The Circle Eight: Caleb (19 page)

The bucket leaked like a sieve, but it was enough to satisfy Justice and then Cora. Satisfied with their comfort, Caleb made sure nothing was visible from the trail, including the saddles before he headed back into the shack. His body was used to being in the saddle for days but he was unaccountably tired. Perhaps it was the worry over his brother and Rory, combined with several days without sleep catching up to him.

He crept into the shack, his bedroll hanging from his hands. When he closed the door, the gloom of the cabin closed around him. Dust motes danced in the sunlight coming through the warped boards, giving him enough light to see the two people sleeping in the corner. Right now they were the most important things in his life, perhaps forever.

After spreading out the bedroll beside Rory, he laid down and closed his eyes. The last thing he remembered was the look on her face when she found pleasure in his arms. It had been the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. He hoped to see it again soon.

Caleb woke in an instant. He was momentarily disoriented until he remembered the little shack. It was pure dark outside, which meant they’d slept a long time, more than the four hours he wanted to. He got to his feet and rolled up the blanket, then opened the door to let in some fresh air. The stale dust in the shack had invaded his mouth and nose.

He squatted down beside Benjy and shook his shoulder until the boy opened his eyes. To Caleb’s dismay, he shrank away, fear in his gaze.

“It’s okay. It’s me, Caleb.” He forced himself to smile and keep a safe distance. “Do you remember?”

After a few painful moments, Benjy relaxed his grip on the blanket and nodded. Caleb got to his feet and moved to Rory. He had to give the boy a moment to get his bearings. Fury warred within his heart, as a brother and as a ranger, for whoever had done dark deeds to make a ten-year-old boy afraid of his brother. It made him sick to swallow the rage.

He gently touched her face, her warm, soft skin still surprising him. She was a mixture of brash strength and feminine wiles.

“Rory, it’s time to wake up.”

No movement.

“Rory.”

Nothing.

He didn’t want to shout and gain attention from anyone or anything outside, but he had to get her up. Whatever Justice was doing, he also had to check on the animals. There was no time to fuss around with her delicate woman sensibilities.

Caleb frowned at her and then decided to do whatever he had to do. So he kissed her.

Her eyes flew open and her fist followed, slamming into his jaw with more force than he expected. He fell back on his ass, his face throbbing from the blow. She sat up, clenching the blanket, her eyes wild. When she saw him, a laugh burst from her throat.

“It’s not funny.” He got to his knees then to his feet. Damned if he didn’t feel a bit lightheaded from the punch. The woman had fists like her hammer.

She pulled the blanket up to her mouth to muffle the sound, but he heard it anyway. In a grumpy mood, he left the shack. At least Justice wouldn’t belt him for waking him up, not that he would kiss the damn horse.

He found a raccoon sniffing around the animals, scratching at the bucket and being a nuisance. The gelding tried to stop it but the critter kept scooting out of the way. Caleb growled at the masked animal and it turned tail and ran. Obviously some critters were rightfully afraid of him, unlike a certain female who had punched him.

After a few minutes of saddling the horse and mule, he had calmed down some. It was no use getting upset at her, even if she was amused by his reaction. She had swung on instinct, not at him. He had woken her abruptly and she defended herself. That was all of it. He had no reason to be upset but he was. It scratched at his pride that she’d gotten the better of him. It had been quite some time since Caleb had ended up at the losing end of a fist. He’d had plenty of chances to throw punches in his career as a ranger and as a Graham brother.

Yet she’d knocked him down with one blow.

He led the animals to the front of the shack and took a few minutes to listen to the sounds of the night. Nothing unusual to alert him to anyone else around except the usual night creatures. It was good to hear their song since they wouldn’t sing if danger came in the form of a two-legged kind.

Benjy and Rory stood side by side, the bedrolls in their arms. Both silent and wide eyed, waiting for him. It was the first time he noted the boots she wore. They were enormous, likely had belonged to her husband. Caleb had forgotten hers had been taken at the Garza hacienda. He should have thought to get her new footwear. Instead she took care of herself, which didn’t surprise him in the least. He took the bedrolls and secured them to the back of the saddles.

“We stayed here too long but I reckon we all needed sleep.” He gestured to the horse and mule. “I know you’re probably hungry but we’ll eat as we ride.”

Rory nodded then whispered to Benjy. He hopped into the saddle and waited. Rory walked a bit more slowly to Cora. She got herself into the saddle, albeit with less grace than the boy. No doubt she was sore from more than just the injury.

Caleb told himself she was a grown woman and knew what she was doing when she initiated sex with him. As a gentleman, he should have said no. But as a man, he had said, “Hell yes!” and taken what she offered.

“Is it safe for the animals to keep riding at night?” Rory asked in a husky voice that made the small hairs on his arm stand up. Damn he was a fool.

“They did fine last night. Besides, Justice is used to it and can pick his way across any terrain. The mule followed him and I expect she’ll do the same tonight.” They hadn’t made very good time at the pace they had to keep to ride in the dark but people were unlikely to spot them. Staying unseen was worth the loss of speed.

“Not all females are as docile.”

Her quip made him smile but he didn’t respond. He kneed Justice into motion and they set off into the night.

“How far have we come and how far until we get where we’re going?” Her voice carried to him on a breeze.

“We’ve come maybe fifty miles. Three times that many to go.”

He heard her groan above the sound of the crickets singing. Two hundred miles was a long distance for anyone to travel, especially a woman not used to riding. The trousers helped and they framed her ass so well he had trouble keeping his hands off it. Now he knew why women didn’t wear trousers. Men would never get any work done for thinking about a female’s ass. It would be chaos.

They traveled in silence for some time, much to Caleb’s delight. He was used to being alone and having a woman’s chatter changed things. Hell, he’d left the Circle Eight to escape the constant chatter and bickering amongst his siblings, and the girls were the worst. Now Matt had to go and add two more females to the mix. The twins were cute as buttons but they did talk faster than a hummingbird’s wings.

Much as he tried to deny it, he did miss them. Growing up in a house with eight children was an adventure in itself. Being away from them for four years had been lonely. He definitely enjoyed the silence but at the same time, he was isolated and had no one to talk to or laugh with. To his shame, he hadn’t been home more than a handful of times until he hardly recognized the younger girls. Elizabeth in particular looked just like Ma and had the quiet strength their mother had carried.

Meeting Rory had started a chain of events he couldn’t stop. He’d found his brother, nearly fallen in love, broken the law and was now on the run from a crazy blond
patron
who called himself Pablo Garza. Where did he head when all this happened? The Circle Eight.

Home.

Family.

Caleb hadn’t known how much he had grown a shell around himself until that moment. He’d blocked out friendships with other rangers, refused any kind of long-term female relationship, and spent time patting himself on the back for escaping from the drudgery at the ranch.

He really was a fool of the highest caliber. Family was what mattered and he’d been a selfish young buck with something to prove. Now he was a man who recognized the most important thing in the world was what he pushed aside for his own benefit.

When his brother-in-law Brody quit the rangers, Caleb thought he had lost his mind. Nothing was more exciting or appealing than carrying a gun in the name of Texas. After all this time, Caleb understood why he’d done it. And he also recognized he wanted to quit himself.

The assignment to evict a squatter named Foster had been his last one. He would travel to headquarters and turn in his badge as soon as he had Rory and Benjy safely tucked away at the Circle Eight. And, of course, after he had taken care of Pablo Garza. The man would be relentless in his pursuit, of that Caleb had no doubt. However, the
patron
didn’t know what Caleb was capable of, or the Graham family.

They didn’t know the meaning of surrender.

That left the future wide open for Caleb. He wanted to live at the Circle Eight again, to wake up in the morning and shovel horse shit before taking care of the herd. He wanted to battle Mother Nature and his sisters on a regular basis. He wanted to see his sisters and brothers grow up, to know his nieces and future nephews, and most of all, he wanted to do it with Rory by his side.

The thought startled him so much the horse felt it and tossed his head in protest. Caleb couldn’t believe he had decided to make Rory a permanent part of his life. He had found a partner and his heart had made up his mind to keep her.

Well, hell. She’d probably kick him in the balls and tell him to go scratch. However if he didn’t ask, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Now probably wasn’t the best time, however, since they were running for their lives and all. He would have to pick the right moment to ask her, one that didn’t involve furtive flights into the night, healing wounds, fevers or sex in a tree.

He couldn’t shake the notion, though, that she was the right one. He’d heard stories about falling in love and love at first sight. Of course, he had dismissed it all as foolishness concocted by females. Now he understood it and although it scared the piss out of him, he was man enough to admit it. At least to himself.

The moon shone bright in the sky, illuminating a good deal of the trail. He needed to stop his mind from meandering off to Rory. Again. The danger around them hadn’t decreased. If anything, it had increased with each passing hour they traveled. He could protect them but not if Garza had a posse chasing them. The unknown threat of what the
patron
would do and when hung over them like the moon in the sky.

Benjy adjusted his position on the saddle behind him and tentatively put his hands on Caleb’s waist. That brought a smile to the big brother’s face. It was the first time the boy had voluntarily touched him. Thank God he was starting to accept him.

While smiling into the night, Caleb glanced to his right and what he saw stopped him cold. He pulled Justice to a halt and hopped from the saddle. To their credit, Benjy and Rory didn’t say a word, although he expected questions. He knelt on the ground and examined the tracks. At least half a dozen horses, possibly eight, had passed this way at a hard speed heading in the same direction as his family’s ranch. It could be a coincidence, but these tracks were not there when he rode through a week ago. Not too many folks passed through this way and very few of them were riding like the hounds of hell were chasing them.

If he were to make a bet, he would put his money on Garza and whoever he’d brought with him. Damn. There was a posse and they had already headed to the Circle Eight. His family could take care of themselves but he had brought this trouble on them.

He stood up and looked at Rory. Before he could speak, she seemed to read his thoughts.

“He’s already been through here, hasn’t he?”

“I reckon he has and headed straight for my family’s place.” He cursed under his breath. “We’ve got to pick up the pace and ride hard.”

“I thought we had been riding hard already.” She frowned.

“No, we’ve been sauntering. We need to ride like our lives depend on it because they do, and possibly my family’s.” He ran his hand down his face, the rasp of whiskers loud in the silence that had fallen.

“I can ride just as hard and long as you can.” Rory didn’t sound like she was boasting. The woman had balls of steel.

“What about the mule?” He had doubts the little beast would last as long as his horse.

“Cora has heart. She will do whatever I ask her.”

“It might kill her.” He had to be honest and let her make the choice.

“She would give her life for me.” Rory’s voice cracked. “Your family is worth more than a mule even if I love her.”

He wanted to tell her it would be okay. They would triumph in the end and everyone would live. She wasn’t a fool and he wasn’t a liar. The risks were clear as the moonlight that shone down on them. Garza was rich and had his own small army. They had a woman, a boy who wouldn’t speak, a horse and a mule, plus Caleb’s guns and Rory’s hammers. Pitiful against half a dozen guns, but their little band of misfits also had smarts. And heart. Rory was right on that count, having heart made even a mule into something stronger than normal.

The decision was made and they had to go. Now.