Clint nodded, afraid to smile back, afraid to give away the pleasure and despair her presence stirred in him.She was like the sun coming into the room, and he wanted to go to her, to touch her.But he couldn’t.It would be too unfair to her.
Russ turned to him.“What happened?”
“I don’t know.I returned from the north pasture and found him like this.He mentioned a woman’s name, nothing else.”
“Any ideas who might have done it?”
Again, Clint hesitated.He couldn’t really say what he knew, and yet he wanted Russ Dewayne to believe what he believed, that Sam McClary was behind this, and the other murders.“I think,” he said slowly, “you might want to talk to Mr.McClary.”
“Why?”The question was sharp.“Do you know any more than you did the other night?”The other night.The night he’d been with Kate.The night he had lied about so much, but not about McClary.
Clint shrugged.“From what I know, he was the only one here this afternoon.He’s not here now.”
Russ turned his attention back to Randall, whom Kate was inspecting.She looked up at Clint with that blinding smile again.“I think you did better than I could.”
Pride and pleasure rushed through Clint as his gaze met hers.“You learn some in war.But he really needs a doctor.I’m afraid there might be bleeding inside.”
Russ’s voice blessedly diverted him, but it took a second for Clint to understand what he was asking.“He mentioned a woman’s name?”
Clint nodded.“Sara.”
“I wonder whether it has anything to do with his trip to Casey Springs.A clerk said some woman claiming to be his daughter stopped by and then seemed to disappear.”
Clint hated feeling so damned devious.“He’s been gone for three days.Didn’t say where he was going.I was coming to see whether he’d discovered anything and found him like this.”
Clint’s eyes followed Kate as she rose from the bed.“I’ll get some water.”
“Clint.”
He looked away from Kate and met Russ’s questioning gaze.“I think it’s time to put a posse together.”
“Shouldn’t we wait to see what Mr.Randall has to say?”
“You’re convinced it’s McClary, aren’t you?”
Clint nodded.“Despite the fact that Mr.Randall said he was a friend, there was a lot of tension between them.I sensed Mr.Randall didn’t like having him here.”
Russ hesitated.“I’ll wait until tomorrow, see whether he returns, whether Jack can tell us anything.But if he doesn’t, I’ll form a posse at dawn.Can we count on you?”
Clint flinched inside.He hoped like hell Jack Randall would wake up and blame McClary.If he didn’t, lawmen and vigilantes would be all over these mountains.“Someone has to take care of this place,” he said.“Nearly every hand has quit.I don’t want him to wake to find his cattle gone too.”
Russ nodded, accepting the explanation, and Clint felt worse.He had to head up and warn Rafe.And Ben.
Kate returned and chased them all out.“He needs quiet.I’ll call if he wakes,” she said.
The men went into the main room.Clint found a bottle of whiskey and poured them all a drink.And they waited.
“No,” Shea said flatly.“I won’t run away.”
Rafe felt his fingers tighten into fists.He’d expected her to jump at his offer.It had cost him a great deal to make it.He’d had to make himself trust again.
And God help him, he didn’t want her to leave.Which made it an absolute necessity that she do exactly that.
Because freedom meant so much to him, he thought it would to her too.He hadn’t thought she would hesitate a second before accepting his offer.
At her first refusal he’d felt a rare sense of pleasure, and then he realized it wasn’t him keeping her here, it was her father.Jack Randall was the reason she’d refused his offer to take a train back East.
His instinct proved true with her next words.“I came all this way to see my father.I want to see him.”
