Chapter One
U.S. Marshal Rhys Burgess sat on his horse and looked down on the sad little ranch house below. It didn’t look like much, certainly not like the home of one of the most ambitious bank robbers of the past decade.
The man he’d watched die last month.
The yard was barren, with a shriveled garden and unpainted house, barn, outhouse and chicken coop. No one was around, no hands, which made Rhys’s plan easier, but made him wonder about the woman who worked this land on her own.
But the bank robber Edward Colby hadn’t worked alone, and his brother was still at large. Rhys had heard Luke would come here, to the mistress he and his brother shared, to keep a low profile, and possibly bring some of the profits from their last job. And when he did, Rhys would be here waiting. He just had to convince Maddy Colby, the mistress who had taken the brothers’ name.
He nudged his horse forward, down the hill.
A dog started barking frantically. Rhys scanned the yard, but saw nothing until the dog exploded from the house, stopping at the edge of the weathered porch and standing stiff-legged. The woman herself followed, a rifle in one hand, and shaded her eyes as she watched him approach.
Because she stood in the shadows, he didn’t get a good look at her until he pulled Bathsheba up in the yard. When he did, she was nothing like he expected. Her dress was a plain worn calico day dress, and she was younger than he thought, not as tough as he would have thought the mistress of two outlaws would be. It looked like—did she have freckles?
“Help you?” she asked, lifting her hand to the auburn knot at the back of her head.
“I’m looking for work.” He inclined his head toward the house. “Looks like you need some help around here.”
She curved her shoulders forward in a defensive posture. “I don’t have money to pay for help.”
No money. It looked like she was telling the truth, but maybe it was just a plea for privacy. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll work for room and board. I been on the road a long time, ma’am, and I just need a place to stop for a bit.”
She shifted the rifle into both hands. “You in trouble?”
He wondered if she knew how to use the gun. He was fairly certain Edward Colby would make sure of that. “No, ma’am.”
She glanced behind her, but the intelligence he’d gathered in town already told him no one else was here. She was right to be wary, a woman alone out here.
“I’m not looking for help.”
“What about protection?” He nodded at the mongrel. “I doubt he’s a lot of good to you.”
“I haven’t had any trouble so far. All I need is for him to give me the alarm. I’m a fair shot.” She lifted the rifle higher, as if planning to give him a demonstration.
“I believe that you are.” He eased Bathsheba back just a bit, in case he had to bolt.
“My husband will be home soon.”
He knew that wasn’t true, but he decided to play along. Cautiously, he swung out of the saddle, facing her.
“He left you a lot of work here on your own. I could help you get it looking nice for when he returns. He’d appreciate that, don’t you think?”
She lowered the rifle a bit, probably because it was growing heavy, and her eyelashes flicked. “How do I know you’re a good guy?”
He wanted to tell her she should be able to tell a good guy from a bad guy after being involved with Edward and Luke Colby. Instead he said, “You don’t. And I don’t blame you for not taking my word for it. If it makes you feel better, I’ll do some work for a meal and be on my way.”
Her lips turned down and she lowered the rifle to her side. “You could do that. But I’ll be watching you.”
Relief ran through him and he patted his horse’s neck. One day was a beginning. “You mind if I tend to Bathsheba first?”
“Go ahead.” She gestured in the direction of the barn.
As he led his horse away, he wondered if she didn’t get lonely out here, with only a
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