"Going to check on Annie?" Jeb plucked a piece of straw from one of the bales scattered about in the barn. He stuck the end in his mouth and watched Matt saddle Linedrive.
"Yep, for some reason, I can't get her out of my mind. I'll ride out to the Lazy D and have a look around." He nodded to the sack hanging on the saddle horn. "I found this behind the barn. There's a pair of boys' pants and shirt in it, the exact same kind Annie wears. That proves she was here. Something must be going on. What I'd like to know is why she felt the need to hide out in the stables instead of coming to the house." The woman was stubborn just plain stubborn.
"Like I said, could be because the two of you always end up arguing about something."
Matt secured the cinch under Linedrive's belly. "Don't remind me," he replied sardonically. "I'll straighten things out between us once and for all. This childish nonsense has gone on long enough."
"Go easy on her, Matt. I know she pushes you past your limit of patience, but she's a good girl."
Matt grinned. "Remind me just how well-behaved she is when she does something to rattle my bones, okay?" But, whatever her mood, be it spitting mad or happy, he'd always spot her riding Diablo at least once a day. Annie wasn't the type of girl who'd take her anger out on an innocent animal and ignore Diablo's daily exercise routine. He nudged his hat back from his forehead and rested his arm on the saddle. "I haven't seen hide nor hair of Annie and it has me worried. I don't trust her stepbrother and Eva's just as bad if not worse."
Jeb scratched the side of his head. "Well, son, I aim to agree with you there. Take that ride to the Lazy D, and make sure she's okay. I'd go with you, but my bones are aching something awful. I don't like it that she's taken to staying away. If she's got troubles with that step family of hers, bring her here and we'll take care of things."
"Will do."
Matt's temper flared. If Eva and Robbie had threatened Annie in any way, he'd make certain they answered to him. "Tell Aunt Rose not to keep supper for me. I'm not sure if I'll be back tonight." Jeb nodded and moved aside. Matt mounted Linedrive and nudged the horse to a trot. Annie had pluck, sass and a whole lot of temper wrapped up tight in that curvy little body. Their last encounter reminded him of how much he missed her. His pants tightened at the crotch. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the image of Annie over his knee, her luscious bottom outlined in those pants, out of his mind. Sure wasn't the same as it had been when she was a kid. Annie Dobbs had grown up right before his eyes and he had been too stubborn to notice. Damn those pants!
Matt was bordering the boundary line of the Sanders spread when he recognized Lloyd Sanders riding toward him at a slow gait. He clenched the reins tightly in his hands and cursed his bad luck. Lloyd had been the first to label him a bastard. From then on, the two had never gotten along. Lloyd's father owned the biggest ranch in Mason County and his son made sure everybody knew. As a boy, Lloyd enjoyed bullying the younger children in the schoolyard. As a grown man he hadn't changed, all he did was drink and when he got drunk, he got mean and had a habit of taking his anger out on the girls who worked in Sally's Saloon. Matt had given him a beating more than once when he caught him manhandling the ladies.
Linedrive tossed his head and let out a loud snort. "Easy, boy, I don't like him either." He patted the animal's strong neck to calm him down. "Believe me, I'd sooner see the back end of the asshole and I ain't talking about the horse."
Lloyd reined his horse alongside of Matt's and rested his forearm across the saddle horn. The shit-eating grin on his face set Matt's teeth on edge. "Howdy, Caine, headed for the Lazy D?"
"What business is it of yours, Sanders?"
"Just wondering. Annie Dobbs is looking mighty fine lately. If you're planning on calling on her you're wasting time. She ain't there."
Matt's eye gave a little twitch. If she wasn't at her house, then where the hell was she? He kept his features stoic. There was nothing Lloyd liked better than to see him get riled and he had no reason to get riled-yet. He cleared his throat. "Speak up, Sanders, it's clear you're dying to tell me what you know. I'd like to be on my way."
Sanders guffawed. "She's working at Sally's. Little pants wearing Annie's a whore."
Now he was riled. Matt roared and lunged from the saddle. He tackled Sanders and both men hit the ground hard. They broke apart and quickly rolled away from each other. Matt sprang to his feet and with a growl, he punched Lloyd in the face as the man struggled to get to his knees. Lloyd landed flat on his back and howled in pain. Matt yanked him up by the front of his collar and hit him again. "Don't ever call her that name, do you hear me?"
Sanders rolled to his side and pulled his knees to his chest. He coughed as he steadied himself on his hands and knees, then slowly stood up. Blood oozed from his mouth and nose and he wiped it away with the back of his hand. "I'm just telling you what I saw last night. I tried to take her home, but she wouldn't budge. You know damn well how stubborn she can be."
"Don't give me that load of shit. You probably pawed at her." Pissed, Matt plucked his hat from the ground, slapped it against his thigh and put it on his head. "If I find out you put your hands on her I'll beat you to a bloody pulp." He swung into the saddle and switched directions. If Lloyd was telling the truth, and that was a big if, Annie Dobbs was going to get the tanning of her life, only this time he'd bare her bottom and take a switch to her cute little fanny
* * * * *
Matt stabled Linedrive at the livery and booked a room at the hotel. His hand itched something fierce. Once he dragged Annie out of the saloon, he'd bring her to the hotel and give her the spanking of her life. He headed to Sally's with only one thing on his mind…find out why the hell she was working in a saloon.
He pushed through the swinging doors and stepped inside the smoke filled room. His gaze swept back and forth, searching for a longhaired redhead. He cursed. Stubborn woman wasn't anywhere in the crowd, which meant she had to be upstairs. He strode toward the stairs with rage in his soul at the thought of Annie in the arms of another man. She was naïve when it came to sex, he could see the innocence in her eyes, any man could. Her first time should be special, not just a tumble in the sheets with a horny tobacco-chewing cowboy. She belonged to him and after he addressed the issue as to why she elected to work in a saloon instead of coming to him for help, he intended to marry her.
"Evening, Matt. I missed you around here. Where've you been?"
The urge to ignore Millie was strong, but Matt was a gentleman. The blonde posed in front of him, one hand on her hip and the other trailing seductively along her collarbone. He got a clear view of her ample cleavage pushed high above her low-cut bodice, but the sight of all that flesh didn't excite him in the least. It had to be close to a month since he had used her services. Yep, just around the same time Annie's Pa had been laid to rest and he had held her close. Damn, the woman had spoiled him. He wanted no one else but her.
He clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt. "Not tonight, Millie." He reached inside his pocket and handed her a coin, which she promptly dropped down her cleavage. Millie flashed him a heartfelt smile and walked away.
He was halfway up the stairs and bumped into Sally. "Which room is Annie in?"
"She's not up there, Matt. She didn't want to service the men."
Relieved, he blew out a breath. "Then where is she, Sally?" he demanded as he made his way down the stairs. His eye began to twitch again. Great.
"Relax, Darlin'." Sally pointed to the roulette wheel in the far corner of the room. "She's right over there."
Matt nearly swallowed his tongue. No longer dressed in her usual boy's attire, Annie Dobbs was a vision in her purple dress. The creamy skin of her throat and shoulders was bare, tempting him to run his tongue along those delicate curves and valleys. Speaking of valleys, his gaze dropped to the magnificent pair of breasts pushed high above her gown. His breath lodged in his throat. If she bent over she'd spill those beauties. He tore his eyes away and skimmed her flat belly, gently rounded hips and tiny waist. Her legs were bare from the knees down to a pair of ankle boots. He backtracked up her body, allowing himself another lazy perusal until he reached her face and said, "She cut her hair."
He'd spank her twice as hard for cutting off those long locks of auburn colored tresses. His cock swelled as if in agreement. In his dreams, her hair was spread across the skin of his belly while her mouth... Damn! He had to get his head out of his pants. "What the hell's gotten into you, Sally? You hiring little girls now?"
"Open your eyes, Matt. Annie's no longer a little gal. She's a full-grown woman of eighteen. By now, she should have a couple of kids clinging to her skirts during the day and a hot passionate man at night."
Matt rubbed at his eye. Blast! No kids unless they were his and he'd be the one to show her some passion.
"Take Johnny over there. He'd make Annie a fine husband."
Another twitch. Not if he had anything to say about it. "What's this about marriage? Mary Beth Wegman is the same age as Annie and she ain't hitched yet. Of course, aside from a few pounds, she's the spitting image of her mother, so that could explain why she hasn't had any offers."
Sally moaned. "Just what this town needs, another pompous ass with her nose in the air."
"Look, you're a good friend, Sally, but I aim on taking Annie out of here, and I don't want any trouble from you or Hank."
Sally shook her head firmly. "Nothing doing. Not until you promise you won't take her back to the Lazy D. I know you're a stickler for keeping your word, Matt and if you say you won't, I'll believe you."
But Matt wasn't paying Sally a lick of attention. His thoughts were focused on the couple in the corner. He growled low in his throat. Annie looked way too comfortable with Johnny boy at that damn roulette wheel. Since when had the two become such good buddies? So what if Johnny came from good stock and was much closer to Annie's age, he didn't stand a chance against her fiery temper. She needed a strong man to handle her and he was that man. Matt caught the wide smile she flashed Johnny and his gut knotted. She didn't smile at him like that. "Okay, Sally, tell me exactly what's going on."
Sally set a finger of whiskey on the bar. "Taking that little gal back to her house will only put her in danger."
Matt rubbed at the knot of tension forming at the back of his neck. None of this made sense. What could have happened to make Annie leave her own home and take a job in a saloon? "Give me specifics, Sally."
She nodded to the whiskey. "Not until you down that drink cause believe me, you ain't gonna like it."
Matt grimaced at the burn coating his innards. "Okay, shoot."
Sally related word for word why Annie had come to her for help. "If she goes back to the Lazy D, her stepmother will force her to marry Lloyd Sanders. It's the only way they can get their hands on his money."
Matt was shaking his head even before Sally finished speaking. "The girl's eighteen. Eva can't make Annie do anything. What's this talk about a debt?"
"Deke put up the Lazy D and lost it gambling."
Matt muttered an expletive. "Well hell, she never told me anything."
"That's because the two of you are always fighting."
Matt rolled his eyes. "For Pete's sake, does the entire town know we fight?" He braced his hands against the edge of the bar and pushed until his arms strained taut. He'd marry Annie himself before he'd let Lloyd have her. He sucked in his breath, waiting for the imaginary noose to tighten around his neck, threatening to cut off his air supply, but nothing happened. Either his brain had taken a shit or he wasn't against the idea of marriage, especially to bratty Annie, as he had been in the past. He swung around and said, "She won't be marrying Lloyd so you can stop worrying. I don't give a damn what happens to Eva or that dandy son of hers, they're on their own. What I do care about is what happens to Annie." He grew silent for a moment. "Do you happen to know the name of the man who bested Deke?" He had his suspicions, but he needed to be sure.
Sally mentioned a name. "Hear tell he's been hanging out at the Muddy Gulch. Do you know him, Matt?"
"Yep, I do and it just so happens he owes me a huge favor." More determined than ever to marry Annie, Matt tossed Sally a grin. "Annie's coming home with me." And, if she gave him any trouble, he'd throw her over his shoulder and carry her out, but first he'd turn her over his knee and spank the stubborn sass out of her.