“Rider cursed, ducked another blow, threw one of his own, and then bent down, hoisting the scrappy little female, none too gently, over his shoulder. "This is no place for you, girl, even if this whole mess is your fault.""My fault!" screamed Willie, dangling upside down. "You're the one who had to go and open his big mouth!" She beat on his back as he dodged brawlers, and headed for safe ground. "Dammit, put me down, you overgrown ox. You're gonna make me miss the fight!"As she screeched and kicked in a most unladylike manner,her small feet barely missed his vunerable groin. Raising his hand to smack her bottom, Rider found it suddenly immobilized by a fierce grip. "Take your hands off my sister!"The lieutenant's head swiveled toward the owner of the surly voice, and met with a hard fist. He stumbled and bumped into another brawling twosome, slacking his grip on Willie's legs. Seizing the advantage,she aimed a well-placed kick,and this time connected with her intended target.Rider grabbed his crotch and lurched forward in pain, dropping the little hellion on top of her brother. Like cats, the girl and her sibling were on their feet,weaving a zigzag escape through the mayhem.Rider quickly regained his balance and swore, "Damn,I should have known the little rebel had a brother." Still cupping his privates and cursing the air blue, he watched brother and sister disappear. "Someday, freckle face, someday.”

“Willow gazed up at him, her silly grin still in place. "You know wha'? You're kinda cute when you crook your eyebrows down like tha'."Rider muttered a curse, lifted her off the floor, and tossed her over his shoulder. "Juan, you and Hicks help Mrs. Brigham to her room. I'll take care of this little hellion."Willow lifted her head from where she dangled over Rider's shoulder. "See yuh later, Mrs. B."Miriam smiled and waved."i think Mrs. B is pickled," Rider's passenger said in a loud whisper as he hauled her out the door."No thanks to you,hellion," he growled, and smacked her bottom."Ow!"As he carried Willow into the house, Rider was hard pressed to quell a sudden urge to laugh. In her bedroom, he unceremoniously dumped her on her bed, but when he turned to leave, her pitiful sounding voice halted his exit. "Rider,come here a min-it.""Oh,hell, I suppose you're going to be sick." Grabbing a basin off her dresser, he shoved it under her chin. "It serves you right, you know." He watched nervously as she knocked the bowl aside."Dun...don't be mad." She held her arms out to him. "Come closer. Gimme a kiss and we'll make up. I like your kisses so-o-o-o much."This time Rider couldn't stall his grin and inadvertently leaned closer.She was on him like a duck on a June bug. With two hearty handfuls of his shirt, she yanked him down on top of her and plastered her mouth against his.Talking against his lips, the tipsy girl had the audacity to complain, "Not like this. Do it like before. You know, with your tongue."Rider squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. This isn't fair, he bemoaned silently. He tried to rise but Willow held tight, squirming her voluptuous little body against his. Sweat broke out on his forehead. If he didn't put a stop to this soon...He lifted his mouth from hers. "If I promise to kiss you with my tongue, will you let go of me and go to sleep?""Uh-huh." Willow's eyes drooped, but the affect appeared more seductive than drunken.Lifting her shoulders slightly off the bed, he wound his arms around her and covered her mouth with his. His tongue explored hers in a long, liquid kiss, tasting of wine and desire. Rider savored its promise, wishing just this once, he could be less a gentleman.Willow wrapped one of her legs over his and shifted her hips, innocently aligning his swelling heat with hers. He started and bolted off the bed. "Holy hell! You did it again!""What?" Her voice was sluggish and sleepy now.Disgusted with himself, Rider stomped to the door. "Sleep it off, Freckles."Outside Willow's door, Rider slumped against the wall and shook his head. Willow Vaughn was a constant surprise, and he loved the girl so bad it hurt.”

“Fighting her smile, his sister reached over and ran her hand through his hair. “That, my sweet brother, is called heartbreak.”He glanced down at his chest. “Will that be a physical deformity?”

“Rider was still cursing the incident back at the ranch, when riding north, he spied an outlandish sight. As he drew closer, he realized his eyes weren't playing a joke on him. Coming toward him was Hick's gunslinger, stark naked but for his hat and boots. "Well, I'll be damned," he whispered to himself. "Even his shooting iron is burnt!"The moment Scofield heard Rider's horse, he jerked his hat off his head and covered his privates."What happened, man?" Rider asked. "Where's your clothes, your horse?"Scofield lifted rage-filled eyes to the foreman. "The Vaughn slut, she did this to me. When I get my hands on her, me and the boys are gonna have a party and she's gonna be the entertainment. After I'm done with 'er-""Hold on there, Scofield," Rider interrupted. "Are you talking about Willow Vaughn? Why would she do a thing like this?""How should I know! She just lost her temper sudden-like. Then she pulled that gun of hers and ordered me off my horse and made me strip down.”

“The little group before her finally moved on and Sarah took its place, standing before Tom like he was a painting in a museum.And then his vacant eyes dropped from that point somewhere above her head and he looked at her—looked into her eyes and registered her presence. His eyes widened and his mouth opened wordlessly.For the space of six heartbeats they stared at one another and then Sarah simply said, “Come home.” She held her hand out to him.He gazed at it for a moment.“Come with me,” she said softly.Slowly he rose from his chair and walked toward her. He slipped his hand into hers and his palm was warm and callused.She stepped back and pulled him along with her. Suddenly his arms went around her, hugging her tight, his head dropped to her shoulder and his mouth pressed into her hair as he whispered, “I can’t believe you’re here.”Her hands slipped up the smooth, supple skin of his back to hook over his shoulders. She buried her face against his chest, breathing him in, forgetting time and place and circumstance and just holding him.”

“When he bent down and swept her up in his arms and carried her to the divan, she did not protest. Shefumbled with the buttons of his waistcoat, eager to touch his flesh and feel his heart beat against her hand.He moved over her and looked down at her with eyes dark with passion. “I have missed you,” he said.“God, how I have missed you.”“Show me,” she said, and sighed with happiness when he put his hand on her ankle and began to slide itup her leg.”