“Let’s get going,” Meg said. “I feel like we’re close.”
“At least we know we’re on her trail.”
They crawled up on their horses and rode down the lane on the prowl once again for Annabelle.
*
Beau kept them off the main path. Sure, they had escaped from the ruthless gang of outlaws, but he wasn’t taking any chances they would be located. If the gang found them again, William wouldn’t hesitate to shoot. Oh, he’d wait until he learned the location of the money, but once he gained that knowledge, they would be breathing their last breaths.
Beau had to locate the money and then get them to Fort Worth, where hopefully they would be given protection.
Slowing their horses to let them rest, they watched the sky turn purple with the rays of the rising sun. Nothing was more beautiful than witnessing the dawn of a new day. It never failed to fill him with awe, and he always thought of his family, especially his mother telling him God was blessing him with a new day.
“How long have you been a member of the Harris gang?” Annabelle asked.
“Long enough,” he said, not wanting to reveal too much. He sighed. Annabelle was not stupid by any means, and she certainly realized there were some incongruences in his relationship with the Harris gang.
“That wasn’t an answer. That was you telling me you don’t want me to know.”
He chuckled. The less she knew the better.
“Only a month or so. We’ve robbed a couple of banks together is all,” he responded.
Her forehead drew together in a frown like she was thinking hard. “They certainly don’t seem to trust you. Has it always been this way or did you do something to make them angry?”
Oh, he’d done more than they knew, but still, he didn’t want Annabelle to know. He’d tell her what she already knew and hope it was enough to satisfy her curiosity.
He shook his head. “A posse was on our tail. We scattered, and I rode off with the bank money, saving it. I guess the gang would have been happier if I’d stuck around, and we could have all gotten arrested.”
“No, it’s more than that. You don’t seem to fit in with them. You’re not as cold-blooded or maybe you hide it better than they do. Or something. ”
He laughed. He had to scare her, make her think he was a monster because if they were caught again, the gang would hurt her. The less she knew about Beau the better off she’d be. While he was trying very hard not to like Annabelle, she was a woman who reminded him of his sisters and his family. He could tumble into forever with her if he wasn’t careful.
“Sugar, don’t be making me out to be a nice guy who’s going to whisk you off to the preacher man and promise you a house and kids. Nope, the law is looking for me, and they have a rope with my name on it.”
Maybe that would keep her off the trail he didn’t want her pursuing, though he doubted it. She was a stubborn woman who saw way more than he wanted to reveal.
“Yeah, I know. But I don’t know of a single outlaw who would have buried a man and his son. Or said a prayer over their dead bodies. Or not taken advantage of me last night. You’re acting like a nice guy,” she said, staring at him, her sapphire eyes questioning.
Those blue eyes were way too knowing and curious. How could he throw her off the trail? How could he convince her he was one mean ass hombre?
“So do you want me to kill someone and prove to you that I’m an outlaw? Even an outlaw says prayers because we have a tendency to die younger than most men,” he said in such a flippant way that even he cringed.
“No, I don’t believe you. Most don’t say prayers because they know their soul is going straight to hell.”
“Well, I’m certainly glad Saint Peter put you here on earth to decide our fates.” His stomach burned like he’d eaten a bushel of jalapenos. Memories rushed at him. “You don’t know the reason why most men become outlaws. In my case, my family was forced off our farm. I followed my older brother’s footsteps.”
What he’d told her was the truth, and yet, there was so much more hidden in his words. How a family member could rip out your soul and leave you to die.
She frowned at him. “Where’s your brother now?”
He shrugged. “We parted ways years ago.”
Somehow he’d managed to stay alive after Jesse had all but vanquished him from the family. In the last few days, being with Annabelle had brought up so much of his anger at his past. Why did this fluff of a woman have him thinking of what he’d walked away from?
“When you parted ways, why didn’t you give up being an outlaw?”
Though his mother had wanted him to, he’d never actually ridden with Frank and Jesse. He’d wandered the plains, until he’d found a chance to get even with his brothers. “And do what?”
“Get another farm,” she said.
With surprise, he realized he missed the farm. He’d been fifteen when they’d been forced to leave. At first, he’d been happy he no longer had the chores to do. But then he’d missed his animals. His mother had been devastated, and his sisters got married and moved away. At first, Jesse had been a hero of the war, but slowly, his reputation as a ruthless killer had turned public sentiment against him. And with that rising tide of hate, the town had come to despise the family, even though his mother had remarried years before.
Eventually, Beau had left town filled with anger at his brothers and left feeling rejected by the family. Until he found his current profession.
“Farming is a lot of hard work. Robbing a bank is easier.”
“Hrmph. Except that you’re stealing from someone and it’s against the law.”
He shrugged. “Not unless you get caught. I don’t plan on getting caught.”
She laughed. “Sugar,” she said, mocking him. “You’re caught. You just won’t accept it yet.”
“You and what posse?” he asked, staring at her and wishing he could kiss that sweet, luscious mouth of hers and knowing that wouldn’t be a good idea. This woman fired his blood like no one else. Touching her mouth could send him over the edge. They’d soon come to with little or no clothes between them and his seed planted in her belly. No, she may not be an innocent, but he didn’t want any children without him there to help in their raising.
She opened her mouth to respond when he heard the sound of hooves behind them.
“Shh,” he said, cutting her off. Terror ran up his spine at the sound of pounding hoofs on the hard ground.
“Don’t tell me to
shh
,” she replied, and then she apparently heard the noise, for her eyes widened with fear.
“Come on, let’s hide in the trees,” he told her, directing his horse off the path and into the bushes.
Quickly, he pulled them into a grove that had enough brush to hide them and the horses. He jumped off his mount, pulling out his gun. Annabelle slid off her mustang. Her saddle twisted, and she stopped to tighten the cinch with her back to the approaching riders.
A flash of red hair beneath a black hat caught his attention and then a blonde wearing a calico dress. A lawman rode with them.
Oh no, it was her bounty hunter sisters and a sheriff. If she spotted them, he wouldn’t be able to keep her quiet. He had to distract her.
He would be as good as dead if her sisters caught him.
Shoving his gun back in its holster, he grabbed Annabelle and planted his lips on hers. For a moment her body was tense, but then she relaxed in his arms as his mouth coaxed hers into opening for him.
He melded his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss. God, this woman tempted and teased him and made him ache with a longing he’d never realized, until she’d thrust her way into his life. She reminded him of the gentler things in life. Of his home and family and he ached with longing for everything he’d lost. For the family he’d rode away from.
Right now, the Harris gang could ride up on them and catch them in the act, and he wouldn’t know. She wrapped her arms around his neck, giving into the kiss completely. He pulled her tight against his groin, pushing his hardened dick into her, wanting her to know what she did to him. What had started out as a distraction for Annabelle turned into a forest fire of need for him. He drank deeply from her lips, needing to feel more of her, wanting her naked and willing in his arms.
Danger surrounded them, yet he wanted nothing more than to take her here right now on the ground.
His hand slipped down to caress the fullness of her breast through her clothes. She moaned deep in her throat, and it was all he could do not to rip the dress from her body. That sound was so enticing, so tempting, and desire pushed all rational thought from his mind. All he wanted to do was lay Annabelle on the soft ground and bury himself deep inside her—to lose himself in her soft womanly folds.
He raised her leg and wrapped it around his waist, pushing his erection into her feminine core. Her breathing changed, and she whimpered beneath his kiss.
She shoved her hands against his chest, putting distance between them. Her breathing was harsh and jagged. “What the hell are you doing?”
She dropped her leg from around his waist and walked a short distance from him. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and he knew she’d been just as affected by that kiss as him. She put her hand to her mouth and touched it gingerly. Glancing out at the road, she asked, “Are you trying to get us killed?”
“No, but I thought if we were going to die, I wanted one last kiss.”
A frown crossed her forehead, and she gazed out at the road like she was trying to understand. “Make certain that’s your last kiss. Because there won’t be anymore.”
He folded his arms across his chest and stared at her. “Why?”
The longer he could keep her away from the trail, the better his chances were of surviving this rendezvous with her sisters. They had to get further down the road, where Annabelle couldn’t see them.
“Seems pretty obvious. You’re going to hang, and I don’t want to become involved with a man whose time here on earth is short.”
He chuckled. “What if I wasn’t going to die?”
She turned and faced him. “You’re a devilishly handsome man, but you’re wanted by the law, and you’re off limits. No kissing. No touching. Nothing. Stay away from me, Beau.”
She whirled and started walking through the brush toward the path.
“Where are you going? We need to stay hidden,” he called after her, hurrying to catch her.
But Annabelle didn’t slow down. When she reached the trail, she stared up and down. “Who were the riders, Beau? Was it the Harris gang?”
He shrugged. “Does it matter? I was too busy kissing you.”
She knelt down and glanced at tracks left from the riders. When she stood, he could see the fury flashing from her eyes as she hurried to her horse. “You son of a bitch. They were my sisters. You weren’t kissing me because you wanted one last kiss. You were distracting me, so I wouldn’t see them.”
Oh God, he was in trouble again. Nothing seemed to get past this woman. And he couldn’t let her go after them. He couldn’t let her yell or do anything that would attract attention. He needed her to calm down and stay with him.
“Now why would I do that? I’d just as soon turn you over to them and get you out of my hair, so I could be on my way.”
“Because you knew they would have arrested you.”
She opened her mouth to yell, and he covered her lips with his hand. “Now, stop and think about what you’re about to do. The Harris gang is probably not far behind us, and then we’d have everyone here on top of us. There could be a shoot-out and someone could die. Is that what you want?”
She bit his finger. Not hard, but enough that he yanked his hand back. “Damn you, woman. How did you know from looking at their tracks they were your sisters?”
“See, I knew you were trying to distract me.” She rubbed her mouth across her dress sleeve. “Damn cheating, lying man.”
“You didn’t answer me. How did you know that was them from looking at the tracks?”
“Why should I tell you? You just might use it against me.” She all but stomped back toward her horse. Her mouth was pinched, and in the three days they’d been together, this was the angriest he’d made her. He needed to try harder. It was one way to keep them from kissing.
“You shouldn’t have stopped me from seeing them. Now I can’t trust you.”
He squatted down and examined the tracks in the trail. One of the horses only had five nails in the horseshoe, while the others all had eight. He couldn’t have fooled her.
Walking back to where she was climbing into her saddle, he grabbed her horse's bridle and held him. “I have to get to that bank money before the Harris gang. Once we find the money and we reach Fort Worth, then I will take you to your sisters. And I’ll even give you the five hundred dollar reward money.”
Her eyes all but branded him with their flashing fire. “I won’t be bought off. I’ll earn my money the honest way. If you want to give me your money, that’s your choice. But I’ll still turn you in.”
“I just bet you would,” he said, shaking his head.
Her forehead wrinkled in a frown. “Why is it so important you reach Fort Worth?”
“I’ve got a sick aunt who needs the money for an operation back east,” he said, unable to tell her the truth.
She shook her head. “See, this is why I can’t trust you. That is an outright fib. I’d rather you told me you were going to gamble it away. Don’t lie to me.”
He sighed and took a deep breath. “I’m trying to protect you. You may not understand, but I can’t tell you everything without endangering you.”
“Like you haven’t already put me in jeopardy?”
God, she had a point, but he couldn’t tell her the truth without risking her life, and he wanted to protect her. He liked this smart, sassy woman more than he should, and it was going to get him killed.
“Maybe I owe another outlaw cash, and he said, ‘Get it to me before the end of the month or your sister dies’. Would you understand then?”
Once again, he was lying, but he couldn’t tell her everything. Not yet. And even then, she was going to be madder than a rained-on rooster.
“You’re air’n your lungs, but I’m not buying what you’re saying.”
He let go of her horse's bridle. “Let’s go before the Harris gang shows up. I’m not ready to die just yet.”