Tried and True (Wild at Heart Book #1) (13 page)

“That makes good sense.” Kylie smiled at him as if he were the strongest man on earth, and blast it if she didn’t make him feel like some kind of hero.

“Of course, that’s just the front of your cabin. It does nothing for the woods in the back or the side yard. The pond makes for decent protection on the south side.”

“So I can only get killed from two directions?” Kylie sounded faint as she clutched her dress’s collar with both hands. “Lucky me.”

When he imagined himself reaching for her again, he quickly pivoted and marched toward the first tree. He made sure she didn’t come too close and yet was a little disappointed to see she stayed well back of him, outside of grabbing range. But he didn’t want to accidently whack her with the ax, so it was for the best. He got a firm grip—on the ax, not so much on his mixed-up fascination with Kylie—and swung all his frustration into chopping trees.

It didn’t help much. If he kept at it until he calmed down all the way, he’d have the forest stripped all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

K
ylie was surprised by how much she enjoyed building a chicken coop. “The little notches fit together like puzzle pieces.” The construction work around here had always been either heavy work with big logs or fine work for furniture.

Bailey liked the heavy work, while Shannon liked the fine work.

Kylie liked neither, so she mostly fetched and carried for the two of them. True, she had to put up with being insulted on occasion, but she figured it was a fair trade for getting out of hard work.

But this chicken coop was right in the middle. Not too strenuous, nothing fancy about it. The saplings, about four inches in diameter, weren’t so heavy that Kylie couldn’t lift them, and the construction wasn’t so delicate that she could mess it up. And watching Aaron chop down the trees in a few swift blows was very entertaining. His broad
shoulders and the way his muscles rippled beneath his shirt were, in fact, riveting.

Aaron smiled as he kneeled across the small coop from her. His blue eyes flashed. He’d tossed his hat aside. The sweat on his brow had soaked his blond hair to a deeper shade, and his fair skin, already tinged from too much sun, turned pink from the exertion.

They worked their way up, adding aspens, snapping the building together as though it were a toy. It was working out to be about ten feet square, because that was the length of the aspens before they started to taper.

When the walls were just begun, Aaron looked across the top of the building at her. “It’s time for the noon meal.”

“I’ll go put something on,” Kylie offered.

Woman’s work. It almost made her giddy. She hurried toward the cabin, while Aaron stayed outside and did manly things. Normal life was amazingly pleasant.

Once the meal she contrived was finished, they went back to work and put in a good afternoon’s labor. The upper half of the walls went slower, including a doorway and a little ramp for the chickens to walk up.

“I think we’re ready to start on the roof,” Aaron said. He glanced at the sky, and Kylie noticed the sun was getting low in the west.

“You’ve got a long ride back to town,” she said. She hated to see him go.

He nodded. “You’re a good hand, Kylie.” He looked down at her mouth, and she could swear she felt the look all the way to her belly.

No one had ever told her she was a good hand before.
In fact, her sisters treated her like she was nothing but a nuisance.

As Kylie stood there, looking at him next to her chickenless chicken coop, she tried to remember why she wanted to go back East so badly. Not a single reason came to mind.

It was something about bonnets and tea. Honestly, it had been years since she’d had a cup of tea. What did it even taste like?

The snapping of a twig turned Aaron away from her. He rounded the coop and put himself between Kylie and the woods. His gun came up with an easy motion. He’d had his gun holstered, always to hand, but he’d been working steadily and she hadn’t even noticed he was armed. But he was, and he was aware of his surroundings and quick to step between her and trouble. His first instinct was to protect her.

Kylie’s heart twisted with a pleasure that almost brought tears. When had a man ever protected her? Pa sure as certain never did; he’d sent her to war, for heaven’s sake. And Jimmy, well, she’d loved her big brother, but he hadn’t spent too much time worrying about his little sister.

Movement from the forest drew her attention. Waving branches transformed into human form as Sunrise emerged from the woods. Her deerskin clothing and long dark braids were so well matched to the woods, she seemed part of them. Sunrise had a bow and a quiverful of arrows hung over her body that crisscrossed her chest. She carried a heavy-cloth bag in one hand.

Sunrise looked over at the new building. “A chicken coop?”

“Yep.” Aaron holstered his gun. “I appreciate the warning.”

Kylie didn’t know what Aaron meant by that.

“I am silent when I choose to be.” She held up two sticks, one in each hand, and tossed them aside.

The snapping twig? Sunrise had done that on purpose?

“It’s a good notion to warn folks in a land where most everyone carries a six-gun.” Aaron turned back to the coop.

“I have dinner soon.” Sunrise hoisted the bag. “Quail. Wild chickens that need no building.”

“Maybe, but I don’t have to hunt in the woods for hours to find a chicken. They’re in a pen just ten feet from my back door.”

“I like hunting. I have hours.” She nodded at the coop. “You build a bit longer if you wish while I cook. I finish the coop tomorrow. No hurry with no chickens.” She smiled, but the smile soon faded. “Tracks from those who attacked. I read their story.” With that, she headed straight for the cabin.

The sharp interest in Aaron’s eyes told Kylie the man wasn’t going to be heading for town anytime soon.

It was impossible to keep the smile off her face.

“What’re you grinning for? She’s going to tell us about who attacked you yesterday.”

“I’ve got three people for the evening meal, and not one of them is related to me.” Kylie shrugged one shoulder and smiled even wider. “It’s almost like I’m throwing a dinner party.”

She rushed after Sunrise to get ready for the biggest social event since she’d moved here.

Aaron split logs for the roof until Kylie called him in for supper. When he walked up to her on the porch, he
didn’t plan to take her hand, but somehow he ended up doing it anyway.

She paused to look at the simple little building. “I enjoyed working with you, Aaron. You’re not as bossy as Bailey. You don’t look like you pity me, like Shannon, and you’re not critical like Pa.”

“Why would I be bossy or treat you like you’re pitiful? Your help got that coop a lot further along than I’d have done on my own.” He glanced back at the building. “I think you need to know—your family’s a bunch of half-wits.”

Kylie smiled at that.

He got the door for her and let her go in ahead of him, careful to let go of her hand. No sense letting Sunrise see that. Not that Sunrise struck him as being much of a gossip.

Kylie bustled around setting the table. He could see that working in the kitchen suited her, and he pondered how he could turn her into a woman with normal chores. The best way was to marry her, of course. But he already knew she didn’t want the life he could offer. And he wasn’t going to treat her like her family and force her to give up her dream by insisting she follow him into the wilderness.

Sunrise set fried quail on the table, along with biscuits, potatoes, and a steaming bowl of gravy.

“It all smells great.” His stomach growled as the three of them sat down to the meal.

They ate quietly. After the meal was done and Kylie had poured them each a cup of coffee, Aaron was ready to listen to Sunrise’s story.

“Tell me about the tracks,” he said.

Sunrise looked from Aaron to Kylie. “Not my people.”

Aaron nodded. “We figured as much. Do you know who they were?”

“Three riders. One a woman.”

Kylie blinked. “A woman? Are you sure?”

Sunrise gave Kylie a strange look. “Would I have said it if I was not sure?”

Kylie flushed. “I wasn’t doubting you, Sunrise. I’m sorry if it sounded that way. I was just surprised. I don’t know why I would be.” She sounded exasperated. “Women do all sorts of things you’d believe were men’s work. And not just in the West.”

“They went straight down the trail to town,” Sunrise went on. “Three riders may have entered town together after the attack.”

“I can ask around and find out,” Aaron offered.

“One was bleeding heavily, not the woman. Three riders enter town, one wounded.”

With grim satisfaction, Aaron said, “I’ve got me some clues to follow. What else did you see?”

“Woman has small feet, skinny, not deep prints. Not many women around.”

“No, not many at all.” Kylie looked at Aaron. “So few that it narrows down who it could be by quite a lot—assuming folks in town know she’s a woman.”

Sunrise tilted her head, confused. “How could anyone not know that? Even if they dress in manly clothing like your sister, Bailey, anyone with two eyes can tell a woman from a man.”

Kylie must’ve swallowed her coffee wrong, because she started choking.

Casually, Aaron reached over and whacked her between the shoulder blades until she started breathing again.

“Y-you know Bailey is a woman?”

Wrinkles appeared on Sunrise’s forehead. “Yes, I know.”

“Does she know?”

Sunrise looked confused again. “Do you mean, does your
sister
know she is a woman? You are not sure if she knows? How could she not know this?”

Kylie giggled. “Of course Bailey knows. I mean does she know
you
know?”

Sunrise sighed. “Do you want to hear about those who attacked you?”

“Sorry. Please go on. Although I’m really looking forward to seeing my big sister again.”

Aaron noticed a definite smirk on Kylie’s face as she went back to drinking her coffee.

“I found hairs from a black mane or tail tangled in a scrub pine. Look for such a horse. The men were of a size. Not long-legged, not heavy. Their boots showed much wear, so look for old boots. The woman wore old boots with a small heel. They attacked soon after they arrived. The horses were tied so they could not graze. The riders had a short stay in mind.”

“Two men and a woman. Slender, worn boots, a horse with a black mane.” Kylie looked at Aaron, who’d eased back in his chair at the same time Kylie leaned forward. He had intelligent blue eyes, and she could tell he was sorting through all he’d heard.

“I found arrows that had gone wild. Not good with the bow.”

“At least one of them was,” Aaron said. “The house was hit repeatedly.”

“But it was missed, too. I think one of these three has good aim.”

“I’m not sure how to test people on their skill with a bow,” Kylie said. “But it’s another clue to their identity. Surely three people in league with each other will be noticeably friendly in town.”

Aaron nodded. “But I’m not going to assume they live in Aspen Ridge just because they rode that way. It’s the main trail west from your homestead and it doesn’t branch out for a while. There are a lot of homesteaders around, some mountain men, fur traders, including a few who are married.”

Kylie thought of something else. Here sat Sunrise, a woman married to a fur trader, eating with two whites. And Sunrise was good with a bow. Could one of the attackers have been Indian? If so, that would explain the English they’d overheard. Kylie knew Sunrise had given them solid clues, but at the same time she’d taken away a few things they thought they were sure of. Frustrated, Kylie didn’t know if this was a step forward or back.

“Thank you for the meal, ladies. Sunrise, you’ve given me a lot to work with. I’d best be getting on.” Aaron rose from the table. The days were long, but they’d worn this one clean out. It was already dusk and he had a long ride in the night to get home.

Kylie felt a twinge of fear and had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from asking him to stay.

He went to the door and plucked his hat off a hook, then turned to meet Kylie’s eyes, looking worried and so kind. “Can you step outside with me for a moment?”

Sunrise stood and went to the basin on a small cupboard where Kylie washed her dishes. Ignoring them.

Kylie knew she shouldn’t go out, because all she could think of was that she wanted a goodbye kiss and she knew she shouldn’t be wanting that. She wasn’t interested in staying here, and that was exactly what Aaron had planned. Her heart sank to think of how easily she could be persuaded to give up her dreams.

Even with all that in her head, she followed him out the door of the cabin.

Aaron knew he needed to leave her alone, but he invited her outside for a private moment, and did she refuse? Did she tell him to get going and leave her to plan her life back East, where he couldn’t bear to return? No. He’d lured her outside, and the little minx had come right along with him.

What he wanted to do was reassure her she’d be safe, maybe even offer to stay. Instead, he pulled her into his arms.

Why was she so cooperative?