Texas Bride (16 page)

“Did you find anything?” she asked expectantly.

“Yup.” He propelled her toward their horses.

“Well?”

“Has Avery ever been married?”

She gave him a strange look to match his strange question. “Not to my knowledge.”

“Didn’t think so. If you had consented to marry Avery you wouldn’t have had to share his bed,” Jonah said in a hushed tone as he veered around the bunkhouse.

“What does that have to do with this situation?” she asked, bewildered.

“Avery already has a bed partner. Chiang Ti. And from all indication they are both opium addicts.”

“What! You must be—” Her voice evaporated when Jonah clamped his hand over her mouth to prevent her from drawing unwanted attention from the bunkhouse.

“I doubt Chiang Ti will want to hang around these parts after the truth comes out,” Jonah whispered.

“Which only confirms what I’ve said all along.” Maddie stuffed her booted foot in the stirrup and swung onto her strawberry-roan gelding. “Avery wanted to marry me to acquire control of the ranch. He didn’t give a fig about me personally. But then, what man ever did, besides my father?”

Jonah rolled his eyes, wondering if Maddie would ever realize how attractive and fascinating she truly was. He was certainly aware of it and he imagined he could speak for the rest of the male population. Mad
die seemed to be the only one who was oblivious to her incredible allure.

He shook off his wandering thoughts and said, “The question still remains, who killed Avery and his informant? My money is on your two friends, Gibbs and Newton. They must have been keeping watch when the hostage exchange went sour tonight. Gibbs and Newton might have returned with the bad news, then decided to rob Avery to ensure they made some profit on the scheme.”

His gaze landed squarely on Maddie as they trotted southwest. “But thanks to your arrival at the house you will be a prime suspect because it was
your
sister who was kidnapped and
your
cattle penned up with Avery’s. You have motive galore. I wish the hell you’d stayed home.”

Maddie’s shoulders slumped defeatedly. She had made a critical error in judgment tonight. But surely her friends and neighbors wouldn’t believe she was capable of this crime…would they?

“I didn’t do it, Jonah. I swear!” she exclaimed. He hadn’t trusted her in the beginning and she doubted that he trusted her now. Not really.

“I believe you, princess,” he murmured.

“You do?” Maddie was so relieved that she leaned out to hook her arm around his neck, then gave him an off-balance hug.

She found herself lifted from her horse and deposited on Jonah’s lap, facing him. Her legs were draped over his muscular thighs and her hips rocked rhythmically toward his as the horse moved beneath them. Heat suffused her body when he stared at her for a long moment. Maddie nearly melted on the spot, viv
idly reminded of how intimate they had been the previous night.

Although she knew Jonah had no deep feelings for her, she was still helplessly attracted to him. Impulsively, she looped her arms around his shoulders and leaned forward to kiss him—and forgot for a few timeless moments that her life was in turmoil. All she needed to revive her flagging spirits was the taste and feel of him.

Maddie gave herself up to the longing Jonah constantly inspired in her. She reveled in the fact that his lips devoured hers as thoroughly as she devoured his. She could feel the hard length of his arousal pressing against her thigh, and hungry need burned through her like a blazing torch, making her ache for the intimacy they had shared last night.

Her mind reeling, her breath coming in ragged spurts, she leaned back in his encircling arms to peer up at him. He had a strange, indecipherable look on his shadowed face, quickly replaced by a disapproving frown.

“Well,” she said challengingly, “
you’re
the one who dragged me over here. Even as dense as you can be sometimes, surely you know that I’ve developed a fond attachment for you, despite what you think of me.”

The comment seemed to irritate him. Muttering, he promptly deposited her back on her own horse.

“You and Boone can leave now,” she said, bombarded by rejection—again. “I can handle this situation.”

Jonah looked at her as if she were insane. “You struck out on your own tonight and became a prime
murder suspect. If I leave you to take care of yourself now, you might wind up arrested. I sure as hell can’t verify that you didn’t grab a knife and stab both men, then drop the weapon down the privy. And if Chiang Ti does decide to point an accusing finger at you, and claims he managed to escape before you killed him, too, your goose will be cooked. So don’t ask me to leave until you have your life in order!” he all but yelled at her. “Now, are we clear on that, princess?”

Maddie winced at his razor-sharp tone. The man could go from wildly passionate to royally annoyed in the time it took to hiccup. She was never going to figure him out, she decided. Not that she would have the time. As he pointed out, she would be lucky to keep herself out of jail after she had been spotted at the scene of the crime.

Maddie inwardly groaned when she recalled that she had sent Carlos to summon the sheriff. She could be under arrest by morning. Once again she’d proved that she’d made one bad choice after another the past few months. Tonight especially. She had no one to blame but herself for the mess her life had become.

Jonah stood aside to watch the emotional reunion between the Garret sisters. The affection between Maddie and Christina was unmistakable. It had been half a lifetime since Jonah had felt that sort of close connection to anyone.

Even Boone had propped himself against the wall to observe the interaction between the two women who had a life and a past in common. Jonah had also noticed that Boone had been oddly attentive to their recovering patient since the moment Christina had
opened her baby-blue eyes and stared up at him. Boone had hand-fed Christina, poured water, then more broth down her parched throat. He’d murmured constantly to keep her awake. In fact, when Jonah and Maddie arrived, Boone had Christina up on her feet, walking off the effects of the sedative.

Jonah’s thoughts trailed off when Christina laughed at something Maddie whispered to her. Then the girl’s gaze landed on Maddie’s left hand. Uh-oh, thought Jonah. He could see the curious question forming in Christina’s eyes.

“You’re married?” Christina croaked in astonishment. “How long have I been gone? When did this happen?”

Maddie half turned from her position on the edge of the bed. Jonah came to attention when her gaze landed directly on him. It seemed as if Maddie was debating whether to continue the hoax or tell her sister the truth. The light in those mesmerizing amber eyes dimmed and her smile wobbled around the edges, but she held out a hand to Jonah, as if requesting his presence beside her.

Fool that he was, he came to heel like a devoted pup.

“Jonah and I were married this week,” Maddie reported.

He didn’t know why she thought it necessary to continue the lie until she added, “And you need to know that if something should happen to me, you can depend on Jonah to be the big brother you never had. Boone, too. They rescued you tonight, not without great risk to their own lives.”

Jonah shot Boone a stony glance. Obviously Boone
had offered the details of the ambush to Maddie while Jonah had been tending the horses.

“I’m eternally indebted to you both,” Christina rasped.

When her gaze drifted from Jonah and landed on Boone, he could see the open adoration in her eyes. Oh hell, Jonah muttered under his breath. Boone seemed as bewitched as Christina looked bedeviled. This infatuation was as ill-fated as his attraction to Maddie. Doomed from the onset.

Was Jonah the only one here who had at least one foot planted in reality? And what the devil was the matter with Boone? The girl was too young for him and decades too inexperienced. Just a few hours ago Boone had commented that men like them didn’t deserve women like Maddie. The same held true of young Christina. Apparently Boone had stared into Christina’s luminous blue eyes and lost the common sense he’d spent twenty-six years cultivating. And hell, Boone was half Kiowa. That should have given him the edge.

Once again, Jonah was reminded how quickly a man could lose his perspective when a beautiful woman crossed his line of vision.

“I think we should let Christina rest and recuperate,” Jonah said sensibly. “We also have a few matters to work out.” He stared pointedly at Maddie.

She gulped uneasily, then forced a smile for her sister’s benefit. “You’re home safe and sound, Chrissy. Nothing is going to happen to you now or ever again.”

Christina nodded tiredly, then her lashes fluttered
against her pale cheeks. Jonah grabbed Boone’s arm and half dragged the besotted man from the room.

“You’re drooling,” he chided sternly.

Affronted, Boone jerked upright. “I am not.”

“Yes, you are,” Jonah countered. “Now pay attention here. We have a major problem.” He gave Boone the condensed version of the situation at Avery’s ranch. Boone swore at the unexpected turn of events, but Jonah kept talking. “I need you to ride out to intercept Sheriff Kilgore and Carlos. Divert them to Hanson’s ranch so we can recover the stolen cattle and investigate the scene of the murder thoroughly. I’ll join you as soon as I stash Maddie away for safekeeping.”

Boone nodded grimly. “Where are you going to hide her until we get this sorted out?”

“I’ll find a suitable place,” Jonah assured him. “My instincts tell me that Gibbs and Newton are responsible for the murders, but they might be long gone by now.”

Boone’s expression hardened. “If they had a hand in keeping that poor kid locked up, sedated and starved, then I’m going to make it my mission to track them down.”

“Poor kid?”
Jonah smirked. “You weren’t hovering over Christina as if she were a helpless
child.
It looked pretty damn personal to me. Better watch your step, Boone.”

Boone opened his mouth—to protest, no doubt—then shut his trap. He glared pitchforks at Jonah before he wheeled around and stalked off. Jonah sincerely hoped his Kiowa cousin got over being angry and offended, and took what Jonah had said to heart.
Christina was a fifteen-year-old woman-child who was clearly suffering hero worship because Boone had come to her rescue like a white knight. He had been hovering around like a guardian angel since the moment she’d regained consciousness.

If Boone didn’t get his head on straight he would be stumbling over the same impossible pitfalls that had tripped up Jonah. If Boone and Jonah didn’t remember their places in regard to the princesses of the Bar G Ranch, the rest of the world would be sure to remind them—repeatedly and emphatically.

Jonah turned his full attention on Maddie when she exited her sister’s bedroom. He clutched her hand and led her down the hall. “Grab a few things,” he ordered. “You’re going into hiding for at least a day while I investigate those murders.”

“But my sister—”

“—will understand and be properly cared for,” Jonah interrupted as he snatched up the discarded satchel. “I want you and your money safely tucked away, and I want to be sure Newton and Gibbs have left the area. I’ll have the sheriff put out a warrant for their arrest.”

Maddie grabbed a fresh set of clothes and stuffed them in her bag. “You promise that Chrissy will have constant care and attention?”

“Yes,” Jonah said without hesitation. “Rosita will keep constant vigil.”

Jonah shuffled Maddie out the front door and headed for the barn to retrieve the horses.

“Where are we going?” she asked as he led the saddled mounts from the barn.

“To the safest place I know,” he assured her as he trotted toward the towering walls of the canyon to the north.

Jonah led Maddie deeper into the twisting ravines of Forbidden Canyon. Moonlight glinted off the stream that meandered through the valley as Jonah followed the spring to its source—a waterfall that tumbled from one overhanging ledge to a lower outcropping of rock, where a thin veil of water tumbled gently into the pool below.

Maddie stared bemusedly at Jonah when he dismounted beside the gleaming pool. “This is one of my favorite places on the ranch,” she said, “but I don’t think…”

Her voice trailed off as she watched Jonah scale the jagged rocks, then disappear behind the falls on the cliff. He expected her to spend the day with her back plastered against the stone wall, while cascades of water shielded her from view?

Maddie huffed out an exasperated breath, then grabbed her satchel. She followed Jonah’s zigzagging path to the elevated falls, then sidestepped along the ledge—and blinked in astonishment. She hadn’t realized a spacious cavern was hidden behind the upper falls. Ordinarily she experienced uneasy sensations when she was enclosed in tight spaces, but this cave was larger than her own bedroom and provided indirect light from the trickling falls. Here she could breathe without feeling as if the walls were shrinking in on her.

“I’ve lived here for years and never knew this
place existed,” she marveled as Jonah lit the torch that he’d retrieved from the corner.

As golden light blazed around her, Maddie’s jaw sagged on its hinges. There was no question that this had once been an Indian haunt. Beaded necklaces, leather leggings, buffalo hide quilts and outdated weapons were stacked against one wall.

Eerie sensations trailed down her spine—and not because she was experiencing the usual fear of being buried alive in a narrow space. Instead, she felt as if she’d been transported back in time—and into an alien culture. Sketches of tipis, Indians, horses and buffalo had been carved in the stone, creating a historical account of those who once had the freedom to roam this area of Texas.

Maddie suddenly remembered the Comanche and Kiowa vision quests that Jonah had mentioned. She had the unmistakable feeling that this private sanctuary behind the upper falls was a special site for meditation and reflection.