Texas Lucky (14 page)

She gulped. “You’re leaving me here?”

Exasperated, he snapped, “We have to hurry, Tess, because there’s no way of knowing exactly how far they were from the rest of their band, or how long they’ve been gone. We’ve got to get the hell out of here…and fast. So don’t argue and start piling rocks.”

“But I’m not—”

He walked away, ignoring her and feeling more than a little bad about being so hard on her. But it was for her own good, dammit.

After finding his horse and shooing the pintos away, he hurried back to find Tess had managed to cover a third of the grave with rocks.

He helped her finish and was gratified to glance up and note that the vultures had disappeared.

When they were at last on their way, Curt rode hard, and Tess declared, “The first thing I’m going to do when I get my ranch is learn how to ride. I don’t intend to ever ride behind anybody bouncing on a horse’s bare butt again if I can help it.”

Curt almost jerked to a halt, because her words struck like a rock falling out of the sky.

When I get my ranch…

Had he heard her right?

Surely not, not after all she had been through. Dammit, she should well be convinced the West was no place for somebody like her.

But he had heard her right, because she continued, “You said ten thousand dollars was enough, and—”

“And I never thought for a minute you were serious. You’ve got no business even thinking about it,” he growled above the wind whipping their faces. “What’s it going to take to make you realize that, Tess? First you send me to jail and almost get me hanged because you were too scared to listen to reason. Then you go to jail yourself because you don’t know a gun handle from a hole in the ground. And two people just got killed because you screamed over a lizard. If anybody was not meant to live in the West, it’s you.”

He felt her pull away from him. “Well…well…” she sputtered, then yelled in a rush, “Don’t you worry about it, you hear? Just get me to the fort and then forget you ever knew me.”

“Don’t worry,” he fired back, hating himself for his anger when all the while he wanted to grab her and crush her against him and hold her tight and tell her he’d never let anybody or anything ever hurt her again.

But he couldn’t.

Not now.

Maybe not ever.

She wasn’t his kind, and not because she wasn’t a soft woman, either, for, skinny as she was, the truth was she felt good. Real damn good. She just wasn’t tough enough, that’s all, and the kind of life he planned to live, rugged and rough ranching, would take a rugged and rough woman.

Which she wasn’t.

And never would be.

They lapsed into silence, which suited him fine, and when the sun began to sink, dragging the last vestiges of day with it, he was gratified to realize they had made it to the boulder-strewn Granite Dells.

He rode the horse into a jumbled mass of huge rocks with soft, flat areas between. Dismounting, he helped Tess down and could feel her stiffness against him…could see her tight-set lips and the angry fire smoldering in her eyes. Good. She was mad. Let her stay mad. It would make it easier when he had to leave her.

“We’re far enough away to make a fire,” he said as he got the small hunk of deer meat he had found tied to one of the ponies. “Gather what sticks you can find while I get this cleaned. There’s a little stream running between those two big rocks where we can bathe and get water.”

Without a word, Tess went to her task. By the time Curt returned with the meat skinned and skewered, he was surprised to see that she had the fire going. But he did not compliment her, hating to be so cold but again reminding himself it was for her benefit.

He had also taken blankets from the Indians’ ponies and noted Tess winced when he gave her one to bed down on. He knew she would have preferred not to, but it was better than sleeping with nothing between her and the ground.

They ate in silence, and then she left him to sleep.

He tossed and turned restlessly, wishing she were in his arms,
wanting
her. But he knew it had to end sometime, and the sooner, the better.

The next morning, she was up and ready to ride before he was.

“We’ll make Fort Verde by midday,” he told her as he saddled the horse. “The soldiers there can get you on to Prescott. It’s only seventeen miles or so north from there.”

Quietly, as though she had spent a lot of time thinking about it, she said, “I’d hoped you’d take me with you to Dallas. There’s nothing for me in Prescott.”

He gave the cinch an extra-hard yank. “There’s nothing for you in Dallas, either.”

Her chin jutted upward. “That’s not for you to say. And I’m willing to pay you to take me to Dallas.”

He turned to flash a wry grin as he said, “You don’t have that much money.”

She snapped, “Then maybe you’d like to just leave me right here.”

“Yep, I would. Because you’re nothing but trouble, princess. But I’m a gentleman and my conscience won’t let me.”

“To hell with your conscience.” With a swish of her skirt, she strode angrily to the horse and took down the bag of money he had hung around the saddle horn. “And to hell with you. I’d rather walk to the fort than ride one more mile with you.”

He was a head taller, but she did not wither beneath his sudden icy glare as she continued to berate him. “You talk about
me
being trouble. Well, I’ll have you to know I’m not to blame for your being charged with murder. That was your doing, because you were so stupid. As for being a gentleman”—she poked him in the chest with an angry finger—“you took advantage of me, and—”

He grabbed her finger and squeezed. “Wait a damn minute. I did no such thing. You wanted it as bad as I did, and you know it.”

She tried to pull from his grasp, but he held tight. “That’s not true. I was frightened and lonely, and—”

“And hot and horny.” He grinned down at her. “And you’re cuter than a kitten spitting at a pesky puppy, but I don’t have time to stand here and play with you. Now, you
are
riding with me to the fort, and then you can do whatever you like, but I’ll see you there and safe.”

She kicked and struggled as he picked her up and sat her on the horse. Then he took the money bag away from her and retied it to the saddle horn before mounting himself.

“I wish I’d never met you,” she cried, leaning as far back from him as possible. “I wish to God I’d stayed in my part of the shaft, and—”

“And like I said before, you talk a lot for a little girl.”

He popped the reins, and they both lapsed into stony silence.

At last the fort came into sight, a fortress of logs pointing skyward, the American flag flying proudly from a post just inside the high, wide gates.

After the sentry saw they were white, the gate was opened and they rode in, to be immediately surrounded by soldiers.

Tess looked into the sea of men in dusty hats, blue shirts, yellow bandannas around their necks, a gold stripe down the side of their pants, and all wearing scruffy boots, and she realized it was the first time she had not felt surrounded by unfriendly faces since arriving in Arizona.

The crowd parted for a man who looked neater and cleaner than the rest. As he drew closer, Tess saw that he had gold bars on the shoulders of his uniform.

He held out a white-gloved hand to her. “I’m Captain Brent Halliday. Welcome to Fort Verde, Miss…?” he lifted his voice in question.

“Tess Partridge,” she obliged pleasantly. “And I know I must look a sight. We’ve come a long way and been through a terrible ordeal. If you’ve a store where I might buy something to wear…”

“No, I’m sorry. You’ll have to go into Prescott for that. But I’m sure one of the officers’ wives will have something to fit you.” He turned to Curt. “And you, Mr. Partridge, are also welcome.”

Curt was quick to correct him. “The name is Curt Hammond, and I’m merely escorting Miss Partridge. You can take over now. All I need is a stiff drink of whiskey and I’ll be on my way.”

Despite her smoldering ire, Tess could not deny the tremor of regret that swept over her to see him go, but she would be damned if she would let him know it.

“Nonsense,” Captain Halliday was saying. “You’ll stay the night. Give your horse food and rest, and the same for you. The general will expect it. Now, Miss Partridge”—he held out his arm to her—“I’ll show you to the guest quarters.”

Tess hesitated only long enough to take the money bag from the saddle horn, giving Curt a blistering glare as she did so. Then, tucking her hand daintily in the crook of the officer’s arm, she offered her brightest smile as he explained the layout of the horseshoe-shaped compound while they walked.

The general’s office and quarters were in the middle, with married officers and wives sequestered on one side, barracks for the enlisted men on the other. Situated in the rear were the munitions building, stables, and supply house.

“We keep only one guest room,” he said. “Mr. Hammond will bunk with the regular soldiers.”

Her quarters were adequate—a small room with a narrow bed, a nightstand with washbasin, and a chair. Hardly room to turn around, but she did not care, sighing deliciously at the sight of the mattress and thinking how it would be her first night in a real bed in too long to remember.

“I’ll send one of the ladies with a change of clothes for you,” Captain Halliday was saying, “and a soldier with hot water for bathing. It’s the general’s policy to host a dinner when we have guests, so I’ll send someone for you around six-thirty, if that’s all right.”

“Yes, that’s fine.” It would also be her first real dinner in a long time, with real dishes at a real table, and she was excited to think of it.

They were standing at the door, but he made no move to leave as he stood there twisting his hat in his hands.

“Thank you,” she said finally. “I do appreciate your hospitality.”

He cleared his throat, glanced left and right as though to make sure no one was listening, then swallowed hard, Adam’s apple bobbing, and said, “Look, Miss Partridge, there’s not time in these parts to be real formal, so I’m going to come right out and ask if I can escort you tonight. I mean, you’re an unmarried lady, and I’m an unmarried gentleman, and right off, I think you’re lovely, and I’d like to court you, if that’s all right.”

She registered shock, and he quickly said, “Please, I don’t mean to offend, and if you’d rather not, I certainly understand. But it’s like I said—there’s no time for formalities, and women are scarce, and…”

His voice trailed as Curt suddenly came around the corner on his way to his own quarters. He tipped his hat and kept on going.

Suddenly Tess yielded to impulse and said, louder than necessary, “Why, I’d be honored to have you escort me to dinner, Captain. And I surely understand about the shortage of women in these parts, because I have found a shortage of
gentlemen
.”

Curt had not looked around, but she knew he had heard her and even imagined she saw his back stiffen just the teeniest bit.

Suddenly it dawned on her that if she wanted to salvage her pride for how he had used her, the best way was to act as though what they had shared meant no more to her than it had to him. Let him think she was ready to start courting, find a husband, settle down.

No matter that she couldn’t help thinking what might have been were he not such a stubborn oaf.

A sweet-faced lieutenant’s wife paid her a visit sometime later, bringing a lovely blue gingham gown that fit perfectly.

With her curly golden hair pulled up and held with a matching ribbon, Tess twirled in front of a cracked mirror hanging on the wall and felt clean and pretty for the first time in ages.

The evening was wonderful. The food was delicious, the officers and their ladies were warm and friendly, and Captain Halliday, whom she found charming and handsome, made his intentions toward her quite clear but with grace and impeccable manners.

As previously agreed upon with Curt, they told the story of how she had come west to marry, only to find her fiancé had been killed. But instead of saying she was now on her way home, Tess did not miss how he glowered at her when she stated she was uncertain as to her future plans.

Curt began watching her with a smirk on his lips and a gleam in his eye as though to let her know he knew it was all an act for his benefit, and she was relieved when he excused himself before after-dinner coffee was served.

With Curt no longer around, Tess surrendered to exhaustion and also retired for the night.

It took her a long time to fall asleep, for she could not stop thinking about Curt and how she was undeniably drawn to him and wished she weren’t.

Perhaps, she decided, just before finally drifting to sleep, she would talk to him in the morning and try to persuade him once again to take her with him to Dallas. Maybe she could even hire him to work for her and help get her ranch going. After all, he needed the money.

Then, too, they had been through so much together and surely they could be friends, if nothing else.

Or so she dared to think.

At the bugle’s blare, Tess awoke with a start.