believed her life continually hung in the balance, that any event or stranger could mean a return to Texas and the gallows. Somehow Trinity had made her feel it was possible to prove her innocence if she had the courage to ignore her fears and break the fetters placed on her by others.
Despite all that, she couldn’t rationalize why his leaving caused her to feel such a terrible loss. How did a cowboy she had known for just a few days become more than a passing interest?
She had wanted to thank him for his support, but Buc’s temper and Uncle Grant’s officiousness had driven him away.
She wondered if her uncle paid him. Three days’ wages wasn’t much of a grubstake. It certainly wouldn’t get him to California. Where would he stop next? How long would he stay?
“Where’ve you been?” Buc demanded when Victoria walked into the house. Her uncle threw her a questioning glance but said nothing.
She had had a long day; she was tired, and she was angry. Buc’s assumption that she owed him an accounting for her time made her furious. He was her uncle’s employee, in a sense her employee as well. If any one of them owed the other an explanation, it was Buc.
“Riding.”
“Where? I’ve told you time and time again you can’t go wandering over the countryside alone. Who knows when another stranger will come wandering in?”
The possessive tone in Buc’s voice, combined with the “another stranger will come wandering in” remark, was the last straw. She lost her temper.
“And will you drive him off like you did Trinity? Are you going to drive everybody off for the rest of my life?”
“He wasn’t any good, Victoria, just a wandering cowpoke looking to have a little fun. You only noticed him because he made you laugh.”
“Is there some law which says I can’t have fun?”
“Aw, Victoria, you know what I mean.”
“I’m afraid for the first time I do.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve got me locked up in this valley and you mean to keep me here for the rest of my life.”
“You’ve got to have someone to protect you.”
“Have you decided on the wedding date? How many children will we have? Do I get to name them, or do I just get to have them?”
“Now Victoria—” Grant began.
“Don’t “Now Victoria’ me,” she nearly screamed. “I won’t be kept in prison, and I won’t have my entire life decided for me. You should have left me in Texas. I couldn’t be any more imprisoned there than I am here.”
“Stop it right now, before you say another word,” Grant Davidge ordered, his own temper rising. “Buc risked his life to get you out of that jail. The very least you owe him is gratitude.”
“I am grateful,” Victoria said, “but I don’t owe him the rest of my life.”
“Buc would make you a fine husband.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but Buc never said a word about loving me before Trinity came along. How do I know it’s not simple jealousy?”
“I loved you from the moment I saw you,” Buc protested.
“Then you should have told me instead of my uncle. Did you ask him to walk in the moonlight, sit with him on the porch, or whisper secrets in his ear?”
Buc’s face turned a dull red. “I wouldn’t do that to anybody.”
“That’s right,” said Victoria. “You just assumed I’d been bought and paid for.”
“I thought you were still upset over your husband. What would I look like trying to talk love to a woman grieving over the death of her husband?”
“You’d look like a tortoise. Had there been a jackrabbit anywhere in sight, you’d have lost the race years ago. Only there was no jackrabbit. There wasn’t even a coyote or a sidewinder. Just the tortoise. And after five years you’ve finally reached the finish line. I wonder if you’d have reached it at all if Trinity hadn’t arrived.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” her uncle demanded, his expression a mixture of impatience and confusion.
“This is all Trinity’s
Despite all that, she couldn’t rationalize why his leaving caused her to feel such a terrible loss. How did a cowboy she had known for just a few days become more than a passing interest?
She had wanted to thank him for his support, but Buc’s temper and Uncle Grant’s officiousness had driven him away.
She wondered if her uncle paid him. Three days’ wages wasn’t much of a grubstake. It certainly wouldn’t get him to California. Where would he stop next? How long would he stay?
“Where’ve you been?” Buc demanded when Victoria walked into the house. Her uncle threw her a questioning glance but said nothing.
She had had a long day; she was tired, and she was angry. Buc’s assumption that she owed him an accounting for her time made her furious. He was her uncle’s employee, in a sense her employee as well. If any one of them owed the other an explanation, it was Buc.
“Riding.”
“Where? I’ve told you time and time again you can’t go wandering over the countryside alone. Who knows when another stranger will come wandering in?”
The possessive tone in Buc’s voice, combined with the “another stranger will come wandering in” remark, was the last straw. She lost her temper.
“And will you drive him off like you did Trinity? Are you going to drive everybody off for the rest of my life?”
“He wasn’t any good, Victoria, just a wandering cowpoke looking to have a little fun. You only noticed him because he made you laugh.”
“Is there some law which says I can’t have fun?”
“Aw, Victoria, you know what I mean.”
“I’m afraid for the first time I do.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve got me locked up in this valley and you mean to keep me here for the rest of my life.”
“You’ve got to have someone to protect you.”
“Have you decided on the wedding date? How many children will we have? Do I get to name them, or do I just get to have them?”
“Now Victoria—” Grant began.
“Don’t “Now Victoria’ me,” she nearly screamed. “I won’t be kept in prison, and I won’t have my entire life decided for me. You should have left me in Texas. I couldn’t be any more imprisoned there than I am here.”
“Stop it right now, before you say another word,” Grant Davidge ordered, his own temper rising. “Buc risked his life to get you out of that jail. The very least you owe him is gratitude.”
“I am grateful,” Victoria said, “but I don’t owe him the rest of my life.”
“Buc would make you a fine husband.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but Buc never said a word about loving me before Trinity came along. How do I know it’s not simple jealousy?”
“I loved you from the moment I saw you,” Buc protested.
“Then you should have told me instead of my uncle. Did you ask him to walk in the moonlight, sit with him on the porch, or whisper secrets in his ear?”
Buc’s face turned a dull red. “I wouldn’t do that to anybody.”
“That’s right,” said Victoria. “You just assumed I’d been bought and paid for.”
“I thought you were still upset over your husband. What would I look like trying to talk love to a woman grieving over the death of her husband?”
“You’d look like a tortoise. Had there been a jackrabbit anywhere in sight, you’d have lost the race years ago. Only there was no jackrabbit. There wasn’t even a coyote or a sidewinder. Just the tortoise. And after five years you’ve finally reached the finish line. I wonder if you’d have reached it at all if Trinity hadn’t arrived.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” her uncle demanded, his expression a mixture of impatience and confusion.
“This is all Trinity’s
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