to. God knew he wasn’t fit to offer protection to anyone, let alone…
He tried without success to shake off the bitter memories. He hadn’t taught Ruth to protect herself. She’d been a gentle soul, and he hadn’t thought it was necessary. He’d sworn never to make himself responsible for any woman again.
If it weren’t for the Code—the same code that wouldn’t let him forget a debt—he wouldn’t be here now, able to make a choice like this. He would have been dead—if not physically, then in every other way that mattered. He would have thrown himself into a fight he couldn’t win, walked right into the Renier stronghold to take his revenge for Ruth’s murder and started shooting without caring who he killed.
But he was alive because of these women. They had saved him at considerable risk to themselves. He hadn’t intended to overhear their discussion in the yard, but his keen wolf’s hearing had made it impossible for him to avoid it. Now he knew how much they needed him.
He couldn’t do anything about their tricky situation here, surrounded by men who would no doubt be glad to take advantage of them and steal their cattle, if not their land. All he could do was discharge his debt, and maybe buy them a little more time.
“That is very generous of you, Mr. Constantine,” Bonnie said. “If you’re sure you’re able to—”
“No,” Serenity said, looking away. “Mr. Constantine has his own work to do. We would be selfish to keep him here.”
“Not at all, ma’am,” Jacob said. It was so easy to see through that tough facade to the scared woman beneath it. Scared of him. And he was sure that fear had something important to do with why there were no men here, why these women had made some kind of pact to keep the male sex from intruding on their domain.
He didn’t like to scare women. He’d known right off that Serenity had been bothered by seeing him without his shirt. It wasn’t just some kind of prudish disapproval. No, it went a lot deeper than that. If he’d known how hard she would take seeing him that way, he would have found something to throw over himself earlier.
She didn’t seem to appreciate that he’d done it now. “You don’t owe us anything,” Serenity said. “You can be on your way with our blessing.”
Bonnie Maguire met his gaze, begging him not to accept Serenity’s dismissal. She, along with the girl, Frances, and Changying, had no difficulty in accepting his presence here, while Caridad shared Serenity’s intense dislike. They weren’t all of the same mind.
“I pay my debts,” he said. “I know how to work cattle. I may be one man, but I’m good at what I do.”
“I said we don’t need you.”
“I think you do, and if you cared about this outfit and these friends of yours, you’d realize that.”
Angry blue eyes fixed on his. He had to admire Serenity Campbell in spite of himself. Scared she might be, but she would do everything in her power not to let him see it, not to show by a single word or deed that she was weak in any way. Just like she would do her best to hide her womanliness under ill-fitting boy’s clothes.
“Let him help us,” Bonnie said, resting her hand on Serenity’s arm. “Most of the branding will be over in a few weeks, and then he’ll be on his way. Won’t you, Mr. Constantine?”
Nothing in the world could keep me here, he thought. “That’s right, ma’am,” he said aloud. “Miss Campbell, you don’t have to worry. I’ll do my work and never trouble you again.”
Serenity weighed his words as if she were Blind Justice herself. “Let me make one thing clear, Mr. Constantine,” she said. “You will be here on sufferance. You will treat every woman here with courtesy and respect. You will give no orders. And you will make no advances. None of any kind.”
As if he would ever touch any woman who didn’t invite him to do so. That generally meant whores who made their living entertaining men. They didn’t expect anything from him but his money. Unlike Ruth, they could take care of themselves.
The woman standing before him would never invite any man to touch her.
“Do those rules suit you, Mr. Constantine?” she asked. “Because if they don’t—if you break a single one of them—we will drive you out. And if you fail to do your share of the work, or prove less competent than you claim, we will dispense with your services.”
Jacob hitched his thumbs in the waistband of his trousers. “I reckon you’ve made yourself clear, ma’am.”
It wasn’t the answer she’d expected. She’d wanted him to take offense, walk away and save her the trouble of dealing with him one moment longer.
“Bonnie,” she said, turning her back on him, “he still needs to be measured.”
“I’ll see to it.”
But the other woman didn’t move, and Serenity was the first to leave. She set off at a pace that must have challenged her small body and went into the bunkhouse.
“I’m sorry,” Bonnie said. “Serenity didn’t mean what she said.”
Jacob studied the redhead with interest. “I think she did,” he said.
Bonnie glanced down at the milk pail by her feet. “I’d better take this inside before something gets in it,” she said. “Come on in.”
He moved to pick up the pail, but she beat him to it. He followed her into the house, and watched as she carefully poured the contents of the pail into several bottles and capped them. “Where did you work cattle?” she asked.
“Lots of places,” he said, leaning a hip against the table.
“But you’re a bounty hunter now.”
“That’s right, ma’am.”
“Call me Bonnie.”
He wondered if calling her by her Christian name would break one of Serenity’s rules of conduct. “Have you been here long, Bonnie?” he asked.
“About a year.” She looked over her shoulder. “It’s a good place, with good people.”
“Miss Campbell didn’t want to tell me much about it,” he said. “Or about herself.”
“She never talks about herself, not even to us,” Bonnie admitted. “Don’t expect her to confide in you, of all people.” She turned to face him, bracing her hands behind her on the worktable. “Serenity bought this land
three and a half years ago,” she said. “The owner of the land had died, and his kinfolk wanted nothing to do with this country. There was nothing on it but a few corrals, and an old adobe casa that had already been done in by wind and rain. She, Zora and Caridad started with only a few cattle. Within two years there were ten women working here, and a lot more cattle.”
“Only ten women?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Usually it’s enough. Helene can’t ride, of course, but…”
Jacob paced away from the table, crossed the room and swung around
