settled into a chair and removed what was left of his shirt. 'There, do your worst,' he grumbled. 'Is there anything to eat around here?'
His nose told him that there was. He smelled beans and biscuits, and something else that might be stew.
'I've been giving you willow tea all night. I found a tin of bark and sweetened it. I think your fever's nearly gone.'
'I'm hungry.'
He heard a clatter of plates as she went to the fireplace. Glancing down at his side, he saw that the place around the wound was red but not putrid. 'I told you there was nothing to this. A bullet can go clear through you. An arrowhead, now, that's different. Take an arrow and chances are you'll need to burn out the-'
'I don't want to hear about it,' she said as she put a bowl of soup in front of him. 'That's onion, barley, and dried something. Venison, I think. Eat it. It will give you strength.'
'I want some of that bread. With molasses. Yoki always has molasses around. She has a sweet tooth.'
She returned with two lopsided biscuits and a crock of molasses. 'I saw a trail going down this side. Why did you bring me up that cliff yesterday?'
'A two-day ride to get here.' He sniffed. 'Coffee? Is that coffee brewing?'
'I'm a prisoner,' she said. 'I'm not your mother. Where does it say a prisoner is supposed to wait on a bounty hunter?'
'I need coffee, Tamsin.'
'Say please.'
'Please, damn it.' She flashed him a smile as she poured a steaming cup. Her fingers brushed his as she handed it to him. He drank without waiting for the strong coffee to cool. It burned his tongue, but he could feel the energy seeping through to the marrow of his bones.
'Thank you,' he said, covering her hand with his own. 'Why didn't you run?'
She pulled away, went to the hearth, and returned with a bowl of soup and a biscuit for herself. 'I didn't want to climb down that cliff alone.'
'Not even to check your horses?' He didn't believe it for a moment. Hell, he wouldn't put it past her to tie blankets together and lower herself down to the pasture.
'The animals are fine. I laid on my belly and looked over the side.'
'I was dead to the world,' he said. 'You could have taken the livestock and been miles away by the time I woke.'
'You're hurt. I couldn't leave you alone and helpless.' She crumbled her biscuit, pushing away the burned pieces. 'Your friend Jacob picked this spot well. You can see forever up here.'
Ash took another sip of coffee. His side hurt like hell and his head still ached, but he knew he was on the mend.
'Where is he?'
'Jacob? Off trading, I suppose. He might have gone to Denver to buy more goods, or they might be visiting Yoki's folks.'
'I hope he doesn't mind our staying here, eating his food, and-'
Ash shook his head. 'He won't. Jacob figures he owes me a favor. I'll pay for what we use, but we're more than welcome to his hospitality.' He looked at Tamsin without being obvious. She'd bathed and washed her hair. Her shirt was a bright yellow, and her skirt seemed hastily fashioned from a length of canvas.
'Do I look awful?'
'What?' He smiled at her. 'No, why should you look awful?'
'My clothes were filthy. I had to wear something while I waited for my own things to dry.' She shook her head. 'I tried to stitch up my blouse, but that's beyond repair. This…' She spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness.
'Nothin' wrong with what you're wearing. Take what you need. I'll see that Jacob doesn't lose out.' The shirt gaped open at her throat. He could see just enough of the rise of her breasts to make him think about what was hidden. Her skin, where the sun hadn't kissed it, was fair and slightly freckled. He took another gulp of coffee and tried to keep his gaze on his plate.
A pool of sunlight spilled in through the open doorway and laid a pattern on the scrubbed pine floor. It was peaceful here, Ash thought. Sitting here at the table, having breakfast with an attractive woman, without worrying if someone was about to put a bullet in his back.
But thinking like that could get him killed. Tamsin MacGreggor was a puzzle, and every time he thought he had her figured out, she surprised him.
Why hadn't she left him when she had the chance?
Why hadn't she killed him? Was she using him to get her out of these mountains the way he intended to use her? And what if she was telling the truth about everything? What if Cannon wasn't anyone special to her? And sup she was innocent of Sam Steele's killing?
'How long will we stay here?' she asked, breaking into his reverie.
'A few days,' he replied, finishing the last drops and holding the cup up for a refill. 'Long enough to get my strength back. Until the storms pass.'
'What storms?'
'Coming down out of the north. Can't you smell it? Cold and rain, maybe hail. The last blast before summer.'
'Ridiculous. It's a sunny day. There isn't a cloud in the sky.'
Chapter 15
By evening of that day, rain beat against the shingles and poured through the cracks in the cabin chinking. Gushes of water streamed off the roof and pounded on the shuttered window.
Ash sat close to the crackling fire while Tamsin knelt beside him and applied ointment to the wound along his side. They had already eaten, grilled rabbit that Ash had killed with a slingshot, corn bread that she had baked, and wild greens.
'You've still got a few things to learn about weather out here,' he teased. 'And about cooking over an open hearth.'
She ignored his reference to the rain. 'At home, we had servants.'
'Servants.' He chuckled. 'I thought all ladies learned how to bake and sew.'
'Most do.' She applied a little more pressure to her task and he winced.
'Ouch! I should have traded you to the Utes. You enjoy torture.' His fingers grazed her shoulder and neck, lingering there until she felt her face grow warm.
'Don't,' she protested halfheartedly.
'Why?'
She carried her nursing supplies to the table and washed her hands in a wooden bowl. The day had passed quickly, without the usual sparring of cross words. Tonight, the cabin seemed filled with tension.
The downpour closed around them, shutting them off from the mountains and sky. With the rain, the single room should have felt stuffy. Instead, the air seemed too rich for her lungs. She was restless, her mind churned, and her body felt lighter than bird feathers.
'How long are we going to play this game?' The deep timbre of Ash's voice played along her spine and made her giddy. 'Tamsin?'
'What?' She liked the way he said her name.
'Come here, woman.'
She shook her head. Getting too close to him was dangerous. Not that she was afraid of him…
All right, she was… just a little, she admitted to herself. 'Don't do something you'll regret,' she said.
'Are you speakin' to me?'
Ash's smile would tempt an angel. It lit his face and made his eyes glow with an inner sparkle.
She cleared away the bowl and wiped the table vigorously. And all the while she was acutely aware of the
