Broddock-Black 05 - Force of Nature (10 page)

W
hen they entered the drawing room, conversation abruptly ceased.

“He asked me to marry him. I said no. I hope that sufficiently clears the air.” Jo looked up at Flynn and smiled. “He’s very relieved, I might add.”

“Not necessarily.” Flynn’s smile was affectionate.

“I, for one, am relieved,” Hazard noted, drily. “No offense, Flynn.”

“Amen to that,” Trey muttered. “Not that I don’t wish you the best, sis,” he added, lifting his whiskey glass to her. “But you know what they say about marrying in haste.”

“Or in your case, marrying at all,” Daisy observed lightly. “I’m too young.”

“But not too young to put yourself in the way of a paternity suit or twenty.”

“At least we don’t have to worry about that with you.” “That will be enough, children,” Blaze remarked with the casualness of much maternal refereeing. “I like your new gown, Jo. Is that Lucinda’s design?”

Jo glanced at Flynn.

“Yes,” he said, looking embarrassed. “She was kind enough to send it over.”

“And that beautiful brooch. Is that new?” Blaze inquired, with a smile.

“Flynn had it. He gave it to me—it was his mother’s. I shouldn’t take it, but I love the sweep of the wings on the crane.” She half shrugged and smiled up at Flynn again. “So I was greedy and took it.”

“I didn’t need it and Jo liked it”—Flynn met Jo’s gaze for a heated moment—“and well... it seemed appropriate—I mean—”

“Come in and have a drink,” Hazard interposed, saving Flynn from further explanation and embarrassment. “What can I get for you?”

Conversation at dinner was occasionally awkward, even though everyone tactfully skirted the fact that Jo had been absent a night and a day. The faintest hint of threat was perceptible beneath Hazard’s bland demeanor, as if Flynn were still on probation. And when Hazard made it clear that the controversy between Flynn and his neighbors put the Sun River country out-of-bounds for Jo, she knew better than to argue.

With finesse, Blaze quickly steered the conversation toward less controversial topics, asking Jo about Florence, inquiring of Flynn how his parents had first come to Montana, bringing up the subject of territorial politics, which always elicited considerable interest. As active lobbyists, the Hazard-Blacks were instrumental in keeping the deprecations on the Absarokee reservation to a minimum. They also monitored any new mining laws that could be harmful to their investments.

“It wouldn’t hurt you to come down for the sessions, Flynn,” Hazard suggested. “It’s a game, I know, but a useful one.”

“Since Senator Bailey has an interest in the Empire, he’s not likely to put his investment at risk, regardless of what I say or do.”

“It depends how much he has invested,” Trey observed. “Some of these grazing land disputes can be settled for the right sum.”

“I shouldn’t have to pay someone to stay off my land.”

“You can take them to court, you know.” Daisy tipped her head faintly, as though saying, “If you were a sensible man.” “That’s a possibility.” Flynn’s tone was polite.

“Their inroads on your land are subject to reparations; the law is quite definitive.”

Flynn smiled. “I’m sure you’re right.”

“You needn’t look at me like that, Father,” Daisy said, crisply, setting down her fork. “If this territory is ever going to become civilized, it’s men like you and Mr. Ito who must set an example.”

While Hazard recognized the logic in Daisy’s argument, lawyers and courts were too slow to deal with the immediate crisis of armed marauders. “I remember when justice automatically meant a rope strung over a tree branch. Particularly if your skin was a shade darker, not that we’ve made much progress in that regard with the seven Indians hung on the Musselshell not too long ago. But, perhaps,” he added, diplomatically, “with more good lawyers like you, Daisy, and better judges, at least the violence might be curtailed.” His dark brows rose faintly. “Although, I’m not so sure.”

“But you can’t give up, Father.” Daisy’s voice took on an impassioned tone. “If we don’t deal with criminals and tyranny within the framework of the law, there’s no hope for a peaceful future. Do we keep shooting until everyone is dead?”

“I’m not sure an injunction will necessarily deter the Empire’s illegal use of my grazing lands,” Flynn asserted, although his recent attack on their home turf may have dissuaded them. “But if you’d like to represent me”—his smile was conciliatory—“we could test your premise.”
What did he have to lose?

“I’d like that very much.” Daisy didn’t quite smile, but it was clear she was pleased. “Thank you, Mr. Ito, for looking to the future.”

“Call me Flynn, and I wish you luck.”

“It’s not a matter of luck, but of the law. Could you be in my office at ten o’clock tomorrow morning and we could begin?”

He knew what he’d prefer doing at ten o’clock tomorrow morning and it had to do with the lush beautiful woman at his side, but under the gaze of Jo’s family, he understood there was only one possible answer. “Ten would be fine,” he said.

“Would you mind if I tagged along?” Jo asked, her gaze shifting from Flynn to Daisy. “The legalities intrigue me.”

“It’s up to Mr. Ito—er . .. Flynn.”

Flynn nodded. “Please do.”

“If you need any help,” Hazard said. “Of any sort,” he added, the significance of his offer plain. “Just let us know.”

“Those men running the Empire haven’t quite come to terms with the fact that they’re not in England anymore.” Trey grinned. “Or that the quarterings on their family crests don’t matter when you’re looking down the business end of a revolver.”

Hazard shot a glance at his wife. “Trey meant that in a hypothetical way,” he said, giving his son a warning look.

“I was speaking in generalities, Mama,” Trey said, with a disarming smile. “But you know what they’re like. Those English lords talk to us as though we’re native bearers.”

“I agree some of them are beyond bearing. However,” Blaze noted, “they’re not worth dying over.”

Which was the dilemma, was it not—that fine line between maintaining one’s sovereignty and dying. Every man at the table understood the distinction.

“Daisy is here to see that we settle our disputes in a civilized way.” Hazard’s tone was soothing. “Starting with the Empire, right, Flynn?”

“Absolutely.”

And the discrepancy between reality and admirable sentiment was smoothed over with well-mannered grace.

❧

After dinner the ladies retired for tea or in this case, champagne, while the men, under express orders not to tarry long, stayed at the table for brandy and cigars.

Jo took the opportunity to offer her apologies to Blaze the moment they were alone.

“You needn’t apologize,” Blaze replied. “You’re capable of making your own decisions. Although, I must say, your father is pleased now that you’ve taken what he views as a sensible course. He wasn’t altogether certain you’d refuse Flynn’s marriage proposal.”

“Because of my mother, I suppose.”

Blaze smiled politely. “I’m not sure.”

“To be truthful,” Jo said with a faint grimace, “I thought I might be very much like her when I practically carried Flynn away last night. I’m terribly embarrassed in hindsight; I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“Why should only men be allowed to take the initiative.” Daisy’s cool gaze matched her voice. “It’s not fair that we be required to sit demurely and wait for a man to take charge of our lives. So, you needn’t apologize to me, although, allow me to reserve judgment on Flynn’s propensity for violence.”

“I’m not so sure his reputation wasn’t imposed on him,” Blaze pointed out. “Your father has had to fight more than his share of battles because of his Absarokee heritage. And the Empire is a vicious lot.”

“That’s true—and Flynn seems willing to try another course of action. Perhaps the stories are—”

“Much exaggerated, I’m sure,” Jo interposed. “He’s really very sweet.”

Daisy politely curbed her response. Flynn wasn’t known for his sweetness.

“He’s charmed you, I see,” Blaze murmured.

Jo arched her brows faintly. “I hope you’re not going to say, like all the others.”

“Very much not like all the others. He treats you altogether differently. He notices you for a start,” Blaze said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Ah ... so I’ve stepped from the amorphous ranks of eager females,” Jo remarked with a half smile. “How fortunate, since I feel as though I’m caught up in a tumultuous whirlwind. Not that I’m complaining. I might as well enjoy it while I may. We both have lives we must return to soon.”

“How very practical. You and Daisy are much alike—able to see reality clearly.” Blaze surveyed the young women fondly. “I find it commendable.”

“Recognizing reality is a necessity in my profession. Engineering is factual and concrete.”

“While the law is rife with equivocations,” Daisy observed. “In my personal life, however, I prefer certainty.”

“Which means Daisy has yet to meet the man who can sweep her off her feet in a whirlwind of any kind,” Blaze teased.

“Nor will I,” Daisy retorted. “I have no wish to be swept off my feet, thank you.”

That topic—although less poetically defined—was being discussed over brandy in the dining room.

“When will you be returning to your ranch?” Hazard asked. “In a few days,” Flynn replied. “I can’t be away for long.” “Have you told Jo?”

He hesitated. “Not in so many words . . .”

Trey grinned. “You haven’t mentioned it.”

“Not yet.”

Hazard was lounging in his chair, but no hint of languor was visible in his gaze. His dark eyes were grave. “I’d appreciate your most courteous explanation when the time comes.”

“Of course.” Flynn ran his finger over the rim of his glass. “It’s not as though this is normal for me .. . staying... I mean.”

“No need to explain,” Hazard murmured, eschewing unnecessary details with typical male restraint.

Trey grinned. “Damned if you aren’t blushing, Flynn. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Screw you,” Flynn muttered, but he was smiling.

“Another one bit the dust.” Trey lifted his glass. “Hell, you almost got yourself married.”

For the briefest moment, Flynn regretted he hadn’t—a transient insanity quickly overcome. “I decided I didn’t want you for a brother-in-law,” he drawled.

“Or maybe Jo had more sense than you.” Trey’s silvery eyes were amused.

“Or maybe they both regained their sanity,” Hazard noted, drily.

T
he time and manner of Flynn’s leave-taking was thrust upon him the next morning when one of his men burst into Daisy’s office, red-faced from taking the stairs at a run.

“Empire burned down the barn—and stables!” he cried. Flynn surged to his feet, his expression grim. “Were any of the men killed?”

Out of breath, his chest heaving, the cowboy shook his head.

“How many brood mares did we lose?”

“They got—most o’ them out,” the man panted. “But McFee thought—mebbe ten, twelve—was caught in the blaze.”

“Have my mount brought up.”

“Already done, boss.”

“I’ll be down in five minutes.” Glancing at the clock, Flynn turned back to Daisy as his range hand exited the office. “Do you have enough information to get started on the case? I won’t be back for some time.”

“More than enough. If I have any questions, I’ll send a messenger to the ranch.”

“If you’ll excuse us for a minute,” he murmured, his voice almost inaudible.

But Daisy understood and quickly rose from her chair.

As the door closed on Daisy, Flynn found himself momentarily at a loss for words. “I’d planned on speaking to you at a more opportune time,” he began, the hesitancy in his voice unmistakable. “Certainly not like this . . He cleared his throat. “What I mean to say—”

“I know,” Jo said, kindly. “You have to go. I always knew you did.”

“I was hoping to stay a few more days . . . explain to you with more gallantry”—he blew out a breath. “Obviously, that’s not possible now.”

“I understand, really, I do. How could you not leave under the circumstances.”

“I appreciate your understanding.” Touched by an unfamiliar pang of regret, when in the past taking leave of a woman had always been a relief, he found himself saying, “If you’re planning on staying in Helena, please feel free to use my home. The staff is always there.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be staying, but thank you.” Jo half-lifted her shoulder in a negligent shrug. “I was going to say it depends on what my mother does, but perhaps she’s old enough to manage her own life.”

“I’d like it if you’d stay.”

No doubt, but she didn’t care to be a convenience. “My plans are uncertain.” She shrugged again. “I’ve been away from Florence for some time.”

He didn’t know what he’d expected, but certainly not this casualness, as though she’d not heard his unprecedented offer, as though the sensational passion they’d shared was so commonplace it could be dismissed with a shrug. “Will you be going back to Florence?” His voice held a faint edge.

“Will you be going back to the Sun River?”

“I have to.”

“Maybe I have to go back to Florence.”

“Don’t.”

“Should I just wait here and hope you survive?”

He was comforted by her anger; that he understood. “You don’t have to hope. I’ll survive.”

“Then I should just bide my time until your return.”

He ignored her sarcasm. “I’ll come back as soon as I can.” “How soon? Days—weeks . .. months?”

“I don’t know,” he said, a forced mildness to his voice. “When Empire decides not to kill me, I suppose.”

“Perhaps I should take up embroidery in your absence and keep a lamp lit in the window?”

He frowned. “What do you want me to say?”

“Ask me to come along and don’t say you can’t.” The mockery was gone from her voice. “I won’t be in the way”

“Yes, you will,” he replied, gruffly. “We’re riding fast and they’re going to be waiting for us. I can’t put you in that kind of jeopardy”

“I ride well. I can shoot. The monks in Florence hunt; I’m the best shot in ten parishes.”

“No,” he said, blunt and hard. “I don’t care if you’re the best shot in all of Italy. Nor does your father.”

“Then, maybe I won’t embroider,” she said, peevishly, annoyed with his misguided chivalry, more annoyed that he might be taking advantage of the situation to dismiss her like all the other women in his life. “Maybe I’ll go dancing every night. Maybe I’ll meet someone who surpasses you in bed . . . although you were quite extraordinary last night. Perhaps I’ll just have to settle for second best.”

His frown deepened. “You’re beginning to annoy me. I have to go. I should have left five minutes ago.”

“I’m sorry I’m not docile and obedient. What a shame for you. Do they always say, yes, Flynn, whatever you want, Flynn, how far should I spread them, darling Flynn?”

He crossed the distance between them in a second flat, gripped the arms of her chair and leaned in so close, she could count the painted quills decorating the collar of his leather jacket. “Go dancing every night,” he growled, his long black hair framing the grim features of his face. “Do whatever you damned well please, but be warned—when I come back, I’ll find you and drag you from whatever bed you’re in.”

“That depends, I suspect, on the man with me,” she murmured, meeting his gaze with unflinching acrimony.

“You don’t understand,” he whispered, his fury barely restrained. “I’ll take you away, guaranteed

“I may not be here.” Cool as ice, she stared him down.

“Just make sure you stay.” Abruptly straightening, he jabbed his finger at her. “That’s an order.”

“Go to hell.”

“That’s my plan. Now be a good girl,” he murmured, silkily, “and behave yourself while I’m away.”

An instant later he was gone and Jo was left trembling with rage. How dare he order her about as though she were another submissive female subject to his whims! Not likely that! Not in a million years! Not in ten million!

But regardless of her mutinous, hot-blooded temper, she was already feeling a sense of loss, as though he’d become an addiction in her blood and she was suddenly deprived. Softly swearing, she reminded herself that she was a rational woman and men like Flynn—too familiar with acquiescent women— were best forgotten. Furthermore, she had no intention of allowing herself to be added to his list of readily available, compliant females.

A fierce wave of longing suddenly overwhelmed her as though in willful contradiction and she fought down the urgent desire flaring through her body. So much for rational thought, she reflected, as images of Flynn in various guises of hot-blooded, rampant urgency made her shiver with excitement.

Dear God, how was she going to exist without the fierce pleasure Flynn dispensed so freely, so frequently—so exquisitely? How was she going to survive until he returned? Was it possible to be addicted to his touch? Or was she crazed?

Or was he just much too accomplished in bed for her peace of mind?

Resentful of his virtuoso skills or perhaps only resentful of the other women on whom he’d bestowed them, Jo’s expression was sullen as Daisy re-entered the office. “I hate him,” she muttered.

Daisy smiled indulgently. “You didn’t really think he’d take you, did you?”

“Yes—no”—Jo grimaced—“probably not, but that’s not the point. I should have been given a choice. But what’s much worse,” she grumbled, “is the provoking fact that he may have spoiled me for other men.”

“I doubt anything so drastic is at stake,” Daisy replied, sitting down at her desk, surveying Jo tolerantly. “You’ve only known him for a few days.” While sexual obsession wasn’t in her nature, she wasn’t unaware of the principle. “If it’s any help to your sense of frustration, I can assure you, Flynn had no choice. The Empire wants his land and his life. He had to

go.”

“Oh, Lord! Will they actually kill him!” Shocked from her self-absorption, Jo imagined Death hovering over Flynn’s head, sickle poised.

“They’ve been trying for a long time.” Daisy lifted her hands as though in apology. “With luck, they won’t. On the other hand, if we can make it markedly unprofitable for them in court, they might be inclined to give up.”

“Might?” Jo’s voice rose in alarm, issues of desire sublimated by more fearful considerations. “You never said might, before.”

“I’m just realistic. The courts are extending their influence, but”—Daisy sighed—“the judges are unpredictable and at times, corrupt.”

“Is it even possible to defeat the Empire in court? Tell me the truth.”

“With the right judge, yes.”

“Otherwise?”

“We appeal, of course.”

“Please, let me help. I’d feel less guilty about my behavior if you’d let me assist in some small way, although I still blame Flynn completely. Tell me he has enough men to keep him from harm. Don’t look at me like that. I don’t have to make sense. I’m too distrait.”

“Flynn and his men will be fine. They’re very good at what they do.”

“Killing, you mean.”

“Not always. But sometimes,” Daisy said, guardedly, “it’s inevitable.”

“I should apologize to him,” Jo murmured. “I was outrageously rude when his ranch was in ruins and his future in peril. And now it may be too late. Lord, Daisy, what if he should—”

“He’ll be back,” Daisy said, firmly.

“You’re just saying that to cheer me up.”

“No, I heard him tell you he would.” Daisy grinned. “Something about dragging you out of bed.”

Jo groaned softly. “I don’t know why I was so insufferable.” “I’m sure he’s had women disagree with him before. You’re not the first.” Daisy spoke with a considered calm.

“Because there are always women, and he’s always leaving?” . . .

“Something like that. Flynn and Trey are in great demand and it’s not for their conversation. Although, if it’s any consolation, Flynn didn’t treat you like the others.”

Jo’s gaze was direct. “You’ve seen him often with other women?”

Who in Helena hadn’t, Daisy wanted to say. “Once or twice,” she said, instead. “He treated them quite casually, and I know for a fact,” she added with a playful smile, “he never asked any of them to marry him.”

“That was out of respect for Hazard,” Jo mumbled. “He wouldn’t have otherwise.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“Really.” Strange how even equivocation could be consoling if you wished it to be. Stranger yet, why she needed consoling when the rational portion of her mind understood their liaison was just that and no more.

“I’d bet a new set of law books on it.”

That sounded much more certain and jettisoning reason without a qualm, Jo smiled. “I’ll send Flynn an apology with your messenger.” Or, she suddenly decided, with the confident presumption that had always served her well, she might as well deliver her apology in person.