Reckless Love

"How did you manage on horseback?" Ty asked as he reached a wider point in the slit and Ja

"There was no other choice."

He thought about that for a moment, then nodded slowly, understanding that that was how Ja

But there was.

"With all your books, you could be a teacher," Ty said as he swung aboard Zebra once more and scraped his knee against the canyon wall in the process.

Ja

"So?"

"I don't like towns. They seem to bring out the worst in people."

Ty opened his mouth to argue, realized that he agreed with Ja

She shrugged. "Maybe I just bring out the worst in towns."

"Do you really plan on spending the rest of your life out here?" he demanded.

"Unless you keep your voice down, the rest of my life won't amount to more than a few hours," Ja

Ty turned around and glared at her but said nothing more, except for a muffled word or two when his legs scraped against narrow points in the cleft. Ja

Cautiously Ty urged Zebra out of the cleft, keeping to shadows and high brush wherever possible, trying to break up the telltale silhouette of horse and rider. They had gone no more than a mile when they cut across tracks left by a group of unshod ponies. The horses had moved in a bunch, not stopping to graze or to drink from the few puddles that remained after the previous thunderstorm. From the distance between sets of prints, Ja

"That's Cascabel's horse," Ja

She pointed to a set of larger hoofprints that had been all but obliterated by the rest of the group. Though the horse had once been shod, it had no shoes any longer. All that remained were vague traces of nail holes around the rim of the untrimmed hooves.

"He stole two Kentucky horses from an officer at the fort over by Split-rock Springs," she continued. "One of the horses used to be the fastest horse in Utah Territory."

"Used to be? What happened?"

"Cascabel ran it to death trying to catch Lucifer. He takes better care of the second horse. It won't last much longer, though. It's a paddock horse, bred for grooming and grain. All it has out here is grass and a big renegade with a whip."

"Yeah, and that big renegade is too damn close for comfort."

Ja

"I'll bet the soldiers are closing in. They have a real mission where Cascabel is concerned. They're going to see him hang or know the reason why.''

She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to throw off the uneasy feeling that had been growing in her day by day since the begi

Yet she couldn't leave, either. She had no place to go. A woman alone among men was the subject of snickers and speculation and blunt offers of sex in exchange for money or safety. The closest thing she had to a home was the wild land itself. She couldn't bear to lose it and her freedom in the same blow.

Unfortunately, it was becoming clear that she had no other choice.

Silently Ja

"Hat Rock is closer," he said.

"I know. I went to Sweetwater last time."

"So?"

"So Joe Troon won't be looking for me there."

"What?"

"I never go to the same town or ranch twice in a row," Ja

Ty sensed the apprehension behind Ja

"Once or twice."

"Why?"

"Mad Jack's mine, Lucifer or…" Ja

The surge of anger and adrenaline that went through Ty's body surprised him, but it didn't keep him from demanding roughly, "Did he lay a hand on you?"

"He never even saw me that time," Ja

"You said you follow Lucifer's bunch in the summertime."

"Yes."

"Then you're predictable. Every mustanger knows Lucifer's territory. All any man would have to do is to lie in wait at the water holes his herd uses. Lucifer is fast enough to get away from that kind of ambush. You aren't."

"Cascabel is keeping the mustangers away."

"He didn't keep me away. Nothing will. I'm going to have that stud no matter what. I need him too badly to let a few renegades get in my way."

"You plan to use Lucifer to buy your silken lady?"

"Yes," Ty said, his voice flat inflexible. "The war took everything but my life and my dreams. I'll have that silken lady or die trying."

Ja

"Then you understand," she said huskily.

"What?"

"You understand why I can't live in a town as a kitchen maid or a saloon girl. I have my own dream."

There was a surprised silence while Ty digested the idea that the ragged waif had a goal beyond simple survival. "What is it?"

Shaking her head, eyes tightly closed, Ja

But it was the most compelling dream Ja