Bounty Hunter
Page 8
Pierce snorted. “Actually, I wish we would have a fight. At least an argument would be something.”
Pierce had no desire to go into how he suspected Taisia fancied some other man, or how he had envisioned another woman while making love, earlier.
“What was the biggest trial you and Mum ever went through as a married couple?”
His father gave him a questioning look.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, son. The biggest one was losing you boys.”
Pierce nodded, for he could only imagine the strain of losing both of their children.
“I’m sure you and Taisia had some tests of your own even before you were wedded.”
“Aye, a few. It’s just that on our wedding day, while we were debating about getting married, Taisia felt it was a tad sudden.”
“Do you have any doubts?”
“No,” he answered with a shake of his head. “Though, I’m afraid she might.”
“Why on Earth would you think so? Has she told you something?”
“She hasn’t. I’m not sure if there’s anything to worry about, really.”
Down in the valley, the hunters had surrounded the dead stag, giving thanks to the Great Spirit for their bounty. Pierce had to respect these people, who truly appreciated the fruits the Earth so generously offered.
As they began hoisting the dead stag onto one of their horses, a hand firmly clutched Pierce’s shoulder.
“You should speak to her,” Jasper suggested. “Conversation is key to a healthy growth in any union. You are in this life together, about to bring another life into this world. If you want a long-lasting and happy marriage with Taisia, then you need to open up the pathways of communication.”
His father’s words surprised Pierce. “That’s very bloody wise of you.”
Jasper snorted. “I reckon. I also speak from years of experience of being a married man. Whatever troubles you, no matter how big or small, you need to talk to her about it.”
Talking. It was a simple enough solution.
They returned to the village. Jasper planned to go off with Chief Sea Wind to fish, and Pierce was about to search for his wife when Itza-chu handed out his horse’s reins to him.
“I killed the deer,” he told Pierce. “You skin and gut it, Łigai Thii.”
Pierce glanced over at the dead stag draped across the horse’s back. He breathed in a great amount of frustrated air before snatching the reins. The stupid nickname was really beginning to eat at him. It didn’t help that his hunger pangs were growing, along with the blasted heat.
“If you call me that one more time,” he threatened, “I’m going to break your nose. Not only break it, but shatter it to pieces.”
Itza-chu laughed and walked off. “You’ll try, Englishman.”
* * *
Taisia walked through a small field where tall, yellow grass grew. Being outside in the sun wasn’t as trying now that she had a parasol and a sun hat. Not to mention a new dress better suited for the climate.
Her husband was so considerate, she mused fondly. She felt guilty for having danced with that other man. What made things worse was that she had allowed herself to be charmed by him. She had carried him in her thoughts on their return trip to the village, mainly due to his strange disappearance when Pierce arrived. How did he simply vanish? Taisia wished she hadn’t referred to him as being handsome in front of Pierce. She hadn’t meant to say such a thing. It just came out. Her guilt, along with her gratitude for the clothes, had made her want to make love to Pierce in a way she hadn’t before. Although she had expressed her sheer pleasure as she always had while being with him, Taisia could not bring herself to gaze upon him as she normally did. She had no desire to love another, for Pierce was hers, as she was his, and that would never change. Yet her shame had kept her from looking at him.
Her throat was scratchy and dry, so she took a drink from her canteen.
“Are you getting too hot?” Sees Beyond asked.
“Sorry?” Taisia said, wiping water from her mouth. “Oh, no. I’m fine. A tad thirsty, is all.”
When Taisia had decided to venture out and take a brief stroll, Sees Beyond insisted on joining her. Since she knew the land, and Taisia enjoyed her company, she had no objections.
“Tell me if you feel faint in any way,” Sees Beyond said.
Taisia suddenly realized Sees Beyond was seeing her as fragile and weak.
“I must seem so frail to you.”
Sees Beyond clasped a hand over her shoulder. “I don’t think you’re frail. You are one of the strongest people I’ve met, both in mind and in body. I only ask because you haven’t been raised in this type of atmosphere. Getting used to it takes time.”
“I cannot argue with you there.”
“And my concern comes from my own feelings of protection toward you and your unborn. Pierce asked me to watch over you whenever he cannot.”
“Did he?”
“He did. Pierce cares a lot about you. He’d lose himself if you weren’t around.”
Taisia thought about that. “He cared for you the same way once, da?”
Sees Beyond’s cheeks lit up red. Taisia instantly regretted asking.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like I was prying.”
Sees Beyond began walking and Taisia walked beside her. “No,” she said to Taisia. “You are his wife. You have the right to know. What exactly did he tell you?”
“On the voyage here, he told me you were the first he ever fell in love with.”
Sees Beyond stopped. “I . . . I was? Even after Frederica Katz?”
That took her aback.
“Frederica Katz? Who’s she?”
Realizing that she had said too much, Sees Beyond retracted. “No one. He actually confessed that about me, though?”
“He did,” Taisia confirmed. “He believed you shared the same feelings, which made it hard when you told him he should leave the ship when the Ekta docked in France. You never knew?”
Sees Beyond set her sights toward the desert mountains in the distance. “That he loved me? Yes, but not his first love.”
“Did you love him in return?”
It amazed Taisia that she was completely comfortable with this topic.
“I did,” Sees Beyond answered, looking over at her. “I loved him greatly. We were very young, and our love affair was brief. Yet, in those short few weeks, we shared an intense connection.”
A twinge of jealousy raced through Taisia. “Then why aren’t you both together?”
Sees Beyond sighed. “He is not my soulmate. This I saw when we were together.”
“I don’t follow,” Taisia admitted. “What exactly did you see?”
Sees Beyond smiled widely at her. “You, Taisia. In one’s lifetime, there can be several pathways to take. In a pathway of his, I saw him finding you.”
Taisia had never understood the supernatural—fortunetelling, magic spells, or any of that. Despite falling into a family brimming with the mystic, she held little interest in the paranormal.
Even so, what Sees Beyond had told her made Taisia gasp. “You . . . you saw me? And you knew he and I would find each other?”
She nodded. “Years before you both did.”
“So, even though you loved him, you let him go?”
“Yes. Pierce and I may have cared for each other as lovers do, but our hearts did not belong to each other.”
The respect Taisia had for this woman could never be measured.
“Has he met any of your old loves?” Sees Beyond asked.
Taisia snickered. “He did, actually. His name was Kirill. He still carried feelings for me.”
“Did he? How did Pierce react to it?”
“Well enough, I suppose. Kirill, however, acted shamefully, causing the scar on Pierce’s face when he threw a knife at him.”
Sees Beyond’s jaw dropped. “You’re joking.”
“No.”
Sees Beyond shook her head. “Incredible.”
“Privet,” she said, coming up alongside him.
His sour expression revealed that he was not in a pleasant mood. She eyed the blood smeared over his bare chest. “You’re a mess. Where’s Father?”
“He and Mum get to fish with Chief Sea Wind and the crew while I’m stuck here, guttin’ this blasted beast,” he grumbled.
Pierce was not only irritated, but also downright miserable. She wanted desperately to ease his suffering.
“Do you need anything? I have my canteen, if you are thirsty.”
“No,” he declined angrily. “I’m fine.”
Pierce pulled out the intestine and threw them to the ground near her feet. Blood splattered the hem of her dress and her new shoes.
“Dammit, Pierce!” she yelled out while stepping back.
He said nothing even when he noticed what he’d done. Instead, he returned to his work.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“I’ve been better. Listen, I’m a bit preoccupied at the moment. Can you bother me later?”
“Bother you?” she responded hotly. “I only came to see you and to tell you . . .”
“I’m bloody well busy, Taisia.”
This was the first time he’d spoken to her in such an angry tone, and she did not appreciate it one bit.
“You’re an ass,” she cursed in Russian before storming off.
She arrived at the secluded spot by the river and angrily scrubbed the blood off her dress with a bar of soap. The way Pierce had acted had nearly caused her to shove him right into that dead deer. She had done nothing to deserve being talked to in that fashion, and the fact that he’d stained her new dress only made it worse.
In the course of their relationship, they had argued little, and the arguments they did have, they had managed to get through. Although she had no doubt they’d come through this fight, it still left her wondering exactly what sort of man her husband truly was. She’d thought she’d understood Pierce completely. Had she been wrong?
They had opened up with each other. He’d even seen her dark side. Had she not seen his? Was he prone to lashing out? Was this something she’d have to put up with in their marriage? Taisia wasn’t concerned that he’d lay a harmful hand on her. Rather, what worried her more was being trapped in an unhappy union full of hostile fights. And there was this child to consider. Granted, they had gone through experiences that other couples might have spent a generation enduring. Yet, despite all that, they hadn’t really known each other that long. How much did she really know about Pierce Landcross?
Thinking about the grim possibilities caused her to rip her dress.
“Dammit!” she shouted, throwing the soap and burying her face in her hands.
She began to sob.
“Tai?”
With a sniff, she snapped her head up. Pierce was approaching. He still wore no shirt. Seeing him raised the level of her anger.
Through clenched teeth, she grunted, “I was just leaving.”
Her tone was stiff and cold. She was about to walk by him when he moved into her path.
“You’re crying, love. Are you all right?”
Taisia fixed her bitter sights on him. His expression was a cross between confusion and discomfort.
“What is it?” he asked stupidly.
That question unlocked the gates and set her rage free. “You are actually asking me that after how you spoke to me?”
His bare chest inflated with the air he breathed in. “Can we talk?”
His tone was serious. It didn’t sound like him. Taisia’s initial reaction was to storm off or yell at him some more. Instead, she decided she needed to stay and face this like an adult.
“Fine.”
They came over to the raggedy tree. Taisia took a seat on the rock while Pierce crouched by the river’s edge and splashed water over himself. He spied the soap on the ground and used it to scrub off the deer blood.
“It’s been a rough day for me,” he said as if that explained his behavior.
Taisia offered no response, only stared at him with arms crossed. His back glowed red. He looked at her over one reddened shoulder and grimaced at her hateful stare.
“Do you regret . . .?” he began before looking away.
Taisia waited. “Do I regret what? Us?”
Pierce splashed water on his face and kept doing so until his hair was drenched.
In a voice faint with worry, he answered, “Aye.”
The question struck her harder than she had expected. Maybe it was her pregnancy, but she suddenly became very emotional.
“Wh . . . why are you asking such a thing? What indication did I ever give to indicate any regret on my end?”
“I . . . I just got to thinking, is all.”
“About what?”
“Throughout my life, I’ve lost a lot of people. I’m worried about the unexplored territory that is us. You and I have gone through plenty together. In fact, I have never shared so many adventures with a single person before, not even with Joaquin. What concerns me is what we still don’t know about each other.”
“You’re upset because you don’t have enough information about me? I’ve told you everything. That still gives you no excuse to snap at me as you did.”
He frowned but did not apologize.
“The sun got to me and I’ve been annoyed by other matters. Let’s not forget about the times you’ve lashed out at me un-provoked, eh?”
She cringed. Taisia did possess a quick temper that tended to make her jump to conclusions.
Suddenly the stranger’s voice whispered in her ear. He is not a jealous man, is he?
“Is this about the man I danced with last night? Is that what is upsetting you? Pierce, I never viewed you as being the insecure type.”
“It’s not that I’m being insecure,” he replied hastily.
His tone suggested otherwise.
She stood and said crossly, “I don’t appreciate having my loyalty questioned. I believe I’ve proven myself time and time again about how dedicated I am toward you and our family.”
He also rose to his full height, his chest now cleaned of the blood. Droplets dripping from his hair.
“That isn’t what I wanted to ask you about, Tai.”
“What is it you need to know that you think you do not?” she said trying to hold down her rising anger.
Pierce opened his mouth as if he was about to answer, but instead, turned his back and crouched by the water again.
“Nothing. Never mind,” he grunted, splashing more water on his face.
Hot tears swelled up in her eyes. She left him there without saying a word.
* * *
Gog grinned slyly as he watched Taisia storm away. He was pleased that he’d managed to get inside her head enough to keep their argument alive. Otherwise, the two might have made amends. Now that he had successfully spiked a wedge between them, Gog only needed to drive that wedge down until the marriage broke apart.
The man named Pierce planned to go to the races tomorrow. Gog would be there, as well.
Chapter Seven
At the Races
Taisia asked Waves of the Strength to take her onboard the Ekta for the night. Pierce hated how things had gone between them.
“Conversation is key to a healthy growth in any union, eh?” he grumbled to himself. “Thanks for the advice, Dad.”
He wasn’t sore at his father, but at himself for letting his and Taisia’s conversation drop without asking his question. Pierce Landcross, Britain’s most wanted outlaw, was too bloody scared to have a serious discussion with his own wife.
He thought about skipping out on the races to speak to her, but decided that getting her a new dress while in town would make for a good peace offering.
The following morning, Pierce woke with his shoulders and back blazing in agony. The sun exposure on his fair skin had fried it like an egg. He groaned miserably as he slipped his shirt on.
“Christ, I’ve never been burnt this severely before.”
He met with Sees Beyond, her husband, Mohin, and their son inside their hut for breakfast. Nona and Grandmother Fey had helped make acorn cakes for the entire family to enjoy. During breakfast, Pierce asked if anyone wanted to join him. To his surprise, Sees Beyond said, “Tarak would like to come with you.”
Pierce looked at the boy who was chewing with an open mouth while nodding frantically at him.
“I do!” he said, food falling out of his mouth. “I do! Can I, White . . . ?”
Pierce narrowed his eyes at the lad. Tarak swallowed down his acorn cake. “I mean, Mr. Landcross?”
Pierce looked over at Tarak’s parents.
“We discussed it last night,” Sees Beyond explained. “If you’re willing to watch over him and do not mind him coming along.”
Mohin seemed to have no objections to his stepson going. If Sees Beyond trusted Pierce enough to keep their son safe in a town that didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for the Apache, then, apparently, so did Mohin. Thinking about it briefly, Pierce decided it would be good for him to spend time with the boy, considering he was about to become a father. He figured he could use the practice.
“Erm, sure. Why not? I promise to keep a vigilant eye on him.”
Although the city was packed with all sorts of folks, Tarak’s parents had dressed their son in a poncho and sombrero to help him blend in a little better.
He and the lad mounted up and headed for Guaymas.
When they reached the road, Pierce said, “Cheers for spreading around that cute little nickname, lad.”
Tarak, like his mother, spoke perfect English, one of the few Apache who did.
“White Horse?” he said as if he didn’t know. “Clever, yes? Everyone thought it was so funny.”
The amused little cuss looked over at Pierce’s not-so-amused expression.