He opened her shirt and bent down to kiss her breasts.
“Buck Hanner, I shouldn’t be doing these things.”
“Why not?” He pulled her to a sitting position and slipped the shirt from her shoulders and arms. “You’re going to be my wife, aren’t you? As far as I’m concerned, you already are. I made you my wife that first time I took you. I don’t need a preacher to tell me you belong to me.”
He kissed her then, a sweet, wonderful kiss that made her lose all ability to reason or object. She was putty in Buck Hanner’s arms; she knew it and she didn’t care. It was wonderful to love and be loved, wonderful to make a real decision about her life. There was no more wondering and worrying now. She would sell the claim in the spring and marry Buck; then they would ride off to find their own dream. It was much nicer to dream together than it was to dream alone.
She never tired of just lying there while he worked his magic with her. Within moments he lay beside her, her clothes off now, his own body naked and urgent, hard muscle pressing against her, commanding, demanding, the man in him ordering her to be the woman she was, yet doing so very gently. The things she allowed him to do amazed her—things she’d once thought ugly and repulsive had become beautiful and desirable. With Buck everything was different, wonderful, glorious. His lips were warm and sweet, not just against her mouth, but in other places, intimate places that belonged only to this man. It was wonderful to truly enjoy being a woman and to give this man his pleasure, and to take her own pleasure in return. Yes, this was what it was all about. This was why people fell in love and married. This was true joy and ecstasy. This was what was intended for a man and a woman in love—to be one, to give and take and give again.
They moved slowly, glorying in one another, no one to hear their passionate whispers and groans or the rhythmic movement of the homemade bed. There was only Buck—Buck and Harmony and the little cabin on the mountain. The lamp dimmed as the oil ran low, and the stew simmered, waiting to be eaten…later.
For two weeks the winter winds blew, and for two weeks Buck Hanner and Harmony Jones made love, talked, made love, played games, made love, ate, made love, counted gold, made love. They became intimate not just in body, but in spirit, understanding one another, learning to be the best of friends as well as lovers. Harmony felt so alive, so free—free of fear and sorrow, free of loneliness. She had Buck Hanner, and sometimes she wished they could stay together on the mountain forever, alone. If it were not for their desire to be legally married and their need for supplies, she would never leave this place. Often at night he caught her crying. Then she would cling to him, vowing she would never forget this place, this mountain, the things she had learned here.
Finally one night the wind stopped howling, and it was deathly still. Harmony could hear dripping, and she knew the warmth of the cabin was melting snow from the roof.
“Buck?” she said softly.
He stirred, nearly asleep. Then he stretched and pulled her closer, enjoying the feel of skin against skin, for they slept naked together. “What?” he asked sleepily.
“Will you still love me when we go back?”
He kissed her hair. “Why shouldn’t I?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. I just…maybe it will be different. Up here it’s just you and me—no problems, no one to bother us. In town, you’ll see other girls, and—”
He laughed lightly. “Harmony, don’t be silly. We know each other inside and out. Do you think my love is that shallow?”
She kissed his chest. “No. It’s just scary. I’ve been up here so long, away from people and all. It will seem strange to be around them again.”
“Well, we have to get back to real life eventually. You just remember that you and I are the same, no matter where we go or what we do. We’re still Buck and Harmony, and nothing can change our love for each other. You remember that, Shortcake. Nothing can make me stop loving you. Nothing.”
She rested her head in his shoulder. “Do you think people will talk about us, about our being up here alone this long? Will they think I’m bad?”
She felt him tense. “The first man who suggests such a thing will feel my fist in his face,” he grumbled. “You’re the woman I love and intend to marry. You’ve not done one bad thing, Harmony, and don’t ever think you have. All you’ve done is love me. You’ve been sweet and wonderful and good, and any man who tries to say otherwise will wish he hadn’t!”
She smiled, feeling protected and safe. It was a nice feeling, the only way a woman could feel in Buck Hanner’s arms.
“I’ll be eighteen next week, Buck. I guess I’m a full-fledged woman now.”
He squeezed her close and nestled into the quilts. “You’re a full-fledged woman, all right. You’ve grown a lot since you first came here, Harmony. I’m proud of you. And I did my share of waiting for you to grow, I’ll say that. I wanted you right off, you know. Fact is, the first time I saw you on that train, when I didn’t even know who you were, I wanted you. You were the prettiest little thing I ever saw, and something deep inside told me I’d see you again.”
“I felt the same way, but it scared me. When I came out here I was determined to be an independent woman, wealthy and secure, on my own. Then you had to come along.” She pushed at him teasingly. “Now my whole world revolves around you. You messed up my thinking, Buck Hanner.”
He laughed lightly and rested a hand against her breast. “And I’ve enjoyed doing it,” he answered, running his hand down over her belly.
They both lay there quietly for several minutes. “I still hate the thought of going back, Buck. I’ll never forget this place, the months I spent here, the beauty, the quiet. It was fun being alone, for a while, except that awful day the grizzly came after me, and then the day those men came. It seems every time I needed help, you were there, like God led you to me or something.”
“God did lead me to you. We’re supposed to be together.”
“I just hope it can be the same when we go back. I’ll hate leaving here. This is our place, Buck. It’s special. If we sell it, men will come up here and tear it up, blow out the side of the mountain.”
“Hush, Harmony. So what if they do? This place will always be here—in our hearts and memories. That’s all that matters. Nothing can change these last few months. Nobody can take away our memories, or our love. Whenever we want to be here, all we have to do is close our eyes and remember. Now go to sleep.”
She closed her eyes. Yes, as long as she could lie in his arms, life would always be like this, wherever they might go, whatever they might do.
The weather cleared, and enough snow melted for Buck to dynamite away portions of the cliff beside and behind the cabin. He was careful to set the explosives in such a way that the cabin would not be buried under rock slides. The first few blasts brought an avalanche of snow down from above, however, and they spent the next few days digging their way to the place where the hole had been blown.
Several times Buck repeated the process, dynamiting inward to create a tunnel in which they could work out of the wind and cold. They used a few timbers left behind by Tillis’ men to shore up the small cave they had created, and since the snow and cold were still too intense to permit them to journey down the mountain, they continued working. They decided to dig out as much gold as possible, and to get a good idea of the value of the claim before returning to Cripple Creek.
“Might as well get everything we can out of this,” Buck told her. “The more we make, the more land we can buy—and cattle and horses.”
She agreed, fully trusting him, glad to share her wealth with him, for this was the man she loved, the man who would soon be her husband. It was exciting to know she’d soon be Mrs. Buck Hanner. She liked the sound of it. It now seemed right to be a wife and mother instead of a business woman. She needed Buck, and he needed her. They should be together, should unite and create children. She felt that was God’s way.
Days turned into weeks, and the snow melted more quickly. The nights were st
ill cold, but by the end of March the days were much warmer. Harmony was certain they’d passed the supreme test of knowing whether they could be happy together, for if they were going to get on each other’s nerves, they would know that by now.
That hadn’t happened. There had been only a few friendly arguments, always ending in sweet kisses and teasing. She wondered if any two people could be better suited for one another, and she had to laugh when she remembered the times she had argued with Buck Hanner, had been stubborn and resistant, distrustful and defensive. She was different now. That Harmony was gone.
Then came the day Buck yelled to her from inside the cave. She was beside the stream, picking gold out of rocks. She dropped her knife and ran to him. He was furiously hacking away with a pick at a sparkling vein in the rocks.
“My God, Harmony, look at this!” Chunks of sparkling rock fell to the floor of the cave, and she picked them up.
“Pyrite?” she asked carefully.
“No! It’s too soft, Harmony. I think it’s the real thing!”
Her heart pounded. “Buck, are you sure?”
“Take a look! You can make a nail print in the stuff!”
She pressed it with her thumb nail, then sat down, staring at it. “Buck, I think you’re right.”
“If I am, there’s enough here to buy up half the state of Colorado!” he muttered. “I’ll be a bigger rancher than Wade Tillis ever thought of being!”
She watched him, the old distrust nipping at her. Was that all he was really after, enough money to outdo Wade Tillis? Was he using her? No. Not Buck. Not Buck.
“Baby, we’ll be the biggest ranchers this side of the Mississippi!” he told her, still hacking away. “I’ll shove a load of this stuff into some saddlebags and find a way to get it down the mountain and have it assayed.”
Her heart tightened. “Just you? I thought we were both going back.”
“We both will go back, once I get this assayed and file the proper papers for you. This is it, Harmony, the mother lode. If I go back alone, no one will suspect anything, don’t you see? I’m just coming back to report back to Leads. If you go down, everyone will be watching you.” More chunks fell on the floor. “The minute you go into that assayer’s office, they’ll suspect, and Wade Tillis will buy up everything that surrounds your claim in ten seconds flat! This way it will be our secret. Nobody need know what we’ve discovered here. We’ll secretly buy up more claims, then hire someone with the right equipment to come up here and mine it right. Eventually we’ll sell out to a bigger mining company and take our money and settle on the finest ranch in Colorado!”
For several more minutes he hacked away, while Harmony just watched him. Why did distrust consume her so easily? This was Buck. He kept saying “we” and “our,” and he still spoke of settling on a ranch. But he was so excited. Was it because he’d hoped all along this would happen, that her claim would pay off and he’d get rich because of it? Perhaps he was just using her after all. He might have asked her to marry him because he knew she’d refuse, but asking would give him more time on the mountain with her. And he had mentioned Wade Tillis. He might have helped her in order to outdo Wade Tillis, not because he really cared about her.
Again her old fear of being unloved crept over her. Would Buck Hanner change if he got his hands on her claim? Maybe she shouldn’t marry him after all. Maybe—
“Hey,” he said, interrupting her thoughts and setting aside the pick. He knelt down beside her. “What’s wrong?”
She shrugged, her eyes tearing. “I don’t know.” She met his eyes. “You…you wouldn’t just…use me, would you, Buck?”
He frowned. “What the hell does a man have to do to make you trust him, Harmony? I believe I almost died a couple of months ago to save you from a fate worse than death.” His blue eyes were angry.
“But a man will do a lot of things if he thinks he might get rich,” she answered, a tear spilling down her cheek.
He stood up and kicked at a piece of ore. “I don’t believe you, Harmony! I thought I had you figured out, but I guess I didn’t!” He stormed out of the cave, and she ran after him, following him up the steps.
“Where are you going!” she yelled.
“Back to Cripple Creek!” he barked. “You can have your damned gold—and your independence!” he roared. “I don’t want any of it! Finish digging it yourself! I’ll walk back right now and freeze to death if I have to. But I’m going!”
Her heart filled with remorse. “No!” she screamed. Quickly she went up the remaining steps and into the cabin, where he was throwing his things into saddlebags. “Buck, I’m sorry! Don’t go!” she begged. “Not this way! I trust you! Really I do! Please don’t go!”
He cast her an angry look, his blue eyes icy. “I can’t live my life always being doubted, Harmony. I love you, but damn it, I have my pride! How can you think your gold is the only reason I’ve stayed up here! I thought we had that all straightened out! I don’t need your damned gold! I have plenty of money. I just thought the gold would make it that much easier for us, that’s all, but I’ll do fine without it!”
When he reached for his gun belt, she ran over and grabbed his arm. “Buck, wait!” She was crying now. “Please, please don’t go! I really am sorry! If you go you won’t come back! I’ll die if you don’t come back! I can’t live without you!”
He studied her eyes. Why did he love her so much? Why did he understand her fear and feel sorry for her? Suddenly she was a little girl again, and the thought of leaving her tore at his heart. He sighed, grasping her arms.
“Harmony, you’ve got to trust me to take some of the gold down and get it assayed. I’ll be back. You’ve got to believe that I’m doing it for us, not for me, for us! Why should we pass up the chance to have a good life? I can make it good for us without the gold, but the gold will make everything much easier, don’t you see? I can build you a fine house, and our children can have the best. But it’s your gold, not mine, so it’s your decision.”
“Do whatever you want! I don’t care, Buck! You’ve always been right, and you’ve never broken a promise. Just promise me that when you go down with the gold you’ll come back!”
His jaw flexed with anger. “I don’t need to promise that, Harmony. You should know by now that I’ll come back. You should know how much I love you.”
“Don’t be angry! Please don’t be angry! I get scared when you’re upset with me—scared that you’ll leave and never come back. I…I don’t want to have to wait for you…like on the docks!”
A spasm shook her body, and she sobbed. He closed his eyes and sighed, pulling her close. “It won’t be anything like that, Shortcake,” he told her, squeezing her tight.
She cried harder, relieved. When he called her Shortcake, she knew he wasn’t angry anymore. She wept against his chest, and for several minutes he just held her, his strong arms reassuring her until she finally quieted. Finally he held her a bit away from him.
“Harmony, look at me,” he told her quietly.
She raised her eyes to meet his, but his face was blurred by her tears.
“I’m saying it one more time. I love you. I don’t need your gold, so it’s up to you, what we do with that. But I love you, and I want you to be my wife, to bear my children. Do you believe that?”
She sniffed and nodded, and he bent to kiss her lightly.
“I love you,” he repeated. He kissed her again. “I love you. How many times and ways do I have to say it?”
“I believe you,” she said pleadingly.
“Then you must also trust me, Harmony. Now if you want this stuff assayed, it’s much better that I go back alone, understand? It won’t take me long. I’ll file the proper papers and then come back for you. It will look very natural if I go into town. I’m in and out of these mountains all the time; sometimes I take gold down for other miners. No one will think much about it. I’ll get things all set, then come back for you. When I do, we’ll go down to Cripple Creek and get married, an
d we’ll live there until all this is straightened out and we sell the mine. Then we’ll take your money and mine and we’ll go search for the prettiest piece of land in Colorado. How does that sound—thousands of acres, all ours. You said you wanted to own property and all. Now you’ll own more than you ever dreamed of. After all, it won’t be just mine if you’re my wife, right?”
She nodded, watching his eyes—so true and devoted. “Oh, Buck, I’m so sorry! I love you so much. I didn’t mean to be so stupid.”
He kissed her forehead. “I know that. Now let’s get busy. You get some sacks for the ore. I’ll take a good sample down with me so we know that much is safe. Then I’ll be back. I might even bring some other men with me, men to mine this thing while we go down and get married. That way the claim won’t be unprotected. Then we’ll just take it from there, Harmony. We mine it awhile or sell it, whichever you want. I’ll file all claims in your name and won’t have anything to do with the gold. It’s your decision.”
She wiped her eyes. “I…I’d like to do it the way you suggested. If you go back first, no one will suspect. You go, and I’ll wait for you.” She hugged him tightly. “But don’t take too long, Buck! I’ll miss you so!”
“I’ll go as fast as I can. But remember I’ll be on foot going down, so allow me extra time. And while I’m gone, you be damned careful, understand? Forget about fishing and all that. Stay close to the cabin. Spring is a dangerous time of year up here.”
She pulled away. “Oh, Buck, I don’t want it to end! I don’t want to leave here!”
He kept one arm around her waist, while he gently smoothed back her hair with his other hand. “I won’t be leaving immediately, but we have to face reality sometime, Shortcake. We have to get back to the real world, to life. And we have to start living a normal life. We can’t stay here forever. You know that.”
She closed her eyes. “I know. But it’s been so wonderful here, alone together.”
He kissed her tenderly, then held her close. “Yes, it has. But we have each other, Harmony. Wherever we go, we’ll take our love and the peace of this place with us, in our hearts.” He patted her bottom. “Come on, now. Let’s get to work. Get the bags.”
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