At once she felt a rush of heat that left her shaken. How dare he put his hands on her? This dirty, unshaven, vicious killer.
“If you’re wise, Miss Jewel, you’ll stay as far away from me as you can.”
He released her none too gently and took a step back. Rubbing her bruised arm, she backed away from him, bumping into Zeb. Startled, she nearly stumbled, but the old man steadied her. With an oath she pulled herself free of his touch and hurried away.
As she made her way through the crowd, Diamond shivered and came to a decision. She would not be frightened off by threats from Adam Winter. Despite the fact that his touch had been unsettling, she would not retreat. She would make him pay.
“Looks like you got her dander up,” Zeb remarked. “Better watch out, Adam. Onyx Jewel’s kitten has claws.”
“That’s no kitten, Zeb. That’s a wildcat.”
Still feeling the heat, Adam watched her walk away. His eyes remained dark with anger. But as he clenched his hands into fists at his sides, he noticed that they were none too steady.
It was merely the reaction from the trial.
It was not, he told himself sternly, because of that damnable little hellcat.
Chapter Three
Diamond stormed into the ranch house, still seething from her encounter with Adam Winter. Her hatred of him, and her determination to see him hang, had deepened with every mile. She fed the feelings, fanning the flames of hatred to blot out the pain of her loss. After all, anger was something she could deal with. But the empty hole in her heart left her numb and afraid.
As she entered her father’s office, she skidded to a halt.
“Uncle Chet. What are you doing here?”
Chester Pierce came around her father’s massive desk and opened his arms. “I know what you’re going through, honey. I just want to make things as easy as possible for you. Your wranglers will want to be paid at the end of the month. Why don’t I deduct the money from one of your accounts? You can return it to me later.”
“Oh, Uncle Chet. Thank you.” Warmed by his thoughtfulness, she rested her head on his shoulder. “But that isn’t necessary. I’ve got weeks to worry about their pay.”
“Suit yourself. But at least let me take your father’s ledgers off your hands. A sweet girl like you shouldn’t have to bother your pretty head with all those tedious details.”
She felt tears sting the backs of her eyelids. As long as she had good friends like this, she would get through somehow. “Thanks, Uncle Chet.” She brushed a kiss over his cheek. “But Pa taught me sums, and how to balance ledgers. I figure if I’m going to try to fill his shoes, I’d better start now.”
“No one will ever fill Onyx Jewel’s shoes,” he said somberly.
It was the last straw for Diamond. Her eyes filled, and she latched on to Chester’s arm, leading him to the front door. She had to flee before she embarrassed herself by crying in front of him.
“I’ll never forget your kindness,” she whispered as she gave him an affectionate hug.
She watched him stride toward his carriage. Then she flew up the stairs to her room, where she splashed cold water on her face from a basin, and began to pace. She would not give in to grief. Could not. Because if she did, it would be an admission that she was weak and helpless, and unworthy of her father’s legacy. Instead, she would turn her grief into hard work. That, in Diamond’s eyes, was a much more healthy outlet for these strange, wrenching emotions. And one that she understood.
Cal McCabe paced back and forth in front of the massive fireplace in Onyx Jewel’s office. The ranch foreman had been summoned from the bunkhouse by Diamond, but when he arrived, the office was empty. Diamond had yet to show herself.
Just like her old man, Cal thought. He’d call you in and make you wait. And sweat.
He stalked to the window and stared out, hands jammed morosely into his pockets. He loved this place. Loved the vast, open spaces, the hard work, the camaraderie of the wranglers. Hell, he even loved the ornery, lop-eared cattle. But he figured he was about to lose it all. Because of his damnable temper.
Onyx had always understood, but Diamond was another matter.
Sensing her presence in the room, he turned. Diamond was standing just inside the door, staring at her father’s desk. She looked different, and it took Cal a moment to figure out why. Then it dawned on him. She was so still and quiet. Diamond Jewel had always been known for her vitality, her excessive energy. Her father had called her his frisky little mustang filly, always rearing, bucking, stomping, galloping. But now she stood, her whole body as still as death, while her gaze shifted from her father’s desk to his boots in the corner.
She looked up to find Cal studying her, and struggled to pull herself together. “You defied my father. You publicly argued with him.”
“I was defending my wranglers.”
“They were Pa’s wranglers, too, Cal.”
“But they needed me on their side, Di. When Onyx saw that dam above Adam Winter’s place, he flew into one of the blackest rages I’ve ever witnessed. You know how your father felt about any man who would deny another man water. It made his blood boil. He figured the dam must have been built by one of the wranglers who had a grudge against Winter. But I know my men, Di. I’d stake my life that it wasn’t any of them.”
She fell silent, and once again her gaze was drawn to her father’s desk.
It was then that Cal noticed that her eyes were red rimmed. Why, she was close to tears. In all the years he’d worked here, he’d never seen Diamond cry. Even when she was seven and her attempt to ride her father’s meantempered stallion had cost her a broken arm and several broken ribs, she hadn’t shed a single tear. It had been up to Cal to hold her down while Doc Prentice set the arm, but she’d never made a sound. Which was more than could be said for her father, who had paced and cursed and threatened her with murder and mayhem if she ever did such a fool thing again. And then, when all her wounds had been tended and he was assured that she would mend, Onyx Jewel had gathered his little daughter into his big arms and wept.
And now she was struggling not to weep. For the father whose wounds could never be mended. For the lifetime that stretched out before her without the most important person there to share it.
For a fleeting moment Cal wished he knew how to be tender as Onyx had been. A little tenderness would probably be just the thing she needed, to realize it was all right to cry. But tenderness was alien to this Texas ranch foreman. He’d never been a father. Hell, he’d never even been in love. Being tough was all he knew. And so he cleared his throat and said gruffly, “I can be out of here in an hour, if that’s what you want.”
Her head came up in a challenge. “Just like that? Could you leave so easily?”
“I wouldn’t like it, Di. I’d sure as hell miss this place. But if that’s the order you gave, I’d have no choice but to obey, just as I’d obey your father.”
Her lips pursed into a little pout, and for a moment he could see the little girl she’d been, not too many years ago.
“If I wanted you to go, I’d say so. Right now, with Pa and all...” She swallowed, but to her credit, her voice never wavered. “...I need you, Cal. And I expect you to keep me from making too many mistakes while I try to hold things together.”
For the first time he relaxed, and, realizing that his hands had been clenched into tight fists at his sides, he opened them and flexed his stiff fingers. His breath came out in one long, slow stream. “You know you can always count on me, Di.”
“Can I?”
He flushed, and knew that a seed of doubt had been planted by that damnable lawyer during the trial. It would take a while before Diamond was willing to trust anyone completely.
He watched as her eyes took on the familiar glint of fire. In the blink of an eye she was back in control. She took several tentative steps toward her father’s desk, then turned.
“I’m not sure I agree with you about the wranglers. If Pa thought one of them was
responsible for the dam, then I guess I think so, too. I expect you to find out who did it, and see that he’s fired.”
Cal sighed. There was no point in arguing with her right now. Besides, there was a chance, a slim chance, that she was right and one of their own wranglers was responsible. If so, he’d run him clear out of Texas.
“I’ll make it my business to find out all I can.”
She nodded and turned away, dismissing him. As he opened the door, she called, “Send Cookie in. We have a little matter to discuss.”
“Di, maybe I’d better—”
“Now.” She bit off the word just the way her father always had.
Cal left the main house and made his way to the bunkhouse. Inside, Cookie was pacing in his awkward, limping gait. A pipe was clenched tightly between his teeth.
“She wants to see you,” Cal said softly.
The old man left without a word. Hat in hand, he made his way to the big house, down the hallway to Onyx’s office. Not Onyx’s anymore, the old man corrected himself mentally. Now it belonged to Diamond, and nothing would ever be the same again.
He knocked and entered, but after only two steps, he halted and stared.
Diamond was seated behind her father’s massive desk. Though Cookie had never seen her there before, she looked as natural as though she’d been there all her life.
Without preamble she asked, “Why did Pa want you to give up the cook wagon?”
Cookie twisted the hat around and around in his stubby fingers. “Don’t know, Diamond. Maybe he found somebody who could cook better’n me.”
“You know that’s not the reason. Tell me, Cookie.” Her voice lowered, just the way Onyx’s always did when he was determined to have his way. “Right now.”
The old man couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “My leg’s been giving me more trouble than usual. Your pa found me doctorin’ it out in the bunkhouse, and he decided that I’d be better off cooking in the big house, where it’s always warm. Said he didn’t want me sufferin’ through another year of rain and wind and cold out on the trail.”
“Oh, Cookie, I didn’t know.” Diamond started to rise, but he held out a hand to stop her. He was feeling a bit too emotional since the funeral to permit himself to accept any sympathy from this little female. Besides, he’d been around since she was born. He’d watched her grow from a filly to a mare. And right now, he was feeling as much pain as she was.
“I ain’t no greenhorn that needs mollycoddling. And I ain’t going to cook in no damned house, begin’ your pardon, Diamond.”
“But Pa —”
His voice rose in anger. “I know your pa was trying to do what was right for me. But I know better’n anybody what’s right for me. And what I need is to be out on the trail with the wranglers. And I’ll tell you what I told your pa. Take me out of that chuckwagon, and I’ll quit.”
Diamond didn’t have the heart to remind the old man that he’d admitted his lie before the entire town. Cookie would die before he’d quit the Jewel Ranch. And now, everyone knew it.
“All right. Stay with the wranglers. But I want your word that when it gets to be too much, you’ll tell me.”
His smile was radiant. “Oh, you can count on that, Diamond, honey. You’ll be the first to know.” He half turned, calling over his shoulder, “I got to go. The wranglers over by Widow’s Peak are waiting for their grub.”
She nodded. “Tell Cal that I’ll be gone for a couple of hours.”
Cookie thought about the fresh grave on a windswept hill, and the fact that she’d had little opportunity to grieve properly. “That’s good, Diamond, honey. You go spend some time with your pa.”
After he left, she stared a moment at her father’s rifle hanging above the mantel, then lifted it down, testing its weight in her hand.
“I’m going to spend some time,” she muttered. “But not with Pa. I’m going to spend it tracking Pa’s killer.”
“Sorry, Adam. I thought, with the creek flowing again, the cattle would stay put.” Zeb shot a guilty look at the line of strays in the distance, ambling across Jewel land, foraging as they went. “I guess I should have skipped the trial and stayed here where I was needed.”
“It isn’t your fault.” Weary beyond belief, Adam tied his bedroll and hauled himself into the saddle. He’d barely taken time to eat. The beard that had grown during his time in jail itched. His clothes stuck to him like a second skin. What he wanted was a shave, a bath and a change of clothes. What he’d have to settle for was a hard day in the saddle if he hoped to retrieve all his cows before dark.
“I’ll drive the strays toward the bigger herd down by the creek. Once they discover water and range grass, they should settle down.”
“Hope so. Can’t get much done if we have to keep on chasing after those fool cattle every day.” The old man turned back to the broken wagon wheel he’d been mending.
Adam urged his horse up a steep incline. Soon he was racing across a meadow of lush grass, determined to round up his latest strays and keep his word to a dead man.
Adam reined in his mount and watched as his cattle moved lazily ahead of him. All afternoon he’d had the strangest feeling that he was being followed. But a careful study of the trail showed no sign of a horseman. Still, he was a man who trusted his instincts. And all his instincts shouted that he wasn’t alone.
Spotting nothing out of the ordinary, he turned to drink in the view. With the sun close to setting, the tips of the mountains in the distance seemed to take on a red-gold hue. The sand, even the rocks, glistened like gold. He knew he would never tire of the sight of all this untamed land. It soothed something inside him. Something wounded and raw that couldn’t seem to heal.
He understood what it was that had drawn a man like Onyx Jewel to seek his fortune in this primitive place. There was room here. Room for a man, no matter what his past, to put down roots and build a life.
Roots. He shoved his hat back and wiped his forehead with his bandanna. Now, wasn’t that a laugh? The last thing he wanted in his life was roots. All he wanted now was to be left alone to heal or hide as he chose. But there was no room in his life for any sort of permanence. Not now. Not ever. He’d learned to take it a day at a time.
A chill wind swept down from the north, and he drew his cowhide jacket tighter as he urged his horse into a trot behind the string of strays. He was grateful that they would soon clear Jewel property. Once they entered his own land, he could relax his guard.
Adam froze when he heard the unmistakable sound of a rifle being cocked. It was a sound that, once heard, was never forgotten. The hair on the back of his neck prickled as he adopted a lazy pose and nudged his horse behind a towering rock. As soon as he was safely concealed from view, his attitude altered. In the blink of an eye he took on the toughness of an outlaw. He pulled a small deadly knife from his boot and tensed in anticipation of the attack. A shadow of a horse and rider fell across the path. He moved with the cunning of a predator. In one swift motion he leaped, knocking the rider to the ground. They landed in a tangle of arms and legs. The two horses skittered nervously, and one ran away while their riders rolled over and over, locked in mortal combat.
As Adam pinned his opponent, his hand came into contact with a softness, a roundness, that could only be a woman’s breast. In an instant all the fight went out of him.
“You!” He stared down into glittering green eyes that were brimming with hostility. His breath was coming hard and fast as he knelt up and grabbed the front of her shirt, hauling Diamond roughly to her feet beside him. “Woman, what in the hell are you doing, pulling a gun on me?”
With a sound of disgust she shoved his hand aside. Her own breathing was labored, and she struggled to form the words over the fury that threatened to choke her. For the past several hours her anger had deepened as she’d watched this hated man run his cattle over her land.
“It didn’t take you long to break your word to my father, Adam Winter. His grave is barely dug and you’re bac
k driving your cattle across my land, fattening them on my grass. How many is it this time? A dozen? Two dozen? Fifty?”
“You little fool. If you’ve been following me, you can easily see that I’m rounding up my strays and driving them back toward my own land.”
“Oh. Of course.” Her voice dripped sarcasm. “I waited, and trailed you, giving you the benefit of the doubt. After all, the judge seems to think you’re not guilty of anything. But if I recall, that shack you call a cabin is in the opposite direction from here. If you’re driving them home, you’re going the wrong way.”
“I’m not driving them home. I’m driving them toward the creek, where the rest of my herd is grazing.”
“Liar! You have an answer for everything, don’t you? I can see that the only way to stop you is the same treatment you gave...” Without warning she uncoiled a whip that had been wrapped around her arm. In one sleek motion she swung her arm back and brought the whip down hard across Adam’s shoulder.
It ripped away his sleeve, and with it, pieces of flesh, as it bit deeply into his shoulder. He swore viciously, savagely. But though the intense pain would have staggered most men, Diamond realized at once that she had met a formidable foe.
Adam caught hold of the whip and gave it a fierce tug, dragging her to her knees. In a flash he wrenched the offending weapon from her hands and stood over her. A great black rage filled him, and he flicked his arm, sending the whip snaking out behind him.
Diamond steeled herself against what was to come. But instead of retaliation, he tossed aside the weapon with a look of disgust. For long moments he stared down at her, and she could feel the tension that rippled through him.
After a moment he turned away. At once she scrambled to her feet and grabbed his arm. “This isn’t over, Adam Winter. I’ll never be satisfied until I’ve shot you in the back the same way you —”
He cut off her words abruptly by clamping a hand over her mouth and dragging her into the shadow of the rock. “Not a word. You understand?” he whispered furiously.