Stacey Kayne - The Gunslinger's Untamed Bride

“Miss Carrington, I wouldn’t have put you on that wagon had I thought you’d be in danger.”

Lily shut her eyes, anger and humiliation clashing inside her. “You’re still fired,” she said, the tremble in her voice adding to her distress.

“Of course I am.”

His gentle tone increased the fine trembling of her body. She tried not to notice the heat of his chest against her shoulder and back, or his muscular thighs all but cradling her backside. Every shift of movement was a startling reminder that Juniper Barns was very much a man.

She angled her head slightly, unable to help herself from stealing a glance at him—a handsome rogue who had an entire community fooled into believing he was a man of law-abiding morals. He glanced down and she quickly looked away from the chilling clarity of his blue eyes.

“Did you get a good look at the group of men?”

Dear God, she did not want to talk while sitting on his lap.

His arm tightened about her waist, stiffening her spine. “Lily?”

“Just the one who took me,” she said in a biting tone. “Dark hair, dark eyes and a red handkerchief—clearly a multipurpose tool for outlaws.” Her tongue still dry from the red handkerchief he’d stuffed into her mouth, she glowered up at him. “A moment later I was belly down across his legs and all I saw was moving mountainside. When someone shouted out that a woman had been taken, he was told to dump me. He did just that, after a bit of groping and foul language.”

The indignation of it all sent a sting into her cheeks, along with a delayed lash of fear. Everything had happened so fast, she hadn’t been able to truly comprehend the gravity of being abducted, defenseless against her captors.

“Did you hear his name?”

The chilling quality of Juniper’s low tone drew her gaze. The cold rage in his pale blue eyes increased the chill of her body. His reaction unsettled her, though she couldn’t say why. Perhaps because she’d have expected someone of his nature to find amusement in her mistreatment.

“I didn’t hear any names,” she said, looking away from him, all too aware that she sat in the arms of her father’s killer. “A series of gunshots drew the attention of the others. There was a bunch of shouting. All I saw was a flashing glimpse of horses before I was tossed into the brush.”

“Your warning worked,” Reginald said, riding beside them.

“Thank God for that much.” Juniper spurred his horse into a faster pace. His tight hold increased Lily’s outrage.

It was his fault she’d been taken in the first place! Had he bothered to talk to her before gagging her and tying her up, he wouldn’t have had to save her!

A short while later the wagon came into view, the oxen now facing uphill. Chuck stood at the front of the team, fastening a harness. The large deputy hoisted a roll of blankets onto the load of rough-cut boards. When she realized Mr. Dobbs was wrapped up in them, tears stung at her eyes.

Juniper reined his horse in beside the team of oxen, and for a moment she didn’t mind the security of being surrounded by his strength.

“Sheriff,” said the deputy, his expression glum. “I heard the gunfire. Chuck was just telling me what happened.”

Chuck climbed up to his wagon seat and lifted the reins, seeming impatient to be on his way.

Juniper’s hands closed around her waist, hitching Lily’s breath. “They got off with the payroll cash box,” he said, slowly lowering her to the ground.

The moment her feet touched down she stumbled forward and found her balance. Her gaze stuck on the body Günter continued to tie down.

“Why did they take the woman?” Günter jumped from the wagon and swiped the back of his arm over his wide sweaty brow.

Rage simmered in Juniper’s blood as Lily’s accounts played in his mind. “Can’t think of any reason that isn’t worth hanging for. Once I find out who grabbed her, he’ll be charged with assault and kidnapping. Chuck, did anyone tell you a cash box was on this wagon?”

“Nope. That feller said he had a locked box he needed delivered to The Grove office.” Chuck motioned to Reginald as he stepped beside Lily.

Juniper’s narrowed gaze moved between them. “This is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into.”

“If you hadn’t shipped me off like a hog trussed for roasting, Reginald wouldn’t have been left to make decisions without me!”

“I’m sorry, Lily,” said Reginald. “We had the files we needed. Grimshaw went over the documentation and gave his approval. He and Mr. Dobbs agreed the payroll should be put in the safe kept in The Grove as soon as possible. They thought it’d be safest to send it down on the wagon, so as not to attract attention.”

“Grimshaw couldn’t have read any written orders,” Juniper said, knowing now how word had likely gotten out about the cash box. Jim couldn’t read, and Juniper figured any number of men could have overheard them talking at the millhouse. “Chuck, did you recognize anyone?”

“They all had their faces covered like a buncha stage robbers. With all of ‘em shouting to get on the ground, it was hard to hear any one voice. Had to be near fifteen of ‘em. They come right over the side of that mountain,” he said, motioning to the incline across the road. “They knew the money was there. Started fighting over how to open that locked box before they got it loaded. Heard a mention of John’s place. Reckon his woman’s hurtin’ pretty bad.”

Juniper bit back a curse. That meant Calvin had likely been with them. His widowed sister and her five children had been waiting for the last of John’s wages.

“Who’s John?” asked Lily.

“A good man who believed this camp would come through for him,” Juniper told her. “So he kept working when others left, even though the smaller crews compromised their safety. It cost him his life. His wife and their five children have been waiting on the last of his wages for two months. What exactly did you expect these men to do while you got all your pretty little ducks in a row?”

“To have some understanding. I sent notices—”

“Notices won’t buy much at a mercantile, Miss Carrington. Plenty of these men have families who depend on that income to make ends meet. To buy food and keep roofs over their heads.”

“Surely they have some savings set aside for—”

“Savings?” Lily Palmer Carrington was burning through his patience like fire through a haystack. “Most of your employees have never stepped foot in a bank because they’ve got nothing to put there. They work to get by, Miss Carrington.”

“I realize—”

“No, you don’t. You’ve got no business being out here. You belong in San Francisco.”

“Do not tell me where I belong! You are the one who belongs … in …”

“Hell?” Juniper supplied. “Right beside your father?”

Her green eyes flared with rage. “How dare you!”

“Enough!” Reginald stepped between them. “Lily, what’s going on?”

Her lower lip slid between white teeth as her gaze moved between Juniper and her cousin.

“What’s the matter, Miss Carrington? Didn’t you fill Reginald in on your plans for revenge?”

“Lily?”

“If I’m cartin’ this poor dead feller back up to camp,” said Chuck, “I need to get goin’. I want to be down this mountain before nightfall.”

Juniper turned to Günter.

His deputy splayed his hands wide in question. “You tell me. What do we do?”

He needed to get away from this woman before he lost his temper or, worse yet, she found another revolver. “See the Carringtons back to camp so they can make arrangements for their man and collect their belongings before being escorted to The Grove. Go straight to the kitchen and have Cook tell you which men didn’t show up for dinner. That could help us narrow this down. Then meet me at Frank’s livery. If I’m not there, he’ll know where to find me.”