RENO’S temporary camp was so well concealed by the land itself that Willow wondered how he had ever found it in the first place. The narrow, spruce-and aspen-choked ravine that opened onto a swiftly racing creek looked impassable. Nor was there any obvious reason to force a passage into the ravine. There were many such blind gullies on the mountainside, places where water flowed only at the peak of the snowmelt or after an especially heavy storm. There was nothing about this particular ravine that looked any different. There was certainly no reason to think that it eventually opened onto a high, small bench where part of the mountainside had slumped away from the main mass of stone.
Before entering the ravine, they had walked the horses in the icy mountain stream for more than a quarter mile, hoping to throw off any trackers. Nothing could entirely conceal the passage of the eight horses, however, except time and a good rain.
There was no trail into the ravine, no broken brush or scarred trees to mark the passage of man. Reno dismounted from his horse and went to the mouth of the ravine. There he untied thongs that had been subtly weaving together two spruce trees. The trunks of the spruce grew almost parallel to the ground, legacy of the crushing weight of winter’s deep snow. As soon as the thongs were released, branches sprang apart, revealing a dim passageway into the ravine.
«You’ll have to walk the rest of the way,» Reno said.
Caleb dismounted and went to help Willow. Before he could, Reno had already handed her down from the saddle. It wasn’t the first time Reno had moved to stand between his sister and the man who was obviously her lover rather than her husband.
Caleb’s mouth thinned to a grim line, but he said nothing. He didn’t want Willow to be present when he and Reno thrashed out the subject of sisters and seducers.
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.
Unfortunately, the rough justice in the situation didn’t make Caleb feel any better about his position as a seducer.
I’m begging you now, Caleb. Don’t stop. If you stop touching me I’ll die.
He wondered if it had been that way for Rebecca, a hunger so deep that she begged for Reno. Had Reno tried to pull back from Rebecca, only to find that he could not?
Willow. Push me away. Oh, God. Willow, don’t.
I can’t help it. I’ve needed you all my life and didn’t know it. I love you, Caleb. I love you.
Caleb closed his eyes and bowed his head as memories sleeted through him, heaven and Hell entwined.
Am I hurting you?
No. It’s good — so good. Like flying. Like riding fire. Don’t stop — don’t ever stop.
And he hadn’t.
When his eyes opened, Reno was watching him, noting Caleb’s fist clenched so hard on the reins that the leather buckled, seeing the savage, whiskey-colored eyes where ecstasy and anguish were inter-locked like flame and shadow.
Curtly, Reno gestured for Caleb to begin leading the horses through the narrow passage.
When all the horses were in the tiny valley, Caleb and Reno returned to remove what evidence they could of the passage of so many horses. By the time they got back to camp, it was dusk. Willow was just picketing the last horse in the valley’s deep grass. When Caleb and Reno walked into camp, she was struck by the similarity between the two men. Both were broad-shouldered, both were long-limbed, and both moved with the muscular coordination of healthy animals.
The memory of Reno’s speed with a gun returned to Willow, telling her that the two men were alike in one other way as well. They both were dangerous.
It frightened her.
«Caleb,» Willow said, «I’m worried about the shoes on my Arabians. Would you check them for me?»
Surprise showed briefly on Caleb’s face, but he said nothing. Although he always helped with Willow’s horses, it was the first time she had asked him to do so.
«Sure.» Caleb glanced swiftly at Reno, then returned his attention to Willow. He smoothed the back of his fingers lightly down her cheek. «I won’t be far, honey. If you get tired of the company, come and get me.»
She smiled despite her fear. «I’ll be all right.»
Reno waited until Caleb was out of earshot before he turned to his sister.
«All right, Willy. What the hell happened?»
The icy green of her brother’s eyes told Willow how much of his rage he had been concealing. Numbly, she wondered how to begin.
«Remember the summer evenings?» Willow asked finally, her voice low and husky. «Remember the dinners when the table was crowded with food and the air was filled with talking, and you andRafe would see which one of you could make me giggle first? Remember the sound of crickets and the smell of new-mown hay?»
«Willy —»
She continued talking right over Reno’s attempt to interrupt. «Remember the warm nights when the men of the family sat on the veranda and talked about blooded horses and field crops and faraway places and I would sneak out and sit and listen and everyone would pretend I wasn’t there because girls weren’t supposed to care about horses and crops and faraway places?»
«What does that have to do with —»
«Do you remember?» Willow asked in a voice that trembled with suppressed emotion.
«Hell, yes, I remember.»
«That’s all I had. Remembering. Memories and a box full of Yankee notes and Confederate scrip that was worthless except for starting fires. The moon still rose, but the hayfields and white-fenced paddocks were gone. The veranda and house burned one winter night. The little church where Mama and Papa were married and we were allbaptised burned, too, nothing left but crooked headstones looking like ghosts rising out of the weeds.»
«Willy,» Reno began unhappily, but she wouldn’t let him talk.
«No. Let me finish, Matthew. I couldn’t live on memories. I’m a girl, but I have dreams, too. I’d saved all your letters. When the last one came, asking for help, I sold what was left of the ruined land, wrote to Mr. Edwards, and headed West. There was just enough money for the trip. Caleb Black agreed to be my guide to the SanJuans.» She smiled sadly. «But I can’t pay him the fifty dollars I promised.»
«Is that what happened? Did you sell yourself just to —» Reno began, his voice harsh.
«No!» Willow interrupted. Then, more calmly, «No.» She closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them and faced her brother unflinchingly. «I wish Caleb could have come courting me on a West Virginia farm. He would have complimented Papa on his blooded horses and Mama on her spinet playing and me on my pies. After dinner Caleb would have sat on the veranda to talk with my brothers about crops and horses and weather…»
Reno started to speak, only to find he had no words to equal the yearning in Willow’s eyes.
«But it wasn’t to be,» she said. «Mama and Papa are dead, all but a few of the horses are gone, the land is laid waste, and my brothers are scattered across the face of the earth.»
Reno reached out toward Willow, only to have her step beyond his reach.
«I don’t know what the future holds for me,» she said in a low voice. «But I know this. If I must, I’ll walk away from the past like a snake shedding skin. All of the past, Matthew. Even you.»
«Willy…» Reno whispered, holding out his arms. «Don’t back away from me.»
With a choked sound, Willow went to her brother, returning his hug as fiercely as he gave it.
«It will be all right,» Reno said, closing his eyes, concealing the cold purpose in them. «Everything will be all right, Willy. I’ll see to it.»
When Caleb came back to camp, he found Willow putting out the last of the venison jerky they had made during their stay in the small, distant valley. Reno picked up a piece, chewed it, and made a sound of surprise.
«Venison.»
Willow nodded. «We smoked it in the valley while Deuce healed up.»
«I’m surprised Caleb risked shooting a deer.»
«I didn’t,» Caleb said from behind Reno. «I stalked it, then cut its throat.»
