The Outlaws: Rafe Read online

  "Much obliged, sheriff," Rafe said. You don't know how it feels to finally be free of all those false charges. I just wish I knew how to contact my brothers and let them know they're no longer wanted men."

  "Well, if there's anything I can do, let me know. I'd better get this scum to jail and send the doctor up to see to your leg."

  "I'll be off, too," Goodman said from the bedroom doorway.

  "I can't thank you enough, Mr. Goodman," Angela gushed. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't interpreted my message correctly when you were up here yesterday. I shudder to think what would have happened had you and the sheriff not arrived when you did."

  "It's all over, my dear," Goodman said. "You and your husband have a lifetime together. Don't waste a moment of it."

  Angela kissed Mr. Goodman on the cheek. "Come back and see us often."

  Goodman touched his cheek and beamed. "You can't keep me away."

  Angela watched dispassionately from the doorway as Chandler was hefted onto his horse and led away by the sheriff. Though she knew she had nothing more to fear from Chandler, she flinched when he shot her a hate-filled look. Suppressing a shiver, she hurried back to Rafe.

  Rafe held out his arms to his Angel. She went into them gladly, snuggling against him. His leg hurt like the very devil but he needed to feel her against him. He loved her so much, and at long last he could tell her exactly what was in his heart. He was a free man. Free to live where he pleased. Free to love his Angel. Free to raise a family with her.

  "What are you thinking?" Angela asked into the charged silence. "Are you in pain? Can I give you some laudanum?"

  Rafe scowled. "I've had enough laudanum, thank you. Why did you drug me?"

  "I was afraid you'd kill Anson, or he would kill you, and I couldn't let that happen. Are you angry?"

  He picked up her hand and placed a kiss in the center of her palm. "I can never stay angry with you for very long, Angel. What does upset me is the fact that you placed your life in danger. You always assume you can handle yourself in any situation and that frightens me. It's going to take a lifetime of constant surveillance to keep you safe."

  "A lifetime?" Angela asked breathlessly. "Does that mean..."

  "Surely you don't think I'd ride away from you now, do you?" Rafe asked, smiling. "I love you, Angel. I've always loved you."

  "You do? Why haven't you told me before now?"

  "I wasn't free to tell you. I was a wanted man, I had no right to claim your love."

  "You claimed my love long ago, Rafe. I've been helplessly and hopelessly yours for a very long time."

  "I wish..."

  "What do you wish?"

  "I can't help thinking about my brothers. Jess is a good doctor. As long as he thinks he's wanted by the law he's not free to practice his trade. And then there's Sam. Sam is a hothead and there's no telling the kind of trouble he'll get himself into. If only there was some way to tell them they're no longer wanted by the law."

  "Do you know where to find them?"

  "I wish I did. We agreed to meet in Denver a year from the day we left Dodge. Jess rode north and Sam headed south. They could be anywhere. All I can do is hope and pray they get the word that they're no longer wanted for bank robbery."

  "What about us, Rafe? What are your plans for the future?"

  "You love me and I love you, for now that's enough."

  "And the mine?" Angela wondered. "I know becoming a miner doesn't exactly thrill you."

  "The mine is yours, sweetheart. You decide what you want to do and I'll abide by your decision. We have the entire winter ahead of us to decide. Come spring...well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

  Angela sent him a cheeky grin. "Things are definitely going to change come spring."

  "How so?" Rafe asked curiously.

  She grasped his hand and placed it on her flat stomach. "You can't feel it yet but I'm pretty positive your child is growing inside me. I hope you're as happy as I am about it."

  Rafe's hand tightened around hers. "What! How long have you known?"

  "Long enough."

  "How could you place your life in danger when you knew you were increasing? Dammit, Angel, I ought to throw you over my knee and spank you." He shuddered. "God, I could have lost you. My life wouldn't have been worth living without you."

  "Rafe, you're hurting my hand. I thought you'd be happy."

  Rafe released her instantly. "I'm sorry, love. I am happy. Words can't express how I feel about starting a family with you. I've dreamed about it but never allowed myself to believe it would happen." His eyes grew misty. "A baby. I hope it's a girl. She'll look just like you and sing as sweetly as a canary."

  Angela sighed happily.

  "We're going to move into town for the winter," Rafe said decisively. "I'm not taking unnecessary chances with your health. Should you need a doctor, I want to be where one can reach us."

  "I suppose you're right," Angela allowed. "I'm a rich woman. We can rent the best house in town."

  Rafe stiffened. "I'm not the kind of man willing to live off his wife's bounty, Angel. Once this leg heals I'll be looking for something to do. I've always wanted to be a rancher, to raise horses. If I can negotiate a loan, perhaps I can find a ranch for sale nearby. How does that strike you? Colorado is beautiful country. I'd like to stay, if that's acceptable to you."

  "Hmmm, a ranch sounds like a wonderful place to raise our children. I love it here, too, and I've known for a long time that I'm not an enthusiastic miner. This place holds memories for me, some good ones from my youth and some bad once from the present. I think Father would understand if I sold the mine and became a rancher's wife."

  "God, I love you," Rafe said, hugging her against him. "Do you know how badly I want to be inside you right now?"

  "Almost as badly as I want you to be," Angela replied huskily. "Forget it, Rafe. You're in no condition to make love right now."

  Rafe's silver eyes gleamed wickedly. "You want to bet?"

  His hands settled on the neckline of her dress. "Take it off."

  "But Rafe..."

  "Do as I say, love."

  "Your leg..."

  "I don't make love with my leg."

  Rafe brushed aside her protests as he unbuttoned her bodice to the waist and untied the strings holding her chemise together. When he lowered his head and sucked a pert nipple into his mouth, Angela's willpower melted. Grasping his head between her hands, she hold it in place and arched upward into his heated caress as he stroked the tender peaks with the rough pad of tongue, first one, then the other.

  "Your...clothes," Rafe groaned as he tore at the offending cloth denying him full access to her heated flesh.

  Utterly lost to passion, Angela helped Rafe with her clothing, tossing it carelessly aside in their rush to consummate their love. Rafe's clothing was not so easily disposed of. It took skill on both their parts to render him naked without jostling his broken leg.

  "Are you sure you can manage this?" Angela said, eyeing him with misgiving. "I don't mind waiting, Rafe."

  Rafe's eyes gleamed. "I mind. I need you, Angel. Lean over me so I can reach your breasts with my mouth."

  Angela eagerly obliged, and it wasn't long before she discovered just how capable Rafe was despite his broken leg and obvious pain.

  Their loving was slow and delicious, each arousing one another with hands and mouths until their bodies were slick with sweat and their passions heightened to a fevered pitch.

  When Rafe could take no more, he lifted his Angel atop him, spread her legs, and drove himself home. He heard her gasp, felt her tighten around him, and pushed his engorged sex as far as it could go.

  "Rafe!"

  Rafe let out a ragged sigh. Nothing had ever felt so right, so damn good. "You've got all of me, sweetheart. You're in the drivers seat, do your worst."

  Angela moved slowly at first, as if fearing she would hurt him, but Rafe seemed impervious to pain as he arched his hips upward into each
of Angela's downward strokes. Gripping the bedcovers in his fists, he gritted his teeth to keep this loving torture from coming to a quick end. But when Angel's movements became almost frenzied, he unleashed his barely restrained passion.

  Grasping her buttocks in both his hands, he guided her movements, driven by the furious need to spend himself inside her. When he raised his head to suckle her nipples, Angela cried out his name and exploded around him. Rafe was not far behind her. Two more strokes and he was there...his hoarse shout echoing loudly in the waiting silence.

  "Did I hurt you?" Angela asked anxiously.

  "The only way you can ever hurt me, Angel, is by leaving me."

  "I'll never leave you, Rafe. Fate brought us together and love will keep us together."

  "Forever," Rafe vowed.

  "Forever," Angela echoed.

  Epilogue

  Angela gazed out the window, admiring the herd of fine horses grazing on the hillsides. Land as far as she could see belonged to her and Rafe. She couldn't recall when she'd been so happy. In a few short weeks she and Rafe would have a child to share their love. She couldn't wait to hold her son or daughter in her arms. Moving to the piano Rafe had shipped out from Denver, she sat on the bench, ran her fingers over the keys, and began to play.

  She tested her voice on a hymn, then went directly into a lullaby she hoped to sing to her babe soon. The sweet strains rose and swelled to perfect pitch as she lost herself in the music. The last note was trilling from her throat when Rafe entered the parlor and placed his hands on his shoulders.

  "Did you know I fell in love with your voice before I ever looked upon your face?" Rafe said. "It gave me great comfort as I sat in that jail cell, awaiting death."

  A shudder slid down her spine. "I couldn't let you hang even though I didn't know you well enough to judge your guilt or innocence. I looked into your eyes and knew you weren't capable of murder."

  He helped her from the bench and brought her into the circle of his arms. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

  She grimaced. "I'm fine, truly. How soon are you leaving?"

  Rafe sighed. "I don't want to leave at all. Not now, when you're so close to your time."

  "Not all that close," Angela scoffed. "I've weeks yet to go."

  He eyed her burgeoning belly with misgiving. "Not from the looks of you."

  She clipped him playfully on the shoulder. "How ungallant of you to mention my girth."

  His eyes darkened. "You've never looked more beautiful to me than you do now. Seriously, though, I don't have to go."

  "Of course you do. You promised your brothers you'd meet them in Denver a year from the day you left Dodge. They'll be expecting you. I know how worried you've been about them. I'll be fine. We're not all that far from town that I couldn't reach a doctor should I need one. And Bessie is a godsend. We were lucky to get her. She's both housekeeper and companion. She knows what to do in a crisis, though I seriously doubt there will be one."

  "I don't know," Rafe hedged. "I'd hate like hell to miss the birth of our first daughter."

  "Trust me, you won't. Besides, how do you know the baby will be a girl?"

  "Wishful thinking, I suppose."

  He tilted her head and kissed her lightly on the lips. "If you're so anxious to be rid of me, I reckon I'll leave in the morning. I'll be back in plenty of time for the birthing."

  "I hope your brothers have fared well this past year," Angela said wistfully. "As well as we have. We made a fortune selling the Golden Angel to that eastern mining company."

  "By the way," Rafe said, "I made the last payment on the money you loaned me to buy the ranch. I deposited the money in your account yesterday."

  Angela sent him an exasperated look. "The money has always been ours, Rafe. You're just too stubborn to realize you could have had it all had you wanted it."

  "I don't work that way, love. Living off my wife's money isn't my way. Now that the ranch is becoming a profitable enterprise, I don't feel so guilty about using your money."

  "Our money," Angela reminded him.

  "Our money," Rafe concurred. "How about another song? I want to carry the sound of your sweet voice with me to Denver."

  Angela returned to the piano. She paused with her hands on the keys, looked up at Rafe, and said, "I hope you find both your brothers well."

  "No more than I do, love."

  He placed his hands on her shoulders, staring out the window, his thoughts returning to that fateful day when he and his brothers had ridden in different directions. Would his brothers find their way to Denver as promised? Were they still alive?

  "Don't worry," Angela said, patting his hand. "If your brothers are anything like you, they'll find their way to Denver. Who knows, they may have launched themselves into a great adventure. Perhaps they've even found someone to love."

  "If they did, I count them almost as lucky as I have been." He kissed the top of her head. "There's only one Angel is this world, and she's mine. I'm going to miss you."

  "Not as much as I'll miss you. Now go on up and pack. I know how anxious you are to see your brothers."

  Rafe walked slowly up the stairs of their rambling two story ranch house, listening to the sweet strains of Angel's voice echoing through the house. He would miss her dreadfully, and this was a very bad time to leave, but he had to know how his brothers had fared...if they had survived. Denver was but a short two day journey by stagecoach from Canyon City. He'd be back before Angel even knew he was gone.

  Both Jess and Sam had been on his mind a lot lately. Soon, very soon, he'd learn what fate had dealt his brothers.

  About the Author

  Connie Mason is the bestselling author of 60 books and novellas and counting. Her tales of passion and adventure are set in exotic as well as in American locales. Connie has won awards from Romantic Times and has been listed in Who's Who of American Women for several years. Connie makes her home in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

  Connie is a world traveler. She has visited every country in Western and Eastern Europe, Greece, Asia and Northern Africa. Also, countless islands in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. Connie enjoys spending time with her three children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue