Ace

  They paused before stepping into the kitchen and Ace glanced down at her with a puzzled expression. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Oh, Ace. I’m more than okay. I feel so happy.” She stood on tiptoe and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth.

  “What was that for?”

  “Because I wanted to.” She started to turn away and he caught her arm, drawing her close. Her eyes widened. “Now what?”

  “Red, I just want you to know…” His voice was so serious, she had a moment of fear. Then she saw the way his lips curved. “…Any time you want to kiss me, I’m willing to sacrifice these lips. In fact, if you’d like, I’m willing to sacrifice this entire body.”

  “Save it, cowboy.” She started into the kitchen, then muttered under her breath, “At least until dessert.”

  They were both grinning like conspirators as they took their places at the table alongside the others.

  Chapter 13

  “…So there we were, struggling to pay back taxes, and Ace announced that he’d just sunk us into more debt by hiring a soil-boring company.” Hazard shook his head and laughed. He and Chance had spent the entire dinner hour regaling Ally with stories about Ace’s youthful misadventures.

  Through the entire narrative, Harlan Brady had remained silent, watching and listening. Now he couldn’t hold back. “Are you telling me you had no idea that there was coal and uranium on your property?”

  “How could we have known that?” Hazard helped himself to another slice of prime beef, then added more vegetables. “I was so busy worrying about scraping up enough money to keep from losing the Double W, I didn’t have time to dream.” He glanced around the table. “I left the dreaming to Chance and Ace. And believe me, their dreams have paid off. But at the time, we were just green kids, and all those dreams seemed like so much smoke.”

  Chance saw the puzzled look on Harlan’s face. “Something bothering you, Harlan?”

  The old man ducked his head. “Just wondering what happened to all that money your old man was supposed to have.”

  “Money?” Chance gave a snort of disgust. “Every dime went to pay off Mason Gabriel.”

  Harlan’s head came up sharply. “Who?”

  “Their father’s partner.” Ally smiled. “Cody told me the whole story. How they pooled their money to get into a poker game in Monte Carlo, and ended up winning this land. When they saw what they’d won, Wes Wilde fell in love with the land, and decided to try his hand at ranching. But Mason Gabriel didn’t want any part of it. All he wanted was his half, so he could go back to doing what he did best—gambling. Wes worked himself into an early grave struggling to pay off his partner and have enough left over to keep his family from starvation.”

  Hazard nodded. “Our lives would have been a whole lot easier if Mason Gabriel had stayed and worked this place with our dad. As it is, the four of us busted our…” He paused and glanced at the women. “…Busted our backs just to pay off that crazy coot. I’ve often wondered if he was smart enough to hold on to some of it for his old age, or gave it all away on the tables.”

  Chance snorted. “I’d lay odds he’s lost it all. Dad never did consider him a very good gambler. The only reason he took him in as a partner was because he couldn’t scrape up enough money to go it alone.”

  Maggie carried a six-layer torte to the table and be gan slicing it. “While we’re filling in bits and pieces of family history, how about some dessert?”

  Erin poured coffee while Ally added a dollop of ice cream to each slice before passing them around. The three women worked in easy, companionable silence.

  At a knock on the door they all looked up. A head covered with bright orange hair poked through the doorway, followed by a scratchy, tobacco-roughened voice. “Hello, Wilde bunch. How are my favorite cowboys?”

  “Thelma.” The three brothers were on their feet and crossing the room to greet the owner of the E.Z. Diner with warm hugs.

  “You’re just in time for dessert,” Maggie called to her.

  “Good. I see I haven’t lost my touch. But I wish you wouldn’t interrupt these men while they’re kissing me. Go on, gentlemen. Show me again how happy you are to see me.” With a throaty laugh Thelma offered her cheek for their kisses before greeting Cody and Erin.

  Spying Harlan Brady seated across the table she stopped in her tracks. Something seemed to pass over her features. Something that softened all the lines and angles. It took her a moment before she could find her voice. “Harlan.”

  He was staring at her with a steady, unblinking gaze that was disquieting. At last he managed to say, “Thelma.”

  For a moment nobody spoke.

  Finally Thelma said, “So. It’s true then.”

  Chance glanced from one to the other. “What’s true, Thel?”

  She shook her head, sending the orange hair dancing. “I came out here to see about a rumor that’s been flying around Prosperous all day. I heard it said that Harlan Brady was staying at the Double W. I called them all a pack of liars. And now…” She glanced at Harlan again. “I find that I’m wrong. You’re actually here.”

  “Not just me.” He nodded toward Ally. “My granddaughter is here, too.”

  Thelma’s eyes lit with pleasure. “This is little Allison?” She accepted her handshake and studied her. “You’ve grown into a beautiful young lady. You might not remember, but you used to come to my place with your grandfather.”

  “I remember.” Ally’s smile widened. “I remember that you always gave me an extra helping of whipped cream on those chocolate éclairs I loved.”

  “That’s right. And you’d leave my place all sticky, and Harlan would tell me that his daughter-in-law would probably want to tan his hide.” She shook her head. “He doted on you, honey.”

  “I know.” Ally nodded. “The feelings were and are mutual.”

  “Come on, Thel.” Maggie indicated a chair. “Have some coffee and some of my chocolate torte.”

  “Don’t mind if I do.” Thelma took a seat and studied the dessert. “You know, Maggie girl, this looks pretty enough to be on a magazine cover.”

  “Thanks. Now taste it and tell me if it’s as good as it looks.”

  Thelma tasted, then closed her eyes. “Oh, I do miss your cooking. Sure you don’t want to leave Chance and come back to work for me?”

  “What would you do with your cook, Slocum?”

  “He’s off in jail again. I’m not sure I’m going to bail him out this time. So how about it? I’ll give you a raise.”

  Maggie grinned at her husband. “That’s awfully tempting, Thel. But there are certain…perks in this job that you couldn’t provide.”

  “He’s that good, huh?” With a chuckle Thelma polished off her dessert, then sat back sipping coffee. “Okay. Now tell me what’s going on out here?”

  “Not much.” Chance topped off her cup. “What’s going on in Prosperous?”

  “Don’t play cool with me, boy.” She gave a throaty laugh and turned to Harlan. “All right. You tell me. What causes the man who vowed to never set foot on Wilde property to break his vow? Not only to break his vow, but to break bread with his enemy?”

  Harlan started to look away, then lifted his chin and met her steady look with one of his own. “It wasn’t by choice.”

  Thelma’s eyes widened. “What are you saying? They hog-tied you and forced you here against your will? Come on. Tell me what happened?”

  When he didn’t respond, Ace answered for him. “Somebody shot his dog and set fire to his workroom in the barn. I brought him here so Hazard could treat his dog’s injuries. And then we persuaded him and Ally to stay.”

  Thelma pinned Harlan with a steady look. “Did you see who did it?”

  He nodded. “A stranger. I’ve never seen him before. But there was real hatred in that man’s eyes.”

  “And a lie on his lips,” Ace added. “He told Harlan he was doing this on orders from the Wilde family.”

  “Not again. After all these yea
rs.” Thelma glanced from Ace to Harlan. “Have you told them?”

  The old man’s eyes blazed. “You think they don’t know?”

  “I know they don’t.” She watched him for several long moments, then took a deep breath and set down her cup. “All right. I see it’s up to me. Years ago, when your daddy first came here, he tried to buy Harlan’s property.”

  Ace nodded. “We know that. And from what we’ve heard, he offered more than the fair market value.”

  “Which Harlan refused.” Thelma glanced at him, then away. “Right after that, things started happening at Harlan’s ranch.”

  “Things?” Ace leaned forward.

  “Accidents. Some cattle found slaughtered. An out-building burned. Then the threats got personal. A caller threatened Harlan’s family. That’s when his son and daughter-in-law fled, taking little Allison with them.”

  Ally turned to her grandfather. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

  He said nothing.

  Thelma glanced at those seated around the table. Her rough voice lowered. “The rumors flying around town were that Wes Wilde was determined to get Harlan’s property, no matter what it took. There were a lot of folks willing to believe it.”

  “How about you, Thel?” Ace asked.

  She placed a hand over his. “Ace, honey, I knew your daddy better’n most. It was Wes who gave me my first break in life. He not only persuaded old Oscar Stern to hire me, but when Oscar wanted to sell the restaurant and go live with his sister, it was your daddy who loaned me the money, even though he was struggling with his own debt. And he never asked a thing in return.”

  Harlan slapped a hand on the table, catching everyone by surprise. “You could have come to me for the money. You didn’t have to go to Wes Wilde.”

  Thelma’s tone was uncharacteristicly soft. “I know that’s always been a sore spot between us, Harlan. You think I somehow betrayed you. But the truth is, I never went to Wes for help. He saw a need and came to me. That’s the kind of man Wes Wilde was. He was good and honest and decent.”

  “I’ve heard enough.” Harlan pressed the button, sending his scooter backing from the table. At the door to the kitchen he paused long enough to say, “I expect someone to take me home in the morning. I’ve had just about all the…sugarcoated testimonials honoring Saint Wes I can take.”

  When he was gone, an awkward silence settled over the room. From his vantage point, Ace thought he saw Thelma blink a tear from her eye before she busied herself with her coffee.

  Cody shoved back his chair. “Thanks for dinner, Maggie.”

  “You’re welcome, Cody.”

  The old cowboy walked to the back door and retrieved his hat. With his hand on the door he said, “For what it’s worth, I heard those rumors, too. Never believed them then. Don’t believe them now. And there’s a lot more like me around.”

  He walked out, shutting the door softly behind him.

  The three brothers fell silent for a moment.

  It was Ace who finally said, “Is there anything else we haven’t heard, Thelma?”

  She shrugged. “Not much, I guess. I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you this. You ought to know, a lot of folks who believed the rumors about your daddy did so because he was an outsider. A newcomer. They stood rock-solid behind Harlan because his family’s been here for generations. But you boys have paid your dues. There’s nobody in Prosperous who would believe such a rumor now.”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure of that.” Chance closed a hand over his wife’s. “Somebody’s going to a lot of trouble to plant a seed of suspicion, not only in Harlan’s mind, but in the minds of everyone else as well. What I want to know is who and why? Who would benefit from ruining our reputation? What could he possibly hope to achieve?”

  Thelma shook her head. “I wish I knew. I didn’t understand it when it was happening to your daddy, and I don’t understand it today.”

  “But there has to be a connection.” Ace’s tone was thoughtful. “This isn’t just a coincidence.”

  While the others finished their dinner, and bid Thelma good-night, he remained lost in his own dark thoughts. A man like Wes Wilde was bound to have made some enemies. The key was to find out who they were, and then systematically check each one out. This wasn’t some ghost from the past. This was a flesh-and-blood person out for revenge. And Ace had no intention of relaxing his guard until the man was found and stopped. This time for good.

  “Did Thelma ever come out to your grandfather’s ranch?” Ace lay with his arms around Ally, his lips pressed to her temple. After the others had retired for the night, he’d made his way to her room, where they had come together in a storm of passion. Now they lay satisfied, content.

  “Not that I recall.” Ally curled herself close, loving the feel of those strong arms around her. “But we spent a lot of time at her diner. My mother used to complain about the fact that Gramps hauled me along with him on that long drive into town almost every day.”

  “Maybe he was using you for a cover.”

  “Cover?”

  “Yeah. Pretending that he was only there because you loved her chocolate éclairs.”

  “I did.”

  “Which gave him the perfect excuse to see her often.”

  “You think there was something between my grandfather and…?” She stopped to consider the implications.

  “Did you notice how mad he got when she talked about accepting help from my father?”

  “Jealousy?” Ally sat up. “Even after all these years, you think Gramps is jealous of your father?”

  “I can’t think of a stronger reason to hold a grudge for a lifetime than the love of a woman.”

  “Oh, Ace.” She sank back down and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek to his chest. “I need time to think about this. He’s my grandfather.”

  “Yeah. And a man who’s been alone for a lot of years. Have you ever wondered why? Maybe he’s still carrying a torch.”

  “Over Thelma?” The thought brought a smile to her lips. “You know, even when I was a kid, I could see past that awful hair and gravelly voice to the soft heart underneath.”

  “Yeah, that’s our Thel. She’s always been there for my brothers and me. Like Agnes, she’s a bulldog about the people she cares about.”

  “My grandfather and Thelma Banks.” Ally closed her eyes, listening to the strong, steady heartbeat beneath her ear. “As strange as it seems, I think you may have hit on something. But why, if there was a spark between them, did they stay apart all these years?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe because she defended my father when everyone else was ready to condemn him. I guess, for a proud man like Harlan, nursing a deep and abiding hatred that he thought well-founded, that would be the last straw.”

  Ally drew herself up to stare into Ace’s eyes. “If it’s true, think how sad it is. Two old people who could have spent these past years together have been apart and aching with loneliness. And all because of some cruel hoax being played by some…some madman.”

  “That’s what worries me the most about all this.” Ace’s eyes darkened with feeling. “Whoever is doing this has to be filled with a sort of madness. Anger that would last this long would have to be fueled by more than petty jealousy or a careless misunderstanding. We’re dealing with someone who’s crossed the line.”

  He drew her into a fierce embrace and pressed his lips to a tangle of hair at her temple. “Promise me you’ll try to keep your grandfather here tomorrow. No matter how desperately he wants to return home. We need just a little more time.”

  “I’ll try, Ace.”

  “That’s my girl.” He brushed butterfly kisses over her forehead, her cheeks, her mouth. “And promise me you won’t be alone at his ranch. Not even for an hour.”

  “All right. I’ll see that I’m never alone.” She traced the frown line that had formed between his brows. “Now stop worrying and kiss me, cowboy.”

  He did. Then on a sigh he too
k the kiss deeper. Against her mouth he muttered, “Have you noticed how well I’m learning to take orders?”

  “I have. And I’m proud of you. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like you to…”

  Her words were abruptly cut off as he anticipated her request and took her on a long, slow journey of love.

  But later, as she slept in his arms, the frown was back. As was the nagging fear that he was overlooking something. Something so tantalizing close, like a whisper on the wind, he could almost grasp it, before it drifted just out of reach.

  Chapter 14

  “Yeah. The copter’s already warming up.” Ace spoke into the phone while the others were gathered around the breakfast table. “I should be up at the mine within the hour.”

  He hung up and drained a cup of coffee before snatching up his briefcase. “Thanks, Maggie. Got to run.”

  As always, Ally found herself wishing she could go along. She loved being with Ace. And she had enjoyed her employment, however brief, at the mine.

  She walked with him to the porch. “I’ll miss you.”

  He kissed her hard and quick. “Not as much as I’ll miss you.” He held her a little away. “You’ll keep your grandfather here?”

  “If I have to rope and hog-tie him.”

  “Good. I’ll see you tonight.” He kissed her again, then made a dash toward the waiting helicopter.

  As Ally walked inside, Harlan was saying to Cody, “Think you could spare enough time to drive me back to my place this morning?”

  Behind Harlan’s back she shook her head.

  The old cowboy shrugged. “I’ll have to see what chores Hazard wants me to see to first. He’s the one who gives the orders here at the Double W. But if he gives the word, I’d be happy to drive you.”

  Harlan turned his scooter away from the table. “Then I guess I’d better go find your boss.”