Kid knew Dan was immune to Rafe's male posturing. Dan had a sense of humor that was rare and distinctly his own. Kid wanted Rafe gone, had been hoping he'd turn back, but he was still there.
And the look he'd given Dan when she'd hugged him, well, that had been too proprietary by half. She was puzzled and more than a little sick of the secrecy and lies. MacNeil wasn't giving up his seat in the coach and he surely knew that Jerome was ready to talk.
Dan and Billy chatted companionably and Dan's smile was boyishly open, but his dark eyes scanned the horizon like the pro he was. Kate dropped behind and rode ahead by turns, searching for any signs of life. There were none, which meant they might have a free pass to Sayre.
Dan was her second oldest friend. She'd just left little Cloud and met Spotted Horse as they'd both been running from the city. She with a stolen horse, he with a woman who'd paid for help to escape a bad marriage, Dan's sister. She was now Spotted Horse's wife.
Dan had been at the wedding, the only person there besides Marie and Spotted Horse to bother to talk to her, and he who taught her how to dance. Dan had been like a big brother, the man who'd helped her get the post with the company on the Oregon trail.
He ran in the north plains mostly and they'd worked together several times. Finnegan was an old partner of his, the man Dan had suggested she seek out for her first jobs as a hired gun.
Of their little circle only she and Dan were still working the wild west trails and homesteads. Spotted Horse had been long tamed by Marie and Isabella had always been proper, now Finnegan was settling in to become a miner or a farmer. She was the youngest of the group, true, but she had always imagined their adventures would continue for a long time.
The day passed quietly and Kate took the supper break to explain what was going on. Rafe and Jerome chatted with Billy across the little fire and Rafe shot them dirty looks, probably wondering if they were leading them into an ambush. For a secretive lecher the man was too suspicious by half.
They only made it to Maxwell by dinner and ate quietly in the hotel dining room. There were chicken pies, snap peas, and apple tarts. Everybody ate well and then Jerome and Billy lumbered to their rooms, leaving the guns.
Dan moved up a chair to sit at Kate's elbow and Rafe's jaw ticked.
She was too tired to deal with any crap. "I'm going to bed. You're both more than capable of figuring out the watch schedule."
She grabbed one of the two room keys on the table and left them in silence. All she could hope is that Rafe would make some comment disparaging her and Dan would knock his block off.
She climbed the stairs, found her room, and got ready for bed with that fantasy putting a smile on her lips.
Downstairs Dan and Rafe stared at each other. Rafe felt himself tightening as if for a fight, then Dan cracked a smile.
"Hell boy, if you're lookin' at Kid like that I'd best disabuse you of that notion."
"What," Rafe picked his tone carefully, "do you mean, exactly?"
"I mean I've known Kid, hell, eight or nine years now. In all that time I've seen only a handful of men look at the Kid as a woman, and I've seen her laugh in all their faces."
"Have you, now?"
"Hell, don't go thinkin' like that. Met her when she helped my sister get out of a bad marriage. Kept her husband from puttin' a hand on Marie before I'd given my blessing along with the preacher. Girl has a heart of gold and just as cold."
"Hmm," was all Rafe said.
Dan cracked a smile. "So, you want the first watch or shall I?"
"I'll go around first. I'll ask at the saloons and keep watch on the road before I come get you."
"Don't bother. I'll catch some shut eye and relieve you about one. Okay?"
"Fine. Then I ride shotgun tomorrow, you sleep in the coach."
"Sounds fine by me."
Rafe watched him leave the dining room, headed upstairs, and wondered at the words. Perhaps there was more to Kate than met the eye.
#
Rafe had no idea what had possessed him, but in the middle of the night he found himself picking the lock on Kid's room. She was in bed, the sheets were in total disarray, and her thin shirt was up almost to her waist.
Damn but the woman had nice legs. They were sleeker than any woman's he'd ever seen, probably because she looked like she was born in the saddle. Her hair was tousled and he saw it was wavy, shining in the low burning candle.
Jesus he was asking for trouble. Hadn't she threatened to kill him if he touched her again? But when she'd been sleepy, she'd been all too soft and pliant. The memory of that had him kneeling on the bed.
He knew he shouldn't be there, should just take his need and go find some willing whore. There had been many who had made themselves available for him, but none with her hair, her strength, her inner fire.
This was madness, but he told himself he had to touch her. Had to know if she would wake up soft and pliant, expecting Dan Forth in her bed, or if she was dreaming of him.
He slid his hand along her hip and she barely moved, deeply in sleep. Her shirt was open and he slipped his hand inside to cup her warmth, felt the heft of a breast in his palm. He felt so hard and swollen, ready to explode and desperate to feel more.
Instead he forced himself to breathe deeply and evenly as he slowly dragged the pad of his thumb across her nipple. She gasped and moaned at that. Encouraged, he repeated the motion.
"Rafe," she moaned.
"Jesus." He was lost then.
Kate was dreaming about a hunt. She and the other women of the village were preparing for a great feast, roasting vegetables in the fire. Some noise at the edge of the grove of trees called her.
White Eagle was due back soon, and she eagerly awaited his return, but something called to her from the trees. She crept closer and knew someone was watching her. She should have been afraid, should have called to her family for help, but she kept creeping closer.
There in the tree was a wild cat. Her breath caught in her throat as it came closer and she saw the strange eyes belonged to a man.
"Rafe," she called, and opened her eyes.
The room was dark, and something was off. She grabbed her gun and whirled, only to have it ripped from her hands.
She cursed a blue streak in French until a heavy body pressed her down in to the mattress, a hand clamped over her mouth.
"Shhh, it's me," Rafe said.
If he expected this to calm her he was insane. She went soft and pliant, waiting for him to relax, and once he did she kneed him in the balls as hard as possible.
He let out a strangled sound and rolled off of her. She found her footing and gun, clicking back the hammer and pointing it straight at his heart. "Care to explain what you're doing in my room?"
"Dying," he wheezed out. "Jesus, Kate, you didn't have to do that."
"No, I guess I should have just laid there and let you rape me."
