Dark Warrior: Kid (Dark Cloth Series Book 2) (20 page)

The Long Ride Home

Kat propped the pillows and blankets
around her grandfather, trying to get him as comfortable as possible, while they waited for the train to move. She knew she’d relax—when they finally got underway—when the train
actually
moved. Until then, she kept reaching for the knife, still strapped to her calf.

Relief, to be onboard, did reach through to her, on some level. She hoped that her grandfather could rest now—maybe heal—for the several days he’d be onboard this train, heading West. He needed to be still, not moving around. Not that the train held still. But her grandfather needed this chance to rest—and she swore not to allow
anyone
to take that from him.

They’d had to drag him all over the country—trying to save his life. They’d had to chance killing him—to save him. Dragging him around hadn’t killed him, and that alone attested to his inner strength. She’d seen men die of less.

Kat couldn’t get over the way things had changed in such a short time. A few days ago, she’d resigned herself to staying with her grandfather on his estates. Now, she was on her way home—with her grandfather in tow.

If the train ever moved.

Kat knew Kid walked the train, looking for anyone who might have followed them onboard. She also knew Jake had sent several men ahead, looking to see if they’d be ambushed ahead somewhere.

Kat looked around the berth, waiting. Time crawled, as she watched a spider walk across the floorboards. Normally, she would put it outside. But she didn’t dare draw attention to them.

It seemed like hours, but eventually the train blew its whistle, and a few minutes later, she felt it jerk forward. But Kat quickly realized she couldn’t take that deep, cleaning breath, quite yet, after all. Tension made her shoulders stiff.

Unfortunately, she’d come to realize that just because they were finally on their way home—didn’t mean they hadn’t been followed. And it didn’t mean their enemy wasn’t on the train with them, now. Someone had spent years planning this—and as dangerous as they’d been before—they were bound to be in a rage at being thwarted.

The first several hours proved uneventful, and early the next morning, after the train had stopped in a small down for nearly an hour, Jake stepped into the small cubby, making it feel that much smaller. Kat didn’t like the feeling—but waited for him to speak.

He glanced at her grandfather, then at her. “Pete met the train,” he said. “He confirmed they know about the train. Hawk’s scout is following them now. Apparently, they’re waiting for someone to join them. They’ve placed two men on the train and a bunch to stop it, once we get further west, in the wide open spaces.

Kat set her jaw at this. “So we’ll be taking him off the train again?”

Jake nodded.

Kat eyed her grandfather. “When?

“Omaha,” he said.

“Omaha?” she said, raising one brow at him.

Jake nodded. “I’m betting they’ll hit the train, somewhere between there and Cheyenne. They wouldn’t try it sooner. They’d be much more likely to get away with it—when the reach the wild lands, close to Wyoming.” Jake stepped toward the door.

Kat nodded. “That’s probably what I’d do too,” she admitted. She glanced up. “Could you ask Kid to step in if you see him?”

Jake had turned to shut the door. At this, he touched the brim of his hat. “Will do,” he said, then closed it behind him.

Kat turned back to her grandfather, thinking about who she’d seen at the train station. She still felt the shock of it. There seemed no possible way that he’d had anything to do with what his father planned. How could he? He loved his grandfather.

But, then, a son should have loved his father too—not poisoned him. Kat would never understand the greed that could cause someone to turn on their own family—that caused someone to try to harm their own family more-or-less try to kill a
member
of their own family.

Even though she’d witnessed Hawk’s family try and do just that.

But she still couldn’t understand the inclination. Nothing about it made any sense to her.

Later that evening, Jake came back to take his turn watching over her grandfather, so Kat took the opportunity to get some grub—and she wanted to find those men, Jake had seen slip onto the train at the last moment. Slipping through the cars, Kat walked quietly down each isle of the train.

She’d worn a dress to blend in, her trusty blade strapped to the inside of her thigh—her cat-like gaze taking in every passenger on board. But she saw no one who even remotely looked like they were on board for anything—but traveling to their next destination.

Yet, she knew that Jake hadn’t made a mistake, so she slipped through the cars, continuing her hunt. When she reached the cars with the berths, she began sliding open doors—apologizing as she caught people off guard.

That didn’t stop her from opening the next berth.

On her fifth car, she found two men waiting for her. They’d obviously been listening to her come down the way, opening doors and saying sorry. Both men were dressed in suits, and they had little city pistols drawn. Kat smiled.

The men hadn’t prepared for a beautiful, well-dressed woman, who walked straight into their berth. One of them smiled and started to pocket his pistol.

That was a mistake. Kat’s smile turned feral, as she pulled up her skirt and yanked her blade.

She’d stuck the one who kept his gun—and had her blade at the tip of the other’s throat—when Kid found her.

“I’ve been looking for you, kitten,” Kid said, grinning. Kat pulled back her blade, glancing at Kid.

“Tell this crazy woman I don’t know what she wants,” the man said.

Kid grinned—again—this time at the man—then knocked him out, cold.

Kat smiled at Kid, as she lifted her skirt and tore off a great chunk of her petticoat. He’s brows shot up, watching her. She handed the material to him, and he bound and gagged their quarry.

“Turning for the door,” Kat said, “I’ll send Jake.”

When she reached her grandfather’s berth, she quickly appraised Jake of the situation. If Jake was surprised at what she told him, he didn’t show it. He did seem pleased to have something else to do, though, and he quickly headed down the way, toward the car she’d indicated.

Kat turned to her grandfather, who still slept. She watched him breathe. If only he’d wake up again, she thought. Who knew if he would—and even if he did, they didn’t know if he’d still have his mind. She sat down next to him, taking his hand into hers. If only they’d gotten to him sooner.

A single tear slipped down her face, and she wiped it away with her free hand.

They had the men, who’d boarded the train, either looking for an opportunity to ambush them—or more likely—to keep an eye on them for their boss.

And, soon, they would face their enemy.

She could feel it. She anticipated it. The time had come—and someone would pay for what they’d done to the only
real
living family she had left.

A couple of days later, Jake stopped in to see if she needed a break. She shook her head, and Jake turned to leave.

“Are we still taking him off in Omaha?” she asked him.

Jake glanced at her and nodded. “Should reach the station by noon tomorrow, unless they have any further delays,” he answered.

Kat nodded. “Seems to be the thing with these trains.

Jake nodded. “There’s been a lot of them,” he said. “Can’t imagine what causes all of them.”

Kat laughed. “They haven’t managed to take off on time, yet,” she said. “It’s frustrating. Okay,” she said, as she had a few days before, “could you send Kid here when you see him next, then?” she said, when he stepped out.

Turning, Jake touched the brim of his hat and closed the door behind him.

Kat turned to look at her grandfather. For once, his eyes were open. He licked his lips, and she quickly picked up a glass of water, bringing it to his lips, and helping him up on one elbow so he could sip at it. When he lay back down, he looked at her. “You will come back with me?” he asked, “When I’m well enough to return?”

She hadn’t even gotten him to the ranch, and he was already worrying about when he’d return. She wanted to shake her head—but found that she couldn’t.

A deep sadness washed over her. She couldn’t stay home in the West. She couldn’t marry Kid the way she wanted until she dealt with her uncle and cousins. And she couldn’t get off this damn train to engage in the battle, like she wanted. What more could go wrong?

Now, her cousin had a gang of men waiting to ambush the train. They had to try and take her grandfather off the train—before they succeeded. And they had to try and do so without getting him killed.

She turned her face away from her grandfather.

She’d never felt more sad.

The Long Ride

To Kat, the train ride seemed to take an eternity.
Maybe sitting and not moving, bothered her, Kat thought. Or maybe constant need for vigilance did. Either way, expecting a fight that never seemed to materialize had never been where she excelled. Fighting was what she did. Right now, she could only sit and watch her grandfather sleep, predicting a battle she could anticipate but only wait for, and doing so for several weeks straight in a row, now.

Warriors were taught to sit quietly for hours, for the kill. Kat had never been good at that. She wanted to move—to get on with it. Patience didn’t work for her. She’d get antsy. She’d want to fidget. She’d give herself away. She’d found a different way to fight.

She fought head on.

The frustration ate away at what little tolerance she’d possessed—and caused her to be grumpier than she’d remembered being. On top of that, the train ride caused her stomach to be upset. She didn’t like that at all. She didn’t remember that being the case before, and didn’t understand why it would be the case now.

Even so, all afternoon, Kat held her grandfather’s hand and planned, in her mind, for every contingency, for what her uncle might have waiting for them down the tracks. Toward evening, she took a break, and while Kid watched over her grandfather, she went for a walk through the cars to stretch her legs and try to get her blood flowing. Later, Jake took his turn watching him, and she and Kid went to sit in one of the cars, just to talk.

Lately, Kat had missed doing that—sitting and talking. She wished they could be out under the sunshine, rounding up horses or cattle, sitting there in their saddles, talking, while they watched the horses or cattle, moving around them, grazing—or watching the foals jumping and running, or the calves butting heads and playing.

For a long time, she and Kid sat and watched the countryside slide by the windows of the train, holding hands. Soon they would be in Omaha, and Kat realized she might get to see Mandy in passing, when they exchanged places. She only hoped they weren’t placing her in any danger by leaving her on the train.

Jake didn’t think so. He’d been pretty sure that the battle lay ahead of them—in the ambush.

A couple of hours later, the train stopped in the small town, before Omaha. There, they found out that there’d be an unexpected interruption, for several hours, while they repaired something.

More delays.

Aggravated, Kat told the men that she needed to be the one to get off the train this time. Jake sat down near her grandfather, motioning for her to go. She’d been on the train for days. She knew they needed the fresh air too—but they’d had several opportunities to stretch their legs, while Kat had only had a few.

Kat walked along the boarded walkway, lining the stores of small town, as she headed, quite naturally, out of town. But she didn’t find the pine trees she’d been use to—and it wasn’t long before she returned to town. She came along a mercantile. It wasn’t very big. It was just a small town. But she found a locket in the display and bought it. She’d seen Mandy wear one like it—where she carried a likeness of her on one side—and Hawk on the other. When she flipped it open, it even had a place in the back. She smiled. Maybe one day she’d put other pictures in the back—like pictures of their children.

Her head jerked up. And that was when Kat knew she had to fight, with everything she had inside of her, to make sure her cousin didn’t win. She had to see that future that she’d just had a glimpse of—she had to meet the children that she knew she and Kid would have.

And she would love them like none other.

The shop owner wrapped it in paper, and Kat slipped it into her pocket, patting it to make sure that she held it safely there.

She would get through this. She would face her grandfather—with her love for Kid—and then they’d just have to wait and see what would come from that. Maybe she would have to return with her grandfather—but she would make it back home. She’d make sure of it. Cheyenne was her home. And her place was with Kid.

She heard the train whistle, announcing that it would soon depart, and she headed back to the train depot. When she got back to where it sat, bellowing steam, she spotted Kid stepping down from the platform, looking around for her, and she smiled. She knew the train should be getting ready to leave in the next few minutes—and realized Kid must have grown concerned that she’d miss it.

She waved at him, and he smiled as she came up to him. He kissed her lightly, cupping her jaw in his warm hand, then hugged her to him, his arm coming around her waist, and he helped her to re-board the train.

He made her feel warm and loved. He made her feel wanted. She didn’t remember a time when she’d felt that way before him. She enjoyed the feeling. And she never wanted to go back to a time when no one cared what happened to her. He made her feel like she belonged somewhere—so did her friends.

Kid had her come to sit with him in one of the passenger cars. She sat down, looking at him. And she realized that he had some news.

He touched the side of her face. “Jake got off to check for a wire,” he said.

Kat swallowed. Something in the way he’d just said that—felt ominous.

“Your cousin didn’t just raised a gang of men….” he told her, looking steadily into her eyes.

She waited, afraid to breathe.

“Your cousin has been spotted moving his men west of Omaha, like we anticipated. Apparently, he was easy to spot.” Kid squeezed her hand. “He has an army of men waiting for us,” Kid said.

Kat stared at him. “How many?” she said.

“How many men does it take to make an army?” he said.

She swallowed. “So he has more than thirty? More than fifty?”

Kid nodded. “They have reports of more than fifty,” he answered.

“What?” Kat’s jaw jerked. She couldn’t think of another reply. What could she possibly say to that? She couldn’t comprehend why he would have raised that many men. What could he have possibly been thinking to raise up an entire army of men?

That he didn’t intend to lose—said a voice said from inside of her head.

She stared at Kid. “We can’t win,” she said. “He intends to make sure that there’s no possible way we can win.”

Kid nodded.

Kat set her jaw. “Fine,” she said. “Then, we’ll go down fighting.”

Kid nodded again, pulling her into his arms.

So it looked like she wouldn’t get that wedding after all, she thought. Not even if she waited for her opportunity to return home. Kat buried her face in Kid’s shirt, not caring that people stared. She wouldn’t get her future with Kid—no matter how long she waited for her grandfather to come to terms with the fact that she had to return home.

Taking a deep breath, Kat relaxed in Kid’s arms. But she
would
get her little, spiteful cousin, she resolved—or die trying.

Later that evening, Jake came to relieve Kat had to work on handling the waiting, but Kid had no problem making that easier for her. He found a place on one of the cars where they could get away, a place where loving her would remind her of what she fought for.

He led her there. She looked around, and then she turned, smiling. “What is this?” she asked, seeing that he’d latched the door.

Smiling, he came toward her, until he’d stepped flush up against her, and then he kissed her softly.

When he pulled back, she smiled up into his eyes. “I love you,” Kid,” she said.

He smiled at that. She’d never said that to him before, and she could see the warmth it lit in his eyes. “I love you,” he said. “And I can hardly wait to make you my wife.”

He picked her up and set her on some blankets he’d spread out earlier—and there he slowly undressed her. Touching her wherever he bared her skin to his dark gaze. Kissing her soft skin, loving her, ever so slowly, until she cried out his name.

He came over her there, entering her while she moaned, making love to her, then leaning over and kissing her mouth while he thrust into her.

When they lay there panting, he turned his head, looking over at her as the thrum of the train could be felt beneath them.

“Have you noticed that your breasts are fuller?” he asked her.

She thought about that. “No,” she said, “not really. But I haven’t had time to pay attention to such things.”

He grinned at her.

“Have you noticed that you’ve been feeling sick every morning?”

She stared at him. “What is your point?” she asked, suddenly afraid to hear the answer.

He only raised one hawk-like brow at her.

Her mouth fell open, when she realized where this led. “No,” she said, appalled.

He smiled, touching her jaw ever so tenderly with one finger. “Would you mind, then, so much?”

“Yes,” she said, and noticed his face fell at this. “I don’t know
how
to be a mother,” she quickly explained.

He nodded. “Mandy can show you,” he said.

Kat’s hand fell over her abdomen. Did life grow there?

“I fight,” she said, her gaze pleading for understanding. “That’s what I do.”

He nodded again. “That’s what the Comanche women do, too,” he reminded.

Kat swallowed. That was true. She put her hands over her abdomen again. Suddenly, she felt so protective. She’d never imagined this would happen to her—but maybe she didn’t find it all that upsetting. Maybe she didn’t find it upsetting at all.

She looked up at him. “Would he have your dark eyes?” she asked, softly.

Kid grinned at her. “Or she might have your golden curls,” he said.

Sullen, Kat made a face. “And what happens when she hunts men down?” she asked.

Kid scowled at that. And it was her turn to smile as she dressed herself. Kid watched her, getting dressed himself.

“You might want to slow down, yourself, on that fighting,” he suggested.

Kat scowled at him. “Now, see. You’re already starting….”

Laughing, Kid shrugged. “What did you expect?”

They were both pretty quiet on the walk back to her grandfather’s berth. When they walked in, Jake glanced up at them, eyeing them.

“Something happen?” he asked. “You both look like you lost your best friend.”

Kat made a face at him now. “He thinks I’m with child,” she said.

Jake suddenly looked like he’d swallowed something. In fact, she’d never seen him look quite so completely shocked.

She stared at him. “I
am
capable of having a baby,” she defended.

He nodded, staring at her.

“Well, I am,” she said. Noticing that Kid grinned now.

Jake looked decidedly uncomfortable. He eyed the door, but Kat stood between him and the door, so Jake glared at Kid, like it was all his fault he’d been put in this position.

“Don’t look at him,” Kat said, growling. “You started this.”

Jake shook his head. “Now, see. This is why I don’t unusually hang around females.” He glared at Kid, again, then looked at Kat. “Especially, pregnant women,” he said evenly

Kat looked like she would have his scalp for that, so Kid took pity on him, slipping an arm around Kat’s waist, while Jake escaped the berth.

“Calm down, kitten,” he said, grinning down at her. “He’s only baiting you.”

Kat nodded. “That’s not very well done of him,” she sulked. “Not very well done of him, at all.”

Kid laughed, then kissed her.

“The real question is—
what
will your grandfather do when he wakes?” he said. “Will you be having our child back East?”

Kat stared up at him. “I still have to help him,” she said. “Nothing has changed. He’s my grandfather.”

Kid nodded, hugging her to him.

But everything had changed—and they both knew it.