Brides of the West (5 page)

Her mouth parted with a small gasp and she
leaned in a fraction.

His bollocks tightened in anticipation of her
body against his. His fingers clenched instinctively to pull her
close.

He jerked his hand away. “Go to bed.” His
voice sounded harsh. He couldn’t help it, he needed to get away
from her, before he did something they’d both regret. “You need to
be up early.”

She swung away with a small cry of
disappointment. Or was it the laugh of a temptress?

He stayed where he was, watching her step
through the door and into his bedroom. His control hung by a
fragile thread. If he caught one more glimpse of those high perky
breasts through that filmy fabric, he’d be done for. God. He was
going mad.

***

The kitchen smelled sweet with syrup and just
a little smoky when Tess entered the next morning.

Jake at the griddle waved his spatula.
“Please, sit. My turn to cook.”

Dave looked up from his plate with a shy
smile. “Good morning, ma’am.”

Matt reined in a smile that had almost run
away from him. He glowered an acknowledgement.

“Good morning, everyone,” she said. “Am I
late?”

“You’re right on time.” Jake dropped a plate
with a pancake and bacon in front of her. “Help yourself to
syrup.”

She didn’t need encouragement. She poured the
dark brown liquid over the golden fried batter and tucked in. The
combination of salty bacon and sweet syrupy pancake filled her
mouth. “Delicious.”

Jake brought his own plate over and hooked
his chair beneath him with one booted ankle. “Coffee?” he asked
waving at the pot in the center of the table. She noticed that he
cut his food with the edge of his fork instead of his knife and
already had a mouthful. She liked to see a man enjoy his food.

“When do we leave?” Not that it really
mattered. She had little to pack. But she did want to get there
before dark.

The kitchen door slammed back. Raven strode
in. Sweat streaked the dust on his face. “Trouble. Steers down in
Split Pine Canyon.”

“Dammit.” Jake leaped to his feet. “How
many?” He reached for his hat.

“Twenty. Thirty. Too many for me. A couple
already in the water.”

“Ah, hell.” Jake looked at Tess.

“What is the matter?” she asked.

“Some cattle have wandered into a gorge. Last
time they did that, half of them drowned trying to make it across
the river instead of turnin’ around and comin’ back the way they
went in.”

“Can we come, Uncle Jake?” Matt cried out.
“You said we could come on the next roundup.”

Jake looked torn. “It’s not a roundup. And we
ain’t gonna go.”

Matt glared at him. “You promised.” His gaze
turned to Tess. His upper lip curled. ‘It’s ‘cause of her, ain’t
it? You’re gonna let your steers drown because she wants to go to
the city.”

“A promise is a promise,” Jake said. “And I
promised to take Tess into town today.”

“I’ll take the boys,” Raven said. “We can fix
the fence.” While his expression remained impassive, his eyes
showed concern.

Without thinking, Tess said, “I can go to San
Antonio tomorrow.” Then wished she’d bitten out her tongue when
Jake looked appalled and shook his head.

“I can’t leave you alone,” Jake said. “And
the country is too rough for the buggy.”

“Can’t you ride?” Dave asked.

“Yes,” Tess said. “Yes, I can.”

“Not in a dress,” Dave said. “The thorns’ll
rip it to shreds. That’s what Mama always hated...” His voice died
at the glare from his brother.

“I sure hate to lose that many good steer
this early in the season,” Jake said. “Are you sure you don’t
mind?”

“No.” Tess smiled, suddenly glad not to be
leaving, despite the little clock ticking in her brain. Tomorrow
was the fifteenth of July and any day now Albert might leave. But
this was important to Jake and she wanted to be part of it, to do
something useful. “I don’t mind at all.”

“Matt, fetch a clean pair of pants,” Jake
said.

“Why? I put these on clean yesterday.”

“Now,” Jake said, his drawl more like barked
orders. “And a shirt. Bring them back here. And get a wiggle
on.”

The boy shot off.

Raven went to a cupboard and pulled out a
sack, then piled the supplies on the table. Bread, dried pork,
other things Tess didn’t recognize.

“Dave,” Jake said, “go fill the canteens at
the pump. Tess, when Matt comes back tell him to leave the clothes
and come and help me saddle up.”

In just a few words, Jake had turned the
casual breakfast into a well-ordered expedition.

“What can I do?” Tess asked.

Jake raised his brows, waited for Dave loaded
with canteens to struggle out of the backdoor, then grinned at her.
“You can change into Matt’s pants and shirt, then come on out to
the barn. We’ll see if we got a horse that will suit you.”

***

When Jake glanced up from tightening the
girth on the grey, he almost swallowed his tongue. It was all he
could do not to whistle. Tess in a gown, day or night, was one
sweet sight, but in Matt’s hip-hugging pants and white linen shirt,
she was a man’s wet dream. This day had just turned into a
nightmare.

He aimed for what he hoped was a casual
nod.

Dave giggled. “You sure do look funny in
Matt’s clothes.”

Matt shot red-faced out of a nearby stall.
“Tell her to take ‘em off.”

Oh yeah. Jake’d sure like to tell her to do
that. “I asked her to wear them. It’s practical for out on the
range. That is, if we’re gonna go rescue those steer, instead of
standin’ around here all day yappin’.”

Matt opened his mouth, then clearly thought
better of what was on his tongue, because he dove back into the
stall he’d just exited. Moments later, he backed out his and Dave’s
piebald ponies. Uncle Raven took the other mare and led Jake’s
chestnut outside. He gave Tess a nod of approval as he passed.

She bit her lip.

“Don’t take any notice of that boy,” Jake
muttered. “He’s taken a dislike to women since his father died and
his mother went back East.”

She nodded. “I guessed it must be something
like that.” She approached the grey from its front quarter so as
not to spook it and ran a hand down its nose, letting the horse get
her scent before she moved to its side to mount.

The woman knew horses at any rate.

She frowned and touched the saddle, traced
the complex pattern on the skirts with a fingertip. Her expressive
green eyes widened. Her lips parted on a hiss of breath.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Jake asked.

She shot him a quick glance from beneath her
lashes. “Uh...no. I was admiring the work on this saddle. Did you
buy it near here?”

She was lying. Again. Hell, he hated a lying
woman. Reminded him too much of the boys’ mother. “San Antonio.” He
watched her lips press together as if to seal in the excitement
shining in her eyes.

It was none of his business.

He dropped the old hat he kept for working
the barn on her head. The thick hair coiled on her crown kept it
above her ears. “Come on, I’ll give you a boost.” She said she
could ride. Now he’d see if she was lying about that, too.

She settled into the saddle and he adjusted
the stirrups. With her long coltish legs, she needed them longer
than Matt did.

“How’s that?” he asked.

She pushed up in the stirrups and sat back
down. “Good.” She ran a hand down the gelding’s withers. “Good
boy.”

He walked the grey out into the yard and
handed her the reins, then mounted up. Uncle Raven and the boys had
already moved out leaving him and Tess eating their dust.

They broke into a trot. She did that funny up
and down thing the English did, her sweet round bottom popping out
of the saddle in the most suggestive way until he imagined himself
lying beneath her, those strong thighs lifting her along his
length... He dug his spurs in Buck’s flanks and broke into a
canter. She caught up with him.

Yeah. How about that? She rode as well as any
of them.

They settled into a steady rhythm. Fast
enough to eat up the miles, steady enough not to wind the
horses.

Tess gestured to the boys up ahead. “So why
aren’t those boys with their mother?”

“She remarried. It didn’t work out too good,
so she sent them out to me. Matt’s hurtin’ bad because she don’t
want him around right now. Their father was my younger brother,
stepbrother. Went for a soldier and got hisself killed in the war.
Now the ranch is all mine. Another reason their mother is mad.”

“Oh,” she said.

That was it? Oh. After he’d given his life’s
history except the real bad part? He never talked about family as a
rule. So why now? And why her?

They rode on for another mile or two in
silence. It was as if she were digesting what he’d said like a
snake digests a bird.

“Are there more snakes out here?” she
asked.

He almost fell off his horse. Could she read
his mind? He held back a grin. “Cottonmouth, rattler. All
deadly.”

She edged her horse a little closer to his.
“Are they likely to attack?”

He resisted the temptation to tease, but
didn’t want her more skittish than she was already. She’d only be a
distraction. More of a distraction. “Only if you disturb ‘em, put a
hand on one, stumble over it.”

“Oh, I see.” She sounded a mite less
tense.

“Course they can be unpredictable. You can’t
be sure they won’t take a mind that you’d make a tasty meal.”

She shot him a glance from beneath his hat
that said she didn’t believe him.

“Then there’s coyotes and mountain lion, they
sometimes attack cattle and the odd traveler,” he said.

This time her eyes glittered like emeralds.
“Why are you trying to frighten me?”

“Just tryin’ to make you aware of the
dangers.” Trying to make sure she didn’t want to stay? In case he
couldn’t say no?

“You will take me to San Antonio
tomorrow?”

Apparently it had worked. “Yes.”

Her gaze swept the horizon. “Are we still on
your farm...ranch?”

He shook his head. “This is free range. All
the ranchers hereabouts use it.”

She pointed to a distant grazing herd of
longhorns. “Then how do you know which cows are yours?”

“Cattle. We brand ‘em. My brand is the Circle
Q.”

“The same sign as over your gate.” She said
it as if she’d made a novel discovery. He had made the right
choice. She was a town girl. Just like the boys’ mother. After the
novelty wore off, she’d hate it here.

“How much farther?” She shifted in the
saddle. Another sign of her delicate constitution. Shit. He had to
stop thinking about her bottom.

“Couple miles more, I reckon.” He squinted
against the sun. “See that outcrop of rock there in the distance.
That’s where we’re headed.”

They rode the rest of the way in silence.

***

The unexpected slash of rocky gorge, took
Tess’ breath away. After all the flat land, who would have imagined
this beautiful wild and rocky place that seemed to appear from
nowhere? Water rushed not far below them. Either side of the steep
drop-off, fence posts leaned at crazy angles. Between them,
protruding from ground churned by the hoofprints of many animals,
other posts stuck up like broken teeth.

“Something must have spooked ‘em and they
busted through,” Jake said, circling his horse around the broken
ground. “C’mon. Uncle Raven and the boys must have gone down to the
river.”

Behind him, Tess leaned back to check her
mount’s awkward progress down the shale that sloped away at an
alarming angle. The noise of the water drowned out the noise of
their hooves.

Rounding a giant boulder, she saw Raven and
the two lads facing a head of about twenty-five steer, brown, white
and beige with wicked looking horns. The three riders had them
penned against a sand-colored up-thrust of rock that looked as if
it might have been sliced by a giant knife.

Two other animals struggled in the rapid
flowing water, their cries pathetic.

Jake, his face grim, twisted around in his
saddle to yell at her over the noise of the water. “Take over for
Uncle Raven. We’ll see if we can get those two onto the bank.”

Tess nodded and eased the gelding around him.
The little horse stumbled on the loose footing. Tess’ heart leaped
to her mouth, but she held firm in the saddle.

“Steady, boy,” Tess murmured. “Easy now.” The
horse’s ears flicked back at the sound of her voice and stepped
forward as daintily as you please. “Good, boy,” Tess crooned.

Jake shot her a glance that looked like
surprise edged with a glint of admiration.

The moment she took up position beside Raven,
he took off for Jake at the water’s edge.

The two boys appeared anxious as they
whistled and yelled each time a steer tried to make a break from
the group. It was enough to keep the steers at bay. Tess grinned at
the boys and picked up the rhythm, the horses pacing and circling,
ever vigilant for the snorting, seething mass to surge. Up close,
these beasts were huge, terrifying, brown eyes circled in white,
saliva dripping from flared nostrils, and horns like bayonets. If
they stampeded, she and the boys would be speared, or worse yet
trampled, and the whole lot might drown.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched
Raven and Jake get a rope around the necks of the animals in the
water. The way they looped the ropes in circles then tossed them
was a work of art, not to mention an entrancing display of the
power in Jake’s muscular shoulders as he wrestled the roped animal
to the bank.

Finally, both were out of the river and Jake
and Raven joined her and the boys in the slow painful process of
herding them up and out of the gorge.

Sweat poured down her back, despite the shade
in the depths of the ravine. Her shirt stuck to her skin, her
bottom burned, but when she got to the top, she whooped and yelled
along with the men. Elation filled her with a physical excitement
the like of which she’d never encountered.