Bride Of Shadow Canyon. Stacey Kayne

thundered painfully in her chest.

      She hadn’t actually comprehended his words as he shouted over her, she’d been too stunned by the sheer power she saw in his flexing muscles. But as she sat in the silent tranquility of the woods, his words echoed back in her mind with crystal clarity, and she was quite offended by his insults.

      She could cook…meat…maybe. If she tried, she was sure she could! Biscuits were just fickle little things. Plenty of women couldn’t cook biscuits, she assured herself. Why, some people didn’t even eat biscuits!

      Her eyes were drawn to his saddlebags. While looking for cooking supplies, she’d found his soap. Not just one, but three full bars. She glanced at the trees Jed had disappeared through then looked around their campsite. No sense in sitting about like a lump when she could be scrubbing off two weeks’ worth of grime.

      Returning from the river, Rachell felt a pang of guilt as she followed a mouthwatering aroma back to camp and spotted Jed crouched beside the low-burning fire, preparing his breakfast.

      Needing to warm herself after the freezing cold but worthwhile bath, she continued toward the fire.

      “All primped up?” Jed asked in a cool tone, keeping his eyes on the skillet he held over the flames as she sat across from him.

      “You can use those powerful legs to take a long leap straight to hell, Mr. Jed,” she snapped before she could restrain her flippant tongue.

      Heavens. She was regressing into the belligerent tomboy of her youth.

      “Too much longer with you, and I’ll go willingly, just to be free of your worthless hide.” He didn’t spare her a glance as he flipped the flat bread he was cooking over the fire.

      A moment later he dropped a plate in front of her. Rachell’s mouth watered and she looked at the tin plate filled with chunks of meat and two steaming pieces of a strange flat bread. She closed her eyes, trying not to breathe in the heavenly scent.

      She wouldn’t accept his food. She’d eaten a large supper. Surely she could hold out until later, when she could hunt for something herself.

      Jed ate most of his breakfast before he glanced up. He was surprised to find Rachell sitting with her eyes closed and her plate still on the ground, exactly where he’d dropped it.

      Her stubbornness was going to drive him insane.

      “Why aren’t you eating?” he asked in a deceptively even tone.

      “I’m not hungry,” she said, meeting his gaze for only a moment.

      “Lady, you can eat enough to fill a full-grown cowpuncher, and I don’t care to listen to the roar of your stomach all afternoon. Swallow some of that stubborn pride and eat.”

      “I’m not hungry,” she repeated, crossing her arms and staring into the fire.

      “The hell you’re not!” Thunderation, the woman was impossible. “You’re just mad because I stormed at you for wasting a week’s worth of supplies to sculpt stones.”

      She didn’t respond.

      “I’m sorry for shouting at you,” he said, biting out each word. “Is that better?”

      Narrowed green eyes met his gaze. “No, you’re not.”

      Heaven help him, he was going to throttle the woman. “I don’t say things I don’t mean and I don’t lie.” He was sorry he had yelled at her. He should have taken her over his knee and tanned her sassy little ass. Next time he’d know better.

      “If you don’t lie,” she said, arching a slender eyebrow, “why did you tell me you didn’t have enough soap for bathing? I found three bars in your saddlebags.”

      “I never said that.”

      “Yes, you did. You said you didn’t have enough to waste on a bath.”

      “No. I said I didn’t have any I’d let you use for a bath. I didn’t say there wasn’t enough.”

      She continued to glare at him over the fire. “Last night, when you walked down to the river, you bathed with soap. I could smell it.”

      “It’s my soap. What are you griping about? You helped yourself to all the lather you pleased while I was cooking. I can smell it from here.”

      “You lied.”

      Damn it! When he saw her sink into that freezing water, he knew this one would come back to bite him in the ass. He should have given her the damn soap. But he wasn’t about to admit it. He’d already apologized for shouting at her, which was more than she deserved, and what did she do, but throw it back in his face?

      Time to nip this in the bud, he thought, pushing his plate aside as he rose. He crouched in front of her, picked up her plate and held it out to her. “Rachell, if you don’t take this plate and eat your damn food, I’ll hold you down and feed you every last bite myself. That’s a promise.”

      If looks could kill, her devil eyes would have put him six feet under, but she took her plate and shoved a piece of tortilla into her mouth. “That a girl,” he said with a wide smile, patting her on the head before dodging her fist.

      “That just cost you a tortilla,” he said, snatching one from her plate as he stood. “Eat up. We’re leaving as soon as I saddle Sage.” He turned and strode off in the direction of his hobbled horse.

      She’s in a tizzy about something, Jed thought as he walked back into camp a short time later. Rachell’s face was flush with anger as she dug through his pack like a dog with its nose in a gopher hole, making one hell of a mess.

       What the hell?

      He felt a jolt of alarm when her hand emerged with a knife. At first he thought she might be planning to go after him. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been attacked by his own bride. Malika had had one hell of a violent streak.

      Rachell reached around and grabbed a fistful of hair. Realizing she was about to cut it off, he ran into the clearing, grabbed her from behind and secured her hand just before she dragged the blade across the long red strands.

      “Let go!” she shrieked, twisting like a wild cat caught by the tail.

      “Damn it, woman! Stop before you slit your own throat!” Jed tightened his arm around her, restraining her movement. She was strong for such a tiny thing.

      “I’m going to cut my blasted hair!”

      “The hell you are,” he said, prying the knife from her hand. He tossed it back into his pack. His hands clamped over her shoulders, turning her to face him. “What the blazes is wrong with you?”

      She drew a ragged breath as she glared up at him, her cheeks flushed, her face creased with rage. “I’ve been without a brush for over a week. I can’t get the knots out.” Her green eyes glistened with moisture as she forced each word through clenched teeth. She tried to twist from his grip. Unsuccessful, she lowered her head, struggling to conceal her tears as they spilled down her cheeks.

      This was a woman clearly near her breaking point. He didn’t need a half-cracked lunatic on his hands. Jed was tempted to pull her into his arms, sure the emotions she was trying to cap off would rush to the surface in a heavy wave of tears, but he had a feeling her pride wouldn’t take such an emotional release in its stride. She definitely had some strong feelings against him seeing her cry. And he sure as hell didn’t need to be holding this woman in his arms.

      Spotting his brush on the ground by her feet, he picked it up. Keeping a hold on one wrist, he turned and led her to a patch of sunlight streaming through the surrounding trees. He sat down and tugged on her wrist. “Sit down.”

      She stood rigid in front of him, staring at him as though he were the one who’d lost his mind. He tugged her down in front of him and turned her so that she sat between his legs with her back to him.

      “It’s