Carolyn Davidson by Runaway Page A

“I’m not going to be owing you for the rest of my life. I’m already in debt with no way of paying you back for what you’ve done for me.”
    If she were a different sort of female, he’d be able tocome up with a solution to that problem in no time flat, Will thought idly, his thoughts never far from the needy condition he’d been dealing with for the past week or so. For such a mite of a girl, Cassie was about the nicest armful he’d ever managed to snuggle up against.
    The campfire was small, but heat radiated from the rock wall behind her. Will’s eagle eye had spied the site from the trail, and he’d managed to get the fire built and the animals tethered in no time. The sun slid beneath the horizon quickly, and Cassie spread their blankets between the small blaze and the curving rock wall that formed a shallow cave.
    “You get enough to eat?” he asked, watching her deft movements as she made a pillow of sorts from his heavy coat.
    She nodded, kneeling in the glow of the fire, her eyes not quite making contact with his, her teeth touching her lower lip in concentration. She’d been antsy since sunset, Will realized. Maybe since earlier this afternoon.
    “What’s wrong, Cassie?” He’d done his own share of worrying over the past few days, but now that they were settled for the night, and he’d done the best he could to make them safe and secure, he was ready to get some rest. There’d be no rest if Cassie was on edge.
    “I feel like someone’s watching me.” Her mouth barely moved as she whispered the words, her hands busy with squaring up the heavy garment she planned to tuck beneath her head for the night.
    “Yeah.” There was someone out there somewhere. He’d be willing to bet on it. “I’ve got my gun, Cassie, but I don’t think he’s lookin’ to have a shoot-out. He’s had a couple of days to bushwhack us if that’s what he was plannin’ to do.”
    She moved her blanket back into the shelter of the rock overhang and sat on it, her eyes darting past Will to scan the darkness. The boots she’d worn all day were side by side nearer the fire, she’d tended to her business behind a cluster of trees at twilight, and now she cast one last searching look into the surrounding area.
    “I’m going to try to sleep,” she announced, her jaw set as she curled on her side, reaching back to pull the blanket over her shoulder. “Why don’t you come sit on this side of the fire, Will?”
    “Yeah, I reckon it’s time for me to stretch out, too,” he told her, hoisting himself to his feet. “I’ll just be a minute, Cassie. I’m not goin’ far.”
    He couldn’t mistake the moment of panic that flashed across her face, the widening of her eyes as he backed from the small camp. There was no point in telling her an untruth. The watcher was very likely nearby. And yet Will had spoken the truth as he saw it. If the man meant them harm, he’d had every chance in the world to do his worst. Something about the whole situation failed to add up.
    Noiselessly, each footstep measured and cautious, Will walked the perimeter of the area he’d chosen for their camp. And then, in the shadow of an oak tree, he glimpsed the silent figure who watched and waited.
    Easing off to his left, Will moved in a wide arc, taking advantage of every bush and tree, willing the clouds that covered the moon and stars to stay in place, affording him a degree of concealment as he made his way behind the observer’s chosen spot. Stealthily he eased behind the oak tree, his footsteps silent, his breathing measured and soundless. The man who watched and waited had not moved. Indeed, like a statue, he melted into the shadows, not a whisper of sound betraying his presence.
    Will moved from behind the tree, one hand on the buttof his pistol. “You plannin’ on spendin’ the night keepin’ an eye on us?” His words were quiet, carrying only as far as the shaded area they shared beneath the tree.
    The intruder moved, and