‘‘Win!’’ Cheyenne yelled as he hobbled onto the back porch. ‘‘They found a man shot at dusk on the south rim. Another lookout spotted a rider wearing black moving away from that direction.’’

Win pressed Kora to the corners of his mind. ‘‘I’ll ride back for the doc!’’ He turned to ready his horse.

‘‘No need.’’ Cheyenne stepped off the porch. ‘‘The man’s dead.’’

Winter’s rage matched the fury of the storm blowing in from the north. He gave Kora a quick nod of goodbye and began issuing orders at his men. By midnight they’d brought in the man’s body and prepared it for burial at dawn and doubled the guard in every section. The trouble had finally reached them.

Winter knew killers waited somewhere in the night. He’d reacted when they’d ambushed Cheyenne and him, but now he was planning to act. He couldn’t stand by while they picked off his ranch hands one at a time. By dawn he planned to be hunting the men down. He’d start by paying the fellow at Breaks Settlement a visit. If the man was still alive, he might tell who rode with him and who hired them. Then he’d find the other two riders in black and see that they were soon behind bars.

SEVENTEEN


BY FULL SUNUP TWO MORE MEN RODE IN WOUNDED. Both told the same story of being shot at by two men in black dusters. One reported that he had the feeling they were shooting wild, trying to scare more than kill.

Winter organized riders and Kora helped with the wounded. The Winchester Quarantine, as the ranchers were calling it, was working, but no one knew for how long. The riders in black reminded everyone that the trouble was real and could be deadly.

The men lived in their saddles, and Kora worked late each night cooking and nursing. Dr. Gage came almost daily, and on most visits the gambler was with him. Wyatt reported he’d been out of town on a two-day poker game, and in truth, he looked as if he hadn’t slept.

Kora watched him talking with Jamie, realizing the man was fascinated by her sister. But there was something dark about him, as if all around him stood in brighter light. He laughed and was always friendly and polite, but Kora didn’t miss the wariness in his eyes or the sadness that turned his mouth down when he thought no one was looking. He seemed overly interested in the blockade, and Kora finally decided that he might be trying to fit into this ranching world that seemed to have little use for gamblers except on Saturday night.

Kora did enjoy Steven Gage’s company, however, and looked forward to the doctor’s visits. He was a kind man whose low voice was as soothing and reassuring as his medicine. Almost from the first, they became the kind of honest friends few people find. She could talk and laugh about almost anything with Steven.

One evening, when everyone had turned in for the night, Steven was still waiting for Wyatt and Jamie to make it back with his buggy. He relaxed in the kitchen with Kora. They talked over coffee and joked about the possibility of Jamie and Wyatt’s children.

Just as Kora finished laughing so hard she had to hold her side, she looked up to see Winter in the doorway. He seemed so tall and dark, like a one-man thunderstorm that would wipe out an entire county if it moved.

He was just standing in the doorway staring. His Stetson was low, shading his eyes, and the layer of dust over him reminded her of the way she’d first seen him.

‘‘Winter!’’ She fought to sober her expression.

He’d been constantly worried about the blockade, and he didn’t need her laughter. After his long day he probably only wanted food and sleep.

For a moment he stood as stone, then suddenly turned and vanished. Kora could feel the sparks in the air, rippling through the room like dry lightning.

Steven stood, looking nervous. ‘‘I really thought Wyatt and Jamie would be back by now.’’ He paced to the window and back.

Kora stared at the doorway, then at Steven. ‘‘I hope nothing’s wrong,’’ she said, thinking more of Winter than her sister. Why would he come all the way to the door and not come inside?

The doctor shuffled. ‘‘I think I’ll make a final check on the wounded. If they’re doing all right, they can be moved into the bunkhouse soon. My buggy should be back by the time I’m finished.’’ He almost ran out of the kitchen.

Kora cleaned up the dishes and set Winter’s supper out, thinking somehow Winter’s dark mood had been caught by Steven. She made Win a plate every night, even though some nights he came in too tired to eat it. At least tonight he made it home in time to say hello before retiring into his study. He reminded her of a clock wound too tight; he seemed to tick off his life in double time.

Win hadn’t kissed her again since that night he’d brought her home. Kora couldn’t help but wonder if he thought of it as often as she did. Sometimes late at night, when he was sleeping soundly, she’d touch her lips to his, but it wasn’t the same as it had been when he’d held her so close.

She waited on the porch for a few minutes, then grew restless. He should have been back from the barn by now. Something was wrong. She could feel it, though she had no idea what it might be. She’d seen the anger in Winter’s fast movement. And Steven had felt something, also.

With long quick steps she hurried to the barn, suddenly needing to know what had happened. She couldn’t help Win unless she knew what bothered him so. There was no use worrying herself sick alone in the house, when all she had to do was ask Winter.

The barn was dark. When she called his name, no one answered. There seemed a restlessness even in the animal sounds in the barn. Kora folded her arms around her, wishing she’d brought her shawl, though the night was not yet cold.

As she walked out of the barn, Logan stood on the bunkhouse porch smoking a twisted cigarette he’d just finished rolling with equally twisted fingers.

‘‘Evenin’,’’ he mumbled as he played with the cigarette.

‘‘Good evening.’’ She took a step closer to the bunkhouse. ‘‘Is something wrong? Has something happened? I saw Win, but now I can’t find him.’’

Logan didn’t answer for a moment, leaving Kora to wonder how bad the news might be. Yet all seemed quiet. If something were amiss, shouldn’t men be running for their horses or everyone preparing? No more wounded had been brought in. She’d heard no shots. Only Winter’s stance had been her gauge.

She took a step closer to Logan. The doc’s buggy jingled in the background, but Kora paid little attention to Jamie and Wyatt as they climbed from the buggy and walked hand in hand toward the house.

When Kora was only a few inches from the older man, she whispered, ‘‘What is it, Logan? I have to know.’’

He put out his cigarette and looked up at her. ‘‘Win ain’t too good at voicing his feelings, but that don’t mean he ain’t got them.’’ When she didn’t answer, he added, ‘‘Just because a rabbit can’t scream like a hawk, don’t mean he ain’t hurting.’’

Kora had no idea what was happening or what Logan was talking about. Winter had never had any trouble telling her what he wanted done. He didn’t strike her as a man who was afraid to let the world know how he felt.

‘‘Where is he?’’ She decided asking Winter might be faster than deciphering Logan’s words.

The old man shrugged. ‘‘Don’t know if he ain’t in the house. His horse is in the corral.’’

Kora turned to walk back to the house. In her mind she rolled through all the breakfast talks they’d had in the past few weeks. It had been mostly about the trouble. He usually asked about her plans for the day. He seemed to enjoy leaning back in his chair and finishing his coffee as she told him. Once, in a moment when no one was around, he’d leaned across the table and touched her hand.

‘‘You might look among those apple trees,’’ Logan mumbled, as if he were thinking to himself and not giving advice. ‘‘I’ve seen him go there when he’s worried.’’

She glanced back, but Logan had already turned into the bunkhouse.

‘‘Thanks,’’ she whispered to no one.

Halfway across the yard, she waved to Steven and the gambler as they climbed into the buggy for the drive back to town. There was something about the way the gambler raised his left arm high to wave that reminded her of the fire, and she picked up her pace. If something else had happened, she needed to know.

The doctor and Wyatt drove off. She thought of returning for a lantern but didn’t want to waste the time. The sky was clear, offering enough light to walk by. If she went back to the house, Jamie might decide to go with her, and Kora wanted to talk to Winter alone.

‘‘Win?’’ she whispered as she moved into the trees.

Suddenly branches darkened her path. She walked slowly through the orchard, trying to remember the way she’d seen the trees placed. They seemed to have no pattern. She could almost see Win as a boy planting them after dark in a pattern only he knew. The wind became a breeze, and the first blossoms of spring made the air smell wonderful. Kora closed her eyes as she moved, enjoying the feel of the soft flowers along the branches, gently buffering her from the hard wood of the tree. The ground was uneven with roots. As she moved, the trees seem to close in around her, sheltering her, blocking all starlight, hovering.