Outlawed! Read online

  “I suppose,” he said, unconvinced. “I think we’d better get back to the ranch and make that call.”

  “Go ahead,” Delaney said, settling in behind the rock. “I’ll stay here and make sure they don’t get away.”

  “Sure you will,” he said, looking over at her. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

  “McLeod, I’m still the boss here.”

  He laughed. “I quit.”

  “You can’t quit, not now,” she snapped.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded as she got to her feet, pulled her rifle from her scabbard and started down toward the lake.

  She stopped to look back at him. “I want to know who’s been tormenting me.”

  Cooper let out an oath. “If they’re the ones who’ve been trying to kill you, don’t you think going down there and asking them could be a little dangerous?”

  She smiled at him. “I’ll just have to be more dangerous.”

  “We’ll have to be more dangerous,” he said with a growl.

  “I thought you quit,” she said sweetly.

  “Damn you, woman.”

  He grabbed her before she could move and dragged her into his embrace, cutting off any further argument with a kiss. His kisses had been sweet and gentle, hard and passionate. But this one was pure possession. It laid claim to her in a way that she’d never realized she wanted to be possessed. She would have let him take her right there in the rocks. She didn’t care for the moment about anything but Cooper and his mouth on hers. Then he raised his lips and looked down into her eyes.

  “We do this my way or I’ll turn you over my knee right now and—”

  She leaned up on tiptoes and kissed him. “You’re the boss,” she said, brushing her breasts against him.

  He groaned. “Right.”

  His gaze said everything she needed to know about how he felt, but still she wished he’d say the words.

  “Are you trying to tell me something, McLeod?” she asked softly, heart pounding.

  “Yeah.” His lips brushed hers. His tongue trailed along her lips, teasing, tempting. “I’m telling you, Delaney,” he said, his breath tickling her cheek. “That if you’re thinking of firing me, do it now.”

  “I thought you already quit?” she asked with a low laugh. “But what if I don’t plan to fire you?”

  He pulled back a little to gaze at her. Darkness had filled in around the boulders, under the pines. She could barely see his expression. “I’m an ex-con, Delaney, just as Jared told you. I’ve lied and cheated and—”

  “That isn’t what you want to tell me right now, is it, McLeod?”

  He groaned. “I’m trying to tell you, Delaney Lawson, that—”

  The engine stopped. The whine dissolved into the still night. Delaney’s eyes widened. They both scrambled to look over the rock to the lake below them.

  The divers had come out of the water and pulled the dredge up on the bank at the edge of the trees. For the first time Delaney noticed a vehicle waiting in the trees. It was just too dark to tell whose it was. “They’re going to get away.”

  “Dammit, Delaney, I love you,” Cooper said quietly behind her.

  She whirled around to smile at him. “I know, McLeod, but it’s good to hear it anyway. Maybe we could continue this later?”

  She started off the mountain, determined not to let the two claim jumpers get away. Behind her, she heard Cooper cussing, but nonetheless following her. She smiled to herself. “I love you, too, Cooper,” she whispered, but knew he couldn’t hear her.

  As she hurried down through the trees and boulders, she stepped on a rock that rolled with her weight. Cooper caught her and kept her from falling, but the rock tumbled down the hillside, crashing into the lake. The two divers, still in their drysuits, masks and regulators, turned in surprise at the sound.

  An instant later a rifle shot ricocheted off a rock to Delaney’s left. The shot echoed through the gulch as Cooper pulled her down behind a large boulder. “Do you think they’ll try to come up here after us?” she whispered, snuggling against him.

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her between his thighs. “I don’t know. I think it’s getting too dark for them to find us.”

  She could feel his heart beating against her back. “Cooper?”

  “Yes?”

  His breath on her neck was as gentle as a caress. “I love you, too.”

  His laugh was sweet and warm. “Your timing is amazing, Ms. Lawson. If someone wasn’t shooting at us, I’d—”

  An engine roared to life. Delaney leapt to her feet in time to see the lights as a vehicle rumbled off into the night. The divers and their equipment were gone. So was Buck’s new horse.

  THEY LED THEIR HORSES through the rocky path to the lakeshore in the darkness, going slow and easy. When they reached the lake, Cooper stood beside Delaney as she stared down into the water. Darkness had settled in, making it impossible to see even tire tracks in the dirt.

  All Cooper could think about was Delaney. She loved him. The thought made him want to smile and laugh, and take her in his arms and make love to her beside the lake.

  Then he remembered that she didn’t have any idea who he really was, what kind of man she’d fallen in love with. He worked for Rattlesnake Range, the agency trying to steal her ranch. And until she found out everything about him, her declaration of love meant nothing.

  “I can’t believe Buck would do this,” she said, her voice full of hurt. “I have to find him and talk to him.”

  Cooper followed her, wanting to settle things between the two of them rather than track down Buck, but knowing he would have to be patient. Delaney had a lot on her mind right now. She didn’t need any more disappointments at the moment. He admitted he was scared. How much more bad news could she take about him, Cooper wondered, and still love him?

  They mounted their horses and headed down the old mining road. The moon had come up behind Hogback Mountain. It now lit the sky over the tops of the trees, making riding easier.

  “Buck has changed since he’s met Angel,” Delaney said, riding beside him. “Buck told me he didn’t make enough money for her. I guess he could have decided to do a little moonlighting in Johnson Gulch Lake.”

  Cooper couldn’t think of anything to say to heal the hurt he heard in her voice. Nor did he have any doubt that Angel had changed the ranch manager. Loyalty meant everything to Delaney, he thought with growing fear. What would she do when she found out Cooper worked for Rattlesnake Range? When she found out why he’d come to the Rockin’ L in the first place?

  “I just find it hard to believe mining the lake would be worth it,” Delaney said. “There can’t be that much gold in this creek to jeopardize his job.”

  That was the question, wasn’t it, Cooper thought, remembering Dude’s story about the guy from Burton Mining Company. “Maybe there’s more gold here than any of us knows,” he said, and told her what he’d heard at the York Bar from Dude about Burton Mining Company and the sheriff.

  “I knew it. Jared told me things were going on under my nose and I was too dumb to see them. He acted as if he was angry with Buck. Now I know why. Jared’s in this up to his eyeballs.”

  “For once, we agree,” Cooper said. “When I was in his barn looking for the barred-shoe horse, I saw two guys hitting Ty up for money. They seemed to mean business. Then Ty headed straight for Jared and demanded money.”

  “And Jared gave it to him,” she said, shaking her head. “That explains how the two of them knew so much about what was happening on the Rockin’ L. They were sharing information.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. But if Ty’s the one shooting at you, then I’d bet the sheriff doesn’t know about it. He seemed genuinely concerned about your welfare, Delaney.”

  “Maybe,” she said quietly. “Until recently.”

  Cooper shoved back his hat and looked up at the stars, trying to put the pieces together. “This all has to do with gold, Delane
y. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re buying into Digger’s mother lode?”

  Cooper wasn’t sure what he believed anymore. “Well, Digger was right about the space aliens. Kinda. And now we find out there’s a mining company asking about your ranch—What if Digger’s right about Gus, too?”

  “You know, McLeod, sometimes I worry about you.” Suddenly Delaney reined in her horse. “Did you hear that?”

  Cooper stopped to listen. A horse whinnied and a moment later, the barred-shoe quarter horse came trotting out of the trees, riderless.

  “Why would Buck leave the horse behind?” Delaney asked as she watched the horse spook and take off down the road in the darkness.

  “Maybe he decided he couldn’t get away fast enough by horseback,” Cooper said in answer. “Wait here.” He and Crazy Jack went after the quarter horse the way Delaney imagined Cooper cut cattle out of a herd. Within minutes, he returned with the horse in tow.

  “I just don’t believe Buck would do anything to hurt me,” she said. “I’ve known him all my life. But whoever’s been riding that horse—”

  “Buck has been spending a lot of time with Angel instead of on the ranch,” Cooper said. “I guess someone else could have borrowed this horse.”

  Delaney was relieved Cooper was trying to help her defend Buck. But she couldn’t help thinking about what Jared had said, and his obvious anger at Buck. Something was going on right under her nose, and Buck had been so odd lately. Delaney had just assumed it was Angel who made Buck act that way. And, she reminded herself, she’d seen with her own eyes Buck on the barred-shoe horse, Buck riding up to the lake tonight, skirting the lake as if he hadn’t wanted to be seen. How much more evidence did she need?

  “Who else would have had access to this horse?” Cooper asked.

  “Angel, obviously. But Buck said she didn’t know how to ride, that he planned to teach her. I figured that’s why he bought her a hag like that one,” she said, turning in the saddle to look back at the quarter horse.

  They rode down to Buck’s place in the moonlight. His pickup was still parked next to the trailer where he’d left it earlier. Delaney dismounted and handed her reins to Cooper as she went to the door and knocked.

  “Buck?”

  No answer. She knocked again.

  Cooper had dismounted and was holding the horses. Delaney tried the door. It was open. She reached in and flipped on a light, then cautiously stepped inside.

  “Delaney?” she heard Cooper call to her.

  It didn’t take but a moment to see that the trailer was empty. What stopped her from returning to the yard was a large cardboard box in the center of the living room area. One worn leather glove lay on the floor beside the box. The glove drew her, just the way it had as a child.

  “Delaney?” Cooper asked behind her, making her jump.

  She’d picked up the glove, and held it in her hand, the leather rough and ragged from use. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she looked up at Cooper.

  “Your father’s?” Cooper asked, glancing from the glove to the box. Cooper stepped past her into the room. “Is this his rodeo gear?”

  “Please, I don’t want to see any of it,” she pleaded. “Not now.” She handed him glove and swung around to leave.

  “What was Buck doing with this box?” Cooper demanded as he began to rummage through it.

  She stopped and turned slowly. “I don’t know. I’m not sure where it came from.”

  “Delaney, are you telling me you’ve never seen it before?” he asked. “I thought you said you went through all of your father’s things.”

  She frowned as she stepped closer. “I thought I did.”

  Cooper turned the flap up. “This was recently mailed to the Rockin’ L. From Texas.”

  “That’s where my father died. You don’t think—”

  But Cooper was already digging through the contents. “Does Buck pick up ranch mail?” he asked.

  “Yes, we both do. Why wouldn’t he have told me about this box?” The moment she asked the question, she knew. Buck had helped her go through her father’s things right after his death. He knew how upset she’d been.

  “Delaney, from the looks of it, these were the clothes your father was wearing when—” Suddenly Cooper stopped digging and turned. He held an envelope in his hand. Her name had been printed on it in her father’s scrawl. She stared at it, unable to reach for it.

  “You want me to open it?” Cooper asked.

  She nodded as she dropped onto the couch, and Cooper sat down beside her. The sweet scent of summer drifted in through the open door on the night breeze. Delaney pulled her knees up and studied the carpet pattern as Cooper carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the papers inside.

  “It looks like a note to you,” he said.

  “Please read it to me,” Delaney said, resting her chin on her knees.

  Dearest daughter,

  Writing this is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I can’t tell you what goes through a man’s mind to find out at this age how little he really knows about himself. But the past few days I’ve learned a lot. And I’ve had to face things about myself. I wasn’t much of a father to you, Delaney, and I’m sorry. You and your mama, you were the strong ones. ‘Course you know that by now. Take care of yourself.

  I love you, Dad

  Delaney felt tears fill her eyes and flood over onto her jeans. He’d written her the letter trying to explain why he’d left the ranch to Ty, his son.

  “There’s more, Delaney. It’s his will. It’s short and to the point, but it’s dated and witnessed.” Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him scan the document. “He left you the ranch.”

  Her head jerked up. Her heart raced. “When was it dated?”

  “The day before he died.” Cooper smiled at her. “He left you everything, Delaney, all his earthly possessions, except for his rodeo gear. He left that to his son, Ty Drummond.”

  Delaney took the will Cooper handed her and read the words for herself, still unbelieving. “He loved me,” she said, unable to stop the flow of tears. “I guess I never really knew that until this moment.”

  Cooper smoothed her hair back from her face. “There’s another note in the envelope,” he said, handing it to her.

  It was to Ty.

  Dear son,

  I thought long and hard about everything you said to me the other day. The last thing I want is to leave a legacy of pain. You never had a father. Neither did Delaney. The ranch is more Delaney’s than it ever was mine. She’s loved it and worked it, two things I didn’t. So, Ty, I’m leaving you all that I ever owned. I hope you see fit to live a different life than I did.

  Your father

  She looked over at Cooper. He smiled at her and pulled her into his arms. “It’s going to be all right now,” she said against his shirt. “The accidents will stop. It’s over, Cooper. It’s finally over.” She leaned back to look into his face and her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

  He glanced away. “I’m just not so sure about that, Delaney.”

  She looked out the door into the night. “You mean Buck? As soon as he comes back, I’m sure he’ll have an explanation for what’s been going on.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” he said. “I sure hope so.” He released her and stood. “I’d better get that horse unsaddled and into the corral.”

  Delaney followed him, pressing the will and letters close to her heart. She thought of her father. All the hurts and resentments over the years. In time they would fade into soft memories like old photographs. She saw her father so differently through the eyes of Marguerite, through his own eyes at the end. She knew that for the first time in her life she would be able to forgive him. And that she had never stopped loving him.

  “Delaney?”

  She looked up to find Cooper standing by the barred-shoe horse, one hand on the saddle, the other resting on the horse’s back.

  “Delaney
, would you turn on that other outside light for me?”

  She stepped back to the trailer to accommodate him. The yard light came on, spilling over the corral. Delaney looked up and saw the expression on Cooper’s face. “What is it?” she asked, her heart taking off at a gallop.

  “I think you’d better call the sheriff,” he said.

  She stepped over to the horse. And saw the blood on the saddle. Too much blood.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Buck could be out there, hurt somewhere,” Delaney cried. “You have to go look for him.”

  Cooper stood in the shadows, trying hard to stay out of it. He watched Jared Kincaid glance out into the darkness. “I have men out searching, Del, but I can tell you right now, it won’t do any good until we’ve got some daylight.” He touched the blood on the saddle and studied it in the yard light. “It’s warm out tonight. If he’s just hurt, he’ll survive till morning. If he’s already dead, it won’t make a difference.”

  “Damn you, Jared,” she swore. “You knew about Buck dredging Johnson Gulch Lake, didn’t you?”

  The sheriff pulled off his Stetson, ran his fingers through his hair and let out a long, irritated sigh. “Del, I’m trying to be patient with you, but I’m getting real tired of your accusations.” He turned his gaze on her, as steely and cold as the barrel of a gun. “You got proof, you want to file a complaint, then do it. Otherwise—”

  If he thought to intimidate Delaney Lawson, he thought wrong. Cooper smiled to himself as he watched Delaney. What a little spitfire she was. He remembered the first time he’d seen her. The fire in her eyes. The determination in her stance. He’d put his money on this woman any day.

  “Jared, I know you’ve been paying my brother to spy on me,” she snapped.

  The sheriff pushed back his hat. “I loaned your brother some money, if that’s what you’re talking about, Del.” He frowned at her. “I felt sorry for him. I know what it’s like to be the black sheep of the family.”

  “I’ll just bet you do,” she said, her eyes darker than the night. “You might want to tell Ty that I found my father’s will. Dated just before he was killed. The Rockin’ L is mine and it will stay mine.”