Marshal of Hel Dorado (40 page)

 
    
Fear followed hot on the heels of anger had
thrown him off his horse and into a dead run. He hadn’t hesitated to pick her
up and carry her to safety.

 
    
She scuttled closer to him when he sat
down.

 
    
“Hey.”

 
    
“Hello, how are you feeling?”

 
    
“Like I’m very tired of that question.”

 
    
Sam allowed himself a small smile. “Then
don’t get shot next time.”

 
    
“I will do my best.”

 
    
Was she leaning into him? He shifted and
let his arm fall around her shoulders until she was snuggled up firm to his
side. One by one the muscles in his neck loosened. He took a deep breath,
filling his lungs with the scent of her, sunshine, wood smoke and just the
barest hint of lemon.

 
    
“Are you okay?” She asked, the words
muffled against his chest.

 
    
He turned his head, resting his chin
against her hair and sighed. “I’m fine. Not a scratch.

 
    
Your horse is going to be fine, too.”

 
    
“I know,” she smiled, relief plain in her
voice. “Micah and Noah told me. She needs time to recover though.”

 
    
“She does.” Sam agreed. “Noah and Ike are
going to take her into the hills, camp for a spell and let her recover. They’ll
follow along later.”

 
    
“What about the men who ambushed us?”
Scarlet started to lift her head, but Sam flexed his arm, tucking her closer.

 
    
“They’ll be fine. We’ve got a plan and
we’re going to split up in the morning.”

 
    
The fire crackled, gorging itself on the
wood. They’d have to add more fuel soon or it would begin to gutter. But
Scarlett seemed warm enough for now.

 
    
“Split up?”

 
    
“Hmm. You and I are going to have a little
adventure together.”

 
    
She did lift her head then, gazing up at
him part curious child, part disapproving lady and all gorgeous woman. “What
kind of adventure?”

 
    
“The kind where we ride out and let our
brothers take on the ambushers without us.”

 
    
“Sam…”

 
    
“No.” He shook his head gently, refusing
her. “No, listen, then you can comment.”

 
    
Her jaw tightened, but she nodded mutely,
an obstinate tilt to her chin. He had to swallow a chuckle or risk laughing in
her face. He loved her rebellious little puckered mouth.

 
    
“You and I are going to take a couple of
the horses and ride straight north. Ryker and his men want you, so we’re
putting you out of reach. Our brothers know what to expect and they’ll deal
with it. We have to trust them to do just that and they have to trust us to
keep you out of harm’s way. We’ll be able to travel faster and quieter without
the wagons and we’ll meet them at the Flying K.”

 
    
“Okay.”

 
    
Sam frowned, leaning away to get a better
look at her upturned face.

 
    
“What?”

 
    
“I thought you just said ‘okay.’”

 
    
“I did.”

 
    
“Where’s the argument?”

 
    
“What is there to argue? You’re right. I’ll
be safer with you and we can move faster.” Her words should have boosted his
confidence, but they left him uneasy.

 
    
“Minx?”

 
    
“Yes, Sam?”

 
    
“Are you planning something?”

 
    
“No, Sam.”

 
    
Not mollified, he tugged her back against
him. “What’s wrong?”

 
    
“If I agree with you, something’s must be
wrong?”

 
    
“No, but I’m not sure why you aren’t
arguing. You’ve argued everything else.”

 
    
She pulled a hand out from under the
blanket and unfolded her fingers to reveal his Marshal’s star nestled in her
palm. He looked from the tin star to her face. His body tightened at the soft
smile flirting around the corners of her mouth.

 
    
“I want to be alone with you.”

 
    
Sam’s groin stiffened and he covered her
palm with his, sandwiching the star in between.

 
    
That presented him with an entirely new
problem.

 
    
T
he
sun wasn’t even a promise on the horizon when Sam rousted her from the bedroll.

 
    
She watched through bleary eyes as he
packed up their gear and someone helped her up onto a horse, Jimmy probably.
Yawns split her jaw and it wasn’t until Cody squeezed her hand that she really
grasped that they were going, leaving their brothers to face the trouble while
she scampered off to safety.

 
    
“Don’t,” Cody warned when she frowned. “No
goodbyes, no be carefuls, no hurrying.”

 
    
Damn if he didn’t know her well. She nodded
solemnly, it was the least she could do.

 
    
He tugged her boot when her attention
wandered. “Listen to Sam, okay? Don’t decide you know better when you’re out
there in the middle of it.”

 
    
“You trust him now?” She wasn’t sure what
to think of that. Cody’s anger at Sam had been a palpable thing, but since the
night at the swimming hole when they’d walked off to ‘deal’

 
    
with it, they’d seemed to have made their
peace.

 
    
“I trust you, too.” He tucked her foot into
the stirrup, and put her hand back up on the pommel. “Surprised?”

 
    
Speechless was more like it. “A little,
yeah.”

 
    
“Don’t be. You handled yourself well in
Dorado. You handled yourself well during the attack yesterday.”

 
    
“Did I? I set the whole ridge on fire.”

 
    
Cody shrugged. “Bastards got what they
deserved, Scar. Don’t doubt yourself. You don’t hurt people on purpose, not
unless they do something stupid and deserve it.”

 
    
Scarlett bit her lip, thinking that she’d
hurt Cody. As if following the line of her thoughts, Cody patted her leg. “I
did something stupid. I deserved it.”

 
    
Laughter pinched her side so she settled
for a chuckle. Then, whispering, just for his ears,

 
    
“Cody, I really like Sam.” It was only
fair, she’d never thought he cared about her that way until the day at the
pond, but she wanted Cody to hear it from her. Before Sam.

 
    
Before anyone.

 
    
“I know, darling. I figured that out all by
myself.” His crooked grin tugged familiar in her soul. “You just make him work
for it. Okay?”

 
    
She blushed, thankful that the darkness hid
it. ‘Thank you, I think. But…”

 
    
“But?” He prompted, ignoring the whistle
from Buck that Sam was ready. Scarlett glanced across the dark camp. The moon
was still passing full, so they’d waited for it to set before waking her. The
darkness was composed of thin and fat shadows, some moving, some not.

 
    
Glancing back down, she was thankful that
the wolf gave Cody eyes that seemed to glow in the dark, the rich, yellow-brown
reminding her of the leaves turning in the autumn. “I don’t really know how
things are going to work out with Sam, if they work out at all. But you’re
still…”

 
    
She trailed off, she didn’t know how to ask
him if he would still be there. Still be her brother. Still love her. Was it
even fair?

 
    
“Scar, don’t be stupid. I’m always going to
be here. You can’t get rid of me. You need me, you just send word and if it
doesn’t work out with Sam, I’ll beat him silly and take you home to the
mountains.” It was a promise from the man and the wolf.

 
    
“Hey, you two, we’re going to be there in a
week or two, let’s go.” Buck appeared out of the darkness, impatience rolling
off him.

 
    
Scarlett stuck her tongue out at him and he
returned the salute by crossing his eyes. She chuckled again and let Cody take
the lead, guiding her horse over to Sam. Like her brothers, he could see better
in the dark than she could and he would lead her horse, letting her take it
easy for the first leg of the journey.

 
    
“Ready?” He asked in near whisper.

 
    
She nodded mutely, glancing at the faces of
her brothers around her. The borrowed mare, a sweet sorrel, belonged to Kid and
he’d insisted because she had the lightest gait and was less likely to jar
Scarlett’s wound open. “See you soon?”

 
    
“You will. Now go.” Cody patted Sam’s
horse, sending them off into the darkness. She twisted in the saddle, having a
care for the bandages wrapped around her middle. Noah had healed the gash
mostly closed, but admonished her to be careful for the next few days until the
skin was fully knitted together.

 
    
“The sun will be up in a couple of hours,”
Sam’s voice carried back to her. “Just hook your leg around the pommel and get
some sleep if you can.” He’d told her to sleep the last time they’d ridden
through the night, only then she’d been snugged between him and the pommel.

 
    
She hadn’t really listened to his advice
then either.

 
    
The next two days followed the exact same
routine. They rode north, never deviating and pausing at the watering holes
only long enough to rest the horses and refill their canteens. By the end of
the second day, Scarlett was thoroughly sick of endless dunes, scrub grass and
sand.

 
    
The sand itched. It got into her boots, her
britches and even seemed to migrate under the bandages. The sun blazed down on
them, turning the sand into shimmering glass that glared up at her eyes. They
made cold camps, no fires and no talking. They slept fully dressed, with the
horses saddled. Night came quick in the desert, but Sam kept driving them north
and for two long days, they watched for signs of pursuit.

 
    
Thankful that none came.

 
    
Every night, she dreamt, waiting for word
from Buck, but he was curiously silent. If he visited Sam, the Marshal was
keeping it to himself. At the first scent of pine, she jerked her head up.

 
    
“Do you smell that?”

 
    
“Yes, ma’am.” Sam pointed. “Up there.”

 
    
Scarlett strained in the saddle, bringing
her hand up to shield her eyes against the never-ending glare. A mile or so to
the northeast, a bluff was visible, a rock face cut along the desert as though
a wall against the sand. Green pines stretched like fingers up to the sky.

 
    
“Water.”

 
    
“Shade.”

 
    
Sam flashed a grin in her direction, a
first since they’d left the others and her heart kicked against her ribs.
“Race?”

 
    
“Oh yeah!” They’d been careful to spare the
horses since starting into the wasteland but with the promise of cool
refreshment dangling before them, they touched heels to the horses’