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  “Wife?” One of the men asked, a leer in his voice. He spat a wad of tobacco on the ground. “Pretty lil thang like her ain’t married to a cowboy like you, is she?”

  Charlie cut his eyes toward Opal, praying she would play along with his white lie. Although the illusion of being married might not buy her much protection if these were the sort of scoundrels he thought they were, they might think twice about their plans with a husband around bent on protecting her.

  “She is,” Opal said faintly, moving to Charlie’s side and slipping under the arm he raised to wrap around her shoulders.

  She trembled like an autumn leaf in a windstorm.

  “We ain’t here for the woman,” Black Beard said to the other men. “We want the gold.”

  Opal stiffened against his side and Charlie squeezed her once, hoping to offer what little comfort he could. He’d thought right. These were the same men that had chased and shot at them on their way to the Circle B from Sheridan. One of the men moved with a noticeable limp and had suspicious dark stains on his dirty trouser leg.

  “I’ll take you to the mine,” Charlie said. “Why don’t you just let my wife go?”

  “No deal,” said Black Beard, who seemed to be in charge. “She might ride to one of the neighbors and get a posse stirred up.”

  She might, if she had any sense of direction or knew where any of the neighbors lived.

  “She comes.”

  Charlie chose not to argue with the man further. His mind raced ahead, trying to figure a way to get her out of this predicament.

  “Slim, go get the horses,” Black Beard ordered, and one of the men moved back through the woods to where they must’ve stashed their mounts.

  Charlie moved toward his horse, wondering if he could boost Opal into the saddle and get her out of here before the bandits would notice. He wasn’t too worried about himself. He knew the other cowhands would follow the tracks from the three other horses and catch them eventually. Might not be tonight, since the sunlight was already fading, but Charlie didn’t doubt his ability to hold his own against the three of them. He just wanted Opal out of the way and back to safety, where she belonged.

  “I’m thinkin’ ya don’t need two horses between the two of ya,” Black Beard said, moving over to where Misty stood, placidly chewing some long grass stalks. He looped her reins over her saddle and slapped her rump, sending her galloping away. “It’ll be easier to keep an eye on both of ya if you ride together.” There was no mistaking the warning in his manner or his voice. Charlie couldn’t risk getting Opal hurt. Now she’d have to stick close to him.

  “Shouldn’t we be settling down for the night? We can’t ride after dark, can we?” Opal asked. “How will we see where we’re going?”

  “We got lanterns,” Black Beard grunted. “How far is it, cowboy?”

  “Coupla miles, to my recollection.” With Opal still huddling under his outstretched arm, Charlie felt her tense and thought she probably remembered how he’d adamantly refused knowing about any gold. And he still didn’t know of any. But would she believe him after this?

  “But—” Afraid she might blurt something out and ruin the crude plan he was concocting, Charlie did the only think he could think of to keep her quiet. He curved his arm around, pulled her close, and kissed her. Her lips were cool and sweet and tasted of sunshine.

  Looking down into her face was too much for him—he didn’t want to see it if she was angry—so he pressed his cheek to hers.

  “We’ll be all right,” he whispered against her warmth. “If you just keep quiet.”

  He expected the glare he got, but it made him smile anyway as he put one foot in his horse’s stirrup and swung into the saddle, then reached down for Opal.

  ~~~~

  Chapter Seven

  How had things gotten this bad this quickly?

  Opal clung to Charlie’s middle, her chin against the back of his shoulder. He seemed so calm, unruffled, even though they were surrounded by three rough men with rifles trained loosely on them. With each of the three men carrying lanterns, the swaying, odd circles of light created strange shadows. The ground beneath the horses seemed to get steeper and steeper as they moved toward the mountains.

  Yet being with Charlie, she still felt safe. She knew he’d do everything in his power to keep the cutthroats from hurting her.

  And she couldn’t forget the press of his mouth against hers. Her first kiss, and it had been everything she’d imagined:

  Heart-stopping.

  Pulse-pounding.

  Dizzying.

  Who could have imagined her father’s foreman could ignite such an intense reaction?

  “Where are we going?” she whispered, when she couldn’t hold her silence any longer.

  He shook his head slightly, then addressed their captors. “You fellas mind if the wife and I switch around a bit? She’s been in the saddle all day and gettin’ a little tired.”

  They were allowed to stop for a few moments and Charlie shifted them around so she sat across the saddle in front of him and could rest her head on his shoulder.

  She couldn’t help tensing at the intimate position, but Charlie tucked her head against his neck, his chin against her forehead, and urged the horse to move forward again.

  After a few moments, he whispered against her temple. “There’s an old miner’s shack nearby.”

  She slid her arm behind his back and pinched his side. He didn’t move, but huffed a warm breath into her hair.

  “There’s no gold in it. Your pa checked the shaft pretty thoroughly when he added this area to his spread.”

  The momentary hope thrilling through her flitted away and as it did, exhaustion took its place. She sagged against Charlie, allowing him to support her weight.

  He seemed to sense her melancholy and growing fear, because he used the hand not holding the reins to squeeze her to him. “Several of your pa’s men are out looking for you-us,” he murmured, almost silently. “They might not catch up to us tonight, but if we can last until morning…”

  He didn’t finish his sentence but Opal could guess what he’d meant. The cavalry would arrive in the morning, so all Opal and Charlie had to do was stay alive until then.

  “Whatever you do, just stay close to me.”

  His nearness was difficult to bear. She’d responded to his kiss, relied on his warmth and strength now. But her feelings for him also unnerved her. She had to remember he was still on her father’s payroll, was still loyal to Frank. She knew she could trust Charlie to keep her alive, but something inside her wanted to trust him for more—and she wasn’t entirely sure that was a safe option.

  Unable to fully relax, she became aware of Charlie’s tension when at last a crude shack rose out of the darkness ahead of them. A trickle of water sounded nearby. A stream? The bandits sat straighter in their saddles and started murmuring excitedly, but Opal couldn’t tell their exact words.

  “Remember to stay close to me,” Charlie murmured into her hair.

  The next few moments were a blur of terror and motion. While the other men were distracted, Charlie pushed Opal off the horse and followed her down, covering her body with his when they hit the ground.

  “Hey!” One of the men cried out and then a gun boomed, but Charlie had already rolled them away. His horse whinnied and galloped off, disappearing into the darkness.

  “Stay low to the ground,” Charlie ordered softly, pushing Opal forward behind an outcropping of rocks.

  “I’ve got a derringer in my pocket,” she whispered fiercely as she scrabbled over the rough, rocky incline, scraping her hands in the process. “It only has one shot.”

  “And I’ve a knife in my boot,” Charlie responded, hand at her waist. “Neither does us much good except at short distances. What we need is a good hiding spot. Maybe we can find the mine shaft…”

  A shot rang out and rocks chipped a few feet away, spraying Opal with fine gravel. She cried out, unable to stifle the noise, and Charlie’s ar
ms came around her, pulling her into his chest.

  “Are you hit?”

  “No, no—” she gasped, “It just frightened me.”

  Light from one of the lanterns spilled in their direction. Could the bandits see them? Charlie swept her fully into his arms. “It should be here—”

  And suddenly, they plunged past a leafy, fringed obstruction into a deeper, more consuming darkness.

  Opal’s grip on his shoulders had tightened to the point of pain, but Charlie wasn’t going to complain. He had one shot at getting them out of this, and he intended to make it work. He couldn’t fail. Not now.

  “The mine shaft was partially covered by that overgrown tree. You’d better pray they weren’t close enough to see where we ducked inside. If they think we’ve disappeared into the night, they might chase after and then we can head in the opposite direction. Maybe run into one of the other cowhands.”

  Realizing he still held her close to his heart—an apt metaphor—he slowly released her, steadying her with hands at her waist. It was impossible to tell without a light, but he thought they were far enough back in the cramped mine shaft that they wouldn’t be seen from outside, even if one of the bandits got close.

  “So we just… stay here in the dark?” She sounded small and scared.

  He wished he could see her face. He settled for cupping her arms with both hands, rubbing his thumbs gently in little circles. “Let’s stay put for a bit, at least, and see what they do.”

  Voices grew louder outside the mine shaft and Charlie squeezed Opal. “Quiet now.”

  Yellow light flashed and Charlie held his breath. If they spotted the mine’s entrance and came in, he and Opal were as good as fish in a barrel. Easy targets. But the light dimmed and the voices faded, and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

  “Now what?” Opal breathed the words, the warmth from her breath burning his collarbone through his shirt.

  “You all right to stay here for a minute? I’m going to take a peek and see which direction they’re headed.”

  Her muted agreement was only slightly reassuring but Charlie edged toward the opening anyway. He stilled when he caught sight of the men, not far off. They were setting up camp. And too close for him and Opal to sneak off into the night. If they moved out of the mine shaft, they would be seen in the light from the lanterns.

  Charlie backed into the cave, returning to where he’d left Opal. He could sense her, even though he couldn’t see her in the pitch-darkness of the cave.

  “They’re sitting just outside,” he said softly. “Making camp.”

  Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt and he realized she was shaking. His arms went around her shoulders almost of their own accord and he pulled her tight to his chest.

  “Are you all right?” he asked past the lump of sudden fear rising in his throat. “Sure you’re not hurt?”

  “Not hurt.” Her answer was muffled in his shirt. “Don’t like small, dark places.”

  Oh. Then spending time in this dank, enclosed space was probably making her uncomfortable.

  “Any chance of us escaping?” Even her voice shook.

  “I’ll go look out again in a little bit. Maybe they’ll bed down and we can sneak away.”

  She nodded, her head nudging under his chin.

  Charlie ran a hand down her back, hoping to offer comfort. It was hard, being close to her like this, knowing how determined she was to return to Omaha. Knowing there might be someone waiting for her back home.

  Remembering how Edith hadn’t thought he was good enough.

  “You can hang onto me for as long as you’d like,” he teased, and Opal drew slightly back, as he’d known she would. At least she didn’t step out of his arms.

  He had to ask. Had to know. “Is there really someone-are you really going to marry someone back in Omaha?”

  She stiffened slightly, but still didn’t pull away. “There is someone. I’m not-we don’t love each other, but the match would be beneficial to us both.”

  She seemed to hold her breath for a moment, then went on. “His family is well-off and has promised that if I wished it, I could support the orphanage.”

  So she wasn’t in love with this other man. The admission sent Charlie’s heart to soaring, though he tried to control it.

  “So you’re not really promised to him,” Charlie pressed.

  “Why do you ask?” Her breath fanned his chin and he imagined her looking at him, their faces only inches apart.

  Charlie allowed his hands to follow the slope of her shoulders, traced the slender column of her neck and then cupped her cheeks.

  “Because I can’t stop thinking about kissing you again.”

  Her soft gasp cut off as his lips covered hers. She didn’t push him away, like he expected, or pound his chest—no, she responded with a tilt of her head, a soft noise in the back of her throat that sent his pulse thundering in his ears.

  When at last he had to pull away to catch his breath, he couldn’t resist placing kisses on her cheek, her temple. He felt a smug satisfaction that she was breathing as hard as he was.

  Certainly, she wasn’t thinking about being stuck in the dark now. Neither of them were.

  “Let’s sit down, darlin’. I’ll go check on the bandits in a bit.”

  “Don’t call me that,” she murmured, but it was halfhearted at best.

  He sat with his back to the cold stone wall, and she settled at his side, her knees pressed against his thigh and head resting on his shoulder.

  “You would really marry this man to support your orphans?” Charlie asked, because he knew Opal wasn’t the kind of woman who was free with her affections and she’d just been kissing him. But he’d also thought he knew Edith and look what had happened with that. So what did it mean for his heart now?

  He hadn’t meant to fall in love with the boss’s daughter. Couldn’t be sure when it had happened. Maybe because of her courage when the roughnecks had chased and shot at them the first time? Or her constant kindness and bond with Carl?

  Or was it even now, while she trusted him to take care of her while they were in danger?

  She was a long time in answering, and Charlie’s tentative hopes plummeted. What could he offer a woman like Opal, when this other man could give her all her heart desired?

  “I don’t have much choice,” Opal said softly. “Even if I believed God was listening to my prayers, there’s no solution in sight. No money.” She paused. “I can’t just let those children be put out on the streets. There’s one little boy… only a toddler. His parents died and he had no one to take him in. And yet, he never stops smiling. He has this adorable little toothless grin…”

  Charlie’s chest tightened unbearably. How could he have misjudged her so in the beginning? Thinking she was just like Edith, that she was only after money.

  Opal was nothing like his ex-fiancé. She was as fine as the stone her name represented. Which made it even more difficult to imagine she’d want to be with a man like him. What could he hope to offer her?

  “Have you…” He cleared his throat to get the sudden knot out of it. “I know you and your Pa still have some things to work through, and I know there’s not any extra money around the Circle B, but maybe God’s answering your prayers, just not like you expected. What if… what if you brought your orphans out to the Circle B to live? There’s plenty of room in that big ranch house your Pa built, and more in the bunkhouse for the older boys.”

  She was quiet for a long time; he imagined her thinking about what he’d proposed. When she finally answered, her voice was slightly subdued. “And would my father expect them to work? They’re only children, you know. Some of the other possible benefactors I’ve approached suggested simply helping the older children get on at some of the factories in the city, but they’re only children—”

  He smiled in the darkness. He loved it when she got riled.

  “I wasn’t implying they’d be treated as hired hands. We’d only expect them t
o help out with the chores, like Carl does. If you think about it, we’d be teaching them skills they could use for once they’re grown. The boys would learn all about ranching and animals; you and Gertie could teach the girls how to cook and sew and all those womanly things…

  “You and Gertie already get along. With you around to help in the kitchen and keep all the kids in line, it just might work.”

  He was really warming to the idea now. If Opal stayed… if he could give her enough reason to stay, maybe she would fall in love with him, too.

  She tapped his chin with a finger and he went silent. “There’s one thing you’re forgetting.”

  “What’s that, darlin’?”

  “My father doesn’t particularly want me here.”

  Charlie knew that wasn’t true, but if Opal hadn’t really spoken to her father since she’d come home, how could he convince her?

  “Darlin’, I know you two have had your differences, but he does want you around. When he found out you were goin’ to visit, he couldn’t talk about anything else.”

  She went quiet and his heart started thumping hard again. He wanted to keep her here.

  “You said once before you felt you had something in common with your orphans. That you felt abandoned by your pa.”

  She sucked in a breath. “You remember that?”

  ~~~~

  Chapter Eight

  Charlie’s “Yep,” was matter-of-fact when it came. “Guess I haven’t been able to forget much since you’ve been on the Circle B.”

  She flushed, and then felt silly, because Charlie couldn’t see her in the dark mine shaft. The thought that the handsome cowboy had been paying attention to what she’d said flustered her.

  “Were you unhappy with your Aunt Jennie?”

  Charlie seemed to want to ask only difficult questions tonight. “Any little girl would be unhappy to be sent away from the father she loved and the only home she knew.” Especially when she’d already lost her mother.