Part 12 (2/2)

”Was there anything of value left in the tent?” J.T. asked and watched for a reaction. After his trip to the creek with Reggie, he'd hidden the 9 mm pistol in the cabin.

All the men shook their heads as they served their plates and began eating.

He'd hoped that one of them would admit to hiding the gun in the tent. The fact that no one did made him all the more worried that the danger was coming from inside not outside the camp.

”I asked you to keep in sight of each other,” he said, but could see before anyone said anything that there had been times when the men had lost sight of each other. He could almost feel the suspicion, which alone could drive a wedge between the men and make matters worse. If that were possible.

”I was thinking it might have been a bear who messed up our tent,” Roy s.h.i.+elds offered, his face coloring. It was the first time Roy had said that many words since J.T. had met him. ”I saw prints on the way back to camp.”

Cotton groaned. ”I did have some cookies my girlfriend sent and they're gone.”

”It wouldn't be the first time we had a bear in camp,” Slim chimed in, the group seeming to relax a little.

”You all know this is bear country and we need to keep a clean camp,” J.T. said and looked pointedly at Reggie.

”Sorry, Mr. McCall,” Cotton said.

The talk around the table turned to cows and how many had been rounded up. Tomorrow they would begin gathering the rest of the strays. With luck they could be out of here the next morning.

J.T. noticed that the men all seemed tired while Reggie appeared to be getting her second wind. He didn't see that as a good sign.

He felt a little guilty for what he'd said to her earlier. He hadn't meant to come down so hard on her. Maybe she wasn't responsible for the disabled truck, or for whatever had happened to Luke Adams, or Buck not returning yet. But he had a bad feeling that someone in this camp was and he feared it was the owner of the gun he'd found.

Chapter Nine.

All the men cleared out right after dinner, including J.T. Regina could hear some of the men standing around the fire, a couple of them talking quietly. She could see the flicker of the campfire through the window and their silhouettes.

J.T. wasn't one of the men standing around the fire. She wondered where he'd gone. She wished he'd stuck around. She'd hoped to talk to him. It dawned on her that if he continued to be suspicious that she was behind the things that had been going on in the camp, he wouldn't be looking for the real culprit.

She'd seen how worried he was about Buck. She hoped he was wrong and that the elderly foreman was just running late for some reason. She couldn't bear it if anything happened to Buck because of her.

She finished the dishes and stepped out on the porch, needing a breath of fresh air. The bath in the creek had been wonderful. She felt like a new woman and smiled, remembering J.T. under that tree. His eyes were the palest blue she'd ever seen in a face that was rugged and so s.e.xy it made her knees weak. J.T. had insisted on wrapping her sprained ankle, which felt much better.

She heard someone approach from the darkness of the pines and knew without looking that it was him.

”Come on,” J.T. said and motioned for her to follow him.

She didn't question where they were going, just stepped off the porch, glad for his company tonight. She followed him along the dark edge of the cabin on the side away from the campfire, away from the men. Her ankle ached, but she wasn't about to complain.

He stopped at the edge of the corral. She saw that he'd moved the other horses into the corral next to it.

Stars popped out in the clear midnight-blue sky over the tops of the pines. Tonight the sky seemed even bigger, the stars brighter. Or was it just being here with McCall? She felt awed, humbled under such a sky, everything that had motivated her to this point in her life seeming insignificant.

”The first thing you need to learn is how to saddle a horse,” he said quietly as he picked up his saddle, which was straddling the corral fence, and shoved it at her.

Her knees practically buckled. The saddle was heavy, much heavier than she'd expected. She could feel his look of disdain and hurriedly righted herself, hefting the saddle a little higher, getting under it. She'd be d.a.m.ned if she'd drop it.

She followed him over to where he had his horse tied to the corral railing.

”It takes a little effort to get the saddle on,” he said.

She imagined so given that she was way down here and the horse's back was way up there. She took a breath and tried to lift the saddle up and onto the horse's back. The saddle went over the top, almost taking her with it.

He retrieved the saddle and handed it to her without a word. This time she got the saddle in the right place and practically swelled with pride at her accomplishment.

He straightened the saddle and proceeded to show her how to cinch it down and put on the bridle.

The horse, of course, moved away, snorting and giving her a look that said, over his dead body. She grabbed the rope Killer was tied to and pulled the beast closer. She refused to groan. At least out loud.

”Good job. You're stronger than you look,” J.T. said, with maybe a little admiration in his tone, when she'd finished. ”Okay, let's adjust the stirrups. It's time to get on the horse.”

Her heart was thundering in her chest, her hands shaking as she took the reins he handed her.

”Don't drop these. This is how you control the horse, okay?”

She nodded, staring at the horse, remembering that feeling of being out of control when she was astride the monstrous thing. She swallowed and repeated her resolve to learn to ride.

Reaching up to grab the saddle horn, she put her foot into one of the stirrups and pulled herself up, swinging her leg over, grinning in surprise to find herself astride the horse.

McCall smiled.

The horse shuddered and hopped over a few feet to the side. She quickly dropped the reins and hunched over the saddle horn, gripping it with white knuckles.

She heard J.T. groan.

”What did I tell you about the reins?” he asked handing them to her again.

”Don't drop them.”

He nodded and looked up at her, shaking his head as if she were hopeless.

He got the horse moving and showed her how to hold the reins in one hand and lay them to one side of the horse's neck. To her amazement the horse turned.

”Good,” he said.

She tried turning the horse the other way. Shoot, it was like driving a car. Kinda.

”Okay, walk him around the corral.” McCall climbed up on the corral to watch.

She rode around the corral and even let go of the breath she'd been holding when she didn't immediately slide off. Or get bucked off.

<script>