Only 06 - Winter Fire

expression said that it wouldn’t be the first time.
    Sarah looked at each of the men in turn, opened her mouth to ask a question, then closed it. Whatever she said wouldn’t change the determination she saw in each face.
    Nor could she argue with their conclusion. Having raiders for neighbors was like having a nest of rattlesnakes under the front porch. Sooner or later someone would get bitten.
    Fatally.
    â€œEat your supper,” she said to Case.
    â€œWould you bring some up for Hunter and Morgan?” he asked. “We’ve got a lot of planning to do.”
    â€œIt will keep,” Sarah said. “They need rest more than they need a lot of talking. Both of them look like horsesthat were ‘rode hard and put away wet,’ as Ute would say.”
    Hunter smiled slightly.
    Morgan laughed and glanced sideways at Case.
    He wasn’t smiling, much less laughing. He was watching Sarah with a combination of wariness and some other, indefinable emotion in his eyes.
    She smiled at Case with more teeth than sweetness. The smile changed when she turned to the two weary riders.
    â€œJust follow the trail down,” she said. “I’ll go ahead to warn Ute and Lola so you don’t get shot.”
    â€œLola?” Morgan said. “Would that be Big Lola?”
    â€œOnce. Now she’s just plain Lola.”
    He smiled. “I take your meaning, ma’am. This Ute—is he a sawed-off little hombre of few words and less nonsense?”
    â€œThat’s Ute,” she said.
    â€œBe damned,” he said. Then, hastily, “Excuse the language, ma’am.”
    â€œDon’t worry,” she said in a dry voice. “I only expect parlor manners in the parlor.”
    â€œI never thought I’d see either of those two alive again,” Morgan explained. “Heard Ute was killed by a posse. After that, Big—er, Lola disappeared.”
    â€œSarah pulled Ute out of the same kind of hole I was in,” Case said. “He thinks the sun rises and sets in her.”
    â€œUnderstandable,” Hunter said. “A man thinks very kindly of a woman who saves his life.”
    â€œYour brother doesn’t,” she said tartly to Hunter, “so don’t worry about him. His view of the world is as savagely clear as ever.”
    Case didn’t show the irritation that surged through him at her words. Nor did he show the desire that dug spurs into him each time the wind shifted and he caught the elusive fragrance of roses and woman.
    The scent of Sarah haunted him.
    Don’t think about it , he told himself harshly.
    It would have been easier not to breathe.
    Morgan looked from Sarah to Case and cleared his throat.
    â€œHow much longer are you on sentry duty?” he asked.
    Case looked away from Sarah with a reluctance that he couldn’t quite conceal.
    â€œA few more hours,” he said.
    â€œI’ll take the rest of your duty,” Morgan said, stretching.
    â€œYou’re more tired than I am.”
    Morgan grinned. “Hungrier, too. I figure the supper I eat up here will be bigger than whatever Hunter leaves for me down there.”
    â€œI’ll stand over him with a shotgun,” Sarah said. “It’s share and share alike in my house.”
    â€œI’m just funning,” Morgan said, chuckling. “The colonel would go without his own rations rather than have one of his men go hungry.”
    He turned to Case.
    â€œRide on down with your brother,” Morgan said. “He’s having a hard time believing you’re still alive.”
    Case hesitated, then nodded. “Thanks.”
    â€œWhat’s your danger signal?” Morgan asked.
    â€œSame as Texas, except the all clear is a hawk’s cry. Sarah is fond of them.”
    â€œChicken-killing devils, every one of them,” the rider muttered.
    â€œOnce you meet Sarah’s orange rooster, you’ll be cheering for the hawks,” Case said. “Come on, Hunter. Let’s get the horses.”
    â€œI’ll get your supper out of the rocks,” Sarah said to Morgan. “I’m afraid it’s cold.”
    â€œMa’am, as long as I don’t have to kill it before I eat it, I won’t complain.”
    By the time she emerged from the brush with his supper, Case and Hunter were back. They were leading six horses. All of them showed signs of having been riddenhard and long. Dried sweat stiffened the coats. Lines