The Gunslinger’s Untamed Bride (16 page)

“What didn’t you understand about ‘Keep quiet until we were outside’?” he demanded, his hands gripping her shoulders

“I was going to whisper.”

“I said
not a word.
”

“Let go of me!” Lily shrugged out of his hold.

“Did you recognize any of them as the man who grabbed you?”

“No.”

“What about the man who shot Mr. Dobbs?”

His face clear in her mind, Lily shook her head.

Juniper cursed under his breath.

“I would like to recover my cash box.”

“Not happening.”

“I didn’t come all this way to go back without my money.”

He pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “You’ll ride back to the Double D this instant or I’ll arrest you right here and now.”

“You cannot arrest me!”

“The hell I can’t. You’re impeding my investigation.”

“This is my—”

A sharp scratch and spark of light blossomed in the darkness beside her, making Lily jump with fright.

Kyle stood on the shadowed side of the shed holding a match to the tip of a cheroot. The orange glow lit up the chiseled features of his face as white smoke curled out from his lips.

“You two finished bickering?” he asked as he shook out the match.

“Tell him he’s being ridiculous.”

He took a step forward, his smile bright against the moonlight. “Sorry, Lily. A man don’t have to be reasonable when he’s fretting over his gal.”

“I’m
not
his gal.”

“Figurative term. Might not look like it half the time, but June knows what he’s doing.”

“Gee, thanks,” Juniper said.

“Anytime, cousin.” He blew a smoke ring at Juniper before turning his smile back to Lily. “I’d be keeping you out of that house, too, and would likely be mad as raging hell if you’d snuck along on an ambush. Soon as his temper settles, I’m sure he’ll get around to thanking you for saving him from that bullet.”

Juniper simply glared at her. “Don’t count on it.”

She was fairly certain Kyle’s relaxed presence was all that kept him from gagging and cuffing her as he’d promised, and carting her back to the Double D.

“You cannot keep me from what’s mine.”

“You can pet and count your coins once they’re in The Grove office. Right now that money is evidence and under federal protection. Isn’t that right, Kyle?”

“Yep.”

Juniper shot a quick glare at his cousin, thinking he could have offered a little more support.

“I’d like to at least know what’s accounted for,” she said.

“I’m just as anxious to get that payroll squared away so you can pack up and get off the mountain for good.”

“You keep forgetting I own Pine Ridge. I might decide to relocate there.”

“I appreciate the warning. I’ll be packing my gear the second we get back. McFarland might have been rock stubborn and stone blind when it came to running that camp, but at least the man had a shred of common sense.”

Lily’s hands fisted at her sides.

“E-e-easy, June,” Kyle muttered under breath. “You’re bound to fall in that crater you’re diggin’.”

Juniper glanced at Kyle but lost the chance to ponder his warning as Lily started for the house. His fingers clamped around her wrist. He tugged her back toward the shed, ready to drag her all the way to the horses on the other side of the cliffs.

“Let go of me!” Lily raged, digging her feet as they reached the tall scrub.

“Dammit, Lily! I’ll take you back to the ranch myself if I have to, and to hell with the prisoners and payroll!”

“Then I got here just in time.” Jed’s gruff voice came from the darkness. All three turned to see Jed emerge from the shadows, leading a tall fawn horse by the reins.

Juniper exhaled a sigh of sheer relief.

“Hey, Uncle Jed,” Kyle greeted in a cheerful tone.

“Kyle. My wife will be lookin’ to tear strips from your hide once she catches wind you’re in the area and haven’t stopped by.”

“You be sure to tell Aunt Rachell I’m looking forward to a long visit, just as soon as I finish helping June clear out some of the local trash.”

“I came as soon as I realized she’d gone,” Jed said to Juniper. “She had to’ve been hiding near the barn just before you left.”

Lily didn’t dare look at either of them, not wanting Juniper to know she’d overheard him talking about her father.

“Can you take her back?” he asked.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

“She’s ready now.”

Lily glanced beside her and found Juniper staring at her expectantly. “I’ve not recovered the strongbox.”

“And you’re not going to.”

“It’s my money.”

“Anyone holding that money is a moving target until we get it locked up in The Grove,” he said, towering over her. “
I will not have your blood on my conscience.
Do you hear me?
I won’t!
”

Conviction blazed in his eyes, stopping her protest.

“Prince Charming here will make sure your money reaches that safe,” he said, jabbing his thumb toward Kyle, “since we both know it’s wasted breath to ask you to trust a gunslinger.”

Kyle’s eyes widened with surprise before he lowered his gaze to his boots, the tip of his cheroot flaring bright as he took a long drag.

Lily was quite certain she was the only one standing there who’d questioned Juniper’s integrity.

“I trust you,” she said, forcing her voice past her constricted throat.

“Of course you do. That’s why you didn’t know who to shoot first, me or Clyde Chandler.”

“I wasn’t trying to shoot you! If you had told me your plans instead of dumping me off at the ranch—”

“If I thought for a moment you’d have listened to reason—”

“You didn’t even try, you just…
distracted me,
” she said, spitting the words out like bitter seeds. “And then you snuck off!”

Juniper’s steady gaze bore into her. “So if I’d said, ‘Miss Carrington, rushing a house full of armed men is far too dangerous to have you along,’ you’d have just stayed on the ranch?”

First of all, he never called her Miss Carrington unless he was feigning politeness while giving an introduction, not that his choice of title would have convinced her to stay behind. Knowing she likely wouldn’t have allowed him to leave without her no matter what he’d said, she chose not to answer him.

“That’s what I thought,” Juniper said, as though he’d heard every thought in her mind. “We both know you’re single-minded and stubborn as hell,” he said in a matter-of-fact sort of way. “And if you say you didn’t have designs on pulling that trigger while I was in your sights,
you’re lying.
”

His intense blue eyes having the ability to see through her, she wanted to avoid his gaze. But she couldn’t. “I wanted more than anything to pull that trigger,” she admitted, “and
feel nothing.
To finally find closure. But I couldn’t. When I realized your attention had been diverted from the other man, I…” She shut her eyes and drew a ragged breath, the cold grip of fear closing over her.

“You saved me from a bullet,” Juniper said, the gruffness in his voice drawing her gaze. “You put your life at risk.” He shook his head, his eyes dark with pain. “I’d rather have been
shot,
Lily, than see you come to harm.”

Knowing he meant it, an ache settled in her chest. Several times now he’d put her life before his own. Twice she’d held a gun at his chest, and twice he’d made no attempt to defend himself.

You didn’t do nothin’ but choose to live,
Jed had said to him in the barn.

Sometimes it feels like the wrong choice.

The clarity of those words closed around her like a blanket of ice. He would have allowed her to shoot him. More than that, she was quite certain he would have felt he was deserving of the bullet. For a brief moment she saw the frustration and exhaustion weighing on his spirit, felt it in her own and wanted to reach out to him, as though soothing his hurt would heal her own.

She shivered at the thought.
Madness.

He averted his gaze and drew a hard breath, reclaiming his composure. “I want you to ride back with Jed.”

“Okay.”

“The payroll—”

“I trust you to take care of it.”

He stared at her for a long moment, his stoic expression unchanged. “Then you’ll do as I ask and stay at the ranch until I return for you.”

A sudden burn of tears clogged her throat. She gave a slight nod of agreement. She’d endured all she could handle for one night.

“All right, then. Where’s your horse?”

She motioned toward the trees and bushes leading into the dark channel between the stone cliffs.

Juniper held his hand out to her. She took it, welcoming the warmth of his palm against hers. No matter how odd it seemed, his presence soothed her tangled nerves, giving her strength.

“I’ll take care of it, son,” Jed said, stepping forward.

Lily’s hand tightened on his.

“I got it,” Juniper said, walking in the direction she’d indicated. He couldn’t shrug off the responsibility he felt for her. Nor could he stand to send her away with tears shining in her eyes.

They walked slowly through a blend of shadows and moonlight, not following any real trail as they carefully maneuvered around rocks and scrub. “How far away did you leave your horse?” he asked.

“A short way beyond the gap.”

Half a mile.
“You saw me leave the ranch,” he said.

She gave a slight nod.

He couldn’t believe he hadn’t detected her presence or spotted her trailing him. But then, he’d allowed his thoughts to become preoccupied,
with her.

“I lost you along the way,” she said a while later. “So I just followed the ridge to the opening. I only wanted to be sure all the men were apprehended. I’m sorry if I…foiled your ambush.”

The catch in her voice tugged at his heart. “You didn’t. Other than you scaring the life out of me, I’d say it went rather well. We recovered the bulk of the payroll and none of my men were injured.”

“If I hadn’t been there, you could have caught the others.”

“Doubt it,” he said. “My men were outnumbered. I wouldn’t have pursued the others until I knew things were under control in the cabin. Either way, they’d have gotten a considerable lead. As for you getting caught in the cross fire, the whole situation was my fault.”

She shook her head. “I should have trusted you.”

“I don’t see how you could have.” Juniper knew better than to expect such a thing. He wished he’d realized sooner that it was his presence that endangered her life. Lily wasn’t stupid and he doubted she was often reckless. It was his presence that forced her to make rash decisions.

The thought of her coming to harm because of his past—it would have been more than he could bear.

Lily watched her horse come into view up ahead and felt a touch of disappointment. She glanced down at her fingers laced with Juniper’s. His palm was warm against hers, his thumb caressing her wrist in slow, lazy circles, every whispering touch sending a maddening current of tingles throughout her entire body. She was certain he wasn’t even conscious of the light caress, which only heightened the surge of pleasing sensation.

The moment they stopped beside her horse, he released her hand. She missed the contact.

His stance widened. His hands came down on his hips, pushing back the long sides of his coat. With half of his face hidden in the dark shadows beneath the brim of his hat, she couldn’t see his eyes. The hard set of his jaw told her he was about to say something she wasn’t going to like.

Any other time, she would have cut her opponent off with a defensive debate before he opened his mouth, but she was simply too tired, too emotionally drained. So she waited, and wished his hat wasn’t hiding his eyes.

“I think it’d be best for everyone if I let Kyle take over.”

Lily’s breath stalled.

“He can fill in for me until you or the folks in The Grove can hire a new sheriff.”

“No.”

“It’s the best solution. If you were anyone else, this situation would be difficult enough.
Damnation,
” he grumbled, tugging off his hat, shoving a hand through his matted hair. “I can’t make a move without nearly getting you killed.”

“My decision to follow you wasn’t your fault.”

“The hell it wasn’t. If I’d been any other lawman, I seriously doubt you’d have felt the need to be charging up to that house.”

He couldn’t leave now, not when they were just about to turn things around. He was too influential. “You can’t go. You must know how the men at Pine Ridge depend on you. The people in The Grove trust you.”

“They’ll manage just fine. Kyle’s good with town folk. And I’m sure Günter will stay on. Hell, they might even talk him into being the sheriff.”

“But I…It just won’t do. I’d rather you stayed.”

He shifted his weight. His eyes narrowed as he stared down at her. “Can you really trust the man who killed your father?”

The words hit her with the force of a blow. The man who killed her father. Her gaze strayed to his guns. That was who she’d gone up to Pine Ridge to find, the man who’d shot her father. And yet she hadn’t truly found him. The Juniper Barns standing before her wouldn’t have tried to hide from an adversary; he wouldn’t have had to be thrown into the street to face down a gunman.

“A man didn’t kill my father,” she said, the realization coming to her like dawn breaking across a night sky. “A
boy
did.”

The surprise and wash of emotion in Juniper’s expression sent a wave of apprehension through Lily. She knew she’d touched a part of the hurt deep inside him, but she wasn’t ready to let go of her anger. Her understanding didn’t make up for all he’d stolen from her.

“Lily—”

“I’m not saying I forgive you,” she said. “Just because I recognize the difference between the frightened actions of a boy and the will of a man doesn’t erase the pain you’ve caused me. I’m just pointing out that…you’re not the kind of man I thought you’d be. I know now that you didn’t intend such harm, and well…
that’s all.
I trust you to protect my employees.”

“That’s a lot, Lily. More than anyone else who’s hunted me down has ever bothered to see.”