Page 79 of Short-Straw Bride

Jim nodded, obviously eager to take on the task despite the risk.

“Once Jim determines if Cassandra is in fact at the cabin, he’ll return and alert us to the situation—how many men Mitchell has, where they’re holding her, and so forth. If she’s there, we’ll go after her. If not, we’ll stay here and elude Mitchell’s trap.”

It wasn’t exactly the cavalry charge she’d been hoping for, but at least it left the door open for a later one.

“I can go with Jim,” Meredith volunteered. “I know the property. I can show him the best way to get close to the cabin without being seen.”

Jim seemed to be considering her offer until Travis glared the consideration right out of him.

“Not a chance.” He turned his glare on her. “If Mitchell got his hands on you, there’s no telling what he would do. At the very least he’d use you to get to me. We can’t afford that.”

“Because it would put your precious land in jeopardy, wouldn’t it?” Hot tears threatened to fall, but she forced them back. Any affection he felt for her ran a distant second to his loyalty to the ranch. She’d been a fool to think there could ever be more. “The land always comes first. Doesn’t it, Travis?”

Unable to hold the tears at bay any longer, she sprinted past him, her only thought to escape. She headed for the house, but before she reached the porch, strong arms latched onto her from behind and spun her around.

Meredith tried to pull away, but when she saw the pained look in his eyes, she ceased. Even with his callous, overly rational behavior, she loved him too much to hurt him.

“Meri, honey. I know you’re worried about Cassie. I am, too.” Travis’s face hovered above hers, his dark eyes sincere. “But I’m also worried about Jim and Crockett and Neill. We have to take precautions.”

She said nothing.

He sighed and loosened his hold on her arms in order to cup her face. His thumbs stroked her cheeks, rubbing away the moisture there with such tenderness it almost set her to weeping again.

“I can’t let you go with Jim. It’s too dangerous. If something happened to you, I . . .” He glanced up to the sky. His fingers trembled slightly against her face.

Meredith trembled, too. Waiting. I couldn’t bear it, she imagined him saying. Or . . . I would be devastated. How she longed to hear words that would prove her wrong, to prove that his heart was truly engaged.

Travis’s eyes lowered to meet hers. She held her breath.

“If something happened to you, Meri, I’d never forgive myself.”

Meredith exhaled, and her hopes leaked out with the used air. He still saw her as a responsibility, a duty. Perhaps a pleasant one, but a duty nonetheless.

“I need to know you’re safe,” he continued, passion firing his words. “I’d give my life to keep you safe.”

“I know you would,” she said, a sad smile turning her lips upward. Her warrior. So protective. So honorable. He’d no doubt feel the same ardor for anyone under his care.

Placing her hands on his shoulders, she lifted up and touched her lips to his. Just for a moment. A sweet, achingly wistful moment.

Then she stepped away. “I’ll be in the house.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

As Meredith climbed the porch steps, she knew what she had to do. Travis wasn’t the only warrior in the family. No, she had her own protective agenda. Cassie was more a sister to her than a cousin, and though she couldn’t explain how she knew, Meredith was certain that Roy had not been bluffing about the wedding.

Cassie needed her. And right now that need outweighed everything else.

35

Meredith watched at the kitchen window until Travis disappeared into the depths of the barn to continue plotting with his brothers. When she could no longer see him, she snuck out the back door and crept down to the corral. Clicking her tongue, she called to Ginger and eased the corral gate open just enough to squeeze the horse through. Darting glances back toward the barn entrance every few seconds, Meredith led her paint around the house and into the woods.

A saddle was out of the question. Too many Archer men around the tack room. She used to love to ride bareback around the homestead as a kid. Surely she could still manage the feat. Meredith found a stump and used it as a mounting block, then urged Ginger toward the road at a fast clip, keeping to the trees.

She didn’t have much time. She had to get back to the house before Travis did. If he discovered her missing, the men would divert their attention from defending the ranch to finding her—which could mean Jim would be delayed in going after Cassie. No, it was essential that she be back at the house when Travis came in from the barn. Then, once he and the boys took up positions around the property, she could duck out the back, wind her way down to the creek, and follow it up to the road. She’d have to climb through the barbed-wire fence, but an extra blanket tossed over the barbs to keep her skirts from snagging should help her squeeze between the wires.

It was a sketchy plan, but it was the best she had at the moment.

Meredith steered Ginger out of the trees in order to pass through the newly ungated ranch entrance, then cantered a few strides down the road before dismounting. She led the mare back into the trees and tied her lead to one of the fence posts marking the property line. An observant rider would be able to spot Ginger’s white patches through the sparse cover, but she imagined Jim would be too focused on his destination to look back toward the ranch.