Only 05 - Autumn Lover

whispering sound as she poured it into one side of the manger.
    She was reaching for the pitchfork when Hunter’s arm shot by her and grabbed the heavy wooden handle.
    “Give that to me,” he said. “It’s more likely you’ll stab me or yourself than the hay, what with those long skirts swirling around your ankles like hungry cats every time you move.”
    “Thank you.” Elyssa smiled impulsively. “I think.”
    Hunter bit back what he wanted to say, which was that a girl with a smile like Elyssa’s had no business being alone in a barn at night with a strange man, much less taking care of his horse.
    That was what truly disturbed Hunter. He had expected Elyssa to stand aside and be alluring while he did what was necessary for his horse.
    But she hadn’t stood aside. She had gone to work as though used to it.
    She got the alluring part right, though , Hunter thought sardonically. Even Belinda couldn’t put Sassy in the shade .
    Especially with that smile .
    Cursing beneath his breath, Hunter rammed the pitchfork into a mound of hay that was piled just below thetrapdoor that opened into the hayloft. Soon the manger was full.
    Hunter put Bugle Boy in the big stall and took off saddle and bridle. He groomed the stallion with strong, rhythmic sweeps of the brush.
    Elyssa pulled her silk shawl more closely around her shoulders against the chilly night air. She knew she should go back to the house, but something about watching Hunter work over his horse held her in the hushed silence of the barn. There was a natural grace and economy to his movements that pleased her.
    And there was real strength.
    Lord, and here I thought Mickey was strong. He has a lot more sheer bulk than Hunter, but no notion of how to put it to best use .
    “Before you work the cattle or catch mustangs, you’ll need to round up some Ladder S horses,” Elyssa said after a time, thinking aloud.
    “Are they broken?”
    “Some of them, but most haven’t been ridden since the men started leaving.”
    “Then they’re probably running with mustangs by now.”
    Elyssa sighed. “Yes, I’m afraid so.”
    “When did your hands decide to drift?”
    “Spring roundup.”
    “Before branding?” Hunter guessed.
    “How did you know?”
    “It’s easier to rustle unbranded calves.”
    Elyssa made an unhappy sound.
    “Are you sure it’s Ab Culpepper stirring the pot around here?” Hunter asked.
    “Mac mentioned the name several times.”
    Elyssa’s mouth flattened into an unhappy line when she thought of Mac. Though she had never been closeto the crusty old woman hater, he had been a part of her childhood just the same.
    First Mother. Then Father. Now Mac.
    Thank God that Penny seems to be getting over that ague that’s been wearing her down. I can’t run the Ladder S alone .
    “Any others?” Hunter asked.
    “Other what?”
    “Culpeppers.”
    “Oh.” Elyssa frowned. “I couldn’t tell from what Mac said whether Abner is here or coming here soon. The man comes and goes without notice.”
    Amen , Hunter thought sardonically. That old boy is as hard to pin down as swamp gas .
    “Horace and Gaylord,” Elyssa said slowly. “Mac told me they were here all the time. More Culpeppers are expected soon. Rumor has it that they’re east of here, somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.”
    The line of Hunter’s mouth shifted in the lantern light. The slight curve was far too hard to be called a smile.
    “Maybe,” Hunter said. “And maybe some of those Culpeppers are buried up Colorado way.”
    A chill went through Elyssa.
    “Your doing?” she asked.
    “No. I got there too late to be useful. A man called Whip did the honors, with help from his woman.”
    The line of Hunter’s mouth softened as he remembered. His brush slowed in its sweeps over Bugle Boy’s glossy hide.
    “Quite a woman, too,” Hunter said. “Eyes like sapphires and a walk that no man would ever get tired of watching.”
    “Do tell,” Elyssa said tartly. “Of course, I have it on excellent authority that men want more than big eyes and swinging hips from a female.”
    Hunter gave Elyssa a narrow look.
    She gave it right back. She didn’t know why Hunter’s admiration of another woman rankled.
    But it did.
    “What help will the army give me?” Hunter asked, brushing his stallion briskly again. “It’s their future beef being stolen, after all.”
    “Precisely what I pointed out to that insufferable captain.”
    “Was that before or after Leopard tried to