Carol Finch (16 page)

Piper noted Roy Morrell wasn’t stationed at the counter when she ascended the steps. Her senses went on full alert as she opened the door to her room. Sure enough, the turtle-faced man was pouring a bucket of hot water into the tub.

She positioned herself beside the commode—close to makeshift missiles that she could launch to discourage any attack. She hoped the greasy-haired hombre had the good sense not to bother her because she had no intention of being manhandled without putting up a fight.

Apparently Roy hadn’t been blessed with an abundance of good sense. He ambled over to close the door. When he turned toward her, a lusty grin split his stubbled face. When the man took two threatening steps toward her Piper snatched up the pitcher. She stepped behind the chair that sat beside the bed and raised her improvised weapon threateningly.

“Keep your distance,” she demanded.

He sniggered at her attempt to protect herself. “You think I’m afraid of a little piece of fluff like you? Not a chance. I also think this supposed fiancé you mentioned doesn’t exist.” He moved in closer. “We’re going to get to know each other better—”

When he lunged abruptly, Piper swung the pitcher, knocking him on the head. He staggered back, then snarled mutinously at her.

“You’ll pay dearly for that.”

Piper hurled her satchel at him, but he kept on coming so she snatched up the chair and slammed it into his shoulder.

He erupted in another vicious snarl as they wrestled for control of the chair. When he ripped it from her grasp, Piper decided it was time to run. Screeching at the top of her lungs, she sprang toward the door, but the ruffian launched himself at her. Piper crashed into the wall, but recovered quickly enough to thrust her leg out behind her, catching him in the groin.

He sneered as he grabbed the shoulder seam of her blouse and whirled her to face his malicious glare. When he grabbed the front of her blouse the fabric ripped and her temper exploded. She uplifted her leg to catch him squarely in the crotch, then clawed his face until he recoiled backward.

Piper plunged toward the door and exploded into the hall. Her breath came out in a whoosh when she collided with Quinn’s muscled chest. When his arm came protectively around her she slumped shamelessly against him, momentarily forgetting her vow to rely on no one but herself for her protection.

“I heard there might be a problem,” he murmured as he steadied her on her wobbly legs. “Is there one?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” she said on a seesaw breath.

“Then let’s fix it,” he growled as he barreled through the door.

Q
uinn burst into the room to find the scraggly hombre who sported a familiar red bandana blotting the scratches on his cheeks. Fury boiled through Quinn at the thought of this two-bit ruffian putting his filthy hands on Piper.

“You messed with the wrong man’s woman,” Quinn growled ominously. “It’s high time you found out what it feels like to be mauled.”

Pulling back an arm, he punched the man in the nose. The blow packed enough wallop to send the proprietor crashing against the wall. That should have been enough to appease Quinn, but it wasn’t even close. Not only did he plan to thoroughly avenge the assault on Piper, but he also intended to ensure this despicable excuse of a man went running to the brigand in Dead Man’s Canyon in search of reinforcements.

When the bastard bounded to his feet, bowed his neck and tried to plow into Quinn’s midsection, he agilely leaped sideways and scissor-kicked with his legs.
The hombre tripped and sprawled facedown on the floor. Quinn shoved his foot into the small of the man’s back, then reached into his holster for his badge.

He dropped the tarnished star beneath the man’s bloody nose. “You have a choice,” Quinn snarled as he loomed over the man. “Get to your feet and I’ll put you down again. Or you can crawl out of here on your hands and knees like the swine you are.”

The would-be assailant muttered a foul oath.

“If you ever look at my fiancée the wrong way or lay another hand on her again, I will personally see to it that you are fitted for a pine box. Guaran-damn-teed. Do we understand each other?”

The man nodded his greasy head, then skedaddled off on all fours. He didn’t glance up when he passed Piper who clutched modestly at her torn blouse. Damn good thing he didn’t because Quinn was just looking for the excuse to beat that disgusting bastard to a pulp.

His outrage turned to amusement when Piper kicked her assailant in the seat of his homespun breeches on his way by. When he glared at her over his shoulder she gave him another boot in the rump for good measure.

Her retaliation seemed to have soothed her indignation. She hauled in a fortifying breath and gathered her composure as she turned to face Quinn.

“I’m sorry you had to intervene on my behalf again,” she said as she closed the door with one hand and held her blouse together with the other.

Quinn arched a muddled brow. “Why’s that?”

“Because I want to learn to deal with situations myself.” She frowned disconcertedly as she set the up
ended chair on its legs. “Apparently I’m going to have to get a bigger stick or carry a firearm if I expect to be taken seriously. Whatever it takes, I intend to protect myself from the lusty heathens of this world.”

Quinn bent at the waist to retrieve his badge. “I’ve been lax about teaching you to handle a pistol. We’ll work on that during our jaunt to Fort Davis.”

“Thank you, but it won’t be necessary. I’ll ask my brother-in-law for instructions.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “If you don’t mind, I would like to have some privacy while I wash off the stench of close contact with that offensive swine. I will be ready to meet the justice of the peace in a half hour. I know you have obligations with the Rangers and you are pressed for time.”

“Piper?”

She raised a perfectly arched brow. “Now what?”

“Are you sure this is what you want?” he had to ask again.

“It is precisely what I want,” she said without the slightest hesitation. “I have decided not to marry for love or money, but for protection and convenience. If you are having second thoughts then kindly point me in the direction of one of your unmarried associates. Perhaps he wouldn’t mind doing me this favor.”

Much as he hated to admit it, the prospect of Piper married to anyone but him was unacceptable. “No, I’m prepared to seal this deal,” he replied as he wheeled toward the door. “I’ll stand watch in the hall so you won’t be interrupted.”

“Thank you,” she said stiffly.

When Quinn exited Piper peeled off her clothes. She sighed appreciatively as she sank into the warm water. Since this morning she had set aside all her foolish romantic fantasies and had begun to look upon her hasty marriage as a necessary solution to her problem with her father. Knowing he was in southwest Texas and she would inevitably confront him, Piper intended to be well armed.

The marriage document would accomplish that purpose. Furthermore, she had decided to forego a wedding night with Quinn. All she really needed was the license, after all.

The problem was that she had gotten caught up in the heat of the moment and had become thoroughly mesmerized by him. She didn’t need a memory to cherish in the future, she convinced herself. She did not need to experience passion for the sake of passion, either. She would do herself a tremendous favor if she considered this wedding nothing more than a simple business arrangement.

For sure and certain Quinn had no sentimental attachment to her and she would only get her heart broken if she yearned for more than he was prepared to give.

Piper sank beneath the water to wash her hair, then shook her head in self-disgust. Yesterday she had all but demanded that Quinn make love to her. Today she had turned a complete about-face.

For a woman who claimed to know her own mind she certainly had become wishy-washy, hadn’t she?

Why was that? she asked herself pensively. Because she was falling in love with a man who didn’t want or need her in his life and she was trying to protect her
heart? Because she was afraid that ending up in his bed would verify that her feelings for him went far beyond desire? She was pretty sure that if she offered Quinn her body that her foolish heart would go right along with it.

Well, so much for trying to adopt men’s policy of passion for the sake of passion. She sighed heavily. This was a fine time to discover that she was a sentimental romantic and that deep down inside she really wished Quinn
would
fall madly in love with her.

But that was not going to happen. If she had the good sense God gave a goose she wouldn’t let herself forget that.

After rinsing her hair, Piper scrubbed herself squeaky clean, then grabbed the towel to dry off. She was going into this wedding ceremony with a clear head, she decided. All that mattered was obtaining that official piece of paper that had her name scribbled beside Quinn’s.

And honestly, she was better off
not
knowing what it was like to share Quinn’s bed.

Reaffirming her vow that she didn’t need a man to complicate her life, Piper dressed in the frilly blue satin gown she had packed in her satchel. Quinn kept telling her to be very sure about what she wanted. Now she was. She had no illusions. No silly fantasies. And by damn, she was going to be as detached and distant as Quinn, she promised herself.

Piper twisted her damp hair into a fashionable bun, then pinned the curly mass atop her head. After a quick glance at her reflection in the mirror, she strode determinedly across the room.
Mrs. Piper Callahan. In name only,
she repeated silently as she grabbed hold of the door latch. What was in a name anyway? It didn’t
change who she was or what she wanted from life. She was sticking to her original objective of reuniting with Penny and becoming a teacher.

And all men everywhere could go hang! They were a constant source of frustration and she didn’t need any of them. This was her life and she was living it by her own rules for once. She was going to become one of the new breed of women and no one was going to stop her from enjoying her freedom and independence, she decided resolutely.

Quinn nearly swallowed his tongue when Piper swept into the hall, garbed in the fanciest dress he had ever seen. The diving neckline, stitched with delicate ribbon and lace, accentuated the rise of her creamy breasts. The trim-fitting gown emphasized the small indentation of her waist and glided provocatively over the shapely curve of her hips.

Sweet mercy, she looked as if she had stepped from a book of fairy tales and Quinn couldn’t drag his eyes off her. She took his breath away when she was all spruced up like the fashionable lady she was.

The differences between them couldn’t have been more obvious, Quinn mused. She looked like a fairy princess.

He looked half-civilized—which he was.

“Give me a minute,” he requested as he scooped up his saddlebags and darted into the room.

Quinn jerked off his clothes, then fastened himself into the gambler’s garb—minus the gaudy red vest. Clean-shaven though he was, his hair dangled around
his shoulders in disarray. He untied the beaded headband, pulled his thick hair back, braided it then secured it in place. He tucked the braid beneath the collar of his white shirt.

A little better, he decided as he appraised his reflection. His clothes didn’t begin to compare to Piper’s expensive gown, but this was the best he could do on short notice. He frowned when he realized this was the first time he had made a conscious attempt to give a better impression of himself.

His frown deepened when he admitted that he wasn’t doing it for himself. He was doing it for Piper’s sake. Because
her
opinion of him mattered.

Which said a little too much about how important she had become to him.

Deciding not to dwell on that uneasy thought, Quinn stepped back into the hall.

Piper surveyed his appearance, then smiled wryly. “You didn’t have to change clothes on my account. I thought you looked perfectly fine, just the way you were.”

Her comment pleased him. But since he had stumbled over that unnerving epiphany a moment earlier he wasn’t as surprised by the feelings of pride that assailed him. Bottom line, Quinn thought. Everything Piper said and did was beginning to influence him and he needed to guard against that.

“Thank you. You look breathtaking. All decked out in your finery. But you didn’t have to change on my account, either.” He extended his arm politely. “Shall we?”

Arm in arm, they descended the steps and Quinn felt as if he were escorting royalty. He blinked, startled,
when he saw his battalion—minus Tom Pendleton who had ridden to Van Horn to gather reinforcements—waiting by the abandoned counter.

“The clerk lit out of here like a house afire,” Vance Cooper remarked as his gaze flooded over Piper in masculine approval. “He looked a mite roughed up. That your doing, Cal?”

“Piper had to fend off his attack,” Quinn explained.

“And you provided the muscle to emphasize her distaste,” Butler speculated as his eyes roamed appreciatively over Piper. “I figure we have spare time while that informant runs off to tell his cohorts that we’re in town and the Mexicans are in jail. We thought we might attend your wedding.”

“Should be something to see,” Remington Simms, the dark-haired Ranger said, grinning. “Congrats, by the way, Cal. Don’t know what the lady sees in you, but I guess we all have our special brand of charm.”

Quinn ignored the teasing grins that flew his direction. He knew damn well what his associates were thinking. Mismatch if ever there was one.

When he glanced down at Piper’s shiny blond head, undeniable emotion hit him like a bullet in the chest. His wife-to-be? This beguiling heiress, who probably had a pedigree as long as his arm, was going to take his name? He still couldn’t believe they were going through with this, couldn’t believe she
wanted
to be hitched to the likes of him.

He should have kept his big mouth shut and dreamed up another solution to her problem with her father. For instance, he could have threatened the man
within an inch of his life if he tried to interfere in Piper’s plans.

Quinn could have done that easily enough. He was the Rangers’ answer to persuading reluctant outlaws to offer needed information, after all. He was pretty sure he could have brought Roarke Sullivan around to Piper’s way of thinking. So
why
had he offered marriage?

He was still mulling over that bothersome question when the procession stepped into the justice of the peace’s office. Quinn came down with the worst case of the jitters he had ever experienced, thinking that his motives weren’t as honorable as he wanted to believe. He shot Piper another uneasy glance, noting that she had that determined look he had come to recognize at a glance. Well, if she had the gumption to marry him then he would see this through.

He wished he could figure out why he had suggested this marriage in the first place. Could it have been because of vanity? Good God, was he like every other man who secretly wished to claim her as his own—just because of her striking beauty and enormous wealth? Damn it, that put him in the same category with the long list of suitors she had rejected. Quinn cringed at the thought of being included in that list.

And what if she met some young officer at the fort and fell in love? Then what was she supposed to do about the husband she had married for convenience? The solution to one problem could cause more problems, Quinn mused as he watched the official fumble around in his desk to locate the necessary document. What if Piper decided to divorce him in six months?
How would he feel about cutting her loose to marry another man? Or worse, what if she considered divorce an unacceptable solution and decided to have an affair with someone else?

“Where are those confounded licenses?” the official muttered, jolting Quinn back to the present. “Ah, yes, here we go.”

The bald-headed justice of the peace laid the license on his desk, then glanced up. “Do you have a ring?”

Quinn dug into his pocket to retrieve the silver band he had purchased at the general store. It was cheap and unpretentious, but it was the best he had to offer on the spur of the moment.

It was an appropriate symbol of himself, he thought as he tucked the ring on his pinky finger for safekeeping.

His mind reeled as the official conducted the brief ceremony. Quinn choked out his I-dos and Piper did the same. And suddenly, they were man and wife.

When the official told him to kiss his bride, Quinn half turned to her, troubled by his ulterior motivations and feeling as awkward as all get-out about kissing her in front of his grinning colleagues. But when he stared into those silver-blue eyes and focused on those lush lips, he forgot there was anyone else in the office.