"Don't say anything until I can talk to her. Right now I've got to lie down." He pushed himself to his feet with a grimace of pain. "After supper tell her I want to talk to her. She should be cooled off by then."

"She may not go."

"Then tell her I need some more st.i.tches, or that I'm bleeding all over the floora"tell her anything, but get her in there and see that we're not disturbed."

The door opened and they both looked quickly to see if it was Vanessa. Henry came in with an armload of wood for the cookstove "I found some already cut, Ma. Mary Ben is coming with the kindling."

"Put it in the woodbox, son, then help Kain into the bedroom. He's worn out."

Henry dropped the wood into the nearly empty box, then held out his arm to Kain. "I sure do like it here, Kain. Mary Ben likes it, too. She's never lived in a house before."

"There's a lot to be done before winter." Kain panted from the effort it took to walk out of the room. "You'll have to haul in some hay for feed and drag some logs down from the hills for firewood."

"I can do that. You just tell me what to do." In the bedroom at the back of the house he eased Kain down onto the bed. "You want that I pull off your boots?"

"I'd appreciate it, Henry. Bending over is the hardest thing to do right now."

"You're bleeding. Van should put on another bandage."

"I'll have her do it after supper. Right now I'm so tired all I want to do is get into bed." Kain unfastened his belt and Henry pulled his pants off and covered him. "Thanks. When you get around to it, will you get my gear out of the wagon and bring it in here?"

"Sure. If there's anything you want, call out." Henry walked out of the room and closed the door.

Kain lay listening to the sounds coming from the other rooms. He heard Henry's voice and Mary Ben's giggle and their footsteps going up the stairs. He knew that as soon as they were out of sight Henry would grab Mary Ben and kiss her. Being in love with Henry had put a bloom in the cheeks of John's young waif and a sparkle in her eyes.

Kain closed his eyes and saw Vanessa's white face, fiery hair and brilliant blue eyes. His breath became heavier and a hunger to have her to love and care for centered in his loins and pulsed there. It seemed to him he had searched through a lifetime of emptiness to find her. Now forces beyond his control were closing in on him, forcing him out of the warmth of this family circle. He would be left alone with the Hookers if he couldn't persuade Vanessa to stay. He sighed deeply.

Ellie filled a plate with food, set it on a wooden tray she found in the cupboard and took it to Kain. When she returned she took her place at the table. Henry and Mary Ben were still excited about being in the house and chatted about the things they had found in the different rooms.

"There's a tin bathtub in the closet room, Van. It's big at one end and little at the other, just like the one you had back home." Henry's smile faded when he couldn't get a response from his cousin. "You like a bath. I'll carry the water for you, Van."

"Thank you, Henry. Yes, I'd like very much to have a bath."

The Hookers and John finished their meal and took their hats from the pegs on the wall beside the door.

"You're not leaving?" Ellie's worried face expressed her concern.

"No, ma'am. We'll turn in if there ain't nothin' we can do till mornin'." Jeb always turned his hat around and around in his hand while talking to Ellie.

"You're not going to sleep outside when there's all this room." She waved her hand toward the front of the house.

"No, ma'am. There's a bunkhouse. We'll bed down there."

"But . . . sheets and thingsa""

"Don't worry none 'bout that, ma'am. It'll be a plumb treat to sleep on a bunk."

"Mr. Wisner, can I sleep in here if it's all right with Mrs. Hill?" Mary Ben got up from the table and stood behind her chair. Ellie turned and looked at her in surprise.

"Of course you'll stay in here. A bunkhouse is no place for a young girl. Isn't that right, Mr. Wisner?"

"Right as rain. Stay with Mrs. Hill, Mary Ben." He slammed his hat down on his head and followed the Hookers out the door.

"Well, now." Ellie took a big tin pan from the hook on the wall and set it on the cookstove. "Mary Ben and I will clean up while you take a bath, Vanessa." She poured water from the teakettle into the pan. "There's hot water in the reservoir, Henry, and plenty in the teakettle for the dishes."

"I'll help with the dishes first," Vanessa said.

"No. Go take a bath. Mary Ben would you like to have a tub bath?"

"Oh! Could I, Mrs. Hill?"

"Of course. By the time we're finished here the water will be hot again."

"I'll carry the water for you, too." Henry placed his hand on Mary Ben's shoulder and smiled down at her lovingly.

Vanessa saw her aunt watching him. Aunt Ellie, too, was losing something, she thought. Aloud she said, "I'll get some clean clothes out of the wagon." She threw her shawl around her shoulders and went out into the darkness.

Inside the caravan she felt around on the shelf for the matches and lit the lamp. She could smell the listerine she had used to wash Kain's wounds and her eyes sought the pillow on her bunk that showed the indentation where his head had lain. She had tended to him, loved him in secret, offered herself and been refused. What more was there? she asked herself. Nothing at all, the practical side of her nature replied, and she had to face that discouraging fact.

She took a dress and undergarments out of her trunk. She would have to wear a dress tomorrow when she went into town, she reasoned. Anyway, she was tired of wearing the britches.

It was sheer luxury to sink down into the tub of warm water. Vanessa sighed deeply, leaned back and closed her eyes. This was what she had missed the most during the long trip from Missouri; the moist heat, scented soap, the joy of being clean. After she scrubbed every inch of her body she worked a thick lather into her hair, rinsed it once in the bath water and again in the bucket of water Henry had left beside the tub.

When she had dried herself and dressed she wrapped a towel around her head and went back to the kitchen.

"Feel better, dear?" Ellie hung the dish cloth on a rack beside the stove.

"Oh, yes. That's a wonderful tub. Whoever lived here before must have liked a bath as much as I do. There's even a hole in the bottom of the tub with a stopper in it. It looks like the water runs out through the pipe in the wall. You won't even have to empty it, Henry."

"Sit here and dry your hair, Vanessa." Ellie pulled a chair up close to the stove and lowered the oven door. "I was telling Mary Ben about those two dresses of mine that are so short I can't wear them any longer. The water I washed them in must have been too hot, they shrank so. I'll go out to the wagon and get them and my sewing box. I'm sure they'll be too big around."

After Ellie left Vanessa sat for a moment rubbing her hair with the towel. Suddenly she realized it was quiet and looked over her shoulder. Mary Ben and Henry stood close together. Her arms were about his neck and he was kissing her. It hadn't taken Henry long to learn about women, Vanessa thought dryly. Kain must have been a good teacher. She opened her mouth to make a teasing remark, then closed it, not wanting to intrude on their time alone. She turned back to smooth the ends of her hair with a wide-toothed comb so she could twist it and pin it to the top of her head before her aunt returned. Only Kain knew that Primer Ta.s.s had cut the swath of hair from the top of her head. Thank G.o.d she no longer had to worry about him.

"Stop, Henry. Yore mama'll come ina""

"I like kissing you."

"I like it, too, but not now."

The whispered words reached Vanessa's ears as she was pinning up her hair, and she turned to see Mary Ben pushing herself away from Henry. He had a grin on his face and hers was beet red. Mary Ben walked over to stand beside the stove and Henry went to empty the tub.

Mary Ben stood on first one foot and then the other, her hands clenched together in front of her. Vanessa looked up to see her staring at her with her bottom lip caught firmly between her teeth. She was worried, Vanessa thought, that she didn't like what was happening between her and Henry.

"You like Henry a lot, don't you, Mary Ben?"

"Yes'm."

"He's a handsome man. The girls back home eyed him, some even came to the farm on the pretext of visiting me so they could see more of him. When they realized that he's still very much like a small boy they either ignored him or said hateful things to him. It hurt his feelings. He didn't understand it."

"That wasn't nice of them. Henry ain't got a mean bone in him." Mary Ben's voice rose defensively.

"He's in love with you. Did you know that?"

"Yes'm. He told me he was."

"How do you feel about him? A few kisses are one thing, but how do you feel about spending the rest of your life with him? He'll never be any different. He'll always be happy and he'll never worry about where the next meal will come from."

"I know it. I guess I love him. I don't know, I ain't never loved n.o.body before. I jist know I want to be with him, take care of him and he a help to him. I ain't never goin' to let n.o.body do no hurt to Henry," she added fiercely.

"That's the way I feel about him. I've been looking after him all my life." Vanessa stood. "I'm glad there'll be someone to help me."

"Does that mean you don't care if . . . Henry likes me?"

"It means I'm happy for both of you. Henry is like a brother to me. Now I'll have a sister, too."

Ellie came through the door and the wind sucked it closed behind her. The loud bang resounded throughout the house. Her arms were full.

"It's cold out there and the wind has come up. I'm glad we're not camping out tonight." She put the things she was carrying on the table and smoothed her hair back from her face. "I brought in the medical chest, Vanessa. Kain's side has broken open again and we've got to put a new bandage on it. Will you do it, dear, while I take up this dress for Mary Ben?"

"No."

"No?" Ellie spun around in shocked surprise.

"No, I won't do it."

"Vanessa Cavanaugh! In all these years you've never said that word to me when I've asked a favor of you. Have you lost all compa.s.sion and turned uncaring and hard? We have never turned away a man, woman or animal who needed our help. No man has ever taken greater risks for us than Kain DeBolt! He knew that man was waiting up ahead to kill him. He could have ridden away from us anytime, but he chose to stay and help." Ellie's cheeks had turned red and she stood tall with indignation, glaring at her niece. "When we left Missouri you were a sweet, happy girl, always ready to help the sick and the weak. What has this G.o.dforsaken country done to you?" she asked slowly.

Vanessa was dumbfounded by Ellie's outburst. She hadn't seen her aunt that angry since she walked out of a store in Wichita and saw a teamster hitting a mule on the head with a plank. She had grabbed one of the whips they were selling and struck the man a blow between the shouldersa"much to the delight of the crowd that gathered. Vanessa knew her aunt had the family temper, but she usually kept it well under control.

"Well, my land! If it means that much to you, I'll do it." Vanessa grabbed the wooden case containing their medical supplies. "I'm not the only one this country has changed, Aunt Ellie!" She flung the parting remark over her shoulder and flounced out of the room, her head held at a defiant angle, the skirt of her blue dress swirling around her legs as she walked rapidly down the hall.

Had Vanessa turned to look back at her aunt she would have seen her stiff features relax and a pleased smile curve her lips. But she was too angry to look back. She stalked to the door of Kain's room, grasped the doork.n.o.b and shoved open the door.

Chapter Twelve.

"Well how do you expect me to put on a fresh bandage without a light?" Vanessa demanded, staring into the darkness.

"There's a lamp on the table to your right." Kain's voice came from the far side of the room. A match flared briefly then went out. "Shut the door, there's too much of a draft."

She stepped inside the room and pushed on the door. It closed with a bang. Seconds later another match flared. She set the medical case on a chair, removed the gla.s.s chimney from the lamp and lit it. The room was large and square with windows on two sides. Vanessa observed this as she crossed the rag-rug to place the lamp on the table beside the bed. Without looking at Kain, she went back for the case.

"This is only the second time I've seen you in a dress. It's the one you wore in Dodge City the first time I saw you."

Here it comes, she thought. He was going to practice his charm on her. If it worked, he'd have something else to tell Henry about how to handle women.

She didn't comment or look at him. In a businesslike manner she placed the case on the table beside the lamp, opened it, pulled a chair up close to the bed and sat down.

"Aunt Ellie says you're bleeding again." She yanked on the sheet, pulling it down to expose his naked chest. The bandage on his shoulder was held in place with plaster strips. She pulled at the end of one. It left his firm skin reluctantly and she heard him take a quick breath. Adjusting her body so her shadow didn't obstruct her view she peered beneath the pad. Her head was inches from his face and tendrils of copper hair tickled his nose.

"Your hair is damp. You should have dried it completely before you put it up."

Vanessa shifted her position and replaced the plaster strip. "This one is all right. The bandage won't need changing until tomorrow. Ellie put petroleum jelly on it, so it won't stick."

When she moved the sheet lower to look at the wound in his side she suddenly realized he was completely naked beneath the covers. Her hands faltered for a second, then angled the cover so that only his wounded side was exposed. She noted that his stomach had sunk even more since he had been shot, and that little tremors rippled his skin as if he were chilled. His torso was smooth except for a small patch of golden brown hair that grew on his chest and a narrow strip that started beneath his navel and disappeared beneath the white strip wrapped around his waist to hold the bandage in place.

The pad over the wound was red with blood. Vanessa took scissors from her kit, and with fingers not quite as steady as she wished, cut the band and removed the bandage. She dabbed at the wound with a pad soaked with listerine. When she had washed away the blood she could see that although the wound had opened at one end, the flesh around it looked pink and healthy.

"Are you going to put in more st.i.tches?"

"No."

"What are you going to do?"

"Put on another bandage."

"When are you going to look at me?"

"I am looking at you," she answered calmly.

"Look at my face, d.a.m.n it!" His hands clenched into fists.

"I'm not interested in your face, Mr. DeBolt. Only in the wounds I was responsible for."

"It galls you to think that you owe me, isn't that it, Vanessa? Are you afraid I'm going to try to collect something from you? Is that what bothers you so much that you can't even look at me?"

"You're right about one thing, at least. I don't want to owe you anything."

"Do you think I joined up with you so that you'd owe me? You attracted me, Vanessa. I'll admit that. You're beautiful and I admired your s.p.u.n.k. I couldn't ride away knowing what would happen to you, your aunt, and Mary Ben if those men got their hands on you."

"And we've thanked youa"repeatedly." She made a thick pad out of the clean lint and put some salve on it.

Kain grabbed her wrist. "Leave the G.o.dd.a.m.n wound alone and look at me!"

Vanessa's angry blue eyes flashed up to meet his. "Turn loose of me!"

"So you can turn tail and run? You're a coward, Vanessa. For all this spitfire image you carry around like a cloak you're a coward."