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He inwardly kicked himself. It was foolish of him to allow his feelings to show, even to a waitress. If that got back to the marshal somehow, there would be hell to pay.

  “Nah, I’m not sweet on her,” Wyatt said, sitting back and forcing himself to relax. “I just know her is all, and that man ain’t her type.”

  Florence studied him, not appearing like she believed him in the least. “Too bad you’re not sweet on her,” she said, shrugging a shoulder. “If you married her, I might have a chance to get to know Mr. Latham from Rochester. That’s where I’m from originally, you know. I came out here as a mail-order bride.” She snorted. “Didn’t work out as well for me as it has for all the grooms.”

  “You might have your chance with Mr. Latham,” Wyatt said, spitting out his name like it was a foul taste in his mouth. He stood to his feet and paid her for the coffee. He wanted to slip out before Elsie saw him. “Like I said, he ain’t her type.”

  He planted his Stetson on his head and nodded his goodbye to Florence, then stormed to his horse and rode back to the Infinity Ranch, ready to kick up a row.

  Chapter Eight

  Elsie had expected to feel a heck of a lot happier after meeting her future groom than she did. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with Mr. Latham—he was a perfect gentleman and witty to boot, making her laugh several times during their first meeting—but he wasn’t Wyatt. She kicked her horse into a gallop toward her ranch, angry that Wyatt had rejected her instead of making love to her that day she’d fixed his arm. For the hundredth time, she pondered what had made him act in such a way and yet still appear plenty smitten with her. It didn’t make sense, and it infuriated her.

  She had to put it out of her mind. Tomorrow she would be a married woman, and it would no longer make any difference about Wyatt. Slowing her horse to a walk, she spent the last mile shifting her thoughts to Mr. Latham. She liked how he dressed, and she liked his kind smile. Things would work out. This was what she wanted, she told herself sadly.

  Elsie dismounted inside the barn. After grooming her horse and ensuring he had a fresh scoop of oats, she walked to her cabin. There she sat in her rocking chair and picked up her embroidery project. Sundays were the only days in which she actually engaged in activities considered more feminine, since she made a point to take a break from ranching on that day every week.

  She’d no sooner sat down than she heard a knock at her door. She opened it to find the very man she was trying to get out of her mind standing before her with his arms crossed. Her heart gave a little leap, as it did every time she saw Wyatt. She couldn’t help how his presence made her react, but she silently berated herself.

  “Howdy,” she said.

  “Howdy,” he replied, removing his hat.

  She waited for him to explain his reason for being there, but instead he just nervously twisted his Stetson around in his hand.

  “Everything all right at the bunkhouse?” she prompted.

  “Oh, yes. Everything is fine. Mind if I come in to discuss something with you? It’s important.”

  “Of course I don’t mind, do come in,” she said, stepping aside to allow him entrance. She loved every opportunity to spend time with him. “Can I get you some coffee?”

  He walked inside, and she closed the door behind him. “No, I just had some,” he grunted. He gave her a pointed look. “At Mary’s Restaurant.”

  “I was just there,” she said breezily, and then froze as his glare pinned her in place. She realized then that he must have seen her with Mr. Latham.

  “Yes, I know you were,” he said. “You were there with a man.” His voice sounded accusatory, which immediately made her hackles go up, even as she felt guilty for no good reason.

  She swallowed. “His name is Mr. Latham.”

  Wyatt let out a sigh of exasperation and stalked to the other side of the room away from her. “I don’t give a whit what his name is.” He fished out his pipe from his pocket and lit it.

  Elsie studied him, surprised by his behavior. He looked nervous and as tetchy as a teased snake. The only possible reason she could come up with for him acting so annoyed by her having lunch with another man was that he wanted her for his own. But he’d never expressed that, not once, and in fact had rejected her outright.

  “What’s wrong, Wyatt? You seem awfully antsy.”

  He puffed out a cloud of smoke and glared at her. “How dare you make arrangements to marry another man? You’re my woman.”

  His words nearly knocked her over. A myriad of emotions overtook her, anger and happiness each vying for center stage. “Since when?” she demanded. “You never asked for my hand! As a matter of fact, you… you rejected me!” She could feel her lower lip quivering in outrage.

  “I had my reasons for that!” he bellowed. “All would have been made clear to you eventually, if you’d only waited.”

  “Oh, right, that would have made sense,” she bit out. “Wait for a man who never once asked me to wait, while I grow older and lonelier by the minute. I need a husband now, someone strong and loyal. You have no idea—”

  “Believe me, I do have an idea.” He walked to her and stared down into her eyes, his own flashing with anger and passion.

  She blinked, hardly believing what was happening. Her heart pounded heavily, while her body came alive under his gaze. She wanted him so desperately in that moment, despite being furious with him.

  “Why are you saying all this now, Wyatt? Why weren’t you honest about how you felt from the beginning?”

  His eyes narrowed while he worked his jaw. “Why wasn’t I honest?” he repeated, his voice low and incredulous. “Yes, let’s talk about honesty. Let’s start with the real reason why you won’t let me ride out to your range.”

  She gasped, surprised by his statement. Did that mean he knew about the cattle rustling? No, there was no way her hands would betray her trust and tell him. “You, you… you were hurt,” she stammered. “Why would I have you work on the range when you weren’t able to use your right arm?”

  “You’re sticking with that reason, are you?” he asked, his voice tight with anger.

  “It’s the only reason I have.”

  Disappointment joined fury in Wyatt’s expression. He shook his head and looked away briefly. “In that case, now that I’m no longer injured, you won’t have any problem with showing me what happens out on the range, then?”

  “If you want,” she said slowly.

  Wyatt’s gaze smoldered as it burned a trail from her eyes to her lips. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her to him, and kissed her. It was a bruising kiss, one that was simultaneously possessive and full of lust. Her lips parted, allowing him entrance as her thoughts became foggy. This was what she’d been hoping would happen ever since that first night together. Now that he was finally kissing her, she could hardly believe it.

  When he released her, he took a step back and turned to walk to the front door. “Tomorrow morning, you be at the two elms. I’ll get there bright and early.”

  “Yes, Wyatt,” she whispered. The location he gave was where the rebranding took place.

  “Elsie…” he said, turning to catch her eye. “I hope you can forgive me for not making my feelings clear before. Maybe there was a better way for me to go about what I’m doing. Lord knows it hasn’t been easy keeping shy of your touch for so long.”

  She blinked and nodded, not sure what he meant and unable to think of a response.

  “We’ll talk tomorrow. Good night.”

  Chapter Nine

  It was a pleasant, warm morning, the kind that was neither too hot nor too cold. Wyatt turned his horse in the direction of a clearing on the far side of the Infinity Ranch. Birds chirped cheerfully around him as his horse’s hooves clipped along the narrow, hard-dirt path around a bend. He arrived at the slow-trickling stream and guided his horse across it. Two elm trees on either side of the path created an arc above him, which he ducked through, and a whiff of cow manure reached him. He entered a dense thicket,
and upon exiting, saw an expanse of flat, green land. A wooden corral containing five cows filled the opposite side of the meadow from him. In the center, a crudely built forge roared with fire. Through the flames, he saw Elsie, her forehead creased into lines of concentration.

  Wyatt directed his horse around the fire and dismounted. His horse immediately dipped his head to graze on the lush grass as Elsie approached him. “Hello, Wyatt.” Like usual, her eyes lit up upon seeing him, but this time Wyatt saw worry in them as well.

  “Howdy, Elsie.” His heartbeat quickened. Today would either be the best day of his life or the worst.

  He followed Elsie to a couple of tree stumps, and they sat down next to each other. Wyatt couldn’t help but notice how the light from the sun made her brunette hair shine nearly as brightly as her eyes. She wore men’s clothing, but her shirt was a soft green color that made her look demure and feminine.

  Elsie folded her hands in her lap and stared down at them. “There’s something I’m going to tell you, Wyatt, and I pray you do not think less of me. I trust you, and I want you to know everything that’s going on at the ranch. There’s a reason besides you being injured that I haven’t had you out here.”

  “Go on.” Wyatt’s voice conveyed no emotion, though he felt plenty.

  She avoided looking at him and reached down to pick up the branding iron next to her. “I told you about what Mark Xavier did to me and my pa.”

  “Yes.”

  She cleared her throat. After another moment of hesitation, she relayed to him her branding operation and showed him the infinity symbol that she was using over the Xaviers’ X. She confessed that she’d stolen more than 200 cattle using this method, which surprised Wyatt. He wouldn’t have guessed she’d stolen so many.

  “That’s quite a confession,” Wyatt said when she’d stopped talking.

  She gazed pleadingly into his eyes. “Tell me you don’t hate me; tell me you don’t think less of me.”

  He shook his head. “I could never hate you or think less of you. But this is an illegal activity, not to mention a highly dangerous one.”

  “I know, but I don’t care. Mark Xavier deserves it,” she said, her hatred of him evident in the way she spoke his name as a slur.

  Wyatt scrubbed a hand around his face and gave her a hard stare. “If I asked you to stop rebranding, would you?”

  She blinked and looked away. “Randall has asked me to stop. Trouble is he has no authority to stop me, and I have this urge… I can’t explain it. My hatred is so deep it’s almost as if I can’t stop myself unless someone stops it for me.”

  He didn’t acknowledge her blustering reply. Instead, he remained focused on her, waiting for her to answer his question.

  She wrung her hands and let out a nervous laugh. “I would probably stop if you made me.”

  He tapped the heel of his boot on the ground. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  Confusion filled every feature on her face. “I don’t know what to think. You don’t seem surprised at all, though it seems I’ve made you nervous.”

  He smiled slightly and stopped tapping his foot. Elsie’s perceptive and kind nature never failed to amaze him. More importantly, those traits had saved her. If she hadn’t perceived his injury, she wouldn’t have had a reason to treat Wyatt so kindly. The kindness she’d shown him had immediately endeared her to him and caused his loyalty toward her to blossom and grow.

  “I don’t look surprised because I’m not. And now that you’ve made your confession, I must confess something to you as well. I want you to go to my horse, open the left saddlebag, and bring me what’s inside it.”

  With a perplexed, curious expression plastered on her face, she walked to his horse.

  Wyatt drew a deep breath. After she saw the deputy’s badge, there would be no more secrets between them. It would change everything, and he could only hope it would change everything for the better.

  Elsie fumbled with the leather straps until they were untied. She reached inside and pulled out his badge. When she realized what it was, she shrieked, dropped it on the ground, and took a step back as though she’d just touched a rattlesnake.

  Her eyes snapped to Wyatt’s face, and they quickly filled with tears. She looked every bit as betrayed as Wyatt had worried she would feel. Dropping to her knees, she said, “Have mercy on me, Wyatt. Please, I beg of you, do not turn me in to the marshal.”

  Wyatt forced his voice to sound hard. “I told you to bring me the badge, and that’s what I’m expecting you to do.” He needed her to prove to him that she would obey him, even when it was difficult. He would only be able to help her if she followed his instructions from this point forward.

  She picked up the badge with her fingertips and carried it to him. She placed it into the palm he held out and peered into his eyes after taking a shuddering breath.

  He tossed the badge next to him on ground. “Sit down.” He nodded at the stump.

  She sank onto it and continued to stare at him, looking confused and betrayed.

  “Now,” he said gently. “I’m not fixin’ to arrest you, darlin’. How could I? You’re the kindest, most admirable woman I know. You took away all my pain, inside and out, and for that I am forever in your debt.”

  Her gaze softened, and grateful tears filled her eyes. “Oh, Wyatt,” she said, her voice catching at a sob.

  “That being said, you must understand that the marshal is on to your trick. He hired me as a deputy to suss it out, and you’ve got to stop this tomfoolery now if you value your freedom and your life. You understand me?”

  She swallowed and nodded. “All this time, you… you were here as a deputy?”

  “I was here as a deputy for about two days, I reckon. After that, I was here as your loyal hand, trying to figure out how best to help you. Didn’t take long for you to win me over.”

  She gave him a watery smile.

  “The way I see you gettin’ out of this mess... You must come up with a new brand, one that in no way looks like an X.”

  “Yes, Wyatt, I can do that. I already know what it will be. It’ll be a W after the man who showed me such mercy.”

  He smiled. “You were the first to show mercy, Elsie. When you fixed my arm and then saw to my room and board with no expectation of labor in return while I healed, I knew I had to help you. You’re a good woman. You’ve done a bad thing, but you don’t deserve prison, ‘specially considering the motive.”

  “What are you going to tell the marshal?”

  Wyatt rested his elbows on his legs and leaned forward to explain. “I’m going to tell him that I observed your branding irons and the operation and that it was all on the up and up. I’m also going to tell him that I asked you to change your brand as a gesture of goodwill and you agreed to do it. That should show him you have nothing to hide.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. She blinked away some tears and stared into the distance. “It’s better this way. I’ve been feeling terrible guilt.”

  “Yeah?”

  She nodded as regret clouded her eyes. “My pa never would have approved of me doing this.”

  “Mmm hmm, that brings me to my next point,” he said, straightening. “You feel guilty because you’ve done wrong. I intend to help you get through that, as I’ll be giving you a darn good thrashing.”

  Her eyes widened. “You’re going to spank me?”

  “Indeed I am. But first, we’re going to get rid of all the evidence of rebranding. Those cattle over there,” he said, nodding in their direction. They still got the X on them?”

  She bit her lip and nodded. “Yes, Randall and the hands stole them yesterday. We were going to brand over the X’s tomorrow with the infinity symbol.”

  Wyatt stood to his feet. “We’ll rebrand them now. Then there won’t be proof of anything.”

  Together they worked to complete the task. By Wyatt participating, he showed Elsie that he was on her side and that he didn’t think less of her for what she’d done. He did, howev
er, scold her thoroughly. As he seared the brand on the last cow, he said, “Your branding is next. I’m going to give you a branding that will make this look like nothing, young lady.”

  Her sharp intake of breath told him she was worried about the upcoming punishment, as she should be.

  They released the cattle onto the range. Then they kicked dust over the fire to complete the task. “It’s over,” she said softly. “Thanks to you, it’s over.”

  “Almost, darlin’.” He held out his hand to her. When she hesitated to take it, he said, “You’ll feel better after being punished, Elsie. It’s going to help you realize you’re no longer in control. It’s going to help you feel like the vulnerable woman I know you are, one who needs a strong and loyal man—as you described it to me.”

  Her plump lips formed into a pout, but he could see her eyes soften into submission. She placed her small hand in his, and he walked with her to the stump, where he sat down.

  “This time your spanking is going to be quite a bit worse,” he warned, as he maneuvered her to his right side. “This time I’ll be using my stronger arm.”

  Her voice turned plaintive. “But the punishment you gave for pulling a gun on Xavier hurt plenty.”

  He helped her lower herself over his knees. Securing a hand around her waist, he ran his other hand over her trouser-clad bottom. “That was a very short chastisement. Don’t try to lessen what you have coming now. You’re going to be punished for breaking the law and putting yourself in harm’s way, and I’m not gonna go easy on you.” He landed a hard smack on her right cheek to emphasize that point.

  She squealed. “Wyatt, that was hard, way harder than before.”

  “Good. It was supposed to be.” He hooked a finger around the waist of her trousers and tugged them down to her knees. She wasn’t wearing drawers, so he had an immediate view of her bare bottom and shapely thighs. Her unmarked skin seemed especially pale in the bright light of the sun, and it was such a beautiful sight that he brought his hand down right away, twice, once on each cheek.