Zeke met her gaze. “Knowing how to find your way through the desert isn’t exactly the same as singing and dancing—even though it might be less hazardous.”
She couldn’t take out her frustration on Zeke. “It won’t take any skill to follow the trail left by seven horses.”
“You’ll be by yourself.”
“You’ll be right behind me.”
“But you’ll feel alone.”
Suzette decided right then that Zeke was a dangerous man. He saw too much, understood too much. Maybe that was why Josie was so afraid of letting him get close. Josie had secrets she didn’t want to share, and a man like Zeke had a way of seeing into all the dark corners.
“I’ll be okay.” Suzette swung into the saddle and prodded Zeke’s horse into a trot until she reached the clearing where the mares waited. As soon as Zeke brought the wagon up, Hawk waved good-bye and he, Josie, and the prisoners disappeared around one of the many bends in the river. “Come on, girl,” she said to Dusky Lady. “It’s time to hit the trail.”
In less than five minutes, the mares were strung out behind her in a line reaching back to Zeke and the wagon. They moved out of the trees on the open valley floor, which allowed her to see Hawk riding not far ahead, and all her feelings of hurt came rushing back. She did feel alone. She did feel rejected. She did feel she wasn’t good enough, and telling herself it was all nonsense didn’t change a thing. She’d thought the night spent in Hawk’s arms had meant something. Yet after seeing him ride off as though nothing had happened between them, she couldn’t help wondering.
Fortunately for her, her horse didn’t need her guidance to weave among the cactus, catclaw, acacias, and mesquite, avoiding sharp needles and hooked thorns from protruding limbs. The strip of green that bordered the river was beautiful, but she couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to live in this desert. It was hot, dry, empty, and unfriendly.
She was feeling out of sorts with the whole world, but that was her fault. She’d made it clear she wasn’t looking for an emotional relationship. She’d said she wanted to enjoy the next few days, then go her own way with no hard feelings, so what did she expect Hawk to do? Hell, he was a man. Everybody knew men had no trouble falling into and out of temporary relationships. A man who’d reached Hawk’s age without being married had to be an expert at it. Which was one of the reasons she’d had the courage to sleep with him. Now that the game had started, she was wanting to change the rules.
That wasn’t true. She didn’t want to change the rules. Rather, the game was changing her.
She didn’t want it to be a game. She wanted it to mean something. But how could it mean anything of importance if they could walk away from each other without a backward glance? Did she want it to mean something to Hawk but not to her? Did she need to feel that he didn’t want to let her go, but would because that was what she wanted?
She wasn’t sure what she wanted or why, but she was certain she was being unfair to Hawk. Yet knowing that and admitting it didn’t keep her from being piqued that he’d gone off and left her. She’d never felt like this about a man, but apparently this feeling—whatever it was—didn’t allow for logic. She couldn’t want their time to be meaningful if she was prepared to turn her back on it in less than a week. She had to stick with her original plan or give up sleeping with Hawk.
But that was the trouble. She didn’t think she could.
Josie looked at Gardner’s back as he swayed on the horse to which he was tied. “Do you think he really owns part of the Birdcage?” she asked Hawk.
“Can’t say.”
“Is he really rich?”
“Must be. He controls most of the land along Aravaipa and Copper Creeks.”
“Is that a lot?”
“More than you can ride over in a couple of days.”
Charging one of the owners of the Birdcage with trying to steal horses pretty much eliminated any chance they had of getting a job in any business he owned, and that dimmed their prospects of finding decent employment in Tombstone. She wasn’t afraid she’d be unable to find a job. She knew enough about men to know they’d challenge the devil himself for a chance to get close to an attractive woman, but she wasn’t willing to work in a place where the men had actual contact with her. She’d been through that before, and once was enough. It was like being embraced by a centipede with a hundred hands instead of legs.
“What do you think will happen to Gardner and his men?” They were approaching Redington.
“They don’t have any judge here. The trial will have to be in Tucson,” Hawk said.
“Will we have to testify against them?”
“Can’t say.”
She didn’t know how Suzette could stand riding with Hawk all day. She’d only been with him for one morning, and he’d talked more in the last five minutes than in the previous five hours. She’d tried to get him to talk about Zeke, but he’d said if she wanted to know anything about Zeke, she’d have to ask him. Only a man would say something as stupid as that. Any woman knew if you wanted to know something about a man, the last person you’d ask would be the man himself. As far as she knew, there wasn’t a man in the world who knew the truth about himself.
Which brought her back to Zeke. It seemed nearly everything did. She’d met the man less than a week ago, and already her life seemed to be divided into two pieces, before and after. She wondered if all women felt this way when they met a man they couldn’t forget, much less ignore. No man should be that important to a woman. They were too undependable, too selfish, too . . . male.
So why was she still thinking about Zeke? He had been a bachelor for so long, he wouldn’t know how to settle down if he wanted to. Wandering all over the West shooting it out with outlaws was no way to prepare for being a father, much less a dependable husband. And what was she doing thinking about husbands and fathers in the first place? She didn’t want a husband. And since she couldn’t have children without one, she’d made up her mind to do without them, too.
She was relieved to see they were coming to Redington. She was tired of her thoughts and the endless circles they made in her head.
“Is this all there is to the town?” She counted less than a dozen buildings.
“It’s easier for the ranchers to send a supply wagon to Tucson for what they need than to open up stores here.”
“Who’s going to take these men?”
“Just about anybody will see they get to Tucson.”
“Is there a jail here?”
“Nope.”
She could see people staring at them through windows as they passed. Most of the buildings seemed to be saloons, and everybody was male. No one appeared pleased to see them. “Do you know anybody here?”
“Nobody that matters.”
Did that mean he only knew a stable hand or a clerk? She didn’t feel any better when the men watching them with unfriendly eyes began to come out of the various buildings. Their beards were unkempt, their clothes looked as though they could stand up on their own, and not a single pair of boots had seen polish since they went on their owner’s feet. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried when Hawk brought their little group to a stop in front of the only dry-goods store in town. Her throat felt dry when a man came out holding a shotgun.
“That’s my cousin you got tied across that saddle. I want to know who killed him and why.”
Chapter Twelve
Zeke could feel trouble in the air before he reached the single street that ran through Redington. Maybe it was the sixth sense he’d developed over the years. Maybe it was the fact that he and Hawk were strangers in a part of the Arizona Territory dominated by powerful ranchers like the Redfields, the Sozas, and the Gardners. They wouldn’t take kindly to an ex-slave and a half-breed Comanche accusing one of their own of being a horse thief. They’d be even less pleased to see the men brought into town tied to their horses like common criminals. He wanted to ride ahead and see what was going on, but he couldn’t leave Su
zette. Neither did he want to take the mares into town and expose them to still more men who might want to steal them.
“Let’s change places,” he called out to Suzette.
She stopped and turned in the saddle. “Why?” The mares bunched up as they stopped behind her.
“There could be trouble. You’ll be safer in the wagon.”
Suzette cast a worried gaze toward the town before turning back to Zeke. “Do you think they’d hurt Hawk?”
“They’d have to be pretty stupid to try, but someone might risk it if they think he’s by himself.”
Suzette rode back to the wagon and dismounted immediately. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
“Act like nothing’s wrong, but keep your rifle handy.” He jumped down from the wagon and helped Suzette up. “No matter what happens, don’t get down until Hawk or I tell you it’s safe.”
“Why did Hawk bring those men here if it’s not safe?”
“I don’t know anything’s wrong. I just like to be on the safe side.”
Zeke mounted up and headed toward the town. The mares gradually swung into line behind him. He looked back to make sure Suzette was okay, but she appeared to have the mules well under control. He urged his mount into a trot but dropped back to a fast walk when the mares refused to keep up. He kept telling himself Hawk could handle any situation, but Hawk had never been saddled with Josie as well as five rustlers. He didn’t feel any happier when he spotted knots of men gathered in the street up ahead. That was never a good sign. Time for a distraction.
He rode back to the wagon. “I’m going to take the mares in at a canter.”
“Why?”
“To give everybody something else to think about.”
He whipped his horse around and let out two sharp whistles that rent the air like a lightning strike. Using his hat, he urged the mares into a trot and then a canter. He rode down the middle of the street yelling like a cowhand trying to herd wild horses. The men in the street backed away to let the mares through, but they stopped when the mares slowed to a trot, then a walk as Zeke stopped yelling. Dusky Lady came to a halt when she reached the flank of Hawk’s mount.
The men moved back into the street.
“You with that Injun?” a man asked.
Zeke nodded.
“These the horses those fellas tried to steal?” another man asked. His expression darkened as he looked from Zeke to Suzette and back again.
“Yes,” Zeke replied. “What’s going on?”
“Darcy Brigham talked that Injun into letting him have his cousin to bury.”
Zeke didn’t know why that should have taken any persuasion. Hawk would have been glad to leave the man’s burial to his family.
“What are you going to do with the others?” The man followed Zeke as he rode toward Hawk and Josie.
“Leave them here.”
“We don’t have no jail and no judge.”
“Then somebody can take them to Tucson to stand trial.”
“You going to Tucson to testify against them?”
“No.”
“Won’t do no good, then. Where’re you going?”
Zeke didn’t like discussing his business with strangers, but he couldn’t see any reason to make a secret of where he was going. “We’re escorting these ladies to Tombstone.”
Zeke was feeling increasingly uneasy. The transfer of the dead horse thief’s body didn’t appear to have improved the mood of the crowd.
“Them’s some fine-looking mares you got there,” the man said. “They yours?”
“Yes.”
The man turned in the direction of the thieves. “Did they really try to steal ’em?”
“We wouldn’t have brought them here otherwise.”
“Well, if you want to get to Tombstone with your horses and your hides in one piece, you’d better get going now and take those men with you.”
Zeke jerked his attention from the group of men gathered about the body that was now laid out on the boardwalk. “Why’s that?”
“Because Harvey Redfield is due to come through here sometime this evening. I don’t know that anything will come of it, but one of his girls is sweet on that Gardner fella you’ve got tied up.”
“He’s a horse thief.”
“Seems to me you’ve got the horses, not him.”
Zeke could see the way this was going, and he didn’t like it. “Are you saying nobody’s going to believe us?”
The man didn’t blink. “You ain’t white and you ain’t rich. If that Injun didn’t have that woman with him, there might have been trouble already. As it is, she’s so pretty nobody’s been able to think of much else.”
Zeke didn’t need things spelled out for him. “I’m obliged for the advice.”
“Don’t like to see trouble,” the man said.
Zeke didn’t like to see trouble, either, but it seemed that trouble couldn’t resist him and Hawk. How else could you explain running into four women and a rich horse thief in one of the most isolated parts of the Territory? He rode up to where Josie sat her horse. “Come with me,” he said softly. “I don’t have time to explain, just act like nothing’s wrong.” He turned and rode back to the wagon and Suzette. Mercifully, Josie followed without any argument. “You and Suzette take the mares and head out of town right now.”
Suzette glanced back at the men gathered around the prisoners. “What about Hawk?”
“Hawk and I can take care of ourselves better if we don’t have you and the horses to worry about.”
Josie looked ready to argue, but Suzette said, “Start the mares moving, Josie. I’ll be right behind you. Now,” she said when Josie hesitated.
Zeke was thankful for Suzette’s willingness to do what he asked without hesitation, especially since he knew she was worried about Hawk. “Take hold of Dusky Lady’s halter,” Zeke said to Josie. “Put them into a canter once you clear town.”
“Are you sure this is the best way?” Josie asked. “I know how to handle a rifle.”
“Most of the men will be watching you and Suzette. Some will be looking at the mares. That’ll leave just a couple still thinking about Hawk and me.”
“Are you ever afraid of anything?”
The question caught him by surprise. Josie had never seemed impressed by anything he did. Even the possibility that she might have a bit of respect for him was a shock. Of course, she could think he was too stupid or too blind to be frightened. “There are some things that scare me to death, but this isn’t one of them.”
He sat astride his mount in the middle of the street as first Josie and then the mares moved past him. He was grimly pleased that most of the men were more interested in Josie and Suzette than in the prisoners, but he knew that would change once the women were out of sight. He looked for the man who’d advised him to leave town quickly, but he’d disappeared. He and Hawk were on their own.
The prisoners hadn’t moved since they’d reached town. Their horses had been tied together to prevent them from trying to run off. The two unwounded thieves looked about as happy as a heifer caught in a bog. Since Gardner had already said he knew nothing about the two men, they knew they weren’t going to get any help from that quarter. Their best bet was to convince a judge they weren’t horse thieves because they were never actually in possession of any horses. Zeke knew that in a case of our-word-against-theirs, the men had a good chance of getting off. Not many men put any credence in the word of a black man or a half-breed.
Gardner, on the other hand, looked quite content. Zeke didn’t know whether he expected someone in Redington to come to his aid or whether he expected a judge would believe he was too rich to stoop to rustling. Just knowing he was certain he would get off made Zeke angry. He rode up to Hawk’s side.
“I’m told you don’t have a jail in town,” Zeke said to the assembled group, “so we’ve decided to take the men to Benson.” When he grabbed hold of the nearest bridle and turned the horse around to follow the women and the mares
, Gardner’s complacency vanished.
“I demand that you leave me here.”
“I’ll take him to Tucson,” one of the men volunteered.
“It’s easier for us to take them to Benson than for you to take them to Tucson,” Hawk said. Without questioning Zeke, he’d taken hold of the bridle of Gardner’s horse and was forcing him to follow the others despite Gardner’s efforts to stop him.
“Harvey Redfield will be coming into town sometime soon,” someone said. “You can let him decide.”
“Nobody can question anything Harvey decides,” Gardner said.
“Mr. Redfield is a busy man.” Hawk had gotten Gardner clear of the men in the street. “I’m sure he has enough to do already.”
“You can’t let them take me!” Gardner shouted over his shoulder. “They’ll probably kill us in our sleep.”
The men in the street started to grumble.
“If we’d wanted to do that,” Hawk said, “we’d have killed them where we found them and let the wild animals take care of the evidence.”
“You can’t let me be hauled off by a black man and a half-breed,” Gardner shouted. “They’re savages. You don’t know what they’ll do.”
“We’ll let you know when the trial is set,” Hawk said to the group. “You can come see for yourself that they get a fair hearing.”
Zeke breathed a sigh of relief once they’d cleared the buildings of Redington. He knew it was possible for the men to follow them, but he also knew it wasn’t likely.
“You won’t get away with this,” Gardner shouted at both of them. “Redfield will come looking for me.”
“You’ll be in Benson by then,” Zeke called back to him. “You’ll be easy to find in jail.”
Gardner continued to shout at them, but his threats lacked conviction as they got farther from the town without anyone following. Once the last building disappeared around a bend in the river, Hawk rode up to Zeke.
“Are you going to tell me what that was all about?”
“We need to talk,” Zeke said to Josie. “Why are you still being so difficult?”
Once they were safely away from Redington and were sure they weren’t being followed, Suzette had exchanged places with Josie. Suzette now led the way, followed by the prisoners. Hawk rode behind Gardner, with the mares following. Zeke and Josie brought up the rear with the wagon. It was nearly time to make camp for the night, and Josie had barely spoken a half-dozen sentences to Zeke. It wasn’t the silence that bothered him. It was the tension, the unspoken words between them, that wouldn’t allow him to relax.
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