by Jodi Thomas
“We’d best get the coffee on first,” Sarah J said as she stared at Duncan. “The first of the guards will be in directly.”
“I’ll do it,” Rachel whispered. “I believe the second door nearest to the pot leads to the gambling room directly. This time of a morning it’s dead as a graveyard in there.”
Wyatt and Duncan prepared to fight, but Lewt pulled them backward to the door leading to the bar. He and Duncan both nodded their thanks to the women, who still stood blocking the kitchen door.
In single file, they slipped into the saloon. Ducking low in case one of the drunks might look up, Lewt moved behind the bar, careful not to awaken the bartender sleeping in a nearby chair.
Duncan thought he heard one of the little Irish murderers yelling for someone to wipe his feet good before stepping foot in the kitchen. They were giving them seconds, but it might be all they needed to get away.
The gambler led them down a hallway to a door with a three painted on it, and they vanished into a saloon girl’s room.
Lewt picked up an empty bottle as he crossed the room and opened a window.
“Friend of yours?” Wyatt asked as he followed.
“Just met her,” Lewt said, “but she invited me in so I thought we’d stop for a visit before we leave.”
“Friendly type,” Wyatt said, as he climbed through the window with both guns drawn. “Wish I had time to stay awhile. I have a fondness for blondes.”
Duncan lifted Anna through, then started out the window. “In case I forget to say this, Lewt, thanks for coming after me. You didn’t have to put your life at risk.”
Lewt grinned as he left a twenty on the table by the sleeping girl. “Sure I did. Who else can I beat at poker so easily?”
Duncan limped out into the blackness of night. A moment later, Lewt was behind him, holding him up just in case he needed support. They moved around to the side of the house, where Sumner waited beside the horses. He helped Duncan climb into the saddle, then lifted the girl up behind him. She held on so tightly he could barely breathe.
They walked their horses twenty yards before they heard men shouting, and then a moment later, three shots rang in rapid fire as if a signal.
“They’ve found Ramon,” Duncan whispered.
“I knew this was too easy,” Wyatt said, taking command. “Duncan, you and the girl ride hard toward the river. Sumner, you and Lewt cover them. I’ll hang back a little and try to slow anyone down who got into the saddle fast.”
As they kicked their mounts and began to run, shots came from the house. A moment later the thunder was answered from a rise just beyond the barn.
“Who’s covering us?” Duncan shouted.
“Em,” Sumner answered.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Don’t worry, she’ll be along. I told her to hold the men in the building for five minutes, then get the hell out of there before someone manages to sneak up to her on foot. She knows where to meet up.”
“Em?” He had no idea how his cousin got here, but she was a good shot. If she was firing, even in the dark, men running for their horses better be ducking. “You shouldn’t have brought her!” he yelled, angry at Sumner.
“We couldn’t stop her,” the retired ranger yelled back. “Take it up with her, not me.”
Duncan and the girl were out of range before the sleepy guards could find rifles and try once more. Every shot they fired from the house was answered from the direction of the barn.
He glanced back and saw Wyatt slow, fire a few rounds, then kick his horse to catch up to them. Duncan wasn’t sure if he’d stopped anyone in close pursuit or was simply firing a warning for anyone who thought of following.
When they reached the first bend in the road, Sumner turned them off toward a stand of trees. They wouldn’t be able to travel as fast as they might on the road, but they’d have cover. With luck the guards would pass by in the dark once they did follow and be miles down the road before they noticed they were trailing no one.
Lewt slowed and circled Duncan. “I’m going back for Em. Wyatt and Sumner will see you to the river and beyond.”
Duncan wanted to yell no, but in truth if he had been able and hadn’t had Anna to worry about, he would have already been heading toward her. “Be careful,” he said.
“We’ll meet you on the other side of the river.”
Duncan saluted and prayed his friend spoke true.
Lewt took off at full speed just as Wyatt caught up to Duncan. “Where’s the gambler going?” he asked as they moved slowly into the trees.
“He’s going after Em and he doesn’t even know her.”
Wyatt laughed. “He knows her better than you think.”
They were on the move now. There was no time for questions.
CHAPTER 29
LEWT 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 hea
d 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 k
new 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.”
