To Love a Stranger (27 page)

A coldness crept over Pierce. “Did Zoey tell you there was going to be a child?”

“No, but it’s a possibility, isn’t it?”

“I reckon,” Pierce admitted. “I wasn’t as careful as I should have been. I’m going up to my room. I’m beat.”

*    *    *

A child, Pierce reflected as he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Was it possible? Would Zoey leave him if she was carrying his child?

Z
oey swayed in her saddle as she rode through the entrance to the Circle F. She was exhausted, dirty, and depressed. Fortunately, she had encountered no problems on the trip. She had sought cover in a fringe of trees a short distance from the road and passed an uneasy night. Not wanting to attract attention, she had eschewed a fire, munched on dry biscuits and cheese she had taken from the Delaney kitchen, curled up in her blanket, and tried not to think of Pierce.

She would never forget the way Pierce had looked at her that tragic day at the Doolittles’. That one feral look spoke volumes about his feelings. He didn’t want her, didn’t want any wife. The least she could do was honor his wishes and leave.

Zoey spied Cully working near the corral and hailed him. Cully saw her, gave a whoop, and trotted over to meet her. He appeared upset, and a frisson of fear slid down her spine.
What now?
she wondered, hoping nothing had gone wrong with the cattle drive.

“Miz Zoey, thank God you’re home! Is Delaney
with you? They didn’t hang him, did they? We heard all about it when we returned from the fort. It was the talk of the town for days.”

Zoey dismounted. “I’m alone,” she said crisply. “Pierce is well. He’s been cleared of all charges. Was the cattle drive successful? Was the army pleased with the delivery?”

Cully nodded. “Got them there in good shape. Me and the boys spent the night at the fort and started for home the next morning. We weren’t expecting trouble.”

Zoey shivered. Days were getting cooler now and a cold wind blew down from the mountains. But it was Cully’s expression that both chilled and frightened her.

“Come inside where it’s warm and I’ll explain everything. You look plum beat. I can’t believe your husband let you travel all this way by yourself.”

Cully put the coffeepot on to boil while Zoey dropped down into the nearest chair. “I am beat, Cully. These past weeks have been exhausting. You can’t imagine the things that went on in Dry Gulch. I’ll explain after you tell me what’s wrong. I know you, Cully, and something tells me I’m not going to like what you’re going to say.”

“You’re right,” Cully said, easing his spare frame into the chair across from Zoey. “We were robbed on the way home from the fort. A dozen masked men attacked us one night after we’d bedded down. We were overpowered before we even knew they were in our the camp. Took every last dime the army paid for the steers, and then some. Stole my watch and other valuables me and the boys had
on us. Weren’t much, but it’s all we had.”

Zoey stared at Cully; she was absolutely horrified. “Stolen? Everything? Oh, God.” She dropped her head in her hands and sobbed. This on top of everything else was just too much. With the taxes due this fall and no money with which to pay them, the Circle F was no better off than it had been before Pierce had arrived and changed their fortune.

“This was Willoughby’s doing!” Zoey blasted. “That man just won’t give up. Whatever are we going to do? There’s enough money in the bank to pay the hands, thank God. But what then?”

“Winter’s coming on,” Cully said. “We won’t need help till spring, when the cows start calving and we rebuild our herd.”

Zoey gave a harsh laugh. “How are we going to buy feed and supplies for the winter and pay the taxes?”

“Ask Delaney for money,” Cully suggested. “He’d help, I know he would.”

Zoey sighed wearily. “Pierce and I are no longer married. The divorce decree is with Pierce. Once the judge signs it, it’s all over. I suspect I’m already a divorced woman. Pierce doesn’t owe me a thing. He upheld his part of our arrangement. More than upheld it, and we all know it. He earned his freedom.”

“But he don’t know about this, Miz Zoey. I could go to Dry Gulch, explain—”

“No! Pierce is no longer responsible for me or my problems. He has enough problems of his own.”

“I ain’t prying, but it might help if you told me about it, Miz Zoey.”

“It’s … difficult to explain, but I’ll try. After they took Pierce away, I followed. I feared the vigilantes would hang him before he reached Dry Gulch. As it turned out, I was right. When I caught up with them, the rope was already around Pierce’s neck.”

Cully gave a low whistle. “How did you stop the lynching? Did Pierce do all them things he was accused of?”

“No, Pierce was innocent of all charges. I never doubted it for a minute. I was able to interrupt the lynching long enough for his brothers and the hands from the Delaney ranch to stop it. Pierce did spend a few days in jail before things took a turn none of us expected.”

Her voice faltered; she girded herself for the retelling of the tragedy that followed.

“You might as well tell me everything,” Cully said, giving her hand a sympathetic pat.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Zoey took a deep breath and related the events that led to the deaths of the entire Doolittle family. She held nothing back, even revealing how Pierce had looked at her after Chad left. When she finished, her mouth was so dry it felt as if she were talking around cotton. Cully poured her a cup of coffee and she gulped it down, welcoming the burning trail it left in her mouth.

“That’s some story,” Cully said, shaking his head in commiseration. “Can’t rightly say I blame Pierce for being upset. You should have stuck around, given him time to work through this. I could of sworn he cared for you.”

He started to say something else, then flushed and looked away.

“Go ahead and say it, Cully. You’re more like a father to me than a hired hand. You know me better than anyone alive.”

“It ain’t my place.”

“You were going to say that Pierce and I shared a bed,” Zoey said, sparing herself nothing. “Pierce didn’t take advantage of me, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s true he tried to seduce me, but I was willing to be seduced. I don’t regret a thing.”

“I reckon he’d help if you were to ask him,” Cully suggested hopefully.

“I … can’t. We’ll just have to let the hands go for the winter and get by as best we can. As for the taxes, I’ll borrow the money from the bank.”

Cully looked aghast. “From Willoughby’s bank?”

“Is there another bank in town?”

“You know right well there ain’t.”

“I still have the confession Willoughby wrote. He won’t dare refuse to loan me the money I need.”

“We’ll see,” Cully muttered. He didn’t trust Willoughby any farther than he could toss him.

Zoey rose tiredly. “I’d appreciate it if you’d put some water on the stove to boil. I need to soak in a hot tub and think. I’ll wait until I have my wits about me before going to town to apply for a loan.”

Cully nodded and left the kitchen. It was a damn shame Pierce and Zoey were no longer a couple, he mumbled to himself. They suited each other so well. But more to the point, Zoey needed Pierce.

Dry Gulch

Pierce threw himself into his work, prowling around the ranch like a caged tiger. Angry, edgy, spoiling for a fight. The hands made sure they kept their distance, skirting around him on tiptoes, so to speak.

Pierce blamed his glum mood on Chad’s continued absence, but Ryan and the hands knew better. Arising at dawn, Pierce drove himself relentlessly until dusk. He took supper with Ryan and retired early. Ryan was so disgusted by Pierce’s short temper and taciturn manner that he accused Pierce of alienating everyone on the ranch.

“Go to town and get yourself a woman,” Ryan suggested after he’d taken all he could of Pierce’s foul temper. “Dinah down at the saloon always had a soft spot for you. Take her to bed, work out your frustrations. Brooding isn’t going to bring Chad back. And it won’t make you miss Zoey any less.”

Pierce’s head shot up. “Who says I miss Zoey?”

“I do!” Ryan shot back. “Don’t deny it, brother. I know you too well.”

“You don’t know me at all. A wife is the last thing I need right now. As for bedding a woman, you might have something there. If I recall, Dinah is obliging as well as accomplished. Want to come to town with me tonight?”

Ryan gave him a cocky grin. “Sure! Just like old times. There’s a girl named Tess working for Jake I’d like to get to know better. While we’re there, maybe we can find a fight.”

They parted company. Ryan headed to the barn, and Pierce to the corral to break a horse. He decided the hands would like him better if he took his frustrations out on an animal. He was half out of his mind with worry and couldn’t help his dark mood. Where was Chad now? Pierce wondered. Was he in trouble? In need of money? Hungry?

But mostly he couldn’t stop thinking about Zoey. Had she reached the Circle F without mishap? Did she miss him? Was she happy to be home? There were so many questions and so few answers where Zoey was concerned. He’d never forget the first time he saw her, dressed in denim pants and flannel shirt. Her taut little bottom and bouncing breasts had enticed and beguiled him. He had set out to seduce her and succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Once stripped of her virginity, Zoey had turned to living flame in his arms.

One by one he withdrew his private memories, examining each treasure jealously before sending it back into the dark recesses of his mind where he could draw on them whenever he dared to remember. He groaned aloud, then looked around sheepishly to see if anyone had heard. Ryan was right, he decided, a woman was exactly what he needed.

Pierce glanced out over the corral fence and saw a horse and buggy coming down the road. The driver of the rig saw Pierce and swung around in his direction. Pierce waved to Warren Chambers, his lawyer, and waited with no small amount of curiosity.

“Howdy, Pierce,” Chambers said as he pulled up and climbed down from the buggy. “You didn’t
come to town to see me, so I came out here to see you.”

Pierce gave him a puzzled look. “Did we have an appointment?”

“Not exactly. Judge Walters arrived in town the day before yesterday, and he’s agreed to see us tomorrow at two o’clock.”

“For what reason?” Pierce asked, still clueless. “Are there still charges pending against me? I thought that was all cleared up.”

Chambers reached into the buggy and pulled a sheaf of papers from a portfolio he’d left on the seat. “No, no, nothing like that. It’s about your divorce. The papers are all drawn up and awaiting your signature.” He handed them to Pierce. “Just see that they’re signed before you appear before the judge tomorrow. Given the circumstances of your marriage, there should be no difficulty. Tell the judge the truth. Your wife already explained it all to me.”

Dumbfounded, Pierce merely stared at Chambers.

“Is something wrong, Pierce? This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

Pierce’s mouth snapped shut. “Of course it’s what I want. You just took me by surprise. My wife left several days ago, and with Chad gone, the work has piled up. I’ve had damn little time to think of the future. What did Zoey say?”

“Read the divorce decree. I think you’ll find everything in order. Your wife was surprisingly candid. See you tomorrow. The judge is holding court in the new courthouse on Second Street.”

“I know where it is.”

Chambers climbed back into the buggy and picked up the reins. “Oh, by the way, Chad stopped by before he left town and signed a power of attorney so you can conduct business on his behalf during his absence.”

Pierce was stunned. He didn’t think Chad was thinking all that clearly when he lit out of town. “Thanks for telling me. How did Chad look to you?”

“Upset, but who can blame him? I wouldn’t worry about Chad. He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

“Is it true that the Doolittle ranch belongs to Chad now?” Pierce asked.

“To my knowledge, the Doolittles had no relatives. None have stepped forward yet. I was told that Cora Lee was the last to die. Chad was her legal husband at the time, so it would seem the ranch belongs to Chad.”

“Since Chad gave me power of attorney, I’d like to lease the ranch to Otto Zigler for the time being. Chad gave me permission to handle the property in any way I thought best. Will you draw up the papers?”

“Sure thing, Pierce. I’d best be getting along. See you in town tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Pierce muttered, scowling at the divorce document as if he expected it to bite him. “Tomorrow.”

Pierce and Ryan rode into town right after supper that night. They ambled into Jake’s Saloon and looked around, spoiling for trouble. The fierce look on Pierce’s face gave ample proof of his mood, and
most of Jake’s customers gave him a wide berth. Few men in Dry Gulch were willing to tangle with the Delaneys when they were in a fighting mood.

“There’s Dinah by the bar, Pierce,” Ryan said, calling Pierce’s attention to a pert redhead with a wide mouth, sharp blue eyes, and a voluptuous figure. “Go on over and talk to her. She’s looking at you like she’d like to have you for dinner.”

Pierce had little inclination to bed the beautiful whore, but he’d never admit it to Ryan. Though he’d bought Dinah’s favors many times in the past and had no complaints, she suddenly looked coarse and unappetizing to him.

“Go on,” Ryan urged, giving Pierce a nudge. “I see Tess by the poker table. I hope she’s not already engaged for the night.” He wandered off to pursue his own interests.

Pierce’s feet refused to move in Dinah’s direction. Instead, he bellied up to the bar and ordered a whiskey. He gulped it down and motioned for another.

“Trying to tie one on, cowboy?”

Dinah stood at his elbow, smiling up at him in blatant invitation. “You gonna buy me a drink?”

Pierce nodded at the bartender, who poured Dinah a drink. She sipped it, gazing at Pierce through long, feathery lashes.

“How are you, Dinah?”

“How do I look?” She spun on her heel for his benefit, her short skirt swirling around her legs to reveal smooth white thighs.