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his peace with the elder Cordell.
    Looking around, he imagined owning the ranch and the horses that pranced about in the nearby enclosures. The image brought a peace of mind he hadn’t experienced in years, although Kit’s presence disturbed him. Whether she knew it or not, and whether he liked it or not, she stood in his way.
    “Would you like to see Satan?” Kit asked.
    Seeing the excitement brimming in her eyes, Jake wanted to forget she was his adversary. But he’d dreamed his dream for too long. He’d do what he had to do to possess what was rightfully his. “Sure.”
    Johnny ran ahead of them.
    “Does he always have that much energy?” Jake asked.
    She smiled, and he could almost touch the love in her expression. “Usually he has more.”
    Curiously bereft, Jake frowned. “I haven’t been around kids much. Sometimes I wonder what I’d be doing now if I hadn’t turned to bounty hunting to get my father’s killer.”
    “You sound bitter.”
    “Maybe I am. I don’t know. I see you with your son and this ranch, and it makes me wonder.”
    “You’ve done a lot of good, Jake. Think of all the lives you’ve saved by bringing in those outlaws.”
    “But what price did I pay?”
    Kit adjusted her spectacles, then slid her hands into her jacket pockets. “That’s something only you can answer,” she said with a husky voice.
    She had a point, even though he wasn’t certain he was ready to confront his conscience.
    “Satan’s in here,” Johnny stated when they reached the larger of the two barns. “You have to be quiet or he gets upset.”
    Jake leaned close to Kit. “That sounds like Ma talking.”
    Her cheeks reddened, and she gave a rueful nod.
    Johnny opened the door and led him to a stall at the far end. When Jake had been a child he’d spent many hours playing in the barn, although the building had been empty back then. The rich aroma of horses and fresh hay surrounded him, a strong but not unpleasant mixture. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he distinguished the figure of a tall black stallion. Satan threw back his regal head, his ebony mane dancing across his neck.
    “He’s beautiful,” Jake whispered in awe. “Where did you get him?”
    Kit stretched out her arm toward the horse, and he nuzzled her hand. Patting his forehead, Kit turned to Jake. “An auction in Denver. He was more dead than alive at the time.” Fury colored her words. “The former owners tried to tame him using a whip. The only thing it did was scar him. I took one look into his eyes, and knew he wasn’t the devil they thought he was.”
    Leave it to Kit to buy a horse no one else could handle. Or wanted. “So you bought him.”
    “I worked with him every day for six months to get him to trust me.”
    Jake studied the woman and the horse who nuzzled her ear. His throat tightened. The taunts and cruel jokesshe’d endured as a child had made her stronger, more prepared to face adversity.
    “Something wrong, Jake?” Kit asked.
    He forced a smile. “Nothing worth talking about.”
    “Nobody but Ma can ride him,” Johnny said. “But I think when I’m big enough, he’ll let me ride him, too. He’s a stud horse. What does that mean, Mr. Cordell? Ma won’t tell me.”
    Jake’s face warmed as he wondered how to explain horse breeding to a young boy. He glanced at Kit, whose eyes twinkled with amusement. No help to be found there. “Well, ah, I guess it means he’s a good daddy.”
    Johnny nodded. “Ma says my pa was a good man. She says I’m a lot like him. Sometimes I wish he was here now.” He glanced at Jake. “I wish my ma would marry you, instead of Mr. Preston.”
    “I have no plans to marry Mr. Preston,” Kit stated, then added hastily, “—or Jake.”
    “Who’s Mr. Preston?” Jake asked.
    “He owns the paper.”
    “He’s got Toby breath,” Johnny said with a scowl. Jake snorted with laughter. “He was courtin’ Ma.”
    The thought of another man exploring her enticing curves