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With tre hands Lorna tried to unfasten the rest of it “What about the boys?” She breathlessly re to let it be his decision
“They’re sleeping” He barely gave her tiing at the chemise that hid her breasts from him “Get in the tub with me,” he insisted huskily
“There’s not rooh at his suggestion, but the sti sound
“You just come here and I’ll show you hoe can fit in it”
It wasn’t until the next day that Benteen realized how close the fire had co total devastation The wind could have driven the fire across his entire range if they hadn’t caught it early Instead, it had taken only a portion of the southwest section But it had hurt hiht by the fire, and another two hundred of his blooded breeding stock had been burned so badly they had to be destroyed
When the last rifle shot faded into silence, Benteen looked at the scene of an entire herd put down and felt a helpless anger It ju his jawline as he turned to push his rifle into the scabbard The barrel was still hot
“It could have been worse,” Barnie reminded him in consolation
“Yeah,” he ad into the saddle and turned the horse toward Shorty “Make a sweep and drift the cattle into one of the other sections”
“Want me to build another line camp?” Shorty asked The fire had taken the one he’d been staying in, as well as his few belongings that weren’t on his horse
“No We’ll wait till next suaze on the blackened stretch of plains “When you’re through here, move on back to the bunkhouse”
The sun was hanging low in the sky when he rode his horse up to the shed-corral and disrimly somber as he unsaddled his horse to turn it into the corral Everything had been going smoothly until hisbitterness There had been nothing but trouble since He shook that idea away as unreasonable She couldn’t be blamed for Judd Boston’s attempt to have the three claims thrown out, or for the prairie fire
There was a leadenness to his strides as he crossed the yard to the cabin The table was all set for supper when he walked in Lorna was at the stove, dishing up the food She sent him a quick smile over her shoulder
“I tie,” she said, and carried two plates to the table for the boys
There was a shine to her face, an eagerness that he hadn’t noticed recently She see
Benteen walked to the basin to wash his hands while she sat the boys at the table “What’s up?”