nine
jolene clamped her lips shut
as soon as she’d said the words. But now they were out there,
and she couldn’t take them back.
Walker stared up at her, his head cocked to the
side as if he were trying to understand her, as if she were
speaking a foreign language.
“Yes. I said it. I love you. No big deal.” She
tugged on his hand. “Now let’s go dance.”
He stood, but instead of following her onto the
walk, he pulled her against him, wrapped his arms around her,
threaded his hand through her hair, and kissed her deeply, soundly,
and with more depth and feeling than she’d ever been kissed by him
before. Her toes curled in the ridiculous kitten heels her sisters
had insisted she buy. She wanted to lift one foot up like she’d
seen in movies when the girl was being kissed by the man of her
dreams. She wanted to swoon.
He pulled away, his eyes darkening to a stormy
gray. “I love you, too, Jolene. Which is why I don’t want to hurt
you.”
Oh, God. He loved her. She melted into the grass,
just sank against him, never wanting to move again. “You couldn’t
possibly hurt me unless you left me. Now let’s go dance and ignore
everyone.”
He didn’t look convinced, but took her hand and
they walked toward the main street. Despite the magnitude of the
crowd, they managed to find Valerie and Brea and the guys, and
grabbed something to eat and drink. When the band started up again
after their break, Jolene stood.
“Ready to go kick up your heels?”
Walker arched a brow. “I’m game if you are.”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the middle
of the crowd, laughing as she realized that he was a damn good
dancer. He two-stepped her around the outside of the circle of
dancers and then managed to pick up one of the line dances easily
enough. Her guy had some serious rhythm, which didn’t surprise her
at all considering his rhythm in the bedroom.
And when the band played a slow song, being in
Walker’s arms and swaying to the music was her every dream come
true. She laid her head on his shoulder and realized her life
couldn’t get any more perfect than this moment.
Except Celia Woodman was on the dance floor with
some random cowboy and shooting daggers her way. Jolene just smiled
at her.
Too bad, honey. This cowboy’s
mine, all mine. She tilted her head back and slid her hand
behind Walker’s head, pulling his lips to hers for a kiss.
Celia could take that and choke on it. The bitch
deserved so much more for the hell she’d put Walker through.
But it wasn’t just Celia staring daggers at Jolene
and Walker. Sam Woodman stood at the edge of the crowd, his arms
crossed and a murderous expression on his face, all directed at
Walker. A few of his buddies stood next to him, all neighboring
ranch owners, their gazes riveted on Jolene’s man.
So it appeared Sam Woodman still held a grudge.
Unfortunately, Walker seemed to notice it, too.
He looked down at her. “Sorry. I warned you about
this.”
“I’m not a sixteen-year-old brainless twit, either.
I’m a grown woman who knows exactly what she wants and what she’s
doing. I want you, Walker. Ignore them.”
“They could make this hard on you.”
She laughed. “They can’t do anything to me. I’ll
see who I want to see. And their evil stares don’t hurt me. They
shouldn’t hurt you, either.”
He spun her around until she was dizzy and
laughing. “They don’t have any kind of impact on me, honey. But
I’ll be damned if I let anyone hurt you.”
“I can take care of myself, Walker. I’ve been doing
it a long time. But it’s nice to know you have my back.”
He pulled her against him and whispered in her ear.
“I’d do anything to keep you safe, Jolene.”
walker wished he felt at ease
about things. sure, he’d talked things over with Jolene, and
she understood and believed him. He didn’t know why it had taken
him so long to come clean with her. Maybe because he’d handled the
whole thing with Celia so badly all those years ago. He should have
gone to her father when she’d first started sniffing around, to
make it clear he wasn’t trying to climb up the ladder by climbing
on Woodman’s daughter. But Walker hadn’t wanted to do anything to
jeopardize his job, and he figured telling the boss his young
daughter was hitting on him would be handing himself his own
termination notice.
In the end he’d gotten fired anyway. He could have
saved himself a lot of trouble if he had quit, but dammit, he
hadn’t wanted some . . . child . . . to bully him out of a job he
liked.
And now, years later, his mistakes still haunted
him. The Woodmans still haunted him. He didn’t trust Sam Woodman to
be content just to glare at him. The man still believed his
daughter was innocent and that Walker had been the one to corrupt
her. And he never believed Walker had paid for that supposed
crime.
Fine with him, as long as Woodman kept his
animosity directed at Walker and left Jolene out of it.
Walker searched the beer tent and spotted Jolene
crowded around a table with her sisters. Gossiping, no doubt. She
was pointing at Celia Woodman, and Valerie and Brea’s eyes widened.
Obviously Jolene was filling in her sisters on what Walker had told
her, which he didn’t mind at all. There was strength in numbers,
and if Celia decided to do something stupid and Walker wasn’t
around to protect Jolene, Valerie and Brea would back her up.
“You have a lot of nerve showing your face in this
town.”
Walker turned around to face Sam Woodman. Sam was a
formidable presence despite being forty years or so older than
Walker. He was built like an oak tree, with ruddy skin and
salt-and-pepper hair that peeked out of his very expensive Stetson.
“Sam.”
“You should have left this state five years ago. I
could have had you arrested for statutory rape.”
“I never touched Celia.”
“So you say. My daughter says otherwise.”
“Your daughter lied.”
Sam’s cheeks puffed out. “You think you bested me
by getting a job at the Bar M. And now you’ve taken up with young
Jolene, no doubt doing the same thing to her that you tried to do
to my Celia. You’re trying to grab hold of prime ranch land by
seducing Jolene. But I won’t let you do it, Walker. I won’t let you
ruin another young girl.”
“Jolene is old enough to make her own choices, and
I think you need to mind your own goddamn business, Woodman. Stay
out of my life. And leave Jolene alone. That’s the only warning
you’re going to get from me.”
Woodman grabbed his arm. “Don’t threaten me,
Walker. You get out of this town and get out now, or I’ll make
Jolene and all the McMasters pay for hiring you. I wield
considerable influence in the cattle industry. And I have enough
pull to make it hard for her to do her business around here.”
“Don’t make threats you can’t back up, Woodman. And
don’t ever threaten the McMasters family again.”
Walker jerked his arm free and stormed away before
he did something stupid like punch Woodman in the face. He took a
few deep breaths to calm his anger, then found Jolene and the
others, determined to enjoy the rest of the night.
But he was worried. Sam Woodman was right about one
thing—he did wield a lot of power in the cattle ranching industry.
He could make it difficult for Jolene and the ranch. That’s the one
thing Walker had feared the most, and the last thing he wanted to
happen. Jolene wasn’t going to suffer because of him.
jolene waited for walker to
bring the truck down to the entrance at Main Street since he’d
told her he’d parked a long way off. Normally she’d have walked
with him, but these damn heels were killing her feet, so she gave
in and let him bring the truck around.
Brea, Valerie and the guys had already gone home,
and the streets were practically empty. The only people left were
the cleanup crews pulling tablecloths off and picking up trash,
plus the band, who were loading up their gear in the back of their
van.
Jolene grinned that they’d all closed the party
down. She’d had a great time, finally able to take Walker out
publicly. They’d danced and mingled, and no one at all seemed to
care, just as she’d thought.
No one but Sam and Celia Woodman, and Jolene didn’t
give a damn what they thought, anyway.
“Young lady, we need to have a talk.”
She turned around. Speak of the devil. “Evening,
Sam.”
“Miss Jolene.” He tipped his finger to his hat. “I
feel I need to warn you about Walker Morgan.”
She sighed. “Sam, I know all about Walker and
Celia. There’s nothing you need to tell me.”
Sam’s chin lifted. “He lied to you. He tried to
rape my daughter when she was barely sixteen years old and a
virgin.”
Jolene crossed her arms. “If that’s the case, why
didn’t you press charges?”
“Celia didn’t want to. A public trial would have
damaged her reputation more than his.”
Jolene resisted the snort that wanted to escape.
Celia had a reputation all right. A reputation for fucking every
human male with a willing penis, and it had been going on a long
damn time, since before Walker. But if Sam was determined to turn a
blind eye to the fact that his daughter was a whoring tramp, Jolene
wasn’t going to say a word. “Look, Sam, I think you need to let
this go.”
“I think you need to smarten up.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It might be. I don’t want Walker Morgan in any
county in this state, and I don’t want him thinking he can gain a
ranch by sleeping with ranch owners or their daughters. I thought
you were smarter.”
“I’m plenty smart enough to know when I have a good
man at my side. Walker’s a good man. Let this go, Sam.”
“I will not. You’re the one making the mistake. And
if I have to make business . . . difficult . . . for you to get you
to see the light, then that’s what I’ll do.”
She’d tried to be nice and conversational with him,
but now he was threatening more than the man she loved. He was
threatening her way of life. “You don’t want to take me on, Sam.
Not like this. You’ll lose.”
Walker pulled up and got out of the truck, came to
her side. “Is there a problem?”
Jolene leaned against him. “Nothing I can’t
handle.”
“Think about what I said, Jolene. Good night.” Sam
tipped his hat again and walked away.
Jolene pivoted and got into the truck. Walker slid
into the other side. She forced her breathing down to normal, but
it was difficult when all she wanted to do was rant about what a
sanctimonious bastard Sam Woodman was. And so incredibly blind to
his daughter’s faults, it was pathetic.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing.”
“Jolene.”
“Oh, fine. He said he could make things difficult
for the ranch and for me if I didn’t dump you.”
Walker gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles
whitening. “That son of a bitch. I’ll kill him.”
“No, you won’t. And you won’t treat me like I’m
some simple-minded idiot who can’t take care of herself. Because
you know better.”
He shifted his glance to her for a second, and she
read the fury on his face. “I dragged you into this. I told you it
was going to get ugly.”
“And I told you that I loved you and I could take
it. So you need to quit worrying about me.”
He slid his knuckles across her cheek. “I can’t
quit worrying about you. I love you. And I won’t let Sam Woodman
hurt your family. Not because of me.”
all that night jolene thought
about what walker had said. There was something in the way he’d
said those words on the drive back to the ranch that had a sense of
foreboding. And he hadn’t come into the house with her, hadn’t
stayed with her last night. Jolene tossed and turned, worried about
Walker, unable to sleep, finally dragging herself from bed as dawn
lifted over the horizon, orange rays slipping through the opening
in her drapes. Giving up on sleep, she crept downstairs and turned
on the coffeepot.
She’d done nothing but ponder the dilemma of Walker
and that asshole Sam Woodman. The fact that he had threatened her
and the ranch was ludicrous. She had just as much power in the
community as he did, so his threats were worthless.
“You look like you just lost your best
friend.”
“You’re up early, Mason.”
He went over to the coffeepot, pulled down two cups
from the cupboard and poured coffee, then grabbed a chair and
handed her a cup.
“Want to check the new calves this morning.”
“I’ll get dressed and go with you.”
“Don’t bother. Won’t take me long. So what’s
wrong?”
“Nothing.” She took a couple sips of coffee, hoping
it would banish the dark thoughts.
“I’ve known you too long to buy that. Tell me
what’s going on. Is it Walker?”
“Indirectly. Sam Woodman.”
“He’s a dick.”
She laughed. “Yeah, he is.”
“What did he do?”
She told him the story of Walker’s past.
“I heard about that.”
“But you hired Walker anyway.”
“I knew Celia was a liar. Some of the guys on the
ranch had already been trading stories about her for a couple
years. That girl had been a wild child for a long time. So I didn’t
believe her story of being innocent and seduced. She was always the
aggressor. Walker was just in the wrong place at the wrong
time.”
“Good for you. I’m glad you hired him.”
“So is that all?”
“No. Woodman isn’t happy about Walker and me. He’s
threatening to interfere with the Bar M’s business if I don’t stop
seeing Walker.”
Mason smirked and leaned back in the chair. “Is
that right? And he thinks he has the power to do that?”
“He seems to think so.”
“He’s wrong. I think I’ll make a visit to some of
our friends today, and we’ll put a stop to Woodman’s extortion. I
imagine most won’t take kindly to those sorts of threats against
you.”
“I was planning on doing that myself, but if you
feel the need, be my guest.”
“I’d be more than happy to. The man’s been
interfering in all our businesses for way too long, and trying to
get himself to the top rung of the local Cattlemen’s Association. I
don’t trust him and I’d like to see him taken down a peg.”
“Then go for it. I think he’s a snake, and anyone
who tries to take us down is in for a rude awakening.”
“You said it, sister.”
Valerie leaned against the door, her arms folded,
anger knitting her brows together despite her half-asleep state.
She went to the coffeepot and grabbed a cupful, then pulled up a
chair. “I heard some of it as I was coming in. Fill me in on the
rest.”
“Me, too,” Brea said with a yawn as she padded into
the kitchen and went straight for the coffee. “Someone messing with
our baby sister?”
Mason got up and gave a kiss to Valerie. Then he
turned to Jolene. “I’ll go get my day started, so I can make those
visits we talked about. You fill in your sisters.”
“Okay. And Mason? Thanks.”
He nodded. “That’s what family is all about. We
fight the battles together.”
Jolene grinned, warmed to her toes to have the
people she loved around her.
Valerie squeezed her hand. “Okay, so what has that
asshole Woodman done now?”
by the next day it was clear
that woodman didn’t have a leg to stand on. No one in the ranch
community was going to support him other than a couple of his close
friends, and they didn’t have the power to wield. Woodman might
have one of the bigger ranches in the territory, but the Bar M
nearly equaled his in size. Couple that with ten other ranchers and
their buying power, and Woodman was outnumbered. He could blow
smoke as much as he wanted, but he was on his way out the
door.
Mason had also talked to a few hands at neighboring
ranches who had amassed some very compromising photographs of one
Celia Woodman, all taken with Celia’s knowledge and permission.
Mason didn’t want to play that trump card unless it was necessary,
but he personally went to talk to Woodman and let him know just
what he had in his possession and that if Woodman didn’t back down
and shut the hell up, those pictures might start making the rounds.
Mason made it clear that Woodman had started this game, but the Bar
M family was going to finish it.
Jolene threw her arms around Mason and kissed him
on the cheek.
“I don’t care for anyone who thinks blackmail’s an
option,” Mason said. “I hated playing that card with the pictures,
but you should have seen Woodman’s face. And Celia’s, because she
was listening in around the corner.”
Valerie grinned and slid her arm around Mason. “My
hero.”
Mason shrugged. “He’s messing with one of my best
hands. In fact, I’m going to make him assistant foreman, if I can
find him.”
Jolene frowned. Come to think of it, she hadn’t
seen Walker all day yesterday, or yet today. She assumed Mason had
kept him busy.
“I thought maybe you had things for him to
do.”
Mason shook his head. “Haven’t seen him since the
party in town.”
Dread drilled holes in her stomach. “I’ll go check
the bunkhouse. Maybe he’s sick.”
She hurried down to the bunkhouse and knocked on
the door. The rest of the hands were all at work, so she expected
it to be empty. She opened the door and went in search of Walker,
hoping she wouldn’t find him slumped unconscious somewhere.
He wasn’t there. All his things were there, but his
truck was gone. That dread turned to panic and she ran back to the
house.
“He’s gone.”
Mason frowned. “What do you mean he’s gone?”
“I mean he’s gone. His truck isn’t there
either.”
“You talking about Walker?”
Jolene pivoted to face Lila. “Yes. Do you know
where he is?”
“No, honey, I don’t. But I have an envelope. He
left it for you yesterday. It slipped my mind and I forgot to give
it to you.”
Jolene took the envelope and tore it open,
hurriedly reading Walker’s note.
Jolene,
I’m sorry, but it isn’t going
to work this way. Everyone will talk and assume the worst about you
because of me. I can’t let that happen.
I love you,
Walker
She stared at the note, tears filling her
eyes.
“He left. He just left. He was in such a hurry he
didn’t even bother to pack. I can’t believe he did this.”
She crumpled up the note and tossed it in the
nearby trash can. “That son of a bitch. After everything we’ve done
for him, all we went through. He went yellow belly and snuck out
like a scared dog. He couldn’t stick it out for me.”
Valerie put her arm around her. “Honey, I’m sure he
loves you.”
Jolene’s gaze shot to her sister’s. “Does he? When
you love someone, you endure. Even when things are bad you put up
with it, because the good times are worth it. As soon as it got
bad, he took off. That’s not love. His words are empty. They mean
nothing.”
Valerie squeezed her shoulders, but Jolene shrugged
her hands off. “I need to be alone.”
She pushed through the front door and went to the
barn, saddled up Paradise and rode her hard, probably harder than
she should have, but she wasn’t thinking straight. She only knew
she needed the wind in her face and had to get away from everyone
who would feel sorry for her.
She’d made such a stupid mistake, had chosen the
wrong man. She’d thought Walker was strong, that he would stand by
her side through thick and thin, through the worst of it. But as
soon as the wind blew rough, he’d crumbled.
He wasn’t the man for her. She was a lousy judge of
character.
She knew nothing about love. She’d spent years
brazenly going after the wrong man.