Sweet Savage Heart (47 page)

“I take it you aren’t too pleased with her or her return?”

“Are you
loco,
woman? I’ve heard plenty of stories about her mother, and believe me, she’s just like Marissa Crandall, or worse.”

Clarissa scoffed rashly, “You don’t know the half of it, love; Marissa was far worse than most people realized. If Nathan knew the truth, he would deny Marissa and this Rana Michaels.”

Travis stared at her, sensing something mysterious in her tone and look. Clearly this woman knew some secret that few, if any, others knew. “What about Marissa?” he probed nonchalantly. “I thought you two became close friends before she was killed.”

She laughed coldly, then murmured, “One day I might tell you all about Nathan’s wicked daughter. What does this Rana look like?”

“You’ve seen the picture of Marissa over the fireplace. Let’s just say that at first glance you’ll think you’re seeing a ghost.”

Clarissa swallowed and digested this bitter information. Hatred and alarm coursed through her body. She wondered what her father would think and do when he discovered this shocking news. And, she fretted angrily, what about Rana’s effect on Travis? Another Marissa to battle for the men she craved… “Marissa Crandall Michaels was a very beautiful woman. If Rana favors her, then why aren’t you inside with her instead of out here with me? You could have her and the ranch with one bite. No doubt her mother’s whoring blood runs through her,” she commented scornfully, watching how he took this insult.

“No doubt it does, but not where I’m concerned,” Travis replied, having successfully concealed his fury. “She’s a little brat, Clarissa, and she nearly drove me crazy. She still expects to be treated like a princess, and I won’t bend to her wishes. I can’t count the number of fights and quarrels we had on the trail. Damn, it’s good to be home again. Facing rustlers will be a pleasant change from battling her.”

“Why didn’t Nathan tell Papa about her this morning?”

He scowled. “Like I said, she’s little more than a savage. Nate plans to keep her hidden in the house until that schoolteacher and the seamstress can have her looking and acting half civilized.”

“Is she very crude? Can she speak English?”

“Yep, the chief took a schoolmarm captive and forced her to teach the little brat English so she could question prisoners. Oh, she can look and talk white, but underneath she’s wild and vicious. She’s always trying to bite me or scratch me when she gets mad, and those little teeth and claws are mighty sharp. One hand’s bandaged now where she broke several nails attacking me a few days ago. Her Indian father died a few months back, and she was giving her Indian brother fits. He was glad to get rid of her. Now I see why. I can tell you one thing, Miss Caldwell. I’m gonna tame that wild wind for Nate.”

“What if she tames you first, my proud and carefree wrangler?”

“What if the sun doesn’t rise tomorrow?” he said with a sneer.

“Tell me, love, are you really angry because she’s so beautiful and she spurns you?” Clarissa held his gaze as she sought signs of deception.

Travis chuckled. “Would you like to know how many times I’ve kicked her off my sleeping roll? If I wanted Rana Michaels, my jealous vixen, I could have taken her plenty of times by now. Her hot blood even outblazes yours, and she has no morals or manners. She’s been raised wild and free, to take whatever she wants. She rides bareback and goes barefoot, and thinks nothing of shucking her clothes and going for a swim when the mood strikes her. Her temper is as fiery as her hair. Maybe my stinging rejections riled her, ‘cause I ain’t sharing no
bedroll with a wildcat.” A playful grin crossed his face as he added, “Maybe I should relent just to have peace in the house. ‘Course, like your papa, Nate would tie me to that little vixen if I shared her bed like she keeps inviting. Lordy, Clarissa, I can’t think of anything worse than marrying a real bitch, can you?”

“Are you afraid Nathan might turn the ranch over to her? He did make you his son and heir. He would have to disown you.”

“I won’t let him, and I won’t let her take it,” he replied smugly.

“If you lose this ranch, love, you can marry me and take over the Caldwell holdings, which are increasing every year,” she offered.

“The Caldwell empire doesn’t have my blood and sweat all over it. This ranch is mine, one way or another, after Nate’s gone.”

“If you come home with me tonight, I’ll tell you how and why you’re Nathan’s only legal heir. If you get the right information and help, Rana Michaels can’t claim an inch of this ranch.”

“Just what are you trying to tell me without coming right out and saying it?” Travis pulled her close against him and kissed her soundly. “If you know something that can help me, spit it out,” he entreated huskily, then nibbled at her ear.

“You’re teasing me and tempting me unmercifully, Travis. I’m sure my lips and wits will loosen while you’re making love to me.”

“So, that’s it, a trick to seduce me,” Travis accused wickedly.

She nibbled on his lower lip and rubbed her body against his as she stated, “I swear to you I know something about Marissa that can end your worries, but you’ll have to prove I can trust you.”

Travis eyed her speculatively. “By sleeping with you
tonight?” When she nodded, he argued, “Come now, Clarissa; I could sleep with you a hundred times and that wouldn’t prove you could trust me. Don’t you realize by now, if I considered you just another woman, I would bed you without a care. You mean something very special to me, so I can’t use you or treat you lightly. If you can’t understand or accept that, we don’t need to see each other again. I have enough problems right now with the ranch and that little brat without your adding to them. Lordy, woman, you know I don’t see anybody but you.”

“But you don’t see me enough, Travis,” she wailed greedily.

“I’ll tell you what. Let me get things straightened out over here and then we’ll start seeing each other more, and talking seriously. I told you I ain’t ready to get married yet, but we might get promised soon if things work out. Like I said, be patient and trust me.”

“You aren’t teasing me, are you?” she challenged.

“I don’t see anybody but you, and getting promised would stop you from seeing anybody but me. I’m the one who has to worry, not you. Who could Travis Kincade Crandall choose besides the most beautiful and passionate woman around?”

Clarissa was mostly taken in by Travis’s silky words, though he had actually been referring to Rana each time. Blinded by vanity and overconfidence, she naturally assumed Travis was smitten with her and would eventually marry her. If he wanted her to behave like a lady, then she would do so, at least around him. She felt he must be anxious to get his hands all over her, and would soon tire of denying himself that pleasure. Now that he was worried over his inheritance, perhaps he would come around to her way of thinking, and perhaps together they could get rid of Nathan and her father and take over both ranches. But she would have to be careful.

Rana Michaels, Marissa’s little bastard, would never
interfere with her plans! If necessary, she would expose the truth about Marissa’s vile birth. Perhaps one day soon she would tell Travis that Marissa was not Nathan Crandall’s daughter and legal heir, and that Rana Michaels was not Nathan’s granddaughter. Perhaps she would tell Travis what Ruth Crandall, Nathan’s beloved wife, had revealed to Sarah Jane Caldwell while in a delirium before she died. Once she had heard Ruth’s secret, Clarissa’s mother had never been able to look Nathan in the eye again. Travis might be relieved, and deliciously grateful, to discover that Ruth had been raped by three outlaws during Nathan’s three-month absence thirty-eight years ago. Ruth had never told Nathan, even though she had borne a child of that brutal assault. Ruth’s fever-dulled mind and loosened lips had even caused her to divulge which of the three villains had been responsible: a flaming-haired, blue-eyed Scotsman who had been called “Red.” The old fool, Nathan, had actually believed that the baby girl named Marissa had arrived over two months early. For a fact, neither Nathan nor Marissa had ever learned about Ruth’s ravishment. If Marissa had known the truth about her birth… But no matter now.

Perhaps she would tell Travis how Marissa had whored with her father for two years and for her husband for many years. Perhaps she would tell him that Rana was not Raymond Michaels’s daughter, just as Marissa was not Nathan’s child. Perhaps she would tell him who Rana’s real father was. No, that would spoil her plans…

Travis was gazing inquisitively at the brown-eyed beauty. She had been silent for a long time. Something was running wildly through her head, and he wanted to know all about it. What, he wondered, did she know about Marissa that could affect his life, and Rana’s too? “Like the Indians say, you’ve got a fox running around
inside that pretty head. Marissa told you a big secret. What was it?”

“I’ll tell you another day, my love. I should get home before Papa misses me and your hands think I’m unworthy to become your wife. As you told me, be patient and trusting a while longer.”

Travis knew it would be a mistake to press her tonight, so he allowed the intriguing matter to drop. “Wait until I saddle Apache; it’s too dangerous for you to be out alone, even if you were anxious to see me. Next time, woman, you control such reckless urges. In spite of what you think, some men aren’t afraid of your papa. Promise me you won’t go riding after dark again.”

“I’m sorry for behaving so foolishly. I promise,” she whispered, then kissed him ardently. She couldn’t tell him she was safe because the villains worked for her father and would soon be working for her….

Travis left her then, but he was soon back at her side with Apache and her sorrel. He helped her mount and they rode off together.

Rana leaned against the house and closed her eyes, which forced her pent-up tears to overflow and stream down her cheeks. How she wished she could have gotten close enough to hear their words, for their behavior had seared her heart. She slipped around the house and climbed inside her room, wishing she had not crawled out her window to spy on Travis and that infuriating female called Clarissa Caldwell. She flung herself across the bed and wept as she recalled how Wild Wind and White Eagle had spent this morning in each other’s arms. Was this woman the “something I have to get straightened out before we can have a serious talk about our life together"?

Suddenly Rana sat up and scolded herself. No matter how that scene had looked to her, there was probably a logical explanation for it. It was wrong to start doubting her husband, or to renounce him. She must trust him, as he had entreated earlier, and fight for him! If she let this matter pass, it would eat her alive inside. The best thing to do was confront Travis and give him the chance to tell her the truth. Their relationship was too new and special to allow misunderstandings to damage it. She loved Travis, and she believed he loved her; so why should she suffer unnecessarily? Yes, she must give him a chance to defend himself, she decided, just as soon as he returned home.

Travis and Clarissa headed for the edge of the Circle
C
Ranch that was nearest the Caldwell house. At a safe distance, the clever Travis told her, “Now you get in that house and stay there. I don’t want anything happening to you. I’ll come by Wednesday or I’ll see you in town Thursday.” He leaned over and kissed her as if feasting on the sweetest mouth of any woman alive. He smiled and waved, then rode away.

It was late, but Travis was restless tonight, and he decided to ride along the northeast fence line, which had once bordered Sam Kelly’s Box
K
Ranch. Their largest herd was grazing in that area, and he wanted to nose around before returning to the ranch. Besides, he had some serious thinking and planning to do. He would need to explain to Rana about the Caldwells and obtain her help with duping Clarissa. That wasn’t going to be easy, for what woman in her right mind would want to aid her lover’s pursuit of another woman, even if it was only a false chase? He had to convince Rana that Harrison and Clarissa were dangerous, that they wouldn’t hesitate to destroy anything or anyone who got in their way. Rana
was smart and brave; she would understand this predicament and help him, he decided. Squaring his shoulders, he rode off in search of answers, for himself and for the ranch.

Clarissa made certain that Travis had not hung back after delivering her to her ranch, then she rode off toward the cabin where Wes Monroe and Jackson Hayes were staying. There was only one horse standing near the cabin. She sneaked to a window and peeked inside to find Wes lying naked on a bunk in one corner and, surprisingly, reading a book. She smiled wickedly as she noticed he was alone, which suited her perfectly. When she knocked on the door, Wes answered, wearing nothing but a cotton sheet he had grabbed and wrapped around his hips. She watched him lower his pistol, eye her up and down, then grin pruriently.

Lacking all modesty, he leaned against the door jamb and asked, “What can I do for you, Miss Caldwell? You can see I wasn’t expecting company, especially the boss’s daughter. Did you need something?”

Clarissa glanced over his bare shoulder, as if checking to see if he was alone. “I need to talk about something personal,” she replied, allowing her gaze to roam his face and torso. “Is your partner around?”

“Nope, and he won’t be back until morning. Why don’t you come inside and take a chair, if you ain’t afraid of me.”

“I’m not afraid of anyone, Mister Monroe,” she vowed smugly. “But I want this matter to remain between you and me.”

He motioned her inside and closed the door behind her. “The name’s Wes to such a beautiful woman. Care for a drink?”

She nodded, then slithered seductively around the
room while he fetched a bottle of whiskey and two cups. Clarissa downed the golden liquid easily and quickly, then held out her cup for another drink. She noticed how Wes was watching her as she leisurely sipped the second one. Her gaze drifted over his bare chest and legs and returned to his eyes, eyes that did not conceal his lust for her. Yes, she concluded, this man was deceitful and dangerous, and those evil qualities excited and aroused her. She would ensnare Wes with money and her charms, use him, and be done with him before he realized what was happening. When she was finished with him, she would kill him herself while he was dozing in the afterglow of sated passion, or perhaps kill him at the instant of his final release. That would be one of the most stimulating and erotic moments of her life, to watch a man’s expression shift from the ecstasy of passion as he comprehends the horror of his own death. She licked her lips and smiled. “You mustn’t tell my father or your partner or anyone I came here tonight. This is strictly between us. I want to hire you to do a job for me. How much will your complete loyalty cost me?”