Twenty-one

A single rifle blast shattered the quiet. Marley jerked. Roan needed her. She tied the horses to a sturdy branch off the road. Winchester in hand, she hurried in the same direction Roan had taken, trying to be as quiet as possible. Even though the shooter knew they were nearby, she saw no reason to advertise their exact location.

Her mouth dried, her heart pounded harder with each step, and all she could think about was Roan being in danger, lying horribly wounded. She didn’t want to consider what else.

Every sense honed in on her surroundings, just as she’d been taught. Some city folks might panic, have no idea of the danger to watch and listen for, and most would simply rush forward. Not Marley. Though filled with a burning urgency, she took her time and kept to the cover of the trees.

Over the years, Duel had made it a priority to teach her these skills. He’d seemed obsessed making sure she and the older children knew how to survive in case he wasn’t there. At the time, she hadn’t known the reason, she’d just loved spending time with him. Now, she understood.

She moved slowly, every step deliberate and careful.

“Psst.”

Marley glanced around, not seeing anyone until a hand grabbed hers and pulled her down.

“You shouldn’t have come,” Roan whispered.

“I promised I would the second I heard a gun. Are you hurt?”

“The shot missed me.”

That relieved her mind. “Where is the shooter?”

“About ten yards ahead last I saw,” he answered. “We have only a few hours left of daylight.”

“What’s the plan? The two of us could flush him out.”

“Go back to the horses, young lady. After the ruse you pulled on your father, you getting shot would finish him off. I’d be lucky if I even got to wave goodbye.”

Frustration rose. “You worry too much about my father.”

“One of us needs to.”

“Horse feathers! I know how to handle him. The ranch should be close. I could ride through the trees for help.”

“Too dangerous.”

“We have to do something,” she whispered back furiously. He was being completely unreasonable. “You need me.”

Roan let out a sigh of defeat. “I must be as crazy as a bedbug.”

He outlined the plan. They’d approach from both sides. Roan would give a towhee bird call to signal the attack. “If he turns and fires at you—”

“I’ll shoot to kill,” she answered grimly. “I know how to stay safe.”

Before they parted, he picked up a rock and pitched it away from them into a group of pecan trees. The burst of orange gunfire that followed gave them the man’s location.

They crept in a circle—Roan to the left, Marley on the right. She could see something that looked like a knitted cap through the brush. Odd. Gentry hadn’t worn one of those.

She stepped on a twig and froze at the sound. Ducking, she stayed still for what seemed like hours, but it had to be only a minute or two.

When the knitted cap didn’t move, she proceeded. Finally, she was in position and the call of a towhee bird came only seconds later. She tightened her finger on the trigger and rushed toward the shooter as Roan came from the opposite direction.

They stood over the stocky man with rifles pointed. His eyes widened as he raised his hands. “Don’t shoot.”

Roan snatched the man’s rifle from him. “Who are you? Why did you fire at us?”

“A traveler paid me. He said someone was trying to kill him, so he gave me five dollars to hide an’ shoot at you, keep you from passing.” He stared up with one eye closed, scratching under an arm. “Name’s Charles.”

Roan didn’t appear to be forgiving. Darkness crossed his face and deepened every line. Marley had seen the same when the intruder had broken into her hotel room. Most of the time, he kept that black storm that lurked inside him carefully hidden. Such unbridled anger scared her just a little, though she knew he’d never hurt her. Her fear was for what he’d do to others. Strange that it came out whenever Marley’s life was threatened.

“Was the guy extremely thin with sunken cheeks?” Roan asked.

Charles nodded, glancing at Marley. “I didn’t know one of you was a lady, miss. Sorry. I jus’ needed that five dollars. Can I stand up now?”

Roan snapped. “Go ahead but keep your hands where I can see them.”

“You look like a nice man, Charles,” Marley said. “You really made some bad choices. How did the man find you?”

“Aw, I was just passing on the road an’ he stopped me.” Charles pointed down the road that led home. “He asked me how far to the Aces ’n’ Eights.”

Marley’s stomach clenched. Why was he headed there? Something told her it wasn’t for a friendly game of checkers.

She asked Roan the safer question instead. “What are we going to do with Charles?”

Without an answer, Roan ejected the remaining cartridges from the man’s rifle, then picked them up and threw them as far as he could. He shoved the old Winchester into Charles’s chest. “Go. If we ever cross paths again, I won’t be so lenient.”

“You won’t be sorry.” Charles scrambled toward his horse, a broken-down farm nag tied to a tree. He swung onto the animal’s bare back and galloped off.

Marley watched him disappear. “What do you think Gentry has in mind, going to the ranch?”

“Don’t know.” Roan stared into the growing shadows. “But you can bet I’m going to find out.”

* * *

The sun had already set, leaving a purple glow in the sky when they rode through the gate of the Aces ’n’ Eights. Her parents came from the house holding hands and followed them to the barn. Marley’s stomach knotted. Her father hadn’t returned her greeting, just walked in silence. The grim lines of his face told her she was in for big trouble. Darn it, she wasn’t sorry.

As she dismounted at the corral, she went on the defense. “I can explain.”

“I think we’re past that, Marley Rose.” Duel glanced at Roan. “If you put her up to this, you can pack your things right now.”

“Papa, I followed him. He didn’t know anything until he found me in San Saba.”

Roan met Duel’s gaze and didn’t flinch. “Sir, I was pretty angry when I found her smack in the middle of danger and told her as much. I tried to send her home right then. But as you know, Marley has a will of her own.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Sweetheart, what she says is true.” Jessie put her arm around Duel’s waist. “Roan Penny didn’t know anything. And yes, I helped her, and I would again. Don’t you remember how it was with us?”

“That was different,” Duel answered.

Marley softened her voice. “I’m not a little girl, Papa. You taught me to make my own decisions, to weigh the risks and the consequences. Let me do that. I’m a grown woman”—she paused—“and Roan is going to court me.”

Duel jerked off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “I find it hard to turn those apron strings loose. I know what men think when they see a pretty woman. I don’t want them thinking those things about you.”

“You can’t always protect me.” Marley kissed his cheek. “Now I have a question for you that has nothing to do with Roan, and somehow I suspect you know the answer.”

The loud cry of an animal froze her blood. She moved into the circle of Roan’s arms.

Duel turned. “There’s a mountain lion roaming our land. Be careful. Hardy caught a glimpse of it.”

After several heartbeats, he swung back around and shot Jessie a questioning glance. She raised an eyebrow, her nod slight. “Your mother and I have tried our best to be honest with you, so shoot.”

“Who is Wilbert Gentry?”

Duel’s face drained of color and Jessie gave a sharp cry, throwing her hand over her mouth.

“Why do you ask?” Duel managed to ask through stiff lips.

Marley and Roan together told them all they’d learned in San Saba, and then about the ambush on the road home.

“Gentry is somewhere close,” Marley said. “Who is he and why does the mention of his name send you both into a panic?”

Duel pulled Jessie close, staring at Marley with pain-filled eyes. “Keep away from him. The man’s pure evil.”

“Tell me what you know. My life is involved somehow, and I deserve an answer,” Marley pressed.

Jessie glanced up at Duel. “I think it’s time to come clean. She has a right to hear.”

“Not out here. Not like this.” Duel’s gaze went to Marley’s dark house. “Tend to your horses. I’ll have a fire built in your fireplace.”

“I have supper in the warming oven,” Jessie said. “I know you’re hungry and tired.”

Roan silently took the reins from Marley’s numb hands as she stared after her parents. This secret they kept was obviously so ugly and dark they couldn’t bear to think about it. Whatever they had to say would change her life forever.

Was she ready for that?

Part of her wanted to run after them and take back her question, tell them that she didn’t want to hear. But another, much bigger part needed to know everything. With dread clenching cold in her stomach, she followed Roan inside the barn.

* * *

Once she’d brushed and fed her horse, she turned to Roan. “Will you kiss me? I’m terrified of what’s coming.”

“There’s nothing to fear. You’re safe.” Roan stepped closer, towering above her. He tenderly took her face in his hands. Heat filled his kiss as he settled his lips on hers.

Marley leaned into him and slid her arms around his lean waist, clinging to him. She wished she could stay forever in his arms and block out the rest of the world. She parted her mouth, and he slipped his tongue inside to dance with hers.

Desperate to feel him, she slid her hands under his shirt. Lean muscles rippled beneath her palm. He was everything she needed and could ever want.

His touch was so gentle on her that it made her tremble. She embraced the safety and security he offered.

Footsteps crunched behind them, and Hardy Gage cleared his throat. They jerked apart.

The old man’s eyes twinkled. “I think you’re needing something a bit more private than a barn for what you’re doing, gal.”

“You won’t tell, will you?” Marley asked, watching Roan trying to stuff his shirt back into his trousers without being too noticeable.

“Your secret’s safe enough, I reckon,” Hardy drawled. “People have claimed for years that I need glasses, and by God they might just be right. Maybe I need to borrow Granny Jack’s.”

“Thank you.” Marley strode to him and kissed his cheek. “I love you, you know.”

“Yep and same right back.” Hardy led his horse over to unsaddle. “How did the race go, Roan?”

“I won.” Roan grinned. “You boys doubled your money.”

“Yeehaw!” Hardy’s grin couldn’t split any wider. “How about you give up ranch work and just go from town to town racing. There’s good money in it.”

Roan laughed and met Marley’s gaze. “That’s not for me.”

“I’d better get this talk with Mama and Papa over.” Marley moved to the door, then looked back. “Will you come, Roan?”

“No. What they have to tell you is private,” he answered. “Besides, I have to fill Hardy and the others in on what happened in San Saba.”

“We want details. Every last juicy one.” Hardy chuckled and wagged his head. “That gray mare came through.”

“Find me when you’re done, Marley. Good luck.” Roan squeezed her hand and moved off with Hardy.

Nodding, Marley crossed the wide compound to her small house. She found her parents standing in front of the hearth in the parlor, their arms around each other. She searched their grim faces in the light of the newly laid fire.

“Would you like to eat first?” Jessie said, hugging her. “I made your favorite.”

“I’m really not that hungry, Mama, but thank you.” Marley didn’t think she could force one bite down her throat. The impending talk had shut down everything inside her body—except for her terrified heartbeat.

“You might want to sit down,” Duel said. “This will be hard to hear.”

Her legs trembling, she perched on the velvet settee and folded her hands in her lap.

Jessie’s eyes held tears. “Marley Rose, you have to know that we never intended to keep this from you. From the first, we meant to tell you everything, but the over the years, the facts dimmed and you were our child in every single way.”

Wait. Was her mother saying that she didn’t belong to them? That’s why she looked so different. If she wasn’t Duel and Jessie’s daughter, who was she? A million questions swirled.

Duel cleared his throat. Jessie curled her hand around his as he started talking. “Let me start at the very beginning so you can understand why things happened like they did. Before I met Jessie, I was married to a wonderful woman, Annie, and she meant the world to me. We were very happy when she told me she was in the family way. I made a rocking chair and a crib, anxious for the child to be born.” He paused, and the crackle of the fire made the only sound in the room.

“Annie had trouble from the first, but we thought it would get easier. She finally gave birth and there was so much blood. It kept coming and coming.” His voice trembled and he cleared his throat, wiping a hand across his eyes, probably to erase the hard memories. Jessie’s cheeks were wet with tears. “Both she and my son died. I laid them in the ground, saddled my horse, and rode away without a backward glance. I moved from town to town, not caring where I was or where I laid my head.” His eyes met Marley’s, and his anguish sliced through her. She wanted to scream for him to stop, but she couldn’t.

“I prayed to die. Every night I prayed I wouldn’t wake up, but I kept opening my eyes anyway. One day, a little before sunset, I rode into a one-horse town called Cactus Springs, tied up at the hitching rail in front of the only saloon, and went inside. Some rough-looking men asked me if I wanted to play poker, so I sat down at their table.”

Worry lined Jessie’s face as she rubbed his back. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. It’s past time to tell her the truth.” He clung to Jessie as though she was a piece of driftwood on an ocean.

Marley’s eyes stung. Their love was too beautiful for words. But what was he trying to get at? What did a poker game have to do with her?

“We played along, and the stakes kept getting higher and higher,” Duel continued. “The man across from me, Wilbert Gentry, ran out of money. By this time, it was just him and me left. He reached down and jerked you up off the floor. You were wailing. You weren’t a year old yet, but already sitting up good. The prettiest little baby I ever did see. Tears left trails through the dirt on your face. Gentry sat you in the middle of the table and said he’d wager you. I wanted to shoot him on the spot.”

Marley gave a strangled cry and jumped to her feet. Unable to hear any more, she put her hands over her ears. “I can’t do this.”

Jessie left Duel and put her arms around Marley. She murmured the soothing words she had when Marley had been young and afraid. “This is painful, honey, but please listen to the rest,” Jessie whispered through her tears. “We want you to understand what happened.”

“I’m sorry.” Marley impatiently wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sat back down. “Go on.”

“I won the hand and I won…you.” Sobbing, he turned and rested his arms on the mantel.

Tears rolled down Marley’s cheeks. She’d been won in a poker game as though she’d meant nothing—just the cost of a raised bet.

Dear God! She’d had no value. No worth. She might as well have been a cow or a mule. Shock sped through her with the devastation of a bullet, ripping past everything she thought she’d known about herself.

“I tried to give you back,” Duel mumbled brokenly. “What did a broken-down cowboy need with a child? I couldn’t even take care of myself. When Gentry told me that if I didn’t take you he’d sell you before dark, I couldn’t let that happen. I just couldn’t.” He swung around, his eyes blazing. “You may hate me for the rest of my life, Marley Rose, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat. You saved me. You gave me a reason to live.”

The sting of betrayal hollowed out every bit of feeling. She’d loved him for so long and loved him even now, despite the hurt of having the truth come out this way. He’d lied to her, but he’d saved her as well, and it was all too confusing.

“You’re our daughter, honey. Always was, always will be,” Jessie said, her voice shaking. “We loved you from the very first moment. You saved me too. When you’re ready, I’ll tell you how. Of this I am certain—if your father had given you back to Gentry that day, you’d be dead right now.”

Dead? Marley felt that way inside. Did it matter that much whether it was her body or her soul?

“There’s no mistake? Will Gentry is my father? Are you sure he hadn’t kidnapped me? He’s so mean.” Marley met the anguish in Duel’s amber eyes. His pain left bruises on her heart.

“I’m sure. Your mother found us, came to visit a while later. Her name was Maria Escobar. She confirmed everything.”

“She didn’t want me either?” Marley couldn’t bear the thought of being unwanted by her own mother. “She left me?”

Jessie took her hands. “Only because it was too dangerous. Maria knew if she took you back, Gentry would kill you both. She cried and held you, saying over and over how much she loved you. Her heart shattered in a million pieces when she left. That, honey, is the deepest kind of love. She knew your father… Duel and I could protect you and give you a good life.”

“Gentry did kill her, in the end,” Duel said. “Your mother sacrificed herself for you.”

Marley wept, her shoulders shaking, rivers of tears leaving permanent ruts through the pain throbbing deep inside. “Gentry told Roan that I was his. I didn’t know what he meant. Oh God, I didn’t know who he was. I hate him.”

“Duel, that he’s back now means he has some sort of evil plan,” Jessie cried.

“Hell will have to freeze over before he gets his hands on Marley Rose. So help me God, I’ll kill him first.” Duel’s face hardened to a piece of granite. Marley had never seen her father like this.

But he wasn’t her father, was he?

Her real father was a monster.

With a loud cry, she stumbled from the house.