"I told you that woman was wicked! Michael, sneeze or something. Get rid of her!"

  "Now, just wait a minute."

  Michael took her arm and led her higher, until they could see out over the hilltops. She kept insisting that he explain his plans to her, but he carefully kept his mind blank.

  While she had her eyes on him, tugging at his sleeve, Michael dived back down, a satisfied look on his face.

  "That woman has her rifle out down there, Angie. We better concentrate on Tess now."

  "Tess doesn't have a gun!" she gasped. "She'll be shot!"

  Michael waved his arm. "She does now," he said in a grim voice. "She'll just think she didn't notice that the rifle was in the scabbard when she saddled Sateen."

  "As careful as Tess is around guns, you think she wouldn't notice a thing like that?"

  "You have a better idea?"

  "Yes. Sneeze Rose out of here!"

  "Now, now. This is my assignment, and I've got it all figured out."

  Thirty-Four

  Tess swiped at a tear running down her cheek. A sense of deja vu swept over her as she dismounted and walked to the exact spot where she had been sitting so many weeks ago. She'd been telling herself on that day, too, that she was not going to cry anymore.

  Then, though, she had hiked up and down the Adirondack Mountains at a too-fast pace, attempting, she realized now, to outrun her embarrassment at being duped by Robert as much as her imagined broken heart. But this time there was no doubt in her mind that her heart would never heal. A very large piece of it was lying beside Stone's picture on his cot.

  Blast it, she could've at least brought it with her. Keeping a firm hold on Sateen's reins, she knelt and stroked Lonesome's head.

  "What do you think, boy?" she asked in a forlorn voice. "Should I go back and at least get the picture? There's sure as heck no chance of running into Stone. You can bet your tail he won't be back until well after dark."

  Lonesome whined and licked her face, flicking his tongue back and swiping at his nose when he tasted the salt there. He dropped down and laid his head on his front paws, his tail sweeping up a cloud of dust from the trail as he continued to whimper.

  "Please don't cry, Lonesome," she said with a sniff of despair. "Don't you see—I just can't take anymore. He won't even talk to me so we can try and work things out. And even then, I don't know if talking would accomplish anything. He hates me. He doesn't even want to touch me. Darn it, he doesn't even want to see me."

  Sateen nudged her back, and she rose to fling her arms around the mare's neck. Burying her face, she struggled against the threatening sobs. When she at last lifted her head, she saw the corner of a rifle butt sticking up from the scabbard on the other side of the saddle and frowned.

  "I don't remember that gun being there when I saddled you, Sateen." She shrugged and turned away from the mare. "What the heck? There's enough money in that bank account to pay Stone for it, too."

  She chewed her bottom lip for a moment or so as she debated whether to go back for Stone's picture. She regretted throwing his slipper and tie down the toilet hole, too, but there wasn't much she could do about that now. His picture, though, would have been a precious reminder—not the painful memory she had thought she was leaving behind in her childish pique.

  Cut off your nose to spite your face.

  She groaned under her breath as another one of Granny's old sayings crept into her mind. That adage didn't apply just to his picture, either—she was allowing her stubbornness to cut Stone right out of her life.

  It just wouldn't work, though. No matter how much she loved him, she would never be able to kowtow to a chauvinistic male who thought she had to ask his permission every time she even wanted to go to the bathroom. She choked back a laugh that was more a sob of misery as she pictured herself raising one finger or two, as Granny had told her students had to do in school in her day.

  No, it wouldn't work. Stone had made it clear the last three days that he wouldn't compromise with her. It had to be his way or none.

  So none it had to be. She couldn't bear any more of the anguish she had suffered these last few days. When she had looked in the mirror this morning, her red-rimmed eyes had shocked her, and she had realized they would destroy each other—destroy the wonderful love they had found.

  And, yes, she had lied to Lonesome. She knew Stone still loved her, but they were worlds apart. His teasing jibes about being boss at his ranch were no joke, and she could never tolerate being dominated by him.

  She grabbed Sateen's reins again and led the mare forward a couple of feet. She snapped her fingers at Lonesome, and the dog rose and walked to her. Staring around her for a few seconds, she assured herself that indeed this was the exact spot where she had been sitting when she realized she wasn't on Saddleback Mountain any longer.

  So, now what? Should she close her eyes and click her heels together three times while she murmured, "I want to go home"? Recalling that Dorothy had had Toto in her arms, she reached down and hefted up Lonesome.

  Lordy, the dog had gained weight. She hoped whatever happened would happen quickly, before she dropped the dog. Feeling sort of silly, she closed her eyes. She couldn't force herself to say the words, though-—probably because the last thing in the world she really wanted to do was go back home.

  The dog grew heavier and heavier as the long minutes passed. Finally, he started squirming to get down, and she peeped through her eyelashes. Nothing had happened yet. She was still in Oklahoma. With a sigh, she bent down to set Lonesome on the ground.

  Something whined over her head that sounded like an angry bee. A split second later she heard the crack of a rifle. Acting on instinct alone, she dropped the dog and screamed at him to run, then whirled in a crouch and scrambled around Sateen.

  Another bullet kicked up dirt in front of the mare as she jerked the rifle from the scabbard and whacked Sateen on the rump. The mare leapt forward, and Tess dived behind a boulder on the hillside, gripping the rifle in her hands.

  "Michael, what are you going to do?" Angela grabbed his arm and shook it. "That woman's going to kill Tess!"

  "Angie, Angie, behave yourself. I thought you enjoyed watching what was going on down there—just like the movies."

  "This isn't a movie!"

  "Well, just pretend it is, honey." He patted her hand on his arm and settled back to watch the show.

  Tess lay on the ground, rocks biting into her stomach and her fear giving way to fury. What the hell was going on? Who was shooting at her?

  And, yes, she acknowledged to herself—she was being shot at. One bullet might have been a stray from a hunter's gun, but not that second one, which barely missed her horse.

  The first one, too, had been an attempt to kill her—and it would've done just that if she hadn't leaned down with Lonesome. She was getting tired of her entire experience in Oklahoma. She'd suffered a broken ankle, a broken heart, and now someone wanted her dead.

  Well, she'd just see about that!

  Snarling in anger, she inched forward, trying to see around the boulder. Suddenly Lonesome began barking wildly, and she jerked around to see him near her feet.

  "I told you to run, dog!" She started to shift around to call him nearer, where he would be better protected. Though she was lying flat, she felt her body tilt, as if the ground were giving away beneath her right leg. Lonesome leapt forward and grabbed her jeans just above her left ankle, whimpering and tugging.

  For just a second she thought perhaps the dog was trying to warn her of a snake in the rocks. Another bullet hit the boulder sheltering her, sending chips flying, and she instinctively rolled toward the dog. At the same time, she craned her neck to look for the snake. Horrified, she watched her right leg reappear from the void into which it had fallen.

  The time warp! She could see it now—a black void stretching along the hillside. She'd almost fallen through it again! No wonder she hadn't found it back here. Maybe her impetus during her first flight through the warp had carried her out onto the hillside where she'd became aware of what had happened. That would explain how she'd missed seeing it before.

  Another bullet spat into the hillside beside her, and she flinched. It would be easy to enter the time warp and escape, but she had no intention of running from whoever was attacking her. Whoever it was would pay for scaring the hell out of her!

  She belly-crawled forward and looked around the boulder. On the opposite hillside, she caught a glimpse of blond hair as someone ducked back.

  A blonde. Tillie Peterson was blond, but that rock didn't look big enough to shelter her. And why would Tillie want her dead? Tess pulled the rifle to her shoulder and drew a bead. Her bullet kicked up splinters when it hit, and she heard a cry just before a figure scrambled out and ran behind a larger rock, beneath an overhang on the hillside.

  Rose Brown! That vicious bitch! Rose had made no bones about the fact that she wanted Stone, and she still thought she could have him, if she got rid of Tess. As clearly as though she were reading Rose's mind, she knew what the other woman's plan was.

  Rose would leave her lying out here for Stone to find, then be right there to console him over his wife's death. Catching the glint of sun on a rifle barrel, Tess barely drew back before the next bullet hit.

  And she'd console Rain and Flower, too, Tess realized as she jacked another bullet into the rifle chamber. Flower already had reservations about Rose, but she might overlook them in her grief over Tess. A red haze appeared in front of Tess's eyes, and she blinked rapidly and breathed in a few slow gulps of air until it cleared.

  Well, she'd just see about that, too!

  She jackknifed her body until she could sneak a look out on the other side of the rock. Yes, that would work. She didn't really want to kill the bitch, but something told her that she could if she had to. If it meant her life or Rose's, somehow she'd find the courage to send a bullet into the other woman's chest. But first she'd try something else.

  Remembering Stone's instructions, she carefully centered the little bead on the front of the rifle barrel into the slot at the rear again. Her finger slowly tightened on the trigger. She didn't even feel the kick of the rifle this time, and she whooped with joy when the bullet plowed into the overhang above Rose's hiding place.

  At first the rocks only creaked, and when Rose jumped up, Tess shot again. Rose screamed in horror as the overhang gave way and tumbled down the hillside.

  Tess scrambled up and whistled for Sateen. The mare galloped up to her, and she swung one-handed into the saddle, keeping the rifle in her grip. For just a second she could have sworn she heard the sound of hands clapping, but she shook her head after she glanced up at the sky. She was alone out here—except for that bitch who had been shooting at her. With Lonesome at Sateen's heels, they made their way down the hillside.

  Tess kept watch on the rockslide, allowing Sateen to find her own footing. She saw Rose's rifle at the bottom of the hill, well below the tangled heap of beige riding skirt and blond hair lying amid the rocks. It hadn't been that large of a slide, and unless Rose had broken her neck or been knocked unconscious, she was probably only stunned.

  Rose started moving. Tess could hear the groans as Rose shook off small pebbles and tried to gain her feet. She halted Sateen at the bottom of the hill and dismounted to pick up Rose's rifle, which she shoved into her own scabbard.

  Stone pulled his gelding to a halt as soon as he topped the ridge opposite the hill where he had first seen Tess. Even the echoes of the gunshots that had drawn him away from his hunting had faded by now, and he stared down the hillside, trying to determine what the heck had been going on.

  Obviously, there had been a rockslide, and somehow Rose Brown had been caught in it. What had she been doing out here? And Tess was standing at the foot of the slide, glaring up at Rose instead of trying to help the other woman. Tess held his extra rifle, which he had left in the tack room, trained on the blonde.

  He started to urge the gelding forward, then pulled back on the reins when he heard Rose scream out a curse.

  "You bitch!" Rose screeched. "Why the hell did you have to show up?" She stumbled a few feet down the hillside toward Tess. "He was mine. All I wanted was a little more time!"

  "If you're talking about Stone," Tess yelled back, "he's got too much sense to marry a she-goat like you! And if you had even a smidgen of the brains God gave a goose, you'd know that!"

  "He would've needed me soon!" Rose screamed. "He didn't have any money—everyone in town knew he was having trouble paying his bills! He had to have money to replace the things he lost in the fire at the line shack, too!"

  "A fire that you set, didn't you, Rose?" She narrowed her eyes as she recalled the problems Stone had been having. "And you poisoned his waterhole, didn't you? I'll bet you were damned upset when only a few of his steers died!"

  "There would've been more if those two idiots I hired had finished the job!" Rose glared down at her. "I told them to get all the waterholes, so Stone would have to come to me and run any cattle he had left on my land. But they skipped out with my money before they finished the job!"

  Tess swallowed her horror as she gazed up at Rose's hate-filled face. "You could have killed one of the kids! Flower or Rain might've taken a drink from one of those waterholes!"

  "So what?" the blonde snarled. "Then they'd have been out of the way, too. We wouldn't have had to ship them off to some school and pay to keep them there."

  "You're insane!" Tess gasped. "You don't care how many people you have to kill to get to Stone, do you? If I hadn't ducked with Lonesome, you would've killed me with that first shot!"

  "I meant to. Oh, how much I meant to! I can't believe I missed you, you stupid... strumpet! You must have a damned guardian angel watching you. I've never missed a shot in my life!"

  A movement above Rose drew Tess's eyes away for an instant, and she saw Stone riding down the hillside toward them, his face contorted in fury.

  Rose raced toward Tess, stopping short a bare two yards away when Tess aimed her rifle at Rose's chest. Rose clenched her fists and raised her arms as she stared wild-eyed at the gun.

  "If you didn't have that gun, I'd kill you with my bare hands!" she spat.

  After glancing briefly up to see Stone riding his horse around the slide before he could reach them, Tess looked back at Rose. She sure as hell didn't need a man's help to take care of this blond-headed witch!

  "And I also don't need a gun to take care of a bitch like you," she said aloud as she tossed the gun aside and lunged for Rose.

  She caught Rose around the waist and they went down in a heap, screaming invectives as they rolled over and over in the rocks and dirt. Though Tess was larger, Rose's insane fury lent her strength, and she landed a blow on Tess's chin, snapping her head back. Tess responded with a right hook that knocked Rose completely off her, then scrambled to her knees and attacked again.

  Tess got a handful of hair this time and jerked it loose, but Rose kicked her in the stomach. Tess omphed and rolled aside, and when Rose stood up to take another flying leap at her, she caught the blonde in the belly with her feet. Her well-muscled legs tossed Rose over her head.

  They scrambled to their feet, and Tess spun Rose around with a vicious slap. Rose screeched in fury, then bent down and grabbed a rock. It whizzed by Tess's head when she darted aside. Tess locked her hands together and swung them, connecting with the side of Rose's head.

  Rose crumbled to the dirt, and Tess stood over her, panting in both anger and exertion. She started to bend down and grab Rose, but a handful of dirt hit her full in the face.

  Coughing and sputtering, Tess dropped onto Rose's body. She wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and buried her face on her shoulder, wiping her eyes back and forth to try to clear them, while Rose pounded on her back. Rose gave a lurch, and they spun over and over once again, landing with Tess on top.

  Rose arched her nails at Tess's face. "I'll kill you!" she screamed as Tess, her eyes now clearer but still blurry, somehow caught her hands. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

  Tess gritted her teeth and held on as Rose began bucking wildly beneath her. Rose jerked a hand free, and Tess socked her fist into Rose's nose. Blood spurted, and her stomach heaved when she saw Rose's nose tilted to one side. There was a front tooth missing when Rose opened her mouth to scream in torment.

  With everything in her, Tess wanted to leap to her feet and run away from the horrible, blood-smeared, puffy countenance she had created. Somehow she controlled her nausea and grabbed the neck of Rose's blouse, then lifted her clenched fist in readiness for another blow.

  Tossing her head to swing her tangled hair out of her eyes, Tess gritted, "I want you to tell me right now that you'll get out of Oklahoma and never come back. If you don't, I'm going to keep beating you until you do say it. And if you say it and I find you still here tomorrow, I'll catch you out somewhere and start in on you again."

  "Tess," Stone said as he stood over the two women, "let the sheriff take care of her."

  "We don't have enough evidence to send her to jail." She ignored the urge to look at him. "If we did, I'd prosecute the bitch myself! And you just stay the hell out of this!"

  Holding up his hands in surrender, Stone backed away.

  "Answer me, damn it!" She clenched her fingers tighter in Rose's blouse. Her fist wobbled, but she forced herself to say, "Or do you want more of the same?"

  "No. No, please," Rose moaned. "I'll go. I'll leave. Just don't turn me over to the sheriff or hit me again."

  Tess got to her feet, wiping her hands on the legs of her jeans and trying to ignore the sticky feel of blood on her knuckles. She stood over Rose, gulping in air as she watched the other woman lift a tentative hand to her face.

  "You'll remember what you've done every time you look in the mirror for the rest of your life, Rose Brown," Tess spat. "And I'll tell you another thing. I'm going to have you watched for as long as you live. You'll either send me your address from wherever you are, or I'll hire someone to find you. I'll also track down those men you hired to poison the waterhole. If their testimony won't convict you, I'll hound you until there's not a place left on this earth where you'll be able to live in peace. If you ever even think about harming another person, I'll know. And I'll hang your hide on a mesquite tree so anyone passing by will remember what happens to a woman who tries to harm a child."