Kane took a step toward him and Cuchillo raised the gun, aiming it at his heart. “I wouldn’t advise it, captain.”
Kane knew if he didn’t keep a cool head he would be no help to Cady. He pushed the anger aside, clearing his mind of everything except the enemy. What was Cuchillo’s weakness?
“I’m going to help my wife. Shoot me if you have to.”
In two strides, Kane was beside her and dropped to one knee. She touched his arm and her hand trembled. When she looked at him, her eyes were frightened but clear.
“Are you all right?” he asked again.
“Yes. Don’t worry about me.” She smiled slightly, a small expression meant to reassure him, but considering what she’d been through and what they still faced, it was the most courageous thing he’d ever seen.
He didn’t know if they would live to see the sun rise tomorrow, but he prayed that he’d have the opportunity to tell her how proud he was of her and, more important, how much he loved her.
“Your wife has much spirit,” Cuchillo said, almost as if he could read Kane’s mind.
“Yes, she does.”
Kane stood up and helped Cady. When she staggered slightly, he put his arm around her and pulled her against his side.
She rested her uninjured cheek against his chest and sighed. “I’m sorry you’re mixed up in this too, but I can’t help being glad you’re here.”
Kane squeezed her waist reassuringly. When he knew she was steady on her feet, he dropped his hands and looked at the Apache. “I don’t know what you want, Cuchillo, but Cady’s not part of this. Let her go.”
“She is the sister of my sworn enemy.” An evil light glowed in his black eyes. “If I kill her, Jack Tanner will know the same sorrow I have felt.”
Frustration and fear coiled together in Kane’s gut and he flexed his fingers, wishing he had his gun. When he fixed his gaze on the other man’s throat, he was shocked at how much he wanted to put his hands there and press, squeezing the breath from him. Then Cady would be safe.
The only thing stopping him was the knowledge that if he tried, he’d probably wind up with a bullet through the heart and Cady would be left alone with Cuchillo. The thought turned his blood to ice and cleared the haze of fury from his mind. Their only chance was to stall long enough for him to force a break in their favor and get her out of this in one piece.
“You son of a bitch. You harm one hair on her head and I won’t rest until you’re dead.”
“Brave words, captain. But I have the guns. Do you think I would let you live? Jack Tanner is the one I want. To avenge his sister he will search for me. When he finds me, I will kill him.”
“No,” Cady cried. “My brother was only protecting his friend. He didn’t mean to harm anyone.”
As she spoke, Cady clutched the ring around her neck as if it gave her protection.
When she let it go, Cuchillo lowered his gaze to her chest and his eyes narrowed. “So, there is something of value here after all. How many guns do you think this will buy for my people?” Swift as a cat he reached out, grabbed the gold ring, and yanked on it, ripping the string.
Cady gasped and her hand came up to her chest. “No! You can’t have that. It’s mine. It’s all I have of Kane’s.”
With a sudden movement that startled Kane and the Indian too, Cady rushed him. She got in so close, so fast, he didn’t have time to squeeze off a shot. She started clawing at the hand that held her ring.
“Give it to me! It’s mine!”
Before Kane could help her, she bit the Indian’s hand. He hissed loudly at the pain, then opened his fingers, and she grabbed the ring. Cuchillo raised his gun hand high in the air. Kane knew he meant to hit her. He jumped forward, gripping the Apache’s wrist with both hands. With every ounce of strength he had, Kane brought Cuchillo’s hand down on the edge of the table, trying to dislodge the weapon. The Indian hung on. Both of them were breathing hard from the struggle.
The next thing Kane knew, Cady had jumped on Cuchillo’s back and grabbed him around the neck.
“Get away!” Kane yelled. “Get the hell out of here!”
“No, I won’t leave you,” she cried. She gripped the Indian’s ear and pulled on it with enough strength to force a grunt from him.
With catlike swiftness, he seized a handful of Cady’s hair and yanked until she cried out and let go. He pulled her off him and backhanded her, so hard the blow knocked her several feet. As she fell, she hit her head with a dull thump on the wooden footboard of the bed.
Deadly fury roared through Kane. He delivered a vicious blow to the Apache’s nose and smiled a cold grim smile of satisfaction when he saw blood. With fierce single-mindedness, he lashed out, hitting the other man again and again. He landed a blow in Cuchillo’s midsection and another to his chin. Rage gave him a strength he’d never known. He kept raining blows, delivering as much punishment as he could. Still, Cuchillo stood there, blocking punches, landing a harmless blow here and there, curving a leg behind Kane to trip him, but he wouldn’t go down.
Then Cuchillo lowered his head like a charging bull and grabbed Kane around the waist, trying to bring him to his knees.
As they struggled, there was a noise outside, a series of pops. Kane felt Cuchillo tense and hesitate. Then, from a different direction, came another series of small blasts, not quite like rifle fire or even pistol reports. Kane had heard the same sound before, at the fort. It was like … firecrackers. Dammit! R. J. had followed him!
The momentary distraction loosened Kane’s grip on the other man and Cuchillo didn’t hesitate. He delivered a bruising punch to Kane’s cheek that knocked him off balance, long enough for the Apache to race out the door.
Kane shook his head to clear it and had started to follow when he heard Cady moan. He looked at the empty doorway where the Indian had disappeared. Then he looked down at Cady’s fragile form and knew he couldn’t leave.
Kane knelt beside her. “Cady?” he said, brushing the hair from her face.
“Kane?” she whispered, without opening her eyes.
“I’m here.” He lifted Cady into his arms.
Just then he heard footsteps on the front porch and R. J. stuck his head in the door. “Kane! He had a pony hidden in the gully behind the cabin. Cuchillo’s gettin’ away!”
“Forget him. Cady’s hurt.” She was the most important person in the world to him. “I’ve given my life to the army. I won’t give Cady’s too.”
“But, Kane—”
“Get me some water!” he ordered. “On the double!”
“Yes, sir,” the kid said, and disappeared.
Kane carried his wife to the cot by the wall. Her belongings and the saddlebag she’d brought them in were scattered over the blanket from the Apache’s search. If anything happened to Cady, there was nowhere Cuchillo could hide that Kane wouldn’t find him and kill him. Damn the army or anyone else who tried to stop him from doing it.
19
“Tell me again what happened when them firecrackers went off.”
“Those firecrackers,” Cady corrected automatically.
She smiled at R. J., who sat cross-legged on the end of her cot in her quarters at the fort. After she had regained consciousness, Kane had brought her here, insisting that she ride with him. He wouldn’t take the risk of her falling off Prince. She had to admit that his strong arms around her were heaven after what seemed like an eternity of hell. The tender way he held her made her feel cherished after a lifetime of longing.
When they arrived, he had bullied her to stay in bed. Then he brought the post surgeon to examine her. The man had told Kane the same thing she had been trying to tell him, which was that she was perfectly fine.
Kane had always been bossy, but now there was an edge to him, a tension that even she wouldn’t test. Except to fetch the doctor, he hadn’t left her for a minute since they’d come back. Then, when R. J. had come to see how she was, Kane had ordered the boy to stay with her until he returned from bathing i
n the river.
She sensed a shift in her husband but was afraid to trust that it meant his feelings for her had changed. Besides, she hadn’t the strength to question or fight this different Kane.
She would just enjoy his fussing over her and his attention, for as long as it lasted. Which would probably be until he questioned her about why she had gone to Jack’s cabin in the first place.
The youngster at the end of her bed shifted restlessly. “Quit thinkin’ about Kane and tell me again about the firecrackers.”
“How did you know I was thinking about Kane?” She bit back a smile.
“Don’t take much. You get that gooey, sugary-sweet look in your eyes, and it’s clear as a new mirror.”
That surprised and disturbed her. If she was that obvious, everyone must know. They’d all pity her when they found out Kane didn’t really love her.
“Kane already told you the firecrackers fooled Cuchillo into thinking he was surrounded by the army,” Cady replied patiently. “So he ran.”
“How many times do you want to hear that you saved our behinds?” Kane stood in the doorway with a towel draped around his neck. Dark wet hair fell onto his forehead and drops of water glistened on his bare chest. He hadn’t even taken the time to dry off completely before coming back to her. In his hand was the damp cloth he had insisted on holding to the side of her face. He had cooled it off in the river.
R. J. grinned. “I wouldn’t mind hearin’ it again.”
“You also disobeyed orders,” Kane said seriously. “Didn’t I tell you to stay at the fort and not follow me?”
The boy nodded, but there was a twinkle in his blue eyes that told Cady he wasn’t in the least sorry for what he’d done.
Kane fixed her with a hard look. “What you did was just as foolish and reckless. Didn’t I tell you always to stay within sight of the fort when you ride?”
“Yes.” Cady met R. J.’s eyes and winked at him.
Kane saw her expression and scowled at them both. “Doesn’t anyone around here follow orders?”
“Of course they do.” Cady leaned forward and plumped up the pillows behind her back, then rested against them with a tired sigh.
Kane frowned at her, then glanced at R. J. “Cady needs to rest now, son.”
“Before I go, can I ask you somethin’, Miz Carrington?” When she nodded, he continued. “You ain’t mad at me for tellin’ where you were, are ya? I mean, I tried not to, but the captain wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Of course I’m not angry with you, R. J. If you hadn’t told him where I’d gone, I probably wouldn’t be here now. How can I ever repay you?”
“Don’t owe me. Just glad I could help.”
“I bet Cady would like it if you’d come back for a visit tomorrow,” Kane said.
“That won’t be necessary,” Cady answered, glancing up at him beside her. “I’ll see you in the morning for school.”
“Yes’m.” R. J. unfolded his long legs and rolled off the bed. “I’ll be there. ‘Night, Miz Carrington. Captain.”
“Good night, R. J.” The door closed, leaving the two of them alone. Kane looked sternly at her, an expression that was getting far too familiar for her liking.
Cady had a feeling she knew what was coming and decided to change the subject. “That was really sweet of you to let him believe he saved our lives with the firecrackers. The truth is, you’d have overpowered Cuchillo if you hadn’t been distracted when they went off. Isn’t that right?”
Kane shrugged. “We’ll never know. I just wish I’d been able to hang on to him. I’d feel a whole lot better if he was in custody.” He crossed the room and looked down at her with just the hint of a twinkle in his eye. “Did you think you could distract me that easily? You’re not going to have class tomorrow. You’re going to stay in bed and rest.”
She grinned. “It was worth a try. Besides, I feel fine.”
He sat down beside her, and the mattress dipped from his weight, letting his thigh brush hers. He leaned one hand on her other side and looked into her eyes. His comforting warmth and familiar masculine smell surrounded her and made her feel safe and protected. His thick hair was dark and wet and disheveled. There were lines in his handsome face that she’d never noticed before, and an ugly bruise darkened his jaw. Cuchillo must have done that. Her chest tightened painfully at the thought that she could have lost him. She wanted to reach out and touch his cheek.
Clasping her hands in her lap, she held back, unwilling to risk any physical contact that would reveal her feelings. Her body had survived a brutal and frightening experience. Her heart wouldn’t hold up to another blow from Kane.
Kane frowned when he looked at the injury to her face. “Next time you pull on someone’s ear, make sure they’re not likely to hit you back.”
“It worked with R. J. and Jack,” she grumbled.
“See what I mean?”
She pointed to his bruised jaw. “You’re a fine one to talk.”
“Bravely sustained saving your backside, which I might add wouldn’t have been necessary if you had followed orders in the first place.”
“I’m sorry.”
When Kane tenderly placed the damp cloth on her face, she winced; then the treasured coolness eased the ache. He didn’t take his hand away, but very gently held it there, looking at her as if she might disappear at any moment.
A vision of Cuchillo flashed into her mind. She had been told what had happened after she’d hit her head, but she still didn’t understand why Kane had let the Indian get away. She thought she’d heard Kane say something, but in her semiconscious state, she couldn’t be sure.
“What’s that look for?” he asked.
“I was just thinking about Cuchillo. He’s out there looking for Jack. He won’t stop until my brother is dead.”
“Jack can take care of himself. I’m worried about you. That renegade threatened to kill you. So don’t get any ideas about going to warn your brother again. Haven’t you learned your lesson?”
“I don’t plan to look for Jack. I was just wondering why you didn’t go after Cuchillo when you had the chance.”
“You were unconscious and needed help. I couldn’t leave you.”
If that was true, it meant he cared about her. In spite of her resolution to hide her love, Cady couldn’t stop the tiny spurt of hope that rose within her. If he had feelings for her, why had he done everything possible to push her away from the moment he had stopped her runaway wagon?
“I don’t understand you,” she said, shaking her head.
“That makes two of us. At least I didn’t until Mac Thorne straightened me out.”
“What does Mac have to do with anything?” she asked, her forehead wrinkling with confusion.
“For one thing, I was jealous as hell of him.” He laughed without humor. “Not just him. I wanted to strangle any man who looked at you. I was against your literary society meetings because I didn’t want the men near you.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “I don’t believe it. There was no reason for you to be jealous. I just wanted to lend books to ease their boredom.”
“You certainly did that,” he said wryly.
“I never did anything improper—”
His finger on her lips cut off her words. “That was not a criticism.”
“What was it?”
“A confession, I guess. Mac made me see that I’d deliberately pushed you away. And I did a damn fine job of it too, right into Cuchillo’s arms. If R. J. hadn’t told me where you’d gone—”
He clamped his jaw shut as if trying to keep some emotion locked inside. But he couldn’t seem to keep it contained.
“If I had lost you, Cady, I don’t know how I could go on. I don’t know how I’d be: as a soldier, as a man. I don’t know … I don’t know …” His voice trailed off and he looked down.
When he lifted his gaze to hers, she saw fear in his eyes. “What is it, Kane? What are you saying?”
“It sca
res me how much I need you.”
She did reach out then, to cup his cheek in her palm. He turned his lips into her hand and kissed it. This time she couldn’t stop the surge of joy and hope that filled her. She needed to hear it all but was almost afraid to say anything and break the spell. He was quiet for so long, she finally had to.
“Go on,” she whispered. “What did Mac say?”
“He said you weren’t Annie.” He took her two hands in both of his. “You see, Cady, I needed you to be as selfish and shallow as she was. It was safer that way.”
“Safer?”
“If you were like her, I wouldn’t care about you, and when you left—”
“It wouldn’t hurt.”
He nodded.
“Did you love her, Kane?” Cady knew whatever he said would prick her heart. She’d never be the first woman in his life, but she vowed she’d be the last.
“I thought I did. But I guess the fact that I couldn’t give her my mother’s ring says everything. I never questioned giving it to you. It just seemed right.” He gazed at her intensely. “When I met Annie, I was tired of being alone. I know now I never loved her. Because of that she felt isolated and bored and finally turned to another man. It was her decision to leave the fort. Because of the scandal she was an outcast. But no one deserves to die like that. I felt guilty.”
She wanted to tell him not to—Annie had made her choices and paid the price for them—but she knew it wouldn’t do any good. If he didn’t take things to heart the way he did, he wouldn’t be the man she loved.
“Mac is right. I’m not Annie. In case you hadn’t noticed, I manage to keep myself too busy to be bored.” What she didn’t say was that she could never turn to another man. She loved Kane and only him. She always would.
“The more I saw that you were nothing like Annie, the harder I tried to push you away.” He glanced at her, and she read self-derision in his expression. “Everything you did was unselfish. Teaching the kids, trying to warn Jack; even today, you risked your life for me.” He swallowed and went on. “I’ve never met a more courageous, committed woman, be it to your work or your family. The man who has your love is one lucky son of a gun.”
Reckless Destiny Page 28
