Bobbi Smith
Author Book List

Running Scared

Destiny Sterling had to get away from St. Louis. Otherwise she’d never escape her stepfather’s hot hands…or his hideous plans for her. Her only hope was to pose as a mail-order bride traveling to Texas to marry a rancher.

Dan Cooper was as low-down mean as they came. He took pride in his gang’s rough reputation…and the string of successful robberies they’d pulled off. His ace in the hole was a remote Texas ranch where he planned to lie low if things got too hot.

Running the Show

Texas Ranger Lane Madison knew the Cooper gang would show up at the Sundown Ranch sooner or later. All he had to do was play the part of its new owner…and wait. What he didn’t count on was having to marry a vulnerable young beauty to keep up the role, or the inescapable attraction that made any secret between them impossible.

Excerpt

Prologue

                         Texas, Early 1870s

Lane Madison and two of his ranch hands urged their horses to a quicker pace as they covered the final miles back to the Bar M ranch house.  They’d been gone for three days, working stock, and were looking forward to finally getting back home.

“It’s going to be real nice, having a home cooked meal tonight,”  Lane said, knowing it was getting late and Katie would be hard at work, cooking.

“You made a real smart decision when you married Katie,”  Rick Meyers told him.  “She’s not only pretty, she can cook, too.”

Lane was smiling as he thought of his beautiful dark-haired wife.  He looked over at Rick and warned good-naturedly,  “You don’t have your sights set on my wife, do you?”

“I’d love to set my sights on Katie, but I know how good she can handle a cast iron skillet and I’m not going anywhere near her unless I’m invited.”

They all laughed, remembering how deftly Katie had subdued one of the rowdier ranch hands who’d gotten drunk and had made the mistake of trying to cause some trouble on the ranch a few weeks ago when Lane had been away. 

“I bet Mose had a headache for quite a few days after she hit him,”  Lane said.

“You know he did, and I’m real glad we ain’t seen him since,”  Rick agreed. 

“Yep, you got yourself one fine filly in Katie,”  Buck Wilson, the other hand, agreed.  “Maybe one of these days, me and Rick will get lucky and find ourselves a good woman like her, too.”

Lane grew even more eager to see Katie as they rode on.  They’d been married just over a year, and she was now pregnant with their first child.  Knowing he would soon be a father drove him to work even harder at making the Bar M a success.  He wanted the ranch to be a safe haven for his family.

As they topped a low rise, they spotted the ranch house and outbuildings in the distance. 

“Looks like we’re home, boys,”  Lane said as they rode in. 

As they drew closer, Lane thought it was odd that there weren’t many of the hands around, and he grew even more concerned when Andy, the stable hand, came hurrying out of the stable to meet them as they reined in.

“Mark and the boys didn’t find you?”  Andy asked worriedly.

“No, we didn’t see anyone else on the ride in.  Why?”  Lane answered.  “Was there trouble while we were gone?”  He could tell Andy was nervous about something.

“Yeah, you’d better get up to the house --“

“Katie --  Is Katie all right?”

“Helen’s up there with Doc Halsey---“  he warned him.

Lane didn’t wait to hear any more.  If the doctor was there and his foreman’s wife was helping him, something was wrong - real wrong.  He ran toward the house to check on Katie. 

Helen Carter, the foreman’s wife, had been up at the house helping Doc Halsey.  When she saw Lane and the other men ride in, she hurried upstairs to let the doctor know.   

“Lane’s back --“  she whispered from the bedroom doorway.  She was the one who’d found Katie early that morning, battered, raped and left for dead there at the main house.  She’d sent for the doctor immediately and had been doing all she could to help Katie ever since.

The doctor looked down at Katie where she lay so pale and deathly, and then got up. 

“Stay with her -- just in case ---“  He left the room to speak with Lane. 

Doc Halsey had just come down the steps and reached the front hall when Lane rushed in the house.

“Doc --  What is it?  What happened?”  Lane demanded, looking past him up the stairs for some sign of his wife.

“We need to talk, Lane,”  the older man told him, directing him toward the parlor.

Lane resisted.  “But I want to see Katie.  Where is she?”

“Let’s go in the parlor for a minute.” 

Lane looked up the stairs again and then took his hat off and left it on the hallway table before reluctantly following the doctor’s order.  He was tense and on edge, fearing the news the man was about to give him.  He worried Katie had fallen or possibly had a miscarriage.

“Sit down,”  the doc directed.  He thought it would be best if Lane was sitting down when he told him the news.  

But Lane refused.  “No.  I’ll stand.  Tell me what happened.  What’s wrong?”  

Doc Halsey knew there was no point in trying to make this easy.  There was no easy way to tell him what had happened.  “Katie’s been injured -- She’s in very serious condition right now.”

“Injured?  What are you talking about?  How was she hurt?”

“Evidently from what we’ve been able to figure out, last night one of the ranch hands you fired, a man named Mose Harper, came back.”  He went on to tell him what how the man had abused and beaten her, and how she’d lost the baby.

Fury filled Lane, and he felt sick inside.  The fact that he and the boys had just been talking about Mose and had been laughing about what had happened, made it even worse.  “Oh, my God --  ”

“Helen found Katie this morning, and from what little Katie was able to tell her, Mose sneaked into the house sometime after dark.  He cornered her in the parlor and she didn’t have the chance to scream, caught off-guard the way she was.  She put up a fight, but ---“

“I’ve got to see her ---“  He turned to go.

“Lane --“

The tone of the doctor’s voice stopped him cold, and Lane turned to look back at him.

“She may not make it through the day.” 

Doc Halsey gave him the news he’d been dreading.

Lane said nothing more. 

He couldn’t. 

He walked out on the doctor and went upstairs.  Inwardly, he was shaking as he came to stand in the bedroom doorway. 

The sight that greeted Lane devastated him.  Helen was seated in a chair keeping vigil at the bedside where Katie lay unmoving.  Katie’s eyes were closed, her coloring was ashen, and her face was bruised and battered from the abuse she’d suffered at Mose’s hands.

Helen had heard Lane coming, and she quickly stood up and went to him.  She touched him gently on the arm, wanting to comfort him in some way.  “Thank God, you’re back.  She’s been asking for you.”

“She’s conscious?”  he managed.

“She’s in and out --  She’s in a lot of pain --“

He nodded and walked past her to the bedside.  He sat down in the chair there and took Katie’s hand in his.   Her hand was limp in his and the knowledge that she was that weak tore at him.

“Katie --“  he said her name in a strangled whisper, but there was no response from her.  “Katie -- I’m here --“

He could tell her breathing was shallow and the horror of what Mose had done to her ravaged him.  He had thought she was safe there on the ranch.  He’d never believed the drunken, stupid ranch hand would come back again, let alone try to harm her. 

Guilt assailed Lane as he stayed by her side.  He could only imagine what she’d suffered at Mose’s hands, and he knew somehow, someway, he was going to find the drunk and make him pay for what he’d done.

He remained there, holding her cold, limp hand in his, waiting and praying for a miracle.

Helen found the doctor waiting in the parlor.  “What should we do?”

“There’s nothing we can do, but wait,”  Doc Halsey said sadly.  “It’s in God’s hands now.”

Helen glanced back up the steps, her heart breaking, her eyes filled with tears.  “I know.”

 *                            *                             *

Katie stirred and opened her eyes to see Lane in the chair beside her.  Summoning what little strength she had left, she whispered his name,  “Lane ---“

He had been sitting there quietly, waiting, her hand in his, when the sound of her voice sent a surge of joy and hope through him.  He shifted closer.  “Katie --“

“You’re here ---“  She gazed up at the man she loved, knowing her time was near.

“I’m here, love.  I’m here, and I’ll never leave you alone again ---“  he promised.  “I’m sorry ---“

Katie realized he was blaming himself.  “Not your fault ---  Mose ---  It was Mose --“

He looked down at her, guilt and pain filling him.  He knew now that he should never have left her, that he should have been there with her to protect her and keep her and their unborn child safe.

“I love you, Lane  ---“  she told him, and those words were her last as she closed her eyes and her life slipped away.

“I love you, too --“  Lane began.  

It was then as he stared down at her that he realized she’d drawn her last breath. 

“Katie ----“ 

Agony tore through him.  He took her up in his arms, and he clutched her to him.  He called out for the doctor as he held her to his heart.  

Doc Halsey heard his urgent call and knew what had happened.  He had feared Katie wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer, since she’d lost so much blood, and he rushed up the stairs now to see what he could do. 

The sight that greeted him was heartbreaking.  Lane was there at the bedside, holding Katie’s limp form in his arms.  He hurried to Lane’s side and took her from him to lay her back upon the bed.  He was clinging to what little hope he had that, somehow she would survive, that she would have enough strength to keep fighting, but as he gazed down at her, he knew now she was gone. 

The doctor looked up at Lane, and their gazes met.

“I’m sorry --“

The power of her death struck him almost physically.  He collapsed into the chair, burying his head in his hands as he gave in to his sorrow. 

Doc Halsey backed from the room and closed the door behind him as he moved out into the hall, leaving Lane to grieve. 

                        Two Days Later

Lane came out of the house, carrying his saddlebags and rifle.  He was going after Mose and he wouldn’t be back until he’d found him.  He went straight to the stable where his men had gathered, their mood quiet and somber.

Rick was there, waiting for him.  He had their horses saddled, and he, too, was ready to ride. 

Lane looked at him, his gaze cold.  “You think you’re going with me?”

“I know I am,”  Rick answered.  He was determined not to let his friend do this alone.  

On the day Helen had found Katie, two of the hands had immediately ridden out after Mose to try to track him down and bring him back, while another hand had gone into town to let the sheriff know what had happened.  Lane hadn’t learned of this until after Katie’s passing, but once he had, he had been glad they’d gone after Mose right away while his trail had been fresh.  He’d been glad, too, when the sheriff had immediately put up a wanted poster on the man. 

Lane had hoped the ranch hands who’d ridden after Mose, would find him quickly and bring him back to face justice, but it hadn’t happened.  The two men who’d been tracking him had lost his trail after a storm had swept through and had been unable to find it again.

Once they’d gotten back and told Lane what had happened, Lane had known what he had to do. 

He was going after Mose himself.

He would not rest until he’d found the man responsible for Katie’s death and the death of his unborn child. 

“With the wanted poster up, the law will be looking for him,” Mark told him seriously.  “You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes.  I do,”  was Lane’s terse answer.  He turned a cold-eyed glare on his friend.  “Take care of things here while I’m gone.”

Mark knew then there was nothing more he could say or do to stop Lane from leaving.

Katie’s death had changed him. 

The ranch meant nothing to him now. 

All Lane cared about was finding the man responsible for his wife’s death.

“I will,”  Mark gave him his word.

Lane and Mark were both grim as they shook hands.  Then Mark stepped back to watch as Lane and Rick mounted up and rode out.

                        SIX WEEKS LATER

The long days in the saddle as they’d covered endless miles in their pursuit of Mose had left Lane and Rick trail weary, but Lane was not about to let up.  He had a gut feeling that they were closing in on Katie’s killer, and he was determined to keep going. 

“This may be it,”  he told Rick as they neared the outskirts of the town of Sagebrush.  

“How do you want to do this?”

“Let’s start at the saloon.  Knowing Mose, that’d be the first place he’d go.” 

Lane knew better than to get his hopes up too high, but when he spotted Mose’s horse tied up out in front of the saloon, he knew the murderer’s days of running were over.

“Look,”  he told Rick, pointing out the horse.

“You were right.  We’ve got him now.”

They dismounted out front, and Lane led the way inside.

Mose was feeling real good about himself as he sat in the saloon in Sagebrush.  After all this time, no one from the ranch had come after him to try to take him in, so he figured he’d gotten away with paying the Madison gal back.

Mose took another deep drink of his whiskey as he eyed the buxom, blond saloon girl walking past his table.  Unable to resist, he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her onto his lap.  He pressed some wet, sloppy kisses down her neck and began to openly grope her. 

“Behave yourself, big boy ---“  Sally said, disgusted by his ways.

Her use of ‘big boy’ infuriated Mose.  He wasn’t a tall man, and he hated it when anyone taunted him about his height.  Her protest just made him all the more determined to have his way with her.  He liked being in control.  He liked making women beg.  It made him feel real powerful, like he really was a big man.

“Why don’t I go get you another drink?”  she offered, using that as an excuse to try to get away from him.  She’d dealt with many disgusting men over the years, but having watched this one over the last few nights that he’d been there at the saloon, she knew he was one of the worst. 

Mose heard her request, but he had no intention of letting her go.  He was enjoying himself too much.  He tightened his grip on her and forced her to stay on his lap.  “You ain’t going anywhere, baby doll.  You’re going to stay right here with me until I’m ready to take you upstairs.”

Inwardly, she groaned.  She was miserable at the prospect of suffering a mauling at his hands.  “But you need a refill --“

“No, I don’t.  I need you.  Now!”  He was drunked up enough to believe he could take her right there in the saloon with everybody watching.   He tried to push her dress completely off her shoulders to bare her breasts.

“No!  Stop it!”  She started to resist him, to fight him off.

“Don’t you tell me ‘no’, woman!”  Mose snarled, and he got even rougher with her.

“You heard the lady, Mose.”

A voice so familiar to him called out from the front of the saloon and sent a jolt of terror through Mose.  He went still.

“Let her go ---“  Lane ordered.

Mose let his hands drop away from the blonde

Sally jumped up from his lap and fled to safety, staring wide-eyed in wonder at the tall, dark mysterious man who’d issued the order.  She could tell the stranger meant business.  He and another man were standing at the front of the saloon just inside the swinging doors with their guns drawn and aimed at the drunk. 

Mose hadn’t look toward Lane yet as he smiled slowly to himself.  He hadn’t let the saloon girl go because Lane had ordered it.  He had let her go, so he could go for his gun.   “Well, well, well, if it ain’t my old boss ---“

His snide arrogant ways only infuriated Lane more.  “That’s right.  Now, turn around real slow and keep your hands where I can see them.”

Mose slowly shifted positions and looked Lane’s way.  It was then that he saw Lane and Rick standing there in front of the bar, with their guns on him.

 “Who are you boys and what are you doing in my saloon?”  the bartender demanded.

“We’ve come for our friend, here,”  Lane told him, nodding toward Mose.

“Are you the law?”

“No,”  Lane answered,  “but here’s the wanted poster.” 

Without looking away, Lane pulled the folded up sheet of paper from his shirt pocket and tossed it on the bar in front of him. 

The bartender snatched it up to read it.

“All right,”  the bartender said, after studying at the likeness of Mose Harper on the poster and then looking over at the man standing by the table in the back of the saloon.  “You!” he ordered one of the men who was standing at the bar, drinking.  “Go find the sheriff - and get him back here fast!” 

The man at the bar ran out the swinging doors to do what the bartender had ordered. 

Mose knew just how wrong he’d been to think Lane Madison wouldn’t find him.  He had thought he’d gotten away with teaching Lane’s wife a lesson, but now as he faced his old boss, he was scared, real scared.  He slowly got to his feet and turned in their direction.  

“Lane -- Rick, what’s this all about?”  Mose wanted to go for his gun, but he had to make his move when the time was right or he’d be a dead man.

“Don’t play innocent with me, Mose,”  Lane ground out.  “Katie’s dead.”

“Dead?”  he squeaked like the coward he was.

“That’s right, and you’re the one who killed her.”

“I didn’t kill her ---“  he lied, trying to cover for himself.  He’d thought for sure she’d been dead when he’d left her, so he had no idea how Lane could have found out that he was the one who’d done it.  Even so, the look in Lane’s eyes heightened the terror that filled him.

“Katie lived long enough to tell me what you did,”  Lane said, his rage filling him.  “And I’m going to see you pay for it.  I’m going to enjoy watching you hang.”

Mose knew right then he was a dead man - one way or the other.  His only hope was to shoot his way out of this, so in a fierce, quick move, he went for his gun.

But Lane was ready for him.  Coward that he knew Mose was, Lane had expected he would try to run off, and he was ready for him.  When Mose went for his gun, Lane fired, and he watched in satisfaction as the drunk collapsed on the floor, moaning.

Lane and Rick walked slowly to where Mose lay, their guns still in hand.  Lane stood over him, while Rick made short order of grabbing up Mose’s gun from where he’d dropped it when he’d been hit.

Mose looked up at Lane, quaking and trembling in terror as he clutched his bloody shoulder and cowered before him 

“Don’t kill me!  Don’t kill me!”  he squealed.

Lane stared down at the man who had so cold-bloodedly taken Katie’s life. 

He wanted him to pay for what he’d done. 

He wanted him to suffer. 

Lane’s grip on his gun tightened.

He wanted to put an end to his miserable, worthless life, but he managed to control himself.  “Don’t worry, Mose.  I’m not going to kill you.”

Mose was stunned.  He stared up at him wide-eyed.

“No, I’m not going to kill you,”  Lane repeated.  “That would be too easy for you.  I’m going to let the law deal with you ---“

“NOOOOO!”  the coward wailed, crying and shaking in his fear.

As he was squealing, the town’s sheriff came rushing in.  He’d heard the gunfire and had drawn his gun, ready for trouble. 

“What’s going on?”  he demanded, seeing the wounded man on the floor and the other man standing over him, gun in hand.

“It’s all right now, Sheriff,”  the bartender hurried to reassure him as he handed him the wanted poster.  “Here ---“

The sheriff quickly read the wanted poster over and then looked down at the man named Mose in disgust.

“Mose Harper ---  You’re under arrest for murder.  I’m taking you in.”  He glanced over at some of the other men in the bar and ordered,  “You two, get him up and take him over to the jail!  I’ll be right there to lock him up.”

The men quickly did as they were told for they knew better than to mess with the sheriff.  

Lane and Rick watched as they grabbed Mose by the arms to drag him from the saloon. 

Only when they’d moved out of the saloon did Lane finally holster his gun.  He looked to the sheriff.  “Thanks.”

The lawman nodded to him as he, too, holstered his gun.  “No, thank you.  We don’t need killers like him running loose.”

Rick handed over Mose’s gun to the sheriff, and then the lawman left them to see about locking the prisoner up.

Rick looked to Lane.  “I could use a drink.  What about you?”

Lane said nothing as he joined him at the bar and ordered a whiskey.  The trek to find Mose had been long and hard, but it had been worth it.  He took a deep drink of the potent liquor and wondered if he could go back to ranching after all that had happened.       

Chapter One

It was late on this hot summer night, and the mood was wild in the Tumbleweed Saloon.  The notorious outlaw Dan Cooper and his gang had ridden into town earlier that afternoon.  They’d robbed a stagecoach the week before and had gotten clean away.  They’d come to Black Rock looking for a good time, and they’d found it there at the Tumbleweed.  They had been drinking and gambling and enjoying the company of the buxom saloon girls who were eager to please the free-spending outlaws.  It wasn’t often that Dan and his men could relax and let their guard down this way, but in Black Rock they could for the sheriff, Hal Brown, was a known coward.  They’d had a few run-ins with him in the past, and he’d learned to make himself real scarce whenever the Cooper Gang showed up.

Dan Cooper wasn’t a big man, but there was an edge of danger about him - about the way he held himself and the way he wore his gun - that made him an imposing figure as he sat at the table, drinking his whiskey and playing poker.  

The red-haired saloon girl Lila wasn’t afraid of Dan, though.  She’d been with him in the past and couldn’t wait to get him upstairs again.

“What do you think, Big Dan?”  Lila purred enticingly as she came to stand close beside him.  “You gonna win this hand and come upstairs with me real soon?”  

Dan was well aware that Lila was very talented at pleasing a man.  He’d partaken of her services many times before during visits to the Tumbleweed and he enjoyed being with her, but right then he had to concentrate on playing out this hand.  “You bet I am.  Just stay right here with me and bring me some good luck.”

“You know I will,”  she promised seductively.

Dan turned his full attention back to the poker game, taking care to keep his expression carefully guarded as he studied the cards he held in his hand. This had been a good night for him -- a real good night.  The winnings piled high on the table before him were proof of that, and he was certain things were only going to get better.  Lifting his gaze, he looked over at the two men sitting at the table with him and saw their tense expressions.  Dan smiled to himself for he knew they wouldn’t be sitting there much longer - not with the hand he was holding now.  

“I’ll raise you ---“  he said in a calm, even tone, determined to take them for all he could.  He enjoyed the look of shock on the other gamblers’ faces when he pushed all of his cash to the center of the table.

“What ----???”  Will Taylor, the local blacksmith, was angry.  

“You heard me,”  Dan said arrogantly.

Even though he had two pairs, Will knew there was no way he could match Dan’s bet.  Barely controlling his disgust at losing all his money, he threw in his hand and shoved his chair back away from the table.  “I’m out.”

Dan turned to Chuck Davis.  He didn’t know Chuck real well.  They’d just met for the first time that day.  Chuck was just passing through town and had come in for a drink and to do some gambling, and had ended up in the game.

“What about you?”  Dan asked.

Chuck kept his cards close to his chest as he looked over at Dan.  He’d always considered himself a real good poker player, but, as guarded as the other man’s expression was, it was hard for him to tell if he was bluffing or not.  Chuck glanced back down at the three nines he’d been dealt and believed he held the winning hand.  He counted out what money he had left in front of him and then looked up again to meet Dan’s cold-eyed stare.  “I’m low on cash, but I can bet my ranch.”

“How big a ranch you got?”  he challenged.

“The Circle D is big enough to match your bet,”  he came back at him.  He knew better than to show any sign of weakness around a man like Dan Cooper.

“Where is this ranch of yours?” 

“Over near Bluff Springs.”

Dan nodded as he considered his offer.  He looked back down at his own cards.

The saloon had suddenly gone quiet as everyone realized just how tense the game had become.  The stakes were high - real high if this Chuck Davis was betting his ranch.  They gathered around the table to see which gambler was going to win.

“You must be feeling real good about your hand,”  Dan sneered, giving him a smug grin. 

“I am,”  Chuck replied evenly, but inwardly, he was bristling at the man’s arrogance.  He didn’t let his irritation show, though, for he’d heard how dangerous this man and his gang were and he didn’t want to get caught up in a shoot out.  He just wanted to win all the money that was riding on this game.  He’d been going through some hard times on the Circle D and needed the cash to keep things going.  “What do you say?”

“I’ve always wanted to be a rancher.”

“Well, let’s see what you’ve got,”  Chuck challenged.

Dan’s grin turned to a confident smile as he slowly spread his full house of kings and tens out on the table top for all to see.  “What are you holding?”

For a moment, Chuck could only stare at the other man’s winning hand in disbelief, and then the reality of what had happened hit him.  He’d lost everything.  Slowly, painfully, he tossed his losing hand on the table.

“Whoo-Hooo!”  Dan roared.  “Looks like Lila, here, brought me all that good luck she was promising!”

A roar went through the crowd as Dan got up and kissed the saloon girl hotly before swinging her around in celebration.

“What do you say, boys???  Looks like I just got me a ranch!  I’m buying!  Drinks are on me!”  Dan stood up and raked in all the money he’d just won.  He stuffed his pockets full of the cash.  “We got some celebrating to do.”  He looked over at Chuck.  “I’ll find you later and we’ll talk.”

Chuck only nodded. 

Dan turned away from the table, and, keeping Lila at his side, he headed to the bar to join his men.

“You just had yourself one fine night,”  Seth Rawlins, the fastest gun in the gang, told him.   

“Yes, I did,”  Dan agreed, picking up the glass of whiskey the bartender had set before him.  He took a deep drink as he eyed Lila hungrily and then grinned.  “And the night’s not over yet.”

“No, it’s not,”  Seth agreed.

The other three members of the gang, Ted Wilkins, John Harris and Al Meade, who went by the nickname of Slick, came over to congratulate Dan. 

“That was one fine hand,”  John told him.

“I’ll say,”  Dan agreed.

“What are you going to do with the ranch?”  Ted asked.

“Why, I’m going to settle down - maybe get me a wife and have some kids,”  he joked.

They all laughed for they knew what kind of man he really was.

Dan was laughing with them. 

“I’ll think of something,”  he assured him.  “But right now, I got something else on my mind --”

Two of the other saloon girls came over to him, a buxom blonde known as Francie and a dark-haired beauty named Dolly.

“I love a winner.”  Francie said brazenly, positioning herself close enough to him so he could have a clear view of her cleavage in her low-cut dress.

“So do I,”  Dolly agreed.

Dan eyed them both, but he knew Lila had more to offer him - a lot more.  “I’ve already got the woman I need.”  He leered down the front of Lila’s gown.  “But some of my boys will be glad to show you a good time.  Won’t you, boys?”

“Yes, we will,”  Seth agreed. 

Seth quickly grabbed Francie and yanked her over to him while Slick went after Dolly.

“Lila, darling, you done got yourself a winner tonight,”  Dan smiled at her.   “Let’s go upstairs and get this celebration started!”  

Lila took his arm and drew him up the staircase and down the hall to her room in the back.   With everything Dan had won that night, she knew he was going to take care of her real good.

Francie looked up at Seth.   “What about you?  Are you ready for a good time now that the gambling’s over?”

“The gambling’s not over,”  Seth said, trying not to smile.

“What are you talking about?”  Francie was getting frustrated in her efforts to get him upstairs, and she was confused by his statement.  “The big game is over.  There’s no more betting going on.”

“Sure, there is, woman,”  he chuckled at her.  “I’m betting you’re going to entertain me real good.”

Francie smiled enticingly at his clever ploy.  “I’d say that was a real safe bet on your part, and I raise you ---“

“By how much?”

“Come on.  I’ll have to show you how much --“  She started toward the staircase, giving him a very sensual look.

Seth’s gaze was heated as he set his drink aside and went after her.  “I think I’m going to enjoy playing this hand.”

Francie looked over her shoulder as she mounted the steps ahead of him.  “Yes, you will.”

Slick wasted no time getting Dolly back to one of the empty tables at the back of the room, while John and Ted returned to the bar.  Right then, they just wanted to keep drinking.

It was almost closing time when Seth came downstairs to the saloon again and found Dan sitting at a table near the back of the room.  The crowd had pretty much thinned out, so Seth got himself another drink from the bar and went to sit with the outlaw leader.

“This has been one good night,”  Seth said as he settled in, leaning back in his chair to relax.

“So Francie took good care of you?”

“Oh, yeah.  She earned her money.”  He was feeling real fine.  Francie had tried to resist him at the start, claiming he was being too rough, but she’d shut up after he’d shown her what ‘rough’ really was.  She’d smartened up then and hadn’t given him any more trouble after that.  He liked roughing up women.  It made him feel like a real big man.  

Dan paused to draw his full attention.  “Seth, I’ve been thinking about this ranch I just won.”

Seth chuckled.  “What did you decide?  You really are gonna take up ranching, settle down now?  Maybe even get yourself a wife?”

“No.  I’m not, but I was thinking maybe you were.”

Seth frowned.  “What are you talking about?  What have you got in mind?”

Dan quickly explained,  “We’ve been needing a safe place to hideout whenever the law comes after us, and what better place than --“

“The ranch ---”  Seth finished.

“It’s a good ride from here.  It’s over by Bluff Springs.”  Dan nodded.  “You could show up there as the new owner.  You’re not as well-known as I am.  There wouldn’t be too many questions asked.  Why, you could even send back East for one of them mail order brides.  She’d have no idea what was going on, and you’d look like a real upstanding citizen when you settled in, got yourself a wife, and took over running things.”

They shared a knowing look.

“And no one would ever suspect it was our hideout,”  Seth finished.

“That’s right,”  Dan said with great satisfaction, thinking his plan was perfect.  “And every now and then you could take a ‘trip’ and ride with us.”

“I’d like that.  I’d like that a lot.”  Seth enjoyed their dangerous lifestyle.  He liked that people were frightened when they heard the Cooper Gang was coming.  It made him feel strong, and if he was staying right there in the middle of them and they didn’t know who he was, he was going to enjoy it even more.

“Good, we’ll do it.  I already talked to Chuck.  He was still here waiting for me when I came back down.  The Circle D is mine, but as far as the ranch hands are concerned -  I told him to send word that Seth Rawlins was the new owner, and Chuck knows better than to say any different.”

The two men were quiet for a moment as they took a deep drink.  Then, Seth looked up and grinned.

“Well, boss, I guess if I’m going to be ‘settling down’, first thing in the morning I’d better see about sending a telegram and get me one of those brides.  Some little girl is going to get real lucky coming out here to marry me.”

The two men laughed and continued their drinking, unaware that the saloon girl Dolly was sitting at a table nearby and had overheard their every word.

It was getting late in the afternoon.  Several of the townsfolk stopped what they were doing and turned to watch as the tall, lean, dark-haired stranger rode slowly down the main street of town.  The lone rider looked like trouble to them, and, as often as gunmen came to Black Rock, they knew they should get off the street for the shooting could start up at any time.

Texas Ranger Lane Madison was aware that people were watching him, but he didn’t care.  He kept his gaze focused straight ahead as he continued on toward the saloon.  

He was a man on a mission, and he had only one thing on his mind. 

He was there to track down the Cooper Gang. 

Lane had been in Black Rock once before, several years ago, and it was obvious things had changed since then.  The town looked even more rundown now.  He knew there was a sheriff in town named Brown, but from what he’d heard the lawman was useless against the big guns.  Lane intended to seek him out and have a talk with him about Dan Cooper and his men, but first he wanted to stop at the saloon and get a feel for the place.

Catching sight of the Tumbleweed Saloon, Lane reined in out front and dismounted.  He tied up his horse and then paused for a moment to look around.  Things seemed quiet on the street so he went on inside.  The bar was reasonably crowded.  There were poker games going on at the tables and several men drinking at the bar.  Lane joined those standing at the bar. 

Lane had deliberately taken off his Ranger badge before he’d ridden into town.  He wanted to remain anonymous while he was in the saloon in the hope that the talk going on around him would be more open.

Harold, the bartender, had seen him come in and went to wait on him.   “What can I get you?”  

“Whiskey,”  Lane answered.

Harold made short order of pouring him a stiff drink.  “You just passing through or you planning to stay around for a while?”

“I’m not sure.”

Harold was used to that kind of answer.  “Well, if you need another drink, just holler.”

“I will,”  Lane said, paying him for the whiskey.

Lane picked up his glass and took a deep drink.  The last information he’d been given about Dan Cooper and his gang of killers was that they had been thought to be riding for Black Rock after robbing a stage.  That meant they would have been here some time in the past two weeks.

It wasn’t often Lane let his emotions drive him, but after he’d learned what the cold-blooded gang had done during the robbery, he’d known he had to bring them in.  Not only had they shot the stage driver, but in the hail of gunfire that had followed, a young mother and her four-year-old daughter who had been inside the stage had been killed.  Now, here he was in Black Rock, hoping to learn something that would help him pick up their trail.

Lila was in the back of the saloon flirting with all the gamblers.  She wasn’t having any luck distracting them from their games, so she decided to go after the new man who’d just walked in. 

Even from this distance Lila could tell he was one fine-looking man.  She cast a quick glance at the men at the table.  They were nothing but ugly drunks, and she knew she was ready for a change - especially a change for the better.  This tall and handsome man was just what she needed, and she set her sights on him.

“Welcome to the Tumbleweed,”  Lila said, coming up behind him where he was standing at the bar.  Her gaze lingered on the broad, powerful width of his shoulders.

Lane heard the saloon girl’s greeting and turned to find the scantily-dressed female standing behind him, eyeing him with interest, her expression openly seductive.        “Afternoon,”  he returned.

“I’m Lila.”

“Nice to meet you, Lila.”  Lane thought she might be just the one he needed to talk to. 

“You, too.  What’s your name?”  she asked in a sultry tone.

“Lane Madison,”  he answered. 

“Well, Lane Madison, what brings you to the Tumbleweed?  You looking for a good time or did you just need a drink?”

“I’m always looking for a good time,”  he told her

“Well, you’ve found it.”

“That’s good to hear.  Can I buy you a drink?”

“I’d like that,”  Lila accepted eagerly.

Harold quickly served her and then moved away again once he’d been paid.

Lila took a sip of her drink as she gazed up at Lane.  She was trying her best to get him upstairs when the shouts broke out at the back of the room.

Lane had been playing along with her, biding his time when the fight started.  

The bartender start cussing loudly as the violence erupted.

Lane glanced over at him just as he picked up his shotgun from where he kept it hidden behind the bar and went out to put a stop to the brawl. 

“I think we’d better step back a little,”  Lane told her, drawing her away from the ruckus. 

She didn’t hesitate to go with him.

They stayed at the end of the bar the farthest away from the trouble, and watched as Harold brought things under control.  The bartender was one mean man, and the men who were fighting knew it.  When he stalked up with his shotgun and ordered them out of the bar, all but one of the men involved stopped fighting.  The man who kept at it and started to pick up a chair to throw at someone was hit upside the head with the bartender’s shotgun. 

“Get him out of here!”  Harold bellowed in disgust as he stood over him. 

Harold watched angrily, shotgun still in hand, as several of those involved in the brawl dragged the unconscious gambler from the saloon and threw him in the street.  Only when they were gone, did Harold return to the bar and put his gun away.

“Good job, Harold,”  Lila complimented him.  She was accustomed to the ugly side of saloon life and knew Harold was real good at keeping things under control.  Early on, he’d actually had to use his shotgun to restore order in the Tumbleweed.  These days, his reputation was so well-known that very few ever dared to challenge him.  You certainly didn’t want to push Harold too far.

Harold gave a shake of his head as he looked over at her.  “If they can’t afford to lose, they shouldn’t be gambling.  That ol’ boy is stupid.  He only lost a few hundred.  When was it?  Just a few nights ago when that fella lost his whole ranch in a poker game, and he didn’t start no fight.”

“Of course he didn’t start no fight,”  Dolly put in, joining their conversation as she strutted up to the bar.  When the fight had broken out, she’d hurried away from the drunks to hide out until things quieted down. Now that it was quiet again, she wanted to find out more about the man Lila was flirting with.  “He would have ended up dead if he had.”

Lane heard her statement and wondered if he was on to something.  “Why is that?”  He looked to the bartender.  “I’ve seen you in action.  You could have broken it up.”

“Those gamblers were different,”  Dolly spoke up.  “The man who won is known for being real mean - and real fast on the draw.  The loser was lucky he walked away, even if it was with just the clothes on his back.”  

“Do you know who the gunman was?”  Lane asked, looking between the bartender and the ladies.

“Just one of the wild ones who were just passing through,”  Harold answered quickly, giving the girls a censoring look that told them to keep their mouths shut.

Lane knew what the bartender was doing by giving the girls that look, and he believed even more now that he was on the right trail.  The Cooper Gang had been there.

“There are a lot more losers than winners in a poker game,”  Harold said. 

“You’re right about that,”  Lane agreed with a half-smile.  “I learned that lesson a long time ago.” 

Lila looked up at him and purred seductively,  “You don’t look like a ‘loser’ to me, handsome.”

Lane chuckled and smiled down at her,  “Why, thank you, Lila.  You just got yourself another drink.  Give the lady whatever she wants.”  He tossed some more money on the bar for the bartender.

“I’ll tell you what I want ---“  she began as she leaned closer to him, wanting his full attention.

“I’ll tell you what I want, too,”  Dolly spoke up quickly, ignoring Lila’s testy look as she butted in.  When he glanced her way, something about him seemed vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn’t place him right then.

Lane was surprised when the pretty, dark-haired girl approached him, too, but he wasn’t interested either.  He had to talk to the sheriff and find out if Dan Cooper had been the deadly gunman who’d been in town, and if so, where the outlaw had been headed when he’d left Black Rock.  “I appreciate your offers, ladies, but I have to be going.”

Lila was not used to rejection.  She was shocked and a bit insulted by his dismissal.  “I can show you a real good time ---and I can make it fast.  Just ask any of the boys.  They’ll tell you.” 

“Some other time, maybe,”  he said easily. 

He finished off the last of his drink, and, nodding to the two saloon girls, he walked out of the Tumbleweed, leaving the women staring after him in frustration.

Lila picked up her newly refilled glass and glared at Dolly.  “You didn’t have to come over here.”

“You don’t get first pick on all the handsome ones,”  she retorted. 

Lila just turned and strutted away to where the gamblers were starting up a new game.  She had to go back to work.  The only good thing about her time with Lane Madison was that he’d bought her a few drinks, and the more she drank, the better the other men looked to her.

Dolly stayed at the bar and just frowned a little before looking to Harold. 

“Who was that man?”  she asked.

“He said his name was Lane Madison.  Why?”

“I don’t know.  There was just something about him ---  He looked a little familiar to me, but I’m not sure why .”

“Maybe you’ve done business with him in the past,”  Harold suggested.

“Oh, no,”  Dolly quickly protested.  “If I had gotten him upstairs, I would have remembered every minute of it.”  A little disappointed at having to go back to work with the usual crowd, she moved off, knowing she’d be in trouble with Harold if she didn’t.

Meanwhile in St. Louis

Bryce Parker never forgot a man who owed him a debt, and Raymond Howard was heavily indebted to him.  As he heard Howard’s carriage pull up in front of his home, he smiled confidently.

The moment he’d been waiting for had arrived.

Raymond Howard was there.

Bryce smiled broadly to himself and remained seated until the maid knocked on the door.

“Mr. Parker?  Raymond Howard is here to see you,”  the girl announced.

“See him in,”  Bryce responded.  He turned serious as he got to his feet to welcome his visitor.  Bryce watched Raymond walk into the study, and he noticed how the other man eyed his opulent surroundings.  Bryce felt very proud that he had the other man right where he wanted him.

“Good afternoon, Bryce,”  Raymond offered, struggling to keep his manner confident.  He knew what a predator Bryce was and didn’t want to appear weak.

“We have much to discuss,”  Bryce Parker began, getting straight down to business as he came around the desk.  He did not offer to shake his visitor’s hand, but gestured toward the chair in front of his desk.  “Have a seat.”

Raymond sat down and couldn’t help feeling intimidated when the other man remained standing.  Just knowing that Bryce had outmaneuvered him left him outraged.  The knowledge that there was nothing he could do about it made him even more frustrated and furious.

Bryce leaned a hip casually against his desk as he confronted Raymond.  “In the course of our business dealings, you have come to owe me a considerable amount of money.”

“I’m well aware of that,”  Raymond replied tersely.

“Good, I’m glad you’re aware of what you owe, because the time has come for you to pay up.”

Raymond has suspected that was the reason Bryce had insisted upon this private meeting here at his home.  “As I told you, I am working at finding a way to repay you.”

“I’m afraid ‘working at finding a way’ isn’t enough, Raymond,”  Bryce said, piercing the other man with a cold-eyed look.  “I am a businessman, and I want my money now.”

Desperation took hold of Raymond.  Bryce had a reputation for dealing harshly with anyone who crossed him, and he’d heard more than a few stories of what a dangerous enemy he could be.  He’d already dealt with the businessman side of him, and he certainly didn’t want to turn Bryce into an enemy.  “I’ll need more time ---“  he began.

Bryce cut him off before he could say another word.  “You’re out of time, Raymond.  I am not a patient man.”

“But there’s nothing I can do to access the funds.  The money is tied up in my dead wife’s estate.  There’s no way I can completely settle our differences until  ---“  

“Yes, there is.”

“There is?  What?”  he asked in frightened confusion.

“You have something I want --“  Bryce deliberately left the sentence hanging.  He liked having control over the other man.

“I do?”  Raymond was startled by the younger man’s declaration, and he couldn’t imagine what he was talking about.

“That’s right. You do, and I intend to get it.”

“What is it?  Name it.  Whatever I have - is yours --“  He was frantic to find a way to pay off his debt to Bryce.  If he got through this, Raymond knew in the future he would not be so foolhardy in his dealings anymore.

Bryce turned a threatening regard on the weasel of a man sitting before him.  “I want Destiny.”

“Destiny --“  Shock hammered through Raymond at the mention of his step-daughter. 

“Yes.  She’s going to marry me.”

In that instant, Raymond realized what Bryce was about.  Bryce’s reputation was known far and wide.  Whenever he wanted something, he got it, and he’d been wanting to be accepted by the upper echelon of society there in town for some time now.  Few in society paid much attention to him, though, for they knew he was of a much lower social status than they were.  By marrying Destiny, Raymond knew Bryce would accomplish his goal.  The Sterling family was one of the most highly regarded families in the area.  He, himself, had certainly benefited from the Sterling’s connections when he’d married the widowed Annabelle.

“That’s right.  As soon as Destiny becomes my bride, all your debts will be forgiven.”

Desperate as he was, Raymond was determined to make the marriage happen.  “How do you want to handle this?”

“Bring her here to me tonight - at, say, 7 o’clock.”

“Should I tell her of your intentions?”

“Do whatever you want to do.  Just make sure she’s here with me tonight - unchaperoned.”  Bryce felt the heat rise in his body as he said the last.  He was definitely looking forward to the evening to come.

Raymond stood up and started from the study.  “She’ll be here.”

“Don’t be late.” 

His words weren’t a suggestion. 

They were an order - and a threat.

 Lane had taken the time to look around town.  He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was, but something seemed a little off.   The place was too quiet, as if the townspeople felt threatened by some unnamed danger.  Could it be the Cooper Gang?  Had Black Rock been recently visited by the killers?  He hoped the sheriff would have answers to some of his questions.

When he reached the office, he glanced in the window and saw the sheriff sitting at his desk, so he opened the door and strode in.

Sheriff Brown looked up quickly, and a bit nervously, as the stranger unexpectedly entered his office.  There was an edge of danger about the tall, dark-haired man standing there just inside the doorway, and he wondered who he was and what he wanted.

“Evening.”  Sheriff Brown came to his feet.  “What can I do for you?”

For a moment, Lane just stared at the dark-haired, mustachioed, weasel of a man wearing the sheriff’s badge.  He knew right then what a poor excuse for a lawman he was.  Ever so slowly, Lane took his own badge out of his pocket and pinned it on his shirt. 

“I’m Ranger Lane Madison, and I’m here on business.”

Sheriff Brown’s eyes widened at the news, and he swallowed tightly as he stared at the imposing figure standing before him.  It was no wonder he’d thought he looked dangerous.  He was --  He was a Texas Ranger. 

“What brings you to Black Rock, Ranger Madison?”  he asked quickly.  “Things have been real quiet around here lately.”

Lane ignored him and got straight down to business. 

“I’m after the Cooper Gang,”  he answered tersely. 

“The Cooper Gang?”  the lawman repeated, suddenly sounding more than a little unsettled.

“That’s right.”  Lane watched him carefully, judging his reaction.  “I’ve been tracking the killer Dan Cooper and his men, and I have reason to believe they were headed this way.  I wondered if you had seen or heard anything about them over the last week or so?”

“No, no, I haven’t heard a thing,”  he quickly denied,  “and I surely would have known if they were close around anywhere --“ 

“Are you certain?”  Lane pressed him.  Judging from the way he was acting, Lane had no doubt the man was coward - and a liar.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m certain.”

Lane’s disgust with the man grew.  Lawmen were supposed to be brave and protect their towns, not run and hide at the first sign of trouble like this one.  “I was just down at the Tumbleweed, and I heard talk there, that there were some bad boys in town a few days ago.”

“There was no one here causing any trouble.  It’s been real quiet this week,”  he denied.

“Well, if you do happen hear anything about their whereabouts or if you remember anything that went on, let me know.  I’ll be staying here in town at the hotel tonight.”

“I’m not going to remember anything about any gunfighters,”  Sheriff Brown told him heated, growing angry and more uneasy at the Ranger’s arrogant ways.  He drew himself up straight as he glared at him as best he could.  “Because there isn’t anything to remember.”

Lane nodded and turned to leave the office.  He wasn’t quite sure what was going on there, but it seemed like a lot of folks in this town had something to hide, and he was going to find out what it was. 

Lane got his horse from where he’d left it tied up in front of the saloon and then went to take a room at the hotel. 

copyright Bobbi Smith

Our Past Week of Fresh Picks