“I’ll be fine.” He had the measure of it now and the barrier resumed its natural shape as Kid found a way to shore up his shields. It could still filter information to him, but the violence that greeted him dimmed to a dull roar—a whisper of constant emotion he could feel and pinpoint, but ultimately ignore if he needed.
“Micah’s at the barn.” He grinned. “Sam’s at the house with Molly and Cobb and Scarlett is…” Pinpointing his brothers only required thinking about him. Scarlett took a little effort, but he found her and Sage. Soon he identified the direction where Haven sat, more because of the number of emotional signatures in the area. The Fevered read differently from others.
Jason wasn’t on the ranch. “Is Jason in the new Dorado?”
Cody nodded, his concern sharpening to curiosity. “You can feel all of them at this distance?”
“Yes and no. The barrier knows where we all are. Kanes far more clearly than others, but the rest of you are there…” The closer the ties, the more it recognized them. Scarlett and Jo were extensions, while the Morning Stars shimmered—other yet not in the same breath. The children, the younger ones at least, they were blending on either side of that line—some more Kane while others were Morning Star. “Emotional bonds,” he said out loud.
“The barrier around your land is based on emotional bonds?” Evelyn asked, canted so she could look at him. Bless her mind, she followed his random delivery perfectly.
“It would seem so and it was really happy to see me. It had been fragmented by so many deaths…”
“…and that’s how Wyatt crossed it. Damn.” Cody nodded. “Well, you can tell it’s still there.”
“Oh, yes. I can feel it. If I close my eyes, I can take the emotional temperature of the whole ranch.” It had been damaged by the deaths and maybe even by Kid’s unstable state, but in the intervening months it had begun to repair, strengthening itself from the nascent and growing bonds among the ranch’s diminished population. “One moment…” He held up his hand and tested a theory, opening a piece of himself, the part that hungered and fed and pushed the excess he could feel shivering inside of him outward to the barrier and the entirety of it flared against his senses.
Hell. Yes. He could feed the barrier and strengthen it, too.
“Good?” Evelyn tapped his wrist.
“Yes, ma’am. Would you like to go see your new home?” He nuzzled a kiss to her temple and waited for her to resettle. “Cody, this is my wife-to-be, Evelyn Lang.”
“Ma’am.” Cody nodded solemnly and raised his brows. “If he gives you any trouble, you let me know. I’ll set him straight.”
“I am perfectly capable of setting him straight all by myself.” She informed Cody, her brisk tone firm.
The wolf grinned. “I like her, Kid. She’s got sass.” Without further preamble, they set off and home wrapped its arms around him.
* * *
They rode for the house and the barn, a choice Kid approved. He wanted to see Haven and the others, but some people had to take precedence and getting Evelyn settled in and rested came ahead of everything else. Shouts greeted him and more than one man stopped his work to pull off his hat and wave—so many familiar faces and broad smiles to welcome him home. While more than one sent a curious look in Evelyn’s direction, none were unfriendly or disrespectful.
Evelyn went quieter and quieter on the ride, but he could feel her wonder and excitement thrumming against him. She was trying to drink in every sight and sound and, after the mountain isolation and their solitude over the last couple of weeks, it was a lot to take in.
He’d barely dismounted when Micah gave him a hard hug and then stepped back to look him up and down. “You look good. Damn, Buck was right.”
Kid laughed. Micah’s skin bore the burnished tan of long hours spent outdoors, even his light brown hair streaked with lighter color.
“You grew.” Micah eyed him, but they’d always been close to the same height. Still, Kid knew he’d filled out more in the intervening months, the hard physical labor at the forge having helped with that.
“Not bigger, just smarter.” He turned to help Evelyn, catching her waist and lowering her to the ground. When she would have moved away, he slid his arm around her and trapped her against him. No pulling away now. “Micah, this is Evelyn. I believe the two of you met.”
His older brother’s attention went to Evelyn with an easy, welcome smile. “Glad to see you made it, ma’am.”
“Please, call me Evelyn.” Even her lovely manners couldn’t disguise the shy nervousness trembling through her. “And I am ever so sorry I lied to you about my name before…”
“No apology necessary. I’m glad you’re safe.” He canted his head and glanced at their horses. “Why don’t you two walk on up to the house and I’ll take care of these two…”
More interested in seeing Evelyn settled than more chores, Kid happily took his brother up on the offer. Giving Evelyn a squeeze, he took the time to get the saddlebags off his mare while he saw Cody doing the same for Evelyn’s gelding. They’d need the gear, what there was of it, and her books. “How’s Jo?”
“Expecting.” Micah grinned broadly and his pride shimmered in the air.
“Congratulations,” Kid laughed and then shook his hand. He would have talked longer, but Micah shooed them off and Cody passed over the bags.
“I’ll see you two later. Oh and Kid? Ben wants to see you. He’s down in Haven at the moment, but I expect he’ll prowl right up the minute he hears you’re home.”
That was just fine by Kid. He wanted to see the boy, too. “Soon, tomorrow morning at the latest.” Saddlebags over one shoulder, he offered Evelyn his arm and led her down the barn aisle to exit on the house side. The plantation style ranch house sprawled like an elegant lady atop her hill, ruling over her domain. “How are you doing?”
“Everyone has been very nice so far,” she whispered, awe echoing in between the words. “But William…” She turned and looked back at the barn and then at him, all the while holding fast to his hand. “I never imagined…the Flying K is huge.”
“And this is just the house and barn area. You haven’t seen Haven or the caves or the northern pastures…” He couldn’t wait to introduce her to every inch of the land he loved.
“Well, if you are not a sorry sight for these old eyes.” Miss Annabeth’s honey and molasses voice rolled over him and he was a boy again, a child eager for a mother’s approval. She was the one constant woman in his life. Giving Evelyn’s hand a squeeze, he bounded ahead and set the saddlebags down before giving the sturdy old black woman who’d been mother, nurse, cook, teacher, and friend a firm hug that lifted her clear off the ground.
“You stop that.” She swatted him as soon as he set her down. “And let me look at you.”
He took a step back and held onto her hands as she looked him up and down.
“You went and grew up on us, didn’t you?” The catch of tears in her voice threatened to overwhelm him, but Kid maintained his shields.
“You’re still just as pretty, Miss Annabeth.” He meant it. Leaning forward, he bussed her cheek with a kiss. Turning, he stretched an arm around her shoulders and held out his free hand to beckon Evelyn up onto the porch. “Miss Annabeth, this is Evelyn, the woman I intend to marry.”
Evelyn extended her hand to Miss Annabeth, but the older woman ignored it and pulled her in for a hug. Kid’s cheeks ached from his grin, both in Miss Annabeth’s warm greeting and Evelyn’s startled squeak. “You poor thing. These Kane men—dragging you halfway across the country. I’ll bet you haven’t even had a proper meal. You just come with me.” With that, Miss Annabeth hustled Evelyn off and Kid laughed at Evelyn’s befuddled expression as she was swept into the house.
“Well, look who’s home from the mountain.” Scarlett’s drawl announced her as she walked around the corner of the house. Sam’s redheaded wife strolled up to the porch and Kid opened his arms for her fierce hug. “I knew Quanto and Wyatt would help you.”
“It’s good to see you, too.” He chuckled. “How are my niece and nephew?”
“Growing.” She leaned back with a grin. “Did you hear about Jo?”
So many changes and something about Scarlett tickled his senses… “Do you have news?”
“Shh.” She pressed two fingers to his lips. “Jo gets the spoiling this week. Now where is my soon to be new sister-in-law? I can’t wait to meet her.”
Delighted for her, he glanced past her to Sage who hesitated at the bottom of the steps. The young amplifier gave him a shy smile, but the rebellion in her seemed to have quieted. “Mr. Kane.”
“Only one Mr. Kane on this ranch, Sage, and that’s Pa. You can call me Kid.”
She blushed a deep pink and glanced down. Scarlett pinched him. “Be nice, she’s still shy. Now where is this Evelyn?”
“She’s in with Miss Annabeth and, Scarlett?” He caught her arm before she could dart around him. “Be nice to her please.”
“I’m always nice.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Mariska?”
“Oh.” She pursed her lips and laughed. “Point taken. I will be nice, I promise.”
Satisfied he let her go and didn’t even comment when Sage skirted him to get inside. Shyness hovered over her like a roof covering. But he checked his shields and found they held—no bleed over effect. If Scarlett wasn’t concerned, then he’d leave it alone. He was close enough to help, if the amplification affected Evelyn.
A whistle cut through his reverie and he caught sight of Sam at the side of the house. He held up a stack of clean clothes and jerked his head toward the ponds.
“Are you telling me I stink too much to go inside?”
“No, I’m saying the womenfolk are converging to meet your potential bride and unless you want…” Sam didn’t even have to finish the sentence. Kid hopped over the railing and grabbed the clothes.
“Thank you.” He paused and eyed his brother. Sam’s cautious reserve had always made him seem a little more remote and maybe a hair more judgmental than Micah. He lived by a stiff code of ethics and he’d always found Kid’s wildness more than a bit bewildering. “Congratulations, by the way.”
Sam’s expression relaxed into an easy smile. “She’s bursting to tell, but Jo and Micah announced at dinner last night and she doesn’t want to spoil their celebration.”
“Micah won’t care.” Kid nodded. “Still, Jo deserves to be coddled.” Particularly after her history and fear that she might be barren.
“Yes she does. Come on.” Sam motioned to the trees that hid the bathing ponds from the house. “Tell me about the mountain.”
“It was hard.” He fell into step with his brother, knowing damn good and well what it was he wanted to know. “But I needed hard…” And Sam stayed while Kid washed up, half to watch out for him and the other half, much to Kid’s surprise, to assure himself that his younger brother was indeed, fine. Touched by the caring, Kid didn’t argue his presence and told him everything.
* * *
It was hours before he managed to get Evelyn alone again, and then only long enough to kiss her before sending her up to bed. Family and friends had been coming in and out all day. The women of the ranch welcomed Evelyn with open arms, showering her with new clothes, a pearl handled set of hairbrushes, a hand mirror and a dozen other items they all insisted she needed.
Sitting on the edge of the bed in his room, he watched her brush her hair. She’d struggled with the wealth of gifts, surprised that they’d all taken the time, until he’d reminded her they’d had two weeks of knowing he would bring her here—and what she meant to him.
“Are you sure you don’t mind that I’m taking your room?” She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“Of course I don’t,” he laughed. Miss Annabeth informed him that he could sleep in the bunkhouse or on the porch. She’d already installed Evelyn in his room. He’d taken the news well, not that he planned to leave her to sleep alone in it—he’d come back up after everyone had gone to bed. “Do you like it?”
As promised, once in his room, he’d taken out the single pearl ring he’d kept in a box for most of his life. The ring had belonged to his mother and apparently as a boy, he’d found it in his father’s room. When Jed discovered his acquisition, he’d allowed Kid to keep it.
“I love it.” She turned around on the bench seat. “Have you seen him yet?”
Kid shook his head. Neither his father nor Jason had been at dinner. Jed had apparently ridden over to the fort along with his brother to smooth over the issues caused by three unexplained deaths. Beyond that, Sam wouldn’t give him any other details. To be fair, they’d not had time once the others began pouring into the house.
Ben had spent half the night sitting right next to Kid, chatting amiably about everything he’d learned and when Kid looked across the huge room filled with so many people—he’d been stunned by what he found. They still had personal struggles, but they’d managed and begun to thrive in his absence. He could enjoy them for them and not have to see to their issues.
“I’m sure they wanted to be here.” Evelyn set the brush down and crossed over to join him on the bed. She’d had a long bath and smelled of lavender and other florals. Her golden hair had been brushed out and her skin gleamed in the light of the oil lamps.
“You don’t have to comfort me.” He pulled back the covers and shifted so she could climb in. He waited for her to settle and then tugged the coverings up to tuck her in. Sitting next to her, he cupped her cheek. “I told you, life on a ranch is busy, but I expect they’ll be back anytime now and I’m going to wait up for them.”
“I like your family.” She swallowed a yawn and turned her head to press a kiss to his palm. “Though I fear they will still take some getting used to.”
“Thirty or forty or fifty years?” He teased, enjoying the vision of her in his bed, her hair spread out on the pillows and her lashes sweeping closed. She’d held her own against his brothers’ wives and the other women.
She fit.
“Hmm, oh…and I had an idea.” She opened her eyes and shifted in the bed. “I wanted to talk to you before I mentioned it to anyone else.”
“Already planning?” It didn’t surprise him. Evelyn’s mind was too sharp, too full of questions, and she loved knowledge.
“Actually,” she covered another yawn. “Yes. When I was having tea with the ladies before supper, we ended up discussing a lot of our abilities. They were curious about me and what I could do.”
“They didn’t make you show it off did they?” He scowled. Evelyn had been exhausted from the long ride. She didn’t need to be overdoing.
“No and don’t growl.” She patted his leg. “Everyone knows something—about their gift, or about training, or even about how the gifts are formed—but no one knows it all.”
He nodded slowly. Considering the revelations he’d confronted in just the few hours they’d been back on the ranch, he could attest to the sheer volume of what they didn’t know.
“I want to interview everyone and compile the information in one place. Quanto taught me a great deal on the mountain and we had many long discussions, but I have so many more questions. Then there are the children…I’m a second generation Fevered and I found out tonight that Delilah is as well. My gift is very similar to my father’s, but hers—well hers appears to be some combination of both her parents. Then there’s Buck and he’s like Quanto, but he also seems more. You and Jason are very different, but you share some similar traits. So what do our gifts do? Can we all pass them down…?” She warmed to her topic and her eyes lit up.
“Yes.” He nodded and stopped her next words with a kiss. “But you don’t have to answer all of it tonight.”
Her soft smile rewarded him. “So you don’t mind?”
“Of course I don’t, though you may need a very big book if you plan to write it all down and we have to be careful with that kind of information.”
“I know and I thought we wo
uld keep one that is just for the family. I think my father knew more than he ever taught me and if we have a child and they can do what I can or what you can, I don’t want them to wonder how we did what we did or have to search for someone to help them as we had to.” If he hadn’t already loved the idea, he would have capitulated to that compelling argument.
Touching a hand to her abdomen, he met her gaze. “I like the idea of our children. I’ll do anything you need. Answer any question you have…”
“Will you talk to the others for me? Make sure it is all right with them? I don’t want to upset anyone.” She wouldn’t, but she couldn’t know that.
“Of course.” He nodded and caught the sense of his father and Jason crossing the barrier. The light feeling tingled at the back of his neck and he chuckled. “Pa and Jason are back on Flying K land. That gives us an hour or so…” Pushing his awareness of them away and tightening his shields, he focused on the soft, beautiful woman in his bed. “I don’t think I’ve properly welcomed you to your new home. How tired are you?”
Chapter 26
Kid, Home
The house was dark when he descended the stairs, but Sam was in the process of heading out the front door when Kid caught up with him. “I can go.”
“Go talk to Pa.” Sam pitched his voice low as he led the way out onto the porch and pointed down to the willow by the bend in the stream. “I’ll head down to the barn and help Jason.”
“Hey, Sam…” Kid matched him tone for tone. “Tell Jason I want to talk if he’s up for it. I know it’s late.” Despite his own weariness, he didn’t want to sleep. Energy surged through him, the singular excitement of being home and surrounded by everyone—it wasn’t until Evelyn drifted off in his arms after several intense minutes of wracking pleasure that the why of it occurred to him.
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