Fire Eyes

by Pierson, Cheryl

  Tom grimaced. They were both silent. Finally, Tom spoke. "Well, Kaed, you did all you could do. 'Bout got yourself murdered in the process. You're here, alive, and that's what counts." His lips hinted at a grin. "Guess I musta done somethin' right, trainin' you."

  It was an old tease between them, but this time Kaed smiled, refusing to take the bait. "Yeah. Guess you did."

  Tom glanced at him. "Damn. Can't get a rise outta you anymore. You must be happy or somethin'."

  "Happy and somethin'. In love."

  Tom chuckled. "You did good, Kaed. Miss Jessica, she's a beauty. I wanted to talk to you about her. The baby, is she—"

  "Not mine. But not Jessica's, either." He related the story Jessica had told him about Lexi's parents.

  "You always were that type, takin' on more responsibility that ain't yours."

  "You taught me most of what I know, old man. Seems like you took some responsibility that wasn't yours, too. Ten years , it's been, since we first rode together."

  Tom smiled. "Glad you've got somebody good—deep down—like you are, Kaed. Ain't too many men who'd take on another man's child, love her like you do your Lexi."

  Kaed put his hand against the rough wood of the tree and straightened out his arm, stretching his muscles.

  Tom drew deeply on his pipe, and Kaed waited. He'd known Tom so long that he recognized the older man was going to broach a subject with him that he normally would have avoided. Finally, Tom said, "I told Harv he needed to find someone. Settle down again. Grow corn and make babies. Think I might've offended him. But after seein' him with little Lexi, it hit me that he seemed content. For the first time in a long while."

  It had struck Kaed, as well. Harv rarely smiled. But when he'd played with Lexi, it seemed that grin of his was permanently fixed on his face.

  "Seems that way for you, too, boy." Tom wouldn't look at him. "Seems like you found what you've been looking for. Don't let marshalin' ruin it for you, Kaed. I've stayed with it too long. Me and Harv and Jack, we've been damn lucky to get this old without gettin' killed either in the War, or doin' this job."

  "Tom? Sounds like you've got some regrets."

  Tom nodded. "You made me realize somethin', Marshal Turner, and now I don't know whether to thank you or cuss you. When I saw the way that woman looked at you, the way that baby's eyes lit up, it made me know I shoulda give this all up years ago and found myself somebody. Taken the advice I gave Harv. Planted my seed in the cornfield and in my woman's belly, and maybe I'd'a been happier, too."

  "It's not too late." Kaed's voice was low and rough. The doubt he'd had at starting his own family again was suddenly erased by the older man's words. Nothing would bring his first family back. But he had a second chance now, and he was a helluva lot younger than Tom Sellers. He'd had it twice, and Tom had never had it at all. Never felt the love flow through a woman, through her touch, her look, and into his own body, completing him. Never looked into the eyes of a child who worshipped him. He wouldn't have missed that for anything the first time. Or the second. Tom turned slowly to look at Kaed, the leaves of the elm tree patterning the filtering moonlight across his face. "You think that cause you're young, Kaed. Twenty-nine ain't forty-three."

  "Forty-three ain't dead, Tom. There's plenty of women out there. Plenty of land. Room to spread out. What're you grinnin' at?"

  Tom laughed aloud. "Got any particular woman in mind?" Quickly, he added, "Now, remember, Kaed. She's gotta be young enough to give me a baby, but not so young she's a baby herself. Gotta be easy on the eye, and I want her to look at me like your Jessica looks at you. And by the way, have you got any idea where a fella could get a piece of good land for raisin' cattle, with a little patch for farmin'?"

  Kaed's lips twitched. Tom was dreaming, but only half dreaming. The serious half had taken root in his heart and mind. Kaed knew before too much longer, that part would eat away at the lightheartedness until it took over completely, becoming a bold, unshakeable reality that he would do his utmost to accomplish and hold onto. Now that Tom had envisioned what his life could be, Kaed knew it would fall to him to help make it so.

  "Let's end this business with Fallon. After that, we'll find the land and the cattle."

  "Don't mean nothin' without the woman, Kaed. You oughtta know that."

  "I do." Kaed smiled, his thoughts straying to Miss Amelia Bailey, the not-so-young-but-young-enough school teacher in Fort Smith, who always seemed to trip over her words when Tom Sellers came around. Just the right age. And very easy on the eye. "Stick with me, old man. I may even help you find a decent woman to settle down with."

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The night had seemed unending, the hours slipping by in a cool shower of rain. The misty air that followed was chilly, and Jessica, wide-awake, had risen around midnight to build up the fire.

  A restless uneasiness surrounded her, and she was unable to quell it. She put two logs on the dying fire, sparking it back to life, then pulled the rocking chair over to sit in front of the hearth, hoping the heat would soak into her stiff limbs. Would she ever be warm again?

  Sleeping alone was quite different now than it had been before Kaedon Turner had come into her life. She missed the intricate tangling of their bodies, the soft silk of her skin entwined with the rough warmth of his as they made love, and later, when they fell asleep, the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, pain-free at last, and the way he pulled her close to him, even as he slept.

  She watched the leaping flames, mesmerized, not really seeing them as she remembered the crisp feel of Kaed's dark hair beneath her fingers, the almost boyish glint in his eyes as he teased her, the easy smile, and the secure feeling of safety that he wrapped about her and Lexi like a cloak, protecting them.

  Jessica pushed her hair away from her face as another thought forced its way into her consciousness. She was late. A week late. She sighed, thinking of her conversation with Kaed before he'd left. She closed her eyes, just for a moment, seeing the flames outlined against the inside of her eyelids.

  Maybe it didn't mean anything. It was probably just the worry, the stress she'd been going through. She'd been late for her monthly before. But she found herself wishing, hoping, that this was the real thing.

  Foolish. Anything could happen. He might be killed out there, and then how would she ever survive? A woman alone with two babies and no man. She shuddered, thinking of the way the Choctaw brave had looked at her, his dark eyes keen with lust. She had no desire to wed him, or anyone, other than Kaed Turner.

  Yet, if she were carrying Kaed's baby, what could she do? Return to Fort Smith with the marshals? Surely, they'd come to tell her if Kaed… She would not think of that. She stood, unable to make peace with her restless thoughts. Worst of all was the ambiguous feeling she knew Kaed harbored toward having a family. Would it always be so with him, even after they had children together?

  Slowly, she crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. The side where Kaed slept. Her hand went to the pillow, and she caressed the spot where his head had lain. She imagined the way he looked at her when he had first opened his eyes, when he'd been barely able to slit them open at all.

  He wasn't ready yet. Shouldn't be out there riding with the others. Didn't he realize how badly he'd been hurt? Jessica shook her head helplessly. She couldn't have stopped him. Stubborn, stubborn man.

  But oh, how she loved him! Damnable stubbornness and all. Now, all she could do was continue to love him, to wait for him, and to hope he would accept the family life they'd create together.

  She wanted that life. Much as she had dreaded it with Billy, she anticipated it with Kaed. She stared at the pillow with unseeing eyes. As tired as she was, she knew she would not sleep if she lay down. Her heart was full of unanswered questions, her mind coiled tightly, unable to relax.

  She put her hand to her stomach, immediately thinking of all the times she'd done that before. When she'd been pregnant. When she'd carried the child she and Billy Monroe
had made together. Her mind had been filled with doubts then, too, but this was a much more fearsome time for her, because Kaed meant so much more to her than Billy ever could have.

  Was she carrying Kaed's child? Her fingers splayed over her still-flat abdomen. She smiled at her own foolish fantasies.

  He was uncertain. That was to be expected, after the crushing loss he had suffered. Who could blame him? She tried to picture the scene he had related, tried to conjure up the feelings he must have experienced, but it was impossible. Even the loss of Billy and their unborn child didn't come close to what Kaed had gone through. He had been in love with Rain, not merely going through the motions of a loveless marriage as she had with Billy. Kaed had actually known his children, held them in his arms, loved them, and provided for them. She wasn't even certain if she'd carried a boy or a girl, it had been so early in her pregnancy.

  She drew a shaky breath as she remembered. Losing Billy had been devastating to her at the time. The way he had been murdered—slowly, painfully—had haunted her. She had seen the flicker of compassion in Standing Bear's normally stoic expression as they'd dumped Billy off his horse onto her porch, then carried him inside to the bed. The blue and white quilt had been hanging outside to air that day. There was not a drop of Billy Monroe's blood on it.

  She had given some thought to wrapping his body in that quilt to bury him, but something had held her back. Maybe it was the fact that her Grandmother Beckley had never liked Billy. Maybe it was simple practicality. Billy was dead, and she lived. She would need the quilt, and he would not.

  But she knew, somewhere in her soul, that if Kaed Turner had died, she wouldn't have thought twice about using the beautiful handmade quilt to bury him in.

  She sat alone with her thoughts until the dark sky began to turn gray, then pink, until finally Lexi began to stir, and as she picked the child up and held her close, she put away her doubts, letting the resolve envelope her.

  Kaed would come back to her. They'd both suffered so much, God would not take him from her, nor her from him. There could be no other way.

  * * * * *

  "It's getting light, Tori. See?" Lily pointed heavenward, through the canopy of trees.

  Tori had noticed it earlier, but she had promised Lily they'd try to stop and rest more during the day to avoid the risk of being seen. She had tried to watch for some kind of shelter—a cave or a hollow tree-—but it had been impossible in the darkness, and she'd finally given up.

  It was better to keep moving. Maybe they'd find their way back to some sort of civilization. A settlement, a larger city, maybe even Fort Smith. But Tori wasn't sure where that place was. She thought they might be headed in the general direction, but there was no way of knowing, for certain.

  Tori nodded. "Yes, I see. But we need to keep going a little while longer. I know you're tired. I am too."

  "I hate Andrew Fallon." Lily kicked a stone out of her path, her face like a thundercloud.

  "I know."

  "And I hate that Matt Baker, too."

  Tori shuddered with revulsion. "Yes."

  "I hope I marry a charming prince."

  Tori smiled. It was good that Lily could still hold on to her illusions of what life and love should be.

  "I hope you do too, Lily."

  "Of course, you'll have to get married first."

  "Why is that? Maybe I won't ever want to get married."

  Lily stopped, and Tori looked down into her cobalt eyes. "Oh, you will," Lily said matter-of-factly. "You have to. That's how it is in all the fairy tales. Prince Charming comes, and rescues the fair maiden, and they live happily ever after. But you're the eldest daughter, so you must marry before I can. Don't you remember?"

  Tori started walking again and Lily hurried to catch up to her. "I remember." Tori sighed. "Problem is, what if there's only one rescuer?"

  Lily regarded her sister earnestly. "You'd get him, Tori. You're the eldest. But," she added impishly, "I'll bet he'd have a brother just my age, don't you?"

  Tori laughed. It startled her. It had been so long since she'd laughed. She'd remember this moment forever, how good it felt to be alive, even if they were running from the devil himself. And she'd be forever grateful to her little sister for being the one to help her remember what dreams and fairy tales were made of. She ruffled Lily's hair.

  "I'm sure of it."

  * * * * *

  "They left in a godawful hurry." Jack Eaton glanced up at Kaed from where he squatted beside what had been a campfire, only hours before. The ashes were warm, some of the embers still glowing red under the dirt that had been hastily thrown atop the flames to extinguish them.

  Kaed bent to examine the depth of the ashes. "They weren't here all that long either, from the looks of things." He straightened, and his ribs caught agonizingly, his hand going to his side.

  Eaton stood quickly and placed a steadying grip on Kaed's shoulder. "You okay?"

  Kaed took a measured breath, then another, as the knife-like, tearing pain gradually subsided. "I'm all right, Jack. You know how ribs are. Takes 'em a while."

  Eaton nodded, his eyes hard. "Yeah, I sure do know. I've had my share. But I wasn't out tryin' to ride fourteen-fifteen-hour days a couple of weeks after I busted 'em. I had the good sense to lay low for awhile. You shouldn't be here, Kaed. You're damn mule-headed."

  Kaed grinned. "Yeah, I heard all about that the night before we left. Seems you put all kinds of ideas in my woman's head about how I should've stayed there with her and 'rested up'."

  Eaton's look was serious. "You know I was right, don't you? You never shoulda been on a horse like you been these last three days."

  "This is between Fallon, and Tom, and me, Jack," Kaed replied quietly. "Unfinished business, from before."

  "The War?"

  Kaed glanced at Tom, and the older marshal gave him a slow nod. "Reckon it's no secret. War's over with now, anyhow. It don't matter, one way or the other."

  But Kaed knew it did matter to Tom Sellers. It always would. He hesitated, but Tom said, "Go ahead an' tell it. We need to get back after these bastards, now that we're closin' in on 'em."

  "Fallon was in our unit." Kaed said. The men drew close to hear what he said. His voice was low, his eyes gone far away, looking back into that other time. "He was always a coward. At the Battle of Honey Springs he ran, tried to hide." Kaed glanced at Tom. "Tom was our captain. He saw him run, sent me after him."

  "Tried to shoot him first, but the bastard was too far away," Tom said, with a wink.

  "When I got to him," Kaed said, "he was carrying three pieces of Confederate lead in him."

  "A measure of how bad the rest of us hated him even then, as short as we were on ammunition." Tom shook his head and tore off a bite of the dried meat. "Hate to think about two of our boys—and me, too—wastin' a shot on him, and he didn't die from it, no way. Too damn mean."

  "So, what'd you do, Marshal Turner?" Frank Hayes's eyes were as big as silver dollars, and Kaed couldn't help but smile.

  "Beat the hell out of him, I bet," Travis said smugly.

  "The hell and a few other things," Kaed said. "I damn near took him apart with my hands."

  "Pity you didn't finish it then," Harv said.

  "Well, what I did was bad enough, I guess. Seems Fallon had an uncle with a hell of a lot of influence. Fallon went cryin' to him about how six men in his unit ganged up on him, beat him, and shot him. Tom got hauled in and questioned, and court-martialed." Kaed looked around at the shocked group. "And so did I."

  Finally, Jack Eaton broke the heavy silence. "What about the others? The rest of the men saw him run, knew you were the only one who laid a hand on his sorry ass."

  "Didn't matter," Tom said between bites. "Fallon's story held up because of his uncle. Seven of us got court-martialed, stripped of our rank, and tossed out of the Confederate army, while Fallon…" His words trailed away.

  "Fallon was brevetted to the rank of General for his bravery." Kaed looked around
the group of incredulous faces, a caustic smile touching his lips. "And now he commands his own army."

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  "Anybody home?"

  The accompanying knock sounded once more, startling Jessica. She'd been so intent on washing the dishes that she thought she'd imagined it.

  "Yes. Just a minute." She dried her hands and hurried to the door, stopping only to pick up the loaded shotgun she kept standing by the hearth. She took a deep, calming breath. "Step back off of the porch, please."

  She heard the man's ponderous footsteps as he backtracked down the porch steps into the yard. Cautiously, Jessica slid the bolt free and opened the door.

  The man stood silently at the foot of the steps, his blue eyes alight, laughter threatening to bubble over as his lips twitched slightly under his long moustache. He nodded at Jessica, eyeing the long barrel of the shotgun she aimed at his heart.

  "No need for that weapon, ma'am," he said. "I was just hopin' for a meal. Grub line's pretty scarce in these parts."

  Jessica did not lower the longarm. She had Lexi to think of, as well as herself. "Who are you? State your business."

  The man looked down as his smile blossomed, widening into a quick grin. "I mean you no harm." He raised his blue gaze to her once again. "My name's—" He hesitated briefly, then, "Freeman. Dave Freeman. Out of Texas, most recently."

  "But before that, Mr. Dave Freeman. Where were you out of?" Her finger trembled, but the gun remained steady.

  "War's over, ma'am." He stood straighter as he spoke, his expression gravely sincere.

  She nodded. "For some. Around these parts, there's some don't realize that."

  "I'm a Southerner, ma'am, by heart and by birth."

  "I make you out to be a Georgian, by the way you speak."

  Freeman smiled wistfully. "Macon County. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get back thataway." He tilted his head up to look at Jessica from under the brim of his worn Stetson. "I'm powerful hungry, ma'am. That is, if you've got any grub to spare."