The Gunslinger's Untamed Bride

Not unlike her father.

He remembered the ol’ man-hunter quite well. Though rumored to be ruthless in his occupation of bringing in some of the most infamous criminals in the territory, Red Palmer had actually seemed a decent sort of fellow. Juniper had spoken with him several times over at the general store and in the saloon. On many of those occasions he’d mentioned the wife and daughter he had stashed up in the mountains.

Juniper had never been forced to shoot someone he’d been cordial with—until the night Red went after him like a loco steer. He’d never faced a more terrifying adversary. He sure as hell hadn’t expected to live beyond that night. Part of him still wished he hadn’t.

Would he ever outlive his reputation as a gunfighter?

Not likely. The last four years of being a lawman had afforded him some peace, putting his infamous reputation to good use, or at least giving folks pause about approaching him. He’d been trying to build an honest life for himself—but none of it mattered. Watching the mention of his name turn the sweetness in Lily’s smile to undiluted fear brought him back to what he’d always be.

A no-good gunslinger.

He was so damn tired of fighting the past. Juniper closed his eyes, silently praying that Lily Palmer would take his advice.

“Good afternoon.”

Juniper opened his eyes as a little man in a bowler hat and ruffled suit stepped into his office.

“Reginald Carrington,” he said, rushing toward the desk, extending his hand.

“Sheriff Barns,” Juniper said as he stood and shook the man’s slender hand. His last name, dainty grip and frilly white shirt explained a lot. “I take it you’re the new owner.”

“Of sorts. We arrived a short while ago and I seem to have lost my charge.”

“Your charge?”

“My partner, actually. Lily Carrington.”

“Lily Carrington?”

“Yes. She insisted on being present for the inspection and must have taken a notion to have a look around on her own. Quite like Lily, you see. She’s very involved in all of her projects. The boy from the mill suggested I’d find her here.” The man’s brows pinched inward as he glanced around the office.

“She’s not here,” Juniper said, the sick feeling in his stomach turning to a ball of flames. He wondered if this dandy was her husband. “She’s on the ox wagon headed down the mountain.”

“The wagon that just left a short while ago?”

“Yeah.”

“You must be mistaken. We stopped the driver. Lily wasn’t with him.”

“She was, you just didn’t see her because, uh … she was on the buckboard. Under a blanket.”

Reginald’s dark eyes grew wide. “I beg your pardon?”

“Women aren’t allowed up here. She was unconscious when—”

“Good Lord!” Reginald said in alarm. “You knocked her out?”

“Of course not. That was how I found her. She had stepped into the path of a lumber hoist.”

“Is she all right?”

“She seemed all right.” Other than wanting him dead. “When she woke up she didn’t say anything about being a Carrington. She just said her name was Lily. I sent her down the mountain the best way I could without causing a ruckus with the men.”

“If she allowed you to send her off without a fight, she was far from all right! Lily is hardly some docile flower.”

“I noticed.” Juniper rubbed at the tense muscles in the back of his neck. “Believe me, she was fighting mad. Did I mention she was handcuffed under that blanket? And gagged?”

Reginald blinked several times, his expression seeming frozen in place. “You accosted the owner of this camp and sent her—”

“The who?”

“Your boss, Sheriff Barns. Lily is L. P. Carrington. Lily …Palmer … Carrington.”

His slow, clear pronunciation didn’t make the announcement any less of a shock. “Oh, hell.”

“Indeed.” Laughter tickled from Reginald’s throat. “You poor man. Don’t think for a moment I’ll be able to save this situation. Lily controls everything, and her wrath could make the devil tremble.”

Somehow Juniper didn’t doubt it. Cursing, he reached for his hat. “Can you ride?”

The dandy snapped straight as though pricked by a pin. “Of course I can ride. I wouldn’t have kept up with Lily all these years if not.”

“If that means you can keep the devil’s pace and stay in a saddle, you can come with me.”

Outside he motioned toward the brown-and-white mare tethered beside Scout, his chestnut stallion. “You can take Günter’s mount. You’ll likely have to raise the stirrups.”

Reginald didn’t hesitate, stepping up to the horse to make necessary adjustments.

“She your wife?” Juniper asked as he slung into his saddle, the notion refusing to take hold in his mind.

Reginald glanced up from a stirrup. “Heavens, no. Lily’s my second cousin.”

“Then how is she a Carrington?”

“By birthright, Sheriff Barns. Her mother was Rose Carrington, youngest of four siblings to inherit the Carrington fortunes, a quarter of which went to Lily after Aunt Rose’s death.” He mounted the mare with reassuring ease. “A moment with Lily should convince anyone that she’s a Carrington through and through.”

“I don’t think so,” Juniper muttered as he spurred his horse. Reginald had clearly never met Lily’s daddy.

They beat a fast trail out of camp. As they rode down the wide road cut into the mountainside, gunfire echoed across the sky.

What the hell?

Juniper met Reginald’s startled gaze. Both men reined in their horses, listening to an echo that sounded no farther than the next bend in the winding road.

“Hey, Reginald? Why did you stop the wagon?”

“To send our strongbox down to The Grove.”

Juniper’s heart clenched. “You put the payroll on an unarmed wagon?”

“Surely not! We sent our guard along.”

A single armed man? Juniper urged his horse onward, praying the gunfire they’d heard had been warning shots, and that Lily was safely hidden beneath the blankets.

When the load of logs came into view the team of oxen were at a standstill. Chuck was nowhere in sight.

“Chuck!”

“Over here!”

The old teamster stood on a thin strip of tall grass at the side of the road. As Juniper rode close, he noticed a man lying on the ground beside him.

“Poor feller’s dead,” said Chuck. “Was a goddamn coward what shot ‘im.”

“This man didn’t have his gun drawn?” Juniper asked, spotting a rifle and revolver lying in the grass not far off from the stranger’s boots.

Chuck turned his head and spat a stream of chaw. “We knew there was too many of ‘em. Dobbs tossed his guns down right off. They got what they was after, weren’t no call to shoot ‘im.”

“Where’s Lily?” Reginald shouted, reining in beside the wagon.

“Reckon she’s still on the buckboard.”

“She’s not here!” He turned his horse in a full circle, his eyes wide with terror as he glanced up and down the mountainside.

Juniper looked back at Chuck. “You didn’t see them take her?”

“They had me facedown in the grass. I didn’t hear no mention of them finding her, so I figured she was still under the blanket.”

Juniper’s horse leaped back onto the road. Pulling his rifle from a scabbard at the side of his saddle, he fired off three shots, the blasts echoing across the mountain as he set off in the direction of the bandits.

“What was that for?” Reginald shouted, riding up beside him.

“To let them know I’m coming for ‘em. Wait here.”

“She’s my cousin! I’m going after her.”

He didn’t waste time arguing. They raced down the wide dirt road. A mile farther, Juniper rounded another bend and spotted a figure off in the brush.

Lily.

Her wrists were cuffed in front of the bulging mass of her torn skirt. She inched forward, struggling to walk despite her bound ankles.

He pulled up on the reins as relief plowed through him.

They must have dumped her into the thick brush. Dirt and stickers coated her dress. Dried grass clung to her tangled hair. Narrowed green eyes burned into him.

“Lily!” shouted Reginald. He reined in beside her and jumped from his saddle. “Oh, thank God.”

Measuring the rage in Lily’s eyes, Juniper wasn’t quite ready to thank the heavens. She shouted through the roll of fabric in her mouth, and Reginald took a cautious step back.

Juniper dismounted beside him. He held up the key to the cuffs. “You want to—”

“Hell no, man.” Reginald took another step back. “You’re the one who tied her up. You can let her loose.”

Opting for the least lethal position, Juniper stepped behind her to remove the gag. “I’m sorry about this, Miss Carrington,” he said as he loosened the knot on his handkerchief. “Things would have gone differently if you’d told me who you were from the start.”

The moment he pulled the bandanna away, she spun toward him in a whirling flutter of fancy green fabric.

“You’re fired! Do you hear me? Fired!”

“Uh … sweetness? I wouldn’t do that just yet.”

Juniper bypassed her hands and crouched down to undo the binding around her booted ankles.

“He’s fired now! We need to find a real sheriff!”

“Lady,” Juniper said as he straightened, stuffing the second bandanna into his pocket. “I’m as real as it gets up here. If I didn’t govern your camp, you wouldn’t have a logging company left to speak of because your employees would have shredded it to toothpicks after the second pay hold.”

“Uncuff me!” she shouted, holding up her hands.

“I don’t know,” Juniper said, not trusting the lethal glint in her eyes. “I do that and you’re liable to back-shoot me.”

“Front, back, sideways. I’m not choosy at the moment!”

“Lily.” Reginald clamped a hand onto her arm, clearly fearing she was about to attack him.

“This whole situation could have been avoided,” said Juniper, his own temper hanging on by a thread. “What were you thinking to bring a cash box up to this camp with only a single armed guard? Why wasn’t I notified? And why the hell didn’t you tell me you were L. P. Carrington?”

“You shoved your handkerchief into my mouth before I had the chance, binding me up so that I couldn’t even protect myself!”

“I saved your life. If you had identified yourself to those men, I doubt they’d have let you off this mountain. You’re lucky they dropped you on your ass before they figured out who you were, or you’d likely have ended up like your gunman.”

Her eyes flared. “Mr. Dobbs? What about him?”

“He’s dead.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. Her gaze darted toward her cousin.

“It’s true, love. They shot him.”

“Miss Carrington, I don’t think you understand the dire circumstances you’ve created here. How did you expect to be greeted after asking your men to work for free, when they’d already been waiting on back wages?”

“The company went bankrupt, we were trying to. We came to.” Her voice trailed. She seemed lost somewhere between horror and utter confusion.

Juniper almost felt sorry for her. Other than wanting him dead, she’d obviously had plans to ease the financial strain McFarland and her subsequent pay freeze had placed on the crews. The men had plain tired of waiting. No doubt they’d heard a pot of money was on the mountain and had set out to claim what they believed to be rightfully theirs.

“Give me your hands,” he said.

She held out her wrists without question.

“How’s your head feeling?” he asked as he released the first cuff.

“It’s okay.” The second cuff fell open and she pulled her hands away, rubbing at the tender skin behind her short gloves.

He turned from her and mounted his horse. With only two mounts, she wasn’t likely to find her riding options suitable. He didn’t know Günter’s horse well enough to trust Reginald riding double. Scout wouldn’t balk about the extra weight. Used to carting his sisters around, he wouldn’t shy away from Lily’s flapping skirts. Juniper reined in close beside her and leaned down to grip her slender waist. She shrieked as he lifted her.

“Easy, boss,” he said, forcing her stiff legs to bend as he pulled her securely onto his lap. “It’s a short ride back to the wagon.”

To his surprise, she didn’t fight him. She gave a slight nod and quickly averted her gaze. He glanced down at the amber-gold crown of her head, and the grass and twigs poking out from the mass of hair that swirled around her shoulders. The shoulder-to-cuff seam in her green jacket had ripped open, revealing a pink scrape on lily-white skin. Just about every surface of the fancy dress had a rip or snag. The tender skin beneath likely bore bruises from such rough handling.

Guilt festered inside him.

“Miss Carrington, I wouldn’t have put you on that wagon had I thought you’d be in danger.”

Lily shut her eyes, anger and humiliation clashing inside her. “You’re still fired,” she said, the tremble in her voice adding to her distress.

“Of course I am.”

His gentle tone increased the fine trembling of her body. She tried not to notice the heat of his chest against her shoulder and back, or his muscular thighs all but cradling her backside. Every shift of movement was a startling reminder that Juniper Barns was very much a man.

She angled her head slightly, unable to help herself from stealing a glance at him—a handsome rogue who had an entire community fooled into believing he was a man of law-abiding morals. He glanced down and she quickly looked away from the chilling clarity of his blue eyes.

“Did you get a good look at the group of men?”

Dear God, she did not want to talk while sitting on his lap.

His arm tightened about her waist, stiffening her spine. “Lily?”

“Just the one who took me,” she said in a biting tone. “Dark hair, dark eyes and a red handkerchief—clearly a multipurpose tool for outlaws.” Her tongue still dry from the red handkerchief he’d stuffed into her mouth, she glowered up at him. “A moment later I was belly down across his legs and all I saw was moving mountainside. When someone shouted out that a woman had been taken, he was told to dump me. He did just that, after a bit of groping and foul language.”

The indignation of it all sent a sting into her cheeks, along with a delayed lash of fear. Everything had happened so fast, she hadn’t been able to truly comprehend the gravity of being abducted, defenseless against her captors.

“Did you hear his name?”

The chilling quality of Juniper’s low tone drew her gaze. The cold rage in his pale blue eyes increased the chill of her body. His reaction unsettled her, though she couldn’t say why. Perhaps because she’d have expected someone of his nature to find amusement in her mistreatment.

“I didn’t hear any names,” she said, looking away from him, all too aware that she sat in the arms of her father’s killer. “A series of gunshots drew the attention of the others. There was a bunch of shouting. All I saw was a flashing glimpse of horses before I was tossed into the brush.”

“Your warning worked,” Reginald said, riding beside them.

“Thank God for that much.” Juniper spurred his horse into a faster pace. His tight hold increased Lily’s outrage.

It was his fault she’d been taken in the first place! Had he bothered to talk to her before gagging her and tying her up, he wouldn’t have had to save her!

A short while later the wagon came into view, the oxen now facing uphill. Chuck stood at the front of the team, fastening a harness. The large deputy hoisted a roll of blankets onto the load of rough-cut boards. When she realized Mr. Dobbs was wrapped up in them, tears stung at her eyes.

Juniper reined his horse in beside the team of oxen, and for a moment she didn’t mind the security of being surrounded by his strength.

“Sheriff,” said the deputy, his expression glum. “I heard the gunfire. Chuck was just telling me what happened.”

Chuck climbed up to his wagon seat and lifted the reins, seeming impatient to be on his way.

Juniper’s hands closed around her waist, hitching Lily’s breath. “They got off with the payroll cash box,” he said, slowly lowering her to the ground.

The moment her feet touched down she stumbled forward and found her balance. Her gaze stuck on the body Günter continued to tie down.

“Why did they take the woman?” Günter jumped from the wagon and swiped the back of his arm over his wide sweaty brow.

Rage simmered in Juniper’s blood as Lily’s accounts played in his mind. “Can’t think of any reason that isn’t worth hanging for. Once I find out who grabbed her, he’ll be charged with assault and kidnapping. Chuck, did anyone tell you a cash box was on this wagon?”

“Nope. That feller said he had a locked box he needed delivered to The Grove office.” Chuck motioned to Reginald as he stepped beside Lily.

Juniper’s narrowed gaze moved between them. “This is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into.”

“If you hadn’t shipped me off like a hog trussed for roasting, Reginald wouldn’t have been left to make decisions without me!”

“I’m sorry, Lily,” said Reginald. “We had the files we needed. Grimshaw went over the documentation and gave his approval. He and Mr. Dobbs agreed the payroll should be put in the safe kept in The Grove as soon as possible. They thought it’d be safest to send it down on the wagon, so as not to attract attention.”

“Grimshaw couldn’t have read any written orders,” Juniper said, knowing now how word had likely gotten out about the cash box. Jim couldn’t read, and Juniper figured any number of men could have overheard them talking at the millhouse. “Chuck, did you recognize anyone?”

“They all had their faces covered like a buncha stage robbers. With all of ‘em shouting to get on the ground, it was hard to hear any one voice. Had to be near fifteen of ‘em. They come right over the side of that mountain,” he said, motioning to the incline across the road. “They knew the money was there. Started fighting over how to open that locked box before they got it loaded. Heard a mention of John’s place. Reckon his woman’s hurtin’ pretty bad.”

Juniper bit back a curse. That meant Calvin had likely been with them. His widowed sister and her five children had been waiting for the last of John’s wages.

“Who’s John?” asked Lily.

“A good man who believed this camp would come through for him,” Juniper told her. “So he kept working when others left, even though the smaller crews compromised their safety. It cost him his life. His wife and their five children have been waiting on the last of his wages for two months. What exactly did you expect these men to do while you got all your pretty little ducks in a row?”

“To have some understanding. I sent notices—”

“Notices won’t buy much at a mercantile, Miss Carrington. Plenty of these men have families who depend on that income to make ends meet. To buy food and keep roofs over their heads.”

“Surely they have some savings set aside for—”

“Savings?” Lily Palmer Carrington was burning through his patience like fire through a haystack. “Most of your employees have never stepped foot in a bank because they’ve got nothing to put there. They work to get by, Miss Carrington.”

“I realize—”

“No, you don’t. You’ve got no business being out here. You belong in San Francisco.”

“Do not tell me where I belong! You are the one who belongs … in …”

“Hell?” Juniper supplied. “Right beside your father?”

Her green eyes flared with rage. “How dare you!”

“Enough!” Reginald stepped between them. “Lily, what’s going on?”

Her lower lip slid between white teeth as her gaze moved between Juniper and her cousin.

“What’s the matter, Miss Carrington? Didn’t you fill Reginald in on your plans for revenge?”

“Lily?”

“If I’m cartin’ this poor dead feller back up to camp,” said Chuck, “I need to get goin’. I want to be down this mountain before nightfall.”

Juniper turned to Günter.

His deputy splayed his hands wide in question. “You tell me. What do we do?”

He needed to get away from this woman before he lost his temper or, worse yet, she found another revolver. “See the Carringtons back to camp so they can make arrangements for their man and collect their belongings before being escorted to The Grove. Go straight to the kitchen and have Cook tell you which men didn’t show up for dinner. That could help us narrow this down. Then meet me at Frank’s livery. If I’m not there, he’ll know where to find me.”

Günter gave a firm nod. He turned toward Miss Carrington. “You wish to ride on the wagon?”

She glanced at the horse Mr. Dobbs had been riding, then leveled those shrewd green eyes on Juniper. “Where are you going?”

“To recover the cash box. I think I know what will likely be the first stop of our Good Samaritans.”

“Good Samaritans?”

“In their minds, though I admit they’ve gone about it all wrong.”

“They shot my guard and stole my money!”

“They took what they believed you owed them, Miss Carrington.”

“What we owed an entire camp, not one group of thugs. How can you defend murderers? Though I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” she added, crossing her arms as she glared up at him.

Juniper glared right back. “Only one man pulled that trigger, and he’ll be found and charged with the crime. I’ll get your money back, Miss Carrington.”

“Not without us, you won’t.” Lily strode toward Dobbs’s black horse, and Juniper had to clench his jaw to keep from swearing.

“Let the man do his job, Lil’,” Reginald said, a blessed voice of reason.

“I plan to make certain he does.” Her tiny form swung into the high saddle in a most unladylike fashion, and with an ease that shocked him. “We can’t move forward until the payroll is recovered and properly distributed.” She tucked the excess folds of her fancy skirt securely beneath her slender white knees, then shifted in the saddle as though reacquainting herself with what had once been familiar.

“Which is why we’re riding along. Reginald.”

Her stiff-backed tone put a pinch in Juniper’s spine. He glanced at poor Reginald. The man’s weary expression threatened to dash the last of his hope. “What are my chances of talking her into staying at the camp?”

Reginald shook his head. “I always knew she’d be the death of me,” he said in a whimper, and started toward his horse. “I just thought it would take a little longer.”

Glancing back at Lily sitting stiffly in the saddle, Juniper knew it wasn’t the dandy’s death she had her heart set on.

It was his.

Chapter Four

Juniper kept Scout at a hard pace. The Grove was close, a small settlement nestled into a lowland mountain valley where squatting oak trees, tall grasses and bursts of wild-flowers replaced the towering pines of the higher elevations. Lily and Reginald rode a few paces behind him, their horses hot and lathered.

Juniper had no intention of hunting down a hostile band of men with these two in tow, certainly not with a gunman on the loose. Lily’s temper wasn’t enough to keep her safe if bullets started flying. Problem was, he had nowhere to stash them. Folks in The Grove weren’t likely to greet the Carringtons with warmth and hospitality. The entire community had suffered from the recent pay hold.

Two parallel rows of rooftops marking the settlement came into view, and Juniper’s mind raced for a solution. He’d met all the residents of this town at one time or another, having served as their local sheriff for nearly two years before he’d moved up to the high Sierra camp. In the past few years he’d spent his days beating the trail up and down this mountain.

Juniper veered off the wide stretch of road. Below, individual rooftops fanned out on either side of the shops on the main strip. Homes spotted the uneven hills tucked into the mountain crevasse. Descending a high stretch of ground, he caught sight of a cluster of residents gathered beneath the narrow awnings of the main strip, spilling out into the street.