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  Jessie tried to hide her disappointment that his words hadn’t mentioned compassion. “We didn’t discuss your salary. Do gunslingers get paid a lot?”

  Navarro watched the setting sun enhance the gold spirit in her red hair. Her blue gaze was guarded now. Her body appeared taut, as did her voice. “Don’t know. I’m not one. Too dangerous. I like to stay alive.”

  His succinct and unexpected responses intrigued her. She stared at him for a moment, then reasoned, “But you’re so fast and accurate. You’re holstering your gun before most men clear leather.”

  Navarro shrugged. “Adams was drunk and slow.”

  “That doesn’t change your abilities. I witnessed your reflexes back there. Don’t men challenge you all the time?”

  “I try to keep my skill a secret so they won’t.”

  Befuddled, Jessie asked, “How do you survive, if not by your guns?”

  “I bluff or keep to myself. I don’t show off in towns. I keep my nose out of other people’s lives. It usually works. If it doesn’t, I move on.”

  “I meant, what work do you do for money?”

  “Whatever strikes me when I need it.”

  “Anything illegal?” she hinted, boldly.

  Navarro sent her a sly grin that softened his mouth and eyes. “I thought you said that didn’t matter to you, that you wouldn’t pry. You’ve already learned more about me than most people know. I’ve talked more to you in two days than I’ve talked to others in three years. I’m a loner.”

  Jessie flushed again; she’d blushed more since meeting Navarro than she had in years. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be nosy. I was just trying to get acquainted. For someone who doesn’t like to talk much, you’re very easy to talk to, Navarro.”

  He realized he had hurt her feelings. In a gentle tone, he replied, “Talk to me all you want, Jessie, but don’t always expect answers. Too many questions make me nervous. Makes my feet itch to move on. Can’t help it. That’s the way I am. I feel relaxed enough around you to share a few words, but not more than that.”

  Jessie was relieved at his last words, but still she coaxed, “Please don’t let my reckless mouth and forward manner drive you away, Navarro. I’m used to speaking my mind around men. About the only strangers I meet are some of the ones Papa hires as seasonal rovers to help with the spring and fall roundups. Some of them are the same men who return every season. We only keep fifteen regular hands year round. I’ll try not to probe again. I’ll make sure Papa and the hands don’t bother you, either. But it will be hard. They’ll make you nervous until they get used to you and you to them. They’re a friendly group of men. They’re always playing jokes on each other. If they do it to you, it means they like you and trust you and accept you as one of them, so don’t get mad and quit.” Jessie laughed and remarked, “I remember one joke they played on Big John. He’s a black man who works mostly as our blacksmith. He used to be a slave, but Papa bought him and freed him. Big John is very superstitious. One of the hands dressed up in a white covering like a ghost, a ‘haint’ Big John calls them. The rest of the men pretended they couldn’t see or hear the ghost as he moved around the bunkhouse. Jefferson—he’s another black man who works for us—told Big John that only a man marked for death could see and hear Old Haint. They let him worry for hours before they revealed it was a joke.”

  Jessie laughed again before adding, “But Big John got them back. One night he yelled that Indians were attacking. While the men were running around outside checking out the danger, Big John filled their bunks with burrs. You should have heard the yells and curses when they crawled back into their prickly beds. Big John chuckled and told them Old Haint had done it.”

  “Don’t the men ever get mad at each other for being tricked?”

  “Of course not. They love practical jokes. It’s a crazy way of showing affection and releasing tension from all the hard work. They never do anything mean or harmful or vindictive.” Jessie inhaled deeply. It was getting late. “I’d best cook supper so we can turn in. If your head’s all right, we’ll leave early in the morning.”

  “It’s a little sore, but I’m fine. The dizziness is gone.”

  “I should check it out and change your bandage.”

  “No need. It’s best to leave it be tonight. I don’t want the wound reopened.” What Navarro didn’t want was to get aroused by her touch again.

  After a meal of beans, fried bread, and hot coffee, Jessie washed the dishes in the river and put them away. They had eaten in silence. In the last light of the day, she gathered scrubwood for the morning fire. While Navarro was out of camp, Jessie moved her bedroll away from his. Now that he was well, it was dangerous and improper to sleep so close to him.

  Upon his return, the desperado noticed her attempt to put distance between them. He said nothing and took his place.

  Jessie slept soundly all night, perhaps because she had slept little last night while holding a vigil over him.

  Navarro observed her for a time. He knew he had to keep to himself at the ranch. He decided it was best to make up a story to tell her father and the men about his past to prevent suspicion. Maybe he should just kill this Fletcher, take the salary, and move on quickly. That way, neither he nor Jessie would be endangered by each other or that landgrabber or the law. No, he argued; he should help her outwit and defeat the villain to avoid attention from anyone. Maybe he should just ride in a different direction from her tomorrow. No, he argued again; if he did that, she had to ride home alone and face that bastard alone.

  Besides, he liked Jessica Lane and enjoyed being around her. What was the harm in prolonging that rare pleasure for a while as long as he was careful?

  Their third day together began with a quiet meal and some stolen glances. After they were packed and the horses were saddled, they headed westward along the Concho River. Jessie told him the direction she and Big Ed had taken and where they had stopped to camp. Navarro requested no changes in the route.

  Jessie let Navarro take the lead, as men usually felt that was their job. The riding wasn’t difficult, but they couldn’t move along swiftly on the rugged terrain. The sun at their backs wasn’t blazing down heat yet, and the spring morning was pleasant beneath a clear sky. She watched him whenever he was in sight, though mesquites often obscured her pleasing view. His shoulders were broad and his back was straight. He rode as a man born to the saddle.

  While she was washing the dishes and packing her supplies, he had disappeared downriver to bathe and change clothes. He now wore a pale-blue shirt with his brown vest and jeans. His tan hat stood out against the midnight hair around his collar. Navarro’s two holsters were strapped securely to well-muscled thighs. But not once had he glanced back at her so she could admire his face.

  During the first break, he had barely talked. It was the same at midday and their afternoon stop. He was different on the trail than in camp, was on constant alert. Maybe he thought the law from San Angelo was searching for them, or some of the Adamses friends out for revenge. He frequently glanced around in all directions, but tried to keep his eyes off her. She knew that from the way his gaze darted away when she looked at him. Jessie feared he was withdrawing into himself again. Perhaps he had known few women, and didn’t know how to react around them. She prayed that his feelings about people wouldn’t change his mind about the job before they reached the ranch.

  As dusk approached, Navarro chose a campsite. “This spot all right?”

  “Looks fine to me. I’ll get supper going while you tend the horses.” Jessie looked at him and smiled apologetically. “Sorry. I’m used to giving orders to the hands, so don’t mind my bossy manner if I forget myself with you.”

  “You are the boss, Miss Lane, and I’m the hired help. Don’t fret over it.”

  Jessie smiled at his agreeable attitude. “The hands call me Jessie, not Miss Lane, so you needn’t be formal when we get there.” Hesitantly she added, “If you change your mind about the job before we get home, I’ll underst
and. It’s hard to take life-threatening risks for strangers. I’ll still pay you for the safe escort home. The horse and saddle are yours, no matter what you decide.”

  “You changing your mind about me already?”

  “Of course not. But I sort of pressed you into taking the job in a moment of weakness and gratitude. I was afraid after you thought it over carefully, you’d see how dangerous your task will be.”

  Navarro pushed his hat back from his face. “If I backed out now, you’d race off to another town the minute I was out of sight.”

  Jessie didn’t break their locked gaze. “No, I wouldn’t. Jake and his brothers taught me a good lesson. If you have to leave, I’ll deal with Fletcher, me and the boys. We’ve endured his threats too long trying to prevent more trouble and bloodshed. It’s payback time.”

  “How would you do that?”

  “Do to him as he’s doing to us. Take a lesson from him this time.”

  “That’s what I was going to suggest when we made our plans against him. He’ll get the message. Whatever he does, we do back, only twice as bad. We’ll call his bluff, Jessie, then carry out our warning if he doesn’t back down. We only have to make sure he can’t prove it was us. You don’t want the law winning his battle for him.”

  “We’ll make certain we don’t land in jail while that villain goes free!”

  He saw anger and determination enlarge and brighten her blue eyes. “What if we do slip up and get caught? Jail ain’t a place for a woman.”

  Jessie frowned at the possibility. “Don’t even think such a horrible thing. We’ll be clever and careful.”

  “It happens, Jessie. Prisons hold lots of innocent men, or men who were doing what they thought was right, or things they were forced into doing—or even tricked into doing. Why didn’t you hire a lawman? Or someone with authority to battle him legally?”

  Jessie explained to him what she had told her father about lawmen.

  “You’re even smarter than I realized. Sometimes the law can’t be trusted.”

  “Does it bother you to think we might have to break the law?”

  “Not if we don’t get caught.”

  “Good. I don’t like it, but it may be necessary,” she admitted.

  “You willing to do anything to defeat that landgrabber?”

  “What do you mean by anything?”

  “Anything, Jessie, anything to win.”

  He hadn’t clarified, so the redhead wasn’t sure of his real meaning. “It’s like with Josh and his brothers: kill or be killed. Yes, Navarro, I’ll do anything to keep my family alive and our home safe.”

  “What if Fletcher wanted you in exchange for a truce?”

  That question took her by surprise. Jessie was amazed that he was talking so freely once more after such a quiet and distant day. “Never,” she replied. “I’d die first. I’d never let that bastard touch me.”

  Her last words stung the desperado, who viewed himself a half-breed bastard. “But you said anything. Your family could die, too, if that’s the price he demands.”

  “My family wouldn’t expect such a sacrifice from me. They wouldn’t allow it. Papa and the boys would gun down that bastard before letting him take me. I meant anything but that. Besides, Fletcher hasn’t shown any interest in me.”

  “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any. Is he married?”

  “No, he isn’t. He’s in his midthirties, rich, and from a good background. Too bad it didn’t have a better effect on him. He’s been there two and a half years. But he’s greedy. He wants to build a cattle empire in our area. He craves power. He has about a hundred thousand acres, and runs about thirty thousand cattle and horses. But he chose a bad spot to create his big dream. He can’t expand without taking our ranch. He keeps about twenty-five regulars hired year round; that’s a lot for a spread his size. It’s clear he has so many men for a particular reason. To fight us.”

  “Seems crazy to box himself in like that. You sure there isn’t another reason he wanted his land, or why he wants yours?”

  “Not that I know of or can imagine. I hadn’t thought about it that way. There is silver in the mountains southwest of us, but none near us that I know of. We do compete for beef and horse contracts at the army posts in our area. Sometimes that’s a lot of money, but he’s already rich.”

  “Is a man ever satisfied with how much cash or holdings he possesses?”

  “No. But, most of them don’t go around killing and stealing to get more, do they? I suppose I really don’t know. I haven’t left the ranch much.”

  “Would you marry a lawman for his help?”

  Again, Jessie was stunned and intrigued by his line of queries. What was he seeking? Was he an undercover lawman? Was his style of life a ruse? Was that why he had helped her and hadn’t harmed her? After hearing her story, was he going to the ranch to investigate her claims? If all that were true, which she doubted, what should she respond? Navarro made her feel safe, desirable, womanly. He often looked at her as if his gaze were a physical caress, as if he couldn’t control his eyes and interest.

  “Well, would you?” he pressed when she remained silent..

  Jessie began unsaddling Ben as she replied, “Does anyone know what they would do to survive until the moment confronts them? I killed Josh for survival. I suppose it would depend on who he is and how desperately we needed his help.” She placed the supply sack nearby. When Navarro didn’t continue the conversation, she went to gather scrubwood for the fire to cook supper.

  Navarro unsaddled the sorrel and let both horses drink and graze. He vanished into the treeline along the bank to excuse himself and to think while walking. When he joined Jessie at the campfire, their meal was almost ready.

  As she handed him his cup and plate, their hands touched twice. “That means, you wouldn’t marry a villain, but you would wed a lawman?” he asked.

  Jessie glanced at him as he took up the conversation where it had left off earlier. She couldn’t surmise his motive. She sat on the ground, crossed her legs Indian-style, and sipped her coffee. “I hope I wouldn’t tie myself to a villain through desperation or ignorance,” she answered. “Everyone has flaws and weaknesses, but that doesn’t make a person bad, or all bad. As for a lawman, I can’t imagine myself getting bound to one of them, either. Why do you ask?”

  “Just testing your feelings about good and bad. I wanted to know how desperate, rather how determined, you are to win. I like to know a person’s motives and restraints beforehand. I wouldn’t want to risk my neck, then have you surrender to the enemy to make a truce to keep from being pushed off your lands. That kind of survival isn’t worth the price you pay.”

  Jessie had the strange feeling his words applied to more than her predicament. “You mean like the Indians did when they went to reservations just to survive?” she said, taking a bite of the salted meat.

  He shrugged. “I guess it’s the same thing. Sometimes survival costs a person a lot. Makes you wonder if it’s worth it at any price.”

  “It’s a shame the way the Indians have been treated. I suppose peace is never easy.”

  “Nothing is ever easy, Jessie, nothing worth having.”

  “You’re a very intelligent man, Navarro. We’ll have no trouble defeating Fletcher with you on our side.”

  “You’ll have plenty of trouble, woman. He won’t be stopped easily. Don’t have too much confidence in me. I’m only one man. How do you know a drifter like me won’t take off if it gets too bad?”

  “Sometimes all it takes is one good man to win a battle.”

  “How do you know I’m a good man?”

  “Good or bad, all I need is a smart and brave man. You’re both. I’ve seen it.”

  “You could be wrong.”

  “Am I?” she challenged.

  “In all honesty, I don’t know. Never had to take sides before. Always fell in the middle or outside of both. What if this Fletcher offers me more to work for him than you’re paying me?”

&n
bsp; “Papa said that was the danger in hiring a gunslinger who could betray us. But you said you aren’t one. If you did move to Fletcher’s side, I’d have to kill you if the time came and we battled face-to-face. Or rather, you’d kill me. I wouldn’t stand a chance of defeating you. I could be wrong about you, but I don’t think I am. I hope and pray I’m not. If you think there’s any chance you’ll cross over to the enemy, please don’t ride any closer with me.”

  The desperado was moved by the unshed moisture that glistened in her eyes. Her voice was hoarsened by emotion. “Would it bother you to shoot me?”

  “Yes, and it would bother me to see one of the hands do it. I know we’re almost strangers, but it doesn’t seem that way, except when you pull into yourself for hours. We’ve been together for three days, but it seems so much longer. We can be friends, Navarro, good friends. I’m sure of it. You might even like the ranch and boys and decide to stay a long time, even for keeps.”

  “I can promise you now, Jessie, I won’t be around longer than it takes to do this job. Then I’m on my way. No matter if I did like it, I couldn’t stay. I’ve never been able to hang around a place long. Don’t-say, give it a chance. It only causes me problems if I don’t stay on the move. I don’t make friends easily, so don’t expect too much from me. I can promise you something else: Fletcher will never lure me away from you. I’ll do your job any way I have to. Once it’s done and you’re safe, I’m gone. Don’t beg me to stay. I can’t.”

  Jessie was touched that the job now meant her safety to him. Still, he was warning her to keep her distance. Few men had made romantic gestures toward her, so why should Navarro? Yet, she wished he would. “How can you be so sure about what tomorrow will bring?”

  “I’m twenty-seven, so I know myself and life by now. I can’t ever shake the trail dust from my boots.”

  “Because you want it that way, or because something makes it that way?”

  “Getting nosy again, woman,” he scolded softly.