Mail Order Bride - Westward Bound: Historical Cowboy Romance (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 3)

by Linda Bridey

  “Raven, this is excellent work,” he said.

  Raven’s bright smiled flashed and his dark eyes held pride.

  “Do you want to know how to make it even better so one day you can give it to a pretty girl?” Marcus said.

  Raven laughed. “Yes, uncle.”

  Marcus got caught up in instructing his nephew on how to improve the carving. He didn’t do it for him, but showed Raven what he needed to do. Raven watched with rapt attention, nodding his head and asking questions. When Marcus finished, the shadows were growing long.

  He rose as Wind Spirit came walking into the clearing. She’d been out on one of the trails, collecting berries and bark. Aiyana was strapped to her back in the ornate cradleboard that He Who Runs had made for her.

  Wind Spirit smiled as soon as she saw Marcus. Marcus hugged her and kissed her cheek.

  “You get more beautiful every day,” he told her in Lakota.

  “So you say. You are such a flirt,” she told him. Her dark eyes smiled up at him. She took off the cradleboard and handed it to Marcus. “Here is your daughter. She has been a joy.”

  Marcus took Aiyana from her and looked at his daughter. She smiled and reached for him and his heart was filled with love for her. Black Fox and Wind Spirit watched him with the baby and Black Fox said, “You look good with a child, Silver Ghost.”

  “Thanks,” Marcus said.

  Wind Spirit went into their tipi and came back out holding a large bundle. “Here are more cloths and moss. It will keep you supplied for a few days.”

  “What do you think your white family will say about Aiyana?” Black Fox asked.

  Marcus kissed his daughter and then shrugged into the cradleboard. “I’m about to find out.”

  Black Fox nodded. “Good luck, brother.”

  Wind Spirit echoed his words.

  “Thanks,” Marcus said, and left the camp.

  As he walked the trail back to where he’d left Rosie, Marcus’ apprehension grew. His stomach hurt and he felt a headache coming on. What he was about to do could cost him his first family and he didn’t know how he would handle that should it come to pass. He didn’t have a choice, though. His daughter had to come first.

  Although Marcus liked to have a lot of fun, he always carried out his responsibilities. He’d become dedicated to the little baby strapped to his back in a hurry, and loved her with all of his heart. He lashed the bundle Wind Spirit had given him behind his saddle and mounted carefully. Keeping the pace to a trot so Aiyana wouldn’t be bounced around too much, Marcus set out for the Samuels’ ranch. Along the way he stopped at his house and then continued on. As he rode, Marcus prayed that Claire had kept her promise to him and had paved the way for him to tell his family about Aiyana and his other life.

  *****

  As night began to fall, Claire paced back and forth in front of the barn. She didn’t know where Marcus had gone and had no way to find out. Going to his house was out of the question because she didn’t know where he lived and didn’t feel confident riding there alone. It had been a long time since she had ridden a horse and she might fall off. Nor did being alone in the woods at night appeal to her.

  She couldn’t stay still, however, and kept moving to work off some of the nervous energy that filled her. Dean sat on the front porch watching her. It seemed like she was waiting on Marcus and he wondered what she knew that they didn’t. Seth and her sisters had tried to get her to tell them, but she wouldn’t give up anything. Had Marcus told her he’d be back tonight, or was she just worried? He didn’t know, but it didn’t sit well with him that Marcus had some kind of secret.

  Dean rubbed a hand across his ribs. They ached and he wondered if Marcus had cracked a rib or two. Tessa had examined him and they’d found that there was some light bruising across his torso. Dean felt angry and ashamed at the same time. Angry that Marcus had bested him and ashamed at the way he’d treated Marcus. He deserved what Marcus had meted out and Dean knew he would have to change his attitude towards Marcus some. If anyone had pushed him around like that, Dean knew he would have struck back.

  Claire turned towards the drive as if she’d heard something and Dean leaned forward as Tessa came out of the house and stood by him. Down in the drive, Claire listened intently. She thought she’d heard a horse’s hooves on the dusty lane. A lone horse came trotting into view and she recognized Rosie, even in the moonlight. The horse’s white mane gave her away.

  Marcus saw Claire up ahead and stopped when he reached her. He looked down at her with questions in his eyes. Claire nodded up at him. “I’ve done everything I could. Is that her?” she asked, indicating the cradleboard on Marcus’ back.

  “Yeah. Wait ‘til you see her,” he said, grinning. “She’s a beauty.”

  Claire smiled. “I’m sure she is.”

  “C’mon. Might as well get it over with,” he said. He kept Rosie at a walk so Claire could keep up. “I’m gonna keep my end of the bargain, Claire. I made you a promise and I won’t go back on it.”

  Claire smiled. “Everyone was very surprised at the turn in our relationship, to say the least. It was somewhat amusing. Seth knows that something is odd about it, though.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Marcus said. “He’s pretty good at rooting out the truth. He has a sixth sense about stuff. Plus, he’s nosy.”

  “Dean is feeling the effects of your fight,” Claire said with a soft laugh.

  Marcus smiled and said, “I’m not surprised. Serves him right.”

  Dean and Tessa stood up as Marcus approached the porch. He let out a high-pitched whistle and Seth poked his head out of their door at the sound.

  “Get your wife and come over here,” Marcus called to him. “Let’s go in where there’s light.”

  Marcus dismounted slowly as Seth and Maddie joined them. He waved all of them into the house ahead of him. Looking up at the night sky, Marcus took a few cleansing breaths and then entered the house.

  Seth watched Marcus enter the house and wondered what was on his back.

  “Marcus,” Dean said.

  Marcus held up his hand and said, “Dean, you can apologize later. I have something much more important to tell you.”

  Dean quieted and gave the floor to Marcus.

  Marcus looked each of them in the eye and said, “I hope you will still want me in the family after I tell you everything. Don’t forget how much I love you and that I’m still me.”

  Tessa and Dean exchanged curious glances as Marcus continued. “There’s someone I’d like to introduce to you.” He took the pack from his back and sat it against the kitchen door. Aiyana looked out at him from the cradleboard.

  None of them could see around Marcus to see what he had. Marcus grinned at her and then stood up and turned around. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Aiyana.”

  Total silence met his announcement then Dean said, “Your what?” His voice was loud in the kitchen.

  Aiyana was startled and began crying.

  Seth reached out a long arm and smacked Dean on the back of the head. “You scared her, you ass. Keep your voice down.” Then he looked at Marcus and said in a hushed voice, “Your what?”

  Marcus didn’t answer either of them. He comforted his daughter, speaking to her in a language they’d never heard. Tessa listened closely, but couldn’t identify it. It certainly wasn’t European. She and her sisters were well versed in French and Italian. This was a more guttural language, and beautiful in its own way.

  They watched Marcus talk to her and blow raspberries on her little belly. She laughed and looked at them and they saw her gray eyes so like Marcus’. The group knew then that he was telling the truth and not pulling some kind of prank on them. Dean looked at the cradleboard and then back at the baby. He’d seen cradleboards like that when he’d run across Indians. It all began to add up to him.

  “Marcus, you have a daughter and she’s part Indian?” he asked quietly.

  Marcus said, “Yep. And so am I.” His sm
ile was filled with pride as he said, “Isn’t she beautiful?”

  Chapter Ten

  Seth laughed. “Marcus, I know you have a good imagination, but you being part Indian is impossible. Both our parents were white. I believe that she’s half Indian, but not you.”

  Marcus held Aiyana out to Claire. Claire didn’t know anything about holding a baby and took her hesitantly. Patiently Marcus showed her how to grasp Aiyana and prevent her from falling. “There you go. I’ll be right back.” He ran out the door.

  “You knew about this?” Tessa said.

  Claire nodded and looked into Aiyana’s eyes. She was a beautiful baby and Claire could see Marcus in her. She reached out and grasped Claire’s nose.

  “Ow!” Claire said. She took Aiyana’s hand from her nose and held it.

  The baby wrapped her little fingers around Claire’s forefinger as Marcus returned. He handed Seth a book and said, “This is one of Ma’s journals. I found them after she passed away. I marked the page where you need to start reading.”

  Seth said, “Marcus, what’s this got to do with you?”

  “Please, Seth. Just do as I ask,” Marcus said.

  Sitting down, Seth opened the journal and took out the paper bookmark. As he read, Seth’s eyes got bigger and at one point he made a fist and almost slammed it on the table. At the last second, he seemed to remember the baby and hit his leg instead so it didn’t make much noise. Dean wondered at the black look on Seth’s face. Then tears gathered in his brother’s eyes and he wiped at them. Seeming to finish reading all he could stand, Seth stood up and slapped the journal against Dean’s chest. Dean took it and Seth left the house.

  Dean looked at Marcus, but the other man wasn’t giving anything away. Dean started reading and every little bit he would look up at Marcus. He must have come to the same passage that had caused Seth’s anger because he sat down heavily in one of the chairs. Maddie and Tessa looked at each other, and then Maddie went after her husband.

  Marcus took Aiyana back from Claire and Tessa watched him with her. He played with her the same way he’d played with Mikey when he’d been a baby. Dean finished reading and looked at his brother in a new light. He wasn’t sure what to make of Marcus. Now that he knew the truth, he saw Marcus’ Indian features. Catherine Samuels had had dark brown hair, but not black. Marcus’ eyes were hers, but his other coloring came from his biological father.

  “You’re my half-brother?” Dean asked.

  Marcus gave Dean a nod and stared apprehensively back into his eyes. Tessa gave Marcus a shocked look, but Marcus only had eyes for his brother at the moment. With a huge effort, Dean temporarily swallowed his anger.

  Dean asked, “This Indian, your father,”

  “He’s not my father, Dean. Pa was my father. The other guy just happened to sire me, but he wasn’t my pa. I want to be clear about that,” Marcus stated.

  “Okay,” Dean said, conceding the point. “The other guy who ‘sired’ you; is he still alive?”

  “No. He was killed in a raid a few years after I was born,” Marcus said.

  “And how do you know this?” Dean asked.

  “Because my brothers told me,” Marcus said.

  Dean felt like someone had punched him in the chest and he couldn’t breathe for a moment. Tessa saw him go white and put a hand on his shoulder. “Do you want some water?” she asked.

  “No, thanks. I’m okay,” Dean said. “You have other brothers besides me and Seth?”

  Marcus nodded as Aiyana reached for his nose. He laughed and moved his head away from her. “Yeah. Three. And a sister. Two sisters-in-law and various nieces and nephews.”

  Jealousy and anger consumed Dean, and he wanted to hit something. “So she’s yours,” he stated, and pointed at Aiyana.

  “She has a name, Dean. Aiyana,” Marcus said.

  Somehow Dean kept a tight rein on his emotions. “Aiyana is yours. So are you married to an Indian woman?”

  “No. Her mother was killed in a Cheyenne raid about a week ago,” Marcus said as he closed his eyes in grief.

  Claire’s breath caught in her throat and she felt sympathy for Marcus even as she felt jealousy for this other woman that Marcus had obviously cared for.

  Marcus opened his eyes and looked at Dean again. “I know this is all so hard to understand or accept right now, Dean, but I hope you’ll be able to someday. You’d like my other brothers. He Who Runs is a lot like you; fierce and serious.”

  Dean got up from the table and walked back and forth like a trapped cougar. He kept looking at Marcus and his baby and away again. There were things that started clicking in his mind. The weird concoctions Marcus had started making for them, the easy, loose way that Marcus sat a horse, and the moves he’d used on Dean that afternoon came back to him. He stopped and turned to Marcus again.

  “So you’ve known since you were what? Sixteen? You were sixteen when Ma died, right?” Dean asked.

  Marcus nodded.

  “And you never thought to enlighten us about all of this?” Dean asked. A vein in his forehead throbbed and his headache grew worse.

  Sitting down, Marcus bounced Aiyana on his knee. “Would you have if you’d been me? Think about it, Dean. My mother had just passed away and I was heartbroken. I was even younger when we lost Pa and her death only compounded my grief. Then I read that and discover that not only was our mother raped, but that I’m the product of that assault, and half Indian to boot?”

  Tessa laid a hand on Dean’s arm. “Anyone would be terrified, Dean.”

  “Yeah, I was. I didn’t have any parents left and I couldn’t risk losing you and Seth, too. I wouldn’t have had anyone in the world, Dean,” Marcus said. “Please don’t abandon me now.”

  Dean snorted. “What would it matter if I did? You have a whole other family. Do they know about me and Seth? About all of us?”

  Marcus couldn’t answer. His silence told Dean all he needed to know. Uncontrollable rage filled him and he swept a pile of dishes and cups from the counter. Marcus turned and curled his body around Aiyana to protect her as pieces of dishes and several cups came their way. They bounced off his back and landed loudly on the floor.

  “Get out, Marcus! Get out and don’t ever darken my doorstep again! Get out!” Dean screamed at him.

  Aiyana became scared at all the noise and began wailing. Marcus grabbed the cradleboard and ran out the door. He leaned it against the house and quickly put her in it, murmuring words of comfort to her in Lakota. Once he had her on his back, Marcus mounted Rosie and began trotting down the lane, even though he wanted to gallop.

  “Marcus! Wait!” Claire had come outside and ran after him.

  He slowed for a moment and she caught up. “Take me with you! Please?” she said.

  Marcus asked, “Why? Why do you still want anything to do with me?”

  Claire said, “I don’t care what your heritage is. It doesn’t change my opinion of you.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “That you’ll never be as smart as me, no matter how hard you try,” Claire said, and smiled.

  Her answer caught Marcus off guard and despite the horrible scene in Dean and Tessa’s house and how wretched he felt, it struck him as hilarious. He stopped Rosie completely because he didn’t trust himself to guide the horse properly while he was laughing so hard.

  “So you wanna ride away with a stupid Indian, huh?” Marcus asked as his laughter subsided.

  “Yes, I do,” Claire said. She didn’t want him to leave her behind. She would have been worried sick about him.

  “Back up a second,” he said.

  When she did, Marcus dismounted and started taking off the cradleboard. “Turn around.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Well, we can’t ride double if I’m wearing the cradleboard. You’re going to have to wear it, unless you’re going to ride in front,” Marcus said.

  Claire’s eyes got big. “I’ll wear the cradleboard.” There was no way she would
guide Rosie carrying such precious cargo.

  “Okay. Turn around,” Marcus said.

  She did and then felt him take her arm and put it through the strap and do the same with her other arm. The weight that settled on her shoulders wasn’t overly heavy, Claire found. Marcus came around to stand in front of her and adjusted the straps a little and said, “There. Looks good. Okay, now up you go. Foot in the stirrup, give a bounce and then pull on the saddle horn. I’ll push from behind.”

  “All right,” Claire said. She did as he instructed, and then let out a little squeal as she felt his hand firmly grasp her rear end and help her up and over.

  Marcus laughed softly. He couldn’t say with any honesty that he hadn’t enjoyed boosting Claire. “Slide in back of the saddle, Claire. I have to sit in it.”

  “I’m aware of that. It’s hard with a dress on,” Claire groused.

  “We’ll have to get you some leggings then,” Marcus said.

  Claire was shocked. “Pants?”

  “Yep,” Marcus responded and slid into the saddle in front of her. “Put your arms around my waist.”

  Claire hesitated. “All right.” As she did so, she felt the firm muscles of his torso and she could feel his body heat through his shirt.

  “Tighter, Claire. I don’t want you two falling off.”

  She hugged him then and smiled to herself. He felt incredibly good. Satisfied, Marcus started out again.

  He swung Rosie around to face the ranch and looked at the place where he’d grown up. Marcus’ heart filled with intense sorrow as he remembered all the good times he’d had there and the pride he felt in knowing that he’d helped to build a ranch that was successful. He mourned the loss of the close-knit family he loved. Then he turned Rosie around again and started up the lane to the main road.

  Claire felt horrible for Marcus, and angrier with Dean than she’d ever been with anyone in her entire life. Her anger turned to fury when she felt Marcus begin to cry. She inched even closer to him, rubbed his chest and pressed her face against his back in an effort to comfort him. She’d only ever seen one man cry before and that was her father one night after they’d brought Maddie home from the hospital. Her wounds had been horrible and Geoffrey had been overcome with grief and worry.