She changed into her nightgown and crawled into bed. Even though the trip in the stagecoach had left her exhausted and feeling as if every inch of her body had been beaten, she fully intended to listen to what was being said on the other side of the curtain. They were discussing the transcontinental telegraph being completed as far as Fort Laramie. The company was having trouble keeping the line intact. If the Indians didn’t cut the wires, buffalo knocked the poles down by rubbing against them to scratch their itchy hides.
Brianna smiled to herself as her eyes drifted closed. Her image of buffalo had certainly changed over the last week or so...
It was well past midnight when Lucas bid Pierre goodnight and stepped around the curtain. Brianna was sound asleep just as he’d hoped she’d be. With any kind of luck, she’d stay that way. He grimaced as he blew out the lamp. It was going to be tough enough sharing a bunk with her.
Unbuttoning his shirt, Lucas sighed. He’d better get used to sleeping next to her; he was going to have to do it for three nights. There was no question of Brianna staying at the fort until the stage came back through. Jeveraux would have gladly kept her, but Lucas didn’t trust him. Pushing Brianna into Ian MacTavish’s arms was one thing; giving her to Pierre Jeveraux was something else. The man had the morals of a bull elk in rut.
To his credit, Jeveraux had been the perfect gentleman, even offering a solution to the problem of getting her back to Split Rock. Unfortunately, Pierre’s idea was worse than leaving her here. In fact, Lucas had changed his mind and decided she could ride a company horse back with him. Too bad Pierre didn’t have two horses to spare. As it was, Lucas didn’t dare send her alone. It would mean getting back a day later than he’d planned, but he had no other choice.
Lucas stepped out of his pants and lay down next to her gingerly. Brianna shifted in her sleep, mumbling something unintelligible as she turned on her side and faced the wall. After several tense seconds Lucas let his breath out slowly. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on going to sleep. He was going to need all his faculties in the morning. Brianna wasn’t going to be any too pleased when she found out how they were getting home. Come to think of it, neither would Wild Bart Kelly.
CHAPTER 21
“Mmmm.” Brianna could still feel Lucas’s arms around her and the imprint of his kiss on her lips. Every nerve in her body tingled from his loving touch. She stretched languorously as the last vestiges of her dream drifted away. Her eyes jerked open a second later when she realized she was not alone.
“Good morning.” Lucas was propped up on one elbow grinning down at her. “What were you dreaming about anyway?”
Brianna blushed. “Why?”
“The way you were smiling, it must have been good. What I can’t figure is why you kept muttering about your grandfather.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Until you woke me up with all your moaning and groaning, I was sleeping.”
“I know that, but why here?”
“I was tired, and this is where Pierre told us to bed down.”
“I thought you’d go bunk with Seth.”
Lucas put his finger to his lips, then threw back the covers and got out of bed. He peered around the edge of the curtain for a moment before putting his pants on. “It’s all right. Pierre’s gone.”
“Well?” Brianna said, trying to pretend she was glad he’d worn his long underwear to bed. “Why didn’t you go sleep in the barn?”
“And leave you alone with Pierre Jeveraux? Not on your life.”
“Why, what’s wrong with Pierre?”
“Nothing unless you value your virtue. Pierre likes to brag that he’s bedded more women than any other man this side of the Mississippi.” Lucas finished buttoning his shirt and pulled his suspenders up over his shoulders. “I didn’t think you’d want to become another of his conquests.”
“But surely he wouldn’t try to seduce a friend’s wife!”
“He might not expect to succeed, but I think he’d try. It wouldn’t be the first time. One jealous husband is pretty much the same as another to him.” Lucas sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled on his boot. “I think that’s part of why he does it.”
“Talk about high risk behavior,” Brianna murmured. “Lucky for him AIDS hasn’t come along yet.”
“Aids?”
“It’s a disease people get if they aren’t careful who they sleep with.”
“The clap?”
“Worse.”
Lucas looked over his shoulder at her. “What could be worse than going insane before you die?”
Brianna blinked in surprise. She’d never really thought about how devastating gonorrhea and syphilis were before the days of penicillin. “It’s kind of the same thing.”
“Not a very pleasant death no matter what you call it.” He pulled his watch out of his vest pocket and flipped it open. “It’s after seven already. You’d better hurry and get dressed if you want to get any shopping done. We’re leaving at nine.”
“We are?”
“Unless Bart Kelly decides to leave earlier.”
“Bart Kelly! Lucas, are you crazy? He wouldn’t take me anywhere unless it was to a cliff so he could drop me over.”
Lucas stood up and shrugged into his coat. “Let’s hope you’re wrong. Otherwise, you’ll spend the next week trying to fight Pierre off by yourself. I have to head back today no matter what. I’ll be back to get you in about forty-five minutes, and we’ll go to the store.”
“Forty-five minutes! That’s half the time I have left before we leave. How about if I just meet you there?”
He regarded her consideringly for several long moments. “All right,” he said finally. “Just make sure you get Seth to go with you.”
“For heaven’s sake, Lucas. I came all the way West by myself.”
“You were lucky. Promise me you’ll get Seth.”
“Oh, all right,” she said grudgingly as Lucas headed out the door, “but only because I was planning on spending some time with him before I left anyway.”
Brianna was somewhat disappointed by the sutler’s store. Like the rest of the fort, it was a rough log cabin, with gunpowder and uniforms filling an inordinate amount of shelf space. The main purpose of the facility was as an army supply depot. She’d been expecting a general store stocked with everything from plows to coffee cups just like the ones that existed in every old West town on television. When would she ever learn?
At least the clerk behind the counter seemed genuinely glad to see her. “Can I get you something this morning?”
“I’m not sure,” Brianna said, looking over his merchandise skeptically. “Do you have any women’s shoes?”
“Sure do.” He reached under the counter and pulled out several pairs. “Not too much in the way of selection, though.”
Brianna ignored the several pairs of stylishly pointed shoes. One glance was enough to tell they’d be horribly uncomfortable. The others resembled leather hiking shoes, not particularly attractive but very practical. “These look like what I need. Do you have them in an eight and a half double A?”
“Pardon?”
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He wasn’t the first shoe salesman to show surprise at the size of her feet, but you’d think they’d be a little more polite. It wasn’t like she could do anything about it. “Eight and a half double A. With these I might be able to make do with an A width.”
The man looked confused. “You want eight and a half what?”
“Double...Oh...” Brianna felt like a fool as she suddenly realized he had no idea what she was talking about. Even Seth was looking at her funny. They probably didn’t have shoe sizes in 1860 or something. “Maybe I’d better just try them on.”
It didn’t take long to see the sizing wasn’t all that had changed. If the stock at the Sutler’s store were any indication, women’s feet were much smaller in the past. Nothing was even close to Brianna’s size. Of course, it didn’t appear there was much effort to
make shoes that fit anyway. There wasn’t even left or right in a pair, just two shoes more or less the same size.
After a frustrating fifteen minutes during which both Seth and the soldier-clerk seemed inordinately embarrassed by her stocking feet, Brianna gave up. Disappointed, she bought the only pair of footwear in the entire store that even came close to fitting, a pair of the black boots worn by cavalry soldiers. They were a little wide, but with a thick pair of socks they were reasonably comfortable.
“What do you think, Seth,” she asked hiking her skirt a bit to show him how they looked. “Am I going to start a new fashion?”
“I doubt it, but at least you’ll have a good pair of riding boots.”
Brianna brightened. “I hadn’t thought of that. You know, if I can’t get the proper shoes to wear with a dress maybe I should buy clothes to go with the boots.” She smiled at the clerk. “Let’s see what you have in shirts and trousers.”
“Don’t forget a hat,” Seth said with a grin.
“Right, and a hat. Do you have any with one of those cute little rawhide strings to hold it on?”
“That I do.”
Brianna had little trouble choosing her clothing from the limited selection and had soon moved on to fresh potatoes and onions. “Don’t you think your prices are a little high? It costs more for five pounds of potatoes than a shirt.”
The clerk shrugged. “I know but shirts are a lot easier to freight in and they don’t spoil if no one buys them.”
“I don’t suppose you have any eggs or milk,” Brianna asked wistfully.
“No, ma’am.”
“Chickens and cows are pretty scarce out here,” Lucas said, walking up beside her. “Kind of hard to get eggs and milk without them.”
Brianna sighed. “I know but I had to ask just in case. Did you find Bart Kelly?”
“Yes, and even managed to persuade him you were reasonably harmless nowadays. I promised him you’d be on your best behavior.”
“Did he promise to be on his?”
“No, but I think he’s still scared of you.”
“Good. Maybe he won’t be so obnoxious.”
Seth chuckled. “I’m afraid you’re hoping for miracles, Brianna. Better wait for the next stage.”
“Bart’s wagon is out in front,” Lucas said repressively. “Why don’t you load these supplies for Brianna?”
Brianna plucked her new hat from the counter and plopped it on her head before picking up one of her packages. I need to go get the rest of my things, too. Don’t leave without me, Lucas.”
“Take Seth.”
“Yes, sir.” She snapped a salute. “I won’t move an inch without him. Come along, Seth. If you’re going to be my personal bodyguard, you’ll have to step lively.”
It didn’t take Brianna long to gather her belongings and change into her new clothes. Lucas probably wouldn’t be pleased, but that was just too bad. He wasn’t the one who had to climb up to the high seat of the freight wagon in a long dress, not to mention having to deal with the incessant wind.
Seth raised his brows when he saw her outfit. “What’s Lucas going to say?”
“Something rude, I’m sure. Then I’ll retaliate in kind, and the trip will be off to a good start. We’ll probably fight all the way home.”
Seth grinned. “I’m glad I’m not going along.”
“Huh, some bodyguard you are!”
Surprisingly, Lucas didn’t say a word about her clothing. Other than a thinning of his lips and a muscle twitching in his jaw, he gave no indication that he even noticed.
Bart Kelly was not so reticent. Fresh from the saloon or where ever they sold liquor, he reeked of whiskey and false courage. “Who’s this, Lucas, your wife or your little brother?” He laughed at his own joke. “Maybe she just decided she’s gonna be the man of the family.”
“Jerk,” Brianna muttered under her breath.
“Now, now, dear wife, you brought it on yourself,” Lucas said in her ear as he started to help her up into the wagon. “You’re the one who decided to dress like a man.”
“No, I decided to dress practically for a change.” She yanked her arm out of his hand and proceeded to climb into the wagon unassisted. “There’s no way could I do that by myself in a dress.”
Lucas climbed up beside her. “Is that what all this is about, independence?”
“I don’t consider climbing into a wagon by myself independence. Holding down a job and living on my own is independence.”
“Is that what you plan to do someday?”
“I’ve already done it.”
“When?”
“Ever since I was twenty-two.”
Lucas gave her an odd look. “A very long time, I’m sure.”
“Three years.” She glanced up at him in exasperation. “I suppose you think I made that up.”
“No,” he said slowly. “What I think is that if any woman could take care of herself, it’s you. I just didn’t realize you had.”
Lucas’s remark seemed like a compliment, but she wasn’t sure. She never knew quite what his opinion of her was. Conversation during the trip was desultory at best. Bart Kelly’s crude comments had a tendency to put a damper on things anyway, and the surreptitious swigs he took from his flask every so often didn’t help matters. Still, Lucas seemed abnormally quiet and introspective.
By the time they stopped for the night, Brianna knew he was upset about something. The question was what? True, he hadn’t wanted to bring her along, but he’d seemed reconciled to it. Surely the pants didn’t bother him that much.
Whatever his problem, Brianna decided to ignore it. That turned out to be more difficult than she anticipated since she was aware of him every second. The glances he occasionally cast her way were so filled with suspicion that Brianna felt almost as though he’d slapped her.
Lucas’s sudden hostility confused her so much she swallowed her irritation when she discovered both men just assumed she’d cook supper. It didn’t seem worth the confrontation, especially since Lucas sat smoking his pipe and staring at the campfire in brooding silence the whole time. The meal was eaten in silence, and Bart wandered off as soon as it was over.
Lucas spread out their bedrolls while Brianna washed the dishes. She raised her brow at their close proximity but said nothing. Far be it for her to try and figure the man out. Maybe he was over his snit, whatever it was.
Lucas was in bed by the time she finished the dishes and appeared to be fast asleep when she finally crawled into her own bedroll. It was oddly comforting to be lying so close to him, even when he was less than happy with her. No matter how mad he was, she was safe at his side. With a sigh, Brianna closed her eyes and tried to relax.
Seconds later the sudden sound of the brush rustling a few feet away startled her. Almost before her eyes had time to open, Lucas rolled over and kissed her.
Everything was forgotten as passion exploded inside her and rose in a wave. With a groan of pure acquiescence, Brianna put her arms around him and opened her mouth beneath his. The slightly bitter taste of his pipe and the scratch of his whiskers only heightened her pleasure as something warm and wonderful uncurled in the pit of her stomach.
As suddenly as it began, the kiss ended. Lucas pulled away and stared down at her in shock. “For hell’s sake, Brianna,” he whispered raggedly. “What are you trying to do?”
She blinked up at him. “Me? You started it!”
“Shhh.” He put his lips next to her ear as though he were nuzzling her neck. “Bart Kelly is right over there watching us. I just wanted to convince him we’re solidly married, not give him a show.”
“What difference does it make what he thinks?”
“He’s not above trying something, especially when he’s been drinking. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s been drinking all day.”
“Good lord, Lucas, he’d rather take poison than have anything to do with me. First Pierre Jeveraux and now Bart Kelly. You’re paranoid.”
“I w
ish you’d speak English when you insult me,” he said irritably.
“It means—”
“Never mind.” He pushed her head down on his shoulder before she had a chance to finish. “I don’t want to know. Just go to sleep.”
Brianna felt like an idiot the next morning when she thought about it in retrospect. Lucas must have thought she’d lost her mind, and maybe he wasn’t so far wrong. There was no way she’d sleep with her great-great-grandfather, but somehow when he’d kissed her she’d forgotten that he was.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Lucas’s voice broke into her thoughts. From his tone it didn’t sound like his mood had improved from yesterday.
“To get some water,” she said in exasperation. “I don’t think even I could get lost between here and the river!”
“Keep your eyes open. You never know who or what might be lurking in the brush.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” Brianna shook her head as she walked down to the water. This over-protective, controlling attitude of his was getting to her.
All thought of Lucas suddenly fled as Brianna glanced up and saw the blue mist beginning to form on the bank in front of her. Determined to reach it, she was running before it even finished swirling. It didn’t seem quite so elusive today. In fact, as she ran toward it, she clearly saw Tom Shaffer holding something out to her on the other side.
Of course, he was going to reach through the blue mist and pull her through. If only she could get close enough...
Suddenly, without warning, something burst out of the mist with a loud squawk. Brianna screamed and ducked as it flew over her head. She was so stunned she didn’t even notice when the blue mist faded away behind her. All she could do was stare after the creature that had come through the mist and was running across the prairie in a panic.
Brianna rubbed her forehead in bewilderment. Was it a message of some kind? A warning perhaps? The more she thought about it the more confused she became. She could think of no logical reason why Tom Shaffer would send her a chicken.
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