Gravel scraped outside the lean-to. The acrid scent of a cheroot blew into the enclosure.
"What are you two hiding from?"
Together they stepped out and spotted the orange glow of his cigar. He'd been wise enough to pull on a coat.
"What do you want, Ruiz?" Anton draped his arm around Rain Shadow's shoulder protectively.
"I do not see how it is any of your business, plowboy."
Anton stiffened. "I'm makin' it my business."
"Ah, he's 'makin" it his business," he said to Rain Shadow, mimicking Anton's clipped speech.
"There's nothing for you here," she said quickly. "Why did you come?"
"I tried to tell you the other day when you would not give me the chance, querida."
"And I told you, I'm not interested. You might as well be on your way."
He sucked the cheroot till the embers glowed. The smoke turned Rain Shadow's stomach. "Where is the nino?"
Her heart slammed against her ribs like a loaded wagon hitting a brick wall. "Who?"
"The black-haired Indian boy with the broken leg. I heard about him. Are you hiding him?"
A waterfall roared inside her head. Over the rushing sound, she made out Anton's voice. "Look, Ruiz. Why don't you just move on? I'd hate to have to get the good townspeople to remove you."
"You would not want to make a scene." He flicked the end of his cheroot into the yard. "Is he mine?"
Rain Shadow forced her voice to work. "Who?"
"The boy. Is he mine?"
"You're unbelievably conceited. Of course he's not yours."
"His age is correct."
"He's not yours," she said convincingly because she meant it.
His laugh sounded more like a sneer. "You and the widower had better get back inside before his other girlfriend sends out a search party."
"Thanks for the warning," Anton said in a sarcastic tone.
"I must wonder why you have a respectable girl in there but you are out here with the squaw."
She was fast, but she wasn't strong enough to prevent Anton from leaping away from her. His fist cracked against Miguel's jaw with a pop that sounded like a rake handle breaking. Miguel landed unceremoniously in the drive. He scrambled to his feet and lunged. Anton sidestepped, caught Miguel's coat front and flung him away. He crouched and circled the dark man.
"He is ill-tempered, querida. You belong with me. My skin is dark, too. I would not hide you in the shadows like he does. He is ashamed of his desire for you."
Shame washed over Rain Shadow in a hideous, black torrent. How foolish she'd been to ever trust this man! He was contemptible.
A low growl erupted from Anton's throat. He lashed out with one long leg and caught Miguel in the stomach with his boot. Miguel groaned and fell to his knees on the black ground. Anton rushed at him, pummeling his face with a solid right, then a left.
Miguel pivoted away. In moments be recovered, staggered to his feet and poised himself. A silver glimmer of steel glinted in the moonlight.
"Anton, a knife!" Instinctively, Rain Shadow reached for the knife she always wore in her boot, her hand meeting only the short top of Annette's shoe. She didn't have her knife!
Miguel crouched and feinted. Anton circled warily. Miguel lunged and Anton deflected the knife, thrust his shoulder into Miguel's chest and shoved him backward. Miguel staggered. "Are you hot for her, widow man?" he panted. "She is a warm-blooded feline, is she not? Not good enough to marry, however. You will marry the cool miss in the gingham dress." He laughed. "No surprises."
Before either of them caught their balance, Anton had one enormous hand around Miguel's throat, pinning him to the ground. Rain Shadow hedged around the two scuffling men, mindful of their flying legs as they grappled for an upper position. They rolled, Miguel coming up on top. She rushed in, grabbing the back of his coat and yanking.
"Get back!" Anton shouted, enraged. Another sound escaped him, this time one of pain, and he cursed violently.
"Anton!"
"Get back!" He groaned. The terrible sound sent her running toward the stable door.
"A gun!" she demanded of the group of men sitting inside the doorway. "I need a gun!"
"What'sa matter, little lady?" a gray-bearded gentleman asked, peering over the tops of his spectacles.
"I need a gun. Now!"
"Amos, you got a gun?" Doc asked quietly from a checkers game behind her.
The stable owner started to rise. "On the wall opposite the forge."
"Is it loaded?" Rain Shadow asked, spinning.
"Yes, ma'am."
Skirts flying, she took off at a run, dodging dancers. Seconds later, the crowd parted and stared, but the music continued. Rain Shadow tore across the room, cocking the Remington. The old men were the first to follow her out the door.
"Miguel, you black heart! Get off him, right now!" she shouted into the cold night air. She fired the rifle into the sky, the shot echoing between the buildings. Closer, she was surprised to see Anton leave his prominent position in the scuffle and stagger backward. "Get out of here, or my next shot won't be aimed at the stars!"
Deliberately, she cocked the rifle and leveled it. "And you know I hit what I aim for."
Miguel stood slowly. "He is not for you. You will be sorry."
"I'm already sorry."
The old men and several dancers gathered outside the stable, the curious crowd growing.
"You have not seen the last of me. I have some information you will find extremely interesting."
She lowered the barrel from its skyward position. "The next time I see you I'll aim for your black heart. Or whatever passes for one."
Miguel edged toward the corner of the barn. "This information concerns the owner of a briolette-cut gemstone. Think about it, querida. "
A minute later, atop his magnificent stallion, he leapt the corral fence and galloped away into the night.
Holding his shoulder, Anton plopped ungracefully onto his behind on the hard-packed drive. Amazingly, he chuckled.
Lowering the rifle, Rain Shadow ran to him. "Are you all right?"
"Do I look all right?"
She knelt beside him. "You're bleeding!"
"And you thought I wasn't human." He flopped on his back.
"Get the doctor!" she shouted over her shoulder. Two Feathers appeared at her side. "Father, bring the travois I made for Slade."
The crowd moved in for a closer look.
Doc knelt on Anton's other side. "Bring a lantern!" Erich Spengler held a kerosene lamp over Anton's feet. The left side of Anton's shirt glistened crimson with blood. Rain Shadow unbuttoned it with trembling fingers. Doc peeled the fabric away from his shoulder.
Unconsciously, Anton waved his right hand toward her. She grasped it and resisted pressing her lips against his knuckles. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Had Miguel's words infuriated Anton so because they were true? Hadn't she thought the same things herself? Hadn't she suspected he was sickened by his desire for her? This was all her fault. She patted his face and spoke more loudly. "I said I'm sorry. Can you hear me?"
Eyes shut, forehead creased, he nodded and pressed his thumb into her palm. "I have one good ear, and you're nearly yelling."
"Let's take him home and clean this up," Doc said with a chuckle. "He's too ornery to die. You okay, missy?"
She nodded.
Above Doc, the glow of the lantern illuminated a face. A pale oval face, framed by nutmeg tresses. Sissy.
Chapter Nine
Pale, freckled hands smoothed the blanket and tucked the coverlet under Anton's chin. Rain Shadow watched Sissy fuss over Anton's long, sleeping form and turned away. Picking up the gory rags, she dropped them into the already bloodstained basin of water. Of course Sissy's hands were soft and smooth. She hadn't boiled cheesecloth in soda water to make rags. She hadn't wrung out blistering hot dressings and soaked them in carbolic acid to disinfect Anton's wound. She hadn't washed the doctor's instruments and retrieved them from the hot oven.
No, while Annette and Rain Shadow prepared dressings, Sissy hovered in the bedroom doorway, reluctant to watch Doc clean the wound. Jakob sat on Anton's legs for the suturing, Rain Shadow snipping lengths of catgut and threading the needles.
Now, after swallowing a third of a bottle of the corn liquor Johann produced, Anton slept. And Sissy fussed. She plumped the pillows behind Anton's head. Rain Shadow swallowed a momentary wave of distaste and carried the basin downstairs.
She dumped the water before looking in on the boys, lying side by side in the enormous bed. To Slade's delight, Rain Shadow had moved her son into Nikolaus' room so that Anton could recuperate in his own bed. Both children turned sleepy heads toward her.