Chapter 6

Davy hid a smile as his father bitched and moaned about the way he and his sons were treated in the bar.

“Fucking cunt!” Donny snarled into his beer. “Thinks she’s so goddamn high and mighty. Where the fuck’s she get the idea she’s better’n us?

Davy reached over and patted his brother on the shoulder. “Don’t you worry, bro. We’re gonna fix her good.”

“Yeah, we oughta go snatch her,” Dennis slurred. “Bring her back here and fuck the shit outta her.”

“Beat the shit outta her,” Davis added. “A week’r two of that oughta see her ready to do things our way.”

“Can I fuck her up the ass?” Donny asked. “Goddamn she has a nice ass. I’d just love to stick my dick up her ass to her eyeballs.”

“Good as that sounds, I don’t think that’ll get us what we want,” Davy argued.

“Says who?” Dennis demanded angrily.

“Says me,” Davy replied without anger. It did no good at all to challenge any of his brothers in anger. That just led to raised fists. Davy had learned a long time ago to use his brains as his most effective weapons. “Look, bro. We all know that when it comes to strength, you and Donny got it in spades. You could lick any man in this county with one hand. Now I ain’t got much of that, but what God denied me in size he made up for in brains.”

“Well, yeah, that is the God’s honest truth,” Davis agreed. “You ain’t much in size, boy, but you got one helluva big brain in that head.”

“Exactly,” Davy said with a smile. “And I got me a real good idea of how we’re gonna get exactly what we want from Rusty Blackhawk.”

“Yeah?” Donny looked at him with eyes that were darn near rolling from drunkenness. “How we gonna do that, Davy? That plan a’yurn to burn her out watin’ worth a shit.”

“Only because you and Dennis didn’t follow instructions,” Davy reminded him. “But I got another idea. One that’s sure-fire guaranteed to fix that whore’s ass good and proper and get us control of the ranch.”

“Just what kinda plan?” his father asked.

“Well, it’s like this,” Davy said with a grin and started to explain. “Starting tonight we’re gonna go at things a little different…”

* * * * *

Clay cut his eyes over at Rusty as she stared out of the window into the darkness, humming along with the song on the radio. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes he’d never have believed it. Not only did Rusty clean both platters of food but she ordered a wedge of sweet potato pie on top of it.

“It’s a wonder you’re not a butterball,” he commented. “You eat like that all the time?

Rusty laughed and turned to look at him. “I have a high metabolism.”

“High? Hell, it’d have to be supersonic.”

“Yep, and so is my anticipation at tonight’s big show,” she teased.

He cut his eyes at her. “That was just a joke.”

“Joke hell,” she argued. “We shook on it. A deal’s a deal, Mr. Russell.”

“Honey, if you want to see me naked, I’ll be more than happy to accommodate you.”

She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. She would definitely like for Clay Russell to accommodate her, in myriad ways, but she was certain that a sexual experience with him would end up with her losing herself to the emotions that were already stronger than they should be.

It frustrated, annoyed and frightened her. Rusty had never been in love. Men had come and gone before Danny, and until she met Clay she figured that would be the shape of things for her. She’d go about her life without a man until the need got too great and then she’d find a cowboy, have a one-night stand and then go back to her life.

Now, thanks to Clay Russell, that seemed like an empty lonely life, and one she had no desire to live.

She snuck a look at him. Her vision had provided a wealth of information about him and his past. Maybe that was part of the problem. Now she saw past the gorgeous exterior into the man inside. And what she saw attracted her as much as the packaging.

Damn it all to hell and back, what was she going to do? A voice in her mind provided the answer. Stop analyzing everything. Relax and let your destiny unfold as it should.

She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the window. Suddenly everything was different. Before Clay had walked into her life, she’d been able to just go with the flow, to ride easy in the saddle of life, taking what came and dealing with what need to be dealt with. Why was she letting him change everything?

She needed some time alone to think. Once they were home, she’d find Koda and take to the woods. A long hike in the moonlight would clear her mind and give her perspective on the situation.

With a plan in mind, she leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Within a couple of minutes she was sound asleep.

Clay looked over at Rusty. In sleep her features were relaxed and soft, making her look like a young girl. There were so many facets to this woman. She could go from being as tough as a man, with almost the same thinking patterns, to being a world-class tease, to a she-wolf, fighting ready in a heartbeat, to a wounded soul hiding behind a façade of bravado, to a woman with passion strong enough to singe a man to the bone.

His problem was that every aspect of her was appealing. He found himself wanting to know everything there was to know about her, to shield her from hurt and pain, and to be the one to make her smile. How was it possible that a woman could have such a strong effect in such a short span of time?

His brother Chase had once told him that Ana, Chase’s wife, had affected him that way. That she walked into his life and the moment their eyes met he was a goner. Clay took some comfort in that. If Chase, the consummate womanizer and confirmed bachelor could fall to a woman so easy, then Clay didn’t have to beat himself up over falling for Rusty. But he sure as shit wasn’t ready to admit it to anyone.

He pulled to a stop in front of the bunkhouse and killed the engine. Rusty’s eyes fluttered open and those violet orbs locked onto him. “We’re home,” she said in a sleep-rough voice that made things south of the belt stand at attention. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to crash out on you.”

“No worries,” he replied, thinking how he’d like to gather her up in his arms, take her inside and have his fill of her.

Rusty smiled softly. “I appreciate you sticking up for me tonight.”

“From the looks of it, if I hadn’t, any one of thirty others would have. You have a lot of friends.”

“Yeah, good people,” she replied. “But still, you stood up for me, and you hardly even know me. For all you know Davis could be right about me.”

“Sassy, if that man was right, Ana and Clara would never have cooked up the deal between the Circle R and Blackhawk Ranch. And even if that scum was right, no man has the right to talk to a woman like that, or to raise a hand to one.”

“Got a strong moral compass, don’t you, Mr. Russell?”

“I’d like to think so, yes. And if you don’t mind, could we drop the Mr. Russell and Miz Blackhawk?”

“You think we’re familiar enough to be on a first name basis, Mr. Russell?”

Clay spoke without thinking. “Honey, I’ve already seen you naked, worked side by side with you, been damn near burned alive with a kiss and fought for you. Not to mention watching you wolf down enough food to feed three men. I think we’re definitely ready to be on a first name basis.”

Rusty regarded him thoughtfully for a few moments. “I agree…in part anyway. But you got it wrong Mr. Russell. You didn’t get burned. I did. Goodnight.”

With that she got out of the truck and headed for the bunkhouse. Only a couple of minutes passed before she reappeared, the short skirt replaced by worn jeans and a long woven poncho covering her from shoulders to mid-calf, belted at the waist. Clay watched as Koda appeared out of the darkness. Rusty lay her hand on the wolf’s head and for a minute they stood as still as statues. Then as one they turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Clay climbed out of the truck, unsure whether he should follow them, or just go into the bunkhouse and turn in. In the end, he did the latter. If she’d wanted him with her she would have let him know. Clearly, she needed time alone.

Which might be the healthiest thing for both of them right now because if she’d stayed, he would have been hard pressed to keep his hands off her. That thought brought all kinds of delicious ideas to mind, and brought him to an almost immediate erection. With a sigh, he went inside. No two ways about it. It was going to be a long night.

* * * * *

Davy watched Rusty disappear into the woods. He was tempted to follow her but that wasn’t part of his plan. After he’d convinced his family that his plan would work, he and his brothers had headed to Blackhawk Ranch to start surveillance. They were going to have to keep a close eye on things so they’d be ready to act at the first opportunity.

Davy had been watching Rusty for a long time and knew her weakness. Her ranch and her horses. The botched attempt at burning her out had hurt her, but had not struck close enough to her heart. Buildings could be rebuilt, replaced. But not flesh and bones.

The family agreed and they quickly agreed to set the plan into motion. Davy sent Dennis and Donny to approach the ranch from the eastern border and take up positions near the eastern pasture where there was quick access to the corral and stables.

He approached from the north where he could take a position in the woods with a clear view of the main complex. Once he was certain Rusty and the slicker were asleep he would signal his brothers on the walkie talkies and they would move in.

Davy grinned and settled back, waiting for the lights to go out in the bunkhouse. Rusty leaving was a stroke of luck he hadn’t counted on. With her gone, all he had to do was wait for the Russell fellow to sack out.

* * * * *

For two hours Clay paced the floor. When she hadn’t returned at the end of that time, his mind was made up. He grabbed a jacket and headed outside to find her.

From his hiding place in the woods, Davy saw the Russell fellow leave and head into the woods. His luck was getting better all the time. Now not even his bumbling brothers could screw up the plan. They had free access to the ranch.

From his months of watching Rusty, he was pretty certain that she wouldn’t return before morning. Many a night she and that wolf of hers took to the woods, disappearing like a mist into the landscape.

He’d tried tracking her but had never managed to discover where she went during those nights. Right now, it didn’t matter.

His brothers wouldn’t be happy, but too bad. He’d wait for dawn to act. That way everything would be fresh when she returned.

He grinned as he imagined the look on Rusty’s face when she discovered the gift he and his brothers had planned for her. It so delighted him that he decided then and there that after the deed was done he would return to his hiding place and wait for her return so that he could see her reactions in person when she rose the next morning.

For a few minutes he indulged himself in a fantasy, of Rusty in his arms, looking up a him adoringly as his savior when he implicated his family in the trouble that was about to be visited on her. He imagined the sympathy he would receive from everyone in the county when he stood up in court and recounted all the horrors his family had visited on Rusty. He saw himself in tears as he recounted his valiant efforts to stop them, and how, in the end, it had come down to him against them, and he’d acted only in self-defense to protect his own life, and Rusty’s.

It was a brilliant plan. All Davy had to do was work it, and soon he’d see his dreams come true. He’d be shed of his miserable family, and have the woman he loved in his arms. And they would live happily ever after.

He wondered if Rusty had any idea just how lucky she was to have a man who was willing to do anything for her happiness.

A sudden thought had Davy pulling out his cell phone to place a call. It took half a dozen rings before the call was answered. A woman’s voice came on the line. “Hello?”

“Stella? Davy. Listen, sweetheart, I need a favor.”

“What kind of favor?” Stella asked in a suspicious tone.

“The kind that’s worth a hundred bucks.”

“I’m listening.”

Davy grinned. One thing in life held true. Everyone had a price.