Montan a Wildfire

Edward said as he straightened. He didn't release her hand, but kept it clasped firmly, almost possessively, in his own. "Just for a few days?"

Amanda didn't pull away, it would be impolite, but she thought about it. Not for the first time that afternoon did she wonder about how easily she'd slipped back into rigid manners. Oh, how false the facade felt!

She inclined her head and smiled. "While I appreciate the offer, I've business to attend to in Pony." She thought of the money tucked away in her saddlebag, of how surprised Jake was going to be when she actually did pay him. "And, of course, I'd like to get settled in Washington before winter really sets in."

"Ah, Washington. Such a lovely place," Edward replied casually. Amanda held her smile—through sheer force of will—though she was gritting her teeth. These pleasantries were straining her frayed nerves. "I visit Seattle once or twice a year on business. You wouldn't mind if I paid you a call the next time I'm in the area, would you, Miss Lennox?"

If it meant having to exchange small talk with him for any length of time, then Amanda thought that, yes, she would definitely mind a visit from this man. Of course, she couldn't tell Edward Bannister that. It would be rude. Instead, as inconspicuously as possible, she slipped her hand free and said sweetly, "That would be lovely. I'll look forward to it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must... What? What is it?"

Amanda frowned and glanced over her shoulder to see what had brought that sudden, tight expression to Edward Bannister's face. What she saw was Jake Chandler tethering his horse to the post next to hers. Her heart gave an unsteady leap, and a genuine smile started to curl over her lips... until she noticed the sudden, coiled tension in the man standing beside her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Edward snarled, his hands waving like he was trying to shoo away a pesky bee. "Get that horse off my land. You're kind isn't welcome h—"

"Mr. Bannister!" Amanda gasped. Her gaze shifted to Jake. The muscle in his cheek jerked angrily, and the dangerous glint in the gaze he narrowed on Edward Bannister made her catch her breath. Was this the sort of thing Jake faced all the time? The semi-tolerant way he was reacting told her it was. "Mr. Bannister, please, you don't understand. This man is—"

"A filthy half-breed," Edward sneered, though he took the time to pat Amanda's hand reassuringly. "I can see that, Miss Lennox. And I understand only too well." His nostrils flared as he pierced Jake with a disgusted glare. "I understand they have reservations for... his kind, and I understand that he should be on one instead of being allowed to roam free and accost decent people like us."

The temptation to slap Edward Bannister's face was strong and it took some effort for Amanda not to surrender to it. Her conscience insisted that she try once more to make Edward understand exactly who Jake was. Surely once he knew...? "Jake hasn't accosted us, Mr. Bannister. For that matter, he—"

The intensity of having Edward Bannister's cold blue eyes stab into her wilted the words on Amanda's throat.

"Jake? Did you call him Jake? Miss Lennox, are you saying you know this... this...?"

Amanda's spine stiffened, and her chin tipped haughtily as she pierced Edward Bannister with a regal glare. "Man," she supplied frostily. "And yes, I know him. He's—"

"How well?" Edward snapped angrily. "How well do you know this breed? Do you know him intimately?"

It wasn't the question that stunned Amanda speechless, so much as the contemptuous way Edward Bannister sneered it. That, and the vicious way he reached for her. His finger had no sooner bitten painfully into her upper arms than Amanda heard a foot slam onto the bottom step of the porch, hard enough to make the wood groan and threaten to splinter.

"Not a good idea, Bannister," Jake growled, and took another step up—just as loudly.

Amanda thought Jake must indeed be furious to have made that much noise. Edward Bannister must have realized the same thing, for she felt and saw a shiver ripple through his thin body. While his grip on her arms loosened, it didn't drop away.

"Don't do what?" Edward growled, his glare still fastened on Amanda. "I'll do anything I have to to find out what this... this... lady has been doing in front of my son! This is my house, my land. I can do any damn thing I please, and no half-breed is going to stop me!"

"Wanna bet?" Jake's voice was as sharp and as deadly as the blade of the knife he unsheathed from his belt. "One thing you can't do, Bannister, not here or anywhere else, is hurt the lady. I forbid it."

Edward Bannister was nothing if not cocky—both his wealth and his social position in Pony assured that. That was the only way Amanda could explain the fact that the man did not at that point turn fully around to face Jake. Amanda, on the other hand, didn't have to turn at all to see him. Jake appeared directly behind Bannister's narrow shoulder. His icy glare, she noticed, was as much for her as it was for the man holding her.

The long, curved blade of the knife glinted in the sunlight as Jake pressed just the tip against the nape of Bannister's neck. "I'll warn you only once. And you can thank the lady for that, because it's one more warning than I usually give."

"I'm not afraid of you, breed. Go ahead, cut me. We both know that if you touch one hair on my head, the residents of this town will string you up just as fast as they can find a rope strong enough to hold you."

"I'll keep it in mind." Jake's pause was short, succulent. "But I won't let it stop me."

Something about the emotionless way he said it must have finally gotten through to Bannister. He let Amanda go so quickly that she staggered back a few steps. One of the squared porch posts slammed into her back when she stumbled against it. The bite of pain was the least of her worries. She still had to get around Edward Bannister to reach the stairs.

Amanda glanced at Jake, and he nodded briskly. Resheathing the knife, he grabbed a fistful of Edward Bannister's collar and hauled him roughly out of the way, giving Amanda more than enough room to pass. She did so quickly and without hesitation.

She didn't realize she was shaking until she started to descend the stairs. She had to hold tightly to the railing to keep from falling, her knees felt that unsubstantial. How was she going to climb onto the mare in this condition? She'd find the strength somehow—she'd do whatever it took to get away from Edward Bannister's hateful insinuations and insults.

Amanda knew the second Jake descended the stairs, though he made no sound and she wasn't looking. She didn't have to be. Her back prickled with awareness, even as it warmed to his body heat. His earthy scent wafted over her, calming her a bit. She knew exactly when he came to stand behind her, knew when he raised his hand, and when his big copper palm hesitated a mere inch from her shoulder. She also knew when that hand dropped to his side, as well as when and he swaggered to the white and vaulted atop it. The moment was etched in time; it was the exact second her heart stopped beating and her soul shattered into a thousand irretrievable slivers.

Fury. Had she ever felt so much of it, so intensely, as she did right now when she glared up at Edward Bannister? It coursed through her in hot waves; for once she didn't fight it. Anger made her reckless, and Amanda didn't fight that either. "Just so you know, Mr. Bannister," she said in her coolest, haughtiest tone, "what I was trying to tell you before—what you refused to hear—is that this man saved your son's life. If it wasn't for him, Roger might be dead right now."

Bannister paled considerably, but Amanda had to give him credit for holding his ground—if for nothing else. Neither his physical stance nor his mental one budged an inch. "I'm sure if Roger had known he'd be indebted to a half-breed for saving his life, he would have done what any good Bannister would d

o... he would have died with dignity."