Texas Lawman

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter One

Benning, Texas

April 10, 1901

H e drew his gun and lifted it before him, sighting down the barrel to where his prey stood beneath a tree, in a gladed area on the northern side of town. Revealed in the moonlight by a stray break in the clouds overhead, the figure was unmoving, a pale shirt and dark trousers fitting the slender form like a glove.

The flow of dark hair gave away her gender. That, and the narrow waist that was belted snugly, emphasizing the rounded hips that filled a pair of trousers almost to bursting.

“I can see your badge. Go ahead and shoot, Sheriff,” she said quietly, the sound carrying to where he stood. “Shall I step forward and give you a better target?”

Brace Caulfield lowered his gun. “Damn.” The single word was uttered in disgust—the vehemence aimed at himself as he stuffed his weapon into the holster that was tied to his thigh. “Walk over here, lady,” he said harshly. “You pret’ near got yourself shot just now.”

The woman obeyed slowly. Perhaps, he decided, to prove to him that it was her choice alone that prompted her movements. Stepping carefully over the hillocks in the clearing, glancing down at where she walked, she approached him and then halted, not quite within his reach.

“Who are you?” His voice was strong, the tones strident, for the mere seconds during which he’d sighted her down the length of his gun barrel had shaken his composure. Never had his weapon been aimed at a woman, and his anger rose against the female who had caused him to do so.

“You don’t need to know,” she said quietly. “I won’t be here any longer than it takes to round up my horse and climb on.”

“What were you doing in town scouting out the back door of the hotel?” he asked.

He’d seen her there first—just a glimpse of a man, he’d thought—wearing a light-colored shirt. Now he recognized that the pale fabric held the lush curves of a woman’s bosom. A woman full grown. Not the youthful creature he’d thought her to be when he’d taken her measure for the second time, just moments since.

“Nothing illegal,” she answered. “I was looking for someone.”

“Most folks use the front door,” he said bluntly. “You have a problem with that?”

“The man I was watching for didn’t want to be seen. I knew if he left the hotel it would be from the rear entrance.”

He propped his hand against his hip, just above the gun that weighed heavily against his leg. His eyes narrowed as he listened to her explanation, and his tone was rasping as he spoke. “You were looking for a man.”

It was a statement of fact and she merely shrugged, not prone, it seemed, to offer any more information than she already had.

“Who?” he asked, his voice quieter now, the sound somehow more threatening.

“I’m not sure you need to know that,” she said. “If you’re going to shoot me, go ahead. Otherwise, you have no reason to stop me from mounting my horse and leaving town.”

“You left your animal behind when you ran off,” he pointed out, one long finger tipping his hat back a bit. And then that finger pointed to his right, where lights glowed from a string of establishments along the street that centered town. “He’s tied to a hitching rail in front of the general store.”

She bit at her lip, looking in the direction he pointed. “Who did that?”

“My deputy. I figured you’d be back to get the mare, and Jamie’s keeping an eye out, waiting for you to show up.”

She turned abruptly and stalked away. “Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint him, would I?”

He kept pace with her, allowing her to stride in front of him, wondering why he hadn’t recognized immediately that the slender form he’d followed between buildings and behind the newspaper office, almost to the woods, was not a man at all. He was certainly having no problem now sorting out the difference between her womanly form and that of a male.

She walked down the sidewalk beside the dark stores, past the saloon where music and loud voices carried over and under the swinging doors to clash in a raucous symphony of sound. The general store was dark, the proprietor gone for the night, and in front of his establishment stood a mare, saddled and ready to ride.

“Did you find the man?” Brace asked the woman as she stepped down to release her mare from the hitching rail.

She turned to face him, reins in her hand. “No. If I had, you’d have heard a gunshot, Sheriff. I’d have killed him.” With a quick move she was in the saddle, and Brace took a long stride toward her, reaching for her reins.

“Whoa, lady. You can’t make a statement like that and then just ride away.”

“You can’t arrest me, sir,” she told him, unmoving, as if she would not put her mare’s mouth in jeopardy by fighting for the reins he held. “I didn’t break any laws.”

“Intent is reason enough for me to take you in for questioning.”

She tossed her head, and the moonlight shimmered from dark hair, turning her skin to palest ivory, even as her eyes glittered with the reflection of starlight. “Hard up for a woman?” she asked softly.

“Now that you mention it,” he returned quietly, “I am…a little.”

“There’s no little about it,” she countered. “Either you’re on the prowl for a handy female, or you’re not.” Her chin rose, and a challenge he’d not thought to hear spewed from her lips. “If you touch me, I swear I’ll kill you, Mr. Lawman. You can toss me in your jail cell if you like, but you’d better have a damn good reason for doing it.”

Her eyes were wide and unblinking as she faced him down, and he felt unbidden admiration for the courage she displayed. She was either a very brave woman or totally without good sense, defying a lawman with the ability to put her in a cell and throw away the key. Not that he was likely to do such a thing, but the temptation was there.

For if he placed her in custody, he’d have a chance to find out something about her—he’d have a day or so, perhaps, to dig deep into her reasons for being in Benning, Texas.

“I can’t allow a woman to go riding off alone in the dark without someone to look after her,” he said bluntly. “Unless you’re willing to tell me who you are and what’s going on here, I can’t let you leave. Your gentleman friend may very well be watching us even now, just waiting for a chance to snatch you up.”

She laughed, a bitter sound, and shook her head. “He won’t be coming near me. He doesn’t know I’m here. I’ve been following him for the past two weeks, and when I saw him ride into Benning this morning I followed. He left his horse at the livery stable and went into the hotel before noon. I’ve been watching ever since.”

“I didn’t see you,” Brace said. “And I pretty much know everything that goes on in this town.”

“If I don’t want to be seen, I can always find a hole to crawl into,” she told him. “I’m not afraid to be on my own, and I don’t want to take a chance on Les—” She inhaled sharply.

“Is that his name?” Brace asked. “Les?” He frowned consideringly. “Hmm, doesn’t ring a bell with me. A stranger in town, you say?”

She glared at him, obviously angry with herself for giving away even that small bit of information. Her lips thinned, as if she would deny another word passage between them, and he shrugged as if he were baffled by her silence.

He reached up, gripping her elbow, catching her off balance. She jerked back, but to no avail. Brace Caulfield was a tall man, strong and well muscled, and a woman, no matter how tough she pretended to be, stood little chance of escaping his hold.

“You want to get down off that mare by yourself,” he asked, “or shall I help you?”

“Damn you,” she snarled. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Maybe not,” he said agreeably. “But I have a feeling that you’ll be safer with me than riding out of town at this time of night.” His grip on her arm tightened a bit and she shot him a look of pure venom, her face illuminated by the full moon that played hide-and-seek with drifting clouds overhead.

With ease she slid from her saddle and stood before him. “Now are you satisfied?” she asked.

“Not by a long shot, lady,” he murmured, and then watched as his deputy joined them in the middle of the street.