Chapter Fourteen

“Brady! What on earth are you doing here?”

Tall and broad-shouldered, with those narrow hips and that Stetson tilted rakishly over his dark hair, he had never looked more wonderful to her. Or more frightening.

She might have expected his anger, but not the absolute coldness in his deep brown eyes. A coldness that chilled her with the force of a bitter wind as he approached her with with an intimidating, I-mean-business stride.

He towered over her, his eyes narrowed now as he gazed down at her where she was settled on the boulder. There was no heat in his voice either when he answered her, just that same daunting coldness.

“Saving your backside, if that’s at all possible, and I have my serious doubts about that.”

“What are you talking about? And how did you find me?”

“You left a clear trail starting with that damn letter waiting for me back at the ranch. You might have tried to cover your tracks, Annie, instead of sitting here on the bank of a creek with a contented look on your face. Are you that pleased with what you’ve done?”

She understood his coldness now. He hadn’t forgiven her for leaving him, and from the looks and sound of him, he never would. But then why had he bothered to come after her? His presence astonished her. She was bewildered, too, by his words.

“I don’t understand what you’re—Oh, of course,” she suddenly realized, scrambling to her feet to face him. “Judd Halter. If you’d bothered to ask around Enterprise or called at the hotel where he’s staying, you would have learned I don’t need saving, although I appreciate your flying to my rescue.”

He scowled at her, demanding a curt, “What are you telling me?”

“That I didn’t kill Judd Halter. He’s alive and well back at the Enterprise Hotel. Oh, I had every intention of putting a bullet in him. But when I stood outside his door with the gun in my hands... Well, I knew I couldn’t do it.”

It had been emotionally liberating for her to feel it. Now it was an equal release for her to relate it.

“And not because I didn’t have the nerve either,” she added quickly. “It was because I came to my senses. I finally understood that Judd would be the winner if I killed him. I would be destroying myself, too, and Mama would never have wanted that.”

Brady’s scowl deepened. “Don’t bother lying to me, Annie.”

“I’m not lying. Why else would I have a contented look on my face? It was because I knew Mama would have been happy that I walked away from that door. And because for the first time since I buried her and the baby, I was at peace with myself. Now do you believe me?”

“Yeah,” he said slowly, “maybe I do at that. Look, you’d better sit down again.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve got something to tell you that’s going to be a real blow.”

“Just say it,” she said, ignoring his suggestion.

“You may not have shot Halter through the heart, but someone did. The whole town is talking about it, or at least the part I ran into outside the hotel. Annie, they think you did it, including the sheriff. The evidence is pretty strong. The chambermaid passed you on the stairs coming away from Halter’s room with the damn gun still in your hand.”

Annie’s shock had her this time obeying that suggestion. She sank weakly back to her seat on the boulder. “It’s worse than that. She probably also heard me muttering something about the son of a bitch not being worth the waste of a bullet.”

“Yeah,” Brady said, joining her on the boulder, “and that could have been taken two ways. In this case, not the one in your favor.”

“But I never heard any gunfire.”

“Probably because you were still too far away from his room to hear it. Assuming, that is, you were even in the hotel when Halter was murdered. But it must have happened around then since the maid did hear gunfire, maybe because she had a window open in the room she was working in. She thought it was down in the street.”

“When it was actually—Wait, what you said about a window. I did hear another window being raised on the other side of Judd’s door. I thought it was him, but it could have been the killer getting away, couldn’t it? He could have been climbing out on a roof.”

“Maybe so, but this doesn’t help you. Annie, what did you do with the gun?”

“I threw it in the creek. Just along there,” she pointed downstream, “where there are rapids. The current was so strong it must have carried it away.”

“Why in hell did you go and do a fool thing like that?”

“Don’t you see? It was a symbolic act. A way of ridding myself once and for all of the poison inside me.”

“Might have made sense to you, but to the sheriff it’s only going to make you look even more guilty.”

He was right. Tossing the revolver in the creek had been a mistake, although at the time she’d had no way of knowing that. “Look, I’ll turn myself in to the sheriff and explain everything.”

“You’ll do nothing of the sort. You think he’s going to believe you? Why should he when as far as he’s concerned he already has his man? Or in this case, woman. What’s more, the court will agree with him.”

It was true. She had no real defense. No prayer of preventing a noose from settling around her neck. Unless...

“Brady, the real killer. He’s got to be out there somewhere. If I can convince the sheriff to look for him, learn why he shot Judd—”

“Wrong. The sheriff isn’t going to bother. But I am.” Brady got decisively to his feet. “No one in Enterprise knows I have any connection to you. If I’m careful, it won’t look suspicious when I ask some questions. It’s only normal for people to be curious about something like this, and I won’t be the exception.”

“What can you hope to learn?”

“Dunno. But it’s a small town. People notice things in a small town, especially strangers.”

“What makes you think it wasn’t a local who shot Judd?”

“I don’t know that it wasn’t, but Halter didn’t belong here either, so maybe...”

“Someone from the outside came here looking for Judd, just like I came looking for him. That’s what you mean.”

“It’s a possibility. Even a strong one.”

Annie rose from the boulder. “If I could only come with you.”

“Not a chance. You stay right here. And not on this boulder either. You find some place out of sight back in the woods, and don’t come out until I whistle I’m back. Understood?”

She should have resented his hard authority, like she had back in Sweet Spot where he had found her all those long weeks ago. But she had gained enough sense since then not to argue with him about it.

She watched him disappear through the trees on his way back to town. Then, obeying his directions, she picked up her carpetbag, hooked the reticule over her other arm and went into the woods behind her. She found a thick stump in a grove of pines and perched on it, knowing she was going to have a long wait.

The forest around her was shadowy and silent. But it wasn’t the forest that had her feeling forlorn. Nor was it her bad situation either, which should have been occupying her mind to the exclusion of all else. It was nothing but Brady.

Why hadn’t she been wise enough to accept his proposal of marriage? Now it was too late. He might be helping her, because he felt he owed her that. Or simply because he was being true to his code of honor. But it didn’t extend beyond that. His state of grimness clearly told her he no longer wanted her for his wife.

She didn’t blame him, wretched though she was over her loss. A loss which she would have to endure for the rest of her life, although the way things were turning out that might not be for very long.

Oh, Brady, Brady, what have I done to us?

Annie’s vigil had her tense with anxiety before Brady’s low whistle finally signaled his return. She emerged from the woods to find him waiting for her on the bank of the creek. It wasn’t possible to tell from his face whether he had succeeded in his errand or failed. He looked neither pleased nor concerned.

To her surprise, he wasn’t alone. He had two saddled horses with him.

“What are the horses for?”

“We’re going hunting.”

“Please, no more mysteries. Just explain yourself.”

“I had no luck when I made my inquiries around town. Not, anyway, until I stopped in at the livery stable where I hit pay dirt. Turns out a stranger did ride into town this morning. He left his horse at the livery to be fed and watered and asked to be directed to the hotel. Came back less than an hour later, paid his bill, and headed out again on the trail south over the mountains.”

Annie was so breathless now with hope she could hardly form the words to ask Brady, “The man who shot Judd?”

“He’s a good candidate. A likely enough one for us to go after him and bring him back here to the sheriff. Boy at the stable said he was a mean-looking varmint. Had a nasty scar on his face that was probably the result of a fight with knives.”

The mention of the scar had her excited. “Brady, there was someone like that in the gang that tried to rob the train. I saw the scar on his face down in the hollow before you dragged me back into the woods. Andersen. Judd called him Andersen. I remember that, too.”

“Even better. Halter ran out on that gang, and if this man is Andersen, he would have had a score to settle with him.” Brady eyed her. “With our killer being the rough customer that he is, I ought to leave you here. But that would be even more dangerous for you, which is why I hired two horses.”

“With bedrolls?” she asked, noticing them for the first time fastened behind both saddles.

“He’s got a considerable head start on us. We’ll probably have to sleep out on the trail tonight. But he has no reason to think he’s being followed, so chances are he’ll be riding at an easy gait. One way or another we’ll catch up to him.”

Brady was confident this man was not only Andersen but that he was Judd’s murderer and that they would overtake and capture him. Brady set an example for her, making Annie share his confidence. Without it, she would have no hope.

“You have something to wear besides that dress?”

“I have a riding outfit and a warm coat inside my carpetbag.”

“Change into them. No, wait. First take everything essential out of your bag and pack it in the saddlebag. Leave the rest. We’ll need to travel light.”

She obeyed his instructions with haste. When she came out from behind the trees, wearing her divided skirt and the coat over a shirtwaist, he was hunkered down on the edge of the creek loading stones into both her carpetbag and his own. She handed him the dress she’d shed, and he added it to her carpetbag. She tried not to regret the loss of the dress as she watched him sink the two bags out of sight into the bottom of the stream.

They were mounting their horses when Annie had a thought. “We won’t need to ride through Enterprise, will we?”

Brady shook his head. “Boy at the stable said there’s a path on this end that circles the town and joins the trail south on the other side.”

But Annie wasn’t able to issue a breath of relief until Enterprise was well behind them. They had met no one on the path, and the trail when they picked it up was deserted except for themselves. She was able for the first time since leaving the creek to survey her surroundings.

It was the beginning of November now. Except for an occasional tree, which still flamed with color, the others were shorn of their leaves. All but the massed evergreens, of course, which dominated this part of Colorado.

A soft haze hovered against the mountains, a result of the mild weather that still lingered. The day was so warm that Annie had peeled off her coat. She knew she would need it again when the sun set. The nights at this season were anything but warm.

The forest, the mountains, the deep valleys. They all composed a scene of splendor. One which Annie would have enjoyed immensely, had her circumstances been otherwise.

Even the stillness, disturbed only by the steady clomp of the horses’ hooves, was pleasant. Or was until the silence began to unnerve her. Brady hadn’t spoken a word to her in miles.

The trail was wide enough in most places that they were able to ride side by side. This was one of those sections, enabling her to turn and look at him. Straight and stalwart in the saddle, the sight of him was more magnificent than the mountains. It also painfully reminded her there would be no happy future for them together on the ranch. God help her for daring to imagine it, with their children around them.

Unable at last to endure his silence any longer, she spoke to him quietly. “Are you punishing me with your silence?”

He turned his head, leveling a long look at her. “Whatever you’ve done, Annie, you should know I don’t operate that way.”

“Then why—?”

“Sound carries a long way in the mountains. If he’s not as far away as he should be, I don’t want him picking up any unnecessary talk that could have him thinking he’s being followed. Let’s keep it that way.”

Annie wasn’t sure whether his explanation was a valid one or whether he just didn’t have anything to say to her beyond the subject of her predicament, which they had already discussed. If that were true, she could understand why he had no wish to talk about personal things. He must consider those topics already in the past.

As for their quarry, it wasn’t possible to tell how far ahead of them he was. They caught no sight of him, either close by or in the distance. However, Brady was certain he had passed this way. His sharp gaze discovered signs of that at intervals along the trail. A broken bough, hoof prints in the soft earth on the bank of a creek where he must have stopped to water his mount, horse apples at the side of the trail. Of course, these could be indications that someone else had ridden this way recently, but Brady preferred to believe otherwise. She trusted his judgment.

****

Brady called a halt shortly after sundown.

“No sense in going on. It’ll be dark soon. We’ll camp here for the night.”

He had selected a good spot. Looking around the small clearing, Annie saw a spring that would supply them with water and a pool below it for the horses. There was also enough grass to feed the animals.

She had restored her coat when the sun first dipped below the trees, but she feared now it wouldn’t be adequate enough. The temperature was falling rapidly, promising a cold night. She was already shivering when, stiff from their long ride, she climbed down from her saddle.

They talked in low tones.

“We’ll build a fire as soon as we take care of the horses,” Brady said. “Should be dark enough by then not to risk our smoke being spotted.”

They watered the horses, unsaddled them, and staked them out to graze. The lingering dusk provided enough light to permit them to gather wood. The forest concealed the flames that were the result of their efforts.

Annie was hunched over the blaze warming herself when, with amazement, she saw Brady withdraw a skillet from his saddlebag.

“You must have visited more than just the livery stable.”

“Yeah, stopped in at a general store. Got bacon and beans, too.”

And that, she thought, also explained the canteens from which they had been drinking water all day. “All that shopping must have made the storekeeper curious. Wasn’t that chancy?”

“I don’t think so. Folks in these parts are probably used to prospectors going off into the mountains to hunt for gold.”

She was grateful for Brady’s resourcefulness. The aroma of beans and bacon sizzling in the skillet moments later awakened her appetite. They ate the simple fare with relish.

“Better turn in for the night,” he urged when they’d cleared away. “We’ll need to be on the trail again at first light.”

While she added wood to the fire, he laid out their bedrolls side by side on the ground. She noticed he arranged them close enough together that he could be there for her instantly in the event of trouble. But not close enough to be mistaken for any form of intimacy. His resistance to temptation wasn’t unexpected.

She watched him pull off his boots, stretch out on his pallet, and wrap himself in his blanket. Making sure his Colt was close at hand, he wished her a cursory good night and turned over on his side facing away from her.

Annie followed his example, removing her own boots, placing herself on her bedroll and drawing the blanket up to her chin. The sound of his breathing told her he was already asleep while she lay there listening to the horses stirring at their tethers and the water from the spring trickling into the pool. Otherwise, the night was still with a gibbous moon swimming overhead.

The peacefulness of the setting should have been conducive to sleep, and would have been if she weren’t so miserably cold. The blanket covering her was thick enough, but neither it nor the crackling fire delivered the warmth she craved. Rolling over on her side, eyes shut, she tried curling into a tight ball and willing herself asleep. Useless. She was not only just cold now, she was freezing.

Opening her eyes, she gazed at the shadowy form of Brady less than a foot away from her. How did he do it? Fall asleep with no difficulty whatever and remain asleep in a temperature that felt as frigid to her as January? His body, she thought enviously, must produce a heat she plainly lacked.

She went on staring at his back, her reluctance weakening by the second. Should she? Would he regard it as something she didn’t intend? Oh, damn it, why not? She was suffering, and he had what she needed. He could just share it, and if she were careful, he need never be aware of it.

As quietly as possible, Annie moved her bedroll alongside his pallet, slowly lifted the edge of his blanket, fitted herself spoon-fashion against his solid length and added her own blanket over his to cocoon them in a welcome warmth.

Ah, heavenly.

Or it was for one precious moment. Then, with a suddenness that startled her, he came awake and swung himself over facing her.

“What in hell,” he demanded in a raspy voice that rumbled from his chest, “do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting warm,” she defended herself. “And you needn’t imagine it’s any more than that.”

He didn’t respond to that. There was a long silence between them. The glow of the half moon was sufficient enough to see his eyes pinned on her with an intensity that had her trembling. And not with cold this time either.

“Damn you, anyway,” he growled.

Then, before she could prevent it or even determine whether she wanted to prevent it, he was kissing her. Kissing her with a raw, savage lust beyond restraint, his tongue spearing into her mouth to capture her own tongue. Annie’s reaction to his blistering performance was equally beyond her own control.

She loved the feel of his slick tongue curling around hers as he went on plundering her mouth. And when he withdrew his tongue, she loved how he caught her lower lip between his teeth, tugging on it, nipping it. Loved, too, the urgency of his hands burrowing beneath her coat to stroke her breasts through the barrier of her shirtwaist.

When he squeezed his body tightly against hers, when she felt the stone-hard ridge of his arousal strained against her, what had earlier been a delicious warmth soared to a heat that instantly pooled in her loins.

Annie would never remember afterwards how they achieved it. But somehow, and all of it managed with a feverish haste under the double layer of blankets, they rid themselves of every article of their clothing.

Naked now, with his flesh providing all the added heat she needed, Brady seared her swollen breasts with his mouth. Branded her with his strong hands, scalding every surface of her willing body that yearned to be joined with his.

Their stormy lovemaking was enacted with no words, no exchange of whispered endearments, no other sounds other than his husky groans and the thudding of her heart.

His index finger sought and found the petals of her womanhood, parting them to massage her nub until she moaned for relief. His erection followed, filling her wet vessel as he settled between her thighs, his hands clasping her hips. Again and again he thrust himself inside her to his full length while she surged against him.

The relief she silently pleaded for came in a blinding release, the spasms of it still raging through her when he reached his own climax. Sinking against her, he kissed her slowly, then rolled to her side, his encircling arm holding her close.

His body had satisfied her. If only he could have expressed with words what she longed to hear. But that, she knew as he drifted off to sleep again while cradling her, she was to be denied.

****

The strain between them was renewed in the morning, faint but still there when they resumed their trek at daybreak. Brady made no reference to last night, as if their coupling had never happened.

For Annie it had been all too real. As wondrous as the possibility that he could have made her pregnant. If that were true, with or without him, she would regard his baby as a blessing. A part of him for her to cherish when he was no longer at her side.

Foolish to think about something like that when she had this mess to get out of. And if she didn’t get out of it...well, maybe there was the chance she’d be sent to prison instead of hanged. No way of knowing since she had no idea what the law was in Colorado concerning a woman convicted of murder. Either way, hanging or prison, it would be bad if she were pregnant.

Stop that. You have to be positive, convince yourself you will be vindicated. Concentrate instead on what today might bring in connection with that.

The weather, anyway, was on their side. The sun had already burned off the chill of the morning, giving them another mild day as they rode in silence.

Annie decided after a long, difficult climb, when they paused to rest the horses, that she’d had enough of Brady’s distant mood with her. Whether he wanted it or not, it was time for them to discuss their troubled emotions.

Before she could demand that, he focused her attention on a problem that was more immediate.

“We’re no longer alone,” he softly whispered.

The man they were chasing? Was that who Brady had sighted? She shaded her eyes against the sun, peering along the trail ahead of them.

“Not there,” he corrected her. “Behind us.”

His stubbled chin jerked toward a narrow gap in the pines at the side of the trail. Following his direction, she saw what he had discovered. Far below them down the mountainside, riding through the valley they’d left behind them some time ago, were two men on a pair of sorrels. Small though the figures were from here, there was no doubt they were coming this way.

“Anything for us to worry about?” she asked.

“I’d say we do. We’ve got the sheriff and one of his deputies after us.”

He was right. She was worried. But maybe without reason. “How can you possibly tell that at this distance?”

“Can’t for certain. But I caught something winking in the sun on both of their vests, and if they weren’t badges, I don’t know what else they could be.”

“It doesn’t mean it’s the sheriff from Enterprise. They could be other lawmen after someone else.”

“It’s Enterprise’s sheriff. Think about it, Annie. He would have eventually learned from the stationmaster that I came in on the train and asked about you. Then there were all my questions around town and the livery stable where I hired our horses and got directions for the trail. Oh, yeah, he knows you’re out here somewhere and that I’m with you.”

She was alarmed in earnest now. “Could they have spotted us here?”

Brady shook his head. “Not with those pines there shielding us. But we need to get moving. Keep as far ahead of them as possible.”

Annie needed no further urging. Digging her heels into the sides of her mount, she cantered off along the trail with Brady close behind her. The trail had leveled off again, permitting them to push their horses.

Although the track from Enterprise had wound like a snake over or around every contour of the land, it had been plain enough to follow since it was the only route through the wooded wilderness. Or was until a mile down the trail when they reached a fork.

Annie reined in her horse, staring in dismay at the division. Left branch? Right branch? No telling which path their quarry had chosen.

“Now what?” she asked Brady, who moved up beside her.