Twenty-two

Roan stood in the shadows, his eyes fixed on Marley’s little house. He didn’t know what was going on inside, but he knew trouble when it came calling. Marley’s pain seemed to reach out like long tentacles, searching for relief. Hers was a sensitive, caring soul, and he couldn’t bear to think of her in pain, in a dark hole that he knew all about.

The door of the house flew open, and Marley ran as though chased by demons with fangs. He jerked up straight. Her sobs echoed in the darkness. He readied to catch her, only she ran the opposite direction—toward whatever danger waited to grab her.

The mountain lion. She’d forgotten.

He hurried after her, but as he got even with the door to the house, Duel and Jessie McClain stepped out. Duel’s eyes met his. The man looked as though he’d wrestled a monster—and lost.

“Go after her, Roan. She doesn’t want anything to do with me. Keep her safe. Please.” Duel’s voice was raw with despair. “She’s my little girl and I love her.”

“Can you tell me what this is about so I don’t go into it blind?”

“Marley Rose will tell you,” Duel answered. “She doesn’t know the danger she’s in.”

“I’ll protect her,” Roan vowed and raced into the thickness of the night. A fog had rolled in, blocking his vision. He had to rely mostly on his ears to get a direction. The brush snapped ahead of him. Her sobs echoed back, tearing into his soul. A shattering heart made a sound like no other on earth.

He had to get to her. She needed him.

Sudden reality hit him—he couldn’t live without her. He needed her more than he ever had anyone.

He loved her.

The thought startled him. But Roan couldn’t deny it.

He loved this crazy, gun-toting, frustrating woman who twisted him inside out.

The noise ahead stopped. His mind raced. Maybe she’d tripped and fallen in her distraught state. Ravines and gullies hid in the blackness, and a person might not see them until it was too late.

The blood froze in his veins. Roan slowed, proceeding carefully, listening to the silence of the night. When he heard the low, pitiful cries, he knew he was close. “Marley? It’s Roan. Where are you?”

“Go away,” she said, her words muffled. “Leave me here. I have a mess to sort out.”

“I can’t do that. I smell danger.” He inched forward, one step, then two.

The dry brush crackled, followed by a grunt—sounds of a struggle. He had to get to her—but was he even going in the right direction? Sounds in thick fog often twisted around a man to where he couldn’t follow.

“Marley,” he called. “Marley, answer me.” Damn this fog! He couldn’t see. Something was wrong. He slid his Colt from the holster hanging on his hip.

“Marley!”

“She can’t answer you, Penny.”

The gravelly voice filled Roan’s veins with ice. With every nerve taut, he moved forward with caution and a prayer. Listening. But the wild beating of his heart drowned out everything.

Then, through a clear pocket in the fog, he saw Marley. Her beautiful brown eyes wide with terror. Gentry’s hand covered her mouth, holding her in front of him as a shield. Catching sight of Roan, she began to twist and squirm.

Roan’s finger tightened on the trigger of the Colt. “Let her go if you want to live.”

“Shoot and you’ll kill her. You’re a smart man, Penny. Lay down your gun. I have business with daughter dearest,” Gentry snarled.

His daughter? Marley was Duel’s daughter. Wasn’t she?

“No, you old bastard. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but I’m not buying it. She’s Duel McClain’s oldest daughter, and he’s going to kill you for even putting your hands on her.” Then after Duel got through with him, Roan would kill Gentry again. Over and over until the bastard was dead for sure.

Gentry backed up, bringing Marley flush against him. “McClain stole her from me.”

The man was demented. McClain wouldn’t steal a nickel, much less a person.

“Just saying you’re right—what do you have in mind for her?” Roan asked.

“She’s worth a lot of money to me now that she’s a woman.” Gentry’s lips curled back. “I’ll be a rich man after the auction.”

Everything inside Roan stilled. “What auction?”

“The one I set up in two weeks. I’m going to auction her off to the highest bidder.”

Disgust dripped from Roan’s voice. “If Marley is your daughter, as you claim, she should mean something to you. You’ll sell your own flesh and blood, Gentry?”

The chilling bastard’s evil laugh sliced through the fog that drifted between them again. “I did it once and got nothing. Now that she can service a man, I’ll get rich. I’ll work her until she dies. She’s mine to dispose of however I want.”

The words chilled Roan. If the man was able to get away with her, he’d carry out his evil plan. “I can’t let that happen. Release her and you can go back to your killing and robbing.” Roan cursed the fog that made seeing difficult. He didn’t dare take a shot.

Seconds crept by.

Just let him have one clear shot and a steady hand. That’s all he needed. Just one.

Cold sweat inched down his back.

His foot slid forward silently on the damp ground.

“Damn you, woman! You bit me!” The voice was Gentry’s.

“Watch out, Roan!” Marley yelled.

An explosion sounded, and a bullet ripped through the fog toward him. He fell to the ground unscathed. The fool was firing blind. It seemed odd that he wasn’t taking advantage of the fog to escape, but maybe his thirst for vengeance against Roan was as strong as Roan’s desire to see him underground.

At last, the fog thinned and he could see Gentry’s head above Marley’s. He willed her to stay still. If he hit her…his knees tried to buckle.

Just as his finger twitched on the trigger, the distinct rumbling growl of a big cat filled the air. Roan spun around, expecting to see it, but there was nothing there.

A flash of a body leapt through the fog toward Marley. Roan had no time to think. He pulled the trigger and shot the beast a second before it pounced on her. Yelling, Gentry scrambled backward and disappeared into the white void.

The animal fell solidly to the ground. Roan rushed to Marley and put his arms around her. They had to get out of there before Gentry returned. Without wasting a moment, he put his Colt in the holster, scooped her up, and carried her to safety. He didn’t put her down until they reached her front door.

Duel rushed toward them, his gun drawn. “I heard a shot.”

“Killed a mountain lion, at least that’s what I think it was. Too foggy to see clearly,” Roan explained, then added, “Gentry had Marley, but when the cat attacked, Gentry vanished into the fog.”

Duel clutched the porch railing for support. “Thank God you went after her.”

“We’ve got to find him and get rid of him once and for all or he’ll be right back.” Roan urged Marley into the house and walked to Duel. “Gentry said he planned to auction her off, said she’d fetch more money now that she’s grown.”

“Dammit to hell!” Duel scrubbed the back of his neck. “I was afraid of this, and now she won’t even speak to me or her mother. Jess is over at headquarters sobbing. This is breaking our hearts. Stay with her, Roan. Give her the comfort we can’t.”

“Count on it, Boss. And I swear I won’t take advantage of her state.” Roan left him and went inside. He found Marley in the parlor, holding her hands to the dying embers.

“I’m freezing. I can’t get warm.”

Roan threw a log onto the fire, got a quilt from the bedroom and wrapped it around her. “This’ll help.”

“Leave, Roan. I’m not fit company tonight.” Her voice was dull and lifeless. “I might say some hurtful things, and I don’t want to cause you pain too.”

“I’ll take you anyway I can get you.” He pulled her to him and smoothed her silky hair. “Can you tell me what happened? What is this about?”

“I’m so cold, Roan. I don’t think I’ll ever be warm again.”

“You will. Give it time.”

“Everything I ever thought I knew about myself was a lie. I’m so confused. I don’t know who I am anymore.” She whimpered like a hurt animal and laid her palm on his chest. “I’m so tired. So afraid. My whole life changed in an instant. Gone.”

“Just rest. Let’s sit down.” He drew her to the settee and held her in his lap.

“Roan?”

“Yeah.”

“You probably won’t want anything to do with me once you learn everything,” she mumbled.

“Nothing can ever change how I feel about you, Marley. Nothing.” He’d never meant anything more.

“Thank you for coming after me, Roan. I didn’t even know where I was going. I just knew I had to get away. Forgot the danger.” She stared at him with those big eyes, sadness oozing from her. “I’ll tell you what you want to know. I need to talk about this to someone, and I have no one else in which to confide.”

“Whatever you feel comfortable doing.” He wasn’t going anywhere.

“First of all, I’m sure you gathered that Will Gentry is my father. A woman named Maria Escobar was my mother. Duel told me earlier that when I was just a baby, Gentry wagered me in”—her voice broke on a keening sound and the whispered words—“in a poker game. Duel won me.” She clapped her hand over her mouth. “He brought me back here and raised me.” Her haunted eyes met his. “I don’t know how Jessie fits into all this, but she wasn’t yet married to my…Duel when this happened.”

Shock swept over Roan. Marley’s sense of security, her calm, orderly world had shattered, and it stood to reason she’d question her identity and relationship with everyone. “I’m so sorry. If I could take your pain, I would.” He’d move heaven and earth to put things back the way they were.

“God help me! I don’t know who I am,” she cried. “Not even my name. Is it McClain—or Gentry? Who am I? I don’t want to be Gentry’s daughter.”

“You don’t have to be. Since I know you’ll never use Gentry’s name, keep going by McClain.” Roan turned her to face him. “You’re still Duel McClain’s daughter, just like before. This changes nothing. He rescued you from a very bad man and gave you a good life, protected you from harm. I’ve seen how much he loves you. This has devastated him.”

“I still love him. You know? I felt his pain when he told me all this. I’ve never seen my…him…break down like that before. Not ever. It ripped his heart open that he had to confess.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Roan fished a wrinkled handkerchief from his pocket and dried her eyes. If only he could make this better, but he knew it wasn’t in his power. Marley had to find her own way to peace.

“I’m so angry and hurt at him and Jessie. They should’ve told me the truth as soon as I got old enough to understand. I don’t think they’d have ever told me if Gentry had stayed away.”

“It’s okay to be mad as long as you don’t let it fester into a sore.” Roan knew how fast anger could turn into hate. That was all he’d felt for Blackie Culpepper—not pity and surely not sympathy. Just hate. He didn’t want Marley to ruin her relationship with Duel by carrying nothing but anger inside. Duel was too fine a man to know only that from his daughter.

“Did I mean so little to my mother that she’d let this happen? Duel and Jessie said she came here once but left me behind, claiming she wasn’t strong enough to protect me from Gentry. And she was right, for Gentry killed her.” Marley shuddered. “I was sold, Roan. Duel got me for the price of a bet. Oh God!” She covered her mouth with her hand. “I was worth so little? And now Gentry seems hell-bound to do it again!” Marley put her hands over her mouth.

“No. Stop.” He took her hands. “Your mother showed you true love. I’m sure it broke her heart in a million pieces to leave you with Duel and Jessie, but she had to have known that was the only way to keep you safe. And I’m sure Duel would’ve paid any price at that poker table. A person’s worth is not measured in money, it’s measured by the love you see in someone’s eyes. In the knowing that they’d risk their own life to save you. That’s Duel McClain all over.”

Silent tears bubbled in her dark eyes. “Thank you.”

Roan pulled her up. “You’re very special to me.” He pressed his lips to hers and gave her a gentle kiss.

She gripped his shirt and clung to him. When the kiss ended, she released a long sigh and laid her head on his chest.

“Do you know what you mean to me, Marley?”

Tear droplets clung to her the tips of her lashes when she raised her gaze. “No.”

“I love you.” Roan’s voice was hoarse.

“You really do?” A quivery smile curved her mouth.

“I realized it tonight when I was searching for you. I knew I didn’t want to live without you.” He tightened his hold around her. “I’m sorry I wouldn’t let you say the words in San Saba. Do you still feel the same way?”

“I love you, Roan Penny. Forever and always.” She slid her arms around his neck. Beginning with his eyes, she kissed her way down his face to his lips.

Roan let her do whatever she wished. Each kiss, each caress helped her heal, find hope again, renewed her spirit. The surety that Marley would one day be his wife released the lock from around his heart, and he let her in.

“Stay with me tonight. Hold me in your arms,” she said against his mouth. “Be the pirate who’s come to whisk me away to safety.”

“I’ll be whatever, whoever you need me to be.” He kissed behind her ear. “But don’t make me a villain. I’m one of the good guys.”

“That you are. I’m glad you love me and could say the words that came so hard.”

“Blame it on the way I grew up. I learned that pain wasn’t nearly so sharp if I held everything inside.” His voice shook. “It was when I dared to let some out that the misery and hurt would rise up to strangle me. Matt’s already learned that, you know. He’s going to require a lot of love and tenderness to grow up into a strong man.”

“You know him so well.”

“We’re two of a kind.”

Marley kissed the hollow of his throat and stared up at him. “Would you marry me, Roan Penny? For real this time. I’ve had enough pretense.”