Page 14 of Wellspring

CADE LET himself into the hotel room the next morning, in charity with the world.

Abigail had found an empty bed for him the night before—after demanding to know why he was asking her for a bed when every girl in the place would have willingly shared hers.

Abigail had taken one look at his burning cheeks and seen right through his excuses.

If that tall drink of cool water doesn’t appreciate you, he’s not worth your time.

After Heller’s disinterest in Millie and the other girls, Cade actually hoped he might have a chance.

Or maybe it was just saloon girls Heller wasn’t interested in.

But if Heller was too snobbish to want them because they earned their living that way, he’d lose all the respect he’d earned in Cade’s eyes by treating them so courteously.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked when he saw Heller still in bed, despite the later than usual hour.

He’d hoped to give Heller some space and let him have the bed to himself since it was a small room and even smaller bed.

As much as he would have enjoyed spending the night so close to Heller, he doubted either of them would have gotten a good night’s sleep if he had.

“The bed was comfortable. And you?” Heller asked, not meeting Cade’s eyes as he rose to dress.

“I always have a good night,” Cade replied with a cocky grin to hide his reaction to the intimacy of watching Heller dress.

“That I do not doubt.” Heller straightened his collar and gestured toward the door. “Shall we go to breakfast, or do you care to refresh yourself first?”

“Abby let me wash up there this morning before I came back,” Cade replied easily. “I keep telling her she don’t owe me anything, that I just wanted to save Chel, but she don’t listen.”

Heller didn’t respond, just opened the door and headed down to the dining room, leaving Cade to follow. What bug crawled up his ass? Cade wondered when Heller’s face remained an impassive mask throughout being seated and placing their orders.

Deciding he didn’t want to ask, no matter how much he wanted to know, Cade applied himself to his coffee in silence.

He’d planned to spend two or three days in town, as much to show Heller around as to take a break from the road and stock back up on supplies, but if Heller was going to keep acting like this, he could show himself around.

The waitress had just dropped off their meals when a voice at the next table caught his attention.

“Stupid uppity bitch, thinking she can run a ranch by herself. It’s about time someone taught her a lesson.”

Cade risked a glance sideways and stifled a groan when he recognized Johann Reichardt, the owner of the JR, the largest ranch outside of Eldorado.

He only hoped Reichardt lived up to his reputation for not paying any attention to hired hands because if he recognized Cade, he’d shut his trap, even if he didn’t do anything else, and Cade needed to know what he was planning if he was talking about who Cade thought he was.

“What do you suggest?” Otto Ulrich, the owner of another neighboring ranch, the Bar U, asked.

Heller’s cocked eyebrow was the only indication he’d heard the comments too, but to Cade’s relief, he didn’t ask any questions that might alert the two ranchers.

“The simplest solution would be to marry her,” Reichardt replied.

“Then when her land is under my control, it won’t matter how much she protests.

The water will be ours to use as we please.

She’s comely enough. I wouldn’t mind having her in my bed for a few years.

” Miz Roarke would geld you first , Cade thought, clenching his jaw to hide his anger.

“If she’s fertile, she’ll even give me an heir for my empire.

And if not, well, as her husband, her land is mine anyway, and no one would think twice if she had an unfortunate accident. ”

“And if she refuses to marry you?” Ulrich asked.

“Then there are other ways of getting what we want,” Reichardt replied.

“Over Payne’s dead body,” Cade muttered under his breath, though in truth, it would be over the dead body of every man and woman in the Wellspring outfit once Cade told them what he’d just heard.

He just had to get back to Wellspring before Reichardt could get to Miz Roarke.

On horseback and without a wagon full of furniture to slow him down, Reichardt could travel faster than they could.

Miz Roarke wouldn’t agree to marry him, he was sure of that much, but she needed to know about the rest of his threats.

Heller didn’t say anything as the two men left, though Cade wasn’t sure if he understood something was going on or was just still pissed for some reason.

The eggs, biscuits, and gravy tasted like sawdust to Cade, but he wolfed them down.

As soon as Heller placed his fork on his empty plate, Cade grabbed Heller’s arm and all but dragged him back to their room.

“Since you invoked Herr Payne, I surmise those blackguards were speaking of your ranch?” Heller asked once the door closed behind them. Cade had to admire Heller’s quick mind for figuring out the situation and having enough sense to keep quiet until they were alone.

“Yeah, they own most of the ranchland that surrounds Wellspring,” Cade said.

“They want the water source on Miz Roarke’s property.

The creek runs through their land, but if we have a dry summer, that isn’t always enough for them.

Then they start coming with their threats.

Let their cattle graze on our land or they won’t let us cross through their ranches to get to town for supplies.

Oh, they aren’t that blunt about it, and up until now, old man Roarke dealt with them, but he’s gone now, which means they think they can pressure Miz Roarke into a new arrangement.

They got another think coming, let me tell you.

She’s nobody’s fool, and there ain’t a man or woman at Wellspring who wouldn’t fight for her. ”

“Then we should get word to her about their plans as quick as we may, should we not?” Heller was already placing his belongings into his saddlebags as he spoke.

“Hell yes,” Cade said as he jammed his own gear into the appropriate pouches.

“Can you hitch the team while I go to the general store? If we’re going to push hard enough to get back to Wellspring as soon as we can, we won’t have time to hunt.

We’ll be riding from sunrise until it’s too dark to see and up again at first light.

It’s another two-week drive, but we’ll have to find a way to make it faster than that. ”

Heller nodded and was out the door as Cade took one more glance around the room.

He’d hoped to spend at least one more night in Austin before they hit the trail again, but he couldn’t risk Reichardt or Ulrich getting to Miz Roarke before they could warn her.

He’d just have to hope Heller was up to the demanding hours.

By the time Cade got back from the general store with a sack of jerky, canned beans, and coffee—no way was he riding dawn to dusk for days on end without its stimulant—Heller had the draft horses hitched to the wagon and sat astride Zephyr as cool as you please.

Maybe he’d be able to keep up after all.

Cade tossed his purchases into the wagon, climbed onto the seat, and slapped the reins to get the horses moving.

He’d keep them to a walk or trot until they cleared the city, but as soon as they didn’t have to worry about traffic, he’d push them as hard as he dared.

Damn, he wished Heller knew where Wellspring was.

He’d send him ahead on Zephyr or take Zephyr and leave Heller to get there with the wagon and team when he could.

But neither of those was an option under the circumstances.

He’d just have to drive the draft horses as hard as he could.

TEN DAYS of riding as hard as they could push the horses didn’t allow much opportunity for conversation, and Erick was grateful.

It was too difficult to try to talk while moving at speed.

They didn’t even stop for a midday meal, just chewed a handful of jerky in the saddle or on the bench of the wagon, and when it grew too dark to continue safely, they pulled off the road, opened a can of beans, and then slept until sunup.

Erick took advantage of the time to anticipate what his life would look like once they arrived at Wellspring.

Assuming Payne agreed to take him on, he’d be working with the horses and Webster—he needed to stop thinking of him as Cade—would be riding the ranch minding the cattle.

Any free time he’d no doubt prefer to spend with his girl Chel, judging from what he’d heard at the saloon.

Erick would be lucky to see him at mealtimes if Cade was near enough to the bunkhouse.

There would be little to feed his hopeless attraction.

The sooner he accepted that, the better.

If only his attraction would listen to reason.

Late afternoon on the next day, Cade—because Erick’s mind refused to go back to thinking of him as Webster, even though he no longer dared hope for anything more than friendship—drew the wagon to an unexpected halt.

Erick looked around for any threat, but all he could see was a puff of dust down the road.

He glanced at Cade, who had a hand on his pistol.

“JR land.” Cade spat the words as if they were a curse. “They haven’t wanted to spark a range war, so they haven’t refused to let us through, but they never make it pleasant.”

Sure enough, the puff of dust resolved into a group of half a dozen riders, all with rifles resting across their laps. “Webster,” the lead rider said when they reached the wagon. “What’re you hauling?”

Erick knew nothing about the other man other than the tension he could read in Cade’s shoulders, but he bristled at the way the man jerked his horse to a halt, the bit tearing at the sides of the animal’s mouth.

The sun glinted off wicked-looking spurs, and that was all Erick needed to see.

Any man who treated his horse that way deserved none of Erick’s respect.

“Supplies for Wellspring,” Cade replied, his voice tight. “Not that it’s any of your business, Carter.”

“You’re on our land now,” Carter replied. “It’s my business if I say it’s my business.”

Erick didn’t care for the odds, but he reached behind him to free his rifle. His pistol was easier to handle, but he was more accurate with a rifle, and accuracy would be called for if the confrontation turned violent.

“Who’s this?” Carter sneered, his disparaging gaze flicking over Erick. “Wellspring must be desperate if this is the kind of hands you’re hiring now.”

Erick bit back the retort that sprang to his lips. He didn’t need to intensify the situation, but he met Carter’s gaze and cocked the rifle, holding it steady against his saddle horn.

“I’d take Heller over any dozen of your men,” Cade retorted. “Looks can be deceiving. Yours certainly were.”

Carter’s hand twitched on the butt of his rifle. Erick wanted to intervene, but Cade knew the situation far better than Erick did. He just hoped Cade would hold his temper.

“Fuck you,” Carter spat.

“Not if you were the last man left alive,” Cade replied. “Now are you going to let us through or are you going to start a range war?”

Carter looked as if he were giving it serious consideration before pointing his rifle barrel up to the sky.

“Tell Miz Roarke if she expects to cross JR land, she best be ready to pay the price. Our generosity won’t last forever.

Reckon the bill’s gonna come due soon.” He lashed his reins across his mount’s neck, and the group of them turned and rode off.

“Prick,” Cade muttered. By the time Erick refastened the rifle behind his saddle, Cade had the team back to a trot. He urged Zephyr to catch up, refusing to let Cade’s retort mean what it implied.

“Carter used to work at Wellspring,” Cade said when Erick reached him. “He’s a violent, abusive ass. Payne fired him after he tried to corner Chel a couple of times. She got away before he could do anything, but I’ll never forgive him for it.”

That reminder was enough to smother the arousal Cade’s bravery had sparked. His comment that he wouldn’t fuck Carter if he were the last man alive was meant to insult him in the worst way possible, nothing more. It was a reminder Erick needed to take to heart for his own safety.