She gaped at him for a moment, unable to speak. While that changed many things, it didn’t change the most important thing. “We’ll discuss that later. But it doesn’t change the fact that I want to help. That I can help.”
He let go of her hand and took up the reins. Before he could protest, she cut in. “And I would be just as devastated if anything happens to you as you would if anything happens to me.”
Even after what they had shared last night, if he insisted she just hide, she wasn’t sure what kind of a future they would have together. After her late husband, she hadn’t ever expected to let herself take the risk of loving again. Now that she had, she was determined to make sure it was the right man, one who would respect her independence.
“All right,” he said through another heavy sigh. “But we separate and flank them. And, you wait for the right opportunity before showing yourself.”
In a few more steps, they reached a small copse of trees. Hanging on to the horn of his saddle, Rick leaned as close to her as he could. “You go that way, quiet as you can. Stay in the cover of the trees. There are two men out in the open and likely a third, possibly more, hidden. Don’t drop your guard, always assume there are more. And please, be careful,” he whispered.
She nodded in answer and squeezed Galiha into motion, steering him in the direction Rick had pointed. At Rick’s urging, Ayegi went trotting off in the other direction. The shadows of the trees wrapped around her, burying her in the overwhelming scent of juniper. Most of them were short and full but several reached high into the dark blue sky. Their gnarly, often twisting trunks lay in every direction, looking almost silver in the moonlight. The scent was so strong it almost made her sneeze. She fought back the impulse, but just barely.
The big paint stopped and she gave him a moment to let his eyes adjust. While these trees weren’t as thick or tall as pines or firs, they were numerous enough to present a bit of a challenge. Galiha started moving again before she could see even a foot in front of her face. All this time on the trail, the sure-footed horse hadn’t steered her wrong yet, so she let him have his head. She contemplated drawing her pistol. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the dark, but her hands shook so badly she could barely hold the reins. The weapon wouldn’t do her much good in her state.
The darkness gave her a small bit of security. But if she could hide in it, so could others. Her heart thudded faster. Sweat made the reins slide a little too easily in her hands. Not that she had to worry about Galiha. He wasn’t prone to spooking at things, not even in the dark. She was another matter. Every little sound made her heart speed faster and her breath catch. Thankfully, the fallen needles and berries from the junipers were so numerous they covered the ground in a thick carpet that absorbed nearly all of the sounds of Galiha’s hooves. But if it concealed his, it concealed that of Ainsworth’s men’s horses as well.
She couldn’t let herself relax. Too much was at stake here.
Rick began to shout. “You better not have hurt my dog, or so help me I’ll stake you out for the rattlesnakes.”
Damn him! He hadn’t said he was going to draw them to him. She stopped her horse and listened hard. Between Rick’s continued threats, she heard the slight creaking of a saddle off to her right. From the sound of it, the man was maybe fifteen feet away. She held her breath until she heard the soft sound of his horse trotting off in Rick’s direction. Tears stung her eyes. Another few strides and she would have all but walked right into the man. But she hadn’t. Gritting her teeth, she banished the tears with a few blinks. The man hadn’t noticed her and she had to take that as a point in her favor.
Still holding her breath, she listened hard for any other sounds. Nothing. Acutely aware of every sound her own tack made, she squeezed Galiha into motion, following the man who rode toward Rick. Unable to see all the limbs, let alone trees, she allowed Galiha to choose their path. In a few steps her eyes adjusted enough that she was able to make out the outline of most things. She ducked beneath branches or leaned out of their way when she could, worried about even the small sound they might make brushing against her. Her heart felt like it rose higher into her throat with each step they took. Soon she could scarcely breathe. She hardly wanted to breathe, though, for fear of the sound it would make. Even that small sound might get her discovered.
They grew closer to Rick’s challenging shouts, too close maybe. The shape of a mounted man moving through the trees not fifteen feet ahead kept her moving forward. Whoever it was, they were growing too close to Rick for her comfort. From what she could tell, they never looked back, so she was confident they didn’t know she trailed them. Still, she’d have to be extremely careful. These men were clever. Again she thought about drawing her pistol, and again she resisted the urge. She shook more than ever now.
Something too short to be a packhorse trailed along behind the mounted person ahead of her. As they moved through a spot of moonlight Cat saw the unmistakable flash of Lincoln’s gray head and wide eyes looking back at her. He whined and tugged backward, but something held him fast, probably a line tying him to the man’s horse. Unsure if the pup could see her, Cat held a finger to her lips just in case.
“Shut it, yah little bastard, or I’ll smash your brains in,” the mounted man whispered so low she barely heard it.
Ever so quietly, in hopes of it sounding like the wind, she made a shushing sound. Lincoln’s head perked up. His ears stood taller.
“I knew it was you, Cofield, you cowardly bastard. Who are these two you’ve got here with you?” Rick demanded.
He sounded so close. The man she followed had to be nearly on top of him. Cofield and two men, Rick had said. This one made four. It was unlikely there’d be more of them than that. She hoped. Just to be sure, she stopped Galiha for a moment to listen. It wouldn’t hurt to get a bit more space between her and the fourth man, either. At this distance, if Galiha stepped on a stick he might look back and see her. Taking a chance, she urged the horse just a little farther to a big juniper tree with branches high enough that they could slip under them. It wouldn’t conceal them completely in the rising moonlight, but it would break up their shape enough to fool a first glance.
“Let us have the woman, Fergusson, and we’ll let you go,” Cofield said.
“You’ll have a hard time getting to her even over me corpse, you bastard,” Rick snapped back.
Moonlight outlined his silhouette, revealing a pistol in each hand pointed at two different men,
“That can be arranged. Tell us where she’s at, or you both die,” Cofield said.
From the level of their voices they were very near one another, and not far from her, either. Leaning forward in the saddle, she peered around the twisting tree trunk. After only a few more trees, the scrubby desert opened back up. In the open space stood four men. The broad, tall one had to be Rick by his stance. Few men could hold themselves with that kind of confidence. Between her and them were not only a few trees, but Cofield’s fourth man. He had dismounted and was hiding behind a tree. He leveled what had to be a rifle by the shape in Rick’s direction, bracing atop a tree limb.
She motioned for Lincoln to come, hoping he could see her in the dark. The pup didn’t make a sound. From his movements, he was clearly working his way free of the rope. He hunkered low to the ground and started to slink toward her.
Rick’s head rose a touch higher. “I’m not a daft fool. Ainsworth wants my land as much as he wants hers. I have no illusions about how this is going to play out. I told her to run. You’ll never catch her.”
Lincoln reached her side. He stood on his hind legs, front paws coming to rest against her stirrup. Holding her finger to her lips again, she petted him with her free hand. After a few licks, she motioned for him to get down. She pointed at him, the tree, then the ground. He walked the few feet to the base of the tree and sat down.
Her attention shifted back to Cofield as he made a gruntin
g sound. “I figured you’d do something like that. But see, I know she won’t go far without you. A woman unescorted in these parts won’t last long. She’s a smart lass, she’ll come back for you within the hour I imagine. Now, put those smoke wagons down or my man in the trees will air you out a bit.”
That told her what she needed to know. He had said man, not men. Rick started to lower the pistols. She laid her heels hard into Galiha. The horse dug in and launched himself forward. They barreled down on the unsuspecting man with deadly speed. Galiha seemed to know exactly what she wanted, for his steps never faltered, not even when they treaded right over the would-be shooter. The rifle went off. More gunshots followed. She hauled on the reins and brought Galiha to a skidding stop before he could run out into the melee.
The rifleman started to push himself up. Curses and grunts of pain issued from him. She leapt from Galiha’s back. The drop unbalanced her and she went down to a knee. The rifleman started to scramble over the ground, his hands searching. A huge, dark shape appeared between her and the man. Light glinted off white canine teeth as they clamped onto the man’s hand. He screamed in pain. Before he could hurt the pup, Cat shoved herself to her feet and lunged for him. She kicked for the shadow that was the man’s head as hard as she could. Her boot connected solidly. The man flung over backward and lay still.
“Cat! Are you all right? Cat!” Rick shouted.
She felt around where she had seen the rifleman searching. A wet tongue licked her face repeatedly.
“Good boy,” she told him.
Her hands closed around a hard cylinder shape. Following it down, she found the stock of the rifle and picked it up. A quick glance revealed Rick to be the only one left standing in the clearing.
“I’m here,” she called out as she ran to Rick, Galiha and Lincoln trotting along behind her.
She tried not to think about the two still bodies, barely outlined by the moonlight as if the ground were slowly devouring them. On the other side of Rick knelt Cofield, his arms raised high, showing they were empty. That didn’t make him less threatening. Not to her. She leveled the rifle at him as she approached. Her finger slid inside the trigger guard. After all the trouble and anxiety he had caused them, she wanted him dead. But she couldn’t make her finger pull the trigger back.
“Don’t, Cat. ’Tis bad enough to kill a man in the heat of battle, but don’t do it like this. This would destroy you,” Rick all but begged.
She let the barrel sink toward the ground. It wouldn’t have done any good even if she had pulled the trigger. She hadn’t cocked the damnable thing. It slid through her hands until the barrel rested on the ground and she grasped only the stock. The weight of it had suddenly become too much. Rick’s hand came to rest on her shoulder. His lips touched her forehead with something close to reverence. Lincoln let out a little whine as he rubbed against Rick’s legs. The warmth of Rick’s body pressing against hers disappeared as he bent to pet the pup.
Head lifting with a snap, Cofield suddenly scrambled for her. Without even thinking about it, she whipped the rifle around and slammed the butt of it into the side of his head. He went down hard and fast and didn’t stir. The urge to keep beating the man with it flooded through her. She resisted, but it wasn’t easy. It would have been easier if she dropped the weapon, but she wasn’t about to do that.
“Good on you, Cat,” Rick said as he knelt down and felt the man’s neck. “He’s alive.” The disappointment in his voice reflected her own.
At the same time she felt relief. It was quite disorienting.
Again Lincoln whined, this time rubbing up against her as he did so. “What’s the matter, lad? Are you hurt?” she asked him as one hand brushed over his fur.
He pushed into her so hard it almost forced her back a step. A long howl broke through the night not far away. Another joined it. She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t think they were coyotes. The sound was deeper, richer. Chills danced up her arms.
“Rick, is that…”
“Wolves,” he finished for her.
He checked Cofield over, removing a small pistol from his boot and a knife from his belt. As he stood back up, he whistled. Ayegi and the packhorse came trotting out of the dark.
“We need to leave before the wolves get here,” he said.
A wave of nausea swept her. It felt wrong not to bury the bodies, even though the men had been about to kill them. But it didn’t feel wrong enough to risk those she cared about. Rick grabbed Galiha’s reins and led him over to her.
“Wait. We should leave him the knife at least. We aren’t the monsters he is,” she said.
Rick touched her cheek, then nodded. She took the knife from him and went to Cofield. Shaking from the irrational fear that he might awaken and lunge at her again, she bent down. She tucked the big knife into his hand so if he awoke he would know the kindness they had done him. He deserved the guilt that would bring. Rifle pointed at him, just in case, she backed up until she bumped into Galiha’s shoulder. Rick helped her into the saddle. For once, she didn’t protest. As bad as she was shaking, she didn’t think she could have made it on her own.
Rick gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before putting the rifle back in it. The dark hid his expression. “You’re not injured, are you?” she asked. She couldn’t ask if he was all right, because she knew he wasn’t. He had just killed two men. His shoulders slumped with the weight of it. But she hoped that was all they slumped from.
“No. Are you?”
Howls echoed over the last word. “No. They didn’t touch me, let’s go,” she said.
Scooping Lincoln up, Rick placed him in the nest between the packhorse’s packs and told him to stay. The command was unnecessary for the pup lay down immediately. The moment Rick settled into the saddle they took off at a brisk trot. Cat spared one last glance back at Cofield, who had just begun to stir. That or it was death convulsions. She couldn’t bring herself to care either way. Soon it wouldn’t matter, because the howls of the wolves grew closer by the heartbeat. Guilt over those feelings might come later, but right now she was content with her indifference.
Chapter 25
California
The rising sun behind them streaked the rolling hills with gold and painted the horizon orange. Sweet fragrances of a multitude of wildflowers that grew amidst the tall green grass drifted to her on a warm breeze. That warmth meant they had made it. There was still time to plant before fall took hold of the land. Both this and the beauty brought tears to her eyes. Though she shook from head to toe, she dismounted, leaning heavily on Galiha until she knew her legs would hold her. Her feet tingled at the touch of the ground beneath them. Tail swinging, Lincoln licked at her hand as he dashed past to find some wildlife to harass.
“This is my land?” she asked in a choked voice.
Rick walked up to her. “Aye, much of it.” He pointed to the west. “Mine lies just over there. See that creek?”
A silvery line wound down between the hills before them, so far away it looked like little more than a string. She nodded.
“That’s the border between our lands.” He went on to further explain the boundaries, pointing to trees to the north and a group of boulders to the south. But she heard little of it.
“Mine,” she whispered.
Tears slid down her cheeks in hot streaks. They obscured her view, but didn’t make it any less beautiful. It was one thing to live in a fine house in New York that she’d never lifted a finger to create. But this, this was a chance to build something of her own.
“You could plant the first vine right here. I’ll build you a gazebo on this very spot if you want. Can you imagine it, grapevines stretching as far as the eye can see in all directions?” Rick said.
She could, oh how she could. The mention of him building something for her, here, in this amazing place, enabled her to tear her eyes from the hills to look at him. He fidgeted
as if nervous. It wasn’t the same kind of nerves he’d battled over the last week.
It had taken days for the nightmares to leave him be after the encounter with those men. Each night she had sung to him, kept him rooted in the present, helping him battle his demons. He had grown better with each passing day until she thought he had put it behind him enough to stave off the worst of the nightmares. This seemed different, but it still worried her. She hated that he may still be battling his conscience over something he’d been forced to do in part because of her.
“That will be lovely,” she said, imaging the rows of vines stretching out from this point.
Part of her couldn’t help but wonder if Rick would be in that future, or if he even still wanted to be. Over the last week he had been kind, and even affectionate to the point of a gentle touch here, or the occasionally grasping of hands there. But they hadn’t made love again. That worried her more than she cared to admit. Over the last few days she had begun to fear something, or someone, waited in California that would alter his plans and end their courtship. She wouldn’t blame him if he chose another—or even no one—over her after the things he’d had to do because of her.
It was important to her that he knew that. And yet, she couldn’t speak past the swelling lump in her throat to express it. The thought of living next to him and not being with him was too much. Eyes closing, she held her head high. The sun caressed her face with a warmth unlike any she’d felt in New York. Painful as it would be to be without him, this place felt right, it felt like home. She could do this. She would do this.
A rustling of grass directly before her made her open her eyes. Rick knelt in the green grass and yellow wildflowers, looking up at her with such tenderness that it made her heart clench. He ran a shaking hand through his nearly chin-length hair and swallowed hard.
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