‘‘Hell!’’ he swore beneath his breath. He didn’t have time to think about her. There were more important things to consider. Only all he could focus on, all he could hear, was the way she’d softly said she loved him.
Win grumbled. She wasn’t doing what they agreed on. She was doing far more than just acting like a wife in exchange for his house. The little woman he thought would be almost invisible in his home had gotten into his blood. She was the lover he’d never even dreamed of having. Her body was alive with passion when he touched her, begging for more. The taste of her was habit forming.
Tonight, he’d hold her again. He’d remove her clothes slowly, enjoying each view. Then he’d lay her in the middle of their bed and begin his feast at her throat. He’d make love to her and she’d cry his name as she had last night in passion. And when she had relaxed and fell asleep, he’d continue to touch her. He didn’t need to teach her to please him; everything she did pleased him. Last night she’d awakened already warm from his touch, ready for more. She’d do so again tonight.
It might take days, maybe weeks, but he’d make love to her until he got her out of his mind and could think of other things, more important things. Win frowned. On second thought, it might take years.
‘‘You hear that?’’ Cheyenne straightened in his saddle, listening.
‘‘What?’’ Win shook his head, trying to get back to reality.
‘‘Cattle!’’ Cheyenne motioned for the men to follow as they reached the south corner of Win’s ranch. Here, for miles, the land was broken by steep inclines where the land jutted up suddenly to higher ground known as the caprock. The pasture below always seemed milder, less windy. Above, the range was cooler, wilder. This steep incline was where Win marked the end of his spread.
Sure enough, just below the rim of the caprock, cattle grazed as far as Win could see. They’d been boxed in by the wall, but all the herders had to do was begin pushing them up the trails, climbing the rim one beef at a time. Along the south edge of Win’s ranch were several places where they could move the herd easily up on higher ground.
One of Win’s men was stationed at each opening. One fired a shot of warning. Another followed. Then another and another.
This is it, Win thought. The standoff he’d dreaded. But he had the high ground, and with the caprock wall’s help, he’d hold them back. He didn’t want to kill the cattle. Let the ranchers keep them below. The strong ones would survive. But, no, they wanted to get them to market without having to suffer any loss.
He studied the border, watching, waiting. Cheyenne rode at his side.
‘‘It looks like they’re spreading the herd out, planning to push them all at once.’’
‘‘If they do, several will break their legs trying to climb up rough trails. Any cow that falls will be trampled.’’ Win didn’t want to think what the sight might be like if they stampeded.
‘‘They’re hoping we don’t have enough men to cover every trail.’’
Win watched closely. ‘‘Do we?’’ he asked more to himself than Cheyenne.
A man Win recognized as one of the fellows he’d seen in the settlement the night he’d gone after Kora, rode through the pass with his hands high.
‘‘Mr. McQuillen!’’ he yelled. ‘‘I just want to talk.’’
‘‘That’s close enough!’’ Win shouted back. ‘‘Tell your boss to turn them around. They’ll not cross my land.’’
‘‘But the next crossing is a hundred miles away,’’ the man tried to reason. ‘‘If you’ll let us cross in one place, my boss is willing to pay you. He’ll even leave men to help burn the grass his cattle move over.’’
‘‘No,’’ Win answered. ‘‘I can’t take the risk!’’ He knew burning the grass would prevent the sickness from spreading. But with a herd this size, all it would take was one calf getting away from the others, and all his cattle would be infected within days. He’d be risking all he had, all he’d worked for.
‘‘Not even for money?’’ the man exclaimed. ‘‘Name your price.’’
‘‘No,’’ Win answered, knowing he wouldn’t compromise. How could he put a price on his ranch?
‘‘We could run them through. You haven’t got enough men to stop the entire herd.’’
‘‘I said no!’’ Win shouted. ‘‘And we will stop every last beef.’’
The man turned his horse around as if to leave. ‘‘How about to save your wife?’’ he queried over his shoulder.
THIRTY-ONE
THE SETTLEMENT SEEMED DESERTED AS JAMIE MOVED the team toward Rae’s shack. In daylight the place was even worse than it had been at night.
Jamie jumped out of the wagon and tied the team while Logan slowly climbed down from the back.
‘‘I’m going to talk to Wyatt.’’ Jamie smoothed down the wrinkles on her borrowed dress. ‘‘You and Logan can handle Dan.’’
‘‘But the note didn’t say where to find him. And he said this afternoon. He may not be here for an hour yet,’’ Kora answered. ‘‘Wait a few minutes and we’ll all go with you.’’
‘‘No way.’’ Jamie started moving away. ‘‘I have to go alone for the same reason I wore a dress. He might just be asking me to run away with him. So a girl’s got to look her best and a man has to ask when they’re alone.’’
Kora opened her mouth to argue, but her sister was already several yards away.
Rae came to the door as Jamie disappeared between two tents. ‘‘Mornin’,’’ she mumbled. ‘‘Where’s the girl running off to?’’
‘‘Wyatt sent a note for her to meet him here,’’ Kora answered as she moved into the cabin. ‘‘How’s Dan?’’
‘‘He’s fine. We’ve had a grand time.’’ Rae laughed, patting Dan on the arm. ‘‘We stayed up late talking.’’
‘‘You did?’’
‘‘Sure, he told me how much he loves his sisters and how grateful he is for all they do for him.’’
Kora looked shocked for a moment, then she caught Rae winking at Logan. ‘‘What else did he say?’’ she asked, enjoying the old woman’s lie.
‘‘He told me he loves you very much and that if you were the one lost inside your own head, he’d be there to take care of you.’’
Kora straightened Dan’s collar as he stared at a crack in the cabin that allowed a sliver of sunshine in. ‘‘I think he would,’’ she whispered. ‘‘During this conversation, did you tell him I loved him?’’
Rae smiled. ‘‘I didn’t have to. He knows.’’
Kora took Dan’s hand and slowly guided him from the cabin. ‘‘Did you have any trouble with Andrew after I left?’’
‘‘No.’’ Rae giggled. ‘‘I was handling drunks before he could grow chest hair. I sent him on his way.’’
When they reached the wagon, Rae glanced in the direction Jamie had gone. ‘‘Your sister’s gonna have a problem finding that gambler, Wyatt. Him and all his kind left out of here as soon as the storm broke, and I haven’t heard none come back.’’
As Kora helped Logan lift Dan into the wagon, she glanced at the old man and saw worry in his eyes.
‘‘You’re sure Wyatt isn’t here?’’
Rae scratched her tumbleweed hair. ‘‘I ain’t seen nobody but those two drifters who found Win in the snake pit. They asked when you was coming to get your brother, and I told them it ain’t none of their concern and they’d better be in the next state before you see them.’’