LITMIR.BIZ

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break the gun open and gather her composure.

      Steadier now, she said, “I seem to recall you telling me you’d never set foot on Shamrock. I believe it was outside the title office, after we signed the papers for the ranch.”

      Helena turned to her housekeeper, who’d followed her to the porch. “It’s all right, Maria. You can go back inside.”

      Maria shot a black look Brendan’s way, “You are sure?”

      Helena nodded, then glanced back at her husband. “Is there something other than rejection and scorn I’m to read from what you said that day, and what you’ve done the last three years?”

      “Things change.” He looked suspiciously as if he was choosing his words as carefully as she was. Then his whole countenance changed. He looked...serious suddenly. Weighed down, even. “I’ve bad news. The raiders struck again. Belleza this time. Don Alejandro, the shepherds and their wives were all killed. Señora Varga and her daughter brought the don’s body to town for burial.”

      Helena swayed and grabbed a porch column. “How on earth did Farrah and Elizabeth survive? The renegades don’t leave survivors, do they?”

      “They’d been in town,” he explained. “They heard the commotion in time for Miss Varga to get off their ranch road. She hid her mother and the carriage, but Miss Varga, bein’ who she is, snuck to the hilltop overlookin’ the homestead. Thinkin’ she could help, apparently.”

      He shook his head. Grimaced. “She saw them kill her da and was smart enough to know it was too late to help anyone down there. Some of the men from town are out there buryin’ the dead. Quinn’s gone on by here with a posse, chasin’ wild geese again. He’s hopin’ to track the raiders to their hideout this time ’round.”

      “I thought the governor sent you here to stop these Ghost Warriors. Why aren’t you with Sheriff Quinn and the posse?”

      “Because they’re wastin’ their time. The raiders’ll disappear into the hills. Mark my words. When the sun sets, all Quinn and the rest will have are tired mounts and saddle-sore behinds.”

      She took a step back. It hurt too much to see Bren. Talk to him. She wanted him to go away. Far away, so she’d have a chance to heal from the new wounds his presence here caused. “Well, uh, thank you for bringing me the news. I’ll look in on the Vargas tomorrow. Where will they be?”

      “The hotel. The house is gone. Burned. You’d have seen the smoke but the wind’s to the east today. I didn’t stop by just to tell you about Belleza. I’m movin’ here.” At her gasp, he qualified his statement. “Into Shamrock’s bunkhouse.”

      “No. Absolu—”

      “If you’re of a mind to try stoppin’ me,” he interrupted, “remember under the law I’ve a right to move all the way into your bedroom if I want. And remember, too, it was you who wanted this marriage and this ranch.”

      Holding tight to her control and her expression, Helena put a hand on her hip. “I don’t care where you lay your head. I stopped caring long ago. But if you set foot on this porch, let alone in my bedroom, I’ll blow a hole in you big enough to read the front page of the Sentinel through.”

      She’d started to turn away, so she could go slam the door in his arrogant, beautiful face, when he took hold of her arm. He’d always had the most incredible way of touching her. It spoke of an abundance of leashed power behind his gentle touch. She couldn’t control the tremor that rushed through her.

      Then he said, “As far as the townsfolk and ranchers will know, I’m at Shamrock to stay, and livin’ with you.”

      In shock, she stared at him, her mouth working like a hooked trout. “Why would they think that?” she finally muttered.

      “Because it’s what I want them to think.”

      “Then I’ll let them all know you’re only here to— Why are you here? Why did the posse ride onto Shamrock at all?” she demanded, her anger growing to the size of her pain.

      Brendan, his eyes hooded, once again seemed to choose his words carefully. “I tracked the raiders across your northern border. Word is Shamrock doesn’t run cattle up there unless there’s a drought. They seem to feel safe takin’ that route. They’ve done it twice that I know of. Now that they’ve moved to bigger places, Shamrock has to be near the top of their list. I want to catch these bastards in the act, and as you’re a citizen, and I took an oath to protect the citizens of Texas, I’m here to protect you.”

      That certainly stated in no uncertain terms where she stood with him. “You took an oath to love, honor and keep me, but that didn’t stop you from leaving.”

      Fire entered his gaze. “I took that oath at gunpoint. It was your poor wronged princess act that had my own sister holdin’ the pistol, and forcin’ those promises out of me. And you said you’d honor and obey. You broke your vows the minute you got hold of your inheritance. Did you think I’d be able to hold my head up when folks learned the money for Shamrock came from you?”

      She gripped the shotgun until her knuckles turned white. “Joshua bought the bank, so the bank account had both our names on it. Who’d have known?”

      Brendan and his pride! It had ruined her life. She stared down at his hand on her arm, then up into those cold green eyes, refusing to remember the way he used to look at her. “You gave up any right to touch me the moment you rode off and left me to deal with hundreds of acres of land alone. I built Shamrock from the ground up, each day hoping you’d be back. One day I realized I’d stopped hoping. From that time forward, Shamrock’s success was for me and me alone. You have no place here.”

      When he let go of her like a man afraid of losing his fingers, she knew he’d believed her lie.

      “At the land office that day all I’d wanted to do was give you the life I thought you deserved.” She went on as if nothing had changed, because, though he no longer held her arm, he still held her heart. She was afraid he always would, and that made her furious. She wished she could hate him, but so far, she could only pretend.

      How could his touch make her want so many things he’d never give her? “I was wrong, but not about buying the ranch. I was wrong about what you deserve. You deserve exactly what you’ve got, Ranger Kane. No place to call home, and whores warming whichever one of their beds you’ve paid to spend the night in.”

      He raised that annoying eyebrow and grinned. “Unlike you, at least I’m warm.”

      Helena’s heart clutched at his admission. She wanted to slap that grin off his face, but instead lifted her chin and managed another lie. “What makes you think I’m always alone in mine? Did you really think I’d wait for you to get over your childish snit and decide to honor your vows?”

      Brendan’s grin faded and his eyes went cold. “Then why haven’t you filed for divorce? I’ve clearly deserted you.”

      “Because, you ninny, you had to be gone for three years. It would have been three years in June. But now, one month shy of freedom, you’ve put it about town that you’ve moved here. That means when you decide to go off again, the waiting period starts all over. Three more years of my life gone to a man who cares only for himself and his precious pride. Once again you’ve stepped in with a unilateral decision to destroy my future.”

      “Unilateral? Me? It was you who went ahead, like a spoiled princess, and plunked down the coin to buy the land you wanted. Have you ever done an honest day’s work? Do you understand how hard others have had to labor for what you were handed?”

      Helena’s blood pounded in her head and drained from her face. She’d be damned if she’d tell him just how much hard work on Shamrock had cost her. She wouldn’t go there. She couldn’t. But she was sick to death of him tarring her and her father with the same brush as the man who’d all but forced Brendan into the mines. Her father had been an honorable man. “Handed? My father took a chance and invested a minor inheritance

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