"I'm still here, ain't I?" he said.
She drew in a breath, staring up at him. "Why did you come back with Whitehead?" she said finally. "You could have escaped."
"Maybe a man gets tired running," he said.
She caught his arm, coming in close enough for him to catch a hint of her perfume. "Crawford, I want to help you."
His whole body was rigid now, with that wariness. "I never saw a cow yet that wanted to get back inside a corral when it was outside."
"You're so suspicious," she flamed. Then she leaned toward him farther, looking up into his face. "I guess you have a right to be. You've been fighting all of them, haven't you, ever since this started. I don't blame you, Crawford. I know how you feel. I'm in the same position. I need your help as much as you need mine."
It had been a long time since a woman stood this close to him, with her hair shining like that, and her eyes. He felt a weakness seep through him. He stared at the soft red curve of her lip, and his voice was hardly audible.
"What are you talking about?"
"Have you ever heard of Mogotes Serpientes?" she said.
"Snake Thickets? I guess so. It's supposed to be somewhere west of Rio Diablo in that stretch of bad brush."