safe, you hear?”
“You’ll return,” she said with certainty. “We don’t make it out there, sugar. You know it’s true.”
The men were coming behind me then, all walking backward, keeping Horace and Ginny in their sights. Once outside and in the darkness of night, they sprang into flight, Angus hauling me along by the upper arm, a tremendous commotion in Hossiter’s flowing in our wake. He said, “Step to the stirrup, quick,” and I did, scrambling upon the back of one of the three horses waiting patiently for their masters. Angus leaped behind me and commanded, “Hah!”
And then the town was disappearing behind at the speed of his fleet-footed beauty of a horse. Behind us I heard Ginny’s voice bellowing shrilly into the night, “I’ll make you pay, Lila, I swear this! ”
We cleared the town in seconds, out into the night under a sky crisp with stars. My body was tensile with fear and a strange, unexpected exhilaration as we galloped; I hadn’t been on horseback for so long, and likewise had not understood how much I’d missed the sensation. The sky arched above us, an unending expanse of ebony, gorgeous with its burden of stars. Angus’s arms were strong and secure about my waist; for a time the only sounds were the exerted breathing of his mount and the rhythm of galloping hoof beats. My valise was on my lap, squeezed between my elbows, and I held tightly to a section of the horse’s mane, its texture so familiar in my hands, rough and thick and immediate. My thoughts swirled frantically, unable to fully comprehend what had happened this night.
You’ve left Hossiter’s.
You’re free of her.
Oh dear God, what have I done?
No more than a minute of hard riding, due south, before Angus reined in with practiced motions, letting his horse walk for a spell before completely halting. He dismounted and then lifted me carefully down, holding me against his chest for a moment, whispering into my ear, “All will be well.”
As he released me, his two companions were dismounting, one with a fluid determination, the other much more sedately. The man who had been with Eva, who had dismounted with a rapid, effortless grace, was less than two feet from us before I could blink; I realized, belatedly, that his features were highlighted so readily because a fire burned nearby.
“What in the hell are you thinking, Gus?” he demanded, in a deep voice also of Tennessee. I cringed away from both the anger in his tone and his thunderous expression. The fire flickered over a disarmingly attractive face constructed of planes and angles, with eyes that likewise appeared red in its glow. He demanded, “I’ll not question your decision in front of others, but you have put us in jeopardy. Who is she, Gus?”
Angus set me gently to the side and put his hands on the other man’s shoulders, as though to steady him. He said, “It’s complicated. Let me explain.”
“Complicated?” he scoffed. “We’ve got to hightail it out of these parts now, Gus. No time for stories, old friend.”
At the fire, a fourth man was standing and calling into the night, “Took you-all long enough!”
Angus turned back to me, introducing the man who was obviously enraged at my presence by saying formally, “Lorissa, this is Sawyer Davis. Sawyer, I’d like you to meet Miss Lorissa Blake, of Lafayette, Tennessee. Her pa was Will Blake.”
The man named Sawyer blinked once, his eyes burning into mine as I met his gaze directly for the first time. I quelled the instant urge to step back from the intensity he exuded. He repeated, “Blake?”
“I will explain later, but at the moment you are right, we are forced to move,” Angus said then, and I sensed that his orders were always followed. Angus continued, “Let’s tear down, and quickly.”
“Boyd Carter,” said the other man then, neatly setting Sawyer to the side with the nudge of a shoulder and offering me his hand. He too was good-looking, with a lantern jaw, thick
“You’ll return,” she said with certainty. “We don’t make it out there, sugar. You know it’s true.”
The men were coming behind me then, all walking backward, keeping Horace and Ginny in their sights. Once outside and in the darkness of night, they sprang into flight, Angus hauling me along by the upper arm, a tremendous commotion in Hossiter’s flowing in our wake. He said, “Step to the stirrup, quick,” and I did, scrambling upon the back of one of the three horses waiting patiently for their masters. Angus leaped behind me and commanded, “Hah!”
And then the town was disappearing behind at the speed of his fleet-footed beauty of a horse. Behind us I heard Ginny’s voice bellowing shrilly into the night, “I’ll make you pay, Lila, I swear this! ”
We cleared the town in seconds, out into the night under a sky crisp with stars. My body was tensile with fear and a strange, unexpected exhilaration as we galloped; I hadn’t been on horseback for so long, and likewise had not understood how much I’d missed the sensation. The sky arched above us, an unending expanse of ebony, gorgeous with its burden of stars. Angus’s arms were strong and secure about my waist; for a time the only sounds were the exerted breathing of his mount and the rhythm of galloping hoof beats. My valise was on my lap, squeezed between my elbows, and I held tightly to a section of the horse’s mane, its texture so familiar in my hands, rough and thick and immediate. My thoughts swirled frantically, unable to fully comprehend what had happened this night.
You’ve left Hossiter’s.
You’re free of her.
Oh dear God, what have I done?
No more than a minute of hard riding, due south, before Angus reined in with practiced motions, letting his horse walk for a spell before completely halting. He dismounted and then lifted me carefully down, holding me against his chest for a moment, whispering into my ear, “All will be well.”
As he released me, his two companions were dismounting, one with a fluid determination, the other much more sedately. The man who had been with Eva, who had dismounted with a rapid, effortless grace, was less than two feet from us before I could blink; I realized, belatedly, that his features were highlighted so readily because a fire burned nearby.
“What in the hell are you thinking, Gus?” he demanded, in a deep voice also of Tennessee. I cringed away from both the anger in his tone and his thunderous expression. The fire flickered over a disarmingly attractive face constructed of planes and angles, with eyes that likewise appeared red in its glow. He demanded, “I’ll not question your decision in front of others, but you have put us in jeopardy. Who is she, Gus?”
Angus set me gently to the side and put his hands on the other man’s shoulders, as though to steady him. He said, “It’s complicated. Let me explain.”
“Complicated?” he scoffed. “We’ve got to hightail it out of these parts now, Gus. No time for stories, old friend.”
At the fire, a fourth man was standing and calling into the night, “Took you-all long enough!”
Angus turned back to me, introducing the man who was obviously enraged at my presence by saying formally, “Lorissa, this is Sawyer Davis. Sawyer, I’d like you to meet Miss Lorissa Blake, of Lafayette, Tennessee. Her pa was Will Blake.”
The man named Sawyer blinked once, his eyes burning into mine as I met his gaze directly for the first time. I quelled the instant urge to step back from the intensity he exuded. He repeated, “Blake?”
“I will explain later, but at the moment you are right, we are forced to move,” Angus said then, and I sensed that his orders were always followed. Angus continued, “Let’s tear down, and quickly.”
“Boyd Carter,” said the other man then, neatly setting Sawyer to the side with the nudge of a shoulder and offering me his hand. He too was good-looking, with a lantern jaw, thick
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