Carolyn Davidson – Runaway (страница 10)
“Have a lot of good things happened to you?” she asked, wary of his nearness, given her own urge to nestle closer to his side.
“Yeah, I’ve had my share of good and bad, I guess. I took up with a sheriff down in San Antone and spent some time learnin’ law and order. Then I worked on a couple of ranches, and got a real education. Found out more about horses than I’d ever expected to. And a few other things that opened my eyes, made me grow up in a hurry.”
“Like what?” she asked, enamored of his remembrances, almost envious of the years he’d spent on his own, her apprehensions put to rest for a moment as he spoke.
Will’s eyes darkened as if the memories were better left alone. “Most of it’s the sort of stuff a young girl like you doesn’t need to hear, Cassie.” He rose to one elbow, leaning quickly to drop a quick kiss against the tip of her nose, unable to resist her nearness.
“Don’t do that, Will,” she said sharply, her heartbeat increasing as she shifted away.
It was quiet for a few minutes, Cassie pondering his words, considering the traveling he had done. “Men are lucky,” she said finally, shifting to face him. “They can travel and meet folks and work where they want to, and a woman has to stay with her family till she’s married. Or else be bait for gossip if she doesn’t do what people expect of her.”
“That’s the way of the world, Cass.” Sitting up, he wrapped his arms around one knee, shifting for comfort, and finding little to be had on the hard ground. He grimaced, wishing he’d kept his hands to himself.
“Are you going to find a place to leave me, Will?” She watched him, sensing his withdrawal. Perhaps he wasn’t ready to get rid of her presence yet, if what he’d said was gospel truth. If he really thought she was good for him.
“I can’t just dump you off somewhere, Cass. My ma would have my hide if she thought I’d rescued you just to leave you with strangers.”
“Your ma? She doesn’t even know about me,” she said, frowning at his words.
“She will, once I get home. She’ll get every livin’ detail out of me, with her pickin’ and yatterin’ at me.”
Cassie peered up at him. “And will you tell her everything?”
“Most everything, probably.” Within reason, anyway. Some things a mother was better off not knowing.
“How come you’re going home?” she asked, after a long moment.
“It sure as hell isn’t my first choice,” he said harshly. “But Pa’s pretty bad off. Ma wrote me a letter, sent it to the last place I worked. I tried to keep Ma up on where I was, a couple of times a year, anyway. She said in the letter that Pa had taken a bad spell out in the field and just didn’t get over it. His heart acts funny, fluttering and making him lose his breath sometimes.”
“Did she ask you to come home?”
He nodded. “My brothers are both married now and have their own fields to work. Farmers can’t be runnin’ back and forth all the time to somebody else’s place to lend a hand. And my sister ran off and married a scallywag a few years ago. My mother was pretty cut up about that.”
“It sounds like you’ll be a homebody for sure, once you get there.” Her eyelids were getting heavy and the words she spoke were slurred. She yawned widely, covering her mouth with one hand, shifting to lie on her side.
Will looked down at her. “Homebody?” His laugh was harsh. “I’m not cut out to be a farmer.”
Cassie’s eyes flew open at his rasping tone. “Then why go? Why take me there?”
His hand silenced her anxious query. “I guess I owe it to my mother to lend a hand. She was always there for me when things got tough, with Pa on my tail all the time. You’ll be all right. My mother’ll take to you. There’s always room for another hand, helpin’ around the house and doin’ chores.” Cassie would probably be more welcome than he would, at that. There’d be hell to pay, with him and Pa in the same house.
Cassie looked up with sleepy eyes. “I doubt your mother will be pleased to see me coming. Not after we’ve been traveling together.”
“I don’t see that I have much choice right now,” he muttered. “You sure aren’t capable of headin’ out on your own.”
What he’d do with her once he got her home was another question, one he wasn’t ready to examine too closely tonight For one thing, he never should have kissed her. For all the good it had done him. She was about as innocent as they came, with her talk about rabbits. And then there was Pa. Ornery and miserable as the day was long. He’d give them both a hard time. The old resentment welled up within him, lending harshness to his voice. “Go to sleep, Cassie. Between you and that damn mare and those two bas—” He took a deep breath. “Just go to sleep, hear?”
He turned from her, hauling the edge of the blanket over his shoulder.
Wide-eyed, Cassie repeated his words within her mind.
With a final look around the edges of the clearing he’d chosen for the night, Will settled down, his gun next to his head, his hat half covering it. Just as well she’d turned away. He shouldn’t have been so short with her, he thought ruefully. His fingers itched to lose themselves in her tangled curls, and he shifted on the hard ground, his discomfort growing. As long as he could keep his randy hands to himself, they ought to get along for the next six days. Long enough to get them through Oklahoma and well into Missouri. Maybe he could hurry her along a little and make it in five.
* * *
The new mare dumped her twice on the second day. From her prone position, Cassie muttered words she’d only heard before, aware of a stone beneath her bottom, another lodged against her rib. Other than that, the ground was just rock hard all over, and her groan was heartfelt.
“Damn, girl!” Will was off the stallion and at her side, reins clutched in his hand. “At least she didn’t run off like last time,” he said, eyeing the mare. The brown creature stood just a few feet away, placid in her grazing. “You all right, Cassie?”
She sat up, rubbing at the bruised spot on her rib, her arm bending at an awkward angle to accomplish the task. “I don’t think I broke any bones.”
Will’s hand brushed her fingers aside and he felt the spot carefully, a distracted look on his face as he traced the rib. “I don’t feel a break, Cass.” He squatted next to her, his fingers itching to brush the disheveled hair from her face, his mouth fighting a smile as he listened to her grumbling.
“Dratted horse just wanted to taste the grass,” she mumbled. “Couldn’t wait till we stopped for the night, could she?”
“Yeah, well, I think we’re gonna ride on, Cass. I’d just as soon put some miles behind us tonight.” His gaze traveled over Cassie’s head, measuring the trail ahead to where it eased atop a shallow rise, disappearing over the crest of the hill. He’d come across the scant trail early this morning, passing through a small town at noontime, well into Oklahoma Territory.
They’d halted there just long enough to buy Cassie a pair of boots, more fit for a young boy than a woman, but suited to the trail.
Now she eyed the sturdy leather footwear as she sat on the ground, hoping the raw spot on her heel wasn’t a blister, wishing for a moment for the soft comfort of the moccasins she’d given up for the protection of boot leather. “I can go farther,” she told Will, lifting herself to her feet, limping a little as she took a few steps.
The mare lifted her head, her ears retreating to plaster themselves against her head, her eyes daring Cassie to disrupt her meal.
“Talk to her, Cass,” Will said beneath his breath, rising and walking at an angle from the mare.
“What a pretty baby!” Crooned in a singsong voice, the words eased the mare’s disquiet, her ears twitching a bit. “Why don’t you just stand there and be a good girl?” Cassie smiled determinedly at the animal, aware of Will’s stealthy, circuitous route as he led his stallion beyond the mare.
And then he had her. Catching the reins in one hand, the bridle in the other, he quieted the brown animal’s snort, holding her firmly lest she bolt again.
“Think you can manage a few more hours, Cass?”
She nodded, wincing as she stepped up to the mare. “I’ll be fine.” Lifting her left foot to the stirrup, she hoisted herself atop the saddle, gritting her teeth as she settled within the leather cradle.
The small cabin was a welcome sight. A ramshackle building, it was nestled beneath a willow tree next to a small stream. In Cassie’s present state, it might well have been a palatial mansion.
The sky above promised nasty weather, and the smattering of cold raindrops she’d ridden through in the past few minutes had already managed to thoroughly wet Cassie’s shirt. It was enough to dampen her spirits. More than enough.
She shivered, staggering toward the small log shack, just a few steps ahead of Will. One foot snagged on a root, half overgrown with grass and hidden from view, and she stumbled, falling to her knees.