Scars of the Heart (23 page)

She scanned the sparse lobby on her way to the registration desk. “Have you seen my traveling companion this morning?”

The innkeeper glanced up, then returned immediately to the ledger in which he wrote. He had thinning gray-brown hair, tiny black eyes, and small round ears that stuck out from his head at an odd angle. Carly decided that with a sprinkling of whiskers, he could pass for her roommate last night.

“Hours ago.” He continued making slow, deliberate numbers. “Don’t know where he went after he had his breakfast. You’re late. Breakfast is over. You could maybe find some—”

Carly didn’t hear the rest as she hurried through the squeaky door to the street. She narrowed her eyes against the midmorning sun and searched the crowded street for a familiar form. Not locating Kade right away, she headed toward the center of town, thinking how odd the sounds of civilization seemed to her.

Stopping to look into the window of the mercantile, she spotted Kade at the counter. As she hurried to join him, he struggled to arrange a new stock of supplies in his arms.

“Morning,” Carly offered quietly as she took a brown-paper parcel from him and picked up the coffee. She hoped he wouldn’t chastise her for getting such a late start on the day.

He rearranged his bundles and started for the door. “Enjoy your sleep?” He didn’t bother to hold the door for her or check to see if she followed.

Carly half ran to keep up with Kade’s long stride and decided to ignore his quip. “Are we going to wire Aunt Ruth now?”

“Did.” He crossed the street toward the livery.

“Did? You mean, you already sent the wire?”

“Yep. Coupla hours ago.”

They entered the dark, hazy interior of the stables and moved down the row of stalls to where they had left the black the night before.

“Well, what did she say? Does she want me to come to Marshall? Is she going to help me get back to Virginia? Did you—”

“Whoa, slow down. What did you have for breakfast? A Texas twister?” Kade placed the packages in the saddlebags draped over the stallion’s stall.

Carly bit her lip, resisting the urge to question him further, knowing he’d procrastinate now just to irritate her.

After tucking away the last parcel, the cowboy turned toward her, leaning against the railing and crossing his arms over his broad chest. Just as he opened his mouth to answer, a scruffy-looking young man interrupted them.

“You Mr. Smith?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m Smith.”

Kade cut a glance in Carly’s direction as he brushed past her toward the boy. Memories of their rapid departure from Destiny filled her thoughts.

“Got a telegram for you. I was told to bring it straight over.”

He handed a folded piece of paper to Kade and stood there expectantly, like a redbone hound at the kitchen door.

Kade fished a coin from his pocket and flipped it to the messenger. The lad disappeared as quietly as he’d come.

“Smith? Is that the best you could do?” Carly couldn’t resist the urge to return his earlier barb. She snatched the telegram from him. “Let me see that.”

She moved to stand in a shaft of light coming through a hole in the roof. Hay dust danced a slow waltz about her as she unfolded the answer to her future. She read the words rapidly, then reread them more slowly. As she began a third run-through, Kade came up behind her.

“Well, are you going to tell me what she says, or just keep it to yourself?”

When Carly just stared blankly at the piece of paper in her hand, Kade took it from her. Holding it in the same shaft of light she’d used, he read the telegram.

SORRY TO INFORM YOU STOP

RUTH BERRINGER DEAD STOP

ATTEMPTS TO REACH FAMILY UNSUCCESSFUL STOP

ESTATE STILL PENDING STOP

NICODEMUS HAWTHORNE STOP

MARSHALL BANK

Carly wandered over to stroke the stallion’s nose. Kade removed his hat and wiped a shirt sleeve across his forehead.
Damn!
It seemed as if little thread of hope was all that had kept her going. Now it was gone. She had no one. No one but him.

He replaced his hat and moved to stand beside her. “Carly, I’m sorry about your aunt. Are you all right?” She continued rubbing the soft black nose of the horse. When she spoke, her voice almost got lost in the dusty rafters.

“I barely remember her. I only met her once. She came to visit when I was five, I think. She was quite a bit older than Papa. He thought Aunt Ruth light in the head to stay out here all alone after her husband passed on. My uncle was a mapmaker. Aunt Ruth traveled everywhere with him. Seems like he died in a fire or something. I guess I should’ve made more of an effort to read the letters she wrote to Papa, her being my aunt and all. She probably wouldn’t have remembered me, but she was the only family I had left. And I was her only family. I thought . . . well, perhaps—”

“Carly,” He gently took her shoulders and turned her toward him. Big green eyes brimmed with unshed tears. Kade swallowed hard. “The telegram says there’s an estate. You’re the only living relative. Do you think there’s enough money to get you home to Virginia?”

“I know nothing of her financial situation. I don’t think she ever asked Papa for money. Maybe there’s enough. Yes, I bet there is.”

She brightened a bit and covered his hand with her own.

“Oh, Kade. Maybe I’ll make it home after all.”

Her eyes sparkled as she gazed up at him. She took a step nearer.

“When we get to Marshall, we can go see the banker and—”

The warmth from her touch burned his skin like a brand. He pulled his hands away and stepped back, wiping his palms on his pants.

“Uh, Carly, I kinda figured you’d be going alone to Marshall.” He hurried on, the confusion in her emerald eyes threatening to shake his conviction. “I have some important business to attend to at my ranch. I’ve been gone far too long, and I’ve decided to put you on a stage. I checked—there’s one due in tomorrow morning. You’d be more comfortable traveling by stage than on the back of my horse, and safer, too.” He cleared his throat and turned to the stallion, away from the pain clouding those incredible green orbs.

“I know you’re ready to be rid of me. I have enough of Tiny’s money to buy you a ticket and put you up in the hotel one more night.”

She didn’t say a word. Kade lifted the wooden post that barred the stallion’s stall and dropped it to the dirt floor. He took a rope halter from a nearby peg and slid it over the animal’s head. When he turned, the sight before him made his legs weak.

Tears flooded Carly’s eyes, draining away most of the color, and coursed silently down her pale cheeks. Her arms wrapped tightly about her. Her slender shoulders shook from barely controlled despair.

“You promised.”

The words were a strangled choke.

“Damn, Carly.” He brushed past her, leading the stallion out the back of the livery to a corral. Carly hurried to walk alongside him. “I promised to get you to Marshall, and I will. I said I’d buy you a ticket, and—”

“You promised to
take
me to Marshall.” Her fists were balled against her thighs.

It seemed as if all the anguish that Carly had managed to hold at bay over the past weeks came crashing down about her and saturated each word she spoke. Kade hated himself. He hated himself for hurting her now, and he hated himself for adding to her pain and humiliation that night on the trail.

He slapped the black on the rump and sent him trotting into the corral. When Kade turned again to face Carly, she swiped angrily at her tears.

“That’s what you said, Kade. You said you’d
take
me to Marshall. And now you’re going back on your word. You lied to me, Kade. You lied!”

Color heightened her cheeks. Fire danced in her darkening eyes. Her chest heaved with short, shallow breaths.

“Now hold on,
Carl
. You did a little lying yourself. I promised to take you to Marshall when I thought you were a boy!” His long stride took him quickly from the back of the barn to the alley that led to the street. Carly followed.

“I didn’t lie, exactly. You assumed I was a boy. I just let you believe it was true.” She ran to get in front of him, planting her feet and blocking his path.

Honey-colored locks curled about her face. Lips pursed together stubbornly. Little fists perched atop her narrow hips. Kade shook his head. He had to put some distance between them, and soon. “I’m sure these little temper tantrums worked well on your papa, but they won’t work on me. Now, you can get on that stage tomorrow or not. I really don’t care. I’m going on to my ranch in Texas, and I’m going
alone
.”

Carly’s eyes rounded. Her chin dropped. Her back straightened. Kade brushed past her, headed for the hotel. He’d pay for her room and leave, immediately. If he had to look into those deep-green pools one more time . . .

“I’m not through with you, Kade Roberts.”

He heard her hurry after him, and he lengthened his stride, reaching the end of the passageway.

Kade stopped suddenly. Carly’s nose flattened against the solid wall of his back.

“Wha—” She stumbled as the cowboy quickly retraced his steps into the shadows, pressing her between himself and the building’s clapboard exterior.

“What are you doing? You—”

“Shh!” He hissed over his shoulder as he peered around the corner.

“What is it?”

Carly started to skirt him, but his arm shot out, effectively pinning her with little effort. She pounded his shoulder with her fist.

“If you don’t tell me what the devil is happening—”

Kade leaned back, squeezing her against the wall, cutting off her tirade and air supply. “I’m trying to avoid trouble, which seems to be impossible with you nearby.” He edged forward to glance around the corner once more.

Carly stayed pressed against the building. “What is it?” she whispered.

Cutting his eyes toward her, Kade finally stepped aside, letting her move up for a better view. “See those two men leaning on the rail by the hotel?” He nodded in their direction. The men wore leather vests, black hats, and double-gun holsters riding low on their hips. “Bounty hunters.”

“Bounty hunters? Are they after you?” She gulped and scurried backward as he retreated a step.

“It’s possible. There is a price on my head.” He kept his eyes trained on the dark duo across the street.

Indignation rose in Carly. “And you accuse me of bringing on trouble? Those men aren’t searching for
me
!”

At Kade’s steely expression, she lowered her voice but continued. “Is there anybody that isn’t after you? Let’s review, shall we? The law is looking for you.” She started counting on her fingers. “Which means the army is keeping an eye out for you, as well as every white man who’s seen your face on that wanted poster. Half the Indians in the area are your enemy, and now we have to sidestep bounty hunters. Oh, let’s not forget Tiny. He’s threatened to track you down and—”

Kade whirled. Carly sucked air and scrambled back against the building. His eyes narrowed. She trembled but raised her chin a notch.

“The
reason
Tiny was after me is because I rescued you from him. Or don’t you remember?” He pressed closer as he spoke, his voice a low rumble of thunder. Carly suppressed a shiver.

“You call this a rescue? My life has been in danger every moment I’ve spent in your company!” She squared her shoulders and swallowed hard.

He clenched his teeth. A thick minute passed. Neither one breathed. When she finally spoke, a tremor in her quiet words belied her solid stance.

“Do you really despise me so?”

A rivulet of sweat eased down Carly’s temple to her neck and followed her collarbone to disappear beneath the bodice of her dress.

With a groan, Kade lost his last shred of resolve. Carly gasped again as he grabbed her and pulled her roughly to him. For a second, he stared deeply into her wide eyes before claiming her mouth with his own.

Nothing else existed. Not his ranch. Not common sense. Not valor. Only Carly. Only his need for her. To protect her. To taste her. To breathe her.

As her feeble struggles subsided, she melted against Kade. He covered her breast with one palm. The other hand pressed against the small of her back. She moaned into his open mouth. The button between Carly’s breasts that secured her bodice broke loose in Kade’s urgency to expose her warm, soft flesh to his hungry fingers. His mouth left hers only to trail a path of kisses along her jaw to her ear, to suckle her delicate lobe and whisper her name.

“Carly . . .”

Gunfire erupted in the street. In an instant, Kade’s weapon cleared leather as he pulled her under his left arm and sank to the ground, his body covering hers. They peered around the corner, his gun poised.

A dog barked excitedly. A group of barefoot boys laughed and dodged the angry swipes of a walking cane. A robust, red-faced woman scolded the troublemakers and sent them running, their unused firecrackers dangling from the pockets of their overalls. The bounty hunters tipped their hats to the muttering woman and ambled on down the walk.

Kade and Carly let out a collective breath. In unison, they rose. Small, trembling fists clenched the fabric of his shirt. He returned his gun to its holster and slid his arm from around her back. His hand lingered on her shoulder. They stood staring at each other, hearts pounding.

Finally, quietly, he spoke. “Come on. Let’s go. We’ve got a date with a banker in Marshall.”

Heavy clouds promised rain to the parched earth below. Thunder rumbled along the horizon. Carly stacked the small bundle of firewood she’d gathered and breathed deeply, enjoying the sweet, clean smell and cooler air.

They were but another day’s journey from Marshall. In the past week, they’d crossed all the types of terrain Oklahoma had to offer. Carly marveled as the land changed from plateau to plains to low mountains. They traversed hills and deep-cut valleys, streams and the fertile basin along the Arkansas River. Sandstone ridges and narrow gorges brought them to the muddy water of the Red River and the flat, sandy plains bordering her banks.