Her answer only drew more of his ire, and he struck her even more forcefully, knocking her to the floor.
Young Mary had been asleep in her bedroom, but at the sound of the violence, she rushed from her room to help her mother.
“What are you doing?” the young girl demanded of Raymond, nearly hysterical at the sight of him beating her mother.
Raymond turned on the young girl, and in that instant, he knew he had the perfect opportunity to force the maid to talk.
“Well, well, well, Sylvia,” he murmured. “If you won’t tell me, maybe your daughter will.”
“You leave her alone! Mary, get out of here! Run! Now!”
Even as drunk as he was, Raymond could still move quickly, and he blocked the girl’s access to the door. “Oh, no, my dear. You’re not going anywhere, and neither is your mother—not until you tell me what you know about Destiny’s disappearance.”
“We don’t know anything!” Sylvia insisted.
This time he closed in on her, ready to use his fist, and the threat of even worse violence caused the young girl to cry out.
“Tell him, Mother! Tell him everything!”
A nasty smile lit up Raymond’s face as he glared at the maid. “So, I was right. You do know where she is!”
“No—I—”
At her denial, he struck quickly, hitting her harshly and leaving her daughter screaming and weeping inconsolably. Mary tried to get to her mother, but he grabbed her and restrained her.
“Do I have to beat your daughter, too, to get the truth out of you?”
His threat finally broke Sylvia’s will.
She could have borne up under his abuse, but the thought of his filthy hands on Mary devastated her.
“All right—all right—Let my daughter go!”
Raymond shoved the girl to the floor and closed in on the maid.
“Tell me everything! Don’t hold anything back. Where is Destiny? I want to know now!”
“She had to get away—That Bryce—He tried to rape her—”
“Where did she go?” Raymond demanded, thrilled to finally be closing in on his runaway stepdaughter.
Sylvia was crying hysterically as she went to her daughter and took her in her arms protectively. “She’s gone—Destiny’s gone to Texas…”
Destiny awoke in the stillness of predawn with a start. The memory of the nightmare that had haunted her dreams stayed with her as she struggled to bring herself back to reality. She looked at the man sleeping so peacefully beside her and found herself smiling as she put all thoughts of her past from her.
Seth was here with her.
She was safe.
She watched him as he slept, studying his lean, handsome features. Relaxed now in slumber, he was even more attractive, and she found she couldn’t resist. She wanted to be back in the safe haven of his embrace, held in those strong arms. Slipping closer, Destiny pressed a sweet kiss to his shoulder, and when she lifted her gaze, she found he was watching her.
Neither of them spoke.
There was no need for words as Lane enfolded her in his embrace and drew her to him, wanting to taste of her love once more.
It was some time later as they lay together, their limbs still entwined, that Lane smiled down at her.
“I think I’m going to be awful tired today.”
“Why is that?” she asked, pretending innocence, but knowing full well neither of them had gotten much sleep that night.
“Because I have this beautiful wife who won’t let me get any rest.”
Destiny gave a throaty laugh as she rose up to rest on his chest and gaze down at him. “Maybe you’ll have to come up to the house and take a nap this afternoon…”
“That’s sounds like a real good idea.” Lane smiled wickedly as he drew her down for a kiss. “I think I’m definitely going to need one—”
“Good, because I am, too,” she murmured, savoring his embrace. All thoughts of the terror of her past were gone as she lay in his arms.
Raymond had a hangover—probably his worst ever. There was no doubt about that, but as he changed clothes and shaved the following morning, the pain in his head didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he’d finally found out what had happened to Destiny. He was still furious with the maid for having kept the truth hidden from him all this time, and he didn’t regret for one moment having beaten her the night before. He would have beaten her sooner if he’d known it would have brought him the information he needed. And he’d threatened her daughter with even more violence if Sylvia tried to contact Destiny and let her know he was coming for her. He was certain the threat to her child would keep Sylvia quiet. The woman had learned her lesson.
He smiled grimly to himself as he began to pack his bags. He was going to pay Bryce a visit, and then he was going after Destiny. Once he caught up with her, he was going to make her pay for what she’d done…
Why, she could have been married to one of the richest men in town, and instead she’d decided to run off to Texas…
Yes.
She was going to pay.
Destiny was surprised when she woke up to find it was morning and Seth was gone from her side. The sheets where he’d lain beside her were cool, so she knew he had slipped away some time ago. She had been sleeping so soundly, she hadn’t even heard him leave—and no wonder.
She smiled to herself as she thought of the passionate night she’d just spent in his arms. Though it was true her wedding had been nothing like what she’d always dreamed of, her wedding night had been even more wonderful than any of her fantasies. She had been a true innocent to the intimate ways between man and woman until last night, but Seth had shown her the beauty of loving one another, and she would cherish that memory forever. Destiny was thankful that Seth had claimed her most precious gift. Again, she realized how fortunate she’d been to escape from Bryce that fateful night.
Destiny quickly changed the sheets and then washed up. Since Seth had gotten up and gone to work on this, the day after their wedding, she would be a responsible wife and take care of her duties, too. Caroline had promised to help teach her all she needed to know about a woman’s work on the Circle D, and she was ready to learn. She had a feeling cooking would probably come first.
When they’d returned from town the previous day, she’d brought the purchases from the general store upstairs. Destiny went through them now looking for her split riding skirt, the blouse she’d purchased and the boots. Today was the first day of her new life as Rebecca Rawlins, rancher’s wife, and she fully intended to look the role. She found her new clothes and got dressed quickly. Then she went to stand before the small mirror over the washstand to get a look at herself.
Destiny couldn’t help smiling as she studied her reflection. She bore little resemblance to Destiny Sterling, society belle. She had transformed herself into a cowgirl, and she liked the look. She just hoped Seth did, too.
Excitedly, she left the bedroom to find her new husband and see about cooking up some breakfast.
Lane was down working at the stable when one of the boys called him outside. He quit what he was doing and went to see what the cowboy wanted.
“Hey, Boss! I think your little lady is looking for you,” the ranch hand told him, nodding toward the house.
Lane looked that way and stopped what he was doing to watch Rebecca walking toward him. He decided every penny she’d spent on new clothes at the store was worth it. The pink blouse she was wearing put soft color on her cheeks, and the split riding skirt and boots drew his attention to her long, long legs. He found he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He went to meet her, suddenly wanting to get her back in the house and give her a kiss.
“Good morning. Sleep well?” he asked, giving her a knowing half grin.
“You know I did. I didn’t even hear you leave,” she answered. Right then she had the greatest urge to wrap her arms around him and never let him go. Of course, it would have been a little awkward considering they were standing there in the open and several men were hard at work nearby.
“I know.”
“I was going to start breakfast. Are you hungry?”
“Starving—” He found it wasn’t only food that he was hungry for.
“Give me a few minutes, and I’ll cook something up for you.”
She headed off to speak to Caroline about getting some eggs to fry while Lane started back to work.
Lane warned himself that he could not afford to be distracted by Rebecca. He cautioned himself to remember the real reason he was on the Circle D, but he knew their marriage and their wedding night had changed everything.
Lane looked out over the land, wondering where the other Ranger was who was supposed to be coming to help him. He wondered, too, how close Dan Cooper and the rest of the gang were to showing up. Fortunately, everything seemed peaceful for now. Lane grinned. He was hungry for a big breakfast.
It was still early when Raymond reached Bryce’s home and was shown into the study. He found the other man sitting at the desk watching him with hate-filled eyes. Raymond noticed immediately that the bandages were off, and he could see the severe gash on the side of Bryce’s face. Raymond knew Bryce had always prided himself on his good looks, and he was certain the other man was furious at being so scarred.
“What are you doing here?” Bryce demanded. “Have you brought me my money?”
“No—I’ve brought you something better than that,” he answered quickly.
“Like what?”
“Like information about Destiny. I know where she is.”
“If you know where she is, why don’t you go get her and bring her here to me?” Bryce raged.
“It’s not that simple.”
Bryce glared at him. “Why isn’t it that simple?”
“Because she ran away to Texas,” Raymond explained.
“Texas?” Bryce repeated, surprised. He’d thought the girl was hiding out somewhere in St. Louis. He’d had no idea she would run so far away. “What’s she doing in Texas?”
“From what I learned last night, she took another girl’s place as a mail-order bride.”
“She
what
?” The news that Destiny had preferred to travel all the way to Texas to marry a stranger instead of marrying him left Bryce utterly humiliated and still more enraged.
“That’s right. The maid finally told me what happened. She took another girl’s identity and went to a town called Bluff Springs to marry some man named Rawlins.”
“When did she leave?”
“That very next day.”
Bryce was trying to figure out if Destiny could have reached her destination yet. “We have to move, and we have to move fast.”
“That’s why I came straight here this morning. I’m already packed and ready to go. I didn’t know if you wanted to come with me or—”
Bryce stood up and yelled for a servant. Then he looked at the other man. “I’ll be ready to leave in half an hour. We have to get to Bluff Springs before she gets married.”
“I know.”
“There’s no chance the maid will try to let her know we’re coming, is there?”
“No. I took care of that.”
The two men shared a look born of hatred and the desire for revenge. Within the half hour, they left Bryce’s house, intent on finding the fastest way to Bluff Springs, Texas.
Lane enjoyed every bite of the fried eggs Rebecca had fixed for him.
“You’re a good cook,” he complimented her as he finished his breakfast.
“Why, thank you,” she said, relieved that the eggs had turned out all right. “Now, if I can just learn how to make chicken like Caroline, then I think we’ll be in for some good meals.”
“We sure will. Now, since you’ve got your riding skirt on, why don’t you come on down to the stable and you can start learning how to ride astride. Since you already know how to ride sidesaddle, it shouldn’t be too hard for you.”
“I’d like that. The Circle D is so big, I want to be able to ride out and get a look at the place.”
“We can do that.”
“Shall we take our nap before the riding lesson or after?” She gave him an enticing smile, almost wishing she could lure him back upstairs for a while right now.
“Woman, I’d love to take you back upstairs this very minute and spend the day there, but I’ve got a ranch to run.” It wasn’t easy to do, but he managed to control himself despite the temptation Rebecca presented. “I’ll be waiting for you at the stable whenever you’re ready.”
Lane got up to head back to work. He wanted to kiss Rebecca, but he knew if he kissed her even once, he might not get back to work for quite a while, and he had a lot to accomplish that day.
Texas Ranger Grant Spencer took his time making the ride out to the Circle D that morning. He’d kept his identity a secret when he’d reached Bluff Springs late in the afternoon the day before and had spent the rest of the evening getting a feel for the place. He hadn’t heard any mention of Lane around town, but he had heard talk about the new owner of the Circle D, a man named Seth Rawlins who’d just married a mail-order bride.
Grant wondered where Lane was and figured he would soon be finding out. He knew Lane might have hired on as a hand at the ranch, or he could be just hiding somewhere close by waiting for Cooper and the rest of the killers to show up. One way or the other, Grant figured he would catch up with Lane real soon.
He rode for the ranch, keeping a lookout for anything unusual, and hoping once he got there that the new owner might be needing another hand and he could get hired on. If Seth Rawlins didn’t hire him, he would find a way to lie low until the time was right to go after the outlaws.
Jake saw a stranger riding in and went out to meet him.
“Afternoon,” Jake greeted him. He’d never seen the man around before and wondered what the stranger wanted. “What brings you to the Circle D?”
“I was wondering if your boss man’s around.”
“He’s here. Let me get him for you.” Jake went back into the stable and called for Seth.
Grant heard the cowboy call his boss ’Seth,’ and he knew what was going to happen next would be a real test of his acting abilities. He had never had any encounters with Seth Rawlins, but he knew the man’s reputation as a killer. As he was waiting for Rawlins to come out of the stable, he found himself wondering again where Lane was.
And then he found out.
“This here fella is looking for you, Seth,” Jake was saying as the two men emerged from the stable.
Lane looked up and saw Grant. He was glad the other Ranger had shown up, but he knew he had to quickly take control of the conversation so that Grant wouldn’t blow his cover as Seth Rawlins.
“Grant! It’s good to see you! You got my telegram?”
“Yes, I did, and I was wondering if you’re still hiring?” Grant relaxed and started smiling. He didn’t know how the other Ranger had pulled it off, but it looked like Lane was now Seth Rawlins.
“We can always use a good hand here on the Circle D, right, Jake?”
“That’s right, Seth.”
“Grant’s an old friend of mine. We go back a ways.”
“That must have been one fine poker hand you had to win this spread,” Grant commented as he dismounted and started to tie his horse up at the hitching rail.
“It was. I’m glad I took the chance and didn’t fold. Come on,” Lane said. “Let me show you around and introduce you to Steve, my foreman.”
“Sounds good.” They started to go back into the stable. “How long have you been here?” Grant asked.
“A few weeks, but things are working out real well.”
“I spent the night in town, and I heard some talk about a wedding—” Grant began, wondering if the talk had been true.
“You heard about that, did you?” Lane shot him a quick look. “Well, a man’s got to settle down some time. I thought since I had the Circle D, it was time.”
“When do I get to meet your little lady?”
Lane glanced back toward the house and spotted Rebecca on her way down to join them.
“I think you’re going to meet her real soon.” He nodded in her direction.