Never Let You Down: The Connaghers, Book 4 (13 page)

Well, that was certainly a relief, though she’d give California a try if that’s what he really wanted. She’d spent a few summers in Ireland with Miss Belle’s family and traveled with her all over the world for various movies, but she’d never
lived
anywhere but Texas. “When?”

He made sure her sling was secure, keeping her injured arm against her body, and then he surged up, giving her a little jolt as he shifted her in his grasp. “Tomorrow. I know it’s late notice, but you’re welcome to go with me. I didn’t want to presume too much and ask you to go away with me so soon. Especially with your family in town.”

Honestly, for such a grown man, he could be incredibly silly. “I’m
presuming
you pretty openly as far as my family’s concerned. When will you get back?”

“I’ll fly back in on Sunday.”

That’d give her through the weekend to have everything ready, the house spruced and cleaned, and hopefully Miss Belle gone back to Missouri. “Maybe next time. Conn’ll be taking Miss Belle home in a day or two and I think a few days of peace and quiet after all the excitement is in order.”

Without a word of protest or disappointment, Jeb set her on the edge of his bed for what had become a nightly ritual, slowly undressing her with a kiss on every inch of skin he revealed. Burying her fingers in his hair, she smiled.

It’ll be the perfect time to ask him to move in with me.

Chapter Eighteen

The Lady Always Gets Her Man
by Chris Waters

In a cold camp just thirty minutes’ fast trot out of Halltown, Ransom pulled a blanket tighter around his shoulders, but he didn’t lie down. He wouldn’t be able to sleep. Not until he knew if she’d come or not.

If a man of questionable character said he was going north, most self-respecting lawmen would assume the outlaw was headed south instead, especially given the close proximity of Mexico. The system he and Victorious had set up long ago was much more complicated. He’d deliberately named two locations. San Antonio was due south. On the clock, that was thirty minutes. New Orleans was just to complicate matters, possibly throw off the sheriff if he tried to over think things. Jambalaya, though, was the most crucial keyword. Food, any food, meant north. Any drink meant south. Clothes meant head east. Anything metal, go west.

As hour after hour rolled by and no one came, his heart started to go as cold as the stony ground on which he sat.

I’ve lost her for good.

After not being able to track her down for so long, he’d already figured she was long gone. Cruel fate had decided to taunt him one last time with the one thing he could never have by letting him see her again.

She’d looked good. She was clean, fed, warm and relatively well off. She had a respected lawman to protect her. Hopefully he loved her. Really loved her. Even if someone started asking if Miss Victorious Raynes might have ever played the role of Mistress in a flophouse in Omaha. As far as they both knew, there were still warrants out for their arrest in Missouri. Not to mention the bank heist in Denver for which they were both wanted for questioning. She’d been innocent of that one, though her sweet little general store had reaped that crime’s benefits.

The sun was just threatening to break free and start its climb into the sky when he finally heard a horse carefully picking its way down the trail. He’d deliberately picked a hidden niche off the main road, preferring to be out of sight rather than up high at a vantage point. He could hear most anything coming down either side of the trail, even four-legged critters looking for a meal. The loose stone would betray the most surefooted coyote. Let alone a horse and rider.

Still, he waited, letting the cottonwoods hide both him and his horse. The signal. Only if the signal…

Finally he heard the low, husky vibrato of her voice singing “Amazing Grace”. The song her mama had taught her to sing anytime her drunk father staggered through the door. Not that it had ever helped protect her.

He stood up slowly, making sure his legs would hold him after sitting so long. That trembling had nothing to do with sheer relief. “Here.”

The hoof beats drew nearer, quickening to a trot, a canter, and then the horse broke through the trees and Victorious threw herself off her mare directly into his arms.

“Ranse.” She kissed him hard and frantic, her hands fisted in the long fall of his hair.

“You’re late.” He carried her to the warm nest of blankets and sat down with her on his lap facing him. “I nearly gave up hope.”

“I couldn’t get away.” She kissed him again, cupping her palms around each side of his face. “I missed you.”

“Did you? Seems like you’ve got a pretty good setup, now.”

Her face fell, her glorious eyes clouding with doubt and worry. “Yeah.”

“You’re not coming with me.”

He didn’t mean it as a question, but she shook her head anyway as she slid down and tucked her head up beneath his chin. He just held her, waiting for her to find the words in her own time.

“I came to Halltown for the same reason you did,” she finally said.

“Follow the gold,” he whispered against her hair. She smelled like fresh strawberries. He could remember so many times when he’d held her like this, shivering through the rain, the snow, hungry, tired, bloody and on the run. At least she was safe this time.

She nodded. “There’s only one way a town without its own mine and no industry to speak of could have so much gold flowing through it.”

“So you’re after the Specter too?”

Nobody knew exactly who was running drugs, guns and worse out of Mexico. New illegal technology kept pouring across the border. Like that blaster that had struck Ransom. Only the Federal Marshals were issued that kind of gun and it sure wasn’t a Marshal that had chased him out of the mayor’s mansion that night. The smaller towns down south even whispered of massive mechanical monsters rumbling across the border in the middle of the night. Where those machines were headed, no one seemed to know, but it couldn’t be good if someone was amassing some kind of man-made army.

Every time the Marshals or Rangers got close, the kingpin just vanished, easily moving to a new secure location as if he knew the law was coming before they did. Hence the name Specter. Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, it didn’t matter, the Specter controlled the flow back and forth across the border and there was gold aplenty. It was bad enough that the Marshals had even recruited the more nefarious sources to help them track down the ghostly criminal.

Hence Ransom Savage’s involvement. The Federal Marshals had promised he’d keep whatever spoils he managed to acquire as compensation for his assistance in bringing down the Specter and his record would be completely cleared. Evidently someone had promised the same to her.

“Yeah. I was. But things changed.”

“The sheriff.”

She nodded, even though she buried deeper into Ransom’s embrace. “I like it here. I mean, I really like it. I’ve built a good life. It was all supposed to be just a cover until I could figure out who was dealing with the Specter and follow the trail, but one thing led to another and here I am.” She swallowed hard, her hands clutching him closer. “Sheriff Brazen asked me to marry him a few weeks ago.”

His heart weighed like a ton of gold, but he tried to keep his voice even. “And you agreed.”

She jerked away from him, practically throwing herself up to her feet so she could pace in the small clearing among the trees. “Yes, I did. I like him too. He’s a good man.”

There was something in her voice that made his ears perk up. A tiny hint of doubt, the barest kernel of hope he wasn’t too late after all. “Is he?”

She didn’t answer but merely paced harder.

He wanted to ask if the sheriff minded the more dominant side of her disposition. She might be able to keep her darker needs hidden for a while, but after what they’d shared in Denver, he couldn’t imagine her settling down with a man for the rest of her life if he didn’t like to be tied up and abused any damn way the lady cared to hurt him.

“You took the gold out of the mayor’s safe, right?”

“Yeah. Cleared it out completely, every document and scrap I could find, just in case there were any clues. I haven’t found anything yet.” He narrowed his eyes, searching her face, but in the darkness, she kept her secrets. “Why’d you wait so long? Why didn’t you hit the safe first if you knew it was there?”

“I’ve been watching the mayor’s mansion for months, tracking who goes to see him and when. No matter how insignificant or trivial, milkman, veterinarian, whore. Everybody. Then I started ranking them by frequency of visits. Surely Specter’s contacts would be the most common, right?”

“Seems logical. Let me guess. Brazen is one of the top visitors.”

Hugging herself, she paused, watching the sun break the horizon and begin climbing into the sky. “Number one visitor. Worse, someone keeps telling Specter when anyone’s close to him. Someone who’s cozy with at least the Federal Marshals and probably the Rangers too.”

“Which was he?” Ransom asked softly, his heart aching for her. He loved her. He hated that another man had taken his place. Yet she obviously cared for this man, and any hurt to her was a wound he felt just as deeply.

“Ranger,” she replied hoarsely, turning to face him. “And he has a brother in Washington, D.C. I know, it doesn’t look good. That’s why I haven’t acted. I have to be sure.”

“And if it’s Brazen…?”

She tipped her chin up, her back ramrod straight, her hands clenched into fists at her side. God, she was gorgeous. “It’s not. I know him. It can’t be him.”

“All right.”

She raised a fist and shook it at him, opening her mouth. “I… What? You believe me?”

“You know him better than I. If you say he’s innocent, then he is.”

“He is.” She said it too forcefully, as if trying to convince herself.

Ransom changed the subject. “Sorry that I messed up your careful surveillance, but that might actually give us an opportunity.”

A smile curved her lips. “Mr. Townsend needs to refill his coffers.”

“Exactly. So let’s set up tonight and see who stops by.”

Her smile slipped and she turned away, gathering up her horse. “You can’t be seen in Halltown and I’ve got to run the store.”

“You know better than anyone that if I don’t want to be seen, no one will.”

“But…”

“Go,” he said more firmly, stepping up to hold her mare while she mounted. Not that she needed any help, but it gave him an excuse to come closer. “Keep up appearances. Do what you need to do.”

“And if you find out anything?”

“You’ll be the first to know,” he promised.
I just hope Sheriff Brazen doesn’t break your heart.

Chapter Nineteen

While Conn hauled the mountain of Miss Belle’s bags out to her car for the long drive home, Virginia sat on the brand spanking new leather couch and tried to think of something to say to his timid fiancée that didn’t make her sound like a monster-in-law.

“I’m glad all this happened so close to spring break so Conn didn’t miss too many classes.”

“His friend, Dr. Wykes, is covering a few of his freshmen classes this week.” Rae’s voice was so damned soft Virginia almost cracked a joke about needing to crank up her nonexistent hearing aids. “I think the dean is covering his other class on poetry. He didn’t trust anyone else to sub for him without butchering
‘
Prometheus Unbound
’
.”

“He always was a sucker for poetry. I’ve never seen a kid carry so many books around with him at all times, especially a boy. I think the other kids probably would have teased him unmercifully if it hadn’t been for Victor. Between the two of them, I’m afraid they probably beat up just about every bully in Crystal Springs.”

Rae sucked in a breath and couldn’t hide the shiver at Conn’s older brother’s name. “Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me.”

Evidently Master V had made quite an impression on the girl. He usually did. He had one of those overwhelmingly intense personalities that most people either instinctively respected or feared…or hated.

Like me.
Virginia studied her son’s girlfriend, more and more afraid the girl was just as terrified of her as she was of Victor.
I don’t want her to hate or fear me. I want to be Grandma Ginny, or Granny, or Nana…whatever their young’uns are going to call me. If she hates me…or is too terrified to ever come to visit, I’ll never be able to know my grandbabies like I want.
“I’m glad Conn found you, Rae, and I can’t thank you enough for helping him take care of Miss Belle. I know she can be quite the handful.”

“Actually, it was Miss Belle who found me, not Conn, but I’m glad too.”

“She’s quite the meddler, but her heart’s in the right place.”

Rae nodded, absently twisting the engagement ring on her left hand. Conn had good taste. The diamond was appropriately sparkly without completely overwhelming her delicate hand. Staring down at her own hands, Virginia could only sigh. Miss Belle had often said she had the hands of a man and years of hard work and horse training had only contributed to her masculine, powerful fingers, wrists and forearms. She could pack a wallop and had the musculature to prove it.
I was made to punish and hurt.

The doctor had replaced the heavier cast with something much lighter, evidently pleased with her recovery so far. Though her arm looked too much like a fragile little stick now.

“I know you don’t like me much…”

Virginia jerked her head up and would have retorted,
Why on earth would you say that?
But the look on Rae’s face stilled her tongue. The young woman looked miserable and unhappy, despite Conn’s glowing promise on her finger. Gentling her voice, Virginia replied, “You couldn’t be more wrong. I love you like a daughter simply because you make my son smile.”

Startled, Rae managed a smile. “You do?”

“Of course I do. I’d have to be a damned idiot not to see how much Conn loves you.”

Rae sighed wistfully, looking back down at her ring. “I love him too. Sometimes so much that I think he should surely have someone better than me.”

Virginia scooted closer and took the younger woman’s hands in both of her rough ones. “Now you listen here.” She said it just hard enough that Rae’s eyes popped back up to her face, but Virginia kept her face soft and easy. “You were made for him, and him for you. Don’t let nothing or nobody tell you any different.”

“It’s my fatal flaw.” Rae pulled a hand away to wipe away her tears, but she still smiled. “I warned him from the beginning I was an emotional basket case. I just want the best for him, and I don’t always see myself as being his best. Not when he’s so strong and confident.”

“Girl, you’re underestimating yourself. How long have you lived by Miss Belle now?”

Rae thought a few minutes, doing the math. “Eight months, practically nine, I guess.”

“She’s been here almost three weeks and I’m trying to decide whether to cut up the body and toss her piece by piece into the Gulf or if I should just drag her out back and let the coyotes do the work for me. The latter is definitely the easiest, but I’m sure I’d get a certain perverse pleasure out of watching sharks eat her. The only reason we’re both still breathing is that she didn’t bring that damned parasol with her.”

Rae choked back a laugh. “She’s not that bad.”

“The hell you say. If you’ll marry Conn and take care of her for me, then I’m going to nominate you for sainthood.” When Rae’s laughter died down, Virginia asked, “So what’s got you thinking you’re not good enough for Conn? Because if I ever gave you that impression, I apologize.”

“No, it’s nothing really. It’s just meeting all of his family, and seeing him in action, so to speak. Seeing his brother and how he acts with him.”

Feeling her way along, Virginia probed a little. “How does he act with Victor that he doesn’t act at home?”

“Harder. A little…”

“Mean,” Virginia finished, nodding. “You have to understand that Victor’s a sadist, pure and simple. Conn’s not that far down the scale though. He never will be.”

“I just wonder…” Rae sighed heavily, returning to twisting the ring. “If he would be more into the heavy stuff if I was, or if he’s holding himself back because I’m scared.”

“Honey, a man like him, a Dominant, doesn’t change who he is. It’s impossible. Now he can act a little tougher when he’s with his big mean brother, but he’s never going to get off on being as hard and rough as Master V. It’s just not in him.”

“I don’t want him to hold back because of me. It makes me worry that I’m not…enough. I’ll never be enough for a man like him.”

A submissive’s heart could be a fragile, delicate thing. Rae’s words struck a chord in Virginia and she fell silent, her mind whirling with conflicting thoughts. Hadn’t she been holding back on Jeb? Sure, she’d been protecting him, or so she’d thought. She didn’t want to be mean and hard on him. She didn’t want to hurt him.

Though by holding back…

That’s exactly what I’m doing. And it isn’t the kind of hurt either one of us could ever enjoy.

“It makes me wonder if making I’m him less than he could be, and that’d break my heart.”

So much of a submissive’s self-worth was wrapped up in how well he or she pleased the Dominant. Especially for submissives who were more into the service side of the scale. Like Jeb.

Every time she refused to satisfy her need on him, she refused him. She refused him the ability to serve to his full capacity. Which made him feel less than complete as her submissive. Less worthy. After everything he’d already been through with his ex and her own rejection when she’d chosen another man over him in the first place.

Damn it all to hell. I’ve made a right ugly mess of everything
. Irritation with herself hardened her voice. “Now that’s ridiculous talk. Nothing could make my son less than he could be, certainly not something or someone he loves so much.”
Now I’ve got to make sure Jeb knows I feel the same way about him.

A crash made them both jump. Suitcase tossed on the floor, Conn stood at the doorway. “Mama!” he roared, planting his hands on his hips with a fierce scowl that did her sadist’s heart proud. “You made her cry! What did you say to her?”

Rae scrambled to her feet. “We were just talking. Everything’s fine.”

“Bullshit,” he retorted, stomping over to drag her against him. “Nobody makes you cry, darlin’. No matter how much I love them. Mama, how could you? She’s half terrified of you already, and now—”

Virginia slowly pushed to her feet, trying not to laugh. “Son, listen to your sweetheart. And next time, maybe a trip to Master V’s favorite club isn’t the best idea for a submissive who’s not into heavy discipline.”

He flushed so darkly she had to smother her laughter behind her hand. “We didn’t… How did you know about that?”

“I put two and two together.” Virginia reached out and drew the younger woman into a hug, careful not to bang her with the cast. “Did you two decide on a date yet?”

“Not yet,” Rae hedged, avoiding her gaze but hugging her back warmly. Lowering her voice, she whispered for Virginia’s ears only. “It might need to be sooner than later. Maybe. He doesn’t know yet.”

Virginia squeezed her, fighting to suppress the fierce smile of joy threatening to split her face open. A baby. Maybe.

Oh, Ty. Our first grandbaby. I wish you were here to see him.

A whisper of leather flickered through the air, making her turn her head. She could swear that someone whispered
her
in her ear. A little girl? Even better.

A commotion outside announced more visitors. Victor, Shiloh and Vicki came into the house, passing hugs around, though Victor looked a little grim. His eyes caught Virginia’s gaze and he tipped his head to the side as if he wanted to speak to her privately.

“Okay, dears, we’re off,” Miss Belle called gaily. She went from person to person planting kisses. “Virginia, I expect to hear the news soon.”

Rae paled and Shiloh shot a guilty glance at her. Uh oh. Could they both be expecting? Ty had said all of the above in that dream, but surely he didn’t mean…

“Can’t you keep any secrets, Grandma?” Vicki retorted, though she gave Miss Belle another hug. “You don’t have to go and spoil everyone’s good news.”

All three of them? Laughing, Virginia didn’t hide her glad tears. “I guess we’re going to be very busy for the next year.” The boys looked at each other uneasily and it made her laugh all the harder, though the girls were beginning to look a little queasy. To give them a little time to share their news in private, she dropped a little bombshell of her own to take the pressure off them. “Just so you aren’t taken completely by surprise, I’m planning to ask Jebadiah to move in with me. Since we’re both as old as dirt, we may or may not decide to make it official with a wedding.”

More congratulations and hugs were passed around, though Victor looked even grimmer. He jerked his ponytail tighter, pulling his face back in a hard and tight line. He didn’t say anything, though she had a feeling she was going to get an earful once everyone was gone. Finally Miss Belle’s caravan headed out. As soon as they were gone, Virginia turned to her oldest son. “What is it?”

“You’d better sit down.”

She did so, with Vicki on one side of her and Shiloh on the other.

“Did Mr. Garrett tell you about his current profession?”

Virginia nodded. “He’s a writer now, and becoming something of a success.”

“But he did he tell you what he wrote?”

She narrowed her eyes on him, unsure why he was offended. “Yes. He writes BDSM fiction about submissive men. His ex wasn’t very supportive of it, either.”

Victor let out a hard laugh. “Yeah, I imagine not. Take a look at this.”

He placed a slim black tablet in her lap and hit a button, bringing up a book cover. The first thing that caught her attention was the woman’s vibrant red hair. It streamed all over the page, long and wild and curly. She was dressed in a corset and a cowboy hat, a somewhat odd mix. Even stranger, though, was the pink parasol in one hand.

And the crop in her other.

The title arched across the top in large script:
The Lady Always Gets Her Man
by Chris Waters.

She looked up at her son. “So?”

“That’s you.”

She laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have red hair, have never owned a corset in my life, and I certainly don’t carry Miss Belle’s parasol.”

He swiped his finger, bringing up the next page. “Read the blurb.”

She blew out a sigh and took the electronic reader from him, wishing she had her reading glasses so she didn’t have to hold it quite so far away. Vicki reached over and adjusted the font, which helped considerably.

The legendary lady always gets her man, whether it takes a pistol, a pretty parasol or a wicked crop. The only question is whether she’ll take the formidable lawman with the need for domination…or the dashing outlaw with the secret need for pain. Or maybe she’ll simply take them both.

Her gaze flickered up to Victor’s a moment, and then hurriedly she read the rest. She sat back and hoped she didn’t look like someone had clubbed her upside the head, but she wasn’t even sure if her mouth was closed or not.

“See? It’s you and Mr. Garrett.”

“And Ty,” she whispered. “How many more did he write?”

“Ten,” Shiloh said gently. “I downloaded them all on this device if you want to read them, but none of the others seemed as…deliberate…as this one. It’s his most recent release.”

“How’d you find them?”

Victor let out a short, hard laugh. “Did you think I’d let my Mama date some guy without doing a little background checking of my own?”

“So you snooped.”

“Damned straight. I found an article linking hometown Jebadiah Garrett to writer Chris Waters for an award ceremony this weekend in L.A. It was all downhill from there.”

Virginia tightened her grip on the tablet, refusing to let Shiloh take it. “This weekend?”

“I thought you knew.”

“I knew he was going to L.A. and he asked if I wanted to go. I knew he was up for another award but he never said the award
ceremony
was this weekend.”

It was just like his prom all over again. She’d made plans first and he wouldn’t want to change or affect her decision, so he hadn’t mentioned the details. Or maybe he didn’t think she’d care. Or worse, that she’d turn her back on him like his ex-wife.

“Can’t you see why?” Vicki asked. “Remember how it was when I first launched my line? Or when V and Shiloh first made an appearance after their show aired? Everyone leaps to conclusions. Even if half of what’s in that book could be applicable to you or him, then people will assume the whole thing’s true. Especially if you go there in person.”

“They’ll assume I’m Victorious.”