"There was a young woman in West Fork last Saturday," Nevada said evenly. "She said something about being a wildlife expert."

"Last Saturday?" Ten said, his gray eyes narrowing.

Though Nevada had said nothing, word of the fight had gone through the Four Corners area of Colorado like forked lightning.

Nevada nodded.

"A woman, huh?"

Nevada nodded again.

"Pretty?" Ten asked, his handsome face expressionless.

"Why? You getting tired of Diana?"

The idea was so ridiculous that Ten laughed aloud. Then his smile vanished and he looked every bit as hard as his younger brother.

"The next time you go one on five," Ten said, "I'd take it as a personal favor if you'd let me guard your back. Luke made the same offer. So did Cash."

The left corner of Nevada's mouth turned up very slightly, as close as he ever came to a smile. "Cash, too, huh? Does that mean he's finally forgiven me for noticing that Mariah was pregnant before he did?"

"When a man is unsure of a woman, he's apt to be a bit blind," Ten said in a bland voice.

"He's apt to be a horse's buff."

"Your turn will come."

"Yours sure did," Nevada retorted, remembering the tense months before Ten had finally admitted that he was irrevocably bound to Diana. "I'll tell you, Tennessee, if I never tangle with you again, it will be too soon."

"Yeah, well, the hands are taking bets on that one too, especially since word got out that Utah's coming back as soon as he gets out of the hospital. Guess he's finally gotten his fill of jungle fighting."

"At least they don't need to worry about Utah getting in a brawl over a woman. Not since Sybil." Nevada leaned forward in the saddle. A flick of his hand freed the packhorse's lead rope from the corral railing. "The real shame about Sybil is that she wasn't a man," Nevada continued, reining Target toward the mountains. "If she were a man, I'd have killed her."