Big Sky Standoff

Big Sky Standoff
B.J. Daniels

LIKE A SHOWDOWN IN THE OLD WEST…THERE WOULD BE ONLY ONE MAN STANDING WHEN THE DUST CLEAREDThere was a standoff brewing between Dillon Savage and cattle inspector Jacklyn Wilde. Toe to toe, they were an equal match, but together they were an imperfect pair. After four long years, they were hitting the open range again, to bring justice to a lawless land.Attached at the hip until a rustling ring was busted, they had to make the best of a bad situation. But the real trouble was Dillon Savage. The cowboy was as cocksure and adventurous as ever. He had old scores to settle, and Jacklyn was there to make sure he didn't stray from his path. Only she didn't know that she was first in line….

The farther north Jacklyn drove, the more restless Dillon became.

He’d hoped the years had changed him, had at least taught him something about himself. But this place brought it all back. The betrayal. The anger. The aching need for vengeance.

“I’m sorry, where did you say we were going?” he asked. Jack, of course, hadn’t said.

“Your old stompin’ grounds,” she said.

That’s what he was afraid of. They’d gone from the motel to pick up a horse trailer, horses and tack. He couldn’t wait to get back in the saddle. He was just worried where that horse was going to take him. Maybe more to the point, what he would do once he and Jack were deep in this isolated country, just the two of them.

Big Sky Standoff

B.J. Daniels

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

This one is for Harry Burton Johnson Jr. Who knows how different our lives would have been had you lived.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

B.J. Daniels’s life dream was to write books. After a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist, she sold thirty-seven short stories before she finally wrote her first book. That book, Odd Man Out, received a 4½-star review from Romantic Times BOOKreviews and went on to be nominated for Best Harlequin Intrigue of 1995. Since then she has won numerous awards, including a career achievement award for romantic suspense.

B.J. lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, two springer spaniels, Spot and Jem, and an aging, temperamental tomcat named Jeff. When she isn’t writing, she snowboards, camps, boats and plays tennis.

To contact B.J., write to her at P.O. Box 1173, Malta, MT 59538, e-mail her at bjdanielsmystery@hotmail.com or check out her Web site at www.bjdaniels.com.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Dillon Savage—The rustler had a few plans of his own when the woman who’d put him in prison broke him out for a special assignment.

Jacklyn Wilde—She was gambling her career—and her life—by teaming up with the charming cattle rustler.

Shade Waters—The elderly rancher was about to do something that he knew could get him killed.

Nate Waters—The son of the richest rancher in central Montana, he wanted the one thing he couldn’t seem to get—his father’s respect.

Sheriff Claude McCray—He had his reasons for wanting to see Dillon Savage back in prison, and one of them was a woman.

Tom Robinson—The rancher was hanging on by a thread. If he lost any more cattle he would go under.

Buford Cole—The ranch hand had been as close to Dillon Savage as anyone.

Halsey Waters—His death had left a hole in a lot of people’s lives.

Arlen Dubois—He had a habit of talking too much. But then again, no one listened, so what did it hurt?

Pete Barclay—The cowboy was a lousy liar. But was that all?

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Chapter One

Dillon Savage shoved back his black Stetson and looked up at all that blue sky as he breathed in the morning. Behind him the razor wire of the prison gleamed in the blinding sunlight.

He didn’t look back as he started up the dirt road. It felt damn good to be out. Like most ex-cons, he told himself he was never going back.

He had put the past behind him. No more axes to grind. No debts to settle. He felt only a glimmer of that old gnawing ache for vengeance that had eaten away at him for years. An ache that told him he could never forget the past.

From down the road past the guardhouse, he saw the green Montana state pickup kicking up dust as it high-tailed toward him.

He shoved away any concerns and grinned to himself. He’d been anticipating this for weeks and still couldn’t believe he’d gotten an early release. He watched the pickup slow so the driver could talk to the guard.

Wouldn’t be long now. He turned his face up to the sun, soaking in its warmth as he enjoyed his first few minutes of freedom in years. Freedom. Damn, but he’d missed it.