Authors: Connie Mason
“I’m here to preserve the peace and keep the gang from killin’ off the ranchers and stealin’ their cattle.”
“They’re mean, Colt, real mean,” Dolly emphasized. “They shot up my saloon twice. Gunned down innocent men, too. A few right here in my saloon—ranchers and townspeople who did nothing to provoke them except be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I hope you got plenty of backup if or when they return.”
“There’s just me.”
“Are you loco? You don’t stand a chance alone.”
“What about the sheriff and his deputy? Or the townspeople, for that matter. Won’t they help defend the town? Cap’n Ford was countin’ on their cooperation.”
“The sheriff and his deputy are cowardly bastards and the townspeople are afraid of their own shadows. They’re good people, Colt, who don’t believe in violence. Their peaceful ways earned them respect from the Indians and a tenuous treaty. I’d say you’re pretty much on your own where the Crowders are concerned.”
“The mayor hinted as much,” Colt mused thoughtfully. “I won’t know what I’m up against till the Crowders come visitin’. In the meantime I need a place to stay. The bartender said you had rooms for rent.”
“There’s only one vacant right now, Colt, and it’s yours for as long as you need it.”
“Much obliged, Dolly. Just point me in the right direction. Would a bath be an outrageous request at this time of day?”
“I’ll see to it,” Dolly nodded, her voice ripe with promise. “And I’ll be up later to scrub your back.” Smoky blue meshed with tawny gold, provoking a wealth of fond memories.
“Suit yourself, Dolly,” Colt responded, his tone telling her it was entirely her choice. “But you’ll find I haven’t changed. Nothin’ is forever with me. If you can live with that, then I’d be obliged to have you scrub my back.”
Dolly’s keen disappointment didn’t show in her carefully composed features. “We’re two of a kind, honey. I was married for a year and hated it. I’m rich enough now to pick and choose my lovers. I’m discriminating and only take men to my bed who attract me. I hire girls to satisfy customers who come here for female companionship. Till you showed up there’s few in Karlsburg who’ve captured my fancy. We were damn good together once, and I’d like to recapture what we had for as long as you’re around.”
“How can I refuse on those terms?” Colt grinned wolfishly.
Sam had been in town over two weeks when two things happened almost simultaneously. Vern Logan came to call on her, and the Crowder gang rode into town.
It was just past noon when Vern showed up at Ida’s house. Cagily he timed his visit to coincide with the exact time Sam left the store to eat lunch and relax a few minutes before relieving Ida. Sam’s first thought was that he had been spying on her.
As Sam’s friendship with the older woman grew, Ida told her the details of her husband’s death and her arrest for his murder. Sam wasn’t too surprised to learn that Colt had been direcdy responsible for saving Ida from rape and getting her released. Just another inconsistency in his some what flawed character. What was he—devil or angel? Why couldn’t she forget the exasperating man? She hadn’t seen him except from afar since they’d arrived in Karlsburg. For some reason he seemed to be ignoring her as if she were as insignificant as a wart on a toad. But Sam was willing to bet her soul that Colt hadn’t forgotten she had robbed the stage.
Sam was more than a little surprised to see Vern Logan at the door. She had expected never to see him again after Colt had deliberately misled him to believe the worst about her.
“Do you have a few minutes, Samantha?” Vern asked. He was still not ready to give up on her, especially since Molly had told him Colt and Miss Dolly were thicker than fleas on a hound dog. “It’s important I talk to you.”
“I…suppose,” Sam allowed grudgingly. “But I’m due back at the store soon. Let’s sit on the porch,” she suggested, unwilling to be alone in the house with him. “What did you want to see me about?”
“First let me say how nice you look in that dress, Samantha. You look like a real lady.” Sam flushed but said nothing. “I came to apologize. I should have realized nothin’ happened between you and that Ranger. I was too angry to think straight. I don’t know why he said what he did. You’re not like that. I still want you for my wife.”
“What made you change your mind?” Sam asked.
“I know you haven’t seen Andrews since you left the ranch,” Vern replied. “And I have it on good authority that him and Miss Dolly have become quite close. You understand what I mean, don’t you?” Silence. “They’re lovers, Samantha. I can’t put it any plainer than that. One thing does bother me, though. What was he doin’ at your place?”
“I … I was out riding and my horse threw me. Colt happened along and helped me back home,” Sam fabricated. “I don’t know why he said what he did. The man must have a perverse sense of humor. What him and Miss Douglas do is no concern of mine.” If that were true, why did it hurt so much? Sam wondered glumly. It was no more than she expected from him.
Vern searched Sam’s face. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on between Andrews and Samantha. Her explanation of their meeting sounded pretty far-fetched. But Sam had appeared so unmoved by the fact that Andrews and Miss Dolly were lovers that he was inclined now to believe her. Besides, the man did save the bank’s gold the day of the robbery and couldn’t have been at Sam’s house for any length of time. Of greater concern to Vern was the fact that his father had kept his word and disowned him. Vern saw the new will and was told that until he proved himself responsible, it would stand. Hopefully, marrying Samantha would be his first step toward earning his father’s trust.
“What’s your answer, Samantha?” Vern asked impatiently. “Will you marry me?”
“I told you before, Vern, that I don’t love you. I… can’t marry you.”
“I won’t give up, Samantha. I’ll ask over and over until I wear you down. I…I love you,” he lied. Though he didn’t actually love her he wanted her in his bed. She excited him more than any woman he had ever known.
“I have to go, Vern.” Sam stood up. “Ida is expecting me.”
“Wait, Samantha, there’s something else.”
Somewhat vexed by his persistent badgering, Sam frowned. “What is it?”
“Earlier today I was goin’ over the papers transferrin’ your ranch to Mr. Colter and came across this note. I’d forgotten about it till now.”
“What does it say?”
“Here, read it yourself.” Vern handed the note to Sam, who quickly scanned the brief contents, then stared at Vern, hope flickering in her breast.
“Mr. Colter says I can remain on the ranch until he claims it!” she exclaimed. “Did he indicate when that might be?”
“No one has seen the elusive Mr. Colter. He waltzed in and out of town without anyone knowin’ what he looks like. The only one who can identify him is Klaus Spindler, the clerk who completed the deal, and he’s in New Orleans.”
“Mr. Colter might not show up for a long time.”
“That’s entirely possible. Who can say what he has in mind? It’s downright peculiar how all this came about.”
“I appreciate you telling me this, Vern. Now I really do have to go.”
Sam took her time walking back to the store. Vern had given her much to think about. As much as she liked Ida, she hated living in town and wearing dresses every day. If Mr. Colter wanted her to continue living on the ranch in his absence, then why shouldn’t she? Surely Colt wouldn’t object as long as she promised not to run away. Where would she go anyway? Perhaps he had changed his mind about taking her to jail in San Antonio. He hadn’t mentioned it in some time, and the feeling persisted that he really didn’t want to see her behind bars. Evidently Dolly Douglas was taking up all his spare time—that’s why he hadn’t been around to see her. Well, Vern’s surprising disclosure put a different picture on things and she needed to see Colt without delay. By the time Sam reached the store she had made up her mind to beard the lion in his den.
Toward the middle of the long afternoon Ida noticed Sam’s preoccupation and wondered if she was feeling ill. She appeared to be recovering from her injury nicely, but one never knew. She could be driving herself too hard.
“Sam, business is slow right now, why don’t you take the rest of the day off,” Ida suggested kindly. “I’ll close up and be home around seven. You look like you could use a long nap.”
“I am tired,” Sam admitted. She hated lying to the kindhearted woman but she knew Ida would try to dissuade her from doing something shocking. “If you’re certain—”
“Absolutely, dear, you run along. I’ll see you at home later.”
Sam directed her steps up the street toward Ida’s house but turned into the Palace Saloon instead of taking her usual route home. She was relieved to find the main room nearly deserted at this time of day. Few of the bargirls were in attendance; several men were scattered around but most paid her little heed. She was pleased to note that Dolly was nowhere in sight.
“Can I help you, miss?” Though Dirk hadn’t personally met Sam, he knew her by sight from her trips into town with her father. He was more than a little shocked to see her in the Palace, although he needn’t have been. More than once he’d heard the beautiful girl described as being headstrong and somewhat unconventional. Her father’s death was a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened.
“Is Mr. Andrews in his room?” Sam asked with more confidence than she felt.
“He was out earlier but I believe he’s in now,” Dirk replied, scarcely able to contain his curiosity.
Sam directed her gaze to the stairs and the several doors visible along the open balcony. “Which room?”
Dirk hesitated for the space of a moment. Sam’s unorthodox request startled him. Well-bred young ladies didn’t visit men’s room. But it was obvious this young woman defied convention. He couldn’t help but admire her spunk. She neither offered lame excuses nor apologized for her brazen behavior. Yet there was no denying she was a lady, albeit a somewhat bold one. Besides, it was none of his business if the girl chose to damage her reputation.
“Room three.”
“Much obliged.” Turning, Sam mounted the stairs, refusing to be undone by curious onlookers.
It took a long time for Colt to answer the door. When he did, Sam was dismayed to find he wasn’t alone. Dolly Douglas stood in the middle of the room looking charmingly flustered in a revealing robe of clinging blue satin.
“Sam!” Colt gasped, stunned. “Christ! What are you doin’ here?”
Sam’s violet eyes slid to Dolly, then back to Colt’s partially clad form. It was obvious she had interrupted more than friendly chit-chat. Colt was naked to the waist, his gleaming torso intimidating in the small room. He was very muscular with a honed, lean kind of strength. Sam couldn’t help but admire his sun-bronzed chest or the curling patterns of tawny fur narrowing to a thin, fine line disappearing into the waistband of his buckskin trousers. Virility and power oozed from every pore, and Sam made a supreme effort to concentrate on her mission.
“I… I need to speak to you—privately.” Her eyes slid to Dolly, who appeared vastly amused by the intrusion.
Colt knew it must be important to bring Sam to the Palace looking for him. He had deliberately kept his distance from her these past weeks hoping to exercise her from his mind and heart. Yet somehow, even when he made love to Dolly, Sam’s face had a way of intruding into his most intimate moments. He didn’t have time to analyze the feelings she evoked in him, and wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to.
Turning to Dolly, he said, “Do you mind? We’ll … talk another time.”
Dolly raised a slim eyebrow, slanting Sam an assessing look. “Sure, honey, I got things to do anyway.” She pulled her robe about her and sailed past Sam and through the door.
“Come in, Sam.” After a moment’s hesitation, Sam stepped inside. She stiffened when Colt closed the door behind her but did not protest.
“This better be important, darlin’, to be riskin’ your reputation over.”
Sam flushed. “I think it is. I want to return to the ranch,” she said, tilting her chin at a defiant angle. “I just learned from Vern that the new owner offered to let me live on the Circle H until he claimed the property.”
“Christ!” Colt cursed. He’d forgotten about that damn note. He’d written it before he knew both Will and Sanchez had skedaddled. “No!”
“Why? I won’t run away, if that’s what you’re worried about. You can still put me in jail anytime you please.”
“Aren’t you unhappy with Ida? I thought—”
“It’s not that. Ida is a dear and I truly like her, but—”
“It’s out of the question, Sam.”
“Hellfire and damnation! Haven’t you punished me enough? Why can’t you allow me this small concession?” A tiny sob caught in her throat, and Colt’s heart did a flip-flop.
“This has nothin’ to do with punishment. Where are your brains? I’m thinkin’ of your safety.”
Dismay followed by disbelief marched across Sam’s face. Colt Andrews struck her as a man with little or no compassion and even less conscience. Why should he care what happened to her? “Why, Colt?” she couldn’t help but ask. “Why should you care?”
“Do you want me to be brutally honest?” Suppressing a shudder of apprehension, Sam nodded. “You intrigue me, darlin’,” Colt drawled, grinning wickedly. “I’ve thought of nothin’ but makin’ love to you since the day I discovered you were a female.”