Marshal of Hel Dorado (34 page)

 
    
“I don’t know.”

 
    
“Yes, you do.” He knew an evasion when he
heard one.

 
    
Her face twisted into a stricken
expression. He could hazard a guess as to why she’d done it, but it was better
to let her say it out loud, to admit it and to own her own actions.

 
    
“Quanto said he would heal.”

 
    
“And so he has, mostly. But why did you
burn him?”

 
    
Scarlett fidgeted in the seat, her leg
bouncing and brushing against his. He glanced down at the slender length of
thigh where it bobbed on the seat and further to the booted foot that tapped a
rapid rhythm.

 
    
“I didn’t want him to kiss me.”

 
    
“Did you tell him no?”

 
    
“I tried.”

 
    
“But he didn’t listen?”

 
    
“I couldn’t get the words out and Cody’s a
lot stronger than I am, he was so close and…”

 
    
She broke off again, fire sparked on her
fingertips and Sam pulled his hand out from behind her to cover her hand. The
fire evaporated at his touch and he held back the sigh of relief. It would be
so easy for her to burn him, but he trusted that she wouldn’t.

 
    
He gave her hand a comforting squeeze. “Why
did you burn him?”

 
    
“Because he scared me.” It was such a
simple confession and she sounded all of twelve years old. Sam fought the urge
to pull her over into his lap and snuggle her until the last trace of that fear
vanished. It was only slightly stronger than the urge to pound Cody until he
couldn’t walk.

 
    
But only slightly.

 
    
“Jimmy, Buck, even Quanto, everyone says
that Cody is letting the wolf take him too much. It is the wolf, not Cody. But
it doesn’t matter. I hurt him and I should never hurt my family. I’m dangerous
to be around.”

 
    
“You haven’t burned me.” Sam held onto the
hand, thumb stroking the back of it.

 
    
“Yet.”

 
    
He chuckled at the rebellious note in her
voice.

 
    
“Fair enough. But as I recall, when I
kissed you,” he turned to watch the impact of the words. “You didn’t burn me.”

 
    
Scarlett’s face flushed red and she dropped
her gaze away, embarrassment having completely scuttled her distress. Sam
lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it gently, inhaling the
sweet, sunny scent of her. Her gaze jerked back to his and he smiled, speaking
against her skin so she could feel his breath.

 
    
“And I’ll be happy to test that theory with
as many kisses as you’d like.”

 
    
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Sam grinned, kissing her hand once more before tucking it against his thigh and
holding it there. She tugged once, but when he tightened his fingers, her hand
palm relaxed on his thigh and it stayed there.

 
    
Even when he needed both hands for the
reins.

 
    
The rest of the afternoon past in quiet,
speculative silence. Sam was almost sorry to see the sun dipping lower in the
western sky. Smoke puffed into the sky, a mile ahead. The outriders had set up
a camp for them, there would be water for the horses and food roasting on the
flames.

 
    
He stole a glance to his left, but Scarlett
kept her gaze firmly on the horizon, lost in her own thoughts. But her hand was
still on his thigh.

 
    
It was a small measure of progress.

 
    
S
undown
swept like a great blanket across them by the time the horses were loosened
from the wagons, rubbed down, watered and fed. Scarlett ached from the roots of
her hair to the tips of her boots.

 
    
She really didn’t like the wagon.

 
    
Except, her gaze strayed to where Sam stood
talking to his brothers, she did.

 
    
Two rabbits and a grouse were roasting on
the fire, Jimmy and Cody tending to it. Setting up camp was a quick prospect
with so many bodies, but Scarlett did her part, hauling the water when Sam
handed her two buckets. It took six trips and her arms were screaming before
she was done, but there was enough water to drink, cook and wash as needed.

 
    
One glance revealed Cody watching her and
he said something to Jimmy before striding in her direction. Scarlett
considered heading to Sam, but decided that letting her hand sit on his thigh
all day had been enough of a bad message and Cody was her brother.

 
    
Dammit.

 
    
She squared her shoulders and found a smile
for him. It wasn’t hard. “Want to swim?”

 
    
The question, while unexpected, also
sounded wonderful. She was hot, sweaty and she needed to blow off some steam.

 
    
“Yes. Did someone pack towels? Wyatt didn’t
mention them when he rousted me this morning.”

 
    
Cody grinned. “Grab some clothes, I’ll get
the towels.”

 
    
Scarlett went hunting for her saddlebags.
They’d been stowed with the crates in the wagon she and Sam shared. She climbed
up, sorting through the bags by feel in the dark until she found one stuffed
with clothing. It was a simple matter to unpack a clean shirt and britches.

 
    
She’d skipped bringing any dresses or
skirts, expecting that she’d be in the saddle most of the time.

 
    
After locating her hairbrush and a bar of
soap, she rolled it all together and pushed the tarp back to find Sam waiting
for her. He shot a questioning glance at the roll of clothes.

 
    
“I’m going swimming and I thought I’d wash
while I was there. It’s hot.”

 
    
“With Cody?”

 
    
Her chin lifted at the cool question. “And
anyone else that wants to come along.”

 
    
Sam grinned. “Toss me my saddle bag. I
think I might enjoy a swim.”

 
    
“Swim?” Micah leaned against the side of
the wagon. “Count me in.”

 
    
Scarlett ducked back inside long enough to
grab Sam’s bags and hand them down to him.

 
    
He set the bags down and then lifted his
hands expectantly. She hesitated, but he was just being a gentleman.

 
    
Or at least that’s the excuse she told
herself.

 
    
He caught her easily and lowered her to the
ground, his hands lingering on her hips a few seconds longer than necessary.

 
    
“Race you,” she challenged and dashed away.
The sound of feet rushing after her, chased her through the dark. The watering
hole, or at least what she’d seen of it in the dying light of the day, was a
rock rimmed lake fed by three separate streams that fell over an outcropping of
rocks.

 
    
Cattails grew in rich profusion around the
shores, but there was little sand or dust at the edge, as though the water had
shaved its own path through the landscape to create the escape.

 
    
She toed off her boots and stripped down to
her under shirt. She considered the britches for a moment, but she didn’t
really want to soak them and chucked them off as well, trusting the shirt to
hide any delicate bits that the worn, cotton pantaloons didn’t.

 
    
“Damn.” Jimmy swore in the dark. “Can’t see
a damn thing out here.”

 
    
Laughing, she raced to the edge and jumped.
The water was ice against her flushed skin and the swearing erupting closer to
the rock edge told her she’d gotten more than a few with the backsplash.

 
    
“How is it?” Buck called.

 
    
Scarlett dropped her feet, testing the
depth of the water and found that it crested at her breastbone. Deep enough for
swimming and bathing, but not so deep she would have to swim to stay on the surface.
A second splash followed quickly by a third warned her that she was about to
have company.

 
    
“Light it up, Scar.” Jimmy called from the
shore.

 
    
“You sure?” Something brushed her leg and
she twisted away from it.

 
    
“Go for it, we’re safe!”

 
    
The bands of tension in her belly expanded
and blossomed as she released the rigid locks on the heat building up inside.
Flames burst into the dark sky. She stretched her hands out, letting the
pillars of fire climb up from her palms, illuminating the water.

 
    
Sam waded just two feet away from her, his
expression captivated. So captivated that he didn’t seem to sense Micah’s
approach and he flashed her a wicked grin as he went to tackle his brother. Sam
must have seen her eyes widen because he jerked around at the last moment and
caught his brother, sending him tumbling into the deeper water.

 
    
Her heart pumped wickedly against the surge
of feeling his wonder evoked. Two hands locked around her ankles and she oofed
as she was jerked under the water. She came up sputtering to Cody’s laughing
face. Sam waded closer, all but glaring at Cody and he grinned a challenge and
hit the Marshal in the face with an arm wave of water.

 
    
Sam lunged for him and the two wrestled
into the deeper water. Fire raced in circles around the water as Scarlett
watched them. There was more than play going on.

 
    
“I’ll be damned.” Micah waded closer to the
flames and she flicked them away, sending them racing to the edges, the push
and pull of the water lapping against her adding to her internal buoyancy.
“They said you could do this, but it’s the damndest thing.”

 
    
“Thank you, I think.” She gave him a small
smile, pleased that he was just as fascinated as his brother. After years of
warnings about fear, it was a relief to be herself. She glanced around the
water for Kid, but saw him sitting on the shore, not far from Jimmy. They were
both armed and watching.

 
    
“Don’t worry, Miss Scarlett. We’re all
going to take turns with watching.” Micah drifted closer and gave her shoulder
an awkward pat. “Just swim and play.”

 
    
She nodded and dove under the water,
swimming a few feet from him and kicking back up the surface. She opened her
eyes, testing her control and was pleased to see the light of the flames still
flickering above. Surfacing she found Cody and Sam glaring at each other.

 
    
“Anytime.” Cody murmured.

 
    
“Now?” Sam challenged.

 
    
Scarlett’s heart froze in her chest.

 
    
Cody’s eyes were yellow.

 
    
Flame exploded up in a geyser between the
two men forcing them to jerk back. They turned twinned pairs of startled eyes
in her direction.

 
    
“Sweetheart,” Noah wrapped his fingers
around her upper arm and tugged her backwards.

 
    
“Sometimes, you just have to let folks sort
themselves out.”

 
    
“But they’re fighting.”

 
    
“Yes, they are.”

 
    
“And Cody’s eyes…”

 
    
“Trust your brother. Trust the Marshal.”
Noah advised. Jimmy and Kid were both still sitting on the shore, clearly
undisturbed by the prospect of what was about to happen.