Trail of Kisses by Merry Farmer Page B

wagon trains headed west. The closest thing it had to
walls protecting it was a barrier of cottonwood trees around the
perimeter. It looked as though it could house quite a few soldiers,
but at that moment Lynne noticed only a few people in anything
resembling a uniform.
    “ I thought it would be neighborly
if you attended the ceremony with me later this evening,” she
pushed on as Cade stepped up onto the porch of the military
headquarters.
    “ Sure,” he said before striding
through the open front door. “I need to talk to someone about
hiring a few armed men to come with our wagon train,” he announced
to the middle-aged man behind a desk in the center of the
room.
    The man and a few others in worn out clothes
and dusty boots stared at him, their conversations
interrupted.
    “ Excuse me?” the man behind the
desk said. He wasn’t rude or unkind, but Lynne felt her face flush
nonetheless.
    “ This isn’t necessary,” she hissed
at Cade.
    “ I’ll say what’s necessary,” he
murmured to her before facing the man at the desk. “Half a dozen
men with rifles and pistols will do.”
    “ As an escort?” The man behind the
desk split his confused look between Cade and Lynne.
    “ I was under the impression that
the army offered armed escort to pioneers traveling west.” Cade
took a few steps closer to the desk.
    The man behind it stood and came around to
hold a hand out to him.
    “ Sargent Waters,” he introduced
himself.
    “ Cade Lawson.” Cade nodded. “And
this is Miss Lynne Tremaine. Threats of a serious nature have been
made against her life.”
    “ Cade, stop this,” Lynne tried to
silence him.
    He ignored her. “I need a few men to come with
us to Denver City to make sure none of those threats are carried
out.”
    “ I see,” Sargent Waters said. He
looked Lynne up and down, trying and failing to hide an amused
grin.
    Lynne’s cheeks flared with embarrassment.
“You’re wasting this gentleman’s time.”
    At last Cade turned to her. “I’m trying to
keep you safe and get you to Denver City in one piece. Whoever is
trying to do you harm was clever enough to get inside of your wagon
and into your hope chest. What they did to your father’s picture
was just a warning and a show of what they can do. I won’t let that
happen.”
    “ It’s fine. Really.” Lynne
insisted. She placed her hand on his forearm.
    Cade glanced down at her fingers, color
seeping into his face.
    “ Well, I’d help you if I could,”
Sargent Waters said. His grin was plain for all the world to see
now. “And a couple of years ago, the army would have had plenty of
men to spare for this important mission .”
    Lynne was tempted to huff in indignation at
his tone. Cade glowered at him.
    “ The problem is, since war broke
out back East, almost all of the soldiers who were guarding the
trail, keeping the Indians away, have rushed off to join the
cause.”
    “ Who are you, then?” Lynne asked,
not caring how impudent she sounded.
    “ Nebraska Territory volunteer
militia,” Sargent Waters answered. “Holding down the fort until the
war ends and the soldiers get back to real business.” He nodded to
underscore his answer. “But I’m afraid there aren’t enough of us to
spare escorting fair maidens across the prairie.”
    He was laughing at her. Lynne wasn’t about to
stand around and accept that kind of behavior.
    “ Come on, Cade. We have more
important things to do than waste this gentleman’s time with
frivolities and flights of fancy.” She turned to leave, tugging
Cade’s sleeve to prompt him to follow.
    Cade did follow, but the second they were out
on the porch, he said, “I don’t know why you aren’t taking the
threats against you seriously.”
    She forced herself to laugh, even though her
heart trembled. He had no idea how seriously she did take it. If
she gave one inch, showed the slightest weakness, even to herself,
her fear would destroy her and the Briscoe Boys would
win.
    “ A little