Read To Have and to Hold (Cactus Creek Cowboys) for Free Online

much would you charge?” Norman asked.
    “Why would I charge anything when I’m already going in that direction?”
    It was Tom Hale who spoke up. “Because you’d be responsible for finding water—food in case we need it—deciding when and where to camp, for making sure every wagon gets across every stream and river, and for protecting us in case of another attack.”
    Colby glanced at Naomi, then back to Tom. “Can’t say I want that much responsibility.”
    “Is your conscience willing to take the chance that we might perish if you don’t help us?”
    “It not fair to put a man in a corner like that,” Colby said.
    “Look at us,” Tom said. “We’re townspeople. We don’t know anything about this country. We need you.”
    “You could wait here or go back. There’s bound to be a caravan you could join.”
    Tom paused before answering. “There are reasons why that’s not possible.”
    “He’s wearing a Union Army uniform,” Naomi reminded everyone.
    “We can see that,” Norman said, “but he says he’s not in the army anymore.”
    “How do you know? You said somebody might come after us.”
    A strained silence followed Naomi’s outburst. Ethan elbowed her, but she stood her ground. If they refused to tell her what had happened—what she had done—to force them to leave Kentucky, they had to expect her to be afraid of anyone wearing an army uniform.
    “I’m wearing this because I don’t have anything else,” Colby explained. He paused. “I don’t like the sound of somebody might come after us. Especially if that somebody is wearing a Union Army uniform. What kind of trouble have you people gotten yourselves into?”
    “It’s nothing like that,” Tom assured Colby. “Our community was on the line between Kentucky and Tennessee. Neither side trusted us. With all the hard feelings after the war, we decided it was best to leave.”
    That’s what Naomi had been told whenever she asked. It sounded logical, but something didn’t quite ring true. Everybody had been different since her nightmares had started. The men met in secret; people who had been friendly suddenly stopped speaking; people whispered and looked over their shoulders. Rather than welcome visitors, they were nervous until they left.
    “I don’t like the feeling I’m getting about this,” Colby said, “but I couldn’t square it with my conscience to abandon anybody on this trail.”
    “Will you take us to Santa Fe?”
    “I’ll get you to La Junta. That’s where this trail hooks up with the one from Bent’s Fort.”
    “Let’s talk about money,” Tom said.
    “Where’s he going to stay?” Ethan asked. “He doesn’t have a wagon.”
    “He can travel with us,” Dr. Kessling said. “After what he’s done, that’s the least I can do.”
    Naomi turned and rushed from the gathering. They couldn’t have hired Colby to guide them, but they had. They couldn’t expect her to trust anyone in a Union uniform, but they did. Worst of all, her father had invited him to travel with them. Ethan was delighted. Ben probably would be, too. How could she explain that she was frightened because she found herself attracted to the man she was certain had come after them to take her back to Kentucky to face punishment for some unnamed crime?
    Ethan caught up with her. “What is wrong with you?” he demanded angrily. “You act like Colby is our enemy.”
    “He could be. We don’t know anything about him.”
    “That’s nonsense. We don’t have any enemies.”
    “Then why did we leave Kentucky?”
    “You know why we left.”
    “I know what everybody says, but there’s something else, something about me they aren’t telling.”
    “You’ve let those dreams spook you,” Ethan said.
    “You’d feel the same way if you dreamed you were standing over two bodies covered in blood.”
    “It’s probably the war. It’s hard to ignore when it’s all around you.”
    Hearing Colby’s voice behind her was a shock. She spun