Chapter Ten #2
"I promise you there is no place on earth you can crawl that will keep my father from finding you!" Amanda bravely declared, turning up her chin.
"You saucy little bitch!" From the enraged look in his dark eyes it was obvious he intended to harm her, but the sound of approaching horses caught his attention.
"You are saved this day, Miss Chambers, but we shall meet again and it will go the worse for you. Think about that as you await your punishment." He turned his horse and raced away.
Amanda had no idea who was approaching, but she was grateful. She recognized several of Thorne's ranch hands, and quickly learned she was in danger of another sort!
"What are you doin' here, Miss Chambers?" one of the older hands asked. "Haven't you put the Boss through enough hell already?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," she answered.
"It's plain as can be that you turned him out," another cowboy accused. "He ain't hisself no more."
"What are you...? I did not 'turn him out'!" Amanda was indignant at the very suggestion. Robert Thorne was the one who left her high and dry!
"Then why is he so moody, girl?" the older man asked.
"That is what I want to know!" she told them, her temper asserting itself.
"And, you all can stop looking at me like that! I am the one he stopped seeing without so much as a word of explanation, and I damned well want answers."
The men weren't expecting to hear that and they looked at each other in confusion.
"While you are trying to sort this out, could you please ride with me to the house so I can tell Rob I know who is trying to kill him...? The man just accosted me and I am sure he would have done more than threaten me if you hadn't come along."
She got down to fetch her hat and stuck her finger through the hole on the brim. "He shot at me."
"You come along, Miss Amanda," the older man said, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of the shooter. "We heard the shot. Did you get a look at him?"
"I can draw his picture and we'll hope that Rob knows who he is," she replied.
"After I tell him a thing or two...!" she murmured, but after a few seconds of thought she knew precisely why Robert Thorne was ignoring her!
"Damnation!" she whispered. It was the only explanation that made sense, and why her Papa was determined to keep her away from Rob.
They were in on this together! It was another 'protect little Mandy' scheme!
Amanda was suddenly furious and she wanted to confront Rob with the truth and dare him to deny it!
"We are going to ride," she warned the men a mere second before she urged Glimmer to a fast gallop, leaving the men to catch up or stay behind.
The closer they got to the ranch house, the angrier Amanda grew. It was another case of Rob and her father deciding what they thought best for her, and it didn't matter to them what she thought of the situation.
Rob heard the running horses and knew something was wrong.
He jumped up from his desk, and was out the door in a moment's time.
He was displeased and yet happy to see Amanda.
She looked beautiful to him as she quickly dismounted and ran to him.
He steeled himself to turn her away, but he certainly did not expect her to slug his jaw with her tiny fist, and he did not expect to see stars when she did!
"What do you think you are about, little girl?"
he demanded, resisting the urge to paddle her behind.
"You and my father were in on this together! You both are so high and almighty that you know what is best for silly little Amanda. After all, she is just a woman so what could she possibly know or understand? You fool! You damned fool! You have put me through hell the last few weeks!
I wondered and wondered what I did wrong! While you sat over here on your throne feeling justified for breaking my heart! Damn you, Robert Thorne! I never want to see you again! Do you hear me? Stay out of my life!"
She turned and ran to mount Glimmer, but the older hand blocked her.
"No, Miss Mandy. You can't ride out of here."
"Move!" Amanda glared at him. He still didn't budge, and she kicked him hard on the shin. While he hobbled on one leg, another man grabbed her shoulders and shook his head 'no'. "Let me go!"
"Allow her to leave now," Rob ordered, wondering at his men's temerity.
"Boss, stop her," the older man insisted. "She was shot at!" He pulled the hat off of Amanda's head and poked a finger through it, watching Rob's face drain of color, except for where the little redhead struck him, and by his reckoning, the Boss had it comin' to him.
"Amanda, when did this happen?" Rob asked calmly, his voice reflecting none of the fear he felt.
"I don't answer to you, Robert Thorne!" Her green eyes were flashing.
Rob knew it was time to apologize, even though he detested doing it in front of his men.
It was embarrassing and humbling. "Mandy, please calm down. I wanted to keep you safe, and it was a poor way to go about it. I am sorry and I apologize. My only excuse is that I love you so much I thought it would be easier to stay away from you than take the risk you could be shot by accident.
The last few weeks have been the loneliest of my life."
"This is where you forgive the man, Miss Mandy. He means what he says," the man she kicked looked at her and said in a loud whisper.
"I can speak for myself, Mister!" she snapped.
"Papa was in on this with you, wasn't he, Rob? That's why he's kept me from riding over here?" she asked.
"Yes, I informed him of my decision, and he reluctantly agreed. "I am surprised you gave him the slip to ride over here," Rob said with a smile, taking a step in her direction.
"It wasn't easy," she said, and then pointed a slender finger at him. "If either of you had bothered to tell me you thought I could be in danger, I could have taken precautions. As it is, I was accosted on my way here, and your men saved my life."
"What happened?" he asked, looking once again at the hat Rex had on his finger. When she just glared at him, he turned to Rex and asked, "Rex?"
The man stopped rubbing his leg and said, "We got there after he done rode off, Boss. We was busy jawing with Miss Mandy for a few minutes before we heard the truth, and by then he was gone."
He had a sheepish look on his face as he waited for Amanda to tattle on him and the others.
They'd be lucky if they had jobs once Thorne learned what they said to her.
To Rex's surprise, Amanda smiled at him and said politely, "I haven't thanked you men yet, but I am truly thankful, and I know that Papa will be, too."
"We heard the shot, Miss, and figured we should check it out," the younger man said earnestly.
"I am grateful, too," Rob said sincerely.