Free Dark Warrior: Kid (Dark Cloth Series Book 2) by Lenore Wolfe Page B

again.
    She didn’t know who’d done this—and she didn’t know what they could possibly want. She didn’t know what this had to do with her dreams—but these old, long-buried memories wouldn’t leave her alone—now that they’d started to surface.
    But if she found Kid—she vowed to find out. And when she had—she’d go home and live that life on their ranch, raising horses—raising their own children—and she’d never allow anything to come between them again.
     

Chapter Nine
    Gunman
     
    Pete slid his horse up to the rail and threw the reins over it, not bothering to stop and tie them down. It didn’t matter none, Kat thought, watching him from the train window. A well-trained pony didn’t move anyhow, once the reins had dropped.
    She watched Pete head for the train. She knew he’d boarded, when she lost sight of him. He found the berth and stepped in, where he halted, Hawk right behind him. “Is she ready for this?”
    The two large men crowded the tiny berth, with her and Mandy, making Kat feel a bit suffocated.
    Hawk nodded at Pete. “Are you ready to head out with Cord?”
    Pete nodded back at him.
    Hawk’s nod, this time, seemed curt. “Well, thank you for coming to talk to her,” he said. “I think it will help her to hear this. Tell Kat what the wire said, when they put Kid back on the train in Omaha,” he told him.
    Pete nodded at Kat, as she tried to keep her eyes open enough to peek at him, and he grinned at her for the effort.
    The men loved Kat, and she knew that they’d want to know how she fared.
    “They had Kid in irons, of course,” he told her. “My cousin got close enough to hear him give them a load of grief for it too.”
    Kat couldn’t help but smile, though inside she still felt terrified for him. But she could only imagine the earful he’d be giving the men holding him prisoner.
    Hawk grinned, too, nodding, then frowned. “Now, why do you suppose he hasn’t sprung himself loose?”
    Pete shrugged. “Jake asked me that too. He said to tell you, he figured Kid’s got himself a reason for playing possum, with those no-accounts who took him.”
    Hawk’s frown deepened. “That’s a dangerous game,” he said.
    Pete nodded. “Course, this girl,” he nodded at Kat and earned himself a scowl, “might account for why he’d let himself get into such a spot.”
    Hawk ran his hand along his stubbled jaw. “Hmmm,” he said, seeming deep in thought. “Get yourself some grub. And before you head out, could you get the horses on the train for me?” he said.
    Kat winced at the gruffness in Hawk’s tone—as he glanced at Mandy. She knew he’d likely gotten an earful for leaving her behind, by the way he eyed her now. He had a problem getting his new wife to stay behind, but they had a young son, and a ranch to run, and someone had to stay back. They both agreed that someone hunted Kat—so that someone would get to meet Jake and Hawk.
    Kat knew what it took to keep things on a ranch in order, so she also knew that by the time Hawk got things squared away, he’d probably, barely managed to get some grub, maybe even some sleep, himself.
    An hour later, Kat felt the train pull out and felt relieved, though she’d given Mandy a tearful goodbye when the whistle blew. Even Meg had come to say goodbye. By the time the train left, Kat had gone back to fighting her tears.
    They were miles down the track before the sun had fully made it high into the sky—thanks to modern inventions, she thought. She felt so elated to be moving, she hardly noticed the steady thrumming in her head, from the wheels hitting the track. They’d manage to press hard on Kid’s trail because of this old iron horse—and they’d still get to sit and eat.
    As they rode the train, Kat warred within herself not to snap on Hawk because of the pain—and the fear she still felt for Kid. But mostly, she still felt that same old panic, raising its ugly head—letting her know that something unnamed still