Marshal of Hel Dorado (17 page)

 
    
He could find her in dreams.

 
    
Scarlett paralleled a streambed for a time,
using the water to cross out from behind another set of fences. She wasn’t even
an hour north when she saw the rider cantering towards her. Her stomach
plummeted.

 
    
Micah waved his hat as he brought his horse
closer and Scarlett pulled the gun. Trusting her legs and her hand on the
mare’s mane to keep her steady.

 
    
“Miss Scarlett, good morning.” He drew back
on the reins, the chestnut stallion nearly a hand higher than her own mare. His
smile faltered at the sight of the gun. “Miss Scarlett, this isn’t a good
idea.”

 
    
“Perhaps not and I am very sorry, Mr.
Kane.” It was better to think of him at a distance.

 
    
His friendly, if wary, smile adding to the
package of guilt she was already carrying.

 
    
“Scarlett,” Micah held up a gloved hand.
From the dust on his chaps to the sweat on his face, she suspected he’d been
riding the land’s perimeter. From her arrival, Jed had increased the men on
watch.

 
    
To protect her.

 
    
She swallowed.

 
    
“No.” She kept the gun steady, resisting
the urge to gesture with it. “Just dismount and strip the saddle.”

 
    
Micah sighed, his expression so much like
Sam’s that her heart hurt. He dropped off the stallion easily and began
unbuckling the girth. “Miss Scarlett, running isn’t the answer. Pa’s already
sent Jason to the Governor. He’s applying for a dispensation to have the
Governor decide rather than the circuit judge. Just give him some time.”

 
    
Scarlett bit the inside of her lip. The
Kanes had all been extremely kind to her, kinder than she deserved, but it was
too late. Sam had seen her fire. It didn’t matter whether it was a federal
judge or the governor making the decision, she couldn’t be here anymore.

 
    
Micah paused, as though sensing her
hesitation. “Just give us some more time? You’ve been so ill. It can’t be good
for you to be racing bareback off across the hills.”

 
    
“Finish taking the saddle off, please. I
don’t want to have to shoot you.” She wasn’t even sure she could shoot him.
Micah’s look said as much as he pulled the saddle off. The stallion tossed his
head once.

 
    
“Drop it.”

 
    
Micah obeyed.

 
    
“Bridle next.”

 
    
Shaking his head Micah freed the bridle,
the stallion lipping the air at the freedom. He dropped the bridle onto the
saddle and waited. “Should I send him on his way now?”

 
    
“Yes, please.”

 
    
Micah gave the horse a gentle slap on his
rump and the stallion trotted away, pausing after a few feet to drop his head
and graze. Micah didn’t quite smile as he met her gaze.

 
    
“Scarlett, don’t go.”

 
    
“I have to.”

 
    
“No, you don’t.” His expression gentled,
but he didn’t move in her direction. Her arm was getting tired of holding the
gun, but she concentrated on keeping it still.

 
    
“I do. Take off the gun belt. Put it with
the rest and start walking west.”

 
    
Micah sighed and this time he did take a
step forward. “No.”

 
    
“What?”

 
    
“I said no. This is ridiculous. If you
really want to go, go. But I don’t think you’re going to shoot me and you’re
having enough trouble staying on the mare’s back without firing that gun. So,
no.” He was just a step or two away from reaching her side when she thumbed the
hammer back.

 
    
He frowned.

 
    
“Please, Micah. Just do what I ask.”

 
    
“Where are you going to go?” He put his
hand to the buckle, his gaze never leaving her face. “Do you even know where
you’re riding?”

 
    
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll make sure I leave
the mare somewhere safe if I can’t send her back and have them send word to you
so you can get her back.”

 
    
“Her name is Crescent’s Dawn, for the half
moon on her rump.” Micah wrapped the belt around the holster and gun, tossing
it over to land in the grass next to the saddle and bridle.

 
    
Scarlett hadn’t needed to know that. Guilt
gnawed at her. “Okay. Start walking.”

 
    
He stood still, folding his arms across his
chest. His chin set in stubborn fashion. He gazed at her evenly with dark brown
eyes, so like Sam’s they made her heart hurt. “Sam is going to come after you.
A lot of people are going to come after you.”

 
    
“Are you going to?”

 
    
“Only if you ask nicely.” White teeth
flashed with a quick grin. “And maybe even if you don’t. Don’t run.”

 
    
“I’m sorry, Micah. I wish I could explain,
but I can’t. It’s not safe for any of you if I stay. It’s so much better if I
go.”

 
    
“No ma’am. I don’t believe that.”

 
    
Scarlett wanted to scream. Why couldn’t he
just go? Why couldn’t he just walk away?

 
    
“Micah, please.” Her voice broke.

 
    
“Dammit. I hate to see a lady cry.” He
backed off a step and then another. “But wait.”

 
    
Turning on one heel he strode over to the
saddle. She stared at him, disbelieving as he pulled off the canteen and
carried it back to her. He came right up to her, ignoring the gun and putting a
hand on her leg.

 
    
“Take this. You’ll need it if you keep
heading north. Water gets sparse. It’s rockier to the northeast, but there’s
water and caves there for shelter.” His hand was warm on her knee. Scarlett
uncocked the gun and slid it back into the holster.

 
    
“Thank you.” She took the canteen’s strap
and looped it over her shoulder and across her chest.

 
    
“You’re welcome. Is Sam all right?” He
nodded to the gun on her thigh. Of course he recognized the pearl handle.

 
    
“He should be. But I don’t think he’ll be
happy when he wakes up…”

 
    
Micah frowned, his fingers tightening on
her knee. “He didn’t touch you…”

 
    
Scarlett’s eyes widened at the implication
and shook her head. “No. I hit him. In the head.”

 
    
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” His smile
relaxed, a hint of mischief inching his lips upwards. “He’s got a hard head.
All right. Go on then. I’ll give you an hour.”

 
    
“And then?”

 
    
“Well then I’m coming to find you darlin’,”
Micah’s grin was infectious and Scarlett laughed in spite of herself.

 
    
“One hour.” He held up a finger. “Remember,
north and east. Rocks, streams, caves. But keep the gun handy and listen to
Dawn, she’ll warn you if any predators are about.”

 
    
“Micah.”

 
    
“Yes ma’am?”

 
    
“Thank you.”

 
    
“You ride safe. I’ll see you soon.” He
slapped the mare on the rump gently, startling her into a walk. Scarlett’s legs
tightened to stay steady and with a single tap, they were loping away.

 
    
North.

 
    
And east.

 
    
When she dared a glance back, Micah stood
next to the stallion, staring in the direction she rode.

 
    
She tapped the mare’s flanks again.

 
    
H
ours
later, the sun soared directly over her head. But she saw no signs of pursuit.
She’d followed Micah’s directions, going north and cutting east. She’d found
another streambed, following it for a time before turning east fully. She was
riding away from Dorado now. Deeper into rockier hills decorated with spruce,
scrub and the occasional half-oak. The grass here was yellowed, but Dawn didn’t
seem to mind as she nibbled her way through the break. Scarlett used some
gathered leaves to branch to scrape the sweat off the mare’s side before
letting her loose.

 
    
She watched the landscape behind her, aware
that they couldn’t linger here for long. It was hours before dark and even
hoarding her water in the canteen, she’d have to refill it soon.

 
    
Shading her eyes, she glimpsed a pair of
hawks soaring lazily above. Wisps of white clouds puffed out to the north, but
south, darker clouds were gathering, blotting out the blue sky on the horizon.
The storm was miles off, but they’d need shelter if it came at them.

 
    
Scarlett swiped away sweat with the sleeve
of her shirt. She could wish it was cooler or that she’d thought to grab Sam’s
hat before she left. Even tied into a braid, her hair felt thick and heavy
against her brow. There were escarpments to the east. Enormous juts of rocks
splitting upwards like slender stone fingers.

 
    
They might provide shelter against the
storm. They were at least a mile or two off, but the sweet and sturdy mare
seemed to be enjoying her unexpected outing. Spilling a little water into her
hand, Scarlett rinsed the sweat off her face and then sealed the canteen again.
The mare looked up at her approach, going steady as she mounted and they were
off.

 
    
A cool breeze carrying the scent of
moisture stirred the hot air. Scarlett looked south. The black clouds were
spreading out rapidly, eating away the horizon with flashes of lightning
jumping from cloud to cloud. She urged Dawn to a faster pace.

 
    
Summer thunder often carried swift rain
that pooled in low places and could easily turn into torrents and floods.
Better to be on higher, dryer ground. Leaning forward, Scarlett hoped the
outcroppings ahead boasted a cave that she and the mare could reach.

 
    
The rain chased them, the first spits of
water spattering against her face as the mare climbed the incline to the cave.
Scarlett had to dismount to guide the mare inside. It was larger than the
opening boasted, but the mare’s lack of alarm as her feet struck the stone
floor was encouraging. She didn’t think even the rain could send a horse into a
predator’s cave.

 
    
At least she hoped not. Thunder rolled over
head, a dozen boulders colliding in the sky above. Away from the entrance, the
air was still moist with rain, but dry enough. She did what she could to make
the mare comfortable, stripping down to her undershirt so she could wipe the
mare down. Her shirt would reek, but she could wash it at the next stream they came
too.

 
    
The mare dropped her head, nearly dozing as
the storm lashed against the world outside.

 
    
Scarlett sat down on a rock, not even
minding the hardness against her nearly numb rump. She never thought she could
miss a saddle or even a blanket.

 
    
Stretching her legs out in front of her,
she leaned her head back against the cave wall and closed her eyes. If she
dozed, maybe Buck would be too and he could find her sooner.

 
    
A welcoming whicker from Dawn jerked her
eyes open and lightning split the sky wide open, backlighting the figure
filling the cave entrance.