Page 48 of Cutter’s Lady

“If you insist. Yes, you may have the donkeys and anything else you need. You know that. Just tell Miguel.”

“Great. Thanks.” Cutter flashed her a smile and took off, loping across the courtyard to the gates. Mary looked after him, her face pensive.

***

Leslie didn’t see Cutter again until dinner. She had sat down at a table with the bearded doctor, who bombarded her with eager questions about the States, and she was halfway through with her red beans and tortillas when Cutter plopped his tray onto the table. Leslie glanced up at Cutter and away. Suddenly she wasn’t hungry anymore. She gripped her tray and started to rise.

Cutter reached out and wrapped a hand around her wrist. He leaned toward her and whispered, “There’s no need to run away every time I come near. I’m not going to try to kiss you right here in front of all these spectators.”

Leslie’s cheeks flamed. “I didn’t think you would. I’m simply through with my meal.”

“Uh-huh.” He looked at her half-eaten dinner significantly. Leslie glared, settling back into her seat, and picked up her fork. Defiantly she shoved another bite into her mouth. Cutter grinned. “I put together the supplies for my trip into the mountains. I should be able to leave tomorrow morning. We need to discuss what you want to offer him.”

Leslie’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, you should be able to leave? We’re both leaving. I’ll know what to offer Mora when I hear what he demands.”

Cutter regarded her steadily. “I thought you’d finally realized the dangers of this trip.”

“Yes. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going.”

Cutter closed his eyes as if struggling to maintain his calm. “You’re not going.”

“I am. We’ve been through this already—more than once. I thought it was settled. When I hired you, you agreed I would go with you.”

“That’s only because I never dreamed you’d make it this far!”

Leslie crossed her arms and regarded him suspiciously. “Have you rigged this whole trip to try to make me back out?”

“No! I haven’t been trying to scare you off. I figured the trip itself would have done that. After what you’ve been through the past few days, any woman with sense would have gone back to La Luz.”

“Except Teresa,” Mary put in as she came up to the table and set her tray down.

“Teresa? Who’s Teresa?” Leslie asked.

“Just a woman Mary and I knew,” Cutter stated flatly, casting a warning glance at Sister Mary Margaret. The young nun studiously kept her eyes away from his and began to butter her tortilla.

Leslie frowned. She sensed a secret here, all the more enticing because it concerned Cutter and an unknown woman. However, she wasn’t going to forget her point by chasing after red herrings. “Cutter, I expect you to uphold our original agreement. I’m going with you to find Mora.”

Sister Mary Margaret’s eyes opened wide, and she choked on a piece of tortilla. “What? You’re going to the Morista camp?”

Cutter and Leslie spoke at the same time.

“No, she’s not.”

“Yes, I am.”

Sister Mary Margaret and Larry glanced curiously from Cutter to Leslie. “There seems to be a difference of opinion here,” Larry pointed out.

“Cutter promised,” Leslie appealed to Mary. “He said he’d take me to the Moristas’ camp and let me negotiate for Blake’s life.”

“Blake is your ex-husband?”

“Yes. When Cutter and I made our deal, he agreed to that.”

Mary turned her gaze toward Cutter. “It’d be pretty bad to back out now.”

“Will you stop taking her side?” Cutter growled. “I don’t expect her to have any sense, but you should. You live here. You know what it’s like.”

“Well, you do know Mora; he’s not as likely to shoot you.”