Bitter Wild (5 page)

The
heavy mane of hair that had been flowing around her shoulders was now pulled
back into a braid. As Jack watched, she leaned into the truck and pulled out a
hat, which she laid on the hood of the truck. Then she retrieved a jacket that
was similar to the one he’d thrown across his saddle. She laid it beside the
hat, then turned back to the cab. Her boyfriend reached her and leaned against
the open door as she pulled something else out of the truck. Jack could see
them talking and could see that Casey was doing something, but his view was
obstructed so that he was completely caught off guard when she stepped around
her boyfriend. Jack stared at the gun she wore in a holster on her hip. The
first thing that popped into his head was the countless westerns he’d watched
as a kid. She also carried what he assumed was a rifle, since he couldn’t see
through its sheath. She settled the hat on her head, then slung the coat and
her own saddlebag over one arm and carried the rifle in the other as she strode
toward them. She went straight to the buckskin her boyfriend had already
saddled for her. She fixed the rifle and saddlebag to the saddle, then threw
her coat across it. Finally she moved away from the horse and approached Jack
and Skip. Jack was still focusing on the gun at her hip. The hat and boots
might scream “cowboy,” but that gun was no six-shooter. It was an automatic. A
big one. She stopped in front of him and Jack met her gaze.

“I
thought we made it clear that apprehending the fugitive was our job, not
yours.”

She
glanced down at the gun she wore, then returned her gaze to his. “We did. That
hasn’t changed. This gun doesn’t have anything to do with the man we’re
chasing. It’s just here in case something gets past the rifle.” She nodded
toward their horses. “You ready?”

Jack
still didn’t like the fact that she was wearing a gun. The rifle he could
understand. The handgun seemed a bit much. He didn’t want to waste time arguing
with her about it, though, so he nodded. “When you are.”

“Then
mount up.”

She
turned around and strode over to her horse. Her boyfriend was holding it for
her. Jack could see the worry on his face. The other man didn’t make any effort
to keep his voice down as he spoke.

“I
still say you ought to let me come along. These two are going to be helpless if
anything goes wrong.”

Casey
shook her head. “I can handle them. And I want you here just in case things do
turn bad. I want you in charge because I know I can trust you to deal with any
problems.”

Jack
could see that the man wanted to argue, but he kept quiet. He nodded, then
pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It wasn’t a passionate embrace and the
kiss lasted little more than an instant. Jack turned away as unwelcome thoughts
flooded his mind. If she was his woman and he was about to send her off on something
like this he’d make sure they parted with a kiss that she wouldn’t soon forget.
He’d brand her as his so that no one would get any ideas about making any moves
on her. But she wasn’t his woman and he had no business thinking about how he’d
kiss her. He caught the mane of his horse and pulled himself up into the
saddle. The horse side-stepped a bit, but Jack managed to settle into the
saddle without much trouble. He slipped his feet into the stirrups and said
another prayer of thanks that he hadn’t fallen on his rear. He’d made enough of
a fool of himself in front of Casey Nolan without adding more fuel to the fire.
He gathered his horse’s reins in his hand, then turned around in time to see
Casey swing gracefully onto her horse. She made it look effortless. The horse
pranced and sidestepped a bit, but she quickly brought him under control. It
was obvious that she’d spent years, all her life probably, around horses.

Her
boyfriend stepped to her side and laid his hand on her thigh. “You watch your
back out there.”

She
nodded. “I will.”

They
exchanged a long look, then she lifted her gaze and focused on Jack and Skip,
who’d also managed to get onto his horse without falling. “Daylight’s wasting,
gentlemen. It’s time to get this show on the road.” Her boyfriend led the packhorse
over to her and she wrapped its lead around her saddle horn. Then she swung her
horse’s head around and clicked her tongue. The horse almost leapt forward.
Jack took a deep breath and hoped he remembered how to drive a horse. He touched
the horse’s neck with the rein and it turned obediently. Then he gave it a kick
with his heels and it lunged forward with enough gusto that Jack almost went
right off the back of the animal. He managed to keep his seat despite the
jarring ride and tried to remember everything he’d ever been taught about a
horse. He didn’t dare turn around to see if Skip was behind him. He was afraid
he’d fall off if he tried anything so daring. So he held on and searched his
memory for the descriptions of the different gaits horses used. He finally
classified the pace they were moving at as a trot. Not the smoothest of
rhythms. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember how to change the horse’s gait,
other than kicking it again and he felt sure that would only make it go faster.
No doubt that would land him on his butt. He finally just gritted his teeth and
tried to settle into some kind of rhythm with the animal before his brain got
scrambled inside his skull.

Casey
felt the fear clogging her throat. Bullet, her horse, felt it as well. He
tossed his head and pulled at his bit in response. She reached out and laid a
hand against his neck, taking several deep breaths in an effort to slow the
wild beating of her heart. She was going to be just fine. Her fear couldn’t
hurt her any more than the memories that sparked it could. The past was dead
and gone. It was past time for her to face her future. She tightened her grip
on the reins and settled back on her heels. The horse began to calm down as he
felt her anxiety ease up. She glanced down at Chance as he trotted alongside
Bullet. He had an eager expression on his face and Casey knew that he was happy
to be going back into the woods. They’d stayed away too long. She lifted her
gaze to the tree line ahead and allowed herself to feel a brief moment of
shared joy with the dog. Finally, she was going back to the place that had
always been a part of her soul.

By the
time they reached the trees Jack had remembered enough of his riding lessons to
make the jerky motion of his horse relatively tolerable. He breathed a long
sigh of relief, though, when Casey slowed her horse to a walk and his mount
followed suit all by itself. He finally turned to look over his shoulder to
make sure Skip was still with them. Jack sincerely hoped he didn’t look as
uncomfortable as Skip did. His partner looked as though he was ready to pack it
in already. Jack turned around when Casey spoke up. She had turned in her
saddle and was looking at Skip. She had a frown on her face, but she didn’t
comment on his obvious discomfort. Instead, she focused on Jack. “We’re going
into the trees now. Keep me in sight at all times. If something happens and you
lose sight of me, stop and stay right where you are. Don’t look for me, don’t
call out, just stop and wait. I’ll find you.”

“Is it
that easy to get lost?”

She
nodded. “For someone who’s unfamiliar with the surroundings, yes. It’s
disorienting. All the trees look the same. The rocks start looking identical.
If you don’t know any markers you can wander around in circles for hours before
you even realize what you’re doing. Just remember what I said. I’m not going to
move very fast because I’m looking for your fugitive’s trail. But it only takes
a few careless seconds to get lost.”

She
turned around once more and guided her horse toward what looked like a solid
wall of trees. There didn’t appear to be any sort of trail. Jack couldn’t even
see evidence of anyone having passed through this way at all. Never-the-less Casey
sent her horse right into the thick vegetation. Jack followed her through and
was surprised to discover that the mass of greenery at the edge of the woods
all but disappeared once they were under the canopy of the trees.

After
less than half an hour, Jack realized just how sincere her warnings about the
woods had been. He had no idea where he was. He was anything but certain that
he could find his way back out of the trees if his life depended on it. Up
ahead, Casey was steadily plodding along. Every once in a while she’d stop and
stare at the ground for a moment. She had yet to get off her horse, though,
which left Jack wondering how in the world she thought she was going to find
anything. All he saw when he looked at the ground was rotting leaves and dirt.
As far as he could tell, they were the only people who’d ever traveled over
this ground.

By the
time they’d been traveling for two hours Jack was finally willing to accept
that he was way out of his league. He was hurting in places that he didn’t even
want to think about and he was almost positive that it would hurt even worse
when he got off the horse. One look at Skip said he was as miserable as Jack.
Casey looked as fresh as a daisy, though. Her back was still ramrod straight
and she moved as if she and the horse were one instead of two. She had probably
been born on the back of a horse. He was glaring at her back when her horse
suddenly reared up. She brought it under control almost immediately. As Jack
pulled his horse to a stop behind the packhorse he saw the dog flatten its ears
back against its head. It didn’t growl or make any sound at all. That made the
animal’s behavior even more alarming. Casey swung down off her horse and knelt
by the dog’s side. She rested her hand on its shoulder and the dog turned to
look up at her. Then she stood up and strode toward Jack.

“Get
off your horse.” She glanced at Skip. “You, too.”

Jack
complied and nearly fell as his legs tried to refuse to hold his weight. He
heard Skip groan, but kept his gaze on Casey.

“What
is it?”

She
shook her head. “I don’t know, yet.” She moved to her horse and tied it
securely to a nearby tree. Then she pulled the rifle out of its sheath. She
checked to make sure it was loaded, then glanced over her shoulder at Jack.

“You
two stay here and for heaven’s sake, hold tight to those horses.”

Jack
frowned. “Wait, where are you going?”

“To see
what’s got Chance and Bullet so spooked.”

She
turned and walked away in spite of Jack’s demand that she wait. He led his
horse to the nearest tree and tied it up, then started to follow her. Only she
was nowhere in sight. Just like that, she’d vanished into thin air. Jack stared
at the trees, then turned to look at Skip.

“Where
did she go?”

Skip
shook his head. “I have no idea. She was there one minute and then gone.”

“Damn!”

He
turned back to look at the last spot he’d seen her, expecting her to suddenly
come back into view. He glanced at his horse as it flicked its ears back and
forth nervously. Something was out there spooking the horses and she’d marched
right off in search of it. He turned to Skip. “Stay with the horses.”

He
frowned. “Where are you going?”

“To
look for her.”

“But
she told us to stay here.”

“Right,
and what if she’s found Jester? Suppose she was right about him and he’s been
wandering around in circles out here since last night?”

He
didn’t have to say anything more. He skirted the tree he’d tied his horse to
and headed in the same direction he’d seen her take. Within minutes he’d lost
sight of Skip and the horses. It seemed impossible to lose four huge animals so
easily, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t spot them through the
trees. Five minutes later he was starting to think that maybe it hadn’t been
such a good idea to go looking for Casey like this. He stopped and turned around,
wondering if he ought to just go back. Then he decided to go just a little
further. He moved around a particularly large tree then came to an abrupt halt
as he caught sight of the large cat a few yards away. It sat on a rotting log
and its feral gaze was locked on Jack. Its tail twitched and it emitted a low
growl that sent a wave of chills up Jack’s spine. Where the hell had it come
from? He was positive that it hadn’t been there a few seconds before. He put
off wondering how it had appeared out of nowhere in favor of trying to figure
out what to do now that it was there. Instinct told him that running would be a
bad idea. Should he confront it and try to startle it away? While he was
considering the validity of that option the mountain lion suddenly growled at
him, then hissed. Jack realized that it was very angry and decided that he’d be
better off safe than sorry. He’d drawn his gun the moment he set off in search
of Casey. Now he slowly brought the barrel to bear on the cat. He’d barely
taken aim when he heard a low whisper just behind him.

“Don’t
move.”

He did
as Casey instructed. He saw the barrel of her rifle easing up beside him. A
moment later she spoke in the same low whisper.

“Back
away very slowly.”

Jack
hesitated. “But-“

She cut
him off. “Do it!”

He
didn’t argue further. Instead he took a tentative step backwards. The cat’s
tail switched but it didn’t move otherwise. Jack took another step and then
another. When he was a few feet behind Casey she took a slow step back. They
kept moving like that for a few more steps before the big cat finally turned
and disappeared into the woods. Jack breathed a long sigh of relief and lowered
his gun finally. Casey didn’t move, though. She still stood there with her
rifle raised. Jack reached out and touched her shoulder.