Marshal of Hel Dorado (36 page)

 
    
The Marshal laughed, a good humor that came
straight up from the belly. “I expect that she has plenty of brothers to look
after her.”

 
    
Cody’s grin was positively wolfish. “And
you would do well to remember that.”

 
    
“You ladies kissed and made up yet?”
Jimmy’s dry voice cut between them. “We’re hungry and Scarlett’s getting
pissy.”

 
    
Laughing, Cody clapped a hand to Sam’s
shoulder, taking a small amount of vicious pleasure in the way the Marshal
winced. He’d landed more than his own fair share of damage.

 
    
“We understand each other.”

 
    
The three returned to camp and Cody ignored
the scathing looks Scarlett favored them both with. They’d washed up at the
watering hole before coming back, but even without the blood, the bruises and
cuts were a testament to their fight.

 
    
Still, once the food was passed around and
the conversation resumed around the fire pit, he avoided looking at Scarlett
when Sam took a seat next to her. The Marshal ignored her questions, turning
the subject to their plans for the next day and the route they would take.

 
    
The food tasted of ash and the water
bitter. Jimmy perched on a rock next to him, his voice too low to carry. “You
really okay?”

 
    
“We’re going to have to be, aren’t we?”

 
    
“Doesn’t mean we have to like it.”

 
    
Scarlett’s laughter drifted on the breeze.
Cody watched the amusement play over her face as Sam entertained her with some
story. He tried not to listen, the wolf having slumped into a pile of quiet
misery.

 
    
“She really likes him.” Jimmy’s words
shoved the knife deeper into his heart.

 
    
“I’m going to get some sleep.” Cody stood
abruptly, ignoring the awkward silence that smothered the camaraderie around
him. “Night.”

 
    
Scarlett stood, but Cody shook his head at
her. They could talk tomorrow.

 
    
It would be better tomorrow.

 
    
The wolf made a mournful low sound, but
Cody made himself walk away.

 
    
K
id
sighed, rubbing a hand against his temples. Even a dozen yards away from the
fire, watching the night landscape, he couldn’t get away from it. His heart was
like a clenched fist in his chest, making every breath an effort. Pain stabbed
into the back of his skull. The last week had been a wild ride with Sam’s fury
slashing at him and now the journey back to Dorado populated by hard feelings,
questions and mistrust.

 
    
The anger that simmered between Sam and
Cody seemed to have abated, for now. But in its wake, there were more
questions. The damn Indian kept haunting his dreams, demanding answers that Kid
didn’t have. The strange collection of talents among Scarlett’s kin was easier
to digest than the Indian’s curiosity.

 
    
He’d told the old man to leave him alone.
He wasn’t like Scarlett or her brothers.

 
    
It was bad enough he didn’t always fit in
with his own brothers, he didn’t need to be labeled a freak as well. Behind
him, laughter rolled up to the night sky, the pressure in his chest easing
along with his headache.

 
    
Kid sighed.

 
    
It was going to be a hell of a ride back to
Dorado.

 
    
“Y
ou
know, Miss Scarlett. You’d catch more flies with a little sugar than all that
vinegar.” Micah’s droll announcement poured salt on Scarlett’s already
irritated soul. They’d been on the trail for a week, rotating riders and
drivers amongst the wagons. She’d joined him in the wagon after arguing with
Sam that morning.

 
    
“What are you talking about?” She usually
enjoyed Micah’s company, his easy smile and laughter were a welcome respite
from Cody’s brooding and Sam’s caution.

 
    
“You. You’re scowling at the horizon like
it’s done offended you something fierce. Now, since you can light it on fire if
you’re of a mind, I’m thinking the horses and I would appreciate it if you’d
stop glaring.”

 
    
Embarrassment reddened her face and
Scarlett dropped her gaze down to her hands. She hated the wagons. She hated
the way they rocked and bounced. She hated how slow they moved.

 
    
She hated how numb her rear was on the
bench.

 
    
And she hated it that Sam left her to the
wagons to ride off with Cody and Jimmy for scouting. He’d told her no and ignored
her when she’d practically begged.

 
    
But what was worse, was the way Jimmy and
Cody backed away from the discussion.

 
    
They’d not supported her entreaty one bit.
To add insult to injury, Sam smacked her squarely on the rear and put her on
the wagon when she started after them.

 
    
Her bottom still ached.

 
    
“What color is the sky, Miss Scarlett?”
Micah interrupted her internal tirade.

 
    
“Blue.” She answered automatically, lifting
her gaze upwards and scanning the skies over and around them. “Why?”

 
    
“No rain clouds in sight. Dry land, scrub
brush, go up just like this,” Micah snapped his fingers.

 
    
Scarlett laughed, in spite of her temper
and turned a sidelong look to Micah. “Don’t you mean you’re worried that it’s
you who's going to go up just like that?”

 
    
“No, ma’am. I’m too pretty.” His cheeky
grin earned another laugh and Scarlett relaxed, thumping her boots together on
the wagon edge in front of them.

 
    
“It’s not fair.” She complained.

 
    
“No, ma’am. I’m sure it’s not.” Agreeable
was named Micah. “But Sam is just looking after you and it’s safer here.”

 
    
“Safer. Safer. Safer. Everyone keeps trying
to keep me safer. I did just fine on my own.”

 
    
She folded her arms and huffed. “Besides, I
want to let Dawn run, I want to ride. I’m so tired of this pace.”

 
    
“Well that plumb breaks my heart, Miss
Scarlett.” Micah nudged her with a shoulder.

 
    
“Seeing as I have you all to myself.”

 
    
Scarlett laughed. Micah really was a good
companion. He was never serious and unlike her own brothers, he didn’t seem to
avoid her when she was irritated. Twisting in the seat, she looked around the
back of the wagon. She and Micah were riding at the front of the line, with
most of the others falling back to ride alongside the other two wagons.

 
    
Traitors.

 
    
“My bottom hurts.” She knew it was
childish, but it was true. She settled back on the bench, looking for a more
comfortable spot. Not that there was much to be had on the hard wood.

 
    
“I expect it does.” Micah nodded to the
dry, arid land surrounding them. Even the scrub grass had turned yellow in the
heat. They were carrying water with them, but the riders were ranging out for
more. Scarlett knew that this desert passage was the hardest part of the trip.

 
    
They’d had to avoid any towns, particularly
overburdened by the stolen gold. But she could have helped them look.

 
    
“Why does he have to be so mean all the
time?” Guilt pricked her conscience. Sam wasn’t mean. In fact, over the last
week, he’d been really nice to her. They’d talked about her favorite foods, her
experiences with the horses and about her gift. He’d asked her what she could
burn, how hard it was, how much concentration it took and more. It was fun to
share what she could do and every night, when they were near a watering hole,
they’d gone swimming. Most of her clothes had been washed or soaked through
twice, and had to be hung inside the wagon to dry.

 
    
But she loved swimming.

 
    
At night, they’d sit at the fire, eating
whatever they’d managed to catch and only twice surviving just on hard tack.
Both mornings after, she’d woken to fresh fish. She still wasn’t sure how he’d
managed that and there was never enough for her brothers, just her.

 
    
They teased her, but no one tried to snatch
the food from her plate. Cody was still avoiding her, and had taken to sleeping
in his wolf form. Sam kept his bedroll next to hers and twice she’d woken up
curled up to his side, her head pillowed on his chest.

 
    
Heat warmed her face again. He never said
anything about it, simply murmured a good morning and waited until she woke
before he moved. A sigh pulled out of her and she unfolded and refolded her
arms.

 
    
Sam had been gone for hours.

 
    
“My brother fancies you, Miss Scarlett.”
The unexpected comment ripped her attention away from the horizon.

 
    
“What?”

 
    
“Oh, I figure it’s none of my business, but
ma’am, someone needs to talk to you and my brother is pretty slow on the
uptake.” Micah’s easy grin softened any sting in his words.

 
    
“Really?” Scarlett bit into her lip.

 
    
“Oh yeah. He’s Mister Cautious, look at all
the angles, gather all the information and then make a decision. It makes for a
good Marshal, but not courting, at least not to my way of thinking.”

 
    
“No.” Scarlett scowled, twisting on the
bench and grabbing the rail to keep steady as the wagon bounced and bobbed up
the unrutted trail. “The first part, about him fancying me.”

 
    
“Well, hell, pardon my language. Why do you
think he came all this way?”

 
    
“Because I’m wanted for the bank robbery.”

 
    
Micah just stared at her.

 
    
“Isn’t it? He arrested me. He sent for the
judge. Then I escaped.”

 
    
He sighed. “I’m not doing myself any favors
here, Miss Scarlett. But I don’t think you’re that dense. We had the gold back,
Sam could have made excuses to the Judge and even if they hadn’t worked, our Pa
would have fixed it.”

 
    
“But then why didn’t he just say that?” A
bubble of hope expanded in her chest.

 
    
“Have you seen your brothers?” Micah
laughed.

 
    
Scarlett paused. Sam and Cody had gotten on
well enough since the night they disappeared and came back bloody and bruised.
Even though neither one would tell her what happened, the tension in the group
had gone down considerably. Even Jimmy, her wariest brother outside of Wyatt,
had taken a shine to the Kanes.

 
    
“But they all like Sam.”

 
    
“Well enough, I expect they do. They’re a
hard lot, but decent as folks go and they’ve accepted us.”

 
    
“You accepted us, too.” Scarlett felt the
urge to point out. “You don’t treat us like freaks and our gifts don’t seem to
bother you.”

 
    
“No, not as much, I reckon. It’s still a
bit of a start when Cody wolfs it up or Buck decides to prowl around my dreams
like they’re his own personal patch of land and frankly when Rudy just sticks
his head in the side of the wagon and it gets all shimmery,” Micah shuddered.

 
    
“Well, let’s just say I don’t know how you
let him take you through that wall.”