Laughing, Reno rode out the mare’s displeasure with the same deceptively lazy ease he did so many things. Then he spurred Darlin’ lightly, sending her galloping up to the big log house where a woman wearing a white blouse and a full green skirt was just running out into the yard.
«Matt?» she called out to the rapidly approaching rider. «Is that you?»
«It’s me, Willy,» Reno said.
He reined the mare to a dancing stop and added dryly, «If it weren’t, Cal would have emptied Darlin’s saddle while we were admiring your Arabian stallion.»
«That’s a fact,» Caleb said, stepping out from the house.
«Still being bothered by Comancheros?» Reno asked, noting the rifle in the other man’s hands.
Caleb shrugged. «Drifters, Comancheros, gold hunters. Even had a pack of lords and ladies through while you were gone. Country’s getting too damn crowded in the summertime.»
«Lords and ladies, huh? Bet Wolfe didn’t think much of that.»
«Wolfe and Jessi weren’t here,» Willow said. «They’re still out seeing the sights.»
Reno smiled. If he had been Wolfe, he would have done the same thing-taken his beautiful young bride off in the wilderness and spent a lot of time alone.
«We heard they were over to the west,» Willow continued, «somewhere down in that maze of stone canyons. Jessi swore the honeymoon wouldn’t end until she had seen all of Wolfe’s favorite hideaways.»
«Maybe I’ll run into them in the red rock desert,» Reno said. «What about Rafe? Is he back yet?»
Willow shook her head, making her blond hair gleam in the high-country sunlight.
«He’s still off yondering, looking for a way through the canyon Wolfe told him about, the one so wide and so deep only the sun can cross it,» Willow said.
«How old is that news?»
«Just last week,» Willow said. «A drifter who had met him on the Rio Verde stopped by here yesterday.»
«He was after some of Willow’s biscuits,» Caleb added wryly. «Said he’d been told they were worth riding a hundred miles out of his way to get.»
«Damn,» Reno muttered. «I was hoping to sign Rafe on for a little gold hunting.»
Willow looked from her brother to the packhorses and the slender rider who were just now coming into the yard.
«Did you hire a boy to help you?» she asked.
The change in Reno’s expression was noted instantly by Caleb.
«Not quite,» Reno said. «That’s my, uh, partner.»
Eve was dose enough to hear Reno’s words. She reined her tired horse next to his and took over the introductions that he was plainly reluctant to make.
«My name is Eve Starr,» she said quietly. «You must be Reno’s sister.»
Willow’s cheeks pinked and she laughed. «Oh, my. I’m sorry, Miss Starr. Yes, I’m Willow Black, and I should know better than to assume everything in pants is a male. Jessi and I both wear pants when we ride.»
Caleb looked at the worn, ruffled gambler’s blouse and faded black twill pants on Eve, and knew that he would never have mistaken her for a man. There was something too essentially feminine about the shape beneath the loose clothes for any man to mistake it.
«I’m Caleb Black,» he said to Eve. «Get down and come inside. The trail over the Great Divide is long and hard on a woman.»
«Yes, do get down,» Willow said quickly. «It’s been months since I had a woman to talk to.»
Willow’s generous, welcoming smile was like a balm on Eve’s pride. Her answering smile included Caleb, who was as big as Reno but seemed a good deal more gentle, especially when he was smiling as he was now.
«Thank you,» Eve said. «It was a long ride.»
«Don’t get too comfortable,» Reno said curtly as she dismounted. «We’re only staying long enough for you to switch horses.»
Caleb’s eyes narrowed as he sensed the tension just beneath the other man’s calm voice, but he said nothing.
As always, Willow said what was on her mind.
«Matthew Moran, where are your manners? Not to mention your common sense!»
«Someone might be following us,» Reno said. «I don’t want to bring him down on you.»
«Jericho Slater?» Caleb guessed.
Reno looked surprised.
«Men don’t have much to talk about out here except other men,» Caleb said dryly. «One of my riders has a Comanchero, er, friend. Her brother is Slater’s tracker.»
«Not much gets by you, does it?» Reno muttered. «Yes, it’s probably Slater on my trail.»
The feral smile that came over Caleb’s face made Eve swiftly revise her idea of his gentle nature.
«And here I thought you’d forgotten my birthday,» Caleb said. «It’s really fine of you to bring a Slater to share around. Damn few of those boys left.»
Laughing softly, Reno shook his head and accepted the inevitable.
«All right, Cal. We’ll stay to supper.»
«You’ll do more than that,» Willow said quickly.
«Sorry, Willy,» Reno said. «We’ve got too much ground to cover.»
«What’s the rush?» Caleb asked. «Is Slater that hard on your trail?»
«No.»
Caleb’s dark eyebrows rose at the curt answer. Reno shifted in the saddle and thought of what he could say that wouldn’t be a lie and wouldn’t be the truth: he was damned uncomfortable bringing a saloon girl into his sister’s home.
«It’s late in the season to be taking on the high country,» Reno said, «and we’ve got a lot of rock desert to cross before we even get to the Abajos.»
«Abajos, huh? That’s a mighty lonesome group of mountains you’ve picked out to explore.»
«Not me. The Jesuits. At least, I assume that’s where we’re headed,» he added, looking sideways at Eve.
«You assume?» Willow asked, confused. «Don’t you know?»
«I’m not real good at making out the old-style Spanish, and I’m plumb useless when it comes to the Lyons’ private family code. That’s where my, uh, partner comes in.»
«Oh.» Willow still looked confused.
Reno looked like a man who was through making explanations.
Caleb shaded his eyes and stared across the meadow to the closest peak. High on its rugged side, a handful of aspens burned with the yellow torch of fall.
«You’ve got some time yet before the high country closes,» Caleb said easily. «Only a few of the aspens on the north-facing slopes have turned.» Reno shrugged. «I’m not betting against an early snow.»
The set of Reno’s mouth said more than his words. He wasn’t going to stay at the ranch one moment longer than he had to.
«Gold fever, huh?» Caleb said without rancor. «Been expecting it.»
Reno nodded curtly.
«Well,» Caleb said, «you might think about your partner. She looks a little frazzled to be galloping off after fool’s gold. Maybe you should leave her here to rest up while you reconnoiter.»
Though nothing in Caleb’s voice or expression suggested he thought there was something unusual about a girl riding alone through the wilderness with a man who wasn’t her husband, fiance or blood relation, Eve’s face colored.
«It’s my map,» she said.
«Not quite,» Reno retorted.
Caleb’s dark eyebrows lifted.
«It’s a long story,» Reno muttered.
«Best kind,» Caleb said, his voice bland.
«Then it will take a long time to tell, won’t it?» Willow demanded.
«Willy —» Reno began.
«Don’t you ‘Will/ me, Matthew Moran,» she interrupted, putting her hands on her hips and planting herself in front of her brother.
«Now, just a min —» Reno began.
It was no use.
«Even if you swapped saddles like a Pony Express rider and galloped until sunset,» Willow said, talking over her brother, «you wouldn’t get more than a few miles down the road. You’re staying for a time, and that’s that. If s been too long since I’ve had a woman to talk to.»