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PROLOGUE

Winter realized Logan hadn’t used the shortened version of his first name in more than a year. He’d been Winter as a boy, but as his height passed six feet, his name had been

shortened to Win. Last year, when the captain’s health began to fail, Win had taken the reins of one of the biggest ranches in Texas without anyone saying a word. Logan, the oldest hand, had stood by his side and began calling him simply ‘‘Boss.’’ Everyone in Armstrong County knew the ranch would be Winter’s when the captain passed on. Everyone but Captain Russell, it seemed.

Looking back at a time twenty years ago, Winter stared at the horizon. ‘‘I used to live all week for Sundays, when I’d get to go up to the big house and study all day from mail-order books with Miss Allie. She’d even insist that Ieat meals with them, like I was somebody. But the captain never let me forget he thought I was nothing but half-breed trash who came in with the supplies. Once a month he’d pay me a man’s wages, then sell me an acre of land for the money.’’ Winter tightened an already rock-hard jaw as he continued, ‘‘About dark, he’d play me a game of checkers for the land, double or nothing. I was twelve before I won.’’

‘‘I’ve never given up anything in my adult life!’’ Winter growled. He’d been hell-raising angry for a week after they’d read the will. Win had thought all he’d have to dowas ride over to Tascosa and ask that pretty Mary Anna Monroe to marry him. She’d given him enough signs every time she was here visiting her kin. During the few socials he’d attended in the past five years, she’d made it plain she was interested in getting to know him better. Plus, the woman could talk ranching as good as any man he’d met when she wasn’t batting her eyes and acting coy.

‘‘The old man did this to me just to get the last laugh from the grave. He knew I never wanted a wife, any more than I’d stand for some preaching farmer living on my land.’’ Winter swung his long leg over the saddle, shoved his dark brown hair out of his eyes, and stepped to the gate. ‘‘Let’s get this over with, Logan. I’ll marry the devil’s sister to keep what’s mine. I swore once that no one would ever take anything from me as long as I live, and it’s time to make good on that promise no matter who I have to partner up with.’’

‘‘He was killed in a stage robbery, I heard. Not too longafter they was married. She’s been trying to run the place, but without money to hire help, she’s not having much luck. Talk is, he wasn’t much of farmer. I remember seeing him a few times. Didn’t seem like much of a man, either. Since his place is between ours and town, he used to run deliveries for us once in a while. Folks wondered why he even wanted a wife, unless maybe he thought she’d come with a little money to help get his place going. He always seemed long on lazy and short on sense, but he did all right picking a wife.’’

Logan tried to stop him, but the little man’s arm wasn’t quick enough, so he hurried to catch up to his boss. ‘‘She’s just a mouse of a woman I’ve seen a few times. Not so pretty you’d remember or so ugly you’d need to forget. But you can’t ride out there. Pick one of these, Boss. These are ranchers’ widows. They know the life better. I doubt Mrs. Adams would marry a man this soon after her husband’s death even if the fellow were a farmer and someone she’d known for years. It wouldn’t be right.’’

Pushing away the tears, Kora whispered again, ‘‘We were meant to marry, Andrew Adams and I. We have the same bad luck.’’ She hadn’t even known the man, but she had the proxy letter and he had a farm. It was so simple to step forward as the bride of a dying man. No one questioned. No one checked the name on the paper. Her luck hadn’t changed, though. The farm wasn’t Andrew’s, but the bank’s. She’d brought her brother and sister across Texas to starve. Jamie once said they were nothing but weeds in life’s garden. Nothing but weeds.

A tall man removed his hat. He was dark-headed with sharp features and a mustache that hid his upper lip. The smell of leather and dust seemed layers thick between them. She could hear the heavy breathing of his mount only a few feet behind him and the soft jingle of his spurs as he shifted impatiently. He wore a jacket of wool, but his vest was leather. Leather was also strapped around his lean, powerful legs all the way past the top of his muddy boots. Kora stepped backward, trying to hide her fright. She’d seen the cattlemen in town. They always wore Stetson hats, leather, and spurs on their boots. But they’d never looked quite so frightening as this one, with his wide shoulders and gun strapped low across his hip. He seemed born to wear a holster.

Kora pulled her shawl over her head as though ashamed. ‘‘I wasn’t expecting anyone, so I’d already unbound it for the night.’’ She felt like a fool explaining her actions to a stranger. What did she care if he thought she ran completely wild in her own house?

‘‘I’ll tell you about me.’’ Winter straightened slightly. ‘‘My mother was Cheyenne, my father Irish. But no man’s ever given me trouble about being mixed blood, at least notmore than once.’’ Winter knew he had to be honest now for he’d not have her saying she was tricked. ‘‘If you ask my men, they’ll tell you I’m a tough boss but fair. I don’t ask a man to do something I wouldn’t do myself, and I work as hard as any. If you ask women’’—he thought of Mary Anna’s words—‘‘they’ll tell you I don’t have a heart, so don’t go expecting any affection from me. I’ve no time for things as foolish as love. I’m offering a fair bargain of marriage, for a lifetime if you like, or six months. By the time you’ve finished mourning Mr. Adams, you’ll have enough money to go wherever you like.’’

‘‘Like hell, cowboy! This is one promise you ain’t keeping to her. But if you break another, I’ll quarter you and cook you for stew. I know she’s just marrying you ’cause she ain’t got any other out. I’ll be coming along to make sure you treat her right till she decides it’s time to pack up and leave.’’ Jamie pulled a knife from her boot and played with the point. ‘‘And she will leave you, cowboy, ’cause we ain’t settled in one place long enough to watch the seasons change since I can remember.’’

Silently he hoped Jamie would be leaving soon. She’d threatened him while they hitched Kora’s one horse to the wagon and loaded Dan’s ladderback chair, along with an old chest and a few bundles of clothes. Then the girl had continued to rant as she helped Dan into the back of the wagon without a word to her brother about where they were going. She hadn’t stopped talking while Winter rode beside the wagon through the darkness. The only reason his ears were getting a rest now was that Jamie seemed more interested in his horses than seeing the house or watching her sister’s wedding.

Kora knew she should probably feel guilty. Everyone over the age of six knew a woman mourned a year beforeeven going out in mixed company, much less thinking of marrying. But Kora lifted her chin slightly and stared at the reverend in silence. She hadn’t any more time to wait. Judging from the reverend’s width, he’d never known hunger or the kind of fear that closes in around you in the night so thick you can’t breathe. She’d been asked by Winter, and for better or worse, she’d stick by her decision. At least he’d been practical and straightforward, unlike Andrew Adams, who’d lied about his wealth in his letters. Not that she could say much since she’d also lied by answering under another woman’s name.

Logan’s face wrinkled into a thousand lines as he smiled, but the younger man only lowered his head slowly in a nod much as Winter had done earlier. Cheyenne’s stare was direct and cold. Kora wanted to move away. He reminded her of someone who saw everything in life and liked very little of what he saw. In build, the two men Winter called friends were as opposite as they were in welcoming. Logan was average in height and weight for his fifty years, reminding Kora of old jerky. Cheyenne was as tall as Winter but rawhide thin.

She wasn’t ordinary as he’d first thought. When he’d taken the time to look at her, she’d been pretty. Not the kind of beauty like a saloon girl all made up, but a kind of quiet pretty that was easy on a man’s eyes. She had a grace about her that made him want to shelter her. Even now, after hours in the cold, he could still feel the weight of her touch on his shoulder. For the first time in all the years he’d ridden the land, he was in a hurry to get back to the ranch house. Kora would be waiting for him. He wanted to know more about this woman who shared his name.

Pulling his collar up against the first few drops of rain, Win swore beneath his breath. Who did he think he was fooling? She wouldn’t be waiting for him. She’d married him for a house to live in and the promise of tickets to California. He’d better get any thought of the possibility of more out of his mind. She seemed to be playing her part, acting as though they were true husband and wife, but that was all he could expect. If he let himself hope that they’d become lovers, mates, or even friends, he was only setting himself up for a fall. Men like him didn’t have time for foolish things like love.

Jamie shrugged. ‘‘I don’t guess Win probably cares. It was legal after all. Andrew Adams had already signed the proxy before he even reached town and managed to bleed all over everyone. Once there, he was too near dead to care if he was leaving a wife, and he’d said in his letter he had no other family. I guess you did the poor man a favor by volunteering to mourn.’’ Jamie lowered her voice. ‘‘Butnew husband Winter is bound to notice you’re a virgin, so you’ll have to tell him something. Widows usually know what a man likes, or at least when to be quiet.’’

‘‘Don’t go to any trouble.’’ Winter wasn’t sure what to say. She was doing her best to be a wife, but he didn’t know how he was supposed to act. Did he thank her for doing what she thought was her job? Or did he get angry at the way she’d ordered him around downstairs like he was a guest who didn’t know how to act inside the house . . . Her house, he reminded himself . . . at least for six months. He’d told her she was the one to set the rules; the least he could do was follow them and not start a war over the first one she laid down. He could clean up before sitting at her table, and he could use the porch like the others from now on. It was foolish to bring water up two flights of stairs when he’d washed outside all his life.

Not knowing what he should do, Winter rubbed the towel over his chest and continued to watch her. Her gaze followed his action as though her eyes and the towel were connected. He’d never given much thought one way or the other to his body, but now he felt himself wanting to grab his shirt. He suddenly felt exposed before her. What bothered him most was that he couldn’t tell if she liked what she saw. Her expression more resembled one of a woman observing a freak at the circus for the first time than a wife looking at her husband. Everything about her seemed to want to turn away, but she continued to stare.

A few minutes later as he stretched out on the long couch in the study, he smiled. The clean sheets felt good. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but Kora’s memory kept creeping into his mind, keeping him awake long after he should have been resting. How could the two sisters look so much alike and be so different? He should have been attracted to Jamie. She was more his kind, half-wild, stubborn, strong. But Winter found himself fascinated with Kora. Fascinated to the point that not even sleep could push her from his mind.

KORALAY DOWN ON THE PILE OF COLORFUL QUILTSshe’d brought up to the attic. The blankets were beautifully done in rainbow colors and smelled of the cedar chests she’d found them in. She curled into a ball and smiled at the warm sun shining through the windows. There was a time that Kora thought they’d never see the sun again. The year they’d first been on their own, Kora managed to get work in a bakery just a bottle’s throw from New Orleans’ Bourbon Street. She had gone to work before dawn and never left until after dusk. She hadn’t hated the work, only the city. Dan’s ghosts were bad back then. Many nights she walked home after work only to find him and little Jamie asleep on the step of what had been their apartment when she’d left at dawn. The memories chilled her now with a cold reality that not even the quilts could keep at bay.

‘‘I’ll make it up to you, darling.’’ The woman backed a step away from him and pulled off her white kid gloves. ‘‘While I was riding out here, I thought I’d go to Dallas as soon as possible after we’re married and buy all new furnishings for this place. If it were fixed up, it could be livable.’’ She glanced around. ‘‘Of course, we could always build another house. A far bigger one and let a foreman have this. As soon as we’re back from our honeymoon, I’d make the house twice as grand as Miss Allie ever thought about it being.’’

Winter didn’t glance over his shoulder as he heard the back door open. Hurrying across the yard and into the barn, he saddled his horse in record time. He told himself he wasn’t in a hurry to get back to her. He cared nothing for the woman. He told himself no one would ever mean anything to him. Especially not someone who didn’t hold on to something that she’d been given. She’d offered to give the house back like it was nothing of importance to her. He’d made a fool of himself by mentioning that her touch affected him. Yet, he’d told her where to run if there was trouble. He hadn’t thought of an escape plan since he’d lost his family twenty years ago.

When he stepped into the kitchen, she turned as though startled to see him. She looked so tiny. Like she’d snap in two if he held her tight. How could he have married a woman who didn’t even reach his shoulder? Mary Anna had been only a few inches shorter than him. Maybe that was why he’d always asked her to dance at the socials. Realizing he’d married a woman he probably would have never asked to dance bothered Winter. After all, marriage should take a little more thought than a reel. Only in his case, it hadn’t seemed to.

 Hell,

he thought,she’s going to spend the next six months jumping every time I’m in the room.

he thought.That’s as far as the conversation will go.What else could he say? They might be married, but he didn’t feel he knew her well enough to comment on her hands now hugging the cup, or ask her why she’d touched him last night. Or why she’d chosen to sleep in the attic on the floor and not in one of the beds downstairs.Or why she was already dressed this morning. Shouldn’t she have been in her nightclothes? He wasn’t about to inquire.

, he swore again to himself,I could spend a lifetime thinking about what not to talk about with this woman.

They didn’t talk for several hours as they rode back and forth across Winter’s land, making sure all the lookouts were in place. Miles of range stood with open pasture, but each rancher knew where his land ended and his neighbor’s began. As the weather warmed, the chances of a herd trying to cross grew greater. A few of the small ranchers had suggested barbed wire to close off the land, but most of the older ranchers were dead set against it. Some of his neighbors were even talking about hanging any man who tried to drive a sick cow over their property, but Winter thought shooting the infected cattle was as far as he’d go.

through the breaks, debating a direction. Winter slowed his horse and let Cheyenne pull up beside him as he watched a dust devil dance along the ridge just south of where his land ended.

‘‘I told you, I believe a man makes his own luck.’’ He didn’t know if she cried because she still grieved and didn’t want to lose another husband so soon, or because she cared that he was alive. With her in his arms, it didn’t matter. For the first time since they’d met, she was letting him close and didn’t seem to be frightened of him. He liked the smell of her hair and the softness of her at his side. He’d never thought he needed a female except once in a while for the night, but a man could get used to Kora quickly. She was a habit already forming, and to his surprise, he had no desire to break away.

It was most distracting having this woman around, he thought. If she didn’t light somewhere, he’d slit his throat trying to shave. Another man in the room never bothered him. He’d shared quarters with sometimes as many as twenty in the bunkhouse. But this woman was different. A fellow could look at a man once a year or so and remember him. But not Kora. Every time he looked at her, she seemed to change. He felt a need to stare just so he could catch her in the act. One minute she was all prim and proper, the next all soft, like now, with her hair down and lace brushing against her throat.

Late into the night, with the moon passing overhead, Winter rolled over and opened his eyes. For a moment he wasn’t sure where he was. There were no sounds of other men sleeping nearby in their bunks, and his body was stretched out as it could never be on the couch in the study. Then he saw the stars through the windows and smiled. Kora had been right, it was a grand place to sleep beneath the sky. The cool of the night was around him, but the huge room, with its tall windows, gave him a feeling of sleeping outside while he had all the comforts of a home. Miss Allie’s quilts added color to the room even in shadows. Kora had draped them over chairs and hung several on boards around the room.

he reminded himself,bought for the price of a house. Just someone to cook and clean.Nothing more.To expect more was just asking for disappointment. He had enough trouble without making anyone in his life a necessity. He’d treat her with respect, even kindness if needed, but she had no right to ask for anything beyond their bargain. And he told himself he had no heart to give it.

Inside the small area was a dressing table made from a board and two crates and a stool with a padded seat. Kora had rigged a broom handle across one side of the enclosure to hang her few clothes. She’d felt wealthy buying two dresses, a nightgown with wrapper, and a new jacket all at one time. Winter hadn’t said a word about anything she bought, except to mention that if she needed more to let him know and he’d see that she got it. How rich he must be to be able to buy anything he needed without checking his account.

She hadn’t shown anyone the one thing she’d bought with her own money. A tiny, nickle-plated perfume bottle. It had cost her all she had: a dollar twenty. But that price had included the perfume inside, so the store owner told her she was getting a bargain. It had been crazy to spend so much on a bottle, but she’d wanted something finelooking on her homemade dressing table. Now the deep blue bottle with its casing of metal rested on a white linen handkerchief. The handkerchief bore Winter’s initials and looked as if it might have been a gift from someone years ago that he’d stuffed into a side pocket of his chest and forgotten. She’d found it in the study along with Winter’s other clothes when she’d moved them upstairs. The bottle and the linen made her feel very grand.

Inside the opening of one crate she kept a comb and small cracked mirror. Beneath the table, she’d hidden hercigar box of keys. The box was the one real thing she owned. It had traveled with her from her father’s house to the hundred places she’d lived. She had no pictures of family, no handed-down jewelry, no treasured keepsakes. But she had her keys, most found without locks, all worthless to anyone but her. Yet Kora knew the location of where she’d found each treasure. Sometimes she’d polish them and remember the good and bad of everywhere she’d ever been. When she’d cleaned this house, she found a key that no one seemed to know what it had ever been used for. It was added to her collection with a silent promise that if anyone asked, she’d give it back.

Quickly she dressed in one of her new dresses and tied her hair up in a bun. Blood seemed to rush through her veins as she thought of how close she’d slept to Winter. He could have reached out and touched her, or she, him. But he hadn’t. Maybe he was worth the trusting. She’d made up her mind yesterday, after Jamie’s remark, that she had to give him a chance. Over and over she’d told herself that being suspicious of a man who simply growled didn’t make sense. She’d hold to her agreement, at least until she knew he’d bite.

‘‘I know what you mean.’’ The doc leaned back and downed the last of his breakfast. ‘‘I was married once, about ten years ago while I was still in school. She was an angel God called home far too soon to my liking. I’ve thought of tying the knot again a few times since, but somehow I’m still married to her. Even now, after all these years, when folks ask me if I’ve got a wife, I have to think a moment before remembering. Being married is a feeling that doesn’t wash away with the tears at the funeral.’’

Suddenly his large hand covered hers, stilling them with his grip. ‘‘I’ll find her.’’

Before Kora could say a word, she yelled, ‘‘That wild, half crazy husband of yours ruined my evening!’’ She attacked the stairs. ‘‘I should have known he was short on brains when he introduced us to his horse. Most men introduce a bride-to-be to the family.’’ She stared down at Kora, as if blaming her for marrying Winter. ‘‘For a man promising to help me find a mate, he’s certainly doing his part to see that I become an old maid. Keep him out of my sight, or I swear, I’ll cut him up so small he’ll be good for nothing but chicken feed.’’

‘‘First, I didn’t sneak in and second I ain’t a stranger. I made deliveries here all last summer. I could find my way around this place on a moonless night. I came in a few hours ago and decided to wait for you. I must have fallen asleep over there in the hay.’’ He made a hacking sound as though something were thick in his throat. ‘‘I hadn’t planned on going up to the house until morning, but you two came out to me. I couldn’t very well just stand around and watch you handle her, not once I heard her name.’’

Win shook his head. ‘‘You’re not leaving. It’s dangerous enough on the road at night without there being men out ambushing folks.’’ He looked at the ceiling and let out a long breath. ‘‘Besides, I need you here,’’ he admitted. ‘‘Someone’s got to help the doc with Cheyenne. I’ve got my hands full with the blockade. I’m already pushing every hand to the breaking point.’’ He hated the idea that he had to depend on her, but all the men were needed to ride the blockade, and even if he could spare one, none would be worth much in a sickroom.

When he’d been a boy, his father died of illness and his mother took him to live with her people in the Indian Territory. The village had been attacked one morning by soldiers when Winter was six. He remembered his mother yelling for him to run and not look back. Those were her last words to him, and it seemed he’d been running all his life. If he forced himself not to care, then no one could hurt him. But somehow, Kora had gotten to him. It was more than the need he felt to protect her, he’d grown to admire her. She had a quiet strength and a deep-water kind of touch that washed over his scarred soul.

he thought,does the woman have any idea of the effect she has on a man?Just as she’d misjudged the amount he’d offer for marriage, she’d mismeasured on how much he’d forgive to keep her. He’d been angry with her lie last night, but all it took was one look at her eyes this morning, and he knew he wanted her to stay.

When Dan finally returned to the sunroom, Winter went to his study. As he closed the door, he noticed a large slice of pie and a glass of milk by the fire. Part of him wanted to scream at the top of his lungs that he wasn’t Dan, then run up the stairs and prove to Kora just how alive he was.But the reasonable part told him to sit down and eat the pie, then close his eyes and try to sleep. Yet Kora wouldn’t leave his thoughts. Somehow, she’d tiptoed into his life. Her soft words and gentle ways had passed through the barbed wire around his feelings. If he believed in luck, he’d say all his luck was riding on her staying in his life.

WINTERLEFT THE SALOON AND HEADED ACROSS THEstreet to the mercantile. The ranchers’ meeting had lasted hours longer than he’d thought it would, and he’d downed several more drinks than he needed to keep his head clear. Most of the men felt they had to have their say, even if they were only repeating an idea someone else had already voiced. Then H. D. Worth, who’d argue with a dead frog, had to counter everyone’s speech. And of course Lewis, who’d bet that same frog how high he would jump, felt a need to summarize anything Worth said. All in all, it was a waste of valuable time. They wanted to help, but anyone who knew the land knew Winter’s ranch was the one that would be crossed if the cattle moved. It was in the middle of the only practical trail, and it was too big to be missed.

He straightened the things on Kora’s desk without fully taking his gaze from the window and the road beyond. If the doc had any sense, he’d have Kora home before dark. The Breaks Settlement, as everyone called it, was really just a group of drifters and folks down on their luck who lived along the southeast boarder of Winter’s ranch. The land wasn’t any good for farming or running cattle, so as far as Winter knew, no one owned it, but the uneven hills of rock offered shelter from the wind. Sometime after the War Between the States, men started camping out there when passing through. Buffalo hunters probably built the first shacks, and the place didn’t look as if it had been improved upon since. Some of the drifters had stayed, finding work on nearby ranches when they had to, but mostly they just lived off the land.

WINTERRODE THROUGH THE NIGHT PUSHING HIShorse faster as he approached the settlement. He was slowed by staying with the road, but he didn’t want to take any chance of passing Dr. Gage in the dark. The wind had turned cold and whirled around him, making him think he heard things when nothing was there. Clouds blocked the moon and most of the stars. By the time he saw the lights of the Breaks Settlement, he could taste icy rain in the air. But the moisture did little to cool his anger. This was no place for a lady after dark.

Kora watched him talking with Jamie, realizing the man was fascinated by her sister. But there was something dark about him, as if all around him stood in brighter light. He laughed and was always friendly and polite, but Kora didn’t miss the wariness in his eyes or the sadness that turned his mouth down when he thought no one was looking. He seemed overly interested in the blockade, and Kora finallydecided that he might be trying to fit into this ranching world that seemed to have little use for gamblers except on Saturday night.

Suddenly branches darkened her path. She walked slowly through the orchard, trying to remember the way she’d seen the trees placed. They seemed to have no pattern. She could almost see Win as a boy planting them after dark in a pattern only he knew. The wind became a breeze, and the first blossoms of spring made the air smell wonderful. Kora closed her eyes as she moved, enjoying the feel of the soft flowers along the branches, gently buffering her from the hard wood of the tree. The ground was uneven with roots. As she moved, the trees seem to close in around her, sheltering her, blocking all starlight, hovering.

‘‘Because . . .’’ She swallowed. How could she put it into words? She admired him more than she had any man. Notbecause he owned this ranch, or was strong and honest. Not because he’d stayed with their bargain when any other man would have thrown her out. Not because, despite all his armor, he was as lonely as she. She wanted him to touch her because he made her feel like she belonged in the circle of his arms. He was gentle and kind and tender beyond anything she’d ever dreamed a man could be. ‘‘When I’m gone,’’ she whispered, ‘‘I want to remember your touch.’’

He leaned back against the tree trunk and gathered her gently against his chest. ‘‘This is no justification for what I did, but there’s never been anything soft in my life. I don’t know much about women, and the women I’ve known have been hard and fast. I’ve seen men lightly holding a woman’s arm, or gently patting her hand like it might break at any moment, but I never considered myself one of those dandies. Everything I’ve ever wanted in this worldI’ve had to fight for to win and to hold. Nothing’s ever come easy to me except finding you to marry.’’

KORAMOVED AS SILENTLY AS SHE COULD UP THEstairs to the attic. She sensed Winter following a step behind. The soft jingle of his spurs echoed his movements. Everyone in the house, Cheyenne, the two wounded cowhands, Jamie, and Dan, was asleep, and Kora was surprised the rapid pounding of her heart didn’t wake them all. She couldn’t believe that she was about to sleep with a man. And not just any man—Winter McQuillen. He was big and powerful and frightening when he roared. He only knew one speed, full gallop, when he wanted something, and tonight, he wanted her.

Kora wanted only the man. He thought he was so hard, but she’d seen the gentleness in the way he looked at her, and tonight she’d felt it in his touch. The very wildness that worried him excited her. She’d never thought she’d marry. She liked everything calm and in order. His world wasfilled with clutter and danger. But his was a chaos that made her blood rush. She didn’t know what it was like to sleep with a man, but it was about time she found out. And there was no other man she wanted to show her except Winter.

On his side, with her pressed close, Winter watched her face in the moonlight as his hand lowered to the center of her gown. He spread his fingers out over her abdomen andfelt the warmth of her flesh beneath the thin layer of cotton. He wanted to feel her skin but didn’t want to frighten her.Move slow, he kept reminding himself.Move slow.He knew she was unsure, but she was looking at him like he knew what he was doing. Win wasn’t about to tell her how little he knew of loving. Surely it couldn’t be all that difficult. He knew the basics. He’d learn.

With her gown undone, he could fully taste her throat. She rolled her head aside, offering him her neck from the sensitive area he’d found just below her ear to where the material parted, revealing the rise of one breast. For a moment, he stopped, unable to do anything but stare at thebeauty she offered him so easily, so freely. The sight of her lying on her back with her eyes sparkling with starlight and her gown open made him feel as if his brain were exploding. He pulled the material away slightly until he saw the swell of both breasts and the inviting valley between them.

He spread out on the study couch and tried to sleep, but it was impossible. He thought of ways he could make it up to Kora, but all of them seemed shallow. In the beginningshe’d wanted him, he was sure of it. At one point he knew she was loving his touch as much as he was enjoying touching her. But at some point it all changed. Thinking back, he remembered the glory of entering her. How wonderful she’d felt beneath him. Her breasts pressing against his chest. The silk of her legs as he parted them. She’d opened her mouth wider when he’d entered her. She’d raised her breasts against his chest.

Wyatt buttoned up his shirt. ‘‘None taken. I guess if I was in your shoes, I’d be turning over every rock I thought might lead me somewhere.’’ He walked toward the door, then turned back to Winter. ‘‘But think about it, Mr. McQuillen, if I were going to shoot you, I’ve had plenty of chances. And if I was one of the men running the blockade, you’d be my first target. Take you out of the fight and the other ranchers will fall like dominoes.’’ Wyatt flashed his teeth. ‘‘If I were you, Mr. McQuillen, I’d watch my back. And the next time I’d shoot all three riders in black, not just two.’’

THESKY TURNED DARK WITH BOILING CLOUDS ALONGthe horizon as Winter rode home on a borrowed horse behind the buggy he’d driven to town. They’d spent far longer in town than he’d planned and accomplished nothing. The sheriff couldn’t remember talking to Wyatt the night Cheyenne had been shot. After waiting on the doc for hours, he’d been able to shed little light on Wyatt’s injury. He also reported hearing the man at Breaks Settlement mumbling about gunfire, but the doc said his words didn’t make any sense. Mixed in with the screams of being shot was talk of a woman whose aim was deadly. The only woman there that day, Win told the doc, had been Kora, and she hadn’t carried a gun. The dying man must have been mixing nightmares.

Win leaned his head back and closed his eyes. She wasn’t holding up her half of the discussion he’d planned. But he’d already prepared his reply and it jumped from his mouth before he could stop the words. ‘‘Well, don’t expect me to apologize for taking what’s mine.’’ He knew he sounded rough. That hadn’t been the way he’d meant to say it. ‘‘You should have reminded me you were a virgin and to slow down some. I may not be as experienced in these matters as you seem to think. You can’t expect me to slow down in the middle of a stampede.’’

She stood and faced him with her hands on her hips. Her anger rivaled the storm outside. ‘‘The act of mating hurt me far more than I thought it would, but I survived. Last night when I finished crying, I realized I’m your wife, not because of some bargain we made or because you bedded me, but because Iwantto be. And if you weren’t so stubborn and bullheaded, you’d realize the same thing. We’ll share a bed as married folks do, but we’ll only do the act when both of us are willing. So don’t go thinking you were taking when I was the one giving.’’

Win took a long breath, debating how much to tell her. ‘‘There was an Indian girl in Wichita Falls I used to see now and then. She was nice and friendly. She wasn’t seeing anyone else that I know of and didn’t do it for the money, but she didn’t mind if I made a few months’ payments on her house while I was passing through town. I think I thought that with her I could go home, back to my past. But every time she left me feeling hollow. Like somehow I was muddying the past with what I was doing. I stopped visiting and later heard she’d married the local blacksmith.’’

THESUN HAD A WAY OF LYING DOWN ALONG THEhorizon and dying a slow brilliant death. Kora sat on the porch and watched, smiling at her memories of last night. Fate had given her a chance to be a wife, and she planned to enjoy the role as long as it lasted. All her life she’d wondered how it would feel to be cherished. Winter might frighten half the folks around here, but he was gentle with her. He thought she was special. She could see desire in his eyes, and his passion proved his longing for her. He was also talking to her of the problems of the ranch, which made her feel like she belonged, she was truly family.

‘‘I don’t want to leave this time,’’ Kora whispered more to herself than Jamie. ‘‘I like it here and Dan hasn’t coughed in days. He’s growing stronger with regular meals and clean air.’’ She knew Jamie loved the adventure, but Kora had longed for roots. ‘‘I thought we’d stay till summer.’’ She’d been wondering how she’d tell Jamie that her marriage to Win was only temporary. Even with all that had happened, Win had never said a word about her not leaving. ‘‘Then we might finally head to California.’’ She tried to sound excited.

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