Outlaw's Honor

She sighed. “Mariah is sure beautiful, but kind of secretive too.”

He cut his eyes to her. “Seriously, you’re that determined to talk about her?”

“Okay, I’ll lay off, but I think there is more to the story.”

Darby was saved as Billie Dee came in the back door singing about saints marching in.

* * *

“CAN I GET A color this week?”

Maggie looked up from her scheduling book in surprise to see Wendy Westbrook standing in front of her. She glanced around expecting to see Tori Clark with the girl. The two were inseparable. Across the street, she spotted Tori with her little sister Quinn. The younger one seemed to be arguing that she wanted to leave, but Tori was holding tight to the back of her sister’s hoodie.

“Did you have a day in mind?” Maggie asked, noticing that Wendy was trying to read the schedule book upside down.

“I don’t know. What do you have?” the teen said around a wad of gum.

“I would imagine you’ll need it after school—”

“No, it doesn’t matter. During the day is fine. Maybe...” Her gaze was on the book in front of Maggie. “Wednesday’s good at nine. I don’t have a class until after lunch that day.”

“Fine, I’ll pencil you in. You’ll let me know if you change your mind.” Maggie had dealt with these girls when they were younger.

“I won’t,” Wendy said, and she popped a bubble with her gum as she turned and left.

Across the street, Tori Clark finally let go of her little sister as Wendy streaked across to join them. She watched for a moment as the two friends put their heads together, then laughed, but they were soon chasing after Quinn who was a half block away.

Maggie wondered for a moment what she’d just witnessed. Then she picked up the phone and called Wendy’s mother.

Rachel Westbrook answered on the fourth ring. She sounded out of breath. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry, this is Maggie Thompson at Just Hair. Did I catch you in the middle of something?”

“Yoga.”

“I’ll let you get right back to it. Wendy was just in and scheduled—”

“Do you need my credit card number right now?” She still sounded out of breath. Also from some distance, a male voice said, “Hang up. Buy something later,” then laughed.

“Not necessary. Sorry to interrupt.” Maggie hung up, telling herself that if Wendy didn’t show for her appointment, she thought Rachel would be happy to pay anyway since everyone in town knew that her pilot husband, Don, was away flying the Seattle–New York route for the next two weeks.

* * *

DARBY REALIZED THAT every day Mariah was scheduled to work, he found himself listening for the rumble of her motorcycle. Today was no different. And every day he knew that he might not hear it. He might not hear it ever again.

Would she just give up and leave? That he doubted. No, he thought she would come for the bracelet. He just didn’t know how—or if she would have help. So far he hadn’t seen her with anyone. Men hit on her at the bar, but she brushed them off like flies. No, he didn’t think she would enlist anyone to help her. Mariah was too independent for that.

Darby had watched her rub her bare wrist sometimes as if it hurt. As if the bracelet was a missing limb. We should stop this, he thought. End this before it goes any further.

But this past week, he’d awakened every day with excitement in his belly. He’d looked forward to the days that he worked with Mariah. There was an anticipation in him that made the food that Billie Dee cooked taste even more amazing.

Darby couldn’t explain this feeling. All he knew was that he didn’t want to go back to the days before Mariah.

It was crazy and he knew it. His sister was right. He still had no idea who the woman really was. Or what she was capable of. But as insane as it seemed, that was part of the excitement.

At the growl of her motorcycle engine, he felt himself relax. It was just another day at the saloon. But at the back of his mind, he wondered how long this could last. How long she was going to let it?

* * *

“SORRY ABOUT EARLIER,” Lillie said as she plopped down at the bar several hours later. “I didn’t mean to give you a hard time about Mariah.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure the woman couldn’t hear, but Mariah was busy with a group that had just come in. “I hate this new schedule. I never see you anymore. I miss talking with you.”

“I miss you too. But soon your house will be done, you’ll be happily married and summer will be over. Things always slow down in the winter. But right now, you have a lot on your plate.”

She groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

“Oh, come on—it can’t be that bad.”

“Ha. Like you know anything about it. What kind of decorating have you done with the apartment?” she asked.

He laughed. “You can’t stand it. You want to see upstairs, don’t you?”

“I just want to see what you’ve done.”

“Lillie, you know me. I haven’t done anything.”

“I could help you.”

He shook his head. “Don’t look so disappointed. I love you, but the apartment will never be as nice as when you lived there. I like things...simple.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to add just a few things. Maybe some pillows or a wall hanging or—”

“Lillie, what is going on with you?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” she snapped as she got up to come around the bar and poured herself a cola. “I will never understand you. Kendall was all wrong for you, according to you. But Mariah? What are you waiting for?”

He looked across the room at the woman taking orders from the large table. Mariah made it look easy. She made a lot of things look easy and appealing. He liked the way she smelled, that citrusy perfume she wore. He liked the way she moved, like a sleek cat. He liked the way she smiled, her dark eyes gleaming.

“She likes you, so what is the problem?” his sister demanded quietly.

He chuckled. “You’re sure it’s me she’s interested in?”

“What? You think she wants the bar?” Lillie shook her head. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”

“Really?” he asked, turning to gaze into his sister’s beautiful face. “And how exactly does she look at me?”

“Like a woman who is trying to figure out a man. But it is more than that. She looks at you like she has feelings for you and she wishes she didn’t.”

Darby laughed. “All that in a look?”

“Make fun, but it’s true. And you know what? I can tell that you are interested in her. I’ve seen you watching her.” Lillie grinned as if she’d discovered a truth that he’d tried hard to hide. “Admit it.”

“I’m fascinated by the woman,” Darby confessed.

“I knew it. So ask her out.”

He shook his head. “Fascinated from a distance, a safe distance. Like you pointed out before, what do we know about her?”

“You’re going to let fear stand in your way?” She sounded appalled. But then again, she was an engaged woman in love.

“Nothing wrong with a good healthy dose of fear.” He had good reason to fear Mariah’s motivations—and her interest in him.

* * *

MARIAH CAME BACK to the bar with her order. Darby had his arm around his sister as the two stood together laughing.

“You just need to settle into your new lifestyle,” Darby was saying to his sister. “Once the wedding is over and the house is done, you’ll be just fine. Trust me.”

Lillie smiled up at him. “I do trust you. Trust me. Take a chance.”

He laughed and gently pushed her away. “Go, bride-to-be. The sooner this wedding is over, the happier we will all be.”

As Mariah watched Lillie leave, she felt a pang of envy at how close Darby and Lillie were. She’d never had a sibling. Never had anyone who cared the way he did for his twin except maybe her grandmother, but no one since. Maybe things would have been different if she’d had a brother to look after her. She quickly shoved that thought away.

She’d never been one to live in the past. It did no good to spend her time going over the what-ifs. Things were the way they were. She had to deal with them.

The clock was ticking. She’d been here too long. She couldn’t stay much longer. So what was holding her up? She knew staying here was dangerous. But she couldn’t leave without her bracelet.

That was the only thing keeping her here, she told herself as Darby smiled as he took her drink order. She felt that tug at her heart, the one that told her she’d put off the inevitable too long. She had to end this.

* * *

IT WAS A busy night. Darby had spent it behind the bar, trying to keep up with drink orders. Mariah had kept up well with the demand on the floor. He had to hand it to her, she really was good at this.

When she came in for a drink order, he slipped her a water while she waited. She looked surprised, took a drink and said, “Thanks.” For a moment their eyes met. That thrill he’d felt that first day rippled through him.

He started to lift one of the drinks he’d made up to her tray. At the same time, she reached for it. Her fingers brushed against his. He felt a jolt and dropped the glass. It hit the edge of the bar and shattered, glass going everywhere along with the bright colored liquid.

“Are you cut?” Mariah asked, looking alarmed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reached for it.” She quickly grabbed his hand, turning it this way and that to see if there was any blood. The bright red of the grenadine had splashed over his skin, but he could see that he hadn’t been injured.

Still she didn’t release his hand. She turned it palm up. He watched her trace a finger along one of the lines and then another.

“What do you see?” he asked, stunned by the shock of her touch. A current ran through his veins, racing toward his heart at a gallop.

“You’ve never had your heart broken,” she said studying his hand with utmost seriousness. “You will have only one love.” Her finger traced a line across the center of his palm to his wrist.

He felt a shiver he tried to rein in, but he knew she hadn’t missed it. Her gaze came up to meet his.

“I see a long life if you aren’t foolish, if you don’t fall for the wrong woman before you find your true love.” She let go of his hand.

“How will I know?” he asked pretending to play along.

“The wrong woman could get you killed.”

He nodded as he wiped up the broken glass and replaced the drink he’d spilled. “She sounds dangerous. But exciting. You’re sure she’s that wrong for me?”

Her dark eyes locked with his. “Positive.”

He placed the new drink on her tray and she started to turn away. “You do know that not all Romani are fortune tellers or—” she hesitated a moment “—thieves.”

“So I shouldn’t put much stock in what you read in my palm.”

“Oh, that was all true. Didn’t I tell you? My grandmother had the sight. It runs in my family.” With that she took her tray of drinks and left.

He watched her go, his heart still pounding. She’d tried to warn him about her. He almost laughed out loud. He’d been doing the same thing himself. And yet, he found himself wanting her more than his next breath.

Glancing down at his palm, he touched the skin where she had only moments before and told himself she was right. He’d be a fool to take this any further.

So why did he feel filled with expectation and excitement? He’d never been one to take risky chances. Until now. He was completely enthralled by her. He wanted to know this woman in every sense of the word—no matter how dangerous it was.

* * *

THEY’D BEEN ABOUT to close for the night when the two men came in. Darby felt his stomach drop. Hadn’t he been expecting this? If not, he should have.

He glanced behind the bar where Mariah was cleaning up the last of the glasses. She looked up at the sound of the door. Her expression mirrored his own. Trouble had just walked through the door. The question was, though, had she—unlike him—known it was coming?

Her gaze shot to him and he thought he saw something in it... Oh hell. He felt his heart drop. This was her doing. She was finally going to take back her bracelet—one way or another.

How foolish of him to think that she wouldn’t change the unwritten rules of this challenge and bring in reinforcements.

The men were scruffy-looking, the kind he often saw hitchhiking through the state. They moved through the bar slowly, calculating every move. Darby swore under his breath. He should have closed fifteen minutes ago. But Mariah had distracted him. Now he thought he knew why.

The second man closed the door behind him and locked it as the first moved to the bar and pulled a gun. He pointed it at Mariah.

Darby’s heart began to pound. He’d been hesitant to keep a gun behind the bar. That had always seemed like a bad idea before. Instead, he kept a baseball bat where he could get to it. He’d thought the biggest worry he would have was breaking up a bar fight.

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