"Wake up ,Tom. The days a wasting." Richard's deep voice woke Tessa from her dreams of him. She had dreamt of lying in his arms and what that kiss would have felt like. Though she could only imagine seeing as how she had never kissed a man.

Tessa opened her eyes and saw that he already had camp cleaned up and both horses saddled. She looked up at the sky and saw that it was only a couple hours past dawn.

"What the hell are you in such a hurry for this morning?" she asked as she sat up and rubbed her face. Richard shrugged.

"No point sitting around. We got miles to cover before dark." he said. Truth be told he wanted to get to the next town as quickly as possible and if they traveled hard that could be tomorrow evening. He didn't' know how much longer he could make himself wait to hold her again and he knew the next time he held her he would make love to her and he wanted that to be after he'd had a bath and had a real bed to lay her down on.

Tessa went about putting all her hair back up in the pins and stuffing it inside her hat. She stood up and walked over to her mare. Richard was already sitting on Horse. She saw the mountain lion pelt on the back of his saddle.

"Should get a good twenty-five dollars for it." Richard said when he saw her looking at it. She nodded but couldn't stop herself from shivering. She had come two seconds away from losing her life to that creature just the night before.

888

They made camp that night and Tessa began to think that maybe she'd been wrong to think for a second that she and Richard Helms could have a future. He hadn't said a word to her about their near kiss the night before and his silence had caused Tessa's pride to kick in and so she hadn't mentioned it either. She did not want to put her heart on the line only to have him stomp it into the ground.

"Afraid it's jerky and some more stale biscuits tonight Tom." Richard said tossing some to her.

"Better than nothing." Tessa said taking a bite. Richard raised his brow at her.

"You know that for a fact?" he asked. She nodded.

"Most nights before I met you nothing is exactly what I had for supper. When I saw you, I had just had to use my final bullet to shoot my horse after she broke her leg."

"I still can't believe you got the drop on me." Richard said. "And then tricked me with an unloaded gun."

"It's funny looking back now isn't it? I mean I never figured I'd see you again after that. Or if I did see you I figured I'd end up dead. Why didn't you just shoot me when you found me in that town?"

"I don't usually just shoot people for the hell of it." Richard replied.

"Yea but I did steal your horse so you would have had every right to." she reminded him. He shook his head.

"No, that's a hanging offense and there weren't no big trees around." he said. After he finished his jerky he laid back on his bedroll.

"Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow night hopefully we'll be sleeping under a roof." he said and covered his face with his hat. Tessa watched him for several long minutes feeling disappointed and hurt. She had been wrong about him. She just needed to focus on the job at hand. Kill Trigger, get the bounty and go home and forget about any fantasies that included Richard Helms and his blue eyes and strong arms.

888

They rode into the town of Greenlake a few hours before dark the next day.

"Go get us a room at the hotel." Richard said handing her some money. "I'll take care of the horses and head to the saloon and see what I can find out. You go ahead and get you a bath and wash the trail dirt off of ya." he added. He knew how badly she had been wanting to wash her hair the last two days.

"Okay." Tessa said. Richard had noticed that she hadn't spoken much today.

"You okay, Tom?" he asked. Tessa looked up at him and nodded.

"I'm just fine." she said. She grabbed the saddlebags from him, her knees nearly buckling beneath their weight and went to the hotel.

Richard watched her until she disappeared into the hotel. He wondered what in the hell could be wrong with the woman. As far as he knew he hadn't done anything wrong but then again women were complicated…

He walked both the horses to the town stable and paid for their keep before heading over to the saloon. He rented a room upstairs and asked for some hot water to be brought up for a bath. He wanted to be clean when he went back to Tessa.

He had to scrub for nearly fifteen minutes straight before he got all the dirt, grime and blood off of himself. He had no choice but to pull his dirty clothes back on and then he walked back downstairs. He saw a table full of half drunk outlaws playing cards and he walked over and took a seat with them.

"Who the hell are you?" one of them demanded.

"Just a man looking to play some poker." Richard replied. The man nodded and then dealt him into the game. He stayed quiet and pretty soon the outlaws went back to their conversation.

"Trigger is heading back up north in a few days. Says he has some business he needs to finish in Witchita Falls." one of the men said. Richard managed to keep a straight face even though his blood was beginning to boil. Tessa had been right. Trigger was indeed after her and that meant that she was not safe while he was alive.

"When is he heading out?" another of the men said.

"Bout three days I think. He's staying put for now in that old abandoned fort outside of Deadwood." the first man replied. Richard knew the fort the men were talking about and it was only about two days riding from here.

"He's got about ten men there with him. He wanted me to come join cuz I think they plan on robbing every bank they come to once he settles his business up north but I told him hell no. I don't have a bounty on my head yet and I aim to keep it that way. Especially with that Richard Helms out running around." the first man added.

"Someone needs to put a damn bullet in that man. I mean come on, I hear men talking all the time about the deadly Richard Helms but he's only a man. A bullet will kill him same as it will the rest of us." another of the men said. Richard grinned as he looked down at his cards. He'd had no idea he had such a reputation.

"No they don't." the second man argued. "I hear he's covered in scars from all the times he's been shot and he's still breathing and shooting every damn bounty he comes across." Richard could feel several of the men's eyes falling on his scarred up face and he looked up.

"Mountain lion." he replied pointed to the long scars on his cheek. "And a pissed off husband." he added as he pointed to his lip.

"What's your name?" the first man asked.

"Peter Haggins." Richard replied as he folded his bad hand. "I've heard of that Richard Helms fella though. I heard he's ugly as homemade sin and can't hit the broadside of a barn with them irons he carries." The other men laughed.

"Let's hope you never meet up with him then because you might just learn that you're wrong." the first man said. Richard stood up.

"If Richard Helms ever meets me it'll be the last thing he ever does." he said and then excused himself from the table. He walked back outside. Darkness would be here soon.

He wasn't sure how he felt about what he'd just learned about Trigger. He knew exactly where Trigger was and he knew that if Trigger waited three days before leaving that he could get to him before he did. He knew Tessa was determined to ride with him against Trigger and that scared him to death. He would not want to live if something happened to her. Maybe he could talk her out of this mission she was on and he could take her somewhere new and keep her safe. Lord knew he was getting real tired of riding these rough trails with nobody but Horse to talk to. He was ready to give settling down another try and he wanted to do it with Tessa.

"I'm with the boy." Richard said to the clerk as he walked into the hotel. "What room is he in?"

"Upstairs. Room fourteen." the clerk replied. Richard tipped his hat and walked up the stairs. He was lost in his thoughts and didn't think to knock before he walked in.

Tessa screamed and quickly tried to grab the quilt off the bed to cover herself. She had just gotten done with her bath and was wearing only her pants and the thin strip of cloth she used to bind herself. Her long red hair was wet and hanging down her back. Richard stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Sorry, I should have knocked." he said. Tessa nodded.

"Turn around or something so I can….."

"What is that?" Richard said cutting her off.

"What?" she asked.

"That cloth you've got wrapped around you. Are you hurt or something and didn't tell me?" Tessa blushed red with embarrassment.

"No, it's.. um… Well boys don't have a chest." she mumbled. Richard walked over to her and pulled the quilt away. He traced the top of the binding with his finger and Tessa felt herself tremble.

"Does it hurt?" he asked. Tessa nodded. Richard was angry to know that she was hurting herself just to continue with this foolishness of passing herself off as a boy.

"Take it off." he said. "There aint' no point in hurting yourself. You ain't a woman alone now. You got me to protect you."

"Don't tell me what to do, Richard. Why do you care anyway?" she asked. She could barely breath with his eyes looking her up and down. It angered her that she was having such a reaction to him and that he was now bossing her around after barely speaking to her for two days.

"I care about you, Tessa. I don't like the thought of you being in pain." he said.

"You care about me?" she asked before she could stop herself. Damn it all to hell. She had always prided herself on being able to take care of herself and not needing a man to make her happy or safe but she wanted to need Richard. She wanted him to care.. She needed him to care.

"Foolish woman, of course I care. Haven't you figured that out yet?" he asked as he ran a finger down her cheek. Tessa felt her breath catch in her throat. She looked up at his face and realized he must have taken a bath while he'd been gone. He smelled like soap and dust and it was the most masculine scent she had ever smelled.

They stared into each other eyes for several long moments. Neither needing to speak.. They could see what the other was thinking clearly enough in their eyes. Finally Tessa rolled her eyes.

"Are you gonna kiss me or not?" she asked. Richard grinned and lowered his mouth to hers. At first the kiss was slow and safe. Then as the sparks grew into flames it became more passionate and demanding. Richard wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him while he buried his other hand in all that wet red hair.

Tessa pulled away enough so that she could look into his eyes. He saw that her cheeks were flushed and her dark eyes were nearly black with her passion. Richard felt his pulse quicken. Damn but he didn't think he'd ever had a woman look at him like that after just a simple kiss and he knew that his reaction to her was no different than hers to him.

"I think I need to make something real clear before this goes any farther." Tessa said. Richard ran a scarred up knuckle along her bare collarbone.

"What's that?" he asked smiling when he saw that her knees nearly buckled from the simple touch.

"I ain't looking for just some fling with a roaming gunslinger who is going to take off and leave me with a broken heart after he's done." she said.

"Well I think I need to make something real clear to you then." he replied.

"What?" she asked laying her tiny hand on his chest. She could feel how quickly his heart was beating and she wondered if it was because of her.

"I don't think that Horse is my only reason for living anymore and there is no way this roaming gunslinger would ever break your heart." he replied. He saw the tears fill her eyes as she smiled up at him. "But honey I need to make sure you understand that I ain't interested in some fling with a red-haired, gun toting, pant wearing, beautiful woman who is going to take off and leave me with a broken heart after she's done."

"Foolish man. I would never hurt you." she said. Richard grabbed her hand that was over his heart and squeezed it tight before pressing his lips back to hers. He led her over to the bed before pulling away.

"Will you take that off now?" he asked pointing to the binding around her, his voice deep with passion. Tessa nodded. She started to unwrap the bindings and Richard realized it was going to take longer then he was willing to wait.

He pulled his knife from the strap on his pants and raised it to her chest.

"Hold still." he said. In one quick motion he cut the fabric and it fell away from her body. Richard felt his mouth go dry as he looked at her chest on display for him. He wondered how she had managed to hide those luscious curves beneath that simple thing of cloth.

"Beautiful." he said. Tessa blushed and he lowered his mouth back to hers as they both finished undressing. Richard laid her down on the bed and moved his lips along her neck and collarbone.

"You'll have to teach me what to do, Richard…." she whispered. Richard smiled against her neck as she ran her hands over his scarred body.

"Yes ma'am." he replied.

888

Tessa curled up against him hours later and laid her head on his sweaty chest. Richard ran his hands through her hair and sighed. He knew that if he died right now he would die the happiest man in the world. Never before had any emotion he'd felt for a woman been this intense. He had loved both Sarah and Catherine but it was nothing compared to what he was feeling for Tessa.

He had suspected when these feelings first started that if he allowed them to grow it would be a deeper and stronger love than he'd ever felt before and he had been right.

Tessa listened to his heart beating beneath her ear and smiled. Her dreams had not prepared her for how amazing his lips would feel against hers. They had not prepared her for the passion and the intensity she would feel in her own body as they had touched and made love long and slow.

"So did you learn anything at the saloon?" she asked after they had laid there in silence for a long while just holding each other. Richard sighed.

"Trigger is about two days ride from here in an old fort outside of Deadwood. He's got about ten men with him and their leaving in about three days."

"So we've got time to get there." she said. He nodded against her head. "Do you know where they're going?" she asked.

"Witchita Falls." Richard replied and she felt his grip on her get tighter. "Apparently he has some business he wants to finish up."

"I would be that business, right?" she asked. She could hear the anger in his voice when he replied.

"They didn't say, but I think we're both smart enough to know you are."

"Why is he so damn hung up on me?" Tessa demanded angrily. "It's not like I'm some satin covered lady or some damn great beauty to start wars among men! Why can't he just find him a new woman to chase after?"

"First off you are one hundred times the woman that those satin covered ladies are. Second I think I've already told you several times how beautiful you are. And third, I happen to know this for a fact, there is absolutely no other woman in this world that could ever compare to you." Richard said his tone of voice telling her that he would not allow her to argue with what he was saying.

"So you think we can take on him and ten men?" Tessa asked. Richard blew out a long breath.

"I wish you'd just give up on this and go somewhere safe." he said. Tessa shook her head.

"No." she said. "If this was someone that had killed your pa or one of those three sisters you told me about would you just let it drop?" Richard shook his head.

"No, and I understand why you won't. But would you allow me to take you somewhere safe while I take care of Trigger and I'll come back for you once the job is done?"

"No. This is my fight, Richard, and I want to see it through." Richard nodded. He understood and he respected her bravery. He just didn't want to lose her and the thought of her being in harms way made his stomach churn.

"Well then let's get some sleep, Tessa. We'll have a couple of hard days of traveling if we're get there in time." He said kissing her hair. She sighed against his chest and snuggled deeper into his arms before drifting off to sleep.