"Devina, Tombstone is not as raw a town as that. The average resident is perfectly safe on the streets."
"Then why the need for Sam Sharpe?"
"Dear, I'm afraid you are not the average resident of Tombstone. You are Harvey Dale's daughter."
Momentarily stunned at her father's response, Devina shook her head. "Father, you fail to realize that 'Harvey Dale's daughter' was perfectly safe walking the streets of New York. I didn't need a watchdog at my heels there."
"Devina, the uncomfortable situation you presently find yourself in while in Tombstone is only temporary, I assure you."
"Father, you must forgive me if I do not accept your reassurances. Unfortunately, little has happened that would lead me to expect the situation to change in the near future." Devina took a deep breath. Her eyes on her father's concerned stare, she continued on a softer, firmer note. "Father, I must repeat that my coming to Tombstone was a mistake. You yourself have stated I have only made you more vulnerable to those men, whoever they are, who are attacking Till-Dale. It would be far better if I returned to Aunt Emily in New York. She was extremely upset at my leaving, and she would take me back gladly."
"Aunt Emily was no more upset than I would be if you left, Devina."
His gray eyebrows knotting with concern, Harvey Dale raised a hand to Devina's cheek. His smile was tight. "I told you when you arrived, dear, you are my only child, and you are extremely important to me. I love you dearly, Devina, and I have no intention of spending the remainder of my life separated from you."
Devina paused, striving to retain her resolve. Her father had been successful once more in touching her heart despite the doubts that nagged at the back of her mind. "Father, I cannot believe"
"Devina, dear, I'm sorry. Your anxiety is all my fault. If you will listen to me now, I am sure I will be able to set your concerns to rest."
Curving his arm around her shoulders, Harvey drew Devina toward the leather-upholstered couch at one side of the room. He seated her carefully and, sitting beside her, took her hands into his.
Desperately seeking to hold herself aloof from the contrition of her father's face and from his warmly solicitous manner, Devina attempted to pull her hands free. When the hurt that touched his expression became more than she could bear, Devina submitted to his obvious wish to comfort her. The irony of the situation assailed her. As a lonely child in a boarding school far from home, she had longed so often to hear the words her father had just spoken, to see the concern for her now written so clearly in the planes of his handsome face. But he had withheld himself from her then. He had forced her to learn to live without him, to depend only on herself. And now that she was the person his treatment had wrought, when she held herself aloof from him, determined to be sufficient unto herself, he seemed all the more determined to keep her close. Devina paused in her thoughts. There was no denying the love in her father's eyes at this moment. Father, dear Father… How she wished she could always depend on his love.
As her father continued speaking, Devina made an effort to concentrate on his words.
"I would have taken you into my confidence sooner, Devina. I apologize for not having realized the true strain this situation has placed upon you, dear. The truth is, I've been so determined to catch these thieves that I've neglected some things…"
Obviously preferring to leave the "neglected things" unspoken, Harvey attempted a smile. "But enough said about my mistakes. I'm presently taking steps to right them, and to catch the thieves as well."
"Father, surely you don't intend doing anything foolish. These men are dangerous."
Harvey's small laugh revealed his pleasure at Devina's concern. "I'm not so much a fool as all that, Devina. I have a plan which"
Harvey turned with annoyance at a soft knock at the door. Lai Hua entered the room. His voice was curt, dismissing.
"Put the tray here."
Waiting only until Lai Hua had closed the door behind her, Harvey resumed speaking.
"I've arranged to have a bogus payroll shipment sent out from the Benson bank via stagecoach while the true payroll travels via a supply wagon by a more direct route to Tombstone. The only people aware of the plan are those directly responsible at the Benson end. That should guarantee the payroll's safety, but if it does not, we'll know where the information has been leaking to the thieves."
"Father, I still think"
"Devina, dear…" Harvey's rich voice was deeply persuasive as he looked into her eyes. Devina could not help but marvel at the earnestness her father displayed, the skill of his plea even as she felt herself succumbing to his coercion.
"You do believe me when I tell you that I will keep you safe here, that you need not fear anything."
"Father, it's not only a matter of my feeling unsafe. I have no freedom here."
"Bear with me a little longer, darling. I promise you, this whole nightmare will soon be a thing of the past. I give you my word."
"Father…" Resolution fading in the face of her father's plea, Devina paused in her response. She was no stronger than her mother, for all her professed determination. She would give him one more chance. "All right, Father."
Relief shining clearly in his eyes, Harvey took a deep breath. Turning to the tray Lai Hua had placed on the table, he carefully poured two cups of tea. He watched as Devina lifted her cup to her lips. Then he sipped his own tea, studying her over the rim of his cup. After a few seconds, he placed his cup back on the tray with an air of determination.
"Dear, we've all been a bit tense these last two weeks, and we need something to get our mind off these nagging problems. Now would be the perfect time to have that party I mentioned when you arrived."
"A party!"
"Yes, dear. I had thought to wait until you were able to complete the refurbishing of the house, but I no longer have the patience for it. Besides, I have not had the opportunity to formally introduce my beautiful daughter to Tombstone. It is a pleasure I've delayed long enough. I know your social calendar has not suffered, but I think it's more important than ever to formally announce that Devina Dale has arrived in Tombstone and is here to stay."
Not of a mind to argue the last point with her father, Devina maintained her silence as he continued with growing enthusiasm.
"Of course you may come to me should you need help, but you may feel free to make any arrangements for the affair you deem necessary. And you may set the menu without restrictions. Whatever isn't immediately available in Tombstone can easily be shipped in. How does that sound to you, dear?"
Devina considered the idea. Plan her own welcome party? If circumstances did not change, she was determined that the affair would serve as a farewell party instead. But in the meantime, she would show her father that her education had been far more well rounded than he was aware. She would organize a party the likes of which Tombstone had never seen. Holding her growing enthusiasm in check, Devina questioned cautiously, "I'm to have a totally free hand, Father?"
"Totally. I will depend on you to set Tombstone on its ear!"
"Oh, Father." Devina could not resist a laugh. "What is it about me that causes that phrase to come to people's lips?"
"Perhaps it's that you're the most beautiful woman Tombstone has ever seen, or is ever likely to see. I'm extremely proud of that, and of you. And perhaps it is because I deeply regret that your mother is not here to see you now. I miss her still, you know. But you are her image, dear, and for that reason I am doubly proud."
Strangely, Devina found she was not surprised by the sincerity in her father's eyes as he spoke of her mother. Yes, he had been proud of Mama, just as he was proud of her. She did not question the sincerity of her father's love… just its quality.
Devina nodded. "All right, Father, we shall give a party."
"In two weeks' time. That should be long enough for you to also arrange to have a new gown made, something special."
"In two weeks' time." Devina laughed again. "And I promise you, it'll be a party that Tombstone will talk about for a long time to come. The idea appeals to me, Father. You know me well.''
"Yes, I know you well, dear, because in so many ways, you are so much like me."
Not allowing her a moment for response, Harvey picked up his cup and drained it. Replacing it on the tray, he drew himself to his feet. Ignoring that Devina's cup was still half full, he took it from her hand and, setting it down, pulled her up beside him. "Now that we have all that settled, dear, have you regained your appetite?"
Realizing the futility of refusing him, Devina offered her father a smile. "I suppose I'm as hungry as I'll ever be."
Strangely unsettled by his statement of a few moments before, Devina allowed her father to lead her toward the door. He had said that she was like him in so many ways. The thought sent a chill down her spine and returned the echo of words that were never far from her consciousness. Those words resounded again within her mind even as she took her father's arm and walked out into the foyer:
You wouldn't be worth the trouble
…
The voices from the library trailed off into silence, and footsteps approached the door against which Lai Hua leaned. Knowing a moment's panic for fear of being discovered, she moved quickly and silently down the narrow hallway. She had just turned the corner when the door of the library opened and Harvey Dale's voice sounded in the hallway: "Molly?… Molly!"
Hesitating only a moment, Lai Hua stepped into her employer's line of vision. Her heart drumming in her breast at her close call, she nodded politely. "I may be of help, Mr. Dale?"
Harvey Dale's face darkened momentarily, and Lai Hua read in the flashing glance his distaste for people of her race. It ran deep in him, and Lai Hua attempted to ignore it.
"Yes, tell Molly that Miss Devina and I will be dining out for lunch."
"Yes, Mr. Dale."
"Miss Dale won't need you until this evening," he continued. "Don't sit around. See if you can be of some help in the kitchen."
"Father!" Miss Devina looked distressed at her father's comment, but Lai Hua maintained her smile in an attempt to dismiss her mistress's discomfort.
"Yes, Mr. Dale."
Within moments Harvey Dale was ushering his daughter out the front door, and Lai Hua turned away. As soon as the click of the door sounded behind her, Lai Hua's smile faded.
Frustration soared anew within Ross as he raised his spyglass and adjusted the focus on Sam Sharpe's slouched form as he stood across the street from the Dale home. Ross gave a low, scornful laugh. So the watchdog was still on duty.
A low fury simmering within him, Ross allowed his gaze to dwell on Sharpe's face. He remembered its oily sheen, its narrow features, the small, close-set eyes. He remembered the amused smile Sharpe adopted when he did work he particularly enjoyed. Ross had seen that look on Sharpe's face, and on the faces of the men backing him up with their fists and guns.
Memory brought a grimace of pain to Ross's lips. He remembered the day well. Pa had had an attack, and Ross had known his father wouldn't last much longer if the whole rotten business with Dale wasn't straightened out quickly. Knowing Dale was at that time in the habit of spending a part of his day at the Till-Dale mill, Ross had gone there with the intention of speaking directly to Dale. He had known that it was Dale who had actually double-talked his father out of his claim. And he had known Dale was the only one who could straighten things out.
But he never got a chance to talk with Dale. All he got was a glimpse of Dale's well-dressed figure at the window of his office as he approached the mill. Dale had turned to speak to someone behind him. The door had opened and Sam Sharpe had been the first one out. Wally Smith and Bart Holt had followed. Ross couldn't remember exactly what Sharpe had said when he had warned him off, but he could remember Sharpe's smile. He had been smiling when he signaled the other two men to grab Ross's arms and hold him. Sharpe's smile had been unwavering, even as he pounded his fists into Ross's helpless body again and again.
Ross's breathing became ragged as bitter memories continued to overwhelm him. He remembered the salty taste of blood filling his mouth as Sharpe's fists slammed into his face. He remembered his gasping attempts to catch his breath as Sharpe's fists pounded his stomach, his ribs, his chest. He remembered his sagging body growing too heavy for the other two men to support. They had let him fall to the ground with Sharpe's last punching blow. And he remembered that he had looked up just before the darkness closed in around him to see Sharpe still smiling.
When Ross had awakened it was dark and he was a considerable distance from the mill. He had made it back to his father's cabin much later that night. He'd checked on his father, nursed his own wounds, and renewed his vow to get his father's claim back for him.
But Dale had been too smart for him. All he had managed to get for himself was three years in Yuma, and a very liberal education. He had come out educated to the hard facts of life.
Ross had changed during those years in prison. Unrelenting physical labor had filled in the already broad contours of his frame with hard muscle, tightened the sinews of his muscular arms and legs, expanded the breadth of his chest. It had added new, harsh lines of maturity to the sharp contours of his face, added a coldly piercing quality to his gaze, and efficiently wiped his smile from his lips.
His spyglass still trained on the bodyguard's face, Ross noted Sam Sharpe's subtle change of expression the moment before he pushed himself away from the wall and started across the street. Shifting his position, Ross turned his glass to the Dale home in time to see Harvey Dale walk down the steps with his daughter at his side. Ross's stomach tensed as Dale turned to his daughter, staying her with a few brief words before he stepped forward to speak to Sharpe.
Ross kept the glass trained on Devina Dale. In the past two weeks, he alone had maintained a surveillance of the Dale household in his effort to ascertain the household's daily routine. Jake, Mack, and Harry had needed time to gather information about Till-Dale's next payroll shipment.
During those two weeks, Ross had become intimately familiar with Devina Dale. He had followed her visually on her daily outings, seldom letting her out of his sight. He had memorized each pure, flawless line of her face. He had studied her erect carriage, the graceful length of her slender neck. He had come to anticipate the determined set of her shoulders when she was angry or annoyed, the manner in which she raised her chin. He had followed the sway of her softly curving hips as she walked, the bobbing of her firm full breasts. He recalled more often than he cared to admit the warmth of her softness against him.
He had also come to recognize Devina Dale's annoyance when Sharpe took up his position behind her; had felt his own annoyance grow each time Sharpe pressed closer to her than his job necessitated. Ross had felt the heat of anger when his close scrutiny revealed the manner in which Sharpe's small eyes followed Devina's provocative sway.
He had also come to anticipate with a growing, puzzling anger the side of Devina Dale that was evident only when she walked at Charles Carter's side. Totally at ease and engrossed in his company, her beautiful face relaxed, her expressions spontaneous, she attained a level of beauty that was startling, incredible.
But she was turning her face away from him now, facing her father as he walked back to her side. Harvey Dale was smiling. Ross memorized his smile. He needed to remember it. The memory would give impetus to his determination to replace that beaming smile with an expression of an entirely different sort.
Harvey Dale took his daughter's arm, and they continued down the street toward the center of town, leaving Sharpe behind. The princess was not presently in need of his protection.
Ross gave a low snort. Well, he would soon snatch the princess from her ivory tower. He had not yet determined the manner in which he would accomplish it, but he knew he would.
Twilight faded into dusk and the sounds of night grew louder outside the abandoned miner's shack. An owl on its nightly foray swooped toward a tempting bit of prey as it scampered across a rotted beam protruding from the structure, only to be startled from its deadly attack by an unexpected flicker of light and the sound of low voices from within. Disappearing into the night, the owl soared off in search of safer prey as the voices from within grew louder.
"No, I may stay no longer without my absence being discovered."
Her soft protest halted by Jake's searching kiss, Lai Hua found herself again being pressed against the worn blanket she had spread a short hour before. She felt its nubby texture against her naked flesh, felt the warm pressure of Jake's muscled body against her softness as he again slid atop her. His hard male organ penetrated her moist womanly core, and a low sound escaped her lips. True wonder assailed her as he came to rest within her, and she sighed, opening herself to him, accepting him fully. Her slender arms curled around his neck, and she ran her hands through the pale gold of his hair.
Gasping as he again plunged deeply, Lai Hua pulled him tight against her. This beautiful man, this golden-haired lover, was one with her as truly as if the spoken word had joined them. She no longer allowed her mind to assail her with recriminations for the deception she practiced on her father. She no longer-allowed herself to think of the future, the time when Jake would leave her for another woman who would share his life, bear his children. She thought only of the present and the incredible, soaring joy they both shared.
Lai Hua reveled in the growing strength of Jake's thrusts. She marveled that his passion was so strong as to come again to the ecstatic culmination they had both experienced only a short time before. She would never have enough of this man.
The heat, the urgency was building, and Lai Hua clutched Jake closer. His labored breaths brushed her cheek, the sound of his hoarse voice calling her name inflamed her. She paused with him, awaiting the final step. The rush to glory was quick, overwhelming, plunging her to deep, shuddering reward.
Jake's slender, muscular body lay heavily on hers. Lai Hua closed her eyes against the supreme pleasure of its weight. If they might only remain thus, together for the rest of their lives…
But Jake was slipping from her body, and Lai Hua's short daydream came to an end. Soon he would return to his hidden cabin, and she would return to her own life. They would be separate, with little to join them but the memory of the sweet passion they shared.
Her thoughts were more than she could bear, and Lai Hua felt the heat of tears gathering beneath her eyelids. She attempted to blink them away, only to suffer the final humiliation as a single tear slid from the corner of her eye into the dark hair at her temple.
Jake turned his head toward her. She avoided his gaze only to feel his fingers gently brush the shimmering path from her skin.
"Why are you
cryin
', Lai Hua?"
"It is only my childish foolishness, my desolation that we will soon part."
Jake lowered his head to caress her lips lightly with his.
"I'm not too happy about
lettin
' you go right now either,
darlin
'. Another payroll is
comin
' through soon, and me, Ross, and the boys expect to hit it about midway between Benson and Tombstone. Ross has the
feelin
' they won't be
expectin
' us to try for another one so soon, but just to be safe, I'll have to stay away from town for the next week or so."
Lai Hua's heart began a slow pounding. She, also, had not expected Jake and his friends to attempt another robbery so soon. Her high-pitched tone betrayed her anxiety when she spoke. "You must not attempt to take the next payroll!"
Lai Hua felt a gradual tensing of Jake's body as his eyes narrowed. "Why? What do you know, Lai Hua?"
Lai Hua took a deep breath. "I was present when Miss Devina returned home today. She seemed distracted, and Mr. Dale was upset by her distraction. In his effort to allay her anger and fear, he confided information about the payroll shipment and the plans he has made."
"A trap, is that it?" Jake's voice was suddenly cold. "Why did you wait so long to tell me Dale was
plannin
' a trap?"
"No, there is no trap!"
All trace of softness left Jake's face. "What is it, then?"
"The payroll, it will not be shipped in the Wells Fargo box aboard the stage. The box will leave the bank in Benson as usual, but it will contain nothing of value. The payroll will travel secretly in a supply wagon to Tombstone."
"When will the supply wagon leave?"
"I am not sure, but I believe the switch will be made at the last minute so it will not be suspected."
Jake scrutinized her face. "Is there
anythin
' else you haven't told me, Lai Hua?"
The coldness in Jake's eyes froze Lai Hua's heart. She had not held back the information because of loyalty to Mr. Dale. She owed no loyalty to a man who despised her and all of her race. Her only true loyalty in that household was to Miss Devina, who was innocent of her father's wrongdoings and prejudice, and who had treated her with respect. Lai Hua had kept silent out of fear of reprisal on her family if anyone learned that she functioned as China Mary's spy. That same fear also kept her from telling Jake she had given the information about the payroll to China Mary only hours before.
Lai Hua took another deep breath. "No, nothing."
Jake's eyes were filled with suspicion as he stared into her stiff face, and Lai Hua felt the pain of his distrust.
"You're sure?"
Lai Hua fought the inclination to turn away from Jake's keen appraisal. She swallowed against her sense of betrayal. "Yes, I am sure.