Please don’t leave me, Jacey. Please don’t. When I open my eyes, you’ll be riding back on Knight and you’ll say you were just teasing. Oh please, Jacey. Don’t leave me here with the graves and the memories. Don’t.
Glory slid her hands down her face to press her cold fingers against her mouth. Taking a deep breath for courage, she opened her eyes. Where only moments ago her older sister had reared her black gelding atop a bald hill, that gentle swell now stood barren, washed in the autumn morning’s cool shadows.
She’s really gone. Glory slumped, defeated, her hands now at her sides. No amount of prayer or pleading or injured silence on her part had kept Jacey here. Glory turned to her plump little elf of a nanny. “I should’ve stayed in my room like I said I would, Biddy. Jacey didn’t deserve a farewell from me. How could she just up and leave like this? I hate her for going.”
Her apple-cheeked face lining with her frown, Biddy patted Glory’s arm. “Now, darlin’, ye know ye don’t hate yer sister. We’ve worries enough—with Hannah in Boston and Jacey riding off to certain trouble in the Arizona Territory—without ye addin’ to it. Yer just scared.”
Glory’s bottom lip quivered with the truth of that. “Well, I have every right to be. I’ve never been alone on the ranch like this. And after everything else that’s happened—all the killings and the funerals and such—it just seems that there’s an emptiness here now, Biddy, as if you and I are the only ones left in the world. Are … are you scared, too?”
Biddy tipped her double chins up and struck what to Glory was a brave but unconvincing pose. “Of course I’m scared. Only a fool wouldn’t be.” Having thickened the air with that observation, she turned her frowning attention back to the washboard roll of the low hills beyond the Lawless ranch yard.
A sudden and brisk gust lifted Glory’s skirt hem, chilling her and chasing goose bumps over her exposed flesh. Shivering, she hugged her shawl around her shoulders and stepped back into the shelter provided by the verandah’s overhanging roof. From there, she surveyed the patch of land she knew as home. The Lawless spread. A vast cattle ranch sprawling across the tallgrass plains and rolling hills of no-man’s-land.
Mama and Papa had dreamed of a better life for them all. But now … they were buried out back, alongside Old Pete. And her older sisters? Gone from home, looking for answers, for vengeance. That left her in charge. Glory swallowed, feeling the responsibility press on her shoulders for every man, horse, cow, and blade of grass for miles around.
She couldn’t do this. A prick of panic gripped her belly, urged her to run after Jacey and again beg her to stay. No. Glory stubbornly fisted her hands in her shawl’s folds. No. It’s best to think about what I can do. Which wasn’t much, she admitted. After all, Papa’d seen to the day-to-day running of the ranch, the hiring and firing, the buying and selling of the cattle, the ordering of supplies. Jacey’d dogged his every step, so she knew all the ins-and-outs. But she was gone.
And Mama … Well, she tried to teach me, Glory grimaced, remembering how she’d dawdled so long over household tasks that Mama’d shake her elegant head, shoo her away, and put the work in Hannah’s capable hands. Thus freed—the memory now pricked at Glory’s conscience—she’d fritter away the hours in her room, indulging her romantic daydreams of her own home, a loving husband, and her own beautiful children.
Just how you intend to take care of them, Mama’d fussed, when you won’t lend your hand to the simplest of tasks, I’ll never know, Glory Bea Lawless.
Oh, why hadn’t she paid more attention, asked more questions? Because here she was now—nineteen and helpless. And in charge. Well, surely I know something. Glory bit thoughtfully at her lower lip. She’d helped Mama with the bookkeeping. And gotten in the way when Biddy was baking. And she’d also … Nothing else came to mind. Surprised realization stiffened her spine. That’s it? That’s all I know?
Glory blinked, and found she was staring at Biddy’s wide and capable back. Solace and reassurance rested with her. In a blaze of emotion, Glory hurried to her and clutched at her beloved nanny. Biddy’s squawk of startlement at being grabbed from behind blended with Glory’s heartfelt and sobbing cry of “You’re the only one who hasn’t left me, Biddy. I love you.”
Biddy turned in Glory’s embrace and hugged her tightly. “There, there, child. I love ye, too. Yer sisters will be back. We must believe that. But right now ’tis ye I’m worried about. Yer breakin’ me heart—all that time ye spend at yer poor parents’ graves. ’Tis not good for ye. Why, look at yerself—ye haven’t eaten or slept properly for the past month. Are ye still havin’ those nightmares?”
Nestling her face in the warm crook of her nanny’s neck and shoulder, her fragmented world momentarily warm and secure, Glory nodded her head and sniffed inconsolably. Then she pulled away and turned to stare out at the wind-stirred tallgrass. “I keep … seeing them, Biddy. Mama and Papa. Just lying there. All that blood.”
“I know, child. But ye must let go. Ye must look to tomorrow, to what needs to be done. It’s what ye do from here on out that’ll cure what ails ye.”
Glory pivoted to face Biddy. “I know what needs to be done—everything. With Hannah and now Jacey gone, I ought to be cured inside of a week, wouldn’t you say? Because I’m now the Lawless in charge, even though I don’t have the first idea what to do.” Glory sighed, lifting her chin. “But I suppose I have to try. Because this ranch was Mama’s and Papa’s dream. And now, I must see that the dream lives. There’s no one else to do it.”
Having made that brave speech, Glory stood there, fearing she was already bested by circumstances. Her shoulders slumped right along with her resolve. “Oh, what am I saying? I don’t know a thing about running a cattle ranch. It’ll dry up and blow away because of me.” The enormity of it all brought her hands to her mouth. She stared teary-eyed at her grandmotherly nanny.
Biddy leapt into action. “You’ll do a fine job of it. And plenty of help ye’ll have. Why, Smiley’s been the foreman since yer father settled the place. He’ll still make the everyday ranching decisions. An’ Sourdough’s out in the cook shack stirrin’ up the men’s breakfast this minute. He knows what supplies are needed and when to get them. An’ there’s me, darlin’. I’ll be takin’ care of ye. Now see? Ye’ll be naught but an overseer until yer sisters come home.”
Heartened by Biddy’s cheery picture, Glory smiled—and exhaled for the first time since Jacey’d announced yesterday afternoon that she was leaving. “You’re right. We’ll be just fine. Hannah and Jacey will be so proud when they come home. The ranch’ll be better than ever.”
“That’s the spirit!” Biddy beamed with pride. “Those are the first words ye’ve uttered in a month that show some gumption.” She clasped Glory’s hand with both of hers. “Proud of me baby, I am.”
“Now, Biddy, you can’t go on calling me a baby,” Glory chided, feeling stronger by the minute. “I’m a grown woman in charge of a cattle ranch. And I’m a Lawless. Papa’s blood flows through my veins. And the way I see it, that more than makes up for whatever I don’t know. I don’t need anyone’s help.”
A sudden and stark expression puckered Biddy’s mouth, catching Glory off guard. “What is it, Biddy? What’s wrong?”
Biddy shook her head, unsettling gray, wispy curls from her knot of a bun. She then gripped Glory’s arm with a fierceness that surprised her. “Listen to me. Ye’ll need other help besides that of a bunch of old folks who maybe canna protect you, should them murderers decide to ambush us again. So I’ll hear no talk of Lawless pride and how ye can take care of yer own without outside help. ’Tis rubbish and will see us all dead. I want a promise from you. Should outside help come a-callin’, promise me ye’ll accept it, Glory Bea. Promise me.”
Truly alarmed now—she hadn’t considered the possibility that the unknown men who killed Mama and Papa might return—Glory cried, “I promise, Biddy. I swear it. Do you really think they might come back?”
Biddy relaxed her grip on Glory’s arm and nodded up at her. “I fear it, I do. Child, we don’t know the who or the why of my beloved Catherine and yer father bein’ cut down like they were … and in their own home. So we must keep a watch. ’Tis not much, but ’tis all we can do—be prepared and be careful. And go on living.”
With that, Biddy released Glory and turned to stare out at the prairie vista beyond the security of the Lawless fence. In a moment, she waved her pudgy, brown-spotted hand, urging Glory to join her at the low railing that ran the circumference of the wraparound verandah. “Come here, child. Look.”
Glory immediately obeyed. “What am I looking for?” She searched the horizon, but could detect no movement. Only the autumn-browned tallgrass waved in the wind. Realizing Biddy hadn’t answered her, Glory repeated, “Biddy, what are you looking for? What do you want me to see?”
“Yer sisters,” came her answer.
Glory’s stomach flopped with a creeping fear. Could the sweet old lady’s mind be slipping? Did Biddy really know what was going on around her? She appeared to, and yet she’d been muttering to herself all morning—even before Jacey left. And she’d looked out the curtains, searching the outdoors from every window in the house—on both floors. Twice.
One way or the other, she had to know, Glory decided. She took a deep breath and blurted, “Biddy, how can I see my sisters? You know Hannah’s in Boston, don’t you? Remember—she left last month with that letter from Mama’s family, thinking they may have had a hand in her and Papa’s deaths?”
Biddy nodded up at Glory. “Of course I know.”
But Glory wasn’t so sure. She searched her nanny’s faded-blue eyes, saw they were clear and focused on her. But still, she challenged, “Good. Do you also recall that Jacey just left with that broken spur? She thinks it proves someone from Papa’s old gang was here the day of the … murders.”
Biddy pursed her lips, as if exasperated. “’Tis not addled I am, Glory. I know full well where yer sisters are and the why of it. ’Twas just an old lady’s hope to see them riding over them hills, all safe and sound, that had me looking for them. But they’re out of me nest now, and there’s naught I can do to protect them. But I have ye here, and I’ll not see anything happen to ye. Mark me words—I’d do anything to see that yer safe. Anything.”
Ashamed for having doubted Biddy, Glory looked down at her feet and mumbled, “I know, Biddy. And I’m sorry. It’s just that … I wish Mama and Papa were still here. And Old Pete. And his cats and dogs.”
Biddy sighed and said, “Oh, me too, child. I miss ’em all somethin’ fierce, I do.” Then she became all bustling business as she tugged Glory by her hand. “Come on, then. Yer stubborn sister is gone. We should go inside before ye catch yer death from this October air.”
Glory dug in her heels, resisting Biddy’s pulling on her. If she was going to be in charge here, she couldn’t allow her nanny to boss her around. “You go inside. I’d better go check with Smiley about the—”
Biddy’s sudden flapping of her other hand in Glory’s face startled her, cut off her words. “Shh, Glory. Did ye hear that?”
“Hear what?” Glory heard only the fear in her own voice. She bit down on her bottom lip. Could the murderers be coming back?
Biddy flapped her hand again for quiet. She cocked her head, listened, and then dragged Glory back to the porch railing with her. Relinquishing her hold there, Biddy shaded her eyes with one hand and pointed with the other. “Look there. Who the devil is that comin’ down the path? ’Tis early of a morn yet, and our closest neighbor is a half-day’s ride away.”
Glory saw them, all right. A wagon and two outriders. Only one family lived a half-day’s ride away. “The Thornes,” she entoned, her features set in disapproving lines. “They’ll never get past the men Smiley has at the gate.”
Biddy harrumphed her opinion and followed it with, “We’ll see.”
Glory shot her a look and then turned her attention to the dust-raising approach of their neighbors. Perched on the buckboard’s seat were a man and a woman. A leggy gray horse, tied to its gate, trotted along behind. But just as Glory had predicted, the guards posted at the gate stepped boldly in the wagon’s path, their rifles raised in a challenge. The wagon drew to a harness-jingling halt at the gated archway proclaiming this land Lawless property.
The wagon’s driver—Glory’s heart lurched with the certainty it was Riley, the oldest Thorne offspring—spoke with the guards and gestured to the main house. Glory cut her gaze to the two outriders and saw they’d reined in a good twenty yards up the rutted dirt path. Two more Thorne sons, no doubt. “What do you suppose they want?”
“An’ how would I be knowin’ what they want? ’Tis not as if I invited them here, now is it? When would I have done that, pray tell?”
Biddy’s high-pitched protests stiffened Glory with sudden suspicion. She turned to her nanny and clutched at her ample arm. “All morning you’ve been looking for someone. And now they’re here. Am I right?”
Looking everywhere but at Glory, Biddy snapped, “I’ve no idea what yer talkin’ about, child. ’Tis merely an innocent visit by our neighbors. Where’s the harm in that?”
Rising temper strangled Glory’s words into a fierce whisper. “Where’s the harm? The Thorne men have never been welcome on Lawless land, and well you know it. Papa tolerated Louise Thorne’s visits with Mama, but that was the extent of it. And you know the why of that, too.”
“I know a lot of things, child. And not all of them right and good,” Biddy countered. “’Tis not Mrs. Thorne upsetting you. ’Tis her son Riley. I know it, and you know it. Now look—the men have allowed them to pass. You just remember yer manners, young lady.”
Glory pivoted to see for herself. Unbelievably, the guards waved the Thornes onto Lawless property. They’d never do that—unless they’d been told to by someone in authority. What was her nanny up to now? Remember my manners? Bad manners, maybe.
Invited or not, Riley Thorne would get a piece of her mind, she fumed. Did he think just because Papa was departed that the land dispute and the bad blood would be forgotten? Nursing her family’s grudge, Glory silently watched the wagon draw near. Suddenly, Biddy rounded on her, drawing Glory’s angry attention her way. “Here they come. And you’ll treat them with the respect yer dear mother always did. Feud or no, she counted Louise Thorne a friend.”
“I’ll be nice to Mrs. Thorne. For Mama.” Giving up only that one inch, Glory pointedly looked away from the team and wagon that drew near. Arms crossed under her shawl-covered bosom, she remained stiffly quiet, even when Biddy called out a greeting and got one in return from the folks in the wagon.
Glory heard the team drawing up to the hitching post. The Thornes could all fall into a deep hole, for all they mattered to her. But her harsh sentiment couldn’t prevent her from stealing a glimpse over her shoulder. Intense curiosity compelled her to look, to see what changes the past five years had wrought in Riley. Her breath caught with what she saw. Tall and all filled out. A man. Not at all the skinny, coltish boy she remembered.
Was he also handsome? She flicked her gaze up to his face, but his stiff-brimmed Stetson shaded his features from her view. If only he’d raise it up so I can—Riley caught sight of her and made the sparest gesture of greeting. Glory stiffened and jerked back around. She had nothing to say to him.
But she did have something to say to Biddy. Leaning over and speaking under her breath, she fussed, “Here I am, the only Lawless around to take care of everyone and everything. And what’s the first thing out of the chute? A wagonload of Thornes. If this is about the grazing lands—”
“Shush, child. Maybe ’tis naught to do with the land. Now, do ye want them to hear ye?”
Glory straightened up and purposely raised her voice. “I don’t care if they do. This is my land now, and I’ll do as I see fit.”
Biddy pulled Glory to her plump side and spoke right into her ear. “Listen to ye. Yer poor mother must be turning—”
“Yoo-hoo, Glory? Biddy? Good morning to you,” came Louise Thorne’s booming voice. “I hope we’re not too early of a morning for paying a call?”
Freeing herself from Biddy’s grip, and purposely freezing Riley out of her welcome, Glory forced a smile to her lips and a friendly tone into her voice. “Why no, Mrs. Thorne. It’s always a pleasure to see you.”
A sudden stinging pain tweaked her arm. Glory blinked several times to keep from tearing up. That darned Biddy had pinched her.
She stole another glance at Riley and sucked in sharply when he nimbly jumped down from the buckboard. Her brows arched in appreciation for his long legs and muscular grace. Riley Thorne cut a most pleasing figure of a man. In profile to Glory as he helped his mother alight, he spoke over the creaking of the wagon’s springs. “Morning, Miss Biddy, Miss Glory. Ma insisted on dropping by. Seems she’s worried about you.”
Glory’s rising awareness withered as she turned to Louise Thorne, a squarely built, brown-haired, cheerful woman. “Worried? Why on earth—?”
“Because, pretty child, it’s just not right—you having to shoulder all this man’s work.” Louise Thorne hitched her skirt and her bulk up the two steps to the verandah. With a pitying smile on her kind face, she reached out to smooth a work-roughened hand down Glory’s cheek. “What was that Jacey thinking, to light out like she did? Why, your mama must be turning over in her grave at the thought of her youngest all alone here.”
In the face of such sympathy, Glory’s chin quivered. She hung her head. A sniffle or two escaped her. “Thank you, Mrs. Thorne, but I’m not alone. Biddy’s here and Smiley and all the men—” Up popped Glory’s head and her eyebrows. “How’d you know Jacey left? Why, she didn’t even know herself she was heading for Tucson until we got Hannah’s letter—and that was only yesterday afternoon.”
Biddy and both Thornes struck such quiet poses that Glory could hear the wind blow, could hear the men’s voices as they called out to one another over by the horse barn. Could hear a dog bark and a chicken cluck. Then it was true—she’d been betrayed. Glory rounded on her red-faced nanny. “Biddy Jensen, shame on you! You sent someone over to the Thorne place yesterday. You were looking for them all morning, weren’t you? I cannot believe you—”
“Now hold on, Glory.”
Glory pivoted to Riley. “Perhaps you ought to mind your own—”
He grabbed her arm and propelled her firmly toward the porch steps. Speechless with this uninvited familiarity, Glory could only stare up at his clean-shaven profile. Once on the ground, she was forced to turn with him to face the two older women still standing on the porch. “You two sit and visit. John and Zeke will keep a while out on the hill. I’d like a word with Miss Lawless here.”
Needing no further encouragement, Biddy and his mother lifted their skirts and scurried for the front door. Jerking it open, they got stuck together in the opening, but then barged through, slamming it closed behind themselves. With those targets out of her range, Glory turned a properly authoritative expression up to Riley. “If you think you can just ride onto my land and handle me like this, then you are sorely mistaken.”
Something sparked in the depths of his dark eyes, giving him the appearance of a hunting hawk as he stared down at her. “I’d hoped we could be civil to each other.”
The deep and intimate timbre of his voice went all over Glory. Another wave of unnerving awareness had her swallowing convulsively. “We … we can,” she stammered, barely able to meet his steady gaze. Her next breath allowed her to add, “Once you’ve taken your hand off me.”
But he didn’t. Nor did he answer her. Or allow her to look away. Glory’s heart thumped, her mouth dried. The moment stretched taut with unspoken appetites. Then, without warning, Riley released her and stepped back, causing her to stumble. Why, she’d been leaning into the man. She jerked her gaze down, needlessly straightening her clothes all around. Yes, her heart beat too fast, her hands shook, and her stomach fluttered. But only because the oldest son of Papa’s enemy stood on Lawless land.
“You’ve changed a lot, Glory.”
Her hands stilled. What did he think of those changes? Glory finally lifted her head, met his gaze. His eyes, dark-brown, almost black, blazed under the low brim of his hat. His straight nose pointed to his wide mouth. Glory swallowed. “So have you. Five years is a long time.”
“I reckon so.”
When he didn’t say anything else, sudden self-consciousness made Glory blurt, “I see you’re a man now. And not the … boy I remember … playing with … when your mama called on mine. You quit coming around with her.”
Riley’s lips twitched, as if around a grin. “I got too big to pay calls with my mother.” With that, he turned from her, strode to his wagon’s tailgate, and began untying the big, finely muscled gray horse tethered there.
Watching Riley’s every movement as if she’d never seen a man before, Glory called out, “Is that Pride—that yearling you told me about on your last visit?”
Riley’s hands stilled over the knots he worked to undo. He sent her a considering look. “That was five years ago.”
Glory felt suddenly ill. If she could move—and she realized she couldn’t—she’d march right over to Biddy’s wildflower plot and bury herself. Why had she let on that she’d remembered—for five years!—the name he’d given to some dumb old horse? But stuck with it, she persisted, “Well, is it?”
Riley smoothed a hand along the animal’s arched and muscled neck, and drawled, “Yep. This is him—all grown up and gelded.”
Glory blinked in shock. “Riley Thorne! What a bold thing to say.”
He arched an eyebrow at her but said nothing as he retraced his steps back to the hitching rail. As he tied his horse to it, Glory’s gaze slipped to his long-fingered hands. She watched his precise motions, and felt a hot thrill she couldn’t name course through her and weaken her knees. It made her angry that it should be so.
He might have grown into a man, but he hadn’t changed a bit from the irksome half-grown boy she remembered. She still couldn’t shake a response out of him—not if her very life depended on it. He just stared at her and kept his thoughts to himself. Even when they’d been children, he’d behaved this same way. And back then, she’d been the prettiest child—everyone said so. Everyone else fell victim to her little-girl charms—even his two brothers sitting out on the hill right now. But not Riley. Never Riley.
Glory cocked her head as she considered him. Was he still immune to her charms? Or did she just think he was? After all, a man he may be, but she was now also a woman—one ready to test her powers. Before she could think twice, she blurted, “Riley, look at me.”
He did. He notched up the brim of his Stetson, crossed his arms over his broad chest … and stared at her, waiting.
Glory suffered a moment of panic. He wouldn’t take kindly to being toyed with. She could see it in the tilt of his dark eyes. She immediately abandoned any notion of a flirtation and cast about for something casual to say. “Umm, are you staying long?”
“That depends on you.”
Glory’s cheeks blazed. Why, his tone of voice alone made his words sound like an invitation to a kiss. Or was it just the way she was hearing things today? Feigning uncomprehension, she amended, “I meant, what’s the reason for your … visit?”
“That’s a good question. Walk with me a minute, Glory?”
Sudden irritation with the whole situation—he hadn’t changed a bit—made her drop her prim pose. She forced her breath out in an impatient puff. “I shouldn’t. I should just tell you to mount that gray of yours and get off my place.”
Riley’s eyes narrowed. “Is that your answer?”
Yes rode the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn’t say it. Not with his mother inside with Biddy. That would be impolite. Telling herself that was her only reason, Glory relented. “Well, you did come all this way. I suppose I have a few minutes before I go see about…” See about what? Think, Glory. But she couldn’t come up with a blasted thing. And so finished lamely with “Something important.”
And he knew it, darn him. Riley dipped his Stetson to her. “Yes, ma’am. Wouldn’t want to keep the boss lady from her work.” With that, he turned and started walking.
Glory stayed where she was. Did he just expect her to fall in beside him? But then she did, hurrying to catch up to his long-striding figure. He didn’t say anything, but he did slow his steps to match hers. As they walked side by side, Glory looked up at him from under her lashes and considered his square-jawed profile. And suddenly wanted to cry. Why did it have to be that Riley Thorne had grown into a most handsome man? A tall, big-muscled handsome man? It wasn’t fair. He was a Thorne. And she wanted him.
Just then, he looked down at her. Caught staring, Glory felt yet another splash of warmth spread over her cheeks. Why, she hadn’t blushed this much in her whole life. She quickly looked away, concentrating on the yard and the barn, the horses in the corrals, a dog stretching in the sun.
“Glory, I wanted to come see you before now and tell you how sorry I am for your losses.”
Glory stopped, unable to look at him. He’d caught her off guard with his condolences. She looked out at the hills, blinked back her tears, and mumbled, “It’s okay. Your mother came. It was enough.”
“I suppose.” He was quiet another moment but then added, “Ma told me … how it was here that day. Looking around now … well, it looks like things have been set to rights.”
A deep breath helped Glory get her words out. “Yes. You’d never know that only a month ago—” A hitch in her voice cut off her words. Unwilling to discuss it further, she resumed walking, Riley easily keeping pace with her.
A few steps later, it was Riley who stopped them. Glory turned her questioning eyes up to his. “I should have come. When I think about what you and your sisters and Biddy came home to that day, I want to hit something.” He took a deep breath and then added, “I’m trying to say I’m real sorry, Glory. I’ve thought about you a lot, and felt for you. I shouldn’t have stayed away.”
Glory knew why he had—the hard feelings between the Lawlesses and the Thornes over their ongoing land feud. But more disconcerted by the deep concern he’d just confessed to having for her, she stumbled around her words. “I thank you for that. But there’s no call to feel bad. The funerals … well, we were all upset. Why, I couldn’t tell you to this day who was there, and who wasn’t.”
Thinking only of a comforting gesture, Glory reached up and squeezed Riley’s arm. And froze. She’d touched him a thousand times over their childhood years. But this time … well, the feel of him was different somehow. More … physical. Seeing him watch her, she jerked her hand back and held it self-consciously in her other one. “I just … well, it’s not your place to see to me. I can take care of myself.”
“I reckon.” He then looked down, drawing Glory’s gaze with his to his boots. A kitten meowed plaintively at his feet. He bent over, scooped it up, and then held the little tabby against his chest to pet it gently. After a quiet moment of that, he spoke as if to the kitten. “Taking care of yourself can be a mighty lonesome business. You ever consider letting … someone lend a hand?”
Caught up with watching his hands hold the purring kitten so gently, and lost in wishing he’d hold her like that and keep her safe and warm, Glory smiled and nodded yes. And then realized she was. She stiffened. Great merciful heavens, she’d almost—She shot Riley a look. And wanted to die. His serious expression, his wordless consideration of her, his knowing eyes. They spoke volumes.
Mercifully, he returned his attention to the tabby. Glory came close to stomping her foot. Yes, she wanted help. She needed help. She was scared out of her skin. But she was a Lawless. Oh, she was such a betrayal to her family, to everything they stood for. They were all so strong. But not her. She was the weak one. They knew it, and she knew it. Here was the proof—she’d all but jumped at the first offer of help to come her way. And from a Thorne, no less. Worst of all, she still wanted it. Wanted him.
In an agony of silence, she watched Riley squat down to set the little furball free. She couldn’t help but notice the way his denims stretched tight over his muscled thighs. Nor could she deny that the sight was pleasing to her. Just then, Riley looked up at her. Caught staring yet again, Glory quickly looked away from the warmth in his dark eyes.
“Glory? Look.” She flicked her attention back to him, but saw him nodding in the direction of the kitten. Together they watched its hopping, zigzagging retreat. Chuckling, Riley smiled up at her. “It must be good to see some new life around here. Old Pete would be proud. He did love his animals.”
Glory nodded and took a deep breath. “Yes. We found the mother up in the loft about three weeks ago. She’d birthed five kittens.”
“Good. I’m glad.” Still, Riley stared up at her. Glory noticed that the sun in his eyes lightened their brown to a honeyed gold. And knew this moment was about so much more than cats and kittens.
Close to running into his arms and crying like a baby, Glory jerked around, showing him her back. She concentrated on picking at her fingernails as she chided, “Get up, Riley. You look like you’re begging … or proposing, or something.”
He was customarily quiet a moment before answering. “One and the same, the way I see it. Won’t catch me doing either.”
Stung by his implied rejection, Glory stiffened and put a hand to her chest. “Well, it’s a good thing. Because your name’s Thorne. And mine is Lawless. There’s too much bad blood between our families. But even if that weren’t true, we couldn’t … I wouldn’t.…”
Staring at the horse barn, with Riley still behind her, Glory stood lost in her acute embarrassment. What was she doing, saying these words to him? She had to get herself out of this. “Well, darn it, Riley, I just don’t fancy you … in that way. And darn you for making me have to say it.”
Her words hung in the air. She swished her skirt aside as she pivoted to face him. He’d stood up. Her voice faltered as his gaze hardened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that … like that. I just meant—”
“No need to apologize.”
Her anger fueled by his solemn composure, Glory again spoke more sharply than she intended. “Even if I did feel otherwise, now would not be the right time. I made a blood oath with my sisters to avenge my parents’ deaths. And my part is to keep this spread going, so Hannah and Jacey have a place to call home. My sisters are counting on me—for the first time in my life—and I won’t let them down.”
“No one’s asking you to do otherwise.” Riley took a chest-expanding breath and peered off into the distance. When he again looked down at her, his frown produced lines to either side of his wide mouth. “I came here out of simple neighborliness to see if I could be of any help to you. That’s all.”
Such noble words. And she was such a spoiled child. Stricken, Glory hung her head. “I’m sorry, Riley. I don’t know what’s gotten into me today. First Hannah left. And now Jacey. Then Biddy and I got into a fuss. And now you show up. I … well, I just don’t know what’s going on anymore.”
She again sought his eyes. Her heart fluttered at his unapproachable handsomeness. “I thank you for your concern, but we’ll be fine. We … we don’t need any outside help.”
“From a Thorne, you mean?” The angled planes of Riley’s face sharpened. “This is no time to be stubborn and prideful, Glory. There’re things going on you have no idea about. Dangerous things. I just wish you weren’t the one left here to face them. Hannah or Jacey’d be better fit to—”
“Is that what you think? That I can’t handle myself and this ranch?” It was true: Everyone—even the Thornes—obviously believed she couldn’t dress herself without help. Forgetting any notion of female flutterings over this man, Glory shook a finger at her childhood friend. “You listen to me, Riley Thorne. I may be the youngest, but I’m learning. And I’m learning fast. I’ll just show you that I don’t need any help.”
Riley’s eyebrows rose. “That damned Lawless nature of yours hasn’t suffered any for being so spoiled by your family, has it? Folks around here believe you to be a sweet-natured, kind girl. I must be the only one who sees past that to the prideful girl underneath.”
Beyond insulted, Glory sucked in a breath and lit into him. “Well, thank you for that. Did you come all this way just to find fault with me and my upbringing?”
Riley glared at her from under the brim of his Stetson. Then he spoke in a deadly calm manner. “No. But go ahead—make your own way. Just get the hell out of my head.” With that, he pivoted and stalked away, showing her his squared shoulders and broad back.
Get the hell out of my head? Glory’s mouth slacked open in surprise. Why, the big ox—he did feel something for her. Triumphant, Glory poked her tongue out at his retreating figure. Riley stopped, as if he’d seen her do it, and spun to face her. Glory instantly struck a sober pose and raised her chin a proud notch. Raking her gaze over his dad-blamed handsome face under his dusty old Stetson, she waited for him to speak.
And speak he did. “I came to tell you I can’t sleep nights, knowing you’re here by yourself. There’re bad men roaming these hills. Maybe even the ones responsible for your folks being dead. If you’d think a minute, you’d realize that Smiley and your men can’t sit around protecting you day and night and still see to the cattle.” He paused, looked her up and down, and then added, “So, you can try, Glory … but you can’t run me off.”
Glory narrowed her eyes. “I already did. I want you off my property.”
“No. I’m here, and I’m staying. Until Hannah or Jacey gets back. And I don’t care if you don’t like it, boss lady.”