‘‘No, just a headache and a two-inch cut. He’ll be fine.’’
Kora followed, but didn’t step forward when he offered to help her onto the seat. ‘‘Are you coming back?’’ She touched Win’s sleeve gently as she always did.
‘‘No. I’ve work to do here,’’ he answered, looking irritated that she wasn’t already on her way but not pulling his arm away. ‘‘But you’ll be safe back at the house.’’
Kora took a step backward. ‘‘If you’re not going, I’m staying.’’
Everyone in the campsite was silent, not even breathing as they waited for Winter’s reaction.
Win knew he could reach down and lift her into the wagon. Or he could raise his voice and frighten her with his anger. If it had been Jamie, he’d already be yelling at her.
But Kora didn’t even look afraid. He didn’t know whether to be proud of himself for being so convincing that he’d never hurt her or proud of her for being so brave.
She raised her hand and gently laid it over his heart.
‘‘I’m a rancher’s wife. I belong here.’’ Her words were only a whisper.
‘‘But we may be here all night,’’ Win began. He’d just offered his entire ranch for her safety; he couldn’t hurt her by arguing now. And no matter how much he wanted her safe, he wasn’t sure he could turn her away.
‘‘It doesn’t matter,’’ she answered. ‘‘I’ll stay with you.’’
Leaning, Win propped his rifle against the wagon wheel. Then, without a word, he unbuckled his gunbelt.
No one moved. Jamie started to move toward her sister, but Cheyenne’s hand on her shoulder stopped her.
Win knelt on one knee and wrapped the belt around Kora’s waist. ‘‘If you’re staying, you may need this.’’
Everyone in the site let out a breath at the same time.
Win adjusted the gunbelt. ‘‘Promise me you’ll follow orders. There may not be time to talk things over.’’
Kora nodded. ‘‘What can I do?’’
He stood beside her and pointed toward a cluster of cottonwoods. ‘‘You could use the wagon and bring as much wood up as you can. By dark I’d like several fires going just back from the rim. With enough wood at each to keep it burning all night.’’
Win reached for his rifle. When he rose, he met Kora’s eyes. For a moment all the trouble didn’t seem so bad. All he’d asked for was a woman to marry him so he wouldn’t lose the house, and he’d gotten all he’d ever imagined a woman could be in the bargain. She’d even said she loved him once, and if she never said it again, once was enough.
Kora climbed into the wagon as men within hearing distance tried to act as if they hadn’t been listening. ‘‘I’ll make a bed for Dan under the trees. He’ll be safe there while I move the wood.’’
Jamie ran to the other side of the wagon and jumped in.
‘‘I’ll help, ’cause I’m staying, too. I don’t want to miss the fun.’’
‘‘But, Jamie!’’ Wyatt ran to her side of the wagon. ‘‘What about us? My offer still stands. Run away with me now, and I promise you a wild time.’’
Jamie shook her head. ‘‘I’m sorry, Wyatt. I have to turn you down. I’m not sure what you’re looking for, but it’s not me.’’
Wyatt tipped his hat as though she’d turned him down for a dance. His lack of sorrow made it plain to everyone that she was just an extra and not a staple in his life.
As the women moved away toward the cottonwoods, Win said to Cheyenne, ‘‘Take a man and ride as fast as you can back to the house for supplies. We may be here for the night, and I don’t want Kora hungry or cold.’’
Cheyenne nodded. ‘‘And I’ll pick up your extra Colt. You want me to take Dan back?’’
Win smiled, thinking of where his gunbelt was resting around Kora’s waist and wishing his arm could do the same. ‘‘No, she wants her family close.’’
Win leaned closer to Cheyenne. ‘‘You still got that deed I bought from the bank and Andrew Adams?’’
‘‘I picked it up this morning before I rode out here to join you,’’ Cheyenne said. ‘‘Andrews couldn’t believe you were paying him double for his share. But it was a smart investment. That’s a pretty spread, but it will never be farmland.’’
‘‘Put the deed in the safe when you get back.’’ Win watched the pass between the rocks. ‘‘And put Jamie’s name on it.’’
‘‘What?’’ Cheyenne questioned as if he didn’t hear Winter correctly.
‘‘I don’t want her ever feeling she has to run off with drifters and gamblers just because she doesn’t feel like she has a place to stay.’’
‘‘All right,’’ Cheyenne said as he walked away. ‘‘You’re the boss. But you sure picked a hell of a time to be passing out land.’’
THIRTY-THREE
TIME PASSED SLOWLY UNTIL SUNSET. KORA AND JAMIE made several trips to the cottonwoods and brought back firewood. The men helped them unload and build fires all along the ridge where the cattle below might come through.
Winter didn’t say another word to Kora, but he looked for her each time he rode past the camp.
At dusk Cheyenne returned with supplies and Dan’s chair. He helped Jamie tie it to the bed of the wagon, both knowing that Dan would climb into the wagon before full dark and not budge no matter what happened.
Win worked with his men, giving instructions and advice like a general preparing for battle.
When Cheyenne walked beside his boss, he said, ‘‘If they stampede that large a herd and we spread the fires out, there will be no place for the herd to turn except in on itself.’’
‘‘I know,’’ Win whispered.
‘‘It’ll be a slaughter. Some of their men may be caught in the middle. A man down in that size a herd would be dead within seconds.’’
‘‘I thought of that,’’ Win agreed again. ‘‘I’ve always depended on you being my right hand. But tonight, if the shooting starts, I want you to leave. Take Kora and Jamie and travel north toward the settlement. With my men busy fighting, we may not be able to stop the fire once it starts. The folks at the settlement will need warning. From there, take the women and Dan back to the house.’’
Winter had made sure months ago that the house was surrounded by a breaker against grass fires. The stream on one third, the corrals on another. Plowed ground void of grass on a third. It made the grounds muddy when it rained, but it acted as a breaker. Cheyenne would have time to knock the corral posts down. With Kora and Jamie keeping watch, the headquarters would be safe. The stark plainness of his ranch headquarters that Mary Anna had complained about once would be the very thing that saved it from burning.
‘‘What if Kora won’t go?’’ Cheyenne asked. ‘‘Do I drag them off screaming and fighting?’’
‘‘Tell her the house is in danger.’’
Cheyenne shook his head. ‘‘She won’t go.’’
Win frowned. ‘‘Tell her Dan and Jamie are in danger. She’ll do anything to help her family.’’
‘‘Even leave you here to fight alone?’’ Cheyenne asked.
‘‘Even leave me,’’ Win repeated. He figured one ‘‘I love you’’ would never outweigh a lifetime of caring for her brother and sister.
Darkness moved across the prairie, but the men kept the vigil. In one-hour shifts they stood guard at every location where cattle might climb. Win remained in the saddle, moving from one location to the other, waiting.
Wyatt restlessly circled the campfire where Kora and Jamie sat. He’d flirted with Jamie until nightfall, but she’d turned him down cold. Yellow never aroused her passion, and he seemed dipped in it. He’d pleaded his case better than a big-city lawyer could have, but she was no longer interested.
‘‘Rider coming in!’’ one of the men on post yelled.
Win and Cheyenne stepped into the glow of the campfire as a rider cleared the pass and rode toward the light.