Reckless Love

"Scoot over so I can reach my pack," Ty muttered.

Even if Ja

"More."

Ty's curt command irritated Ja

"Yeah, and you're taking up at least three-quarters of it," he retorted. "Quit crowding me."

"Crowding you? My God, you'd think I had fleas or something," Ja

"Ja

"All right, all right, I'm moving." She pushed herself to the far side of the crevice and hugged the wall as though there were a cliff inches away from her feet. "This better?"

Ty snarled something Ja

"Here. Drink this."

Ja

"Finish it," he said.

"I can't do that. Preacher charges a dollar a can for his peaches."

A look at Ja

"Your turn," he said flatly.

She said nothing, but she took the can and drank slowly, savoring each drop. Her undisguised pleasure made Ty smile with the knowledge that he had given her a real treat. He had spent more than enough time on the trail to know how much a person began craving something sweet and succulent after weeks or months of dried meat and biscuits and beans.

The can was passed back and forth several times, and each time Ty swore that the metal became warmer to his touch. He tried not to think about the lips that had been pressed against the rim before his own lips drank. In fact, he was doing fine at controlling the direction of his thoughts until Ja

"Now what?" she asked, holding the can under Ty's nose.

Hell of a question, he thought savagely. Wish I had an answer I could live with.

Using swift, vicious strokes of the pocketknife, Ty cut the lid from the rim, speared a peach half and held it out to Ja

"Your turn," she said huskily.

For a long, aching moment Ty looked at the sweetness dripping from Ja

Chapter Nineteen

A late-afternoon storm had swept across Black Plateau, making the rocks and trees shine as though freshly polished. The slanting golden light transformed the winding meadow into a river of glistening gold. Once Ja

Ty didn't bother to go over the land again with his own glass. He knew he would see what he and Ja

"I don't understand it," Ja

"Except for that flurry of rifle shots yesterday," Ty said. "That didn't sound like the hunting parties we've been hearing. Troon could have run afoul of Cascabel."

Ja

"What?" Ty asked, astonished.

"That's how I found you," she explained. "I heard gunfire, ran over, saw where the tracks of two shod horses were crossed by a bunch of unshod Indian ponies. The ponies turned to follow your horses and so did I. Eventually the tracks led to Cascabel's camp. I couldn't get to you right away to free you, so I hid and waited for a chance to help. It finally came when you got through the gauntlet and were still able to run."

Ty thought of the danger Ja

"Is Troon a friend of yours?" Ty asked.

Ja

Her voice died. She didn't like to remember the time Troon had trapped her and started stripping off her clothes before she managed to break free and run. He had spent hours searching for her. The whole time he had yelled just what he would do when he caught her.

The combination of fear and dislike on Ja

"Ja

"I know," Ja

Ty shrugged. "Cascabel doesn't see it that way. He's a warrior who has stood up to the worst the country, the pony soldiers and his fellow Indians can offer in the way of punishment. He's never given quarter and he's never asked for it. And he never will."

''You sound like you admire him."

There was a long silence before Ty shrugged again. "I don't like him, but I do respect him. He's one hell of a fighter, no matter what the weapon or situation. He has knowledge of how to use the land and his limited arms to his own advantage that many a general would envy."