He didn’t expect to see Sarah’s face soften at his words or for her to crawl into his lap, put her arms around his neck, and lay her mouth so sweetly on his.
Caleb wrapped his arms around her, the taste of her igniting his hunger. He kissed her long and deep and found her a more compelling drink than the coffee he’d just sipped. His tongue swept her mouth, challenged hers to a dance hot and sultry, a dance where clothes vanished and only the glide of body against body mattered.
Sun still up or not, he wanted to be inside her. She excited him as no other woman ever had. She wanted him with such honest desire, he wondered if she understood what a miracle she was to him, to them both. Her need for his brother matched her need for him, and he would surely spend the rest of his life thanking God for her.
“Caleb.”
The note in Joshua’s voice alerted him. He gently weaned his lips from Sarah’s, tucked her into him, and looked to see what had his brother’s attention.
From the west, stretched across the landscape like a snake moving sideways, the sun a blazing orb above them, a line of horses and riders approached. The cloud of dust in their wake left it unclear as to whether there was more than one row of them, if they had reinforcements waiting farther back.
Caleb got to his feet slowly. Not taking his eyes off the advancing column, he set Sarah behind him. His rifle rested in its scabbard at the back of his saddle and out of reach. He had every faith in his Colt .45 side arm, but pulling out his Peacemaker would raise the situation to an entirely new level, and Caleb wasn’t certain he wanted to do that unless he had to.
“Cherokee,” Joshua said. Caleb shot a glance beside him and saw Joshua had also left his gun holstered.
He could feel Sarah trembling behind him. He couldn’t blame her. “No matter what, Sarah, don’t say anything,” he whispered.
The column drew steadily closer, and it became easier to make out the details. Bare-chested warriors, black hair pulled back, and adorned by the traditional black and red headdress, black paint marking faces that appeared fierce and forbidding.
The column stopped barely two hundred feet from them. Silence thicker than the dust kicked up by their horses’ hooves descended.
Three horses stepped forward, two paces ahead of the rest. The riders waited a moment as if giving them a chance to see just what they faced and just how unhappy the warriors were.
“The one in the middle of the three is their Chief,” Caleb said softly.
The horses came toward them, bringing their riders closer, so close that it became easier to discern the individual features of the men, to judge the degree of hostility each face wore.
The three riders stopped. The man on the left of the Chief leaned forward on his horse. He scowled, his manner brusque.
“You are trespassing on the land of the
Ani-Yun' wiya
. Our Chief demands to know the reason why.”
Chapter 12
Adam was worried about Caleb and Joshua. He couldn’t push away the thread of guilt that wound its way into his thoughts. He’d been the one to get them into whatever mess they had ended up neck deep in. Having been alerted by Sheriff MacFarlane’s telegram, he had immediately begun to come up with a plan. But the plain truth of the matter was that until they crossed the border into Texas, he could do very little to help or protect them.
The sun dropped to the horizon, providing a blazing sunset to trumpet the end of the day. Temperatures had soared this afternoon, and if the colors on display in the sunset could be counted any indication, there’d be no relief from the heat tomorrow.
Adam couldn’t rid himself of the feeling of impending doom. He looked down at the notes he’d made. He’d reached out to several friends and colleagues, asking questions, looking closely where he’d not looked before. He was uncovering the puzzle pieces one by one, but they didn’t seem to fit. Things weren’t adding up, and that made him nervous.
Lack of evidence didn’t prevent Adam from having his suspicions. What he suspected was just plain ugly.
He got to his feet, stretched. The door opened, and his relief officer, Sergeant Fred Saunders, nodded as he came in. He hung his hat on a peg and tossed his saddle bag on his desk.
“Beamer cattle drive is on the outskirts of town. You may have a lively night, Fred. Peter Beamer promised he’d keep an eye on his crew but once they get drinking…” Adam let the sentence hang, giving Fred a huge smile.
“Did anyone even once consider that having the primary cattle trail pass so close to Waco was going to just be a continual headache for us poor, over-worked, and under-paid rangers?”
Adam laughed and slapped his deputy on the back. “Yeah, likely for about a minute and then thoughts of all the money to be made pushed that piece of logic away. I’ll be at home tonight, so if you need me, someone can come get me.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that. If I need immediate reinforcements, I’ll wake up Johnny and Wilson since they both live here in town.”
“There you go.” Adam grabbed his hat and headed out. He always took a few minutes at the end of the day to walk The Square, making contact with the citizens of his town. He’d been assigned to Waco right after the war. When the Rangers had been disbanded, he’d bought himself a small ranch outside town. He could make a living that way if he had to. He’d been born and raised on a ranch and knew cattle nearly as well as he knew the law. But his first love had always been working as a lawman, and he’d considered enlisting in the new Texas State Police at the time.
Then Governor Coke got elected, and he and the legislature had the good sense to reinstate the Rangers.
That was a few years ago. Adam had every confidence the Texas Rangers would remain a force to be reckoned with for some time to come.
Waco was a good town. They saw a lot of transients but for the most part, those tended to be law-abiding folk, only interested in doing their business then relaxing at the end of the day. They got a lot of drovers, thanks to the Chisholm Trail running so close to Waco. He shook his head. His town stood on the verge becoming a city, growing every year, and he didn’t know how he really felt about that because he was a country boy at heart.
Adam ended his rounds at the livery where he collected his horse, Houston. He lived about forty minutes outside of town. His nightly ride generally made for good thinking time. But this night, as he made his way along the familiar trail, no answers came to him.
A soft glow of light shining through the window confirmed he wouldn’t be alone tonight. The sense of relief and pleasure felt like a second wind. Opening the door to his barn, he heard a soft huff of air. Warren’s horse, Jasper, greeted him as he unsaddled Houston. He gave both animals some feed, water, and affectionate pats before heading to the house.
Warren
sat at the kitchen table, reading over some notes while something that smelled wonderful simmered on the stove.
He looked up when Adam came in.
“There you are. I was beginning to wonder if you’d been held up at the office. I heard Beamer’s crew has arrived again.”
“Fool holds up a Texas Ranger, he deserves to be shot.”
“Now that’s funny,” Warren said, deadpan.
Having Warren in his home waiting for him at the end of the day defined pure joy for Adam. They tended to keep their expressions of affection for those times when they were behind closed and locked doors, with the lamps extinguished.
Not this time. Moved by emotion, Adam walked over to the table, bent down, and took Warren’s lips with his.
He loved the taste of his lover and took the kiss deep. His right hand fisted in Warren’s hair, as if he needed to keep the other man from escaping. Of course, escape wasn’t on Warren’s agenda. Warren did his own grabbing of Adam’s shirt while his tongue slid and stroked and teased and tasted. Adam felt his cock harden and knew if he didn’t ease back, he’d have Lawyer Jessop stripped and bent over the table in minutes. Fucking him would have to wait until those closed doors and extinguished lamps had come to pass. He would never risk Warren to the legal consequences of their passion. A kiss was as risky as he was willing to get.
Adam drew back slowly. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too. Why don’t you sit down? I’ll dish us up some stew.”
Adam caressed his hand over Warren’s hair, then took a seat at the table. “You know, you could sell your place and move in here. Everybody knows you’re no rancher or farmer, that the land you’re sitting on is just going to waste. They know we’re friends. They’ve also seen us both with women. There are no whispers in that way about either of us. It could work.”
“You want me to move in with you because it could work?”
Adam recognized the tone. In the two years he and Warren had been lovers, Warren had been the one most intent on talking about their feelings. What they had together was more than just the pleasure they took from each other’s bodies.
Adam had never been one to talk about such things before Warren. He’d always just done what he needed to do in secret, usually in the larger cities he sometimes visited, and usually just one-time encounters with other men he’d never see again.
This thing with Warren was different and made him feel and want different things. He looked the other man in the eye. “No. I want you to move in here because I liked the way it felt coming home tonight, knowing you would be here. I want you to move in here because I love you, and I want us to be together every night, not just once in a while.”
“It still has to be in the dark behind locked doors, Adam. And one or both of us will still likely end up getting married some day. Just to keep appearances up.”
“I know. But in the meantime, maybe you could think about it?”
“All right, I will. Now let’s have dinner. After you told me about that telegram you received from Springfield, I did a little digging of my own. While we eat, I’ll fill you in on what I found out.”
* * * *
Sarah shook with fear.
Caleb had pushed her behind him. He’d cautioned her to be quiet. He needn’t have worried. Right then, she didn’t believe herself capable of making a sound. Her hands clamped on his waist, and she knew he had to feel her trembling. Carefully, she moved her head so that she could peek around his shoulder and get a look at the threat that faced them.
The warriors appeared fiercer than the bold depictions she’d seen on the covers of her father’s dime novels. They sat on the backs of the prettiest horses she’d ever seen. A mix of white and brown, the horses stood as proud and arrogant as the warriors astride them. No saddles encumbered the beasts, and Sarah wondered at the warriors’ skill, that they could ride and control the animals without the heavy saddle and stirrups most white folk used.
One of the warriors addressed Caleb. “You are trespassing on the land of the
Ani-Yun' wiya
. Our Chief demands to know the reason why.”
Oh God, please help
. Sarah closed her eyes as she scrunched herself even closer to Caleb’s back, and her mind took up a prayerful litany to the Almighty. If they were going to die, she prayed that it would be quick and painless. But mostly, she prayed for deliverance from this dangerous situation.
Caleb exhaled heavily and seemed to deflate. The warriors laughed loud and long.
“Damn it, Peter. You scared the hell out of us.”
Sarah blinked, unsure she’d heard Caleb correctly. Joshua had also relaxed, shaking his head, a low rumble of curses on his lips.
The man who had spoken, as well as the one Caleb had said was the chief, got off their horses and approached.
Caleb turned and put his arm around her. “Sorry, sweetheart. It’s all right. They’re friends.”
“Friends who would like some of your Arbuckle’s,” the warrior named Peter said as he drew near. He held out both arms to Caleb.
Sarah wondered if they would hug, a sight she thought just might cause her to have a case of the vapors after the fear she’d just experienced. Instead, they grasped each other’s wrists by way of greeting.
“I’ll make some more coffee,” Joshua said. “The fire is good, so it won’t take long.” He laid a hand on Sarah’s shoulder as he walked past her.
“Sarah, this is Peter Smith,” Caleb said. He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, comforting her. She moved closer, nodded her greeting. Caleb had told her not to speak, and she was sticking to that for the time being.
Caleb turned his attention to the older man who approached. “Perhaps the chief of the
Ani-Yun' wiya
would tell us what this is all about?”
Sarah saw the older man nod at Caleb, then lead the way back to the fire Joshua had made. Sarah had thought Caleb would ask her to go wait by the horses. Back in Chicago when men got together to talk, they seldom wanted female company. She had no reason to assume things would be any different here in Indian Territory. But then Caleb took hold of her hand so she had no choice but to follow.
* * * *