Heart Of Texas (Historical Romance) (19 page)

"I don't usually have to say things more than
once." There was coldness in his tone, and an uncompromising glare reflected in his eyes. "Draw
your pay and don't let the sun go down on you
while you're still on my land."

Teague was barely able to control his anger.
He'd always fancied himself a kind of son to Cyrus, like family. He had resented Gabe from the
first day he'd came to live at Casa Mesa. As Cyrus's
natural son, Gabe had lived with the family.

Gabe had it all-the old man's name and a soft
bed at the big house. It wasn't right that he
should be thrown off Casa Mesa after being loyal
for so many years.

Without a word, he turned on his heel and
walked out of the house.

Anger guided Ira Teague's footsteps to the
bunkhouse, where he threw his belongings into a
saddlebag. He was halfway to town before he realized he had not drawn his pay.

It was a cool, crisp afternoon without a cloud in
the sky and only a slight breeze blowing from the
south. Jenny had gone to Kate's house after waking from her afternoon nap.

Kate liked to have jenny read to her, and it was
only a week ago that Kate had admitted to Casey
that she couldn't see well enough to read her own
books.

On one of Sam's last trips into town, Casey had
asked him to go by Finnegan's store and order a
pair of bifocals for Kate. He and Flint had ridden
into town today, and Casey hoped the glasses had
arrived by now, and he could bring them home.

She smiled when she thought of Sam. He had
become fast friends with Omous and Flint, and
they were teaching him the skills a young Comanche boy would learn. Flint was showing him how
to track, and Omous was teaching him how to
survive in the wilds with just a knife. It was a great opportunity for Sam to gain knowledge of the Comanche way.

Casey's life had settled into a comfortable routine, and so far there had been no more trouble
from the Casa Mesa ranch. She hoped that Cyrus
Slaughter had finally lost interest in the Spanish
Spur.

Today was the first afternoon she had nothing
to do. She was very aware that Gabe had set
Fletcher to watch over her, and she knew it was
for her own safety, but she wanted to get away for
a while to be by herself.

Casey had no mirror, so she wasn't sure how
well her old blue riding habit fit; it had been years
since she had worn it. She was relieved to find it
still fit around the waist, but it was just a bit too
short.

She smiled as she tied her hair back with a
matching blue ribbon.

Straightening her blouse, she gave a satisfied
nod. She left the house and walked toward the
corral to saddle the chestnut.

When she approached the horse, she smiled in
anticipation. From the first day Casey had set eyes
on the gelding, she had been wanting to ride him.
But until today there had been little opportunity;
her days had been too busy. Now that the house
was in order, she had time to ride.

She lifted a saddle onto the horse's back, and
it took her several tries to fasten the cinch.

Kate had found the saddle that had belonged to Casey's mother in the tack room; it had been
abandoned and suffered from neglect since her
mother left Texas. Sam had polished the leather
and replaced a buckle and a strap.

Casey liked the thought of using something
that had belonged to her mother; it made her feel
closer to her somehow. Of course, it was a western
saddle, and Casey had ridden only sidesaddle, so
that might be a problem for her.

Casey had half expected Fletcher to be in the
barn, but the place was deserted. Hoping to get
away before he returned, she tentatively slid her
foot into the stirrup and awkwardly hoisted herself onto the saddle. At first it felt strange to her,
but she thought she could get used to it with practice.

The chestnut tossed his mane as if he were
ready to run. Sam had ridden the horse several
times and found him to be a good mount, so she
didn't expect to have any trouble from him.

She let her breath. out as she settled her gown
about her legs in an attempt to cover her petticoats.

The horse bounded forward in reaction to her
command. In no time at all, she was riding across
the pasture, toward the river.

Her spirits soared!

She had not ridden in so long, and she was glad
to see she could still stay in the saddle. Her cares
blew away with the gentle breeze that touched her cheeks. For this one afternoon, she was not going
to think of anything unpleasant.

The gelding had great stamina, and he ran full-
out until she slowed him to a lope. She found
herself laughing out loud as her spirits soared
even higher. It had been a long time since she
had felt so lighthearted.

When she dismounted near the river, she stood
on the bank, remembering that this was where
she had first seen Gabe. Thinking of him brought
her mind back to the present. If only there were
a way she could get past the barrier he had
erected around himself. She had often seen raw
pain in his eyes, and it tore at her heart. He might
not know it yet, but he needed someone to love
and take care of him.

He needed her.

Casey turned away from the river and watched
the chestnut grazing nearby. When she looked
downstream and saw a boulder overhanging the
river, she removed her book from the saddlebag,
thinking it would be the perfect place to read for
a while. When she climbed to the top of the boulder, she was amazed by her lofty vantage point.
She could see for miles in every direction.

She was beginning to love Texas and the Spanish Spur. There was a beauty here, a quiet serenity, if you didn't think about Cyrus Slaughter.

After a moment of musing, she sat down with
her book on her lap. The sun felt good on her
skin, and she found her eyes drifting shut. She lay back, cushioning her head on her arm, thinking
she would close her eyes for just a moment.

She smiled to herself, remembering other times
when she had ridden with her friends back in Virginia before the war had changed everything. Virginia no longer felt like home to her. This was
the land of her mother's birth, the land that had
given life to Gabe.

This land spoke to her heart.

She tried to read a page in her book, but her
eyelids were heavy, and she laid her book aside
and soon drifted off to sleep.

Gabe had just ridden in when Fletcher hobbled
out of the barn toward him, shaking his head.
"Did you take the chestnut gelding somewhere today?" he asked in a puzzled tone.

Gabe swung out of the saddle. "No. Why?"

"It's missing. I know Kate ain't took it, and Sam
went to town with Omous and Flint. If you ain't
got him, who does?"

Gabe glanced toward the house, suspicion
growing in his mind. "Have you seen Miss Hamilton this afternoon?"

"No, I ain't." He scratched his head. "You don't
think she'da took the horse and rode off by herself, do you?"

"You're supposed to be watching her," Gabe
said in a hard voice, and with long strides hurried
toward the house. He took the porch steps two at a time and rapped on the door. "Casey, are you
in there?"

When there was no answer, he opened the door
and went inside. He looked in every room and
found them all empty. Panic took over his reasoning, and he ran back outside to find Fletcher still
waiting for him.

"Are you sure she isn't with Kate?"

"She ain't. I just got back from having coffee
with Kate. She's got the little one with her, but
not Miss Casey."

"Dammit, Fletcher, you should have at least
heard Casey ride away."

"I didn't think she'd go off somewhere without
telling any of us."

There wasn't a doubt in Gabe's mind that Casey
had ridden out alone, even though he'd told her
not to. He walked to the barn and studied the
hoofprints-there were just too many to separate
the gelding's from all the others. If Flint had only
been there, he could have tracked her easily.

"Fletcher, saddle up and ride toward town. I'll
search down by the river. If you meet up with Omous and Flint, send them to me there. Do not
alarm Sam."

Fletcher nodded, feeling bad for letting Gabe
down. He'd trusted him to watch the woman. "I'll
saddle up to meet them right now."

Gabe had never felt such a deep foreboding.
He knew that Cyrus had someone watching the
house, and he didn't want to think about what might happen to Casey if one of his father's spies
found her alone and unprotected.

He kicked his horse in the flanks and rode fullout toward the river.

When he reached the Brazos, he galloped
along the bank, looking for signs of hoof marks.
He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the riderless chestnut.

Dismounting, he glanced in every direction to
see if Casey was lying injured somewhere.

He squinted against the setting sun, and his
gaze ran along the cliffs. He saw a flash of blue
material blowing over the side of a boulder.

Gabe raced up the hill and stopped when he
saw Casey lying so still upon the boulder.

When he bent down beside her, he saw the rise
and fall of her breast and was overcome with relief-she was all right, merely sleeping.

He wanted to shake her for scaring him the way
she had. If anything happened to her, he
wouldn't know what to do. He needed to see her
every day as much as he needed the air he
breathed.

His anger slowly melted away when he looked
upon her face. The sight of her gentle beauty cut
right through his heart. This moment belonged
to him because he had her all to himself, and she
would never know it.

He lightly touched a red-gold curl while he
watched the way her long lashes lay against her
pale cheeks.

His gaze moved across her full mouth, down
her slender neck to the swell of her breasts. He
didn't allow his eyes to linger there because he
didn't want to think about the satiny flesh that lay
beneath her gown.

He stared at her tiny waist, which he was sure
he could span with his two hands. She was so defenseless out here alone, and anyone could have
happened upon her while she slept.

He touched her cheek, swamped with aching
need. He allowed his fingers to drift tenderly
down her face. Realizing his thoughts were going
in a dangerous direction, he pulled his hand
back.

"Casey, wake up." He gently touched her arm
and shook it. "Casey."

Casey's lashes fluttered open, and the blue of her
eyes was so dark, Gabe felt as if he were falling
into them. She smiled, and her whole heart was
in that smile.

"I was just dreaming about you," she said,
stretching her arms over her head and sending
his heart pounding when the gesture pushed her
breasts tightly against the cloth of her gown.

She sat up, looking puzzled, then touched his
arm. "How did you find me?"

"I thought I told you not to leave the house
unless someone accompanied you." His anger had
returned, and there was a bite in his tone.

She reached for his hand and laced her fingers
through it in an intimate gesture that seemed natural to her, but sent a shock through him.

"Don't be angry," she cajoled, moving forward
to look into his eyes. "Nothing happened to me."

He was staring at her mouth, wanting desper ately to kiss her. "You have to listen to me, Casey.
It's dangerous for you to go anywhere alone."

"You were worried, weren't you?"

"Hell, yes." He hadn't meant to, but he raised
her hand to his lips, his mouth lingering on her
knuckles. "Don't ever do anything like this again!"

She moved forward and pressed her head
against his shoulder. "I was in no danger."

He jerked her chin up so she was forced to look
at him. "You will be in danger until Cyrus is no
longer a threat. Why can't I make you understand
that?"

She tossed her head and gave him a provocative
smile. Now he wanted to shake her for an entirely
different reason. "Don't look at me like that."