“And I didn’t hear you.”
“You wouldn’t have heard if the Ridge had collapsed. If the moon ran into the world and they burst, you wouldn’t have heard it. I never knew a man could sleep like that.”
“It’s lucky it wasn’t Tetlow—or Havalik.”
She was suddenly serious. “Lance, you’re the same. You haven’t changed.”
“Are you saying that, or asking?”
“Both. You’re the same as I see you. I don’t know what you’re thinking.” He got to his feet, running his fingers through his black hair which was all awry. He must look like hell. Needing a shave, tired, red-eyed and hair all on end. How could a woman ever—or maybe she didn’t. Maybe she had changed. He looked at her, trying to guess.
“You—you’re so beautiful it hurts.”
“Hurts who? Not you surely. You ran off and left me. I can hardly believe that. You’re the only man who ever ran away from me, Lance—and the only one I ever wanted to stay.”
He looked at her quickly. “You still mean that?”
“I said it, didn’t I?”
She got to her feet,, tall, lissome, her skin a beautiful olive, her eyes—“It’s been a long time.” Her eyes widened a little, and her lips parted, he could see the sudden hunger in her eyes, and he stepped toward her, half-frightened by the feeling that shook him. Roughly, he took her arms and pulled her to him and she reached hungrily for his lips and they melted together and deep within him something seemed to well up and the cold dams across his feelings were gone. He pushed her away, her breath coming quickly, his own ragged with emotion. “It’s no good,” he said hoarsely, “no good at all. You’ve too much to waste on me. I’m a drifter, Nita, a saddle-bum, a man with a gun and a few days, weeks or months to live. It might come tomorrow.”
“It might,” she agreed, “but don’t you think I’ve thought of that? Don’t you think I know?” Her voice rose. “Lance, look at the time we’ve lost. Yesterday, and all the days before that, the long days after you left the border country, and the days after we were together in Cedar—you know and I know we’ve wasted that time. I know it may not be long, and yet it may be forever. Who knows how long it is for anyone? All of us, all over the world, all of us walk along a thin edge between life and death and it takes so little for us to fall. “It isn’t tomorrow I want unless it comes. It’s today, Lance! We women, we don’t have so much imagination about some things. We’re realistic. You think about what it may mean to me tomorrow, if I lose you. I think about what it means today, if I don’t have you.
“It doesn’t matter! None of it does. I know how you live, I know what drives you, and I know that maybe the Tetlows, maybe Dee Havalik, maybe someone else will kill you. Or you may kill them and have long years ahead. After all, I’ve known some of your like who died in bed, and you may. You think about it too much.”
“I live with it,” he said somberly. “What kind of life is it for a woman when her man never leaves the house walking but she’ll fear his body may be carried back? If there’s enough of him to carry? Sure, I’ve stayed away from you and I’ve hated it, but only because I wanted to spare you pain.” “By causing me pain? It won’t work, Kilkenny. Yes, I often call you that. Everyone does. The mysterious Kilkenny, the unknown Kilkenny. Sometimes I wonder if I ever knew you myself, and if you weren’t just a dream I had, and then I try to go to sleep again and I remember how your arms felt, and your kisses, I remember how you stood in the center of that room and spoke to me first. Remember what you said, Lance? You don’t remember—trust a man to forget, but I remember. I remember every word you’ve said to me, at any time. Even the foolish little things you’ve said.”
He looked at her and tried to find words and there were none. He watched her lips, the rise of her high breasts as she spoke, the wetness of her lips. He turned sharply away, stabbed by sudden pain. Maybe he was a fool. “I’d better get saddled,” he said, “we can’t stay here.”
She smiled at him, laughing a little. “Tough, aren’t you? Big and tough! But I know you. Under all that you’re sentimental as a kid. And you love me. I’ve known that from the start, and that’s what irritates me about you. Walking away from me!”
Nita dropped to her knees and began to roll his bed. “Get your horse. I’ll fix this bedroll.”
When he had the gray saddled he strapped the bedroll behind the saddle and helped her with her black mare. They both mounted and he grinned at her. “All right, you tyrant! Wake a man up looking so gorgeous it hurts! Now take me to breakfast!”
“You think I won’t? And if Maria doesn’t have it ready, I’ll fix it for you.” She led off, starting for the switchback trail over the Comb. “You know, I’m almost as glad for Cain as I am for myself. Without you he’s like a big dog with no master. He needs you, Lance.”
“How is he?”
“Fine, and as big and ugly as ever. You should never have broken his nose, Lance. It was probably his one good feature.”
“If I hadn’t, he’d have killed me. That big lug can fight!”
“I’ve seen him.”
“Does he ever mention Abel?”
“Rarely. What was he like, Lance? I never knew him well.” “Vicious. A killer. Completely and entirely criminal, and very dominating. Cain was never bad, it was just that he followed Abel’s lead. That was a good job I did, killing him. A good job for Cain if for no one else.” “He thinks so, too. And he says you were the only person who ever treated him decently, and the only one who could ever handle him.” They rode in silence for a distance and then Nita looked around at him, pausing to breathe her mare. “What’s going to happen, Lance?” “We’re going to hit Forty. Tonight. And hit ‘em hard.”
“And then?”
“Every man for himself. Tetlow will turn loose his dogs then and it’ll be kill or be killed all along the line.”
“That Dee Havalik—I’ve seen him, Lance. He’s mean, cruel.” Kilkenny shrugged. They topped the ridge and the sun burst bright in their faces. Far below them lay the ranch house and along the distant line of the two ranches was a line of sprawled dark figures, dead cattle. Beyond them was a dark mass of gathering weight. Suddenly, he was worried.
“Let’s get down here! They may start something before we can!” Suddenly the dark herd began to move and behind them, far behind them came a wave of riders firing into the air, starting the cattle. They gathered themselves and lunged, plunging across the line, at breakneck speed. Kilkenny drew up, appalled. “My God! I hope the boys aren’t down there! If they are, they’re dead!”
Chapter 6
Nita caught his arm. Her face was pale. “Oh, Lance! Jaime! And Cain! The rest of them! What could have happened to them?”
“I wish I knew,” he said soberly, “but we can’t find out now. If Tetlow’s gone this far it means he’s ready to go all the away. I’ve got to get you out of here, Nita. Some place where it’s safe.”
“In town?”
“No.” His mind was leaping ahead. It would not be safe in town now, not even with Early and Blaine. Tetlow had started to move and if he had wiped out the KR hands there would be no end to his killing. “No.” He repeated the word. “There’s another place, but we’ve got to move fast. Turn around and we’ll go back down the trail.”
“But maybe they are down there, Lance. They might be lying injured!” He had been thinking of that very thing and the thought tortured him. He was torn between the desire to go down there and find out for himself and the need to get Nita to some safe place. She read his thoughts. “Don’t think of me. I’d be safe down where your camp was. You go ahead.” Still he hesitated, worried. “No, I couldn’t go down this way now. They’d see me long before I reached bottom. We’ve got to circle around, and you can be sure they’ll have men in Horsehead, watching for me. “Tell you what,” the thought came to him suddenly, “you take that canyon”—he pointed it out from the height of the Ridge—“and follow it up to the second branch. There will be a Y there, but take the left hand canyon. You’ll find a switchback trail at the end and when you come out—“ Swiftly he detailed the directions of how to get to the small blue lake he had found. “Wait there for me. I’ve got a place in the mountains east of there.” “All right.” It was like her not to question his judgment “Don’t worry about me, and be careful.”