Hell for Leather Read online

  “Sabrina, I—”

  “Stop it, Sam. I don’t want to hear it anymore.” She lengthened her strides, leaving Sam to wallow in his own self-pity. There wasn’t time for it.

  When she got to the saloon, she pressed her ear against the door and strained to hear what was going on. All she could hear were low murmurs coming from inside, which told her nothing. Sabrina was scared, more scared than she’d ever been in her life, but she wouldn’t stop now. Her throat felt as dry as her mouth and her heart pounded madly.

  Sabrina pushed the door open and stepped in.

  Cade pulled the curtain aside and peered out the window. She’d been gone for five minutes and already he couldn’t stand one more second of waiting.

  “She loves you.” Bernice had impeccable timing.

  “Yes, I know, brat. Go away.” His hand tightened on the lace until he heard a ripping sound.

  “She told you t’stay here, but you’re not gonna listen, are you?” Bernice’s gaze was sharper than any thirteen-year-old ought to have.

  “Shut up, Bernice.” He let the curtain drop and turned back to the store. Ellen stared at him from behind the counter, and for a change her hair was pulled back into a braid, exposing her entire face.

  He didn’t know what had happened between Sabrina and her sister, but something must have. Ellen had hidden in the shadows every time he’d seen her, and now she was standing in the full light of the afternoon sun, showing the world her scar. Cade walked toward her, and to her credit, she visibly tightened but didn’t move.

  “Sabrina does whatever she wants to do, no matter what anyone says otherwise.” Ellen’s voice was firmer and more in control too. “If you want a true marriage, then you’ve got to be a true partner.”

  The last thing he expected was to hear Ellen favoring their marriage and giving advice on how to stay married. His head and his heart finally knew what he had to do.

  “I have a gun.”

  That stopped him in his tracks. He stared hard at Ellen. “You do?”

  “It was my father’s. I never took to the rifles like Sabrina did, but my papa wanted to make sure I could protect myself. I never carried it, stupid decision, and when fate came calling, I ended up looking like this.” She gestured to the scar. “I won’t ever make that mistake again.”

  Cade held out his hand. “Where is it?”

  She pulled a Colt .45 out from beneath the counter, along with a dozen bullets. “It’s not loaded, but it’s clean.” Ellen pushed it toward him. “Do you love her?”

  A moment passed, then two while Cade wrestled with himself. “Yeah, I do.”

  “Then don’t let anything happen to her, and for God’s sake, don’t ever let her go.”

  Cade took Ellen’s hand and planted a hard kiss on the back. “I won’t. Thank you, my new sister.”

  Bernice stood by the open door. “You’d better move your ass, Brody.”

  Cade ran toward the door. “Shut up, Bernice.”

  Sabrina stepped into the saloon with the rifle hidden in the folds of her skirt, her heart residing somewhere near her throat. Antonio stood behind the bar, his expression set in stone. When he spotted her, surprise led to annoyance.

  “You shouldn’t be here.” He pulled her into the hallway and his gaze dropped to the rifle in her hand. “Sabrina, what the hell are you doing?”

  “Protecting my town and the people I love.” She glanced around the saloon, noting the large man sitting in the shadows at a table. “Where’s Johnathan Black?”

  “Not here.”

  Sabrina knew she couldn’t take on the gunslinger alone. “We need him here.”

  “We need an army.” Antonio’s attempt at humor fell flat.

  Sabrina had an idea. “Tell him to leave.”

  “What?” Antonio looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.

  “We can’t get rid of him if his ass is stuck to that chair. Now tell him to leave.” She peeked around the corner at the stranger.

  “Fine.” Antonio went back into the saloon and stepped toward the stranger in the corner. “Señor, it’s siesta time, so we’re closing.”

  “Siesta?” The man’s gravelly voice sent shivers up Sabrina’s spine. “I’m thinking you just want to fuck your puta in there.”

  To his credit, Antonio only blinked. “Every day, señor. We open up again after supper.”

  “I don’t take no siesta like you lazy Mexicans. Just leave the bottle.” He chuckled at his own joke. Sabrina had never felt the urge to shoot someone, but this man might change her mind for the second time in one day.

  Antonio’s knuckles cracked as his hands fisted. Sabrina thought violence was about to erupt when Mrs. Rodriguez appeared from the kitchen. She threw her arms in the air and started yelling in Spanish. After she pushed Sabrina toward the door, she yelled at Antonio.

  “¡Hijo malo! Es la hora de tomar una siesta, estúpido.” She turned her sharp gaze on Reynolds. “Salga del edificio, ahora.”

  When he stood, she didn’t flinch an inch against the man’s great height.

  “Ahora.” She pointed outside.

  To Sabrina’s surprise, the stranger threw back the whiskey in the glass in front of him and started to leave.

  “Fine then, just get this old bitch away from me.” He hitched up his gun belt and belched. “I don’t feel like killing her.”

  Antonio apologized to his mother. “Lo siento, Mamá.” He shrugged at Reynolds. “My mother owns the saloon, señor, so I do what she says.”

  Reynolds snorted as he walked toward the door. “What a pussy.”

  Sabrina ducked outside and stood to the left of the building, waiting for the man to come out who wanted to kill her husband. Her hand tightened on the rifle grip even as the door opened.

  To her surprise, Sam appeared with a rifle in hand, beside Clara toting a shotgun. Jeremiah was using a shovel as a crutch, his expression fierce. Behind them came Hiram, Frenchie and Bernice, all carrying picks and shovels.

  Reynolds came outside and frowned at the crowd of folks walking toward him. “What the hell is this?”

  Sabrina pulled the rifle up and pointed it at the gunslinger. “We want you to leave town, mister. We don’t take to strangers threatening us.” She pulled the hammer back, her sweaty palms gripping the handle as tightly as she could.

  “I ain’t leaving until I find Kincaid. I know he’s here.” Reynolds’s gaze raked her up and down, then focused on the rifle. “You ready to kill me, you fat cow?”

  She held onto her temper by a thread. “Don’t doubt it. I protect my own.” The nervousness disappeared as righteous anger coursed through her. “Get out of Eustace.”

  Reynolds laughed and caressed the grips of his guns. “I like you. You got spunk. Too bad I might have to kill you too. Now where’s Kincaid?”

  Sabrina walked toward him, her friends behind her ready to do battle for the man who told her ten minutes ago he wasn’t even a person. He might not believe it yet, but Cade was more than a person, he was part of their family. And this family protected its own.

  “You heard the lady, get out of town.” Sam cocked his rifle and aimed it at Reynolds. “We don’t want your kind here.”

  “My kind? Ha, from what I heard Kincaid’s only been living here a couple of months. He’s worse than I am. The man is a killing machine.” Reynolds stepped out into the street.

  Sabrina didn’t know what would happen if Reynolds refused to leave. He was a trained killer and she and her friends just ordinary folks. They’d need more than a couple rifles and shovels to make him go.

  “The marshal is on the way. He’s going to make sure you leave town.” Sabrina settled the rifle on her shoulder and got Reynolds in her sights. “You might want to leave before he gets here.”

  Reynolds narrowed his gaze. “Are you threatening me?”

  “Absolutely.” Sabrina widened her stance as Eric had taught her to, ready to take the brunt of the shot. It was as if her first husband helped her protect
her second, a warm feeling that filled her with strength. “Now leave.”

  She heard a few more guns cock as she focused entirely on Reynolds. The pity was he wasn’t a hideous monster as she’d expected. He was even handsome, although the sneer on his face ruined the effect. He could have been any man she met on any day, but he was a gunslinger out to murder her husband.

  “I don’t want to kill you, but I will.” Reynolds turned toward her, widening his stance, hands hovering over his pistols. “You ready to dance with me?”

  “She’s not who you want.” Cade’s voice came from behind Sabrina.

  “Dammit, Cade. Why don’t you listen to me?” She didn’t dare take her gaze off Reynolds, although she wanted to smack Cade. If he got himself killed, she’d follow him just to kick his ass for being so stubborn and stupid.

  “Kincaid.” Reynolds sounded like a man who’d found a gold mine. “It’s about time. I was beginning to think you were going to hide behind a woman’s skirts.”

  “I ain’t hiding from nothing.” Cade stepped up beside her. “I’m here now so you can take your sights off her.”

  Reynolds’s eyebrows rose. “So she your woman? A good fuck then? I’ll find out later after I dance on your rotting corpse.”

  Sabrina growled. “You son of a bitch.”

  Cade touched her arm. “Stand down, Brina. This is one thing I do really good.”

  “Let’s do this, Kincaid. I’ve been waiting twenty years to spill your blood, ever since you killed my pa.” Reynolds’s hands settled on the guns.

  “I did the world a favor killing your pa. He spent his life stealing from people and fucking little bo—”

  The next five seconds were a blur of smoke and guns, each blast echoing through her ears. Sabrina pulled the trigger, but she didn’t know where her bullet ended up and hoped it didn’t hurt anyone but the gunslinger trying to kill her husband. When the smoke cleared, both Cade and Reynolds lay on the ground.

  Sabrina threw the rifle and dropped to her knees. “You stupid fool! Why didn’t you listen to me? I was trying to save you, don’t you understand? I can’t lose you so soon after I found you.” She frantically searched his body for blood, a wound, anything, but couldn’t find a thing. “Cade, what happened?” Sobs burst from her throat.

  “Jesus, woman, can’t you handle a rifle?” Cade groaned and put a hand on his forehead. “You knocked me on my ass with your elbow after the recoil.”

  She threw herself on top of him, kissing his face while laughing, crying and shouting. He was alive!

  “You scared me.” She wiped her eyes and looked down into the dark depths of her husband’s eyes. “Why didn’t you stay at the store?”

  “I forgot to tell you something.”

  Sabrina waited for what he would say, knowing what it was before he said it. “So tell me already and I’ll let you up. That snow must be cold.”

  He touched her cheek with trembling fingers. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Her heart soared with joy and relief as they both stood, brushing the snow from their clothes.

  “Well, this’un is dead for sure.” Frenchie stood over Reynolds’s body. “Got hit twice, once in the eye and t’other in the heart. Fancy shooting for a man who don’t own a gun.” The old miner eyed the pistol on the ground.

  “That’s my pa’s gun, Frenchie. Ellen must have given it to him.” She hooked her arm through his. “After all, he’s family.”

  Clara poked the gunslinger with her small foot. “Well, let’s get a hole dug before the sun sets so we can get rid of this trash.”

  Marshal Black chose to appear at that moment, his sharp gaze missing nothing. “It appears a man tried to assault Mrs. Brody and her husband protected her.”

  Sabrina realized right then the marshal knew exactly who Cade was, or used to be anyway. If Johnathan had been there he would have had to break up the gunfight, perhaps even arrest Reynolds. However, the marshal let it all happen, to let the past be buried with the man who tried to resurrect another.

  “It’s a good thing you folks were around to help out. Mr. Brody, I’m glad you’re all right.”

  Cade glanced at the folks gathered around him. “I can’t say thank you enough to everyone for trying to protect me. I ain’t never really had a family before now.”

  “Well you’ve got one now whether or not you want one.” Antonio laughed, his mother clutching Bernice to her like a mother hen.

  “Welcome to Eustace, Mr. Brody.” Clara inclined her head. “You take care of our Sabrina now.”

  “I intend to.” He looked into Sabrina’s eyes. “I can’t imagine ever doing anything else.”

  Sam walked up and stuck out his hand. “I lost my head, Brody, and for that I apologize to both of you. Sabrina, I know you’re mad at me, but maybe one day we can be friends again.” He tipped his hat and walked back to the mill with Hiram.

  Marshal Black stepped up to Cade and spoke quietly. “We have a mutual friend, don’t you know. Tyler Calhoun sends his regards.” He shook Cade’s hand too. “Miss Clara, I’d be happy to assist you in picking a likely grave spot.” He offered her his arm and the four-foot woman walked off with the six-foot lawman toward the cemetery.

  “Well, hell, I didn’t expect that, any of it.” Cade’s throat worked as he apparently tried to clear out whatever had affected him.

  “Who’s Tyler Calhoun?” Sabrina picked up the rifle and pistol.

  Cade didn’t offer to touch the weapons and for that she was grateful. He might pick up a gun to save her life, but his actions spoke volumes about his distaste for it. The gunslinger Kincaid was truly dead.

  “Have I ever told you about Brett Malloy?” He walked beside her as they headed back to the store.

  “No, or maybe. I’m not sure.” She had a feeling the story was important.

  “I met him back in the spring in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I’d been hired to kill his brother’s woman.”

  Sabrina sucked in a breath. Someone would hire a gunslinger to kill a woman?

  “Don’t worry, honey, I didn’t do it. Somehow, me and Brett, well, we understood each other. He became the first friend I ever had, gave me a chance to learn on his ranch, even let me meet his family.” He looked up into the sky. “My reputation nearly got him killed so I left and came here.”

  “Sounds like it was hard for you to leave, but I’m glad you did otherwise I wouldn’t have met you.” She kissed his neck. “That still doesn’t answer the question, who’s Tyler Calhoun?”

  Cade laughed. “Brett’s brother-in-law. He’s an ex-bounty hunter who seems to know every lawman in the west. I thought I left them behind, but they’re still with me.” His eyes were shiny in the fading sunlight. “I never knew what family was.”

  Sabrina hugged him close. “Well now you do. Everyone deserves folks who love them and care for them. You, my dear husband, have both.”

  As Cade embraced her tightly in the orange rays of the sunset, she felt him tremble. A quiet hiccup in his chest told her that even a man who thinks he’s not a person can love and be loved, so she let him cry, safe in her arms.

  Cade was nervous, an unfamiliar and unsettling emotion. Darkness has settled its blanket on the cold night beyond the windows, and he waited for his wife. She insisted on freshening up in the room next to hers and made him wait by her bed, their bed. His palms felt like they’d been dipped in cold water and damned if his hands weren’t shaking.

  What the hell was wrong with him? Everything was perfect in his life, he had a wife who loved him, a town that accepted him and his identity was now firmly Cade Brody. There was no reason to be nervous, but he was.

  He’d shucked his shirt and trousers, but left his drawers on for some reason. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen him naked before. As he picked up his shirt to wipe the sweat off his hands, the bedroom door opened. He looked up to find the woman of his dreams walking toward him.

  “Holy shit.”

  Sabrina must have had a hidden trea
sure of fancy underthings in the store. She wore a diaphanous blue nightgown that matched her eyes. Through the sheer fabric, he saw the outline of her nipples and the triangle of her pussy. The door closed behind her and he jumped.

  “Do you like it?” She walked around in a circle, the fabric fanning out like a wave around her.

  “Jesus, if I like it anymore, I’m going to need new drawers.” He swallowed with difficulty, at her mercy without even a touch.

  Sabrina laughed. That husky sound went straight to his dick, which was already standing straight and tall. She glided toward the bed, a welcoming smile on her face until she got close enough to see his chest, and then she frowned.

  Without asking any questions, she put her warm palms on his skin. “You’ve had so much pain in your life. I want to take it all away.”

  When her lips touched the first scar, a shudder wracked his body. Each kiss reinforced the love they shared, the connection between them growing deeper and stronger. He could have stopped her, but he didn’t. The sweet warmth of her kisses filled him with hope and healing.

  “God, I love you.” The words were torn from the depths of his wounded soul.

  She straightened and kissed his lips. “Make love to me, husband.”

  Cade didn’t think he could have asked for a more perfect moment. He peeled the gown from her shoulders, enjoying the play of the fabric as it caught on her nipples. They popped free, rock-hard raspberry peaks begging for his touch.

  He dropped to his knees and cupped the orbs, his thumbs rubbing back and forth. She gasped and clenched his shoulders. As his mouth closed around the left one, his hand continued to pleasure the other. He nibbled, licked and sucked her over and over, as she trembled beneath his touch.

  “Cade, I…can’t,” she gasped out. “Please.”