Page 41 of Wellspring
The JR outfit jeered, but Erick did his best to ignore them.Then Sanders pulled his pistol and fired a shot into the ground inches from Nahnia’s hooves.The horse twitched but didn’t rear.Cade looked over at Erick with a subtle shake of his head as he angled his bow.“Get ready to run like hell,” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
Erick tensed in the saddle, waiting for Cade’s signal.Almost faster than his eye could follow, Cade grabbed an arrow, drew, and fired, the shot knocking the pistol from Sanders’s hand.
“Go!”he shouted to Erick, wheeling Nahnia and spurring him into a full gallop.Erick leaned low over Zephyr’s neck and did the same.
Shock at Cade’s shot kept the JR outfit from returning fire immediately, but it didn’t take long before shots rang out behind them.Erick ducked even lower, bracing for the possibility of the burn of a bullet in his back, but their adversaries seemed not to have Cade’s aim, fortunately.
Once the gunfire ceased, Erick slowed Zephyr to a walk and glanced over his shoulder.None of the JR hands had jumped the fence line, though they hadn’t moved off either, continuing to shout taunts and laugh raucously.Erick’s instincts insisted he do something to drive them away, but unless they crossed onto Wellspring land, he could take no action.Swallowing his frustration, he resecured his rifle and turned his attention to a much more agreeable sight, his gaze raking Cade’s body for any sign he’d been injured and breathing in relief when he confirmed he was unharmed.
“A most impressive shot.I could not have made it even with a rifle.I assume you meant to hit his gun, of course,” he added, holding back a smile.
“Oh, if I’d meant to hit Sanders, he’d be dead,” Cade said with a tight grin, “but then we’d have a range war on our hands, and Miz Roarke would fire my ass.As it is, all I did was disarm someone who shot at me first.And I even left him all his fingers.Which, maybe I shouldna done.Maybe I shoulda shot a couple of ’em off, just to teach him a lesson.”
“That would make you no better than they are, and you are a finer person than that.”Erick respected how well Cade had reined in his temper when he’d come so close to losing his own.He bit back a sigh.“I like this not.They will not be satisfied with insults and close shots much longer, I think.”
“Kit and Mac will tell Payne about the riders, and we can let him know things have escalated when Chel and Jesse come to take the next watch.”Cade ran a hand through his hair and settled his hat lower on his head.“But you’re right.Things are going to get ugly soon.”
Erick was afraid Cade was right, but there was nothing either of them could do to defuse the situation.They would simply have to stay vigilant and do their best not to inflame matters.
Chapter Twenty-Three
THE RESTof their watch passed quietly, and Michele and Beaufort arrived exactly on time.Cade explained quickly what had happened.They reacted with grim-faced anger, as Erick had expected, before sending Erick and Cade back toward the ranch house.
Once they got their horses settled, Cade turned to Erick.“I have to find Payne and tell him what happened, but you can head to the shower and start cleaning up for dinner if you want.”
“Perhaps you would care to join me?”Erick had been riding a low thrum of desire since watching Cade’s prowess with his bow, and while they couldn’t count on Michele to stand guard for them, he found he didn’t care.Cade had assured them that no one would go beyond teasing if they saw them together, and Erick was willing to take that risk.“I can gather clean clothes for us both while you speak with Payne.”
Heat flashed in Cade’s eyes as he grinned.“I’d love to join you.Make sure someone sees you getting my things as well so they’ll know to leave us alone.There are limits to what we can get up to in the shower, but I’m sure we can come up with something.”
“I have confidence in your resourcefulness.”Erick glanced around the barn, but there was no one but Biscuit and the horses to see them.He pulled Cade into a quick kiss, far shorter than he wanted, but they would have time to indulge in the shower.And for him to get his hands over all the parts of Cade’s body he hadn’t been able to linger over—until now.
Cade licked his lips, testing Erick’s resolve, but before he could move in again Cade swatted his seat.“Stop tempting me.I can’t report to Payne with a hard-on.Get our clothes and I’ll meet you there.”He grinned over his shoulder as he headed out of the barn.“Besides, I’m a sure thing.”
Erick admired his backside as he sauntered out—he was fairly sure Cade was swaying his hips knowing Erick was watching—and took a few breaths before heading to the bunkhouse.He didn’t need to provide any more ammunition for banter by appearing visibly aroused himself.If he was fortunate, most of the hands would already have left for dinner.
Fortune was not with him.Burke was changing into a fresh shirt when Erick walked in.Erick ignored him as he pulled out a set of clean clothes, but when he bent to the chest at the foot of Cade’s bunk, the blacksmith cackled.
“Hoss!”Burke exclaimed.“Going through Wolfie’s things already?You’re moving fast there, my friend.I’d better start designing that cabin for you.”
“Why do you not build one for yourself?”Erick asked.“Surely it would be more peaceful for everyone.”
“Because if I did that, I’d miss out on all the good gossip,” Burke replied with an insouciant shrug.“And then how would I get what I need, hmm?No, this way I hear everything and people cooperate with me to shut me up or to learn what I know.”
Erick’s gut clenched at the thought of who Burke might tell about him and Cade and what might happen as a result.Burke blustered right on as if he hadn’t just scared a decade off Erick’s life.
“Only here at Wellspring, of course.Those JR bastards don’t have anything I want and couldn’t pay me enough to get anything I have, knowledge, skills, or finished products.”
“I fear payment is not in their plans.”Erick had not considered it until now, but Burke’s resourcefulness could prove of value to JR’s owner.“We were fired upon today.They stayed outside the fence, but had we not ridden off, they might well have done serious harm.”The memory of the insults Sanders had hurled angered Erick as much as his bullets.“Cade is informing Payne, but it would do well for everyone to be more vigilant.They may not respect Wellspring’s boundaries much longer.”
Burke sobered and picked up a gun belt from the table to strap around his waist, the first time Erick had ever noticed him wearing a pistol.“They won’t find Wellspring an easy target, not even the ones who aren’t usually fighters.And take your time cleaning up.I’ll make sure you and Webster aren’t disturbed.”
The change in demeanor startled Erick, and he nodded sharply.As annoying as Burke could be at times, he was clearly loyal to Wellspring and, despite his sometimes crude comments, loyal to his fellow ranch hands as well.“Danke.”He bundled Cade’s clothes along with his own and started toward the shower block.Svensen was coming out as he entered, the towel wrapped around his waist threatening to slide off completely as he rubbed his hair with another.
“Enjoy your shower, Heller.”His voice was loud enough to announce Erick’s destination to half the ranch, and the wink he gave as he turned to the bunkhouse made Erick wonder if that was his intention.
Erick shook his head and dropped the bundle of clothes on the bench.So far Cade had been correct about the other hands’ reaction to their—Erick wasn’t sure what to call it even in his own thoughts.Their relationship, he hoped, though he wasn’t sure Cade would consider it the same when he had only ever referred to physical intimacies, not emotions.For now he would just enjoy the time they could spend together and consider himself blessed.
He had just started to undress when Cade walked in, tugging off the bandanna around his neck.It caught on the beads in his braid for a moment before he got it free, making Erick smile.The grim line of his lips softened when he looked up and saw Erick.“Let me do that?”he asked.“Payne is on the warpath and I don’t know when we’ll next have five minutes, much less an hour, to ourselves.Let me take advantage of the time we have now?”
