Scars of the Heart by Joni Keever Read Free Book Online

adjusting the saddle straps on the black. “I, uh, I’ll get some more water.” Carly waited for a response, but he offered none. She hurried to fill the canteen and return to the clearing.
    The cowboy had already mounted. Carly took a deep breath and scurried toward him. Dreading the thought of yet again being imprisoned in a man’s arms, she ventured, “I’ll ride behind today, if you don’t mind?” Her companion merely moved forward in the saddle, and she approached his right.
    “Other side,” he growled.
    Carly wondered what difference it made but started around the back of the horse. Remembering her father’s warning, she stopped and skirted the animal’s front end, peeking timidly at the man looming large in the saddle. He stared straight ahead, hands resting on the horn. She placed her foot in the stirrup and accepted the arm he offered. With little effort, the cowboy lifted her to the perch behind him and urged the stallion to a fast gait.
    Silence settled around them uncomfortably. Carly could see the rigid set to his jaw. What did he expect her to do? Thank him for scaring ten years off her life?
    “I told you there were snakes.” She said, stiffening her back in challenge.
    “That was his sunning rock.”
    Kade’s voice sounded cold and flat. “What?” She peered up at his profile.
    “Snakes like to lay in the morning sun. It warms them after sleeping all night in a hole in the ground. That was his sunning rock. You invaded his territory—just remember that. He didn’t come looking for you.”
    Carly considered Kade’s explanation. He made it sound so innocent, like the godforsaken snake was actually the victim here.
    She took a deep breath and remembered that she needed this man, at least until they reached Marshall. “I guess I owe you an apology . . . and my thanks. You saved my life twice now.” The man didn’t speak, didn’t even blink as he continued to guide the large horse across the terrain.
    She shifted in the saddle. “I don’t like being indebted to anyone. I’ll try to do more to pull my weight and—”
    Suddenly, Kade reined the black to a stop and turned in the saddle to better see his companion. “I don’t want you to do more. I want you to do less . . . less screaming, less fainting, and, if you can help it, less puking.”
    He stared at her fiercely. Panic paralyzed Carly’s throat. She couldn’t respond, couldn’t even breathe.
    “Especially that screaming. I simply can’t tolerate it.” Swiveling on his seat to face forward once more, he spurred the horse into motion. “I swear, you act like a goddamned woman or something.”

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    The morning sun floated above the horizon like a huge orange ball. A cloudless, blue canopy stretched above them, and birds of various sizes and colors flitted from tree to tree. Carly began to relax a little, breathing with the steady gait of the horse and listening to the birds’ happy songs.
    Kade remained quiet and stoic. She admonished herself for her carelessness. He’d hit too close to home with his last comment. She had to be more cautious. If he found out she was a woman . . . She shuddered as memories of Tiny and the Indian flooded her mind.
    Peering back over his shoulder, Kade pulled the black to a halt. She looked around. “Why are we stopping?”
    “Figure we both need a little break. We’ve been in the saddle for a while.”
    Carly fumbled awkwardly trying to dismount. She hesitated to reach around him and grab the saddle horn. With an exasperated sigh, he offered her the crook of his elbow, and she slid from the rump of the horse. The cowboy swung his long leg over to land gracefully on the ground. He stretched languidly, then started to unbuckle his belt.
    “What are you doing?” Carly asked, panic making her voice a tight squeak.
    “What do you mean, what am I doing ?”
    His dark brows drew together as she continued to stare openmouthed at the man’s loosening britches.
    “I’m going to piss. I