My Desperado (19 page)

He twisted toward her slightly. "Cuz I ain't having you ride with me no more, that's why."

In the darkness Katherine could feel her face go pale. Did he hate her so for her weakness where he was concerned? Did he think her immoral? Perhaps, in a way, he was not so very different from how her father had been; for it was obvious he detested her for what they'd done in the woods, while she still felt the magic of it in her soul. Her heart beat a hurried pace. "You're leaving me here?"

Travis stared at her, his face only inches from hers, and again he groaned inwardly at her innocence. Katherine was a gentlewoman, and of course he'd known it all along. But it was her seductive voice that made him hope she was the soiled dove she claimed to be. He'd known better, but he'd bedded her anyway.

They ought to just shoot him.

"No!" he snapped. "I'm not leaving you here. I'm just going down to get you a horse," he admitted irritably. "Now get the hell off mine."

"My own horse?"

Her eyes were bright now, and she leaned slightly forward, seeming painfully relieved to know he did not plan to leave her to fend for herself, even though she looked stronger after a good meal and the one chocolate she had allowed herself. "But how can you buy a horse at night? Surely someone will be suspicious. Even if I didn't come down with you. And even though your appearance has changed a great deal without the beard, and... ah, but you don't intend to buy it."

"You know..." He stared at her then grinned slightly. "For an easterner, you're pretty bright."

"I can't let you do it." Her decision was firm; her voice, the same. "I can't let you steal for my sake."

Travis shifted slightly in his saddle, narrowing his eyes and trying to remember what it was like to be calm, to take care of his business without harassment or constant objections. It sounded heavenly. "You can't let me?" he questioned dubiously.

"No." She shook her head. "It'd be wrong."

He laughed outright, but the tone sounded grim. He leaned forward, trying to ease the pain in his right thigh. "I killed my first man was I was thirteen." He stared straight ahead, seeing behind. "By the time I was fifteen, I could kill without blinking." He twisted in his saddle to look directly into her face. "I don't think a little theft's going to tarnish my sterling reputation."

Katherine remained silent, watching him, feeling her heart ache in her chest as she searched for the words she needed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

For a moment he was silent, then, "Didn't you hear a word I said? I said, I kill! That's what I do. Like you're a teacher. I'm a killer!"

"No, you're not." She couldn't manage more than a whisper when she said it. Her hands felt cold and stiff; her face, taut and pale. "I won't let you steal for me."

"Goddamn it!" He swore with reverent disgust and grabbed her left arm with his free hand. "My sins are so deep, lady, I'll be lucky to spend no more than an eternity in hell. But I'll tell you this and I'll tell you now—I ain't gonna be responsible for the death of no woman. You hear me? You ain't gonna die because of me. So I'm going down there, and I'm gonna find you a horse that can get you back to your mama in one piece."

The intensity in his expression stole her senses for a moment. "But..." She found her breath and her thoughts. "I can't ride."

"You'll learn to ride!"

She felt small and helpless and frightened by his mood. "Why can't I ride with you?"

"You think I'm made of steel?"

The question rang in the darkness, open for interpretation, but Katherine was beyond guessing his meaning.

"Why do you hate me so?" She could feel the pain in her heart.

Hate her? He should be so lucky! He should be so fortunate as to not think of her every moment, to ache for her every second. "Just stay put. I'll be back." He reached to take her hand, expecting her to slide from behind the saddle.

But Katherine hadn't become mired in such a mess by following practical suggestions. Indeed, Katherine wouldn't be Katherine if she started now.

"I won't let you go alone."

"What the devil are you talking about now?"

"I see your point." She nodded, though it hurt to do so, for there was a lump the size of an October apple in her throat. "I see that we need another mount. But I won't let you take the blame alone. I'll help. And I'll make recompense to the owner as soon as I can."

They sat in the darkness, staring at each other.

"Why don't I just tie you to a tree and leave you?" Ryland's question was more for him than for her.

She sat straight and still behind him. "You won't."

"Damn!" He swore just once before turning Soldier toward the downhill slide.

"You'll do exactly what I say. You hear me?" Ryland told her. "Exactly."

Katherine nodded absently as she stared over his shoulder at the corral. There were at least fifteen horses confined there, most of them standing in hip-cocked contentment, watching as they approached them in the moonlight.

"Get off," he ordered quietly, and she did so, sliding quickly to her feet. "Hold Soldier. Don't get in trouble." He shook his finger at her as if she were a belligerent child. "Just stay put and... Here." He dug quickly in his saddlebags, fishing out her box of candies. "Eat your chocolates."

She took the box and watched as he lifted a lariat from a nearby post.

"Stay put," he repeated, and strode away.

Katherine scowled. He was treating her like a child, which was quite irritating. She was capable of making her own decisions. Hadn't she decided on her own to come west? She grimaced. Look how that had turned out. Still, it had been her decision. Her mother had practically had apoplexy. And her father, rest his soul, was probably still turning in his grave. It had been his wish that she become a schoolteacher. But she'd done that. She'd done everything they'd wanted her to. And now she was ready to do what she wanted to do.

She gave that a moment's thought before creeping, quiet as a breeze, up behind Travis. "Which one do you think?" Katherine whispered, practically in Ryland's ear.

"Jesus!"

It was the first time she'd ever seen him jump, but it probably would not be wise to laugh.

"Which one?"

"I thought I told you to stay put. Where's Soldier?"

"Grazing. I like the dark one. With the white on its face."

"That one?" Ryland lifted a gloved hand toward the leggy beast that stood with its neck stretched high over the fence toward Soldier. It snorted once, shook its head then trotted the length of the corral, past its sedate companions to return again, legs lifting high. "Lady, you're about one bean short."

"What's wrong with him?" Katherine asked, mesmerized by the way the dark body seemed to float in the moonlight, how the head never dropped and the legs lifted in graceful cadence.

"Out here, we call that a good, quick way to die," he rumbled.

"Why?" She shifted closer to the rail. From the pack of tired-looking mounts a pale gelding lunged forward to take a nip at the prancing black. "Ohhh. They're mean to him," Katherine complained. "I think we should take him."

Leaning against the rails again, Travis turned his head to scowl at her. "Lady, I been around horses all my life."

"So..." Katherine whispered, straightening, "what's wrong with him?"

"First of all, it ain't no him."

"How can you tell?"

His scowl deepened. "Short of giving you a detailed explanation regarding the differences between male and female, let's just say it acts too daft to be a male."

Katherine raised her nose a haughty quarter of an inch. "I refuse to let you insult me. This is my theft, too."

"Shhh," Travis hissed, glancing nervously toward the house. "You want to just go announce our intentions? That way there won't be no misunderstandings."

"Listen!" She was holding her chocolates with one hand as she scowled into his face. "If I'm about to be hanged for horse theft, I'm going to be hanged for a horse I like. And I like..." She pointed, rather obtusely. "Her."

Travis leaned forward from the waist. "Well, you ain't getting her. Because she'd kill you. And when you die, I fully intend to do the killing myself."

"And here I thought you didn't want to be responsible for a woman's death," she hissed.

He waved her away with a flick of his hand. "Get back to Soldier before you wake the whole country."

Bending, he stepped lithely between the rails.

Katherine watched in silence. He was a stubborn man. Stubborn and irritating. And she liked the black horse.

Travis skirted the herd, avoiding the black, but every animal there was trailwise and savvy. They ambled away as a unit, then scattered to the far rails. He watched them go, not wanting to cause a commotion, trying to keep them calm.

Near the corner a spotted gelding stood quietly, head drooping. He was a big animal with solid bone. A little past his prime, but that fact only made him more desirable for a novice rider. Shaking out a loop, Travis judged the distance in the darkness and swung.

The gelding, however, had lived nearly as long as the man and had dodged enough ropes to make him an expert.

Dragging the empty loop back to his hands, Travis walked through the shifting herd again. A mare, splayfooted but sturdy bolted past. Travis halted, crooning softly, settling the herd, searching again.

Another gelding—too belligerent. A mare—lame.

Ahhh—there. A brown gelding—not large, with solid feet and legs. True, even in the darkness, Travis could see he was no beauty, but he would carry a woman well, and—

"Ryland," came a loud whisper. “Travis. I'm taking this one."

Travis shifted and turned, afraid of what he'd find.

"The hell you are. Close that gate."

"Come on, girl," Katherine coaxed, extending a hand toward the dark, flighty mare.

The black took a step toward the gate, then another step. Her shoulders were through, and from around her neck some kind of strap dangled.

"Close that gate!" Travis ordered again, louder.

Katherine did so, but the horse was already through. A dog barked—yipping twice before howling. The black mare skittered sideways. Katherine soothed her, one palm held upward, a chocolate in its center. Another dog barked.

"Travis. We'd better go," Katherine called, pulling on the belt that held the mare. "Come on."

Travis gritted his teeth. How had he come to this? He'd been a good bad man—respected and feared! And now here he was—reduced to common horse theft, with a woman who told him what to do and was about to drive him insane. But damn her bossy ways, he was not going to be responsible for her death on that black devil—unless he orchestrated it more carefully and had time to enjoy it.

He shook out his loop again and swung for the squatty gelding.

“Travis," Katherine called, sounding more nervous.

"Quiet."

"Travis." Her voice was rising.

"Shut..."

A bullet whizzed over the corral. Horses bolted. Katherine jumped, and Travis, being no stranger to the penetrating potential of firearms, swore a blue streak and zigzagged toward the gate.

"Get on Soldier," he yelled, diving between the rails.

"What?" Katherine gasped. The black was prancing circles around her, made nervous by the sound of bullets, Travis's unorthodox exit from the corral, and the sight of the two bristling hounds that charged them all.

"Get on my horse," yelled Travis, sprinting for his mount.

"But..." Katherine minced a half circle in front of the black, still holding the too short belt and trying to watch all the descending elements at once. "I... Oh..."

She was grabbed from behind suddenly and yanked upward. Her hand scraped along the leather belt, but it was ripped from her grasp as she was deposited, facedown, across Ryland's saddle horn.

She wriggled violently, trying to see past his huge body as he spurred for the trees. "But my horse," she complained.

Another shot rang out, closer now, and Katherine winced. But when she righted herself on the saddle, she turned to look and saw that the black mare charged along behind them.

Chapter 19

"So what do we do with her now?" Katherine asked, watching the black mare that grazed not far from Soldier in the early morning light. They'd ridden all night, heading north and putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the ranch the black had come from. The mare had followed, never far behind, keeping up easily.

Travis squinted against the sun, looking fatigued and irritable. "Ever eat horsemeat?" He fingered the gun he'd purchased just days before and stared thoughtfully at the mare. "It ain't half bad."

"You wouldn't dare." Katherine rose to the bait like a winter-starved trout.

He smiled, the expression grimly lifting the corners of his mouth. "You sure?" he asked, and lifted the revolver.

How she managed to get her hands on his gun, Ryland was never sure. Perhaps being near her was dulling his sense of survival, or perhaps he simply had never considered she might do something so foolhardy; but whatever the reason, she was suddenly gripping the muzzle of his firearm with pale-faced intensity.

They stood facing each other.

"Can I ask what you're doing, lady?" he asked, watching her with mild interest.

Katherine stared at him, feeling breathless and angry. "You will not shoot my horse."

"You ain't hungry?" he teased.

"I am hungry."

"Then let go of my damn gun, and we'll have us some breakfast," promised Travis as he warmed to the confrontation. Goddamn if this woman wasn't driving him insane.

She scowled, not sure if he seriously intended to shoot the animal or not. "You said I needed my own mount."

"Let go of my gun."

"You said I couldn't ride with you anymore," she reminded, her voice rising.

"You ain't going to be riding at all. Never again if you keep hanging on to the ends of men's firearms. Now let go."

"She's my horse."

"She's a damn menace," growled Travis. "Believe me, I know."

"How do you know?"

"Cuz she acts like you," he stormed.