Only 05 - Autumn Lover

the whiteness a shadow moved.
    A man.
    If the dogs had been barking, Hunter simply would have raised the rifle and dropped the intruder where he stood. But the dogs hadn’t sent up an alarm, which meant that Hunter couldn’t be certain the man was an intruder.
    The wind will cover any sound I make , Hunter thought, measuring the distance to the barn and from there to the garden.
    But there’s no cover between here and the barn. That moonlight is too bright for me to be running around in .
    The hombre out there might not be as choosy about who he shoots as I am .
    There was no way for Hunter to approach the garden without coming out of cover. Nor could he get close enough to identify the man unless he did.
    Hunter waited for the space of five breaths, hoping that one of the boiling, windswept clouds would veil the nearly full moon.
    The clear sky between the storms didn’t change enough to make a difference. The huge autumn moon flooded light over everything.
    Damn !
    Shifting the rifle to his left hand, Hunter sprinted across the open yard, heading for the dense shadows along the barn. Every step of the way he expected to hear the distinctive metallic sound of a rifle or six-gun being cocked.
    It didn’t come.
    Breathing lightly, soundlessly, Hunter vanished into the deep shadows along the side of the barn. He began easing to the back of the building. From there he might be able to see well enough to identify whoever was taking a predawn stroll through Elyssa’s garden.
    Something moved behind Hunter.
    He spun, drawing his six-gun as he turned.
    When he saw the black and white dog following him,he holstered the gun with a swift movement.
    Vixen. Why is she following me rather than whoever is out there ?
    The dog’s tail waved in silent greeting. In the moonlight and wind, Vixen was almost invisible but for the gleam of her alert, watchful eyes.
    The wind shifted, blowing from the garden toward the barn.
    Hunter stared at Vixen. If the intruder was a stranger, the dog couldn’t miss smelling him now.
    Vixen looked expectantly at Hunter.
    Whoever is out there isn’t a stranger to the Ladder S , Hunter decided. Why doesn’t that make me feel better ?
    Probably because Bill Moreland isn’t a stranger .
    A curt motion of Hunter’s hand dismissed Vixen.
    The dog looked disappointed at being deprived of a moonlight romp between storms.
    Hunter gestured again.
    Reluctantly Vixen turned and trotted off to the garden. The collie moved with the confidence of an animal that doesn’t expect any nasty surprises to be waiting in the darkness.
    Well, that ties it. Whoever is out there is known to the dogs .
    Only one way to find out for sure who it is. And what the hell he’s up to .
    Just as Hunter started for the garden, he caught a pale flash of movement at the corner of his eye.
    Someone was sprinting across the patch of moonlight between the house and the barn. It didn’t take but an instant to see who it was. The feminine grace and cascade of pale hair could belong only to one person.
    Hunter propped the rifle against the barn and waited. He didn’t have to wait long. Elyssa was a fast runner.
    With no warning Hunter’s arms snaked out of the dense shadows and snatched Elyssa from the moonlight.One of his hands clamped over her mouth, shutting off her instinctive cry. The other arm clamped around her body.
    She was wearing silk. It was cold to his bare chest. Then the heat of her radiated through smooth cloth, sinking into him like a blow.
    “Quiet,” Hunter breathed fiercely into Elyssa’s ear. “Not one sound. Understand?”
    She nodded.
    The motion sent the silvery softness of Elyssa’s hair spilling over Hunter’s bare hands. His breath came in with a barely audible hiss, as though he had been burned.
    He felt like he had.
    “Stay right here until I call for you,” Hunter said in a voice that went no farther than Elyssa’s ears.
    She shook her head in disagreement.
    “Yes,” Hunter countered in a very low, very hard voice. “I don’t want to shoot you by mistake.”
    Elyssa hesitated. Then, reluctantly, she nodded again.
    Hunter lifted his hand from her mouth, bent to retrieve his rifle, and handed it to her.
    “There’s a round in the chamber,” he murmured.
    As before, his words were a mere thread of sound.
    She nodded her understanding.
    “Don’t shoot me by mistake,” Hunter said.
    “How about on purpose?” Elyssa retorted.
    But her voice was as soft as his.
    Hunter’s brief smile