This Violent Land Read Online Free

her reverie. “I’ll put your horse and surrey away, ma’am.”
    â€œThank you, Cecil.” Janey brought the surrey to a halt, then stepped down and handed the reins to the young cowboy, who led both horses toward the barn. As she approached the porch she could see that Richards was impatient and irritated.
    â€œWell, I see that ignorant cowhand found you.”
    Janey climbed the steps to the porch, which extended all the way around the big house. “What do you want, Josh? I told you I was going into town for a while.”
    â€œNo doubt to visit with Flora.”
    â€œFlora is my friend.”
    â€œShe is also a madam who runs a brothel,” Richards said derisively. “If people see you going there enough times, they’ll believe you’re one of the same.”
    â€œWhat makes you think they don’t believe that now?” Janey asked. “They all know what I am. It’s just that I’m yours .”
    â€œYou don’t have to be. You could be my wife, you know.”
    Janey started to reply that she would rather be what she was than be his wife, but she held that response in check and forced a smile. “I know that, Josh. And I appreciate the offer. But let’s leave things as they are for now. I enjoy being the business manager for this ranch. It gives me a sense of purpose.”
    â€œBut wouldn’t being my wife give you a sense of purpose?”
    â€œNot as much. If we were married, I would lose my identity as business manager and just be the wife of one of the owners.”
    â€œThe majority owner,” Richards said quickly.
    Again, Janey managed a smile. “Yes, you would be the majority owner, but I would still be just your wife. Josh, don’t you see that it’s better this way? Besides, why do you need to marry me? Don’t I share your bed from time to time? And don’t you know that wives get headaches a lot more often than mistresses?”
    Richards laughed. “By damn, you’re right. Anyway, that’s not why I had Cecil come get you. I need a paper signed by someone in Denver, and I want you to take it there in person, get it signed, and bring it back to me.”
    â€œI’ll need five hundred dollars,” Janey said without hesitating an instant.
    â€œFive hundred dollars?” His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Janey, are you telling me that you are going to charge me five hundred dollars to take a paper to Denver and bring it back?”
    â€œI’m not going to charge you anything to take a paper to Denver. My goodness, if I couldn’t do a simple thing like that for free, why, I would be the biggest ingrate you ever heard of.”
    â€œSo you aren’t going to charge me for delivering the paper?”
    â€œOf course not,” Janey said. “Why would I do something like that? It’s like I told you, I’m doing that for free.”
    â€œI don’t understand. What is the five hundred dollars for?”
    â€œDarling, you don’t expect me to go to Denver and not buy several new outfits, do you? That five hundred dollars is just a gift. After all, I know you want me to look good. And don’t tell me you can’t afford it, darling, because I do your books, remember? I know full well that you can afford it.”
    Richards looked at her with narrowed eyes for a moment, then abruptly laughed. “You know what? A mistress would be a lot cheaper.”
    â€œAnd a wife a lot more expensive,” Janey reminded him.
    He held up his hands in mock surrender. “All right, all right. You got me. I’ll give you five hundred dollars for the trip. But I expect you to come back looking more beautiful than ever.”
    â€œYou are a dear.” With a smile that produced dimples, she kissed the end of her fingers, then touched them to Richards’s lips.

C HAPTER 4
    Red Cliff, Colorado Territory
    Â 
    T he first thing Smoke did when he arrived in Red