When All My Dreams Come True (2 page)

She veered left toward the boulders, pulled her pistol from her holster, then turned in the saddle and aimed.

Something slammed into her back. Her gun blasted before it slipped from her grasp. She hit the ground, knocking the breath from her. A heavy weight pressed her down, then rolled off her. She lay dazed.

What happened?

The click of a gun hammer set fire to panic. She scooped up a fistful of soil and stones, pushed to her knees…and stared into the steel barrel of a pistol. The dirt in her hand trickled through her fingers to the ground.

She peered around for her own gun and faced another barrel. Two men. At least that answered her question of what threw her from the
saddle. The second man must’ve been hiding behind the boulder she’d planned to use for protection. She stilled while her mind scrambled for a way out of her mess.

The tall, scruffy man grinned. “Well, looky here, Jace. We chased a man and caught us a gal.”

Jace? Could this be Jace Kincaid?

The man named Jace shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. An outlaw is an outlaw be it male or female.”

The tall man snorted. “Outlaw? This slip of a woman?”

“Well, look at her. She’s sure not dressed like a girl.”

Bobbie grabbed her hat out of the dirt, resisting the urge to fling it at Jace, and shoved it on her head as she stood. “I don’t know who you expected to find, but I ain’t her. And I sure ain’t no outlaw.”

The tremor in her voice didn’t make her sound as ominous and convincing as she’d hoped.

“Get her horse, Grant,” Jace said. “Let’s head on back.”

“So we’re not gonna hang her?”

Bobbie felt the blood drain from her face. “Hang? For what? Look, I’m—

Jace swung his pistol toward her again. “Stay quiet, miss. You’re already in trouble for prowling around on land that isn’t yours.”

“This is the Double K, ain’t it?”

He scratched his forehead with his thumb. “Yes.”

“And you’re Jace Kincaid?”

Jace squinted and cocked his head. “Right again. But then, I’d expect you’d know that, what with all you’ve been up to.”

“I ain’t been up to nothing.” She glared at him, brushing dirt and dead grass from her coat sleeves.

Jace took a deep breath and stood straighter, making him appear even more threatening. By the look of him, he could wrestle a steer and lasso a calf at the same time.

“Why’d you chase me, anyway?” she said. “I wasn’t prowling. I was on my way to meet you.”

“Likely story.” He motioned to the horses. “Mount up. The next man you meet will be the sheriff.”

Bobbie scowled and took several angry breaths through her nose. “Fine. Maybe he’ll listen to me.”

Grant lifted the strap on her saddlebags.

“Hold on there, that’s private,” Bobbie said.

He smirked. “Not anymore.”

A gun barrel to her back kept her from taking more than a step. She raised her arms. “Those are my things.”

Jace moved beside her. “Leave it be, Grant.”

“I only plan to look.”

“I said quit.”

The tone of Jace’s voice would’ve halted a stampede. Grant stepped back, hands poised in surrender, though a trace of a smile still pulled at his lips.

“Let’s mount up,” Jace said.

Bobbie looked around for her pistol, and Jace pushed the barrel into her back. “Get moving.”

“I want my gun.”

Grant pulled it from his waistband and handed it to Jace. “You mean this?”

Jace holstered his pistol and then pointed her gun at her nose. “Mount up.”

She headed toward Mack.

“Hold it.”

Jace’s growl halted her in her tracks. He tucked her gun into his belt, jerked a piece of rope from his saddle, and tied her hands in front, then moved past her and yanked her rifle from the scabbard.

“Now you can get on.”

Hoofbeats pounded toward them, and Jace turned to look.

“Great. Hank Willet and his two henchmen. Just what I need.”

The lead man astride a dappled horse reined to a stop in front of them and gave Bobbie the once-over. Long gray hair sprawled from
under his fine black hat, and his leathery face showed the number of winters spent in the brutal mountain wind. He leaned his forearms on the horn of his fancy saddle as if he had all day.

“Kincaid.”

Jace pulled his gloves from his coat pocket. “What can I do for you, Hank?”

Hank bumped his hat up with his thumb, and a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. “Heard some gunshots. Thought you might need help. I always figured a ranch like this was too much for a boy.”

Jace smacked his gloves against his thigh. “I’ve been doing just fine without you, Hank.”

“That’s not what I’ve heard. At the rate your herd is dropping, you’ll be out of the cattle business by summer.”

“They aren’t dropping from lack of care. Someone’s been stealing them.”

One corner of Hank’s mouth pulled back in a sneer. “Call it what you want, boy. The fact remains that you’re in over your head.” Hank eyed the rope on Bobbie’s wrists. “Who’s your friend?”

“She’s not a friend.”

“Obviously. Having trouble with your women now?” Hank snorted and slapped his leg. “You sure know how to pick ’em.” He tipped his hat. “I’ll leave you boys to your fun.”

He nudged his mount into a gallop and departed with the two other men the way he came.

The scowl on Jace’s face deepened with the glare he pinned on her. He grasped her arm and led her toward Mack. Before she could climb onto the saddle, he spun her around to face him.

“I’ve got to admit that you don’t fit the type of person I figure could be callous enough to steal another man’s cattle.” He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes as he leaned toward her. “But sometimes it’s the innocent-looking people who need watching the most. So I have to ask, just what’s your business here?”

“I have a note for you.”

“Is that right?” He took a step closer. “Let’s see it.”

“It’s in my coat pocket.” With a nod of her head, she indicated the pocket on the right side of her jacket.

Jace reached carefully into her pocket and found the piece of paper, which he took out, unfolded, and began to read. While he read, she watched his face. His eyes widened as they traced the lines scrawled over the page and then narrowed when he glanced up.

“You’re Bobbie McIntyre?

She licked her dry lips. “Yes.”

“From Roy Simms’s ranch?”

“Uh-huh.”

His gaze hardened.

“Is that a problem?”

The muscles along his jaw jumped like a horse with a burr under its saddle. He crushed the letter in his fist and shook his head. “You bet there’s a problem. I was expecting a man.”

   TWO   

U
nbelievable.

Early this morning, Jace had told Grant his day couldn’t get any worse. But proof of his error stood in front of him in the form of a female with defiance flaring in her eyes. He’d learned his lesson. A comment like that would only set him up for something worse.

So now what? In his note, Roy praised Bobbie as an excellent worker, all but daring him to allow her to prove herself. He might do just that. He’d deal with Roy later. In the meantime…

“Give me your hands.”

She narrowed her eyes and didn’t move.

For the first time that day, Jace’s mood lightened. Who wouldn’t be cautious after being treated like a criminal? He reached for the rope. “I’d like to untie you.”

“Whoa.” Grant put out his hand. “You sure about this? How do you know she’s who the note says she is?”

“There’s an easy way to find out.” He looked the girl in her eyes. “What’s the name of Roy’s wife?” At her irritated sigh, he crossed his arms. “The quicker you answer—correctly—the quicker you get freed.”

Nostrils flaring and lips tight, she raised her chin. “Maggie.”

“And the name of his youngest daughter?”

“He doesn’t have a daughter.”

“Who’s his foreman?”

This time tears appeared, and she bit down on her bottom lip. “It was Robert McIntyre.” She blinked and drew a deep breath. “Now it’s Tim Hughes.”

For the first time, the McIntyre name struck a chord. “Robert was your father.”

Her chin dropped to her chest.

He shuffled his feet, scuffing the dirt into a tiny dust cloud. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

She didn’t look up but nodded her acknowledgment.

He lifted her hands and untied the rope. “Let’s go.”

The brim of her hat raised just enough to let him see the moisture in her eyes. “You’re going to hire me?”

The irritation from earlier returned. “I didn’t say that, but there’s no way I’m going to leave you out here alone. Roy said in the note you were a good worker…that I’d be surprised at your abilities.”

No response. At least she wasn’t a girl who’d talk the legs off a wagon team.

“You carried both pistol and rifle. Do you know how to use them?”

The slightest twitch moved the corner of her mouth. “Give them back, and I’ll show you.”

Not the response he expected. He pulled her pistol from his belt and her rifle from his scabbard. With only a slight hesitation, he handed her the weapons.

She holstered her pistol and checked the ammunition in the rifle. “Pick a target.”