Circle Eight: Vaughn (10 page)

“What do ya mean, he’s a stranger to you?”

She barely restrained herself from beating Tobias with her bound hands. The very real possibility the horse could get spooked and throw her was the only reason she didn’t. The man might be good-looking but there wasn’t much else to recommend him.

“Yes. I told you that, more than once. He arrived at my ranch naked after escaping from your camp.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “I would have let him die if I’d known what would happen.”

It wasn’t true, of course, but it felt good to say it. A dark part of her heart wished she could be that heartless. She might have lost her mother at the tender age of twelve but in those dozen years, Meredith Graham had taught Elizabeth to be a good person in thought and deed.

“I thought you was his woman.”

She snorted. “Never.”

“That’s a goldurn shame. You being so pretty and all.”

Her mouth dropped open. She had no idea how to respond to the backhanded compliment, nor did she want to. “I want to go home, Mr. Gibson. Please untie me and let me return home. I promise you won’t ever see me again.”

For a moment, a brief, shining moment, he appeared to consider her request. “No, that wouldn’t be smart. You could have a posse up on us in no time at all. I ain’t gonna risk losin’ my money and the deed to my family’s property again, this time on account of a woman.”

Her heart dropped. “I won’t send a posse. I just want to go home. You’re trying to protect your family’s home. So am I.” She ached to find out what happened to Granny and whether their house had burned to cinders. It hadn’t rained, so if the fire caught and spread, there might be nothing left of the Circle Eight.

Her heart pinched at the thought. It couldn’t be gone. It couldn’t. Her parents had started that ranch with next to nothing, survived the war and raised their children there. After their murders, the children had continued the legacy, fighting every day to keep their family together and their ranch afloat.

Now this man, this stupid man who was fooled by a swindler like Vaughn Montgomery, had erased it all. For the first time in her life, she wanted to kill someone.

She forced herself to smile. “If I help you get your money and deed back, will you let me go?”

“Why wouldja help me?” He frowned.

“Because I blame Mr. Montgomery for this predicament. The faster he gets his due, the faster I can go home.” She wanted nothing to do with Tobias but she was willing to do what she must to survive. When she returned to her family, she would have a talk with herself about all of this, but not now.

“His due, hm? You gonna to beat his face too?” Gibson smiled as though he had told a joke.

She held his gaze, her face as stiff and expressionless as she could manage. “I’ve already told you what I want. You can either let me help, let me go or tell me no.”

Gibson looked away, silent and unreadable. She had no idea what else she could say to the man to convince him. Being deceitful didn’t come easily to her but she was willing to do what she had to.

“I reckon it’s time for you to shut up.” He rode ahead of her, still holding the reins of her horse. She was caught between the two men, literally.

An hour later, Elizabeth saw the roof of a cabin rising above the trees that surrounded it. The terrain had become hilly with gently sloping meadows followed by thick forests. The summer was in full swing, with lush green foliage. Any other time, she would have appreciated the sight. Now it reminded her she was far from home, another punch in the day full of punches.

The cabin grew closer, more real and forbidding. It was nothing out of the ordinary, a simple building hewn from trees, with mud between the logs. A solitary window graced the building to the left of the door. The late-day sun glinted off the glass, winking as the leaves swayed in the breeze.

Idyllic. She hoped whoever lived here was prepared to deal with a gang of kidnapping, thieving murderers.

“Home.” The word held a wealth of meaning for Tobias, which surprised her.

“This is your home?” She peered at the cabin more closely. It didn’t look as though it belonged to outlaws.

“My grandpa built it with his bare hands.” Pride and something like awe colored his words.

“He is a master craftsman.” Vaughn spoke up from behind her.

“That he is. Too bad some bastard stole the deed from under our noses.” Tobias turned to Jeb. “Get on down there and get things ready.”

The younger Gibson tapped his hat brim and rode off toward the cabin. Elizabeth wondered what “get things ready” meant but was too exhausted to ask. The last two days were like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.

“Is there a possibility of a bath?” The words popped out of her mouth, much to her mortification.

“Feeling dirty?” Vaughn piped up.

“Shut up, Mr. Montgomery.” She wasn’t in a mood to be polite.

“I reckon we could scare up a bucket or two of hot water.” Tobias urged the horses faster as though the idea of a bath appealed to him. She hoped he didn’t expect her to share it.

“Thank you, Mr. Gibson.” The words tasted like wood in her mouth.

Vaughn huffed out a breath behind her but she ignored him. When they rode up to the cabin, she waited as patiently as she could while Tobias dismounted and secured the horses’ reins to the hitching post outside. A scream of frustration lodged in her throat but she swallowed it. Soon she would find a way to escape and return home. She wasn’t a skilled tracker but she’d paid attention to the route they’d taken and watched the sun and moon. With a little luck, she could make her way to the Circle Eight.

Finally, finally, he untied her from the saddle and picked her up. As her feet touched the ground, her knees buckled. His strong arms stopped her from falling on her face. She pushed him away and hung on to the saddle skirt until her legs could hold her weight.

“Easy there, little filly.”

“I’m not a horse.”

“Oh I know that. You’re a woman.” Tobias leaned in close and she shrank back, unwilling to be close to him. This man had potentially killed Granny Dolan.

“I’m waiting. Is someone going to untie me soon? I’m aching to relieve myself.” Vaughn pulled Gibson’s attention away from Elizabeth, for which she was grudgingly grateful.

To her relief, Tobias moved away, giving her room to breathe. Her hands were still tied but she was alive and breathing. Anything could be fixed if she had a mind to do it.

“O’Connor, Montgomery, whatever your name is, you owe me money and a deed. I ain’t gonna let up on you ’til I get it back.”

“I told you, it’s gone.”

“It’s been a week. It cain’t be gone.” Tobias untied him and yanked Vaughn out of the saddle. He landed hard on the grass with a grunt.

Vaughn pushed himself to his knees. “I work for someone else. He has everything. I draw a salary.”

“I ain’t got no idea what that means.” Tobias took hold of Vaughn’s bound wrist and pulled him toward the door. “But I aim to find out.”

Will appeared at her elbow, his hand on one gun. “Ma’am.”

She sniffed and walked past him on shaky legs, her chin held high and her shoulders straight. Elizabeth would win this war even if she lost this battle.

The house was surprisingly tidy. It consisted of one big room with various bunks placed around it, a table with four mismatched chairs and a pot-bellied stove. There was no sink or kitchen to speak of. In the middle of the rightmost bunk sat an old man surrounded by three little boys. They stared at the newcomers with owlish expressions.

“I brought him back, Pops. He says he ain’t got the money or the deed.” Tobias turned to look at Vaughn. “I think he’s lyin’.”

Elizabeth couldn’t say she was surprised. Vaughn had taken their money and the deed to their house. Three little boys and an old man would be homeless. Not to mention Tobias, Will and Jeb. It was a family of sorts, if not a traditional one.

The old man turned his gaze to Elizabeth. His watery brown eyes were sharper than a tack, judging her.

“Who’s the female?” His gravelly voice was low but commanding.

“Somebody that’s important to him.” Gibson jerked his thumb in Vaughn’s direction. “I took her ’cause I thought it would make him give up what he stole.”

The old man continued to stare at her. “Did it work?”

Gibson looked at his dirty boots. “Not yet.”

“Then she ain’t who you think she is.” He blinked long and slow. “Can she cook?”

“No, I don’t cook.” Elizabeth was tired of being treated as if she wasn’t there.

“She makes good coffee.” Vaughn was so helpful.

“Coffee’s good, but we ain’t got no one to cook for us.” The children crawled out from behind him and joined in the staring event. She’d never felt so on display on her life, and she had seven brothers and sisters.

“I don’t cook,” she repeated. “I am being held against my will and I demand you let me go.”

The old man’s bushy silver grows went up. “She gotta smart mouth on her.”

“You have no idea.” Vaughn really did need to shut up.

“Trade her for the deed. I reckon she’s worth that much.” The old man finally shifted his gaze to Tobias.

“We need the money too, Pops.” Gibson pushed at Vaughn’s shoulder. “If this son of a bitch knows what’s good for him, he’ll hand it over.”

“You already searched me, Tobias. You know I don’t have anything. Hell, you took everything from me, even my clothes.” Vaughn gestured to his current too-small outfit and his lack of shoes. “I’ve got nothing.”

“Wrong.” Pops rose from the bed, his wizened old frame stooped and frail. He shuffled over to Vaughn and looked up at the much taller black-haired thief. “I reckon you know who wants our land.”

Vaughn opened his mouth and then closed it.

“I knowed he paid you to take it and our money so’s we’d have to leave. I don’t rightly care about you. I care about that sumbitch.” The old man poked one gnarled finger into Vaughn’s chest. “You give him up, she lives. You don’t, she dies.”

Elizabeth’s alarm grew. There were now four men, plus the three children, against the two of them. Not very good odds. Each time she thought to use the pistol, the situation grew worse.

“Tell him what he wants to know. I refuse to give up my life for you, Mr. Montgomery.” She gritted her teeth. “I swear I will haunt you for the rest of your miserable existence.”

“I don’t have anything to tell you. I did my part and now it’s done.” He glanced at the children. “I have to survive, too, and I did what I had to.”

“You have an excuse ready, don’t you?” Elizabeth glared at him. “If someone hired you to swindle the Gibsons, give the man his name.”

Vaughn shook his head. “I can’t do that.”

“Then she dies.”

Vaughn had fallen into a nightmare. Not only was he being held captive by the people he’d cheated, but they were going to kill Elizabeth for a document and money he no longer had. He wasn’t too particular about how he made money, just that he made it. Survival was the most important thing, not the means by which he achieved it.

At least it was until now.

Elizabeth had told him the most important thing was family. He hadn’t believed her, still wasn’t sure he did. Yet this old man, the family in front of him, told a story he didn’t bother to hear. Because of him, they’d lost all their money and the deed to their land. The children would be homeless, as would the incredibly ancient man.

Guilt was not a sensation he was familiar with, but it gnawed on him now. Hard.

“What do you mean you can’t?” Elizabeth pinched his arm. “You took it from them. How could you swindle someone without knowing all the facts?”

“It didn’t seem important.” The words were ridiculous, even to his ears.

“You forced them into acting, which led to my granny’s death and my house burning to cinders and it didn’t seem important?” She was nearly screaming at him, her anger a physical pulse slamming into him.

“Your granny didn’t die in the fire.” Jeb spoke up. The younger version of Tobias had rarely said a word.

“What are you talking about?” She rounded on him.

“Tobias had me circle back and make sure she got out.” The youngest Gibson toed the floor, his cheeks pink.

“She’s seventy years old. It doesn’t matter if she didn’t die in the fire, she can barely walk to the necessary.” Elizabeth’s voice caught. “No matter what you did to fix it, you still burned my ranch and may have killed Granny Dolan.”

A dark silence hung in the room. No one would doubt the emotion in her voice, nor the consequences of everyone’s actions.

“You are a bunch of idiot men. I don’t know why God put you on this planet unless it was to teach women patience.” Elizabeth’s fists clenched.

The old man brows went up. “She ain’t got nothin’ to do with this, Tobias?”

“You know my temper gets outta control. I was powerful mad, Pops, and this jackass took everythin’ from us.” Tobias looked as though his temper was simmering again.

“That ain’t no excuse for harmin’ a lady or burnin’ folks’ homes. ’Specially females who ain’t guilty. You shouldn’t’ve gone that far.” Pops pointed a bony finger at Tobias. “You gonna make this right with her.”

Elizabeth folded her arms, smug as can be. “Thank you, sir.”

Pops turned and pointed at Vaughn. “After he makes it right.”

Her mouth fell open. “That’s not fair.”

“Life ain’t fair, missy. Wrongs gotta be righted in order.” Pops sat back down as though he’d spoken his part and that was that.

Only it wasn’t. Vaughn knew who hired him, but he didn’t have possession of the money or the deed. He’d done his part and moved on. How was he to know the Gibsons would seek vengeance? Or that he would end up naked on Elizabeth’s doorstep? Fate was a cruel mistress.

“Vaughn, tell them where their money and their deed are.” She punched his arm. “Now.”

“I don’t know. I told you that.” He ran his hands through his hair. Vaughn had fallen into unfamiliar territory, in more ways than one.

“Then you’ll find out where everything is, return it all to the Gibsons. Then they will rebuild my family’s ranch.” She speared Tobias with a narrow-eyed glare. “Nothing can make up for what we’ve lost but I will accept you rebuilding what you destroyed.”

Tobias looked horrified. “Pops, I don’t wanna do this.”

Pops harrumphed. “You’ll do it, boy, or you ain’t a Gibson.” The little boys hid their giggles behind dirty fingers.

“Then O’Con—Montgomery here best find what he stole and give it back.” Tobias snarled at Vaughn.

He looked at Elizabeth. “Can I talk to you?”

“You are talking to me.”

He resisted the urge to shake her. “In private?”

She spread her arms. “Where do you think you’re gonna find private space in this one-room cabin with seven other people?”

Vaughn pulled her over to the corner behind the stove. The smell of soot and smoldering embers crowded the spot. He put his hands on his hips.

“I can’t give them anything.”

“You tricked them into thinking they were buying a gold mine, took their money and deed for it. Yes, you can give them everything back.”

“You’re not listening. I don’t have it. I gave it to the man who hired me and got paid. That’s it.” He waited for the inevitable anger. It arrived in seconds.

“Then you find the man and get it back. How hard is that?”

“Harder than you think.” Vaughn would need more than a few minutes to explain how things worked in his world. “He finds me and gives me a job to do. I don’t ask questions. That’s how it always happens.”

She frowned, the lines between her eyes deep as a trench. “How did he find you?”

“We’ve worked together before. He calls on me when he needs me.”

“You’re being deliberately stupid now. Go back to that person and find him.” She hissed at him. “I won’t let you destroy my family or the Gibsons because of your greed.”

“It wasn’t greed.”

“Then what was it? Why would you do this?” She grabbed his shirt and yanked.

How could he explain that it was all he knew? That he never had the family she bragged of or a grandmother who would tell funny stories. He didn’t know what it was like to rely on anyone for anything. Being smart and good-looking were the only things he had to his name, and he used both of them to survive.

“Survival.”

Her hands loosened and her arms fell to his sides. “Oh, Vaughn.”

Anger he could manage, passion he would welcome, but sympathy was unacceptable. “Don’t you dare pity me.” His voice had dropped to a growl.

“How can I not? You get through life by cheating people anonymously, like a parasite moving from warm body to warm body.” She reached up to touch his cheek and he jerked back. “It’s sad.”

It took a great deal for Vaughn to lose his temper. He hung onto it with the barest thread of control. He could feel it slipping from his grasp and tightened his fingers. “Don’t you dare fucking pity me.”

“Then stop doing what you do and help us make this right.” She was back to frowning again. “Start at the beginning and contact the man. Figure out a way to get back what belongs to the Gibsons.”

“Impossible.” He couldn’t do it. “I would have to give up everything. No one will trust me or hire me.”

“Then it’s time for you to do something honest for a living.”

He snorted derisively. “Like herd cattle?”

“I don’t herd cattle. I run a ranch with ten thousand head of cattle and manage the spend and income for more than a dozen people. I’m a bookkeeper.” She stuck her chin in the air.

“That’s glamorous.”

Elizabeth punched his arm. “That’s enough foolishness, Vaughn. My life was turned upside down the second you fell naked into my house. You will make this right or by all that’s holy, I will shoot you.”

He stared into her blue-green eyes, her passion and fury swirling in their depths. Elizabeth was the most honest person he’d ever met. She would drag him into undoing what couldn’t be undone, come hell or high water.

Vaughn didn’t have much of a choice. As much as he wanted to dig in his heels and run the other direction, he couldn’t. She would hunt him down and skin him alive.

“Fine but I can’t promise you anything. I don’t know if we can fool him. He is the ultimate swindler.”

Her smile was the first genuine one he’d witnessed from the too serious Miss Graham. This was Ellie, the girl who hid behind the serious frown she showed the world. He’d thought her plain but pretty. Her passion bubbled beneath the surface, hotter than a branding iron. Something shifted inside him, subtle but noticeable and he had no idea what it was, but his heart beat a little faster.

He couldn’t possibly be falling for the bookkeeper. Not possible. Vaughn Montgomery didn’t need anyone and love was out of the question. That would leave him vulnerable and an easy target. If there was one thing he wasn’t, it was a target.

“Vaughn will find him and get back what’s yours, then you help me rebuild what’s mine. Deal?” Elizabeth held out her hand to Tobias. “This is your word on your family’s honor.”

Tobias glanced at Pops, sighed like a fifteen-year-old girl, then shook her hand long enough for their skin to touch and no longer. “I ain’t your partner.”

“And I’m not yours. I won’t ever forgive you for what you did, Mr. Gibson, but I can live with it if you make things right.” She gestured to Vaughn. “I will make sure Mr. Montgomery does his part.”

He wanted to ask her just how she was going to do that but Tobias spoke up.

“I ain’t trusting a rattler like that.”

“I don’t trust any of you but the fact is, we all need each other. So we’re going to work together.” She gave them each a look he suspected she used on her younger siblings successfully.

“Fine, but I ain’t shaking his hand.” Tobias narrowed his gaze.

Vaughn didn’t care if Gibson didn’t like him. Hell, he didn’t like Tobias either. The man had more brains than the usual mark. He’d tracked Vaughn down in only a day. If he had the right tools, the man would be dangerous.

“Where are we going?” Elizabeth looked to Vaughn.

“Houston.” It was a big place, where people could hide or find people who didn’t want to be found. It was where Vaughn returned to each time he needed a new mark.

“I’ve never been outside of this county.” She sounded breathless. “Only my brothers, Caleb and Matt, and Matt’s wife, Hannah, have been to Houston. It’s huge.”

“It’s kind of like a big town. You’ll be with me so it’ll be fine.” He plastered on the most charming grin he could dredge up.

“I’m not reassured, Mr. Montgomery.”

“Look, I think we can all agree to call each other by our given names. We don’t need to be tripping over Mr. and Miss.” Vaughn’s patience was wearing thin. He was about to give up all he’d built for these people. The least they could do was let him have this one request.

“Are we going to dissemble on why we’re there?” Elizabeth surprised him with her vocabulary. For being a girl raised on a ranch, she was well read.

“Yes, or we won’t leave Houston in one piece.” He didn’t want her to think this was as simple as demanding what they wanted and receiving it. The man who hired him would not give back what he stole. “I told you, we have to trick the man who hired me or we won’t get anything.”

“I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Are you sure you don’t know each other? You sure sound like married folks.” Tobias smirked at them.

“You’ll need to give me back my clothes and dress a little differently. Both of you will.” He scrutinized Elizabeth’s dirty clothes. “We can brush out most of yours but you’ll need a bit more to pass for my wife.”

“Pardon?” Her brows rose. “Your wife?”

“If we’re to get back the money and deed, we need a story he will believe. You will be my wife.” He turned to Tobias. “You will be her brother. We will be in town to buy a property to build a house.”

Tobias scowled. “I don’t see how it’s gonna work.”

“He knows how to lie,” Pops added helpfully. “I reckon you should listen to him.”

Vaughn told himself not to be insulted. The old man was right, but it wasn’t pretty to hear it out loud.

“I have tricked Elizabeth into marrying me. She’s a wealthy woman with more money than I’ve ever seen. I will be in the middle of my biggest swindle.” He waited while they absorbed his idea. It was his best yet. A swindle within a swindle to retrieve what he had already swindled.

“You will bring this man in to help trick us but we will be tricking him.” Elizabeth nodded. “I can see how you have been successful at this shyster business. You’re very good at it.”

Vaughn wasn’t sure if she’d complimented him or insulted him. “To get away with it, you both have to be well dressed. I had a suit that would fit Tobias if he still has my things.”

Tobias jerked his head toward Jeb, who disappeared out the door. “I got your bag.”

“Good, that will help, but I have nothing for Ellie. We will need to find a way to obtain at least two high-quality dresses for you.” He was sure there was at least one ladies’ store in Houston he could talk out of an outfit or two.

“I got some ladies’ things.” Pops surprised him yet again.

“What things? Ladies dresses?” He didn’t understand how or why. There wasn’t a touch of female in the cabin or anywhere nearby.

Tobias grunted. “Pops gets paid by folks with things ’stead of money.”

Vaughn was not about to ask why folks paid Pops. He didn’t want to know any more about the Gibsons than he already did. It would be enough that he gave up his reputation for them. Perhaps he could go back east, leave Texas. He didn’t want to, but if he stayed he would starve.

“Will it fit her? She’s quite tall.”