Without restarting the fire, in case the men decided to return, he huddled within the warmth of his bearskin and thought of Elise. He prayed she would be safe, but with miscreants like these running around…
He closed his eyes as his moral compass spun around in different directions. He could either continue on toward California as planned, or he could return to the sanctuary of the little cabin in the woods and enjoy it for as long as the good Lord allowed.
Chapter Eight
The next morning, after Elise had checked on her flowers, she busied herself with the last of the mending. She tried to ignore the fact that her birthday was in a few short days, and yet again, it appeared that she would be spending it alone.
Beau wandered over from his place by the fire and lay down at her feet with a heavy sigh, as if reminding her of his presence. She bent down and scratched him behind the ears. “Of course I haven’t forgotten you,” she murmured with a smile.
She returned her attention back to her task, and when she had toiled with the needle and thread for as long as she could manage, she got to her feet and set it aside. “That’s enough for today, I think.”
Elise headed for the kitchen, but stopped when she heard a disturbance outside. Her first thought was that Mr. Cade had changed his mind and returned, so she rushed over to the door and pulled it open.
But it wasn’t a bearskin coat that she saw.
The root cellar door was hanging open and she saw two men emerge with their hands full of her supplies. She must have gasped, for one of the men glanced up and met her gaze. “Well, what do we have ’ere?”
Elise didn’t wait for anything else. She slammed the door and locked it, but she knew that was no more than a temporary deterrent if these men wished to get to her. She immediately headed to the cabinet where she kept her rifle, and even though her fingers were shaking, she managed to prime and load it. A loud knock sounded at the door and she jumped. Beau must have sensed the danger, for he let out a low growl of warning.
“Come on now, missus,” the same man coaxed through the wood. “We just want t’ talk t’ you.”
“Go away!” Elise shouted from inside. She pulled back the hammer on the rifle and pointed it at the door, focusing everything she had to keep her arm steady. She only had one shot, so she knew it had to count.
“You wouldn’t leave two men out ‘ere t’ starve would you?” The other man’s voice carried through clearly. “We’re just two weary travelers—”
“I saw you stealing out of my larder,” Elise returned. “Now be on your way!”
There was a brief hesitation, and then there was another loud bang on the door, louder than the first. “Don’t be foolish, missus. We can do this the easy way.”
Elise released a slow breath. She reminded herself that she’d been faced with ruffians before and come out unscathed. While this situation didn’t have a hero coming to her rescue, sometimes you had to be the heroine of your own story.
With all of the courage she could muster, she cried hotly, “You can try!”
There was another pause, and then the door shuddered on its hinges. Elise jumped in alarm, but kept her grip on her rifle as the wood was continuously struck from the other side. She jerked as the door abruptly splintered away from the frame and the first man she spied outside stumbled into view. He tossed aside the log he held in his hands. It fell to the floor with an ominous thud.
As his companion entered behind him with a malicious grin, his teeth filled with tobacco juice, Elise raised her rifle. She’d never had to shoot anyone before, but when it came to self-defense, she wasn’t above protecting herself.
Beau stood near her, his back arched as a menacing growl emanated from his throat, his teeth bared in challenge.
The first man crossed his arms and smirked at his friend. “Take care of the mongrel.”
He instantly raised his pistol and pointed it right at Beau.
Elise felt all the blood drain from her face as tears stung her eyes. “No!” She threw herself in front of the hound, shielding him with her body. She still held on to the rifle, but she lowered it to her side. “Please. Don’t hurt him.” She hated the fact she was reduced to begging, but she couldn’t allow anything to happen to Mr. Cade’s faithful hound, that had become her friend as well. She’d promised that she would take care of him, and that is what she would do until her dying breath.
She waited for one of the men to lunge at her, but instead, the man who would have shot Beau suddenly howled in pain. His pistol clattered to the floor as he clutched his hand where a wicked looking knife was protruding from the middle of his palm. Blood was pouring from the wound as he sputtered obscenities and looked behind him.
But it was too late.
Mr. Cade had already removed the knife from the man’s hand and held it to his throat. “I suggest that you leave the lady alone if you want to live to see another day.” He tilted his head to the side. “But even then, I’m not sure you deserve to.”
Elise saw the first man start to bend down slowly, his gaze on Chauncey as he attempted to reach for the discarded pistol, but Elise raised her weapon once more and pointed it at his heart. “Don’t move.”
He froze, but his eyes shifted to her and she suppressed a shudder at the hatred she saw on his face.
“I think it’s time you gentlemen took your leave,” Mr. Cade said evenly. “Don’t you agree?” The man he held nodded his head, he added, “Now kick the gun toward the lady.” After he had done so, the metal skidding across the floor toward Elise, Mr. Cade released his hold on the other man.
For a brief moment, they faced off against one another, like two predators circling around the fresh kill, but in the end, the two men walked out the busted door and went on their way.
Elise allowed her rifle to drop to her side, her arms unable to support the weight any longer. As she looked up and met Mr. Cade’s face, a sob escaped her and she ran across the short distance and flung herself into those strong, comforting arms.
***
Chauncey closed his eyes and breathed in Elise’s familiar scent. He was relieved that he’d gone with his gut instinct, the one that told him those men were up to no good. He had been afraid they might be heading in Miss Erindelle’s direction and he’d been right. He was just thankful that he’d been able to stop them in time, before they’d had a chance to do any real damage.
As she drew away from him, his heart beat steadily in his chest as he looked into her deep blue eyes. He couldn’t resist reaching out and cupping her smooth, soft cheek in his palm. “Are you alright?” he murmured gruffly.
“Yes.” She nodded. “Thanks to you.” He saw her swallow, and then she said, “I’m glad you’re back.”
He smiled slightly. “Me too.” For however long it lasts. But he kept that part to himself. He walked over to the busted door and said, “Let’s get this fixed, shall we?”
He saw Elise shiver as she rubbed her arms, as if just now feeling the effects of the cold.
She walked over and threw her woolen cloak over her shoulders and together, they worked to repair the damage. A few pieces would have to be repaired around the frame, so Chauncey went outside to the woodpile and began to chop a few straight pieces. While he was there, he noticed that the cellar door was standing wide open, so he went to investigate. A few things were missing and a couple more scattered about haphazardly, but for the most part, Miss Erindelle should still have enough to survive most of the winter.
Whether or not Chauncey would be around that long remained to be seen.
He was taking a risk coming back here as it was, but the more he thought about Elise all alone in that cabin…
He smiled as he recalled the moment he saw her staring down the barrel of a gun at her intruders. This was no helpless female in need of rescue. She had to be strong to survive in such a Texan wilderness by herself as long as she had, but it would ease Chauncey’s mind to know that she was safe.
And he’d rather missed his
dog.
He returned to the cabin with the wood in his arms. As he set it down, he was immediately bombarded by Beau, the hound washing his face in adoration. Chauncey laughed, finding that it felt good to do so. It had been too long, and the single happiness he’d found since Martha and Thomas’ deaths was being here in this little cabin.
Elise had been sweeping up the broken splinters off the front door, but now she paused and picked up the hammer she’d laid on the table, along with a handful of nails, and handed the items to him. He grasped the head of the hammer, but she didn’t release the handle. “I meant it when I said I’m glad you’re here.” When Chauncey merely waited for her to say something more, she glanced away almost self-consciously and smiled at the hound. “Why, Beau was practically beside himself with worry.”
Chauncey bowed his head. “I do regret that, Miss Erindelle.” He dared to wink at her. “Let’s get this door repaired before another winter storm sets in, shall we?”
***
Elise hummed to herself as she stirred the vegetable stew in the pot hanging over the fireplace that night. She imagined she would never lay eyes on Mr. Chauncey Cade again, and yet, he sat in her favorite chair and continued to work on the mending she’d set aside earlier. She’d watched him for a time, when she was pretending to read, fascinated by the way his large hands, rough from labor, had so gently pulled the needle through the cotton fabric.
A man who could fix a door so it was more efficient than it had been before, to one who could sew as well as any lady was surely like no other. She’d long discovered that Mr. Cade was a true gentleman, even though his past was littered with fragments of misdeeds. He’d treated her with nothing but kindness, and she intended to show him the same courtesy. And to be honest, she couldn’t very well blame him for disposing of the men who had murdered his family. “An eye for an eye,” her father would have said.
Lost in her daydreams, Elise stirred a bit too vigorously and some of the boiling broth splashed onto her hand. “Ouch!” She instantly dropped the wooden spoon.
Mr. Cade was by her side in an instant. He took her hand in his and inspected the damage. It was red, but it hadn’t yet blistered. “We need to put this in some cold water to reduce the swelling.”
Elise nodded, as if her mother hadn’t instructed her how to survive on her own in the wilderness. She’d cut down trees and split wood, repaired shingles on the roof, but now she let Mr. Cade lead her over to the kitchen where he poured a bit of cold water into a bowl. “It will sting, but you have to immerse your hand completely.”
She did it without hesitation. It was only when she glanced at him again that she seen the rather sheepish expression on his face. “What is it?”
“No doubt you think I’m rather highhanded for treating you as though you’re some helpless female.” His mouth twisted and he shook his head. “Martha used to accuse me of the same thing. Even though she was a Métis like I was, she’d been raised in a tribe and knew more herbal remedies and cures than I did, and yet I always imagined that she needed my interference. It seems I can’t stop myself from doing the same now.” He held up his hands and started to back away. “I apologize if I offended you.”
Elise reached out and grasped his wrist before he could retreat too far. “I appreciate that you care, Mr. Cade. It’s true that my mother and father taught me how to do whatever is necessary to live off the land, but it’s been two years since anyone cared about what happened to me. I’m not offended in the slightest. In truth, I’m rather…grateful.”
His dark eyes assessed her, and then he moved forward. He grasped her chin in his fingertips and lifted her head. She closed her eyes, eager for his kiss. The blood rushed through her every extremity, but he pulled away almost as quickly as it had begun.
He turned away, as if ashamed. “I’m… sorry. I don’t want you to think that I returned for—”
She took pity on him. “You’re a good man, Mr. Cade, no matter what dark shadows might trail behind you.” She paused and dared to add, “And it isn’t as though I told you to stop.”
His dark eyes shifted back to her face. For a moment, she glimpsed a flash of fire before it was swiftly banked. “I should go check on—” He broke off his words with a shake of his head and headed for the door.
***
Supper was a rather stilted affair that evening, but then Chauncey couldn’t seem to get the soft feel of Elise’s lips out of his mind. They had tortured him from the very first time he’d glimpsed their fullness. That was why he’d attempted to conjure up some sort of excuse to leave her and trudgeout in the snow, in an effort to cool off his growing ardor.
Now, as he pushed around a cooked carrot with his spoon, he couldn’t seem to remove the frown from the center of his forehead. He kept telling himself that he should leave again, that it would be for the best, but a force like nothing he’d ever felt before compelled him to stay. And he wasn’t sure he could see the look of dejection on Miss Erindelle’s face should he walk out that door again. Unfortunately, time was against him, and if the men who were hunting him in Charming were to discover that he was here…
He abruptly got to his feet.
Elise slowly lowered her spoon. “Is everything alright, Mr. Cade?”
He shoved a hand through his hair and released a heavy breath. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t sit here and pretend that everything was fine, that they could continue this farce of being happy when it was all going to come crashing down. As much as he hated to see this woman upset, she had to understand that his capture was a very real threat.
“I hadn’t intended on returning,” he stated evenly.
She nodded. “I know.”
“I shouldn’t have returned.”
She said nothing to this.
He walked around to her side of the table and bent down before her, taking her hands in his, gently rubbing his thumb over the strip of white cloth that she’d tied around her burned hand. “I’m living on borrowed time. At some point, I will be found.”
Her blue eyes were focused on him, but she remained silent.
“Don’t you see what this means, Elise?” He used her given name so he could impart how important this was to him. “I don’t want you to be injured because of your association to me.” He sighed heavily. “Since it’s obvious that I don’t have the strength to stay away from you, I need to hear it from your lips that you want me to go, that you never want to see me again. Then will I be able to walk out that door and never return and spare you from what’s to come.”
She didn’t even appear to ponder his words. There was no hesitation as she squeezed his hands and said, “The only thing I ask from you, Mr. Cade, is to stay with me until the bitter end. I’ve found that things are…easier when you’re here.” She swallowed visibly. “And if, or when, the day comes when the authorities knock at my door, that is the day I will fight with every last breath for you because it’s what you deserve.” She paused. “It’s what Martha and Thomas deserve.”
Chauncey released a shaky breath and rested his forehead against hers. “I don’t know what I could have done to deserve a woman like you in my life again, but I swear that I won’t dishonor your faith in me. I will endeavor to do what I can to keep your devotion alive because it’s what you deserve.”
Chapter Nine
For the next few days, life went on as it had the week before Mr. Miracle paid her a surprise visit, when Mr. Cade had departed, and the miscreants had disrupted her peaceful existence. Elise was well aware that Mr. Cade was right, that this newfound harmony couldn’t last forever, but she intended to live in this fairytale land as long as she could. Because she was happy, and she knew that Chauncey was too, even though there was a marked sadness around his eyes, as if he was just waiting for that undesirable conclusion.
But whenever he caught her gaze, he did his best to make her laugh. It had become something of a habit for them to play poker every evening after supper with her mother’s love tokens. The slight f
lirtations between them always sent her to her room with a smile on her face and a glowing warmth in her heart.
She didn’t want to believe that she might be falling in love with Mr. Cade, but she was afraid that was exactly what was happening. He continued to retain his distance, and even though she’d yearned for more of his gentle embraces, he had made no more advances. However, she knew quite well that if they were to go beyond this companionable friendship, that’s when it would truly become dangerous.
Even so, Elise took care with her appearance that morning. She dressed in her favorite, light blue dress with the fur collar and plaited her hair into a neat braid. She told herself she was being more particular because it was her birthday, but then, that was a lie. She wanted to look her best, for perhaps Mr. Cade would grant her just one more kiss.
Her cheeks warmed as she left her bedroom, but when she looked around the small expanse for Mr. Cade, he was nowhere to be found. Somewhat deflated, she walked over to Beau, who was snoozing by the fire. “Where has your master gone off to this early?” she murmured. “It’s barely even dawn.”
Of course the dog didn’t reply, only nuzzled his head in her hand, begging for attention, so she scratched behind his ears and cooed soft words of devotion before she stood and grabbed her apron. She tied it around her waist with a sigh and started on breakfast.
Everything was nearly done by the time the door opened and Chauncey walked in wearing his bearskin coat. He stomped most of the snow off his moccasins on the rug near the door and lifted his chin into the air. “I could smell the coffee brewing from outside,” he said almost wistfully.
She smirked slightly as she set the table. “And what have you been doing so early?”
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