by Lyn Horner
Burning with embarrassment, she bent to retrieve her hat from the dusty street. If news of her behavior didn’t get back to her folks, it would be a miracle. What had possessed her to carry on so with Tye? Why had she ever let him goad her into having lunch with him? She’d vowed to stay clear of him to prevent a showdown between her father and the Taylors. And she’d done her best to keep that vow over the past two months, despite how she’d yearned to see Tye again, to have him hold her and whisper sweet words to her.
Damn the man! The minute she got near him, her vows went up in smoke.
Climbing aboard the wagon, she roused the horses and headed for the blacksmith’s. She ought to have met Neil there long before now. He must be wondering what had become of her.
Luckily, the big Scotsman accepted her half-truth about running into a friend and going to lunch with the person. His craggy face broke into a smile as he settled himself next to her on the wagon seat.
“In that case, I dinna mind the wait, for I’ve often thought ye need some lady friends. It’s nay right for a lassie to be always with a bunch of rough-mannered men.”
Lil managed a weak smile. She hated to deceive Neil, let alone her parents, but her warning to Tye had been no idle threat. Her pa really might go after him with a gun if he found out about today.
Guilt and dread gnawed at her vitals during the drive home and gave her no peace through the rest of the day. She tried not to think about those moments she’d spent in Tye’s arms or about what he’d said before walking away, but it was useless.
That night she lay awake just as he’d predicted.
Was he dreaming of her as he’d said he would? Closing her eyes, she rubbed her fingertips slowly across her lips, recalling the fire of his kiss. It was as if he’d branded her, and oh, how she longed for it to happen again. How she wished she was in his arms right now instead of here, alone in her bed.
An image of him lying beside her invaded her brain. She almost felt him touch her, felt her own hands glide over his warm, hard chest without the barrier of clothes between them. Her nipples stiffened and the cleft between her legs ached with need, drawing a soft moan from her throat.
Her eyes flew open in the dark. Jehosaphats! She must be mad to think of lying with him. The man was like a wily fox sneaking into a hen house. He’d crept under her guard and planted this terrible longing within her, and it was eating away at her good judgment.
If only he’d go back to Colorado. That’s where he’d come from, she’d heard. If he went away, she’d forget him, just as he would quickly forget her. He was too young for her anyway. She was three years older than him. Well, maybe it was only two and a half years. Not that his youth affected the way he made her feel. Oh, how he made her feel!
No! She wouldn’t start thinking about that again. Better to remember all the reasons why she mustn’t trust him.
He’d accused her of being afraid to trust any man, and he was right. Never would she lay her heart on a platter and let it be sliced up again. David’s indifference had caused her enough pain. If she fell in love with Tye Devlin, God forbid, it would kill her when he left her behind. And leave he would. Even if she were stupid enough to give herself to him, she’d never be able to hold onto him. She was a novelty he wanted to try out, a woman who wore britches and carried Indian blood, but she wasn’t fool enough to believe he’d stick around after he got what he was after.
From now on, she would avoid him even more carefully than before. It was just bad luck running into him today, but everything else had been her own fault. Next time, if there was a next time, she’d resist him and her own foolish impulses.
* * *
A week later, on a chilly afternoon, worry knotted Lil’s stomach as she cleaned out stalls in the barn. Her father had ridden into town. Fearing what he would find out while there, she dreaded his return. She had almost completed her chore when the barn door creaked. She stepped into the aisle. Pa stood in the open doorway, scowling furiously.
“Oh no!” Lil whispered as he stomped toward her. Her mouth went dry. Clutching her pitchfork, she backed up a step.
“I heard a story at the saloon,” he snarled, “about you and that bastard, Devlin.” Shouting the last few words, he snatched the pitchfork out of her hands and tossed it aside.
She jumped and gave a wordless moan.
Nearly purple with rage, he grabbed her arms and shook her. “God Almighty! My own daughter behaving like a harlot in the middle of Main Street with that no-good Yankee! Didn’t I tell you to stay away from him? How many other times have you met him, and how far did you let him go? I wanta know!” He shook her again, harder.
“N-never! I d-d-didn’t,” Lil gasped between chattering teeth.
He stopped shaking her, but his expression remained furious. “You expect me to believe that, after what I heard in town?”
“It’s true, I swear! I haven’t set eyes on him since the dance back in November, not ’til last week. Then I ran into him at the store and –” Another hard shake cut her off.
“And you threw yourself at him in front of half the town!”
“No! It wasn’t like that. He asked me to have lunch with him, and I knew I shouldn’t, but . . . but I did. Then he followed me back to the wagon and wouldn’t let me leave until –”
Her father released her suddenly, causing her to stumble backward. His eyes blazed. “Are you saying he forced you? By God, I’ll drill that jasper so full of holes, you’ll see daylight through him!” Swinging around, he strode for the door.
“No!” Lil cried, running after him. She latched onto his arm with both hands and dragged him to a halt. “He didn’t force me. Not exactly.”
Wrenching free, he glowered at her. “You can’t have it both ways, missy. He either did or he didn’t. Which was it?”
Lil dropped her gaze. “He didn’t. I let him kiss me,” she admitted in a strained voice.
“Damnation, girl! Don’t you have any pride?”
She jerked her head up. “Yes! Maybe too much. But you can quit worrying. I don’t aim to let Tye Devlin near me again, and I’m not about to spread my blanket with him.”
Indecision warred with anger on Pa’s face.
“If you want to get everybody on the prod with the spring roundup and drive coming up, I reckon I can’t stop you,” Lil continued. “But it’d be a real shame, seeing as how it’s over one piddling kiss.”
His gray eyes scrutinized her. “If you’re lying to me –”
“I’m not.” She stepped past him and stalked from the barn, praying he believed her.
* * *
After a sleepless night, Lil rose early, ate a hasty breakfast, and headed out with two of the hands to search for strays. The first chance she got, she separated from the others and rode hard for the River T. Her father had evidently accepted her story, because he hadn’t gone after Tye, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
When Jessie answered her knock, Lil ignored the other woman’s astonished stare and thrust a note into her hand.
“Give that to your brother. And if you want to keep him alive, make him stay away from me.” Not waiting for a reply, she spun on her heel and left.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Del Crawford and his brother Jeb sat their horses atop a low ridge, overlooking an army of more than two thousand longhorns spread across the valley below. The animals’ multicolored coats glowed warmly in the late afternoon sun. Each bony flank wore a large TC road brand, mark of the combined Taylor-Crawford herd, visible even from this distance on the nearest of the cattle.
By Del’s tally, close to half the herd belonged to the River T, another quarter to Jeb and himself, and the rest to a few smaller outfits. Taylor had suggested they act as trail contractors for their neighbors, at a dollar a head, to help pay expenses on the drive north. Del had reluctantly admitted it was a smart idea, but the wait they were being forced to endure while the River T boss rounded up a few more mavericks was anything but smart.
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p; “Taylor and his boys shoulda been back by now. We’re wastin’ valuable time,” Del grumbled to his brother.
“Reckon he ran into trouble?” Jeb asked. “Flushing wild stuff outta that Brasada country can be mighty tricky work.”
“Dunno,” Del muttered, glancing at the chuck wagon, where Chic Johnson, Taylor’s choice for trail cook, was ladling out stew for the drovers’ supper. A good part of the men were River T riders, others were drifters signed on just for the drive. Three Crawford hands rounded out the crew. One was Neil MacClure, their top hand. Another was Choctaw Jack, a full-blood Indian who’d punched cattle off and on for Del and his brother since the end of the war. Both men were trail savvy, and Jack’s familiarity with the Indian Territory had come in handy on previous drives.
And then there was Lil. Spotting her in the food line, Del frowned. He wasn’t happy about her riding north with them, but she’d accompanied him on other drives. Telling her no at this point would be like closing the corral gate after the horses escaped. Del was proud of the girl’s ability with cattle and her determination to prove herself as good as any man, but he’d come to regret letting her take on a son’s role since Toby’s death. It just wasn’t right.
Dragging his thoughts back to David Taylor’s absence, he tugged his hat in irritation. “All I know is those beeves oughta be walking north by now. Our share of the scraggly stuff Taylor and his boys bring in ain’t worth the time we’re losing. Wish I hadn’t listened to either of you. If we’d hit the trail two weeks ago like I wanted, we coulda got the jump on the big outfits from down south.”
“Ah, you’ll still beat some of ’em to Kansas. It’s only the middle of April. ’Sides, you woulda met heavy floods, had you started out too early.”
“We could run into high water anyway if we get too much rain. You know that.”
After a silence, Jeb chuckled. “Sure am glad I ain’t going. I’m too old ’n creaky to swim swollen rivers and sleep on the ground all the way north.”
“Shoot, you’re five years younger than me.”
“Yup, I sure am,” Jeb said, cocking a bushy eyebrow.
Del scowled. Jeb thought they both oughta stay home and let Taylor boss the drive by himself. Damned if he’d trust the Yankee-lover that much, Del thought. Anyway, he wasn’t so old he couldn’t ride and rope, and make his bed on the ground.
* * *
The next day, around mid-morning, Lil stood near the chuck wagon sipping from a steaming tin cup of Arbuckle’s Cowboy Coffee. Chic made it dark as mud and strong enough to wake the dead, or a sleepy night herder. At the moment the short, balding cook was busy at his worktable, the dropdown cover to the chuck box at the rear of the wagon.
Absently watching Chic add flour to a keg of fermenting sourdough, Lil was more interested in the conversation between her father and uncle. The two men stood off a ways, debating David Taylor’s overdue return. Knowing Tye Devlin had gone with David to round up mavericks down between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers, Lil hoped he hadn’t got himself torn apart. That was rough country, especially for a greenhorn who’d never chased cattle from thickets of spiky brush, where they often hid.
“We’ve gotta get these cattle moving,” Pa declared. “Taylor will just have to catch up with us later.”
Jeb shook his head. “We said we’d handle the roundup and keep an eye on his place. You wanta bust our deal with him? And what if there’s a raid? Even if Colonel Mackenzie and his troops did whup the Comanches last fall, there’s still renegades on the loose. Reece Taylor hasn’t got enough men on hand to fight off an attack. Neither do I if’n I have to cover both spreads. Not with you, Neil, Jack and Lil gone.”
“Damnation! We can’t hold this herd here much . . . .”
Her father’s abrupt silence caused Lil to follow his gaze down the valley. A cloud of dust rose in the distance.
“By cracky, I bet it’s Taylor and his outfit!” Jeb exclaimed.
Lil’s heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing Tye.
Pa snorted in disgust. “It’s about time. He’d better have a damned good reason –”
“You can stand here croakin’ if you’ve a mind to,” Jeb interrupted, striding to his horse, “but I’m riding out to meet ’em.”
Lil gulped the last of her coffee and set her cup down in front of Chic. He flashed her a gap-toothed grin surrounded by salt and pepper whiskers. She gave him a quick smile, then rushed over to her own horse.
Glowering, Pa also stomped over to his mount.
As Lil rode with him and Jeb to meet the incoming herd, she fought to subdue her emotions. However, when two horsemen cantered forward to greet them and she recognized Tye on his black and white paint, relief poured through her. Oddly, he was accompanied by Luis Medina, not David.
Both men wore a coating of dust. They looked tired and grim, but Tye’s blue eyes lit up as he halted facing Lil. Starved for the sight of him, she met his gaze and couldn’t look away. He smiled at her, nostrils flaring as if picking up her scent. Her cheeks burned as she recalled their last meeting when he’d kissed her so thoroughly. She also recalled her father threatening to kill him. She was glad Tye had taken her note of warning to heart and stayed clear of her since then, but now that he was here, she wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him again.
Don’t be a fool! You want to get him killed? He’s not for you.
“Howdy, boys,” Jeb said next to her, giving her a start.
Medina uttered a soft-spoken reply, but Lil was uncomfortably aware of how Tye continued to gaze at her in silence. Finally, he glanced at Jeb and nodded. Then his gaze transferred to her father and he took on a closed expression.
Turning her head, Lil glimpsed her father’s black scowl. He’d obviously noticed the long stare Tye had given her.
“You’re late,” he snapped. “We’ve been cooling our heels for over a week. Where’s your boss? I’ve got words for him.”
Tye’s jaw clenched. He jerked a thumb toward the incoming herd. “He’s back there, in the wagon,” he said, voice hard with anger.
For the first time, Lil noticed the buckboard bumping along beside the strung-out longhorns. If David was in that wagon, he must be either sick or hurt.
“What’s wrong with him?” her father demanded.
“As ye see, we gathered nigh on three hundred mavericks. They’re mean as the devil. One of the beasts gored David and his horse.”
Lil gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. Tye’s gaze immediately swung back to her. Staring at him wide-eyed, she heard her father mutter under his breath. Then Jeb asked what she didn’t dare put into words.
“Damn. Is he dead?”
“No, but ’twas a near thing. He has a nasty wound in his side and a couple of broken ribs, as well as a broken leg. He got that when his horse went down.” Tye paused. “His appaloosa had to be shot.”
Lowering her hand, Lil took a shaky breath while Tye studied her closely. She averted her gaze, getting the impression he was half angry at her. Why? Because of her concern for David?
“Where’d it happen?” her father questioned.
“Two day’s ride south of Waco.” Tye nodded at his companion. “Luis doctored him, and we bought the wagon from a farmer.”
“And he’s slowed you down ever since. That’s how come you’re late. Why in tarnation didn’t you leave him to mend at that farmer’s place or in Waco?”
“And tell my sister I’d left her husband lying wounded in some stranger’s house? I think not,” Tye fired back.
“No matter who he is, you shoulda left him!”
Lil flinched at her father’s bellowed reply. He spurred his horse and pounded toward the approaching wagon. Tye glared after him, eyebrows forming a furious vee.
“You’ll have to excuse him, young feller,” Jeb said with a sigh. “Sometimes Del’s mouth runs away with him.” Shaking his head, he set off in the same direction.
“Pa’s just worried we’ll have a hard time selling the her
d on account of getting a late start,” Lil said in her father’s defense.
Tye shot her a startled look. “We? Ye don’t mean you’re going on the drive?”
“Course I am. Why? You think cuz I’m a female I can’t hold my own on the trail?”
He laughed. “You’re daft, is what I think. Ye can’t be serious about this.”
“Don’t laugh at me, you dad-blamed Irishman!” Moments ago, she’d longed to kiss him. Now she’d rather kiss him with her fist. “I always go, and I ain’t the only woman who’s ever trailed a herd. Some even own their own spreads. They’re not beholden to any man!”
Satisfied she’d trimmed his horns, she darted a glance at the impassive Medina, then spurred Major after Pa and Jeb.
Tye swung Patch around and watched Lil ride off, feeling her outrage reverberate in his head. “She’s a wee bit angry with me,” he remarked, wishing she’d stop cursing his Irish lineage every time he made her mad.
Luis chuckled. “Sí, amigo. You offended her.”
“Aye, I shouldn’t have laughed, but I never dreamed she’d go along on the drive. I can’t believe Del Crawford allows it.”
“Perhaps he cannot stop her. Señorita Lil has the heart of a lion. She wishes for adventure, I think.”
Realizing Luis was right, Tye wondered why he always blundered so badly with Lil. She’d faced her father’s wrath because he’d made a spectacle of her in town, and after swearing she could trust him. Damnú, who was he to make such a promise when he couldn’t even face his past, let alone offer her any kind of future? That’s why he’d heeded her warning message, why he’d ridden south with David on the cattle hunt, not because of Del Crawford’s threats. He’d hoped time and distance might cool his desire for Lil. Instead, he wanted her more than ever.
Now he wouldn’t see her for another two or three months while she was away with the cattle drive, while he was to stay behind and help keep things running on the River T. Unless David’s injury caused a change of plans.
