New Job For An Old Friend

Charlie Prince

Charlie Prince sat at the table in his white frame house on the edge of the Wade property. Downing his shot of whiskey, he stared again at the photo of Liana Wade that he had taken from the office at the stables. His blue eyes were hard and cold.

"Shit!" He threw the empty shot glass against the far wall as hard as he could. It shattered, leaving droplets on the paint.

Wade had given Liana another wedding. A big, fancy wedding. And Charlie had been forced to drive them home from the ceremony in their fancy, decorated buggy. He'd driven them himself at the boss' request, but he hadn't been happy about it. He'd forced himself not to look back at them even once, but he'd known what was going on. Liana had been sitting back there all snuggled up to the boss. What the hell did she see in him anyway?

Since he'd been with the Wades' Charlie had been drawn to Mrs. Wade. "Liana." The name rolled smoothly and sweetly off his tongue. He liked the feel of it. The taste of it. He could only imagine the feel and taste of her.

The knock at his door brought Charlie out of his increasingly vivid thoughts about Liana Wade. "Come on in," he called across the room, already knowing who was there.

"Charlie." The other man greeted him cheerily. "Long time, no see. I was glad to hear from you."

"Sit down, Luke." Prince eyed the other man distastefully. "And shut up."

To say that Charlie disliked the ranch hand that Ben Wade had almost killed that day at the picnic would have been an understatement. Like his boss, Charlie had no use for men who beat horses. He did, however, have another use for Luke.

"I got a job for you, Luke," Charlie said slowly, still gazing at the picture of Liana. "Somethin' I need you to help me do. It involves Mrs. Wade."