wondered why he’d had so much trouble remembering that the past two days.
Chapter Four
R afe spent the following day doing exactly the same thing he had done the day before—and the day before that. Tracking down illegal squatters. He and his patrol had been led on a hair-raising chase over hill and dale before capturing four men who resisted arrest and had to be forcefully subdued.
Tired, irritable and hungry, Rafe rode into the fort. The place looked normal, with off-duty soldiers strolling about. But something didn’t feel quite right. Rafe glanced suspiciously toward the officers’ quarters. Karissa damn well better be where she was supposed to be.
He suspected that she had used their tour the previous night to case the area, looking for a niche in the shadows to hide out before making her getaway.
He had anticipated that she would wait until she thought she’d lulled him into a false sense of control and had him thinking she had accepted captivity before she made her escape. But knowing Karissa, his attempt to second-guess her strategy would work against him, not for him. Much as he hated to admit it, she was a mental step ahead of him.
The woman was too smart by half.
Rafe shifted uneasily in the saddle as he passed by the officers’ quarters. The sixth sense that he’d learned to rely on warned him that something was wrong. It left him with an uneasy tension that prompted him to make fast work of tending his horse. In record time he shut Sergeant in his stall and headed straight for his quarters. He needed to see for himself that Karissa was still in custody.
A growl exploded from his lips when he opened the door to find his room in shambles. The sheets and blankets were in a tangled heap. The table had been up-ended; the bookshelf had toppled over, leaving his military manuals strewn about like casualties of war. The glass globe of the lantern lay in shattered pieces on the floor and oil stained the floorboards.
“Damn her!” Rafe said furiously as he stormed outside.
“She’s gone?” Micah hooted. “I presumed—”
Rafe wheeled on his longtime friend. “You never presume when it comes to that woman!” he fumed. “The moment I think we have reached a workable truce she rips my quarters to shreds and escapes.” He swung his arms in agitated gestures. “This is the thanks I get for guarding the land she wants to claim and keeping it free of other squatters.”
“I’ll go after her,” Micah volunteered hurriedly. “I don’t think you’re in the right frame of mind to track her down.”
“Oh, no, you won’t,” Rafe countered as he stalked off. “She is my responsibility and this is another act of rebellion against my position of authority.”
Rafe didn’t add that, although Micah was probably better suited for pursuing Karissa, he was suffering from an absurd feeling of possessiveness and protectiveness. He wanted to be the one to track her down. He wanted to be the one to discover she hadn’t put herself in harm’s way. He wanted to be the one to rake her over live coals for destroying his quarters and thumbing her nose at his orders. And, by damned, he was going to drag her back to the post to serve her time for breaking the laws governing the upcoming Land Run.
“Um…Rafe?” Micah murmured as he followed his friend.
“What?” he growled as he headed back to the stables.
“I know you’re furious,” Micah called after him, “but outright murder doesn’t become you. You are first and always an officer and a gentleman.”
“Maybe so, but right now I would gladly resign my command for five minutes of justified fury! When I get that woman back in custody she is not going to see the light of day for a week!” He broke into a run and sprinted into the stables. “Assume command of this post while I’m gone, Micah!”
Karissa brushed her fingertips over the bruise on her cheek that still throbbed hours after her harrowing encounter with Harlan Billings. He had
Chapter Four
R afe spent the following day doing exactly the same thing he had done the day before—and the day before that. Tracking down illegal squatters. He and his patrol had been led on a hair-raising chase over hill and dale before capturing four men who resisted arrest and had to be forcefully subdued.
Tired, irritable and hungry, Rafe rode into the fort. The place looked normal, with off-duty soldiers strolling about. But something didn’t feel quite right. Rafe glanced suspiciously toward the officers’ quarters. Karissa damn well better be where she was supposed to be.
He suspected that she had used their tour the previous night to case the area, looking for a niche in the shadows to hide out before making her getaway.
He had anticipated that she would wait until she thought she’d lulled him into a false sense of control and had him thinking she had accepted captivity before she made her escape. But knowing Karissa, his attempt to second-guess her strategy would work against him, not for him. Much as he hated to admit it, she was a mental step ahead of him.
The woman was too smart by half.
Rafe shifted uneasily in the saddle as he passed by the officers’ quarters. The sixth sense that he’d learned to rely on warned him that something was wrong. It left him with an uneasy tension that prompted him to make fast work of tending his horse. In record time he shut Sergeant in his stall and headed straight for his quarters. He needed to see for himself that Karissa was still in custody.
A growl exploded from his lips when he opened the door to find his room in shambles. The sheets and blankets were in a tangled heap. The table had been up-ended; the bookshelf had toppled over, leaving his military manuals strewn about like casualties of war. The glass globe of the lantern lay in shattered pieces on the floor and oil stained the floorboards.
“Damn her!” Rafe said furiously as he stormed outside.
“She’s gone?” Micah hooted. “I presumed—”
Rafe wheeled on his longtime friend. “You never presume when it comes to that woman!” he fumed. “The moment I think we have reached a workable truce she rips my quarters to shreds and escapes.” He swung his arms in agitated gestures. “This is the thanks I get for guarding the land she wants to claim and keeping it free of other squatters.”
“I’ll go after her,” Micah volunteered hurriedly. “I don’t think you’re in the right frame of mind to track her down.”
“Oh, no, you won’t,” Rafe countered as he stalked off. “She is my responsibility and this is another act of rebellion against my position of authority.”
Rafe didn’t add that, although Micah was probably better suited for pursuing Karissa, he was suffering from an absurd feeling of possessiveness and protectiveness. He wanted to be the one to track her down. He wanted to be the one to discover she hadn’t put herself in harm’s way. He wanted to be the one to rake her over live coals for destroying his quarters and thumbing her nose at his orders. And, by damned, he was going to drag her back to the post to serve her time for breaking the laws governing the upcoming Land Run.
“Um…Rafe?” Micah murmured as he followed his friend.
“What?” he growled as he headed back to the stables.
“I know you’re furious,” Micah called after him, “but outright murder doesn’t become you. You are first and always an officer and a gentleman.”
“Maybe so, but right now I would gladly resign my command for five minutes of justified fury! When I get that woman back in custody she is not going to see the light of day for a week!” He broke into a run and sprinted into the stables. “Assume command of this post while I’m gone, Micah!”
Karissa brushed her fingertips over the bruise on her cheek that still throbbed hours after her harrowing encounter with Harlan Billings. He had
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