Redwing's Lady

Yes, she had to trust him. Right now he was the best hope she had of finding her runaway son.

Daniel quickly whistled up the horses, and in a matter of minutes they had saddled two mounts and were headed north into the mountains. Maggie was careful to ride a few steps behind the deputy as he leaned over in the saddle and scoured the ground for any signs of Rusty’s tracks.

Most of the time the imprints were faint, and a few times they disappeared altogether, but somehow Daniel seemed to anticipate the route her son had taken and would manage to pick up the signs again.

As they climbed higher into the rough mountains, Maggie grew even more frightened for her son’s safety. Especially with the sun dipping lower and lower in the western sky.

They continued to push the horses up the steep grade, and Maggie voiced her fears to Daniel. “There’re bears up here, Daniel. If Aaron runs onto a cub and the mother is around, he’ll—” She couldn’t finish. The image was too gruesome to speak aloud.

“Bears are usually frightened by horses. I wouldn’t worry about them too much.”

She knew his words were meant to comfort, but they did little to relieve her fears. Deputy Redwing didn’t have a wife or children. He didn’t know what it was like to lose a spouse. Aaron was all she had. Now that Hugh was gone, he was the only thing she lived for. If something happened to him, she didn’t think she would want to go on, or even could go on.

Up ahead of her, Daniel suddenly pulled his horse to a stop and held up his hand in a gesture for her to stop.

Maggie pulled on the mare’s reins. “What’s wrong? Have the tracks disappeared?”

“No. Something happened here. I need to get down and take a look.”

Fear rose like bile in Maggie’s throat, but she tried her best to swallow it down. “What do you mean something happened?”

Daniel climbed out of the saddle and Maggie quickly did the same. Keeping a tight hold on the mare’s reins, she stood, waiting for him to explain. Instead he ignored her question as he stepped away from her and the horses and began to examine a nearby spot on the ground.

As she watched him squat on one knee and brush at the fallen leaves, she gritted her teeth and tried to be patient. But after a few more moments of silence, she said, “I hate to sound critical, but this isn’t the Wild West anymore. Indian scouts and trackers have been replaced with technology.”

Rising to his feet, he gave her a brief glance before he walked to another spot and carefully studied the ground. “Is that so?”

Her throat was unbearably dry, and she swallowed uselessly as she swiped a hand against her sweaty brow. “You know that it’s so.”

He came back to stand a few steps from her. Maggie breathed deeply through her nostrils as she studied his striking bronze features: the high cheekbones, the hawkish nose, the wide forehead and the strong squared jaws. He had to be somewhere near thirty, but when she looked into his eyes she saw a much older man, a man with all sorts of thoughts and secrets and dreams.

“Maggie, this land—these mountains have not changed in a hundred, even two hundred years. The horse your son is riding is still the same as the ones that outlaws and cowboys rode when New Mexico was still just a territory. Tell me, please, how technology is going to help out here, right now?”

Pink color tinged her cheeks. “Well, there are all sorts of things…like a helicopter.”

Daniel shook his head. “I’ve already thought of a chopper. The forest is too thick, they’d never get a look through the canopy of trees.”

“He might come out in the open,” she suggested hopefully.

“He might. But I doubt it. Your son is on foot now. His horse has bolted.”

She stared at him, not wanting to believe him, but very afraid he was right.

“Look, Daniel, I know that some Native Americans believe in visions. My sister-in-law, Bella, has a godmother who often ‘sees’ things, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re capable of it.”

The curve of his hard lips pressed into a thin line, and Maggie knew that she had offended him, but she couldn’t help it. Now was not the time to use Indian folklore. Her son’s life was at stake!

“I am a Ute. I’m personally not gifted enough to see things beyond my sight. But I can track most anything. There are signs on the ground here that tell me many things. They can’t be ignored.”

His firm, clipped words struck her like stones, and tears pooled in her eyes. She was ashamed that she had offended this man, and she was also very, very frightened. The combination was more than enough to make her break into sobs.

Drawing in a deep, shaky breath, she wiped her eyes with the back of her arm and fought off the urge to simply collapse. “I…I’m sorry, Daniel. Please…tell me. Tell me what you believe is going on with my son.”

His brown hand wrapped around her upper arm, and without a word he led her over to the two areas he’d inspected a few moments earlier. “See, your son was standing here. There’re the imprints of his boot heels. His horse was here beside him. You can see the tracks of the gelding’s shoes where he stood. But then, here the ground is scraped where the hooves dug deep. The horse was spooked or agitated and took off at a gallop up the mountain.”

Yes. Now that he’d shown her, she could see the story, too. “You’re right,” she replied as her mind whirled with possibilities, none of which was pleasant. “But couldn’t Aaron have mounted up before the horse ran away? How do you know he’s on foot?”

“Because the boot heels follow the horses tracks. See there?”

He pointed to a dim trail winding through the trees. The horse’s hoof prints were visible to her, but not her son’s. Yet she didn’t argue with the deputy. She’d already learned her lesson about that.

“No. But I’ll take your word for it.” She turned her gaze on his face and suddenly she was acutely aware of his fingers pressed around her arm. He was standing only inches away and she could feel heat radiating from his body and the callused skin of his hand against her flesh. His dark face gleamed with sweat, which had also soaked a V shape on the chest of his khaki shirt. His arms and shoulders and thighs were all heavily muscled, and she instinctively knew that he was a strong man. Both physically and mentally. The fact helped to reassure her confidence in his ability as a lawman.

Concern darkened Daniel’s brown eyes as they flicked over her face, and then slowly he reached a hand up to her cheek and pushed back a loose strand of red hair.

“You look very tired, Maggie. Why don’t you stay here and let me ride on?”

She somehow managed to find the strength to straighten her shoulders. “No. You might need me.”

He didn’t say anything, but his fingers continued to rest against her cheek. His eyes probed deeply into hers.

Maggie couldn’t speak. She felt herself being drawn to him. And though she tried to stop the forward motion of her body, she stepped into his arms, anyway.

He seemed to understand that she needed human contact and that she was longing for a pair of strong arms to hold her. He drew her deeper into the circle of his arms and, with one hand against the back of her hair, pressed her head against his shoulder.

“Oh, Daniel,” she said with a broken sob, “I’m so scared.”

“Don’t. Don’t cry, Maggie,” he murmured. “Everything is going to be fine. Aaron is a strong boy, and he’s comfortable with the outdoors.”

The fabric beneath her cheek smelled of sun and wind and a faint musky scent that was utterly masculine and uniquely his. She drew it into her nostrils as her hands clung to his strong back.

“But…he’s…he’s still going up the mountain!” she exclaimed brokenly.

His hand slid up and down her back in a slow, soothing movement. “He has to be getting tired. He’ll stop soon. And then we’ll catch up with him.”

She didn’t make any sort of reply. She couldn’t. Her throat was too choked with a jumble of emotions that weren’t all to do with her missing son. Dear God, she prayed frantically, what was happening to her? Her son was somewhere in these mountains, alone and probably lost. How could she let her mind slip, even for a few seconds, to this man?

Guilt rushed through her like a shocking downpour of cold rain. “We, uh, we’d better be going,” she stammered as she quickly lifted her head and backed away from him.

To her dismay, he caught her by the hand and prevented her from moving completely away from him.

“Not until I know that you’re all right,” he said.

A frantic wail bubbled up in her throat to nearly choke her, and she stared at him as though he’d just lost his senses. “All right? All right! Are you crazy? How could I be? My son is missing! These mountains go for miles and miles! There’s nothing up here but wilderness—maybe a few mountain goats, elk and, God forbid, bear! Tell me, Daniel, am I supposed to be okay with that?”

He caught her by the shoulder, and though he didn’t shake her, his fingers pressed firmly enough into her flesh to catch her attention.

“You’re staying here. I’m going on alone,” he said flatly.

Her mouth popped open to form a shocked circle. “Why?”

His face was grim, unmoving. “You’re becoming hysterical. You’ll be no good to me or Aaron like this.”

Releasing his hold on her, he gathered up the gelding’s reins and stuck his boot in the stirrup, but Maggie managed to grab him by the arm before he could swing himself up in the saddle.

“What are you, inhuman?” she demanded.

Lowering his boot back to the ground, he looked down at her, his features rigid except for one lone muscle ticking in his jaw. “I’m a lawman,” he said in a clipped tone. “It’s my job to keep a cool head.”

“What about a cool heart?” she taunted.

For the past hours while he’d been in this woman’s presence, he’d been fighting with himself to be a gentleman. Maggie was a lady. And he’d been telling himself it would only complicate things if he allowed himself to touch her the way he’d often dreamed about touching her. But her taunt had changed all that. He was no longer a gentleman. He was just a man.

Maggie continued to stand her ground, to wait for his answer, but it didn’t come in the way of words. Suddenly his hands were on her shoulders, her breasts were crushed against his chest and her lips were captured beneath his.

Chapter Two

“Wh-what was…that for?” Maggie stammered breathlessly once he finally released her.

As Daniel looked at her, he realized he’d never seen a more erotic woman. Nor had he ever wanted one the way he wanted Maggie Ketchum. Her breasts were heaving and her lips were red and moist from his kiss. If circumstances were different, he’d kiss her all over again. And again. If she’d let him.

“To tell you I’m not just a lawman, Maggie. I’m a man, too. I can lose my cool. If that’s what you want.”

She’d never had a man speak to her in such a spare, blunt fashion. But then she’d never had a man kiss her like Daniel Redwing had kissed her, either.

“No,” she quickly answered, then, glancing awkwardly away from him, she added in a subdued tone, “No. I want to find my son.”

“Then mount up. And stay behind me,” he ordered sharply.

Like a squaw walking behind her brave, thought Maggie furiously.

Trembling from head to toe, she gathered up the mare’s reins and somehow managed to climb into the saddle. As she nudged the mare up the side of the mountain, she still couldn’t believe the deputy had actually kissed her. Nor could she believe how she’d responded to him. Her body was still on fire and she knew her cheeks had to be crimson.

Instinctively her gaze was drawn to his back and the broad shoulders hidden beneath the taut khaki fabric. Did the man go around kissing every woman who needed the aid of a lawman? Forget that question, she scolded herself. The real question was, why had she ever fallen into the man’s arms in the first place? Sure, she was upset. But there’d been plenty of times since Hugh’s death that she’d been upset. And during those times she’d never so much as touched a man, much less kissed one.

Forget it, Maggie. You’re under extreme stress. Besides, nothing matters now except finding Aaron.

As the horses climbed, the ground grew rougher. Several times her mare slipped, but managed to gather herself before she went to her knees. Thankfully Maggie was an experienced rider. Otherwise she might have fallen into the gorge far below to their left.

“The timberline is just ahead.” Daniel tossed the announcement over his shoulder. “We’ll stop there and let the horses blow. Once we get in the open, we might be able to catch a glimpse of Aaron or, at least, his horse.”

Nodding, she followed Daniel to a spot on the mountain where the fir trees ended and huge, magnificent boulders protruded from the bald, grassy slopes.

Pulling the mare to a stop next to Daniel’s mount, Maggie scoured the mountainside for any sign of her son. “I don’t see anything. Not even any goats.”

“His horse has been here. And not long ago.”

Her heart leaping with hope, her gaze darted to Daniel’s face to see his attention was focused on horse tracks surrounding one of the nearby boulders.

“What about Aaron?” she rushed the question at him. “Do you see his tracks?”

Frowning faintly, he said, “I’m not sure. Let’s get down for a few minutes. The horses need to rest. They’ve had a hard, fast climb.”

Maggie didn’t protest. Even though she knew the waning daylight was precious, she was exhausted. Once she slid from the saddle and stood on the ground, her legs would barely hold her upright. Along with her misbehaving legs, her head was whirling at a nauseating speed.

Gripping the stirrup, she prayed for the rushing sound in her ears to stop and for the power to stand upright.

“Maggie?” Daniel asked softly. “Are you ill?”

She was drawing in slow, deep breaths in an effort to clear her head when his hand came against her back. His touch jolted her like an electrical current and the fire zapped her with a spurt of strength.

“No,” she murmured. Then glancing up at him, she added, “I…I’m just really, really tired, that’s all.”

As he studied her weary face, his dark features remained stoic. Maggie wondered if he wanted to say, I told you to stay behind. But he didn’t say anything of the sort. Instead he slid his arm around the back of her waist and clamped a steadying hand around her upper arm.

“Come over here and sit down,” he instructed.

He helped her over to one of the boulders, and after she was sitting comfortably, he went over to his horse and slipped a canteen of water from the saddle horn.

Back at her side, he took off the lid and silently handed the insulated container to her. After she’d taken several long sips, he took the canteen and poured some of the cool water onto his handkerchief.

With one hand he reached up and pushed the straw hat from her head. With the other, he used the moist handkerchief to wipe her heated face.

“You’re hot and dehydrated,” he said grimly. “Why didn’t you tell me you were feeling weak?”

His hands were big, yet extremely gentle as they touched her cheeks and chin, her neck and then her forehead. Maggie tried not to breathe in the scent of him. Tried not to think about the way his lips had felt against hers or the way he had tasted. Yet she couldn’t stop her senses from registering everything about him.

“Because I knew we couldn’t stop,” she said in a hoarse whisper. ‘We shouldn’t be stopping now.”

Her copper-colored hair was shoulder length and naturally curly. He pushed the wayward strands away from her cheeks and off her forehead as though she were his lover and the sweat on her face had come from their passion.

The notion caused her to shiver inwardly, and she closed her eyes and waited for him to pull back and put a few inches of space between them.

“Do you want Aaron to be raised an orphan?” he asked crossly.

Her eyes drifted open to see he’d taken a seat next to her and, though he was close, his gaze was not on her. His squinted eyes were scanning the bald, jagged crags of the mountain peaks.

“I’m not that weak,” she protested.

Turning his gaze back to her, he silently studied her face until she felt the urge to squirm.

“What? What are you thinking?” she dared to ask him.

The corners of his mouth tilted up ever so slightly, and Maggie realized it was the first time he’d shown any sort of humor in her presence.

“That you are not exactly the woman I thought you were.”

Maggie wasn’t sure she should ask, but she did anyway. “What does that mean?”

One of his shoulders moved with a faint shrug. “The Ketchums are a tough crew. But you’re not a Ketchum by blood.”

She stared at him for a moment as she digested his words. “Oh. You thought—you think I’m just a rich, pampered woman.”

“Not exactly pampered. But maybe a little soft.”

His admission disappointed her, and that was frightening. Not since Hugh had Maggie cared whether a man regarded her highly. And it shouldn’t matter how Deputy Daniel Redwing viewed her, either.

She swallowed as a knot of unsettled feelings gathered in her throat. “And what are you thinking now?”

“That you have grit.”

Her eyes met his and she felt her heart thump with unexpected gladness. “Thank you, Daniel.”

“You’re welcome.”

They were still staring at each other when Aaron’s voice echoed through the mountaintops.

“Mom! Mom!”

Both Maggie and Daniel jumped to their feet and scanned the edge of the timberline where Aaron’s voice seemed to have originated.

“That was him, Daniel! That was Aaron!” she exclaimed with excited joy.

“Yes. Here he comes now,” Daniel said with a quiet smile. “To your right. See?”

A tiny whimper of relief passed her lips as she spotted her young son walking slowly out of the woods. He was leading Rusty, and from the looks of the flopping latigo he was fortunate to still have the saddle on the horse’s back.

“Oh, thank God! Thank God!” she whispered hoarsely.

She started to run in her son’s direction, but the ground was too rough and her legs too spongy to carry her safely. She stumbled several times before she finally managed to reach him, then, going down on her knees, she gathered the boy up in her arms.

For long moments she held her son in a crushing embrace as tears of relief streamed down her face. In turn, Aaron clung tightly to his mother until the excitement of being found eventually caused him to stir and talk in rapid, broken phases.

“Mom, I didn’t mean to come this far! Something happened to the girth—I fell off Rusty. And he ran away. I’ve been chasing him…for a long time. I didn’t think he’d ever stop!”

Taking him firmly by the shoulders, Maggie held her son out in front of her. He’d managed to hang on to his straw cowboy hat, but sweat and dirt streaked his freckled face and there was a long rip down the sleeve of his shirt exposing an equally long scratch on his arm.

“You weren’t supposed to be on Rusty,” she admonished. “You told me you were going down to the ranch yard to see Skinny!”

Aaron ducked his head with guilt just as Daniel walked up to mother and son.

“I know,” Aaron mumbled. “But I…I wanted to go camping. You know I did! So I filled up my saddlebags with food and tied on a bedroll. I was gonna come back tomorrow, Mom!” he reasoned, as though that made everything all right.

Maggie groaned and rolled her eyes up to Daniel who was desperately wanting to smile but was carefully hiding it in front of the boy.

“Oh, yeah,” Maggie pointed out wryly. “After the bears ate you and spit out your bones. Aaron—”

“Gosh,” the child interrupted as he suddenly noticed the man standing near his mother’s shoulder. The shiny badge pinned to Daniel’s chest and the pistol strapped to his hips were enough to make Aaron’s eyes pop wide. “Am I in trouble?”

Daniel felt inclined to answer the child’s question before Maggie had the chance. “Well, it appears as though you’re in trouble with your mother. But not with the law,” Daniel assured him.

The boy pushed the hat back off his head, then, using the back of his hand, he wiped his brow with an exaggerated gesture. “Whew!” he exclaimed with great relief. “I thought I was gonna be arrested for running off!”

Now that Maggie could see for herself that her son was well and truly safe, anger began to simmer where fear had once gripped her. “You’d better be glad your uncle Jess and Sheriff Perez are out of town,” Maggie told him. “Or you would be in big trouble. Deputy Redwing has been tracking you for hours! He has other deputies looking for you, too. You’ve caused all sorts of trouble for a lot of people.”

If possible, Aaron’s blue eyes grew even wider as his gaze traveled from his mother’s stern face up to Daniel. “Gee, I didn’t know the law would come looking for me.”

“Your mother has been very worried. Maybe you should apologize to her,” Daniel suggested.

Aaron looked guiltily back at his mother and, with his chin sinking to his chest, he mumbled, “I’m sorry, Mom.”

Releasing a heavy sigh, Maggie patted his back. Now was not the time for angry lectures. She was too relieved and overjoyed to have her son back safe and sound. Besides that, daylight was fading fast. They were going to have to hurry to make it back down the mountain before darkness settled in.

“All right, son,” she said gently. “We’ll talk about it later. But right now you should thank Deputy Redwing. If it weren’t for him, you’d still be wandering around up here. Lost. You were lost, weren’t you?”

Aaron nodded remorsefully. “Yeah. I didn’t know where the heck I was,” he admitted, then to Daniel he said, “Thank you, Deputy Redwing. I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble.”

Even though Daniel was twenty-nine years old, he hadn’t forgotten what it was like to be a little boy full of hurt and angry defiance and then later having all that pain turn into fear.

He patted the boy’s slender shoulder. “I’m just glad you’re all right, Aaron.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

Squatting, Daniel took hold of the boy’s hand. “No. But I think you need to understand that a man’s word is a very special thing. A good man doesn’t break his word. So when you tell your mother where you’re going, you need to make sure that you keep your word and do exactly what you told her. Understand?”

“Yes, sir. I will. I promise.”

“Good.” Daniel squeezed the boy’s hand, then rising back to his full height, he glanced at Maggie to see a watery sheen in her eyes. “We’d better be going,” he told her. “Dark is going to catch us.”

Nodding, she said, “I’ll go get mounted up. Can Aaron ride behind you? It looks like his cinch has just about had it.”

“I’ll be glad to have Aaron ride behind me,” Daniel said.

The ride back down the mountain wasn’t nearly as hurried as the trek upward had been. Aaron sat on the skirt of Daniel’s saddle and kept his small arms wrapped tightly around the deputy’s waist. At first the child was quiet and seemingly content just to be out of immediate trouble. But after a while the adventure of the moment caught up with him and he began to chatter with his rescuer.

Behind the two of them, Maggie carefully guided her mare down the rough trail and listened to the mostly one-sided conversation. Aaron had never been a bashful child, but she had to admit that she was surprised by her son’s openness with Daniel Redwing. As far as she knew, Aaron had only met the man those two times he’d come to the house to interview her during the probe into Noah Rider’s murder. Apparently there was something about the deputy that had gained her son’s trust. Or maybe the fact that Daniel was a deputy explained Aaron’s friendliness, she thought suddenly. Aaron was simply dazzled to be carried down the mountain by an honest-to-goodness lawman.

Just as she’d been dazzled to be kissed by one? Don’t even think about it, she quickly scolded herself. That had been just a momentary lapse of her senses because she’d been so upset over Aaron. She didn’t go around impulsively kissing men she hardly knew! Since Hugh’s death, she hadn’t kissed any man. Period. She hadn’t wanted to.