Lone Wolf′s Woman
Lone Wolf's Woman
Carol Finch
A WARRIOR SPIRIT…A GENTLE HEARTVince Lone Wolf is the justice system's last resort. And, in spite of his dangerous reputation, Julia Preston will give her soul if she can borrow him for just one night. Because her brother's life–and the family ranch–depend on Lone Wolf's reputed skills.Julia's fearlessness and determination make it impossible for Lone Wolf to resist her desperate cry for help. And though he's always prided himself on his independence, she reminds him of everything that is missing in his life.But can a bounty hunter ever lay claim to the love of a lady?
“You aren’t going anywhere until you come home with me,” Julia burst out frantically.
“I watched my brother get bushwhacked this evening,” she continued. “I don’t even know if he’s alive. If you’ll agree to come with me, I will make it worth your while.”
Lone Wolf peered into her mesmerizing eyes and felt himself caving in.
There was no question that he had other places to go. But the damnedest thing was that Julia had impressed the hell out of him. Plus no one had ever stood up for him before. Ever. It was that one unexpected deed of courage that refused to let him send her off alone in the darkness.
“Okay, I’ll saddle my horse and make sure you get home safely,” Lone Wolf finally said.
Damn good thing he wasn’t planning to spend more than a couple of hours with her. Even if she was a one-of-a-kind female he had no intention whatsoever of getting emotionally attached.
Not to her or anyone else.
Praise for Carol Finch
“Carol Finch is known for her lightning-fast, roller-coaster-ride adventure romances that are brimming over with a large cast of characters and dozens of perilous escapades.”
—Romantic Times
Praise for previous titles
The Ranger’s Woman
“Finch delivers her signature humor, along with a big dose of colorful Texas history, in a love and laughter romp.”
—Romantic Times
Texas Bride
“Finch delivers another well-paced western with likable, realistic characters, a well-crafted backdrop and just enough history and sensual tension to satisfy western and romance readers.”
—Romantic Times
Lone Wolf’s Woman
Carol Finch
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book is dedicated to my husband, Ed, and our children, Christie, Jill, Kurt, Jeff, Jon and Shawnna. And to our grandchildren, Brooklynn, Kennedy, Blake and Livia.
Hugs and kisses!
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter One
Dodge City, Kansas
April 1880s
V ince Lone Wolf swore a blue streak when he heard the clatter of hooves on the wooden bridge a quarter of a mile away. “Damn fool brat,” he muttered as he skulked away from his campfire to conceal himself in the darkness and monitor the rider’s rapid approach.
He had a pretty good idea who the intruder was—because of the confrontation he’d had an hour earlier. He had stopped at a saloon on the south side of the railroad tracks in Dodge City to purchase a bottle of whiskey to tide him over during his jaunt to Colorado. Big mistake, he mused as he crouched in the underbrush beside the river to watch the rider thundering toward his camp. A peach-fuzz-faced kid at the bar had tried to square off against him because of his reputation as a gunfighter and bounty hunter.
Cowboys and saloon girls had scattered like buckshot when the kid challenged him to see who was the fastest on the draw. The wannabe gunslinger kept tossing insults, trying to bait him.
Lone Wolf had perfected lightning-quick reflexes and honed his instincts through practice and experience. They were his strong suits. Tact and diplomacy were way down the list. Instead of trying to talk the mouthy brat out of his insistence on a quick-draw contest that might get innocent bystanders shot, Lone Wolf had knocked the kid’s feet out from under him and laid him out flat on his back in the middle of the saloon.
Then Lone Wolf had loomed over the wide-eyed pest like the flapping angel of doom. “You wanna die before you reach twenty, kid? That’s your business,” he had snarled ominously for effect. “Just don’t waste my time while you’re trying to get yourself killed. I’ve got bigger fish to fry than some scrawny tadpole that’s still wet behind the gills.”
Then he had confiscated the kid’s sidearms, grabbed the bottle of whiskey and stalked from the saloon.
No doubt, the kid’s bruised pride and temper had sent him rushing headlong into camp tonight. He had undoubtedly come to retrieve his confiscated hardware and demand another showdown.
“Just what are you trying to prove, kid?” he muttered as he watched the rider race closer to camp. “That you’re utterly fearless or just plain stupid?”
Lone Wolf sighed heavily. His legendary reputation, which had somehow escalated from fact to fiction, was a standing invitation to every would-be shootist who wanted to advertise his skills with a six-shooter. Lone Wolf found it tiresome that half the folks he knew wanted to gun him down to save their worthless hides from a jail sentence, or to establish names for themselves as gunmen.
The other half treated him like a social outcast. They went out of their way to avoid contact with him because he was a half-breed, and a bounty hunter to boot. But he got paid handsomely to rid the world of ruthless murderers and thieves that so-called decent folks were afraid or unwilling to risk their charmed lives to remove from society.
Call him a hopeless cynic, but he swore the criminals he tracked down weren’t much better than the snooty, two-faced folks he had encountered in proper society. The socialites were just more discreet about getting what they wanted. They were, however, more than obvious about their distaste for his mixed breeding and disreputable profession.
Which was why he camped outside of town instead of renting a room at one of the local hotels. He preferred to avoid encounters with the snooty folks in Dodge City as much as possible.
The truth was that Lone Wolf had the same use and respect for those uppity hypocrites as they had for him. Which was none whatsoever.
His thoughts trailed off as the rider plowed through the darkness, headed straight for the campfire. Lone Wolf hunkered down, poised to spring into action when the kid came within striking distance. He damn well intended to scare the bejesus out of him once and for all.
Lone Wolf’s abrupt whistle startled the winded horse. When the mount sidestepped, he launched himself at the kid like a pouncing panther. Before the kid realized what was happening Lone Wolf jerked him roughly from the saddle. He took amused satisfaction in hearing the surprised squawk that erupted from the kid’s lips when he cartwheeled across the ground.
Before the kid could catch his breath, Lone Wolf plunked down on top of his sprawled body. He laid a knife to the kid’s throat and pressed his hand to his heaving chest to hold him securely in place.
“What the hell…?” Lone Wolf snatched back his right hand when he unexpectedly made contact with the feminine breasts that were concealed beneath the oversize jacket.
He was still gaping at his captive in disbelief when the owner of those full breasts walloped him upside the head with both hands at once.
“Get off me!” she shrieked in outrage.
Lone Wolf sank back on his haunches—still sitting astride the woman who had left both his jaws stinging.
“Get off me now!” she yelled while her arms swept upward again to slap him silly.
He caught her wrists in a vise grip. “I’ll get off when you calm down,” he snapped gruffly.
Teeth clenched, she reared up her head. “I’ll calm down after you get off me!”
Lone Wolf was sorry to say that he became momentarily distracted when her oversize hat tumbled sideways and a riot of frothy red-gold curls cascaded around her shoulders. The shiny tendrils caught flame in the campfire light and her livid green eyes fixated murderously on him.
Breathtaking did not accurately describe the woman’s facial features. Her spiky lashes, pert nose, full lips and elegant cheekbones were an intriguing study of light and shadows. Lone Wolf simply gaped at her for what seemed like several minutes, wondering how he could have mistaken this lovely female for the drunken brat that had invited a gunfight an hour earlier. But now that he could see her for who and what she was, it was difficult not to respond to the sight and feel of her lush body so close to his.
It took considerable willpower to rein in his wandering thoughts and pay attention to business. He told himself that while this female was disguised in a man’s hat, jacket and breeches, he should have been able to tell the difference, even in the darkness. But he supposed that since she rode as expertly as a man she had thrown him off track, especially since he had been expecting someone else to show up.
Lone Wolf shifted sideways to sit down cross-legged beside his unexpected guest, then he squinted disapprovingly at the fetching female. “Next time you decide to come charging into my camp like a bat out of hell, don’t. In my business, I make it a policy to act first and ask questions later—if I get around to it.” He glared at her. “Now what the devil are you doing out here alone? Any woman with a brain in her head should know better than to do what you just did. I guess we know what that makes you, don’t we?”
“Thank you so much for the insult,” Julia Preston snapped as she levered herself into a sitting position to dust off her jacket. “I never would have thought that your type would turn out to be so preachy.”
She bit her lip, annoyed with herself for sniping at the hard-edged man when she desperately needed his help. But she had been swinging wildly on an emotional pendulum for almost two hours. She was worried sick about her injured brother and she was frantic to return to the ranch to check on him. First, however, she had to persuade this tough-as-nails bounty hunter to come with her.
Snarling at Lone Wolf was not going to gain his cooperation.
Having the wind knocked clean out of her, and having a man’s hands planted on her chest had done nothing for her deteriorating disposition and her temper. It was difficult to be diplomatic and charming when her world had been turned upside down—again—and she felt the overwhelming need to lash out to vent her grief, anger and frustration.
None of her problems were Vince Lone Wolf’s fault. She knew that, but she was in such turmoil that she was about to explode. He, unfortunately, was in the direct line of fire.
“I need your help, and damn it, I will have it!” she all but shouted at him. “I need you to come home with me.”
He cocked his head and stared curiously at her. Julia dragged in a restorative breath and tried to get herself under control. It was impossible.
“I need—” Her voice broke. The memory of her brother being blown out of the saddle, and dropping to the ground like a rock, descended on her like a tormenting nightmare.
Every ounce of inner strength and adrenaline that had sustained her while she raced off to summon the doctor, and then locate Lone Wolf—as Adam had demanded in a pained whisper—gushed out like a deflated balloon. Her emotions had been running so high and swift that she burst into humiliating tears. She dropped her head in her hands and let the pent-up frustration bleed out of her.
“I—I’m s-sorry,” she blubbered helplessly.
She heard rather than saw the bounty hunter rise to his feet and walk away. Hard-hearted bastard, she thought. He probably didn’t care if she cried herself dry, as long as she didn’t do it in front of him.
Julia was taken by complete surprise when she felt Lone Wolf’s lean fingers curl around her hands to pry them away from her face. He surprised her a second time when he pressed a tin cup to her lips.
“Here. Drink this. It’ll make you feel better.”
Maybe he had a heart, after all, she allowed as she clamped her shaking hands around the cup, then took a gulp.
She realized too late that she had ingested a huge swallow of whiskey, not water. Fire burned her throat and she gasped to draw breath. While she sputtered and wheezed he whacked her between the shoulder blades until she could inhale air.
“Take another sip,” he insisted.
Julia frowned dubiously at the contents of the cup, then took a cautious drink. She was amazed to discover the liquor, once it finished burning the lining of her throat, had a calming effect. She took another swallow, then another.
When she glanced up to thank Lone Wolf for his unexpected kindness, the words stuck to the roof of her mouth. She found herself staring into his bronzed face, noting the braid of midnight hair—adorned with blue beads—that dangled beside his high cheekbones. A half-moon scar left a noticeable indentation on the curve of his stubbled jaw. Hazel eyes, encircled with flecks of gold, stared intently at her.
Her appraising gaze dropped to his sensuous lips, then drifted to the beaded necklace that was decorated with some sort of Indian talisman. She noticed that his shoulders seemed as broad as a buffalo’s and his black shirt stretched tightly across his muscled chest.
He crouched down in front of her, his buckskin breeches clinging to his powerful thighs, his scuffed black boots indicating hard use. Julia found herself thinking this legendary shootist dressed to portray exactly what he was—the product of two opposing civilizations. His garments were a combination of Indian and white cultures and he didn’t seem to favor one style over the other.
Whatever he found the most comfortable and practical, she suspected.
Although Julia had heard tales of Lone Wolf’s impressive feats against the worst criminals in western society, she had never seen him until now. Her first impression was that he was a tough, competent warrior, and an intimidating force to be reckoned with.
He probably saw her as a weepy lunatic of a female. At the moment his opinion wasn’t too far off the mark.
“You about done bawling so we can talk?” he asked.
Another wave of mortification crested over her. It was beyond embarrassing to fall apart in the presence of a man known for his fearlessness and impressive survivor skills. There were those in polite society who would condemn this man because of his mixed heritage, his dangerous reputation and his socially unaccepted profession. But Julia Preston would have given her soul if she could borrow his unflinching nerve and practiced skills for just one night.
Nothing would have made her feel better than to repay her ruthless neighbor for what he had done to her brother and for what he constantly tried to do to undermine their ranch.
The clatter of hooves on the bridge brought Julia’s head up. She heard Lone Wolf mutter, “Well, hell. More company. Just what I don’t need right now.”
He sprang to his feet and darted off to scoop up the rifle he had left by the campfire.
Julia watched Lone Wolf turn sideways to steady the butt of his rifle against his muscled shoulder. She noted that he stood at an angle, refusing to give the approaching rider a wide target—just in case the man was gunning for him.
Lone Wolf definitely knew how to minimize the risk of taking a direct shot.
Too bad that her brother hadn’t been able to do the same thing before the sniper had fired at him.
“That’s close enough, kid!” Lone Wolf bellowed. “Stop your horse or I’ll drop it out from under you.”
Julia frowned, bemused, when the rider came close enough for her to recognize him. “Harvey Fowler? Is that you?” She stared incredulously at the rail-thin, frizzy-haired young man in homespun clothes.
Harvey swiveled in the saddle to gape owlishly at her. “What are you doin’ out here with this half-breed bastard?” he asked in a slurred voice. “Was he trying to molest you?” His narrowed gaze bore mutinously into Lone Wolf. “Gimme back my pistols, you sidewinder. I plan to fill you full of lead for touchin’ her. You don’t even deserve to breathe the same air she does!”
Julia didn’t know what Harvey thought he was trying to accomplish by hurling insults or why he thought he needed to defend her honor. But only a suicidal fool would purposely try to provoke Lone Wolf into a showdown.
Furthermore, she didn’t need Harvey’s interference. His arrival was causing an unnecessary delay and costing her valuable time.
“I have urgent business with Lone Wolf,” she told Harvey as she marched over to stand directly between the men. “Does your mother know you’re out here issuing drunken threats to the wrong person?”
Harvey thrust back his bony shoulders and tilted his head to an aloof angle, obviously offended that she had brought his mother into the conversation. “I’m here to have it out with the half-breed redskin. He made a fool of me at the saloon.”
Behind her, she heard Lone Wolf snort. “Give yourself full credit, kid. You made an ass of yourself without any help from me.” He took Harvey’s measure down the sight of his rifle barrel. “Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we? I’m faster on the draw than you are. That’s a fact. I’ve got years more experience. You don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell with me right now. Go home and practice on fence posts and empty bottles. If you’re still all-fired determined to face me down in a year or two then you can look me up.”
“No,” Harvey spouted off. “I want to finish this right now! Unless you’re too much of a yellow-bellied coward to face me with six-shooters.”
Julia gasped at the foolhardy young man who was two years her junior. She remembered Harvey well enough from their school days to recall that he was a fatherless child who had a chip on his shoulder. He wanted to be recognized as a man, even though he continued to behave like a troublesome child.
Annoyed, Julia set her hands on her hips and stared up at her former school chum. “Now you listen to me, Harvey. Squaring off against a gunfighter of Lone Wolf’s caliber is a very bad idea. If you don’t turn that horse around and go home I will tell your mother what you tried to do. You’re lucky Mr. Lone Wolf has a strong sense of honor, restraint and integrity.” At least she hoped he did. “Otherwise you would find yourself shot full of holes, jackknifed over the saddle and hauled to Boot Hill for burial.”
Harvey puffed up like a toad. He glowered at Julia, then growled at Lone Wolf. “Gimme my pistols.”
“No.” Lone Wolf flatly refused. “You can pick up your firearms at Sheriff Danson’s office after you’ve cooled down and sobered up.”
When Harvey didn’t budge from the spot, Julia hitched her thumb over her shoulder. “Go home, Harvey, and for Pete’s sake show enough sense not to come back.”
Snarling in irritation, Harvey wheeled his horse around and galloped off.
Julia’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Well, that’s one person who won’t get shot today,” she mumbled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Julia flinched when Lone Wolf’s deep resonant voice came from so close behind her. Sweet mercy, the man moved as silently as a shadow. She hadn’t seen or heard him coming.
Summoning her composure, she pivoted to find that she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. The man stood at least six foot three, she guessed. She felt like a dwarf beside him.
Dragging in a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and said, “My brother wants to hire you as a bodyguard and detective. He said to tell you that you can name your price, Mr. Lone Wolf. He also said that you owed him a favor. Can we go now?” she asked impatiently. “Time is wasting.”
When Lone Wolf shook his head, his raven hair drifted across his shoulders, gleaming blue-black in the firelight. Julia had the insane impulse to run her fingers through those shiny strands to test their thickness and texture.
Where had that ridiculous thought come from? she asked herself. She had just met this man. Because she found him intriguing wasn’t important at the moment.
Julia gave a mental shrug, presuming the shock and turmoil caused by Adam’s ambush this evening had turned her emotions topsy-turvy. That was the only plausible explanation for her curious fascination with the rugged bounty hunter. She wished she possessed his unflappable composure and gunfighting talents so she could resolve the problems facing her.
“Despite this supposed favor I owe your brother, I already have an assignment. I’ll be busy for the next few weeks,” Lone Wolf informed her. “I have a saddlebag full of bench warrants that I picked up from Sheriff Danson this afternoon. I have a long ride to Colorado in the morning to track down the three thieves that robbed one of the banks in Newton, Kansas.”
When he turned away, she grabbed his arm. “You aren’t going anywhere until you come home with me,” she burst out, frantic for his cooperation. “I made a promise to my brother, and I intend to keep it.”
He half turned to stare pointedly at the fingers clamped around his elbow. When she didn’t take the hint and release him, he sent her a steely glance and peeled off her fingers one at a time. “No. I can’t take your assignment until I finish what I’ve started.”
Julia groaned in frustration. Somehow she had to make this man understand that she was desperate and that he had to come with her. Now.
“I watched my brother get bushwhacked this evening. I don’t even know if he’s still alive because he made me promise to fetch Doc Connor, and then come to get you. He insisted that I leave him in the care of our ranch foreman and the other cowboys.”
She stared pleadingly at him. “If this turns out to be my brother’s last request to me, then I intend to honor it. I will make it worth your while if you’ll agree to come with me, as he asked.”
Lone Wolf studied her determined stance. He also marveled at her resilience. He had to admire the woman’s spirit and gumption, even if he did have to turn down the assignment.
Learning that she had been an eyewitness to her brother’s ambush explained her rapid mood swings and fiery behavior. And he was impressed by the way she had pulled herself together and by her relentless attempt to gain his assistance. She had defied danger by riding straight through the wrong side of town and clattering over the bridge to reach his camp.
The thought made him frown disapprovingly.
“You should have swerved around the wrong side of Dodge to reach my camp, even if you were in a rush to find me.” He flashed her a stern glance. “You took one helluva risk. The south side of the tracks is the last place decent folks should be, especially at night. Especially if you are a woman. Even your boy’s clothing is no guarantee against trouble. Don’t do that again.”
He saw her shoulders stiffen, saw her delicate chin tilt upward. “I told you that my brother was bushwhacked.” Her voice wobbled, but to her credit she shored up her jumbled emotions and went on. “I didn’t want to face any delays taking the long way around to reach your camp, because I’m anxious to check on Adam. He wants to hire you until he gets back on his feet.”
He peered into those mesmerizing green eyes and felt himself caving in.
Well hell, he reckoned that she deserved something for all the trouble of looking him up. The least he could do was accompany her back home to check on her wounded brother.
He pivoted on his heels. “Okay, I’ll saddle my horse and make sure you get home safely.”
“Thank you.” Her voice quavered and he thought he heard a muffled sob. “Now I owe you a tremendous favor.”
Chapter Two
A few minutes later, Lone Wolf mounted his piebald pony and watched Julia swing gracefully into her saddle. “Which direction are we heading?” he asked.
When she pointed east he took the lead to use the cross-country shortcut that bypassed town. Considering what a skilled rider she was he didn’t think she would have trouble keeping her seat while moving over the uneven terrain.
“I’m sorry if I seem as much of a nuisance as Harvey Fowler,” she said as she followed behind him. “My brother keeps telling me that I don’t know when to shut up and back off. I didn’t mean to sound so pushy and demanding, but this is very important to me. My brother is all I have left.”
“What’s your name, daredevil?” he asked as he reined his gelding into a rock-strewn ravine.
“Julia Preston. My brother is Adam.”
“Doesn’t ring a bell.”
So, why am I riding off into the night with you? he asked himself bewilderedly. There was no question that he had other places to go, come morning. He could use some shut-eye. But the damnedest thing was that Julia had impressed the hell out of him when she had faced off against that pesky kid. Plus, no one had ever stood up for him before. Ever.
It was that one unexpected deed of courage that refused to let him send her off alone in the darkness. He might have earned the reputation of being the toughest son of a bitch in the state—which was probably the reason her brother wanted to hire him—but he wasn’t so hard-hearted that he could completely disregard a desperate woman.
It was a fact that Julia was the prettiest female he’d ever laid eyes on. Her admirable character traits and strength of will appealed to him as much as her physical attributes. She was pure and wholesome and he found that altogether irresistible.
Nothing would come of his temporary fascination, of course, but she was easy on the eye.
“Just one thing, Miss Preston.” He drew his horse to a slower pace so she could ride beside him.
“What’s that?”
“Although you proved yourself to be daring more than once tonight, don’t plant yourself between me and a potential threat again,” he said. “If that drunken brat named Harvey had decided to draw down on me—with the firearm that he probably didn’t think I saw tucked in the waistband of his breeches—you could have gotten your head blown off. That wouldn’t have done your brother much good.”
Julia sighed heavily. “Sorry. I haven’t been thinking straight since Adam got shot two hours ago.”
She still wasn’t thinking straight, he decided as he studied her shadowed profile. Because of her situation, she was treating him as an equal, a potential friend. Her kind usually regarded him as a second-class citizen and steered clear of him. Ordinarily, he could have cared less, but he had the instinctive feeling Julia was one of a rare breed of woman.
Damn good thing he wasn’t planning to spend more than a couple of hours with her. Even if she was a one-of-a-kind female he had no intention whatsoever of getting emotionally attached. Not to her or anyone else. He had accepted his life for what it was and he was comfortable with it.
He cast his shapely companion a sidelong glance, then decided a short-term diversion wouldn’t hurt before he rode off to Colorado tomorrow.
“How bad was your brother hit?” Lone Wolf asked five miles later.
“He suffered a serious chest wound.”
“Did you get a look at the sniper?”
She nodded. “I was standing on the front porch when he appeared from a copse of cottonwood trees to the west, just as my brother approached the ranch house. The sniper was wearing a long canvas coat and wide-brimmed hat. He was riding a dun horse with three white stockings and a white blaze on its muzzle.
“I wanted to storm up to the man that I suspect is responsible for the shooting and repay him in kind, but Adam sent me to fetch you. I suspect he was trying to divert my quest for revenge and shoo me away, in case his condition worsened,” she added sourly.
“Smart man, your brother,” Lone Wolf praised. “You might have played into your adversary’s hands.”
She huffed out her breath. “That’s what Adam said. But if he doesn’t survive—”
He could tell by her quivering voice that she was holding onto her composure by a slippery thread so he changed the subject. “I need background information, Miss Preston. What do you think prompted this ambush?”
“Julia. Call me Julia.” She managed a watery smile. “When a woman bawls her head off in front of man and exposes all her weaknesses she should be on a first-name basis.”
When she glanced sheepishly at him he caught sight of her features. He felt another thud of unnamed emotion thump him in the chest. Lone Wolf fiercely resisted the unfamiliar sensation and turned his attention to the business at hand.
He watched Julia inhale a restorative breath and gather her thoughts. His traitorous gaze dropped to her breasts and he hurriedly jerked his attention back to her face. Which didn’t help much because, damn it, he found himself studying each enchanting feature.
“We have been involved in a feud with our nearest neighbor for three years,” she stated, her voice growing steadier with each word. “It began when my father and our neighbor’s wife were found dead in our wrecked wagon at the bottom of a ravine. Our neighbor was as overwrought as Adam and I were.”
Or did her neighbor simply pretend to be overwrought because he was the one who’d orchestrated the murders to repay his wife’s infidelity? Lone Wolf wondered.
“The scandal turned him bitter and vindictive,” Julia continued. “He swore our father had humiliated and cuckolded him. He wanted to buy our ranch, sell every head of cattle with the Preston brand on it and wipe away the family name, along with the ugly memory of the supposed affair.”
“You don’t sound convinced that something sordid was going on between your father and your neighbor’s wife.”
Julia shook her head emphatically. Moonbeams glowed in the curly cascade of red-gold tendrils. Lone Wolf looked the other way when another jolt of unwanted awareness shot through him. This woman was too distracting.
“My father was devoted to my mother,” Julia maintained. “After my mother died from cholera, Papa spent the next four years until his death devoted to raising Adam and me. He showed no interest in other women.”
She shrugged helplessly. “I can’t explain why Papa and our neighbor’s wife were together that night. Neither do I know why her buggy was left beside the road after she had ridden into town to be a midwife for her friend. But I do not believe for one minute that my father was romantically involved with Rachel.”
Lone Wolf didn’t comment. He couldn’t say for sure but it sounded as though Julia’s undying loyalty and love for her father had clouded her judgment. He thought there was a strong possibility that a clandestine affair might have been going on, whether Julia wanted to accept it or not.
“Adam and I were determined to hold the ranch together, but it hasn’t been easy. Incidents of rustling began not long after Papa died. We had no substantial proof that our neighbor was involved, but he was our prime suspect. He seemed to hate us.”
Julia continued. “To complicate matters, our neighbor’s daughter was our childhood playmate, and he refused to allow her to associate with us. Still the affection between his daughter and Adam remains. She grew up loving my brother and he has always felt the same way about her.”
It sounded to Lone Wolf as if history was trying to repeat itself. Julia’s bitter neighbor, however, was having none of that. Not after he had lost his wife to another man. The prospect of losing his daughter to the son of his wife’s lover was obviously intolerable. Especially if Adam was using his charm on the neighbor’s daughter to retaliate.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she surprised him by saying.
“Do you? Then you would be the first,” he countered drily. “I try very hard not let anyone know what’s running through my mind. It’s bad business when dealing with cutthroats who like to get the drop on you.”
“You’re thinking Adam is trying to get back at our neighbor by turning his charms on his daughter,” Julia guessed correctly. “But you couldn’t be more wrong. Maggie and Adam were childhood friends, and then they became sweethearts. That was long before the hint of scandal.”
“Maggie?” Lone Wolf grew very still. His focus settled intently on Julia.
“Maggie Griffin. Sol Griffin’s daughter,” she explained, unaware of the suppressed emotion roiling through Lone Wolf.
Tormenting memories flashed through his mind, then exploded like fireworks. Old hurt and the raw pain of rejection threatened to swamp him. For a moment he was transported back to a time when he had been a weak, desolate and vulnerable teenager.
“Despite Sol’s unfair decree, Maggie and Adam continued to see each other secretly,” Julia reported. “Maggie has rejected every marriage proposal that Sol approved. When she stood up to him and informed him that if she couldn’t wed Adam then she would never take a husband, Sol sent her to Saint Louis to stay with his cousin’s family. She has been home for two months and she and Adam have gotten very good at sneaking away so they can be together.”
“Maggie must have a great deal of determination and gumption,” Lone Wolf remarked.
Julia bobbed her head and smiled fondly. “She does, in her own ladylike, dignified way. Which is why we are steadfast friends and always have been.”
“And Sol Griffin is one bitter, obstinate man,” he murmured.
When Julia stared curiously at him, Lone Wolf shrugged as nonchalantly as he knew how. “I know of Sol Griffin.”
Know of him? Hell, he was Sol Griffin’s blood kin, a fact that he would not acknowledge or accept under the circumstances. Sol had made that known eighteen years ago.
“If you know of Sol, does that mean you won’t help my brother and me because you don’t want to get on his bad side?” she asked anxiously.
“I was born on his bad side,” Lone Wolf muttered under his breath.
“Pardon?”
He clenched his teeth, stifled the onrush of resentment, and said, “I don’t allow personal sentiment to get in the way of business. If I decide to take an assignment, then I represent the client who is paying me. No one else.”
“You will be exceptionally well paid if you agree to take this assignment,” Julia assured him. “I want that sniper brought to justice for the murder attempt on my brother’s life. If the man I saw firing his rifle at Adam is remotely connected to Sol, I want to see them both locked in jail with no chance of parole— Oh, God… Maggie…”
Her voice trailed off and her shoulders slumped in frustration. “I can’t get word to her about what happened to Adam. And though she resents Sol’s demand to keep her distance from Adam, I doubt she will believe her father would go so far as to have Adam shot to end their courtship.”
She raked her hands through her hair and sighed. “I’m sorry. I feel as if I’m telling you all my problems. It’s bad enough that I practically bled tears on your shirt. I don’t expect you to figure out how I’m going to break the bad news to my dearest friend.”
“Not a problem,” he said with a casual shrug of his broad shoulders. “I get paid to solve other people’s dilemmas. That’s difficult to do without all the facts.”
Julia glanced at the powerful-looking bounty hunter who sat a horse so impressively. He seemed detached, even more distant than before. And why shouldn’t he be? He wasn’t embroiled in the upheaval of her life.
She was just another prospective client to him.
Her thoughts trailed off when she spotted the glow of lights in the distance. Almost home… Soon she would find out if Adam had survived his gunshot wound.
With tension coiled inside her, she promptly picked up the pace. She had her horse in a full gallop by the time she reached the dirt path that led to the ranch house.
Lone Wolf was right on her heels. When she skidded her horse to a halt and bounded from the saddle, his lean fingers closed around her forearm to waylay her. She looked up at his inscrutable expression and wished she possessed the same iron-willed self-discipline. She felt as if she were on the verge of scattering in every direction at once, while he was a bulwark of physical and emotional strength.
“Take a breath, Julia,” he ordered firmly. “A deep one.”
She did as she was told.
“Again,” he demanded.
Julia sucked in a huge gulp of night air and tried to get herself under control.
“You won’t accomplish a damn thing by walking in there and falling apart. Whatever happens, I’ll be here to take care of things. Save the tears and tantrums for later. Do you understand? Don’t give your brother or your employees something else to worry about right now.”
She peered into his angular face, into those intense hazel eyes that bored straight into her. “Does that mean that you will take this assignment?” she asked hopefully.
When he nodded, Julia embarrassed herself by flinging her arms around his neck and practically squeezing the stuffing out of him. She buried her head against the solid wall of his chest and savored the sense of security that overcame her. Although she was aware that he didn’t reciprocate—except to drape his brawny arm awkwardly around her shoulder—she absorbed his strength. She clung to him for comfort and support for several moments, wondering why she had developed an instant attachment to a total stranger.
Maybe it was because she had poured her heart out to him and he had listened, then agreed to help. Maybe it was because she was desperate to anchor herself to something strong and solid.
Vince Lone Wolf was definitely that. Rumor had it that he was hell on outlaws, ruthless when necessary and unyielding as granite. Legend also had it that no one that he was sent to apprehend ever walked away to brag about escaping from him. He was the justice system’s last resort, and he accepted the difficult challenges no one else wanted.
This was definitely the man Julia needed on her side.
Summoning her composure as best she could, Julia stepped back, then wheeled toward the front porch. When she opened the door and was met with silence, another wave of apprehension swooped down on her. She took comfort in Lone Wolf’s presence as he hovered over her, close as her own shadow.
She headed up the steps to Adam’s room, wondering what her acquaintances in Dodge City’s elite social circle would think of her association with Lone Wolf. No doubt, they wouldn’t approve. But Julia had been raised not to be judgmental and presumptuous. Furthermore, her brother’s life and the future of Preston Ranch were at stake. She would be damned if she was influenced by the dictates of society. She and Adam had a hired gun on their side in this feud and she didn’t give a flying fig what anyone thought of that.
Lone Wolf might be hard-edged, gruff and emotionally detached, but if he could help her put her life back together and end this dangerous fight with Sol Griffin then she would be forever in his debt. Plus, she wouldn’t think twice about paying whatever price Lone Wolf demanded for his expert assistance.
Her thoughts trailed off and her footsteps stalled as she stared at the closed bedroom door. With Lone Wolf’s words of advice whispering through her mind, Julia inhaled a steadying breath, then grabbed the doorknob.
She prepared herself for the worst…and prayed for the best as she entered the room.
Chapter Three
T he moment Lone Wolf stepped into the room behind Julia his attention settled on the deathly pale patient whose chest was wrapped in bandages. When Julia rushed to her brother’s side to clutch his hand, Lone Wolf noted her visible relief.
After studying Adam’s pale face and sandy-blond hair for a long moment, Lone Wolf recalled their one and only meeting. Near as he recollected it was about a year ago, when he was in a saloon on South Side in Dodge. He hadn’t gotten the name of the man who had casually leaned toward him at the bar to confide that one of the ruffians playing poker had a pistol resting against his thigh beneath the table.
It was trained on Lone Wolf’s back.
Lone Wolf had murmured, “I owe you one,” before he strolled up behind the hombre he had been sent to arrest for robbing a dry goods store in Abilene. If memory served, Adam Preston had tripped up the criminal when he tried to bolt and run, saving Lone Wolf the trouble of tracking him down.
“How bad off is he?” Julia asked as she half turned to stare inquisitively at the stout, gray-haired physician who had scooped up his medical bag.
The doctor smiled gently. “Lucky to be alive, but I think he’ll make it. He’s going to require lots of bed rest.”
Lone Wolf watched Julia’s shoulders slump in relief, saw the wash of tears that filled her luminous green eyes. But when she looked in his direction she regathered her composure, just as he’d ordered her to do.
Because of Adam’s injured condition, a mountain-load of responsibility fell on Julia’s shoulders, along with a heaping mound of traumatic emotion. But she seemed to be made of sturdy stuff. The determined set of her jaw indicated that she intended to meet the challenge of managing the ranch until her brother’s condition improved.
Damn, she was something—as much as he wished he hadn’t noticed. It had taken every ounce of self-control he could muster not to respond when Julia had flung herself into his arms on the front porch a few minutes earlier. The feel of her luscious body pressed against his caused fierce need to spear through him.
When another ripple of desire tried to overtake him, Lone Wolf reminded himself that Julia Preston was a client—too damn attractive and intriguing for his peace of mind but a business client nonetheless. He didn’t want or need the slightest personal involvement with her. He was a man who needed no one. With that in mind he concentrated on the problems at hand.
“I managed to dislodge the bullet,” Doc Connor reported as he came to stand at the foot of the bed. “Adam should come around in a few minutes. But don’t tire him out.” He handed Julia a bottle of laudanum. “Give him another dose to help him sleep and keep him sedated for several days.”
Five minutes after Julia had introduced Lone Wolf to the men who had congregated in the room, the physician bid them good-night and promised to return the following day. Frank Slater, the foreman, and two of the cowboys eyed Lone Wolf cautiously before they also took their leave.
A moment later Adam’s eyes fluttered open.
Julia pressed a kiss to his peaked forehead. “Hey, big brother.” She smiled affectionately. “I’m glad to hear that you’re going to be all right. That is, if you follow doctor’s orders and rest while I take care of things for you. I get to boss you around. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
The faintest hint of a smile trailed across Adam’s ashen lips. Then he fixed his dazed eyes on Lone Wolf. “Make sure no harm comes to Julia,” he wheezed. “But I need to warn you—” he paused to swallow and lick his lips “—she can be a handful.”
Lone Wolf didn’t doubt it. Even when Julia was at her worst, overcome with grief and anguish, she had spunk, spirit and courage in spades. She had braved the dangers of South Side to find him quickly. Plus, he remembered well how she had retaliated when he had accidentally touched her in an inappropriate manner.
“I’ll be on my best behavior while Lone Wolf is underfoot,” Julia promised. “You won’t even recognize me.”
Adam’s smile faded and his eyes drooped. “You need to tell Maggie—”
“You can tell her yourself later,” Julia cut in as she offered him a dose of the sedative. “Right now you need to rest. I’ll be back to check on you after I get Lone Wolf settled in for the night.”
He swallowed dutifully as his focus drifted to Lone Wolf. “Thank you for coming to help. Now I owe you one.”
When Adam drifted off, Julia heaved herself to her feet. She looked exhausted but mightily relieved that her brother had survived. Lone Wolf wondered what it felt like to be loved so devotedly. The affectionate bond between brother and sister fairly radiated in the room. No doubt, they had grown very close after losing their mother, and then their father.
Aware of the strong attachment and family connection the Prestons shared made Lone Wolf realize something was missing from his life. It had been almost two decades since he had felt as if he belonged anywhere. He had also gotten used to knowing that he was probably the only one who gave a damn whether he even existed. But at least he was the master of his own soul. There was a lot to be said for that.
“I’ll show you to your room,” Julia murmured as she breezed past him. He tried very hard not to get lost in her feminine scent again. But it was difficult, especially when the aroma of jasmine clung to his clothes after she had hugged him gratefully.
“No need for a room,” he insisted, following her into the hall. “I’ll camp outside.”
Julia stopped short, spun around then tilted her head to stare up at him. “No, you will not,” she countered firmly. “The whole point is for you to be close at hand in case Sol decides to send his henchman to finish the job on Adam.”
Lone Wolf’s eyes widened. “You want me under the same roof with your kind?” He snorted at that. “You’d be laughed out of town by your highfalutin friends. Half-breed bounty hunters aren’t prized houseguests so don’t bother trying to be noble. I don’t miss what I’m not used to.”
Julia looked him squarely in the eye and said, “Do you want to hear the truth, Lone Wolf?”
“Yeah, don’t mind if I do. That would be a refreshing change, considering the ruthless, backstabbing, two-faced liars I usually have to contend with in my line of work.”
Julia studied him consideringly, trying to imagine what his life was like, knowing he had been stigmatized for reasons beyond his control. No matter what anyone else thought of him, she admired the countless talents and skills that had earned him the reputation as one of the most formidable shootists and capable trackers in the West.
She also wondered if the fact that her emotions had been all over the place the past few hours accounted for her unexpected attachment to him. She certainly hadn’t developed an interest in any of the fortune hunters who had tried to charm her into marriage the past few years.
But her connection with Lone Wolf was different. He had been there when she needed a shoulder to cry on and had offered her moral support when she returned to the ranch. He had also helped her brace for the worst before she climbed the steps to determine if Adam had survived.
Of course, it was pretty clear that he didn’t want any involvement with her, but he had been there for her whether he’d wanted to be or not. That made him special to her.
“Well, the truth is,” she said belatedly, “that my maternal grandfather didn’t think my father was good enough for my mother, which was, of course, ridiculous. Snobbery, society’s dictates and prejudices are wasted on me. I have been encouraged to think and speak for myself and to stand up for what I believe in. I’m not, nor have I ever been, a shrinking violet who is easily controlled. You need to know that from the start.”
His low, rumbling chuckle startled her. She grinned when she saw him smiling wryly at her.
“I figured out that you had gumption and spunk, right off.” He rubbed his stubbled jaw. “You also pack a mean wallop. I didn’t think I had that retaliation coming since it was unintentional. You weren’t who I was expecting.”
Julia blushed furiously, remembering the feel of his hand on her breast. She had reacted instinctively, unaware that he had mistaken her for Harvey Fowler. “You’re right,” she admitted. “You didn’t deserve those hard slaps. I apologize. It was just my self-preservation instinct kicking in.” She returned to the matter at hand. “You will be using my suite during your employment. No argument.”
He scowled.
Julia lurched around to stride down the hall before he had the chance to protest again. “I want you next door to Adam. On the same side as the balcony, in case someone sneaks up on him. That is sensible and practical.”
“And where will you be sleeping while I’m lounging in your bed?” he asked, close behind her. “What makes you think this mysterious sniper isn’t coming after you next—because you can identify him. I need to know exactly where you are if trouble arises.”
The comment caused her to jerk up her head, and she noted his grim countenance. He might be right, but she refused to cower, even if she and her brother might be targets of Sol’s revenge.
“I’ll be in the guest room across the hall,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder.
Lone Wolf opened the door then gave a low whistle as he surveyed the palatial suite that surpassed anything he had ever seen. Expensive furnishings lined the walls. Velvet drapes cascaded beside floor-length windows that provided a view of the moonlit gallery and the rolling hills beyond. These were definitely accommodations fit for royalty.
But he was as far from royalty as you could get.
“Nice place, Julia. I always wondered what the lap of luxury looked like.”
“You’re going to know what it feels like, too,” she told him determinedly. “You are staying here. We will speak of it no more. I already told you that you could name your price for helping Adam and me.” Her arm swept out in an expansive gesture. “These are the fringe benefits. A nice room and home-cooked meals. This is what Preston hospitality looks like, so get used to it.”
Lone Wolf chuckled. He didn’t have reason to laugh very often. But Julia had provoked his amusement twice in a matter of minutes, not to mention the reluctant smiles she had drawn from him since they’d met.
Obviously she was as generous as she was spirited and intelligent. He liked that about her. Liked the fact that she knew her own mind and stood up for what she believed in. That separated her from the ordinary masses and drew his respect. He wondered, however, how she was going to react when he named the fee he intended to charge for taking this assignment.
He predicted her attitude toward him would change drastically when she was asked to pay his price.
“Very well, I’ll bunk here if that’s what you want,” he acquiesced.
“Good. I’m glad we don’t have to waste time arguing over that issue.” She pivoted around to fetch her nightgown and a clean set of clothes from the marble-top dresser and intricately carved wardrobe closet.
“As for your fee, I don’t know how you prefer to conduct business. Am I to pay a partial sum now and the remainder later?” She clutched the pile of clothes to her chest, then strode up in front of him. “I have cash on hand, but if it isn’t enough I will make a withdrawal from the bank tomorrow.”
Lone Wolf stared down into her vibrant green eyes and watched the lantern light gleam on that mass of shiny gold hair. She was cooperation and good cheer right now, but that was about to change.
“Name your price,” she offered generously.
“I will take this assignment,” he affirmed. “But if I’ve learned nothing else in life it is that there is always a catch.”
She shrugged, unconcerned. “My brother is still alive and you’re here to make sure he stays that way. Whatever this catch is, I’m sure Adam and I will abide by it.” She smiled wryly. “Unless you want the deed to our property in exchange. Which, incidentally, is what I think Sol Griffin ultimately wants. But he is not going to get it and neither are you.”
“I will forgo the usual traveling fee since I’ll be staying here. But I insist on marriage. The pretense of it. With you,” he stated firmly and succinctly. “Or the public announcement of our betrothal at the very least.”
Sure enough, her eyes popped and her jaw sagged on its hinges. The clothes she had clutched in her arm dropped to the toes of her boots.
“That is the catch, Julia.” He stared challengingly at her. “Take it or leave it.”
He knew she couldn’t possibly understand his reasoning and he wasn’t in the habit of explaining himself to anyone. She hadn’t a clue what had prompted his unexpected stipulation and he was anxious to hear her response. He was forcing her to put her noble ideals on the line. Right here. Right now. She claimed that she didn’t judge a man by his mixed heritage and less-than-respectable occupation.
This was the decisive moment when he found out if she meant what she said. He really expected her to fail the test.
She stood there staring up at him so intently that he felt the urge to squirm. She sized him up for a long moment then frowned. No doubt, she was trying to figure his angle.
“A pretend marriage. To me,” she repeated pensively. “That’s the catch?”
“Yes,” he confirmed with a sharp nod.
She cocked her head, appraising him from another angle. “Just what is the reason behind this?”
“Smart as you are, you’ll figure it out for yourself after you’ve given it some thought.”
“You’re giving me too much credit.”
No, he gave her all she deserved. He’d seen her in several telling situations tonight and she’d held up remarkably well. “You’re bright and you’re gutsy and that counts for a lot in my book,” he said.
“Am I? Did you notice that between the humiliating moments while I was ranting, desperate and bawling my head off?”
He shrugged lackadaisically. “That was just about letting off steam. You were entitled.”
He waited while she mulled over his request. He couldn’t help but wonder how she saw him. Half-civilized? Unattractive? Unworthy of the pretense of a romantic involvement with her? Just what did Julia Preston see while she was looking him over so critically?
Not that he cared, of course. He was just curious.
Julia bent at the waist to scoop up her clothes, then tossed him another contemplative glance. “I’m assuming that I will have the night to consider this stipulation.” She arched a challenging brow. “A woman shouldn’t be too hasty when accepting or declining a marriage proposal, should she?”
She didn’t mention that she had rejected the last three proposals in two minutes flat.
“The pretense of marriage,” he corrected quickly.
“Or the announcement of a betrothal.”
“At the very least.”
She ambled to the door, then glanced back at him. “If you were one of the three suitors who asked for my hand recently, I would know your angle immediately.”
“Only three?” His thick brow arched. With her brains, beauty and wealth, he would have guessed more.
A mischievous grin pursed her lips. “According to my suitors, I’m not society’s traditional female. Much too unconventional when it comes to fashion,” she added as she gestured toward her attire. “Too headstrong and willful. And that was the catch they hadn’t counted on.” She stared pointedly at him. “Beware, Lone Wolf, you might get more than you bargained for.”
“I’ll take my chances.” He chuckled, finding that he enjoyed negotiating with this feisty female. “Getting more than I bargain for is a hazard of my profession.”
“You will have your answer later,” she said before she closed the door behind her.
Lone Wolf wondered if she might slam the door with a vengeance to show her displeasure with his shocking request. Then he remembered that Adam was asleep in the next room. Julia wouldn’t think of disturbing him.
Admiring the expensive furnishings, Lone Wolf peeled off his clothes, then set the bowie knife—which he kept strapped to his left thigh—and both pistols on the nightstand. He placed the derringer that he sheathed in his shirtsleeve under the fluffy pillow and laid the long-barreled boot pistol on the empty space beside him.
He had learned the importance of keeping his arsenal of weapons within easy reach, no matter where he was.
Even while lounging in this fancy suite.
He recalled the names of several dead lawmen who hadn’t heeded that good advice.
Lone Wolf sprawled on the bed and immediately became enshrouded in the feminine fragrance that clung to the luxuriant bedding and mattress. He lay there staring up at the frilly canopy, trying to estimate how long it would take his quick-witted client to figure out the primary reason he had suggested a pretended marriage.
She, of course, wouldn’t have a clue what other reasons had prompted him to make the stipulation. But for now, one reason was enough. Astute as Julia was, he didn’t think it would take her long to puzzle it out.
Three hours later, after Julia had stopped by Adam’s room, she purposely barged unannounced into her suite. She skidded to a halt when she heard the click of two triggers. The low, threatening growl warned her that she was treading on dangerous ground.
Whatever else Lone Wolf was, he was not a man caught off guard easily. She was relieved to know that, glad to see that he was armed to the teeth and that he was capable of protecting her brother and himself instantaneously.
“You should have knocked and announced yourself,” he grumbled.
Heat flamed across Julia’s face when she saw him flip the sheet over his hips then heard the pistols clang against the nightstand. The legendary bounty hunter slept naked, she realized. Had there been more moonlight spraying through the floor-length windows she would have seen that clearly for herself.
Drawing herself up to full stature, and careful not to allow her gaze to dip below his shadowed face, she padded closer to the bed. “I came to—”
“Is Adam all right?” he cut in worriedly.
“Yes, thank you for asking. He is still in pain and chattering like a magpie in his drug-induced dreams. I changed the dressing on the wound and the bleeding is under control.”
“Good. Now turn your back so I can slip on my breeches.”
“And not have you at the same sort of disadvantage that I faced when you dropped that ‘there’s just one catch’ in my lap?” Julia scoffed. “You deserve to sit there feeling awkward. Turnabout is fair play.”
“Your brother is right,” she heard him mutter. “You are a handful.”
“Thank you. I pride myself in being a man’s equal, not the extension of his opinions and his will.”
“Why am I not surprised to hear that?”
Julia clutched her robe together, then crossed her arms under her breasts. “I think I have figured out why you want the pretense of a marriage during this assignment.”
Her first thought had been that he wanted to take full advantage of the situation, but she’d reminded herself that she was trying to measure him against the yardstick of ordinary men. “You aren’t like the fortune hunters I’ve encountered.”
“Are you asking or telling?” he said wryly.
“I’m telling you what I’ve learned about you already.”
“Just don’t try to find qualities in me that aren’t there,” he warned. “I am what I am. Nothing more or less. Nothing admirable. Nothing special.”
But he was certainly all man, she mused as her betraying perusal slid down from his bare chest to his lap. She couldn’t decide if she was relieved or disappointed that darkness concealed his masculine body.
“Get to the point, Julia,” he said impatiently. “It’s the middle of the night and I’m only dressed for the kind of social call that you and I are not going to participate in.”
She winced at his brisk tone and her gaze returned to his face—from which it never should have strayed in the first place. She inhaled a quick breath and said, “The pretend marriage is your attempt to protect my reputation while we’re working closely together. Am I right?”
“Partially,” he murmured. He would get to the more-than-a-mite-selfish reasons later.
“If Sol Griffin thinks we’re married, he might try to go through you to get to me. You would become one of the obstacles he would have to remove to get his hands on Preston Ranch. And three murder attempts would arouse the sheriff’s suspicions and launch an official investigation.”
“Bingo. Smart lady,” he praised.
“Thank you. However, a betrothal would accelerate an attempt on my life,” she remarked.
Damn, she was right, he realized. He had given her credit for her sharp intellect, but he still had underestimated her.
“Therefore,” she went on to say, “I intend to spread the word of our marriage as soon as I inform Adam of our plan. If anyone asks I will insist that after several chance meetings between us, I realized you suited me perfectly.”
Which he did, Julia mused. This man had agreed to put his life on the line to protect Adam. He didn’t harbor ulterior motives like her other beaux. She trusted him. She liked him. She was attracted to him, even when she knew nothing permanent would come of the arrangement. She certainly didn’t need a husband to complete her, and he didn’t need a wife, with his tumbleweed lifestyle.
“And so,” she added belatedly, “I will agree to your little catch, because it is an ingenious solution.”
Lone Wolf smiled to himself. He would like to be on hand when Sol Griffin received the news of this supposed marriage to Julia Preston. That would go a long way in compensating for the hurt and rejection he had suffered at Sol’s hands.
A fleeting shadow on the gallery put Lone Wolf’s senses on full alert. He bounded to his feet, reacting instinctively to the potential threat that descended on Adam. Behind him he heard Julia’s sharp intake of breath—and he remembered that he was still naked.
“Well, hell.” Muttering, he snatched up the sheet and tucked it around his waist. He scooped up his pistols on the way to the balcony. “Stay here,” he gritted out when he heard Julia scurrying along behind him.
“But—” she protested.
“Stay in here,” he snapped in a tone that invited no argument.
To his relief, Julia screeched to a halt.
Lone Wolf slipped silently out the door.
Chapter Four
W hile the cloaked figure breezed toward Adam’s room, Lone Wolf moved into position to pounce. The would-be assailant never knew what hit him. Lone Wolf had a stranglehold on the intruder’s throat and a pistol pressed threateningly against his temple before he could react.
To Lone Wolf’s frustration, however, Julia flagrantly disobeyed his order by darting across the gallery to position herself in front of his captive. He made a mental note to sit this foolhardy female down later and read her every line and paragraph of the riot act. He had specifically told her to never again put herself between him and a potential threat.
And damn it, she had done it twice in the same night!
“Jules, it’s me!” came the chirping voice.
Lone Wolf frowned when Julia gestured for him to release his captive.
“It’s Maggie,” Julia informed him.
“Maggie?” Lone Wolf stepped back a pace then expelled an exasperated snort. “I would sincerely appreciate it if the women around here would wear dresses so I can tell who’s who.”
When Maggie Griffin pivoted to face him, he went very still. Her wide-eyed focus trailed down his bare chest to survey the white sheet that glowed in the moonlight. Then she glanced bewilderedly back and forth between him and Julia. When her attention shifted to the door that led into Julia’s bedroom, he knew exactly what she was thinking. Hell, he could practically hear her thinking it.
“Maggie Griffin, meet my husband, Vince Lone Wolf,” Julia introduced without missing a beat.
“Your what?” Maggie croaked as she staggered back a pace. “The Lone Wolf who—” She clamped her mouth shut, then blinked owlishly at him…and at his state of undress. “The legendary bounty hunter? That Lone Wolf?”
He nodded, clamped both pistols between his side and left elbow, and then reached out to shake her hand. “Pleased to meet you.” He had waited years to make her acquaintance, to see what she looked like, to see how she reacted to him.
She didn’t move, just stared at his hand.
Eventually she pulled the concealing cap off her head to let a thick mane of sable hair tumble around her shoulders. Finally she offered her hand and a tentative smile. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Lone Wolf. Vince was my grandfather’s name.”
Lone Wolf studied her trim statuesque figure, enchanting face and long-lashed blue eyes. She reminded him of the memory he carried of his mother, the white captive who had caught the rapt attention of his Cheyenne father.
He interrupted his assessment to look at Julia, who was frowning at him. For the life of him he couldn’t figure out what he had done to annoy her. But the instant she saw him staring curiously at her she manufactured a smile, then slipped her arm around Maggie’s shoulders and turned her toward Adam’s room.
“What are you doing here at this time of night, Mags?” Julia asked.
“Adam was supposed to meet me at the usual place at ten o’clock. When he didn’t show up I came looking for him.” Her accusing gaze settled on Julia. “Why didn’t he mention your wedding? Was it tonight? I would have found a way to attend if I had known. Is that why he didn’t meet me?”
Julia flung up her hand to halt the barrage of questions. She turned to Lone Wolf. “Why don’t you get dressed, dear, while I explain things to Maggie.”
When he wheeled around and disappeared into the bedroom, Julia tossed aside the foolish stab of envy she had felt when her supposed husband made such a thorough study of Maggie. Julia knew she paled in comparison to Maggie Griffin, who was the picture of feminine grace, deportment and refinement. Julia had never had a problem concealing her insecurities before, and no man’s opinion or interest in her had mattered until she met Vince Lone Wolf. But suddenly she was disappointed that he took his sweet time appraising her best friend’s startling blue eyes, peaches-and-cream complexion, winsome smile and dainty figure. Julia had thought he found her mildly interesting…until Maggie arrived.
Now Julia was just an afterthought.
She wanted to punish him for making her feel less than feminine and desirable compared to her oldest and dearest friend.
Would you listen to yourself! came a scolding voice inside her head. Her brother had barely escaped death this evening and she was inwardly stewing over her inappropriate and ill-fated fascination with this bounty hunter. She was a poor excuse for a sister if she couldn’t keep her mind focused on Adam and his difficult recovery from a gunshot wound.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were getting married?” Maggie demanded. “When and where did you meet the bounty hunter? Last I heard there were three other suitors on bended knee, trying to get you to agree to marry them.”
Julia waved off the rapid-fire questions then grabbed Maggie’s hands in her own. Small hands that were devoid of calluses. While Julia jumped in with both feet to assume the duties at their ranch, Sol had forced Maggie to play the genteel hostess and reigning princess at Griffin Ranch.
Of course, that did not imply that Maggie approved of her lot in life. It only meant that Sol held unrealistic expectations for his only daughter and expected her to follow his dictates. Maggie had learned to be discreet and inventive in order to remain true to her nature and her heart’s desire.
Julia drew a calming breath and tried to think of a delicate way to tell Maggie what had happened. There wasn’t a good way to sugarcoat this disaster so she simply spit it out. “Mags, my brother couldn’t meet you this evening because he was bushwhacked.”
“Oh, my God!” Maggie gasped as she lurched past Julia to check on Adam.
From out of nowhere Lone Wolf appeared to clutch Maggie’s arm and tow her backward. “Adam was seriously wounded,” Lone Wolf said gently.
“Oh, God…oh, God,” Maggie chanted.
“I’m going to give you the same advice I gave Julia,” he hurried on. “Don’t fall to pieces in front of a man who’s racked with pain and shot to hell. He needs to see optimism, a show of inner strength and encouragement. He needs to see your confidence that he is going to pull through. Can you do that for him?”
Maggie bobbed her head, sniffled, then drew a shaky breath. “You’re right, of course. Yes, I can do that. I have to see him.” She gathered her resolve and stiffened her spine. “I would like to hire you to track down the dastardly man who did this to Adam.”
Julia inwardly grimaced as she and Lone Wolf exchanged discreet glances. She did not relish sharing her suspicions with Maggie. Just how did she tell her dearest friend that her father had most likely ordered the execution attempt on Adam?
When Maggie eased open the door to Adam’s room, Julia was one step behind her, ready to offer the kind of moral support Lone Wolf had provided for her.
She swore she was viewing her own startled reaction to Adam’s fragile condition. It was all there on Maggie’s delicate features. The fear, anguish and frustration. She eased down on the edge of the bed to clutch Adam’s hand and hold it next to her heart. Then she brought his fingertips to her lips.
“I love you, Adam. More than life itself. I cannot imagine how I could survive without you.”
Julia cast Lone Wolf a sidelong glance, noting that he was surveying Maggie intently. When he smiled faintly, Julia frowned, completely bemused. What the devil was he thinking? she wondered. More to the point, what was he feeling?
She could have sworn this swarthy bounty hunter had taken one look at Maggie’s enchanting face, shapely figure, polished manners and had become bewitched. But his expression seemed to hold something more than masculine approval, which left Julia confused.
Her perplexing thoughts trailed off when Adam’s eyes fluttered open. “Mags…” he said raggedly.
“Thank God you’re all right,” Maggie murmured as she brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “Julia told me what happened.”
Not all of it, Julia silently amended. She really was dreading that upcoming conversation.
“You know I can only slip away from home at night,” Maggie whispered as she reached out to brush Adam’s sandy-blond hair away from his forehead. “But I will be here to check on you every evening until you’re back on your feet.”
When Adam slumped against the pillow, Maggie’s breath caught and she valiantly battled to keep from bursting into sobs. Julia hoisted her to her feet, then steered her onto the terrace.
“I’ll make sure you get home safely,” Lone Wolf volunteered as he came up behind them. “Adam is getting what he needs to fully recover. Plenty of rest. Julia will see that he follows doctor’s orders.”
While he shepherded Maggie across the balcony toward the staircase, Julia trailed behind them. A host of insecurities rose inside her when her supposed husband wrapped a protective arm around Maggie’s shoulders to guide her down the dark steps. She reminded herself that he had also shown her the same kindness and support while she was distraught.
Just because she had developed an infatuation for Lone Wolf did not imply that he had the slightest romantic interest in her. And just because they had agreed to pretend to be married didn’t mean she was more to him than just another paying client.
This was a business arrangement, she told herself as she reversed direction to enter her bedroom. It wasn’t his fault that he’d preyed heavily on her mind since the moment she found herself flat on her back, staring up into that rugged, bronzed face.
Julia flounced on her bed and muttered at the confusing jumble of emotions that had hounded her all evening. She shouldn’t trust any of these feelings that bombarded her. Adam’s attack had put her into a mental confusion and kept her there.
When Lone Wolf had suggested this marriage, she realized it would work to her advantage as well. Everyone in her social circle knew she would inherit a trust fund when she married. That was why she had been inundated with so many proposals. She had given up on finding a man who wanted her simply for who she was on the inside. If spreading the word that she had married Vince Lone Wolf resolved that problem alone, Julia was all in favor of it.
Maggie had dealt with the same influx of proposals and refused to accept any because she had given her heart away years earlier. But at twenty-one Julia hadn’t encountered a man who turned her head or piqued her interest. Hadn’t found a man she could trust to be honest in his intentions toward her.
Then she had run headlong into Lone Wolf and known instantly there was something intriguing about him that called out to something inside her. She was physically attracted to him and impressed by him. He made her feel safe, secure and protected in the midst of a storm of turbulence.
Julia rolled to her side and fluffed her pillow. She had never expected to meet a man who didn’t have hidden motives, but it was a welcomed change. She had even been so presumptuous to think that Lone Wolf liked her for herself. He had praised her intelligence, her gumption and her spirit.
Then Maggie showed up and all of Julia’s insecurities and inadequacies came rushing to the surface, making her outspokenness and unconventional manner glaringly apparent.
Lone Wolf could see for himself that Julia wasn’t as appealing as Maggie. Any man could.
Muttering, Julia flopped onto her back and pulled the pillow over her head. Lord, she was such an imbecile for getting sidetracked by these rare feelings that Vince Lone Wolf inspired in her. And it hadn’t helped when he had bolted up earlier without a stitch of clothes to pounce on the supposed intruder. Dark though the room had been, Julia had gotten a revealing peek at his masculine body. The shadowed vision dancing in her head refused to go away.
“Stop thinking about that!” Julia muttered under her breath. She had only two objectives, she reminded herself sensibly. One, she had to make certain Adam recovered. Two, she needed to ferret out the sniper to determine if he had any connection to Sol Griffin.
This unexpected attachment to Lone Wolf was the result of distress, roiling emotion and feminine curiosity, she convinced herself. She was simply reaching out to find someone reliable and trustworthy while her world was in upheaval.
She wasn’t wasting precious time wondering if Lone Wolf found her lacking and unappealing. She was simply going to shut her eyes and go to sleep so she could be alert and energetic enough to care for Adam.
Her brother needed her. He was all the family she had left and she wouldn’t fail him. And that was that.
Lone Wolf slipped silently into Julia’s bedroom suite and stopped short when he realized she was asleep in the bed she had assigned to him. Now what was this supposed to imply? he wondered. He stared at her shapely form and the glorious mass of curly blond hair that splayed across the pillow. His fingertips itched to stroke those silky tendrils and he longed for another whiff of her enticing feminine scent.
Was this an unspoken invitation?
Because if it was, she wouldn’t have to ask him twice.
Even while his body hardened with anticipation, guilt slammed into him like a freight train. As much as he wanted to slide into bed beside this bewitching, feisty female, the fact that he hadn’t been completely honest with her about his motives for a pretend marriage stopped him cold.
This was a woman who valued honesty and trust, he reminded himself. She would be outraged with him if she learned the truth that he had conveniently omitted.
Despite all that, here she was in his assigned bed. There was no denying that he wanted her. What man wouldn’t? Julia was full of fire and spirit and she had an irrepressible passion for life that utterly beguiled him. She was every man’s secret dream. Even a man who, according to Harvey Fowler, wasn’t fit to breathe the same air that she did.
Unfortunately Harvey spoke the truth. Lone Wolf lived in a world where violence was a weekly occurrence. He was used to it, but Julia wasn’t. It was plain to see that she had become rattled by her brother’s brush with death.
To him it was business as usual.
Which meant they had nothing in common. Plus, she wasn’t his type. Hell, he didn’t have a type. What he had was the occasional sexual encounter to scratch an itch. It didn’t get more complicated than that and it was going to stay that way.
Yet…temptation was right under his nose and tantalizing thoughts of Julia Preston were dancing in his head. Scowling, Lone Wolf braced his hands on the side of the bed and stared at the tormenting vision of beauty, wishing he knew for sure what Julia was doing in his designated bed.
Was it by accident or on purpose?
“Woman, if you are trying to drive me crazy…it’s working.”
Silently he gathered his hardware and pulled the quilt from the foot of the bed. In one minute he had fashioned a pallet on the floor—directly between Julia and the terrace door. If anyone tried to get to her or Adam they would have to go through him.
And after all, wasn’t that his only reason for existence? To resolve other people’s problems? Half-breeds had difficulty acquiring respectable jobs. As a bounty hunter and bodyguard, he was a dispensable commodity that protected decent folks from criminal elements of society. He was the last defense between good and evil.
If Julia hadn’t needed him to solve her problems she probably wouldn’t have given him a second glance. Yet, for a few hours he had felt he belonged somewhere, helping put a family back together after tragedy struck.
This was something different than tracking ruthless murderers and thieves through the wilderness—while trying to avoid getting himself shot in the process.
Lone Wolf rolled onto his side and stared at the bed that had felt so incredibly comfortable earlier. There was a lot to be said for luxury. Even more to be said for snuggling up to the soft feminine body that was just beyond his reach.
Another blast of lust hammered him. He wondered if the self-restraint he had spent thirty-two years perfecting was going to hold up around Julia. Then he asked himself why a woman like her would possibly want a man like him.
She wouldn’t, he assured himself realistically. Whatever she was doing in that bed it was not meant to be a subtle invitation, he decided.
Maybe she had tried to wait up for his return to make certain Maggie had gotten home safely and had fallen asleep. Maybe she had simply forgotten that she had offered the suite to him. But whatever the reason, he was going to wait until morning to find out.
In the meantime he had placed himself in the perfect position to protect her from an intruder. Until this feud was resolved, Lone Wolf promised that he was going to be the Prestons’ bodyguard and hired gun.
Furthermore, he was not going to forget his place. If he did, society would certainly remind him of it quick enough. So-called decent folks had been doing it for years. He just hoped Julia could withstand the strain of censure that was sure to come her way because of their pretend marriage.
Another wave of guilt buffeted Lone Wolf. Damn it, he never should have stipulated a pretend marriage, even if it was a practical way to protect Julia and to satisfy his personal vendetta against Sol Griffin.
Lone Wolf made a pact with himself to find another way to protect Julia. He would retract his request come morning. He simply didn’t have the heart to seek vindication on Sol at Julia’s expense. In addition, Julia needed to know the truth about his connection to Sol. The longer Lone Wolf waited the worse her reaction would be.
He would tell her in the morning, and she would send him packing because of his family ties to her worst enemy.
Lone Wolf cast one last glance at the intriguing woman in bed, sighed in exasperation and told himself to go to sleep. Tomorrow he would be on his way to Colorado and she would find someone else to resolve her problems.
The next morning Julia came slowly awake. She stared up at the overhead canopy—and realized that she had plopped onto her own bed instead of the one in the guest room. Alarmed, she peeked to see if Lone Wolf had assumed she was issuing an invitation for him to sleep with her.
She sagged in relief when she noticed the other side of the bed had not been disturbed.
Tossing back the sheet, she sat up to survey the room. Nothing was out of place and Lone Wolf was nowhere to be found. Julia dressed in her shirt and breeches, then hurried in to check on Adam. She stumbled to a halt when she saw Lone Wolf straddling a chair backward, visiting with Adam, who was propped up on a pile of pillows, sipping coffee. There was a tray of bread and canned peaches beside him. Obviously Lone Wolf had been tending the patient and was taking his duty as bodyguard seriously.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Adam said with a wobbly smile.
She returned her brother’s grin, then cast Lone Wolf an awkward glance. His expression was carefully neutral. If he was wondering what she had been doing in the bed she had offered to him it didn’t show on his ruggedly handsome face.
“Adam has been giving me more background information on the rift with your neighbor,” Lone Wolf remarked. “He agrees that Sol Griffin is the most likely suspect. But we aren’t going to limit our search to just him.”
“And we aren’t going to breathe a word of this to Maggie until we know for certain,” Adam declared adamantly. “No sense turning her world upside down until absolutely necessary.”
Julia glanced out the window toward Griffin Ranch, which sat in the distance. Her eyes narrowed and she muttered furiously when she spotted a man wearing a long canvas duster and wide-brimmed hat. He had emerged from the shadows of a grove of cedar trees that lined the spring-fed creek on Preston property. Although he was riding a sorrel gelding this time, she suspected he was the same man who had shot Adam.
“He’s back. The vulture is probably trying to find out if he managed to kill Adam last night.” Julia wheeled around and took off like a shot.
“Damn it, Jules, be careful!” Adam called out hoarsely.
Julia paid him no heed. She was intent on tracking that sidewinder cross-country to see if he headed to Sol Griffin’s house. She didn’t hear but rather felt Lone Wolf’s presence behind her as she bounded down the steps.
“Slow down, woman,” Lone Wolf grumbled. “Think. That sniper might be trying to lure you out.”
“Maybe dashing off half-cocked isn’t the wisest course of action,” she muttered. “But I want revenge so badly I can almost taste it.”
“Back door.” He clutched her arm and herded her down the hall. “Better yet, you stay here and let me track the hombre.”
“No, I’m going with you and that’s that.”
He noted the determined tilt of her chin and remembered that Adam had told him Julia had run wild after their father’s death. She had become daring, reckless and impulsive while she dealt with her grief.
Judging by the look on her face, she refused to be frightened off by the thought of personal danger. He’d have to resort to tying her up to prevent her from going with him.
Julia burst ahead of him to lead the way across the back lawn. “I didn’t mean to take your bed last night,” she blurted out. “Old habit, I guess. Where did you sleep?”
“On the floor so I could keep an eye on you and Adam,” he replied as he grabbed her hand and sprinted toward the barn.
To his surprise she didn’t bother to saddle a horse, just grabbed a bridle and bit. Lone Wolf was willing to bet this wasn’t the first time Julia had galloped off bare-back. Not that he minded, of course. He had grown up in a Cheyenne camp, learning to ride expertly at a young age.
He grabbed her reins and led both horses through the back exit of the barn. “We’ll circle to the south so our friend won’t realize that he’s being tracked.”
“He’s no friend of mine,” Julia muttered bitterly. “He and Sol became my sworn enemies when they blew Adam out of the saddle last night.”
Lone Wolf winced inwardly. He couldn’t delay telling Julia about his connection to Sol Griffin. But considering her present frame of mind, he didn’t think now would be a good time.
After boosting Julia onto her horse, Lone Wolf swung onto his pinto. Giving Julia a direct order to follow behind him, he headed for the underbrush and willows that lined the creek.
“He’s still there,” Julia scowled, glaring at the silhouette that lurked in the trees. “Maybe we should just wing him a couple of times then fire a few questions at him.”
Lone Wolf swallowed a smile. “Don’t you think it would be wiser to figure out if the sniper is working alone first?”
She grumbled sourly, “I suppose you’re right.”
Julia simmered down a bit as they picked their way along the creek bank. Five minutes later the unidentified rider had disappeared completely from sight.
“There. You see? This is what comes of being cautious,” she muttered in disappointment. “He’s vanished again.”
“But he left tracks,” Lone Wolf said encouragingly. “Sometimes that’s better than the direct approach.”
“I would be a dismal failure in your profession,” Julia admitted. “Absolutely no patience.”
“Most of the deceased bounty hunters I used to know had the same flaw. This profession separates men from their mistakes. You have to learn to outwait and outwit your quarry.” He sent her a pointed glance. “If you can’t do that then go home where you should have stayed and let me handle this alone.”
She kept quiet while he slid from his horse to study the hoofprints. “He’s almost the same size as I am,” he informed Julia.
She blinked, baffled. “How do you know that?”
“Depth of the indentation and the stride of the horse. Your horse can manage long strides because of your smaller size. Mine can, too, because I selected this piebald pinto for his muscular strength, stamina and agility. White men don’t always take that into consideration.”
“You leave nothing to chance, do you? I’m impressed,” Julia murmured.
“Don’t be. I’m not telling you anything that any self-respecting Cheyenne warrior didn’t learn before he was ten years old.”
Lone Wolf swung onto his paint pony, then followed the trail that seemed too obvious, what with all the broken branches on small seedlings. The tracks led down to the creek bank, leaving deep indentations in the mud.
Lone Wolf’s senses went on alert.
“Trap,” he whispered as he snaked out his hand to push Julia down on her horse.
Chapter Five
T hey barely had time to duck before a bullet whistled past the place where her head had been. The second shot sailed over Lone Wolf’s shoulder—missing him by mere inches.
But he found out what he wanted to know.
The sniper wasn’t working alone. The second shot had come from a different location in the thick grass that lined the winding creek.
Lone Wolf slapped Julia’s horse on the rump, then dug in his heels to send his mount racing back in the direction they had come. Two minutes later they emerged from the creek. Julia looked a mite bewildered. He figured it was the first time someone had taken potshots at her.
It was not his first time. He had been a target more times than he cared to count.
“Sol has finally lost his grasp on reality,” she said, and gulped. “He was serious when he said that he wanted to wipe the Preston name off the face of the earth. Doesn’t he realize that he’s going to turn his own daughter against him when she learns the truth?”
“Lesson number two,” Lone Wolf murmured as he circled behind a rolling hill for protection. “Do not jump to conclusions. We don’t have proof that either ambush is tied to your feud with Griffin, no matter how much you might want them to be.”
Julia gnashed her teeth. “Easy for you to give him the benefit of the doubt, but not for me. Your brother wasn’t warned away from his true love and he didn’t get shot. Nor have you been battling rustlers since your father’s death. This is another example of Sol trying to make our lives miserable so we’ll give up, sell out to him and move away.
“And why are you defending him?” She huffed. “Because you’ve developed an interest in Maggie?”
Lone Wolf gaped at her in astonishment. “Where in the hell did that come from?”
“Are you saying that you don’t find her attractive?” Julia demanded. “That would make you the first man I’ve met who doesn’t.”
Obviously getting shot at had rattled Julia more than she realized. This incident was reminiscent of the nightmare that left Adam bedridden. Suddenly she was spouting comments without thinking first, because her emotions were all over the place again.
“Of course I think Maggie is attractive.” Lone Wolf chuckled and shook his raven head. “But if you’re under the impression that I’m interested in her then you’re wrong.”
“Am I?” she challenged.
“Yes, you are,” he insisted.
He shifted uneasily on horseback and looked away. Julia frowned at his peculiar behavior and wished she knew exactly what he was thinking. But Vince Lone Wolf was a master of self-disciplined stares that gave away none of his emotions.
“There’s something you need to know.” He took a deep breath, which made his broad chest expand noticeably. “Sol Griffin is my uncle and Maggie is my first cousin,” he said in a hurried rush.
Her mouth dropped open and her eyes popped. “Your what?”
Julia had no idea what she had expected him to say, but that wasn’t even on the list! Well, that explained a lot. No wonder he was reluctant to pin the shooting on Sol.
She suddenly recalled that Lone Wolf had refused her request for help until after he learned that Sol was involved. Alarm flared inside her. “What is this? Some kind of double cross? Are you working with the snipers?”
She recoiled from him, staring at him as if he were a dangerous threat rather than a trusted ally. Her first thought was that he meant to kill her where she sat, and then claim that someone else had attacked her.
Just what was in this for him? she wondered suspiciously. Partial ownership in her ranch after she and Adam were dead?
The frightening realization that this was a trap and that Lone Wolf was part of the conspiracy sent adrenaline pumping through her veins. For one wild moment Julia wondered if the reason Lone Wolf had volunteered to accompany Maggie home last night was so he could consult privately with Sol.
Dear God, she thought frantically. They were in cahoots and she had blundered headlong into disaster.
Instinct demanded that she run for her life before Lone Wolf grabbed his pistol and aimed it at her. Frightened, Julia took off like a rocket, using the technique of sprawling atop her horse to reduce her chances of being shot.
“Damn it, Julia,” he growled as he chased after her.
She cursed him back as she rode hell-for-leather toward the safety of home. He intended to betray her, she thought mutinously. The one man she thought was different from the rest of his gender. The one man who aroused her interest without trying. The man she had decided to pretend was her husband. The first man she wasn’t averse to having underfoot because she actually liked and respected him.
Curse it, she would never trust her judgment of men again!
Julia scowled when she heard the thunder of hooves close behind her. Swift as her mount was, it was no match for the powerful black-and-white paint gelding and its exceptionally skilled rider. Julia shrieked in alarm when Lone Wolf clamped his hand around her forearm. Before she could fight back he snatched her off her horse while at full canter and she found herself suspended in midair momentarily.
Her breath gushed from her lips when he clutched her against his muscular body. Julia squirmed defiantly while he forced her to straddle his thighs. She stared at the traitor face-to-face and wished him a fast trip to perdition.
“Simmer down,” he snapped as he reined his pinto to a walk.
“Like hell I will!” She spit the words at him and struggled valiantly for release—for all the good it did.
“Didn’t I just get through telling you not to jump to conclusions? Lesson number two, remember?”
Her gaze filleted him and he reciprocated in kind. She decided that when Lone Wolf was irate he could be very intimidating. He looked ominous and foreboding, just as he had last night when he’d yanked her off her horse and followed her to the ground to lay a knife at her throat.
The mistaken sense of security and comfort that she felt when she was with him shattered in the face of his thunderous scowl and the unyielding hold he had on her. The man certainly made a frightening enemy, she decided.
Julia knew she was as good as dead, because Lone Wolf had to be in a league with Sol. Her bitter neighbor was going to win this feud and his gun-toting nephew would make sure of it.
“You tricked me,” she said furiously. “You used me. And when you kill me I will find a way to come back and haunt you for the rest of your days—”
To her astounded amazement he angled his head and kissed her. To shut her up, no doubt. He couldn’t use his hand to cover her mouth because both arms were clamped around her waist to hold her still. So he kissed her. Hard.
Stole her breath out of her lungs was more accurate.
He crushed her so tightly against him that she couldn’t move. He kept on devouring her lips—and any woman with a lick of sense in her head would have continued to resist. Instead she melted against his powerful body and focused on the tantalizing taste of him, the unexpected pleasure that unfurled inside her.
She blamed her impulsive response on the emotional carousel her life had become. Plus, no man had ever dared to grab her and kiss her breathless, for fear of offending her and losing the potential meal ticket she represented. But Lone Wolf was nothing if not bold and daring and she had witnessed several examples of those dominant traits during their short acquaintance.
When he finally allowed her to come up for air she swore her eyes had crossed and he had robbed her of the ability to speak and think straight. She simply stared at him—at his sensuous mouth, to be specific—and wondered why she wanted him to kiss her like that again.
Obviously she had gone crazy. It was the only explanation for wanting to kiss a man who had turned out to be her worst enemy.
“Don’t make me do that again, Julia,” he growled at her.
Something fragile and unfamiliar that had just burst to life inside her—some unique sensation she couldn’t adequately identify—died a quick death. He was letting her know straight away that he had only kissed her to silence her…and nothing more. It wasn’t personal.
Curse the man! He was crushing to her feminine pride.
When he lifted his hand to curl it around her throat she wondered if he had decided to choke her instead of shoot her. But his fingers didn’t close viciously around her windpipe. He simply tilted her head back so he could stare her squarely in the eyes.
“Are you listening now?” he asked gruffly. “No thinking allowed. No presumptions, either, wildcat. Just listen.”
“Answer one question first,” she muttered rebelliously. “Do you plan to kill me when you’re through talking? If so, I want to have the last word instead of hearing your lies.”
Lone Wolf sighed audibly. A handful did not begin to describe this high-strung, headstrong woman. She was sassy and defiant and kissing her into silence had been a bad idea.
He had enjoyed it too damn much.
He had been afraid that would be the case.
Sure enough, one taste of her and he had wanted much more. He had been a little rough and greedy and he sincerely regretted that. But she was completely mistaken if she thought that was the kiss of a man who wanted her dead.
What he wanted was to have her beneath him, to be inside her…and if she couldn’t feel his arousal then she wasn’t paying attention.
And damn it, this was not a good time for him to discover that his reaction to Julia was not something easily controlled or ignored.
“I’m not trying to kill you, although you’re going to manage that feat by yourself if you go haring off like you tried to do earlier,” he snapped, angry with himself for being so vulnerable to this woman. He had spent years teaching himself to be invincible. And poof! This five-foot-nothing female got to him in every way imaginable. “I’m trying to keep you alive, but you have to cooperate!”
Her reply was a disbelieving snort.
“If you think I have an allegiance to my uncle then you are very much mistaken.” He nudged his horse forward to retrieve Julia’s mount, which had stopped to graze a few yards away.
He deposited her on her horse. “I didn’t tell you about my kinship to the Griffins right off because I figured you would overreact.” He stared meaningfully at her. “The way you are overacting now.”
“So you waited until I actually began to trust you,” she accused harshly. “And here I thought you were different from other men. Obviously you’re all the same—devious and manipulative.”
Lone Wolf hadn’t intended to go into detail about his history with Sol, but Julia was staring at him with those luminous green eyes that reflected hurt, betrayal and indignation. He couldn’t bear that, not from her.
Sappy fool that he had suddenly become, he longed to see the look of trust and approval again. It had made him feel good about himself, made him feel worthy of respect. Now he felt as if he had lost something precious and unique and he instinctively struggled to regain whatever it was about Julia that lured him to her against his will.
Whatever the hell it was, he was glad that he had the good sense not to examine it too closely.
“My mother was Sol’s younger sister. Her name was Isabella,” he elaborated as he rode toward the barn. “She was captured by a Southern Cheyenne raiding party when she was sixteen.”
“Your mother was Sol’s sister?” She stared owlishly at him, as if having trouble accepting the notion.
“Yes,” he affirmed solemnly. “My father became intrigued by my mother and he took her as his wife. She adopted his culture and made a place for herself with the Cheyenne. I believe that she was happy with him.”
Julia listened intently, apparently waiting for him to continue. He was relieved to note that she had set aside her anger and frustration—temporarily at least.
“One winter, when George Custer was just a colonel, trying to make a name for himself as a soldier, he attacked our encampment on the Washita River in Indian Territory,” Lone Wolf informed her. “He massacred our people, women and children included. First I watched my father and Chief Black Kettle die, then my mother, who wasn’t far behind because she had found a safe hiding place for me in the underbrush.”
Julia’s heart went out to Lone Wolf. She knew how it felt to watch someone you loved being shot down. But she could only begin to imagine the extent of anguish he had suffered. The nightmare of watching his family and friends being murdered must have been devastating.
“I’m sure what you felt was even more horrible than the feelings that bombarded me after losing my father, only four years after Mama’s passing,” she murmured. “I was angry, lost and disoriented. I fiercely denied the scandalous report of Papa’s secret liaison with Rachel Griffin because it felt like a betrayal to my mother.”
“Grief makes you say and feel crazy things,” Lone Wolf agreed. “It’s hard to know what you’re supposed to feel.”
Julia gave a self-deprecating smirk. “It definitely made me go a little crazy. I tried to outrun everything by throwing myself into duties on the ranch. I was willing to try anything, no matter how dangerous or unladylike. Anything to keep my mind occupied and hold all those hounding emotions at bay.”
Lone Wolf nodded in understanding as he stared into the distance, as if looking through a portal in time. Julia saw his jaw clench, noticed his fist knot around the reins. Although he usually appeared calm and unflappable she could tell that the tragedy of his youth still affected him deeply.
“My mother survived her wounds for a few hours after the soldiers rode away.” His voice was brisk and clipped. “She insisted that I leave the reservation and make use of the fact that she had taught me to speak fluent English and that I was half white.
“I wasn’t sure that I wanted to abandon my people and the only way of life I understood,” he admitted. “But I had lost all family ties in that brutal massacre. I got to thinking that anywhere had to be better than living in that valley of death and walking over those graves.”
His mouth twisted in bitter irony. “At least Custer paid dearly for his unprovoked attack on our camp. The surviving Cheyenne put a curse on him and chanted to the guiding spirits to give them revenge. To this day our people swear it was that curse that led Custer into disaster at the hands of the Sioux and the Northern Cheyenne at the Battle of Little Bighorn.”
“Where did you go after the massacre?” Julia asked gently. “You couldn’t have been but a young teenager when this happened.”
“I was fourteen,” he reported. “My mother made me promise that I would find her brother in Kansas and ask him to take me in. It was her dying wish that I unite with her white family and make a fresh new start in life.”
Julia watched his countenance change to an expression of resentment and torment. She knew what he was going to say even before he told her what happened. “Sol rejected you.”
He nodded stiffly. “I went to him, carrying the heart-shaped necklace my mother always wore as proof of my ancestry. I told my uncle that my mother had died trying to protect me and that she sent me to him for help.”
Lone Wolf scoffed sourly. “Sol was outraged that I had the nerve to show my face on his ranch. He shouted me off his property and told me not to come back. He said he wanted nothing to do with ‘the spawn of a savage.’ He swore that if I tried to make contact with him, his wife or his infant daughter that I would end up dead like the rest of my clan.”
Julia reached out to comfort him, as he had comforted her in her hour of need. She wasn’t sure he even noticed her hand folding consolingly around his rigid forearm.
“I had no choice but to live off the land like a scavenger,” he went on bitterly. “Without my training with the Cheyenne I would have starved to death. I didn’t want to go back to the confinement of the reservation. I couldn’t bear to come face-to-face with the grief and torment all over again, either.”
His expression turned as hard as granite. “I survived like a wild animal, if only to infuriate and defy Sol Griffin with my very existence. For those first three years I lived for no other purpose than to show Sol that he could deny me, but I was out there somewhere, waiting for the right moment to make his life as miserable as he made mine.”
Julia groaned inwardly at the thought of a young boy growing up so alone, alienated and cruelly discarded.
“I trained myself to be tough and competent enough with every weapon so I could withstand the ridicule and defend myself when I reentered white society.”
He laughed humorlessly as he glanced at Julia. “The irony of all this is that instead of heading west I decided to headquarter in this particular area. When I came here eight years ago, Dodge City was a fledgling town that had sprung up around the buffalo-hide business.
“Criminals showed up to rob and swindle traders and merchants and I was sent to track them down. I made plenty of money because business was brisk. But deep down inside I knew the reason I set up camp here was to let Sol know that I was never so far away that he could forget I existed. I wanted to be the ever-present thorn in his side.”
Julia smiled faintly. She could understand Lone Wolf’s need to prove himself to the world—to Sol in particular. He never wanted Sol to forget the injustice and rejection.
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Carol Finch
A WARRIOR SPIRIT…A GENTLE HEARTVince Lone Wolf is the justice system's last resort. And, in spite of his dangerous reputation, Julia Preston will give her soul if she can borrow him for just one night. Because her brother's life–and the family ranch–depend on Lone Wolf's reputed skills.Julia's fearlessness and determination make it impossible for Lone Wolf to resist her desperate cry for help. And though he's always prided himself on his independence, she reminds him of everything that is missing in his life.But can a bounty hunter ever lay claim to the love of a lady?
“You aren’t going anywhere until you come home with me,” Julia burst out frantically.
“I watched my brother get bushwhacked this evening,” she continued. “I don’t even know if he’s alive. If you’ll agree to come with me, I will make it worth your while.”
Lone Wolf peered into her mesmerizing eyes and felt himself caving in.
There was no question that he had other places to go. But the damnedest thing was that Julia had impressed the hell out of him. Plus no one had ever stood up for him before. Ever. It was that one unexpected deed of courage that refused to let him send her off alone in the darkness.
“Okay, I’ll saddle my horse and make sure you get home safely,” Lone Wolf finally said.
Damn good thing he wasn’t planning to spend more than a couple of hours with her. Even if she was a one-of-a-kind female he had no intention whatsoever of getting emotionally attached.
Not to her or anyone else.
Praise for Carol Finch
“Carol Finch is known for her lightning-fast, roller-coaster-ride adventure romances that are brimming over with a large cast of characters and dozens of perilous escapades.”
—Romantic Times
Praise for previous titles
The Ranger’s Woman
“Finch delivers her signature humor, along with a big dose of colorful Texas history, in a love and laughter romp.”
—Romantic Times
Texas Bride
“Finch delivers another well-paced western with likable, realistic characters, a well-crafted backdrop and just enough history and sensual tension to satisfy western and romance readers.”
—Romantic Times
Lone Wolf’s Woman
Carol Finch
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book is dedicated to my husband, Ed, and our children, Christie, Jill, Kurt, Jeff, Jon and Shawnna. And to our grandchildren, Brooklynn, Kennedy, Blake and Livia.
Hugs and kisses!
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter One
Dodge City, Kansas
April 1880s
V ince Lone Wolf swore a blue streak when he heard the clatter of hooves on the wooden bridge a quarter of a mile away. “Damn fool brat,” he muttered as he skulked away from his campfire to conceal himself in the darkness and monitor the rider’s rapid approach.
He had a pretty good idea who the intruder was—because of the confrontation he’d had an hour earlier. He had stopped at a saloon on the south side of the railroad tracks in Dodge City to purchase a bottle of whiskey to tide him over during his jaunt to Colorado. Big mistake, he mused as he crouched in the underbrush beside the river to watch the rider thundering toward his camp. A peach-fuzz-faced kid at the bar had tried to square off against him because of his reputation as a gunfighter and bounty hunter.
Cowboys and saloon girls had scattered like buckshot when the kid challenged him to see who was the fastest on the draw. The wannabe gunslinger kept tossing insults, trying to bait him.
Lone Wolf had perfected lightning-quick reflexes and honed his instincts through practice and experience. They were his strong suits. Tact and diplomacy were way down the list. Instead of trying to talk the mouthy brat out of his insistence on a quick-draw contest that might get innocent bystanders shot, Lone Wolf had knocked the kid’s feet out from under him and laid him out flat on his back in the middle of the saloon.
Then Lone Wolf had loomed over the wide-eyed pest like the flapping angel of doom. “You wanna die before you reach twenty, kid? That’s your business,” he had snarled ominously for effect. “Just don’t waste my time while you’re trying to get yourself killed. I’ve got bigger fish to fry than some scrawny tadpole that’s still wet behind the gills.”
Then he had confiscated the kid’s sidearms, grabbed the bottle of whiskey and stalked from the saloon.
No doubt, the kid’s bruised pride and temper had sent him rushing headlong into camp tonight. He had undoubtedly come to retrieve his confiscated hardware and demand another showdown.
“Just what are you trying to prove, kid?” he muttered as he watched the rider race closer to camp. “That you’re utterly fearless or just plain stupid?”
Lone Wolf sighed heavily. His legendary reputation, which had somehow escalated from fact to fiction, was a standing invitation to every would-be shootist who wanted to advertise his skills with a six-shooter. Lone Wolf found it tiresome that half the folks he knew wanted to gun him down to save their worthless hides from a jail sentence, or to establish names for themselves as gunmen.
The other half treated him like a social outcast. They went out of their way to avoid contact with him because he was a half-breed, and a bounty hunter to boot. But he got paid handsomely to rid the world of ruthless murderers and thieves that so-called decent folks were afraid or unwilling to risk their charmed lives to remove from society.
Call him a hopeless cynic, but he swore the criminals he tracked down weren’t much better than the snooty, two-faced folks he had encountered in proper society. The socialites were just more discreet about getting what they wanted. They were, however, more than obvious about their distaste for his mixed breeding and disreputable profession.
Which was why he camped outside of town instead of renting a room at one of the local hotels. He preferred to avoid encounters with the snooty folks in Dodge City as much as possible.
The truth was that Lone Wolf had the same use and respect for those uppity hypocrites as they had for him. Which was none whatsoever.
His thoughts trailed off as the rider plowed through the darkness, headed straight for the campfire. Lone Wolf hunkered down, poised to spring into action when the kid came within striking distance. He damn well intended to scare the bejesus out of him once and for all.
Lone Wolf’s abrupt whistle startled the winded horse. When the mount sidestepped, he launched himself at the kid like a pouncing panther. Before the kid realized what was happening Lone Wolf jerked him roughly from the saddle. He took amused satisfaction in hearing the surprised squawk that erupted from the kid’s lips when he cartwheeled across the ground.
Before the kid could catch his breath, Lone Wolf plunked down on top of his sprawled body. He laid a knife to the kid’s throat and pressed his hand to his heaving chest to hold him securely in place.
“What the hell…?” Lone Wolf snatched back his right hand when he unexpectedly made contact with the feminine breasts that were concealed beneath the oversize jacket.
He was still gaping at his captive in disbelief when the owner of those full breasts walloped him upside the head with both hands at once.
“Get off me!” she shrieked in outrage.
Lone Wolf sank back on his haunches—still sitting astride the woman who had left both his jaws stinging.
“Get off me now!” she yelled while her arms swept upward again to slap him silly.
He caught her wrists in a vise grip. “I’ll get off when you calm down,” he snapped gruffly.
Teeth clenched, she reared up her head. “I’ll calm down after you get off me!”
Lone Wolf was sorry to say that he became momentarily distracted when her oversize hat tumbled sideways and a riot of frothy red-gold curls cascaded around her shoulders. The shiny tendrils caught flame in the campfire light and her livid green eyes fixated murderously on him.
Breathtaking did not accurately describe the woman’s facial features. Her spiky lashes, pert nose, full lips and elegant cheekbones were an intriguing study of light and shadows. Lone Wolf simply gaped at her for what seemed like several minutes, wondering how he could have mistaken this lovely female for the drunken brat that had invited a gunfight an hour earlier. But now that he could see her for who and what she was, it was difficult not to respond to the sight and feel of her lush body so close to his.
It took considerable willpower to rein in his wandering thoughts and pay attention to business. He told himself that while this female was disguised in a man’s hat, jacket and breeches, he should have been able to tell the difference, even in the darkness. But he supposed that since she rode as expertly as a man she had thrown him off track, especially since he had been expecting someone else to show up.
Lone Wolf shifted sideways to sit down cross-legged beside his unexpected guest, then he squinted disapprovingly at the fetching female. “Next time you decide to come charging into my camp like a bat out of hell, don’t. In my business, I make it a policy to act first and ask questions later—if I get around to it.” He glared at her. “Now what the devil are you doing out here alone? Any woman with a brain in her head should know better than to do what you just did. I guess we know what that makes you, don’t we?”
“Thank you so much for the insult,” Julia Preston snapped as she levered herself into a sitting position to dust off her jacket. “I never would have thought that your type would turn out to be so preachy.”
She bit her lip, annoyed with herself for sniping at the hard-edged man when she desperately needed his help. But she had been swinging wildly on an emotional pendulum for almost two hours. She was worried sick about her injured brother and she was frantic to return to the ranch to check on him. First, however, she had to persuade this tough-as-nails bounty hunter to come with her.
Snarling at Lone Wolf was not going to gain his cooperation.
Having the wind knocked clean out of her, and having a man’s hands planted on her chest had done nothing for her deteriorating disposition and her temper. It was difficult to be diplomatic and charming when her world had been turned upside down—again—and she felt the overwhelming need to lash out to vent her grief, anger and frustration.
None of her problems were Vince Lone Wolf’s fault. She knew that, but she was in such turmoil that she was about to explode. He, unfortunately, was in the direct line of fire.
“I need your help, and damn it, I will have it!” she all but shouted at him. “I need you to come home with me.”
He cocked his head and stared curiously at her. Julia dragged in a restorative breath and tried to get herself under control. It was impossible.
“I need—” Her voice broke. The memory of her brother being blown out of the saddle, and dropping to the ground like a rock, descended on her like a tormenting nightmare.
Every ounce of inner strength and adrenaline that had sustained her while she raced off to summon the doctor, and then locate Lone Wolf—as Adam had demanded in a pained whisper—gushed out like a deflated balloon. Her emotions had been running so high and swift that she burst into humiliating tears. She dropped her head in her hands and let the pent-up frustration bleed out of her.
“I—I’m s-sorry,” she blubbered helplessly.
She heard rather than saw the bounty hunter rise to his feet and walk away. Hard-hearted bastard, she thought. He probably didn’t care if she cried herself dry, as long as she didn’t do it in front of him.
Julia was taken by complete surprise when she felt Lone Wolf’s lean fingers curl around her hands to pry them away from her face. He surprised her a second time when he pressed a tin cup to her lips.
“Here. Drink this. It’ll make you feel better.”
Maybe he had a heart, after all, she allowed as she clamped her shaking hands around the cup, then took a gulp.
She realized too late that she had ingested a huge swallow of whiskey, not water. Fire burned her throat and she gasped to draw breath. While she sputtered and wheezed he whacked her between the shoulder blades until she could inhale air.
“Take another sip,” he insisted.
Julia frowned dubiously at the contents of the cup, then took a cautious drink. She was amazed to discover the liquor, once it finished burning the lining of her throat, had a calming effect. She took another swallow, then another.
When she glanced up to thank Lone Wolf for his unexpected kindness, the words stuck to the roof of her mouth. She found herself staring into his bronzed face, noting the braid of midnight hair—adorned with blue beads—that dangled beside his high cheekbones. A half-moon scar left a noticeable indentation on the curve of his stubbled jaw. Hazel eyes, encircled with flecks of gold, stared intently at her.
Her appraising gaze dropped to his sensuous lips, then drifted to the beaded necklace that was decorated with some sort of Indian talisman. She noticed that his shoulders seemed as broad as a buffalo’s and his black shirt stretched tightly across his muscled chest.
He crouched down in front of her, his buckskin breeches clinging to his powerful thighs, his scuffed black boots indicating hard use. Julia found herself thinking this legendary shootist dressed to portray exactly what he was—the product of two opposing civilizations. His garments were a combination of Indian and white cultures and he didn’t seem to favor one style over the other.
Whatever he found the most comfortable and practical, she suspected.
Although Julia had heard tales of Lone Wolf’s impressive feats against the worst criminals in western society, she had never seen him until now. Her first impression was that he was a tough, competent warrior, and an intimidating force to be reckoned with.
He probably saw her as a weepy lunatic of a female. At the moment his opinion wasn’t too far off the mark.
“You about done bawling so we can talk?” he asked.
Another wave of mortification crested over her. It was beyond embarrassing to fall apart in the presence of a man known for his fearlessness and impressive survivor skills. There were those in polite society who would condemn this man because of his mixed heritage, his dangerous reputation and his socially unaccepted profession. But Julia Preston would have given her soul if she could borrow his unflinching nerve and practiced skills for just one night.
Nothing would have made her feel better than to repay her ruthless neighbor for what he had done to her brother and for what he constantly tried to do to undermine their ranch.
The clatter of hooves on the bridge brought Julia’s head up. She heard Lone Wolf mutter, “Well, hell. More company. Just what I don’t need right now.”
He sprang to his feet and darted off to scoop up the rifle he had left by the campfire.
Julia watched Lone Wolf turn sideways to steady the butt of his rifle against his muscled shoulder. She noted that he stood at an angle, refusing to give the approaching rider a wide target—just in case the man was gunning for him.
Lone Wolf definitely knew how to minimize the risk of taking a direct shot.
Too bad that her brother hadn’t been able to do the same thing before the sniper had fired at him.
“That’s close enough, kid!” Lone Wolf bellowed. “Stop your horse or I’ll drop it out from under you.”
Julia frowned, bemused, when the rider came close enough for her to recognize him. “Harvey Fowler? Is that you?” She stared incredulously at the rail-thin, frizzy-haired young man in homespun clothes.
Harvey swiveled in the saddle to gape owlishly at her. “What are you doin’ out here with this half-breed bastard?” he asked in a slurred voice. “Was he trying to molest you?” His narrowed gaze bore mutinously into Lone Wolf. “Gimme back my pistols, you sidewinder. I plan to fill you full of lead for touchin’ her. You don’t even deserve to breathe the same air she does!”
Julia didn’t know what Harvey thought he was trying to accomplish by hurling insults or why he thought he needed to defend her honor. But only a suicidal fool would purposely try to provoke Lone Wolf into a showdown.
Furthermore, she didn’t need Harvey’s interference. His arrival was causing an unnecessary delay and costing her valuable time.
“I have urgent business with Lone Wolf,” she told Harvey as she marched over to stand directly between the men. “Does your mother know you’re out here issuing drunken threats to the wrong person?”
Harvey thrust back his bony shoulders and tilted his head to an aloof angle, obviously offended that she had brought his mother into the conversation. “I’m here to have it out with the half-breed redskin. He made a fool of me at the saloon.”
Behind her, she heard Lone Wolf snort. “Give yourself full credit, kid. You made an ass of yourself without any help from me.” He took Harvey’s measure down the sight of his rifle barrel. “Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we? I’m faster on the draw than you are. That’s a fact. I’ve got years more experience. You don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell with me right now. Go home and practice on fence posts and empty bottles. If you’re still all-fired determined to face me down in a year or two then you can look me up.”
“No,” Harvey spouted off. “I want to finish this right now! Unless you’re too much of a yellow-bellied coward to face me with six-shooters.”
Julia gasped at the foolhardy young man who was two years her junior. She remembered Harvey well enough from their school days to recall that he was a fatherless child who had a chip on his shoulder. He wanted to be recognized as a man, even though he continued to behave like a troublesome child.
Annoyed, Julia set her hands on her hips and stared up at her former school chum. “Now you listen to me, Harvey. Squaring off against a gunfighter of Lone Wolf’s caliber is a very bad idea. If you don’t turn that horse around and go home I will tell your mother what you tried to do. You’re lucky Mr. Lone Wolf has a strong sense of honor, restraint and integrity.” At least she hoped he did. “Otherwise you would find yourself shot full of holes, jackknifed over the saddle and hauled to Boot Hill for burial.”
Harvey puffed up like a toad. He glowered at Julia, then growled at Lone Wolf. “Gimme my pistols.”
“No.” Lone Wolf flatly refused. “You can pick up your firearms at Sheriff Danson’s office after you’ve cooled down and sobered up.”
When Harvey didn’t budge from the spot, Julia hitched her thumb over her shoulder. “Go home, Harvey, and for Pete’s sake show enough sense not to come back.”
Snarling in irritation, Harvey wheeled his horse around and galloped off.
Julia’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Well, that’s one person who won’t get shot today,” she mumbled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Julia flinched when Lone Wolf’s deep resonant voice came from so close behind her. Sweet mercy, the man moved as silently as a shadow. She hadn’t seen or heard him coming.
Summoning her composure, she pivoted to find that she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. The man stood at least six foot three, she guessed. She felt like a dwarf beside him.
Dragging in a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and said, “My brother wants to hire you as a bodyguard and detective. He said to tell you that you can name your price, Mr. Lone Wolf. He also said that you owed him a favor. Can we go now?” she asked impatiently. “Time is wasting.”
When Lone Wolf shook his head, his raven hair drifted across his shoulders, gleaming blue-black in the firelight. Julia had the insane impulse to run her fingers through those shiny strands to test their thickness and texture.
Where had that ridiculous thought come from? she asked herself. She had just met this man. Because she found him intriguing wasn’t important at the moment.
Julia gave a mental shrug, presuming the shock and turmoil caused by Adam’s ambush this evening had turned her emotions topsy-turvy. That was the only plausible explanation for her curious fascination with the rugged bounty hunter. She wished she possessed his unflappable composure and gunfighting talents so she could resolve the problems facing her.
“Despite this supposed favor I owe your brother, I already have an assignment. I’ll be busy for the next few weeks,” Lone Wolf informed her. “I have a saddlebag full of bench warrants that I picked up from Sheriff Danson this afternoon. I have a long ride to Colorado in the morning to track down the three thieves that robbed one of the banks in Newton, Kansas.”
When he turned away, she grabbed his arm. “You aren’t going anywhere until you come home with me,” she burst out, frantic for his cooperation. “I made a promise to my brother, and I intend to keep it.”
He half turned to stare pointedly at the fingers clamped around his elbow. When she didn’t take the hint and release him, he sent her a steely glance and peeled off her fingers one at a time. “No. I can’t take your assignment until I finish what I’ve started.”
Julia groaned in frustration. Somehow she had to make this man understand that she was desperate and that he had to come with her. Now.
“I watched my brother get bushwhacked this evening. I don’t even know if he’s still alive because he made me promise to fetch Doc Connor, and then come to get you. He insisted that I leave him in the care of our ranch foreman and the other cowboys.”
She stared pleadingly at him. “If this turns out to be my brother’s last request to me, then I intend to honor it. I will make it worth your while if you’ll agree to come with me, as he asked.”
Lone Wolf studied her determined stance. He also marveled at her resilience. He had to admire the woman’s spirit and gumption, even if he did have to turn down the assignment.
Learning that she had been an eyewitness to her brother’s ambush explained her rapid mood swings and fiery behavior. And he was impressed by the way she had pulled herself together and by her relentless attempt to gain his assistance. She had defied danger by riding straight through the wrong side of town and clattering over the bridge to reach his camp.
The thought made him frown disapprovingly.
“You should have swerved around the wrong side of Dodge to reach my camp, even if you were in a rush to find me.” He flashed her a stern glance. “You took one helluva risk. The south side of the tracks is the last place decent folks should be, especially at night. Especially if you are a woman. Even your boy’s clothing is no guarantee against trouble. Don’t do that again.”
He saw her shoulders stiffen, saw her delicate chin tilt upward. “I told you that my brother was bushwhacked.” Her voice wobbled, but to her credit she shored up her jumbled emotions and went on. “I didn’t want to face any delays taking the long way around to reach your camp, because I’m anxious to check on Adam. He wants to hire you until he gets back on his feet.”
He peered into those mesmerizing green eyes and felt himself caving in.
Well hell, he reckoned that she deserved something for all the trouble of looking him up. The least he could do was accompany her back home to check on her wounded brother.
He pivoted on his heels. “Okay, I’ll saddle my horse and make sure you get home safely.”
“Thank you.” Her voice quavered and he thought he heard a muffled sob. “Now I owe you a tremendous favor.”
Chapter Two
A few minutes later, Lone Wolf mounted his piebald pony and watched Julia swing gracefully into her saddle. “Which direction are we heading?” he asked.
When she pointed east he took the lead to use the cross-country shortcut that bypassed town. Considering what a skilled rider she was he didn’t think she would have trouble keeping her seat while moving over the uneven terrain.
“I’m sorry if I seem as much of a nuisance as Harvey Fowler,” she said as she followed behind him. “My brother keeps telling me that I don’t know when to shut up and back off. I didn’t mean to sound so pushy and demanding, but this is very important to me. My brother is all I have left.”
“What’s your name, daredevil?” he asked as he reined his gelding into a rock-strewn ravine.
“Julia Preston. My brother is Adam.”
“Doesn’t ring a bell.”
So, why am I riding off into the night with you? he asked himself bewilderedly. There was no question that he had other places to go, come morning. He could use some shut-eye. But the damnedest thing was that Julia had impressed the hell out of him when she had faced off against that pesky kid. Plus, no one had ever stood up for him before. Ever.
It was that one unexpected deed of courage that refused to let him send her off alone in the darkness. He might have earned the reputation of being the toughest son of a bitch in the state—which was probably the reason her brother wanted to hire him—but he wasn’t so hard-hearted that he could completely disregard a desperate woman.
It was a fact that Julia was the prettiest female he’d ever laid eyes on. Her admirable character traits and strength of will appealed to him as much as her physical attributes. She was pure and wholesome and he found that altogether irresistible.
Nothing would come of his temporary fascination, of course, but she was easy on the eye.
“Just one thing, Miss Preston.” He drew his horse to a slower pace so she could ride beside him.
“What’s that?”
“Although you proved yourself to be daring more than once tonight, don’t plant yourself between me and a potential threat again,” he said. “If that drunken brat named Harvey had decided to draw down on me—with the firearm that he probably didn’t think I saw tucked in the waistband of his breeches—you could have gotten your head blown off. That wouldn’t have done your brother much good.”
Julia sighed heavily. “Sorry. I haven’t been thinking straight since Adam got shot two hours ago.”
She still wasn’t thinking straight, he decided as he studied her shadowed profile. Because of her situation, she was treating him as an equal, a potential friend. Her kind usually regarded him as a second-class citizen and steered clear of him. Ordinarily, he could have cared less, but he had the instinctive feeling Julia was one of a rare breed of woman.
Damn good thing he wasn’t planning to spend more than a couple of hours with her. Even if she was a one-of-a-kind female he had no intention whatsoever of getting emotionally attached. Not to her or anyone else. He had accepted his life for what it was and he was comfortable with it.
He cast his shapely companion a sidelong glance, then decided a short-term diversion wouldn’t hurt before he rode off to Colorado tomorrow.
“How bad was your brother hit?” Lone Wolf asked five miles later.
“He suffered a serious chest wound.”
“Did you get a look at the sniper?”
She nodded. “I was standing on the front porch when he appeared from a copse of cottonwood trees to the west, just as my brother approached the ranch house. The sniper was wearing a long canvas coat and wide-brimmed hat. He was riding a dun horse with three white stockings and a white blaze on its muzzle.
“I wanted to storm up to the man that I suspect is responsible for the shooting and repay him in kind, but Adam sent me to fetch you. I suspect he was trying to divert my quest for revenge and shoo me away, in case his condition worsened,” she added sourly.
“Smart man, your brother,” Lone Wolf praised. “You might have played into your adversary’s hands.”
She huffed out her breath. “That’s what Adam said. But if he doesn’t survive—”
He could tell by her quivering voice that she was holding onto her composure by a slippery thread so he changed the subject. “I need background information, Miss Preston. What do you think prompted this ambush?”
“Julia. Call me Julia.” She managed a watery smile. “When a woman bawls her head off in front of man and exposes all her weaknesses she should be on a first-name basis.”
When she glanced sheepishly at him he caught sight of her features. He felt another thud of unnamed emotion thump him in the chest. Lone Wolf fiercely resisted the unfamiliar sensation and turned his attention to the business at hand.
He watched Julia inhale a restorative breath and gather her thoughts. His traitorous gaze dropped to her breasts and he hurriedly jerked his attention back to her face. Which didn’t help much because, damn it, he found himself studying each enchanting feature.
“We have been involved in a feud with our nearest neighbor for three years,” she stated, her voice growing steadier with each word. “It began when my father and our neighbor’s wife were found dead in our wrecked wagon at the bottom of a ravine. Our neighbor was as overwrought as Adam and I were.”
Or did her neighbor simply pretend to be overwrought because he was the one who’d orchestrated the murders to repay his wife’s infidelity? Lone Wolf wondered.
“The scandal turned him bitter and vindictive,” Julia continued. “He swore our father had humiliated and cuckolded him. He wanted to buy our ranch, sell every head of cattle with the Preston brand on it and wipe away the family name, along with the ugly memory of the supposed affair.”
“You don’t sound convinced that something sordid was going on between your father and your neighbor’s wife.”
Julia shook her head emphatically. Moonbeams glowed in the curly cascade of red-gold tendrils. Lone Wolf looked the other way when another jolt of unwanted awareness shot through him. This woman was too distracting.
“My father was devoted to my mother,” Julia maintained. “After my mother died from cholera, Papa spent the next four years until his death devoted to raising Adam and me. He showed no interest in other women.”
She shrugged helplessly. “I can’t explain why Papa and our neighbor’s wife were together that night. Neither do I know why her buggy was left beside the road after she had ridden into town to be a midwife for her friend. But I do not believe for one minute that my father was romantically involved with Rachel.”
Lone Wolf didn’t comment. He couldn’t say for sure but it sounded as though Julia’s undying loyalty and love for her father had clouded her judgment. He thought there was a strong possibility that a clandestine affair might have been going on, whether Julia wanted to accept it or not.
“Adam and I were determined to hold the ranch together, but it hasn’t been easy. Incidents of rustling began not long after Papa died. We had no substantial proof that our neighbor was involved, but he was our prime suspect. He seemed to hate us.”
Julia continued. “To complicate matters, our neighbor’s daughter was our childhood playmate, and he refused to allow her to associate with us. Still the affection between his daughter and Adam remains. She grew up loving my brother and he has always felt the same way about her.”
It sounded to Lone Wolf as if history was trying to repeat itself. Julia’s bitter neighbor, however, was having none of that. Not after he had lost his wife to another man. The prospect of losing his daughter to the son of his wife’s lover was obviously intolerable. Especially if Adam was using his charm on the neighbor’s daughter to retaliate.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she surprised him by saying.
“Do you? Then you would be the first,” he countered drily. “I try very hard not let anyone know what’s running through my mind. It’s bad business when dealing with cutthroats who like to get the drop on you.”
“You’re thinking Adam is trying to get back at our neighbor by turning his charms on his daughter,” Julia guessed correctly. “But you couldn’t be more wrong. Maggie and Adam were childhood friends, and then they became sweethearts. That was long before the hint of scandal.”
“Maggie?” Lone Wolf grew very still. His focus settled intently on Julia.
“Maggie Griffin. Sol Griffin’s daughter,” she explained, unaware of the suppressed emotion roiling through Lone Wolf.
Tormenting memories flashed through his mind, then exploded like fireworks. Old hurt and the raw pain of rejection threatened to swamp him. For a moment he was transported back to a time when he had been a weak, desolate and vulnerable teenager.
“Despite Sol’s unfair decree, Maggie and Adam continued to see each other secretly,” Julia reported. “Maggie has rejected every marriage proposal that Sol approved. When she stood up to him and informed him that if she couldn’t wed Adam then she would never take a husband, Sol sent her to Saint Louis to stay with his cousin’s family. She has been home for two months and she and Adam have gotten very good at sneaking away so they can be together.”
“Maggie must have a great deal of determination and gumption,” Lone Wolf remarked.
Julia bobbed her head and smiled fondly. “She does, in her own ladylike, dignified way. Which is why we are steadfast friends and always have been.”
“And Sol Griffin is one bitter, obstinate man,” he murmured.
When Julia stared curiously at him, Lone Wolf shrugged as nonchalantly as he knew how. “I know of Sol Griffin.”
Know of him? Hell, he was Sol Griffin’s blood kin, a fact that he would not acknowledge or accept under the circumstances. Sol had made that known eighteen years ago.
“If you know of Sol, does that mean you won’t help my brother and me because you don’t want to get on his bad side?” she asked anxiously.
“I was born on his bad side,” Lone Wolf muttered under his breath.
“Pardon?”
He clenched his teeth, stifled the onrush of resentment, and said, “I don’t allow personal sentiment to get in the way of business. If I decide to take an assignment, then I represent the client who is paying me. No one else.”
“You will be exceptionally well paid if you agree to take this assignment,” Julia assured him. “I want that sniper brought to justice for the murder attempt on my brother’s life. If the man I saw firing his rifle at Adam is remotely connected to Sol, I want to see them both locked in jail with no chance of parole— Oh, God… Maggie…”
Her voice trailed off and her shoulders slumped in frustration. “I can’t get word to her about what happened to Adam. And though she resents Sol’s demand to keep her distance from Adam, I doubt she will believe her father would go so far as to have Adam shot to end their courtship.”
She raked her hands through her hair and sighed. “I’m sorry. I feel as if I’m telling you all my problems. It’s bad enough that I practically bled tears on your shirt. I don’t expect you to figure out how I’m going to break the bad news to my dearest friend.”
“Not a problem,” he said with a casual shrug of his broad shoulders. “I get paid to solve other people’s dilemmas. That’s difficult to do without all the facts.”
Julia glanced at the powerful-looking bounty hunter who sat a horse so impressively. He seemed detached, even more distant than before. And why shouldn’t he be? He wasn’t embroiled in the upheaval of her life.
She was just another prospective client to him.
Her thoughts trailed off when she spotted the glow of lights in the distance. Almost home… Soon she would find out if Adam had survived his gunshot wound.
With tension coiled inside her, she promptly picked up the pace. She had her horse in a full gallop by the time she reached the dirt path that led to the ranch house.
Lone Wolf was right on her heels. When she skidded her horse to a halt and bounded from the saddle, his lean fingers closed around her forearm to waylay her. She looked up at his inscrutable expression and wished she possessed the same iron-willed self-discipline. She felt as if she were on the verge of scattering in every direction at once, while he was a bulwark of physical and emotional strength.
“Take a breath, Julia,” he ordered firmly. “A deep one.”
She did as she was told.
“Again,” he demanded.
Julia sucked in a huge gulp of night air and tried to get herself under control.
“You won’t accomplish a damn thing by walking in there and falling apart. Whatever happens, I’ll be here to take care of things. Save the tears and tantrums for later. Do you understand? Don’t give your brother or your employees something else to worry about right now.”
She peered into his angular face, into those intense hazel eyes that bored straight into her. “Does that mean that you will take this assignment?” she asked hopefully.
When he nodded, Julia embarrassed herself by flinging her arms around his neck and practically squeezing the stuffing out of him. She buried her head against the solid wall of his chest and savored the sense of security that overcame her. Although she was aware that he didn’t reciprocate—except to drape his brawny arm awkwardly around her shoulder—she absorbed his strength. She clung to him for comfort and support for several moments, wondering why she had developed an instant attachment to a total stranger.
Maybe it was because she had poured her heart out to him and he had listened, then agreed to help. Maybe it was because she was desperate to anchor herself to something strong and solid.
Vince Lone Wolf was definitely that. Rumor had it that he was hell on outlaws, ruthless when necessary and unyielding as granite. Legend also had it that no one that he was sent to apprehend ever walked away to brag about escaping from him. He was the justice system’s last resort, and he accepted the difficult challenges no one else wanted.
This was definitely the man Julia needed on her side.
Summoning her composure as best she could, Julia stepped back, then wheeled toward the front porch. When she opened the door and was met with silence, another wave of apprehension swooped down on her. She took comfort in Lone Wolf’s presence as he hovered over her, close as her own shadow.
She headed up the steps to Adam’s room, wondering what her acquaintances in Dodge City’s elite social circle would think of her association with Lone Wolf. No doubt, they wouldn’t approve. But Julia had been raised not to be judgmental and presumptuous. Furthermore, her brother’s life and the future of Preston Ranch were at stake. She would be damned if she was influenced by the dictates of society. She and Adam had a hired gun on their side in this feud and she didn’t give a flying fig what anyone thought of that.
Lone Wolf might be hard-edged, gruff and emotionally detached, but if he could help her put her life back together and end this dangerous fight with Sol Griffin then she would be forever in his debt. Plus, she wouldn’t think twice about paying whatever price Lone Wolf demanded for his expert assistance.
Her thoughts trailed off and her footsteps stalled as she stared at the closed bedroom door. With Lone Wolf’s words of advice whispering through her mind, Julia inhaled a steadying breath, then grabbed the doorknob.
She prepared herself for the worst…and prayed for the best as she entered the room.
Chapter Three
T he moment Lone Wolf stepped into the room behind Julia his attention settled on the deathly pale patient whose chest was wrapped in bandages. When Julia rushed to her brother’s side to clutch his hand, Lone Wolf noted her visible relief.
After studying Adam’s pale face and sandy-blond hair for a long moment, Lone Wolf recalled their one and only meeting. Near as he recollected it was about a year ago, when he was in a saloon on South Side in Dodge. He hadn’t gotten the name of the man who had casually leaned toward him at the bar to confide that one of the ruffians playing poker had a pistol resting against his thigh beneath the table.
It was trained on Lone Wolf’s back.
Lone Wolf had murmured, “I owe you one,” before he strolled up behind the hombre he had been sent to arrest for robbing a dry goods store in Abilene. If memory served, Adam Preston had tripped up the criminal when he tried to bolt and run, saving Lone Wolf the trouble of tracking him down.
“How bad off is he?” Julia asked as she half turned to stare inquisitively at the stout, gray-haired physician who had scooped up his medical bag.
The doctor smiled gently. “Lucky to be alive, but I think he’ll make it. He’s going to require lots of bed rest.”
Lone Wolf watched Julia’s shoulders slump in relief, saw the wash of tears that filled her luminous green eyes. But when she looked in his direction she regathered her composure, just as he’d ordered her to do.
Because of Adam’s injured condition, a mountain-load of responsibility fell on Julia’s shoulders, along with a heaping mound of traumatic emotion. But she seemed to be made of sturdy stuff. The determined set of her jaw indicated that she intended to meet the challenge of managing the ranch until her brother’s condition improved.
Damn, she was something—as much as he wished he hadn’t noticed. It had taken every ounce of self-control he could muster not to respond when Julia had flung herself into his arms on the front porch a few minutes earlier. The feel of her luscious body pressed against his caused fierce need to spear through him.
When another ripple of desire tried to overtake him, Lone Wolf reminded himself that Julia Preston was a client—too damn attractive and intriguing for his peace of mind but a business client nonetheless. He didn’t want or need the slightest personal involvement with her. He was a man who needed no one. With that in mind he concentrated on the problems at hand.
“I managed to dislodge the bullet,” Doc Connor reported as he came to stand at the foot of the bed. “Adam should come around in a few minutes. But don’t tire him out.” He handed Julia a bottle of laudanum. “Give him another dose to help him sleep and keep him sedated for several days.”
Five minutes after Julia had introduced Lone Wolf to the men who had congregated in the room, the physician bid them good-night and promised to return the following day. Frank Slater, the foreman, and two of the cowboys eyed Lone Wolf cautiously before they also took their leave.
A moment later Adam’s eyes fluttered open.
Julia pressed a kiss to his peaked forehead. “Hey, big brother.” She smiled affectionately. “I’m glad to hear that you’re going to be all right. That is, if you follow doctor’s orders and rest while I take care of things for you. I get to boss you around. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
The faintest hint of a smile trailed across Adam’s ashen lips. Then he fixed his dazed eyes on Lone Wolf. “Make sure no harm comes to Julia,” he wheezed. “But I need to warn you—” he paused to swallow and lick his lips “—she can be a handful.”
Lone Wolf didn’t doubt it. Even when Julia was at her worst, overcome with grief and anguish, she had spunk, spirit and courage in spades. She had braved the dangers of South Side to find him quickly. Plus, he remembered well how she had retaliated when he had accidentally touched her in an inappropriate manner.
“I’ll be on my best behavior while Lone Wolf is underfoot,” Julia promised. “You won’t even recognize me.”
Adam’s smile faded and his eyes drooped. “You need to tell Maggie—”
“You can tell her yourself later,” Julia cut in as she offered him a dose of the sedative. “Right now you need to rest. I’ll be back to check on you after I get Lone Wolf settled in for the night.”
He swallowed dutifully as his focus drifted to Lone Wolf. “Thank you for coming to help. Now I owe you one.”
When Adam drifted off, Julia heaved herself to her feet. She looked exhausted but mightily relieved that her brother had survived. Lone Wolf wondered what it felt like to be loved so devotedly. The affectionate bond between brother and sister fairly radiated in the room. No doubt, they had grown very close after losing their mother, and then their father.
Aware of the strong attachment and family connection the Prestons shared made Lone Wolf realize something was missing from his life. It had been almost two decades since he had felt as if he belonged anywhere. He had also gotten used to knowing that he was probably the only one who gave a damn whether he even existed. But at least he was the master of his own soul. There was a lot to be said for that.
“I’ll show you to your room,” Julia murmured as she breezed past him. He tried very hard not to get lost in her feminine scent again. But it was difficult, especially when the aroma of jasmine clung to his clothes after she had hugged him gratefully.
“No need for a room,” he insisted, following her into the hall. “I’ll camp outside.”
Julia stopped short, spun around then tilted her head to stare up at him. “No, you will not,” she countered firmly. “The whole point is for you to be close at hand in case Sol decides to send his henchman to finish the job on Adam.”
Lone Wolf’s eyes widened. “You want me under the same roof with your kind?” He snorted at that. “You’d be laughed out of town by your highfalutin friends. Half-breed bounty hunters aren’t prized houseguests so don’t bother trying to be noble. I don’t miss what I’m not used to.”
Julia looked him squarely in the eye and said, “Do you want to hear the truth, Lone Wolf?”
“Yeah, don’t mind if I do. That would be a refreshing change, considering the ruthless, backstabbing, two-faced liars I usually have to contend with in my line of work.”
Julia studied him consideringly, trying to imagine what his life was like, knowing he had been stigmatized for reasons beyond his control. No matter what anyone else thought of him, she admired the countless talents and skills that had earned him the reputation as one of the most formidable shootists and capable trackers in the West.
She also wondered if the fact that her emotions had been all over the place the past few hours accounted for her unexpected attachment to him. She certainly hadn’t developed an interest in any of the fortune hunters who had tried to charm her into marriage the past few years.
But her connection with Lone Wolf was different. He had been there when she needed a shoulder to cry on and had offered her moral support when she returned to the ranch. He had also helped her brace for the worst before she climbed the steps to determine if Adam had survived.
Of course, it was pretty clear that he didn’t want any involvement with her, but he had been there for her whether he’d wanted to be or not. That made him special to her.
“Well, the truth is,” she said belatedly, “that my maternal grandfather didn’t think my father was good enough for my mother, which was, of course, ridiculous. Snobbery, society’s dictates and prejudices are wasted on me. I have been encouraged to think and speak for myself and to stand up for what I believe in. I’m not, nor have I ever been, a shrinking violet who is easily controlled. You need to know that from the start.”
His low, rumbling chuckle startled her. She grinned when she saw him smiling wryly at her.
“I figured out that you had gumption and spunk, right off.” He rubbed his stubbled jaw. “You also pack a mean wallop. I didn’t think I had that retaliation coming since it was unintentional. You weren’t who I was expecting.”
Julia blushed furiously, remembering the feel of his hand on her breast. She had reacted instinctively, unaware that he had mistaken her for Harvey Fowler. “You’re right,” she admitted. “You didn’t deserve those hard slaps. I apologize. It was just my self-preservation instinct kicking in.” She returned to the matter at hand. “You will be using my suite during your employment. No argument.”
He scowled.
Julia lurched around to stride down the hall before he had the chance to protest again. “I want you next door to Adam. On the same side as the balcony, in case someone sneaks up on him. That is sensible and practical.”
“And where will you be sleeping while I’m lounging in your bed?” he asked, close behind her. “What makes you think this mysterious sniper isn’t coming after you next—because you can identify him. I need to know exactly where you are if trouble arises.”
The comment caused her to jerk up her head, and she noted his grim countenance. He might be right, but she refused to cower, even if she and her brother might be targets of Sol’s revenge.
“I’ll be in the guest room across the hall,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder.
Lone Wolf opened the door then gave a low whistle as he surveyed the palatial suite that surpassed anything he had ever seen. Expensive furnishings lined the walls. Velvet drapes cascaded beside floor-length windows that provided a view of the moonlit gallery and the rolling hills beyond. These were definitely accommodations fit for royalty.
But he was as far from royalty as you could get.
“Nice place, Julia. I always wondered what the lap of luxury looked like.”
“You’re going to know what it feels like, too,” she told him determinedly. “You are staying here. We will speak of it no more. I already told you that you could name your price for helping Adam and me.” Her arm swept out in an expansive gesture. “These are the fringe benefits. A nice room and home-cooked meals. This is what Preston hospitality looks like, so get used to it.”
Lone Wolf chuckled. He didn’t have reason to laugh very often. But Julia had provoked his amusement twice in a matter of minutes, not to mention the reluctant smiles she had drawn from him since they’d met.
Obviously she was as generous as she was spirited and intelligent. He liked that about her. Liked the fact that she knew her own mind and stood up for what she believed in. That separated her from the ordinary masses and drew his respect. He wondered, however, how she was going to react when he named the fee he intended to charge for taking this assignment.
He predicted her attitude toward him would change drastically when she was asked to pay his price.
“Very well, I’ll bunk here if that’s what you want,” he acquiesced.
“Good. I’m glad we don’t have to waste time arguing over that issue.” She pivoted around to fetch her nightgown and a clean set of clothes from the marble-top dresser and intricately carved wardrobe closet.
“As for your fee, I don’t know how you prefer to conduct business. Am I to pay a partial sum now and the remainder later?” She clutched the pile of clothes to her chest, then strode up in front of him. “I have cash on hand, but if it isn’t enough I will make a withdrawal from the bank tomorrow.”
Lone Wolf stared down into her vibrant green eyes and watched the lantern light gleam on that mass of shiny gold hair. She was cooperation and good cheer right now, but that was about to change.
“Name your price,” she offered generously.
“I will take this assignment,” he affirmed. “But if I’ve learned nothing else in life it is that there is always a catch.”
She shrugged, unconcerned. “My brother is still alive and you’re here to make sure he stays that way. Whatever this catch is, I’m sure Adam and I will abide by it.” She smiled wryly. “Unless you want the deed to our property in exchange. Which, incidentally, is what I think Sol Griffin ultimately wants. But he is not going to get it and neither are you.”
“I will forgo the usual traveling fee since I’ll be staying here. But I insist on marriage. The pretense of it. With you,” he stated firmly and succinctly. “Or the public announcement of our betrothal at the very least.”
Sure enough, her eyes popped and her jaw sagged on its hinges. The clothes she had clutched in her arm dropped to the toes of her boots.
“That is the catch, Julia.” He stared challengingly at her. “Take it or leave it.”
He knew she couldn’t possibly understand his reasoning and he wasn’t in the habit of explaining himself to anyone. She hadn’t a clue what had prompted his unexpected stipulation and he was anxious to hear her response. He was forcing her to put her noble ideals on the line. Right here. Right now. She claimed that she didn’t judge a man by his mixed heritage and less-than-respectable occupation.
This was the decisive moment when he found out if she meant what she said. He really expected her to fail the test.
She stood there staring up at him so intently that he felt the urge to squirm. She sized him up for a long moment then frowned. No doubt, she was trying to figure his angle.
“A pretend marriage. To me,” she repeated pensively. “That’s the catch?”
“Yes,” he confirmed with a sharp nod.
She cocked her head, appraising him from another angle. “Just what is the reason behind this?”
“Smart as you are, you’ll figure it out for yourself after you’ve given it some thought.”
“You’re giving me too much credit.”
No, he gave her all she deserved. He’d seen her in several telling situations tonight and she’d held up remarkably well. “You’re bright and you’re gutsy and that counts for a lot in my book,” he said.
“Am I? Did you notice that between the humiliating moments while I was ranting, desperate and bawling my head off?”
He shrugged lackadaisically. “That was just about letting off steam. You were entitled.”
He waited while she mulled over his request. He couldn’t help but wonder how she saw him. Half-civilized? Unattractive? Unworthy of the pretense of a romantic involvement with her? Just what did Julia Preston see while she was looking him over so critically?
Not that he cared, of course. He was just curious.
Julia bent at the waist to scoop up her clothes, then tossed him another contemplative glance. “I’m assuming that I will have the night to consider this stipulation.” She arched a challenging brow. “A woman shouldn’t be too hasty when accepting or declining a marriage proposal, should she?”
She didn’t mention that she had rejected the last three proposals in two minutes flat.
“The pretense of marriage,” he corrected quickly.
“Or the announcement of a betrothal.”
“At the very least.”
She ambled to the door, then glanced back at him. “If you were one of the three suitors who asked for my hand recently, I would know your angle immediately.”
“Only three?” His thick brow arched. With her brains, beauty and wealth, he would have guessed more.
A mischievous grin pursed her lips. “According to my suitors, I’m not society’s traditional female. Much too unconventional when it comes to fashion,” she added as she gestured toward her attire. “Too headstrong and willful. And that was the catch they hadn’t counted on.” She stared pointedly at him. “Beware, Lone Wolf, you might get more than you bargained for.”
“I’ll take my chances.” He chuckled, finding that he enjoyed negotiating with this feisty female. “Getting more than I bargain for is a hazard of my profession.”
“You will have your answer later,” she said before she closed the door behind her.
Lone Wolf wondered if she might slam the door with a vengeance to show her displeasure with his shocking request. Then he remembered that Adam was asleep in the next room. Julia wouldn’t think of disturbing him.
Admiring the expensive furnishings, Lone Wolf peeled off his clothes, then set the bowie knife—which he kept strapped to his left thigh—and both pistols on the nightstand. He placed the derringer that he sheathed in his shirtsleeve under the fluffy pillow and laid the long-barreled boot pistol on the empty space beside him.
He had learned the importance of keeping his arsenal of weapons within easy reach, no matter where he was.
Even while lounging in this fancy suite.
He recalled the names of several dead lawmen who hadn’t heeded that good advice.
Lone Wolf sprawled on the bed and immediately became enshrouded in the feminine fragrance that clung to the luxuriant bedding and mattress. He lay there staring up at the frilly canopy, trying to estimate how long it would take his quick-witted client to figure out the primary reason he had suggested a pretended marriage.
She, of course, wouldn’t have a clue what other reasons had prompted him to make the stipulation. But for now, one reason was enough. Astute as Julia was, he didn’t think it would take her long to puzzle it out.
Three hours later, after Julia had stopped by Adam’s room, she purposely barged unannounced into her suite. She skidded to a halt when she heard the click of two triggers. The low, threatening growl warned her that she was treading on dangerous ground.
Whatever else Lone Wolf was, he was not a man caught off guard easily. She was relieved to know that, glad to see that he was armed to the teeth and that he was capable of protecting her brother and himself instantaneously.
“You should have knocked and announced yourself,” he grumbled.
Heat flamed across Julia’s face when she saw him flip the sheet over his hips then heard the pistols clang against the nightstand. The legendary bounty hunter slept naked, she realized. Had there been more moonlight spraying through the floor-length windows she would have seen that clearly for herself.
Drawing herself up to full stature, and careful not to allow her gaze to dip below his shadowed face, she padded closer to the bed. “I came to—”
“Is Adam all right?” he cut in worriedly.
“Yes, thank you for asking. He is still in pain and chattering like a magpie in his drug-induced dreams. I changed the dressing on the wound and the bleeding is under control.”
“Good. Now turn your back so I can slip on my breeches.”
“And not have you at the same sort of disadvantage that I faced when you dropped that ‘there’s just one catch’ in my lap?” Julia scoffed. “You deserve to sit there feeling awkward. Turnabout is fair play.”
“Your brother is right,” she heard him mutter. “You are a handful.”
“Thank you. I pride myself in being a man’s equal, not the extension of his opinions and his will.”
“Why am I not surprised to hear that?”
Julia clutched her robe together, then crossed her arms under her breasts. “I think I have figured out why you want the pretense of a marriage during this assignment.”
Her first thought had been that he wanted to take full advantage of the situation, but she’d reminded herself that she was trying to measure him against the yardstick of ordinary men. “You aren’t like the fortune hunters I’ve encountered.”
“Are you asking or telling?” he said wryly.
“I’m telling you what I’ve learned about you already.”
“Just don’t try to find qualities in me that aren’t there,” he warned. “I am what I am. Nothing more or less. Nothing admirable. Nothing special.”
But he was certainly all man, she mused as her betraying perusal slid down from his bare chest to his lap. She couldn’t decide if she was relieved or disappointed that darkness concealed his masculine body.
“Get to the point, Julia,” he said impatiently. “It’s the middle of the night and I’m only dressed for the kind of social call that you and I are not going to participate in.”
She winced at his brisk tone and her gaze returned to his face—from which it never should have strayed in the first place. She inhaled a quick breath and said, “The pretend marriage is your attempt to protect my reputation while we’re working closely together. Am I right?”
“Partially,” he murmured. He would get to the more-than-a-mite-selfish reasons later.
“If Sol Griffin thinks we’re married, he might try to go through you to get to me. You would become one of the obstacles he would have to remove to get his hands on Preston Ranch. And three murder attempts would arouse the sheriff’s suspicions and launch an official investigation.”
“Bingo. Smart lady,” he praised.
“Thank you. However, a betrothal would accelerate an attempt on my life,” she remarked.
Damn, she was right, he realized. He had given her credit for her sharp intellect, but he still had underestimated her.
“Therefore,” she went on to say, “I intend to spread the word of our marriage as soon as I inform Adam of our plan. If anyone asks I will insist that after several chance meetings between us, I realized you suited me perfectly.”
Which he did, Julia mused. This man had agreed to put his life on the line to protect Adam. He didn’t harbor ulterior motives like her other beaux. She trusted him. She liked him. She was attracted to him, even when she knew nothing permanent would come of the arrangement. She certainly didn’t need a husband to complete her, and he didn’t need a wife, with his tumbleweed lifestyle.
“And so,” she added belatedly, “I will agree to your little catch, because it is an ingenious solution.”
Lone Wolf smiled to himself. He would like to be on hand when Sol Griffin received the news of this supposed marriage to Julia Preston. That would go a long way in compensating for the hurt and rejection he had suffered at Sol’s hands.
A fleeting shadow on the gallery put Lone Wolf’s senses on full alert. He bounded to his feet, reacting instinctively to the potential threat that descended on Adam. Behind him he heard Julia’s sharp intake of breath—and he remembered that he was still naked.
“Well, hell.” Muttering, he snatched up the sheet and tucked it around his waist. He scooped up his pistols on the way to the balcony. “Stay here,” he gritted out when he heard Julia scurrying along behind him.
“But—” she protested.
“Stay in here,” he snapped in a tone that invited no argument.
To his relief, Julia screeched to a halt.
Lone Wolf slipped silently out the door.
Chapter Four
W hile the cloaked figure breezed toward Adam’s room, Lone Wolf moved into position to pounce. The would-be assailant never knew what hit him. Lone Wolf had a stranglehold on the intruder’s throat and a pistol pressed threateningly against his temple before he could react.
To Lone Wolf’s frustration, however, Julia flagrantly disobeyed his order by darting across the gallery to position herself in front of his captive. He made a mental note to sit this foolhardy female down later and read her every line and paragraph of the riot act. He had specifically told her to never again put herself between him and a potential threat.
And damn it, she had done it twice in the same night!
“Jules, it’s me!” came the chirping voice.
Lone Wolf frowned when Julia gestured for him to release his captive.
“It’s Maggie,” Julia informed him.
“Maggie?” Lone Wolf stepped back a pace then expelled an exasperated snort. “I would sincerely appreciate it if the women around here would wear dresses so I can tell who’s who.”
When Maggie Griffin pivoted to face him, he went very still. Her wide-eyed focus trailed down his bare chest to survey the white sheet that glowed in the moonlight. Then she glanced bewilderedly back and forth between him and Julia. When her attention shifted to the door that led into Julia’s bedroom, he knew exactly what she was thinking. Hell, he could practically hear her thinking it.
“Maggie Griffin, meet my husband, Vince Lone Wolf,” Julia introduced without missing a beat.
“Your what?” Maggie croaked as she staggered back a pace. “The Lone Wolf who—” She clamped her mouth shut, then blinked owlishly at him…and at his state of undress. “The legendary bounty hunter? That Lone Wolf?”
He nodded, clamped both pistols between his side and left elbow, and then reached out to shake her hand. “Pleased to meet you.” He had waited years to make her acquaintance, to see what she looked like, to see how she reacted to him.
She didn’t move, just stared at his hand.
Eventually she pulled the concealing cap off her head to let a thick mane of sable hair tumble around her shoulders. Finally she offered her hand and a tentative smile. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Lone Wolf. Vince was my grandfather’s name.”
Lone Wolf studied her trim statuesque figure, enchanting face and long-lashed blue eyes. She reminded him of the memory he carried of his mother, the white captive who had caught the rapt attention of his Cheyenne father.
He interrupted his assessment to look at Julia, who was frowning at him. For the life of him he couldn’t figure out what he had done to annoy her. But the instant she saw him staring curiously at her she manufactured a smile, then slipped her arm around Maggie’s shoulders and turned her toward Adam’s room.
“What are you doing here at this time of night, Mags?” Julia asked.
“Adam was supposed to meet me at the usual place at ten o’clock. When he didn’t show up I came looking for him.” Her accusing gaze settled on Julia. “Why didn’t he mention your wedding? Was it tonight? I would have found a way to attend if I had known. Is that why he didn’t meet me?”
Julia flung up her hand to halt the barrage of questions. She turned to Lone Wolf. “Why don’t you get dressed, dear, while I explain things to Maggie.”
When he wheeled around and disappeared into the bedroom, Julia tossed aside the foolish stab of envy she had felt when her supposed husband made such a thorough study of Maggie. Julia knew she paled in comparison to Maggie Griffin, who was the picture of feminine grace, deportment and refinement. Julia had never had a problem concealing her insecurities before, and no man’s opinion or interest in her had mattered until she met Vince Lone Wolf. But suddenly she was disappointed that he took his sweet time appraising her best friend’s startling blue eyes, peaches-and-cream complexion, winsome smile and dainty figure. Julia had thought he found her mildly interesting…until Maggie arrived.
Now Julia was just an afterthought.
She wanted to punish him for making her feel less than feminine and desirable compared to her oldest and dearest friend.
Would you listen to yourself! came a scolding voice inside her head. Her brother had barely escaped death this evening and she was inwardly stewing over her inappropriate and ill-fated fascination with this bounty hunter. She was a poor excuse for a sister if she couldn’t keep her mind focused on Adam and his difficult recovery from a gunshot wound.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were getting married?” Maggie demanded. “When and where did you meet the bounty hunter? Last I heard there were three other suitors on bended knee, trying to get you to agree to marry them.”
Julia waved off the rapid-fire questions then grabbed Maggie’s hands in her own. Small hands that were devoid of calluses. While Julia jumped in with both feet to assume the duties at their ranch, Sol had forced Maggie to play the genteel hostess and reigning princess at Griffin Ranch.
Of course, that did not imply that Maggie approved of her lot in life. It only meant that Sol held unrealistic expectations for his only daughter and expected her to follow his dictates. Maggie had learned to be discreet and inventive in order to remain true to her nature and her heart’s desire.
Julia drew a calming breath and tried to think of a delicate way to tell Maggie what had happened. There wasn’t a good way to sugarcoat this disaster so she simply spit it out. “Mags, my brother couldn’t meet you this evening because he was bushwhacked.”
“Oh, my God!” Maggie gasped as she lurched past Julia to check on Adam.
From out of nowhere Lone Wolf appeared to clutch Maggie’s arm and tow her backward. “Adam was seriously wounded,” Lone Wolf said gently.
“Oh, God…oh, God,” Maggie chanted.
“I’m going to give you the same advice I gave Julia,” he hurried on. “Don’t fall to pieces in front of a man who’s racked with pain and shot to hell. He needs to see optimism, a show of inner strength and encouragement. He needs to see your confidence that he is going to pull through. Can you do that for him?”
Maggie bobbed her head, sniffled, then drew a shaky breath. “You’re right, of course. Yes, I can do that. I have to see him.” She gathered her resolve and stiffened her spine. “I would like to hire you to track down the dastardly man who did this to Adam.”
Julia inwardly grimaced as she and Lone Wolf exchanged discreet glances. She did not relish sharing her suspicions with Maggie. Just how did she tell her dearest friend that her father had most likely ordered the execution attempt on Adam?
When Maggie eased open the door to Adam’s room, Julia was one step behind her, ready to offer the kind of moral support Lone Wolf had provided for her.
She swore she was viewing her own startled reaction to Adam’s fragile condition. It was all there on Maggie’s delicate features. The fear, anguish and frustration. She eased down on the edge of the bed to clutch Adam’s hand and hold it next to her heart. Then she brought his fingertips to her lips.
“I love you, Adam. More than life itself. I cannot imagine how I could survive without you.”
Julia cast Lone Wolf a sidelong glance, noting that he was surveying Maggie intently. When he smiled faintly, Julia frowned, completely bemused. What the devil was he thinking? she wondered. More to the point, what was he feeling?
She could have sworn this swarthy bounty hunter had taken one look at Maggie’s enchanting face, shapely figure, polished manners and had become bewitched. But his expression seemed to hold something more than masculine approval, which left Julia confused.
Her perplexing thoughts trailed off when Adam’s eyes fluttered open. “Mags…” he said raggedly.
“Thank God you’re all right,” Maggie murmured as she brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “Julia told me what happened.”
Not all of it, Julia silently amended. She really was dreading that upcoming conversation.
“You know I can only slip away from home at night,” Maggie whispered as she reached out to brush Adam’s sandy-blond hair away from his forehead. “But I will be here to check on you every evening until you’re back on your feet.”
When Adam slumped against the pillow, Maggie’s breath caught and she valiantly battled to keep from bursting into sobs. Julia hoisted her to her feet, then steered her onto the terrace.
“I’ll make sure you get home safely,” Lone Wolf volunteered as he came up behind them. “Adam is getting what he needs to fully recover. Plenty of rest. Julia will see that he follows doctor’s orders.”
While he shepherded Maggie across the balcony toward the staircase, Julia trailed behind them. A host of insecurities rose inside her when her supposed husband wrapped a protective arm around Maggie’s shoulders to guide her down the dark steps. She reminded herself that he had also shown her the same kindness and support while she was distraught.
Just because she had developed an infatuation for Lone Wolf did not imply that he had the slightest romantic interest in her. And just because they had agreed to pretend to be married didn’t mean she was more to him than just another paying client.
This was a business arrangement, she told herself as she reversed direction to enter her bedroom. It wasn’t his fault that he’d preyed heavily on her mind since the moment she found herself flat on her back, staring up into that rugged, bronzed face.
Julia flounced on her bed and muttered at the confusing jumble of emotions that had hounded her all evening. She shouldn’t trust any of these feelings that bombarded her. Adam’s attack had put her into a mental confusion and kept her there.
When Lone Wolf had suggested this marriage, she realized it would work to her advantage as well. Everyone in her social circle knew she would inherit a trust fund when she married. That was why she had been inundated with so many proposals. She had given up on finding a man who wanted her simply for who she was on the inside. If spreading the word that she had married Vince Lone Wolf resolved that problem alone, Julia was all in favor of it.
Maggie had dealt with the same influx of proposals and refused to accept any because she had given her heart away years earlier. But at twenty-one Julia hadn’t encountered a man who turned her head or piqued her interest. Hadn’t found a man she could trust to be honest in his intentions toward her.
Then she had run headlong into Lone Wolf and known instantly there was something intriguing about him that called out to something inside her. She was physically attracted to him and impressed by him. He made her feel safe, secure and protected in the midst of a storm of turbulence.
Julia rolled to her side and fluffed her pillow. She had never expected to meet a man who didn’t have hidden motives, but it was a welcomed change. She had even been so presumptuous to think that Lone Wolf liked her for herself. He had praised her intelligence, her gumption and her spirit.
Then Maggie showed up and all of Julia’s insecurities and inadequacies came rushing to the surface, making her outspokenness and unconventional manner glaringly apparent.
Lone Wolf could see for himself that Julia wasn’t as appealing as Maggie. Any man could.
Muttering, Julia flopped onto her back and pulled the pillow over her head. Lord, she was such an imbecile for getting sidetracked by these rare feelings that Vince Lone Wolf inspired in her. And it hadn’t helped when he had bolted up earlier without a stitch of clothes to pounce on the supposed intruder. Dark though the room had been, Julia had gotten a revealing peek at his masculine body. The shadowed vision dancing in her head refused to go away.
“Stop thinking about that!” Julia muttered under her breath. She had only two objectives, she reminded herself sensibly. One, she had to make certain Adam recovered. Two, she needed to ferret out the sniper to determine if he had any connection to Sol Griffin.
This unexpected attachment to Lone Wolf was the result of distress, roiling emotion and feminine curiosity, she convinced herself. She was simply reaching out to find someone reliable and trustworthy while her world was in upheaval.
She wasn’t wasting precious time wondering if Lone Wolf found her lacking and unappealing. She was simply going to shut her eyes and go to sleep so she could be alert and energetic enough to care for Adam.
Her brother needed her. He was all the family she had left and she wouldn’t fail him. And that was that.
Lone Wolf slipped silently into Julia’s bedroom suite and stopped short when he realized she was asleep in the bed she had assigned to him. Now what was this supposed to imply? he wondered. He stared at her shapely form and the glorious mass of curly blond hair that splayed across the pillow. His fingertips itched to stroke those silky tendrils and he longed for another whiff of her enticing feminine scent.
Was this an unspoken invitation?
Because if it was, she wouldn’t have to ask him twice.
Even while his body hardened with anticipation, guilt slammed into him like a freight train. As much as he wanted to slide into bed beside this bewitching, feisty female, the fact that he hadn’t been completely honest with her about his motives for a pretend marriage stopped him cold.
This was a woman who valued honesty and trust, he reminded himself. She would be outraged with him if she learned the truth that he had conveniently omitted.
Despite all that, here she was in his assigned bed. There was no denying that he wanted her. What man wouldn’t? Julia was full of fire and spirit and she had an irrepressible passion for life that utterly beguiled him. She was every man’s secret dream. Even a man who, according to Harvey Fowler, wasn’t fit to breathe the same air that she did.
Unfortunately Harvey spoke the truth. Lone Wolf lived in a world where violence was a weekly occurrence. He was used to it, but Julia wasn’t. It was plain to see that she had become rattled by her brother’s brush with death.
To him it was business as usual.
Which meant they had nothing in common. Plus, she wasn’t his type. Hell, he didn’t have a type. What he had was the occasional sexual encounter to scratch an itch. It didn’t get more complicated than that and it was going to stay that way.
Yet…temptation was right under his nose and tantalizing thoughts of Julia Preston were dancing in his head. Scowling, Lone Wolf braced his hands on the side of the bed and stared at the tormenting vision of beauty, wishing he knew for sure what Julia was doing in his designated bed.
Was it by accident or on purpose?
“Woman, if you are trying to drive me crazy…it’s working.”
Silently he gathered his hardware and pulled the quilt from the foot of the bed. In one minute he had fashioned a pallet on the floor—directly between Julia and the terrace door. If anyone tried to get to her or Adam they would have to go through him.
And after all, wasn’t that his only reason for existence? To resolve other people’s problems? Half-breeds had difficulty acquiring respectable jobs. As a bounty hunter and bodyguard, he was a dispensable commodity that protected decent folks from criminal elements of society. He was the last defense between good and evil.
If Julia hadn’t needed him to solve her problems she probably wouldn’t have given him a second glance. Yet, for a few hours he had felt he belonged somewhere, helping put a family back together after tragedy struck.
This was something different than tracking ruthless murderers and thieves through the wilderness—while trying to avoid getting himself shot in the process.
Lone Wolf rolled onto his side and stared at the bed that had felt so incredibly comfortable earlier. There was a lot to be said for luxury. Even more to be said for snuggling up to the soft feminine body that was just beyond his reach.
Another blast of lust hammered him. He wondered if the self-restraint he had spent thirty-two years perfecting was going to hold up around Julia. Then he asked himself why a woman like her would possibly want a man like him.
She wouldn’t, he assured himself realistically. Whatever she was doing in that bed it was not meant to be a subtle invitation, he decided.
Maybe she had tried to wait up for his return to make certain Maggie had gotten home safely and had fallen asleep. Maybe she had simply forgotten that she had offered the suite to him. But whatever the reason, he was going to wait until morning to find out.
In the meantime he had placed himself in the perfect position to protect her from an intruder. Until this feud was resolved, Lone Wolf promised that he was going to be the Prestons’ bodyguard and hired gun.
Furthermore, he was not going to forget his place. If he did, society would certainly remind him of it quick enough. So-called decent folks had been doing it for years. He just hoped Julia could withstand the strain of censure that was sure to come her way because of their pretend marriage.
Another wave of guilt buffeted Lone Wolf. Damn it, he never should have stipulated a pretend marriage, even if it was a practical way to protect Julia and to satisfy his personal vendetta against Sol Griffin.
Lone Wolf made a pact with himself to find another way to protect Julia. He would retract his request come morning. He simply didn’t have the heart to seek vindication on Sol at Julia’s expense. In addition, Julia needed to know the truth about his connection to Sol. The longer Lone Wolf waited the worse her reaction would be.
He would tell her in the morning, and she would send him packing because of his family ties to her worst enemy.
Lone Wolf cast one last glance at the intriguing woman in bed, sighed in exasperation and told himself to go to sleep. Tomorrow he would be on his way to Colorado and she would find someone else to resolve her problems.
The next morning Julia came slowly awake. She stared up at the overhead canopy—and realized that she had plopped onto her own bed instead of the one in the guest room. Alarmed, she peeked to see if Lone Wolf had assumed she was issuing an invitation for him to sleep with her.
She sagged in relief when she noticed the other side of the bed had not been disturbed.
Tossing back the sheet, she sat up to survey the room. Nothing was out of place and Lone Wolf was nowhere to be found. Julia dressed in her shirt and breeches, then hurried in to check on Adam. She stumbled to a halt when she saw Lone Wolf straddling a chair backward, visiting with Adam, who was propped up on a pile of pillows, sipping coffee. There was a tray of bread and canned peaches beside him. Obviously Lone Wolf had been tending the patient and was taking his duty as bodyguard seriously.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Adam said with a wobbly smile.
She returned her brother’s grin, then cast Lone Wolf an awkward glance. His expression was carefully neutral. If he was wondering what she had been doing in the bed she had offered to him it didn’t show on his ruggedly handsome face.
“Adam has been giving me more background information on the rift with your neighbor,” Lone Wolf remarked. “He agrees that Sol Griffin is the most likely suspect. But we aren’t going to limit our search to just him.”
“And we aren’t going to breathe a word of this to Maggie until we know for certain,” Adam declared adamantly. “No sense turning her world upside down until absolutely necessary.”
Julia glanced out the window toward Griffin Ranch, which sat in the distance. Her eyes narrowed and she muttered furiously when she spotted a man wearing a long canvas duster and wide-brimmed hat. He had emerged from the shadows of a grove of cedar trees that lined the spring-fed creek on Preston property. Although he was riding a sorrel gelding this time, she suspected he was the same man who had shot Adam.
“He’s back. The vulture is probably trying to find out if he managed to kill Adam last night.” Julia wheeled around and took off like a shot.
“Damn it, Jules, be careful!” Adam called out hoarsely.
Julia paid him no heed. She was intent on tracking that sidewinder cross-country to see if he headed to Sol Griffin’s house. She didn’t hear but rather felt Lone Wolf’s presence behind her as she bounded down the steps.
“Slow down, woman,” Lone Wolf grumbled. “Think. That sniper might be trying to lure you out.”
“Maybe dashing off half-cocked isn’t the wisest course of action,” she muttered. “But I want revenge so badly I can almost taste it.”
“Back door.” He clutched her arm and herded her down the hall. “Better yet, you stay here and let me track the hombre.”
“No, I’m going with you and that’s that.”
He noted the determined tilt of her chin and remembered that Adam had told him Julia had run wild after their father’s death. She had become daring, reckless and impulsive while she dealt with her grief.
Judging by the look on her face, she refused to be frightened off by the thought of personal danger. He’d have to resort to tying her up to prevent her from going with him.
Julia burst ahead of him to lead the way across the back lawn. “I didn’t mean to take your bed last night,” she blurted out. “Old habit, I guess. Where did you sleep?”
“On the floor so I could keep an eye on you and Adam,” he replied as he grabbed her hand and sprinted toward the barn.
To his surprise she didn’t bother to saddle a horse, just grabbed a bridle and bit. Lone Wolf was willing to bet this wasn’t the first time Julia had galloped off bare-back. Not that he minded, of course. He had grown up in a Cheyenne camp, learning to ride expertly at a young age.
He grabbed her reins and led both horses through the back exit of the barn. “We’ll circle to the south so our friend won’t realize that he’s being tracked.”
“He’s no friend of mine,” Julia muttered bitterly. “He and Sol became my sworn enemies when they blew Adam out of the saddle last night.”
Lone Wolf winced inwardly. He couldn’t delay telling Julia about his connection to Sol Griffin. But considering her present frame of mind, he didn’t think now would be a good time.
After boosting Julia onto her horse, Lone Wolf swung onto his pinto. Giving Julia a direct order to follow behind him, he headed for the underbrush and willows that lined the creek.
“He’s still there,” Julia scowled, glaring at the silhouette that lurked in the trees. “Maybe we should just wing him a couple of times then fire a few questions at him.”
Lone Wolf swallowed a smile. “Don’t you think it would be wiser to figure out if the sniper is working alone first?”
She grumbled sourly, “I suppose you’re right.”
Julia simmered down a bit as they picked their way along the creek bank. Five minutes later the unidentified rider had disappeared completely from sight.
“There. You see? This is what comes of being cautious,” she muttered in disappointment. “He’s vanished again.”
“But he left tracks,” Lone Wolf said encouragingly. “Sometimes that’s better than the direct approach.”
“I would be a dismal failure in your profession,” Julia admitted. “Absolutely no patience.”
“Most of the deceased bounty hunters I used to know had the same flaw. This profession separates men from their mistakes. You have to learn to outwait and outwit your quarry.” He sent her a pointed glance. “If you can’t do that then go home where you should have stayed and let me handle this alone.”
She kept quiet while he slid from his horse to study the hoofprints. “He’s almost the same size as I am,” he informed Julia.
She blinked, baffled. “How do you know that?”
“Depth of the indentation and the stride of the horse. Your horse can manage long strides because of your smaller size. Mine can, too, because I selected this piebald pinto for his muscular strength, stamina and agility. White men don’t always take that into consideration.”
“You leave nothing to chance, do you? I’m impressed,” Julia murmured.
“Don’t be. I’m not telling you anything that any self-respecting Cheyenne warrior didn’t learn before he was ten years old.”
Lone Wolf swung onto his paint pony, then followed the trail that seemed too obvious, what with all the broken branches on small seedlings. The tracks led down to the creek bank, leaving deep indentations in the mud.
Lone Wolf’s senses went on alert.
“Trap,” he whispered as he snaked out his hand to push Julia down on her horse.
Chapter Five
T hey barely had time to duck before a bullet whistled past the place where her head had been. The second shot sailed over Lone Wolf’s shoulder—missing him by mere inches.
But he found out what he wanted to know.
The sniper wasn’t working alone. The second shot had come from a different location in the thick grass that lined the winding creek.
Lone Wolf slapped Julia’s horse on the rump, then dug in his heels to send his mount racing back in the direction they had come. Two minutes later they emerged from the creek. Julia looked a mite bewildered. He figured it was the first time someone had taken potshots at her.
It was not his first time. He had been a target more times than he cared to count.
“Sol has finally lost his grasp on reality,” she said, and gulped. “He was serious when he said that he wanted to wipe the Preston name off the face of the earth. Doesn’t he realize that he’s going to turn his own daughter against him when she learns the truth?”
“Lesson number two,” Lone Wolf murmured as he circled behind a rolling hill for protection. “Do not jump to conclusions. We don’t have proof that either ambush is tied to your feud with Griffin, no matter how much you might want them to be.”
Julia gnashed her teeth. “Easy for you to give him the benefit of the doubt, but not for me. Your brother wasn’t warned away from his true love and he didn’t get shot. Nor have you been battling rustlers since your father’s death. This is another example of Sol trying to make our lives miserable so we’ll give up, sell out to him and move away.
“And why are you defending him?” She huffed. “Because you’ve developed an interest in Maggie?”
Lone Wolf gaped at her in astonishment. “Where in the hell did that come from?”
“Are you saying that you don’t find her attractive?” Julia demanded. “That would make you the first man I’ve met who doesn’t.”
Obviously getting shot at had rattled Julia more than she realized. This incident was reminiscent of the nightmare that left Adam bedridden. Suddenly she was spouting comments without thinking first, because her emotions were all over the place again.
“Of course I think Maggie is attractive.” Lone Wolf chuckled and shook his raven head. “But if you’re under the impression that I’m interested in her then you’re wrong.”
“Am I?” she challenged.
“Yes, you are,” he insisted.
He shifted uneasily on horseback and looked away. Julia frowned at his peculiar behavior and wished she knew exactly what he was thinking. But Vince Lone Wolf was a master of self-disciplined stares that gave away none of his emotions.
“There’s something you need to know.” He took a deep breath, which made his broad chest expand noticeably. “Sol Griffin is my uncle and Maggie is my first cousin,” he said in a hurried rush.
Her mouth dropped open and her eyes popped. “Your what?”
Julia had no idea what she had expected him to say, but that wasn’t even on the list! Well, that explained a lot. No wonder he was reluctant to pin the shooting on Sol.
She suddenly recalled that Lone Wolf had refused her request for help until after he learned that Sol was involved. Alarm flared inside her. “What is this? Some kind of double cross? Are you working with the snipers?”
She recoiled from him, staring at him as if he were a dangerous threat rather than a trusted ally. Her first thought was that he meant to kill her where she sat, and then claim that someone else had attacked her.
Just what was in this for him? she wondered suspiciously. Partial ownership in her ranch after she and Adam were dead?
The frightening realization that this was a trap and that Lone Wolf was part of the conspiracy sent adrenaline pumping through her veins. For one wild moment Julia wondered if the reason Lone Wolf had volunteered to accompany Maggie home last night was so he could consult privately with Sol.
Dear God, she thought frantically. They were in cahoots and she had blundered headlong into disaster.
Instinct demanded that she run for her life before Lone Wolf grabbed his pistol and aimed it at her. Frightened, Julia took off like a rocket, using the technique of sprawling atop her horse to reduce her chances of being shot.
“Damn it, Julia,” he growled as he chased after her.
She cursed him back as she rode hell-for-leather toward the safety of home. He intended to betray her, she thought mutinously. The one man she thought was different from the rest of his gender. The one man who aroused her interest without trying. The man she had decided to pretend was her husband. The first man she wasn’t averse to having underfoot because she actually liked and respected him.
Curse it, she would never trust her judgment of men again!
Julia scowled when she heard the thunder of hooves close behind her. Swift as her mount was, it was no match for the powerful black-and-white paint gelding and its exceptionally skilled rider. Julia shrieked in alarm when Lone Wolf clamped his hand around her forearm. Before she could fight back he snatched her off her horse while at full canter and she found herself suspended in midair momentarily.
Her breath gushed from her lips when he clutched her against his muscular body. Julia squirmed defiantly while he forced her to straddle his thighs. She stared at the traitor face-to-face and wished him a fast trip to perdition.
“Simmer down,” he snapped as he reined his pinto to a walk.
“Like hell I will!” She spit the words at him and struggled valiantly for release—for all the good it did.
“Didn’t I just get through telling you not to jump to conclusions? Lesson number two, remember?”
Her gaze filleted him and he reciprocated in kind. She decided that when Lone Wolf was irate he could be very intimidating. He looked ominous and foreboding, just as he had last night when he’d yanked her off her horse and followed her to the ground to lay a knife at her throat.
The mistaken sense of security and comfort that she felt when she was with him shattered in the face of his thunderous scowl and the unyielding hold he had on her. The man certainly made a frightening enemy, she decided.
Julia knew she was as good as dead, because Lone Wolf had to be in a league with Sol. Her bitter neighbor was going to win this feud and his gun-toting nephew would make sure of it.
“You tricked me,” she said furiously. “You used me. And when you kill me I will find a way to come back and haunt you for the rest of your days—”
To her astounded amazement he angled his head and kissed her. To shut her up, no doubt. He couldn’t use his hand to cover her mouth because both arms were clamped around her waist to hold her still. So he kissed her. Hard.
Stole her breath out of her lungs was more accurate.
He crushed her so tightly against him that she couldn’t move. He kept on devouring her lips—and any woman with a lick of sense in her head would have continued to resist. Instead she melted against his powerful body and focused on the tantalizing taste of him, the unexpected pleasure that unfurled inside her.
She blamed her impulsive response on the emotional carousel her life had become. Plus, no man had ever dared to grab her and kiss her breathless, for fear of offending her and losing the potential meal ticket she represented. But Lone Wolf was nothing if not bold and daring and she had witnessed several examples of those dominant traits during their short acquaintance.
When he finally allowed her to come up for air she swore her eyes had crossed and he had robbed her of the ability to speak and think straight. She simply stared at him—at his sensuous mouth, to be specific—and wondered why she wanted him to kiss her like that again.
Obviously she had gone crazy. It was the only explanation for wanting to kiss a man who had turned out to be her worst enemy.
“Don’t make me do that again, Julia,” he growled at her.
Something fragile and unfamiliar that had just burst to life inside her—some unique sensation she couldn’t adequately identify—died a quick death. He was letting her know straight away that he had only kissed her to silence her…and nothing more. It wasn’t personal.
Curse the man! He was crushing to her feminine pride.
When he lifted his hand to curl it around her throat she wondered if he had decided to choke her instead of shoot her. But his fingers didn’t close viciously around her windpipe. He simply tilted her head back so he could stare her squarely in the eyes.
“Are you listening now?” he asked gruffly. “No thinking allowed. No presumptions, either, wildcat. Just listen.”
“Answer one question first,” she muttered rebelliously. “Do you plan to kill me when you’re through talking? If so, I want to have the last word instead of hearing your lies.”
Lone Wolf sighed audibly. A handful did not begin to describe this high-strung, headstrong woman. She was sassy and defiant and kissing her into silence had been a bad idea.
He had enjoyed it too damn much.
He had been afraid that would be the case.
Sure enough, one taste of her and he had wanted much more. He had been a little rough and greedy and he sincerely regretted that. But she was completely mistaken if she thought that was the kiss of a man who wanted her dead.
What he wanted was to have her beneath him, to be inside her…and if she couldn’t feel his arousal then she wasn’t paying attention.
And damn it, this was not a good time for him to discover that his reaction to Julia was not something easily controlled or ignored.
“I’m not trying to kill you, although you’re going to manage that feat by yourself if you go haring off like you tried to do earlier,” he snapped, angry with himself for being so vulnerable to this woman. He had spent years teaching himself to be invincible. And poof! This five-foot-nothing female got to him in every way imaginable. “I’m trying to keep you alive, but you have to cooperate!”
Her reply was a disbelieving snort.
“If you think I have an allegiance to my uncle then you are very much mistaken.” He nudged his horse forward to retrieve Julia’s mount, which had stopped to graze a few yards away.
He deposited her on her horse. “I didn’t tell you about my kinship to the Griffins right off because I figured you would overreact.” He stared meaningfully at her. “The way you are overacting now.”
“So you waited until I actually began to trust you,” she accused harshly. “And here I thought you were different from other men. Obviously you’re all the same—devious and manipulative.”
Lone Wolf hadn’t intended to go into detail about his history with Sol, but Julia was staring at him with those luminous green eyes that reflected hurt, betrayal and indignation. He couldn’t bear that, not from her.
Sappy fool that he had suddenly become, he longed to see the look of trust and approval again. It had made him feel good about himself, made him feel worthy of respect. Now he felt as if he had lost something precious and unique and he instinctively struggled to regain whatever it was about Julia that lured him to her against his will.
Whatever the hell it was, he was glad that he had the good sense not to examine it too closely.
“My mother was Sol’s younger sister. Her name was Isabella,” he elaborated as he rode toward the barn. “She was captured by a Southern Cheyenne raiding party when she was sixteen.”
“Your mother was Sol’s sister?” She stared owlishly at him, as if having trouble accepting the notion.
“Yes,” he affirmed solemnly. “My father became intrigued by my mother and he took her as his wife. She adopted his culture and made a place for herself with the Cheyenne. I believe that she was happy with him.”
Julia listened intently, apparently waiting for him to continue. He was relieved to note that she had set aside her anger and frustration—temporarily at least.
“One winter, when George Custer was just a colonel, trying to make a name for himself as a soldier, he attacked our encampment on the Washita River in Indian Territory,” Lone Wolf informed her. “He massacred our people, women and children included. First I watched my father and Chief Black Kettle die, then my mother, who wasn’t far behind because she had found a safe hiding place for me in the underbrush.”
Julia’s heart went out to Lone Wolf. She knew how it felt to watch someone you loved being shot down. But she could only begin to imagine the extent of anguish he had suffered. The nightmare of watching his family and friends being murdered must have been devastating.
“I’m sure what you felt was even more horrible than the feelings that bombarded me after losing my father, only four years after Mama’s passing,” she murmured. “I was angry, lost and disoriented. I fiercely denied the scandalous report of Papa’s secret liaison with Rachel Griffin because it felt like a betrayal to my mother.”
“Grief makes you say and feel crazy things,” Lone Wolf agreed. “It’s hard to know what you’re supposed to feel.”
Julia gave a self-deprecating smirk. “It definitely made me go a little crazy. I tried to outrun everything by throwing myself into duties on the ranch. I was willing to try anything, no matter how dangerous or unladylike. Anything to keep my mind occupied and hold all those hounding emotions at bay.”
Lone Wolf nodded in understanding as he stared into the distance, as if looking through a portal in time. Julia saw his jaw clench, noticed his fist knot around the reins. Although he usually appeared calm and unflappable she could tell that the tragedy of his youth still affected him deeply.
“My mother survived her wounds for a few hours after the soldiers rode away.” His voice was brisk and clipped. “She insisted that I leave the reservation and make use of the fact that she had taught me to speak fluent English and that I was half white.
“I wasn’t sure that I wanted to abandon my people and the only way of life I understood,” he admitted. “But I had lost all family ties in that brutal massacre. I got to thinking that anywhere had to be better than living in that valley of death and walking over those graves.”
His mouth twisted in bitter irony. “At least Custer paid dearly for his unprovoked attack on our camp. The surviving Cheyenne put a curse on him and chanted to the guiding spirits to give them revenge. To this day our people swear it was that curse that led Custer into disaster at the hands of the Sioux and the Northern Cheyenne at the Battle of Little Bighorn.”
“Where did you go after the massacre?” Julia asked gently. “You couldn’t have been but a young teenager when this happened.”
“I was fourteen,” he reported. “My mother made me promise that I would find her brother in Kansas and ask him to take me in. It was her dying wish that I unite with her white family and make a fresh new start in life.”
Julia watched his countenance change to an expression of resentment and torment. She knew what he was going to say even before he told her what happened. “Sol rejected you.”
He nodded stiffly. “I went to him, carrying the heart-shaped necklace my mother always wore as proof of my ancestry. I told my uncle that my mother had died trying to protect me and that she sent me to him for help.”
Lone Wolf scoffed sourly. “Sol was outraged that I had the nerve to show my face on his ranch. He shouted me off his property and told me not to come back. He said he wanted nothing to do with ‘the spawn of a savage.’ He swore that if I tried to make contact with him, his wife or his infant daughter that I would end up dead like the rest of my clan.”
Julia reached out to comfort him, as he had comforted her in her hour of need. She wasn’t sure he even noticed her hand folding consolingly around his rigid forearm.
“I had no choice but to live off the land like a scavenger,” he went on bitterly. “Without my training with the Cheyenne I would have starved to death. I didn’t want to go back to the confinement of the reservation. I couldn’t bear to come face-to-face with the grief and torment all over again, either.”
His expression turned as hard as granite. “I survived like a wild animal, if only to infuriate and defy Sol Griffin with my very existence. For those first three years I lived for no other purpose than to show Sol that he could deny me, but I was out there somewhere, waiting for the right moment to make his life as miserable as he made mine.”
Julia groaned inwardly at the thought of a young boy growing up so alone, alienated and cruelly discarded.
“I trained myself to be tough and competent enough with every weapon so I could withstand the ridicule and defend myself when I reentered white society.”
He laughed humorlessly as he glanced at Julia. “The irony of all this is that instead of heading west I decided to headquarter in this particular area. When I came here eight years ago, Dodge City was a fledgling town that had sprung up around the buffalo-hide business.
“Criminals showed up to rob and swindle traders and merchants and I was sent to track them down. I made plenty of money because business was brisk. But deep down inside I knew the reason I set up camp here was to let Sol know that I was never so far away that he could forget I existed. I wanted to be the ever-present thorn in his side.”
Julia smiled faintly. She could understand Lone Wolf’s need to prove himself to the world—to Sol in particular. He never wanted Sol to forget the injustice and rejection.
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Carol Finch
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: A WARRIOR SPIRIT…A GENTLE HEARTVince Lone Wolf is the justice system′s last resort. And, in spite of his dangerous reputation, Julia Preston will give her soul if she can borrow him for just one night. Because her brother′s life–and the family ranch–depend on Lone Wolf′s reputed skills.Julia′s fearlessness and determination make it impossible for Lone Wolf to resist her desperate cry for help. And though he′s always prided himself on his independence, she reminds him of everything that is missing in his life.But can a bounty hunter ever lay claim to the love of a lady?