“Those firecrackers,” Cady corrected automatically. She smiled at R. J., who sat cross-legged on the end of her cot in her quarters at the fort. After she had regained consciousness, Kane had brought her here, insisting that she ride with him. He wouldn’t take the risk of her falling off Prince. She had to admit that his strong arms around her were heaven after what seemed like an eternity of hell. The tender way he held her made her feel cherished after a lifetime of longing. When they arrived, he had bullied her to stay in bed. Then he brought the post surgeon to examine her. The man had told Kane the same thing she had been trying to tell him, which was that she was perfectly fine. Kane had always been bossy, but now there was an edge to him, a tension that even she wouldn’t test. Except to fetch the doctor, he hadn’t left her for a minute since they’d come back. Then, when R. J. had come to see how she was, Kane had ordered the boy to stay with her until he returned from bathing in the river.
