Reckless Destiny Read Online Free PDF Page B

bother Kane to have her there? She wasn’t going to have any direct dealings with him.
    “Are you sure about that, ma’am? There’s wild Indians in these parts. It’s a mite dangerous.”
    “So I’ve heard. But Captain Carrington has assured me that he’ll look out for me.”
    The boy’s eyes grew round, as if he couldn’t believe his hero would do that. “It’s godawful hot, too. Bet it doesn’t get hot like this in New York.”
    “No, it doesn’t. But I’ll get used to it.”
    “And we got nothin’ but wind and dust. My ma hates that. Can’t keep nothin’ clean. The grit even gets in the biscuits ‘cause ya can’t keep it out of the flour.”
    She swallowed a smile and looked at him as gravely as he was staring at her. “I have two brothers. I’m not easily discouraged or frightened.” She took a step toward him. “Reynolds, nothing you can say or do will keep me from being your teacher.”
    “Yes’m.” He swallowed hard. “Captain, I’ll be back in a couple minutes.” Without further warning or explanation, the boy raced from the room.
    A feeling of apprehension scratched at the edge of Cady’s tenuous composure. Get rid of her as easily as Sergeant Cramer? She remembered Jack’s letter describing the enlisted man who was dismissed for arriving at school drunk. He’d never been known to touch liquor before or since. That wouldn’t happen to her. She was a trained teacher. And she never touched spirits.
    As she looked around the room, she realized that these were indeed Kane’s quarters.
    “Captain Carrington, I can’t take your bed—I mean your room.” Her face burned at the implication of that one word. “There must be somewhere else I can go. Maybe where you’re moving?”
    “I’m sure the enlisted men would think they’d died and gone to heaven if you moved in with them, but something tells me your brother wouldn’t approve.”
    Her face flushed hotter. She only hoped he didn’t notice. “Isn’t there another single woman who’s willing to share a room?”
    “Cady, for God’s sake, this is a military outpost, not a women’s dormitory.”
    “A simple no would have sufficed, captain.”
    “You
do
have another choice.”
    “What?”
    “I can take you down to the train in Phoenix and send you back home.”
    “Why is everyone trying to get rid of me? All I want to do is what I’m trained for, just as you’re doing.”
    “Women are a liability out here, especially high-maintenance women,” he said, looking her up and down.
    “What does that mean?”
    “That you need protection and a lot of other things no one has time for. Survival takes up each waking minute and every ounce of energy you’ve got.”
    “Are you saying I’m not strong enough?”
    “I’m just saying—”
    “Exactly what you told me two years ago, that I’m not cut out for life in the Territory. You were wrong then and you’re wrong now. You don’t have the least notion what kind of staying power I’ve got.”
    “I think I have a pretty good idea.”
    Cady refused to discuss it further. Going home was no choice at all. If it took the rest of her life, she’dprove to this know-it-all captain that she could survive here very nicely.
    “Apparently, responsibility for my welfare weighs heavily on you, captain. Maybe there’s a solution that would suit us both. Jack’s going back to the mountains. I’ll just stay in his cabin and out of your hair.” She took a handkerchief from her reticule and blotted her forehead. There wasn’t even a hint of air inside to relieve the oppressive heat.
    “If Jack wanted you to stay in his cabin, he wouldn’t have been bringing you to the fort. He obviously felt, and I agree, that it’s not safe for you to live there alone.”
    Kane watched her mull this over. Her face was very red. With her high-necked white cotton blouse, full skirt, and petticoats, she was not dressed for comfort. She had a lot to learn.
    “So my only choice is to stay here.”