Jessie smiled, innocently pleased to see her at last, the kiss forgotten. "I've been wondering where you were!"

Kate stared from one to the other of them, confused. Jessie's greeting was warm and welcoming, the way it always was. She chided herself for making too much of what she had seen, but a feeling of disquiet still lingered.

Mae stepped slowly away from Jessie, turning toward Kate with an enigmatic smile. "Yes, Kate. Do come in. I was just, uh, saying goodbye to Montana here."

"Goodbye!" Kate cried, her anger forgotten. She had consciously avoided thinking about what would happen when Jessie was healed, because she knew that Jessie would leave. Then, Kate feared, she would be left as she had been before, alone in a life she found increasingly oppressive. Her heart sinking, she repeated softly, "Goodbye."

Mae touched Jessie lightly on the arm as she headed for the door. "Don't forget to come calling now, Jess."

Kate turned sharply to Jessie, who was awkwardly trying to strap on her gun belt without using her injured arm.

"What are you doing?" Kate asked, fear making her tone sharper than she intended.

Jessie looked up in surprise. "Why, I'm going home, Kate."

Kate put the parcel of books and basket of food she had been carrying on the dresser and crossed to Jessie. "You'll hurt yourself," she admonished, struggling not to raise her voice.

Jessie held up a hand when she saw the frown on Kate's face. "Now don't you go at me, too! Jed is coming in the buckboard so I won't have to ride."

"You haven't been out of bed but for a day, Jessie," Kate said softly, reaching around Jessie's waist with both arms to settle the wide holster on Jessie's narrow hips. She stood close to her, threading the worn tongue through the silver buckle, fumbling slightly with the clasp.

Jessie went very still as Kate worked, acutely aware of Kate's fingers brushing over her legs. Kate's hair smelled fresh, like flower petals ripe with spring pollen.

"I promise to lie low when I get home," Jessie insisted. "But I need to get home, Kate."

"How does this thing tie?" Kate asked, her head bent as she studied the thong hanging from the holster.

"Around my leg," Jessie answered a bit hoa.r.s.ely. She was starting to shake, but she didn't feel ill. She stiffened as Kate's hands encircled her thigh. She felt again as she had in the dream, stirred deep inside.

"Oh," she murmured in surprise as swift heat hit her in the stomach. Suddenly unsteady, she placed her good hand on Kate's shoulder to keep her balance. "Kate," she breathed uncertainly.

Kate stood quickly, reaching for her. Jessie's hands came around her waist. They stood, a whisper apart, while the room and reality receded, leaving only the two of them in a place out of time. Jessie leaned her forehead to Kate's and closed her eyes, content to rest. Kate rubbed her palms gently up and down Jessie's back, liking the hard strength of her. Somewhere out in the hall a woman laughed.

"You're not well yet Jessie," Kate whispered, her lips close to Jessie's cheek.

"I know," Jessie conceded, her voice trembling. "But I will be, Kate. I promise."

Kate sighed, half in anger and half in exasperation. She leaned back in the circle of Jessie's arms, her dark eyes probing Jessie's blue ones. She took a step back when she saw that the decision was made, breaking their embrace. "Jessie Forbes, you are the most stubborn woman I have ever met!"

Jessie nodded, a grin flickering at the corner of her mouth, and she moved to the side of her bed where her valise stood open.

"It's not funny," Kate snapped, but she couldn't look at her and hold onto her anger. She thought Jessie was never more attractive than she was now, leaning against the bedpost, her arms folded across her chest, one leg crossed in front of the other, all leather and worn denim and c.o.c.ksureness. Kate felt her face grow hot and she knew Jessie saw it.

Jessie recognized the lingering blaze of anger in Kate's eyes, and saw the worry there, too. Seriously, she asked, "What is it, Kate? Have I done something to upset you?"

"I just can't bear to see you hurt," Kate whispered. "Will you be careful, Jessie? Please?"

"Of course," Jessie answered softly. She closed the satchel and lifted it in her right hand, wishing she could erase the unhappiness that still clouded Kate's face. "Come visit, Kate," she said suddenly, realizing that she didn't want to say goodbye. The best thing about being here had been seeing Kate every day and the peaceful hours they had spent just quietly talking. For the first time it occurred to her how lonely the ranch would be now. "Come out to the ranch one day soon."

Kate smiled. "You did promise me a tour." The glow Jessie's suggestion had brought to her eyes disappeared just as quickly. "But it's an hour's ride, isn't it?"

Jessie nodded. "Less on a good horse, but you'll need a buckboard. Have John Emory bring you around. He's always itching to spend time with Jed and the boys. I don't imagine he'd need much prompting."

"I will," Kate affirmed, thinking that she intended to have John Emory do more than drive her. "This week?"

"Yes," Jessie said as she walked to the door. As an afterthought, she added, "Will you do something for me, Kate?"

Kate caught her breath, feeling in that moment that Jessie could ask her anything and she would agree. "You know I will, Jessie."

"It's Mae."

"Mae?" Kate echoed, not understanding.

"You're the only friend, besides me, that Mae really has in this town. I don't get by nearly enough and I expect it gets hard for her with only cowboys for company. Will you look in on her now and then?"

"Of course I will, Jessie," Kate promised, wondering if she and Mae were friends after all.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

JESSIE SAT ON her front porch, her boots up on the rail, oiling the stock of her rifle with more vigor than it required. Across the yard she could make out Jed and several of the men cutting tree lengths for fence posts. She muttered colorfully to herself about foremen who didn't have an ounce of respect.

Jed had finally lost his temper after the third time he had to take the saw away from her, and told her he was sorry he ever went to pick her up. "Would of left you there in that d.a.m.n hotel, if I'da known you'd be this much trouble to have around!" he complained. "You won't be worth nothing the rest of the year if you don't let that shoulder heal. And I don't plan on doin' your share of the work forever, so just let that d.a.m.n saw be!"

She knew that he was right, but after three days at home, she was chaffing under the weight of inactivity. She had worked every day of her life in some capacity, with the exception of Sundays, when even nonbelievers took a few hours' rest. There was work to be done but most of it required physical strength, which left her sitting on her porch or pacing a path outside the corrals watching the men work her horses.

She saw the clouds of dust before she heard the clatter of wheels on the road to her house. She was on her feet in an instant, straining to make out the driver and pa.s.senger. When she saw who it was, she bounded down the steps to meet the buckboard pulling up in her yard.

"Kate!" she cried. She walked alongside the wagon, looking up at Kate in undisguised delight, while John Emory slowed the team. "You've come!"

Kate looked down from her perch on the high seat, almost too happy for words. She forgot completely the struggle she had had with her parents to get permission for John Emory to take her about in the buckboard. Properly, the two of them should have been chaperoned, but even Martha acknowledged that no one in town would object to the Schroeder boy escorting Kate for her own safety. And since Kate insisted that she needed the buckboard to carry her camera while visiting some of her new friends who lived outside of town, her parents had agreed to the arrangement. It had taken very little convincing to get John Emory to take her to Jessie's ranch.

"You look wonderful," Kate said, pleased to see the healthy color in Jessie's face. "How are you?"

Jessie grinned and reached up as Kate stepped onto the running board to climb down. She wasn't thinking about her shoulder. She didn't seem to be able to think of much of anything except Kate when they were together. "I'm better now. Let me get you down from there."

Kate frowned, placing one hand on Jessie's right shoulder to steady herself, holding her skirt up with the other. "You can't lift me. Let John."

Jessie merely laughed and slipped her right arm around Kate's waist, pulling Kate into her arms, supporting most of Kate's weight on the side away from her injured shoulder. Jessie held her for just a moment, surprised by her firm suppleness. Then she gently released her. "I'm fine," she repeated, her eyes on Kate's flushed face, thinking how much better she felt whenever Kate was near.

She looked over at John Emory, who had jumped down and was standing by the back of the wagon, hands stuffed in the pockets of his trousers, looking uncertain. "Jed's over in the corral behind the main barn with some of the men," Jessie said. "Why don't you go on over."

"Sure thing, Jessie," he exclaimed, looking relieved. "I'll be back in a bit, Kate," he added as he hurried away.

Kate nodded, unable to take her eyes from Jessie. Jessie wasn't wearing her usual workday vest and chaps, and the levis and soft cotton shirt accentuated her slender body. Kate knew very well what Jessie's body looked like under those clothes, but for the first time she was thinking of her not as a patient, but as a vital, attractive woman. Kate realized that she was staring and said shyly, "It's so good to see you."

"Yes," Jessie replied, finding it hard to do anything but look at her. Finally, she asked, "Would you like to walk around a little? See the ranch?"

Kate slipped her hand through Jessie's arm. "Oh, yes. Please." Almost as an afterthought, she added, "And I was hoping that you could teach me how to drive the buckboard, too."

Jessie stopped dead. "The buckboard?"

"I can't very well drag John Emory out here every time I want to come visiting, now can I?"

"Well, you can't drive out here alone, either, especially unarmed," Jessie said with finality. She began walking again toward the horse barns.

"I thought that I'd save the shooting lessons until the next visit," Kate remarked calmly.

Jessie glanced at her quickly, saw the look of determination in her eyes, and grinned. "We'll let your hands heal from the blisters you're gonna get handling that team before we start in with the Winchester."

Kate nodded. "That's sounds quite reasonable." Then she smiled at Jessie, an excited smile so brilliant that Jessie was lost.

"I'll show you the brood mares down at the corral, then we'll take the buckboard out to the north pasture where the yearlings are summering," Jessie announced. "Don't see why you can't drive."

When at length they returned to the shade of Jessie's porch, cool drinks in hand, Kate had seen most of the Rising Star ranch within easy riding distance of the house. She had also discovered that driving the buckboard was quite a bit easier than controlling the heavy wagon she and her family had traveled west in. There had been times during the trip when her father needed to lever the wagon's wheels from some mud laden trench or to lead the horses by hand through a dangerous stretch, and Kate had taken the reins. She had loved the excitement of handling the team then, and she loved the freedom that it would give her now.

"Try this," Jessie said, handing Kate a tin of some thick yellow salve that smelled surprisingly like honey.

"It's so peaceful here," Kate remarked, smearing the ointment over the sore spots on her palms. Jessie's gloves had protected her some, but she wouldn't want her mother to see these blisters! She placed the tin on the rail and surveyed the slowly rising expanse of hills that climbed steeply toward the mountains edging the horizon. A stream ran in a ribbon of blue across the golden brown flatland. The gently undulating plains were marked here and there by patches of greener gra.s.s and cl.u.s.ters of trees. As she turned her head, she caught sight of Jessie's face in profile. She thought how much Jessie was like her land, bold and strong and sure. "Beautiful."

Jessie nodded. "Yes."

"Do you ever get lonely?" Kate asked, wondering if perhaps she were the only one who longed for something more.

Jessie met her questioning gaze. "Sometimes." she said quietly. "Sometimes I miss you."

Kate smiled, feeling far, far less alone.

As the days pa.s.sed, Jessie's strength returned. Her shoulder healed, and she could finally ride again. From sunup to sundown, she kept busy with the ever-present demands of the ranch, but when evening came, she stood on the porch surrounded by silence, feeling the disappointment of another day when Kate had not come. Sleep remained an elusive respite, and she grew weary in body and soul.

One morning she decided to survey the creek where she meant to build a dam. There was a small hollow between two wooded knolls that would make a fine natural shelter for the animals to winter. All it needed was water. The day was warm and she let Star have her head, riding low over her neck as they flew across the countryside. Nearing the hill overlooking the gully, she saw figures moving under the trees. Rustlers were not uncommon and she approached slowly, one hand casually on her gun belt.

Kate had been watching the rider race across the flatlands, and she knew long before she could see her face that it was Jessie. She couldn't mistake her lean figure or graceful seat on the galloping horse for anyone else. As Jessie drew closer, Kate saw the wary tension in her face. Ken Turner napped contentedly beside her, lulled to sleep by the effects of a hearty lunch and the warm sun. She placed her hand gently on his shoulder and shook him as Jessie rode up to them.

"Jessie," Kate cried, elated to see her. She had tried for days to convince her father to let her take the buckboard out alone, but all her arguing had been to no avail. She wanted desperately to visit Jessie again, but John Emory had been needed to at the newspaper office and could not accompany her. To complete her frustration, she could no longer politely refuse Ken Turner's repeated invitations for an afternoon drive, and so she had found herself in the only place she wanted to be, on the Rising Star ranch, with precisely the wrong person. It had been agony sitting for hours with Ken Turner, making casual conversation while her mind was on Jessie.

"h.e.l.lo, Kate," Jessie replied, her voice tight as she looked at the man slowly sitting up beside Kate. Her glance quickly surveyed the picnic lunch and Kate's hand on Ken's shoulder, and she flushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. I didn't know who you were."

Ken, awake now, smiled in a rather superior way. "Oh, not at all, Miss Forbes! After all, we are trespa.s.sing, so to speak!" He slipped his arm possessively around Kate's waist.

Jessie stared at him coldly, her eyes impenetrable. "Kate is always welcome on my land. I think she knows that." She tipped her hat slightly to Kate and said tersely, "Good day then."

Before Kate could answer, Jessie whirled Star around and galloped away. Kate shook Ken's arm off, staring after Jessie, her heart sinking. She had hurt her, and that was the last thing she ever meant to do. She barely heard Ken as he informed her that he had news of some import to discuss. All she could hear was the receding thunder of hooves and the fading jingle of spurs.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

THAT EVENING, SITTING with Ken Turner and her parents in the parlor, Kate was especially uneasy. Ken's polite but possessive manner was becoming more difficult to bear, and his subtle but persistent caresses harder to avoid. The longer she spent trying to act as if nothing were wrong, the more certain she became that she needed to make a decision. Something must be done, but she couldn't help but feel that there was some vital point she did not understand. When she could bear the social pleasantries and forced cheeriness no longer, she pleaded a headache and escaped to the quiet of her room.

Now she stared into the darkness, struggling to understand her feelings. Not being able to see Jessie these past weeks had been an agony in itself, but to finally see her with Ken Turner by her side had been even worse. She had not been able to tell Jessie how much she had missed her. The pain in Jessie's eyes that afternoon haunted her. When Jessie had ridden away, Kate feared that her heart might break. She needed help, and she knew of only one place to go.

Kate hesitated outside Mae's door, her confidence suddenly waning. When she had awakened early after a restless night, it had seemed so clear to her. Now that she was there, she wasn't so certain anymore. Finally she forced herself to knock.

"Kate!" Mae said with surprise when she answered the tap on her door. The sun had barely risen, and since she kept late hours, she had barely been to bed. She tied her robe and gestured Kate into her room. "What is it?"

"Can I talk with you, Mae?" Kate asked, standing awkwardly just inside the door. She had never been in Mae's bedroom before, and the sudden intimacy of the moment embarra.s.sed her.

"Of course," Mae replied, gesturing to two chairs on either side of a small dressing table. "Sit down."

Kate sat quickly, afraid that she might suddenly lose her resolve and run. Mae's sharp eyes took in the tremor in Kate's hands and the uneasiness in her expression. She pulled a chair close.

"What is it, Kate?" she asked softly.

Tears brimmed behind Kate's lashes. "Mae, Ken Turner intends to speak to my father about marriage."

Mae looked at her intently, not particularly surprised. There wasn't much going on around town that she didn't eventually hear about. She had hoped that the rumors about Turner and Kate were true and that there was a match in the making. But looking at Kate now, she began to doubt it. "You don't look too happy about it, Kate. I always thought that's what a girl like you would want. I should think he'll make a good catch, well-respected and responsible and all that."

Bitterly Kate said, "Oh, you're quite right. He is a fine man, and I have nothing against him. But--" Her voice trailed off, and she struggled for the words.