Reckless Destiny (6 page)

It also reminded him that he had the responsibility of protecting her. The way the men were staring at her told him it wouldn’t be an easy task.

His commanding officer’s wife hurried over to them.

“Good evening, Mrs. Wexler,” Kane said, greeting the plump, brown-haired woman politely. He held his hand out toward Cady. “May I present Miss Tanner.”

“Oh, my dear.” Mrs. Wexler pressed a palm to her ample bodice and stared in horror at Cady’s eye. “I can’t believe my son did that. His father will discipline him severely, I assure you.”

“He didn’t mean to do it. I was trying to separate the two boys, and a wild punch caught me.”

Kane cleared his throat. “I’ve already taken care of punishment detail. He and John Eagle will chop enough wood to keep Miss Tanner supplied for weeks.”

“That’s one of the chores you gave them?” Cady asked, a speculative look in her green eyes. “Are they required to do this together?”

“It is,” he answered, “and they are.”

She nodded approvingly.

“I don’t know what we’d do without Captain Carrington,” Mrs. Wexler said. “With my husband gone so much on army business, and a high-spirited boy to deal with, I’d be at my wits end without him.”

“He’s very capable,” Cady answered.

There was an edge to her voice that Kane knew meant she was still anything but happy about his involvement in the fight.

The woman smiled at Cady. “When R. J.’s not chopping wood, he’ll get to know his room a lot better, Miss Tanner.”

“My first name is Cady, Mrs. Wexler.”

“We’re not formal out here, except maybe Captain Carrington, who does everything by the book.” She smiled at Kane. “Call me Betsy.”

“I’d like that,” Cady said.

The other woman frowned as she looked at Cady’s eye. “It looks terribly painful, dear.”

Cady shook her head. “It’s nothing. I’m more concerned about your confidence in my ability to keep order in the classroom. I assure you nothing like that will happen again.”

Major Wexler joined them. “Indeed it won’t. My son is learning the error of his ways.”

“So I heard,” Cady said.

The major nodded. “Losing his riding privileges will hurt the boy more than anything and teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget.”

“It would me,” Cady said, nodding in understanding.

“Do you ride, Miss Tanner?” the major asked.

“I do, sir. And I’ve missed it.”

“My son is confined to the fort, and his horse is going to need exercise.” The major looked thoughtful. “Would you be interested in riding Prince, Miss Tanner?”

“Oh, yes, sir,” she said, without a moment’s hesitation or deliberation. “May I?”

Just what he needed, Kane thought. She was enough trouble inside the fort. Now she was planning to go gallivanting around in the desert.

“I have no objections.” Major Wexler looked at Kane. “Do you, captain?”

“No, sir. Not if she stays within sight of the fort.”

The other man nodded. “I agree. Some of the young Indians on the reservation are feeling their oats, getting restless. Geronimo’s escapades are stirring them up too.
But if you stay close by, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be safe.”

“Thank you, major. I’ll look forward to the exercise.” She smiled at him and then at Kane.

To everyone else, her expression appeared sweet and innocent. Kane saw a triumphant look that told him she discounted all his warnings. Damnation. This would feed her starry-eyed optimism and convince her she’d done the right thing in coming out west. But that would change. Idealism wouldn’t be enough when loneliness and boredom set in.

The oil lanterns hanging on the walls around the room picked out the gold in Cady’s hair and set it to gleaming. Kane’s gut twisted at the thought of her beautiful hair on the end of an Apache war lance. “Just a word of caution. Stay alert.”

“I’ll do that, captain,” she said, raising her voice over the other conversations nearby.

“Betsy, let’s take Miss Tanner around and introduce her.” The major took his wife’s elbow. “There are a few men who have been waiting anxiously.” He grinned at Kane. “You’ll excuse us, captain?”

“Of course.”

His teeth set, Kane watched Cady as she moved across the room, smiling sweetly and shaking hands as introductions were made. It irritated the hell out of him that every other man there was watching her too. The straight line of her back and her slender waist made his hand itch to curl possessively around her. Her golden brown hair was tightly braided and pinned up on her head, and he had the most insane impulse to unweave those controlled strands and run his fingers through the mass until it was wild and free.

Damn it to hell! He knew each man there was thinking the same thing.

The realization made him crazy. Cady seemed to captivate every man she spoke with, but that didn’t surprise him. She was a fascinating mixture of eager young girl and sophisticated lady. With every last ounce of his being he wished she were a fat horse-faced hag. That would make his promise to Jack and to himself much easier to 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 reading
lessons 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 went from puppy-dog eager to the sorriest-looking excuse for a soldier Kane had ever seen.

Cady crossed the room. “I saw you looking at your watch, Kane. Are you ready to go?”

He’d been ready three hours ago.

“Are you?” He studied her. Her undamaged eye paled in comparison to the purple one, and it was hard to tell if he saw shadows of fatigue beneath it. But he thought he did. “You look tired.”

“I am, a little.”

“Doesn’t surprise me.”

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing.” He realized there was a sharp edge to his tone he hadn’t intended to put there.

“Oh, for pity’s sake. Tell me what’s eating you.”

“Nothing.” He shrugged as casually as he could. “Just that with all that dancing, you’re bound to be tired.”

When she slid him a questioning look, he realized his tone was still a little sharper than he’d intended.

“If you’re ready,” she said, “I’ll just say good evening to the major and his wife.”

“I’m ready.”

He watched her go. When she joined him again, the other men looked envious. He also saw what he could only describe as hunger in their expressions. He didn’t blame them. He’d reacted the same way to Cady at first. He’d managed to control his feelings. It was a damn good thing he’d been the one to escort her tonight. She had nothing to fear from him.

But then he remembered the violence that had flashed through his mind as he’d watched the men dance with her. Maybe it was him she should stay away from.

Outside her quarters, Cady pressed her back to one of the cottonwood poles holding up the ramada. A pleasant breeze sent the smell of mesquite and desert sand to her as it cooled her cheeks. She looked up at the night sky and sighed. The sight was breathtaking: stars twinkled brilliantly on a midnight-blue background.

Kane stood beside her, his arm nearly brushing her shoulder, so close she could feel the heat of his body. For half a second, the masculine scent of him pulled at her, urging her closer. She swayed toward him, then stopped herself. She’d made a fool of herself once over him. She wouldn’t again.

He didn’t seem inclined to leave, but she could feel the tension between them.

“You haven’t said a word since we left the reception. Is something bothering you, Kane?”

“No.” He pushed his campaign hat back, and she
could see his face in the moonlight. His mouth tightened, and she knew he wasn’t being honest with her.

“Something’s wrong. Out with it, captain. That’s an order.”

He looked at her sharply. “Would you like to tell
me
about this literary society you’re planning?”

“You heard about that?” She was very excited about the way the men had received her idea. “I proposed the concept of reading books and meeting once a week to discuss them. All the people I met tonight were terribly enthusiastic.”

“Were these people all men?” His voice was thick with sarcasm.

His attitude confused her. What if they were men? “Men and women both were excited about the idea. I get the feeling that boredom can be a problem here. Everyone needs activities to keep busy. I expected the women to be receptive to the idea. But even the men seemed eager to read—or to learn to read if they can’t.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” His eyes were dark with intensity. “Those men would read dress patterns if it meant they could get close to you.”

“Fiddlesticks.”

“Cady.” He stared at the sky for a moment as if he was trying to control his temper. “They’re not looking to books to fix their discontent. They’re looking to you.”

“Well, I
can
help. I can read books and recommend ones I think they’d like. We can talk about them—”

“Cady, they don’t want books, they don’t want to read, and what they want to do doesn’t require discussion.”

She gasped and felt her cheeks burn. “If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, you’re wrong. Why would any of them want me?”

He let out a long breath. “For one thing, you’re single. Not that it matters to some,” he muttered.

“I see.”

Cady wasn’t sure if she should feel flattered. Probably not. He made it sound like anything in skirts would turn a man’s head here.

“I don’t think you do.” He folded his arms over his chest. “Have you looked in a mirror lately? You’re a beautiful woman.”

The compliment surprised her. She touched her eye. “This isn’t very attractive.”

“Doesn’t matter. Makes a man want to protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting. But that’s beside the point. I’m afraid I don’t see the problem.”

“Then I’ll spell it out for you. The literary society is a bad idea.”

“But why?”

“You’re going to have men swarming around, and you’re the only single female for miles. That’s trouble in my book.”

“I still don’t see why.”

“Then I’ll explain.”

Kane moved toward her, and she retreated until the adobe wall stopped her, the rough surface pulling at the material of her dress. He pressed close until their bodies touched from chest to thigh. She felt his warmth and breathed in the scent that was his alone. She felt his heart pounding, as rapid and wild as her own. Her knees felt soft as taffy left out in the sun.

“What are you doing, captain?” she asked breathlessly.