The Outlaw

Chapter Nine

They left town the next morning shortly after dawn. Ethan knew the ladies wanted to stay put a while longer but he needed to get them out of Texas and they still had a good week or more of riding left. He figured he'd take them northeast to Missouri. He knew his father wouldn't chase them that far. Mitchell Thompson was one of the most wanted men in the country and he wouldn't dare go anywhere where the land was settled and the law men kept order.

Ethan pushed them hard for the nearly another week until one morning they came to where the river led them to a large clear pool of water set down in between two rocky ridges. Ethan stopped to let the horses drink and eat some of the greener grasses that were growing here and he smiled when he saw Caroline and Jasmine splashing each other playfully at the edge of the pool.

"I'm gonna walk up the ridge and see what I can see." he said and then walked quickly up the rocky sides of the ridge. It took him a few minutes to get to the top and he was happy when he realized he could see for several miles in each direction. He scanned the horizons and could see no sign of anyone else on the dusty planes.

He knew Caroline and Jasmine needed a break and he felt safe enough to stay here for the night. As long as they didn't light any fires he wasn't too worried anybody would find them.

He walked back down and found Caroline and Jasmine already standing beside their mare as if waiting for him to tell them it was time to go.

"You two in a hurry or something?" he asked. "I figured we'd stay here till morning."

"But it's just past noon. Don't you want to cover more miles before dark?" Caroline asked. He shook his head.

"This seems like as good a place as any to rest a while. We'll head out in the morning. There's just one rule and that is no fires. A fire out here would send up a smoke signal that people would see for miles." Caroline and Jasmine both nodded and laughed happily.

They spent the day relaxing, laughing and talking by that quiet pool of water. Ethan made several trips up to the ridge but each time he couldn't see any signs of anyone. He was sitting down on the hard ground in the dark that night leaning against the wall of the ridge when Caroline walked over and sat next to him.

"Where's Jasmine?" he asked.

"Asleep." she replied and he could hear nervousness in her voice. He thought maybe she was afraid they were going to be found and he wrapped his arm around her comfortingly.

"I checked just before dark, darlin' and I didn't see anybody. We're safe here for now, I promise." Caroline nodded.

"I know that." she said. "I trust you." That wasn't what had her nervous. What had her nervous was the fact that she wanted him the way every grown woman wanted the man she loves. She wanted him to hold her and she wanted him to make love to her. She just didn't know how to tell him.

Ethan kissed her hair and felt the fire in his blood that he'd been feeling for as long as he could remember every time he allowed himself to touch her. He could never remember wanting a woman as badly as he wanted Caroline. He supposed that was because he'd never been in love with a woman the way he was Caroline. But he knew she was innocent and so had tried hard to hide his bodies reaction to her touch from her in an effort to keep from scaring her away.

"You want to go for a swim?" Caroline asked quietly. Ethan was surprised by the question but nodded. He stood and grabbed her hand, helping to her feet. They kept their fingers twined together as they walked to the pool of water. The stars and moon were casting barely any light.. Just enough that they could see each other when they stood close.

Caroline kicked off her boots and began to undo the buttons of her dress and Ethan cleared his throat and pulled his hat off so he could scratch his head through his thick dark hair.