Deborah Camp (39 page)

“Cassie,” Monroe implored, a slight smile curving the corners of his mouth, “you know I have no reason to steal cattle. I’ve been trying to help you since A.J. died. Tell the sheriff. Tell him!”

“All I know for sure is that Drew Dalton never stole a cow in his life.” She hitched up her chin. “Sheriff, I killed Buck Wilhite, but I had no choice.”

“Where’d you say he was? The barn? I’ll take the body into town to the undertaker’s.”

“That’s it? You’ll take their word, but not mine?” Monroe demanded.

“You’ll have a trial, and it’ll be up to the judge to decide your guilt or innocence,” Sheriff Nelson said.

“Want me to speak to your character, Roe?” Drew asked with a smirk.

“You go to hell!” Monroe shouted, and his horse skittered nervously. “Cassie, I’m disappointed in you. Very disappointed.”

Cassie tipped up her chin, anger sparking off her like flint on steel. “And I’m disappointed in you!” She shrugged away from Drew’s supporting embrace and glared at him. “And I’m disappointed in you, too! I thought you trusted me.” She marched into the house.

Drew felt his mouth fall open. “Well, that’s a fine
howdy and thank-you,” he grumbled, totally baffled by her anger toward him.

“Dalton, show me Wilhite’s body,” Sheriff Nelson said, getting Drew’s attention again.

“Sure, come on.” Drew bounded down the porch steps. He’d deal with Cassie later, he thought, but changed his mind after a few minutes when he saw her riding away from the house. She was headed for Two Forks Creek.

“Sheriff, I’ve got something to attend to and I—I’ll be back later,” he said, waving aside further explanation. In the barn, he opened Dynamite’s stall and didn’t bother to saddle him. Grabbing the lead rope, he swung up onto the horse’s back. “I want to see about Cassie.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Sheriff Nelson called to him.

It was twilight and a few stars were blooming overhead. Drew pulled his hat down low as he urged Dynamite into a gallop.

Minutes later, he gathered handfuls of his mount’s mane and yanked him to a halt atop the gentle rise he knew so well. A semicircle of knotty pines crowned the swell of land. In the distance he could see the sparkle of the creek among a grove of trees, willow and oak and birch. Cassie’s horse grazed among them. She stood nearby as still as a statue. Coyotes yipped and barked in the distance. A cow mooed deeply, mournfully. A knot formed in Drew’s throat as Cassie and the land seemed to meld into one, united in strength and beauty. He loved both fiercely. Cassie had to know. He had to tell her…

Cassie listened to the strange music of the coyotes and wondered what they were saying to each other. As she’d hoped, her anger and disappointment and guilt faded under
the twilight sky in this place of peace and stillness. She breathed deeply.
Yes, yes, all fall away
, she chanted in her head. She needed to think, needed to sort through what had happened, what she’d done, what would become of her now.

“This is a favorite place of mine.”

She smothered a cry of alarm and stared at Drew. Where had he come from? She hadn’t heard… She saw Dynamite some distance away, silhouetted against the darkening sky.

“I come here when I want to think, when I want to be alone,” Drew added.

“To be alone,” she repeated, but knew it was futile. He wouldn’t leave her alone now. She could tell that for once he was full of words and meant for her to hear them. “I used to come here sometimes, too,” she admitted. “I think this might have been a homestead once.” She walked to a thick patch of grass. “Daffodils and crocus. See? A woman must have planted them a long, long time ago. Women put flower bulbs around their homes or upon graves. Since there are no signs of headstones here…”

“Yes, I think there was a house here once. If you want, there can be one here again.”

Cassie angled a glance at him. “You got something to say to me, Drew Dalton, say it.”

He gathered in a big breath that expanded his chest. “I want to do right by you, Cassie.”

Her heart beat furiously. Good Lord! Did he actually love her? Could it be? Had she figured him all wrong? She’d thought that he didn’t trust her, so he couldn’t love her. He hadn’t confided in her about T-Bone and Gabe, and that had wounded her, made her believe that
he would never give himself to her. But now! Now!

“I want to build a house for you right here,” Drew said, walking off the land. “I’ll build it exactly the way you want, and I’ll give you and Andy half the land. You’ve earned it. I want you to have it, Cassie.” He stopped to look at her. “It’s the very least I can do. I care …” He swallowed with difficulty. “I mean … I … you mean so much to me, Cassie.”

Cassie’s heart trembled, and she inhaled a shuddering breath as her dream withered. He couldn’t say the words. She meant a lot to him? So did his damned horse!

“A house and land, huh? You’re the first man to offer me something for nothing, but I can’t accept your gifts.”

He frowned and propped his hands on his lean hips. “Why not? I thought that’s what you wanted—for your son to get his fair share of this ranch.”

“That’s not
all
I want. For starters I want you to trust me.”

“I do.”

“Not enough to talk to me about Gabe and T-Bone!”

“Yes, and you never hold anything back from me, do you? You’d tell me if some lowlife jumped you in the barn, wouldn’t you?”

Cassie gasped and staggered backward. “How—? Oh, he told you, did he?”

“He bragged about it.” Drew reached out, his fingers gliding across her cheek. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No. Scared me, but… nothing happened.”

“I’m glad, and I’m glad he’s dead.”

“M-me, too, but I wish … I’ve never killed a man before and I—” She shrugged, refusing to surrender to the crushing remorse and guilt. “I’ll be okay.”

“You did what you had to do, Shorty.”

The endearment pricked her heart, got her back on track. “I can’t live here anymore, Drew. I can’t live side by side with you.”

He winced, then hung his head, throwing his face in shadow. “Look, I know I’m not a good father figure, certainly not the kind of man you want to have around your son. But with your own land, you’ll find someone worthy of you, Cassie. And until you do, I’ll make sure you and Andy never want for anything.”

“That’s not what I meant.” She crossed her arms to keep herself from reaching out to him. “How can you stand there and believe that I have anything but respect and admiration for you?”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“You. Me. We’re both a couple of weaklings.”

“Now that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. You’ve got more grit than a two-ton bull.”

“Maybe, but I’m not tough enough to spend years on this ranch within grabbing distance of the man I love.” She held up a hand before he could interrupt her. “No. You listen to me. Listen, while I can still talk without bawling like an orphan calf.” She composed herself enough to continue. “I won’t stand by while you find yourself another woman and wed her and give her babies. I’d rather lose the land and my son’s rightful inheritance than put myself through that kind of hell. I’m sorry, but that’s how it is with me.”

“Did you say you love—?”

“Maybe you’re disappointed in me,” she said. “Guess I can understand that. I’m a gal pretending to be a lady when all I am is a former whore who came here to hide. I don’t blame you for having second thoughts. But… you
care
about me?”

“Very much,” he said, missing her point completely. “You’ve had some bad luck, but you’re still a lady. Even when you were called—what was it? Little Nugget?”

She winced and nodded.

“I think that’s a right pretty name. I’m even considering calling that new filly Little Nugget.”

“It’s a good name—for a whore or a horse.”

He chuckled and took a step toward her. “Even when you went by Little Nugget, you were a lady.”

She shook her head. “No, Drew. I was a saloon tart. A soiled dove. Nothing ladylike about that.”

“It all depends on what you think a lady is, I reckon.” He moved closer still, and his voice had dipped to a raspy purr that heated her blood and soothed her temper. “To me, a lady is a woman who makes me want to protect her and be good to her, makes me want to hold her, gentle and tender-like. A lady is a woman with airs. When you put on your hat and gloves and swing those hips and smile that smile, you’ve got airs, darlin’, blowing every man in your path clean off his feet.”

She couldn’t help but grin. “You’re a bag of wind yourself, Blue Eyes.”

He took her face between his hands and made her look at him, square in the eyes. “Did you say you love me?”

Her lashes dusted her cheeks, then she nodded. “Yes, but I reckon you figure you deserve a woman who hasn’t been used and thrown aside time after time.”

“Haven’t you ever heard that second-hand gold is as good as new?”

Tears burned her eyes, her throat. Her nobility wavered. “Like I said, if you got something to say to me, Drew Dalton, then for God’s sake, say it!”

His smile was tender and reached clear into her heart. “I love you, Cassie, and I’m not letting you go.” His lips brushed hers, soft and trembling. “And if you can still love me after knowing what kind of stock I spring from, after putting up with my bad moods and worse habits, then you can have me.”

She was almost afraid to speak, but more afraid that if she didn’t say yes quickly, she’d lose her chance. “I knew you loved me! Oh, Drew, I love you, too. So much that I think I might have died right here if you hadn’t said you felt the same for me.” She peppered his face with kisses until he laughed. “I love you! I love you! Oh, I’ve always loved you! Ever since I saw you, even though I was scared and thought I hated you, I guess I loved you that very moment. I was just too stupid to know it, because I’d never been in love before.”

“Me either. I should have told you before now, but I didn’t know how, Cassie. I’ve never loved a woman before you, and I didn’t want you to feel beholden or sorry for me and stay just because of that.”

“I was about ready to haul off and slap you,” she said, smiling. “You can be right infuriating, you know.”

“I know. Cassie…” He moved back from her. “I want you to know something, something real important.”

“Uh-oh.” She held her breath, afraid of bad news. His expression was grave, his blue eyes serious.

“I not only love you, I respect you and I will always cherish you,” he intoned.

She caught her breath and blinked in amazement at him. “Now that you’ve started talking from your heart, I do believe you’ve become a regular Romeo! Oh, darling Drew.” She sighed and pressed her lips to his. His
arms lassoed her and his kisses seared her, branded her his.

“You’re a saint to put up with a man like me. I know I’m tough to love.”

“You’re not too tough to love,” she told him, caressing the bold planes of his face. “You’re too tough to leave, so I’m staying.”

He stamped her mouth with a kiss and let out a happy whoop of laughter. “We’ll build a new house right here and make it ours! There will be only good memories in it for us, Cassie.”

“The house we’re in is fine, Drew.”

“We’ll need more room for all the children we’ll have. Our sweet Andy deserves some brothers and sisters who will look up to him and pester him and love him. We’ll give the old place to Oleta. It’ll be a fine dowry for her to use in catching herself a husband.”

“You’ve got it all figured out, haven’t you?”

“Not really. All I know for sure is that when I was facing death there in the barn with Wilhite ready to shoot me, all I could think about was how much I love you and little Andy and how I wish I’d told you. Then, a moment ago, I felt that you and this land were joined. I couldn’t be with one and not have the other.”

“Oh, Drew.” She gave a little sigh, then a laugh. “I just had a funny thought.”

“What?” He caught her hands and swung them between their bodies, making her feel like a kid again. “Tell me.”

“I was thinking that A.J. is turning over in his grave right now. I don’t think he ever figured we’d find happiness together and would be planning a family.”

He grinned rakishly. “Yeah, in a twisted way the old coot was our matchmaker.”

Cassie tipped back her head and laughed up at the deep-purple sky. “Ain’t that right and proper!” she said, still giggling.

“You’re so pretty,” he said, his voice dipping to a raspy whisper. He smoothed a hand over her hair and his eyes glimmered like stardust. “Suddenly I’m the luckiest man in the whole wide world. I sure never thought I’d be able to say that about myself.”

“Look out, Drew, you’re gonna make me cry.” She sniffed, trying to hold back her tears.

“But you’re happy, right? These aren’t tears of sadness or frustration?”

“I’m happy,” she assured him. “How about you?”

“Sweetheart, let me show you!”

With a joyful whoop, he swung her around in a dizzying circle. She laughed with him, her heart light, her spirits soaring. Stumbling, they fell and rolled down the knoll to where the spring crocus and daffodils grew, where the front steps of a house would be set, where two lives would join and flourish, and where two hearts found a forever kind of love for the very first time.