Brazen (6 page)

"He's all right, but I've always liked dark-haired men
best."

She groaned. "And John's got money!"

"Yes, he does. So?" Casey agreed.

"So?" Anne shook her head in disbelief. "Have you
given any thought to the idea that the most handsome,
most eligible, richest man in the area might be interested
in you?"

"You are such a romantic. I don't have time to worry
about men right now. But if you're so excited about them,
then you can have John. Or, better yet, go find that man
I met down at the stable. He definitely could give John a
run for his money when it comes to good looks." Casey
smiled at her. "Now, enough about men. I have to get my
supplies loaded up and get back home."

"Oh, you!" Anne gave up and started to help her get
what she needed.

"Pa was gunned down in cold blood, robbed and left for
dead, and right now Sheriff Montgomery doesn't have any
leads." Michael finished filling Nick in on what little ad ditional information he'd gotten from the lawman. "I can't
imagine why anyone would shoot Pa. He always carried
some money on him, but never a lot. It's hard for me to
believe robbery was the real motive."

"Whoever it is, we'll find him," Nick said fiercely.

"You're right. We will, no matter how long it takes."

The two men shared a knowing look. If there was one
family trait Michael and Nick shared, it was their fierce
determination. Once they made up their minds to do
something, they did it.

"Right now, the bushwhacker thinks he's gotten away
with it, but he's in for a big surprise," Michael said.

"And not a pleasant one."

"You're right about that," he agreed, his mood lightening a bit in anticipation of seeing justice done.

Nick managed a slight grin as he went on, "Speaking
of surprises, I've found that things aren't always what they
appear to be here in Hard Luck."

"Why? What happened to you?"

"When I first got to the stable, there was a boy working
outside, harnessing a horse. I didn't see anyone else
around, so I went to ask him about renting a buckboard."

"And?"

"Turns out the `boy' was no boy. I know you warned
me things were different here, but I had no idea Texas
women wore pants. It was quite a revelation for me."

"A girl at the stable was wearing pants?" Michael
frowned. "What did she look like?"

"For all that she was so unorthodox in her dress, she
was quite pretty. She had dark, curly hair and-" Nick stopped as he saw Casey's buckboard tied up before the
general store. "That looks like her buckboard." He
pointed it out as they drove by.

Michael glanced toward the store just as two young
women came outside carrying supplies. One was a pretty
blonde wearing a dress, and the other was

"That's her," Nick said.

It was just as Michael had suspected.

The girl in pants was Casey Turner.

Though Casey and Anne had both changed during the
years he'd been away, Michael recognized them. Anne
had matured into a very attractive young woman.

And then there was Casey.

She was the one female he would never forget, no matter how hard he tried.

"She said her name was Casey Turner," Nick told him,
smiling.

"Yes," Michael answered curtly. "I know."

Michael hadn't planned to acknowledge Casey and
Anne, or to even slow down. He had intended to keep
on driving, but Anne spotted him and called out before
he could get away.

"Michael? You're back!"

He had no choice but to rein in and speak with them.
He quickly introduced Anne to Nick.

"Why, hello," Anne greeted him, seeing immediately
what Casey had been talking about. He was one handsome man.

"It's nice to meet you, Anne," Nick said enthusiastically.
He was growing even more impressed with the women of Hard Luck. Casey was darkly pretty in her unorthodox
style of dress, while Anne was lovely, too, in a more classic, feminine way.

Michael looked over at Casey.

"Hello, Casey." His tone was less than friendly. "1 understand you've already met my cousin."

"Yes, Mr. Paden and 1 ran into each other at the stable."

"Please, call me Nick," Nick said, smiling at her.

"And I'm Casey," she returned. "I told Anne about meeting you at the stable, Nick. We were trying to figure out
who you had come here to visit. Now we know."

"When Michael got the news about his father's injury,
I wanted to make the trip with him," Nick explained.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your father," Anne
told Michael sincerely. "1 hope he'll be better soon."

"Thanks."

"I'm sorry, too, Michael," Casey put in.

He only nodded at her in response.

"Give your father my best mother, too," Anne
said.

"I will." Michael was more than ready to move on.

"And, Michael-" Casey called out, unable to resist as
she eyed the fancy suit he was wearing.

He glanced warily her way.

"I like your clothes," she finished.

The look he gave her was meant to kill, and his jaw
locked. He urged the team on without responding.

"Ladies." Nick didn't know what was going on. He
tipped his hat to them as they drove away. He wondered at his cousin's reaction to Casey's remark about his
clothes.

"Bye," Anne called out.

Nick waited a few minutes before broaching the subject.

"I get the feeling you're not too fond of Casey Turner,"
Nick ventured.

"That would be putting it mildly," Michael answered.

His tone was such that Nick knew better than to ask
any more about her.

Casey stood with Anne as they watched the two men
drive away.

"Michael certainly looks different now, doesn't he?"
Anne observed.

"It's those fancy clothes he had on. He's been away so
long, I wonder if he even remembers how to break a
bronc or handle a gun."

"Of course, he does," Anne said. "Michael was always
good with a gun, and he definitely was one of the best
when it came to breaking horses. He hasn't forgotten."

"Well, you couldn't prove it by looking at him."

"I kind of like the way they were dressed," Anne remarked. "They looked so..."

"So what? Silly?" Casey teased, unwilling to give Michael any slack.

"No, they looked like honest-to-gosh, real gentlemen,
just like you said Nick was when we were first talking
about him. We don't see many real gentlemen around
these parts very often."

"You're right about that, and there's a reason for it. It's
probably because they're such dandies they don't last
very long out here in the West."

"I hope Michael and his cousin stay on for a while. I'm
sure Mrs. Donovan needs all the help she can get."

"I'm sure she does," Casey agreed. She could only imagine how hard it would be to try to run the Bar T without
her father's help.

Casey and Anne finished loading the supplies, then
Casey started home. She was anxious to let her pa know
about Michael's return. Since her pa had been cleared of
any involvement in the shooting by the sheriff, she wasn't
too worried about any real trouble with the Donovans,
but the ill will between the families had always been
strong, and judging from Michael's reaction to her, it
wasn't ever going to disappear.

"It's Michael!" Elizabeth cried when she heard the sound
of a wagon approaching and brushed the curtain aside
to look out the bedroom window. "Frank here! And
Nick's with him!"

Since the shooting, Frank had been too weak to leave
the bed. Elizabeth had been staying by his side in case
he needed anything.

Frank opened his eyes, and, for the first time since the
shooting, he managed a smile.

"Michael's finally here?" he repeated.

"Yes. I'll go bring him up."

Elizabeth rushed from the bedroom.

Though Michael had been desperate to get home, now that the moment of their reunion had finally come, he
was dreading it. He knew he had to be strong for his
parents' sake, but that didn't mean it was going to be easy.

"Nice place," Nick remarked, looking around at the
prosperous spread. The house was a large two-story structure with a porch that wrapped around three sides. In the
back, there were numerous outbuildings, the stable and
a corral.

"Pa's worked hard over the years to build it up."

"Looks like Uncle Frank's done a fine job."

Michael reined in before the house just as his mother
came outside. He quickly climbed down from the buckboard and went straight to her, embracing her fiercely.

"You're here! You're really here!" Elizabeth fought back
tears as she gazed lovingly up at her son. It seemed an
eternity had passed since she'd seen him last.

"Are you all right? How's Pa?"

"I'm fine," Elizabeth answered quickly, "but your father"

"I heard the truth of what happened in town. I talked
to Reverend Harris and the sheriff."

"Then you know about the shooting and his condition."

"Yes."

"He's not doing well." Her tone was solemn. She
glanced toward the upstairs bedroom window, then back
at Michael.

Michael could only nod. The news was not unexpected.

"Nick, it's good to see you again." She put on a gracious
smile as she turned to welcome her nephew.

"It's good to see you, too, Aunt Elizabeth. I just wish
the circumstances were different." Nick went to give her
a supportive hug.

"So do I," she agreed quietly. "Let's go inside. Michael,
your father is anxious to see you."

She led the way into the house and showed Nick to the
parlor.

"Make yourself at home," Elizabeth bid.

Nick went into the parlor to wait, while Michael followed his mother upstairs.

Frank turned his head when the bedroom door opened
and his wife and son walked in.

"You came-" he managed in a weak voice.

"You knew I would," Michael answered fiercely. Pain
filled him at the sight of his father lying so pale and still
on the bed. His father had always been a vigorous, powerful man. Michael had never seen him looking weak before.

Frank lifted his hand to him. Michael quickly moved to
take it in a firm grip.

"What happened, Pa? Why would anyone do this to
you?"

"I don't know, son."

They took comfort in each other's presence, and Michael noted that his father seemed to draw strength from
him.

"Will you stay, Michael?" Frank asked. It had always
been his hope that Michael would one day return to the
Circle D.

"Yes. I'll stay."

"Good. We need you. I need you."

Michael silently offered up thanks that his father had
survived the ambush. Though his injuries were traumatic
and terrible, it would have been far worse if he had been
killed.

Michael couldn't imagine life without his father. Frank
Donovan had always been the guiding force in his life.

As Michael stood there holding his hand, he vowed
silently from the deepest part of his soul that he would
see justice done. He swore to himself that he would stay
on at the Circle D for as long as it took to find the one
responsible for ambushing his father.

Casey reined in before the house and jumped down from
the buckboard. She noticed Ron Maguire's horse tied up
at the hitching rail and wondered why the other rancher
was there. She hurried inside, anxious to tell her father
about Michael Donovan's return.

"Casey, you're back."

"Yes, Pa. Hello, Ron," she greeted him. "I have some
news from town."

"Ron has news for us, too," Jack put in before she could
go on. "He's moving on."

"You're leaving?" she asked, surprised. The Maguires
had lived in the area for as long as she could remember.

"Yes. The last few years have been hard hard.
There was some rustling going on, and then the drought
hit. I didn't have the money to hold on any longer."

"Times have been hard for all of us," Jack agreed.

"Who did you sell out to?" Casey asked.

"John McQueen made me a fair offer, and I decided to
take it."

"He's bought up a few of the ranches in the area, hasn't
he?" Jack asked, feeling uneasy about the news. He'd
never fully trusted McQueen. Something about the man
bothered him, but he was never sure exactly what it was.

"Yes, the Royal is getting to be pretty big. I wish him
luck. As hard as times are for ranching right now, he's
going to need just like you are."

"Well, I hope things go better for you, Ron."

Ron shrugged. "1 can't say for sure they will, but I can
always hope."

"What happened in town, Casey?" her father asked.

"Michael Donovan is back. I saw him! He came in on
the stage today."

"You had to figure Michael was going to show up, with
Frank being shot and all," Ron said.

"I know," Jack said tersely. He was still angry about
being accused of the shooting.

"Well, I'd better be going." Ron shook Jack's hand.
"Good luck to you, Jack, and to you, Casey."

Jack tried to smile, but he was going to miss Ron. "You
take care of yourself. Where are you headed?"

"Back to Missouri. We've got family there."

Jack walked his friend outside to see him off. He was
feeling tense and decidedly uneasy when he came back
inside.

"What do you think is going to happen, Pa?" Casey was worried about the trouble with the Donovans and the
news that Ron had been forced to sell out.

Jack didn't want Casey to know how concerned he
really was about their situation. He managed a smile as
he said, "I can tell you what's not going to happen. I'm
not going to sit around here worrying about losing the
Bar T.I'm going back to work and make sure we don't."

"I like the way you think." Casey smiled back at him.
"Give me a minute to unload the supplies, and I'll be right
with you."

Later that evening Michael, Elizabeth and Nick were
having dinner in the dining room.