Page 23 of River Legacy (Powder River #5)

R yder balled his hands into fists. He heard his brother deeper in the barn say behind him, “Easy, bro.” He knew the kind of man Claude Duvall was, and so did his brother.

If Ryder did what he’d wanted to do since the moment he’d met Claude, he would have already hit him and be facing assault charges and attorney fees.

Still, he ached to punch this jackass, even though he knew his brother was right. Claude was the kind of man who would call the sheriff, press charges and then hit him with a hefty lawsuit.

Knowing that made him want more than anything to punch this SOB’s lights out. “If you drove all the way here to the ranch to warn me about Wendell and his daughter, you wasted your time. You should have just called.”

Claude chuckled. “You don’t believe me. Okay, so she hasn’t been asking lots of questions about your ranch, showing an interest, reeling you in with those eyes and that body of hers?

She hasn’t told you how much she’s enjoyed being here, loves it all, right?

” He lifted a brow again as he smirked at Ryder.

“She hasn’t crawled into your bed on some excuse? ”

He must have seen that the last hit its mark because Claude’s sneer turned into a full-on smile.

“Cowboy, you’ve been had by the best. Wen and Victoria are an unbeatable team. You think this is the first time he’s used her to get what he wants? Think again. He used her to reel me in. Why not you?”

Ryder looked down at his boots for a moment before glancing over at Victoria. He almost flinched when he saw the truth in her expression even as she quickly tried to deny it.

“Don’t listen to anything he says,” she said, but it wasn’t her usual fiery defense. He knew at least some of it was true. Wendell Forester had used her to get what he wanted in the past. Probably had made a game out of it. Victoria was up for a good romp pretty much anytime, he figured.

“You have to believe me, that isn’t what is happening here,” she said. “None of this was planned. You know it started as a prank when I saw you in the airport. But then one thing led to another and...” She sounded close to tears. “Claude’s lying.”

Ryder thought about all of it from the moment he’d laid eyes on her at the airport to how she’d lured him in.

If Forester had had a hand in it, then he’d played him perfectly.

Maybe even that scene in the bar in Billings had been part of it, forcing Ryder to play the protector, get her away from her father and Claude and take her to his ranch.

If so, Ryder had played right into the gambit. He’d swallowed it all, hook, line and sinker. He’d taken the bait.

Yet even as he thought it, he didn’t want to believe she’d been playing him.

Not on their horseback ride. Not when he’d taught her to drive the truck.

Or when he’d held her in his arms when they were dancing.

But especially last night when she’d showed up at his bedroom door soaking wet and shivering.

If it had all been a ruse, then he’d been taken for a ride like a hick fool. He’d made love to her, gotten swept up in the emotion and done the one thing he swore he wasn’t going to do. Had she known that once they made love, she would have had him right where she wanted him?

Ryder realized that he wouldn’t put anything past Wendell Forester and maybe his daughter too. “He’s lying,” Victoria said again, but it lacked conviction. He could feel her gaze on him, his hands balled in fists at his side as he looked at Claude. “Does your boss know you’re here?”

“Wendell sent me here to act as a catalyst—his word—to push her into your arms as I attempted to grovel and try to win her black heart,” Claude said.

“You think I don’t know what she’s like?

” He chuckled again. “I’ve been where you are, so to speak.

Wen used her to reel me into the worst contract of my life. ”

“Claude, don’t—”

“What?” he said, turning to her. “Didn’t you get around to telling the cowboy about you and me, Victoria?”

Ryder didn’t dare look at her. He could feel the way her heart dropped, because his own had done the same thing. She and Claude had a past. No wonder the man had thought he had a chance with her.

“It isn’t what you think,” she said. “He’s making more of it than it was.”

“Claude, if you’ve come to take Wendell’s daughter back to him, be my guest,” Ryder said, his voice sounding stronger than he felt. “Victoria only came here for the weekend. As far as I’m concerned, the weekend is over.”

With that, he turned on his bootheel and headed back into the barn.

V ictoria watched him go, wanting to run after him.

But some of what Claude had said was true, and Ryder knew it.

She’d known that her father wanted Claude to go to work for him.

It wasn’t like they’d discussed it. She’d just known to be on her best behavior that night at dinner.

But she’d known she was luring Claude in, and she’d felt guilty for doing it, given the way it had turned out for the man.

But she hadn’t led him on the way he’d insinuated, and she’d certainly never encouraged him when it came to marriage. That had never been on the table.

But with Ryder, it had started as a fluke. She’d suspected her father was to up something when he’d told her she needed to meet him in Billings at the airport. She’d complied, hoping it had nothing to do with getting her married off. But she’d feared that was exactly what her father had in mind.

So when she’d seen Ryder standing there in his Stetson, she’d done what came naturally: trying to beat her father at his own game and using the handsome cowboy to help her.

She’d just never thought it would turn out like this or that she would feel like this when it came time to leave.

This was all her fault. How could she have thought that she could have a fling with a man like Ryder?

Other men might have been happy for only that, but not this cowboy.

She’d seen how deeply he felt about life, his ranch.

Shouldn’t she have known that he didn’t take intimacy lightly?

Victoria had thought she could protect her heart even as he’d taken her in his arms. She’d been such a fool.

She’d gone too far. She’d fallen in love with the rancher.

Last night she’d given away a part of herself, a part she’d never shared before.

Last night making love with Ryder had left her shaken by its impact.

Her feelings for him ran so much deeper than sex.

Then waking up in his bed and racing out to see the birth of the foal.

She felt invested in not just Ryder, but the ranch and this life.

It was as if in such a short time she’d become part of it.

But he was right, she thought, her heart breaking as she watched Ryder walk away.

Their deal was just through the weekend.

She had known this would end, but she hadn’t wanted it to end like this.

Tears burned her eyes. She’d come to know this cowboy.

Last night had meant something to him too.

She’d looked into his eyes, and she’d felt their connection, something as strong as his love for the ranch and her love for him.

She loved him. She’d expected that admission to come as a shock, but it didn’t. She thought of the way he’d touched her life. Neither of them had been expecting this. But that didn’t make it any less true.

With a silent curse, Victoria turned around to face Claude and snapped, “Wait for me in the car.” Then she headed for the house to get her things.

All she had were the clothes she’d been wearing when she’d left Billings with Ryder.

She thought about that night, the beginning of what she’d hoped would be an adventure she could tell her friends about. But it had turned into so much more.

What she hadn’t expected was that she would feel the way she did right now.

She didn’t want to leave. She knew that was ridiculous.

This wasn’t her life. It had always been just a weekend adventure with a recall date stamped on it.

So why did it hurt so bad to see Ryder’s disappointment and feel her own so painfully it made her want to double over?

Worse, she knew she’d never see him or this place again once she left.

Even if her father got what he wanted, she would never come back to Stafford Ranch because Ryder and his family here would be destroyed.

Wendell would destroy it out of greed, and Ryder would always believe that she’d helped him do it.

In Tilly’s room, she took a moment to catch her breath before she stripped down, took a quick shower and, finding the clothes she’d worn here, changed back into the woman who’d hitched a ride with a cowboy.

When she was finished, she stood in front of the mirror.

She didn’t look any different, but she certainly felt as if she wasn’t the Victoria Forester she’d been before and never would be again.

At the sound of a car honk, she gritted her teeth. Was she really going to get into that vehicle with Claude after what he’d done to her?

What choice did she have? She still didn’t have her purse, so no money or credit cards or phone. She could call her father on the landline downstairs, but her pride wouldn’t let her. Also, she had a feeling he would just tell her to catch a ride with Claude or walk. She’d run out of options.

As she went downstairs, she hoped she wouldn’t have to face Ryder or Brand or anyone else in the family before she left. Fortunately, she was spared. There was no one around as she stepped outside.

Claude was waiting impatiently behind the wheel as she climbed into the passenger side of the SUV and slammed the door. “About time.”

“Aren’t you afraid that I might kill you?” Victoria asked as she put on her seat belt. “You should fear for your life.”

“Take it up with your father,” he said as he started the engine. “I’m just doing my job.”