Only 05 - Autumn Lover

tell them apart at a distance.
    And at a distance was the only way a smart man wanted to see a Culpepper.
    There will be hell to pay combing those boys out of the mountains , Hunter thought, looking at the rugged thrust of mountain peaks. Pure bloody hell .

7
    L eopard and Bugle Boy walked side by side along the wagon road leading off the Ladder S. Silently their riders scanned the countryside for signs of cattle or raiders, or both.
    Dancer and Vixen ranged out a hundred yards on either side of the riders, checking the draws for cattle. Despite the dogs’ keen noses, they had found only a handful of cattle so far, none of them steers.
    All around the horses there was rustling, golden grass and the occasional deep green of piñons. The piñons thickened into a dwarf forest climbing up the steep slope of the mountains. Overhead, the sky arched like an empty, pure blue bowl.
    It was noon. The autumn sun was hot enough to draw lines of sweat down the horses’ necks and flanks.
    Elyssa was no cooler, though her riding habit hid the results better. Discreetly she tugged at the high neckline, but got no relief from the noose of cloth and lace. Slowly she opened one button, then another, and then another.
    Her fingers hesitated over the remaining buttons. Opening a fourth or fifth button might reveal the lace on her chemise. If she had been alone, she would have done it without a thought.
    But she wasn’t alone. She was with a man who hadbeen a breathless, aching moment from kissing her.
    The look in Hunter’s eyes had been tender and hungry and baffled all at once, as though the last thing he expected to find himself doing was bending down to kiss her in the middle of the sunlight and silence.
    If he still wants to kiss me , Elyssa thought, he is keeping the secret admirably .
    When Elyssa had showed up in the barn wearing her beautifully fitted riding habit, he barely looked at her. For all that he noticed, she might as well have worn nothing at all.
    Oh, well , Elyssa consoled herself, freeing one more button from its hole. At least he won’t notice if I undo a button or two. It’s too hot to be a proper lady .
    From the corner of his eyes Hunter had seen Elyssa’s neckline deepen one button at a time. He watched her fingertips hover over the fourth button and wanted to groan when it finally, slowly, came undone. Her fingertips began rubbing where the stiff cloth and bunched lace had left marks on her creamy skin.
    Hunter tried not to think how sweet it would be to lick off those marks like Cupid washing one of her kittens.
    Don’t think about it , Hunter told himself savagely. Thinking about it is not only stupid, it’s dangerous.
    Like kissing her when the dust from the raiders had barely settled .
    Not that Hunter had kissed Elyssa, he reminded himself. He had just come so close that he could see the surprise and then the yielding in her eyes.
    Hunter knew he should have been grateful to Mickey for coming out of the bunkhouse in time to prevent the kiss.
    But he wasn’t.
    Hunter could have cheerfully skinned the boy with a dull knife and tacked his hide to the barn to dry.
    Elyssa gave Hunter a wary sideways glance. She knew Hunter really didn’t want her to go riding with him. Or with anyone else. The word “foolish” had come up several times while she saddled Leopard.
    The only thing Elyssa had done that met with Hunter’s approval was bring her hunting weapons from the house. The elegant gold and silver designs on the barrels of the carbine and shotgun had drawn a frown, but the clean state of the weapons—and their balance—had mollified Hunter.
    “Have you ever had any trouble with the water supply?” Hunter asked.
    The curt question startled Elyssa.
    “For the cattle or for the house?” she asked.
    “Both.”
    “The livestock aren’t a problem. There are springs all along the base of the mountains. They run even in the driest years.”
    “What about House Creek?”
    “It’s never dried up that I know of, but…” Elyssa’s voice died.
    She really didn’t want to list the series of mishaps and bad luck that had plagued the Ladder S since she had come back. She would sound like she was a whiner, a fact that Hunter would no doubt leap to point out.
    “But?” Hunter prodded impatiently.
    “There have been other problems,” she admitted.
    “Recently?”
    Elyssa nodded.
    “Spit it out,” Hunter said curtly. “What happened?”
    “Oh, little things. And then one of the longhorns