Sagebrush Bride (42 page)

“If
you say so,” Cutter allowed, reaching down to catch Katie beneath the chin.
“Think you can take care of your aunt till I get back?” he asked her with a
wink.

Katie
rubbed at her eyes tiredly. “Oh, yes!” she assured him.

“That
a girl.” He shook her head gently, releasing it as his gaze reverted to
Elizabeth. “I’ll be aboard as soon as I get the animals settled in,” he told
her, sweeping his hat from his head and swiping his arm across his
sweat-dampened forehead. But having said that, he stood, turning the hat in his
hands.

Elizabeth
nodded but didn’t move, unable to tear her gaze away. At their feet, Shiftless
began to yap impatiently, and Katie immediately shook her hand loose from
Elizabeth’s, bending to give him a pat. “Don’ worry, Shifless... don’ worry,”
she crooned. “Uncle Cutter will take care of you! Right, Uncle Cutter?”

Reluctantly
wrenching his gaze away, Cutter looked down in time to see Katie grin up at
him, and the wink she gave him was priceless—the longest, most innocent,
wink he’d ever been the recipient of. Charmed by it, he stooped to pat
Shiftless’ head right along with Katie. “That’s right,” he told her. Glancing
up at Elizabeth, he passed on the wink, feeling more lighthearted than he’d
felt in a lifetime. The answering look in her eyes made both his heart turn
over, and his body tighten at once. Grimacing, he switched the weight to his
right foot, and giving the dog a last pat, he rose to face her.

Elizabeth’s
brow furrowed. “Cutter? Are you all right?”

“Fine,”
he told her with a tight smile. She looked at him a little doubtfully,
prompting him to add softly, “Never better.” And it was the truth; things had
gone so smoothly, so well, that he’d not wanted to spoil it by getting sick on
her. The last few days had given him more pleasure than he’d ever thought
possible. Reaching out, he smoothed a tendril of hair from her face, his
expression softening.

For
Elizabeth, every sound seemed to fade away in that moment as Cutter’s dark eyes
held hers—all sound except for the pounding of her heart. Somehow, as
they held each other’s gazes... somehow, without a word being spoken between
them... she knew. There would be no more good-byes between them. Not ever. It
was time to let go of her fears.

“Cutter,”
she began, and then losing her nerve, she bit into her lower lip, glancing
away. Cutter’s fingers gripped her waist in that moment, lightly, so very
lightly that her heart jolted at the feel of it. Elizabeth was unable to bear
the incredible intimacy of his touch; her eyes fluttered closed and she stood
there, her knees going weak, as the world vanished.

They
could have been alone, in that instant, or not. It wouldn’t have mattered.

Without
warning, Cutter swung her into the circle of his embrace, his hat at her back,
and bent his head slowly, twisting to fit his mouth over hers. Her heart
somersaulted as his lips descended, brushing tenderly over her own, the
sensation too heady to bear. Helpless to contain it, she moaned at the velvety
caress of his tongue, her heart leaping into her throat as the kiss deepened,
reaching clear into her soul.

Suspending
time.

With
a reluctant groan, Cutter wrested his mouth free. Resisting the urge to sweep
her up and carry her away to some secluded spot, he rested his forehead against
the top of her head. “Elizabeth,” he whispered hoarsely. “You make me lose
control, gal.” Gripping the back of her neck, he bent to taste her lips once
more, closing his eyes, as though drugged by the scent and taste of her. His
breath hissing through his teeth, he placed tiny kisses upon her chin, her
neck, nibbled her ear...

A
sudden urgent tug on his pant leg caught his attention.

“Uncle
Cutter! Uncle Cutter!” Katie shrieked in panic. “I think... I think you hurt
Shifless’ feelins!”

As
absorbed as he was in the kiss, it took Cutter a long moment to regain his
senses, another to digest what Katie had said. He looked down at her with an
expression of stunned surprise on his face, having actually forgotten she was
even there.

Elizabeth
didn’t suffer the same disorientation. Startled by Katie’s voice, she pulled
away from Cutter at once. Bending to take Katie by the hand, she looked up at
him guiltily, then back to Katie. “Shiftless?”

“Yes!”
Katie wailed, pointing. “See! He’s running away! An he won’t come back!”

Cutter
looked over his shoulder in time to see the dog’s wagging tail end disappear
into the crowd. “Aww hell!” he exclaimed, sweeping his hat back to his head,
adjusting it quickly. “Go on, get aboard!” he told her as he started away. And
then he came back suddenly, snatching Elizabeth into his arms to kiss her
soundly. Releasing her abruptly, he seized up the reins and sprinted after the
dog, both horses at a slow trot behind him.

Elizabeth
watched only a moment longer as Cutter dodged his way through the cram of
people, away from the train, noticing his limp for the first time. They’d spent
so little time together in the last days, because he and Elias had been busy
repairing fences. She’d seen him only briefly during dinner, and then at night,
but as far as she could recall, he hadn’t complained of any leg pain. Her brow
furrowing with concern, she ushered Katie aboard the Gulf Mobile Ohio. “Come
on, now, sweetheart,” she said. “We’ll go find a seat by the window. All right?”

“All
right—but what about Shifless?” she wanted to know.

“Don’t
worry. Cutter will get him,” Elizabeth assured her. “Now, up—and watch
that next step—careful now.”

“I
never fall!” Katie exclaimed, her little hand gripping Elizabeth’s fingers
tighter.

Elizabeth
chuckled softly. “Of course you don’t,” she agreed with a smile. “But you
should never say never. Once I said I’d never eat a rattler, you know... but
guess what?”

“What?”
Katie replied automatically, and Elizabeth proceeded to tell her, as they made
their way down the aisle, all about the rattler she’d been forced to eat.

Alternating
between whistling and cursing, Cutter weaved his way through the depot, away
from the train. No matter how loud he called, Shiftless seemed not to hear
him—or not to want to. Confounded dog raced like a bullet out of blazes,
and kept running, his tail wagging wildly.

Just
when he came close enough to catch the dog, Shiftless darted beneath a dozing
horse. The animal startled, its ears perking and its nostrils flaring. Knowing
it was alarmed and sensing danger, Cutter gave it a wide berth, taking his own
two mares through a thick crowd of people in order to dodge it.

When
finally he worked his way out of the mob, he spotted at once what it was that
Shiftless was after.

Elias
Bass. He was coming down one of the side streets, his rifle under his arm, and
was still whistling through his fingers as the dog leapt up, thrashing its tail
in welcome. Elias ignored the mutt. For some reason, seeing that Shiftless had
come alone seemed to make him all the more agitated.

“Elias!’’
Cutter shouted in greeting.

Hearing
his name, Elias turned, but the moment he saw Cutter, his face screwed with
anger. He said nothing, just commenced marching in Cutter’s direction. When he
was within five feet, he picked up his pace. When he was only two feet away, he
hurled his gun to the ground. Heaving himself at Cutter, he tossed a punch at
Cutter’s middle.

Surprised
by the attack, Cutter released the reins he held in his hand, falling backward
holding his gut. His back slammed the ground, knocking the breath from his
lungs. Clutching his chest, he managed to roll free of the horses.

“You
son of a bitch!” Elias snarled, diving at him again. “You deceiving son of a
bitch!” His face scarlet with anger, Elias threw another unexpected jab that
landed just beneath Cutter’s eye.

“What
the hell’s wrong with you, Bass? You got a complaint with me, spit it out!”
Having spent enough time with Elias to know that there had to be a good reason
for the man to be behaving so irrationally, Cutter restrained himself.

Elias
threw another right that landed at Cutter’s jaw, the force of it snapping his
mouth shut. He shook it off, telling himself that there was no way he was going
to allow himself to be goaded into thrashing an old man—especially one
who likely felt he had good reason to be doing what he was doing. “Damn y’, you
old codger!”

“Not
so old I can’t clean your plow!” Elias returned, wheezing as he hurled another.
“That’s for lying to me, you son of a bitch!” Cutter ducked it.

Swearing,
Elias hurled himself at Cutter, grabbing him by the shirt. “Where’s my
granddaughter?” He released Cutter’s shirt to take another furious jab at his
jaw.

Cutter
caught it this time, struggling with it in midair. “She’s fine!” he shot back,
beginning to lose his resolve not to fight back. Damn the old man if he didn’t
have a powerful right for such a feeble-looking fellow. “All right, Bass,
you’ve had your sport. Now, why don’t ya tell me what’s got y’ so riled?”

Elias
didn’t answer; instead he hurled his left fist. Cutter blocked it, hurling one
back, knocking Elias off with one clean blow. Surging to his knees, Cutter
rubbed at his jaw, immediately throwing his hands up into the air when Elias
came after him again. “You made me do it once, but I’m not gonna trade punches
with you, old man, so you can just calm down and tell me what’s wrong.”

Elias
gave him an accusatory glare but held himself in check, his chest puffing with
fury.

“Katie’s
fine!” Cutter repeated. “Now, what the hell’s the matter with you that you feel
you hafta come at me thowin’ punches without explanations?”

His
eyes bloodshot with anger, and his lip bleeding from Cutter’s blow, Elias
rubbed at his own jaw. “You’re the one that has explaining to do,
McKenzie-damned four-flushin’ deserter!” He began to cough violently.

Cutter
lifted one knee to rise and then froze. A chill went down his spine, and his
brows collided violently. “What’d you call me?”

At
this point the crowd was beginning to thicken around them, and there were
startled murmurs.

Elias
cleared his throat, his eyes watering. “You’re a lying tail-between-the-legs
deserter, is what you are!” he spat, wiping the trickle of blood from his lips
with the back of his hand.

Black
rage shot through Cutter at Elias’ accusation, but it was tempered by the
knowledge that those words had to have come from someone else. And it was that
thought that set his teeth on edge and raised the hairs on the back of his
neck. “Who the hell told you I was a deserter?”

It
was the lethal calmness in Cutter’s voice that gave Elias reason to pause. His
brows furrowed in confusion over Cutter’s response, and dread trickled down his
spine. He met Cutter’s gaze without wavering, wanting to see the truth in
Cutter’s eyes. “Lieutenant Sulzberger,” he answered slowly. “He showed us the
papers from General Sully and wanted to know where to find you—”

Elias
yowled in surprise, closing his eyes instinctively as Cutter shouted
unexpectedly, leaping at him. But Cutter never landed.

Elias’
eyes flew open and he watched, dumbfounded, as Cutter surged to his feet and
bolted away in the direction he’d come. Shouldering his way through the crowd,
he left the horses behind, with Shiftless cowering at their feet.

Elias
looked from the whining dog to Cutter’s retreating back, his eyes widening as
he perceived the danger. Snatching up his rifle suddenly, he sprinted after
Cutter.