Free Comanche Haven (The Loflin Legacy: Book 1) by Catherine Wolffe

pallet and surveyed her surroundings. The fire had
gone out somewhere in the night. The morning dawned cold. Grateful
for the warmth of Seth’s blanket, Celia clutched the folds close
and watched as Seth gathered wood for a new fire.
    Soon he had coffee going.
    She rose to check on Broken Horse. Her
cousin had a steady heart rate and his pupils were normal. The blow
to his head was seeping. Celia tore a bandage from her pantalets
and replaced the one on his head.
    “ How is he?” Seth’s voice
came from behind her.
    “ His vital signs are stable.
The wound is still seeping. I wish I had some herbs for a poultice.
Other than the threat of infection, he is doing well. The blow to
the head is why he still sleeps.” She turned and glanced up at
Seth, who stood holding a cup of coffee for her.
    “ Thank you.” She stood and
took the cup. The first sip tasted good. There was always something
about Seth’s camp coffee.
    “ I’ve got breakfast going.
You’ll need to eat.” Seth turned back to a black skillet over the
fire.
    Celia watched him and couldn’t help
herself. “After our conversation last night, I thought you’d be
ready to get rid of the likes of me.” Her smile was woven with
light sarcasm and Celia couldn’t help the slight salute she gave
him with her cup. “Your camp coffee always was the best.” When he
flicked a glance at her, she gave him a weak smile. “I’ll tolerate
you if I can have another cup of your coffee.”
    “ After our conversation last
night, I would have thought you would want nothing more to do with
me either.” He smiled weakly with his comeback. “Yet, you sit here
drinking my coffee and eating my biscuits. A man’s gotta wonder
what you’re up to.” His eyes remained hooded under the Stetson, but
Celia saw his square jaw clinch.
    “ Rest assured sir, I don’t
intend to run away if that’s what you’re thinking.” She smiled
primly.
    “ Where would I get an idea
like that?”
    Seth’s smirk reminded her of the boy
she’d loved once upon a time. The pure mischief in his look struck
a chord with her. Celia made sure sincerity laced her next words,
“I haven’t thanked you for saving us. Thank-you, Seth. We are in
your dept.”
    He glanced up at her. “You don’t owe me
anything.” He waved the knife he was using as a cooking tool in her
direction as he clarified, “You just about had those two outlaws
under control. If I’d been just a couple of minutes later, I’d have
got to help you tie them up.” He winked and then bit into his
biscuit.
    Celia laughed.
    “ You should do that more
often.”
    “ What?” Celia looked
quizzically at him.
    “ Laugh, it sounds good on
you.”
    Caught off guard and without a retort,
Celia concentrated on her own meal. She reminded herself he was
simply being kind because she was in need – nothing more. And
whatever she saw in his eyes in those fleeting moments down by the
creek were just her imagination.
    “ Look. I’m gonna take you
back to Lone Eagle. The way I see it, we need to at least be civil
to one another, okay?” He busied himself with scooping up hardtack
and offered her a small tin plate.
    “ Okay.” Celia nodded. She
sat up under the blanket and pulled her knees towards her chest.
What he said made sense even if it wasn’t exactly what she wanted
to hear.
    “ How do you feel this
morning?” he asked. With his coffee cup in his hand, Seth hunkered
down next to the fire.
    Hesitantly, she glanced in his
direction.
    He was staring intently into the
flames.
    “ Fine.” She would’ve liked
to sound as in control as he did.
    “ No aches?”
    Her mouth thinned. “I’m tougher than
that, Seth.” She didn’t try too hard to hide the petulance which
crept into her voice. Presenting her arms for him to examine, she
rolled them to the right and then to the left. “See, no broken
bones.” Where had the defensive response come from? She lowered her
attention to her food. Their stilted conversation from