his arm as he lifted the joined saddlebags, testing their weight.
He hissed a word that made Willow flinch.
«That tears it,» Whip snarled, letting go of the saddlebags. «Of all the stupid —»
«Did that gold come from Shannon’s claims?» Caleb interrupted.
«What damned difference does it make?»
«To me, none,» Caleb retorted. «It made a hell of a lot of difference to Shannon, though. The difference between being a widow and a whore.»
Whip uncoiled out of the chair and slammed into Caleb, pinning him against the kitchen wall in a single wild rush.
«God damn you, she isn’t a whore.»
«Whip! Stop it!» Willow cried, grabbing one of her brother’s arms.
Caleb stared into the quicksilver violence of Whip’s eyes and smiled almost gently.
«Hell, I know that,» Caleb said. «But if you’d feel better trying to beat the same words out of me, we can do a turn or two around the back yard.»
Whip stared at Caleb’s level, compassionate eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped back.
«Sorry,» Whip said, looking at his hands as though he had never seen them before. «I’ve been on a hair trigger, lately.»
«Then you better sit on your hands for a few minutes,» Caleb suggested dryly. «I’d hate to have my brisket parted by that damned bullwhip of yours.»
Slowly, Whip sat down.
«The long and the short of it,» Caleb said, «is that Shannon came here riding one fine racing mule and leading another. She had a hellhound as big as a pony at her side.»
«Prettyface,» Whip said.
«If you say so,» Caleb muttered. «Looked to me more like the north end of a southbound burro. Anyway, Shannon got off her mule and asked me to take the saddlebags. As soon as I did, she peeled the saddle off the first mule and put it on the other.»
Whip frowned. «Sounds like she was in an almighty rush. Something must have been wrong. Really wrong.»
«Same thought occurred to me,» Caleb said. He hesitated. «Do you know some women by the name of Betsy and Clementine?»
Whip shot a look toward Willow, who was fussing over some stew she Was warming up for him.
«I don’t exactlyknowthem,» Whip said in a voice that went no farther than Caleb’s ears. «I’ve never even met them. They live around Holler Creek. They’re, uh, saloon girls, if you take my meaning.»
«Yeah, that’s what I thought.»
«How did you hear their names?» Whip asked.
«Shannon mentioned them.»
«What!»
Caleb took a deep breath and hoped that Whip had a good grip on his temper. If the two of them got into a fight in the kitchen, there wouldn’t be enough left of the room to make breakfast in.
«Seems that someone named Murphy told Shannon that her gold couldn’t have come from Silent John’s claims,» Caleb said.
«Murphy! Damn his blood-sucking soul! I figured he would just take the gold and shut up.»
«According to Shannon, you figured wrong on something else, too,» Caleb said.
As Caleb spoke, he casually went behind Whip’s chair.
«What was that?» Whip asked.
«You, uh, overpaid her,» Caleb said.
«What the hell are you talking about?»
Caleb took a concealed breath, gathering himself for the fight he knew was coming.
«When Shannon learned the gold wasn’t hers,» Caleb said, «she went to Betsy and Clementine and asked them what the going rate for their favors was.»
«What?»
Whip would have shot to his feet again, but Caleb’s big hands were bearing down on Whip’s shoulders, holding him in his chair.
«Settle down and listen,» Caleb said grimly. «Shannon took whatever amount the girls told her, figured out how much she had been overpaid by you, and came down off that mountain like a blue norther to give you your change.»
When the meaning of the words penetrated, the fight went out of Whip.
Oh, God, honey girl. I never thought of you that way at all. You were as innocent as sunrise …
«She really said that?» Whip managed finally.
Caleb nodded.
«She thought that I’d paid her off like something I’d bought for the night?» Whip whispered.
Warily, Caleb nodded.
«I don’t believe it,» Whip said starkly.
Willow smacked the stew spoon against the kettle, knocking off clinging bits of meat.
«Believe it,» Willow said succinctly. «Shannon wouldn’t come inside the house, not even for a cup of tea.»
«Why?»
«She said she respected me too much to bring my brother’s whore into my home.»
Whip made an anguished sound and slammed his fist on the table. His coffee cup leaped and turned on its side, sending a wave of searing liquid over him. He barely felt it. The pain that was tearing his soul apart left no room for anything else.
Abruptly Whip twisted aside and stood up, throwing off Caleb’s restraining hands.
«I changed my mind about those biscuits, Willy,» Whip said in a strained voice. «Make a batch of them big enough to take me over the mountain.»
«But the pass is closed,» Willow protested.
Whip turned to Caleb. «You still have those snowshoes in the barn?»
«Nope. They’re outside by the back door. I’ll go with you as far as my Montana horses can take us. After that, you’re on your own.»
«Thanks.»
«But when you get there,» Caleb said, «be damned careful.»
«Why?»
«She was mad enough to set that hellhound on you.»
Whip looked at the scars on his hands and smiled slightly. «Wouldn’t be the first time we tangled.»
He grabbed his jacket and hat and headed for the back door.
«What about supplies?» Caleb asked as Whip opened the door. «Will the two of you make it through the winter?»
«I made sure Shannon had enough to feed two people until the melt came.»
«You were a little slow figuring out who the second person was, weren’t you?» Willow asked dryly.
The back door slammed, cutting off the sound of Caleb’s laughter.
«What if he can’t get to the cabin?» Willow asked.
«He will. Getting back in Shannon’s good graces will be the real trick. That was one purely pissed off woman who rode out of here.»
«He’ll have all winter.»
«He’ll need it,» Caleb said.
«I doubt it. He has an unfair advantage.»
«What’s that?»
«She loves him,» Willow said simply.
AS dawn began to take stars and darkness from the sky, Whip resettled the straps of his backpack and set out across the meadow toward Shannon’s cabin. Peaks lifted silently above the earthbound darkness, bathing their
