Sure, remind her that she’d slept a good portion of the day away when she hadn’t meant to. And that was definitely humor in his tone. “I assumed you would spend the rest of the day unpacking your supplies.”
“I don’t unpack anything until I need it.” Nor had he been waiting there to help her, and the complaint he made as he went down the steps confounded her: “Waste of two good support beams.”
She didn’t have a clue—then she did. He’d built railings for the steps while she slept! He didn’t need those handholds or they would already have been attached to the steps. He’d built them just for her—and was complaining about it. She was amazed that he’d done it.
She couldn’t help smiling and saying, “Thank you.”
He stopped to wait for her and, seeing her hand on the railing, just nodded curtly. She saw mules grazing on both sides of the stream, then noticed an extension of the fence that ran through the trees on the other side of the stream. “More bells on that fence, I suppose?” He nodded, and she wondered aloud, “I would think bells could be cut off and a fence hopped in silence, so wouldn’t a dog prove more useful to let you know if anyone approaches?”
His answer was to whistle, very loudly. Nothing happened; he was just facetiously implying he had a dog. But he continued down the hill toward the gate they’d passed through when they arrived.
Following him, she passed his horse, the only animal left in the front yard. “Why isn’t he with the mules? Or is he a stallion?”
“He’d be a terror around here if he was. No, I just don’t take chances with my only way out of here. I lock Caesar in the mine at night. But I dug out a section to make room for my gals, too, during the worst of winter. It’s not an ideal stable, but it keeps them from freezing.”
Now she understood why he’d brought bales of hay from Butte when there was already so much grass around here. And then she heard barking in the distance. “So you do have a dog?”
The animal hadn’t appeared yet, but Morgan said, “I was out hunting after the spring thaw and cooking a rabbit for my lunch when Bo approached my camp snarling at me. Don’t know how long he was lost out there, but he was skin and bones by then. There was no doubt he was going to attack, he was that hungry. Rather than shoot him, I tossed him the rest of my meat. It was funny as hell. He wolfed that down in one chomp, then gave me an expectant look with his tail wagging. I’d won him over that easily. So I let him follow me home. He comes in handy, cleaning up scraps. But he wanders pretty far when I’m not here.”
“The fences don’t keep him in?”
“Now that he’s healthy, he has no trouble jumping them,” he said.
That was proven a moment later when a large black-haired dog leapt over the nearest fence and jumped up on Morgan in greeting, and then almost immediately started growling at Violet.
She didn’t back away. “You could have warned me he’s not tame.”
“But he is, tame as a pussycat.”
“That, sir, is not a good comparison. I had a cat, the meanest feline ever. She hissed and scratched at anyone who came near her.”
“Except you?”
“Especially me,” she corrected, her eyes still on the growling dog. “I think she knew I preferred dogs and hated me for it. My brothers got dogs, I got the mean cat.” And then to the dog, she said firmly, “You, stop that. We’re going to be friends.”
Morgan chuckled and only had to pet the top of the dog’s head to get it to stop growling. “Bo’s just protective of his yard. But tell me, why didn’t you run into the house screaming? Isn’t that what you ladies do when threatened?”
She gave him an indignant look. “I told you I like dogs. Yours will sense that soon enough.”
She followed Morgan out of the yard and about twenty feet down the hill. The little pool he’d described was in the thicker part of the forest, but he hadn’t mentioned how inviting he’d made it. Smooth rock lined each side to make it easy to get in and out, and there were even a few flowers like those near his cabin.
True to his word, Morgan leaned against a tree, facing away from her. She still kept her eyes mostly on his back as she disrobed down to her underclothes and got in the water. She washed quickly, not wanting to give him another reason to complain.
She noticed another bar of soap next to the stream and almost laughed. Did he think she wouldn’t want to use his? She dried herself and dressed behind another tree in dry undergarments, a clean white blouse, and a lavender skirt. After rolling her soap and wet smallclothes in the washcloth, she wrapped Morgan’s larger towel around her wet hair, already imagining how painful it was going to be when she took her brush to what was now a wildly tangled mane.
Gathering up her things, she walked over to Morgan so they could head back to the cabin. He pushed away from the tree trunk he was leaning against and loomed over her. It did feel that way, he was so tall.
“This is when you might want to seduce me. If that’s one of your options, no point in wasting time.”
She was speechless. Strong arms drew her close to him, and he kissed her. Tickled by his mustache, teased by his tongue, she was startled by the fervent sensations that ran through her. It was all too fast and too much. She instinctively shoved him away from her and stumbled on a tree root behind her, toppling backward toward the water.
Chapter Fifteen
HE STOPPED THE FALL.Violet wished he hadn’t. She could have used another dunking, she felt so flustered from that kiss. She certainly didn’t thank him for keeping her dry when his effrontery deserved a dressing-down.
She glowered at him with high indignation. “I am a proper young lady. Such liberties as you just took I find scandalous! And you willnotinsinuate again that I’m a harlot when I most certainly am not!”
“I know. You’re an actress, and a damn good one. Women don’t usually react that way when I kiss them.”
