Steve had made a broad circle, fanning out to scout the area, and now he glanced around a final time. Aside from the hoots of owls and the chirrups of insects, the growls of animals that hunted and the cries of those that were killed, he didn’t hear anything of concern. Still, that didn’t mean he’d allow himself to grow relaxed.
He wanted a cigarette, but he wouldn’t chance it in the dark of night, where it could make him an easy target if anyone so inclined was in the vicinity.
For a moment, he thought of the events at the livery stable, of the way Sharps had sat that big stallion, his leg curled around the saddle horn as he casually built a smoke.
They were long overdue for a talk, and that was on Steve—he’d been too willing to jump to the conclusion Sharps would want someone who wasn
