if Iâm walking too fast for you, Susanna,â he said, slowing his pace and flashing his smile at her. âIf you want to go and get your horse, you can meet meââ
She interrupted.
âIâm not falling behind, am I?â
It was true. Her long legs had kept up with his every step since theyâd left the livery.
âAnd my horse is tied near the saddle shop. Iâll get him when weâre done there.â
Her blue eyes met Eagle Jackâs with an annoyed glance.
Unfortunately, his charm might not work every time. At least, not on her.
Which made her a very unusual woman, indeed.
And it made her a challenge. He was not going to let her ruin his perfect record, especially not when she was one of the most beautiful women heâd come across in all his adventures.
âYou neednât be in such a hurry,â she said. âI bailed you out of that stinking jail to hire me a crew and I intend to see that you do it before we leave Salado.â
Quick anger seared his nerves. She was a challenge, all right. His headache flared, its pounding worst right between his eyes.
âIâll get you a crew,â he said, through clenched teeth, âin my own good time.â
âWeâll need them tonight,â she said. âMy cattle should be at Brushy Creek when we get there.â
He stopped in front of the saddle shop and stared at her.
âHow many cattle?â
âIâm guessing close to nine hundred, but itâll depend on how many more the brushpoppers can catch. My guess was around seven hundred head already gathered when I left home this morning.â
More than heâd imagined, from the looks of her clothes. Way more. Throwing them in with his would make one of the biggest herds on the trail. He would need four more men, at least.
But it did explain one thing.
âIs that why your husband sent you to hire the crew?â
âMy husband has long since gone on to his great reward,â she said, with a bitter irony in her tone, âwhatever that might be.â
Well. A widow. So she wasnât married, after all.
But why did he care? Sheâd be just as much trouble romantically as she was in every other way.
And just as surprising, probably. Heâd like that.
âDid you kill him?â he said.
She gave a little burst of laughter.
âNo. But Iâm glad to see Iâve got my bluff in on you.â
He grinned.
âI didnât really take you for a killer,â he said, âbut you donât sound too sad about him being six feet under.â
âIâm not. He was a bully and a brutal man in many ways. I wish Iâd thought twice before I married him.â
Eagle Jackâs headache couldnât keep his curiosity down. He always wanted to know why a woman did what she did. Women were fascinating creatures because all of them were different from one anotherâexcept for the fact that they didnât think one bit like men.
âWhy did you?â
For the first time, she hesitated.
âI was a foolish young girl,â she said. âToo young to know better.â
âDid he beat you?â
It was a personal question that would have offended many women but she seemed to recognize the spirit in which heâd asked it.
âAt the very first, he would have,â she said, seeming to think it through as she spoke, âbut even though I was very young, I wouldnât stand for it.â
âWhat did you do?â
âWhen he raised his hand to me, I told him if he hit me heâd better never go to sleep drunk again.â
âWhy?â
âBecause I would sew him up in the bedsheet and beat him senseless with the broom.â
Eagle Jack threw back his head and laughed, in spite of his pain.
âIâm surprised heâd put up with that.â
âWe were on the move by then,â she said. âIt was too much trouble for him to stop and find somebody