Court? She’d marry him next week if he asked her. But she pressed her lips tight. Best keep her mouth shut. There was no guarantee he was ready to hear he was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
“I don’t know what your mission is yet.”
“It’s best you don’t. That way, if you’re caught?—”
“I’d never breathe a word to them. I grew up Comanche. I know what torture is.”
He stiffened and nudged her gaze up to his. “I don’t plan togive them a reason to torture you.” His brow furrowed deep. “Besides, they wouldn’t torture a woman. Might let her go hungry and put her in filthy quarters.” His Adam’s apple dipped.. “You’d best know what you’ve gotten yourself into. If they think you’re part of it, you could go to prison, even face the…gallows.”
“Same as you.”
“Unacceptable.” He sat up straight. “I’m going to speak with my contact. I have a meeting in a few days. I’ll see about arranging for you to be smuggled to the coast as soon as possible.”
“You can talk to your contact all you want, but I’m not leaving until you do.”
No more embrace. His hands dropped away. “After everything I told you about Isabelle, you think I’m going to allow you to stay in harm’s way?”
“I notice that Isabelle wasn’t back in some town or plantation waiting for you. She loved you. She was there at the fort, with you as much as she could be. And I bet if you could ask her, she wouldn’t have done it any differently. I’m not some parlor maiden sitting around worrying about which color of flowers to put in my garden or what pattern to embroider for my hope chest. You said it yourself. I’m a fighter.”
A chuckle. “That much is true.”
“Besides, do you think I’m going to cower down in Brownsville, wherever that might be, while Miss Perfect is here risking her life with you?” The very thought had her off the ground and her hand on her hip.
He scowled. “Have you ever heard of the wordobstinate? It’s you. Stubborn, hard-headed, in woeful need of learning to accept orders and direction.”
She folded her arms.
He shoved his fingers through his hair. “And for your information, Frieda is risking her life for the Union, not for me. Thismission is about saving the lives of soldiers. Impeding the cotton trade so the Rebs have less money for ammunition, guns, and other supplies.”
“I’m guessingimpedingmeans to stop or slow down. If that’s the case, I’m volunteering. The Rebs haven’t done me any favors. And I think about as much of slavery as I do manure.”
He shook his head. “I knew you’d be like this. You’d either stomp off and want nothing to do with it or insist on being right there in the middle.” He jabbed his finger at her. “Let me tell you something, Miss Warrior Girl. You’re having no part of anything until you can convince me you know how to follow orders. This is a military operation.”
A smile broke across her face. She latched onto his sleeve. “I’ll listen. I promise. Just as long as you let me have a part and don’t send me away.”
His gaze fell into hers. “It’ll take more than words, Taa Aruka.” His voice dipped low. “And the first time you don’t listen, you’re going to be on the road to the coast even if I have to hog-tie you and gag you like I did back on the Brazos.”
“If I don’t listen, you have my permission to send me off.” She clasped her hands behind her. Her shawl slipped to her elbows, the ends dragging against the exposed tree roots.
“You can count on it.” He tugged the finely woven garment upward. His fingertips slid along her arms, spreading goosebumps over her limbs as he returned the shawl to its rightful place.
“And let’s get one thing straight.” He planted his hands on her shoulders. “You’re not coming with me the night we strike. Andwedoesn’t mean Frieda. She’s under orders to be at her home, ready to flee if needed. Your assignment, as much as it sours my stomach, will be to distract Moyer.” As tolerable as sticking cactus needles in his eyes. “If you care about my life and our future, you’ll listen. I can’t think of anything that would put me in jeopardy more than having you there at the depot orwarehouse because my attention would be split between carrying out the mission and keeping you safe.”
His hands fell away. “And I don’t know how you think courting works, but it usually involves listening and waiting. You waiting for me to call on you to take you for a walk, or visit in a parlor, maybe go riding, come pick you up for church, come by your place for dinner.”
She quirked her mouth and gazed up at him. “I don’t know if I see that.”
“What?”
“Me waiting around like that.” She swung her arms at her sides. “Besides, what areyougoing to wait for?”
His eyes glistened in the dark. “To kiss you.”
“You’re going to wait for that?”
A smile lit his lips. “No.” He reached inside his collar, yanked a chain over his head, a locket in tow, and stuffed it in his pocket. His eyes shone as he took her in his arms.
Her heart thudded.
