Rising Star was standing at the window.

He slowly lifted his arm and waved it in an arc. He could see her stiffen. Did she think he was Joshua? Oh, God, did he want her to think he was Joshua?

Her hand lifted in a gesture of farewell. Sweetness flooded Patrick’s being, followed immediately by hot guilt.

What the hell was he doing? He spurred desperately and his horse leapt forward until he was riding beside Joshua at the head of the column.

Joshua looked at him and smiled. “You in a hurry?”

“No.” Patrick swallowed. It had not been a betrayal. He had taken nothing from Joshua that his uncle had wanted. “You said Gran-da might need me up here.” He kept his eyes on the foothills, away from that lighted window framing the glowing beauty of Rising Star. “So I thought I’d better come up and show you tenderfoots how to tell the difference between a horse’s tracks and a jackrabbit’s.”

18

“Will you stop being foolish and let me help you?” Elspeth’s voice was tart with exasperation. “You’ve demonstrated how strong and stoic a Delaney can be. I think it’s time you exhibited a little intelligence as well. You’ve made camp, cooked our meal, watered the horses, and treated me as if I were incapable of buttoning my own shoes. I may not be experienced on the trail, but I am not entirely stupid. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

“There’s nothing left to do. It’s late. Crawl into your blankets and get to sleep. I’ll just scout around on our back trail and make sure-”

“No,” she said clearly. “Torres couldn’t be after you yet, and I won’t let you exhaust yourself. Sit down and let me take a look at your wound. With all this moving about you’ll be lucky if it hasn’t started bleeding again.”

“It’s not bleeding.” He started to turn away.

“Let me see.” Her fingers were quickly unbuttoning his white shirt. “Any man who would jump out of a sickbed and carry on as you’ve done is hardly to be trusted,” she muttered. “Daft. Positively daft. Sit down.”

“I’m not blee-” He inhaled sharply as her fingers slipped beneath the bandage, exploring the tender flesh around the wound. “Ouch! What the hell are you trying to do to me?”

“Reminding you that you were shot only this afternoon. I thought it time someone did.” She deliberately pressed again on the sore flesh. “Sit down.”

He sat down.

She immediately knelt beside him on the blanket and quickly loosened the bandage. “That’s better.”

“In your opinion,” Dominic said dryly. “It feels like someone stabbed me with red-hot splinters.”

“I didn’t really hurt the wound.” She unscrewed the lid from the small jar of salve Rising Star had given her. “You weren’t listening to me again. It was necessary I get your attention.”

“I think you succeeded.” He gritted his teeth as she carefully applied the salve. “You must have been taking lessons from Silver. The women of her tribe are very good at this kind of torture.”

Her gaze lifted. “Am I hurting you?”

“Hell, yes.”

“Good.” She swiftly replaced the bandage and fastened it in place. “Then you’ll have to take care that it will heal swiftly so you’ll no longer need my clumsy nursing, won’t you?” She sat back on her heels and met his gaze. “We’ll start by avoiding putting unneeded strain on it. There are many things I can do to help. Patrick showed me how to saddle a horse. From now on I will do that. I can gather wood and I’ll learn how to build a fire.”

“It seems you’re taking charge of everything,” he said sardonically. “Am I allowed to do anything?”

“Yes.” She swallowed. “I don’t think I could kill or skin a rabbit as you did. I would appreciate it if you would continue to provide for our meals.”

He studied her. “Yet you ate with good appetite.”

“I realize it’s foolish to be squeamish.” She buttoned his shirt. “We must eat. If you think it unfair that I don’t share in the preparation, then of course I will do so.”

He shook his head slowly. “No, I think I can handle it by myself.”

“And you will let me do the other tasks until your shoulder is less sore?”

A curious smile tugged at his lips. “What will you do if I don’t?”

She smiled back at him with angelic sweetness. “Then I’ll find it necessary to dress your wound five times a day instead of two, and we’ve already established how clumsy I can be.”

He suddenly threw back his head and laughed. “My God, I’ve changed my mind. I think you could give Silver lessons. When I remember what a meek little miss you were when you first came to Hell’s Bluff-”

“I was never meek. Unsure, perhaps, and frightened.”

The grin faded from Dominic’s face. “You didn’t show it. You always stood up to me.”

“I didn’t want to be a coward.” She gazed into the blue-orange heart of the flames. “My father always told me a MacGregor must never be afraid.” She tried to smile. “Besides, it wasn’t only you I feared. Everything was so new and strange to me and I felt very much alone.”

“Did you?” Dominic didn’t look at her. “I guess we all feel like that sometimes.”

“And then so many things happened. I was injured, Andre-” She closed her eyes as that memory came back to her. “Poor Andre,” she whispered. “We were alike, you know. Two strangers who couldn’t understand this wild country.”

“You’re not like Marzonoff. Not any longer.”

She opened her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re beginning to understand us now.” He smiled faintly. She looked surprised, he thought. Perhaps she didn’t realize how much she had changed in these last weeks. Determination, courage, and dogged endurance had probably always been a part of her character, but now those qualities had been refined and sharpened. “Aren’t you, Elspeth?”