The Outlaws: Sam (30 page)

Hale gave a reluctant nod. "I hope you don't
hold this against me, Mr. Cramer, but you can see how distraught
Mrs. Gentry is. I hope marriage to you will have a calming effect
on her."

Cramer's smile did not reach his eyes. "You
can depend on it."

Lacey personally searched every nook and
cranny of Cramer's house. But she refused to yield when Sheriff
Hale suggested that they leave. She vehemently insisted that the
outbuildings be searched and the hands questioned. Hours later, she
finally conceded that Andy wasn't on the premises, and that none of
the hands questioned knew anything about her son. But that didn't
prove Taylor hadn't hidden Andy where he couldn't be found. And
that frightened her. Taylor now held the winning hand.

He had convinced the sheriff that Lacey was
delusional, but the fact remained that Andy was missing. The best
Hale could do was promise that he and his deputy would look for
Andy. Then he took his leave.

"Are you satisfied, my dear?" Cramer said
after the Sheriff rode away.

"Where is he?"

"He's being well taken care of. If you don't
cause me any more problems, I may take you to see him after we're
wed."

"Bastard!"

"Now, now, that's not the kind of talk I want
to hear from my future wife. Shall I see you home?"

"I can get there on my own," Lacey hissed.
"If you hurt Andy, I swear I'll kill you."

Cramer fingers dug into her shoulders as he
dragged her against him. "You'll change your tune once you're in my
bed. I'll conquer you, Lacey, mark my words. One day I'll have you
purring."

"Not in this life," Lacey bit out.

Lacey gasped as his mouth came down hard on
hers. His kiss was brutal, possessive, without a lick of warmth.
When she realized her struggles were exciting him, she went limp in
his arms. With an oath, he thrust her away.

"I'll teach you how to respond properly once
you're mine," he spat, giving her a rough shove. "Go home and
prepare yourself for our wedding."

Her chin firm, shoulders stiff, Lacey walked
away before the urge to kill Taylor got her in trouble. She might
be forced to marry him but she'd vowed that he'd regret it. He
could have her land, it was no longer important, as long as Andy
was safely returned to her.

Lacey rode home bearing the weight of the
world on her shoulders. If Sam were here he wouldn't allow this
travesty, she reflected. Suddenly she was glad Sam wasn't here.
He'd go after Taylor with a vengeance, even if it meant breaking
the law. And she didn't want that for Sam. He'd just been declared
a free man, she couldn't have stood by and let him throw that away.
No, it was good that he was gone. She'd had to rely on herself
before and she could do it again. Taylor might marry her, but he'd
never own her.

Rusty ran over to join her when he saw her
ride into the yard. "Where have you been, Miz Lacey? Where's
Andy?"

"Andy won't be returning just yet." The words
nearly choked her but Rusty deserved to know.

"How come?"

Lacey ignored his question. "I'm marrying
Taylor Cramer on Saturday. Andy will come home after the
wedding."

Comprehension dawned slowly, but when it did,
Rusty howled in outrage. "Cramer's got Andy! The son-of-a-bitch!
Let me take care of him for you, Miz Lacey."

"No, Rusty, you're to do nothing, say
nothing, not even to the hands. I want this kept between you and
me."

"But..."

"Please, Rusty, I want your promise. No one
is to know."

"No one, Miz Lacey?"

"No one."

"If that's what you want."

"It's exactly what I want. I'll handle Taylor
in my own way. And believe me, he's not going to like it.

Sam was cold, tired and hungry. He'd intended
to bypass the B&G and ride directly to Dodge City, but Galahad
kept pulling at the reins, as if aware that a warm barn and food
were close at hand. When Sam had left the Indians he'd decided not
to see Lacey or Andy until his name was cleared, but the closer he
got to the ranch the more he realized how impossible that would
be.

Something stronger Sam's will compelled him
to rein Galahad toward the ranch. If he was lucky, he'd find a meal
of leftovers in the cookhouse and Galahad could spend the night in
a warm barn.

Light streamed from the cookhouse as Sam rode
Galahad into the barn and dismounted. Ignoring the hunger pangs
clenching his gut, he unsaddled Galahad, rubbed him down and made
sure he had plenty of feed, including a measure of oats. Then he
strode to the cookhouse, uncertain of his welcome. Sam needn't have
worried. Only three men were inside, Luke, the cook, Rusty, and
Lefty. All three were huddled over steaming cups of coffee.

"Could a hungry man get a bite to eat?" Sam
asked from the doorway. Three heads swiveled in his direction.

Rusty was on his feet instantly. "Sam! You
old dog. You're a sight for sore eyes. We all thought you'd be
halfway to California by now."

"Changed my mind," Sam grunted.

"Sit down," Luke said, already on the way to
the stove. "You're in luck. There's leftover beefsteak and a pot of
beans on the stove." He reached for the coffeepot. "Drink up, it'll
warm your bones."

"Just what I need, Luke, thanks."

Sam warmed his hands on the hot cup before
raising it to his lips. The strong brew slid down his throat and
hit his empty stomach with a satisfying jolt.

"Tastes good. I intended to bypass the ranch,
now I'm glad I didn't."

Rusty's brow wrinkled. "Bypass the ranch? You
mean you weren't gonna return?"

"I'm headed north, to Dodge City. I'm
determined to clear my name. I'm not an outlaw and hoped to prove
it before returning to the B&G."

"Dodge!" Lefty blurted out. "I thought you
came back cause you heard that Miz Lacey was gonna marry Taylor
Cramer."

"What!" Sam set the coffee cup down on the
table so hard it shattered. "We'll see about that." He leaped to
his feet. His chair hit the floor as he stormed out the door.

"I thought you were hungry!" Luke called
after him.

"Wait, Sam, there's something you should know
first!" Rusty exclaimed, bounding after him.

"Let him go," Lefty advised. "Let Miz Lacey
tell him."

"I hope to God she tells him everything,"
Rusty muttered.

Sam paid little heed to the buzz of voices
behind him. His head spun with the crushing blow he'd been dealt.
How could she? How could Lacey marry Cramer when she knew the kind
of man he was?

Each step Sam took added another dimension to
his anger. Had Lacey lost her mind? What kind of woman was she to
disregard her son...his son's welfare? He marched up to the door,
found it locked and pounded on it so hard he could feel the panel
bow inward beneath his fury.

He hadn't been pounding long when the door
suddenly opened. Dressed in nightgown and robe, Lacey stepped back
as Sam charged inside.

"Sam! Oh, my God! You didn't go to
California. You've come back."

"And not a moment too soon," Sam grit out as
he slammed the door shut with his bootheel.

Lacey paled. "You've seen Rusty. What did he
tell you?"

"I almost rode on without stopping," Sam
spat. "I changed my mind about California. I didn't like being an
outlaw. I intneded to ride straight to Dodge and force banker
Wingate to tell the truth about the bank robbery. I wanted return
to you and Andy a free man."

"Rusty didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"You
are
a free man. The charges
against you and your brothers have been dropped."

Sam staggered backward. "Who told you
that?"

"Sheriff Hale. He received a telegram from
Sheriff Diller in Dodge. Sheriff Hale doesn't know all the details;
the telegram said only that the Gentry brothers were no longer
wanted for bank robbery. You're a free man, Sam."

Sam felt as if the weight of the world had
just been lifted from his shoulders. He was a man his son could be
proud of. Elation made his forget his anger, forget why he was
angry. He only knew he had reason to rejoice, and that Lacey was
here to rejoice with him. Never had he wanted her more. Not even
when he was a young man with the burgeoning lust of youth upon
him.

"God, Lacey, all I can think of now is how
badly I want to make love to you."

He held out his arms. Like a sleepwalker, she
walked into them. His arms closed around her. He bent to kiss her,
cradling her head in his hands as he made slow love to her mouth.
His lips moved fervently against hers, circling, tasting, nudging
them apart for the bold thrust of his tongue.

Lacey couldn't deny she wanted Sam, for she
did, desperately. Tomorrow, after she married Taylor, he'd hate
her. She needed this, wanted this, for in all likelihood she'd
never experience Sam's loving again. She clung desperately to him
as he kissed her, praying that his passion was stronger than his
anger, for she knew he had burst into the house because Rusty had
told him she was going to marry Taylor.

The last thing Lacey wanted Sam to learn that
Andy was being held hostage, that she was marrying Taylor to save
their son. The longer she kept his passions engaged the less likely
he was to question her. Lacey was well aware of Sam's volatile
temper. The truth would send him gunning after Taylor.

Her thoughts were shattered when Sam scooped
her into his arms and mounted the steps two at a time. The door to
her room was ajar. He opened it fully, strode inside and pushed it
shut with his foot.

"I can't wait," he gasped as he sat on the
bed and positioned her on his lap with her legs straddling him. She
pulled her knees close around his hips. "Lift up a minute."

She raised slightly and felt his deft fingers
unfasten his trousers. Then she felt the long, hard, heat of him
searching for her center while his hands opened her robe and
nightgown, baring her breasts for his mouth. He suckled her
greedily, pulling her gown and robe away in his eagerness to touch
more of flesh. Her fingers bit into his shoulders when he found the
opening he was seeking and thrust upward.

She moan, her body bowed backwards as he
filled her.

He bucked beneath her, thrusting deeper,
touching something vulnerable in the center of her being. She
pushed up, then slid down again. He cupped her buttocks, helping
her achieve the motion that gave them the most pleasure. She
swiveled her hips; he reacted to this new sensation with a guttural
groan. She cried out softly as he slammed her against his loins,
driving himself deeper. She rose and sank against him again and
again, until raw rapture thrummed through her veins.

She wanted it to go on forever but knew she
would die if he didn't release her soon. It was too much and not
enough. It was both glorious and frightening.

It was love. Pure and simple and
terrifying.

Drowning in sensation, Lacey cried out, her
muscles clenching as Sam's forceful thrusts escalated. The urgency
was building, tension heightening. Sam's lips burned an
open-mouthed path down her neck, her throat. He kissed her
shoulders, the tender spot where her pulse was racing, nuzzled the
full curves of her breasts. His warm breath teased her nipples into
aching points, drawing them one at a time into his mouth, tugging
and releasing, then lashing his tongue across the hardened
tips.

Lacey's cries grew frantic, her insides
clenching with every tug of Sam's lips. Awash in pleasure honed to
exquisite sharpness, the storm inside her unleashed its fury. Her
senses fragmented beneath his sensual onslaught. Sam soon joined
her in that delicious upheaval. Too quickly it was over.

Sam buried his head between her breasts. She
barely heard him say, "I'm sorry. I didn't intend to take you so
quickly. I'll go more slowly next time."

His eyes were dark pools of renewed desire as
he lifted her and gently placed her on the bed. His piercing gaze
mesmerized her; she couldn't look away. Without him inside her she
felt hollow inside. It was a feeling she knew she'd have to live
with the rest of her life. He undressed her quickly, shed his own
clothes in record time, and joined her.

"I've missed you," he whispered against her
lips.

"What about Yellow Bird? She said..."

"She lied. We were never lovers. Before I
left, she confessed that she'd lied to you and asked to be
forgiven. I think she finally realized that she would never be more
than a friend to me."

"Did you forgive her?"

Distracted by the sudden rise and fall of her
breasts, Sam didn't answer right away.

"Sam, did you forgive her?" Lacey
repeated.

"Hmmm?" He lifted his glittering gaze from
her breasts. "Oh, that. She saved my life. Despite the anguish her
lie caused, I couldn't find it in my heart to withhold
forgiveness."

Lacey lost her train of thought as his hands
began a slow journey over the contours of her body.

He kissed the tip of her nose, then brushed
his lips over her mouth. "I almost didn't stop at the ranch before
heading up to Dodge. I can't believe it's over at last, that my
brothers and I are free men. No I can be the kind of father Andy
can be proud of."

Lacey went still. Andy was the last person
she wanted to discuss with Sam. Telling Sam the truth would not be
in Andy's best interest. As long as Andy was Taylor's prisoner, it
was imperative that she keep Sam away from Taylor. The only way to
do that was to keep Sam too occupied to ask questions.

"You talk too much, Sam," Lacey said.

She started to rise. "Where are you
going?"

"You'll see."

She went as far as the washstand. She felt
his eyes on her as she poured water into the bowl and dipped the
cloth into it. Then she proceeded to wash all trace of Sam's seed
from her body. She rinsed the cloth and carried it back with her to
the bed. She felt Sam go rigid when she gently plied the cloth to
his sex. After cleansing him thoroughly, she lay back on the bed
and smiled.