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CHARLES LEFT THE hotel before Kate had to pay for another day. He would rest just as easily in his bunk.
He halted when he heard a familiar nicker. To his surprise, Lightning waited outside the hotel, in one of the small, sheltered stalls along the side of the building. Kate must have bribed the stallion to lure him into such a small space.
“Shall we head home, boy?” Charles rubbed his forehead, taking the time to check each hoof before he mounted. It was more awkward than he expected, but the large horn made pulling himself up easier. For the first time, he was grateful for the bulky Western saddle. “Take it slow, my beauty. Your master is not at his best today.”
It took twice as long to reach The Willows, and Charles was exhausted long before they reached the iron gate. Halfway to the ranch, he saw the huge herd, all of the hands nudging them to a fenced part of the pasture.
An ache he did not recognize filled him; he would be gone before Kate sold them to her buyer, and started a new chapter in her life. A chapter he desperately wanted to be at her side to write.
As if thinking of her drew her attention, she turned her mare and headed for him.
“What are you doing here? I told you to stay in town and rest.”
“I saw no reason for you to pay for another night at the hotel, when I can rest here as easily as there.”
She sighed. “Resting there didn’t involve a two hour ride. How’s your hand?”
“It hurts. It will hurt, Kate, until I have completely healed. I would rather be among friends, while I can.”
She flinched, and he wanted to take back his words. Their last conversation weighted his heart, as much as the knowledge that he had most likely destroyed his one chance with her.
“Go to the bunkhouse and get in bed. I don’t want to see you again until breakfast. I’ll have Sally bring your meals to you.”
“Thank you, for all that you have done.” He bowed his head, but not before he saw the pain in her clear blue eyes. Pain he had put there. “I will see you in the morning. Hopefully, I will be of some use to you before I must leave.” He slapped Lightning’s reins and started moving forward, before he said anything he may regret.
Making love to Kate had already hurt her. Charles did not want to add to that burden, aware that she would have to bear it alone once the curse yanked him back to his private hell for good.
***
THE REST OF the day passed quickly, leaving Kate exhausted, and ready for a long, hot bath.
She managed a short one before she had to dress for supper. Charles invaded her thoughts every time she touched her skin. His strong hands, so gentle as they caressed her, his lean body surrounding her, his hard length filling her—
“Stop torturing yourself.” She knew she would, long after he left. No matter how many times she scolded herself.
Charles de Witt had made an impression on her, and she would never forget him.
She joined Pa at the dining room table, and thanked Sally for what looked like a delicious cut of beef. Too bad she didn’t have an appetite.
After poking at the meat, and fried potatoes, she finally gave up, kissed Pa’s cheek, and excused herself, heading outside. The cool night air brushed her warm cheeks. It couldn’t cool the parts of her body that still yearned for Charles.
“Fool,” she whispered, hugging herself as she stared up at the sky.
Falling in love with a proud man was stupid enough; falling in love with a man who had no intention of staying pushed over the line into monumentally stupid.
She stalked across the front yard, needing to move, to get her mind off one infuriating Brit. By the time she reached the paddock, she was stomping, her boots raising dust with every step as she headed toward the open pasture. She halted when she heard a noise in the stable.
It was too late for any of the stable hands to be working, and that noise didn’t come from a horse. She walked fast, and started to run when she saw the smoke.
“Fire!” She kept shouting as she sprinted toward the stable, knowing the single word would bring everyone on the run.
She forced herself to stop before yanking the doors open. With a badly shaking hand, she checked the door. No heat. Not yet. She opened the door carefully, and rushed inside when she saw the fire at the other end.
A figure darted across the aisle, silhouetted by the flames. Kate shouted and bolted forward, tackling him before he could escape. He kicked out at her, his boot catching her in the jaw. She ignored the pain flaring across her face and grabbed his leg, holding on when he swore, and tried to pry her off by punching her arm.
“Kate! Kate, where are you?” Mike’s shout echoed above the crackling flames.
“Mike!” She couldn’t get anything else out, and just prayed that he heard her over the panic of the horses.
He appeared just as her captive punched her one last time and yanked free. With a furious shout, Mike leaped over her and slammed him against the back wall. A solid punch to the man’s jaw knocked him out.
“Kate—good God.” He lifted her, careful of her already bruising arm. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Get the horses out.”
She leaned against the nearest stall, then pushed off, limping into the aisle.
Mike was already opening stall doors, the other hands quickly leading horses out of the stable. “Get out of here—we can take care of this—”
“I’m not leaving them. Get the bastard out of here.” She opened the stall closest to her, then ran across the aisle and opened the next one, smacking the horses to get them going. They didn’t need much incentive. Kate focused on getting all of the animals out of the stable. She’d deal with the fire—and the man who set it—after they were safe.
When she got one of the more stubborn horses out into the yard, she found Charles starting a bucket brigade.
She stepped over to him. “What the hell are you doing out of bed?”
“You need assistance. The least I can do is supervise.” His voice was quiet when he spoke to her, but the rich tenor, and the animation that always lifted her when he spoke, was gone. She knew it was because of her.
“Fine. But you don’t lift anything. Not with that hand.”
She walked away from him, and helped Ricky guide the last of the horses into the paddock. Then she went back to the stable and did what she could to save it.