Melody was certain she'd never been so tired in her life, not even after a day of working in her aunt's fields. Her plan had worked exactly as she'd hoped. Lantz never questioned why she would be out by herself at night looking for signs of the rustlers. In his mind, being raised outside of Texas was excuse enough for doing any number of stupid things. Throwing herself upon his protection as though he were a gallant knight riding to her rescue had made him forget he was furious at her. He was once more the all-powerful male, she the helpless female. Though it galled her pride, she played her role to the hilt.

The only scary time came when they found the cowhand Chet had tied up. She told them she'd only helped the rustlers because they'd threatened to shoot her. The other cowhands accepted that as a perfectly reasonable explanation. The fellow with the sore head seemed inclined to question her until Lantz told him to shut up.

Lantz was escorting her home. Finally. She'd spent most of the night listening to him rant and rave about rustlers and that Luke was never around when he was wanted. "You've got to promise you won't go riding out alone again," Lantz said.

"I promise," Melody replied. "I just hope Belle hasn't been up all night worrying."

After Lantz's hands had captured some of the horses, he had sent the crew after the herd and he took Melody back to his ranch. She had wanted to go straight home, but Lantz had been certain she needed to rest before she'd have the strength to ride in a buckboard back to the Spring Water.

She hadn't enjoyed seeing Blade again. He had been just as angry and sarcastic as she expected. He seemed to have gotten it into his head that she had changed her mind and now wanted to marry his father. A declaration that she wouldn't marry Lantz if he were the last man on earth wouldn't suit her plans right then. It wasn't easy, but she kept quiet. Blade's barbs continually p.r.i.c.ked her conscience and her pride until she climbed into the buckboard to return to the Spring Water.

"You ought to get you a proper foreman," Lantz was saying. "You don't want a gunfighter. Anyway, I'm going to kill him, so you'll have to get somebody else. I'll send one of my men over until I can find somebody for you."

Melody decided not to reply. It would do no good to remind Lantz that Blade had started all the trouble.

She would have asked Chet to leaveat least to hide for a few weeksif she thought he'd pay any attention to her. But he wouldn't. Now she didn't want him to go, at least not until she could find out if he loved her. She didn't know what she'd do if he didn't. She didn't know what she'd do if he did. The whole concept of marrying a gunfighter was entirely beyond her comprehension. But that was part of the problem. No matter what Chet said or did, she couldn't think of him as a gunfighter. He'd not only risked his life for them, he was staying around, risking it longer, just to make sure they were safe. And he hadn't killed anybody. Wasn't that what gunfighters did? They worked for money, didn't care who was shot as long as they got paid, and left the minute their job was done, regardless of what happened to anybody else.

"I'm surprised you didn't faint when they caught you," Lantz said.

"They didn't want to hurt me," she told him. "They just wanted to use me in case you caught them."

"The rotten cowards. I can't believe anybody from Texas would do anything so terrible."

"They probably came from New Mexico or Arizona."

Lantz missed the sarcasm. She decided she'd better watch her tongue before she ruined a successful ploy.

"Will your men have much trouble finding your cows?" she asked.

"It will depend on how many those sneaking b.a.s.t.a.r.ds ran off. I knew I should have brought Luke with me. Blade is strong enough to take care of himself now."

She had heard more than enough of Blade's anger at having Luke act as his bodyguard. Blade, too, was determined to kill Chet at the first opportunity. It seemed as though all she'd been able to do was make half the men in Concho County determined to kill the man she loved.

"They won't steal another cow from me, by G.o.d," Lantz swore. "As soon as I drop you off at the Spring Water, I'm going to get all the ranchers together. We're going to outfit a posse and keep them on the trail until they find those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds and hang every one of them." Melody felt cold dread in the pit of her stomach. She doubted Lantz or the other ranchers would distinguish between scattering a herd and rustling them, not when the man doing the scattering had already been marked for death.

She was relieved to be nearing the ranch. But this could be the most dangerous moment yet. Who would be there? What would they say when they saw Lantz bringing her home?

The worst possible person to deal with the situation was the first out of the house. Belle came fluttering down the steps acting as though she hadn't a brain in her head, babbling incoherently, and throwing herself on Melody as if she'd been brought back from the dead.

"Chet told me everything," she whispered in a startled Melody's ears. "Just agree with everything I say."

Next Belle released Melody and flung herself at Lantz.

"You're an angel of mercy, our good shepherd, our knight in shining armor," Belle trilled. "Thank G.o.d you found her." She put her arms round Lantz's waist and hugged him until his eyes threatened to pop out of his head. "We thought she was dead. I had the boys up all night, but we couldn't find a trace of her. Even Chet had begun to fear we'd never see her alive again."

By this time Bernice and Neill had come out of the house to add their bit to the scene. Even Sydney came to the door.

"Run saddle a horse and go after Chet," Belle said to Neill. "Tell him to bring the men in. Lantz has found Melody, and she's perfectly safe." She and Bernice both began to flutter around Melody, effectively separating her from Lantz, moving her quickly toward the ranch house.

"You must have been horrified."

"Terrified."

"I'm sure I would have fainted dead away."

"Did one of those murderers dare to lay a hand on you?"

"Lantz, you must go straight to the sheriff and tell him to organize a posse and go after those murderers at once. No telling who they might decide to kidnap next." Belle shuddered eloquently. "No woman can feel safe in her bed until they're behind bars."

"They'll be hanged," Lantz said, "every man jack of them. I'll see to it myself."

He started to tell them exactly what he meant to do, but again Bernice and Belle started talking at the same time. Neill and Sydney disappeared.

"She must go straight to bed," Bernice said.

"And be given nothing but thin soup until she regains her strength."

"Poor child must be running on nothing but nerves."

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful," Belle told Lantz, "but you'll have to go away immediately. I must put my stepdaughter to bed at once."

"I'll come by tomorrow to see how she's doing," Lantz said.

"Certainly, but you must not expect to see Melody," Belle said. "She's suffered a terrible shock. I doubt she'll feel strong enough to see anyone for at least a week."

Melody didn't dare turn around to see Lantz's expressionshe was afraid the smile on her face would give her awaybut she was certain he looked shocked and incredulous. So was she. She couldn't believe the silly, helpless Belle she'd known for the last six months could have created such a masterful charade. It was far better than anything she could have done. Melody managed to maintain her pose until she was inside the house. Then she started to giggle. It was the release of tension as much as anything else.

"How did you know what to do?" she demanded as soon as she'd recovered her power to speak.

"Chet told us what happened," Belle said. She sank down on the sofa and started fanning herself. "I think I'm going to faint."

"Don't you dare," Melody said, sitting up straight. "After the way you've behaved since Sydney was shot, I'll never believe you're a fainting, silly female again."

"Is that what you thought me?" Belle said, seeming only mildly interested.

"You know it was. Now where is Chet, and how did he know what was going on?"

"I'm here," he said, stepping into the parlor from the dining room. "I knew because I followed you."

Melody sat up with the abruptness of a released spring. Here was the man she loved. Despite facing certain death if he were caught, he'd followed her to make sure she came to no harm. But she should have expected that. He'd been risking his life for her and her family ever since he arrived.

She'd always thought he looked incredibly handsome. Now he looked tired, dusty, worried, and more handsome than ever. She struggled to make her breathing relaxed and even. There was no hope of calming her racing heart. "You didn't need to do that," she said. "I was perfectly safe."

"Of course he should have done it," Belle said, getting to her feet. "He couldn't leave you to the good graces of that man." She shuddered again eloquently. "And to think I once wanted you to marry him. I have to check on Sydney. He shouldn't have been out of bed. He'll be wanting his dinner, I'm sure. Still nothing but soup for him, Bernice."

Bernice left the room. Belle paused in the doorway. "You're not to do this again. I don't think my heart can stand it."

Melody wasn't sure she was ready to be alone with Chet. She wanted some time to calm the tumult of her emotions, to sort them out, to decide whether she was hopelessly in love or had simply misjudged her feelings in the midst of a crisis. But one look eliminated that question. She had fallen deeply and irrevocably in love with a gunfighter, and she wouldn't care if he came wrapped in gun belts, as long as he loved her back.

She suddenly felt awkward. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to know, yet she felt she couldn't say any of it, ask any of the dozens of questions buzzing about in her mind. How did she ask a man she'd caused to be shot, practically turned into a hunted animal, if he loved her? He ought to want to get as far away from her as possible.

"I agree with Belle," Chet said, a faint smile on his face. "You aren't to do this again. I know my heart can't stand it."

Melody tried to pull herself together. He couldn't have meant those words the way they soundedat least, not the way she wanted them to sound. She had to stop reading things into what he said.

"You didn't have to follow me," she said. "I was perfectly safe." Her voice didn't sound like itself. It seemed unusually loud. "But I'm glad you did. I was petrified somebody might say the wrong thing when Lantz brought me to the house." Suddenly remembering the danger, she turned to Chet. "You've got to be careful. He's determined to put together a posse with orders not to stop until they find and hang the rustlers."

"I'm not in any danger. He'll find all his cows as long as he keeps looking."

She couldn't understand why he never seemed upset by anything. Lantz wanted him dead and was going to put a posse on his trail, Chet had spent the better part of the night and half the day hiding in rocks, and he seemed almost cheerful. Didn't the man have any fear, or had he been living with fear so long he didn't feel it anymore?

"You really shouldn't stay here. We can get along without you." It was a feeble protest, entirely lacking in conviction. It sounded more like a plea for him to stay.

"We've already been over that. Now I'm going out. Don't bother to ask. You're not going if I have to tie you to your bed."

Melody felt she ought to protest being ordered about in such a peremptory fashion, but the truth was she didn't want to go. "What are you going to do?"

"Just burn a few haystacks at Lantz's ranch."

"He'll be ready to kill."

"Maybe, but he'll realize he's not immune to attack."

"I don't want you putting yourself in danger again." That sounded dangerously like a declaration of something, but she didn't care.

"Now is the best time. Lantz has every man he can spare looking for his cows. I doubt there'll be anyone on the place."

"Blade will be there."

"I'll stay away from the house."

"Are you sure you have to do this?"

"We can either let Lantz bully and browbeat you until you and Belle give up, or we can convince him you're here to stay."

She sighed. He had her blocked in again. She couldn't back down without looking like a weak woman, and she did want to humble Lantz. She just didn't want to endanger Chet doing it. "Okay, but you've got to promise me you'll be very careful."

"Why?"

The question seemed completely unnecessary. Anyone would have said the same thing. But she realized almost immediately that he was asking her something very important. The hinted smile was gone.

That excited her. It scared her at the same time. This business of caring deeply about a man wasn't as easy as it seemed. Endless ramifications sprang up to demand their share of her attention. In desperation, she shoved them all aside. He'd asked a simple question, and he deserved an answer. Everything else could wait.

"Because I like you," she managed to say. This time her voice sounded fuzzy and weak. "I've so much reason to be grateful to you that it would be"

"I don't give a d.a.m.n if you're grateful or not," Chet barked, his voice so sharp that she jumped. "Do you like me, or is it my guns?"

"I hate your guns," she snapped, not sounding the least bit faint now. "I can't imagine why I should like a gunfighter as much as I like you, but I can't help myself. It has nothing to do with drawing fast or chasing cows about in the middle of the night or burning haystacks or"

He'd crossed the room in a few swift strides. Before she could ask what he meant to do, he'd swept her into his arms and was kissing her so fiercely, she wondered if she'd survive. His arms wrapped around her, gripping her in an unbreakable embrace. Only she didn't want to break it. After the initial shock, she felt wonderful, exhilarated. She knew the answer to her question.

Then, just as suddenly, he released her and stepped back. She couldn't understand why he looked like a man suffering torment. It had been torment to her not to know what he felt, to fear he might despise her as much as she'd led him to believe she despised him. But now that she knew, now that she could let hope grow unhindered, she felt wonderful.

"I shouldn't have done that," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "I promise I won't do it again."

Then, before she could tell him she wanted him to do it many times more, he was gone.

She stood there, stunned and bemused, confused and delighted, weak and suddenly bursting with energy. It was an odd feeling, being in love. She hadn't known what it would feel like, but she'd never expected this. It was really quite ordinary in one sense, totally insane in another. The contrast left her feeling as though she didn't know her head from her feet. It might be a good thing if she figured that out.

Then she would turn her thoughts to Chet. It was obvious he didn't think being in love was a good thing. From the look on his face, he seemed to equate it with tooth extraction. She had to convince him that it was indeed a state much to be desired. Then she had to figure out what she was going to do about her future.

She saw storm clouds in virtually every direction.

Chapter Fifteen.

Luke watched with disgust as Blade proceeded to get really drunk. The boy wasn't a happy drunk. He turned morose and bitter, talked almost without stopping. He seemed to hate just about everybody and everything, including his father and Melody Jordan. Luke was treated to a detailed account of how Blade had fallen in love with Melody the first time he saw her and how his father had elbowed him aside to pursue her himself. He was told that her refusal to marry Lantz had revived Blade's respect for her, as well as his hopes, only to have them dashed to the ground again when she threw herself at Lantz after he rescued her from the kidnappers.

"You want to know what else I think?" Blade demanded in a slurred voice.

Luke didn't.

"I think she arranged the whole thing," Blade continued, even though he got no encouragement. "There aren't any kidnappers around here. n.o.body to kidnap. I bet she changed her mind about marrying Pa. She knew he was mad as fire, so she arranged the kidnapping and stampede so she could get in his good graces again. Worked, too, dammit!" Blade took another swallow from the whiskey bottle. "And you can bet that business of staying in bed for a week is a sham, too. She's as strong as a horse. She just wants to work on his sympathy."

"You can't blame her," Luke said. "If your pa's going to take her ranch, she probably figures he owes her something."

Blade snorted. "She's just trying to get him wound around her finger good and tight so he'll do anything she wants."

Luke was irritated enough to enjoy seeing someoneanyonemanipulate Lantz.

Blade banged the whiskey bottle down on the table so hard, Luke was surprised it didn't break.

"Pa's a fool for a pretty woman," Blade said. "h.e.l.l, Belle could probably have got him to marry her if Melody hadn't showed up so fast."

Luke was so tired of hearing about the Royal men and their love affairs that he was about ready to quit. This wasn't the job he'd been hired to do. He'd wanted Lantz to keep Blade at home where he could be controlled, but Luke wasn't willing to spend all his time babysitting. When Luke had wanted to go with the posse, Lantz had said he was to stay with Blade. Lantz had considered himself invulnerable until the rustlers scattered his herd. Their kidnapping Melody had rattled him good. He had started to worry they might attempt to do the same thing to Blade. Lantz didn't even want Blade to go outside for exercise.

"You think that was rustlers went after Pa's herd?" Blade asked.

Luke nearly returned a curt, uninterested reply, but he stopped himself. He'd detected a subtle change in Blade's manner. There seemed to be some bewilderment in his att.i.tude, as though the presence of rustlers surprised him. Maybe surprise wasn't the right wordmore like confusionand it was causing Blade to think. Luke didn't understand what there was to think about.

"Everybody knows there's rustling going on," Luke answered. "That's why your father hired me."

"I know, but"