to you.”
He moved his hand along her leg, more in comfort than passion. “I know something or someone must have frightened you once, and I want no part of frightening you again. If you want me to touch you, you have to come to me. I’ll be waiting.” He moved her hair aside and kissed her neck.
She didn’t know if she’d ever be as brave as she’d been today. By the river, hidden in the trees, it seemed another world. In a few minutes she’d step back into the real world, where proper ladies didn’t do what they’d done. “How long?” she asked, knowing she needed time to think about all that had happened. “How long will you wait?”
He kissed her cheek and guided the horse toward camp. “Forever,” he answered. “Forever.”
CHAPTER 31
AS THEY RODE IN LEWT WATCHED DUNCAN, WYATT, and Sumner all stand, rifles in hand. He saw no sign of the girl Duncan had called Anna and wondered if she’d decided to remain behind.
“Relax, Rangers. It’s just me.” Lewt laughed, glad to see that they’d all made it back.
Duncan limped a little as he rushed to meet them. He was within ten feet of Lewt’s horse when Em jumped down and ran into his arms.
Lewt watched her. He knew that she must know Duncan—after all, her father worked on his family ranch—but he hadn’t quite expected her to be so friendly.
“Duck!” she yelled, as he swung her around laughing. “You’re all right.”
Lewt wore the exhaustion of the day as he climbed down and walked toward them. The contentment he’d felt holding Em shifted to a memory. They were back in the real world, where he was a gambler and she worked with horses, no longer two lonely people who’d found each other for a few short hours in time.
When the ranger finally set her down, Lewt complained, “Watch out, Em, you’ll break his neck.” He tried to smile, but the effort hurt. “You two act like you’re in love.”
“I do love him,” Em shouted. “Though now and then over the years I’ve hated him too. Mama used to say that a wolf pup would have been easier to housebreak than him.”
Duncan kept his arm around her. “I’m glad you came, Em, but if you ever do something so foolish again, I swear I’ll give you that spanking you’re long overdue for. You should be back at the ranch, not here.”
Lewt wasn’t sure he liked any of this. What kind of woman let him touch her and hold her like he’d been doing a few hours ago, then turned around and ran into another man’s arms?
She laughed, looking only at Duncan. “That will be the day, Duck. Rose and I have already planned terrible torture for you for sending houseguests and not even showing up to help entertain them.”
Duncan looked at Lewt. “I didn’t send this one,” he said.
Lewt didn’t miss the edge in Duncan’s tone. The ranger didn’t give up on mad easily.
“I know, but he was the pick of the litter, as it turned out. He was the only one willing to come save your hide. One had his mother to think about first, and the other complained that since he didn’t even know you, he could hardly abandon his ranch on a wild mission across the border. Only Lewt rode with us.”
The look in Duncan’s eyes didn’t soften.
Lewt raised his hand. “Now before you start beating me to a pulp, Duncan, I got to tell you, none of your cousins liked me. You were right, I didn’t fit in. I could barely keep up with the dinner conversation, and the group singalongs almost drove me to drink.”
Duncan raised an eyebrow.
Lewt continued, “I didn’t spend much time with the ladies. In fact, I chose to ride with Em and let her spend the day trying to work me to death rather than sit around with your cousins. No offense. They’re all three beautiful ladies, but they weren’t for me.”
Duncan scratched his head. “Let me get this straight. You got on that train planning to court one of my cousins but ended up not spending time with any of them?”
Lewt smiled, thinking he’d finally gotten his point across. “Right. They were sweet ladies, but not one was interested in me. Rose was polite, Beth was sweet, and Emily silent most of the time. I would have been smart to stay in Austin and let Freeport the Fourth take the train. Only, trust me on this, those very proper