A Night to Treasure
Webmaster Note: This fic was formerly archived on another website and was moved to blackraptor in October 2008
'You been here before?'Chris's question startled Vin, bringing him back from far away.
'Not right here, no.' He rode a few more paces before asking, 'Why?'
Chris lingered over a satisfying yawn, then announced, 'I'm beat. Wonderin' 'bout a decent place to stop. No water up here.'
Vin nodded. He was ready to call it a day too. He reined his horse back and stood in his stirrups. From their position high on a ridge, they could scan the landscape in the late afternoon sun. It wasn't long before he latched onto something close to the northeastern horizon. He drew out his spyglass and examined the dark smudge thoughtfully.
'Somethin'?' Chris asked.
'Could be.'
They turned down the gentle slope and headed that way. Half an hour and they saw trees ahead. Another and they saw buildings.
'Might not want company,' Vin speculated.
Chris looked at him, then ahead, then back at him again. He knew Vin wasn't keen on company. It was partly down to the bounty on his head but it ran deeper. A man who'd spent most of his life in the wilderness, and a good bit of it with Indians, didn't find it so easy to fit in with white folks. Of course, he could be right. When Chris was ranching, he wouldn't have welcomed two armed riders but he wouldn't have refused them water either. Like as not, Sarah would have insisted on giving them a meal.
Decision made, he said, 'Can't hurt to ask.'
Vin followed his lead. He wasn't in thrall to Chris: if it bothered him, he'd object but it didn't bother him. His decision had more to do with his stomach than his head. Game had been scarce for the past week and he was sick of bacon and bread. Matter of fact, he was damned hungry. If there was a chance of a meal ahead, he was all for it. He squinted at the compound they were approaching. The main house was large, adobe-built and washed with red jaspe. It must have been there a long time because it sprouted an assortment of eclectic extensions and additions. There were two timber barns and three large corrals, two of which held some impressive equine bloodstock.
'Fair-size place,' Chris remarked.
Vin nodded again. He sometimes joked that Chris didn't say more than three words in a day but he was hardly talkative himself. Despite his casual air, his eyes were drawn to the horses: he was a man who knew horses and these were good ones.
A painted board over the entrance to the compound proclaimed it to be the Pegasus Ranch. They had barely ridden under it when a figure appeared from one side of the house. The two men looked at each other. They hadn't expected to be greeted by a woman way out here. Perhaps her husband was away. She strode boldly towards them, divided riding skirts swishing around her legs, long chestnut hair lifting in the breeze. Probably somewhere around the thirty mark, she wore a cream shirt with a tailored suede jerkin on top, functional and yet fetchingly feminine. A Remington revolver hung at her right hip and a Gallagher carbine rested casually across her right forearm. Both weapons were clean and oiled.
'Af'noon, gents. Can I be helpin' yer?'
Both men touched their hat brims. 'Could use some water,' Chris told her.
Her gray eyes were sharp as they took in every detail of the visitors. It was perhaps fifteen seconds before she gave a curt nod. 'Welcome to it. Want some grub?'
'We'd be obliged.'
She turned on her heel and gestured for them to follow her. At her whistle, two Mexican boys, maybe seven or eight years old, came scampering from behind the buildings. They stopped in front of her, shoulder to shoulder as if under military discipline, but the eagerness in their faces was born of love and respect not fear.
'Take care o' the horses, boys.'
'Sí, Señora.'
They hurried forward, barely waiting for the riders to dismount before dragging the horses toward the empty corral.
'Señora?' Chris repeated. 'Your husband away?'
Those gray eyes turned on him again, gauging the reason for the question.
'Don't come back from where he's gone. Been dead these three years.'
Chris gave a nod of apology.
She led them into the house, set the carbine down on a table in the hall, and turned back to face them.
'Let's get things straight, shall we fellas? My name's Kate Holmes, this is my place and I know ranchin' as good as any man. Reckon you got other skills.' Her eyes flicked to their guns. 'My men're runnin' a buncha stock out to a buyer west o' here. Ain't no way I'll be outdrawin' you and I ain't fool enough to think I can. But I'll give it a go if you lay a hand on my horses or my people. Okay?'
Chris gave a slow white smile. 'Yes, ma'am.'
When she returned the smile, her face was transformed and the gray eyes danced gaily. Both men were drawn to her but it was by something more than her looks. The sheer life and strength she exuded were magnetic. Her attention lingered on them for only a moment, then she turned away in response to shuffling steps behind her. An elderly Mexican came forward. He too had a gun at his hip but its decrepitude and the awkward bundling of his clothes under his gunbelt told anyone with eyes that it was an unfamiliar burden.
Kate smiled, touched that the old man would try to protect her.
'It's okay, Ped. Tell Consuela we got company for supper. See if she can rustle up one o' her specials.' The man nodded and began to shuffle away. 'An' get the boys to fill a coupla tubs.' He nodded again, shuffling on.
Chris grinned sideways at Vin, amused at the order to take a bath. Not that he minded; they'd been riding for days since they last cleaned up and they were dining with a lady. Vin shrugged.
'How 'bout a drink?'
Without waiting for an answer, she swept off through a door to her right. They followed, finding themselves in a large living room. Rag rugs dotted the stone floor and patchwork cushions littered the hide-covered couches. She busied herself with a whiskey bottle, then took one glass to Chris and went to offer the other to Vin. He was examining a sculpted figure on the mantel over the fireplace. Whittled from a hunk of Jeffrey's pine, it was finer than anything he'd seen in a long time. The sinuous curves captured the sheer essence of a cougar. She watched over his shoulder for a moment, then nudged his arm with the glass. He took it, still preoccupied with the animal.
'Where'd y'get that?' he asked.
'Made it.' Her voice was quiet but her pride was clear.
He looked at her in disbelief, then scanned the room and saw equally exquisite models all around: a buffalo, an eagle, a wolf, a coyote… There were a dozen or more of them.
He turned back to it. 'Reckon y'know more'an ranchin'.'
The gray eyes danced again but she said only, 'Got a lotta long nights to fill.'
Vin had no idea how to reply to that. He was saved by the reappearance of the boys in the doorway, still in tandem as if they couldn't move more than a foot apart.
'Baño!' they shouted together.
Kate nodded toward them, indicating that her guests should follow, then settled herself on one of the couches with a book.
Following the boys, the men studied the house as they walked. It was a rambling place, informal and homely. They saw a Mexican girl, maybe thirteen or fourteen, watching them shyly from a half-shut door. Through a window, a middle-aged man with a wooden leg hoed a vegetable plot. There was clearly a whole community living here, all looking happy and well fed. Managing such an enterprise, and keeping a bunch of ranchhands in order, was quite an undertaking for anyone, woman or no.
Their escorts led them through the kitchen, where another Mexican, this time a woman of around fifty, was busily working at supper. They wouldn't have been surprised to get a glare for being the cause of her extra work but instead she beamed at them.
'Buenas tardes, Señors.'
They touched their hats and went through a back door into a large washroom. There were four tubs, two now steaming invitingly. The boys shut the door, then stood with their backs to it.
Chris grinned. 'Looks like we got an audience. You two speak English?'
The taller one said, 'Sí, Señor.'
His brother's chest puffed out. 'Señora Holmes teach us to read and write also.'
The two men smiled at the pride the woman had instilled in these, the smallest of her people. They knew that her decision to trust her visitors had been a balance of faith in her own judgment and pragmatism at the options open to her. They would not be abusing that trust.
Chris chose his words carefully so that the boys would not catch his meaning. 'Looks like you're in there, Vin.'
Vin had put his gunbelt carefully on a bench near one tub and now dropped his pants. He shrugged. 'Seemed to me she was lookin' at you.'
Chris weighed that up. The woman had in no way seemed wanton and yet there was an intense energy about her. He did not doubt she could keep them both busy all night if she chose. Down boy, he told himself, you just been on the trail way too long. He turned his back to the boys before dropping his own pants, not because he was bothered by his nakedness but rather because he had no need to advertise what the thought had done to his body. Vin glanced up at that moment, caught an eyeful and grinned. He tossed his shirt onto the bench and stepped into his tub. He could afford to feel superior, since his own erection had subsided before he disrobed.
They had been soaking for ten minutes when their guardians lost interest and disappeared outside.
'Would you?' Chris asked. He knew Vin knew that he would, given an invitation. He avoided entanglements but an energetic no-strings session with a good-looking woman was definitely of interest. Vin was harder to predict, being more interested in love than sex.
Vin gazed out of the window for a while, still thinking about the carvings. It wasn't the woman's skill that impressed him: it was the way that she captured the beauty and spirit of her subjects. Only one who loved the wilderness as much as he himself did could understand them so well. There was something deeply appealing about burying himself inside her.
Chris read the hesitation as an affirmative. 'You ever shared?'
The question took Vin by surprise and he looked at his friend in amazement. He would have expected it from Buck but Chris… He slowly shook his head. 'Done fours, not threes. You?'
Chris's grin told him he need not have asked. Of course he and Buck had shared when circumstances required it.
Half an hour later, they were dry and dressed. Chris stuck his head round the door to the kitchen and called to the cook. 'Want these emptied, Señora?'
She shook her head and clucked, clearly not speaking much English. Grasping his arm, she pulled him into the kitchen and pushed him in the direction in which they had come through the house.
Chris touched his hat again. 'Gracias.'
Vin followed his friend along the corridors. The girl had disappeared, her door now shut, and they saw no one as they returned to the living room. When she heard them approaching, Kate refilled their glasses and set them on a low table between facing couches.
'Quite a place you got here,' Chris told her as he settled himself opposite her.
She nodded. 'One o' the big ol' Spanish families built it up. Last one of 'em had no heir so he left it to Ralphie's Pa. They fought together in the Mexican War. Ain't nothin' like it was once but we do well enough. Got some good bloodlines.'
'Must get lonely,' Chris ventured. He had every intention of finding out exactly what they were being offered.
Kate's smile was a mile wide. She winked at Vin. 'He comes right to the point, don't he?'
Chris gave a slight shrug. He wasn't one for playing games and he didn't believe the women was either.
'Yeah, it gets lonely sometimes. Found out a long time ago it ain't a good idea to bed the help. More trouble than it's worth. An' if they was here, you'd be over in their wing now. But the rest of us is… family. So maybe someone up there's taken pity on me and sent me a present to tide me over.' She drained her glass and refilled it. 'So, you come as a pair or do I have to choose?' This time she looked to Chris. 'Or don't he play?'
Chris grinned. 'He's kinda picky but you got him thinkin' on it.'
Some women might have been offended but not Kate. She laughed heartily. 'Well, you got plentya time to ponder 'cause I'm havin' my supper first.' She stretched out and put her feet on the table. 'So, who are you, where you hail from and what's goin' on out there in the big wide world?'
Chris made himself comfortable and then set about telling her what they knew of local affairs. He wasn't given to chat but he wasn't heartless either. When the woman admitted she was lonely, he knew it was for more than sex. Vin divided his attention between the sculptures and their maker, chipping in when he thought of something Chris had missed.
As they surmised, Kate trusted her judgment. By the time Ped announced dinner, she was confident she had not been wrong this time. The two men's manners might be as rough as her own but they were kind and sharp. The fact that they were also handsome was a bonus.
They followed the old man, now unarmed, into the dining room. Kate squeezed his shoulder when she saw the trouble he'd taken. The best tableware was carefully laid out, a single cactus flower central in a cut-glass bowl, bottles of wine in a bucket of cool well water. He waited on them throughout their meal, served coffee and then discreetly withdrew.
Vin spoke softly. 'Good people.'
She nodded. 'The best. Wouldn't be without 'em. I got some solid men workin' the horses but…' There was no need to say more: running the place was hard work.
They sipped their coffees reflectively for a few minutes, then Kate gave Vin a wicked grin. 'Well, boy, you decided yet?'
He gave one of his enigmatic half-smiles.
Chris met the woman's eye with a smile to say that no insult was intended before ribbing his friend. 'Take it in turns if you're afraid I'll show y'up.'
Vin grinned at Kate. 'I better help him out. He ain't gettin' any younger.'
She collected a bottle of whiskey and fresh glasses from the sideboard and then led them out. Nodding towards a heavy carved door, she added, 'Outhouse is back there if you wannit.' When they nodded, she said, 'Show yourselves up. First door on the right at the top of the stairs.'
In her room, Kate set the bottle and glasses on the nightstand and then wandered about, primping and straightening. The room was clean and tidy as it always was: the young girl who had watched Chris and Vin went by the name of Imelda and took an intense pride in her responsibility for keeping the house in order. Satisfied that all was well, Kate went through to the adjoining dressing room and took care of her own toilet. She opened the bottom drawer of a tall chest and took out a nightdress of cream silk, trimmed with delicate lace. Fingering the fine fabric she wondered if Ralphie would mind: she'd worn it on their wedding night. No, he wouldn't mind. He'd never wanted anything other than her happiness from the day they met. She slipped it on and fastened a matching robe on top. Dabbing scent behind her ears, she brushed her hair until it shone.
She examined herself in the mirror, recognizing that the effect was striking. Hearing the door to her bedroom open and then pull softly shut, she breathed in deeply and prepared to face her guests. She had taken strangers to her bed before but only one at a time. She was shocked by her own brazenness but she wanted these men and had no belief in anything that made the desire wrong.
When she stepped into the room, both men studied her appreciatively. Their hats now rested on the chair by the door and Chris had poured more drinks. He held one out to her. When she took it, he clasped her other hand in a firm but gentle grip.
'You don't have to go through with this.'
'I know.' The confidence in her voice confirmed that she did indeed know that. She smiled up at him. 'But what's the harm in havin' some fun?'
'Wouldn't want you to pay for it later.' His voice was low and his eyes strayed to her abdomen.
'No chance o' that.' She put no inflection on the words but the sadness was there nonetheless. Part of the reason she cared so much for the little brothers was that they were the closest she would ever come to having children of her own.
Chris released the hand and ran his own down the side of her face. She leaned into his touch. It had been too long… Sensing her desire, he took her untouched glass and set it down again. Her arms encircled his neck even as his embraced her waist. The kiss they shared was hard and needy, his tongue sweeping around her mouth and then reaching for her throat.
Vin smiled and took his drink over to the bed. It was a vast oak four-poster, big enough for an orgy let alone a threesome. He sat on the edge, took off his boots and then settled himself comfortably against the headboard. Watching the entwined couple, he was surprised at the intensity of the desire surging through him. It was more than just the titillation of seeing a man and woman together. This was his best friend with someone he liked more than he would have thought possible on such short acquaintance.
When Kate pulled away for air, Chris shrugged off his jacket and unbuckled his gunbelt. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt, peeled it off and threw it to the floor. He untucked his undershirt and pulled it over his head. As he did so, his muscles rippled invitingly. Kate ran a hand down one side of his back, feeling the strength in his light frame. He smiled and swept her into his arms, strode over to where Vin sat and dropped her lightly onto his lap.
The younger man slipped his arms around the precious bundle and pulled her close. Her lips locked onto his and this time it was she who extended her tongue to discover the secrets of his mouth. After a moment, Vin stopped her and turned her head towards Chris with one finger. Already bootless, his friend was unbuttoning his pants and Vin wanted the woman to watch that with him. Leaning back against his shoulder, she did so through half-closed eyes.
Chris's slim body was pale compared with his neck and hands. A light smattering of golden hairs ran between his nipples and in a column, over his flat stomach, down to the erect cock he now liberated. It rose thick and straight from a bed of corn-colored curls. He knelt on the far side of the bed, ran a hand down the stiff shaft and nodded to Vin. Kate felt Vin's hands on the sash at her waist. He freed the robe and then removed it smoothly. Kissing her neck, he ran his right hand over her breast and his left over her pubic mound. Her nightdress flowed under his palms and she let out a little whimper when he teased her nipple through the fabric. Every bump in the skin around the teat showed through the sheer silk.
Kate crawled forward to kiss Chris again. Seconds later, she dropped down to lick the glistening tip of his cock. Behind her, Vin massaged her ass until the discomfort in his crotch forced him to get up. Chris lifted Kate from his cock and turned her as Vin had done. Together they watched the tracker strip. He was as spare as Chris but his frame was a touch broader. His skin was a shade darker and the hairs on his chest were bronze with tantalizing highlights of red and gold. When he dropped his pants and drawers to the ground as one, the cock he revealed was as thick as his friend's but with a little kink to the right.
Vin returned to the bed and knelt in front of Kate. When his blue eyes looked into the merry gray of hers, there was a fondness in their steady gaze that she had not seen since her husband died. He slid his hands under the nightdress and ran them up the alabaster skin until they covered her breasts. Even as he stroked and pulled, Chris ran a hand over her thigh and touched the damp cleft between her legs. She moaned and tried to press against them both at once. Chris stroked a buttock with his free hand and then moved into the crevice between the two soft cheeks. He waited a moment to see if she objected to the contact. When she did not, he sucked his fingers and slid first one and then two into her ass. She moaned again and Chris felt the juices flowing from her cunt onto his open hand. He smiled to Vin and glanced at the other man's cock.
Vin guided Kate's mouth onto it, sighing at the warm embrace, and then watched as Chris slid the silk up and rubbed his cock from her ass to her clit and back. Kate's sigh was muffled by the throbbing flesh in her mouth. She fondled Vin's balls with one hand as she expertly sucked him. Chris shifted his position slightly and then buried his whole length in one thrust. Vin felt Kate's pleasure when her gasp yanked on his dick. He sighed, knowing his first climax was only seconds away. Surprised to feel no embarrassment, he looked at Chris for the same timing signals they'd used in countless gunfights. They held one another's gaze as they synchronized their releases with Kate's response.
Three groans came within one second. When Vin's creamy cum filled Kate's mouth, she swallowed it greedily, sucking out every last drop. Slowly, she sat up, still impaled on Chris's cock.
'Jesus, you boys are good,' she said, wiping her mouth with the back of one hand.
Chris pulled her close in a bearhug, while Vin shuffled forward so that the fronts of their bodies were in contact. Sandwiched between them, Kate felt valued and protected, something every woman needs once in a while. Vin kissed her, tasting himself in her mouth and loving it. Knowing what his friend was doing, Chris turned her head and reached round to her mouth. He didn't plan on blowing Vin himself but tasting the man's cum was an unexpected thrill.
When Chris softened and fell from her, Kate shifted them round and they settled down in the bed for a break. She lay with her head on Vin's shoulder, his arm around her and her hand on his chest. Chris tucked up behind her so that his flesh was tight against her back, ass, thighs and calves.
'You done this before?' Chris asked her.
'With two? No.'
'Why us?'
She gave a tiny shrug. 'Don't get too many like you come through here.'
'Woman like you'd have her choice though.' Vin said.
'Don't seem to work out that way somehow. Ralphie was… well, we were real good together. Ain't so easy to start over. Know what I mean?'
Chris enfolded her waist in his strong embrace. 'Yeah. I know what you mean.'
Somehow, Kate knew that he did. Drawing strength from them both, she sighed and cuddled closer. She slept for an hour or so, while they dozed. Convention would have had it the other way around but they were no ordinary men. For one thing, they wanted to be whatever she wanted them to be for the entire night. For another, it wasn't long before the unusual setting had them both horny again.
When Kate stirred, the first thing she felt was Chris's hard cock against her ass.
'My, my,' she murmured sleepily. 'Ain't you the keen one?' Then to Vin, 'Thought you said he was past it.'
Vin took her hand and rested it on his own rock-hard rod.
'Anythin' ya want?' he asked tenderly.
Still only half awake, her voice was a whisper. 'Front'n'back together. Always wondered how that'd be.'
The two men exchanged surprised looks. That was certainly ambitious enough for them. They began by making sure she was fully awake. Vin slipped the nightdress over her head and flicked her responsive nipples with his tongue, while Chris fluttered featherlight fingers over her cleft. She parted her legs wider to give him room to maneuver, while he spread her juices around the puckered opening she wanted him to enter. A minute or two of that had her wide-eyed and gasping. Vin shifted closer and pressed his cock against the hard little nub Chris had been working. He ran its slick head to and fro a few times before sliding easily into her cunt. Once Vin was settled on his side, Chris pushed a finger into Kate's ass. He slowly moved it in and out, then stretched the tight muscles. He could feel his friend's cock through the thin tissue barrier and rubbed it until Vin moaned with the pleasure. When he was satisfied that Kate would feel little by way of pain, Chris entered her. He knew from her relaxed response that it wasn't her first time and soon he was delving deeper.
'Aw, shit.' Vin felt his control slipping as Chris's cock jostled against his own. He bit his lip and exerted every ounce of his considerable self-discipline to pull himself back from the brink.
Kate smiled fondly at him. 'Impressive.'
'We aim to please.'
She gave a deep sigh and shuddered. 'Well, any time you're ready gents.'
They began to move, cautiously at first and then more vigorously. Within seconds, Kate had been transported to another plane. Vin smiled at the ecstasy he saw on her face; he had no need to look to Chris for timing now - he could sense it in the stimulation they gave each other. Even as his own cock stiffened and swelled, he felt Chris's do the same. They jerked against each other, filling Kate with their cum.
The three of them pressed close, reluctant to surrender the ties that temporarily bound them into one being. They held the moment briefly and then it was gone. Kate buried her face in Vin's shoulder and sighed.
'Thanks, fellas. Reckon that was about as perfect as this life gets.'
This time, it was Chris to whom she turned for comfort and Vin who molded himself to her back. They slept soundly like that until dawn.
Kate woke pressed against a man's back, her hand on his shoulder blade. For a fleeting moment, she thought of Ralphie but then she remembered her visitors. She felt no shame for what she'd done, only emptiness at the knowledge that they would ride on and she would be alone once more. The man she held was Chris and he still slept. Behind her, Vin had been awake for some time. Hearing the change in her breathing, he put a hand on her upper arm and squeezed her closer to himself. She rolled over slowly, mindful not to wake Chris, and snuggled up to him.
'Y'okay?' he breathed in her ear.
She nodded, looking again into those pools of ocean blue kindness. Trying for a smile, she said softly, 'You made an ol' widow very happy.'
The lips he pressed to hers were tender. 'Y'made me very happy.'
'You don't do this sorta thing a lot?' The words were halfway between a question and a statement. Chris had told her the man was selective but something in his eyes said more than that.
'It show?' There was no offense in his tone, just mild curiosity perhaps.
'Not the way you mean. You seem to care, is all.'
'Yeah. I care.'
'It was the carvin's, wasn't it?'
'Reckon we ain't so different.'
She nodded but said nothing.
His voice still only a murmur, he spoke earnestly. 'Chris cares too. More than y'think.'
She nodded again. 'He lose a wife?'
Vin's eyes affirmed that.
'You got someone?'
Somehow those same eyes told her there was no one.
'Wouldn't be here if y'had.' She had no idea how she knew that.
Vin smiled. 'Neither would he.'
'Didn't think they made 'em like you two anymore.'
He ran his hand through her hair and then kissed her. His lips lingered lovingly, offering comfort and shelter in place of passion. 'Dyin' breed.'
'Don't say that, Vin.' Her voice trembled. 'Sometimes seems like this country is goin' to shit. Buffalo gone, Indians pushed onto the reservations, Mexicans treated like dirt. If this is progress, I ain't so sure I want it.'
He wished he had some comfort to offer but her doubts were his own. He was a young man and yet, even in his lifetime, the land had changed: big ranchers drove cattle across it, homesteaders fenced it off, railroads brought in folk who knew nothing about it. He accepted it but that didn't make him like it.
'Sometimes I think I'd just as soon go to Ralphie now.'
He shook his head. 'Got people dependin' on ya here.'
Having woken as soon as Kate moved, Chris lay listening to their whispers. How often had he thought about joining Sarah and Adam? If he believed it possible, he would have done it long ago. He kept his breathing slow and even, although he guessed Vin knew he was awake. It wasn't Vin he sought to give privacy: he knew the woman's needs were different now and that Vin was better able to meet them than he was.
Kate stroked Vin's chest, wishing that he would make love to her. Not the intensely satisfying sex they had enjoyed the night before but tender lovemaking, as if they meant something to one another.
Vin continued to comb her hair with his fingers, reflecting on her words. He did indeed know Chris was awake but was unconcerned. Although in some ways he was a deeply private man, he did not reckon to do or say anything that he would be ashamed for another to see or hear. Reaching his decision, he kissed her again.
Kate couldn't have said what changed but she instantly knew that he wanted to give her what she yearned for. She let him roll her onto her back and then work his lips and fingers over her. Everything was different from the night before, his attention now on her face… neck… hands… barely touching her breasts or pubic mound.
She responded, caressing his muscular shoulders and running her fingers along his strong jaw. When he slipped inside her, she was no longer alone, joined to another in the most intimate way possible. Seeing her peaceful expression, he knew that she already had what she wanted from him and relaxed into his orgasm.
Chris let them lie together for a while, waiting for his own arousal to pass, then made a convincing show of waking. When Kate embraced him, he winked at Vin over her shoulder.
Some time later, they ate breakfast in the kitchen under Consuela's supervision. She plied them with enough food and coffee to ensure they'd be making several stops during the day. Chris watched her, intrigued by a surrogate family who surely knew how they had spent the night and seemed totally at ease with it.
When they'd eaten their fill and then some, they went out to where the boys were waiting with their steeds. The horses had clearly passed an agreeable night too, coats groomed till they shone and tack polished till it gleamed.
Chris tossed a dollar to each of the boys. He had no idea how they'd spend it out here but wanted to give something and had no intention of insulting Kate by offering payment. He turned to her, touched his hat brim and then pressed her hand to his lips. His sad smile spoke of shared experience, past loss and present comfort.
Vin took her in his arms and gave her one last lingering kiss. The twinkle in his eyes told her to have courage; the determination in hers promised that she would.
Kate watched them ride into the distance, not moving until the last speck of dust had settled. Turning back to the house, she left her tears unshed. Her men would be back that day and life would return to normal. She stood a little straighter: it was a night to treasure and that was what she would do with it.