Wyoming Wildfire

But even then, the trouble would be far from over. Matt couldn’t walk away from this mess now; he was in too deep. Justice demanded that he learn the full truth about Allister’s death. For that he would have to win Jessie’s trust, even if it meant betraying her later.

They had reached the box canyon he’d seen from above. The mouth was narrow and overgrown, its entrance hidden by a high tangle of oak brush. Inside, stream-fed alders reached almost to the top of the sheer rock walls. Fingers of water from hidden springs trickled over the grassy floor.

Not until the mare nickered, and the gelding began to snort and toss its head, did Matt realize what the canyon held.

Through the trees, he could make out flashes of motion and the glint of sunlight on an ebony coat. Then, as he followed Jessie into the clearing, he heard the challenging scream that only a stallion would make. The sound raised gooseflesh on the back of his neck.

The horse had been hidden in the deepest and narrowest part of the canyon, penned in by a sturdy six-foot log fence. It bugled again as they came closer, stamping its hooves and tossing its elegant head.

Arabians were a small breed as horses go, and this stallion was no exception. But the sheer power of its compact body, the delicacy of its spring steel limbs, the grace of its arched neck, tapered muzzle and high, plumelike tail almost took Matt’s breath away. He had always appreciated fine horses. Copper, his own superb chestnut gelding, was his proudest possession. But without a doubt, this fiery stallion was the most magnificent horse he had ever seen.

Nervous as a cat, it snorted and danced away from the fence as they approached. It would take a rare natural gift to bond with such a high-strung animal, Matt thought. Had young Frank Hammond possessed such a gift?

But the answer to that question no longer mattered. Frank’s gifts, and whatever might become of them, had ended in tragedy at the bottom of a rocky gulch.

As Jessie swung off her mare and walked up to the gate, the stallion raced away in a burst of speed, its tail flying like a banner, its nostrils drinking wind. This horse had cost the lives of two men, Matt reminded himself. Was it possible that such a beautiful creature could bring tragedy to anyone who possessed it?

Tethering the two geldings at a distance, Matt dismounted and walked toward the fence where Jessie stood. The stallion, which had been approaching her cautiously, snorted and dashed away.

“Virgil Gates is going to want that stallion,” he said. “If the papers on the mortgage and the sale are in order, I’d be willing to witness that the horse is legally yours. Then, maybe, you could strike a bargain with Virgil—the stallion for the deed to your ranch. Then, at least, you’d have a roof over your head.”

Jessie shook her head vehemently. “I don’t do business with the devil. Virgil’s not going to get his hands on Midnight. Nobody is.”

Her tone was gritty and cold. Caught off guard, Matt stared at her.

Her eyes blazed back at him, steely with determination. “You have something that belongs to me, Marshal. My pistol. I want it back.”

“Don’t be a fool, Jessie.”

“You have no right to order me around. What I do with my own property is none of your business.”

“But, for the love of heaven, the horse—”

“My brother’s dead because of this horse. So is Allister Gates. Now give me the gun.”

Mute with horror, Matt drew the Peacemaker out of his holster. Jessie was acting out of grief and rage, but she was right about one thing. He had no legal right to stop her from shooting her own horse.

She could turn the gun on him as well, he realized. But if he wanted to win her trust, he would have to take that chance.

Keeping the muzzle pointed downward, he offered her the grip. She took the pistol from him and turned away without a word. Stunned, he watched her walk to the gate and unfasten the twisted length of wire that held it closed. Dragging the clumsy structure partway open, she walked into the enclosure. Matt heard the click as she thumbed back the Peacemaker’s hammer. He cursed himself for not having had the foresight to remove the bullets.

Planting herself a few paces from the opening, she gave a low whistle. The stallion pricked up its ears, nickered and trotted toward her. Matt held his breath, knowing better than to interfere. If the horse sensed danger, it might rear and crush her with its hooves. But to his amazement, the creature appeared completely trusting. It stopped in front of her and lowered its exquisite head, as if waiting to be stroked.

Now it remained only for Jessie to point the muzzle of the gun at the spot below the stallion’s ear and pull the trigger. Her free hand rose and stroked the satiny neck. Matt couldn’t see her face from where he stood, but he could see that she was trembling. Stop! he wanted to shout at her. You don’t have to do this! But the words froze in his throat.

Jessie raised the gun, her finger tightening on the trigger. For a moment time seemed to stop. Then, abruptly, she moved to one side, exposing the open gate. The pistol bellowed as she fired.

Matt heard the stallion scream. Its body hurtled past him, almost knocking him down as it flashed out of the gate. As he reeled sideways, the awareness sank in that Jessie had shot into the air.

Dizzy with relief, he watched the black horse thunder down the canyon and disappear. It would be all right, he told himself. The Big Horn Mountains were vast and deep, dotted with high, grassy meadows where wild mustangs ran free. With luck, the stallion would find a new life there among its own kind, and no one would ever lay a rope around its elegant neck again. But Jessie Hammond had just thrown away the last chance of redeeming her ranch.

Torn between outrage and jubilation, Matt turned back toward Jessie. In freeing the stallion, she had committed an act of reckless audacity—an act of mercy, an act of love. He did not know whether to shake her, hold her, or simply turn his back and walk away.

In the corral, Jessie had crumpled to her knees. Matt reached her in a few strides and bent down to clasp her shoulders. As he lifted her to her feet, the pistol dropped from her limp fingers and fell to the ground.

She sagged against him, her throat jerking. “I couldn’t shoot him—” she gasped. “I wanted to. I wanted to kill Midnight for destroying Frank. And I wanted Virgil Gates to find the body. I wanted him to know that he hadn’t won.” Her hands clenched on Matt’s chest. “But I couldn’t do it. I looked at Midnight and I—couldn’t!”

Matt’s arms tightened around her. She was so small and wounded and alone, her vulnerability tore at his heart. His protective instincts surged. He found himself wanting to comfort her, to fight her battles and keep her from harm. Without conscious thought, his lips nibbled along her hairline, tasting the sweetness of her skin. She was as soft and warm as a child.

For a moment her breath seemed to stop. She gave a tremulous sigh and began to melt against him. Then, abruptly, she stiffened in his arms. Bracing her hands against his chest, she shoved him firmly away. Shards of ice glittered in her eyes.

“Maybe I should have shot you instead,” she said coldly. “Heaven knows, you’re more to blame for Frank’s death than that wretched stallion!”

Spinning away from him, she scooped up the gun, checked the hammer and thrust it into the pocket of her baggy overalls. Then, without another word, she stalked to her mare and sprang into the saddle.

For the next half mile she barely stayed in sight. Matt followed the flash of her red plaid shirt through the trees, cursing as he trailed behind with Frank’s body. He had taken on the simple errand of bringing in a prisoner, something he’d done without mishap hundreds of times in his career as a lawman. Now he found himself dealing with a dead body, a possible unsolved murder and a woman who was driving him crazy!

Only one thing was certain. If he had the sense of a mule, he would keep his horny hands off Jessie Hammond. She might be as tempting as a fresh plum tart with cream, but her kind of trouble was the last thing he needed—especially if he ended up having to arrest her for the murder of Allister Gates. Feigning friendship to get her to talk was part of his job. But making love to her could be the worst mistake of his life.

He could see her now, paused on the ridge above him, glancing back over her shoulder as she waited for him to catch up. Well, let her wait, Matt thought. He’d had enough of her games. It was time he stopped panting after her like a schoolboy and did his job. He had two deaths to investigate, and Jessie was his only link to the truth. He would get to that truth, he swore, no matter what it cost him.

Jessie watched Matt Langtry as he wound his way up the slope. He moved the horses at a deliberate pace, taking care with Frank’s body on the turns. He did not look up at her.

She forced herself to keep still and wait for him, even though her nerves screamed with the urge to race on ahead. To keep running would only make things more awkward between them. Sooner or later she would have to stop and let him catch up. It might as well be now.

Still trembling, she raked her windblown hair back from her face. Her fingertips brushed the spot along her hairline where his lips had nibbled a brief path. The sweetness of that small caress had almost undone her. She had wanted nothing more, at that moment, than to sink into his arms, bury her face against his shirt and cry her heart out.

No one had held her in a comforting way since the death of her parents in a blizzard four years earlier. Frank had been the focus of her love between that time and now, but there had been no outward affection between the two of them. They had been partners in survival—close in spirit, but private and proper in terms of physical affection.

Only when Matt had pulled her against him and brushed that light caress along her hairline did Jessie realize how lost she’d felt and how hungry she was for the strength of a man’s arms.

Terrified by the rush of emotion, she had pushed him away and lashed out to protect herself. Matt Langtry’s actions had tipped the scales against her brother’s life. If he’d manacled Frank’s hands in front instead of behind, or if he’d given her the key when she’d demanded it, this tragedy would never have happened.

How could she forgive him for that? How could she let him touch her, when her heart screamed against what he’d done and what he stood for? The law was always on the side of rich landholders like Allister and Virgil Gates. Poor farmers and homesteaders didn’t stand a chance.

Holding the mare in check, she waited for Matt to bring the horses up onto the ridge. Her heart crept into her throat as he came closer. It was easy to hate him at a distance. But when he was near she felt confused and vulnerable. It was all she could do to keep from kicking the mare and bolting off at a gallop, just to get away from him.

As he came abreast of her, he cast an impersonal glance in her direction. His face was as expressionless as a granite slab. He had chosen to ignore her, she thought. Fine, that would make everything easier.

Avoiding him with her eyes, she nudged the mare to a brisk walk. He stayed at her side, moving in close enough for conversation. It seemed he wasn’t going to make things easy after all. Jessie’s heart slammed against her ribs as she waited for him to speak.

“How well did you know the Gates brothers?” It was his lawman’s voice, flat and relentless in its demand for answers.

“I hardly knew them at all,” she answered truthfully. “I knew who they were, of course. I’d seen them in town and on the road. But I don’t recall exchanging a word of polite conversation with either Allister or Virgil. Ranchers and homesteaders don’t exactly socialize in these parts.”

“Or any other parts that I know of. What about your brother? What kind of dealings did he have with them?”

“None—until last fall when Allister laid eyes on the stallion. As I told you, he made Frank an offer in Laramie, and Frank told him the horse wasn’t for sale at any price. That’s the last we heard until the week when the Felton marshal served us with notice that the Gates brothers had redeemed our mortgage and we had three days to clear off the property. Later that day, Allister came by with a half-dozen cowhands from his ranch and took the stallion.”