Autumn Lover (21 page)

But no longer.

Now Hunter smiled. Sometimes his eyes even gleamed with laughter. Often they smoldered with passion.

Elyssa had made a difference in Hunter. He could deny it, he could rage at her, he could call her a flirt,
but she had gotten past his guard
.

The realization made Elyssa almost dizzy with relief. Only then did she understand just how much of her heart belonged to Hunter. She had been so afraid that he wouldn’t be able to love her in return.

Elyssa looked away from Hunter, afraid that her new knowledge somehow would be revealed in her eyes. Then Hunter would find an excuse to push her away.

She couldn’t take that right now.

She was too raw over discovering who her real father was, and wasn’t.

“Case,” Elyssa said. “You’re with the Culpeppers.”

“They think so,” Case said.

“I see.”

She took in a deep breath and let it out.

“What are our chances?” Elyssa asked Case bluntly.

“They’ll be a sight better as soon as I figure out where your cattle are being held.”

“They haven’t been sold?” Hunter and Elyssa asked as one.

“No. The breeding stock are being held in one place and the steers in another.”

Hunter’s teeth gleamed in the moonlight.

“That’s good news,” he said.

Case grunted. “Maybe. Depends on who owns the Slash River brand.”

“Ab Culpepper,” Hunter said.

“Not according to what passes for a brand register in Nevada.”

“What?” Hunter said.

“Some man by the name of J. M. Johnstone registered the brand,” Case said.

Hunter looked at Elyssa. “Do you recognize the name?”

“No. The only Johnstone I know around here is Mac, and he’s dead.”

“When did he die?” Case asked.

“About three months ago.”

“Could be the same one. The brand was registered in 1863.”

Elyssa frowned.

“That was the year my parents died,” she said.

“Of what?” Case asked.

“Lung fever took Mother. My father walked out into a storm and never came back. He’s buried with my mother.”

Hunter gave Case a swift look.

“Did Mac ever mention having his own brand?” Hunter asked.

There was silence while Elyssa tried to remember the few conversations she had had with the late, laconic foreman of the Ladder S.

“Mac never said anything about it to me,” she said after a few moments.

“Did you father let Mac run his own cattle and horses on Ladder S land?” Case asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Did you give permission?” Hunter asked Elyssa.

“The question never arose. Mac was a difficult man for a woman to talk to.”

Case and Hunter looked at one another again. Both were thinking the same thing.

Mac might have been branding Ladder S mavericks with his own brand. It wasn’t unheard-of, although most ranch owners understandably saw the practice as little better than outright rustling.

“Sounds like Gaylord came along,” Case said, “saw a good thing, and decided to cut himself in on it.”

“You think the Culpeppers deliberately killed Mac because he had registered a brand they wanted to use?” Elyssa asked.

“A brand, and a bunch of mavericks handy to use it on.”

“You think Mac was stealing from the Ladder S?”

“It wouldn’t have been the first time a foreman branded a few calves on the side,” Case said calmly.

“It’s not theft, in some eyes,” Hunter said. “Back in Texas, there was so much livestock on the loose after the war that men killed cattle for their hides and let the meat rot.”

“I see,” Elyssa said slowly. “Well, I suppose Mac might have seen the Ladder S as his own after my parents died. I was in England, and Bill wanted me to stay there.”

Hunter turned to Case.

“Have the Culpeppers said why they settled on taking over the Ladder S?” Hunter asked.

“About what you’d think,” Case said. “They’re tired of running from us. They’re hunting a hole, and the Ladder S is a well-built, well-watered ranch.”

Elyssa swallowed hard.

“Running from you?” she asked tightly.

“Hunter and I have been dogging their tracks since Texas, two years ago,” Case said.

“I see.”

She gave Hunter a swift look.

“No wonder you didn’t ask about pay,” Elyssa said to Hunter. “You would have hunted Culpeppers for free.”

“If you don’t think I’m earning my pay as ramrod—”

“I didn’t say that,” she interrupted quickly.

“What are you saying, then?”

“You’re the best ramrod the Ladder S has ever had,” Elyssa said. “But you have no interest in the ranch beyond the fact that the Culpeppers want it.”

Hunter started to say something, looked at Case, and shut his mouth.

“Looks like I’ll need a new ramrod after the Culpeppers are taken care of,” Elyssa said, her voice strained.

“No point in crossing a bridge before you get to it,” Case said. “We could all be dead before we ever get to the river.”

Elyssa closed her eyes.

“Yes,” she said softly. “We could die. All of us.”

“Let’s not start hanging crepe,” Hunter said. “Once we figure out who the spy is, we’ll be all right.”

“Maybe,” Case said. “But I have a bad feeling.”

Hunter’s attention switched instantly from Elyssa to Case.

“What is it?” Hunter demanded.

“Those boys are getting impatient,” Case said.

“They were born impatient and lazy,” Hunter said coldly. “That’s why they’re raiders.”

Case nodded. “That means the Culpeppers might not wait until you have everything rounded up and greenbroke for them.”

“I’ve thought about that,” Hunter said.

“I figured you had. What preparations have you made?”

“Enough water and food to withstand a siege,” Hunter said. “Gimp is filling burlap bags to soak up stray bullets.”

“What if they burn you out?” Case asked.

Elyssa’s breath came in with an audible rush. She hadn’t thought of that.

“They wouldn’t,” she said.

“They would,” Case countered matter-of-factly. “They’ve done it before.”

“Are they planning to?” Hunter asked.

“They haven’t said anything to the men about it either way.”

“I’ve set up a place to retreat to, if it comes to that,” Hunter said.

“Where?” Case asked.

“A cave in the foothills about half a mile from the house. There’s a spring. I’ve laid in supplies.”

“Who else knows about it?” Case asked.

“You, me, Elyssa.”

“Keep it that way,” Case said bluntly.

“I don’t think we’ll need it,” Elyssa said.

Case looked at her.

“Why?” Hunter asked.

“Gaylord said he was tired of being hunted, remember?” she asked.

Hunter nodded.

“They’re lazy,” Elyssa said. “They want the ranch intact, ready for them to move in. Ab even tried to buy the Ladder S from me this morning.”

Surprise showed clearly on Hunter’s face.

“Buy it?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” Elyssa said. “All nice and legal, Ab said. Nothing for the blue bellies to get upset about.”

“I’ll be damned,” Hunter said.

“Why didn’t you take it?” Case asked Elyssa.

“The Ladder S is worth more than thirty Yankee dollars,” she said succinctly.

“Yes, ma’am,” Case agreed. “It sure is. But it’s probably all the cash money that sorry swine has.”

“The point is,” Elyssa said, “that the Culpeppers are looking for a nice, legal way to settle down.”

“Guess they found out raiding isn’t all it was cracked up to be,” Hunter said dryly.

“More likely they’re going to go at it the Comanchero way,” Case said. “Settle the clan in a stronghold and raid a few days’ ride away.”

“The only raids those boys might make in the future will be in hell,” Hunter said.

Elyssa shivered. It would have been easier to take if Hunter had said the words hotly, with anger vibrant in his voice.

But he spoke the words calmly, with no emotion at all.

Like Case.

“Do they trust you?” Hunter asked Case.

“As much as they trust anyone who isn’t a Culpepper.”

“I hope that’s enough.”

“I’ll give you all the warning I can,” Case said simply.

The wind swirled again, making Elyssa shiver. There was a bite to the air that spoke of winter.

“We better get you home,” Case said. “I’ll follow you as far as the barn.”

“You might be seen,” Hunter said.

“I’ll be careful, but I want to meet those dogs. No sense in having them set up a howl if I have to come to the ranch.”

“All right.” Hunter turned to Elyssa. “Wait here for a bit. I want to talk with Case. Don’t wander off.”

“Where on earth would I go?” she asked tartly.

“Wherever you went when you made all these ghost trails in the first place,” Hunter retorted.

With that, Hunter drew Case to one side and began talking in a voice too low for Elyssa to overhear.

“I’m going to set a—” Hunter began.

“Don’t you trust her?” Case interrupted, his voice equally low.

“Oh, I trust her as well as I trust any flirt.”

Case lifted his left eyebrow and said nothing.

“Point is,” Hunter said, “that someone made all these ghost trails between the B Bar and the Ladder S.”

Case waited, saying nothing.

“Since Elyssa wasn’t going off for a bit of slap and tickle with Bill, who in hell
was
she meeting?” Hunter asked.

The shrug Case gave said that he didn’t care who Elyssa might be seeing or not seeing, and he didn’t understand why it should matter to Hunter either way.

“What does that have to do with catching Culpeppers?” Case asked mildly.

“Probably nothing, directly,” Hunter admitted.

“Uh-huh,” Case said.

Speculatively Case glanced from Elyssa to his brother.

“You wouldn’t be interested in Bill’s Sassy, would you?” Case asked neutrally.

“I married one flirt. Once was enough to cure me.”

Case started to speak, shrugged, and looked at Hunter.

“What’s your plan?” Case asked.

“First objective is to set a trap for our spy,” Hunter said.

Case nodded.

“If you hear in the next day or two that I’m registering a Twin River Connected brand,” Hunter said, “we’ll know that Mickey is our man.”

“Twin River Connected,” Case said. Then he nodded
approval. “Good. Should cover a Slash River or Ladder S brand like a bad reputation.”

Hunter smiled without humor.

“The idea will make those boys real nervous,” Hunter agreed.

“What if I don’t hear anything?” Case asked.

“Then I’ll tell Lefty the same thing.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

“Then we’ll raid the Culpeppers before they can raid us,” Hunter said.

“Now you’re talking.”

H
unter doesn’t trust me,” Elyssa said starkly.

Surprised, Penny looked up from the beans she was putting on to boil for supper later that day. She and Elyssa had just finished clearing away the breakfast dishes.

“Whatever makes you say that?” Penny asked as she bent to check on the stove fire.

“I went to see Bill early this morning—” Elyssa began.

“What!” Penny interrupted. Then, quickly, she asked, “Is he all right?”

“He looked a little red around the eyes and hadn’t shaved for days, but otherwise he seemed fine. Or as fine as any man can be when he’s all but a prisoner on his own ranch.”

“What do you mean?” Penny demanded.

“The Culpeppers have moved in on him.”

“Dear God,” Penny whispered. “Maybe that’s why he…”

Penny’s voice faded.

“That’s why he what?” Elyssa asked.

Shaking her head, Penny bent over once more to check on the progress of the fire.

“Penny? What did you mean?”

Penny closed the firebox door with a clang and turned to face Elyssa.

“You shouldn’t be surprised that Hunter doesn’t trust you,” Penny said bluntly.

Elyssa stopped chopping onions and turned toward Penny.

“What are you talking about?” Elyssa demanded. “I’ve done nothing to earn Hunter’s distrust.”

“No?” Penny asked coolly.

“No!”

“Maybe he doesn’t like the fact that you’re sneaking off for a little slap and tickle with Bill.”

Shocked, Elyssa simply stared at Penny.

Penny stared right back.

“What in God’s name are you talking about?” Elyssa asked finally.

“Oh, don’t bother to deny it. Bill loved Gloria, and he took one look at you when you came back from England in satins and silk and shining flaxen hair and he saw Gloria all over again.”

“Penny—” Elyssa began.

“He hasn’t so much as looked at me since you came home,” Penny interrupted raggedly. “Not once!”

Penny turned away, but not quickly enough to hide the tears that were streaming down her face.

Stunned, Elyssa simply stood motionless. But her mind was running at top speed, remembering what Hunter had said about men and pale hair.

All men aren’t blinded by sunlight shining on pale hair.

And what Penny had said in return.

The right one was, and he’s the only one that matters
.

For Penny, the right one had been—and still was—Bill Moreland.

“You made all those footpaths to the B Bar,” Elyssa said.

Shoulders straight, spine rigid, Penny kept her back turned to Elyssa.

Elyssa went to the other woman and hugged her.

“How long have you loved Bill?” Elyssa said.

For a time it seemed that Penny wouldn’t answer. Then her whole body trembled as she gave way to the grief she had tried for so long to hide.

“Since I was b-barely fifteen,” Penny said in a strained voice. “But he couldn’t see p-past Gloria to me.”

Elyssa hugged Penny harder.

“Then Gloria died,” Penny whispered, “and after a time it s-seemed that Bill was finally s-seeing me.”

Silently Elyssa held Penny, stroking her back soothingly, wishing she could do more to comfort the older woman.

“Then you c-came home,” Penny said starkly. “Bill stopped looking at me at all.”

“It’s not like that between us,” Elyssa said, her voice gentle.

“The hell it isn’t!” Penny retorted. “He n-never comes to the rise by Wind Gap anymore. I g-go out there and I wait and I wait and I—”

Penny’s voice broke.

“It’s not because of me,” Elyssa said. “He’s probably afraid the Culpeppers will follow him.”

“It’s you he wants now,” Penny said wearily. “That’s why he doesn’t come to me anymore.”

“Penny,” Elyssa said gently. “It’s not what you think. Truly.”

“It is!”

“I’m Bill’s daughter.”

Penny went absolutely still. For the first time she looked Elyssa in the eye.

“His
daughter
?” Penny said.

“That’s what he told—”

Abruptly Elyssa changed her mind. She wouldn’t talk about Hunter’s brother, a spy in the Culpeppers’ camp.

Someone might overhear.

“—me,” Elyssa finished.

“When?”

“Does it matter?” Elyssa asked calmly. “The fact is, I’m Bill’s daughter, not his paramour.”

A long, shaky breath came out of Penny.

“Truly?” Penny asked.

“Yes.”

Penny let out a long sigh and hugged Elyssa hard.

“You don’t seemed surprised that I’m Bill’s daughter,” Elyssa said after a moment.

“I’m not, now that I think about it.”

“Why?”

“About two years before you were born, word came that your father—that is, John Sutton—had died hunting gold in Colorado Territory.”

Elyssa thought of her mother alone and waiting for her husband’s return. Waiting while the absence grew longer and longer, waiting and hoping and fearing. Then word of John Sutton’s death arrived.

It took no great wit to guess what had come next.

“It took Bill more than a year,” Penny said tightly, “but he finally won Gloria.”

Elyssa closed her eyes but never stopped stroking Penny, trying to soothe away the tremors that ran through the other woman’s body in long waves.

“Then one day your father—John—rode up,” Penny said. “Gloria was hysterical. John and Bill had a terrible fight. Bill left and started the B Bar. Nine months later you were born.”

“Then I could be just what I thought I was. John’s daughter, not Bill’s.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think your father could get a woman pregnant,” Penny said simply. “He stayed home for five years after you were born, but Gloria never was pregnant again.”

“There’s no guarantee that Bill could, either.”

“Yes, there is.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m pregnant,” Penny said simply.

Elyssa couldn’t hide her surprise.

“That’s why you’ve been feeling so puny,” Elyssa said after a moment. “Morning sickness, not the ague.”

Numbly Penny nodded.

“Does Bill know?” Elyssa asked.

“No,” Penny whispered.

“We’ll have to tell—”

“No!” the other woman interrupted fiercely. “If he cared, he would ask.”

“But the Culpeppers—”

“Didn’t stop him from talking to you,” Penny interrupted again.

“By going there I nearly got Bill killed and myself hauled off to be a Culpepper whore,” Elyssa said bluntly.

Penny’s eyes widened in shock.

“If Hunter hadn’t followed me,” Elyssa said, “only the devil knows what would have happened.”

“Dear God,” Penny said. Then, hesitantly, “If Bill isn’t your lover and you didn’t know he was your father, why did you risk so much to see him?”

“Because I was tired of seeing Ladder S livestock go through Wind Gap and never come back.”

“Bill wouldn’t—” began Penny hotly.

“I know,” Elyssa interrupted. “But drink changes a man, as Hunter pointed out.”

“Bill wouldn’t steal Ladder S livestock.”

“Unfortunately, he can’t keep the Culpeppers from stealing it, though,” Elyssa said. “The Ladder S is just about picked clean.”

Penny closed her eyes and made a low sound.

“What are we going to do?” Penny whispered.

“Hunter will think of something,” Elyssa said.

He has to
. But she kept that thought to herself.

“Are you feeling better now?” Elyssa asked after a moment. “Maybe you should lie down for a time.”

“No need. Working takes my mind off…everything.”

Elyssa smiled sadly.

“Are you happy about the baby?” Elyssa asked, her voice soft.

“Oh, yes,” Penny said, smiling for the first time. “I’ve wanted a baby ever since I can remember.”

“All right. We’ll take care of the Culpeppers and then make arrangements for raising a baby on the Ladder S.”

“You don’t think less of me for letting Bill…for being his woman even though we aren’t married?”

Elyssa thought of how hot passion ran in her when she was in Hunter’s arms. If he had wanted to put a baby in her, she would have helped him every bit of the way and not counted the cost until it was far too late.

Pregnant.

Unmarried.

Utterly alone.

“No,” Elyssa said. “I think it’s very, very hard not to give yourself to the man you love. If he wants you.”

Penny smiled again despite the tears still shining on her cheeks.

“I was afraid you would throw me off the ranch,” Penny admitted.

“Never.”

“Many women would, and even more men.”

“I won’t.”

The certainty in Elyssa’s voice gave Penny more ease than she had known since she had discovered that she was pregnant.

“Thank you,” Penny said simply.

“Don’t be foolish. You and your baby are all that I have in the world, except for…” Elyssa hesitated.

“Hunter?” Penny asked.

“I was thinking of Bill. Hunter doesn’t want to love me. He doesn’t even want to like me.”

“But he watches you the way Bill used to watch Gloria.”

Hope raced through Elyssa.

“Really?” she asked breathlessly.

Penny nodded.

“You watch him, too,” Penny added.

“I can’t help it,” Elyssa whispered. “
I love him
.”

From the direction of the corral came the squeal of a frightened horse followed by a man’s raw shout of anger.

Without hesitating Elyssa grabbed the shotgun that was never far from her reach these days and went to the back door.

One of the green-broke broncs had just unloaded Mickey into the dust. He got up, grabbed the bridle close to the bit, and began whipping the bronc with a quirt.

The terrified animal screamed again and threw its head up, trying to escape the whip. Mickey hung on to the bit and kept whipping the animal.

Shotgun still in hand, Elyssa headed toward the corral at a run.

Hunter was faster. He came out of the barn, saw what was happening, and yelled at Mickey to stop.

Mickey ignored him.

An instant later Hunter hit Mickey like a falling mountain. Mickey slammed into the corral bars with a
force that made the poles rattle and groan. Staggering back, he shook his head, saw Hunter, and made another bad mistake. He charged Hunter with all the finesse of an angry bull.

Hunter stepped aside, stuck out his boot, and let Mickey’s own weight do the rest. The big cowhand went end over end. He landed in a sprawl of awkward limbs and dust.

A few moments later Mickey made his third mistake. He went for his gun.

Hunter kicked Mickey’s hand with enough force to send the gun flying in a broad arc. Then Hunter stood just out of Mickey’s reach and waited to see how stupid the other man was.

The younger man shook his head, rolled over onto his hands and knees, and came to his feet. He swayed and cradled his right hand. Though he looked angry enough to kill something, he didn’t reach for the second gun he wore.

Hunter nodded.

“Take your temper out on digging post holes,” Hunter said flatly.

“It’s nothing but a damned flea-bitten bronc!” Mickey shouted.

“It was good enough to throw you.”

Mickey’s face reddened with rage.

“No man worthy of the name beats a horse just for throwing him,” Hunter said. “Dig post holes or get out.”

Sullenly Mickey went to his hat, picked it up, and walked on to where his gun lay in the dust. He bent down.

Hunter’s stance changed in a way that was unmistakable. If Mickey wanted to make a fourth mistake by trying to use the gun, Hunter would draw on him.

Without checking to see how dirty the weapon might
be, Mickey jammed it into his holster and stalked off toward the barn.

Hunter watched Mickey go by. The sullen cowhand didn’t even look his way. Hunter wished that he could simply fire Mickey and be done with his brutal presence. Unfortunately the Ladder S was too short-handed to let anyone go for any act short of drunkenness or cold-blooded murder.

Besides, Mickey could be the Culpeppers’ spy. If so, there were much better uses for him than digging post holes.

The sound of a shotgun being uncocked startled Hunter. He spun toward the sound.

As he turned, he drew his six-gun.

Elyssa’s breath came in sharply. One instant Hunter’s hands were empty. In the next instant he was holding a six-gun that was cocked and ready to fire.

“Planning to use that on me?” Hunter asked.

“I could ask you the same question.”

With a smooth motion Hunter uncocked the six-gun and returned the weapon to its holster.

“Glad to see that the shotgun isn’t cocked,” Hunter said. “You look like you’re planning to shoot me rather than Mickey.”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“Any reason in particular?”

“I’m remembering when Mickey grabbed me hard enough to leave bruises, treated me like a prostitute, and all you did was tell him to quit wasting time and get to work.”

Hunter waited, looking at Elyssa’s stormy eyes and her hands ready to cock the shotgun all over again.

And shoot him.

“But when Mickey takes a quirt to a bronc,” Elyssa said through her teeth, “you knock him into next week.”

“The horse wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

“And I was?” she demanded.

Hunter’s bleak, dark eyes raked over Elyssa. As always, she was dressed in silk or satin. Sexy cloth that shivered and sighed and caught a man’s eye with every breath she took.

“Yes,” he said coolly. “You were in the wrong.”

“
What
?”

“Men come to a point whenever you walk by. You know it, but you keep on walking by.”

“What am I supposed to do? Stay locked inside behind curtains and veils?”

“Yes.”

Elyssa’s eyes widened.

“You’re serious,” she said in disbelief.

“Damned straight.”

Rage whipped through Elyssa.

“Tough luck, fancy man,” she said recklessly. “I’m not staying in jail just because I was born a woman instead of a man.”

“I figured you would take it that way. Some females just don’t know they’re alive unless some man is admiring them.”