Only 06 - Winter Fire

enough to know that he didn’t want to look at her either.
    â€œThank you,” she said distinctly as she took the cornbread from Conner.
    â€œYou’re welcome,” he said. “Do you think Ab and Moody will shoot it out?”
    She shrugged.
    â€œWhat about you, Case?” Conner asked.
    â€œI think Ab will haul his kin back into line by bringing in some women. Then the boys won’t be so restless.”
    Sarah felt all the blood leave her face.
    Restless , she thought. Is that what it was all about this afternoon?
    What was it Case said? Something about how long it had been since he had been with a woman .
    I suppose I should be grateful he was tender with me .
    She sighed and picked at her food.
    I just wish , she thought wistfully, I could have done right whatever it is that I did wrong .
    Instead of chewing on the cornbread, she gnawed on her lower lip.
    â€œWomen?” Conner asked into the growing silence. “Won’t they just cause trouble?”
    â€œIt’s what they’re best at,” Case said sardonically. “But there are times when nothing else will do.”
    â€œHuh,” the boy said, and turned to his sister. “What do you think?”
    â€œI think,” she said, standing up, “that I’ve had enough.”
    Conner looked at his sister’s plate.
    â€œEnough?” he said, startled. “A bite of cornbread and a bite of stew is enough?”
    â€œYes.”
    Out of habit Sarah folded the tattered cloth that served as a napkin and put it on the table. She grabbed her jacket and headed for the door.
    â€œWhere are you going?” Conner asked.
    â€œOut.”
    â€œWhen will you be back?” her brother persisted.
    Her only answer was the sound of the cabin door shutting firmly.
    Frowning, Conner looked at Case. The older man was watching the closed door with an impassive face and eyes that changed from gold to pale green with each shift of light.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with her?” Conner asked.
    â€œShe’s got a lot on her mind.”
    â€œShe always does, and she has never acted like this.”
    â€œLooking for silver you don’t find can be wearing on a person’s soul,” Case said.
    â€œHell, she enjoys looking. I think it’s just an excuse for her to go out and roam the land.”
    Case fiddled for a moment longer with his stew. Then he set aside his fork and pushed back his chair.
    â€œYou, too?” Conner asked.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œNo appetite. Honest, it’s rabbit, not snake. I made it myself.”
    â€œI’ve eaten snake more than once. It’s not bad, once you get past the idea of it.”
    Conner grimaced.
    With quick motions Case slung his holster into place around his hips. He fastened the buckle and he headed out the door. As the door shut behind him, he wondered what he could say to Sarah to make her understand why they shouldn’t be lovers.
    It shouldn’t have happened even once , he thought grimly. My fault, all of it .
    I never should have touched her .
    He still didn’t understand how she had slipped past his guard. His own sexuality had never ruled him, even in his wildest days.
    God, she could be carrying my baby .
    The thought sent a wave of cold through him. He didn’t want to feel responsible for another tiny life.
    Not ever again.
    â€œCase?”
    He spun around, six-gun drawn. Even before the motion was finished, he reversed it and holstered the gun, for it was Conner who stood in the doorway.
    The boy whistled admiringly. “You’re fast!”
    â€œSorry,” Case said, his voice rough. “I didn’t hear you open the door behind me. I’m a little touchy after today.”
    â€œCould you teach me to do that?”
    â€œNot with that hog-leg you’re wearing. It’s damned near a two-handed rig.”
    â€œWhat about the guns the raiders had?”
    Case looked all around. Sarah was nowhere in sight.
    â€œShe probably went off into Deer Canyon,” her brother said. “That’s her second favorite place.”
    â€œWhat’s her favorite?”
    â€œThat overhang with the little seep where you first found her.”
    â€œWhy does she go there?”
    â€œShe says it soothes her soul.”
    Case’s eyelids flinched.
    â€œBut since the raiders came,” Conner added, “she gets her soothing in Deer Canyon. If she’s going there now, the ambush must