felt the blush staining her neck and face but in the dim light he would not see it. Really, he had no way of knowing that in the deep hours of the night she had entertained intimate thoughts of him.
What wife would not? Boone Walker intrigued her in ways that no man ever had. Even men she had known for quite some time.
“That goes without saying,” she said demurely, but there was that in her that stuffed down a sliver of disappointment. If a woman was to be compromised by such a man, it could not truly be called a compromise.
Prudent women might call her a fool for feeling such stirrings for a stranger—a reportedly dangerous stranger—but Rebecca would not. Rebecca knew that Melinda was an astute judge of character.
“I won’t make unreasonable claims upon you, unless we are playing our parts.”
“I do appreciate your restraint.” She tried not to smile.
He nodded, sighed even.
“I’ll protect you with my blood if it comes to it. I just ask that you respect my decisions when it has to do with your safety.”
The last thing she wanted was his blood on her conscience. She had come to restore him to his family not take him away.
“I will do my very best,” she answered more somberly.
“Well, then.” He offered his hand, as though to seal the conditions of their agreement. “I believe we’ll have a good marriage.”
He might not think so if he knew how the press of his palm on hers made her stomach flutter.
“Good night, then.” She withdrew her hand, scooted down beside the dog and closed her eyes.
Sadly, no matter how tightly she squeezed them shut, she could not hide from a niggling suspicion.
It was not impossible that there might be something between her and Boone and it wasn’t Stanley Smythe.
Sitting on a grassy incline that overlooked a fresh-running stream, Boone savored the last breath of warmth from the fading day. He shuffled through the handwritten notes that Mathers had supplied.
It wasn’t comfortable reading about the town and its trouble because, in his time, he’d caused a fair share of trouble. He’d been the outlaw they feared.
Hell, he’d become more than that. Common outlaws could be found on every saloon corner, but his reputation had snowballed until he was seen as a monster.
And all because of bad timing.
Until the day he’d robbed the saloon in Dry Creek, he’d been as common as any other thief. That day, with his pockets comfortably sagging with cash, he’d gone out, passing a man going in. That man, reportedly angry at finding the coffers empty, had killed four people, women among them.
The killer was as common-looking as beans. Boone was tall; he had looked threatening that afternoon. So it’s him they remembered...him they gave the blame to. Word spread that the pair of them were partners. After that, fear and a natural love of gossip attached many sinister stories to him. Some of them actually happened, just not by his hand. Others were born of ripe and idle imaginations.
Reaching into his shirt pocket, he withdrew the bent badge Mathers had given him and rubbed his thumb over the tarnished metal.
Holding this symbol of law and order in his hand, knowing that he would one day pin it on his vest, made him feel like an imposter. This business of upholding law and order was the last thing he’d ever imagined he would be doing.
Never expected he’d be anything other than a two-bit criminal.
He’d been a novice at crime, though, compared to the outlaws he would be facing.
The sun sat low and bright over the horizon. It was only an hour before sundown. They’d reach Jasper Springs by noon tomorrow.
That didn’t give him long to figure out a way to round up six bloodstained souls. He’d have a better shot at it if he had the meanness in him that his reputation said he did.
All he was, was a survivor. He reckoned that would have to do.
A rustle of petticoats approached from behind. Melinda sat beside him, a blanket drawn across her shoulders. Funny how it smelled as if she’d brought a handful of sweet-smelling flowers along with her.
“I’d like to read those.” She pointed to the papers he held.
He shook his head. “It’s not fit reading for a lady’s eyes.”
Eyes that had been as agreeable as sugar suddenly narrowed at him. “If that lady’s life depends upon knowing what she is up against, it is fit reading.”
She wouldn’t find it pleasant, but he handed them over.
A gust of cool wind rustled the pages in her hand. She pressed them to her bosom. He tried his best not to notice.
For a long time she was silent. A delicate line creased her forehead while she read.
Was she seeing his face when she read about the outlaws? That alone would be enough to make him feel guilty about his past, even though it was not as black as she must think. Funny how a man wanted his wife’s respect. It didn’t matter that he barely knew her or that she wouldn’t be his wife for long.
“Six King brothers in all,” she sighed. The blamed wind tugged at the paper. She pressed it to her chest again. The way the pages flapped against her bosom made it impossible not to think about—hell’s curses—unsuitable things. “What will we do?”
“‘We’ will not do anything.” He shot her a severe frown but she did not react to it. “This is all on me. The one and only reason you are here is for show.”
With a delicate arch of her brow, she questioned him.
“Let’s see...” She tapped her finger on the paper on her breast. He turned his gaze to the water rolling by, staring at each ripple with dedicated concentration. “There’s Efrin King, the oldest, known as King Cobra. It says here that he’s a greedy soul, in love with money and power. Then we have Buck King—King Diamond Back. He’s second by birth and they say that he is jealous of Efrin. And what about Lump King? King Horny Toad is simpleminded, quite evil nevertheless. I’ve got to say, that one worries me, Boone. You can’t think to take on this whole family alone?”
“Look, I know you want to help. Seems to be in your nature to. But this is dangerous business. The only way of coming out of it whole is if you do what I tell you to without question.”
“I reckon you can handle Olfin—King Hornet.” Blamed, if the woman hadn’t just ignored him. “It’s says here he’s not as bad as the others, just sort of goes along.”
He should have refused to involve Melinda in this, at least more forcefully than he had. Here she was, as determined as a bee collecting pollen, to put her nose where it didn’t belong.
“I
