Trail of Kisses (3 page)

As the first sounds of morning hummed outside
the wagon where Cade had spread her bedroll, Lynne sat up and
rubbed her eyes. She smiled in spite of herself and breathed in the
crisp morning air and the scent of grass and campfires. Perhaps her
papa had a point after all. The cramped space of the wagon was more
comfortable than the stagecoach they had ridden in when they moved
to St. Louis. It was quieter too. She twisted to kneel, reaching
for the fresh clothes she had laid out the night before and
shimmying into them. She was getting quite good at dressing in a
confined space, if she did say so herself. That and brushing her
hair and making herself look presentable in the dim
light.

The wagon train was quiet when she unhooked
the covering at the back of the wagon bed and peered out into the
dawn. A few other pioneers were awake. Most of the chickens and the
handful of pigs that had been brought along were up, making enough
noise to rouse everyone else. They made the same noise every day.
Lynne sighed and climbed down from the wagon to stretch her back.
Her long hair ruffled in the morning breeze. She would put it up
later. These precious few moments at dawn were as close as she came
to a moment to herself. The endless stretches of grassland spread
out around her, touched by the soft light of the early sun. She
rounded the wagon in search of a cask of water to get herself a
drink.

“
You’re up early,” Cade greeted
her before she had gone two steps.

Lynne started. “I’m always up early. I’m
getting a drink.”

Cade didn’t like her answer. He gave her a
hard, scolding look. “It’s dangerous for you to go wandering around
on your own.”

“
Nonsense.” Lynne stood straighter
and approached the glowing embers of the dying fire where Cade sat.
She pulled her loose hair over her shoulder, wishing she had put it
up after all. “There’s nothing aside from your garden variety
danger here, and I am perfectly capable of not being stepped on by
a large animal.”

“
It’s not the large animals I’m
worried about,” Cade said. “Someone is trying to hurt
you.”

Lynne took a few steps toward the fire,
holding her hands out and glancing around. “Who? This entire
journey so far has been dull at best.”

“
This ‘entire journey’ has hardly
begun,” he answered her with a wary shake of his head. He raked her
with a gaze that took in her loose hair and dusty dress, his mood
changing. “Do you want some coffee?”

The way he looked at her sent an odd thrill
down her spine. She should call him on the inappropriateness of
that look, but she didn’t feel like starting her morning with an
argument. “Yes, please.”

She sat on a barrel next to the fire, like the
one Cade was sitting on, and quickly plaited her hair. Cade reached
close to what remained of the fire and lifted a plain metal pot. He
had an empty tin cup nearby and poured coffee and added sugar
before she could tell him how she took it. Part of her wanted to
take him to task for not asking like a gentleman should, but when
he handed her the cup and she took a sip, the coffee was
perfect.

“
Thank you.” She smiled in spite
of herself.

He returned her smile with a weary one of his
own.

Lynne studied him over the top of her cup as
she sipped. He was easy to look at, in spite of the fact that his
face was lined with exhaustion. He had a strong jaw, just enough of
a shadow of a beard growing on it to make him seem rugged. But even
in the early morning light she could see his eyes were bloodshot
and drooping.

“
Mr. Lawson, did you sleep at all
last night?” she asked.

He jerked his head up to her as if she’d made
a horrible accusation and answered, “Yes,” so fast she wondered if
it was a lie.

“
It’s just that you look so tired.
Maybe you should ride in the wagon like you’re always telling me
to,” she teased.

“
Ha, ha.” He answered her with
feigned amusement. “I’m fine. You’re the one who should be watching
your back and keeping out of sight.”

“
Why? Because some band of thugs
made a silly threat?”

“
The Briscoe Boys are not just a
band of thugs. Their crime spree was enough to make the papers in
Denver City.”

“
Denver City has a newspaper?” she
drawled and took another sip of her coffee.

Cade’s back went up. “Denver City may be a
young town, but it’s been growing faster than anyone back East
would imagine. It’s certainly sophisticated enough for the likes of
you.”

She would not ruin her morning by engaging in
a verbal brawl with this man, tempting though the idea was. She
would not. And yet….

“
And what do you do in this
sophisticated city, Mr. Lawson? Aside from wasting your time
following independent young women around.”

“
I provide security for your
uncle’s mining operation,” Cade answered, as serious as the day was
long.

Lynne rather liked the strength with which he
made the comment. It proved he had ambition. “Security against the
Indians?”

He shrugged, considering. “In rare cases.
There’s more of a problem with claim-jumpers and thieves than
Indians.”

“
Oh? What is there so far out on
the frontier worth stealing?” She teased him with a
grin.

He scowled. “Plenty of things.”

“
Such as?”

“
Ore. Shipments of silver ore have
to be transported to the railhead, since there isn’t a line that
runs to Denver City yet. Highwaymen are a problem. Occasionally
there’s an attack.” His explanation ended there and his face
dropped. Early birdsong and the occasional low of an ox filled the
silence. Cade stared into the fire, brow dark, faint splashes of
red appearing on his cheeks. It made him look more exhausted than
ever… and twice as intriguing.

Lynne finished her coffee and handed the cup
across to him.

“
Have you ever been involved in an
attack?” she asked.

He didn’t answer. He took her cup and rinsed
it out with a trace of water from a canteen resting by the side of
his barrel. Lynne folded her hands on her lap, waiting for him to
say something, bright and eager. He got up and took her cup to an
open box resting against the side of one wagon wheel. When he came
back to the remains of the fire, he dumped the last of the coffee
out and swished water through the pot. His tight expression sent
Lynne’s heart pounding to hear the story he obviously had to
tell.

“
You didn’t answer my question,
Mr. Lawson,” she said.

“
I’ve been telling you for days
that you should just call me Cade. Mr. Lawson is my
father.”

Lynne crossed her arms, her lips twitching
with a grin. “You
were
involved in an attack, weren’t
you?”

He still didn’t answer, but went on packing
the dishes he’d taken out for coffee.

“
What was it like?” She leaned
toward him when he came back to put out the rest of the fire. “Was
there a gunfight? Were the attackers dressed as Indians? I heard
outlaws sometimes dress as Indians to confuse people. Do you have
any scars from the encounter?”

“
They were not dressed as
Indians.” Cade sighed as though she was being
ridiculous.

Lynne smiled. “So you
were
part of an
attack.”

Cade’s scowl deepened. Then he let out a
breath and shook his head. “All right. I was. Late last winter. It
wasn’t as interesting as you’d think it would be. And no, I don’t
have any scars.”

She stood and followed him to the wagon, where
he started repacking the boxes and barrels he’d taken out so she
could have a bed. His own bedroll leaned against the side of the
wagon, rolled tight as if it hadn’t been used.

“
Where were you when you were
attacked?” she asked, edging closer. “Did they strike in the dead
of night or at high noon? How many of them were there? Did they
have pistols or rifles?” She lowered her voice and scooted nearer
to him with each question.

Cade stopped what he was doing to glare at
her. “You sure do have a morbid fascination with crime for someone
who’s been threatened with violence.”

Lynne shrugged, stepping back. “I don’t think
the Briscoe Boys are foolish enough to follow through on their
threats.”

“
I wouldn’t be so sure,” Cade
said. “Not all criminals are dumb.”

“
So you were attacked by smart
criminals, then?”

It was almost fun to provoke him into
glowering at her. Cade Lawson certainly did have a short fuse when
it came to a little friendly ribbing. He was far more interesting
than she’d first given him credit for. Even if he did look as rough
and exhausted as the miners traveling with them after a night of
hard drinking and gambling. Unlike those miners, Cade was genuinely
handsome underneath. Too bad he wasn’t in a mood to play. He turned
away and continued straightening up their camp.

“
Well, you can save your answers,
which I’m sure are fascinating, for another day,
Cade
,” she
conceded. “I have a feeling I’ll be needed elsewhere
today.”

“
Where?” he asked,
suspicious.

Lynne nodded across the line of wagons to one
that was set apart from the rest. Her new friend, Callie Lewis, had
just woken up and stood from where she had been sleeping out in the
open. Lynne’s heart squeezed in sympathy at the sight of
her.

“
Callie’s brother and his family
weren’t doing well yesterday,” she told Cade.

“
Cholera?” he asked.

Lynne bit her lip. “Something. They came down
with it so fast.”

Cade moved to stand by her side, watching
Callie circle around the back of her wagon to check on her sick
family members.

“
They were probably sick before we
started out,” he said. “I’ve heard it happens. They should have
stayed behind.”

“
Yes, well, I believe Callie would
agree. I would have been happy to stay with them,” she
added.

Cade turned to her. “I don’t want you getting
too close to them. Disease spreads faster than fire on the trail. I
don’t want you getting sick too.”

Indignation flared through Lynne. She planted
one fist on her hip. “You don’t, do you?”

“
No.”

“
Who do you think you are, my
father?”

He shifted his weight, planting his hands on
his hips, accentuating his fit, narrow waist. “It’s my job to
protect you, and that includes from disease.”

“
What gives you the right to tell
me who I can and can’t be friends with?”

“
I didn’t say you
couldn’t—”

“
Callie needs my help. You have no
say in the matter.”

“
What about that other girl,
Emma?” Cade asked. “Couldn’t you spend your social time with her
while Callie’s family is sick?”

Lynne huffed out a breath and shook her head.
She’d met Emma Sutton around the same time she’d met Callie and got
on very well with her too. At the moment, though, that wasn’t the
point.

“
You are heartless, Mr. Lawson,”
she said. “Lord help your friends when they’re in trouble. I don’t
know why my Uncle George chose you to be my escort.”

His cheeks flared red. “Just because I’m
cautious doesn’t mean I’m heartless, Miss Tremaine,” he fired back.
“Or incompetent.”

“
I never said you
were—”

“
I’m just asking you to stay safe,
all right?”

“
Safe.” Lynne shook her head.
“There are more important things than caution. Compassion, for one.
I’m not afraid of getting sick.”

“
Bravery has nothing to do with
it,” Cade argued.

“
Doesn’t it?” she fired back.
“Then what do you call helping a friend in distress when it means
putting yourself at risk?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but Lynne wasn’t
in a mood to hear any of it.

“
Oh look.” She rode over whatever
he was about to say. “There’s Emma now, going to help Callie take
care of her family. I think I’ll take your advice and spend my time
with her after all.”

She marched away without waiting for his
acknowledgement, and was fairly certain she heard him mumble
something unsavory under his breath behind her. For half a
heartbeat she regretted being so sharp with him. The man
was
just trying to do his job. That still didn’t give him an excuse to
ride roughshod over her.

Keeping a watch over Lynne Tremaine was like
living in a shirt made of poison ivy. Cade watched her walking with
her friends Callie and Emma all through the morning, debating
riding forward to the Lewis’s wagon to order her to come back to
her own wagon where she belonged. The problem was, aside from
knowing there was no way she would leave her new friends if she
thought they needed her, he kind of admired her pluck. Not every
fine woman would lend a hand around people who were deathly ill.
And not every woman could blend prickles and kindness and come out
on top.