Loving Katherine (19 page)

The deckhand swallowed and bobbed his head. “Yes, ma’am. He headed south of town. Shouldn’t have gone too far, I don’t reckon. Cap’n told him to watch the time.”

“Thank you.” Offering him a cool smile and the back of her head in quick succession, Katherine strolled from the boat. Crossing the patch of water on the plank without looking down at the muddy flow that rocked the boat with a gentle motion, she made the bank and headed at a quick trot for the road running through the small town.

A livery stable stood next to the general store and she peered into the dim interior, squinting to locate a human presence. The scent and sound of horses met her, and she inhaled, pleased with the familiar surroundings.

“Help you, ma’am?” From the shadows a young boy ambled toward her.

“I need a riding horse for about an hour.” Her fingers slipped into her front pocket in search of coins and she grimaced as they came up empty. “I haven’t any money with me,” she apologized. “But the gentleman who just rode out of town with a string of horses is with me and he’ll pay you when I bring the horse back.”

The boy scratched his head and eyed her skeptically. “I dunno, ma’am. We don’t generally do business thataway.”

“I’ll pay a quarter when I come back,” she offered.

He looked at her, taking in the slender form encased in boy’s clothing, the damp braid and rumpled hat. His smile broke through the doubting frown and he nodded. “Leave me your boots and I’ll let you take the horse.”

Katherine bent to tug at her leather boots without hesitation. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d ridden barefoot. Probably not the last, either, she thought with a grin.

“I don’t need a saddle. Just stick a bit in his mouth and I’ll ride anything you’ve got back there,” she told him.

The boy led an undistinguished mare from the rear of the stable, bridle and bit in place, and offered Katherine the
reins. He scooped up the boots and placed them on an overturned bucket inside the door.

“Don’t fergit ya owe me a quarter when ya come back,” he reminded her quickly as she hoisted herself to the broad back of the aging mare.

Her feet wrapped around the mare’s ribs and she nudged the animal with her heels. “I won’t forget. I’ll be back in less than an hour.” Urged into a trot, the mare made her way down the road, past a small white church, past a scattering of homes and toward the open country beyond.

Katherine’s hand shaded her eyes as she peered into the distance. He couldn’t have gone far, not in the half hour or so head start he’d had. The sun was bright and glittered on the harness of a lone horse, probably half a mile down the road. Hitched to a wagon, it stood beneath a small stand of trees.

Katherine’s brow furrowed. Roan would have no use of a wagon, surely. Perhaps he’d gone in a different direction. She looked around, squinting against the sunshine, but to no avail. Nowhere did she see a tall man astride a bay mare, nor, for that matter, was there any trace of three yearlings and a pair of mares on a lead rope.

It seemed the grove of trees was the only spot he could have headed for, and she turned the mare she rode in that direction. The animal broke into a slow lope with Katherine’s urging, and her scent rose, pungent and ripe

“That bath was a waste of time,” she said aloud. “I’m gonna smell like horse and dust, and Roan spent a quarter on warm water for nothing.”

She slowed as she neared the trees, catching sight of a slumped figure on the wagon seat. He’d cast a look in her direction and then back at whatever he watched through the trees, and she narrowed her eyes to make out the face that turned once more in her direction.

With furtive movements, he picked up the reins and slapped them against the back of the horse. The animal
lurched in movement and the wagon pulled from beneath a shady tree to wend its way south.

“What’s going on?” She whispered beneath her breath, then dug her heels once more into the sides of the mare she rode. Obligingly, the animal broke into a gallop, heading for the shady grove before her. Katherine’s heart thumped in an unsteady rhythm as she approached the section of wooded area.

“Roan?” she called out. “Are you there? Roan?”

From within the trees came a whinny, then another, and the horse she rode answered with a call of her own.

“Roan?” Katherine nudged the animal forward, ducking her head as she passed under an overhanging branch. Here, past where the wagon had been sitting only moments ago, she could catch sight of her yearlings, each on a lead, Roan holding the ropes and allowing the gamboling youngsters to circle him. He was in a patch of sunlight in a clearing within the clustered trees. His shirt was off, lying on the ground to one side. His big body was gleaming with sweat, the muscles of his arms flexing as he controlled the playful yearlings with the tremendous strength of his shoulders.

Katherine watched, her mouth dry as she inhaled deep breaths of morning air, her heart still hammering with a combination of apprehension and sudden awareness of the man she’d married. She glanced over her shoulder quickly, hoping to catch sight once more of the wagon, but it was too far away now, rolling into the distance, turning off the road even as she watched.

“Roan?” Her voice was quiet, but his ear was ever attuned to her and he wheeled quickly, holding the ropes over his head as he turned to face her. The yearlings continued their romping, bucking at the end of the lead ropes, shying at the breeze that brought fluttering dust devils to life about their feet. But the man facing her was intent on the woman who rode bareback atop a livery stable mare.

“What are you doing here, Kate? I thought I left you in a bathtub.”

“You did. I got out of it.” She smiled at him with tremulous lips. That he could affect her so was more than she could fathom. The sight of Roan Devereaux, shirtless, sweaty and, unless she was mistaken, about to take her head off, was about the best thing her eyes had lit on in at least an hour or so. Since the last time she saw him, anyway, she decided.

“I wasted two bits on hot water for you,” he told her, frowning in her direction. “Now I’ll warrant you smell like a horse that hasn’t seen a curry comb in a month of Sundays.”

She shrugged. “Probably.” Sliding from the mare’s back, she approached him, her eyes intent on the frollicking yearlings.

“Stay back.” His words were brusque, his hands busy as he gathered up the lead ropes he held, pulling the young horses closer with each twist about his arm. They came reluctantly, slowing their pace, tossing their heads, until they were caught in a circle around him. He led them to a rope he’d strung between two trees and clipped their leads in place, several yards apart.

Then he turned to the woman who watched his every move. His hands tucked into the front pockets of his pants, he approached her. “Couldn’t stay away from me?” His brow was still furrowed, his chest was a bed of curling dark hair, and his pants rode low on his hips, leaving him exposed to below his belly button.

It was there her eyes focused. A drop of sweat perched on the edge of that small indentation, and, defying the force of gravity, it hung, swaying as he walked. She felt her tongue thicken in her mouth and her eyes grow heavy-lidded, as if they were too weary to open fully. But there was no need. He stood before her, within reach, and she lifted a trembling finger to trace the line of sweat that flowed from his throat
to the middle of his chest, where it was lost in the dark curls. From there it once more slid in small, round drops to pool in the sensitive spot she’d come to appreciate with intimate knowledge.

Her voice was thick with an emotion he tried to recognize. She was enthralled with his belly for some reason, but there was something else about her, some sense of apprehension perhaps, that coated her throat and made her words slow and her tones deepen.

“Kate? What is it? What’s got you upset?” His hands reached for her, cupping her shoulders, drawing her against him, his head dipping to nuzzle the lilac scent of her damp hair. He looked over her head, eyes seeking movement behind her, aware of the tensed muscles beneath his fingers.

“What happened? Did you get scared? Was somebody after you?” His questions shot at her rapidly as he held her closer, and he felt the quick shake of her head against his flesh.

“No…nothing, Roan. I just needed to come find you. I don’t know why. I was sitting there in that tub, enjoying the warm water, and I decided I should have gone with you.” She lifted her head to look into his eyes and the sense of apprehension eased at the tenderness of his gaze. Shaking her head again, she attempted a grin.

“Maybe you’re right. I just couldn’t stay away from you.”

“Somethin’ scared you, Kate. You were almost quiverin’ under my hands for a minute there.”

“There was a man in a wagon watching you,” she said unsteadily. “He left when he saw me riding from town, pulled off the road up ahead.”

“Where?” Roan set her aside and stalked through the stand of trees to look into the distance. She followed quickly, trotting at his side.

“I don’t see him now. Oh—” She pointed at the scattered buildings of the town to the north. “Maybe that’s him,
there near the livery stable. I can’t make out from here if it’s the same horse or not.”

Roan shrugged. “Don’t matter much now, anyway. He’s too far away to tell. Probably just caught sight of the horses and stopped to watch.” His mouth was tight, his eyes dark as he turned abruptly from her and strode back to where the string of horses cropped grass, tails swishing and ears twitching.

“Damn,” he muttered beneath his breath.

She hurried to join him. “Roan? What do you think? Why would somebody sit the other side of those trees and watch you? Maybe it isn’t the same man,” she said soothingly. She waved her hand in the distance. “He’s probably long gone, on his way home.”

“Yeah.” He unsnapped the lead for the black filly and led her into the clearing, loosening the rope from his hand as he turned, allowing the animal to trot and then lope in a circle around him. The mare shivered in the sunlight, the ripples in her gleaming coat catching his eye. He smiled in pleasure at the grace of her posturing as she lifted her head and nickered softly.

“You don’t name your horses, do you, Kate?”

She looked at him in surprise. “No, I don’t suppose I do. Not the ones I know I can’t keep forever.”

“You’re gonna keep this one, honey. You’d better come up with a name for her.” His hands were deft on the lead rope, wrapping it around his palm and turning with the horse in a slow circle as she slowed her pace and approached him warily, tossing her head as he tugged gently on the rope.

“I’ll keep her if I can afford to,” Katherine said quietly. “I may have to sell her one of these days, if my money doesn’t hold out.” She watched as he stroked the mare’s gleaming coat, his hands firm but gentle against the slope of her head.

“You’ll never have to sell her, Katherine. I’ll see to that,” he told her gruffly, leading the horse to the line and clipping her lead once more in place. The animal lifted her head and snorted once, tossing her mane, testing the rope that held her. “She’s a beauty, all right,” he said softly, watching as the mare ducked her nose into the verdant grasses beneath her feet.

“Do we need to get back to the boat?”

“Soon as I let Mama here kick her heels a bit,” he said over his shoulder, leading the chestnut mare into the clearing. Once more he went through the same routine, giving the mare her head, turning in a slow circle while she set her own pace. Stretching her long legs into a trot, then a lope, she tucked her head down as her muscles bunched with the quicker gait.

Katherine’s lips curved. “Mama.” Her eyes were misty as she considered the man who exercised her mare with gentle care. His voice lifted and fell as he spoke to the chestnut mare, nonsense words, cajoling her, urging her.

“All right, that’s enough for now, girl,” he said finally, pulling her gradually to his side, walking with her, one hand under her jaw as he spoke his praise. Gathering up the long line, he untied it from the trees and led the string of horses to where Katherine waited.

“Here you go, Mrs. Devereaux. Time to get back to the boat before the captain decides to leave without us.” Katherine reached for the line and held it, the horses herding together in front of her, her eyes filled with the gleaming beauty of her babies.

“I don’ t want to ever sell any of them, Roan,” she said softly, aware he could not hear her halfway across the clearing, intent on fetching his own mare.

“Let me take them, Kate.” Reaching down from his seat, Roan eased the rope from her fingers and nudged his mare into a trot The yearlings and mares strung out behind him, and he watched with careful eyes as Katherine once more
hoisted herself atop her own mount. She bent forward and scooped up the reins, and the mare plodded into motion, bringing up the rear of the train of horses.

“I owe the boy at the livery stable a quarter,” she called out as Roan left the trees and turned toward the small settlement.

“What’d he do? Keep your boots as ransom?” His eyes flicked to her bare feet, hanging down the round sides of the nondescript mare she rode.

“Yes! Matter of fact, he did.” Her grin was wide, the sight of Roan with her babies in tow bringing a quick sense of contentment to her troubled mind. His answering smile reassured her.

“I’ll settle your debt, Kate. Never fear.” But the wary look in his eyes belied the teasing note in his voice, and his gaze was vigilant as they approached the town.

“Slide down off that horse,” he told her, halting in front of the livery stable. The young boy came into the sunlight, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the noonday sun.

“Brought him back, did you?” he asked with a shy grin, once more taken with the slender woman who rode with a skill he couldn’t help but admire.

Katherine nodded. “Where’d you put my boots?’

His hand waved at the doorway. “Right inside. I’ll get them for you, ma’am.”

Roan flipped a quarter at the youth. “Here’s for the use of the mare.” The lad caught it midair and nodded his head, then turned to deliver Katherine’s boots to her. His appreciative look at her posture as she slid her feet into them did not go unnoticed, and Roan’s voice was gruff as he called her name.