Texas Bride

The quiet voice that whispered in her heart usually provided inspiration, but today it brought only tears and a lost, empty feeling that tugged at her soul. Maddie sniffled, wiped the tears from her cheeks, then curled up in the straw. Sighing heavily, she closed her eyes and forced herself to unwind emotionally and allow her tense body to relax.

After giving herself an hour to rest, and ensuring that gathering darkness would work to her advantage, Maddie eased between the dangling boards and slithered from the livery. Clinging to the shadows, she stepped onto the boardwalk to return to the hotel to confront Jonah again. She intended to leave town at daybreak, and that bullheaded Texas Ranger was going to be riding horseback beside her, she vowed resolutely. He could come willingly—or not. His choice. But he was definitely accompanying her to West Texas to save Christina.

Maddie recoiled in alarm when an unseen hand snaked out to clamp over the lower portion of her face. She was jerked roughly back against a foul-smelling body.

“Gotcha,” one of the scoundrels sniggered in her ear.

Helpless frustration hammered through Maddie when her captor hooked his free arm around her waist, left her feet dangling in midair and carted her into the alley. She battled for all she was worth to escape imminent disaster, quickly discovering that it wasn’t fear that ruled her chaotic emotions, it was fury. She struck her heels against the man’s shins and bit a chunk out of his hand, forcing him to release her.

Once she was free to snatch a quick breath, Maddie screamed bloody murder, ducked her head and plowed into the second man, who stood directly in her escape route to the boardwalk. She was not going down without a fight, she promised herself as the top of her head collided with the man’s soft underbelly.

Maddie darted sideways when he swore foully and stumbled over his feet. She thought she was home free as she sprinted toward the street, but his partner tackled her from behind and sent her pitching forward in the dirt. Arms flailing wildly, Maddie kicked like a mule and screamed again at the top of her lungs. Expecting to be clubbed on the head with the butt end of a pistol any moment now, she flopped this way and that, hoping someone would hear her shouts of alarm and come to her rescue.

And sure enough, a hard thump connected with her skull, causing a starburst of color to explode around her. Maddie wilted in the dirt.

The world spun out of focus and swallowed her in silence.

Chapter Two

J onah was in the restaurant, savoring a bite of juicy steak that had been cooked to his specifications, when he heard a feminine shriek in the distance. Although the other customers merely glanced curiously toward the door, Jonah drew his Colt and was on his feet in a single bound.

The second shriek put Jonah in a dead run, and he followed the sound to an alley that was two doors down from the restaurant. The instant he spotted the downed female being dragged deeper into the shadows by two men, Jonah charged like a one-man army. He sent one of the men to his knees with a well-aimed kick to the groin. A doubled fist to the jaw left the other spinning like a top before he collapsed in the dirt.

Jonah reached down to grab a handful of Maddie’s soiled gown and hoisted her up beside him. When her legs folded up like a tent, he curled his injured arm around her waist to lend support. Despite the pain that was throbbing like a son of a bitch in his shoulder he gave her a shake to rouse her to consciousness.

Big mistake, Jonah realized. She came to, fighting to escape. “Hold still, damn it,” he growled. “It’s just me.”

“About time you showed up,” she muttered as she sagged heavily against him.

“You’re welcome,” he snapped sarcastically.

The feel of her full breasts meshed to his chest and her lower abdomen pressing against his hip were vivid reminders of his unwanted response to this troublesome woman. Hell and damnation, she affected him worse than a rattlesnake bite.

Despite the ache in his left arm, he didn’t nudge Maddie away as he should have, just steadied her against him. He vented his frustration on the two men, who were staring warily at the speaking end of his Colt.

“If you boys lay your hands on my wife again I’ll blow them off at the wrists,” he snarled—and wondered why he had claimed she was his wife. Dealing with Maddie had obviously made him crazy. It was the only explanation.

“Your wife?” the men echoed in unison.

“That’s right,” Jonah confirmed. “If you go near her there will be hell to pay. Do we understand each other?”

Both men nodded, then one of them said, “But Maddie is still a thief and she has our money. We’ll let the town marshal deal with her if she doesn’t give it back!”

The familiar use of her name and the challenging remark triggered another round of uncertainties in Jonah. Maybe Maddie was the world’s biggest con artist and she had stolen their money, but these two rascals weren’t going to drag her off by her heels, search her person and spitefully use her to appease their lust. No matter who or what she really was Jonah refused to stand aside and see her mauled.

“It is not their money,” Maddie muttered as Jonah drew her backward toward the street. “I don’t know who they are. I swear it. They are nothing but clever—”

When her voice evaporated and she slumped against him, Jonah grimaced at the excessive pressure on his injured arm. He glanced down to see Maddie’s head loll against his chest and her uncoiled hair cascade over his wrist. She’d fainted, he realized. And most likely at her convenience.

Muttering at the constant inconvenience this female caused him, he scooped her up in his arms and pivoted toward the hotel. The bystanders who had congregated in the alley parted like a curtain as he carried her across the street.

Jonah made the mistake of glancing down into Maddie’s ashen face when he stepped into the lighted hotel lobby. She reminded him of a fairy princess who only needed a prince’s kiss to revive her. Well, she might be akin to a princess—who knew for sure?—but he sure as hell was no Prince Charming. He was not going to yield to the temptation of kissing her because he didn’t want to know how she tasted. He was afraid he’d like it too much.

“My God, what happened to your wife?” Charley Halbert, the hotel proprietor, asked in concern.

“Too much excitement. She fainted.” Jonah inclined his head toward the door. “Would you trot across the street to pick up my unfinished dinner?” He stared pensively at Maddie, wondering if she’d taken time to eat while she was on the run. As an afterthought he added, “And order a steak for my wife, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Danhill. Always glad to help a Ranger, ever since a Ranger helped me out of a scrape once.” Charley darted off while Jonah ascended the steps.

He resituated Maddie in his good arm and retrieved the key from his pocket. She roused with a wobbly moan as he carried her into the room to deposit her on his bed. He watched her blink a couple of times to get her bearings before those mesmerizing, tawny-colored eyes settled on him. She appraised his faded black shirt, breeches and scuffed boots before she gazed at his face.

“You got your hair cut,” she said sluggishly.

“Thanks for noticing. You fainted. When was the last time you ate?” Jonah didn’t trust himself to sit beside her on the bed, so he propped himself against the wall.

Maddie levered herself onto an elbow, raked the disheveled tendrils of golden hair away from her face and said, “Yesterday. And thank you for coming to my rescue. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful earlier. Being mauled, tackled and pounded on the head made me testy.”

Jonah was on the move in one second flat to determine if she did indeed have a knot on her head or if she was using the ploy to gain his sympathy. Sure enough, his fingertips skimmed over a noticeable swelling. Switching directions, he grabbed the pitcher from the commode, dribbled water onto a towel and placed the compress against her head. She winced slightly at the contact, then brushed his hand away to hold the wet cloth against her injury.

She stared him squarely in the eye again. “Why did you tell those men that I was your wife?”

“Damned if I know,” Jonah replied flippantly. “It just sort of popped out of my mouth. It seemed a legitimate reason to demand that they keep their distance from you.”

She cocked her head and studied him for another long, contemplative moment. “You don’t like me very much, do you, Mr. Danhill?”

“It’s Jonah. And no, I don’t,” he said candidly. “But don’t take it personally. I don’t like anyone very much.”

His plainspoken comment caused the corners of her Cupid’s bow mouth to curve upward, and Jonah felt another unwanted jolt of attraction sizzling through his unruly body.

“I’m not particularly fond of men in general,” she admitted. “Most of them seem to harbor ulterior motives. It has been my experience not to trust what they say until I see what they are willing to do, and determine how far they are willing to go to get what they want.”

Jonah decided Maddie’s insight was right on the mark. But natural suspicion made him wonder if this quick-thinking female was simply trying to get on his good side by agreeing with his wary approach to life.

“Half of the men I know try to flatter me while they court me for my inheritance. The other half seem intent on stealing it outright,” she added, then frowned curiously at him. “My money is in a safe place, I hope?”

“You’re lying on top of it,” Jonah informed her. “Whether it’s yours or not, I stuffed it under the mattress.”

She got that determined look on her face again as she leaned toward him. “I am telling you the truth. Didn’t I own up to the fact right off that I lied to the hotel proprietor in order to enter your room?”

Jonah scoffed. “An honest liar. That’s a new one.” He flashed her a sardonic glance. “My faith in your integrity and sincerity is growing by leaps and bounds.”

She jerked up her delicate chin and thrust back her shoulders in offended dignity. Jonah’s attention immediately dropped to the full swells of her breasts and he cursed himself inventively for becoming distracted.

“Fibbing to the hotel manager is the only thing I have lied to you about. And that is the truth,” she declared. “I am the innocent victim here!”

“I’ve heard the same claim of innocence from every lying, cheating criminal I’ve hauled to jail,” he said cynically.

“I am not a criminal,” Maddie maintained. “How many times do I have to tell you that my sister and I are victims before you believe it?” She huffed out a frustrated breath. “If you weren’t so pigheaded you might be able to figure that out…!”

Her voice trailed off as she grabbed her aching head. She continued in a softer tone. “Name your price for escorting me home, Jonah. In addition to paying you in cold hard cash I’ll even promise to be nice to you during the journey.”

He crossed his arms over his broad chest and stared her down. “Given that decent folks are rarely nice to me—except when they want something—and the scoundrels I encounter curse me to hell and back, that might serve as incentive. But I’m not inclined to tramp through West Texas.”

Her perfectly arched brows lifted quizzically and she smiled impishly at him. “Why not? Don’t you like the scenery?”

“I like it fine. It’s just that—”

An abrupt knock rattled the door. Jonah strode over to retrieve the tray of food Charley provided.

“I’ll settle up with you later,” Jonah promised as the man craned his neck around the door to check on Maddie’s condition.

“Glad to see you’re feeling better,” Charley said compassionately. “I know Mr. Danhill was dreadfully worried about you.”

Jonah rolled his eyes in annoyance while Charley poured on the fatherly charm and Maddie left him basking in a radiant smile. Hard-hearted though he was, even Jonah felt himself responding to Maddie’s dazzling expression.

Definitely trouble, he reminded himself. If a man wasn’t careful and vigilant he could become intoxicated by those whiskey-colored eyes and bewitched by that smile.

Jonah planned to be damn careful and vigilant.

When Charley exited, Maddie levered herself upright to dive into her meal like a woman who had been on prison rations for days on end. She was halfway through her steak before she remembered Jonah had been about to tell her why he found West Texas distasteful.

“Why don’t you like my part of the country?” she asked curiously.

He shrugged impossibly broad shoulders, swallowed a bite of fried potatoes and said, “Long story.”

Exasperated, Maddie tossed him a withering glance. “I realize you are a man of few words, but you’ll have to do better than that.”

“Why do you care?” he asked between bites.

“Because I’ll be traveling with you,” she said matter-of-factly.

He glared at her. “I have not agreed to go.”

Maddie smiled confidently. “But you will. You didn’t want to rescue me from those thieves, either, but you did because that’s simply the kind of man you are.”

Jonah set aside his fork and glared flaming arrows at her. “Look, lady—”

“Maddie,” she corrected, flashing another charming smile.

He ignored that. “I’m no do-gooder. I do what I’m paid to do, which is fight outlaws and renegades. I have personal reasons for avoiding your part of the country. I don’t want to discuss them, I’m not going and that’s that.”

Maddie finished her meal, set aside her plate and surged to her feet. The room careened around her momentarily, but she inhaled a steadying breath, then reached beneath the mattress to locate the money. She felt Jonah’s intense gaze drilling into her, but he said not one word as she sorted the banknotes from his clothing. She noticed the moccasins among his belongings. A reminder of the past he’d been forced to leave behind, no doubt.

She stuffed the money inside the bodice of her soiled dress—save a few dollars to compensate Jonah for the meal and his assistance. Resolved to the inevitable, she pivoted toward the door. “Goodbye, Jonah. I hope your shoulder heals without complication.”

“Where are you going?” he demanded gruffly as she clamped her hand around the doorknob.

“Out of your life.” She tilted her head at a dignified angle. “I have obviously misjudged you. My mistake. The past six months have taught me to cut my losses and get on with life. I have learned that I have no one to depend on but myself. Dealing with you has reinforced what I already knew and simply allowed myself to forget while facing all this emotional turmoil.” She drew herself up, inhaled a determined breath and said, “I will handle this myself, as usual. Rest assured that I won’t inconvenience you again.”

And then she walked from the room and left him sitting on his bed with his plate on his lap.

Maddie had finally accepted the fact that she was wasting precious time trying to elicit Jonah’s cooperation. She had pleaded, demanded and even tried to charm him. Nothing had worked on that stubborn, ill-mannered, suspicious Ranger.

Time was of the essence and she had no choice but to gather her carpetbag, buy a horse from the livery and race home. If she departed during the night she might even gain a head start on those two ruffians.

For certain, she wasn’t waiting for the afternoon stage, knowing those two riders would follow closely behind it, awaiting the chance to attack and divest her of the money. Furthermore, Maddie was not going to risk involving other innocent victims in her problems. There was no telling how many stage passengers might be accidentally injured because of her. She couldn’t bear the thought of carrying more guilt on her conscience. She had plenty of emotional burdens trying to drag her down as it was.

Maddie made a quick transaction with the owner of the livery, who kept sleeping quarters near the front door of the barn. Within a few minutes she had a horse, saddle and tack at her disposal. Leading the mount around the barn, she wiggled between the dangling boards to fetch her satchel. She nearly leaped out of her skin when she emerged to see a looming shadow off to her left. She shrank back so quickly that she conked her tender head on the board.

“Ouch!” She hissed in pain.

“Nice accommodations.” Jonah smirked as he reached down to assist her to her feet. “You do travel in style, princess.”

She could have sworn she heard a hint of amusement in that deep baritone voice. Mr. Hard-hearted Texas Ranger had a sense of humor? She wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t heard it with her own ears.

“Kinda makes a man wonder if you’re the wealthy heiress you’ve implied that you are.”

Ah, the sarcasm was back. Now that she recognized.

Gathering her dignity around her like a fur cloak, Maddie tied her satchel behind the saddle and pulled herself astride the horse. She deeply regretted that Jonah wouldn’t be accompanying her, but that adage stating that you couldn’t lead a jackass where it didn’t want to go certainly applied. Mule-headed Danhill had only followed her this far so he could harass her one last time for good measure.

Nudging the mare, Maddie veered around the barn and circled through the small residential area behind Main Street to reach the trodden path west. Behind her she heard the clip-clop of hooves and she twisted in the saddle to see Jonah sitting atop a horse that looked as black as the devil’s heart. Of course, it was dark, so she couldn’t be positively certain the horse was solid black, but that’s just the way she would have pictured Jonah’s mount—coal-black in color, irascible in disposition and as independent as a polecat.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” she commented when she reached the open road.

“I’m not. Just checking to see if this is another of your spectacular exits to milk my sympathy,” he said as he eased his mount up beside her. “Did you pack trail rations?”

“No, I’ll chew on my fingernails if I get hungry,” she said smartly.

“No canteen of water?”

“I’ll suck on a pebble if I get thirsty,” she assured him aloofly.

“Are you armed?” Jonah asked as she urged her mount into an easy canter.

“Yes, I can shoot off my mouth with lightning speed,” she insisted. “Now go away. I’m sure that soft mattress at the hotel is calling to you. You’ve made it abundantly clear that you don’t like me and don’t believe me.”

Maddie was inordinately pleased and enormously relieved that he continued to ride beside her rather than reversing direction. She felt as if the heavy yoke of responsibility and desperation that had been bearing down on her shoulders had eased slightly.

Two miles later she glanced at Jonah and asked, “What made you change your mind?”

“I’m still trying to figure that out,” he said sourly.

She smiled in the darkness as a sense of comfort and satisfaction stole over her, easing her nervous apprehension somewhat. Jonah hadn’t turned his back on her, after all. Despite his surly disposition, he had a good heart.

“Don’t get cocky,” he warned darkly. “I’m not here because I’m starting to like you or because I believe your story. I’m only here to see that you complete the first leg of your journey without mishap.”

“So…” she said, biting back a pleased grin “…you are going no farther than Fort Griffin?”

“That’s right. After that you’re on your own. I’m only doing this for the money. So don’t think you can gallop off without paying for my escort service.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Maddie frowned, bemused, when she realized her manner of speech had become as condensed as his. She would have preferred that something else about him might rub off on her. Such as his impressive fighting and survivalist skills. Fortunately, she was no slouch when it came to riding. Her father had taught both of his daughters to be accomplished equestrians.

The thought of her father melted the smile from her lips and caused the empty ache to expand in her chest. Six months ago Maddie hadn’t been overwhelmed with responsibility and hadn’t had a care in the world, except for dodging marriage proposals that didn’t interest her.

Now her father was gone, cattle rustlers were depleting ranch profits and Christina had been snatched up while she’d been taking an afternoon ride on her favorite mount. The world had caved in on Maddie, testing her spirit, her emotions and her strength of character. She was almost afraid to ask herself what else could possibly go wrong, for fear that it would sound like a defiant challenge and more tormenting blows she’d be dealt would send her reeling.

The prospect that her life might get even worse before it got better was a depressing thought that caused Maddie to slump in the saddle. In addition, the dull throb in her skull tempted her to close her eyes and catch a catnap. Willfully, she thrust back her shoulders and tilted her chin. She was not stopping to rest until she’d placed several miles between herself and those scoundrels.

A few miles later Maddie felt her eyelids drooping and her rigid posture sagging. She was exhausted, and the adrenaline high that had sustained her the past two days was fizzling out. Despite her firm resolve, her chin bobbed against her chest and she fell asleep in the saddle.

Jonah grabbed Maddie’s arm the split second before she cartwheeled to the ground. Although this headstrong female annoyed him to no end, he reluctantly admired her determination—misguided though it probably was. With more gentleness than he realized he possessed, he eased Maddie’s limp body forward until she was draped over the saddle, her cheek resting against the horse’s neck. Keeping a watchful eye on her, Jonah led her horse off the beaten path toward a creek lined with cottonwood and willow trees.

Leaving Maddie where she slept, he unrolled his pallet. When he pulled her from the saddle she didn’t wake up, just cuddled against him and sighed against his neck. The whisper of her breath was like a lover’s caress, and Jonah inwardly cursed when his contrary body responded and his imagination tried to run away with him.

Thoroughly aggravated at himself, Jonah laid Maddie on the pallet and covered her with the quilt. If he had been a gentleman he would have bedded down on the ground a respectable distance away. But he was a practical kind of man who saw no need to freeze his tail off for the sake of propriety. Just because he intended to share the makeshift bed with Little Miss I’ll-Go-It-Alone-If-You-Won’t-Help-Me Garret didn’t mean they were going to gain intimate knowledge of one another.

No, Jonah promised himself. He was not going to become physically or emotionally involved with this woman, even if his male anatomy was cursing his vow of abstinence.

At Fort Griffin, he planned to hire a guide to take her deeper into what had once been the Comanchería. If she got herself in trouble on the far side of the fort, then she was someone else’s problem. Jonah was going to head back to Coyote Springs, check into the hotel and hibernate like a grizzly until he was functioning at full capacity once again.

After unsaddling the horses and canvassing the campsite Jonah eased beneath the quilt. It occurred to him a few minutes later that he had never officially spent the night with a woman. Yes, he had shared a bed for an hour or two, but never actually slept beside a temporary lover. That implied a commitment Jonah was not willing to make.

He cast a quick glance at Maddie’s shadowed face and told himself that the only commitment he felt toward his pretend wife was to get her out of his hair—for good.

Wife? Jonah smirked caustically as he made the very practical and sensible decision to cuddle closer to Maddie to share warmth. Mrs. Jonah Danhill? That’d be the day, Jonah thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Serenaded by chirping birds, Maddie came awake the next morning to see the first colorful rays of dawn spearing through the overhanging trees. Propping herself on her elbow, she glanced sideways to see her mare tethered to a tree. The dark horse and its rider were nowhere to be seen.