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Benteen studied the smooth hand that covered his He wanted to believe the affection in her touch, but he was bothered by the possessive quality of it That should have reassured hienuine
“I’ll walk you to the buggy” He took her hand and slipped it inside the crook of his arm
Slipping her hat off, Lorna let it hang by the throat strap down her back Her gaze studied the shiht sky, pearlized by the downing sun The sroup of tired cowboys scattered around it There were so many memories of the trail drive contained in the scene—the same smells, the same sounds, the same tired bodies
A series of discordant notes was played on the hared on the ground with Webb on his knee He was patiently atte on the harmonica One of the vaqueros had whittled a wooden horse, which little Arthur was galloping over the ground
Her coffeecup was e by the fire She took a quick sip of the bitterly black coffee and wandered over by the chuck wagon, where Rusty orking He glanced at her, taking in the cup in her hand
“Thought you didn’t like my coffee,” he said
“I guess I’ve acquired a taste for it” She shrugged lightly and smiled
“It seems like old times to see you struttin’ around in a lance raked the lower half of her body, a twinkle lighting his eyes “You filled ’em out a bit more The shirt, too There’s no mistakin’ you for a boy anymore”
“I should hope not” Her laughter was soft, notremarks
“Speakin’ of boys, those two of yours are havin theh time”
“I know” She cast a fond look at the two boys “They’re convinced this roundup is being staged for their entertainment”
“That’s fer sure” Rusty seemed to test the air, distracted by a watchfulness that akened inside of him “It sure is still”
Lorna looked at the sky, clear except for some clouds on the far horizon “I hope it doesn’t rain in the night The boys want to sleep outside like the rest of you” They’d brought along a tent, a se of the camp circle
“If it does, you can always throw ’eh and dry there Slept in it ht”
“Don’t tell Webb that He’ll insist on trying it out,” Lorna warned, then spied Benteen walking into camp with Ely Stanton “I’ll talk to you later”