The others chuckled, and Travis stifled a yawn.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Kaed murmured.
Travis nodded. "I'll go out to the barn."
"The hell you say." Kaed reluctantly let go of Jessica. "Spread your bedroll out right here where it's warm, Trav. No need to sleep in the cold." He glanced at Harv. "Plenty of room here, Harv. Come help yourself."
"Much obliged, Kaed." Harv rose stiffly from the chair. "I think I could almost sleep standin' right now."
* * * * *
Kaed leaned against the kitchen doorjamb, watching as Jessica made a final check on the comfort of her guests before starting toward him.
"What about us, Mrs. Turner?" Kaed asked quietly as she approached him.
She nodded toward the kitchen and gave him an apologetic smile. "Looks like we're confined to the galley tonight, Marshal. I hope you brought your own bedding." She waggled the blanket and sheet they had used atop the pallet earlier. "This is the end of mine."
"Just so happens, I did, ma'am. Beside the door. I'm borrowing Frank's."
Jessica stepped across Harv's inert form to retrieve the bedroll. Kaed took it from her and steadied her as she avoided Travis's legs.
Kaed opened up the bedroll and spread it in the small kitchen, looking at it with a critical eye. "Not very luxurious."
"It's enough."
He turned as Jessica's arms stole around his waist. He tilted her head up to look at him, noting the dark circles under her eyes. "It'll always be enough, you and me."
She nodded, laying her head against his hard chest.
"Come on," he whispered. "Let's get some sleep. You look like you never slept the whole four days I was gone."
"I didn't. Not much, anyway." She smiled and kissed his neck. "We breathe the same breath, and you were too far away."
Kaed gave a low laugh, and followed her to the floor. They lay down carefully in the confining space, neither of them aware of the hard plank floor beneath them. The sound of encompassing peace overcame all else, and tangled in sweet togetherness, they slept.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Kaed stopped shoveling and scanned the edge of the clearing. He leaned on the shovel a moment, ignoring the nagging pain in his ribs and wrist.
Travis and Harv exchanged glances from where they worked, turning the muddy earth of the half-dug grave.
"What're you looking for?" Harv asked.
"They should've been here by now," Kaed said. The sullen weather had cleared in the night, the morning breaking sunny and warmer. Tom sat on a nearby tree stump, his dark eyes somber. He sat hunched over, favoring his shoulder.
"You oughtta be inside, Tom," Travis said. "Oughtta be in bed, resting."
"Yeah. I know."
"Well, then—"
Without warning, the Choctaws appeared from the edge of the clearing. Travis blinked and shook his head.
Harv's mouth was set in a grim line.
Kaed leaned on his shovel, watching the Indians as they rode forward. One of them led Tom's mount, along with Andrew Fallon's and Kaed's. Another held the reins to Jack Eaton's horse, a blanket-wrapped bundle draped across the saddle. And bringing up the rear, flanked by two tall warriors, was a red-faced, disheveled white man. He seemed, by all appearances, to be a man of the cloth.
"Well, I'll swan." Harv tipped his hat back.
"Looks like a preacher-man," Tom said, coming to stand between Travis and Kaed.
"Ask and ye shall receive," Travis said, his grin spreading slowly.
"Divine Providence," Frank murmured, a mile-wide smile on his face.
Kaed stepped forward as Standing Bear swung down from his mount.
"Trade them whatever they want!" the preacher cried frantically.
Kaed craned his neck to look at the cleric, who sat atop his horse, sweating profusely. A brief glimmer of amusement shot through Standing Bear's eyes as Kaed's questioning gaze finally came to rest on him.
"Wolf." Standing Bear nodded, and Kaed put out his hand. The Choctaw chieftain shook in the white man's way. "It is good to see you."
Before Kaed could answer, the preacher cried out again.
"Save me! Trade whatever they want! Do what they ask!"
Standing Bear's lips curved faintly, but Kaed saw the disdainful exasperation in his black eyes.
"Trav, go see to the man, will you?" Kaed said. Travis pushed his shovel into the ground and left it standing as he meandered down the row of mounted warriors to the desperate white man.
"Where did you pick him up?" Kaed asked in the Choctaw language.
"He is a missionary." Standing Bear's expression was wry. He raised a dark brow. "He says he has come to save our souls."
Kaed's lips curved. "I believe he might've changed his mind."
"We have brought Eaton to you." Standing Bear indicated the body on the horse, serious once more. "And we found these animals in the woods."
Kaed turned to look at the three riderless horses. "The roan belongs to Sellers, the black is mine, and the other one must be Fallon's."
Standing Bear turned and ordered the warrior who held the reins to return Sellers's horse. "Fallon will have no more use for a horse, but you will need one. Your black is lame. We brought your gear. We were hoping you would be alive to claim it."
Kaed grinned at the older man's gentle jibe. "I was trained well in the way of the People."
The chieftain nodded toward the side of the barn where two of his warriors tied Fallon's stiff corpse across the back of a horse. "Thank you, Wolf. My granddaughters—"
Kaed rested his hand on the older man's forearm. "I loved them, too. They are avenged."
The chief nodded, his eyes far away. "At rest." After a moment, Standing Bear continued. "As to the white women…"
"Leave them with us," Kaed said. "The older one is in love with—" He nodded at Frank. "—that one. And the girls are sisters."
Standing Bear gave Kaed a long look, and he knew the chieftain was thinking of their previous conversation concerning the fate of the captives. This was sticky.
"Make these red devils let me go!" The preacher was near tears as he squirmed in the saddle, the horse close to bolting but for Travis's quick hand upon the bridle. "Parley with them, I beg of you!"
Kaed's brooding gaze rested on Travis, who was pointing a warning finger at the preacher. "Leave the girls with us," Kaed said again. "I'll take the preacher off your hands."
Standing Bear appeared to consider the offer. Then in English he asked, "What have you to trade for the girls?"
Kaed gave him a questioning look. Frank had saved those girls, he thought, but not without help from Standing Bear's men.
Frank stood up straight, taking his hands from the supporting shovel handle. He hesitated a moment, as if he wasn't sure exactly what he should do. His feet began their own path, and he stalked stiffly across the distance that separated him from Standing Bear. Kaed recognized the taut strain of oppressive fear in every line of the young lawman's body. He could see that Frank wasn't afraid of Standing Bear, but of what he stood to lose.
Frank stopped before the chieftain, his gray eyes hard as steel. Standing Bear drew himself up regally, but the youngest marshal seemed intimidated for only an instant before he regained his composure and spoke.
"Take my horse. It's all I have. My saddle and horse, all my gear." He stumbled over his words.
Standing Bear remained stoically silent. His gaze did not waver.
Neither did Frank's. Kaed watched Standing Bear. Surely he wouldn't take the girls. If he tried, the marshals would not allow it. Kaed would be caught in the middle, between the Choctaws and the Whites, the choice impossible. The tension became unbearable. He started to speak, but Standing Bear made a slight hand motion in his direction. Be silent.
The chieftain's eyes bored into Frank's. "What else?" he asked. "What else do you offer?"
Frank bit his lip. Suddenly, he thrust his arms out. "Myself. You take me, and l-let them go free."
"His love is powerful," Standing Bear murmured in Choctaw. The Indian's eyes were locked with Frank's, but Kaed knew the words were meant for him. "It will be more so now that he realizes the depth of it."
"Frank!" Tori cried from across the yard. She hurried down the steps and ran toward him.
Kaed's lips twitched. "Wonder if she realizes what he just did for her?"
"She knows," Standing Bear said.
Tori raced across the muddy ground and looped her arm around Frank's waist. He didn't move. His stare was locked with the unreadable ebony depths of Standing Bear's eyes. The fresh scent of Tori's morning bath hung in the air and Frank shut his eyes for an instant. Her fingers trembled against his side where they clung to him.
"Take me, sir." His voice was low, defeated. "Tori, go back inside. Now."
"Frank! I love you! Don't do this!" She looked up at Standing Bear, her eyes pleading. "Please don't do this! I love him."
Slowly, Frank turned to look at her. A joyous grin spread across his face.
"Marshal! Shoot these red devils! What are you waiting for?"
Kaed looked at Standing Bear. "My offer still stands."
Standing Bear's eyes flickered with brief humor. "I will take the young marshal's horse," he said in his native tongue, "and leave the girls with you. It is a good trade, as long as you keep the missionary."
Kaed grinned and clapped Frank on the shoulder. "Go get your horse, Frank. You just bought yourself a bride."
* * * * *
The muddy dirt made very little noise as the lawmen gave one of their own back to the earth. The preacher had said a few words over the body as they lowered it into the fresh-dug grave. All that remained was to make a wooden cross bearing Jack Eaton's name, and the year of his death. Frank had volunteered to do that, since he had been with Jack at the end. Kaed's dark gaze went around the group. Frank and Tori stood together, arm in arm, as Travis awkwardly knelt beside Lily. She clung to his neck, finally crying the tears she'd been denied for so long. Harv and Tom stood talking in low tones beside the grave. Frank motioned the preacher over and the red-faced cleric started toward him and Tori.
Kaed's mind raced ahead. The Hastings' old place would make a good home for Frank and Tori, with the small room that had once been Lexi's nursery a perfect haven for Lily.
Travis and Harv weren't ready to settle down yet, but when they were, there'd be a place for them here. His gaze moved to Tom, and his secret smile returned. They'd have to leave for Fort Smith in a few days to collect their pay. He and Frank would be filling out their final paperwork, turning in their badges. He had a feeling Tom might be doing the same, once he was given a little incentive. Kaed intended to make sure they stopped by the schoolhouse to pick up a reader for Lily, if Amelia could spare one, and he'd see that Tom would be the one to go ask for it. They'd eventually have need of a schoolteacher here, in their small settlement. There was plenty of land here, and maybe his old friend would consider throwing in with him to start their own cattle herd.
Jessica cocked her head and smiled up at him. "Well, Marshal, I'm ready for that wedding you promised me." Her fingers locked gently around his waist, and Kaed pulled her to him with a sigh. He supposed they'd need to keep the preacher, as well.
The early autumn breeze lifted and teased the gleaming dark strands of her hair. She had never looked more bewitching. He leaned in to kiss her, a slow, simmering melding, the unspoken affirmation of their future. He lifted his lips from hers for just a moment. "I'm getting the better side of this deal."
Jessica reached for him, kissing him again, her tongue darting into his mouth with the tantalizing promise of things to come. Slowly, she pulled away to look up at him. "Just love me, Kaed. That's all I ask."
It was there—the desire, the love, the future, burning like banked embers in her cinnamon gaze. He smiled, knowing this would be the easiest vow he'd ever keep.
"Every day of my life, Fire Eyes." He bent to her, holding her close to his heart as he put his mouth to hers once more.
About the Author:
Cheryl Pierson is a native of Oklahoma. She lives in the Oklahoma City metro area with her husband. The mother of two grown children, and pet-sitter on occasion, she is always busy. A romance author who loves to read, Cheryl also teaches novel writing classes and is co-owner of West Winds Media, an editing/teaching business for writers. She writes short stories that have been published by Adams Media, Chicken Soup, and Western Trail Blazer (WTB). She has three novels to her credit, FIRE EYES and TIME PLAINS DRIFTER (WTB), and SWEET DANGER (The Wild Rose Press), with a fourth, TEMPTATION’S TOUCH, soon to be published.
Her novel, Fire Eyes, was an Epic Award Finalist. Cheryl received the PNR PEARL Awards Honorable Mention as Best New Paranormal Author of 2009 for her time travel paranormal western Time Plains Drifter, a Western Trail Blazer publication. She also placed third in the San Antonio Romance Authors (SARA) Merritt Contest with her novel, Gabriel's Law.
To learn more about Cheryl and her exciting books, visit her at www.cherylpierson.com/
You can e-mail her at [email protected]
Other works by Cheryl Pierson...
More of Ms. Pierson's stories are coming soon...
Sneak Peek
Kane's Redemption
A ten-year-old boy fights for his life when he is taken prisoner by a band of raiding Apache. Steeling himself for death, Will Green is shocked when a lone man walks into the Apache camp to rescue him several days later.
Driven by the secret he carries, Jacobi Kane has followed the Indians for days and needs to make his move to save the boy. With the odds stacked eight against one, his chances for success look pretty slim. But even if he's able to rescue the boy and they get out alive, what then?
Chapter 1
Tonight would be my night to die. Red Eagle and his men had kept me alive to their own end, for the last several days. Now, they argued, and though I didn't speak Apache, it wasn't hard to tell what they meant. We had ridden across endless miles of desert, populated only by saguaro cactus and rattlesnakes for days. I wasn't sure how many. The men talked amongst themselves, their faces smeared with war paint. Garish and frightening, they had seemed to me from the moment they took me. Now, they seemed hideous, almost laughable.
The sun was setting on another day among endless time – six days; seven? I wasn't sure how long we'd ridden. On and on, it seemed as if we'd ride until we came to the end of the earth. But I knew the ocean surrounded the continent on three sides, and we were far from the cooling spray of ocean water my father had often spoken of.
I was in Hell, and I knew it. But not the why. Why was I even still alive? By then, I didn't think too long on that, either.
The sly looks Red Eagle's men exchanged when they glanced my way had me thinking again. I was ten years old. Old enough to understand those telling glances, even if I didn't know the language they spoke.
But after those endless worn-to-the-bone days of riding into the heat, it had got to where I didn't care if tonight was my night to be killed or not.
Red Eagle drew up, and the others stopped below a rock outcropping. That red devil knew where to find water, no matter how dry the day's riding had been. Sure enough, he dismounted and led his horse into a cavern that was nearly hidden, especially as the streaks in the sky turned purple, and twilight descended.
By then, I already considered myself dead. I wasn't hungry, though I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten. I was more thirsty than anything, and I guess I didn't have any pride left in my bones. Once the horses smelled the water inside the cave, they hurried forward to drink, and I pitched from the saddle myself, crawling to the watering hole.
I managed to get my hands into the water, tied as they were, but getting the water to my mouth in that position was impossible. I pulled myself forward a few more inches and lowered my head, drinking like an animal.
Then, I began to come back to life. That water revived my nerve endings where the rope
s they'd tied me with bit into my wrists. My face cooled quickly, bringing relief from the blistering sunburn. My stomach growled loud enough to set a couple of the murdering devils to grinning and laughing.
Red Eagle squatted beside me. "So, you are thirsty, young warrior." He gave me a half smile, but his eyes were black as night, and hard as glass. "And you are still not talking." He watched me, like he was trying to figure out some kind of secret. I stretched out on the ground and said a prayer when I closed my eyes. I didn't pray much because I hadn't seen it had ever done a whole lot of good. And it wasn't helping any right now, either. But I was out of ideas and I needed help in a bad way.
"Please, just take me to be with Mama and Papa and Lisbeth. And You." I thought I better add that last part, in case God really was interested in having my soul. I didn't think He was, or He wouldn't've let things get so out of hand.
And I knew He hadn't heard me. Again. The Apaches laughed and carried on, moving all around me. I never opened my eyes. I had prayed my hardest, and nothing happened – as usual. I figured, the least God could do if He was gonna 'low my family to be murdered by Red Eagle and his men, was to take me, too. It made me plenty mad that He left me behind, alone. That was the end of me prayin'. But I was too tired to work up any enthusiasm just now to hate Him for what He'd failed to do, for any of us. Sleep was my only hope for escape, and I took it.
Chapter 2
I didn't die that night, or the next, as it turned out. I couldn't understand Apache, but it seemed like a couple of the Indians wanted to kill me and Red Eagle wouldn't let them.
Red Eagle was the one who had murdered Mama. I saw him do it, strangling her with his bare hands. I saw everything, from where I was hiding out in the pigsty.
See, Papa and I had been out doing the chores. He turned and gave me an odd look, like there was a lot to say but he didn't know where to begin. Then he just said, "Stay inside here, boy." He shook me a little, so I'd know he meant business. "You hear me? Don't come out, no matter what."
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