Ana Seymour by Jeb Hunters Bride Page B

her, she would have cautioned her daughter against any such notion. But she’d vowed to do anything it took to get to California. And as Dorothy had said, it wasn’t as if she was talking about doing anything…well, anything bad. It only made sense that if she could approach their captain in a friendly manner, he’d be more apt to listen to her calm and rational case for allowing them to stay with the train.
    As she reasoned with herself, her feet seemed to already be taking her in the direction of the grove of trees where Jeb Hunter had laid out his bedroll. Her heart sped up its beat and her pace slowed as sheapproached. Perhaps he’d returned from washing and was already asleep. By the time she reached the edge of the grove, her hands had balled into fists and her lower lip was clamped firmly between her teeth. If he was asleep, she decided, she’d awaken him. She wouldn’t be able to sleep until she’d tried to make him change his mind.
    Jeb dried his arms briskly with the towel, rubbing away chill bumps on his wet skin. His body, at least, felt better after his bath. It had refreshed him and eased away the worst of the day’s knots. His mind was still knotted, but he was used to dealing with that state of affairs.
    He stood at the edge of the river, naked, letting the cool night air dry the rest of his body.
    The camp had grown quiet Across the river he could barely see the glowing embers of a couple of banked fires next to the wagons that hadn’t been able to make the crossing. The majority of the wagons were on the far side, dry and repacked after their river adventure. They’d be ready to move out tomorrow as soon as the others made it across. And as soon as the Gallivan wagon was repaired.
    The knot in his head threatened to tighten into a megrim. He’d begun having them after Melly’s death, had endured them almost daily for over a year. But they came less often nowadays, partly because he knew how to keep himself away from issues that might bring one on. He’d taught himself to keep uninvolved, unemotional, unruffled, no matter what the circumstances.
    But he’d broken that rule today. He’d been mostthoroughly ruffled by Miss Kerry Gallivan. And now he’d probably have to pay for his lapse with a headache.
    He dried his face with the towel and rolled his neck from side to side. Sometimes it helped.
    “Oh, my goodness!”
    The exclamation made his neck straighten up with an audible snap. Reflexively, he reached down to cover his most exposed parts with the towel. Like some kind of nightmare, conjured from inside his aching head, there stood Kerry Gallivan.
    “Excuse me, ah…Captain,” she stammered. “I…ah…was looking for you.”
    Jeb recovered his composure quickly. Her embarrassment amused him, a tiny bit of revenge for all the trouble she’d caused him and would continue to cause him. “I thought we had finished our discussion for the evening, Miss Gallivan,” he said calmly.
    She looked away. “Please…ah…feel free to…ah…get dressed, Captain. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
    “You didn’t interrupt,” he said. The surprise over, he was now definitely enjoying her discomfiture. “I’m finished with my bath. Don’t let me stop you from yours, if that’s what you had in mind.”
    He gestured toward the water with the hand holding his towel and hid a smile as he saw Kerry’s averted eyes widen.
    “No, I didn’t come…I mean, I came to talk with you.”
    A hammer tripped at the back of his head. Jeb had had enough of the game. He threw the towel over his shoulder and reached for his pants. “I thought Iwarned you earlier that I’m not in the best frame of mind for a discussion. What we both need now is some sleep.”
    Out of the corner of her eyes she could see that he was once again decently covered. At least the lower half of him. She turned toward him and said, “I know, but the way we left things, I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep. I can’t accept