Relentless (7 page)

Grant betrayed no emotion as he said calmly and coldly, “Oh, yes, you are.”

Paul muttered something vile under his breath. He glared menacingly at the stranger for a moment longer and then stalked off into the night, leaving Mark to follow.

Dusty had rushed from the dance hall with Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, and when she saw that Francie appeared to be in some kind of trouble, her first instinct had been to jump right in and help her friend. She would have, too, had Mrs. Reynolds not caught her by the arm and held her back.

“Stay here—Let the men handle it!” the older woman had ordered.

Only then had Dusty realized that, dressed in a delicate gown as she was, she wouldn’t have been much help to Francie. But feeling helpless didn’t sit well with her, and she hoped Mr. Reynolds could break up the brawl.

It was as she’d stood back with Mrs. Reynolds that she’d caught sight of the tall, handsome, mysterious man who had seemed to come out of nowhere to help Francie and Rick. She didn’t have any idea who he was, but he had certainly been a godsend, showing up to chase off the two drunks.

When Mrs. Reynolds finally released her, Dusty hurried over with Mrs. Reynolds to check on Francie.

Grant stepped back as those who had been watching came rushing over. He looked off in the direction the two drunken cowboys had gone and was glad to see no sign of them lurking nearby in the shadows. Even so, he wasn’t sure they were done causing trouble for the night. He’d dealt with their kind many times in the past, and he wanted to make certain they really had heeded his advice and left the area.

It was just as Grant was turning to follow them that he caught sight of the young woman who came rushing over to Francie’s side. Tall and slender, she was wearing a fashionable gown with her dark hair styled up and held in place by a fancy bow, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen such a pretty girl.

It wasn’t often Grant allowed himself to be distracted. He’d learned early on that distractions could be dangerous in his line of work, and this female was definitely a distraction. For just one moment, though, he allowed himself to enjoy the sight of her before forcing himself back to reality.

He had to go to check on the troublemakers—and keep a look out for Jackson and his men.

Grant moved quietly away and disappeared down the street.

The moment of terror past, Francie looked up at Rick as she touched his arm. “Are you all right?”

“I’ll live,” Rick said in disgust as he wiped some blood off his mouth. He looked around, wanting to thank the man who’d helped him, only to discover that he was gone. “Where did he go?”

“He was right here a minute ago—” Francie said.

Fred joined them along with his wife and Dusty.

“Who was that man?” Fred asked.

“I don’t know, but I sure am glad he showed up when he did,” Francie said.

“So am I,” Rick agreed, disappointed at not getting the chance to speak with him.

“I appreciate your defending my daughter, Rick,” Fred said gruffly.

Rick nodded. Normally, he tried to avoid brawling, but he was glad he’d followed Francie outside. There was no telling what Paul might have tried to do to her if he hadn’t been there.

“Looks like the excitement’s over out here folks,” one of the men standing near the door announced. “Let’s get some dancing going again.”

Those who’d come out to see what all the excitement was about went on back inside to enjoy the rest of the evening.

Mrs. Randolph was still worried as she hovered around her daughter. “Are you sure you weren’t hurt, darling?”

“I’m all right, but I would like to freshen up a bit—”

“I’ll go with her,” Dusty offered.

The two girls started back to the hall, still a little shaken by what had transpired.

Battered though he was, Rick called out to Francie, “Your next dance is mine.”

She looked back at him and smiled. “Yes, it is.”

Francie and Dusty went in and made their way
to the small, private sitting room that had been put aside for the ladies. They were glad to find there was no one else there when they went in. Francie needed a little privacy to collect herself and to calm down.

“You told me we were going to have an exciting evening, but this wasn’t what I thought you had in mind,” Dusty told her friend.

“I know—” Francie agreed, starting to tremble a bit as she sat down on the small sofa to compose herself. “I don’t even want to think about what might have happened if Rick hadn’t come outside when he did—or if that other man hadn’t shown up just in time—Do you know him?”

“No. I’ve never seen him before.”

“Neither have I, and it was so strange for him to just appear out of nowhere the way he did. I mean, some of the men in the hall knew the fight was going on, and they didn’t do anything—nothing—They just stood there watching. They didn’t even try to help Rick—And then that stranger just showed up and faced both Paul and Mark down—”

“There was something about the man—a dangerous edge or—I don’t know. And then for him to just disappear the way he did—”

“I wonder where he went?”

“He was probably your guardian angel and he went to make sure those two don’t come back to bother you again.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think Rick was my guardian angel tonight,” Francie said, finally managing a smile as her expression softened.

“That was very brave of him to take on Paul.”

“Yes, it was.”

“Let’s get you freshened up then. Your hero is waiting out there to dance with you.”

“I hope Rick’s not hurt too bad,” Francie said, sounding concerned.

“If he’s staying to dance with you, I don’t think you have to worry too much about that.”

“I just have to worry about the other girls grabbing him,” Francie replied with a grin.

“Then hurry up!” Dusty teased.

“All right,” Francie said, getting up to check her appearance in the small mirror. “How do I look?”

“Gorgeous! Let’s go.”

Grant followed in the direction the two drunks had gone, and it didn’t take him long to catch sight of them, staggering along up ahead of him. He watched from a distance as they entered the saloon. He hadn’t expected them to give up so easily, but he was glad that it seemed they had. He knew the cowhands might drink some more and come back looking for even more trouble, but he hoped they had sense enough to just spend the rest of the night in the saloon, drinking. He had more important things to worry about than a couple of drunken cowboys. He wanted to make sure Les Jackson and his men weren’t in town yet, so he had to get back to the dance and take a look around.

Charley was still drinking at the bar when the two hands came in and sat down at a table, yelling for
one of the saloon girls to wait on them. There was no missing their conversation as they bragged about the fight they’d just been in at the dance.

“Yeah,” one of the men was chuckling to his friend, “I’d say that Randolph girl was worth fighting over, wouldn’t you?”

“Especially if you only had to fight that banker for her,” the other man answered. “It was too damn bad the other fella showed up when he did. If he hadn’t butted in, we mighta had ourselves some real fun tonight.”

“Yeah, well, we can have some real fun here with Sassy,” the first man said, grabbing the saloon girl as she came to the table and hauling her down on his lap.

“Yes, you can,” the girl assured him, leaning forward to give him a big, hungry kiss.

Charley usually didn’t pay any attention to what went on there in the saloon, but hearing the news that there had been trouble at the dance, and that it had involved Francie, worried him. Quickly downing the rest of his drink, he left the saloon and hurried back to the hall. He feared Dusty might have gotten caught up in all the ruckus, too, and he grew angry with himself for not being there to make sure she stayed safe and out of harm’s way.

His felt a surge of relief when he went back inside and found Dusty dancing with one of the nice young men from town. He was glad to see that she appeared to be enjoying herself, so he went looking for Fred to find out exactly what had happened earlier.

Charley didn’t get far, though, before Miss Gertrude saw him coming and cornered him.

“All right, Charley Martin, you’ve been avoiding me all night, but you’re not sneaking past me this time! This is my dance!” she declared, taking his arm.

Even though he’d been drinking, he knew better than to try to get away from Miss Gertrude.

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded cordially, “but I have to warn you, it’s been quite a while since I’ve been dancing.”

“Once you start moving again, you’ll remember how. I saw you with Dusty earlier, and you seemed to be doing just fine,” she assured him as they made their way out to the dance floor together. She understood what a rough life Charley had and wanted to try to get a smile out of him. “Your little girl has been behaving herself, in case that’s what you’re looking so worried about and—” She fixed him with a discerning look. “Just where were you when all the excitement broke out? Down at the saloon?”

“Yes, Miss Gertrude, I’m afraid I was,” he admitted. “I didn’t think we had to worry about that kind of trouble tonight.”

“When these cowhands get all drunked up this way, we always have to worry about there being trouble. Thank heaven Francie wasn’t hurt.”

“How bad was it?”

“Luckily, the cowboy was interrupted very quickly, but if it hadn’t been for our new banker and the stranger who showed up just in time, why, there’s no telling what might have happened. It’s
funny, though—I’ve been looking around, and I still haven’t seen that stranger again. One minute he was there, and the next he’d completely disappeared.”

“So some stranger got involved and broke up the fight?”

“You haven’t heard the whole story of what happened yet?”

“No, I haven’t.”

She quickly told him everything. “I don’t know who the man was, but I intend to find out. We need more men like him and Rick around these parts—true gentlemen—men of honor. If there were, Canyon Springs would certainly be more civilized.”

“Well, if anybody can find out who this stranger was, it’ll be you.” Charley couldn’t help laughing.

“I plan on it,” she declared, and she kept an eye out for any sign of the man as she and Charley finished their dance and moved apart.

When Grant returned to the hall, he was glad to find that the dance seemed to be back to normal. He knew the festive atmosphere would make it easier for him to just blend in with those in attendance and keep a lookout for Jackson and his men at the same time.

What he didn’t know was that the eagle-eyed Miss Gertrude was keeping a lookout for him.

At that particular moment, the music paused to signal the end of a dance.

Miss Gertrude was making her way back to her seat when the announcement came for the muchanticipated second “ladies’ choice” dance. Everyone
was excited, and Miss Gertrude turned and swept the room with a sharp-eyed gaze. It was then that she caught sight of the stranger at the far end of the hall. Tall, lean, broad-shouldered and real good-looking, the new man in town stood out in the crowd, and Miss Gertrude was ready for him.

Grant saw the prim elderly lady making her determined way through the crowd. He thought nothing of it—at first. Only when she came straight up to him and took him by the hand was he surprised.

“I’ve been looking for you, young man,” Miss Gertrude said, giving him a conspiratorial grin as she boldly drew him out onto the dance floor.

“You have?” He looked down at her as he took her in his arms to dance, and it was then he saw the unmistakable twinkle of mischief in her eyes and knew she was a woman to deal with.

“I saw what you did outside, breaking up the fight that way, and I wanted to thank you for helping out. Did you go follow those two troublemakers to make sure they weren’t coming back?”

“Yes, ma’am, I did.”

“That was smart of you,” she said, nodding her approval. “Paul and Mark are known for not being the brightest boys around, and they do like stirring things up and causing a lot of trouble. It makes them feel like real big men.”

“Last I saw of them, they were going into the saloon.”

“That’s the best place for them. I hope they stay there,” she told him with satisfaction.

“With any luck, they will,” he agreed with her.

“Well, in case no one’s told you—you’re quite a fine dancer, young man.”

“Why, thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I only tell the truth.” Miss Gertrude smiled up at him. “I’m Gertrude Stevens, by the way. What’s your name?”

“I’m Grant Spencer.”

“I am pleased to meet you, Grant Spencer.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, too, Miss Stevens.”

“Everybody calls me Miss Gertrude. I expect you to do the same,” she stated in her usual manner.

“Yes, ma’am, Miss Gertrude,” he quickly complied.

“I haven’t seen you around here before, have I?”

“No, ma’am. I just rode into town tonight.”

“Are you planning on staying for a while?” she asked hopefully.

“No, I’m just passing through.”

“That’s too bad. I could get used to dancing with you at all the socials,” she teased, and her flirtatious remark got a smile out of him. She’d known he was handsome before, but when he smiled down at her, her heart actually skipped a beat. Miss Gertrude found herself wishing she was twenty again. If she had been, he would have been in trouble.

“And I could get used to dancing with you,” he returned.

Miss Gertrude laughed good-naturedly. “You’re a charmer, that’s for sure. Welcome to Canyon Springs, Grant. I hope you have a good time while you are here.”

“I already am,” he said, enjoying her company. It
had been a long time since he’d been with anyone like Miss Gertrude. He knew ladies like her were rare. “I’m with you.”

“Ladies! It’s that time! Are you ready? Change partners!”

Gertrude had known the announcement would be coming, and she was sorry to hear it. There was something about this young man that intrigued her. She wanted to find out more about him, but as much as she would have liked to hang on to him, she knew she had to give him up. Luckily, she glanced around and was glad to see that Dusty was nearby, dancing with one of the local ranch hands.

“I know just who to give you to,” she said.

“You do?” He had no idea what Miss Gertrude was up to.