Brazen (23 page)

"It's clean," Karen pointed out. "And it's better than
some of the places we've stayed in on this trip."

"That isn't saying much," Dorothea said as she sat down
on one of the beds to test its softness. "But all this will
have been worth it, once you're reunited with Michael."

Karen smiled brightly as she thought of her future as
Michael's wife. "Yes, it will."

Ernest hurried down to the stable to talk to Fitz.

"I need someone to ride out to the Circle D," he told
him.

"Let me get Rob for you," Fitz answered, searching the
back of the stable for his helper. "What's going on that you gotta get in touch with the Donovans?"

Ernest liked to talk, and he quickly related what he'd
learned.

"But Michael's manying Casey," Fitz countered.

"I know that and you know that, but these ladies don't,"
Ernest replied with a sly grin. "This could get real interesting. It's been a while since we had any fun in Hard
Luck."

"I wonder if Michael's going to think this is fun."

"We'll find out. This Karen Whittington is one finelooking lady."

"I guess we'll be finding something out real soon, won't
we?" Fitz remarked. "Rob! Ernest needs you."

Ernest returned to the hotel with Rob, and they went
upstairs to the Whittingtons' room.

"This here is Rob. He'll be glad to deliver your message
to the Circle D for you," Ernest told Karen and her mother.

They thanked him for his help, Ernest left them to settle
in and returned to the front desk.

"I need you to deliver this letter to Michael Donovan at
the Circle D ranch," Karen instructed Rob, holding out
the envelope containing the note she'd written while waiting for Ernest to return.

"Yes, ma'am. I can do that."

"How long will it take you?"

"Not long. Less than an hour. Do you want me to wait
for an answer?"

"No, that's not necessary."

Ernest had told her what the charge was and Karen paid the messenger. When he'd gone, she closed the door
and looked at her mother.

"I guess all we have to do now is wait."

"That may be what you are going to do, but frankly, I
need a bath," Dorothea declared.

"Why don't we get cleaned up and then see if there's
someplace nearby where we can get something to eat?
By the time we finish eating, I'm sure Michael will be
here."

Ernest wasted no time in spreading the news. His shift
ended right after Rob rode out of town to deliver the message to the Circle D, and he went straight to the Sundown
saloon to tell everybody what he'd learned.

"Bill, wait until you hear this," Ernest began as he took
a deep drink of the beer the barkeep had served him.

Bill shook his head and grinned at him. He knew what
a gossip Ernest could be, and he could hardly wait to hear
the latest. "What is it now? It must be important, for you
to get this excited."

"It is. Hard Luck hasn't had a scandal like this in years."

The bartender frowned. "What kind of scandal?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. Guess who showed
up here in town today on the late stage."

"I have no idea."

"Two ladies and I do mean ladies and one of them
claims to be none other than Michael Donovan's fiancee
from back East," he finished with a flourish, relishing the
news.

"She can't be his fiancee," Bill argued. "He's marrying
Casey Turner."

"I know that and you know that, but Miss Karen Whittington of Philadelphia doesn't know it."

"She says she's his girl from back East?"

"Yes. She says she's his intended."

Bill agreed with Ernest's opinion of the matter. "You're
right, Ernest. It does look like things could get exciting
around here."

"What's this about Donovan?" John McQueen interrupted in an easy fashion as he joined them. He'd been
playing poker in back, but he'd heard the two men mention Casey and Michael. As soon as the hand had played
out, he left the game to speak with Ernest and Bill.

"Ernest here has some news," Bill led in.

Ernest told John McQueen the story.

"So, according to this young lady, she's engaged to
Donovan?" John repeated thoughtfully.

"That's right. What do you think Casey is going to say
about that when she finds out?"

"It'll be interesting, that's for sure."

"I sure don't want to be the one to tell her," Bill remarked. Everyone in town knew Casey, and they knew
she had a temper.

"I almost feel sony for Michael," Ernest said.

"I don't," John spoke up, thinking with great satisfaction that the man was going to get exactly what he deserved. John already knew what he was going to do, and
inwardly he was smiling. Things were finally starting to go his way. "Bill, will you tell Rosalie for me that I had to
leave, but that I'll see her later?"

"I'll tell her, but she ain't going to be happy about it,"
Bill answered.

John just shrugged and left the saloon. He didn't care
what Rosalie thought. He had to find Casey. He had news
she needed to hear right away.

John knew it was going to be late when he reached the
Bar T, but he thought the news he was bringing would
gain him admission. He certainly hoped Casey would appreciate his concern.

Michael and Nick stayed late working on the new house.
Time was running out, and there was still a lot to be done.

Whenever they took a break, Michael tried to school
Nick in the art of using his six-gun, but with each passing
lesson, Michael became more firmly convinced his
cousin should probably carry a shotgun instead. Still,
Nick insisted on keeping at it, so they practiced target
shooting every day.

The two men were tired and dirty when they finally
decided to quit work and head for home.

"I guess you're working so hard because you don't want
to stay in the bunkhouse with Casey on your wedding
night," Nick said.

"That's right."

"Sleeping in bunk beds wouldn't be very romantic,
that's for sure."

"I wonder if Casey would want the top bunk or the
bottom."

Both men laughed.

"To be safe, if it came to that, I'd advise you to both
sleep on the bottom bunk," Nick told him.

Michael didn't even want to think about sleeping in the
same bed with Casey, let alone imagine himself sharing
a narrow bunk with her.

"You don't have to worry," he said, wanting to change
the topic, "Casey and 1 are not going to be spending our
honeymoon in the bunkhouse. At the rate we're going
with the work here, I figure the house should be livable
in another couple of days."

"I'll let the boys know. They'll be glad to find out they
won't be evicted."

They reached the Circle D and stopped at the stable to
tend to their horses before going to the house to get
cleaned up for dinner.

Elizabeth had been anxiously awaiting Michael's return
since the messenger from town had dropped off the letter.
She was worried that it might contain bad news.

"Michael Nick I'm so glad you're here," she said,
meeting them at the door.

Michael sensed her urgency and was immediately concerned. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Pa? Is
he all right?"

"No, it's nothing like that," she answered as she ushered
them inside. "It's just..."

"What?"

"You got a letter here," Frank announced as he wheeled himself into the hallway, holding the missive.
"A letter? Who's it from?"

"We don't know. Rob brought it out from town a few
hours ago. He said it was from a lady at the hotel."

Michael grew uneasy. He took the proffered envelope
and went into the parlor to open it. His parents and Nick
followed him, but waited in the doorway as he read the
missive in silence.

My Dearest Michael,

I couldn`t bear to be apart from you any longer. I've
made the trip to Hard Luck with my mother to be with
you. We are staying at the hotel here in town for now.
As soon as I hear from you, we can come and stay
with you on your ranch.

I am waiting eagerly to hear from you.

Love,

Karen

Michael stared down at the letter in silent disbelief.

Karen was in Hard Luck.

She had followed him to Texas.

He looked up from the letter to find his parents and
Nick watching him with open curiosity.

"It's not bad news, is it?" his mother asked.

Michael grimaced inwardly. "That depends on what
you call bad news and who you ask, I guess."

"Who's here?" Nick had a feeling he already knew the
answer to his question, judging from the look on Michael's face.

"Karen. She's in town."

Nick nodded slightly. His suspicion was confirmed.

"Who is Karen?" Frank demanded, wondering what female could be causing so much trouble.

"Karen Whittington. She's the young woman I was seeing back in Philadelphia," Michael explained.

"Why did she follow you here?" Elizabeth asked, curious to know more about her.

"All she said in her note was that she missed me and
wanted to see me."

"So she packed up and came here unannounced and
uninvited?" Frank was amazed at the woman's audacity.

"Yes," he answered simply.

"That's something Karen would do," Nick said, knowing exactly what she was like. He knew, too, that Karen
wasn't going to be happy when she discovered Michael
was engaged to Casey.

"What are you going to do about her?" Elizabeth asked,
already thinking about protecting Casey.

"It's too late to do anything tonight. I'll ride into town
in the morning and see her."

"And you'll tell her about Casey. There's no point in
her staying on when you're engaged to another woman."

"Don't worry," Michael promised his mother. "I'll tell
Karen everything."

"I don't envy you that reunion," Nick said.

"You don't want to ride in with me?" Michael couldn't
help smiling at his cousin's reluctance to face Karen's
wrath.

Thanks for the invitation, but I've got work to do on
Casey's house."

"Coward."

"You're right about that."

"What's this Karen like?" Elizabeth asked. She found
their remarks about her intriguing and wanted to know
more.

"Her family is very wealthy and well-connected."

"Were you seeing her that often that she should feel it's
appropriate for her to come here and track you down?"

"I had been seeing her, but there were no promises
between us. When I got the news about the shooting, I
sent word to her that I had to leave, and I honestly haven't
thought much about her since."

Michael's mood remained tense that night. He didn't
have much to say during dinner. His thoughts were on
what the new day would bring. He considered letting
Casey know what was going on, but decided against it.
With any luck at all, he could straighten things out with
Karen and send her on her way without Casey ever finding out the other woman had come to Hard Luck.

Not that it would matter.

Michael was certain Casey wouldn't care one way or
the other about Karen coming to town, but he didn't want
to put her in an embarrassing situation. Soon Casey would
be his bride, and as his future wife, she deserved his respect.

John was smiling all the way out to the Bar T.He was
feeling quite pleased with the way things were going, and by the time he got done talking to Casey, he was pretty
sure life was going to be wonderful.

Michael Donovan had another fiancee.

And she had come to Hard Luck.

John was going to love telling Casey.

It was dark as he rode up to the ranch house. A light
was shining from the window, and as soon as he'd reined
in, Casey came out on the front porch.

"John? What are you doing here at this time of night?"
She was surprised to see him so late, and uneasy, too, for
her father had already gone to bed.

"I need to talk to you, Casey. It's important," he said as
he dismounted and went to her.

John had a plan in mind. He believed that once he
revealed the truth about Michael and his secret Eastern
fiancee, Casey would throw herself into his own arms,
seeking solace, and he'd be more than willing to provide
all the comfort she needed. He was eagerly looking forward to that moment. Though he had been temporarily
thwarted in his master plan, things were definitely looking
up now. Casey was going to be his, after all.

"Of course, but let's sit here on the porch," she told
him, indicating the wooden bench there. "It won't be all
that comfortable for us, but Pa is already asleep and I
don't want to wake him. He needs all the rest he can get."

John liked knowing Jack was asleep. It meant he and
Casey were alone. Lecherous thoughts teased him, but he
controlled them for the time being as he sat down next
to her.

"How is he feeling? Better, I hope?"

Casey didn't bother to ask John how he'd heard of her
father's illness. News good and bad traveled fast
around Hard Luck. "Yes, he is better."