Cutter lifted one knee to rise and then froze. A chill went down his spine, and his brows collided violently. “What’d you call me?”
At this point the crowd was beginning to thicken around them, and there were startled murmurs.
Elias cleared his throat, his eyes watering. “You’re a lying tail-between-the-legs deserter, is what you are!” he spat, wiping the trickle of blood from his lips with the back of his hand.
Black rage shot through Cutter at Elias’ accusation, but it was tempered by the knowledge that those words had to have come from someone else. And it was that thought that set his teeth on edge and raised the hairs on the back of his neck. “Who the hell told you I was a deserter?”
It was the lethal calmness in Cutter’s voice that gave Elias reason to pause. His brows furrowed in confusion over Cutter’s response, and dread trickled down his spine. He met Cutter’s gaze without wavering, wanting to see the truth in Cutter’s eyes. “Lieutenant Sulzberger,” he answered slowly. “He showed us the papers from General Sully and wanted to know where to find you—”
Elias yowled in surprise, closing his eyes instinctively as Cutter shouted unexpectedly, leaping at him. But Cutter never landed.
Elias’ eyes flew open and he watched, dumbfounded, as Cutter surged to his feet and bolted away in the direction he’d come. Shouldering his way through the crowd, he left the horses behind, with Shiftless cowering at their feet.
Elias looked from the whining dog to Cutter’s retreating back, his eyes widening as he perceived the danger. Snatching up his rifle suddenly, he sprinted after Cutter.
* * *
“But I don’see him!” Katie insisted, her nose pressed against the window.
“Don’t worry, Katie. Cutter will catch Shiftless. Come away from the window now.” Katie moved away from the window, into Elizabeth’s lap, and Elizabeth snuggled her closer, thinking that there’d be so much to do once they reached Sioux Falls—in spite of the fact that they’d brought so few of Katie’s things: just a few of her dresses, a small doll, and her dog. Just as soon as they arrived, Elizabeth planned to move her own things into her father’s room. Katie could have hers. And then Elias had promised to bring the rest of Katie’s belongings in the fall, when it would be cooler and would be easier to travel. Her brows knit. What would she say to Elias when he came and found Cutter gone? Well, she’d think of something. In the meantime, she only hoped Cutter would be able to catch Shiftless.
But then her brows furrowed as she considered another matter entirely. How would she manage Katie and continue her practice at the same time? She glanced down at the small child curled so cozily in her lap and resolved that whatever needed to be done, would be done. If it meant bringing Katie along as her father had done with her, then so be it. And if it meant hiring someone to watch Katie when Elizabeth wasn’t able to, then that could be arranged, as well. In the meantime, there didn’t seem to be much sense in worrying over it. As her father used to say, everything was certain to work out as it should.
“Ma’am?”
Startled from her musing by the deep voice at her ear, Elizabeth glanced up to find a pair of intense green eyes looking down at her. Aside from his astounding good looks, the man wore military blue and a smile that easily disarmed.
“Ma’am?” he inquired again, his lips quirking. “You Mrs. McKenzie?”
Elizabeth hesitated a moment over the falsehood, staring at the man as though she’d momentarily lost her wits. But then she glanced down at Katie, and Katie stared back so expectantly that she turned immediately back to the soldier. “Yes,” she said firmly. “Yes, I am.” She lifted her chin as though to dare him to dispute her. “Is something wrong?”
The soldier smiled. “Well, no, ma’am... it’s just that... well, your husband asked me to tell you that he needed you to join him outside.”
Elizabeth’s brows knit in confusion. “But I don’t understand. He told me to wait aboard the train—that he would join me as soon as he... Oh, no, is that it? Has he had trouble securing passage for the horses?”
The soldier cocked a brow at her, and once again Elizabeth was struck by his remarkably good looks. The only thing that detracted was the fact that his hair was too long over his ears, and a bit unkempt. Other than that, his appearance was impeccable.
“Dunno, ma’am,” he said. “Your husband just asked me to deliver the message, is all. He did still have the horses. But you can ask him yourself, if you like... I’ll escort you right to him.”
Something about the way the man looked at her sent a shiver of apprehension down Elizabeth’s spine. His smile, though warm, didn’t seem quite genuine. Tamping down her sense of unease, Elizabeth shook herself out of her daze, irritated with the stifling sense of paranoia she’d recently developed. Why should she suspect the man wished to harm her? Clearly Cutter had asked him to come—otherwise how would he have known they were man and wife? Playing at man and wife, she reminded herself. Besides, he was an officer of the U.S. Army, sworn to protect... and they would be stepping off the train in the broad light of day, besides. What harm could possibly come to them? “Yes, of course,” she said decisively. “Thank you.” She started to rise at once, rousing Katie and lifting her into her arms.
Katie clung to her. “I hope he didn’t lose Shifless,” she mumbled sleepily.
Elizabeth patted her back reassuringly. “No, sweetheart, I’m certain Shiftless is just fine.” Praying to God that it was the truth, she edged out into the aisle, and readjusted Katie’s weight on her hip.
“This way,” the soldier directed, clearing his throat.
“But I thought the cattle and horses were loaded from the other side,” she said.
“They are,” he said quickly, “but I don’t think he could get them on. Seems everyone decided to ride the rail on the same day.” He laughed and then stopped her as she shrugged and started in the direction he’d indicated, gripping her by the shoulder. “Maybe you should leave the kid here?” he suggested with a curt motion of his head.
“Leave her? Here?” Elizabeth glanced at the seat she’d occupied and then gave him an incredulous glare. “I’m afraid not, Mr.... er…
“Colyer,” the man replied with an engaging grin. “Jack Colyer.”
“Yes, well...” Elizabeth gave him another reproachful look, and then turned to make her way down the aisle. “I could never leave Katie to wait alone,” she said with certainty.
Katie’s head popped upright, her sleepiness shrugged away for the moment. “Yeah! Because I’m only this many,” she was quick to inform him. She held up five fingers, glared at them fretfully, and then shoved one down.
