«And I can’t stop you, either, is that it? You’ll cut and run off in the wild the first chance you get, and the Devil take the hindmost.»
«Of course. That’s the only reason you agreed to take me to the stage in the first place.»
«Blackmail.»
«In a word, yes.»
Caleb’s mouth turned down as he looked at the darkness and determination in Jessica’s eyes. It reminded him of the time Willow had set out alone on Ishmael in the middle of the night rather than go through with a marriage she believed Caleb didn’t want. Willow had come very close to dying because of her determination that Caleb be set free. The memory of nearly losing her still haunted him at odd moments, making him go to Willow and hold her, reassuring himself that she was alive, safe, his.
Jessica was no less determined to do what she believed was right than Willow had been. All Caleb could do was see that Jessica stayed safe until Wolfe had a chance to sort out the mess.
Grimly, Caleb pulled out his six-gun, spun the cylinder to check the load, and holstered the gun with a smoothness that told its own deadly story.
«The horses are waiting, Mrs.Lonetree.»
Tears came unbidden to her eyes. «My name is Lady JessicaCharteris.»
«CALL it,» Reno said.
«Heads,» saidRafe.
«Tails.»
Rafeflipped the coin.
Reno’s hand flashed out, caught the coin, and smacked it down on the back of his hand. He pocketed the coin without bothering to look at it.
«Tails,» Reno said, turning away.
As he reached for his horse’s rein, the bullwhipRafe was holding rippled and writhed as though alive. Suddenly, the tip cracked with the sound of a pistol shot.
Reno turned towardRafe, who was coiling the whip with swift motions of his hands.
«That’s your free one, Matt,» Rafe said flatly. «Don’t do it again. Which horses do you want?»
«Only one of us is going. Me. You’re staying with Willow.»
Rafesmiled thinly. «I figured that out real quick. What you haven’t figured out is Wolfe was so eager to get finished hunting mustangs and get back to his wife that he left here at a dead run.»
Reno hesitated, listening.
«By the time you catch up and the two of you get back to the ranch,» Rafe continued, «Caleb will have a hell of a long lead on you. So which of Caleb’s horses are best for making up time over rough country?»
«Willow said to be sure one of the horses we had waiting for Wolfe was Ishmael.»
«All right. Who else?»
Reno’s smile was as hard and brilliant as his eyes. «Doesn’t matter. Everything Caleb left here is better than anything he took with him. That boy was in no hurry to put daylight between himself and Wolfe.»
Rafeblinked and then laughed softly. «Tricky.»
«Smart. Wolfe is going to come down off the mountain like a bluenorther.»
«Maybe. And maybe he’ll just letJessi go. From what I’ve seen, he wasn’t any too pleased to be married to her.»
Pale green eyes assessedRafe before Reno showed his teeth in a wolfish smile. «And that’s just what you were planning to rub Wolfe’s face in, wasn’t it?»
Rafe’ssmile was as cold as his gray eyes. «That’s a fact. He was hard on her.»
«He had some cause, andJessi was the first one to say so.»
«All the same, I’d like to be the one to tell Wolfe.»
«Sorry, big brother. This one is mine.» Reno swung into the saddle and looked down atRafe. «Think. Why do you suppose Jessica asked Caleb to go instead of one of us?»
«I’ve been wondering about that,» Rafe admitted, «what with a wife and new baby to look after and all.»
«Stop wondering. Caleb is married to the soles of his feet and Wolfe knows it. So doesJessi.»
«Neither one of us would have touchedJessi,» Rafe said instantly. «She knows that.»
«Uh-huh. Now, do you want to be the one to explain it all to Wolfe while he’s a half mile away, taking your measure over the barrel of a rifle?»
«IfJessi didn’t love that hard-headed son of a bitch, I’d be glad to explain it to Wolfe any way I got the chance.»
«So would I,» Reno said flatly. «But she does love him.»
Rafe’smouth tightened. He nodded and stepped out of the way.
«All right, Blackfoot,» Reno said. «Let’s see if you’re half the running fool Jed Slater thought you were.»
The tall black horse leaped forward, hitting its full stride in seconds.
THE second day on the trail, Caleb spent as much time looking over his shoulder as he did watching the route ahead.
«Stop putting a kink in your neck,» Jessica said, looking up from the stream where the horses were drinking. «Wolfe isn’t coming after me.»
«For a bright girl, you can be stump dumb at times.» Caleb checked the cinch on the pack saddle and then on his own horse. «Wolfe loves you.»
«He wants me. There’s a difference.»
«Not for a man, honey. Not at first.»
Caleb swung up on his horse and started forward again, leaving Jessica staring after him. He kept to a steady pace, not wanting her to accuse him of shirking his side of the bargain. On the other hand, he never took the shortest route around any obstacle. No point in giving Wolfe cause to be any angrier than he already would be.
It was late afternoon before Caleb reined in to study the route ahead. On either side lay a cluster of raw mountain peaks which were separated by a broad band of land that was clothed in trees, scrub, and grass. The divide was several miles wide at the bottom and less than a mile at its highest elevation. Where Caleb and Willow were, the land was green with the wild rush of spring and alive withmeltwater from the nearby mountains.
«We’ll camp here,» Caleb said.
«It won’t be dark for two hours.»
Caleb slanted Jessica a cool amber glance. «It will take longer than that to get over the divide. If we don’t camp here, we’ll be picking our way through a half-frozen marsh in the dark with no place to sleep but sitting up in the saddle.»
Jessica met Caleb’s glance, sighed, and looked uneasily over her shoulder. She thought she had caught movement behind them, but Caleb didn’t seemed concerned. When she looked back, he was watching her with an odd smile on his face.
«Don’t fret, Red,» Caleb said kindly. «I gave you enough lead on your man that he’ll work off the worst of his mad before he catches us.»
«Wolfe isn’t coming.»
«Horseshit.»
Jessica gave Caleb a startled look.
He smiled as gently as though she were Willow.
«Even if you’re right,» Jessica said with a catch in her voice, «Wolfe couldn’t get to us this quickly without riding a horse to death. He wouldn’t do that.»
«One horse couldn’t get the job done,» Caleb agreed. «Three could, though — Deuce, Trey, and Ishmael.»
«What?»
Caleb looked past Jessica at the open ground they had just covered.
«If I were you,» he said, «I’d spend the next few minutes thinking up ways to take the edge off Wolfe’s temper.»
The certainty in Caleb’s voice sent a stroke of unease through Jessica. She stood in her stirrups and looked
