A Window in Time

by Carolyn Lampman

  “Why did she quit?” the peddler asked curiously.

  Ian shrugged. “Don’t know for sure. They had words about something, and now she says she’s on strike, whatever that is.”

  “Says she won’t lift a finger around here until her pig-headed husband sees reason,” Seth added.

  “And there’s no chance of that. Lucas is the most stubborn man alive,” Ian said mournfully. “At least Seth and Billy are only here three days at a stretch. I’ll starve to death if it goes on much longer.”

  Francois rubbed his nose thoughtfully. “Could be a simple matter of getting them back into charity with each other.” His eyes twinkled mischievously. “This may turn out to be a very entertaining evening indeed.”

  Seth exchanged an uncertain glance with Ian. “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing for you to worry about,” Francois assured them. “I promise you Mr. and Mrs. Daniels won’t be hurt in the least. In fact, they may well thank me in the morning.”

  “What do you get out of this?” Seth asked suspiciously.

  “Ah, tis the French blood in my veins I fear. I’m an incurable romantic.” The peddler grinned. “Besides, it isn’t at all unusual for a husband to give his wife an extravagant gift at such times. I’m often well rewarded for my time.”

  Beyond that Simon Francois would say nothing. He proved to be an entertaining dinner companion, regaling them all with humorous tales of his travels. After dinner when they all went outside to enjoy one of the last warm evenings of Indian summer, he produced his fiddle and began to play.

  It wasn’t long before everyone’s toes were tapping in time to the sprightly tunes. Suddenly, Ian jumped to his feet and grabbed Brianna’s hands.

  “This music was meant for dancing,” he said, swinging her around.

  “Oh, Ian I don’t know...”

  “Just let your feet follow the music.”

  There appeared to be no specific steps, just uninhibited movement. Before long, Brianna caught Ian’s enthusiasm and was dancing with the same abandon he was. She laughed joyously. When the next song started Seth claimed her hand, and Brianna was again swept away in an energetic dance. As they kept trading her back and forth between songs, Brianna became aware of Lucas standing outside the door with a scowl on his face.

  Too bad. She was having too much fun to let him ruin it for her. Gradually the music began to slow, and Brianna found herself having to stand closer and closer to her partner in order to follow their movements. She was busily watching her feet when Seth let her go right in the middle of the dance.

  Brianna looked up in surprise as Lucas’s arm went around her waist. “I’m cutting in,” he said simply. She glanced over his shoulder at Seth who just shrugged.

  “Why?”

  “I wanted to dance with you.” He smiled down at her as the music changed subtly. “I don’t suppose they taught you how to waltz in that school of yours?”

  “As a matter of fact, I’m rather good at it.”

  His smile deepened. “So am I.”

  It took about thirty seconds for Brianna to realize he wasn’t bragging even a little. He was better than good. The world around them seemed to disappear as they twirled and swayed in time to the music. In his arms the waltz became more than a dance. It was wordless communication, a form of artistic expression, and a mating ritual all rolled into one.

  Brianna was mesmerized by the glow she saw in his eyes for she knew it was a reflection of her own. She wondered vaguely if her heart would burst with love before she went up in flames, then decided it didn’t matter. Either way she would die happy.

  The music went on far longer than even several renditions of the song, but neither noticed. When it finally ended they were out of breath but could barely tear their eyes away from each other.

  “Well,” Ian said with an exaggerated stretch. “I’m heading to bed. How about you Seth?”

  “Sounds good to me. Come on Simon, we’ll walk you to your wagon.”

  Still wrapped in a magical haze, Brianna was only vaguely aware of the three men bidding them goodnight and fading off toward the barn.

  “Where did you learn to dance like that?” she asked in a slightly unsteady voice.

  “My mother hired a dance instructor for my sister and made me take lessons with her.”

  “He must have been some teacher.”

  “It’s never been like that before.” Lucas brushed her temple with his lips. “But then you’re not my sister,” he whispered against her mouth.

  A bucket of ice-cold water wouldn’t have doused the fire within Brianna any more effectively than Lucas’s words. There was no doubt in her mind where they would wind up if she let nature take its course, and she couldn’t allow that to happen. She stepped back before he could go any further. It would only take one of those devastating kisses of his to completely befuddle her mind. “I think I’d better go inside.”

  “That sounds like a great idea.” His voice was like a silken caress as he reached for her again. “This is a little too public for my tastes.”

  “No, Lucas. I mean by myself.”

  “Brianna...”

  “No.” She put her hand on his chest and nearly snatched it back again as she felt the warmth of his body and the heavy beating of his heart. “What we’re feeling isn’t real. It’s an illusion brought on by music and moonlight. Think how we’d feel tomorrow morning if we follow our instincts.”

  Satiated at the very least or maybe ready for more, Lucas thought to himself. There were far worse ways to wake up in the morning. “How do you think we’d feel?”

  How about fantastic? “Guilty. Have you forgotten Anna?”

  He had, but then he felt no loyalty to a woman he’d never met, one who had put them in this impossible mess for some obscure reason of her own. Still, Brianna was right. Sleeping with her would complicate matters even more. He dropped his arms. “If that’s what you want, I won’t try to change your mind.”

  Hell no, it wasn’t what she wanted, but she had no choice. She felt like weeping as he sat down by the door and pulled out his pipe. “G…Good night, Lucas.”

  “Night,” he said without even looking at her.

  Brianna thought her heart would break as she fled to the safety of the cabin.

  Brianna was up and out of the cabin by breakfast the next morning. Her feelings were still too raw for her to face Lucas and his anger. She stayed away until she heard Ian yell, “Rider coming in.” Then she went to tell Seth good-bye and greet Billy as he came in.

  Though she’d seen it dozens of times, the thrill of watching them pass the mochila had never faded. Today was no different, and she was practically bouncing up and down when Billy swung down off his horse with a grin.

  “I brought an answer to your letter,” he said pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocket.

  “Already?”

  “He was in Green River. I...uh...I bought you something.”

  Brianna raised her eyebrows in surprise. “A present?”

  “Sort of.” He took a shiny new pistol out of his holster and handed it to her. “I rode over to Fort Bridger to get it.

  “You got me a gun?”

  “It’s a five-shot pocket pistol,” he said, “a thirty-one caliber Colt. After last week I realized you need more than that knife to protect yourself with. I figured this would be light enough for you to handle. I’ll train you to be a crack shot inside of a month.”

  “Oh, Billy.” Tears filled her eyes at his thoughtfulness. She gave him a big hug. “How can I thank you?”

  Billy turned fiery red. “Aw heck, Brianna. It ain’t that big a deal. Reckon I’d better help Ian see to my horse.”

  “All right. Thank you, Billy.”

  He was clear to the corral before Brianna remembered her letter. Tucking her new pistol into the waistband of her skirt, she unfolded the single sheet and read.

  It was the chance Lucas had been waiting for. He’d been trying to get a minute alone with her al
l day, but she’d been avoiding him like he had the plague. Brianna was probably still upset about last night. Too bad she didn’t know what he wanted to say to her. If she had realized he’d changed his mind about the buckskin, she’d probably have fixed breakfast for them.

  “Brianna?”

  “Ah, Lucas. Just the man I want to see. Remember you said you’d leave the decision about the horse to Mr. Bromley?”

  “Well, yes, but....”

  “I sent a letter with Billy last time. Mr. Bromley was kind enough to answer it already.”

  “So quickly?”

  “He was in Green River.” She grinned and handed him the letter. “You lose, Lucas. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go see about fixing lunch before everybody around here succumbs to malnutrition.”

  Lucas didn’t have to read the letter to know what it said. He’d clearly been out-maneuvered. A reluctant smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he stuck the letter in his pocket and headed toward the barn. He wondered if he dared ask what the devil malnutrition was.

  CHAPTER 29

  (October 1860)

  “Lucas, what is it?” Brianna said, sitting up in bed as Lucas jumped out of bed and grabbed his rifle.

  “The wild horses are back. Stay where you are,” he barked over his shoulder as he jerked the door open and strode out into the night.

  Ignoring Lucas’s orders, Brianna slipped out of bed, pulled her pistol out from under her pillow, and followed him outside. It was pitch dark with no moon, and clouds obscuring the stars. The horses were a confused mass of black shapes in the darkness. Even the stallion was indistinguishable, though his defiant screams proved he was there.

  “Damn, I can’t see a thing,” Lucas muttered, raising his rifle into the air and firing a shot. Two shots sounded from the other side of the herd as Lucas upended his powder horn into the barrel of his rifle. Behind Lucas, Brianna raised her pistol and pulled the trigger just as another shot sounded from the barn.

  Lucas jumped slightly and glanced over his shoulder as he took a patch out of his mouth, slapped it around a lead ball, and shoved it down the barrel with his thumb. “I thought I told you to stay inside,” he said tamping down his load with the ramrod.

  “I don’t have time to argue right now. I still have four more shots before I have to reload.” She waited until a shot came from the other side of the herd before firing again. Lucas’s rifle barked a second later, then another from the other side.

  Brianna’s five chambers were empty when the stallion finally turned his herd away from the corral and led them off across the prairie.

  “Did we lose any?” Lucas called as he ran toward the corral in their wake.

  “Nope,” Billy’s voice came out of the darkness. “We scared them off before they managed to break down the fence.”

  Ian suddenly appeared next to them by the gate. “If it hadn’t been for Billy’s personal arsenal we’d never have succeeded. How did you get your shots off so fast?”

  “Most of them were Brianna’s,” Lucas admitted.

  “Think we better post a guard?”

  “We don’t have enough men to do it effectively.” Lucas sighed. “At least we always know when the herd’s here; they aren’t exactly quiet.”

  “Maybe they’ll leave us alone,” Brianna said hopefully.

  All three men just looked at her. “Obviously not.”

  “Well,” Ian said. “I think we’ve managed to scare them off for tonight, anyway. May as well go back to bed.”

  “I suppose so. See you in the morning.”

  “Can’t you invent something that will scare the horses away?” Brianna asked as they walked back to the cabin.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it.” His voice was cold.

  “If you put that creative mind of yours to work on it, I’m sure...”

  “You disobeyed me.”

  “What?”

  “I told you to stay in the cabin.”

  “Oh, for pity’s sake—”

  “When I give an order, I expect it to be followed.”

  “Who died and made you king?”

  “That flippant attitude of yours is completely out of place in this discussion. You recklessly endangered yourself—”

  “So what?” Brianna spun around to face him. “I have as much right to endanger myself as any of the rest of you. You’re not my father, Lucas. You’re not even my husband. I will do what I want, when I want without asking your permission to do so.” She whirled and stomped into the house.

  “Brianna—”

  “The subject is closed. I’m going to bed.” Brianna set the empty pistol on her trunk and climbed into bed. “And if you have any sense at all, you won’t bring this up again tomorrow.” She turned on her side and faced the wall. “Good night!”

  There was a lengthy silence then a resigned sigh, and the sound of him crawling into bed. Brianna smiled slightly. He really wasn’t so difficult to deal with. Just never let him get a word in edgewise.

  The next morning, Brianna had a difficult time keeping a straight face during breakfast. Lucas was obviously not speaking to her. Pretending not to notice, she ate her breakfast and wondered how long she was to be punished.

  The stage had come and gone, and it was nearly lunchtime before he showed any sign of relenting. When he came to watch her work with Oz in the small corral, Brianna wasn’t sure if he wanted to resume their fight, apologize, or pretend it never happened. She decided to follow his lead.

  “Well, well, well,” he said, leaning his arms on the top rail of the fence. “It took almost a month, but you finally got up the courage to buck him out.”

  Brianna had worked with the horse every day since he’d been here, but this was the first time she’d ever taken anything other than a hackamore into the corral with her.

  She didn’t even look up as she threw the saddle blanket over her horse’s back. “I’ve never bucked a horse out in my life.”

  “I seem to remember you being quite adamant that you knew how to break a horse as well as I did.”

  “I do. I also know better than to jump on a three-year-old that’s scared anyway and let him buck until he wears himself out. You’re as likely to break their spirit as anything else.”

  “Is that right? I suppose they taught you a different way to break a horse at that school of yours.”

  “For your information, I don’t break horses, I gentle them.”

  “How does that work?”

  She flashed him a saucy grin. “Pretty well, thank you.”

  Lucas returned her grin in spite of himself. “You could have fooled me,” he observed as the horse succeeded in shaking the saddle blanket off. “Looks like Oz has other ideas.”

  Brianna scooped the blanket up and put it back on. “Of course he does. That’s the whole point. By the time I’m done with him he won’t mind the blanket a bit.”

  “And after that?”

  “Then we start on the saddle.”

  “How long before you ride him then?”

  “Oh, probably another couple of weeks or so.” Oz dislodged the blanket again.

  “This method of yours seems to take quite a bit of time.”

  “I suppose so, but it’s well worth the wait.” Brianna leaned over, picked up the blanket and put it back in place. “When I finally get around to riding him, he probably won’t buck at all.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “No, but I am sure he won’t be as scared as if I’d thrown my saddle on him a month ago a tried to ride him. That’s why I spend so much time getting him used to me.”

  “Ah, so that’s what you’re doing.” Lucas nodded wisely. “Ian and I were beginning to wonder if you’d decided to make him a pet instead of a saddle horse.”

  “Very funny. Did you want something, or did you just come out here to bug me?”

  “Bug?” One black eyebrow arched questioningly. “I swear Brianna, you’ve got the damnedest vocabulary.”

  �
��It means to irritate me. Is that why you’re here?”

  Lucas grinned again. “No, though I’ll have to admit the temptation is strong. I’ve come up with something to keep the wild horses away. I was wondering if you’d have time to help me set it up after lunch?”

  Brianna glanced up in surprise. “I’d be glad to. What are you going to do?”

  “It’s very simple really. I’ll put some black powder on a flat piece of metal and stick two wires into it. Then when the horses come...” He stopped suddenly and smiled a bit sheepishly. “Sorry. I get carried away when I’m talking about my experiments.”

  Brianna blinked in surprise. He’d clearly misunderstood the expression on her face. What he perceived as bafflement was in reality fascination. The transformation in him was astounding. When he talked of his inventions he became animated, boyish, and completely irresistible. “No, I want to know.”

  “Then I’ll show you after lunch.” He pulled out his watch and gave her a questioning look. “It’s eleven-thirty already.”

  “I know. There’s a stew on the fire, and I plan on being done here in about ten minutes.”

  “Oz will be trained by then?”

  “Close to it. If you’ll notice, he hasn’t knocked the blanket off for several minutes.”

  Lucas grinned as he pushed away from the fence. “What an optimist you are.”

  “And you’re a doubting Thomas.” Oz chose that moment to rid himself of the blanket and Lucas laughed. Brianna made a face at him before stooping to pick up the blanket. “Oh, I nearly forgot. A package came for you on the stage today.”

  “Oh?”

  “I left it on your bunk.”

  “That will give me something to do while I wait hours for lunch.”

  Brianna stuck her tongue out at him. “I’ll be there before you know it.”

  Honestly, that man is the worst tease I’ve ever met! she thought as he left. Just one more lovable facet of his sterling personality. She smiled to herself. The truth was she enjoyed the sparring back and forth as much as he did.

  When she entered the cabin slightly less than ten minutes later, the last thing she expected was to see Lucas sitting on his bunk, his face lined with anguish.