free. I thought that maybe Brice or some of his friends had come and would find where Volney and
I had hid Bonnie.”
He looked down into her luminous face, soft mouth and brilliant eyes. He wanted desperately to believe her, yet he had to
persist with what he knew to be a fact.
“I staked her out while I fished in the river.”
“She was running free,” Lorna said calmly. “I climbed the cliff and looked off down the valley. I saw her among the trees.
When I was sure she was alone, I went to her.”
“You went to her? She let you walk right up to her?” An edge had crept into Cooper’s voice. If Lorna noticed it she never
let on.
“Not at first,” she explained patiently. “I talked to her for awhile. Then I rode her around the mountain. It was a long way.
I didn’t want to be gone from Bonnie for so long, but I couldn’t bring her down the side of the cliff.”
“You want me to believe that you rode a half broken horse for a good fifteen or twenty miles—at night, without a saddle or
bridle?” What she was saying was impossible and disappointment knifed through Cooper. The mare could have slipped the halter
and run free, he conceded silently, but as for the rest of it…
“I don’t lie. If you think I do, take your horse and go.”
He looked at her and noted the wariness in her eyes and the tightness that had come into her face. “Lorna, I want to believe
you—”
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug and when she brought them down they seemed to slump, as if she, too, was suffering from
a keen disappointment. She turned to walk away from him, then paused and turned back.
“ ‘Truth is unadorned, falsehoods are wrapped in cunning phrases.’ ” She quoted the words quietly and turned away.
The quote had such a familiar ring that Cooper called after her, “Who said that?”
She stopped, but didn’t turn around. “I did,” she said firmly, and walked rapidly to the cabin.
Chapter
Four
It was night, and Cooper restlessly prowled along the stony bank of the creek where he had thrown out his bedroll. He debated
about building a fire and boiling coffee, but decided against it. A fire, no matter how small, could be seen from the hills
above and he didn’t want to be the cause of bringing more trouble down on Lorna and Bonnie.
He thought of the glitter that had come into Lorna’s eyes and how her face had tightened when he insinuated she was lying.
But, godammit! How could he think anything else? Now, after he’d thought about how she’d handled the horses, he wasn’t so
sure that she couldn’t have done exactly what she said. It was uncanny how still Roscoe had stood when she went up to him.
The stallion didn’t like strangers, women in particular, yet he didn’t turn a hair while she patted his rump and swung his
tail. Was the woman a … witch? If not, she certainly was a charmer.
Just thinking about Lorna made him uncomfortable and warm. It hampered his thinking, as sensuality assumed dominance over
his mind. He knew very little about women, but he knew men and their ways. Since he was a boy he’d been able to pick the ones
who dreamed and created from the ones who raped and destroyed. The only woman in his life had been his mother, Sylvia. He
thought of her now, back on the ranch near Junction City. She had really bloomed this last year and all because Arnie Henderson
had come calling. Cooper chuckled when he remembered how embarrassed his mother had been at first. Arnie had come out from
Illinois to work for Logan Horn, and now Cooper suspected he was urging his mother to move to the Morning Sun spread. He would
miss her, but she deserved all the happiness she could get. God knew, she hadn’t had much when she was young.
His thoughts came back to the present. He had found his mare. The sensible thing to do would be to take the horse and ride
out. Griffin would stay with the women, so he’d not have
that
on his conscience. But an
I had hid Bonnie.”
He looked down into her luminous face, soft mouth and brilliant eyes. He wanted desperately to believe her, yet he had to
persist with what he knew to be a fact.
“I staked her out while I fished in the river.”
“She was running free,” Lorna said calmly. “I climbed the cliff and looked off down the valley. I saw her among the trees.
When I was sure she was alone, I went to her.”
“You went to her? She let you walk right up to her?” An edge had crept into Cooper’s voice. If Lorna noticed it she never
let on.
“Not at first,” she explained patiently. “I talked to her for awhile. Then I rode her around the mountain. It was a long way.
I didn’t want to be gone from Bonnie for so long, but I couldn’t bring her down the side of the cliff.”
“You want me to believe that you rode a half broken horse for a good fifteen or twenty miles—at night, without a saddle or
bridle?” What she was saying was impossible and disappointment knifed through Cooper. The mare could have slipped the halter
and run free, he conceded silently, but as for the rest of it…
“I don’t lie. If you think I do, take your horse and go.”
He looked at her and noted the wariness in her eyes and the tightness that had come into her face. “Lorna, I want to believe
you—”
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug and when she brought them down they seemed to slump, as if she, too, was suffering from
a keen disappointment. She turned to walk away from him, then paused and turned back.
“ ‘Truth is unadorned, falsehoods are wrapped in cunning phrases.’ ” She quoted the words quietly and turned away.
The quote had such a familiar ring that Cooper called after her, “Who said that?”
She stopped, but didn’t turn around. “I did,” she said firmly, and walked rapidly to the cabin.
Chapter
Four
It was night, and Cooper restlessly prowled along the stony bank of the creek where he had thrown out his bedroll. He debated
about building a fire and boiling coffee, but decided against it. A fire, no matter how small, could be seen from the hills
above and he didn’t want to be the cause of bringing more trouble down on Lorna and Bonnie.
He thought of the glitter that had come into Lorna’s eyes and how her face had tightened when he insinuated she was lying.
But, godammit! How could he think anything else? Now, after he’d thought about how she’d handled the horses, he wasn’t so
sure that she couldn’t have done exactly what she said. It was uncanny how still Roscoe had stood when she went up to him.
The stallion didn’t like strangers, women in particular, yet he didn’t turn a hair while she patted his rump and swung his
tail. Was the woman a … witch? If not, she certainly was a charmer.
Just thinking about Lorna made him uncomfortable and warm. It hampered his thinking, as sensuality assumed dominance over
his mind. He knew very little about women, but he knew men and their ways. Since he was a boy he’d been able to pick the ones
who dreamed and created from the ones who raped and destroyed. The only woman in his life had been his mother, Sylvia. He
thought of her now, back on the ranch near Junction City. She had really bloomed this last year and all because Arnie Henderson
had come calling. Cooper chuckled when he remembered how embarrassed his mother had been at first. Arnie had come out from
Illinois to work for Logan Horn, and now Cooper suspected he was urging his mother to move to the Morning Sun spread. He would
miss her, but she deserved all the happiness she could get. God knew, she hadn’t had much when she was young.
His thoughts came back to the present. He had found his mare. The sensible thing to do would be to take the horse and ride
out. Griffin would stay with the women, so he’d not have
that
on his conscience. But an
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