Free Reckless Destiny by Teresa Southwick Page A

honor.
    He was distracted for a few moments by laughter on the other side of the room. When he looked back, Cady had disappeared. Good Lord, keeping an eye on her was like trying to harness a hummingbird. It took him a minute to find her in the corner, surrounded by six blue uniforms. One man brought her a plate piled with food. Another brought her something to drink. All of them were laughing and preening, each trying to get her undivided attention. The worst of it was, he felt the same way. He wanted to walk out, so as not to have to watch her with them. If only he hadn’t given his word. If only Betsy Wexler hadn’t suggested he be her escort. If only he could drag Cady off, away from the openly hungry stares of all those men. If only he were a different kind of man, the marrying kind. He shook the thought away.
    After everyone had eaten, several soldiers picked up musical instruments and in seconds the sounds of fiddle, harmonica, and guitar blended together and filled the room. The long tables and benches were pushed back against the walls to make room for dancing. As the strains of “Dixie” set their toes to tapping, men grabbed their wives and took them out into the middle of the room to dance.
    Lieutenant Carlton held his palm out to Cady and she placed her fingers into it, giving him a brilliant smile. Never in his life had Kane wanted to hit a man as badly as he did now. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be writing five hundred times, “I will not start a fight.”
    He turned away and walked to the punch bowl. It wasn’t often he regretted that liquor was banned from the post, but this was one of those times. As he filled a cup with the pungent, sweet-smelling liquid, an enlisted man came up beside him.
    “Evenin’, captain.”
    “Harrison,” Kane said, nodding.
    “Nice party, ain’t it?”
    “Yes.” He took a sip from his glass, wishing again that it was something strong enough to burn from his mind the memory of Cady flirting with another man.
    “Miss Tanner’s a right friendly lady.”
    “Is she?”
    “Yes, sir. And smart, too. Said she’s gonna start some kind of meetin’ so’s we can get together and read.”
    “Literary society?”
    The man’s palomino-colored brows drew together in thought. “Yes, sir, I b’lieve that’s what she called it.”
    “That sounds interesting, Harrison.”
    Next thing he knew, she’d have his men knitting horse blankets.
    “Yes, sir. I told her I wasn’t much on readin’, but she said that’s what she’s here for, to teach. She don’t give a hoot if she’s learnin’ a grown man.”
    “Doesn’t she?”
    “No, sir.” The soldier glanced anxiously over his shoulder. “Nice chattin’ with ya, cap’n. I’m gonna go now and wait in line. See if I can snare me a dance with the schoolmarm.”
    “Yes, you do that, Harrison.”
    Kane took another sip and watched Cady as she danced every dance. The room got hotter by the second and stuffy with the smells of heat and perfume and lantern oil. The more he thought about her giving readinglessons to grown men, the madder he got. Did she really think these men wanted to learn to read? Didn’t she understand that they’d do anything in order to be alone with her? They didn’t care about book learning. They wanted
her
. And they’d do whatever they could to have her.
    This turn of thought disturbed him. Ever since his father died and he joined the army, his duty and the orders Cady had challenged him about had always come first. As he’d been promoted and given more responsibility, his soldiers’ safety and welfare had been his primary concern. He’d never once thought about beating the tar out of one of them—at least, not over a woman.
    He pulled his pocket watch out, flicked it open, and checked the time. Ten o’clock. For the last three hours he’d stood and watched her. When he looked up, he met her gaze from across the room. She turned and said something to the man beside her. His expression