make a bed for Dan under the trees. He’ll be safe there while I move the wood.’’
Jamie ran to the other side of the wagon and jumped in.
‘‘I’ll help, ’cause I’m staying, too. I don’t want to miss the fun.’’
‘‘But, Jamie!’’ Wyatt ran to her side of the wagon. ‘‘What about us? My offer still stands. Run away with me now, and I promise you a wild time.’’
Jamie shook her head. ‘‘I’m sorry, Wyatt. I have to turn you down. I’m not sure what you’re looking for, but it’s not me.’’
Wyatt tipped his hat as though she’d turned him down for a dance. His lack of sorrow made it plain to everyone that she was just an extra and not a staple in his life.
As the women moved away toward the cottonwoods, Win said to Cheyenne, ‘‘Take a man and ride as fast as you can back to the house for supplies. We may be here for the night, and I don’t want Kora hungry or cold.’’
Cheyenne nodded. ‘‘And I’ll pick up your extra Colt. You want me to take Dan back?’’
Win smiled, thinking of where his gunbelt was resting around Kora’s waist and wishing his arm could do the same. ‘‘No, she wants her family close.’’
Win leaned closer to Cheyenne. ‘‘You still got that deed I bought from the bank and Andrew Adams?’’
‘‘I picked it up this morning before I rode out here to join you,’’ Cheyenne said. ‘‘Andrews couldn’t believe you were paying him double for his share. But it was a smart investment. That’s a pretty spread, but it will never be farmland.’’
‘‘Put the deed in the safe when you get back.’’ Win watched the pass between the rocks. ‘‘And put Jamie’s name on it.’’
‘‘What?’’ Cheyenne questioned as if he didn’t hear Winter correctly.
‘‘I don’t want her ever feeling she has to run off with drifters and gamblers just because she doesn’t feel like she has a place to stay.’’
‘‘All right,’’ Cheyenne said as he walked away. ‘‘You’re the boss. But you sure picked a hell of a time to be passing out land.’’
THIRTY-THREE
TIME PASSED SLOWLY UNTIL SUNSET. KORA AND JAMIE made several trips to the cottonwoods and brought back firewood. The men helped them unload and build fires all along the ridge where the cattle below might come through.
Winter didn’t say another word to Kora, but he looked for her each time he rode past the camp.
At dusk Cheyenne returned with supplies and Dan’s chair. He helped Jamie tie it to the bed of the wagon, both knowing that Dan would climb into the wagon before full dark and not budge no matter what happened.
Win worked with his men, giving instructions and advice like a general preparing for battle.
When Cheyenne walked beside his boss, he said, ‘‘If they stampede that large a herd and we spread the fires out, there will be no place for the herd to turn except in on itself.’’
‘‘I know,’’ Win whispered.
‘‘It’ll be a slaughter. Some of their men may be caught in the middle. A man down in that size a herd would be dead within seconds.’’
‘‘I thought of that,’’ Win agreed again. ‘‘I’ve always depended on you being my right hand. But tonight, if the shooting starts, I want you to leave. Take Kora and Jamie and travel north toward the settlement. With my men busy fighting, we may not be able to stop the fire once it starts. The folks at the settlement will need warning. From there, take the women and Dan back to the house.’’
Winter had made sure months ago that the house was surrounded by a breaker against grass fires. The stream on one third, the corrals on another. Plowed ground void of grass on a third. It made the grounds muddy when it rained, but it acted as a breaker. Cheyenne would have time to knock the corral posts down. With Kora and Jamie keeping watch, the headquarters would be safe. The stark plainness of his ranch headquarters that Mary Anna had complained about once would be the very thing that saved it from burning.
‘‘What if Kora won’t go?’’ Cheyenne asked. ‘‘Do I drag them off screaming and fighting?’’
‘‘Tell her the house is in danger.’’
Cheyenne shook his head. ‘‘She won’t go.’’
Win frowned. ‘‘Tell her Dan and Jamie are in danger. She’ll do anything to help her family.’’
‘‘Even leave you here to fight alone?’’ Cheyenne asked.
‘‘Even leave me,’’ Win repeated. He figured one ‘‘I love you’’ would never outweigh a lifetime of caring for her brother and sister.
Darkness moved across the prairie, but the men kept the vigil. In one-hour shifts they stood guard at every location where cattle might climb. Win remained in the saddle, moving from one location to the other, waiting.
Wyatt restlessly circled the campfire where Kora and Jamie sat. He’d flirted with Jamie until nightfall, but she’d turned him down cold. Yellow never aroused her passion, and he seemed dipped in it. He’d pleaded his case better than a big-city lawyer could have, but she was no longer interested.
‘‘Rider coming in!’’ one of the men on post yelled.
Win and Cheyenne stepped into the glow of the campfire as a rider cleared the pass and rode toward the light.
All guns were drawn as the rider dismounted. ‘‘I’ve come with a message!’’ he shouted. ‘‘For McQuillen.’’
‘‘I’m McQuillen.’’ Win moved forward. ‘‘What is it?’’
‘‘One of my boss’s daughters wants to talk to you. She wants to try and make peace one last time. She said to meet her in the pass alone in ten minutes.’’ The drover looked nervous. ‘‘She says if you do, it’ll all be solved.’’
‘‘I’ll be there,’’ Win stated and raised his hand to allow the messenger to return unbothered.
‘‘Don’t go,’’ Cheyenne whispered. ‘‘It’s a trap.’’
‘‘For once I agree with Cheyenne,’’ Wyatt said. ‘‘The woman is mean and self-centered. Whatever she wants will only serve her own interest. I think she’s probably the one responsible for the lookouts being shot.’’
‘‘Maybe she doesn’t want to see her father killed,’’ Kora offered. ‘‘Maybe she’s trying to help.’’
Wyatt lifted the coat Win had been wearing. ‘‘She’s deadly. She always has been,’’ he whispered. ‘‘I’ll talk to her.’’
Win studied him closely. A man doesn’t get many chances to prove his courage. Wyatt looked near to being shattered. He might be playing both sides of the fence, but he had nothing to gain by this action. ‘‘All right,’’ Win said, giving the man an opportunity for no reason other than he needed one. ‘‘I’ll be right behind you. But when we get back, you’ve got some talking to do and it better be the truth.’’
Tension thickened the air as the minutes ticked by. Wyatt put on Winter’s coat and hat in silence. Win moved to the wagon and removed his spurs, then began blackening his face and hands with ashes.
‘‘What are you doing?’’ Kora asked from just behind him.
Win smiled, enjoying the sound of her voice. ‘‘I’ll be moving in silently, a part of the night. No one will even know I’m there, unless Wyatt gets himself into trouble.’’
‘‘Be careful,’’ she whispered. She watched him slide a knife into his belt. ‘‘Do you want your gun back?’’
‘‘No.’’ Win leaned and kissed her cheek. ‘‘You keep it for me. A shot that far into the pass might set off the cattle below.’’
Kora wanted a moment alone with him. All day she’d been longing to have him hold her, or whisper something only for her ears. But there was no time and no place.
‘‘Ready?’’ Wyatt asked.
‘‘Ready,’’ Win answered. As he passed Kora, he touched her cheek. ‘‘See you in a few minutes, darlin’.’’
Kora couldn’t speak for the lump in her throat.
Win crossed into the blackness with Wyatt. They walked toward the opening. ‘‘You don’t have to do this for me,’’ Win said.
‘‘Yes, I do, but not for you. For me.’’ Wyatt squared his shoulders. ‘‘I’ve been dodging this problem all my
