Keelyn - Loving Lindsey

W ill Claxton could smell trouble brewing a mile away, but tonight he didnt need to go that far. Seated on his favorite bar stool at The Rusty Spur, a run-down watering hole on the outskirts of Willowbend, Wyoming, the place was primed and ready.

Winter had released its hold on the land, and it seemed nearly every cowhand in the county felt the urge to shake off the doldrums of the long cold months. And theyd picked the Spur to do it. The smoke, the tinny music spewing from the jukebox, the crack and drop of pool balls, and the raucous laughter of beer-guzzling cowboys spelled a fight just waiting to happen. Sooner or later, some drunk would take exception to anothers looks or brand, and that would set things off.

Will figured it was time to finish his beer and call it a night. Before all hell broke loose.

Then the front door opened, letting in a blast of chilly spring air. And in walked a woman.

Tall, slender, and dressed in work-worn jeans and boots with a hat pulled low over her eyes, she looked more like a young saddle hand than a woman, a saddle hand itching for a fight.

She whipped off her hat, slapping it against one slender thigh, and all resemblance to a cowboy flew out the door. She was all female, from her wild mane of reddish-blond hair, to the feminine curves accentuated by no-nonsense cotton and denim.

Lindsey Baker.

He remembered the last time hed seen her, it had struck him then too: the differences between the girl hed once knowna lanky tomboy trailing behind himand the woman shed become. Yes sir, Lindsey could pretend she was one of the guys, had done so all her life in fact, but any man with half an eye could see differently.

Damn, muttered Eric, the bartender.

Will couldnt have agreed more. Though he would have bet Erics definition of trouble differed somewhat from his own. Lindsey had always been one of the most difficult females Will knew, and he suspected that much about her hadnt changed.

What the hell is she doing here? Will asked.

Frowning, Eric nodded toward the back of the room. I suspect shes looking for her brother.

Will followed the other mans gaze to a threesome involved in a pool game. Two of the men hed never seen before. The third hed known all his lifeStuart, Lindseys younger brother. Will had noticed the younger Baker earlier and purposely steered clear of him. And the strangers?

Drifters, Eric answered, though he kept his focus on the impending confrontation. They blew into town a couple of weeks ago. Been hustling the local cowboys ever since. Baker more than most. Boys been losing his shirt. Eric shook his head. As if his sister needs any more trouble right now.

Will glanced at Eric. More trouble?

Seems shes run into a string of bad luck out on the Silver Creek. Accidents and the like. A lot of the boys wont work for her anymore.

Will had heard about the so-called problems out on the Baker ranch but had dismissed them as hearsay. Around these parts, rumors traveled like wildfire across a dry summer prairie, and when it came to the Bakers, folks tended to keep Will informed, whether he was interested or not. Eric, however, wasnt one to spread tales, and his information was usually more accurate than most.

Making a mental note to find out more later, Will took another sip of his beer and watched Lindseys progress across the room. Men shifted out of her way and fell silent as she walked toward her brother. Will had to admire the way she carried herself with a smooth feminine confidence that contradicted her situation. She might have been a woman out of place in a raunchy cowboy bar, but it didnt stop her. But then, nothing much ever had. In grade school, shed been the toughest boy on the playground. Now she ran one of the largest spreads in the area.

He doubted whether any of the locals would mess with her. They all knew Lindsey and her reputation. But the men with Stuartwell, that was another story. There was no telling what a couple of rough-looking strangers like those two might do.

Finishing the last of his beer, Will told himself it wasnt his problem. He didnt owe the Bakers anything. Hell, a lot of folks would say it was the other way around. Besides, Lindsey knew better than to come waltzing into the Spur. If she got herself into trouble, it was no concern of his.

Stuart? Her voice carried across the room, and the hum of conversation died. We need to talk.

Stu didnt seem to notice that every eye in the place was on the two of them. Not now, Sis, Im in the middle of a game. With a grin, he leaned over the table to line up a shot. These boys been on a winning streak, and I mean to turn that around.