“If I have to walk, I’m going, Cord.”
He drew back, scanning her features. His sigh was deep and he nodded. “I’ll have Moses saddle you a horse.”
She turned to run back to the house. “I’ll only be a minute.” The words were gasped in one breath as she gained the porch and shouted at him.
“Moses! Saddle up the black mare for Rachel. She’s riding with me.” In the depths of the barn, Cord snatched a length of rope from a hook, then gathered up a blanket and a box of bandages and salves from the tack room.
Barely had he led the two horses from the wide barn door when Rachel ran from the house, a bundle in her hands. “I brought along dry clothes for Jay, in case he’s wet or dirty,” she gasped. She was visibly trembling and Cord reached for her.
“You don’t have to go, Rae. It’s going to be a hard ride and…”
Her chin lifted and she glared at him, determination alive in her gaze. “I’m going. That’s all there is to it.”
His shrug signified defeat and he tied the bundle in place behind her saddle. “Mount up, honey.” He lifted her into the saddle, smoothing her wide skirt beneath her, tugging it down to cover her legs.
She went ahead, the small mare obeying Rachel’s command, and Cord waved a hand at Moses as he followed her from the barnyard.
Buck Austin waited at the small campsite near the northernmost boundary of the McPherson ranch. He met them astride his horse, his frown telling Cord that Jay was still missing.
“Sam’s gone back out. Took Henry with him. The boy said he’d know where to look, and Sam didn’t have the heart to leave him behind.” Buck nodded to Rachel. “We never heard him leave, Miss Rachel. He must’a snuck off before daybreak for some reason or another.”
“Did anybody see any tracks?” she asked, bringing her mare to a halt.
“Sam followed what he could, but once he got into the woods up yonder, you couldn’t tell much.”
“I’ll need a gun.” Rachel looked at Cord.
“We’ll ride together,” he told her.
She shook her head. “We can cover more ground separately, and when I find him, I’ll fire twice.”
His smile could not be suppressed. “When you find him?”
Her nod was emphatic. “I’ll find him, Cord. Don’t you doubt it for a minute.”
He dismounted, pulling his rifle from behind his saddle, and sliding it into the scabbard behind hers. He looked up at her, his hand tugging at her stirrup, then gripping the pommel. “Don’t get too far into the woods, Rachel. If you get lost, don’t be too proud to fire that gun for help.”
“Which direction are you going?” she asked.
“I’ll ride a half mile or less to the west, then head north, so I’m riding parallel to you. Call out for Jay every hundred feet or so. The woods muffles the sound, so you’ll have to listen hard.”
“All right.” She loosened the reins and turned the mare, cantering quickly away.
“She rides pretty good, Boss,” Buck said.
“Better than I thought,” Cord answered. “Stick close,
Buck. If I find Sam, I’ll send him back and you take a ride due west of here, toward the other line shack.”
Buck nodded glumly, turning his mount back to the campsite.
It was a whimper, so low she held her breath and closed her eyes, to be sure of what she heard. It came again, almost a sob, and Rachel was sliding from the saddle before the sound had faded into the silence. She turned in a half circle, her gaze sweeping the undergrowth around her.
Sunshine scattered in a random pattern, the trees overhead sparse as they reached leafy branches to the sky. She was only a hundred yards or so into the woods, but it might as well have been a mile, so hushed were the sounds about her.
A bird squawked overhead and she looked up quickly. A squirrel chattered on a limb to her right and then, as if it joined the chorus, she heard again the stifled sound of a human voice.
“Jay?” Her tone was quiet. She spoke his name, then listened. “Jay?” she repeated.
“Rae? Is that you, Rae?” From a thicket beyond where she stood, his voice piped her name and Rachel dropped the reins of her mare to run pell-mell through the rustling leaves. Oak trees towered in this glen and beneath one of them stood the form of her brother, dirty and bedraggled, his face tearstained.
She knelt before him and held him to her bosom. His skinny arms wrapped around her neck and he hung on for dear life, whispering her name.
“I was scared, Rae, but I knew you’d come to find me. I was hopin’ it wouldn’t be Cord, cuz he’ll probably be mad as hell, won’t he?”
She ignored the cuss word he spoke so solemnly, willing to forgive any lapse for the moment. The feel of his slender body beneath her hands was proof of his well-being and she set him away from her to scan his face.
“Why did you wander off that way, Jay?” She watched as his eyes squinted and his mouth trembled, and then he shrugged, as if his reasons were too complicated to explain.
“Jay?” she prompted. “I’m not angry. We were all worried about you.”
“I heard this calf makin’ a fuss and nobody else but me was awake, and it was still dark out So I thought I could maybe find him and bring him back and Sam would say I was sure enough a big help.” He ran out of breath and his shoulders slumped beneath her hands.
“Did you find the calf?”
He nodded. “It was in the woods and I had to go a ways followin’ him. Then I wasn’t sure how to find my way back out. But I talked to him, Rae, and he quit bawlin’ right off.” Pride tinged his voice as he told his tale. Then his shoulders lifted in a shrug as he continued. “So I laid down by him and he was already sleepin’ and I just musta gone to sleep too.”
He looked around him and his eyes wore a wounded look. “I think he left without me knowin’ it, Rae. And then when I woke up, I didn’t know how to find my way back.”
She stood, relief a shining presence within her. “I’ll have to shoot off Cord’s rifle and let him know where you are,” she told the boy.
“He’s gonna be mad, ain’t he?” Jay’s lower lip trembled as he watched his sister tilt the barrel of the gun upward.
“I wouldn’t be surprised.”
* * *
The tools were gathered and packed up, the horses fed and watered and the boys mounted, ready to ride. “We’ll finish up the line fence, far as the swamp, and then head for the barn,” Sam told Cord.
“That’ll work. Rachel and I will check things out to the east a ways and meet you back home by suppertime.”
“Aren’t the boys going back now?” Rachel asked from behind him.
“No, they can go on and help finish the job,” Cord said, waving Sam on his way.
“I’d just as soon take Jay home, Cord. He’s been through a lot and he needs a bath and a good meal.”
“He’ll eat with the men down the line. Sam gave him a piece of bread to chew on while they ride.”
“Cord! He’s just a little boy and he was lost for half the morning.” Rachel looked past him to where the riders were strung out along the fence line, Jay riding behind Sam.
“He’s fine, Rae. Don’t baby him.”
Her hands flew to fist against his chest. “Don’t you tell me how to take care of my brother. He’s still just a little boy, not much more than a baby, and if I hadn’t listened to you he wouldn’t have gotten lost in the first place.”
His big hands captured hers easily and he tugged her against him. “Listen! He left the camp without telling anyone, and I was mighty tempted to give him a good whack on his seat for that stunt. If I hadn’t thought he’d learned his lesson, being lost like he was, I’d have lit into him. As it is, I’ll warrant Sam is readin’ him the riot act right now.”
“Don’t you dare hit my brother, ever!” She tugged at his grip on her and stamped her foot in frustration as he allowed her no room to escape.
“You’re all upset over nothing, Rachel. I didn’t hit
the boy. I wouldn’t hurt him anyway. A whack across his bottom might save him some real pain later on if he’s tempted to pull this kind of stunt again.”
“I’ll keep him where I can watch him after this,” she said tightly. “I want to go home now.” Her mouth set in a mutinous line and she jerked from his grasp.
“We’ll go home in a while,” Cord told her. “Get on your horse and we’ll ride to the east. I want to check out the valley where you stayed. It’s got a nice meadow and the cows like it there. I don’t want to miss any, as long as we’re out this far.”
“I’m going back,” she repeated. “You can ride by yourself. I’m going to be home when the boys get there.” She turned to her mare and pulled up her dress, toeing the stirrup for purchase. Reaching for the pommel, she was an easy mark, and Cord slid his hands around her middle, snatching her back down.
He held her against himself, her feet kicking. “Might as well simmer down, honey. You’re not going anywhere without me. It was bad enough I let you ride off after the boy by yourself.”
“I found him, didn’t I?” she shouted defiantly, dangling in his grip.
“Yeah, you did.” His words gave her credit, but his voice trembled on the brink of laughter.
He bent and nuzzled at her throat, his mouth tasting the salty flavor of her skin. “Don’t fuss at me, Rachel. Just do as I ask you, please.”
She shivered, as if his mouth had touched a nerve. “Don’t be trying to make up to me, Cord. I’m really upset with you.”
He lowered her until her feet touched the ground and then turned her in his grasp. “Well, if you’re gonna be mad, I’ll just have to make you glad, won’t I?”
“Not much chance of that.” Her lips formed a pout and she glared at him.
He leaned to her, swinging her up in his arms, and his strides were long as he headed across the clearing to where a tall oak tree shaded the grass beneath.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked, stumbling as he lowered her to the ground.
Without giving her a chance to gain her balance, he, dropped to his knees, taking her with him. She was struggling, rearing back, and he rolled with her, his hands surrounding her head, lest she bump it on the ground.
“Hush.” It was a whisper, spoken against her lips, and he repeated it as she opened her mouth to speak. “Don’t say a word, Rachel. Just listen for a minute.”
He rested his forearms on the grass, cradling her head, lifting his weight from her breasts. His legs spread to either side of hers and she wiggled only once, as if to test her limits.
Above them the birds sang, taking wing as they flew the boundaries of their territory. The breeze caught the scent of meadow grass and wafted it to where they lay, the freshness of summer bathing them in its aura.
A blue jay shrilled a warning, and Cord laughed softly. “Somebody’s comin’ too close to his nest,” he surmised in a low tone.
“Well, somebody’s liable to come wandering by this nest, too,” Rachel warned him tartly, her cheeks flushed from the exertion of their tussle.
“Nope,” he said, denying her words. “We’re as alone as we’ll ever be, sweetheart.”
“Cord?” It was a question, and a warning, and he grinned as he heard it.
“I just want to spend a few minutes with you out here where no one can intrude. You don’t have to think about cookin’ supper or making butter or anything else. Just for an hour or so, all right?”
As if she heard the unspoken need of the man who held her captive, Rachel relaxed within his hold. “You sure nobody will be nearby?”
He nodded. “Sure as the sun’s shining in the sky, Rae.”
Her hands wiggled against his weight and he lifted, allowing her room to free them from between their bodies. She twined her arms around his neck and tugged gently. “I don’t want to take off my clothes, Cord.” Her gaze was wary and he smiled at the modesty of his bride.
“Not all of them, sweetheart. Maybe we can just rearrange things a little.”
The ground beneath them was hard, but Cord’s arm was a pillow beneath her head. Rachel’s gaze skimmed the tree branches overhead, peering to where sunlight sparkled between the leaves.
“It’s so peaceful here.” As if she hesitated to disturb the silence, her whisper was barely discernible.
Cord’s grunt of agreement pleased her and she turned her head, her mouth touching the edge of his jawline.
“I know you wouldn’t hurt Jay, Cord. I was wrong to get angry with you.”
He made a sound in his throat, as if he acknowledged her words. Her lips pressed a kiss against his throat then, and she murmured a wordless, questioning sound, as if she sought his pardon.
He turned to her, his arms circling her waist, holding her firmly. “I’d cut off my arm before I’d do anything to hurt you or your brothers, Rae.”
“I know that. I was just upset over Jay wandering off that way and finding him the way I did. He looked so forlorn.” She sighed and wiggled against him. “He felt badly because the calf deserted him, you know.”
Cord chuckled. “Darn fool animal. If he hadn’t wandered off from his mother…” His laughter rang out. “You know, I really owe a debt of appreciation to that little fella.” He levered up onto his elbow and traced her brows and the line of her cheek with his index finger.
“We managed to have an hour all to ourselves, Mrs. McPherson. No listening for sounds from the other parts of the house.”
“I forgot to listen, in case anybody did find us here, Cord.” She laughed and nipped at his finger. “I don’t know how you managed to…you know.”
“How I managed to get you out of your clothes without you catchin’ on to what I was doin’, you mean?”
She felt the flush rise to cover her cheeks. “You make me forget everything else but you sometimes.” She turned her face against his chest. “I love you, Cord.”
His fingers slid through her hair, cupping her head as he bent low over her. He turned her with care, rolling her to her back, rising over her. “Rachel, you’re the most important thing that’s ever happened to me. My heart hurts when I look at you. It makes me feel warm inside when your hand touches mine, or when you smile at me across the room. I guess I don’t know what love is supposed to feel like, but if wanting to be with you and needing you has anything to do with it, then I suspect that’s what’s going on. I just know…I know that my arms ache to hold you sometimes.”
He bent his head, hiding his face against her breast. “It’s like the light goes out when you walk out the door. As if my house was dark inside before you came.”
She closed her eyes against the elation washing over her, her heart leaping within her breast. “Cord!” She circled him with her arms, holding him with the force of her passion, wanting to be contained by his flesh, as though she could not be close enough to satisfy the longing in her heart.
“Can we come back here again?” she asked after a moment.
He nodded. “Whenever you like, sweet.”
His mood made her brave and her question had a casual tone. “Can I ask you something, Cord?”
“Sure.” The word was slurred, his head heavy against her, as if he hovered on the edge of dozing off.
Her hands rubbed against his back, feeling the ridged scars through his shirt. “How did these happen? Who did this to you?”
Chapter Fourteen
“My father called me a coward, Rachel.” Cord’s words were bleak and without blame, as if he concluded that the opinion of his father had been just and fair.
Not so Rachel. Her heart lurched at the pronouncement, her face flushing with an emotion she barely understood, only that the man she loved with her whole heart had been maligned.
And by his closest kin, the man who had sired him.
“Then your father was blind or foolish, Cord. No one who had made it his business to know you well would ever consider you a coward.”
She pushed him from her, her anger lending her strength, and he move
d to lie beside her.
His mouth twitching, he turned his head to view her from beneath lowered lids. “You didn’t tell me you had such a temper, Mrs. McPherson. You’ve managed to scold me roundly, twice today already.”
She cast him a look ripe with scorn. “I didn’t scold you. I merely expressed my opinion.”
He sat up, lifting one knee, his scarcity of clothing no deterrent to the bold look of him. Her gaze swept the length of his muscled frame, draped only by an unbuttoned shirt. He would stand up well against the statues in the museum in Philadelphia, she decided.
Those cold, marble effigies that held no power to beguile her feminine heart.
As did Cord McPherson.
“Ordinarily I would consider any opinion you offer to be valid, Rachel,” he said quietly, his smile fading in the somber face of her gravity. “But in this case, you weren’t there. My father was. He heard me choose to stay at home rather than fight the battle against the men in gray. He listened when I decried the conflict and the reasons men choose to wage their wars. And disagreed with me.”
“He called you a coward because of your convictions?”
Cord nodded. “I had to do what I felt was right, Rae. So I stayed on the ranch, breeding, raising and training horses. I sold beef to the army and provided the men in blue with some dandy horseflesh. We made enough money to keep body and soul together, but if I hadn’t stayed at home, this ranch would have been sold for taxes.”
“And he still thought you were a coward?”
“He died, Rachel. He accused me, he dealt out his punishment for shaming him, and he collapsed at my feet.
“The doctor called it a fit of apoplexy. Whatever it was, he lived only a week and drew his last breath cursing the day I was born.”
“Your punishment?” She’d picked out the phrase, heard it resound in her mind, and was deaf to the tone of regret in Cord’s voice.
“Your punishment?” Softly, she repeated the words, her lips trembling as she moved to kneel before him.
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