Catch a Shooting Star jd edit 03 12 2012 html (27 page)

But his head cleared and he swore under his breath when he looked beyond her face at the rising sun.  His eyes narrowed and he growled at her, “Got Dammit, woman.  Why did you let me sleep so long?”

“Let you?” she asked, rising to get out of his way as he threw himself onto his feet.  “I just woke up myself.  I was coming to wake you up when you called my name.”

“Dammit!” he swore again as he scrambled to pick up the saddle and then he stumbled toward the Palomino.  As he returned for the saddlebags, he saw that Savannah had started to bring out food for breakfast, placing the frying pan on the fire that she had coaxed back to life and he said in a gruff voice, “There’s no time for that.  Just get some bread and meat and we’ll eat while we ride.”

Shrugging her shoulders, she put everything but the bread and the slab of roast beef, which she sliced into pieces for sandwiches.  She wrapped them in a cloth and set them aside while she went to inspect Dixie’s foot. 

Elated, she lifted her head to call to Travis, but he was already bending over her to see for himself.  She threw a glance at him and said excitedly, “Look, the swelling’s gone down.”

“That don’t mean it’s healed,” Travis argued, touching a forefinger to the hoof.  “Another day of walking and she’ll be too lame to be worth anything.”

“What are you saying?” she asked with both anger and fear in her voice, “Are you going to shoot her?”

“Nope. I’m not going to do anything.  It’s your horse.  It’s your decision.  You can put her out of her misery now or leave her here to take care of herself.”

“You bastard!” she spat as she glared at him and then turned away to fight back her tears.  Then, she took the mare’s bridle into her hands and guided Dixie to where they had dug out a hole in the ground and had found an underground stream.  She showed the Appaloosa the small puddle and then patted her on the neck as she said to the horse, “I’m sorry, Dixie.  I hope you can make it on your own out here.”

She sighed heavily and left the mare to nibble on the tufts of grass that jutted out from the ground and went back to camp.  When she returned, Travis had already packed everything and was waiting beside the Palomino.  Without a word, he mounted and leaned to help her mount, pulling her up behind him.  He spurred the horse and once again, they began another day of relentless riding.

Savannah fought back the tears when she heard Dixie whinny in alarm, but the horse did not follow.  For a long time, she wiped away the tears that won the battle over her will to keep them at bay.  And as the day progressed, her sorrow turned to anger and resentment and she choked back her sadness and jutted her chin out in defiance. 

Travis Corbett won’t rule her life when this is all over and she had her son with her.  She formed a plan to buy another horse and find her own way back to Texas, without his contemptuous controlling conduct and his audaciously inauspicious attitude.  She had crossed this land by herself before and she will do it again.  She didn’t need Travis after her husband was dead and her son was safely in her arms.  That settled, she moved her eyes from his back, where they had been boring a hole into it with growing ire, and her mood lightened as she looked across the horizon at the landscape that surrounded her.

The sun climbed slowly in the cloudless sky, making the ground seem to rise with the heat that simmered upward in wavy sheets of steam.  The barren ground sometimes gave way to green patches of grass and wild flowers bloomed among the cactus plants.  Roadrunners sped across the path of the Palomino, who did not seem to be roused by their sudden appearance and then departure.  

As they plodded along in the heat of the sun, Savannah began to feel weak and sluggish.  Her back began to ache and her legs begged to stretch out on the ground.  She leaned forward, almost reclining against Travis’ back, but she pulled herself back up and stiffened her back in order to keep from falling forward again.

Travis, on the other hand, sat erect and alert, moving only occasionally to pull his hat off and wipe the sweat from his brow.  He swore to himself every time he heard a faint sniffle from behind him.  Damn woman, his mind growled.  It’s just a horse.  He swore that he had never seen a woman get as attached to an animal as this one had.  Women don’t associate with animals, they don’t have time for them and besides, they are dirty and smelly according to most of the women that he had known.

But, not this woman.  Everything about her was in complete contrast to what women were supposed to be like.  Most women are delicate and meek and flirt with anything that wore pants.  Savannah was tough and she didn’t give a damn what she said or what anyone thought of her.  But at the same time, she was caring and gentle and so confoundedly considerate.  Maybe these qualities are what made him so attracted to her.  Damn her for being so different—so alluring without even realizing it, so Got Damn beautiful and unaware of it.  She hadn’t the faintest idea that he fought to keep himself in control while she sat behind him bobbing her breast in his back and sniffing back those heart-wrenching tears, making him feel sorry for her and wanting to go back to get that worthless piece of horseflesh just to make her happy, to see that principle-melting smile again.

He fought hard against the urge to pull her around in front of him on the saddle and kiss her breathless.  Finally, when he succeeded in calming his body and his emotions, he felt her lean into his back and curl her arms around his waist.  Ignoring the life-sucking heat, he stiffened his back in order to support her weight as she seemed to slump behind him.  He felt her arms go limp and then her body slip to one side, almost falling from the horse and he quickly grabbed her hands and held them tightly around his waist with one hand while gripping the reins with the other. 

He knew that he should have nudged her to wake her up, to make her keep alert, but the softness of her body against his gave him a sense of wanting, needing her to willingly ask for his support.  To comfort the child inside this self-assured woman was the only thing on his mind at the moment while he reveled in the luxury of holding her, of matching his breathing with hers, of becoming one with her, even if it was for just a moment or two. 

He let her rest against him as the golden stallion carried them southward and while he held the reins in one hand, he caressed the delicate fingers of the hand that he cupped in his other one.  The skin that was once creamy white now exhibited a warm amber glow thanks to the loving kiss of the sun.  He turned the hand over and inspected the blisters on her palm that must have cropped up while she was clinging to the life of that blasted lame horse.  He ran a finger up the wrist, following the jagged line of the scar that now gleamed purple-brown under his touch.  When she stirred, he jerked his hand away and straightened his back.

The weary sleep drifted slowly away from Savannah’s mind and body.  She nuzzled her head deeper into the warm sturdy body that supported her, encircling her arms tighter around the slim waist and trying to slip back into the safety of slumber.  Mumbling to herself and blinking her eyes against the glare of the sun that sent sparks of pain though her skull.  She groaned and turned her head to the other side, rubbing her nose in the soft fabric in front of her.

Yawning, she finally found her way back to reality and stiffened her back, pulling her hands from around Travis’ waist so quickly that she almost toppled off the rear of the Palomino.  She grabbed the cantle of the saddle to catch herself and pretended that nothing was amiss.

She looked around them at the barren land and yawned once more, and then looked behind them with sudden alarm as she touched a hand to Travis’ shoulder and asked, “What’s that?”

He craned his neck around to see where she was looking and asked, “What’s what?”

“There,” she said as she pointed directly behind her.  “That cloud of dust.  And I think I hear the sound of hooves.”

Travis pulled up on the reins so that he could concentrate on the faint puff of dust that flared behind them.  “Maybe a dust devil,” he said so as not to alarm her and he kicked Blazer into motion again.

“No,” she insisted as she twisted around to watch the dust cloud grow.  “It’s still coming toward us!  Do you think someone is following us?”

“It’s doubtful,” he said as he wheeled Blazer around to take a better look. “Could be a lone rider just headed in our direction.”

“Why would he be running his horse in this stifling heat?” she asked, which caused Travis to wonder about that also.

“Crazy—or stupid,” he said as he stroked his chin in speculation.  Then, as if to himself, he said, “Maybe we should find cover.”

Savannah looked around at the low vegetation and argued, “But there’s nowhere to hide.”

“Yes there is,” Travis said with confidence as he tapped her leg and ordered, “Get down.”

She started to protest, but he had already pushed her off the horse and was guiding her to the ground.  He dismounted and stood in front of the Palomino, patting the horse’s chest and commanding, “Down, Blazer.”

The horse obeyed by kneeling on his front legs and then falling gently to his side with a grunt.  Blazer lay motionless as Travis dove between the Palomino’s legs and pressed his head against its belly and then pulled Savannah down beside him on the ground.

They waited while the cloud grew larger and quickly came closer to them.  Travis told Savannah he could tell by the vibration on the ground that it was only one rider so there was probably a good chance that they could pick him off before he could open fire on them.  Savannah edged closer to Travis when the thundering hooves became more prominent, their pounding causing an ominous vibration beneath her body.  Travis drew the rifle from its scabbard on the saddle and aimed it toward the rising cloud of dust.  Very slowly and meticulously, he eased back the trigger and pressed his face against the wooden stock.

Suddenly, Blazer whinnied and raised his head slightly, causing both people to start in surprise, but Travis was the first to recover and he scolded the horse as he commanded it to lie still and be quiet.  The Palomino complied with a grunt of annoyance. 

Through the thunder that gathered closer to them, there was a faint whinny that wafted through the amber cloud.  Recognizing it, Savannah jumped to her feet and clambered over Blazer’s belly to run toward the cloud.

“Got Damn it, woman.  Get down!” Travis growled as he pulled angrily on the skirt that slipped from his grip as she continued over the barrier.

“It’s Dixie!” she called behind her excitedly as she stumbled into the cloud of dust.  Her voice was barely audible above the hoof beats as she shouted, “She followed us!”

Travis slapped his hat upon the saddle, startling Blazer, who quickly got to his feet. Then, Travis pulled himself up to a sitting position and narrowed his eyes at the scene that unfolded when the dust finally settled around the woman and her long lost horse.

“Well, I’ll be Got Damned!” he muttered as he got to his feet and released the trigger on the rifle.

As he stood in dumbfounded amazement, Savannah raised her hand toward the bucking and rearing mare that stopped just inches from her and dipped her head at her mistress in delight.  When Dixie stopped her excited dancing, Savannah threw her arms around the horse’s neck and cried, “You’re alright!  You found us!”

Shaking his head, Travis took the mare’s halter in his hand and peered down at the leg that had been plaguing the horse.  There seemed to be no swelling and the mare did not seem to be favoring it anymore.  He bent to take the hoof into his hand and examined the inside, which had been hot with fever before and he felt that it was now barely warm to the touch.  He shook his head in amazement and swore under his breath as he let the hoof fall to the ground again as he muttered under his breath, “Must have been a cactus thorn.” 

Whatever had troubled the mare before was now gone and for a horse to travel half a day in the broiling heat at breakneck speed, she must be well now.  Travis did not relay his feelings to Savannah, who stood rubbing the mare’s nose and talking softly to her.  Instead, he took a rope from his saddle and tied it to the Appaloosa’s halter.  He turned around and, holding the rope in his fist, he strode back toward the Palomino.

Savannah looked questioningly at his actions, but he did not acknowledge that he had noticed her.  He tied the other end of the rope to the saddle horn and then looked at Savannah.  Without saying a word, he nodded for her to mount up after him.  As soon as she was sitting behind him, he nudged Blazer into a walk.

“Aren’t you going to let her rest,” she asked, twisting around to see that Dixie was following. 

“Nope.  We can’t afford to lose the time,” he said, his head facing forward.  “She’ll be alright.  We only have a few more hours until nightfall, then we’ll set up camp and she can rest all night long.”

When he said no more, she accepted his explanation without further interrogation, for she knew that Dixie needed to walk off her muscles anyway and what better way than in the direction of where they were going?  She smiled to herself at the amazing feat that her loyal horse had accomplished.  Dixie must love her as much as she loved her mare.  It was a nice feeling to be loved.

A familiar sadness overcame her as she realized that the love from a man had somehow eluded her all these years.  Sure, she had been courted by boys when she was young, but she had never felt that surge of love which should have blossomed between her and a prospective beau.  And Diego only pretended to love her, that, she could tell from the beginning, which was one of the reasons that she had objected to the marriage.  But, it seemed to her that she was destined to be lonely but she was prepared to accept that fate.  As long as she had her son to love, she would be happy.