Millie’s Outlaw Read online

  No one or nothing moved. More assured of her chance of escape, she hobbled into the yard.

  "Going somewhere?"

  Millie jumped. Her heart pounded like a scared rabbit. She fisted her hand, dread filling her.

  Just like that, her bid for freedom was dashed. She cut her gaze sideways to the man's shadow.

  Mocking seemed to drip from him, and he seemed as dark as the night. Twice as deadly.

  She'd run if she could. The best she could do was to hobble, but not fast enough.

  The man stalking toward her was the same one with the gun. But not the same man she'd spotted when she'd been attempting to re-hitch Beau to the wagon.

  Now she remembered it. There had been two men, one mounted on a big dark horse, another the one who'd approached her, rifle in hand.

  "What do you want with me?" she demanded, but her voice wobbled a bit.

  Too much, in fact. Okay fine, she was scared. "What are you going to do with me?"

  Silence. He strode closer with the physical power of a hunting wolf. "A bullet didn't stop you, I see. It would stop most men, you know."

  "I'm no man." Her chin went up. "Plus, I'm tougher than I look."

  Millie raised her chin in a challenge and fisted her hand for good measure. Let him think she was tough. All fight.

  When she was nothing but bravado. Full of hot air.

  But she could bluff with the best of them. "You had better not try to hurt me."

  More silence. She heard nothing, no soft footfalls and no whisper of movement as he stalked toward her in the night.

  Powerful. Captivating. Dangerous.

  Wow, she'd never seen a man with such broad shoulders. Not that she made it a habit to gape at men's bodies.

  But sometimes a woman just couldn't help noticing. Because this man, why, he made her stomach flutter.

  Oh, stop fluttering, Millie told her midsection.

  No man thought she was worth the trouble. She knew this from personal experience. Or worth the disappointment and heartbreak.

  "Answer me. What are you going to do to me?"

  "As little as possible."

  "What did you do with Beau?"

  "I gave him to the first horse thief to come along." Low and deep, that voice. "What do you think?"

  "Is he s-safe?" She gulped.

  "You'll have to live to find out. Are you gonna punch me with that fist? Or will you lower your hand?"

  Oh. Only then did she realize she was ready to clock him alongside the head again.

  Not that she could do more than annoy him. No, he towered over her, mighty and strong. Much more powerful than she could ever be.

  And twice as fierce. He looked like a villain, no doubt, and certainly an outlaw. An outlaw of the worst kind.

  "I went through your wagon. I wanted to know what kind of woman I would be dealing with. You know, since you tried to give me a lump on the head and a black eye. You came close, too."

  "You took my money, didn't you? You found my savings. My horse had better be in that stable over there. I mean it."

  "There's one thing I can't stand, and that's a mouthy woman. But you're feisty too, and I like that."

  "I don't care what you like. You had better not shoot me."

  "Oh, I'll try and do my best. Restrain myself. Go ahead and check the stable." He followed her as she limped toward the small ramshackle building listing to one side.

  The thatch roof looked like a group of wild turkeys had once lived in it and recently abandoned it for better prospects.

  "But I don't think your leg is gonna want to carry you that far." He strolled around her and into the sweep of moonlight. "Don't worry. Your horse is just fine. Guess I took good care of him, after all."

  Millie's knee buckled. Stupid wounded leg. She hated being injured or sick. It put a crimp in her plans. Just like this stranger did.

  He wore Levi's and a cotton shirt stretched over a muscle-hewn chest. He no longer looked threatening, but radiated that dangerous handsome quality.

  "As long as you aren't going to fetch your gun," he said wryly. "Let's get you off that leg."

  She didn't know what to say. He took her breath away.

  Worse, he was exactly the sort of man that a sensible woman should never trust.

  Ever.

  "What's your name?" he asked. "I'm gonna have to call you something?"

  "What's yours?"

  "That's none of your business. But you can call me Leo. Leo Ryder. And you and I are gonna help each other. What do you think about that?"

  Chapter 3

  "I'm doomed." She gave him a hands-up gesture. "I have no interest in helping you."

  "I saved you from who knows what? I could have left you unconscious alongside the road and driven off with your horse and wagon. Everything you own."

  "Maybe that would have been better for me."

  "Not likely."

  Leo struck a match to light a cigar. He watched her stand her ground, both hands still fisting.

  She was one of those independent sorts. Not his type at all. In his humble opinion, an independent woman was simply an accident waiting to happen.

  There was just no way around it. It was simply the truth.

  He puffed on his cigar and savored the smoke. Women. He'd never developed a good opinion of them during his lifetime.

  He wasn't interested in starting now.

  The West wasn't populated by many civilized women, but the few he'd seen over the years were enough to give him indigestion.

  Or break his heart.

  Truth was, no sensible woman would be making such a dangerous journey across uncivilized land alone.

  It showed she had poor judgment.

  "I can find someone to drive you back to Reno, where the main stage line will get you back to wherever you came from. I suppose someone will be desperate for the job."

  "What do you mean?"

  "There's nothing for you here, don't you see? This is the Wild West, lady. Don't you know? There's only one lawman around these parts, and he's as old as the hills. And he can't do you much good from here, now can he?"

  She had to leave tomorrow, no matter what. He gave her his fiercest look, the one that had sent barbarous outlaws scurrying from his sight.

  He had a job to do. And a past he didn't want to face.

  She looked him right in the eye. Unafraid at all.

  Didn't that prove she had poor judgment? He scowled harder.

  "I'm not about to go driving off in the middle of the night, or whatever time it is. I don't know the way, and I don't know where I am. Where did you take me? Is this your house? If so, then I hope you didn't get cheated when you bought it. It doesn't look like it's worth much. You aren't one of those derelict sort of men, are you? Always chasing after dreams of finding gold, panning by the creek wasting your life away and barely making enough to feed yourself. Or wash your clothes."

  "There's nothing wrong with my clothes. I washed them just last week."

  "I can't tell if you are joking or not."

  "I can see you don't think much of my place. Since you don't like it, then you can leave. Now or in the morning. I don't care which. I want you gone tomorrow, you understand?"

  "Yes, but—"

  Her face tipped up toward the sky. He could see the trembling of that chin, trying so hard to stop the shaking, but she couldn't quite control it.

  She was afraid. She was injured. She was a woman on her own. Alone. Vulnerable. Needing help.

  Not my help, he thought. Already knowing he was simply lying to himself. "So if you don't mind, I would like to get some shuteye now. Where ever you wish to sleep, is fine with me. Don't you see? You can have the hut. But if you don't want it, then I'll take it. There's only the one bed."

  "Well, I don't want to put you out of your home."

  Leo tapped the ashes from the tip of his cigar. He tried not to let his steeled heart soften toward the woman, but he couldn't help it. She was nicer than he wanted to admi
t. Her forehead was crinkled adorably in quiet concern for him.

  That called to him. She was injured and hurt because he hadn't been fast enough to keep the unknown gunman from firing on her. Unlike some women he knew, she wasn't complaining or trying to draw attention to her pain or her weakened condition.

  She wasn't trying to get anything out of him. Not one thing.

  And that made his conscience sting. Big time.

  He didn't know much about her. Or why she'd come here to this untamed part of the country. Did she have family here? Why was she alone?

  He knew about loneliness. About the sting of being without family. He'd only had his father, but not now.

  He stared into the night, unable fix all that had gone wrong. Pa was gone.

  Leo Ryder, whether he liked it or not, was alone. Meant to be that way.

  Meant to stay that way.

  "You might as well have the bed," he said gruffly. And as if he didn't care. "I like to sleep outdoors under the stars. Or in the stable with the horse."

  "I see. Something tells me the stable is appropriate. It's a good place to keep all the animals." A small smile touched the corners of her mouth.

  She couldn't say why she grinned. He was a stranger, and she did not feel safe.

  "I'm glad you see me clearly." Humor warmed the deep rumble of his voice. "Not many women would just come out and say it like that."

  "What can I say. I call it as I see it. Thank you for taking me in. And not leaving me by the side of the road. Or giving my Beau away to horse thieves."

  "It took great restraint."

  "I truly admire such great restraint."

  Millie turned toward the cabin and her courage ebbed. The structure wasn't far, but it seemed like a thousand miles away.

  Her leg did not want to carry her that far. Why was she feeling extra dizzy?

  "Uh oh." Her good leg buckled.

  She cried out as her knees gave out and her injured leg slammed hard into the ground.

  "I've got you." Leo's fingers steeled around her elbow, helping her up.

  "I'd like to say I don't need help. Because I don't." Pride was a tough thing. She could stand on her own two feet. Really she could. She had to try.

  But the iron strength of him washed over her. His hand, so strong, kept her steady. He was so close. Ripples of awareness shivered through her.

  What a thrilling sensation. Warm tingles danced her system and fizzed in her blood.

  "Here." His breath fanned her ear. "Lean on me."

  Before she could protest, his arm reached around her shoulders. He felt rock-hard and immovable.

  She felt safe. Protected. She knew he would never let her fall. She'd never known anyone like him before. She tried not to notice how his iron-corded body moved against hers, leaning in.

  He was so hard and hot, she forgot all about her pain. Her head went woozy for a reason much different from pain.

  His touch burned like fire, every place where he touched her. The brush of his hand. The iron band of his arm. The hard length of his side.

  His strong male presence chased all thought from her head. Something primal made her heartbeat drum thick and loud in her ears.

  Something was definitely wrong with her. Proof she had lost too much blood. It was affecting her reasoning abilities and common sense.

  A smart woman did not want to get mixed up with an outlaw like Mr. Leo Ryder.

  Especially one who'd been able to resist all the men back home in Green Lee Hollow. Something must truly be wrong with her that she felt tingly all over from the closeness of this perfect stranger.

  "I'd rather not lean on you or any man," she said, trying get her her mind off all thoughts of this handsome, dangerous stranger and back on the pain in her leg.

  Yes, pain. That ought to make her think of something besides Leo Ryder's steely chest. "I'm grateful that you saved my life and brought me to your, uh, home. But it's time for me to be leaving now. I can see my wagon from here."

  "Leaving. How did I know you would take me at my word? That's what being sarcastic will do for you."

  His strong arms scooped her up against his chest before she knew what he was doing. How powerful he was! Goodness, she couldn't seem to breathe because her lungs felt so incredibly tight.

  Much worse, a good percentage of her body was in direct contact with his, rock-hard and far too intimate. She could feel his every step, his every breath.

  She felt dizzy, almost giddy. It was like flying, being cradled in his arms and carried across the threshold. And all too soon it was over.

  He set her down on the thin mattress. She sniffed. Something did not smell so good. That blanket, that's what it was.

  It needed a decent washing. It just went to show that no matter how kind and charismatic Mr. Leo Ryder was, he was not so different than her father.

  Although Pa had died when she was young, he'd lived his life spending as little effort as possible. No matter what.

  Even when it came to supporting his family. Even when it came to doing laundry.

  "You've probably opened up that wound walking on it. Just when I got the bleeding stopped." He moved in the darkness.

  She heard a clank of tin and the scrape of a drawer opening.

  "Let me find the matches," he said. "With a little bit of light, I'll be able to see. There they are."

  Millie gasped when Leo set the lantern on the table near her elbow. Her entire body still tingled from his touch. Her blood pumped a strange, electrically charged heat through her entire body.

  Even to her secret places.

  He lit the lantern's wick. Light danced to life, pushing away the darkness and revealing the form of the man towering over her.

  The lantern's glow caressed the side of his face, revealing the shadows in his eyes. It illuminated the hard plane of his nose, the curve of his jaw and the high cheekbones that made his face rugged.

  He reached into his pocket and withdrew a knife.

  "You won't hurt me, will you?" She cleared her throat.

  "I can't make any promises."

  Humor flashed in his eyes. He seemed like a lone wolf type. Of course, he was a suspicious man, obviously. A thief, a probable felon, and maybe even a failure at living a civilized life.

  A loser. A miserable excuse for a man. Like her father, who'd lived his life chasing after all the wrong things.

  The things that did not matter. Wanting the base and illegal pleasures that only his filthy, illegally earned money could buy.

  But something told her there was more to the man standing before her than met the eye. And she wanted to know more about him. "Do you have any family?"

  "No comment." He snapped the blade into position.

  The polished blade glinted menacingly in the lantern's glow, at odds with the sadness in his voice.

  "What does that mean?"

  "It means my father was killed."

  "I'm sorry." She read it on his face. Pain crinkled in the lines fanning the corners of his eyes.

  He'd loved his father.

  Her heart skipped a couple of beats in sympathy. She did not know what to say as Mr. Leo Ryder bowed his chin.

  He bent to turn up the wick, shrugging away her caring without regard, as if his loss mattered little.

  But she suspected it did. She began to wonder if Leo Ryder wasn't as dangerous and deadly as he appeared to be.

  How her heart ached for him. She remembered her own losses.

  She'd lost both parents. Her poor, weak-minded mother had not fared well after her husband's tragedy.

  She mightily wished there was something she could do to protect Leo from the pain she saw on his rugged face.

  "Then if you have no other family, you aren't one of those men who's left a wife and children behind so he can dig for gold."

  A muscle bunched along the length of his square jaw. "No, I haven't."

  My, but his voice was cold. Millie wondered at that. Apparently he was a little touchy on the sub
ject of a wife and family.

  Maybe he was the type to never marry.

  "I'm divorced," he said as he knelt down before her. "She left me, and not the other way around."

  She didn't know what to say.

  He apparently did. "I'll make you a deal."

  "A deal?"

  "You'll let me take off your pants. You're bleeding through your bandage. I want to take a peek."

  "Take off my pants? Do you mean you did that while I was out like a light?"

  "Sure. You can trust me. Don't forget I saved your life."

  "Why, initially I thought you shot me in the first place."

  "If only I had." Leo's laughter boomed in the tiny cabin.

  Really, she saw nothing funny about this at all.

  Lantern light washed over Leo's face, gentle as a touch, illuminating the honesty in his eyes. An honesty as solid as the earth at her feet.

  He winked. "Time to take off your pants. Let's go."

  Chapter 4

  "Excuse me?"

  Leo had never seen a woman blush so much. Crimson swept over her oval face. She was a pretty woman. Her blond hair glistened in the light, framing her delicate features.

  "Ordinarily I wouldn't take down my Levi's for a man." She winked back. "I suppose I can be talked out of them just this once. As long as I can leave my underpants on."

  "I don't have any desire to have to deal with those. Or anything they might cover up. I'm not that kind of man. You couldn't pay me to."

  "Really? I see that you're not like my father. At all. I apologize for comparing you to him earlier. In my mind, you see. If not my thoughts."

  "That's okay. I'm sure I've been called worse." Humor aside, he saw her hand shake.

  She was weak from blood loss and pain. She did not need to worry about how he might be thinking of her, bare legs and all.

  He cleared his throat, utterly serious. "I give you my word. I'm a man of self control, don't you worry. You are safe with me. And always will be."

  To lighten the mood again, Leo winked at her as he grabbed hold of her waistband and began unbuttoning her fly. He tugged down the denim fabric to expose her slender thighs.