Only 06 - Winter Fire

and faced Case with narrowed eyes.
    â€œI’m a widow and fully grown. If I want to come out here alone, I will.”
    â€œYou’re not that much of a fool.”
    She didn’t bother answering.
    â€œYou know as well as I do that Ab has someone watching the ranch,” Case pointed out.
    â€œI haven’t seen anyone.”
    â€œYou haven’t been up on the rim.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œIf you don’t believe me,” he interrupted impatiently, “ask your brother.”
    â€œWhy would he know better than I do?”
    â€œHell of a question.”
    â€œWhat does that mean?”
    â€œIt means,” he said in a flat voice, “that you have Conner tied so tight to you with those apron strings it’s a blazing wonder he can breathe.”
    For a moment she was too angry to answer. By the time she found her tongue, she also had a better grip on her temper.
    â€œConner is my business,” she said coldly. “Keep out of it.”
    Case gave her a sideways look.
    â€œWhat are you going to do when your brother wants to marry and move on?” he asked bluntly.
    The startled look on her face told him that she hadn’t thought of her brother in that way.
    â€œHe’s just a boy,” she protested.
    â€œHorse apples,” Case said in disgust. “When will Conner be sixteen?”
    â€œIn a few months.”
    â€œI’ve known men that age with a wife and a baby.”
    â€œNo. I want Conner to have an education.”
    â€œPut what you want in one hand and spit in the other and see which hand fills up first,” he suggested sardonically.
    â€œI’d rather spit in your hand.”
    The corners of his eyes crinkled.
    â€œI don’t doubt that one bit,” he said.
    Pointedly she looked away from him and up the canyon where it branched around a jutting nose of rock.
    â€œThe ruins are up on the south side, not too far from here,” she said.
    Her tone said even more. It told Case that she was finished talking about Conner.
    â€œI spotted the ruins the last time I came here,” she said, “but it was too late in the day. I had to go back.”
    She urged her mustang forward. The little mare obliged with a trot that nearly shook the reales out of Sarah’s pockets. Cricket kept up with a fast, fancy kind of walking gait that was smooth as satin.
    Sarah tried not to notice the difference between the two mounts, but it was impossible. The shovel tied on behind her saddle kept bouncing up and banging her in the rear every few steps.
    Shaker had been well-named.
    The dry creek wound around a nose of solid rock. A few hundred feet farther up, another piece of cliff came in from the other side. The bottom of the canyon narrowed and became steeper as it climbed higher. Finally there waslittle more than thirty feet between the base of the cliffs that formed the canyon sides.
    Huge blocks of sandstone rose out of the dirt and brush, silent testimony to the fact that even the massive canyon cliffs were slowly being brought down by rain, ice, and wind.
    The horses scrambled through the obstacle course of rocks and thick brush. The mustang had an easier time of it than the stallion, but both horses were sweating by the time Sarah reined in.
    â€œThere,” she said, pointing to the south rim of the canyon. “See the castle?”
    It took Case a moment to notice the ruined walls poking out from a deep alcove near the base of the canyon wall. Though half-tumbled down and screened by brush, the walls were definitely made by man.
    The ruins appeared to be little more than four or five small rooms with a few stone storage cribs off to one side.
    â€œCastle?” he asked. “Looks more like stables.”
    â€œWhoever stayed here lived better than we do at Lost River ranch,” she said dryly.
    â€œTry chinking the logs instead of looking for treasure.”
    â€œChinking won’t make the cabin any bigger.”
    â€œBe a damned sight warmer, though. Another room to sleep in wouldn’t be amiss, either.”
    â€œConner won’t need it. He’ll be away at school.”
    â€œI was thinking of you,” Case said, “not your brother.”
    â€œWhat about me?”
    â€œA girl shouldn’t have to share her bedroom with every wounded drifter who turns up. Wouldn’t that kind of privacy be a treasure worth working for?”
    Sarah didn’t answer.
    He looked at the