Unexpected (8 page)

“I appreciate the information and the offer of a drink
, but I don’t drink.  Thanks much the same,” Cogan said bringing his eyes back to Gus.

The sheriff gave him a strained smile.
“I just thought I’d let you know that were not all that bad.  I also came out to warn you.  Chances are Butch is going to blame you for his two dead men even if they were ripped apart by an animal.  He’s about as crooked as they come.  He won’t press this issue with me because the men were on Ryker’s land—again. Obviously they were planning something and we’re all aware of that.  It won’t be me pressing for justice over his lost men.  I doubt Butch will be either.  As you heard Merle say, they are replaceable.  However, Butch’s pride is a different story.  He doesn’t like anyone to get the better of him.”  Cogan didn’t seem the least bit surprised from the news, but he was certain not much set him out of sorts. Yet, after meeting this man for the second time, Gus wondered if he should fear him more than Butch.  He had this air of unspoken power about him that he’d never encountered before, and it had nothing to do with his build.  It was like he knew more than he was letting on, that he had an advantage over them all.  He just seemed so completely at ease and confident all the time.  Men who display those traits have lived a lifetime of hardship and nothing could put fear in them.  He’d met a few of them, but still, none like Cogan.

After
Josie got her brother settled back in bed, she came out of the house to stand on the veranda when she heard the riders come in.  She shielded her eyes from the bright sun and watched the exchange from a distance.  Gus and Cogan seemed to be talking, respectfully.   It looked like Merle and Bill were with him.  Obviously this wasn’t an arresting party because Merle and Bill weren’t the first people you’d take along.  In fact she was pretty sure that’s the first time she’d never seen either one of them on a horse.

 
When they were done talking, they turned their horses around and the men waved and tipped their hats respectfully as they rode by her out of the yard.  Obviously they didn’t come to see her. She looked at Cogan who stood straight while his eyes settled on her. Ryker was right.  He was big.  Everything about him was.  Even his hands.

She went down the steps and approached him.
He waited patiently as she made her way to him. It was a little unnerving that his eyes were steady on her while she neared. The walk seemed to take forever, and she was sure her yard wasn’t that big. She’d never met a man who had so much confidence, well Butch, but he was insane.  As far as she could tell, Cogan was about as sane as a man could get. “Another warning?”

“
Yes. Apparently a couple of Butch’s men came into contact with a hungry bear.  Killed two of them, and gnawed off Elroy’s damaged arm.” He smirked.

Josie had no sympathy for them after what they did to Ryker.
“And they thought you sent it?” That certainly didn’t explain why Merle and Bill were there.

Now there was clear amusement in his dark eyes over that statement.
Most women would be shocked with what he just told her. He just couldn’t get over how bold this lady was.  It intrigued him. “No. The problem was, it was on your land, so the sheriff feltbeholden to warn you that there’s a large bear that has a taste for people
.
However
,
I’m sure Butch thinks we had something to do with it.”

“Of course he’d come up with some ridiculous story like that.  He’s
crazy.” She shook her head like it was no surprise.

She’d get no argument from him.  Power does funny things to men.

“I think it’s about time I took a ride to town,” Cogan said absently.

Josie knew exactly what that meant.
“You shouldn’t go looking for trouble,” she said narrowing her eyes at him. “You’ll be no different than Butch’s men.” Actually she was thinking that she really didn’t want to lose him to a bullet.  Besides the fact that they needed him, she would feel responsible for putting him in that position.

He
smiled completely unaffected by her scolding.  It was out of concern and he knew it.

“Fine then, I’m going with you.”
She averted her gaze.  Cogan was a handsome man if you can look past his size and hard looks which completely melted under that perfect smile.  His eyes seemed to warm up when he did that too, and it made the muscles in her belly contract.  She heard her friends talk about butterflies in the stomach when they were sweet on someone, so it didn’t take her long to figure out that’s what it was.  Was she sweet on him? She couldn’t be. She’d just met him and didn’t know anything about him.  She could also be completely wrong about him. Yet, she always prided herself on her instincts, and nothing about him seemed to worry her.

“Suit
yourself,” he said looking down at her. “We’ll leave after supper. I’ll hitch up the buckboard.”

That gave Josie enough time to
finish her chores. Again she was thankful for Hattie who did the housework and cooking and now played nurse to her brother besides being a surrogate mother to their little brother.

After supper was served, Hattie had excused herself from the table to take Ryker his
meal and most likely stayed to visit him.  Josie had forbid him to come downstairs for another few days because the doctor said so.  She was just thankful he was listening.  It wasn’t often he listened to anyone.  It also showed her that he was probably in more pain than he let on. He refused to take the laudanum to help him out because it made his head cloudy. She knew he was worried that something could happen while he was under the drug’s influence, so it was for their sake he suffered.  She tried to reassure him that Cogan could manage, but he still refused.

During their meal,
Thomas talked a mile a minute to Cogan.  Josie could see that he was in awe of their newest ranch hand.  She couldn’t blame him.  She was finding herself in that position too.  Furthermore, Cogan actually had the patience of a saint when it came to her ten year old brother.  He seemed interested in everything he said and he really didn’t need to be.  Several times his dark eyes shifted to hers and there was clear amusement in them over Thomas and his eagerness.  However, he never discouraged him and she couldn’t be more thankful for his tolerance.  Not many men his age put up with a child, even if it was their own.

After supper she changed into a blue striped walking gown, matching bonnet and a parasol.
She never went to town without dressing like a lady.  Around the ranch she wore older clothing and when she rode on the range, she would wear pants.  Yet, she was raised proper and in public she preferred to feel like a woman.  At least that’s what she kept telling herself, knowing that their new ranch hand had something to do with her taking that extra time to look ladylike.

Thomas
met her when she was leaving the house and asked if he could come.  She reluctantly agreed and he raced upstairs with a whoop to get washed up.  Normally she wouldn’t take him, but they’d have Cogan with them and it’s not like Butch would risk anything in front of a town of witnesses.  She already knew that word had gotten around about him.  It was a small town.

When she emerged from the house she saw that Cogan had the mare hitched up to the buckboard and his stallion
tethered to the back of it.  He’d also managed to change into decent clean clothes of black pants, blue shirt, and a matching grey and black striped vest.  He tossed a black overcoat on the back of the seat.  The thing she’d noticed the most was that he’d strapped on his gun belt. 

He was strikingly handsome in black, but Josie did her best to push that thought out of her mind. 
Cogan was far from the marrying kind.  He was wild and there wasn’t anything about him that said he was going to settle down and have children in the near future. The fact that she found her thinking that made her pause. There wasn’t once in her eighteen years that she’d even had a fleeting thought of marriage.

Thomas
ran past her and climbed eagerly into the back of the wagon while Josie came down the steps.  He turned and saw her with a glint of approval in his eyes that she didn’t miss.  Then he held out his hand and without a word she took it, lifted her skirts, and allowed him to help her into the wagon.  It shifted with his weight when he climbed in next to her and took the reins.

“How’s your brother?”
  He’d meant to ask over dinner but Thomas occupied his time. The boy was keen for some attention from someone like him, and with his older brother laid up, he suspected he was the next best thing.  He wasn’t sure how much time Ryker had with Thomas to begin with because this was a big spread and it would be hard to maintain it with no help. Cogan had always liked children and didn’t mind taking the time to pay attention to Thomas.

“Defiant.”

He chuckled and slapped the reins on the mare’s back causing the buckboard move forward.

***

“Hey boss.  That stranger and pretty Miss Hamilton just came into town,” said Deak who was standing by the front window of Butch’s office.  It was in the hotel on the second floor and gave the best view of Main Street.  Someone always stood there to keep watch. Deak was intimidated by the stranger but he wouldn’t let on. In this gang it would be seen as a weakness. He feared his boss, but this guy was bigger and for some reason gave off a sense that he was more dangerous.

Butch got up from his seat behind the desk and walked over to the window
while tucking his hands in the pockets of his dark navy pinstriped pants as he stared down at the wagon that just stopped in front of the hardware store across the street.  He was intrigued.  This guy killed five of his men, wounded Elroy, and had the guts to stay on at the Hamilton ranch even with his men trying to warn him off.

Deak
got in two hours ago and updated him on the most recent visit to the Hamilton Ranch.  The stranger was still there even after he’d sent Elroy and a couple of others out there with the sheriff to warn him the day before. Deak said he didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving.  He also was terrified of the man.  He didn’t have to say anything, he could tell from the look in his eyes.  Not that Deak would be hard to scare, but this and the slaying of his men just made him unhappy. Butch didn’t like to be unhappy. Then, to add to his darkening mood, there was the sheriff.  Gus was useless. He was actually thinking about having the sheriff shot, but he knew that whatever resistance the townsfolk had would flare with that.  Gus had some supporters and he definitely didn’t need a marshal to come in and meddle in his business to see how corrupt it was.  Those men were as straight as they come.  He couldn’t risk them not taking a bribe.  “He is a big one,” he finally said when Cogan got out of the buckboard to help Miss Hamilton down. His attention then went to her. No one could see the hunger in his eyes, because he hid it well. Josephine Hamilton was a striking woman and Butch thought about her a lot, but she wasn’t like his other women. She wasn’t easily intimidated despite his attempts. So he would have to think of another way.  Today, she looked like a perfect lady in her gown, with perfect curves.  She didn’t even have to dress that way because an experienced man could see how priceless she was. She was a woman that could draw envy from other men just from having her on his arm.  She was sophisticated, sassy, and unique. He always got what he wanted, and he wanted her.

He liked women and had plenty of them, mostly his whores.  He liked things rough and would occasionally slap them around during sex.  He also had particular tastes that couldn’t be filled from a lady like Josie, but if he’d gotten her alone, he would definitely show her what he liked.  Problem was, she was always with her brother who could easily protect her, and she could handle a gun fairly well.  Yet, Butch was a patient man.
Sooner or later there would be the perfect opportunity and he would pounce like a cat on a mouse.

He’d cornered her a few weeks ago when he followed her into the hardware store. 
When he walked in he looked at Bill, and told him to get lost.  Bill shot out from behind the counter, glanced guiltily down the aisle that Josie went, then went out the front door like he was on fire.  That left him and Josie.  Two of his men stood at the entrance so no one else could come in. Butch took his time walking down the aisle where she was. She was wearing a pale green walking gown like the one she wore today and like today, she was stunning. She didn’t even hear him come up behind her until he spoke and she jumped dropping whatever she was holding. She spun around wide eyed.  Then her eyes narrowed and he felt heat rising in groin just from the challenge she presented.

“Hello
Miss Hamilton,” he said deeply.

“Get away from me,
” she seethed and turned to leave, but his arm shot out bracing against the wall beside her head and trapped her in place.  She knew he was bold, but didn’t think he’d take it this far.  It just proved to her how arrogant and untouchable he thought he was.

She was right. 
Butch was arrogant and was really pleased with himself over her reaction to him. He saw the fear in her lovely eyes and toyed with her for just that reason.  It turned him on more. “After all the trouble I’ve gone through to get you alone.  I don’t think so.”

Her eyes went to his face and held his gaze
before they narrowed into a glare.  Yet he knew it was a display to hide the fear she refused to allow him to see, but he caught it.  Even if he didn’t see it, he knew she was afraid, because everyone was afraid of him.