His command angered her, but his deep, rich voice aroused within her an emotion that had nothing to do with ire. “Fear stems from the feeling of having no control over a specific threat,” she responded, her irritation rising as she felt her cheeks warm and color with what she knew now to be desire. “Most fears areacquired.Indeed, it is my understanding that infants are born with only two fears, that of loud noises and loss of physical support. As they grow older, they are conditioned to feel other fears, such as fear of the dark. I have not acquired a fear of water because I learned to swim at a very early age. Therefore I do not fear water.”
Roman saw the ferrymen frown in confusion. “She’s from Boston,” he said, as if his statement explained everything.
“Oh,” they said in unison, as if his statement explained everything.
“Admit it, Miss Worth,” Roman said. “You’re scared as hell.”
“I am simplyanxious,”she clarified, tightening her hold on the wagon.
“If you can swim, then you don’t have any reason to be anxious, either,” Roman fenced stubbornly. “The worst that can happen to you right now is falling in and getting wet. Then you can swim to shore while we watch.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the ferry dipped sharply.
And the next thing he saw was a shiny brass birdcage flying through the misty air.
“Well, I reckon we can add a bird to the list o’ passengers we’ve lost,” the toothless ferryman said. “What kind o’ bird was that, ma’am?”
Theodosia didn’t utter a sound, but one glimpse of her face told Roman that her so-calledanxietyhad become true gut-wrenching terror. Sighing with profound aggravation, he tossed his hat to one of the ferrymen and kicked off his boots. His gunbelt hit the deck with a loud thud, right before he dove over the side of the ferry.
The cold water sucked him under. When he broke through the surface, the cage bobbed right before his face.
Crazed with fear, John the Baptist stuck his beak between the bars and bit his rescuer’s nose.
“Dammit!” Anger increasing his strength, Roman twisted toward shore, and holding the cage high and using his free arm to propel himself through the rushing water, he arrived at the bank only a few minutes after the ferry.
Theodosia met him as he staggered out of the river. Quickly, she retrieved the cage and held it level with her eyes. “John the Baptist,” she whispered. “John—”
“That bastard of a bird is fine!” With the back of his hand, Roman swiped dripping water off his forehead. “He bit me!”
“Bit you?”
“Two bits,” the toothless ferryman announced as he sauntered toward his passengers.
Theodosia frowned at him. “Two bits, sir? Surely you mean twobites.”
“The bird bit my nose!” Roman blasted.
“Twice?” Theodosia asked.
“Once!”
She looked at the ferryman. “You saidtwobites, sir, but Mr. Montana has only been bitten once.”
“Bits!”Roman yelled. “Twobits!For God’s sake, woman, he wants twenty-five cents, which has nothing to do with the fact that your pain-in-the-ass parrot bit my—”
“Weren’t my aim to git y’all s’riled,” the ferryman interrupted. “Mighty sorry if that’s what I done. All’s I want is two bits, and I’ll be on my way. Got more passengers waitin’ on the other side, ya see. Jest rode up.”
Roman cast a glance at the opposite side of the river and saw three mounted men. They might as well have introduced themselves, for he knew exactly who they were.
His actions blurred, he grabbed Theodosia’s bag, pulled it open, and snatched out a solid gold coin. “This is a damned sight more than two bits,” he told the ferryman. “Your ferry is about to become disabled, understand? It’s sprung a leak. The pulley’s weak. I don’t care what the hell kind of problem you decide to give it, but itwon’tmake it across the river.”
The man glanced at the three riders on the opposite shore and gave a slow nod of comprehension. “It’ll probably take me and my brother nigh on a whole hour to fix the ole girl. ’Course, fer another gold piece she could stay broke fer near ’bout all day.”
“Give him another gold piece, Mr. Montana,” Theodosia said. “If his ferry is incapacitated, then he must have sufficient funds with which to—”
“For another gold piece, he could buy ten new ones! And his ferry’s not—God, never mind!” Roman grabbed Theodosia’s arm and began to lead her toward the wagon, but he stopped suddenly when he saw the three men urging their mounts into the water on the other side of the river.
Dammit, they weren’t going to wait for the ferry! He swung Theodosia into his arms, carried her and her parrot to her buckboard, and tossed her into the seat.
