Page 14 of Winterset

“I found them very pleasant and admirable young men,” Anna said stoutly.

McIntyre laughed and winked again at the twins. “Won her over, did you? You are a treasure beyond price, then, Miss—”

“I’m sorry,” Reed interrupted. “Miss Holcomb, allow me to introduce my brother-in-law, Rafe McIntyre. You will have to forgive his informality. He is an American.” He countered his words with a glance of true liking toward the other man. “Rafe, this is Miss Anna Holcomb, our neighbor to the west. Her brother is the young gentleman you met earlier.”

“My pleasure, ma’am.” Rafe bowed to her again, and Anna smiled back, unable to resist his infectious personality.

“We didn’t mean to stay out so long,” Alex began, “but we found this poor dog. He was in terrible shape, and Con and I didn’t know what to do. But then Miss Holcomb came along, and she helped us. She knows a man who knows all about healing animals. You should see his house! He has all kinds of plants hanging from the rafters, drying, and he makes potions and ointments.”

“And he sewed the dog up,” Con continued excitedly, “and he let us watch. And Miss Holcomb held the dog’s head for him and didn’t sick up or anything!” He beamed at his new friend.

Anna chuckled and ruffled his hair affectionately. “I’ve helped Nick all my life, just about. Believe me, it took me a while to get used to it.”

There had been another rider approaching them as they conversed, also apparently in response to Reed’s gunshot. He was a small, wiry man, and he led two saddled, riderless ponies. Now, pulling up beside the others, he slid easily from his horse and marched over to the twins.

“There ye are, ye two!” He scowled at them. “Young scapegraces, worritin’ yer sister like that. Ye ought to be ashamed of yerselves, and that’s a fact.”

“We’re sorry, Jenkins.” For the first time, the boys looked abashed.

Reed turned toward Anna and said, “We needn’t worry about reprimanding the boys. Jenkins usually does the job well enough for us.”

“Aye, an’ if I didn’t, who would, I’d like to know?” The man in question turned his fierce gaze on Reed. “There’s not a one o’ ye who takes ’em in hand like ye should.”

“I know. That is why we are so fortunate to have you.”

“Aye, well, I’ve kept ye all in line, and that’s a fact,” the man agreed, with a sharp nod of his head. “An’ I can tell ye that ye and Theo were just as bad as these two, in yer day.”

The groom turned back to the boys, continuing his scolding as he tossed them up onto their ponies and handed them the reins. Reed turned to Anna.

“Thank you for helping the boys. It relieves my mind that they were with you.”

“I should have brought them home earlier.”

“It sounds as though you had plenty to occupy you. It’s no wonder the hour slipped your mind.” He paused, then said a trifle awkwardly, “If you will allow me to put you up on my horse in front of me, we can ride back to Winterset, and then I will send you home properly in our carriage. I—I am sure that the boys’ sister would like to thank you in person.”

Heat rose up in Anna at the thought of riding on Reed’s horse with him all the way back to Winterset, and she was sure that she must be blushing. “Oh! Oh, no, you needn’t worry. Now that the boys are with you, I can just go on to my house from here, while you take the boys back.”

“And leave you to walk alone in the dark all the way back to Holcomb Manor!” Reed stiffened. “Is that what you think of me? That I would repay your kindness toward my brothers with such shabby treatment?”

“No, no, of course not,” Anna demurred quickly. “But it is no problem—it isn’t that far, and I am quite familiar with—”

“Nonsense, I could not allow it,” Reed retorted flatly, adding, not without a certain calculation, “Of course, if you feel you cannot ride double, then Jem will give you his mount, and he can walk back to Winterset.”

Anna narrowed her eyes at Reed. He knew, of course, that she would not force a servant to trudge all the way back to Winterset in the dark, especially one who was as unfamiliar with the territory as the boys.

Reed gazed back at her blandly, his eyebrows slightly raised.

“All right,” Anna agreed, knowing that she sounded ungracious, but she could not help it. She dreaded the thought of being in such close physical proximity to Reed Moreland.

Without comment, Reed helped her up onto the horse, then mounted behind her. He took up the reins, and his arms closed around Anna. She was suddenly surrounded by his heat, his scent, breathtakingly familiar and yet so long absent. Anna could not control the shiver that ran through her as he dug his heels into his steed and they set off through the night.

CHAPTER FOUR

Anna sat stiffly, afraid to relax against Reed, incredibly aware of his body only inches from hers, his arms around her. It was impossible, with the movements of the horse, to keep from brushing against him, and every time she did so, her skin flamed at the touch. She gritted her teeth, telling herself she was being ridiculous. His closeness should not affect her so much. Yet no matter how much she told herself that, her words could make little headway against the sensations rampaging through her.

They said nothing, the silence between them almost as awkward as their proximity. The twins chattered away about their adventure, and Rafe threw in a comment or a question now and then, leaving Anna and Reed alone on their island of silence. Anna closed her eyes, trying desperately to think of something to say, anything to distract her from the only thing that was in her mind, which was the feel of his iron-hard arm against her back or the occasional brush of his thigh against hers as the horse moved.

It was a distinct relief when at last they reached Winterset and Reed swung down from the horse, reaching up to lift her from the saddle. Their faces were only inches apart for a moment as he swung her down, and their eyes locked. His were a dark, mysterious gray in the dim light of dusk, and Anna felt, for a strange, weak moment, as if she could simply sink into their depths and be lost forever.