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“No, it’s because he knows I’m the best one to tend to you. The whipping I gave you earlier today was probably something he’s been wanting to do for ages now.”
The mention of him spanking her like some unruly child flashed back across her mind’s eye and her anger returned in an instant. She glared at him through the inky blackness surrounding him and pointed a finger in his direction. “Don’t ever think to do that again, Jesse Samuels or I swear I’ll rip your ears off and feed them to the cattle for breakfast.”
He laughed. “We’ll see about that.” He straightened in the saddle and looked her way. “Head on back in and tell Isaac to find a spot to rest for the night. We should have stopped a long time ago, to be honest, and I want you near Isaac when we call a halt. I don’t want you out here in the dark with the rest of these men.”
“I can take care of myself.”
He sighed, the sound filled with a hint of irritation. “Just do as I say for once, can you do that?”
The tone of his voice and the look on his face was enough reason not to argue. They may get some sick pleasure out of teasing and calling each other names and making life miserable just for the hell of it, but now wasn’t one of those times. He wasn’t in the mood to play so she didn’t argue. Just nodded her head and headed toward the other side of the herd like he asked her to do.
By the time she spotted the chuck wagon, the cattle was already slowing. She smiled at Isaac when she came up beside the wagon. “Jesse said to find a spot to rest for the night.”
“Will do.”
The wagon slowed before coming to a complete stop, the pots and pans hanging along the side rattling against the wooden rails as they swung from the ropes they were tied to.
Isaac jumped to the ground, marking out a spot for a fire pit. She hoped he warmed up the leftover food from earlier that day. As much as she hated eating the same thing over and over, she was so hungry she wasn’t going to complain.
Dismounting, she unsaddled her horse, spent long minutes brushing and talking to him before giving him a few oats and praise, then walked him to where Owen was hobbling the others.
Lewis and his band of misfits were there, too. They never spoke to her but the looks they gave her said enough. They were trouble, and for the first time, she did what Jesse asked without question. She left her horse and made a beeline back to Isaac and the chuck wagon.
Fifteen
It wasclose to noon when Jesse saw the shimmering image of a town on the horizon. It had been two days since the last one and even though stopping again would only cause them to be further behind, it couldn’t be helped.
He nudged his horse into a gallop and came up beside the wagon. Isaac nodded in greeting when he saw him. “We gonna make it to town today, you reckon?”
“Yes. I don’t want to stop until we get there.”
“There’ll be some ornery cowboys if they don’t get their break soon.”
“There’s not much I can do about that. We can’t afford to stop twice. We need to make up for lost time and I have to stop in the next town.”
Isaac looked over at him and smiled. “You still planning on sending Alex back home.”
“You damn right I am. She’s too much of a distraction.”
“For who? Lewis and his bunch or for you?”
Jesse saw the wide smile on Isaac’s face and shook his head. “Don’t get me started.”
Isaac laughed. “Have you figured out a way to get her back on the stagecoach yet?”
“I’ll put her on it and tie her down if I have to.” He pulled the handkerchief tied around his neck up and wiped the sweat from his face. “I’m going to send Ben back with her. I’ll feel better knowing someone is there to protect her if she needs it.”
“And if she beats Ben senseless and comes back?”
Jesse didn’t want to think about her doing something so stupid but with Alex, it was a possibility. “I don’t know. Ben will just have to handle her. I can’t worry about the herd, Lewis and his bunch, and her too.”
“She’s gonna have a hissy fit when you tell her she’s going home. She’s under the impression you’re going to keep her on seeing as it’s been a few days since the last time you tried.”
“I know. It’s a fight in the making but I don’t have any other choice.”
“You could always just keep her around.”
Jesse laughed. “And run myself ragged keeping her away from Lewis and the others.”
