L
EWT MADE A WIDE CIRCLE AROUND THE RANCH until he found the dilapidated barn. Chaos stormed across Three Forks, with guns cracking the silent night and shouts following. Men were trying to catch horses half crazy from the noise.
He’d seen the blink of fire from Em’s last shot and knew where she was, but she’d stopped firing. With luck, she’d be riding past him any moment on her way north. Em had to be gone from this place before the men below could get organized. She’d done her part; she’d held the guards inside the house for more than five minutes. He knew he’d be wise to vanish also, but he couldn’t leave until he knew she was safe.
He climbed along the ridge, careful to stay out of sight of anyone below. As soon as they figured out the direction of the firing, someone would climb the ridge and look for signs of the shooter. He and Em needed to be long gone by then.
Lewt found no sign of her at the top.
Men in the corrals were saddling horses and starting out toward the border after Duncan and the others. The first light of daybreak colored the sky like prairie fire in the distance. If Em was going to get away, she needed to be coming his direction soon.
He circled the ridge. Nothing.
He rode near where she must have climbed to watch the house, but there was no movement. Hope made him believe she’d already gotten away, but logic called his hope a liar.
Walking his horse carefully down the back of the ridge, rocky and overgrown, he thought he heard someone crying.
Panic slammed into his chest. Had Em been hurt?
He slid down the incline and moved toward the sound of someone softly crying as if her heart were broken.
In the shadows of a boulder, he saw her kneeling beside a horse on the ground. Relief let him take a breath before he whispered, “Em, are you all right?”
She stood slowly, shaking her head. “A bullet must have ricocheted off one of the rocks. It hit my horse. He’s dead. I thought I left him in a safe place, but he’s dead.”
Lewt touched her shoulder lightly. “Em, we’ve got to get out of here.” He could do nothing about the beautiful animal now, and if he didn’t hurry, he and Em might suffer the same fate. Men must be climbing the rise now looking for a shooter.
“I know,” she answered, “but I don’t want to just leave him.”
“Em, we have to go.” He pulled her a few feet, but she kept shaking her head.
“No,” she whispered. “I can’t just walk away. Papa told me to watch over the horses.”
Lewt leaned down and lifted her over his shoulder. “We have to go,” he repeated, angry at her for caring more about the horse than herself and angry at himself for caring more about her than saving his own skin. “We’ll both be dead if I don’t get you out of here. You may not be able to leave the horse and I may not be able to leave you, but unlike you, I can carry the object of my apparent obsession out of here.” He tossed her onto his horse and climbed up behind her. They had to be out of sight before full daylight.
Em didn’t argue or say a word. She must have known what had to be done, but she couldn’t make herself leave one of her beloved horses.
They rode east for a long while, then doubled back to head north. The night had been still, but the morning broke with wind whipping the dust around them with a vengeance. It erased their tracks within minutes and blurred the sky with dust devils.
Lewt kept one arm around her waist as he led the horse in the shadows and out of the wind as much as possible. They were making slow progress, but at least they would be impossible to track.
He knew Duncan and the others were flying toward the border. They would be waiting for them on the other side of the river. Lewt didn’t know much about this land, but he figured if he went a few hours east before turning north, he’d eventually reach the river, cross, and wander west to find where they’d camped on their way south. No one would look for them to be traveling east. It might cost them a day’s ride, but if it saved their lives it would be time well spent.
Only the Rio Grande twisted, making it hard to judge how far he’d gone. They reached the river while it was still light, and he decided to wait until after dark to cross. Lewt didn’t discuss his plan with Em. She hadn’t said a word for hours. He didn’t know if she was in shock or mourning over the horse. He didn’t care. She was with him, and that was all that mattered right now.
He stopped near a rock formation that offered a canopy from the afternoon sun, and the small cave sheltered them from the wind. While he took care of his horse, she brushed rocks away and spread his bedroll in the cool darkness of the cave. Then, without a word, she lay down and was asleep before he returned.
They’d both gone two days or more without sleep and he guessed they were too tired to talk. He lay down beside Em and pulled her almost roughly against him, then put the rifle down beside them within easy reach. For a while, he tried to stay awake, but as the sun set, he fell asleep holding her tightly.
There was something primal about the way he held her. As if by his saving her today she was his, if only for a while. She’d needed him, and her need filled a hollow in him.
Deep in the night he woke and felt her beside him. Without much thought, he moved his hands over her, first in comfort, then with interest. This woman felt so right, like he’d always thought a woman should feel. Not all soft and fluffy, but lean and strong, running the length of him as a perfect mate should.
He thought of the few women he’d been with over the years. None of them had felt right. They’d been yielding in his arms, hungry and in a hurry. Nothing like her. The others had talked of love and passion, something Em might never speak of, but he didn’t care. He’d rather be with her than with any woman he’d ever seen, simply because she felt right next to him.
He asked no questions about the way he needed her close. He didn’t know if he felt like she belonged to him or if he belonged to her, but somehow over their days together a bond had threaded itself between them. Nothing else mattered. She’d probably come nearer to killing him than accepting him now that she knew he was a gambler, and he was angry with her for lying to Wyatt and thinking she had to put herself in danger for Duncan just because she’d told some McMurray she’d take care of his ranch while he was gone.
But right now, none of that mattered.
Lewt buried his face against her hair and breathed her in as he slid his hand from her waist along the side of her leg to her knee. Gently, he lifted her leg and laid it over his. “Sleep,” he whispered. “Sleep next to me. Sleep so close to me we share breath.”
She shifted slightly without waking. Her back straightened and he felt her breasts press against his chest. His hand moved over her once more, loving the feel of her against him. His fingers slid down her back, pressing just enough to mold her to him, then moving lower over her hips as if he had every right to caress her so boldly.
He felt her as he’d never felt a woman, with admiration and curiosity and caring. He wanted to know her this way, but not with her asleep. He wanted her to feel his touch, to crave it, to beg him for more, and he had a feeling she never would.
Gently he leaned her head back on his arm and kissed her throat. “Grow used to me,” he whispered against her damp skin. “Grow so used to me that you crave me near.” Pulling loose the buttons at her collar, he tasted her skin once more. All night, while he’d gambled, he’d thought of her, and a need for her grew inside him. Not the kind of need a man has for a woman, any woman, but the kind of need only one woman can satisfy.
She moaned softly and he froze, afraid he’d awakened her, but she rocked against him, settling back into deep sleep.
His hands brushed one last time over her back. “Until the next time,” he whispered as he pulled her blouse wide and kissed the pale skin just above her camisole. “Get accustomed to me, Em, because I plan on holding you like this again.”
He rested his hand on the roundness of her hip, took a deep breath against her throat, and let sleep blanket him.
When he awoke, she was gone. For a moment in the blackness of the half cave he panicked, and then he heard her whispering softly from a few feet away. Her words were loving and kind and he smiled, liking the change in her. Maybe he’d tamed a bit of the wildness in her last night.
It took him several seconds to realize she was talking to the horse and not to him.
He stood, mad at himself for bothering to hope. “Em?” he whispered, as his eyes adjusted enough for him to see her outline next to a horse.
“Over here,” she said. “Come slow or you’ll spook the horse.”
“I’ve been on good terms with that mount for days. I don’t think—” Lewt stopped in midsentence as he made out the markings of the animal she was reaching out to pet.
It wasn’t his horse.
“Where . . .” he whispered.
“I don’t know how she found us, but she’s a McMurray horse. I’d know the midnight-gray color anywhere. I’m guessing she’s Duncan’s.” She smoothed her hand over the horse’s neck. “You’re Shadow,” she said to the horse. “Born to run with the rangers and black as night.”
Lewt took the last few steps carefully. The horse jerked her head up once, as if taking a look at the gambler as well. “It’s Duncan’s horse,” Lewt managed. “Or at least I think it is. To tell the truth, I didn’t look all that much at horses a week ago when I was in the barn watching Duncan and the other rangers get ready to ride.”
“They are all very different, just like people. Only this one Duncan trained himself. I remember my uncle Travis shipping a yearling down to Austin as soon as she was weaned. I heard him say that Duncan planned to take over her care. He said Duncan would be the only one who fed her or trained her. There are a few horses that will only have one rider, one master, and this is one of those horses. I guess that’s why Wyatt told us he swam the river to set her free. He knew it was better to let the horse go wild than try to break her.”
“That doesn’t tell me how she found us.”
Em laughed. “She didn’t find us. She found your horse. We’d never be able to rope her and lead her over the river, but she’ll probably follow us.”
Lewt frowned. “You’re saying the horses know each other? That’s a little hard to believe.”
“Herds travel together. They’re from the same herd.”
Lewt shook his head, not believing a word she said. The horse had probably just wandered by and decided to graze with his mount. This Shadow might be Duncan’s horse, but Lewt thought it coincidence that they’d found her, nothing more. He decided to change the subject. “Are you up to crossing the river? We might just make it before daylight.”
“I’ m ready.”
“Good.” He picked up the blanket. “I wish I had those clothes I left with the supplies. You didn’t happen to bring my boots, did you?”
“No,” she answered. “But I’d think you’d be more comfortable in your own style of clothes. After all, you
are
a gambler.” Her last words had an edge to them.
He didn’t try to deny it. “You found out, did you?”
“Wyatt told us all about how you weren’t supposed to come to Whispering Mountain and how Duncan would be furious if he knew you were on the train he sent.”
“I don’t care about how Duncan feels. My little plan didn’t work, so he should be happy. I don’t belong with the ladies. This past week proved that. If I’d had to listen to one more round of singing or eat one more sandwich cut in little squares, I’d have gone mad. You’re probably mad at me too. You not only think I insulted the ladies, but the horses as well. Gamblers just aren’t invited to dinners or even late suppers with the likes of the McMurrays.”
She poked him in the chest with her finger. “Stop ranting. We don’t have time. I’ll take my time telling you what I think of you, Lewt Paterson, when we get across the river.”
He could tell she was angry. For all he knew the only reason she was waiting was that she wanted a witness when she shot him. True, he had lied to her, tried to enlist her help to marry a rich woman, and pretended to be something he wasn’t, but maybe she’d take into account that he’d saved Duncan’s life, not to mention hers. The way his luck was running lately, she wouldn’t think of that until the graveside service.
Lewt saddled their horse. They walked toward the water. The midnight-gray horse followed from a distance.
Before they waded in, they pulled off boots, jackets, and vests, bundled them into a blanket, and piled it on the saddle in hopes of keeping some of their clothes dry.
When the water was waist deep, he said, “Hang on to the horse; he’ll get you across.”
“I know how to cross a river, Gambler,” she said. “You just make sure you don’t sink. All those lies you’ve told must weigh heavy on your soul.”
“Not really,” he admitted, then tried to act like he felt bad about it. She probably didn’t want to hear that lying was part of his job. Men wanted to gamble with someone they thought was similar to themselves. One of the few people Lewt was honest with, at least until lately, was Duncan.
Three steps later, Lewt slipped on a rock and went under. When he pulled himself up, he saw she’d done the same.
“You all right, darling?” he yelled, as he moved closer to her side of the horse.
“I’m fine,” she said, as she spit out water. “And don’t call me darling. In fact, don’t talk to me at all.”
Em was dripping wet, but before he could laugh at her, he noticed how her blouse hugged her chest, leaving little to the imagination. Heat warmed his blood to the point that he no longer noticed the cold water.
If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was intentionally trying to drive him crazy. “Em,” he managed, having no idea how he planned to finish the sentence.
She must have thought he was about to try lecturing her again because she answered, “Why don’t you take your own advice and hang on to the horse? He seems to be the only one of us who isn’t drowning.”