The Outlaws: Sam Read Free Page B

aside. What Lacey had done to him was unforgivable. He
shouldn't feel any remorse for letting her believe he was dead.
Obviously she hadn't grieved too long. Her son Andy was proof that
she hadn't waited to take a lover.
    "Surely you don't intend to stay here," Lacey
said. "I'm to be married in a few weeks."
    Sam sent her a mocking smile. "I don't think
so."
    "Sam, please. If you ever cared for me
you'd..."
    His dark eyes narrowed and his face hardened.
"The young man who loved you no longer exists. Sorry, Lacey, there
will be no marriage. Do you want to tell Cramer or shall I?"
    Lacey gulped back a cutting reply. She didn't
know this Sam and had no idea what he was capable of. The Sam she'd
once loved was kind and loving and sweet. This Sam was hard and
cold and unfeeling. Why did he have to return from the dead?
    "I'll tell him, in my own good time. But he
won't take this lying down. He wants to marry me and...and...I want
to marry him."
    Dark, glittering eyes searched her face. "You
don't sound all that convinced. This ought to prove interesting.
It's your turn to hurt for awhile."
    Sam didn't know what hurting was, Lacey
thought. She'd been devastated to learn her father had betrayed
Sam. When no one could tell her what had happened to Sam, and she
thought that he had died in a prison camp, she'd felt as if her
life had ended. Knowing that Sam went to his death believing she
had betrayed him had nearly killed her. Then she learned that she
was pregnant and her son had given her a reason to go on.
    Now Sam had turned up in her life again, but
it wasn't the Sam she had loved. She knew intuitively that this
vindictive man wouldn't listen to her explanation so she didn't
give him one. She wanted him gone, before painful memories made her
recall all the things she had loved about Sam Gentry.
    "I can fire you," Lacey charged. "I don't
have to hire you on. I own the B&G and can fire and hire
whomever I please."
    "You can't fire me, Lacey. I'm your husband.
You may own the B&G but I own you. May I assume you still have
our marriage license?"
    "You may assume whatever you like."
    "Of course you'd still have it. It's the only
way you can prove Andy's legitimacy, even though I'm not the boy's
father."
    Lacey hesitated. Now would be a good time to
tell Sam that Andy was his son, but a voice inside her told her it
would be unwise to divulge that information. She had no idea if Sam
would react favorably toward his son. If he believed her he might
try to take Andy from her, but she seriously doubted he would
believe her.
    Lacey decided to take a reasonable approach.
"It would be best for both of us if you left and let me quietly
pursue a divorce."
    Sam mulled over Lacey's request and rejected
it out of hand. He didn't want a divorce, but it wasn't because he
still felt emotionally bound to Lacey. Far from it. He felt nothing
but contempt for her.
    "Sorry, Lacey. I'm not going anywhere. I'm
going to stick around for awhile." He headed toward the door. "I'll
see you tonight at supper."
    "What!"
    His tone made a mockery of his words. "I
think it's time I got to know my son, don't you?"
    "Damn you, Sam Gentry! If you hurt Andy I'll
never forgive you."
     
    Sam closed the door behind her tirade and
leaned against it. Seeing Lacey after all these years had taken a
toll on him. She had changed from an innocent young girl to a
beautiful, mature woman. Childbirth had enhanced her figure;
rounded curves fulfilled the promise of her youthful, immature
figure. Her blond hair hadn't darkened, but remained the color of
ripe wheat, and her eyes were still the entrancing hazel he
remembered. He could easily look back and see how he had come to
love her.
    Pushing himself away from the door, Sam left
the house and headed for the corral. Rusty was waiting for him.
    Rusty eyed Sam narrowly. "You and Miz Lacey
must have had a lot to talk about. Ain't never known her to talk to
one of the new hands so long. Are you staying or ain't you?"
    "I'm staying."
    That