time his dick, now hard for her, didn't give a rat's ass what her motives were.
On first glimpse of her, four years before, she'd seemed lost, scared, and adrift. He'd lingered in town after his father had driven the wagon home, stalking her.
Even after she'd checked into the seedy hotel at the end of town, he'd still waited around, hoping to get another glimpse of the exotically beautiful girl.
She'd been sweetly innocent then. He'd still been spying that evening when she'd braced Frank Rossiter, and he'd witnessed the blow she'd taken when the gambler used his fist on her.
Grady had reacted by instinct, yanking the jackass outside with the intention of beating him to death. It wasn't till the girl he'd followed all day had intervened, half carrying the worthless gambler to the wagon she had waiting, that he realized she was a married woman. And on top of that, she was married to the bastard who had punched her.
It should have been a bucket of cold water dampening his interest, but he'd still listened when gossip about her came round. She'd disappeared from Eclipse after that night.
But around the time Grady's father had been killed, the saloonkeeper, Teddy James, mentioned the gambler was back in town. The saloon owner had claimed that for a price, the gambler would share her.
Red hair or not, Da would have had a fit over this match.
It didn't matter. Grady thought about her pragmatically. She would do for his purpose. He needed to get a son upon a white woman.
He'd already figured that by marrying an Eclipse ranch daughter, he'd temporarily secure his stance in the county—but he didn't trust any of the locals enough to give a white woman's relatives a strong claim on Hawks Nest. That would just invite a bullet in the back, leaving a new-made widow ready to take over.
This woman had no relatives to protect her or steal from him. She would do. He'd have to watch and make sure no other males covered her until after she caught. Then—
his face was grimmer than usual—then she could be on her way.
The hard years had taken their toll on her beautiful features. Lines marred her forehead and pinched a groove on either side of her nose, giving her an almost feral look.
A wolverine. Grady saw her as the fierce animal, avoided by prey and predator alike.
Today he'd come to meet with Hamilton Quince. The territory was overrun with crooked land agents stealing Texas out from under white and Indian alike. When he'd received a message from Quince, calling for him to ride into Eclipse for a cattleman's meeting in town, he'd almost smiled.
He'd been here longer than most and sure as hell qualified as a cattleman, owning the second largest spread in the territory as well as the water rights needed by all. But since his father's passing, there had been few invitations to the Eclipse Cattlemen's meeting.
He'd arrived at Comfort Quince's Boarding House in late afternoon, tying up discreetly in the back. Other ranchers drifted in and out, giving him a stiff nod before they spoke to Quince.
According to Hamilton, the land grabbers were after the water rights that made the two ranchers allies. If today's meeting was intended to give him a heads-up, it had turned into more than that.
During the afternoon, he'd known that he'd left himself too vulnerable, with so many white men giving him questioning looks, like he wasn't one of them. For most of them, the suspicious glances weren't a real threat, and Grady knew it.
But when the sheriff brought Jewel Rossiter and Grady's stolen knife to the boarding house, it was obvious he'd been set up. The woman was so recently widowed that she had her husband's blood on her hands, and it was the same blood coating the blade of the murder weapon. When it was apparent that one or the other of them was intended to be found guilty, he'd seen a solution to two problems.
He needed a white wife, and she needed someone to keep her out of jail or worse—
Teddy James' brothel. He'd watched
On first glimpse of her, four years before, she'd seemed lost, scared, and adrift. He'd lingered in town after his father had driven the wagon home, stalking her.
Even after she'd checked into the seedy hotel at the end of town, he'd still waited around, hoping to get another glimpse of the exotically beautiful girl.
She'd been sweetly innocent then. He'd still been spying that evening when she'd braced Frank Rossiter, and he'd witnessed the blow she'd taken when the gambler used his fist on her.
Grady had reacted by instinct, yanking the jackass outside with the intention of beating him to death. It wasn't till the girl he'd followed all day had intervened, half carrying the worthless gambler to the wagon she had waiting, that he realized she was a married woman. And on top of that, she was married to the bastard who had punched her.
It should have been a bucket of cold water dampening his interest, but he'd still listened when gossip about her came round. She'd disappeared from Eclipse after that night.
But around the time Grady's father had been killed, the saloonkeeper, Teddy James, mentioned the gambler was back in town. The saloon owner had claimed that for a price, the gambler would share her.
Red hair or not, Da would have had a fit over this match.
It didn't matter. Grady thought about her pragmatically. She would do for his purpose. He needed to get a son upon a white woman.
He'd already figured that by marrying an Eclipse ranch daughter, he'd temporarily secure his stance in the county—but he didn't trust any of the locals enough to give a white woman's relatives a strong claim on Hawks Nest. That would just invite a bullet in the back, leaving a new-made widow ready to take over.
This woman had no relatives to protect her or steal from him. She would do. He'd have to watch and make sure no other males covered her until after she caught. Then—
his face was grimmer than usual—then she could be on her way.
The hard years had taken their toll on her beautiful features. Lines marred her forehead and pinched a groove on either side of her nose, giving her an almost feral look.
A wolverine. Grady saw her as the fierce animal, avoided by prey and predator alike.
Today he'd come to meet with Hamilton Quince. The territory was overrun with crooked land agents stealing Texas out from under white and Indian alike. When he'd received a message from Quince, calling for him to ride into Eclipse for a cattleman's meeting in town, he'd almost smiled.
He'd been here longer than most and sure as hell qualified as a cattleman, owning the second largest spread in the territory as well as the water rights needed by all. But since his father's passing, there had been few invitations to the Eclipse Cattlemen's meeting.
He'd arrived at Comfort Quince's Boarding House in late afternoon, tying up discreetly in the back. Other ranchers drifted in and out, giving him a stiff nod before they spoke to Quince.
According to Hamilton, the land grabbers were after the water rights that made the two ranchers allies. If today's meeting was intended to give him a heads-up, it had turned into more than that.
During the afternoon, he'd known that he'd left himself too vulnerable, with so many white men giving him questioning looks, like he wasn't one of them. For most of them, the suspicious glances weren't a real threat, and Grady knew it.
But when the sheriff brought Jewel Rossiter and Grady's stolen knife to the boarding house, it was obvious he'd been set up. The woman was so recently widowed that she had her husband's blood on her hands, and it was the same blood coating the blade of the murder weapon. When it was apparent that one or the other of them was intended to be found guilty, he'd seen a solution to two problems.
He needed a white wife, and she needed someone to keep her out of jail or worse—
Teddy James' brothel. He'd watched
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