The two boys began wrestling in the water.
As she turned, she saw Cole standing in waist-deep water.
She was stunned by the feelings aroused by the mere sight of him.
A mat of dark hair covered his chest and fell in a deep V to below the water at his waist.
As he reached deeper water and began to swim toward her, his hands cut through the water with powerful strokes.
For a moment she was mesmerized by the sight of his glistening arms and shoulders.
Up close his dark hair glittered.
His eyes were warm and crinkled with laughter.
"Think you're going to be able to sink me as easily as you did Danny?"
"You'll be even easier."
Though she knew better, she enjoyed taunting him.
When he moved within reach, she knew she would have to make good her threat.
How could she get the better of a strong man like Cole?
"Better close your mouth, Jessie," he teased.
"You're about to swallow half the creek."
When he reached out for her, she surprised him by ducking beneath the water.
Before he could react, she caught him by the ankle and tugged with all her might.
Danny and Thad howled with laughter when Cole disappeared beneath the waves.
A moment later he came up sputtering.
"Very clever."
As Jessie tried to swim away, he caught her roughly by the arm and lifted her out of the water, then tossed her like a sack of grain.
She landed with a giant splash, much to the amusement of her brothers.
As she sank beneath the water, she caught sight of Cole's legs just a few feet away.
Catching him around the waist, she dragged him down until his head was beneath the water, then released him and swam hard and fast toward shore.
She wasn't nearly quick enough.
With powerful strokes he caught her and pressed her head under the waves.
Cole surfaced.
Tossing water from his head, he swiveled around searching for Jessie.
She would have to surface, and when she did, he would: be waiting for one more chance at revenge.
For long moments he waited.
When she didn't break water, he became concerned.
"Where's Jess?"
Danny shouted.
Cole's heart stopped beating.
He forgot to breathe.
Dear God.
Jessie.
He dove deeply and peered through the water for some sign of her.
When he broke the surface, he felt a hand at his shoulder.
Before he could turn, he felt a terrible pressure as Jessie shoved with all her might, forcing his head beneath the water once more.
This time when he surfaced he wasn't laughing.
"What the llell do you think you're doing?"
"Sinking you," she said innocently.
"You scared the hell out of me, woman. I thought you'd drowned."
His hand snaked out, catching her roughly by the arm.
For a moment he was too moved to speak.
Her antics had shaken him to the core.
"You're just mad because I won."
Cole took a long deep breath and cautioned himself not to show the emotions that were causing such turmoil inside him.
He gave an evil grin and pulled her closer.
"You always have to win, don't you, Jessie?"
"Yes."
He drew her even closer until their bodies were touching.
Dear heaven, he wasn't wearing anything.
She jumped like a scared jackrabbit.
As she tried to push away, his legs i wrapped around hers, pinning her against the length of him.
"Now what are you going to do, Jessie?"
She saw the teasing laughter in his eyes and knew that he could see the betraying blush that colored her throat and cheeks.
"Let me go, Cole."
"And miss the chance to see you get out of this by your own wits?"
The warmth of his laughter washed over her.
"Not on your life."
"Duck her," Danny cried.
"Go ahead, Cole," Thad shouted.
"Duck Jessie."
"Hey, Tadpole. Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot."
The little boy was laughing so hard he forgot to be sorry for changing his alliance from his sister to Cole.
"Come on, Cole. Duck Jessie again."
"Looks like the vote is three against one," he said, pressing his hands on her head and ducking her beneath the water.
This time, though, he refused to let go of her.
She wasn't going to frighten him again.
When he pulled her above the water, he drew her even closer until his arms were firmly around her.
"Had enough?"
She would never have enough of Cole's arms around her.
Even while she laughed and nodded her head, she felt a delicious tingle somewhere deep inside her.
As his legs wound around hers, and his hands held her firmly against the length of him, she shivered.
"Cold?"
"No. Are you?"
He glanced over to where her two brothers frolicked.
Lowering his voice so they couldn't hear, he murmured against her temple.
"Woman, I'm so hot right now, it's a good thing I'm in this creek."
She laughed and tried to push away, but he held her fast.
"Don't fight it, Jessie. Just let me hold you for a minute longer."
The laughter died in her throat.
The gentle motion of the water soothed even as it excited.
Held firmly against his chest, Jessie tilted her head to study the spill of dark haft glittering with droplets of water.
As he lowered his face to her, she studied the way his eyes gleamed in the sunlight reflected off the water.
He thought of the shock that had gone through him at the sight of her removing her clothes.
In that one brief moment' when she paused on the shore, wearing only a sheer garment that displayed more than it covered, he had felt as if all the breath had been knocked from him.
He had watched her walk through the water, had watched as the filmy garment became wet and clingy, and had felt a tightness in'his throat.
Now her hair floated gently around her, forming a halo of glistening gold.
Her skin was so soft, so cool to the touch.
Just below the water he could see the swell of her breasts.
The thought of taking a wet slick nipple into his mouth brought on a wave of desperate desire.
His legs tangled with hers, drawing her lower torso tightly to him.
Having her this close and not being able to take her was the sweetest torment he'd ever experienced.
Hell.
This little woman was driving him mad.
"You're frowning."
She touched a finger to the little line that furrowed his forehead.
"It's you."
"I make you frown?"
His voice was rough.
"You make me crazy."
"Ah."
The way she said that single word told him that despite her innocence, she knew instinctively the ways of a woman and man and sensed just how aroused he had become.
The thought pleased yet frightened her.
She wasn't at all certain how to act.
Should she let Cole know how much she enjoyed being held in his strong arms?
Or would he think she was a wicked woman?
She bit her lip, wishing she knew more about men and women.
It would be so pleasant to just relax in his arms, to know how to please him, how to tease him.
Cole studied the way she looked, so fresh, so clean, so in nocent.
When she bit her lip he felt a rush of desire, and had to use all his willpower to keep from lowering his mouth to hers.
Confused, Jess
ie placed both hands against his chest and pushed.
"I think I'd better get out of the creek now."
:: "Why?"
He continued to hold her despite her efforts;, : "If we're going to have supper, I'd better start a fire. i " You've already started a fire.
" When she glanced up into his eyes with a look of surprise, he added fiercely, " In me.
i And I don't know what it will take to put it out.
" The imp inside the young woman took over." Water," laughed, splashing him." Water will put out the fire every time.
" Before he could stop her, she brought her hand the water, sending a spray into his face. He blinked grabbed for her. She backed away and splashed him then turned and began swimming as fast as she could. By the time she reached the shore, Cole was right her.
In a taunting voice she called, "You can't follow me out of the water."
"Why can't I?"
"Because you aren't wearing anything."
"And why should that stop me?"
Jessie shot him a horrified look and tried to scramble up the bank of the creek.
Seeing another battle of wills, Danny and Thad laughed and cheered.
"It's time you learned you can't always win," Cole said, grabbing her by the ankle just as she was about to sprint away.
She landed in the grass before being lifted in his strong arms.
With absolutely no concern for his nakedness, he walked to the very edge of the creek.
"This time, woman, I win."
Cole tossed her high in the air and watched as she landed in the middle of the creek with a tremendous splash.
Moments later she came up laughing and sputtering.
Wiping water from her eyes, she shook her head, sending a spray of water dancing in the air before her hair settled to float around her on the waves.
Cole dried himself and slipped into his buckskin pants.
From his vantage point on shore, he thought she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen.
He stood very still, savoring the sight of Jessie swimming toward him.
When she stood at the edge of the creek, he watched the way the wet fabric clung to her like a second skin clearly following every line and curve of her slender body.
As he reached out a hand to help her up the grassy bank, he felt the heat grow once more.
Her teasing laughter broke the spell.
"You win this time. But don't get used to it. I'll see that it doesn't happen again."
Before he could respond, she added with a smile, "Now I'll make supper.
You boys have yourselves a good time."
Before he could see what she was up to, she tugged on his hand and watched as he stumbled forward into the creek.
She calmly walked away while behind her he unleashed a string of oaths.
Supper was a glorious affair.
Jessie had cooked venison until it was so tender it nearly fell apart.
From her meager supply of flour she made biscuits so flaky they melted on the tongue.
The aroma of strong coffee drifted on the fresh evening breeze.
The four sat around the camp fire, refreshed, replete.
"I think you outdid yourself, Jessie."
Cole lounged against a saddle, his gaze lifted to the star-filled sky.
"That was just about the best meal I've ever tasted."
"I think so, too."
Danny polished off the last biscuit and washed it down with clear cold water from the creek.
Jessie basked in the glow of their compliments.
It was the first time she could ever remember Danny saying anything good about her cooking.
Her skills had always been compared unfavorably with her ma's.
As for Cole, she found it rare praise indeed.
Usually he preferred to tease her.
"More coffee?"
She lifted the blackened pot from the fire and filled Cole's cup.
He gave her a warm smile before once more raising his head to scan the heavens.
"Did you have brothers or sisters, Cole?"
Thad asked.
Jessie turned to glance at the little boy and noticed that Thad was resting his back against a saddle.
Was Cole aware that Thad was imitating him?
Did he have any idea how much he was influencing her two brothers?
First she had caught Danny practically swearing; now Thad was adopting Cole's mannerisms.
"I had a younger sister and brother."
"Do they live with you?"
Danny asked.
Though Jessie pretended to be busy washing their tin plates in a bucket of hot water, she glanced up at the soft tone of Cole's voice.
"They both died of cholera, along with my mother."
She was surprised at the feelings that washed over her at his words.
"What's cholera?"
Thad sipped lukewarm coffee from a tin cup in the same way Cole did.
"I read about it. It's a bad sickness," Danny said.
"It kills a lot of people."
"Did you get it, too?"
Thad asked.
Cole nodded.
"How come you didn't die?"
Cole stared down into his cup, frowning.
"I've asked myself that. I don't have the answer. Maybe I was stronger than they were. Maybe I just didn't get as sick as they did."
He shrugged and looked away.
"Whatever the reason, I was the lucky one."
The tone of his voice said that he still hadn't forgiven himself for being the one to live.
"What about your pa?"
Thad asked.
"Did he get the sickness, too?"
Cole shook his head.
"My father was the strongest man I've ever known.
He was never sick a day in his life.
"That's how my pa is," Thad said proudly.
"Isn't he, Jessie?"“ Yes.
" She dried her hands and indicated the bedrolls spread out beside the fire." I think you'd better get some sleep noW.
We have a lot of miles to make up.
Thad yawned and moved reluctantly toward the blankets.
Tomorrow he would have to face long hours in the saddle.
But at least he'd had a special day today.
With more warmth than usual, he hugged his sister as she tucked him into bed.
Danny and Cole sat talking quietly about cholera and its treatment for nearly an hour before Danny yawned, stretched and climbed wearily into his bedroll.
Jessie knew she should be tired.
Swimming in the creek had tested muscles she hadn't even known she had.
But she was reluctant to end this special day.
She filled Cole's cup with more coffee and poured the last of it into a cup for herself.
For long minutes they drank in companionable silence, enjoying the night sounds.
"It sounds like your family was close-knit."
He nodded.
"I grew up hearing stories about my grandfather.
He was a legend in my house.
"Why? What did he do?"
"It was how he died that set him apart from other men."
"How did your grandfather die, Cole?"
She watched him drain his cup and set it down, then roll a cigarette.
He pulled a flaming stick from the fire and held it to the tip.
Inhaling, he blew the smoke out in a stream before speaking.
"He died March 6, 1836."
Jessie went very still.
Every man, woman and child in Texas knew the date.
It had been imprinted on their minds from the time they could speak and understand.
"The Alamo."
Her voice was hushed with wonder.
"He died trying to save the Alamo. ' ' Cole nodded and drew smoke into his lungs." My father said there were one hundred thirty-eight men who died at the Alamo.
And only seven were native Texans.
/> But that day, they all became Texas heroes.
Their deed will live on for as long as there is a Texas.
She heard the note of pride in his voice and felt a lump in her throat.
"Your pa must have been very proud of him."
"He was. I never knew my grandfather. But my father saw to it that his memory was kept alive for all of us."
Their sudden easy comradeship gave her the courage to ask the question she'd wondered about earlier.
"How did your pa die?"
His tone roughened with emotion.
"He was shot in the back by a coward."
"Oh, Cole. How terrible. Did they hang the man who did it?"
He stubbed out the cigarette and got to his feet.
Before he turned away, Jessie saw the look that came into Cole's eyes.
That hard feral glint she had seen on the first night, when he had been forced to kill the men who had captured her.
The eyes of a hunter.
"Hanging's too good for a coward. I want him to answer to me."
Chapter Fourteen
For the next five days their odyssey took the travelers on a northerly course across Texas .
The tracks of thousands of cattle were deeply imprinted in the soil.
This was the trail of gold for cattlemen--the Chisholm Trail, leading to the stockyards in Abilene and the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
Jessie studied the line of horses ahead of her.
Danny rode in front, with Thad following.
She felt a surge of pride in her brothers.
Though both boys were often weary of the trail, they never complained.
And though most nights they fell into their bedrolls as soon as they had eaten an evening meal, they never asked to stop.
Directly ahead of her rode Cole.
As her thoughts drifted, she realized how much she had begun to care about the gunman.
What would she and her brothers do if Cole was forced to leave them to escape his nameless, faceless enemy?
Jessie turned in the saddle to scan the far horizon.
Someone could be out there right now watching their every move.
She rubbed at the stiffness in her shoulders.
Would they ever feel safe?
Would they find Pa?
Questions.
Unending questions.
They made her weary.
She brushed away such worrisome thoughts.
Throughout the long journey, Cole had said little about himself except to answer specific questions put to him by Danny or Thad.
Jessie was careful to ask nothing, sensing his discomfort when the attention centered on him.