Texas Bride

Jonah threw the words over his shoulder as he set a swift pace through the trees that lined the creek.

“I’ve been better,” she mumbled against his back. “I’m sorry I’m responsible for getting you shot at during your vacation.”

She shivered as the remnants of icy fear spiraled through her body.

To her stunned amazement, Jonah leaned toward her to kiss her squarely on the mouth. His scorching kiss caused an explosion of her senses and sent hot sensations sizzling through her body. Maddie was still savoring the taste of his full, sensuous lips—and the delicious feelings he aroused—when he withdrew abruptly. Bewildered, she licked her lips and stared goggle-eyed at him.

Then, in a gruff voice that was a direct contradiction to the passionate kiss he’d just bestowed on her, he asked, “Do I have your attention now, princess?”

This book is dedicated to my husband, Ed,
and our children—Jill, Christie, Kurt, Jeff, Jon
and Shawnna. And to our grandchildren, Kennedy,
Blake, Brooklynn and Livia. Hugs and kisses!

Coyote Springs, Texas, 1880

J
onah Danhill eased his injured left shoulder against the edge of the bathtub and sighed heavily. After spending eight grueling months with his company of Texas Rangers battling Mexican cattle thieves near the Rio Grande, he was more than ready for this hiatus. The gunshot wound he’d sustained had earned him a month of rest and relaxation. Jonah couldn’t remember the last time he didn’t have somewhere he needed to be—immediately. It felt good to have time to himself instead of spending night and day tracking criminals and remaining on constant guard to ensure he didn’t get his head blown off.

He glanced at the mending wound on his arm and smiled wryly. Could’ve been his head—the bullet had come damn close.

Jonah surveyed his bare torso to note the scars that were souvenirs of his death-defying battles against the worst elements of society. He definitely needed to associate with a better class of people. The ones he dealt
with on a daily basis kept trying to kill him. But then, he reminded himself as he reached out to grab a cheroot, even regular folks were twitchy about associating with half-breeds.

Arms and legs draped over the rim of a bathtub way too small to accommodate his six-feet-two-inch frame, Jonah lit the cheroot, then took a drink of whiskey. While blowing lopsided smoke rings in the air he assessed his lot in life and decided he was probably destined to ride with the Rangers until a well-aimed bullet caught up with him. There was nothing to do but enjoy and appreciate his recuperation before riding back to the Rio Grande to track down another gang of desperadoes.

This was his life, he mused cynically. He was stuck with it so he might as well accept the fact that his worth was measured by how well he served and defended folks who were incapable of protecting themselves from murderers, rustlers and thieves.

Lifting the whiskey bottle, Jonah took another drink. “To life,” he mumbled sardonically. “Fool that I am, I expect more from it. If the Hereafter isn’t an improvement I’m sure as hell gonna be disappointed.”

Jonah set aside the whiskey, clamped the smoking cigar between his teeth and grabbed the bar of soap. He’d just gotten himself all lathered up when the door flew open and a woman barged in unexpectedly. A wild tangle of curly golden-brown hair billowed around the woman’s face—a bewitching face that flamed with embarrassment when she noticed Jonah’s naked form sprawled in the tub. The private parts of his anatomy were concealed in sudsy water, but ev
erything else was there for her to see. And she looked her fill, he noted.

Although her face blazed like a torch, she shook her finger at him. “Don’t you dare tell the two men chasing after me that I’m here,” she ordered hurriedly.

And then, to Jonah’s amazement, the woman dived under his bed and curled up in a tight ball in the shadowy corner.

“What in the hell—?”
Jonah grumbled around the cheroot that was still clamped between his teeth.

An abrupt knock rattled his door. Without awaiting an invitation, two men filled the entrance.

“Shut the damn door!” Jonah barked gruffly. “I’m bathing!”

The two men—cowboys, Jonah presumed—closed the door behind them. Colorful bandannas encircled their necks and rawhide vests covered their faded shirts. Holsters, equipped with well-used six-shooters, rode low on the men’s hips.

“We’re looking for a woman,” one of them announced. “She stole money from us in Fort Worth and we followed her to Coyote Springs.”

“We thought we saw her come in here,” the other added as his assessing gaze panned the crudely furnished room.

“There’s no one here but me, and I plan to keep it that way.” Cautious by nature and by habit, Jonah reached down with his left hand to grab the Colt revolver that was concealed behind the bathtub. During his thirty years of existence he’d learned never to go anywhere or do anything without keeping his pistol within easy reach. “You’re intruding,” he snapped
ominously. “Now get out. If I’d wanted an audience while I bathed I’d have sold tickets.”

“Are you sure you haven’t seen…?” The cowboy’s gravelly voice trailed off when Jonah’s pistol suddenly appeared. The deadly click of the trigger filled the silence.

“Out!” Jonah thundered in his most intimidating voice.

He continued to give the cowboys the evil eye until they’d backed from the room and shut the door. When the woman tried to wriggle out from under the bed Jonah made a slashing gesture with his good arm, demanding that she stay put until the two sets of footsteps faded into the distance.

When the coast was clear Maddie Garret came to her feet and willfully battled down the blush that left her face throbbing in rhythm with her pulse. Although her admiring gaze kept drifting up and down Jonah’s brawny body, she jerked her attention to the shaggy black hair that framed his rugged face. His bronzed skin, high cheekbones and chiseled features indicated Indian heritage, but his eyes were a startling shade of green and they showed curiosity and mistrust. It was difficult to maintain her composure while he kept his six-shooter pointed directly at her chest.

Six months earlier Maddie would have turned tail and run from such an awkward situation, and likely burst into tears after such a harrowing day. But she’d been tested repeatedly and forced to face one difficult situation after another. In addition, she was in need of immediate assistance and this man was the only person she could come remotely close to trusting.

“I’m dreadfully sorry about this interruption,” she blurted out. “But I need your help.”

He snorted and narrowed those intense green eyes at her. The smoke from his cigar drooped around his dark head like a fallen halo. This hard-edged law officer didn’t seem the least bit receptive or interested in her problems. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from a member of the legendary Texas Rangers, but Jonah Danhill wasn’t it. Even unclothed he looked invincible, intimidating and unapproachable. Yet he was the most magnificent study of masculinity that she’d ever laid eyes on and she couldn’t help but be fascinated by him.

“My name is Maddie Garret,” she said, introducing herself nervously. “And I most certainly did
not
steal money from those two men.
They
are trying to steal money from
me!
”

Her comment drew very little reaction from the powerfully built man sprawled in the tub. When Maddie’s betraying gaze darted to the sudsy water that concealed his hips, her face went up in flames—again. Damnation, it was humiliating enough to plead her cause, but pleading to a naked man whose physical attributes kept distracting her—to the extreme—was even worse. She couldn’t help but admire the rippling muscles, sleek contours and dark skin that glistened with water droplets.

Maddie gave herself a mental slap for gawking, grabbed a quick breath and hurried on. “I heard you were a Texas Ranger so I came to find you, hoping for your protection.” She shifted uneasily from one foot to the other and stared over his head—anywhere except at that incredibly masculine body. “The hotel
proprietor refused to give me your room number because he knew that you didn’t want to be disturbed.” Her gaze darted to Jonah momentarily, then skittered away once more. “With those two men hot on my heels I was frantic to find a safe haven—and I needed to find one fast. I told the proprietor that I was your wife and if anyone was allowed to disturb you then it definitely should be me.”

Jonah’s dark brows nearly rocketed off his forehead. He sucked in his breath so abruptly that he choked on cigar smoke.
“My wife?”
he wheezed incredulously.

“I was desperate,” she said righteously. “I made a hasty trip from my West Texas ranch to Fort Worth to request a loan against my trust fund. My inheritance won’t be available until my twenty-first birthday. I can’t wait another three months to gain control of the money, because my younger sister has been kidnapped and she’s being held for ransom.”

“Kidnapped?” Jonah parroted as he surveyed the attractive female standing before him.

She reminded him of a pagan goddess in living flesh. Her pale yellow gown accentuated her feminine curves and swells. Golden highlights glinted in her hair. Amber shimmered in her thick-lashed eyes. The texture of her skin reminded him of honey. Jonah had seen a few strikingly attractive women in his time, but this female
radiated
beauty, spirit and determination, and his body involuntarily responded to the appealing sight of her. Jonah was damn glad the sudsy water concealed his stirring arousal.

Although it was obvious that Maddie was uncomfortable carrying on a conversation with a naked man,
she seemed to be on an unswerving mission to present her side of the story.

“Yes, kidnapped,” Maddie confirmed as she began to pace restlessly. “Christina is fifteen years old and I’m sure she must be terrified by this ordeal. Worse, she is uncommonly attractive and I fear she will be set upon by the band of cattle thieves who spirited her away.”

Maddie halted abruptly and glanced in his direction. “Evidence indicates that renegade Comanches have escaped from their reservation and have returned to their former homeland to raid, rustle and terrorize ranchers. If I don’t pay the ransom within a week I might never see Christina again. I’m in urgent need of your help.”

Jonah inwardly winced when she mentioned the Comanche. Fifteen years earlier he had lived with his father’s people in West Texas—before the land was taken from the Indians and opened for settlement. Because of his bitter past Jonah had refused to take arms against his people in that part of the state. Aware of his mixed heritage, Jonah’s commander had not forced him to patrol the area. Instead, Jonah had been sent to subdue white outlaws and Mexican desperadoes who stole Texas cattle and drove them south of the border.

The very last thing Jonah wanted was to revisit his old stomping grounds and stir up bittersweet memories.

“Not interested,” he said abruptly. “I’m in town to recuperate from an injury.” He directed her attention to his mending shoulder. “I’m taking a long-awaited furlough. You need to speak with the sheriff
who has jurisdiction in the county where your ranch is located.”

Her luminous eyes threw off molten sparks. “I have to cross a wild frontier, carrying a considerable amount of money, to even
get
the opportunity to
ask
for the sheriff’s assistance,” she countered irritably. “Reaching Fort Worth unscathed was difficult enough. Returning home will be worse because I’ll have those two thieves breathing down my neck.”

“If they
are
actually thieves.” Jonah smirked skeptically. “I’ve been around long enough to know better than to be taken in by a pretty face and a wild tale of kidnapping, rustling and robbery.” He rinsed the soap from his arms and chest, then puffed on his cheroot. “Now, make yourself scarce, Miz Garret. I’d like to get dressed.”

She tilted her chin to a defiant angle, braced her fists on her shapely hips and said, “I am
not
leaving this room until you promise to help me rescue my sister from death—or worse. You have an obligation as a ranger to aid and protect citizens in need.”

She was stubborn and determined, he’d give her that. But who was to say
which
side of the law she was really on?

“Lady,” he retaliated gruffly, “I don’t get paid enough to go haring off to West Texas with a mending arm. Besides, I’ve learned to take nothing at face value. Why should I protect a woman who has been accused of theft? And why should I believe a female who is probably feeding me a wild tale to prey on my sympathy?”

“Because I’m an innocent victim! I will
pay
you
to escort me home and deliver the ransom,” she insisted sharply.

His bathwater was getting cold, but her temper was getting hot, he noticed as she glowered, trying to scare him into submission. Before he could reject her request again—and he certainly intended to—she flounced on his bed, jerked up her skirt and tugged at the hem.

Jonah gaped at her well-shaped bare legs and silky skin for a long, appreciative moment before he forced his attention to the bundles of paper currency she had stitched into her skirt. He nearly swallowed his cigar when she stamped over to the tub, grabbed his hand and slapped a bundle of money onto his palm.

“It appears that the only way to gain your trust is to pay you up front,” she muttered angrily. She dropped the remainder of the bundles atop the stack in his hand. “I am entrusting my inheritance to you, as well. If I wind up dead—and with two thieves on my trail that is certainly a possibility—I expect you to rescue my sister. Surely even the meager amount of sympathy and conscience you possess won’t allow you to ignore the welfare and safety of a terrified girl!”

When Maddie whirled toward the door, Jonah reflexively came to his feet. “Wait just a damn minute, lady. I’ve been saving lives left and right for a decade—”

She whipped her head around—to fling a sassy retort, no doubt—and saw Jonah standing there in all his splendor and glory. Her face exploded with color as she gasped for breath, shrieked, then lunged for the door.

Her departure was as spectacular as her grand entrance had been. She was gone as quickly as she had intruded into his room and into his life. Thank goodness.

Jonah chuckled in amusement. If he’d known that unintentionally exposing himself would have gotten rid of her so quickly he would have stood up earlier.

Dripping wet, he stared down at the small fortune curled in his fist. If handing him money was supposed to be a gesture of faith, he still wasn’t buying it. He was a man who did not trust easily. Those who did usually wound up dead and buried. For all he knew Maddie Garret was one hell of an actress, willing to do and say anything to ensure
her
protection and
his
cooperation. Even if it meant giving a melodramatic performance and leaving him holding what could very well be stolen money.