The Crow and the Coyote (The Crow Series Book 1)

by Kristy McCaffrey

  No.

  She had no doubt she witnessed crows.

  Jack and two men emerged from the haze hanging in the gloom, the fluttering of feathers dispersing in their wake.

  "Jack," she whispered.

  He came to her. Brandishing a knife, he made swift work of releasing her. Time slowed, as if in a dream, and she turned to him. In his eyes she saw gratitude, and felt transported to a place of deep green and moist Mother Earth. She'd never been to Scotland, but in this moment, Jack seemed to embody his homeland.

  "I'm glad you're alive," he said. He laid his roughened hand gently against her cheek and kissed her with such tenderness that tears rolled down her face.

  He stood, and carefully helped her to her feet.

  "I want you to meet my brothers," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist in support.

  She looked to the men who had killed Hastin and released Sani from her ropes. The resemblance to Jack was uncanny.

  "You're all crows," she murmured.

  Jack made a sound of amusement. "That's Callum, and the young one is Kit."

  Neither wore hats, and their dark hair rivaled Jack's.

  "Miss." Callum nodded in her direction.

  "This is Hannah Dobbin," Jack said, "and that's Sani."

  Kit grinned. "Please to make your acquaintance, Miss Dobbin. Jack seems to have picked up a pretty pebble along the way."

  Hannah smiled, then moved to Sani. "How is your wound?"

  "I will live." Sani squared her shoulders. "Something must be done about Hastin."

  Hannah nodded, then looked to Jack. "Lopez?" she asked.

  "Dead." His jaw flexed and his gaze hardened. Gone were the otherworldly fields of Scottish green; in its place was the harsh reality of the deeds he—and his brothers—were required to commit. In that moment, she saw clearly the Comanche that pulsed in him.

  "How?" she asked.

  Jack's gaze softened and she couldn't look away, so breathtaking was the transformation. Hardened by the life he led, both in body and spirit, she sensed he rarely let his guard down. But when he did, he was beautiful.

  "Hok'ee brought me a knife," he said. "I was able to free myself. When the arrows took out the three, I knew it was Kit. Lopez ran, but I was able to follow."

  "He could've killed you," Hannah said.

  "Then, I would've counted on you to bring me back."

  A stark intimacy wrapped tightly around them, and embarrassment swept over her that the others should witness this exchange between them.

  "I'm thinking there's more to this story," Callum said, "but for now we best leave this place. It is Hallowe'en. The spirits will be about. What do you hear, Kit?"

  "I hear him," Kit said, turning around.

  Hok'ee watched from the murky shadows, his yellow eyes glowing.

  "The cross," Hannah said, but Jack stopped her as she prepared to bolt across to Hastin's body and search his belongings.

  "No need," Callum said. "I know where it is."

  Hannah watched as Jack's brother sorted through a pile of leather pouches, located the item, then returned and placed it in her hand.

  "How did you do that?" she asked him.

  "Jack'll tell you. I think you're gonna be around for a while."

  A deep knowing in her heart told her much the same, but didn't say it aloud.

  The heavy, silver cross filled her palm. At last, she had her pa's memento, so very dear to him.

  "What now?" Jack asked quietly.

  Her eyes met his, and realization hit that she didn't know how to release a spirit.

  She shifted her gaze to Hok'ee. He approached and everyone backed away, then Hannah knelt to greet the animal.

  He sniffed the metal, then sat before her. The last embers of the fire shone in his eyes.

  "I love you, Pa. It's time for you to go. It's time to be free."

  A memory came to her of a time when she was young, before her mama had died of fever, when the three of them had shared the joy of a family.

  She smiled despite the tears welling in her eyes. "She's here," she whispered, feeling the essence of her mother wrap around her. "Mama will help."

  The cross had been a gift, from her mama to her pa, on the day they married. Her pa had spoken of it many times in the years that followed. He'd always cherished it, but after she passed he'd been almost obsessed with it.

  Hok'ee licked her cheeks and she hugged him; then,with an affectionate nudge, he stepped back. With one last look, he turned and disappeared into the night.

  Goodbye, Pa.

  Chapter Nine

  Jack, Cal and Kit spent several hours taking care of the macabre encampment of Hastin Yazhe. But first, they settled Hannah and Sani back in the main canyon, away from the dead bodies and angry spirits in residence. Jack knew this because Kit's uncanny gift of hearing alerted them. They worked swiftly, burying Hastin and the three Navajo killed by Kit's arrows. When it came to Lopez, done in by Jack and the knife Hok'ee had brought him, it was agreed they would wrap the body and take it with them. The bounty still needed to be collected, and they were uncertain whether they'd be able to recoup on Ramirez.

  "I've never seen a man burnt to a crisp," Cal said.

  "A strange end for Ramirez," Kit said. "We lost his trail not long after we split up, but Callum sniffed him out."

  Cal's ability to scout future events in his dreams had come in handy more than once. Jack and his brothers kept their skills to themselves, but whatever it was they'd inherited from their Scottish grandmother had kept them alive in many a dangerous situation.

  Cal recovered a pouch of black, grainy powder from Hastin's belongings. "What the hell is this?" he asked, holding a sample in his hand.

  "It was Hastin's specialty," Jack replied. "Corpse powder."

  Cal grimaced and deposited the particles back into the leather sack. "Why would he need this?" He slapped his hand against his leg several times to rid himself of the residue.

  "It's too bad Granny's gone," Kit said. "She might've known."

  "Regardless of what it was for," Jack said, "I think we need to take care how we dispose of it."

  "What do you recommend?" Cal asked.

  "I've sage with me. We bury it at least three feet then burn the sage atop it."

  Once the task was accomplished, a pungent and woodsy aroma surrounded them, cleansing the land and pushing away the whispers of the dead. Kit said as much.

  "I think Cal and I can handle Lopez's body," Kit said to Jack."We'll return it to Fort Defiance. I'd imagine you should help Hannah Dobbin and the Old One return to the Navajo."

  Jack nodded. "I might take some time..."

  "A holiday?" Cal laughed. "Did you hear that, Kit? Jack's gonna chase a skirt full-time."

  "Is she worth it?" Kit asked.

  "Yep." And Jack knew it was true, clear to his bones.

  ****

  Hannah awoke as Jack's body pressed against hers, warming her backside. His hand rested on her hip and he kissed her cheek. She shifted to face him, then lifted the sheepskin blanket to include him.

  "Thank you, Jack, for all your help," she whispered.

  His mouth came to hers, at first soft, then with more heat. He brought his arms around her and held her close, his lips pressed to her forehead. As she settled against him, she felt his restraint, likely due to their lack of privacy; but her body hummed with the need to be alone with him. Her mind wandered to what it would be like to lie skin to skin with him, to learn him in ways she'd never desired to do with another.

  "There'll be time for that, Hannah," he said quietly.

  "Promise?"

  His mouth found hers again, and his hand searched beneath the flap of her coat to settle upon a breast, igniting a deep longing in her.

  "I promise," he said.

  Chapter Ten

  6 months later

  Jack guided his horse into Cañon de Chelly, Hannah trailing behind upon her own animal. He'd promised her a visit to Sani, who now resided wi
thin, before the babe arrived.

  About four months along, Hannah's belly was just starting to bulge, and now that she was past the sickness period, he agreed to the journey. They'd been living in a rented room in Tuba City, within the boundaries of the Navajo—and the Hopi—while Hannah finished writing and collating the work she and her father had started. But after this trip, Jack insisted they move to Prescott, some 300 miles to the southwest. He wanted Hannah to have a decent doctor to deliver the babe. His child.

  The Crow would soon be a father.

  The thought made him immensely happy.

  His folks would visit later in the year, and Cal and Kit appeared from time to time. Jack hadn't waited to marry Hannah. When he heard the circuit judge was on his way to Prescott two months ago, he arranged to have the man intercepted and brought to his betrothed.

  He'd been damn determined to wed her. Hannah Dobbin was wrapped tight into his soul, and he knew he'd spend his life offering her everything he had to give, opening his heart in ways he never had. And there was no way he'd let his child be born without a proper father.

  On this beautiful spring day, they found Sani's homestead tucked beside a burgeoning orchard of peach trees.

  He dismounted and helped Hannah from her horse. She smiled and he drank in her sage-green eyes.

  On impulse, he removed his hat and kissed her. "I love you, Hannah."

  "Did you see it written in the clouds?" she teased.

  As he often did, he rested a hand upon her belly. "It'll be a girl."

  Delight lit her eyes. "Are you certain?"

  "No, but Callum dreamt it."

  "And she may just be born on your birth day, if she times it right."

  "Another Hallowe'en birth," he said. "She'd make the Boggs' family name proud."

  Grinning, she returned his kiss, then turned to find Sani, who now lived with a sister and a nephew in two nearby hogans.

  Staying back, he watched his wife walk away from him. She removed her hat as her long skirt collected red dust along the edges. She was a vision to him, having come to him in this place. His luck had never been better than when he'd tracked Lopez here, and found Hannah instead.

  On the breeze, her words floated back to him.

  "I love you, Crow."

  About the Author

  Kristy McCaffrey has been writing since she was very young, but it wasn’t until she was a stay-at-home mom that she considered becoming published. She’s the author of several historical western romances, all set in the American southwest. She lives in the Arizona desert with her husband, two chocolate labs, and whichever of their four teenaged children happen to be in residence. She loves to travel and frequently blogs about her adventures at http://kristymccaffrey.blogspot.com/ . Visit her website at http://kristymccaffrey.com .

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  All hell breaks loose when they discover Charley in search of a copper mine—not wishing to be found by anyone; certainly not Kate! But, then, Kate was always trouble—and now she’s brought it to his doorstep, with tales of a pregnant fiancée and his brother Ethan, who he hasn’t seen in five years.

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