It took nearly twenty minutes for Hayden to catch up with the Mexican, and when he did, he was surprised to find him stretched out on the grassy slope, his arms lying limply at his sides. Moving to the man’s side, Hayden found that he wasn’t dead, just unconscious. This was no accident. Working swiftly, Hayden searched the Mexican’s pockets and found nothing worthwhile. If he was bringing coins, whoever waylaid him had taken them. Glancing around, Hayden cursed: The man’s horse was nowhere to be seen. Could this be the work of Castle or the Indian? If it had been a robber, the Mexican would be dead. Castle was a weak man who wouldn’t kill unless he felt he had to.
Indecision racked Hayden’s thoughts. Among his choices was to make his way back to the cabin, get the car, and go to Muddy Creek. If Castle did make it out of here with the woman, the first place he would go was that shitty little town. The problem was that Hayden didn’t want to go there. He was too well known in Muddy Creek. But if he could pick up that prissy tenderfoot Jacobs, he could have him look around and find out if Castle had been to the depot to send a wire. On the other hand, if Castle was the one who stole the Mexican’s horse, then Castle was nearby.
“Is Luke all right?”
Kate and Tate sat beneath a tree, sharing some of the food that Luke had brought from his village. It wasn’t much, but Kate ate ravenously. Tate smiled gently as he answered, “He’s fine. Luke’s a wily little cuss. He turned Hayden’s horse loose. Now Hayden will have to move by foot, and that means we’ll have a little breathing space. Especially since we have a horse.”
“Where is the Mexican?”
“He’s lying back there along the creek bed. Luke knocked him off the horse when I distracted him. When he wakes up, he’ll have a hell of a headache.”
“So, then, where is Luke?” Kate asked as she took a bite of a biscuit even tougher than the ones that had been in Tate’s saddlebag. To her hungry stomach, though, it tasted delicious.
Tate chuckled. “He’s around here somewhere. He’s keeping an eye on Hayden. We’re wondering if the Mexican was looking for Hayden. The Texas Rangers know that Hayden has dealings with an outlaw band across the border. They think it’s something to do with gold coins. If they catch him, he’ll be put away for a good long time.”
“I don’t like the idea of Luke keeping an eye on such a dangerous man. He’s just a boy. Hayden’s mean enough to hurt or kill him if he takes a notion.” The image of Hayden pulling out his knife came back to her once more, and she shivered.
“Luke won’t let Hayden catch him. He has the advantage of being small and quick. Besides, he’s had a lot of practice trailing. He’ll stay out of Hayden’s way.” Tate handed the canteen to Kate. “Have a drink of water.”
She took a couple of swallows and held it out for Tate to take.
“You can have more if you want,” he told her.
“No. That’s enough for now.”
As Tate reached to take the canteen, his fingers gently touched Kate’s, sending a shiver through her body. She looked away quickly, sure that she was blushing, and hoped that he hadn’t noticed.
“We’ll wait here for Luke and then go find shelter.” Tate looked up at the sky and added, “Dark clouds are rolling in from the southwest. Looks like we might be in for a storm.”
Kate ate the rest of her food in silence. With the brief rest and bite to eat, she felt much better. When Luke finally appeared, she said, “Thank you for the food.”
“Me and Tate don’t need you dead.”
“So you’ll keep me alive by feeding me, huh?” Kate chuckled. “That’s nice to hear.”
Luke moved over to where Tate was and sat down on his haunches. He took the water pouch from his belt and took a long swig from it. “Hayden find Mexican. Searched his pockets.”
“What then?” Tate asked.
“He move off way he come.” Luke hung the pouch back on his belt. “I find tracks of longhorn down the draw.”
“There are a dozen or two wild ones in this area. They’ve been breeding out here for years now. Let’s hope we don’t run across one of them while we are on foot.”
“I climb tree when I see longhorn.”
Her curiosity raised, Kate asked, “What are you two talking about? What’s a longhorn?” She couldn’t imagine anything that would make Luke run and hide.
“A longhorn is a breed of steer with horns a yard wide,” Tate said, holding his hands apart to illustrate. “They’ve got a hump on their backs and long skinny legs. They’re fearless. A longhorn will attack a man on foot.” Tate looked concerned. “Most of the ranchers around here quit raising them because they’re too hard to handle. A bunch of them got loose. Some of them were never rounded up. They’re wilder than a scalded cat and twice as mean.”
“That’s why I run,” Luke added.
Tate hung the food bag over the saddle horn and held the stirrup so Kate could mount the horse. “We need to get to shelter before the storm breaks.”
“I don’t think I can get on the horse in this skirt,” Kate said as she tried to throw her leg over the horse.
“I can cut it with my knife. That ought to do it.”
“Go ahead,” Kate said.
Tate got out his knife and split the front of the skirt up to her knees. He then did the same to the back. “Try that.”
Kate put her foot back in the stirrup, and this time easily threw her leg over. Her skirt barely covered her legs, but in the overall scheme of things, it was a minor detail. “This is much better. Thank goodness this isn’t a wild mustang.”
“The horse is well broken.”
Kate didn’t tell him that she was an experienced rider and had ridden some spirited horses, for fear that he would think she was bragging. As it turned out, she didn’t have to handle the horse. Tate walked ahead holding the reins, and she felt rather useless sitting atop the horse.
The dark, rolling clouds were nearer. The sun drifted in and out of them, and a spirited breeze began to pick up, making the hot summer day much cooler. Luke and Tate kept looking at the sky. She worried they would not find shelter before the storm hit.
“Couldn’t we both ride?” she asked Tate. When he didn’t answer, she was sorry for even voicing the question. He was walking faster now that they were on fairly level ground.
Kate watched Tate. He was the most confident man she had ever met. There wasn’t a man she knew, besides her father, who compared with him. John Tyler was single-minded, fearless, and completely honorable. She was sure that her father would like a man so much like himself.
She was jarred from her thoughts when the horse picked up speed. Tate, leading the horse, was running through a clearing of grassland. She looked beyond him to see Luke waving. When they reached the boy, he was standing beneath a shallow overhang. Tate stopped the horse, reached up, and lifted Kate down. Her legs were rubbery, and she leaned against him.
“This is a good place, Luke,” Tate said. “I thought this was where you were taking us. We can stay dry in here unless the wind changes to the north. Thankfully its coming from the south now. Even if it swings around to the northwest, we’ll still be able to stay fairly dry. We’ll also have a good view of the surroundings from here.”
Luke grinned. “I no dumb Indian.”
“Your father taught you well, Little Eagle.”
Luke looked pleased and cast a satisfied grin at Kate. “My father scalped plenty white women.”
“Your father never scalped anybody. Stop trying to scare Kate.”
“I scare silly white woman plenty.” Luke took the reins from Tate and led the horse out from under the overhang and into the dense brush.
“Don’t pay him any mind,” Tate said as he spread out the bedroll for Kate to sit on. “He’s all talk.”
“He doesn’t scare me.” Kate was surprised at how comfortable she was with the cowboy and the Indian boy. It seemed as if she had known them forever, and she had complete confidence in them. They had both risked their lives for her.
/> Her father would want to do something for them, she mused silently, but he would have to be careful to avoid stepping on their pride. It was obvious that they weren’t helping her because they thought they would be paid.
Yeeeow! The primitive cry of a cat came from afar. Kate jerked herself erect and tightly gripped Tate’s arm. It felt like time was standing still as she clung to him. The cry came again.
“What… what… is it?” The silence pressed down on her, and then Tate’s voice, low and calm, came close to her ear.
“It’s a wildcat.” Tate’s eyes were searching the rocky ledges. He pulled his rifle free slowly and cocked the trigger. “Don’t move. I don’t want to shoot it if I don’t have to.”
Kate was stiff with fear. Apprehension squeezed her lungs until she couldn’t breathe. Suddenly she felt Tate’s body tense. Looking up at his face, she saw that his eyes had locked onto something, but when she tried to follow his gaze, she saw nothing but bushes and rocks.
“Where is it?” she whispered shakily when she could find the breath.
“To the left and about ten feet up. On that rocky shoulder.”
“Where’s Luke?”
“He’ll have heard the cat and will be looking out for it.”
“Oh! I see it.” Kate could hardly hold back the low cry when she finally saw the cat facing them. It was larger than she’d thought it would be. She could see its yellow eyes gleaming. Then, with its gaze never leaving them, it let out another piercing scream.
“I’ve got it in my sights.” Tate stepped in front of her, the rifle raised to his shoulder. “He’ll either spring when he’s directly opposite of us or he’ll go on.”
The large, slick cat moved with effortless grace along the rocky ledge, then froze in immobility with its head jutting forward. Its long sweeping tail hung close to its powerful hind quarters. Another piercing howl exploded from his huge mouth the instant before the wildcat’s body arched and stretched, its front paws reaching out for another ledge. To Kate, it was like a dream played out in slow motion. The only move she made was to wrap her arm around Tate’s waist and cringe against his back. She was only vaguely aware when he turned and put his arms around her. He still held his rifle cocked and ready.
“Oh blessed God.” The words came from her stiff, dry throat. “I’ve never seen anything like that. He was so close.”
“He’s gone now. I’m glad I didn’t have to shoot him.” Tate’s arms dropped from around her, and he moved to the other end of the overhang.
Kate’s limbs returned to life, and she stumbled after him.
He turned as she approached, and she immediately fell into his arms. He could feel her heartbeat as they stared at each other. He held her with his eyes as firmly as he held her with his arms. A blush tinged her cheeks, but her wide blue eyes never wavered.
“I’m sorry,” she said miserably, trying to hold the frayed ends of her nerves together so she wouldn’t cry. She didn’t know what else to say, and for the space of a dozen heartbeats, they regarded each other in utter silence.
“I think we’ve both learned something the last few days,” he said with less than his customary reserve.
Kate dropped her eyes. “I know I have. I’ve realized that life is fragile and that there aren’t many men in the world like you, Tate.”
“Why do you say that?” he said.
“Because you don’t even know me. I’m not even sure you like me, yet you’re risking your life for me. I don’t know any other man who would do that.” She dropped her eyes to her scratched and bleeding hands.
He reached out and took them in his own, turning her hands palms-up and rubbing his finger over a long, bloody scratch. His hands, used to the rough work on a Texas ranch, felt coarse against her tender skin. “This has been hard on you. I’ve got a pair of leather gloves in my saddlebag. They’ll be too big, but they’ll be better than nothing.”
“What I need is a bath,” she said, watching his finger slide over her palm. Her eyes flew to his, and a surge of hot blood flooded her face.
“That’s beyond my power to give you,” he said with a laughing glint in his eyes. His smile broadened when a new wave of color tinged her cheeks. “Not that I would look away if I saw you bathing in a stream.”
“Tate Castle!” Kate expected to feel mortified but was surprised that she was only mildly embarrassed.
His amusement at her self-consciousness was something that he didn’t try to hide. His easy smile disarmed any anger she felt.
“I should be mad at you for saying that!” A faint, tingling thrill passed through her and made a fleeting path across her face. Her laugh was free and warm. “But how can I be, when you’ve saved my life?”
“In some parts of the world, when you save a life, that person belongs to you, body and soul.” The serious words caught her off guard.
“Is that so?” She was almost incapable of coherent speech or thought, conscious only that her hands were still clasped in his and that he was looking down at her with half-closed eyes.
“Do you know what that means?” he asked.
“That you own me?”
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that.”
“But you saved my life,” she protested huskily.
“Not yet,” he said.
She pulled her hands from his and turned away, only to turn back with a glowing smile on her face.
“You did. Twice. Once from Squirrelly and then when you got me out of the cabin and away from Hayden.”
His smile answered the radiance on her face. As he feasted his eyes on her, he realized that this was no coy miss who used flirtatious guile on men. She was a woman with all the feminine instincts, but open and natural with her feelings. He had seen many beautiful women, but none who had the inner glow of this one. After his experience with his wife, he didn’t want to like this woman from the city, but he did.
“Katherine, Katherine.” He laughed. It wasn’t a chuckle, but a real laugh. “That suits you much better than ‘Kate. ’”
She laughed with him, scarcely aware of anything but the tall, slim man smiling down at her. Her eyes slid over his relaxed features, his smiling eyes, and his tall, loose frame. Her heart began to pound with a new rhythm as they hungrily eyed each other.
“A bath is a luxury we can’t afford right now.” He rubbed his fingers over the stubble on his chin. “I’d like to shave, but that’s got to wait too.” His slow smile drew little wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. The look on her face altered, leaving it creased with a worried frown.
“Oh, Tate! I don’t want you or Luke to be hurt because of me.”
His eyes searched her distressed face. She was full of pain. A sense of helplessness threatened to destroy his determination to keep a distance between them. He stared gravely at her for a long moment and let his hard-held breath out like a sigh. He looked beyond her and said, “Here’s the kid.”
Luke carried the food sack and the water bag. “We eat. Rain is near.” Even as he spoke, huge drops of rain began pelting down. Tate nudged Kate farther back under the overhang where he had laid out the bedroll. He motioned for her to sit down on it and then went to the front of the overhang to look at the pouring rain.
“Hayden will be holed up somewhere,” he said to Luke. “I don’t think we need to worry about him for a while.”
Kate watched Tate bend and listen attentively to what Luke was saying, then glance over his shoulder to where she was sitting. Never in a million years would she have believed that she could be attracted to a cowboy. Tate Castle was a most unusual man and one who was beginning to have a firm grip on her heart.
Chapter 16
THE STORM GREW IN ITS INTENSITY; the rain fell in sheets, lightning flashed down from dark clouds, and thunder rolled. At one loud thunderclap followed by forked lightning, Kate jumped to her feet. Tate stepped back to shield her from the splatters of raindrops. Kate had never seen such a display. It was both thrilling and scary. Without being aware
of it, she clutched Tate’s arm.
“Don’t be scared. This is a pretty ordinary storm for this part of the country.”
Another dazzling bolt of lightning flared, followed by a clap of thunder that sounded as if the very sky above was being ripped from end to end. The air was filled with a sul-furous stench. Their horse whinnied. Tate and Luke moved as far back as they could go under the overhang and sank down onto the ground, their backs to the storm. Tate pulled Kate down between his outstretched legs and then pulled a blanket up and around them, until only their heads could be seen. Luke produced a blanket of his own and rolled up in it. A flash of lightning revealed low, massive thunder-heads above the mesa’s black rim.
“Are you afraid, Katherine?” Tate’s lips were close to her ear.
A quiver of pure pleasure went through her as he spoke her name. She had never felt so wildly happy in her life. It wasn’t for fear of the storm that she trembled.
“No. I’m not afraid.” She turned her head and whispered against his cheek. “Tate?” She could feel his breath on her face and smelled the faint scent of tobacco. “Would you think I was crazy if I said I think the storm is exciting?”
“Is that why you’re trembling?” His voice was a soft purr in her ear, and she felt the vibrations when he chuckled. Being so close to him set her heart thundering, and little shivers ran down her back.
“You know it isn’t.” She laughed softly and brought her hand out from under the blanket to push the hair back from her eyes.
The arm around her tightened, and she snuggled contentedly against him.
“Then what is it?” The voice in her ear was lazily teasing, but beneath it was a hint of gentle possessiveness. She couldn’t stop the happy laughter that brimmed up in her throat. It was all so new, this wonderful intimacy: being free to tease him and touch him. She caught his hands with hers and held them. She was alive, soaring, her entire existence focused on him and exulting at being held close in his arms. She filled her lungs with the scent of him.
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