steel touched her.
'I'll make you bleed!' yon Heusen promised again. He was almost on top
of her. She could see the razor sharpness of the blade, aimed toward her
face.
The window shattered behind her, and a man came bursting through. Booted
feet connected with von Heusen's chest and he was sent flying into the
room.
He landed hard and turned, ready to throw his knife straight at Tess's
heart.
Jamie fired his Colt without hesitating, without a flicker of fear or
remorse.
And yon Heusen stared at him, startled. Then his colorless eyes closed
for the last time, and he slumped to the floor.
Jamie strode over to Tess.
'Are you all right?' he demanded.
She nodded, her throat dry, her heart pounding. 'Dammit, Tess, I told
you that this had to be my way.'
'I--I was trying to do it your way!' she said. But then she looked at
von Heusen again, and back to Jamie. And she passed out cold.
With a tender smile, Jamie lifted her into his arms and held her very
close.
He didn't look at yon Heusen. He car tied her into the light of day.
Chapter Fourteen.
It was really amazing when one looked around, Tess thought.
She was having a barbecue. Well, the ranch was hosting a barbecue.
Huge sides of beef were being roasted all around the property, the wine
and beer and whiskey were flowing freely and all manner of entertainment
was going on.
She was having a party--and the cavalry and the Apache and the
townspeople and even the whores from the saloon were in attendance.
Nalte was her honored guest. She and Jamie had discovered that the
Apache had never intended to leave the area, that he meant to find out
about the man who would betray so many people. It was Nalte who had
called in the cavalry, taking a tremendous chance when he had sent a
messenger to the fort.
Tess was glad of the party, and she was grateful to feel a part of a
huge family. She didn't have to be the only hostess.
Kristin, always calm and capable and serene, was handling most of the
social duties.
Still dazed from the events of the day, Tess wanclered through the
crowds rather aimlessly, welcoming the men who had been her friends
after the wagon train had been raided, keeping the peace when it seemed
that the rowdy Indians were getting too close to the rowdy whites. But
she didn't need to take care of much of that. Cole and Malachi and Jon
seemed to have a good eye on things, and Hank knew how to take care of
the place.
She had just wandered into the kitchen when Jamie caught up with her.
As always, he didn't stand on ceremony, but caught her hand and told her
bluntly that he wanted to talk to her.
