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A LEX WORRIED the whole way as they rode back to town, but Cody had insisted that they could do so safely, that there would be no ht
The Simpsons ith them, because Cody had refused to leave them alone at the ranch Bill had worried about his herd, but Cody had told him bluntly that if they didn&039;t put an end to the va to be the least of his problems
For a while, as they rode, Alex checked the sky But she never saw that strange streak of crile wolf howled at theof the situation
When they got back to Victory, Cody left Brendan to herd the others into the boardinghouse and walked over to the saloon to see how things had gone in town and fill the others in on the events at the Sie in the fact that they suddenly had four new boarders-nonpaying boarders, at that She sent Tess and Jewell upstairs right away to prepare roo upstairs that night She was going to lie on the couch in the parlor, and someone would keep watch over her until dawn When, a fewher so she could sleep more easily, Bill, his expression sad but his tone determined, was the first to protest "No We can loosen the bonds a little, butshe&039;s not to be trusted yet"
"You need some rest, Bill," Brendan told him "I&039;ll take first watch"
"I can do it"
They hadn&039;t seen Cody enter, yet there he was
"Cody, da," Brendan told him "I&039;ll take first shift"
"Second," Bert volunteered
"And Lord knoon&039;t need a third shift, &039;cuz it&039;ll beby then," Beulah said "And with all theseto bed" She started to leave the parlor, then hesitated and turned, looking at Alex "You need your rest, too Brendan and Bert have this covered The rest of us need to sleep And that&039;s that"
"Yes, Beulah," Alex said She was exhausted
Still, she couldn&039;t help looking at Cody before she left
He was already looking at her
"Good night, all," she said, and headed for the stairs
In her room, she waited She heard Cody enter his roo set down His gun, she iined
She waited, tense, her hands clenched at her sides
Then, at last
There was a tap on the connecting door She flew to it, opened it and threw her ar hin of weariness His arainst his around him as they walked over to the bed, where he fell to the mattress with her
They rolled to face each other "I was afraid" she began, but then her voice faded
"Afraid?" he asked gently
"Afraid that you wouldn&039;t co that happenedthe dreamsI know I&039;m not normal, and I knoe don&039;t have forever, you&039;ve made that clear, but I e have now I-"
He pressed a finger to her iven hiift "Alextrust me None of us are nor you can do or say could keep ht now, unless you say that you don&039;t wantyou, wanting you"
"I want you here," she assured hiers through his hair and marveled that he was there with her, and that he felt the sa her lips, and she felt his fingers fu with the buttons on her shirt
Their kiss, damp, wild and sloppy, was broken by their desire to be rid of the clothing that separated theain, naked flesh against naked flesh She reveled in the heat that filled her, the energy, the need to get even closer to hiether this way His eyes litter And tenderness She reached out, capturing his head, drawing his ht have had were swept away She caressed his flesh and treht each tierness to savor each taste of her was palpable as he pressed his hs, hips, abdoht herself, but then she remembered that her house was full and bit down on her lip She saw his shadow against the wall as he rose over her, then sank into her in a moment of ecstasy as he thrust fully and deeply ho in the night as she writhed and undulated to his rhythand finally cli and sweet, volatile and tender, as he wrapped his arain, and the kiss deepened as they eased down frohts of sensual pleasure
He rolled to her side, pulling her against him, but he didn&039;t speak
She was aan to close The feel of his hand, stroking her hair, was soothing and lulling The warmth of his body, spooned around hers, was secure
She drifted off to sleep To sleep, and not to dreaion between the world of wakefulness and that of sleep, she thought she heard him whisper
Just once
And just a feords
"If only it could be forever"
A LEX WOKE UP EARLY the next one She washed and dressed quickly, and hurried downstairs
Bursting into the dining room, she was startled by the norreeted her eyes The Simpsons were seated at the table All of the to Bill about the situation back East, while Cody was telling Jared about his experiences in medical school
The men all stood as they realized she had entered the roo, everyone," she responded, then walked to her chair, just as Beulah entered from the kitchen
"Well, there you are Breakfast is war the table filled, now isn&039;t it?"
Dolores Simpson was still pale, but her color was much better than it had been, and her eyes were clear Someone had untied her and allowed her to clean up for the meal She looked at each one of theh for what you&039;re doing for me, for my family"
"It&039;s a pleasure to have you here," Alex said "And to see you looking so well"
"I-I only reht doard to work her napkin nervously with her fingers She looked up again "I&039; We&039;re set on this earth to die I&039; into a monster"
Jared rose from his chair and hurried around the table to her "You&039;re not going to become a monster, Mother We won&039;t let it happen" He looked around the rooed her son, and Alex s wistful in his eyes
"Well, now, that&039;s that, so let&039;s eat, shall we?" Brendan suggested
Just as they started eating, they heard a co into town, lots of them, and that meant lots of riders Milo&039;s men? Alex wondered with a shiver
Cody was out of his seat first, warning the others to stay back as he hurried to the front door, though Alex noted that he seemed more concerned than alarh the open door as she stepped up behind Cody, ignoring his order to stay put The chief had brought a party of nine warriors and two extra horses bearing packs made of blankets
As Tall Feather slipped down fro out of his office, with Dave just a few steps behind hi out to stand on their porches or the plank sidewalk Jim Green even came closer to watch the action
"Tall Feather," Cody said, nodding in greeting
"Fox," Tall Feather returned gravely "We have been doing what you instructed And we have brought soht, as dusk approached, they came Different from e had seen before" His eyes hter But he stood tall and proud as he spoke "They attacked us in a large nureat sorrow, but we dealt with hiht you-these are two of those we killed last night," Tall Feather said, indicating the piles on the packhorses
Cody looked at Tall Feather, then walked around to the packhorses Cole arrived then, and greeted Tall Feather with respect He set a hand on Cody&039;s arathering crowd of townspeople "A lot of these folks had kin in Brigsby and Hollow Tree"
Cody nodded as he carefully moved the first blanket
Alex had walked around for a better view, and she felt her sto wo part of her face, and her body was bloated and gray She was lying next to an elderly e boy
They heard a hoarse cry from down the street Alex looked up to see Ji toward them
"The boy I have to see the boy!" he said He pushed his way past theround
The throats had been slit so deeply that the heads were nearly severed Each corpse had been staked, leaving a hole through the heart like a double-barrel-shotgun blast
Ji out, "No, no, no, oh, no It&039;s my nepheas afraid, but I didn&039;t want to believe"
Alex started over to him, then paused Dolores was already on the way, a set and yet sympathetic look on her face She rested her hands on his shoulders "Co, and you know that-you kno I loved A for them They&039;re not under the control of that demon froround Sheriff Cole will see to it that he&039;s tended to You co at things that will just break your heart Coed to pull Ji an arhouse
"I as," Tall Feather said "But we thought weyou those ere once your people"
"You did the right thing," Cody said
Alex went up to speak to the chief as Cody walked over to talk to the sheriff "Chief, do you-do you know any of the dead yourself?"
He looked down at her with his dark, wise eyes "No, Alex, your father is not aht"
She stepped back She saw that Cole and Cody had walked over to the second packhorse and lifted the blanket froround, nized a barber from Hollow Tree, but he was so discolored and bloated that she couldn&039;t be sure
She hadn&039;t seen Dave leave, but he caon He stepped down and hitched the horses to the rail, and then he and the others began lifting the corpses, laying the not to watch, "may we offer some refreshment to you and yourus knoe are welcoo back to our people We cannot leave the camp alone and unprotected"
"I understand," she said
Tall Feather easilyhis leg over the aniility was undiminished
He bade a sole their ponies out of town
When they were gone, Brendan turned to Cody "We need to go," he said quietly