Mr. and Mrs. Bonham had arrived with their three teenaged daughters as breakfast was coming to an end. They were friends of Tanner Jameson’s from another part of the territory. They’d spent the night in Helena before getting up early to make the ride to the ranch. Caroline was torn between welcoming the distraction and mourning the fact that more people meant she’d have less time to spend getting to know Castillo.
The activity for the day was a ride to the river where they’d have a picnic. It took over an hour to get everyone ready to go and then a little bit longer to get them mounted on horses. A wagon was brought around for the children. Emmy’s sisters, Ginny, who had proudly proclaimed herself almost thirteen when Caroline met her, and Rose, who was a few years younger, climbed into the back of the wagon, which had been filled with hay. The three Bonham children climbed in behind them. Hunter held the reins up front with Emmy beside him and, once everyone was settled, set off at a sedate pace across the field. Mr. Jameson rode on his horse beside them.
“Thank you,” Caroline said to the stable hand who brought out a beautiful chestnut-colored mare for her to ride.
“I’ll take her, Jim.” Castillo came up beside him and took the reins.
The boy, who couldn’t have been more than fifteen, nodded his thanks and ran back into the stable. On the tour Hunter had given them when they’d arrived, Caroline had seen a few men working the stables and the corral beyond, but today they were all gone, leaving the boy to do all the work of getting their mounts. Hunter had even helped him hitch the wagon. It made her wonder if their absence had something to do with Derringer’s possible presence.
Castillo led the gentle horse to the mounting block where he held her steady. “Her name’s Cinnamon.”
Caroline smiled her thanks and took his outstretched hand as she mounted. Even through the leather of their gloves, the electricity found a way to spark between them. Instead of lingering, she focused on getting herself settled in the saddle and withdrew her hand.
“She’s a beauty,” she said, running a hand over Cinnamon’s neck. The horse gave her a look before nudging Castillo for a treat. He laughed and obliged by taking a sugar cube from his pocket and holding it out on his palm. Then he ran his hand affectionately down her nose while murmuring something in Spanish. His touch was gentle and confident, as if he knew exactly how to touch her. An irrational pang of jealousy tore through Caroline. “Cinnamon likes you,” she added, to cover up her envy. She refused to be jealous of an animal.
He smiled up at her. It was a smile that momentarily lightened the heaviness in his eyes, giving her a glance at the man he might have been without this horrible tragedy hanging over his head. “She’s a good horse. Stroke her the right way, give her a little sugar and she’ll follow you anywhere.”
Caroline had to look away, afraid that her face had turned red. She was sadly aware that it wouldn’t take much more than that to make her forget her scruples and follow him anywhere he asked her to go, and she barely knew the man.
“Are you coming, Caroline?” Mrs. Bonham laughed as her horse, eager for exercise, trotted after the wagon. She was an astute horsewoman, though, because she easily controlled her enthusiastic mount, and her husband caught up with her.
“Yes, coming,” Caroline replied. “Aren’t you joining us for the picnic?” Caroline called to Aunt Prudie who stood perched on the porch steps.
“No, I’m staying behind. Your father has challenged me to a game of chess and I cannot let him go on thinking the last time he beat me proves anything.”
Her father laughed from his rocking chair on the porch. “The only thing you have to prove, dear sister, is that you can maintain your grace in losing. Have a good time, Caroline.”
Caroline smiled. “I will,” she called back and started off behind the Bonhams. Though she’d barely cleared the stable yard before she was looking back to check on Castillo. Just as she did, he came riding out of the stable on a beautiful chestnut. He hurried to catch up to her but slowed his mount to ride beside her.
They rode in amicable silence for a little while. Caroline took in the big mountains in the distance, rising up to meet the even bigger sky. She’d never seen anything so beautiful. She loved Boston, the people, the variety, the culture. But this was different. It was what she imagined heaven might be like. Everything was so green and fresh, like it was created brand-new every morning.
“It’s so beautiful. I can understand why Hunter prefers it here over Boston.” She swung her gaze over to Castillo to see that he was staring at the mountains before them, his shoulders a little tense. Alert.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places on Earth,” he agreed, his eyes roving over the hills in the distance. A little bit of the tension seemed to leave his shoulders.
Their horses waded through the knee-high grass that swayed in the cool breeze blowing in over the hills. Butterflies fluttered happily from one bluebonnet to another. The girls’ excited voices could be heard from the wagon far ahead, but it was tranquil where they were. Quiet enough to allow her to ponder the man beside her.
Caroline hadn’t considered his life outside of the train incident and the Jameson Ranch. He’d told her last night about his mother and his grandfather, but she hadn’t considered that he had an entire ranch back in Texas. For some reason, the conversation at breakfast had made her heart drop into her stomach.
“Is Texas as beautiful?”
“It’s different. Flatter. With blue sky as far as the eye can see.” He gave her a little smile before looking ahead again. “It’s home.”
Something passed over his face. It was difficult to tell from his profile, but the corner of his mouth tipped downward and she thought it might be sadness. Was he thinking of his grandfather and all he’d left behind in Texas? Did he have a woman waiting for him? He’d said that he wasn’t married, but maybe he was involved with someone. Maybe she was waiting for him to complete his vow to find this criminal and then return home and marry her. A twinge of guilt for forcing him to play this charade twisted in Caroline’s chest.
What sort of man would devote years of his life to chasing the man responsible for the death of someone he loved? She found the quality admirable and decided she’d try to learn more about him in their brief time together at the ranch. When he caught her looking at him, his gaze dropped to her lips, making them tingle almost as if he’d touched them. She licked them and looked away. Best to keep her interest purely on the side of intellectual curiosity. Anything more would be too dangerous. “Will you tell me about your grandfather?”
He looked away, and she wasn’t certain he’d answer. She certainly had no right to ask him anything so personal, but she wanted to know what would push him so far for justice. He’d apparently been hunting this killer for years, when most men would’ve given up.
“My grandfather was a good man,” he finally said. “Devout in his faith, tireless in his work, uncompromising in his character and demanding when it came to instilling those same values in me.”
“He sounds…formidable.” He sounded harsh.
Castillo laughed at her word choice. “For-meed-able?”
She couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the way he stumbled over the pronunciation. It was endearing the way he drew the word out into three distinct syllables, and pronounced the ih as ee.
“That means difficult?” he asked.
“Yes, and tough, intimidating.”
He nodded with a smile. “He was all of those things, yes. I’m certain he never met anyone who wasn’t a little afraid of him.”
“Then he taught you well. That describes you, too.” She noted the rifle in a saddle holster and that his coat bulged like he might have a gun holstered there. Between all the men being gone from the stables, Castillo’s tense demeanor and his weapons, she was beginning to wonder if something might be wrong. If he’d had word that Derringer was, indeed, targeting the ranch.
He followed her gaze to the rifle before looking back at her. “You’re not afraid of me.” The sunlight caught the gold in his green eyes and made it shine.
She was afraid of him, but not for the reason he might think. She’d experienced his gentleness with her on the train, and even in her room last night when he could’ve been harsher than he had been. She was afraid because she felt so many things that she couldn’t even name with him. She should call off this ruse and be done with him, but she couldn’t. Not yet. Swallowing to moisten her suddenly dry mouth and throat, she said, “I am.”
He shook his head, one side of his mouth tilting up in a smile that was everything sensual. “No, you’re not.” Then his gaze dropped to her mouth. She could feel it tracing the contours of her lips.
“I am,” she repeated, licking her lips, unable to stay still under his scrutiny. “But I can’t seem to stay away from you.” That last came out on a breath.
He dragged his gaze back to hers and something nearly tangible leaped between them. It was so potent that she had to look away before she said something else that she probably shouldn’t. Something like how much she wanted to kiss him.
“Would you mind sharing what happened to your grandfather?”
He shifted, looking off toward the mountains, and it was a few minutes before he spoke, keeping his gaze on the horizon. “Derringer was an investor. He claimed to be from California, but I doubt he’d ever set foot there. He came recommended by someone my grandfather respected, a neighboring rancher who’d done business with the man. He visited us for a couple of weeks. Was knowledgeable about cattle. Ours weren’t hardy and had been dying from disease. The cows had stopped having calves. Even the first-year heifers weren’t producing the next year.”
He ran the back of a gloved hand over his forehead. She wondered if he was remembering the despair and frustration that situation must have caused him and his family. “Derringer talked of a new breed of cattle from California. This new breed was resistant to all disease. I didn’t know it at the time, but my grandfather gave him money to buy a new herd.”
Caroline didn’t know anything about cattle, but she knew a little about disease. It was unlikely an animal would be born impervious to disease. There was inoculation, but that wasn’t the same thing as what he was describing, and she didn’t even know if such a thing was being done to cattle. Her stomach churned with the fear that they’d been betrayed. “The herd never came?”
“He took the money. My grandfather went to the authorities and about a week later I woke up one night to our house on fire.” He took a deep breath. She could hear it over the plodding of the horses’ hooves and closed her eyes because she didn’t want to know what she knew he would say next. “He died in the fire. At times I still smell the smoke.”
“Oh, dear God, Castillo, I’m sorry.” She raised her hand to her mouth, while in her mind’s eye she imagined that horrible night.
He nodded to acknowledge her words, but he kept his gaze on some point in the distance. “Derringer was there that night. He was angry that we’d gone to the authorities. He’d figured no one would pay attention to an immigrant, but my grandfather was respected in the area. Derringer wanted to silence him.” Castillo sighed. “We nearly caught Derringer that night, but in the madness he got away while my home burned to the ground.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. Her life in Boston seemed so…so protected and privileged after hearing his story. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I can’t imagine what it’d be like to lose someone close to you and your home in the same night.”
He looked toward the hills on his left, away from her. The river was coming into view, a silver ribbon reflecting the sun as it wove out through the green field before disappearing into the mountains again.
“Of course you can’t. No one should have to imagine that,” he said after a moment. His gaze turned to the river.
“I hope you find Derringer.” And she meant it. She hoped with all her heart that he’d find the justice he sought.
Castillo gave her a long look, filled with intensity but completely unreadable. She opened her mouth to tell him that she understood. That she wanted to help him, but was interrupted by one of Emmy’s sisters running toward them.
“Cas! There’s a snake. Come look!” The girl looked entirely too pleased with herself for someone who’d just seen a snake before she ran back toward the river.
Castillo smiled and dug his heels in to make the horse go faster, following the happy girl.
Caroline continued at her sedate pace, stunned in the knowledge that she’d been just moments away from releasing him from their deal. If he didn’t have to spend so much time pretending to court her, he’d have more time to look for Derringer. Right?
But then where would she be when she returned home to Boston? She’d be facing a future where she was at the mercy of a husband who almost certainly wouldn’t allow her to pursue her profession. She’d already met the entire crop of suitors her mother had in store for her, and not one of them had interested her. They’d all seemed very foppish and vain.
If she married one of them, it could be disastrous. Aunt Prudie had warned her many times about the importance of marrying the right man. Caroline didn’t know very much about Aunt Prudie’s marriage, but it had never seemed to be a particularly happy one. She and her husband appeared to be little more than distant strangers who occasionally shared the same social engagements, which was the primary reason Caroline didn’t want to marry a stranger herself.
Aunt Prudie had once said that she should make sure to find an honorable man with a gentle temperament. It was a funny twist of fate that she had found that man, and he seemed to be the one most ill-suited for her.