Lone Rider. B.J. Daniels
she didn’t like taking more time than she should have for her coffee break.
“Talk to you soon,” he said as she rushed out the door, smiling to herself.
* * *
RAYMOND JAY SPENCER JR. couldn’t take his eyes off the woman for more reasons than one. He hadn’t believed it when he’d first seen her. It was as if his prayers had been answered—if he’d prayed. Praying had gotten him nothing as a kid when his old man was beating the crap out of him. He’d known then that there was no God. No teacher or neighbor or anyone had saved him from his father. He’d come to realize that all he had was the old man. Maybe he really did deserve what he got, like his father kept telling him.
“Bo-Peep,” he said, trying the name and tuning out her pleas and reasons she needed to get back to town. The first time he’d crossed her tracks, he’d stared at the fresh horseshoe prints in the trail for a long moment. He’d spent the past three weeks making sure his path hadn’t crossed another soul’s.
This morning, though, his feet hurting, hungry and ill-tempered after all this time hiding out in the mountains, he couldn’t help himself. Mostly he was sick of walking after he’d lost the horse he’d stolen. The damned animal had gotten spooked by a grizzly, thrown him and taken off, never to be seen again. The fall could have killed him, so he’d promised himself that if he ever did see that nag again, he would shoot the horse on sight.
He’d been on foot ever since. If his old man wasn’t going to be bringing him supplies and horses soon, he would have headed off these mountains in a heartbeat. But he’d learned the hard way over the years not to cross his father, Raymond Jay Spencer Sr., or RayJay, as he was known.
The prints in the dirt had looked like one horse, one rider. Damned tired of walking, he’d told himself maybe he would get lucky and could steal the horse without killing the rider. Or maybe not. He’d been in one of his moods, aching to hurt something or someone. So when he’d seen the horseshoe tracks, he’d looked at his worn-thin boots and told himself he would be riding soon.
But what was he going to do with the woman? He had some ideas. He gripped her soft flesh and let his imagination run wild as she went on again about how he really needed to let her go.
He didn’t give a rat’s ass about what she was saying. The problem was that his daddy wasn’t going to like this.
Then again, maybe by the time the old man arrived, there wouldn’t be any trace of little Bo-Peep.
* * *
THE SUN MADE its slow arc over the top of the pines, sinking behind the peaks as Jace rode into the mountains. As he felt the day waning, he grew more anxious. He’d thought he would meet her on the trail. The fact that he hadn’t made him even more convinced that Bo was on the run.
A magpie landed in a pine limb high over his head in a flurry of black-and-white wings. It called down to him, breaking the silence of the forest. He stopped to rub the back of his neck, his hair damp against his skin. Ahead he could see a band of rocks that formed a steep cliff.
Where are you, Bo Hamilton? Are you watching me right now? Do you have the crosshairs of a rifle trained on my heart at this very moment?
He spurred his horse, worried that just might be the case. If she was on the run with the money and she had a male accomplice, anything was possible. He’d picked up only one recent horse trail, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t been planning to meet someone here, someone who’d been waiting for her. It was the reason he’d brought his rifle as well as a pistol, a knife and a length of rope.
Bo was going back with him even if he had to tie her to her horse. But what would he do if she wasn’t alone?
Jace told himself he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. Right now his thoughts were with his kid sister. He worried about Emily all the time as it was and had for years. She’d been a rebellious little thing after their parents were killed. He’d been eighteen and didn’t know squat about raising a kid, so he probably hadn’t made things easier for Em.
When she’d gotten older, he’d hoped for a long time that she might meet some nice man. But most nice men were put off by a woman who looked and dressed the way Em did. She didn’t seem to realize the image she projected.
“Sorry, but this is me,” she’d said defensively when he’d broached the subject. “If a man can’t see beyond the tattoos and the piercings, he isn’t the man for me.”
But her looks had also made it hard for her to get a job. He’d been surprised that Bo had seen beyond the image and hired her. Emily was smart and talented and a good mom. He’d seen the change in her since she’d come back here. She appeared tired of being that defiant, angry, wild girl she’d been. He saw that the job was responsible for the change in his sister. She loved her job and Bo. She looked up to Bo, wanted to be more like her.
The only shadow on the horizon was her criminal ex-boyfriend, Harrison Ames. Fortunately he was still locked up in prison. Jace dreaded the day the man got out. Ideally Em would have her life together and wouldn’t even be tempted to get involved with the man again. Jace had never understood the attraction to begin with. Some women thought they didn’t deserve any better. But his baby sister sure as hell did.
That was why he couldn’t allow Bo to let Emily down any more than she already had.
* * *
ALEX WATCHED EMILY hurry across the street, smiling to himself. He’d wanted to ask her out for weeks but hadn’t gotten up the nerve.
His cousin Jeff, who worked for him, had tried to talk him out of it.
“You’re not her type,” Jeff had said.
“What do you think her type is?” Alex had wanted to know.
“Someone cool like a musician, an artist, a gang member—maybe a known criminal.”
“Very funny. You’re judging her by her looks.”
His cousin had stopped working to stare at him. “Not just that. I heard she’s done time.”
“So she’s turning her life around.”
Jeff had shaken his head. “Also, she has a kid.”
“I know. I’ve seen her with Jodie.”
“Jodie? You know the kid’s name?”
“I happened to hear her call her daughter by name. You’re making too much out of this.”
“Am I? I know you, remember? When was the last time you went out on a date?” Jeff had lifted a brow. “Exactly. You haven’t dated since Carmen.”
“Cathy. You know her name was Cathy.”
Jeff had laughed. “How could I forget? All I heard for months was Cathy this, Cathy that. The woman broke your heart—just as I predicted. Didn’t I try to warn you about her?”
“Yes.”
“Did you listen? No.”
“This woman is different.”
“Boy howdy!” His cousin had laughed. Then, sobering, he’d shaken his head. “If you want to take a ride on the wild side, go ahead. But don’t be surprised if this girl isn’t interested.”
“Why wouldn’t she be interested?”
His cousin had laughed again. “Seriously? Because you’re so boringly...normal. You’re a computer geek who owns coffee shops and wears khakis and button-down shirts with loafers.”
“You’re that convinced that she’ll turn me down if I ask her out?”
“Aren’t you? Isn’t that why you haven’t asked her?”
He had been afraid she’d turn him down. But he hadn’t let that stop him today, had he?
“So you finally