Dark Warrior: To Tame a Wild Hawk (Dark Cloth) (17 page)

“Hawk,” she asked innocently, “what is your stake in this fight?”

Hawk’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Mandy gulped and then giggled, despite the look of pure menace in his eyes. “I was teasing. I figured you married me, so I could ask.”

“You figured wrong.”

“I see,” Mandy looked away. “Shall we go eat? Half the house must be waiting for us by now.”

“Sure,” Hawk murmured, “but first . . . .” He climbed on top of her and started seducing her—all over again.

It was some time later before Mandy managed to get washed, dressed and down the stairs without being ravished. Hawk had left ahead of her to check on the men.

She blushed furiously again when she saw everyone downstairs waiting.

Kid grinned at her. “You look beautiful.”

Jake jabbed him hard in the ribs.

“Dagnabit, easy on the ribs,” Kid complained.

“Better that than that pretty face of yours,” Jake threatened.

“Well, hell, man, why didn’t you just say so?”

“I thought I just did,” Jake growled.

“Not before you cracked two of my ribs,” Kid grumbled.

“What was that?”

“Noth’n.” Kid grinned.

“Is Hawk around?” Mandy asked them.

“He was out checking his horse. He’ll be in shortly,” Jake answered.

“I never got to kiss the bride,” Kid stepped up to her.

“You do and I’ll break your fool neck,” Hawk growled from the doorway. He walked up and put a possessive arm around her. “I seem to remember you took that kiss before.”

Jake’s eyebrow shot up. “That’s right. In that case—”

“Don’t even think—”

But Jake was already doing more than thinking. He pulled her firmly into his solid embrace and kissed her hard.

Hawk growled, and Jake stepped back. For the first time since Mandy had known him, he grinned.

Hawk’s fist slammed hard into his jaw. Jake’s head snapped around, and he staggered. It was something to behold. Mandy knew a lesser man would have been knocked down. But Jake touched his jaw and grinned at Hawk.

“You got it bad, old friend.”

Hawk scowled.

Jake picked up his hat, tipped his head at Mandy. “Ma’am, it was a pleasure
.” And, chuckling, he strode out of the house.

Kid stared after him. “Well, I’ll be hanged.”

Mandy looked at Hawk. The look he gave her was wholly possessive.

“I think I’m going to kill the next man who touches you.”

She smiled at him. She couldn’t know how beautiful she looked standing there.

“They’d hang you,” she told him, teasingly. “Then, I’d have to live my life without you, where all the Jakes and Kids in the world would be free to kiss me.”

Hawk scowled and grabbed her by the shoulders. “The only lips you’ll know on yours will be mine.” He kissed her deeply. He kissed her possessively. “The only man to ever touch your exquisite body will be me,” he growled. “For you are my woman.” He touched her cheek gently. “My wife.” He picked her up, and kissing her senseless, he carried her back up the stairs.

Chapter Nineteen

L
et me go, you lily-liver’d polecat,” a young woman screeched at the man trying in vain to hold her arm. She turned back to the man who held her full attention with a wide swing of her knife—that had everyone backing up with some haste. “Why, I’ll cut you up and use you for bear bait, you fish-eyed, yellow-bellied snake.” Having slipped the grasp of those who fought to hold her back, she again leapt for his throat.

Hawk and Mandy made their way inside one of the town’s bigger saloons. Jake had headed that way with Kid when they first entered town. Mandy knew he’d seen them enter. With the slightest tilt of his head, he acknowledged he’d seen them; Mandy felt Hawk’s return communication more than she saw it. She was impressed by the easy way they knew what each of the others was up to. She supposed they’d learned that during the war.

They hadn’t said so, but she’d gleaned little bits of information from them, from things they’d discussed around the ranch. They had fought together during the Civil War. And from the sounds of it, they’d fought together ever since—at one thing or another.

The four of them had come to town for that promised outing, which had never happened, but which Hawk had not forgotten. He’d surprised Mandy with it only that morning. She’d been delighted. Hawk and Mandy were to enjoy themselves, Kid and Jake to guard and make sure they did just that.

They’d had lunch, done some shopping and were heading toward Cord’s Mercantile when the crowd, and the commotion, had drawn them down the boarded walk, having been told
who
the woman was yelling at and curious about the woman herself who was yelling at the top of her lungs.

“I’ll kill you for the lyin', thiev’n murderer you are, McCandle,” she was screaming now. “There ain’t no place far enough, no ground deep enough, to hide you from me, you dung-covered swine. You’re gonna rue the day you stole my papa’s land and kilt him. I’m gonna cut you up and feed your eyes to the buzzards.”

By this time, Mandy was trying to hide her mirth behind a gloved hand as she watched two men trying to get a hold of the young woman. Already one man was sporting a black eye and bleeding profusely from his nose. The other had a busted lip, and his hand was cut open. They were desperately trying to wrestle a six-inch blade out of her hands and quickly getting nowhere.

Ashley was backed against one wall and quite pale. For once in his life he was speechless. He watched, open-mouthed, while his men fought to get the woman under control; but it was to no avail.

Mandy caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye just before Kid sprang over a short wall and grabbed the young woman from behind, around her middle.

Hawk groaned, and taking Mandy’s elbow, he moved them to where he could better cover Kid. She didn’t have to see to know Jake had done the same.

“All right, hellcat; give me the knife,” Kid told her. “Little girls shouldn’t play with knives.” This earned him a grunt when she slammed her elbow into his ribs. He managed to disarm her with a quick, downward yank on her arm, causing her to turn on him in full fury. She hit him square in the nose and kicked him in the shin with the point of her boot, in response to which he threw her over his shoulder and exited the saloon in all possible haste, considering she was beating him unmercifully on the back.

“I want that little witch thrown in jail,” Ashley bellowed, finding his voice.

“That won’t be necessary.” Mandy smiled sweetly as Sheriff Tucker came up beside her. “She works for me. I’ll pay for any damage she’s done here.”

Ashley rounded on her in rage. “You saw her! She was trying
to kill me
.”

Hawk chuckled. “Come now, McCandle, that little thing?” He grinned. “Surely you wouldn’t want us thinking you could be taken by such a small slip of a woman?” He grunted when he felt Mandy’s elbow in his side. “I thought not,” he added, when he saw Ashley relent. He took Mandy by the elbow so she couldn’t elbow him again, nodding at Jake to take care of things, and led her outside.

Kid had managed to get the she-cat in the wagon, much to Hawk’s amusement and Mandy’s amazement, but when the girl flew at Kid for the third time, Mandy was done. “Enough!”

The girl looked up in surprise. Mandy noted her beautiful, yellow, cat-colored eyes. The terms “she-cat,” and “hell-cat” with which Kid had graced her were very apt.

“If you’re an enemy of Ashley,” Mandy told her, “you’re amongst friends. I need you out at
The Northern Rose
. That lily-liver’d polecat, as you called him, is out to take it.”

“Really!” The girl smiled, and Kid was visibly shaken. Mandy rolled her eyes.

“Well, then,” she thrust out a gloved hand. “You’ve got yourself a hand.”

“Hired hand?” Kid bellowed. “You’re going to make her a hired-hand?”

“Sure thing,” the girl turned her beautiful smile on Kid. “By the way, I’m Katherine, but everyone calls me Kat, and I’m a top-notch cow hand, crack shot, and could skin the hide off a live grizzly.”

“Not on your life!” Kid started.

“You’ve got yourself a job,” Mandy interrupted.

Kid looked at Hawk. Hawk shrugged and grinned back at Kid.

Kat smiled, then frowned. “If you’re after McCandle, then why didn’t you let me save you the trouble in there and skin him?”

“Because, wild-cat,” Kid growled, “you would have hung on the next sunrise.”

“Yeah, well,” a deep sadness flashed through Kat’s eyes, “but that wouldn’t have been so bad. He’d be dead, like I promised Pa, and I would have avenged my family. Besides,” she shrugged, “I’m alone now, so you see my dyin’ wouldn’t have been so bad.”

“No, I don’t see,” Kid bit out through clenched teeth. “It’s seems to me you’ve been given a second chance. You should live it the fullest.”

“Besides,” Mandy broke in gently, “we’re going to get McCandle. All of us—together. McCandle, and his hands, will be the ones who go down. It doesn’t seem right, us going down with him, now does it?”

Kat cocked her head, her intense, golden gaze studying Mandy for a moment. “Do you really think it’s possible? I mean bringing him down, really making him suffer?”

“Yes, I do!” Mandy answered confidently. “Not only possible, but it’s in the bag.” Her aqua eyes narrowed. “I swear it.”

Good,” Kat said brightly. “I can see you want him as bad as me. So you and I are going
to get him
—then, I’ll skin him.”

Mandy laughed, and Hawk grinned. Kid just rolled his eyes.

The wagon always seemed to take forever to Mandy. The sun’s unmerciful intensity made her wish she could unbutton a couple of the buttons of the stifling material from around her neck, which was beginning to feel as if it were choking the life out of her.

Surreptitiously, she studied Hawk on the seat beside her. Every time the wagon hit a bump, and their legs brushed together, Mandy felt an all-new heat through the fabric of her dress that she was sure had nothing to do with the sun.

She thought about all the changes in her life in such a short time, and sighed. At least she had hope. For the first time since papa died, there was real hope. Mandy glanced back at Kid and Kat, who were not getting on so well from the look of things.

“I’m gonna scratch your eyes out,” Kat bellowed from the rear of the wagon.

“Why, you little hell-cat, I swear, I’m gonna tan your backside,” Kid yelled back.

Turning so he could be heard above their screeching and fighting, Hawk asked Kid, “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather ride that horse of yours?”

“Like I said,” Kid shot back, “I don’t trust her not to scratch up the boards. I’m gonna stay with the little kitten till she’s tame and—ouch!”

“You had that coming, Kid.” Mandy laughed.

“Dang Kat, but you punch a hell of a wallop,” Kid exclaimed in amazement.

Kat crossed her arms and glared mutinously at him.

Grinning, Hawk turned back to the horses. “Gid-up there.” He slapped the reins. “I do believe Kid has met his match,” he confided to Mandy at a near whisper.

Mandy agreed, smiling back at him.

The hands spilled out of the bunk-house when the wagon rolled up. The wagon had no sooner rolled to a stop than young Tommy was there. He grabbed hold of the team and helped Mandy down.

“How’d things go, Hawk?” old man Charlie said as he limped forward. “Any trouble?”

“Only when we found Wild-Cat, here, trying to skin McCandle.”

Kat peered at Charlie and appeared to take to him instantly, if the smile she bestowed on him, and the hand she thrust out, were any indication.

He gave her a hearty handshake. “Glad to have you aboard . . . .”

“Kat,” she supplied.

He gave her a toothless smile. “I’m Charlie. If you need anything, let me know.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m Nick, the foreman.”

“Howdy,” Kat answered, touching the brim of her hat.

“Hi, I’m Tommy.”

“Good to know you, Tommy.” Kat smiled at him.

Tommy looked dazed.

Kid had had enough. He glared at them all and stomped off.

Hawk was laughing by then. Mandy forgot all about Kid and Kat at the sight. She stared, first in amazement, then as a soft vortex of emotions flowed through her veins, she caught herself wanting to see his laughter for the rest of her years.

Early the next morning, Hawk found Charlie and Kat braiding leather to repair some bridles, and Charlie telling Kat every tall tale his old cow-poke’s forgetful mind could lay claim to.

Kat was laughing; a full, happy laugh. Her laughter was husky and extremely sexy if the look on Kid’s face was anything to judge by.

Hawk spotted him, several yards away, watching Kat with an intensity that told Hawk that serious trouble lay ahead. He had never seen Kid serious about anything. He took everything with a smile, even charm, including his fighting.
Kid obviously has it bad,
Hawk thought, shaking his head.