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lips with the back of her
hand. "That's the last thing I want you to believe. You'd better
leave. I need to find Andy and feed him his supper."
    "I'll find him for you," Sam said after a
lengthy pause. He started toward the door.
    A disturbing thought came to Lacey. "Sam,
wait!"
    Sam turned slowly, his dark brows raised in
askance.
    "Do Rusty and the ranch hands know? About us,
I mean."
    "Not yet, but I doubt they can be kept in the
dark for long."
    Then he was gone, leaving Lacey confused and
traumatized.
    What had gotten into her? All Sam did was
touch her and she was lost. She prayed he'd never discover just how
powerfully drawn she was to him. Their lives could have been so
different if only he believed in her innocence.
    What had happened to Sam during the years
they were apart? she wondered. She knew he had brothers because
he'd mentioned them often. There was a farm in Kansas, too. But Sam
had as much as admitted that he had nothing, no money, no home and
no property. There was a mystery here she wasn't even close to
solving. Something had happened to bring Sam to Texas. Something
she was probably better off not knowing.
     
    Sam couldn't get Cramer off his mind. The
following days were filled with work, work, and more work. And
Andy. The lad seemed to enjoy following him around and he had no
idea why. Andy didn't appear attached to any of the other hands
that way. Not even Rusty, who doted on the boy. Sam had to admit
the lad was engaging, and bright as hell. In fact, Sam was growing
more than a little fond of the boy and he wasn't sure that was a
good idea.
    Cramer hadn't returned to the ranch and Sam
figured the man was a coward, but he wasn't about to sell the
scoundrel short. That thought brought another. The relationship
between Cramer and Lacey didn't appear exceptionally warm or
loving. Cramer seemed more interested in the ranch than he was in
Lacey, and for some reason that bothered Sam.
    Tonight Sam had taken supper with the boys in
the cookhouse and was walking back to the bunkhouse with Rusty when
he saw Cramer's horse tied to the hitching post, swishing flies
with his tail.
    "Excuse me, Rusty, but I need to see Lacey
about something."
    Rusty grabbed his arm. "Hold up, Sam. Is
there something I should know about you and Miz Lacey?"
    "Not yet, Rusty. You'll be the first to know
if there is."
    "I ain't sure what's going on here but I
don't want to see Miz Lacey hurt."
    Sam spun around to confront Rusty. "You think
I'll hurt her and Cramer won't?"
    "I don't know what to think. I was upset to
learn that Miz Lacey was going to marry Cramer, but I'm not sure
you're the one for her."
    "Set your mind at ease, Rusty. Almost anyone
would be better for Lacey than Cramer." He pulled free of Rusty's
grip. "I'll see you back at the bunkhouse."
    Sam's mounting anger matched the roiling
storm clouds brewing overhead. If Cramer didn't back off he'd be
damn sorry. He was so emerged in his dark thoughts that he failed
to see Andy skip up to him.
    "Hey, Sam, slow down."
    Sam turned and waited for Andy to catch up to
him. "What are you doing outside? It's going to storm soon."
    "I sneaked out," Andy whispered. " He's here again."
    "I know. I was just heading for the house to
have a little talk with him."
    Andy beamed. "I sure do like you, Sam."
    "I like you too, Andy," Sam heard himself
saying. "Tell you what. Why don't you sneak back up to your room
before your mama comes looking for you?"
    By the time Sam reached the house he was mad
enough to toss Cramer out on his ear. The parlor was ablaze with
light, but Sam circled around to the back and entered through the
back door. Rita was preparing supper.
    "Don't scold," Sam said as Rita opened her
mouth to reprimand him. "There's something you should know, but I'm
trusting you to keep it between the two of us until the time is
right to tell everyone."
    Rita's brow furrowed, but she said nothing,
apparently waiting for Sam to continue.
    Sam hoped telling Rita was the right thing