She looked up.
‘‘Kora!’’ Dr. Gage yelled from inside. ‘‘Hurry!’’
With only a moment’s hesitation, she turned back inside, leaving the door open.
Win swung from the saddle and tied his horse to the doc’s buggy. He walked slowly to the doorway, already guessing what he might see.
The cabin was filthy, as he’d expected. It looked more like a rat’s nest than a human’s home. A man lay in front of the fire on a crude cot made of ropes and logs. Dr. Gage knelt over him working frantically on his chest. His hands were spotted in blood to the elbow, and his face was dripping sweat. Kora stood beside him following rapid- fire orders.
Win watched as his little wife, who shied away from him, helped Dr. Gage like a seasoned nurse. He wanted to be mad because she’d left without telling him, because she’d put herself in danger, because she’d worried him half to death. Because she’d left Jamie to cook. But he couldn’t be angry. Not with the pride welling in him.
‘‘I’ve got it!’’ the doc yelled as he pulled a hand from halfway inside the man’s chest. ‘‘The bullet is out.’’
Kora took a breath and for the first time looked up. If Winter’s presence surprised her, she showed no sign of it. She simply smiled that quiet, shy smile of hers and returned to her chores.
Gage glanced at her, then Winter. ‘‘Hello, Win,’’ he said without any note of apology. ‘‘We’re about finished here.’’
‘‘Take your time,’’ Win mumbled. He leaned against the doorframe and tried to wait patiently as they worked at sewing up the man. Not wanting to watch, Win glanced around the room. His gaze settled on a black duster hanging on a peg. For a few minutes he couldn’t think of why it looked so familiar. Then he remembered. The three men in black who’d shot at him and Cheyenne the day Jamie rode with them.
Slowly, almost casually, he walked over to the peg and turned the duster around in the light. Sure enough, there was a bullet hole about gut level, maybe a little higher. This man had been one of the three, but from the looks of him now, he couldn’t have sat a horse, much less have ridden in to start the fire.
‘‘How long ago was this man shot?’’ Win asked over his shoulder.
‘‘Several days,’’ the doc volunteered as he worked. ‘‘At first I thought it was too risky to try and take the bullet out. Then, when he got worse, I figured it would be the only chance to save his life. And it’s a slim chance. Yours was the nearest place I could go to get someone I could trust to stay with me through the operation. And Kora did, just like a trooper.’’
The doc smiled at Kora as he praised, making Win feel a sharp stab of jealousy.
Kora stood and washed her hands as the doc wrapped the wound. ‘‘I’ve no desire to be a nurse, but I’m glad I could help.’’
Win moved closer to her. ‘‘You left Jamie to cook,’’ he whispered.
‘‘I had to.’’ Kora glanced at him as though she couldn’t believe how selfish he sounded.
Win cleared his throat. ‘‘This is one of the men who shot at Cheyenne and Jamie. He tried to kill us all in that ambush.’’
Dr. Gage stood. ‘‘You think it could be?’’
Winter faced Gage. ‘‘The men were wearing black dusters and I put a bullet in one’s gut and one in another’s shoulder.’’
‘‘Are you sure?’’
‘‘That’s my bullet you just dug out, Doc.’’
Gage took a long breath. ‘‘Well, this man’s not going anywhere for several days. If he makes it through the night, we’ll tell the sheriff and let him do the arresting.’’
Winter frowned. ‘‘When the ambush happened, I figured the men were from down south maybe sent to scare us. But if this fellow’s here, the other two may be, also. I don’t think you should stay in the settlement tonight, Doc.’’
‘‘I’ll be all right.’’ Gage waved them out. ‘‘You may have put the bullet in this man, but I might have killed him trying to dig it out. We’ll know one way or the other come morning. In the meantime, outlaw or not, I’ve got to do all I can to keep him alive.’’ Gage straightened his tired shoulders. ‘‘Besides, I’ve got Rae here to protect me.’’
Both men laughed. Rae was an old woman who’d lived in the Breaks for years, and she was meaner than any outlaw or drunk in the place.
Kora picked up her shawl, too tired even to ask what the men were laughing about. ‘‘Good night, Doc,’’ she said as she walked toward the door. ‘‘I’ll go back with Win now.’’
Gage waved them away as he made himself comfortable by the fire. ‘‘Thanks again,’’ he called. ‘‘Don’t worry about me. Rae will be around soon. She’ll help if I need someone.’’
Win followed Kora out and untied his horse. He could feel her close beside him in the darkness. ‘‘I didn’t think about bringing you back alone or I’d have brought a wagon.’’ He hesitated, knowing her fear of horses. But from what he knew, the doc wasn’t much of a rider, so it wouldn’t be fair to leave him the horse and take the buggy. ‘‘You mind riding double?’’
‘‘No,’’ she answered. ‘‘This could be my first riding lesson.’’
He swung up into the saddle and offered her his arm.
There was a moment’s hesitation before she slid her fingers over his sleeve and he closed his hand around her forearm, pulling her up in front of him. ‘‘Comfortable?’’ he asked, thinking of how light she felt.
She leaned against his chest without answering, but the rapid pounding of her heart told him she was far more frightened of being atop a horse than comfortable. But he couldn’t hide his smile. He’d wanted her this close for days.
‘‘Don’t worry,’’ he whispered. ‘‘I’ve got you and I promise I won’t let go.’’
Win guided the horse back over the uneven path of the settlement. He watched the shadows for any movement and kept his right hand free to reach for his gun. The only advantage to the moonless night was that anyone would have as much trouble seeing him as he did them.
To ease her fears he talked softly in her ear, telling her how to hold the reins and when to trust the horse to pick the path.
When they were away from the campfires and shanties, Kora relaxed slightly as if she, too, had been watching, waiting. ‘‘Thank you,’’ she whispered as she leaned against him. ‘‘I’m glad you came to get me.’’
If Winter had any plan of yelling at her for disappearing, it vanished. The nearness of her washed over him as it had before, smoothing rough edges that had been a part of him since he could remember. ‘‘I was worried about you,’’ he said, rougher than he’d intended.
She didn’t seem to notice his tone as her arm slid around his waist. ‘‘When I was about eight, I carried sewing to my mother’s customers.’’ She kept her voice low, but her grip was strong. ‘‘One winter evening I lost my way and thought I’d never get home. I remember praying my mother would come to find me, but she never did. When I finally made it home, she hadn’t even noticed I’d been gone.’’
He moved so that she could rest her back against his arm and lowered his head, slightly breathing in her closeness with each breath. ‘‘Don’t disappear just so I’ll worry, but I’ll always come find you.’’
Kora laughed. ‘‘Did you worry more about me or having to eat Jamie’s cooking?’’
‘‘I left Cheyenne to face the cooking.’’
‘‘If I know Jamie, there won’t be much besides apples to eat tonight.’’
Winter joined her in laughter. ‘‘That could be a blessing.’’
They rode for a long while, huddling against each other for warmth. In time, their breathing matched as did the rhythm of their hearts. A beat at a time, she was losing her fear both of him and of riding.
When they passed onto even land, Winter circled the reins around the saddle horn and allowed the horse to pace himself. He gently took Kora by the shoulders and turned her slightly.
He felt her stiffen.
‘‘Easy, now, wife,’’ he whispered with his cheek against hers. ‘‘I only plan to kiss you if you’ve no objections.’’
‘‘You’re talking to me in the same tone as you do the horse,’’ she whispered.
‘‘I guess I haven’t had much practice talking to women,’’ Winter answered as he touched his first knuckle beneath her chin and lifted her head slightly. ‘‘I’ll learn, though, Kora. Give me a little time. I’ll learn.’’
‘‘Is a kiss part of the peace between us?’’
Win didn’t want to talk. He only wanted to kiss the woman. He’d never asked for a kiss in his life, and he wasn’t
