Matt.”
“Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know for sure is that you lied to me from the first word, and that I couldn’t resist you. I was willing to sacrifice my brother’s trust and the love of a good woman because of you.”
“Matt, listen—”
“No, I’m done listening. It’s time for me to act.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just get out of here.” Grim lines twisted Matt’s handsome face into an unrecognizable mask. “You got what you came for. You can tell Pinkerton that you solved a mystery that his other detectives couldn’t.”
“None of this really makes sense to me, Matt. I need—”
“You have all the information you’re going to get from me. The rest is up to you.”
“But I don’t want to—” Aware that she was about to say she didn’t want to leave him, Samantha realized she wasn’t sure that was true. How deep was Matt’s involvement in the scheme, and why did he protect a brother who obviously hated him?
“You said ‘I don’t want to’—do what? Leave?” Matt’s question was harsh. “That’s what you were going to say, isn’t it? But the truth is that you want to know why no one seemed to realize I had a twin. I can only assume that’s the next question on your mind since you’ve been trying to get me to talk about myself from day one. Well, that mystery is clear now. It wasn’t me you were really interested in.”
“Not at first, I wasn’t.”
Matt’s lips clamped tight at her honest response. He then replied more softly, “Go. Your horse is saddled and waiting.”
“It’s already saddled?”
“I thought you might like to take a ride with me.” Matt laughed, his harsh tone matching his brother’s and inadvertently sounding so much like him that Samantha took a step back.
“Go! Get out of here!”
Samantha responded to Matt’s emphatic commands with a rise of her chin. He had told her to leave. He was a criminal, after all, wasn’t he? And she would see to it that justice prevailed.
Samantha did not stop to look back when she mounted her horse and rode out without seeing Matt watching her from the doorway.
Standing in the doorway of the ranch house as Samantha’s horse disappeared down the trail, Matt felt numb. The truth was out at last, but he was dead inside. Samantha’s covert glances at him in theTrail’s End and the interest that she appeared unable to deny from the start had all been a calculated lie. She had merely carried out a callous strategy worthy of a professional. In doing so, she had proved herself in more ways than one.
Matt walked back into the house and slammed the door behind him. Had she executed similar strategies before in order to prove her worthiness to Pinkerton? Had she responded to other men the same way she had responded to him?
No, she couldn’t have!
But then, he wasn’t sure.
In the semidarkness of the cabin, Matt faced another admission as well. He had allowed Samantha to use him because he had wanted her. Yet it was now Tucker who would suffer for his weakness.
Confused, Matt was aware of only one thing. Whatever his brother’s schemes, he needed to warn Tucker of the imminent danger he faced.
Matt mounted his horse moments later. His mount was winded when he finally arrived a distance from the abandoned cabin his brother had been inhabiting. He dismounted and approached the dilapidated structure carefully. Uncertain of his reception, he drew his gun, hoping it would give him time to explain everything to Tucker. He owed him that much.
He could not fully explain away his own behavior, of course, or the fact that he had ultimately betrayed the woman who was his betrothed andhis friend. All he could do was warn Tucker, and prove to him that he was right by admitting that despite their disparate upbringings and the different paths they had chosen, there was really no difference between them.
Taking a breath, Matt burst into the cabin.
It was vacant.
It was obvious that Tucker had not left
“Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know for sure is that you lied to me from the first word, and that I couldn’t resist you. I was willing to sacrifice my brother’s trust and the love of a good woman because of you.”
“Matt, listen—”
“No, I’m done listening. It’s time for me to act.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just get out of here.” Grim lines twisted Matt’s handsome face into an unrecognizable mask. “You got what you came for. You can tell Pinkerton that you solved a mystery that his other detectives couldn’t.”
“None of this really makes sense to me, Matt. I need—”
“You have all the information you’re going to get from me. The rest is up to you.”
“But I don’t want to—” Aware that she was about to say she didn’t want to leave him, Samantha realized she wasn’t sure that was true. How deep was Matt’s involvement in the scheme, and why did he protect a brother who obviously hated him?
“You said ‘I don’t want to’—do what? Leave?” Matt’s question was harsh. “That’s what you were going to say, isn’t it? But the truth is that you want to know why no one seemed to realize I had a twin. I can only assume that’s the next question on your mind since you’ve been trying to get me to talk about myself from day one. Well, that mystery is clear now. It wasn’t me you were really interested in.”
“Not at first, I wasn’t.”
Matt’s lips clamped tight at her honest response. He then replied more softly, “Go. Your horse is saddled and waiting.”
“It’s already saddled?”
“I thought you might like to take a ride with me.” Matt laughed, his harsh tone matching his brother’s and inadvertently sounding so much like him that Samantha took a step back.
“Go! Get out of here!”
Samantha responded to Matt’s emphatic commands with a rise of her chin. He had told her to leave. He was a criminal, after all, wasn’t he? And she would see to it that justice prevailed.
Samantha did not stop to look back when she mounted her horse and rode out without seeing Matt watching her from the doorway.
Standing in the doorway of the ranch house as Samantha’s horse disappeared down the trail, Matt felt numb. The truth was out at last, but he was dead inside. Samantha’s covert glances at him in theTrail’s End and the interest that she appeared unable to deny from the start had all been a calculated lie. She had merely carried out a callous strategy worthy of a professional. In doing so, she had proved herself in more ways than one.
Matt walked back into the house and slammed the door behind him. Had she executed similar strategies before in order to prove her worthiness to Pinkerton? Had she responded to other men the same way she had responded to him?
No, she couldn’t have!
But then, he wasn’t sure.
In the semidarkness of the cabin, Matt faced another admission as well. He had allowed Samantha to use him because he had wanted her. Yet it was now Tucker who would suffer for his weakness.
Confused, Matt was aware of only one thing. Whatever his brother’s schemes, he needed to warn Tucker of the imminent danger he faced.
Matt mounted his horse moments later. His mount was winded when he finally arrived a distance from the abandoned cabin his brother had been inhabiting. He dismounted and approached the dilapidated structure carefully. Uncertain of his reception, he drew his gun, hoping it would give him time to explain everything to Tucker. He owed him that much.
He could not fully explain away his own behavior, of course, or the fact that he had ultimately betrayed the woman who was his betrothed andhis friend. All he could do was warn Tucker, and prove to him that he was right by admitting that despite their disparate upbringings and the different paths they had chosen, there was really no difference between them.
Taking a breath, Matt burst into the cabin.
It was vacant.
It was obvious that Tucker had not left
Similar Books
