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mean he agreed with them or even liked them. No doubt he didn’t want to be with her any more than she wanted him there. Another adjustment she’d learn to make: In the army, one had to make the best of any situation one found oneself in.
    Since he didn’t seem inclined to talk, she broke the silence.
    “Kane, what did you say to Reynolds and John Eagle in your office after the fight?”
    “Why do you ask? Have they caused a problem in school?” He looked at her sharply.
    She shook her head. “Quite the opposite. They were model students yesterday. That’s why I wondered what you said.”
    Before they crossed the narrow dirt road to the mess hall on the other side, he stopped her. She heard the clip-clop of hooves and the creak of a saddle, and the odor of an approaching horse drifted to them. They waited while a soldier on his roan passed by. As he did, the soldier saluted. “Captain.” He nodded at Cady. “Ma’am.”
    Kane returned the salute and they continued walking. “I restricted the boys to the post for a month.” His expression turned grim when he glanced over his shoulder at the horse soldier, then down at her. “That means no riding. As an outlet for their energy, I also gave them a list of chores to do every day after school.”
    “Oh, my.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing, except they’re going to be very busy. My punishment was standards. Reynolds has to write two hundred times ‘I will not start a fight.’”
    His forehead creased in confusion. “Why not ‘I will not fight?’”
    “There are times when you can’t avoid it. I was more lenient with John. He contributed to the situation, buthe didn’t start the fight. He has to write one hundred times ‘I will think before I speak.’”
    “Why?” he asked. She stumbled over a rock, and he slowed and steadied her before strolling on again.
    “He deliberately provoked Reynolds with what he said. I wanted to teach them to choose their battles wisely. There’s a time to walk away and a time to stand firm.”
    “You do have brothers, don’t you?”
    “I do indeed.” She smiled fondly. “My father always told them, Don’t start anything. But by God if anyone else does, you damn well better finish it.”
    He looked down at her, obviously surprised by her swearing. “Cady Tanner, what would Miss Biddle say?”
    She smiled. “She’d ask me if I quoted accurately.”
    He laughed. “Your father makes a lot of sense.” Then he sobered. “I only hope R. J. learns something from this. It’s going to be a long month for him without his horse.”
    “The best-learned lessons are the most painful ones. Reynolds won’t soon forget this, and perhaps the next time he’s tempted to fight he’ll think twice.”
    “Well, maybe.”
    In the distance, she saw the guards at the fort’s perimeter and wondered again why there was no wall around the group of buildings that comprised Fort McDowell. The sight of the soldiers cradling rifles in their arms like babies was becoming familiar to her—and a constant reminder that danger lurked beyond the scattering of adobe buildings.
    “What about John Eagle?” she asked. “I didn’t expect to have an Indian in my class, not that it’s a problem. But he stands apart from the rest. I just wondered why.”
    “The Apaches don’t trust the whites. And they have good reason.”
    “Then why is he here at the fort, going to a white man’s school?”
    “His father is an army scout, probably the best we have. It’s his wish that John learn our ways as well as his own. He can see changes coming that will affect the Indian way of life. He wants his son to be prepared for both worlds.”
    “How does John feel about it?”
    Kane shrugged. “He doesn’t say much. But Indians are taught to respect their parents and elders. He’ll do whatever he’s told.”
    “Tell me about the boys’ friendship. I gather they were close?”
    “Inseparable. Where one was, you knew you’d find the