Free Samantha James by Outlaw Heart Page B

already fixed upon her. His mouth was slanted in a sardonic smile, if the twisting of his lips could be called that.
    Kane reined in his horse and glanced around. The terrain sloped into a gentle valley a hundred yards distant. Late-afternoon sunlight mirrored the waters of a small lake surrounded by tall cotton-woods. Beyond, sun-baked plains rolled and dipped endlessly. He inclined his head and gave a terse nod. “We’ll stop there for the night.”
    She immediately straightened. “But it’s still light out,” she protested. “We can go on for another hour—”
    “You won’t last another hour and we both damn well know it.”
    Abby gritted her teeth. She’d thought Dillon’s language was bad, but she had the feeling Kane could teach him a lesson or two. It was on the tip of her tongue to retort that, unlike him, there had been no alcohol-induced sleep last night, but something held her back. “I’m just a little tired,” she said stiffly.
    “So am I, sweetheart. So like I said, we’ll camp there for the night.” He gave a tug on the reins and nudged his horse into a trot. Not once did he look back to see that Abby followed; Abby wasn’t sure if she should be indignant or relieved.
    He led the way to a small clearing near the lake. Grass and shrubs grew thick and green near the water. Tall, stately trees crowded the shoreline. Abby reined in when Kane dropped to the ground. He began to stride back toward her but Abby quickly dismounted on her own, declining his help even before he could offer it. Kane stopped short; she didn’t glimpse the tightening of his mouth.
    He lifted his chin toward her saddlebags. “Got anything to eat in there?”
    Abby nodded. Before she left the ranch last night, she had Dorothy pack some provisions. “I’ve got biscuits and beans and enough dried meat for three days or so,” she told him. “After that, we’ll either have to hunt or stop somewhere to buy more provisions.”
    He took charge of unsaddling the horses and settling them in for the night. Abby busied herself with gathering branches for a fire, but her gaze strayed to Kane again and again. She watched him heave the saddle from Sonny’s back.
    An undeniable air of danger surrounded him, she thought with a shiver. What did you expect? chided a voice in her head. He’s an outlaw, a renegade . It was strange, though—she wasn’t precisely frightened, yet she was distinctly uneasy.
    She began digging in her saddlebags for the food, acutely aware of his presence behind her. She knew the exact instant he finished with the horses; a tremor slid down her spine. She sensed his eyes on her back like the prick of a needle. Clenching her fingers, she sensed rather than saw him move soundlessly past her. With an effort, she raised her head. Kane had settled himself across from the fire, his back propped against a stately pine tree. His eyes were closed, his head tipped back.
    Her gaze roved slowly over his face, as if she were searching for … what? A flaw, perhaps? Some hint of ugliness or imperfection? Despite the heavy stubble that darkened his cheek and jaw, his features were not at all displeasing. Clean-shaven, he might even have been quite handsome … His nose was straight and thin, if a bit arrogant, his jaw square and hard. But his mouth was no longer set in harsh, implacable lines … It struck her then—he looked tired. At the thought, she felt the tight knot of uneasiness slip away.
    It wasn’t long before the beans were bubbling in the one and only pot she’d brought. She dropped a handful of dried ham into it and stirred, ignoring the man behind her.
    It was the aroma of coffee brewing that eventually roused Kane. Abby dished up a tinful of beans and glanced over her shoulder at Kane; his eyes were open and fixed on her. Wordlessly she handed him the plate, then turned to fill another for herself. She sat down a short distance away from him, using a small boulder as a stool.
    The sky turned half a dozen