Relentless (12 page)

Grant was all too aware of her nearness as she curled against his side and closed her eyes. He struggled for control and knew he was going to have to find a way to deal with having her so near—especially when they started riding double together in the morning. It wasn’t going to be easy.

Even as weary as he was, Grant knew he wasn’t going to get much sleep tonight, not with Dusty so close. He shut his eyes and tried to think about
tracking Jackson and his men. He wondered, again, where Frank was and if he was closing in on them, too.

He was surprised to find a few moments later that Dusty had fallen asleep.

Grant had known he wouldn’t get much sleep holding Dusty in his arms, and he’d been right. He looked down at her now as she lay so close beside him, sleeping peacefully, and was struck again by what a beautiful woman she was. She appeared delicate as she rested, but he knew how strong she truly was to have survived all she’d been through.

As Grant thought about the days to come, he grew worried. He was glad she’d shared the information she’d had about the outlaws’ plans, but he had to find a way to leave her somewhere safe so he could track down the killers. She’d suffered enough already. He didn’t want to put her at any more risk. He knew she would be furious with him, but he hoped she would forgive him when he brought the gang in.

The night aged, and Grant managed to move away from Dusty without awakening her. He got up to start quietly breaking camp so they could ride out at dawn. They had a lot of miles to cover, and he couldn’t afford to lose any more time.

It was still dark when Dusty awoke. She was surprised to find that Grant was already up. She didn’t say anything for a moment, taking the time to watch him as he moved about the campsite. Her gaze went over him, taking in his broad shoulders and lean waist. In the light of the low-burning fire, she could see the dark shadow of several days’ growth of beard. It added an element of danger to his look, but she knew he was no danger to her.

Far from it.

The memory of his kiss and touch brought a sensual smile to her lips as she continued to watch him, and she knew in that moment she was falling in love with him. The realization surprised her even as it seemed so simple. From the first moment she’d seen him at the dance, she’d known he was a very special man.

“Good morning,” she said in a sleep husky voice.

Grant quickly looked her way and smiled. “You’re awake—”

Her heartbeat quickened at his smile. “I can’t believe I slept so well.”

“I’m glad you did. It’ll help you get your strength back. How do you feel this morning?”

“Much better.”

“Good.”

“How soon do you want to head out?”

“As soon as it’s light. It’s a long ride to the next town. We’ve got a lot of miles to make up.”

“I know. I’m sorry I slowed you down,” she said as she sat up and got ready to help him.

“I’m just glad you found your way here.”

“So am I. If it hadn’t been for you—”

Grant went to her and took her in his arms. “Let’s don’t even think about that.”

She looked up at him and couldn’t help herself. She asked, “What should we think about?”

He hadn’t meant to touch her this morning—it was going to be difficult enough riding with her. He’d been trying to distract himself, thinking about the job he had ahead of him, but having her in his arms was a temptation he couldn’t resist. He kissed her, a hungry, devouring kiss that left them both breathless. He was glad he had enough willpower to put her from him when he finally broke it off.

Grant gave her a wry smile. “We have to think about getting some breakfast and saddling up.”

He said no more, but set about doing just that. They ate what little food he had brought with him and then got ready to ride.

Grant had been wondering which would be safer for her—putting Dusty in front of him so he could keep his arms around her, or positioning her behind him. She seemed to have most of her strength back, so he decided to leave the decision up to her.

“I’ll ride behind you,” Dusty said, after he’d asked her. “That way, if we do run into any trouble, I won’t be in your way.”

“That’s fine,” he agreed.

Grant mounted first and then took her arm to pull her up behind him. He’d been relieved that she would not be sitting before him. That was until she wrapped her arms around his waist to hold on. The feel of her pressed so intimately against him
left him gritting his teeth as they started out. His only solace was that she would have been an even bigger temptation, riding in front.

Sheriff Perkins faced the men in his posse as they got ready for another day of hard riding, trying to find the Jackson gang. “Boys, I hate to say this, but I think it’s time we give it up and head back to town.”

Most of the men murmured their agreement, but Rick and Fred confronted him angrily.

“We can’t give up!” Rick argued.

Fred added, “Rick’s right. We can’t quit tracking the gang. Not after what Jackson and his men did! These men are cold-blooded murderers!”

The sheriff didn’t like anyone contradicting his orders, especially not Fred and some young smartass banker man. “You think I don’t know that? I know damned well what kind of men Les Jackson and his gang are, but that storm ruined any chance we had of staying on their trail. They’ve done got away from us, and there ain’t nothing more we can do.”

“You’re wrong. We can keep circling out and try to pick up their trail again. We know they’re out there somewhere—with Dusty!” Rick wasn’t a very good tracker, but several of the men riding with them were.

Fred looked to two older men, Ralph and Al, who were the best trackers. “Rick’s right. You’re not going to just give up, are you?”

Ralph and Al shared a frustrated look before answering.

“I ain’t one to quit if I think there’s a good chance of picking up the trail again, but we haven’t seen any sign of them for days now,” Ralph said.

“I know what you’re feeling, Fred. I want to catch them killers, too, but we’re wasting our time,” Al agreed. “We’re riding in circles going nowhere. Jackson and his men are long gone.”

“But what about Dusty?” Rick argued.

Fred glared at them. “Dusty’s a good girl, and now she’s out there somewhere with them—”

“I know what you’re saying, but they’re gone. We’re not going to find them,” Ralph told him.

“So we just quit?”

“We ain’t got much choice,” Al said in disgust. Charley Martin had been a good friend of his, and Matt had been his friend, too. Knowing what plans they probably had for Charley’s daughter sickened him, but there was little more they could do. Sure, they could keep searching, but after all this time, the chances were slim to none that they’d find any clue to the direction the gang had ridden.

Rick and Fred knew they were helpless to save Dusty on their own, and the realization left them even angrier. They stalked away from the other men.

“I don’t know what I’m going to tell Francie and my wife,” Fred said, disgusted and sickened by the way the manhunt had turned out.

“I just wish there was something more we could
do.” Rick was miserable over their failure. He thought of Francie and knew how heartbroken she was going to be when they returned to town without having rescued her friend.

“So do I, Rick. So do I,” Fred sympathized.

Their moods were dark as they mounted up and got ready to head back to Canyon Springs emptyhanded.

Sarah was hard at work cleaning out one of the stalls in the stable when she looked up to find the Ranger standing silhouetted in the doorway. Tall and broad shouldered, he was a commanding presence as he stood there watching her for a moment.

“Are you sure you should be up and moving around this much?” she asked, surprised to find him there. She’d known he was getting stronger, but this was the first time he’d ventured so far from the house on his own.

“I’m feeling much better thanks to your doctoring,” Frank told her with an easy grin.

“Some of the ranch hands have had broken ribs before, and it’s taken them a good couple of weeks to be able to get up and around again.”

He chuckled. “But I’m not on your payroll.”

She couldn’t help laughing, too. “If you’re this eager to work, maybe I should hire you on.”

“I just may take you up on that. I think you’d be a pretty good boss lady.”

“There aren’t a lot of men who think like you do. Most of them won’t take orders from a woman.”

“Depends on the woman,” he answered. “I saw
your father and brother ride out earlier with some of the men. Are they coming back anytime soon?”

“No. They’re out checking stock. I don’t expect them until close to suppertime. Why?”

“Well, since I’m moving now, I wanted to ride up to the place where you found me. I thought if I took a look around, I might find something that would jar my memory.”

“Are you sure you’re up to riding?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation, growing serious, “and I can’t go on this way much longer. I have to find out who I am and why someone wanted me dead.”

Sarah had known this moment would come eventually. “All right,” she said, moving out of the stall. “Let me clean up a bit and we’ll take a ride over there.”

She made short order of washing up at the pump and then quickly saddled the horses for them. She could tell it frustrated the Ranger not to be able to help her, but she refused his offer, not wanting him to strain himself just yet. They’d see how he felt later after making the ride. She swung up on her horse and watched as he mounted, too. It took an effort for him, she could tell, but he seemed comfortable enough once he was in the saddle.

“Ready?”

“Oh, yeah,” he answered, his expression serious as they started out.

Sarah kept their pace steady, yet slow as they covered the miles to the site of the ambush.

“Do you want to ride up on the trail or go down where Andy and I found you?”

“Both,” Frank answered. He didn’t know if this would help jar his memory, but he knew it was worth a try. As his physical wounds healed, it was harder for him to deal with his memory loss, and he was beginning to find that he didn’t seem to be a very patient man.

They started up the narrow trail on the steep hillside, and Sarah reined in about halfway up. Frank reined in beside her and studied the craggy, rocky hills that surrounded them. An eerie feeling came over him, but he could remember nothing about the day of the ambush.

“From what Andy and I could figure out, you were probably right about here when they shot you. There’s no telling where they were hiding. There are any number of places up there where they could have gotten a clear shot at you. Your horse must have thrown you, because we found you down at the bottom of the ravine.”

Frank dismounted and walked over to the edge to stare down at the rocks below. “You never saw any sign of my horse?”

“No. Nothing.”

He looked around a little more on foot, hoping to find his saddlebags or anything he might have dropped that would give him a clue to his past, but found nothing. He mounted again and looked over at Sarah.

“Let’s take a look at the place where you found me.”

Again, she led the way, taking him back down the trail and then around to the narrow passageway that ran through the bottom of the ravine.

“You were lying just about here,” Sarah told him as she stopped and got down to help him search for anything he might have lost during the fall.

Frank joined her, looking up to study the steep hill, trying to summon a memory of exactly what had happened that fateful day, but there was nothing. He looked around the area carefully, but, again, found nothing.

“I’d hoped this would help, but I don’t remember a thing.” An anger was growing inside of him that he knew he had to control.

“It will. You’ll remember. It’s just going to take a while longer,” she said sympathetically.

“But how much longer?” He walked slightly away, not wanting her to see how tortured he was by not knowing.

Sarah could feel his pain, and she went to stand beside him, putting a hand on his arm to reassure him. “I wish I knew the answer for you, but I don’t.”

Frank looked down at her, seeing all her kindness and generosity—and her beauty. “You’re one special woman, Sarah.”

Sarah’s breath caught in her throat as he slowly took her in his arms and drew her to him. His lips sought hers, tentatively at first. When she met him in that exchange, he deepened the kiss, pulling her even closer.

For a moment, Sarah was stunned, and then the reality of being in his embrace overwhelmed her.

Her Ranger had survived. He was healing, and he was kissing her.

Her heartbeat quickened as she wrapped her arms around him and returned his kiss in full measure. She had known him for only a short time, but she knew in that moment, even without finding out the truth of his past, that she loved him. He might not have his memory, but he did have the inner strength and fortitude it took to get through these hard times. She had no doubt in her mind or in her heart that he was a good and honorable man.

When, at last, the kiss ended, they drew slightly apart to stare at each other with a sense of wonder.

“Thank you, Sarah,” he said solemnly, lifting one hand to tenderly caress her cheek. “If it hadn’t been for you and Andy coming to help me that day, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

She smiled up at him. “I am just glad that we were here—”

“So am I.”

Frank kissed her again, loving the feeling of having her so close to him. He felt a sense of loss when they finally moved apart.

“We’d better head back—” she said, knowing it would be best if they returned to the ranch before her father did. There was no telling what kind of trouble her father might cause if he found out she’d been riding alone with Grant, even though it was broad daylight.

They mounted up and started back out of the ravine.

“I’m sorry riding up here didn’t help you remember
anything,” Sarah said as she looked over at him.

“It was worth a try. I was hoping to find my saddlebags or something else that might help me figure out who I really am and where I was going.”

She couldn’t help herself as she fought to keep from smiling. “You did remember something—”

He frowned as he glanced over at her. He had no idea what she was talking about.

“You remembered how to kiss—” She put her heels to her horse’s sides and rode on ahead of him.

Frank couldn’t help himself. He started grinning and quickened his pace to catch up with her.