out on a pillow.

It was stupid to spend his time fantasizing over a woman he could never have. When he’d signed up to be a ranger, he’d never expected to have a permanent woman in his life. It had been he and his brothers for so long, he didn’t remember how soft women were or how good they smelled, until Olivia. She’d showed him what he’d been missing and he resented her for that, whether or not it was her fault.

A sharp snap in the woods beside him surprised him. How long had he been woolgathering? Foolish man. He dragged his attention back to the task at hand. Bluehound had told him about a man named Sanchez, the one remaining member of Jeb’s gang who was still in the area. From what the half-Indian had said, Sanchez was heading to Mexico real soon. Finding the man and interrogating him was important.

“Are we close?”

At first, Brody didn’t answer. He almost asked if she wanted to be close to him, but caught himself before he said something so stupid. Then it dawned on him she was referring to their quarry, not their relationship. If he’d had less control, he might have even blushed.

“Yep. A couple more miles, just over that rise.” He pointed to a small hill ahead. “There is no way to sneak up on him, so we need to wait until he leaves and follow him.”

“Why wait?” She turned and grinned at him. “I’ll ride up and pretend I need help. Does he know your face?”

“Well, no—”

“Good, then you can be my dumb husband.” She pointed at the rifle. “Keep that on the other side so he doesn’t see it. I’ll have my pistol in my pocket. We can convince him to tell us whatever we need to know. If he doesn’t tell us, we make him.” The feral gleam in her eye made him pause to consider her plan.

It was better than waiting until the man left. After all, the information could be wrong. It could be hours before Sanchez left, maybe even days. Was he prepared to wait that long? Not if her plan could actually work.

“I’ve been told he has a mean streak. The one thing he loves more than a good lay is a bottle of whiskey.” He wanted to shock her, to make her consider what she was doing before it was too late.

“What if I act the wanton, maybe a traveling whore, and you my houseboy?” She frowned at the horizon. “Convince him that I would trade time in his bed for traveling money.”

Brody pulled his horse to a stop and stared at her. “You’re going to turn yourself into a whore to get information ?”

She glanced back at him. “No, of course not. Once he’s distracted by my, ah, offer, we can tie him up and make him tell us what he knows. Won’t that work?”

Damn, it just might.

“You’ll need to look a little looser.” He glanced at her chest, trying to avoid focusing on those perfect tits. “Unbutton until you’re showing skin. Put your hair down too. Do you have any face paint?”

She shook her head. “No, but if we find some berries I can make my lips red, maybe even rub some on my cheeks.”

“That would work.” He looked around. “Do you know what the bushes look like?”

“Do you mean we’re going to do this?” Her eyes sparkled in the mid-afternoon sun.

Brody thought about all the reasons he should say no, but there weren’t any. “Yep, let’s do it.”

Olivia looked triumphant. “If Matt saw me now, he would try to paddle my behind.”

C
HAPTER
T
HREE

C
aleb Graham rode into the yard of the Circle Eight, with his brother Nicholas behind him. Lorenzo was waiting by the barn, his expression concerned. There wasn’t panic, so Caleb wasn’t too worried but he knew the vaquero was hard to ruffle.

He stopped and dismounted, then yanked off his gloves. “What’s wrong?”

Nick jumped down with a jingle of spurs. “What do you mean what’s wrong?”

“Shut up a minute and let Lorenzo talk.” Caleb stepped toward the ranch hand, his worry growing.

“Mariposa is gone.”

“What do you mean, she’s gone? Did someone take Liv’s mare?” The theft of one of their best broodmares would put a dent in their plans to raise their own horses.

“
Sí,
Olivia did.” Lorenzo shook his head. “She’s been gone since before dinner.”

Caleb closed his eyes and counted to ten. “Do you know where she went?” His older sister wasn’t the type of female to take off on flights of fancy. She ran the ranch like a military camp and was more disciplined than anyone he knew. When Matt and Hannah were gone, Olivia took great pleasure in ordering everyone around. She just didn’t ride away for eight hours for no reason.

“No, but Mama does.” Lorenzo frowned. “The ranger was here this morning.”

Ranger Armstrong was a good man. There was no reason to be worried if he’d visited. Liv must have told him Matt wasn’t there. But where had she gone?

A terrible thought occurred to him and he turned and ran to the house. He burst through the door, startling Eva and Mrs. Dolan, who sat at the table drinking coffee. Wide-eyed, they both opened their mouths to likely admonish him but he spoke first.

“Where is she?”

Eva didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “She’s gone. When she is done with what she has to do, she will return.”

Caleb heard but didn’t quite believe the housekeeper. “Gone where?”

“With the ranger, of course. Olivia has gone to find Benjamin.”

Oh, shit. Matt was going to kill him.

Olivia shouldn’t be excited to be dressing up as a whore and throwing herself at a murderer and robber, but a kernel of thrill had blossomed inside her. Growing up on the Circle Eight had been relatively normal for the Graham children, with the dangers anyone expected in Texas. But the day her parents died had changed that life forever.

Now she would protect her family no matter how hard it was, or how far she had to go. The excitement originated from her heart, from finally doing something to help find Benjamin, and to bring to justice the men who had murdered her parents. Perhaps it was a little bloodthirsty but she was going to accept her feelings, good or bad.

She searched the brush for berries and found some in only a few minutes. These weren’t the kind to eat, so she had to be careful not to lick her lips. They would cause vomiting and diarrhea—she and Rebecca found that out a long time ago—but nothing more serious than that. If she had to kiss Sanchez, he would get a bad case of the runs from it. A fitting side effect for a bastard who might have had a hand in murdering her parents.

Olivia took a handful of berries and used a small rock to smash them on a larger rock. She rubbed the juice between her fingers, then carefully applied it to her lips, and rubbed it into her cheeks. Brody held out a canteen to wash her hands off.

He watched as she unbuttoned her shirtwaist, then glanced up at him. His gaze locked on her breasts and the air between them nearly crackled with awareness.

“Is that enough?” Her voice came out a little hoarse.

“No, you need to keep going. More buttons.” His tone was flat calm, damn it.