Bartell took off his hat and slapped it down on the ground. "Well, I ain't goin'
nowhere
until I get somethin' to eat!"
"Make it fast, and then get out to the herd." Not waiting for a response, Morgan turned back to the wagon. He approached it slowly, frowning. He had not seen Chastity all day. His first glimpse of her had been when they halted the herd for the night and he had gone to the wagon. He had detested letting her see him covered with the dust of the trail and smelling no better than the animals they drove, but he had been desperate to see her. She had smiled weakly when he attempted to talk to her… a trifle too weakly for him not to feel concern.
Stopping by the campfire, Morgan picked up a plate. He motioned for Conchita to fill it,
then
started for the wagon.
"She says she is not hungry."
Morgan shot Conchita a deadening glance. "Did I ask you to say somethin'?" He climbed into the wagon and slid to Chastity's side. "I brought you somethin' to eat."
"I'm not hungry."
Morgan touched Chastity's wounded shoulder lightly and she withdrew instinctively from him. He frowned. "Are you in pain?"
"No."
"You're not tellin' me the truth."
chastity's
gaze shot up to his. "I'm all right."
"Did Conchita change your bandage?"
"It isn't necessary. The wound isn't bleeding anymore."
"Damn her! I told her to check it!" He took a breath. "I'd better look at it."
"No."
"I said"
"I told you, I'm all right!"
"No, you're not!" Morgan barely controlled his agitation. "All right, I understand how you feel. I'll tell Conchita to do it later. But you have to eat if you expect to regain your strength. We'll be meetin' the fella who's goin' to buy the herd in a couple of days. I won't be able to get you to a doctor until after that's settled." He paused, ''I don't want anythin' to happen to you, Chastity."
Chastity stared at him in silence. He saw her lips twitch as she replied, "I'll feel better if I get up and walk a little."
"No, I don't"
"I want to walk."
If she
were
any other woman…
"All right.
If that's what you want."
Morgan reached toward her, but Chastity withdrew with a stiff smile. "I think it would be better if I did as much as I can on my own."
Morgan nodded. He'd give her anything she wanted. It was a price he would have to pay to get what he wanted this time.
Morgan halted at that thought. Could it be? Was he actually accepting the need to
pay
for something he could just as easily take? Would Chastity end up making an honest man out of him?
Morgan hardly withheld a smile. The answer to those questions was simple.
Never.
Conchita stared at the wagon as Morgan disappeared
inside,
her face still flushed from yet another humiliating dismissal from the man who had cast her aside.
"What's the matter, Conchita?"
Conchita turned toward Bartell, who sat by the fire, plate in hand. He was smirking.
"When are you goin' to get it through your head that Morgan ain't interested in you no more? He's got himself another honey."
"No, he does not."
"Well, you got a point there. He ain't got that high-minded woman yet, but he will. Looks
like there ain't nothin' he won't do to get her
. I
ain't never
seen him so caught up in a woman before, and I ain't never seen a woman who can turn him down when he puts his mind to it." Bartell laughed. "Hell, you ought to know that well enough."
Yes, she knew.
Bartell scooped up the last remaining bits on his plate,
then
dropped the plate on the ground. He inched closer. "You're goin' to be lookin' for a new man, soon, ain't you, darlin'?"
Conchita looked at him, her lips twisting with disgust.
"I don't look good to you, do I?" An angry heat darkened Bartell's sweaty face. "I ain't pretty enough, huh? I ain't as young as Morgan is, and I don't smell as sweet."
Culebra.
"I guess you'll like it better goin' back to the cantina. Hell, you'd have your choice of greasers there but you know somethin'? Every last one of them won't smell
no
better than me!"
"Snake!"
Bartell laughed out loud. Standing up slowly, he halted when Morgan stepped down from the wagon,
then
turned to lift Chastity to her feet beside him.
"Look at that, Conchita." Bartell's voice dropped to a whisper. "He treats her like she's made of glass. Makes you feel real good, don't it?"
Conchita straightened her back.
"How long do you think it'll take him to get her in bed? She's a good, God-fearin' woman. I figure it might even take him a week."
Conchita stood up abruptly. Shuddering with fury, she walked off into the shadows, the sound of Bartell's laughter ringing behind her.
He did not dare get any closer.
Concealed within the foliage a short distance away, Reed watched the figures moving around the fire. It had been a long, difficult day, with Chastity so close, yet just beyond his reach.
The men were eating. He had already eaten from the few stores left behind at the cabin. The need to maintain his strength was never clearer.
Movement at the rear of the wagon forced Reed to pull back. He stiffened when Morgan emerged, then lifted Chastity down.
Reed's heart began a slow pounding. She was so close… so close that he could see her pallor and the tremor in her limbs as she started to walk.
Morgan reached out to her.
Don't touch her, damn it.
Chastity waved off Morgan's help. She walked around the campfire, and Reed's stomach twisted into a tight knot of pain. She was so damned weak. Even if he could manage to get her away, she was not strong enough for them to make a run for it.
Reed clutched the rifle at his side. He was so tempted… but Chastity had been caught in the crossfire before. He could not chance it happening again.
Where was Morgan headed? What did he intend to do? He had been unable to overhear any discussion of their plans, but he knew that at their present rate of travel, it would be at least another day until they were out of Indian Territory. He also knew that he needed to make a move soon, or it might be too late.
Watching Chastity intently, Reed whispered into the darkness surrounding him, his voice filled with the emotion of a promise etched in his heart. "I'm coming to get you, Chastity. Don't give up, darlin'."
The absurdity of that last admonition struck Reed abruptly. Chastity was as weak as a kitten, but she was still holding Morgan at arm's length. And she was outwitting him.
The smile that tugged at Reed's lips twisted the knife of pain within him as he rasped, "I love you, Chastity. Can you hear me, darlin'? I love you."
Chastity walked determinedly toward the campfire. She hesitated as an unexpected glow of warmth briefly filled her heart. Her throat choked tight, and she swallowed against a sudden rise of emotion. It was almost as if Reed's kiss had brushed her lips.
A responsive whisper rose within her.
I love you, Reed.
"What's the matter, Chastity?"
Chastity was somehow unable to respond.
Mistaking her emotion for weakness, Morgan grated, "I told you that you should be resting!" Sweeping her off her feet, Morgan carried
her the
few steps back to the wagon and placed her inside. She saw the effort he made to control his anger when he continued, "You're tryin' to do too much too soon." When she still did not reply, he instructed harshly, "Make sure you eat before you go to sleep.''
Never more grateful to see the last of him, Chastity watched as Morgan strode from her view.
Chapter Twelve
The hot morning sun beat down on Morgan's shoulders as he looked down at the bloody carcass of the steer in front of him. He looked back up, his expression hot with anger.
"All right, Bartell, how did you let this happen?"
"The damned cat sneaked up on the quiet. I didn't know anythin' about it until this mornin'!"
"You fell asleep, didn't you?"
"No!"
Morgan glared, glancing at the nervously milling cattle nearby. "Well, we're all goin' to pay for it! Look at these beeves! They're so spooked that they're goin' to be jumpin' at every sound today!"
"It ain't my fault!"
"No, it's never your fault."
Turning away from Bartell with disgust, Morgan spurred his horse back toward camp. Reining up, he jumped from his horse and strode toward the wagon.
"Get that wagon ready to start movin', Conchita!" He flicked a disparaging glance at her as she turned toward him. "We can't waste any time. It's goin' to be a damned long day."
He approached the rear of the wagon. The attack on the herd the previous night was unexpected and annoying. He had had plans for the day ahead. With the cattle becoming trail-oriented, he had expected an easier day than the previous one, a day in which he might be able to spend time with Chastity. It was essential to gain her complete confidence, of that he was certain. She wasn't the average woman. Even wounded and grieving, she maintained an independence that kept him at his distance. He needed to bridge that distance. He was certain he could, given the time he needed time that Bartell had stolen from him that day because of his incompetence.
Cursing the opportunity that had escaped him, Morgan turned the corner of the wagon, his agitation warming to a heat of another kind at the sight of Chastity standing inside. She was looking much stronger, and she was all
woman
, the reserve with which she greeted him only making him want her more. He smiled. "Are you ready to leave?"
"Yes." She paused. "How much longer do you think it'll be before we reach a town?"
"I can't really be sure," Morgan hedged. "It's accordin' to how the drivin' goes. The cattle are edgy. It might take us a little longer than I thought. Walker will be ridin' with you today." He frowned. "I'm goin' to have to stay with the herd most of the day. If I don't, it'll only take us longer."
Chastity did not reply.
"If you need anythin', Conchita will take care of it. If she doesn't, Walker will see to it that she does."
"Conchita has been very helpful."
"Yes… just make sure that she takes care of that bandage today." Morgan frowned, his youthful face suddenly earnest. "I don't like turnin' over your care to others, but I don't have any choice."
"I understand."
"I'll make it up to you."
"There's no need for that."
"But I will. That's a promise, Chastity."
Chastity lowered her gaze, and a hunger unlike any he had ever known gripped Morgan's innards. If he didn't leave now
Turning away abruptly, Morgan approached Walker where he stood nearby. He warned, "Watch over that wagon with your life, you hear?"
Not waiting for Walker's response, Morgan mounted and kicked his horse into motion.
Contempt closed Chastity's throat as the wagon rumbled onward.
I'll make it up to you.
The promise of a killer.
Chastity turned toward the driver's seat, where Conchita sat at the reins. She had never met a woman like Conchita beforeyoung, but in some ways older than she would ever be. She wondered how many promises Morgan had made to her and then broken. She wondered if Conchita had ever truly believed them.
She supposed she would soon find out.
Chastity worked her way forward. Hesitating when she reached the driver's seat, she addressed Conchita in a voice raised over the rattling din, "Do you know where we're going, Conchita?"
Conchita's gaze remained fastened on the trail ahead. "No. Morgan does not speak in confidence to me."
Chastity ached inside at her pain. "I'm sorry, Conchita."
Conchita turned on her, eyes blazing. "Do not pity me! Better, you pity yourself!"
Chastity's throat tightened. "What are you saying?"
"I am saying nothing! It is not my business. Morgan has made that clear to me, and I have learned to listen to what Morgan says."
"Why, Conchita?" The fury that flamed to life within Chastity set her to shuddering. "Because you know Morgan isn't what he's pretending to be? Is that why? Because you know he's done terrible things?"
"So, you are not the fool you appear to be."