had been at breakfast. Arousing Crow’s suspicion was dangerous business. She’d give anything to know what he was thinking.
She pasted on a casual smile, hoping to mask her growing concern. “Something wrong, Crow?”
“You tell me, sunshine.”
“Not a thing I can think of,” she said breezily. “Let’s mount up and ride. I’m anxious to see what the fringes of hell look like.”
She didn’t glance back at him, just strode uphill. But she could feel the icy weight of his gaze on her. He had been acting strangely since she’d teasingly handed him the money this morning and he’d returned it. As much as she yearned to have Crow with her indefinitely, she knew it was time to part company. He was posing questions about her past—and her endless money supply—that she was afraid to answer.
Although she was falling in love with him, he was a man, and men always had their own agendas. Therefore, she couldn’t trust him completely. Love him? Yes. Trust him not to betray her for her fortune? No. Definitely not.
If Van hadn’t spent years perfecting and maintaining a carefully controlled neutral expression he would have been spewing curses that would turn the air purple. It was bad enough that he was leading the way through canyon country—and had to deal with the bittersweet memories of his childhood home. Those haunting visions from his past never failed to sour his disposition. All he had to do was close his eyes and the sights and sounds of those hellish days when the Rangers attacked and the army brutally slaughtered their livestock and accidentally killed a few men, women and children caused tormenting resentments to bubble to the surface.
To make matters worse, Natalie’s mysterious riches sent up warning flags in his mind. He recalled the large bills she had paid him earlier for signing the marriage license. At the time, he had been too distracted by the attack on Bart and a possible attempt on Natalie’s life to give it much thought.
Yet he had given it very serious consideration this morning because he sensed she was purposely withholding vital information from him.
So, naturally, he investigated by searching her belongings while she washed dishes at the river. Lo and behold, he’d discovered the hidden compartment in the bottom of her tattered carpetbag. He had dipped in his hand and strands of diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires dripped between his fingers. He had stared in disbelief at the fortune in jewelry.
Hell’s bells, the precious stones, set in gold and silver, were large enough to choke his horse! Not to mention that he’d found more money than he had in his bank account in Wolf Ridge.
Van contemplated Natalie’s unswerving refusal to divulge her last name and confide her past. Suspicion loomed large in his mind. He hadn’t wanted to be mistrustful of her, but he suspected last night’s intimate encounter was part of her cunning scheme to gain his allegiance and his protection. Just in case her secretive past caught up with her and she needed reinforcements.
Why had she found it necessary to pose as a widow? Was it to conceal her identity from lawmen? Was it because she had stolen a fortune in jewelry and money recently? Had she conned him into marrying her by feeding him lies and paying for his services as a gunfighter until she was miles away from the scene of whatever crime she had committed?
He knew he’d served several purposes for her—a name on the marriage license, a skilled shooter and protector. Everything she told him was a crock of lies designed to gain his trust, he mused resentfully.
A wicked stepfather and unfaithful fiancé? Ha! He suspected she had concocted that whole story. And it was a nice touch the way she tossed in suspicions about her mother being poisoned after he had pointed out the hemlock in the marsh. He cursed himself for being tripped up by her exceptional beauty, by her sad tale and by his uncontrollable desire for her. He had been a gullible fool and his pride was smarting until hell wouldn’t have it.
The thought of how she had him twisting in the wind made him furious. He had spent the previous night enjoying a man’s wildest fantasy, only to plunge headlong into the black hole of doubt and suspicion. Van had been used plenty of times and for various reasons by his clients. He had been well paid every blasted time. But Natalie had touched off emotions and filled him with sensations