Timeless Passion: 10 Historical Romances To Savor

by Rue Allyn

  As she drew even with Hawke, he put out his arm to stop her moving further forward. Looking at him, she could see the tightly coiled fury in his body. She didn’t know how to let him know she had her gun without alerting Black. She couldn’t get him to look at her. His attention was fully focused on Black.

  • • •

  “What is mine,” Hawke’s voice was low and lethal as he glared at the smaller man. “Is mine. I do not share my possessions. I promise you this Black.” He stepped forward, hoping to intimidate the smaller man with his size. He saw the gun swing up jerkily towards his chest again. Good. He had a better chance the shot would go wild and miss him. “I will kill you before you can lay a hand on her.”

  With a roar he charged. Kara screamed his name as Black stumbled backwards. The roar of gunfire exploded in the cavern.

  Hawke felt a dull thud and then a burning pain in his shoulder as he tackled Black, driving him into the ground with his body. Ignoring the pain, he reared back preparing to pummel the other man.

  Black was not struggling underneath him. Peering intently at the man beneath him, he saw a blooming patch of blood on his shirt. Black was dead. Shot.

  Looking over his shoulder he saw Kara, her eyes enormous and unfocused, all the color drained from her face. The gun, smoking, was still in its holster and covered by her clothes. She had fired through her clothes and killed Black.

  Hawke stood slowly and made his way to her. The gun, holster, and her clothes slipped from her numbed fingers. Her eyes closed and tears slid silently down her cheeks.

  Wrapping his arms around her, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, Hawke kissed her gently on the top of the head.

  “Kara, love, it’s all right. It’s over.” Putting his hand under her chin he tilted her head back. Eyes crystalline with tears looked into his. Deep wracking sobs shook her body as the shock began to wear off.

  “Lass, you’re safe. I’ll never let any harm come to you.” He stroked her damp hair from her face and kissed the tears from her eyes.

  “Oh, God, I thought he had killed you,” Kara cried. “I couldn’t get my finger on the trigger, and then you lunged at him.” Disbelief clouded her eyes. “How could you have jumped at a man holding a gun on you? I died ten times over.”

  Reaching up she tenderly touched his face. “I couldn’t have stood it if you had died. Not when we’ve just found each other.”

  “I meant what I said to that little bastard.” Hawke stroked her hair and held her close to him. “You are mine. And no one touches what is mine.”

  A burning pain began shooting through his shoulder, as the adrenaline coursing through his body wore off. He began to feel lightheaded. If he didn’t sit down soon, he was going to fall over.

  “Hawke?”

  He could hear the concern in her voice but try as he might, he couldn’t seem to form the words to assure her he was all right. If I can just sit down for a moment, he thought, I’d be fine. A wave of blackness swept over him and he slipped to the ground at Kara’s feet.

  “Hawke!”

  • • •

  Kara dropped to her knees next to the limp figure. She saw the ragged bloody hole in his shoulder. “Oh, Lord, Hawke,” she cried. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hit?” Gently she probed the wound to see if the bullet was still lodged inside. She couldn’t feel the slug.

  She struggled to turn him over on his side. She managed to get his head and shoulders over far enough to see his back. A cry of dismay tore from her throat seeing the gaping hole in his back, and the blood soaked sand beneath his body.

  Refusing to let tears overwhelm her, she told herself she couldn’t — wouldn’t — let him die. Working quickly, she ran to the water’s edge, soaked her towel, returned to his side and began bathing the wound. Using the towel for wadding, she tore up his shirt for binding. Dressing quickly, she sat on the ground with his head nestled in her lap, patting his cheeks trying to revive him.

  “Hawke … ” She stroked his cheek seeing the fluttering of his eyelids. “Hawke, wake up. Please, my love, don’t leave me.” Her hair spread over his chest as she pleaded with him to wake.

  • • •

  Hawke swam through the darkness, fighting to open his eyes. Fiery pain lanced through his shoulder. He moaned as another bolt of pain shot through him. Visions of attacking Black, the gunshots, and the need to protect Kara, brought him fully awake. He felt her hair gently gliding over his bare skin. The tickling sensation helped to ease the pain running through his body. Looking up he could see Kara’s beautiful tear streaked face. She was crying, hot tears landed on his neck and chest, as she softly whispered his name and stroked his hair.

  “Sweetheart.” His throat felt raw. “Don’t cry.”

  With a small cry she leaned over, raining kisses all over his face.

  “I thought I’d lost you. You jumped at Black before I could get a shot off, then he shot you … .” Words tumbled from her. “I just fired hoping I would hit him.”

  Her eyes sparkled with tears. She gazed lovingly into his eyes. “When you came over to me, I thought Black’s shot had gone wide.” Hugging his head to her breast, tears began rolling down her cheeks again. “Then I saw the blood running down your chest and … and … .”

  “Sshh, lass, I’m fine.” He reached up with his uninjured arm and cupped her face with his hand. “Really, look at me.” He gently turned her face so he could look into her eyes more fully. The fear he saw reflected there tore at his heart. “It will take more than a bullet to keep me away from you.” He smiled gently at her. “After all the trouble I went through to get you to finally admit you love me, do you think I’d let something as insignificant as a bullet get in my way? We Scots are much too stubborn a lot to let that happen.”

  Her joyous smile was all he needed. Wincing at the pain radiating down his arm, he sat up.

  “Are you sure you should sit yet?” Kara asked. “You don’t realize how much blood you lost.”

  Resting her hand on his back, she knelt on her knees next to him. “Don’t rush. I don’t think I’d be able to pick you up if you blacked out again. You weigh as much as a calf.”

  Glad to see her humor returning, Hawke chuckled weakly. “Help me stand. We need to let your father and the others know Black won’t be bothering anyone again.”

  Fighting the pain and weakness stealing over him, he stood slowly. Kara positioned herself at his side with his arm across her shoulders, and hers around his waist in case he lost his balance.

  They moved over to where Black’s body lay. He felt her shudder at the sight of the dead man’s eyes open and staring. She turned her head into his chest. Hawke leaned over stiffly, and closed the lids down over dull unseeing eyes. Pulling Kara more tightly into his embrace, offering comfort, he replayed the scene over and over in his mind.

  He was astounded at how Kara had kept her wits about her. He had forgotten about her gun and was thankful not only did she not panic, she stayed focused on getting to it. Silently, he thanked her father for teaching her how to use one. He knew no other woman able to do what she had done.

  After a moment, he turned her away, looking for the horses.

  “The gunshots must have spooked them.” Kara looked at Hawke. “We are going to have to either wait here until the horses get back home and someone notices them, or we can start walking until they meet us.”

  Despite all her courage, he knew staying in the cave with the dead man would unnerve her. He felt the strength leaving him and knew they couldn’t wait. “Let’s start. We should still have enough daylight left for them to find us.”

  They emerged into the late afternoon sunshine. Hawke squinted at the brightness. The warmth felt good on his bare skin.

  “Are you sure you’re strong enough to walk? We could just wait here.”

  “No, it will be better if we start moving.” He smiled brightly at her, not wanting her to suspect how weak he really was. “We can plan our wedding while we walk. That should keep you
r mind occupied.”

  “This isn’t funny, Hawke!”

  “Look over there!” Their horses, including Black’s, had stopped in the canyon, instead of running all the way back to the ranch.

  At her whistle, Kara’s horse lifted his head and began ambling over to her, his lead rope dragging through the scrub beside him. The big gray and the other horse followed along.

  “Will you be able to get up on your horse?” She looked at his still too-pale face. “Maybe you should just ride Black’s horse.” She nodded over to the small bay. “It might be easier.”

  “I’d probably break its back.” He tried to sound more energetic than he felt. “I’ll just use that rock over there to mount.”

  Leading his horse to a low boulder, he leaned his arm heavily on the saddle so Kara would not see how weak he was. It took all his concentration to get his foot in the stirrup and drag himself onto his horse. He never thought he would be grateful for the large western saddle, the lower stirrups, and the horn. Grasping the horn in a white-knuckle grip, fighting for balance, he turned to join Kara just in time to see her vault onto the back of her horse. Drawing closer, he could see worry for him reflected in her face.

  “Look that bad, do I?” he quipped, glad to see a ghost of a smile flit across her lips. “I promise no matter what, I will not humiliate myself by falling off my horse. Now,” he said, nodding towards the ranch, “shall we head home?”

  Leaving Black’s horse to follow behind, the two turned and began riding at a very sedate walk.

  • • •

  Kara kept a worried eye on Hawke as they rode. She was amazed he could sound so casual about their situation. Her emotions were spinning out of control. So much had happened. She’d gone from being gloriously happy, to mindless with fear, to feeling her life had ended, back to happy, in what seemed like seconds. She wasn’t sure what she should think, or feel; she was numb. And she was afraid — afraid for him.

  Sidling her horse up to him, their legs touching, she peered intently at the makeshift bandage. She saw blood beginning to stain the white cloth. It had soaked through the toweling. No matter how strong he thought he was, she knew if he lost much more blood, it could kill him.

  The need to ride fast to get him help, warred with going cautiously in case he did faint. Moving forward to see his face, she looked up at him. His mouth was set in a line of grim determination. She could see a greenish tint flushing his skin and knew strength of will was the only thing keeping him mounted.

  His head began bobbing against his chest and he had a death grip on the saddle horn. It felt like a lifetime before they saw the outbuildings.

  “We’re almost there.” Kara reached over to touch his thigh. “Just a little further and we’ll be all right.”

  Seeing Hawke begin to slide off of his horse, she cried out. He landed in a lifeless heap in the warm desert sand. Kara threw herself off her horse and rushed to kneel beside him. Leaning down, she could see the shallow, rapid rise and fall of his chest. His face was gray and no matter how she shook him, he didn’t respond. Frantically she pulled her gun fired into the air, until all she heard was the click of an empty chamber. Pulling his body into her arms, tears coursed down her cheeks and she began screaming for help watching desperately as riders approached.

  Chapter 30

  It felt like a bull was sitting on his shoulder.

  Hawke struggled to open eyes that felt dry and gritty, to see what was so heavy. Blinking, the memory of being shot came rushing back. Vision clear, he recognized his room at the ranch. Glad they had made it back, he tried to remember how they had made it back. He could only recall struggling to get on his horse and the soothing sound of Kara’s voice, reassuring him they were going to make it. Everything else was gone. Rolling his head to one side, looking down, he could see the stark white of the bandages on his shoulder.

  Gingerly, he straightened his arm, wincing at the dull ache that spread from his shoulder down to his fingers.

  Turning to the other side, he discovered the source of the weight on his shoulder. Kara’s head was nestled into the hollow of his shoulder and her body was curled up against his side on the bed. She was asleep, but dark circles under her eyes spoke of sleepless nights. Looking at her he knew he wanted to wake up next to her for the rest of his days. But right now he didn’t want to disturb her, so tried not to move. Looking around the room he saw Alec.

  “Well, glad to see you are still among the living.” Alec smiled, pulling a chair closer to the bed and sitting.

  “How long have I been out?” Hawke’s voice felt like sandpaper in his throat. Alec handed him a glass of water from the table by the bed.

  “Four days. It was touch and go for a while.”

  Alec looked at Kara, “She didn’t leave your side for a minute of it either. I think this is the first time I’ve seen her sleep since we got you here. She wouldn’t let anyone else nurse you. Despite her father and Consuelo telling her she would be no good to anyone, especially you, if she didn’t sleep. She’s spooned broth down your throat and kept cool cloths on your head when the fever set in. Your fever broke early this morning.”

  “What happened?”

  “Best I can tell, after you were shot, Kara managed to get you as far as the outbuildings. After you fell she began firing her gun to get someone’s attention. Joe and Bob were the first to get to you. Kara was screaming hysterically about Black, and how he shot you.” A grim look hardened his features. “I really didn’t think you would be able to survive after losing so much blood.” Reaching over, he grasped Hawke by the wrist, “I’m glad you did.”

  Clearing his throat, Alec put on an easy smile.

  “Thank you, my friend.” Hawke smiled back. Nodding at Kara, he asked, “Did she tell you and her father what happened?”

  “About Black showing up and you trying to stop a bullet with your body? Yes. Her father sent men out to retrieve Black’s remains and take them to the sheriff.”

  Shifting slowly, Hawke eased his arm out from under Kara’s head. Sighing softly, Kara moved closer to his side. Hawke pushed himself up to lean against the wooden headboard. Fighting off the weakness and dizziness threatening to overwhelm him, he folded the sheets at his waist. He turned his head to take a closer look at the bandages wrapped over his shoulder and around his chest.

  “The doctor came out and patched you up.” Alec spoke softly. “He said if Kara hadn’t acted as quickly as she had, you would have surely bled to death.” Respect shone in his eyes as he looked at her. “I have to say, she is not at all the woman I thought her to be. She has great inner strength, and was able to keep her wits about her. She saved your life, twice.” Meeting his friend’s eye, he nodded. “You are a lucky man to have her.” Alec paused a moment. “You do have her, don’t you? She has agreed to marry you?”

  “Yes.” Hawke reached over and gently stroked her hair. “That part of the day I remember clearly.”

  Visions of her stretched out on the rock, bathed in sunshine, and the feel of her body trembling in his arms with the power of her release sent a wave of warmth through his body.

  “You’re awake!”

  Both men turned to see Kara slowly sitting up. She smiled. Her eyes were brimming with happiness as she searched his face, looking for any sign of pain. Reaching up she placed her palm on his forehead and cheek to check for fever. Hawke reached up and stroked her tangled hair from her eyes.

  “I’m all right, lass. I told you it would take more than a bullet to kill me.” He smiled gently at the worried look on her face. “It’s over, love.” He stroked her cheek. “You’re stuck with me.”

  With a small cry, Kara threw herself against his chest hugging him tightly. Hearing a grunt, she pulled back afraid she might have hurt him.

  “Oh, Hawke, I’m sorry.” She reached up towards his injured shoulder.

  “Does it hurt badly? Is there anything I can do? I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I didn’t mean to hug you so tightly … it’s just
I’m so happy you woke up.”

  Breathlessly, she continued to talk. Her hands fluttered nervously, not sure where she could touch him, but needing to reassure herself with the feel of his skin on her fingertips.

  Hearing a low chuckle behind her, she realized they weren’t alone. Looking over her shoulder she met Alec’s amused gaze. Relieved it wasn’t her father or Consuelo, she gifted him with a brilliant smile.

  “He’s awake.”

  “So I see.” Alec smiled.

  “I believe Miss Jonston, while it was acceptable — barely — for you to be in Hawke’s room while he was unconscious, I don’t believe, even out here in the ‘Wild West,’ either your father or Consuelo would allow you to remain while he is awake.” Pointing towards the bed, he slanted a grin at her. “And most assuredly, they would not find it at all acceptable that you are in his bed.”

  Standing, he offered her his hand to help her rise. “Since they are not here at the moment, and I am, I feel I should act as chaperone and urge you to leave.”

  Kara couldn’t believe her ears. Alec. Being proper? Then he added. “Besides you look a fright, and I’m sure you would like to clean up.”

  Hawke smiled, and took her hand. “Go. Even though I might wish Alec hadn’t suddenly had an attack of propriety, he is right.”

  Knowing both of them were right, Kara leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on Hawke’s forehead, gave him a wink, and bounded out of the room.

  She needed to tell her father and Consuelo that he was awake. Hugging her arms tightly around her waist, she felt like shouting down the roof, her relief was so great. Practically skipping she entered the kitchen.

  “He’s awake.” Grabbing a startled Consuelo by the arms she danced her around the kitchen, laughing, giddy with happiness. Spying Maria she ran over and twirled her around.

  “I’m going to marry him.”

  Laughing at her friends’ shocked expression she hugged herself again. “He’s awake. He loves me, and I love him. Isn’t it wonderful?”