Outlaw's Lady Read online

  Slade broke off the kiss and stepped away from her, knowing that if he didn't leave her immediately, he might never be able to go. "Good-bye, lovely lady."

  "Good-bye? But you can't just go," she blurted out, frowning as she tried to understand why he was leaving this way. They had the whole night ahead of them. "Will I see you again?"

  "No."

  His answer was gently spoken, but there was a flash of some emotion in his eyes-sorrow? pain?-that Alyssa couldn't quite identify. Before she could say more, he turned and walked away, leaving her standing alone. She started after him, wanting to stop his from going, but he had disappeared into the crowd. There was no sign that he'd ever been there.

  It shocked Alyssa to realize how powerfully she'd just reacted to a perfect stranger... and he had been perfect. She'd never been attracted to anyone like this before. She remained where she was, staring off into the crowd, haunted by the image of her mystery man and the wonder of his kiss.

  FORBIDDEN FIRES

  THE LADY & THE TEXAN

  RENEGADE'S LADY

  THE LADY'S HAND

  LADY DECEPTION

  RAPTURE'S RAGE

  Bobbi Smith

  This title was previously published by Dorchester Publishing; this version has been reproduced from the Dorchester book archive files.

  I'd like to thank my three favorite attorneys in the whole wide world-Dan Lesseg, Harry Monck and Pam Monckfor their advice. Ann Nelson and Cindy Brown of the Wyoming State Archives were invaluable in their help with research, as well as Lucy Lockley of St. Charles County Library, St. Charles, Missouri. Sandy Freise, Jane Troup, and Mike Weigle helped me put things in perspective. Andy Riccuta of New Castle, PA, was an inspiration, too.

  "Hi!" to my friends at Anderson/Austin News in Nashville-the real Vernon Clemans and Nick Ursino, Randy Yarbrough, Patty Warren, Mary, Anna, Lana, Marlene, Delphia, Rochel and Joshua! And June Toon of Anderson/Austin News in Paducah!

  Slade Braxton was hot, thirsty and tired as he strode up to the bar in the Hell on Wheels Saloon.

  "Whiskey," he ordered.

  "That'll be two bits," Charlie the bartender said as he set a glass in front of him. "You're new in town, aren't you? You just hire on at one of the spreads?"

  Charlie eyed the stranger with interest as he poured a healthy portion of potent liquor. There was a menacing, almost dangerous air about the newcomer. He was dressed all in black and wore his gun low on his hip. He looked like the kind of man who could handle trouble that came his way, but Charlie didn't want trouble. He was just making conversation.

  "No, I'm just passing through," Slade answered as he pushed money across the bar to him.

  "Oh, I thought you mighta come into town for the big doings tonight."

  "What big doings?"

  "They're having a dance down the street. Everyone in town's pretty excited about it."

  "So that's why your business is so slow," Slade remarked, looking around the half-empty bar.

  "It was pretty wild in here earlier, but the boys all went down to the dance when the music started about an hour ago." Two other men came in then, and Charlie moved off to wait on them. "When you need a refill, just yell."

  Slade nodded, but said nothing more as he took a deep drink of the whiskey. It burned all the way down, and he was glad for its searing intensity. He'd needed a drink right then-badly. He needed to ease the tension within him. He was tired of the massive deception he was caught up in and tired of the life he was being forced to lead because of it.

  Slade drank more of his whiskey as he thought back over the last few months. When two gold shipments had been stolen from the railroad by the notorious Dakota Kid's gang, the railroad officials had hired the Pinkertons to bring down the gang and learn the identity of the railroad employee who'd helped them.

  Using his own name and a fake background the agency had created for him, Slade had infiltrated the gang. The lies about his past had been so carefully constructed and documented by the Pinkerton office that Slade doubted anyone could disprove them. It had been done to convince the Dakota Kid that Slade Braxton was a fast gun with a price on his head, dangerous and deadly enough to ride with him. The Kid and his gang were bloodthirsty killers who'd been terrorizing the West for several years, and he had to fit in.

  As an undercover operative, it was Slade's job to work within the gang to get the information his agency needed. So far, though, he'd learned little about the train robberies. The gang had been very close-mouthed about them, even when they were drinking. Not that they had stopped their murderous ways. They'd staged many a robbery since he'd joined up with them, and no lawman had ever come close to catching them.

  Slade downed the rest of his whiskey in a single swallow, disgusted by some of the things he'd seen over the last weeks. In his mind, he could justify riding along on the robberies. He was getting firsthand information that would ultimately help put all the outlaws in jail. What tormented him, though, was the fact that the gang thought nothing of killing innocent people.

  Slade had killed men in his lifetime, but it had always been in self-defense. The men who rode with the Dakota Kid murdered for the pleasure of it.

  Slade prayed he'd get the information he needed soon, so he could stop the gang before any more people died. He'd had enough of their deadly ways. In one robbery, he'd managed to bump horses with Zeke, the most murderous of the outlaws, just as he was taking aim at an unarmed shopkeeper who'd come running out of his store to see what was going on. The shot had gone wide, and Slade had been relieved. More than once, he'd been tempted to turn his own gun on the other members of the gang, but he'd held himself back to maintain his cover. Still, it was tearing him apart.

  Now, here they were in Black Springs, checking out the town and the bank they planned to rob the following morning. He hoped there was no one on the streets when they pulled off the job. He'd seen enough killing to last him a lifetime.

  "You ready for another?" Charlie asked when he saw Slade's empty glass.

  Slade nodded and Charlie refilled his tumbler.

  "You gonna be in town long?"

  "No. I'll be gone by tomorrow, but I'm thinking I'll wander over to the dance tonight. There any goodlooking women in this town?"

  "A few," the barkeep said with a smile. "All the good girls will be at the dance, but if you're looking for a fast romp, we got some working girls here who could show you a good time."

  "I may take them up on that later, but right now, I think I'll go see about doing a little dancing."

  Slade paid for his liquor, threw back the drink and quit the saloon. For just a few minutes that night, he wanted to remember what it felt like to be an upstanding citizen. He wanted to smile at someone and get a smile back. He wanted some kindness-and peace.

  As he walked through the saloon's swinging doors back out into the street, Slade caught sight of the Kid and Johnson, the Kid's right-hand man, moving slowly past the bank. They looked casual enough, yet he knew that by the time they'd reached the corner of the building, they would know the layout of the bank's interior and just what it would take to pull off the robbery. He wished there was some way for him to stop it. Right now, he knew, there wasn't.

  The Kid had asked him to check out the side streets and the sheriff's office before meeting them outside town in two hours. Slade walked in the direction of the dance, making sure his path led right by the jail. A quick look inside told him it was locked up for the night. He figured the lawman was at the dance, too. Slade headed on toward the music, interested in seeing what kind of adversary they'd be facing the following day.

  Alyssa Mason laughed in delight as she watched her younger sister, Emily, being squired around the dance floor by an overeager cowboy.

  "What he lacks
in talent, he certainly makes up for in enthusiasm," John Mason said, looking from his elder daughter to his wife, as they observed the dancing from the side of the outdoor platform that had been constructed just for the party tonight.

  "Emily certainly looks like she's having fun," Loretta told her husband.

  "Of course she is. She's the center of attention, and she's loving every minute of it," Alyssa said with a warm smile. She loved her little sister dearly and felt no envy toward her for her popularity.

  The family knew how much being popular meant to Emily. She was very much aware of her beauty and used it to attract all the handsome men she could. Women were a rarity in the territory, and Emily loved every minute of being sought after.

  "You should be out there dancing, too," Loretta encouraged Alyssa.

  "Maybe later," she demurred, not really interested in socializing.

  Loretta stifled a sigh at her answer, still not understanding her oldest child even after all these years. She supposed she should just give up trying to convince her to think in terms of marriage. Alyssa had never been one to flirt or try to entice men into matrimony, and now here she was well into her twenties with no marriage prospects in sight. What was the most puzzling to Loretta was that Alyssa was not even concerned about her unattached state.

  Not that Alyssa couldn't have attracted men if she'd wanted to, but she truly didn't seem to think it was important. She'd always been a studious child who'd paid far more attention to her books than she'd ever paid to her appearance or more feminine things like the latest styles from back East. When John became the justice of the peace in Black Springs, Alyssa had just naturally fallen into studying the law under his tutelage. She'd loved it so much and had learned so much that she helped him now with his cases, when she wasn't working in the general store the family owned.

  Loretta spied Rob Emerson, the town's sheriff, coming toward them and smiled. She'd long suspected that the lawman had feelings for Alyssa, but he hadn't made any real overtures to her. She supposed she could have been imagining things, but she hoped not. She and John thought the world of Rob. He was a nice-looking young man, probably around thirty years old, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was kind and smart, and, in Loretta's opinion, he would make a perfect son-in-law.

  "Evenin', folks," Rob said as he came to join them. "You having a good time?"

  "It's just delightful," Loretta answered. "How about you?"

  "Absolutely. If we keep the young bucks dancing all night, they won't have any time to stir up trouble." He grinned.

  "Maybe we should have a dance every Friday night," John suggested.

  "That'd be fine with me."

  Rob turned to Alyssa. He'd been waiting all night to get up the nerve to ask her to dance. She'd never shown any interest in him other than friendship, but nonetheless, he was attracted to her. Tonight, in her dark green dress with her pale hair worn down around her shoulders, she was the prettiest woman there.

  "Would you like to dance?" he invited her.

  She was surprised by his request, but quickly accepted with a warm smile. "I'd love to."

  Loretta was thrilled as Rob escorted Alyssa out onto the dance floor. She took her husband's arm and hugged it tightly. "They do make a good-looking couple, don't they, dear?"

  John smiled indulgently at her. "You've got to stop matchmaking. You know how Alyssa feels about you always worrying that she hasn't married yet."

  "I know, but Rob is a wonderful young man."

  "Yes, he is. I think highly of him, but the choice of whether to marry or not is up to Alyssa, not us."

  "Wouldn't it be nice, though, if-" In her mind's eye, she already had Alyssa in a wedding gown walking down the aisle with Rob.

  "Loretta-" There was a hint of a warning in his tone.

  She dropped the subject, but was still smiling as she let her gaze follow the couple.

  "Are you having fun tonight?" Rob asked Alyssa as they moved in easy rhythm around the dance floor.

  "Yes. It's always nice to get out and see everyone," she answered, easily following his lead. "You're a good dancer, Rob."

  "Thanks. My mother and sisters insisted I learn back when I was a kid. I guess they didn't want the female population to be seriously injured while dancing with me." He was smiling as he related the story.

  "Surely they didn't really say that?"

  "Not in so many words."

  "Well, when you talk to them again, be sure to let them know I appreciate their efforts."

  "I will."

  They shared a laugh.

  Alyssa knew her parents liked and respected Rob. She often saw him when he came by the office to discuss legal problems with her father. He was a fair and honest lawman, and he was well respected and liked around town.

  When the music ended, he escorted her back to where her mother and father were standing.

  "Thank you, Alyssa, and I'll pass your message along to my mother and sisters next time I write to them." He turned to John. "I'd better get back to work."

  "Don't work too hard," John told him. "You might miss out on all the fun."

  "I'll remember that, but somehow I don't think trouble will let me off that easy."

  He said good night and moved away to make sure things were quiet in town.

  "Rob is a nice young man. You could do far worse, you know," Loretta said to Alyssa as she came to stand beside her.

  "He's very nice, Mother, but we're just friends."

  Loretta was tempted to say more. She wanted to tell Alyssa that Rob was a quiet man who needed to be encouraged, but quick intercession by John stopped her.

  "Darling, let's dance," he said, distracting her from her concern over Alyssa's unwed state.

  "Yes, dear."

  Temporarily saved from hearing her mother sing Rob's praises, Alyssa looked around for Emily. She caught sight of her sister standing by the refreshment table surrounded by a group of smitten young cowboys. She smiled, knowing Emily was having a great time. She just wished that she was. Dancing and flirting had never held much appeal for her, but she did like talking with everyone from town. Alyssa looked around, wondering whom she could approach next.

  Slade had been standing in the shadows just beyond the ring of torches that provided the light for the evening's festivities, feeling like the outsider he was. He'd been looking over the crowd, trying to catch sight of the town's sheriff, when he saw the woman for the first time as she stood with an older couple across the dance floor. Once he'd seen her, he hadn't been able to look away.

  It wasn't that the woman was the prettiest one there. Certainly, the petite, flirtatious blond who was surrounded by men at the refreshment table earned that honor, but the woman he was drawn to had a classic, almost timeless beauty about her. Her hair was blond, and she had styled it back away from her face and then allowed the thick, heavy mass to tumble over her shoulders in a cascade of curls. The gown she wore was dark green and emphasized her slender figure and her coloring.

  As Slade looked on, another man took her out onto the dance floor. When they turned his way while they were dancing, he saw the badge on the man's chest and knew that he'd found the lawman he'd been seeking.

  Slade stepped even farther back into the shadows as he observed them together. The woman was gazing up at the sheriff, laughing at something he'd said. Slade found himself wishing that he was the one out there, holding her in his arms, delighting her with his conversation. His frustration over his situation grew even more, and he knew a driving need to be someone other than Slade Braxton, the outlaw and fast gun, for just one brief moment that night.

  Slade moved to the refreshment table and helped himself to a cup of punch. He kept careful watch around him. He had to constantly be on guard and aware of his surroundings. When a man had a bounty on his head, there was no telling who might be able to identify him from his wanted poster and think they could face him down and bring him in.

  When several people smiled and said hello to him, Slade polit
ely returned the greeting. It felt good-real good. He looked up again after the music had stopped, and he saw the sheriff walking back toward his office and the woman standing alone on the dance floor.

  Common sense told him to trail the lawman, to familiarize himself with his routine. Logic told him he had to meet the Kid in less than an hour, but somehow, none of that mattered right then. He put his cup aside and started through the crowd toward the woman who'd caught his eye. He was going to dance with her just one time tonight before he had to leave.

  "Miss?" Slade said as he reached her side.

  Alyssa looked up, startled. She'd been watching Emily working her wiles on her legion of ardent admirers and hadn't even noticed this stranger's approach-though how she'd missed him before now, she had no idea. He was different from any man there, and she was certain that she'd never seen him before. If she had, she surely would have remembered. He was by far the best-looking man she'd ever seentall, dark and somehow dangerous.

  "Hello," she said slowly, giving him a tentative smile. "Have we met?"

  "No. Would you care to dance?"

  A new tune had just begun to play.

  Alyssa was mesmerized as she gazed up at the mysterious man who'd appeared out of nowhere. His dark-eyed regard was warm upon her, yet she felt no nervousness at his nearness, only intrigue and-as much as it startled her-desire. She wanted-no, needed-to know more about him.

  "I'd love to dance with you."

  The words were out before she realized what she was saying, but there was no time to turn back. She followed her instincts. A smile played around the handsome stranger's lips, but he didn't say another word. When he opened his arms, she moved into them. He swept her out onto the dance floor.

  The melody was one of the few slow ones the small band had played all night, and Alyssa couldn't have been more pleased at the timeliness of it. She felt as if she were floating on air as they moved together. Looking up at him, she studied the hard, lean line of his jaw. She saw strength and power there. She wondered what his name was and where he'd come from. To her surprise, she had a great desire to know when she could see him again.