He bustled around the women as he threw her a disgusted look. “Of course it’s me, did a rock land on your head and knock you senseless, woman?”
Amanda shook her head. “I don’t think so, but if you’re sober, maybe I am hallucinating.”
“I am sober, and it’s all your fault.” He pointed a finger at Margaret. “You and that interfering, meddling woman. She’s been following after me and lecturing me about demon rum until I finally gave in and stopped drinking just so I could shut her up and get rid of her.”
Margaret Abbott never flinched. “I saved your soul, you old fool, and you know it.” She settled an arm around Amanda’s waist. “You can’t examine her out here in front of the whole dang town.” She pulled Amanda toward a large log building sitting in the center of the clearing. “Come on, dearie, we need to get you warmed up.”
Amanda leaned on the woman, taking comfort from her words and the warmth of her body. She was grateful for the concerns expressed by the other women, but the respite was brief. Sam was still injured and lost underground. Her heart beat quickly and she trembled as she recalled the dark stain of blood she’d seen oozing from his injured leg. She looked down at her skirts and the sight of bloodstains made her stomach heave. She was grateful for the arms of the other women to steady her.
They entered the log structure and someone scrambled to get her a chair. Within minutes a blanket was draped around her shoulders and a cup of hot, steaming coffee placed in her hands. She sniffed the rich aroma and wrapped her hands around the enamel cup to warm them.
Amanda savored the feeling of being warm and safe again. How foolish she’d been, taking so much for granted. She’d never really appreciated things like being free to move about, having friends who cared about her, and the love of a good man. She would never see another dawn without whispering a prayer of thanks to God for sparing her life last night. Finally, she lifted her head and found Doc Potter towering over her.
“Are you hurt or bleeding?” His tone was gruff, but there was real concern reflected in his eyes.
Amanda shook her head and took another sip of her coffee.
“Have you, um, experienced any effects from your condition?”
She could swear the man was blushing.
“No. I fell and scraped my hands and knees, but otherwise I’m not injured.” She tried to keep her voice calm and controlled as she lifted her gaze to plead with him.
“But Sam’s hurt.” Her hands began to shake and she set the cup on the table next to her. “He was bleeding and there’s a large timber on his leg.” She worked hard to keep a sob from escaping. “He told me he’s lost the feeling below his waist.”
Doc Potter leaned back on his heels. “Was the blood gushing or oozing?”
Amanda wrinkled her brow, trying to remember. “Oozing, I guess. Seeping slowly.” She shivered despite the blanket draped around her.
He nodded. “And this timber, did it appear to have crushed his leg or pelvis?”
His words were beginning to terrify Amanda as she considered how badly injured Sam might be. Harriet patted her gently on the arm and shot an angry look at the doctor.
“Why don’t you get on down in the tunnels and take a look at Sam yourself.” There was a note of disgust in her voice. “Quit pestering Amanda. Hasn’t she been through enough tonight?”
Doc narrowed his eyes at Harriet. “I expect you think I’m too much of a coward to go down there, don’t you Harriet Parmeter?”
Harriet waved a hand in his direction and scoffed. “I could give a hoot about you, old man. Go straight to hell for all I care, just leave this poor woman alone.”
The doctor lifted his head and squared his shoulders. “I’ll show you women that I’m just as good as the next man.” With that he stomped out of the room.
Harriet shook her head. “Damn fool men, can’t figure out why we have to put up with such nonsense.”
Amanda touched her friend’s hand. “He’s only trying to help, and I appreciate that he’s not drunk.” She looked out the window and into the early dawn light, which outlined the buildings of the Silver Slipper Mine in russet and orange. “I think Sam will need all of his skills when they bring him up. His injuries are serious.” Tears filled her eyes and she stifled a sob.
Harriet patted her shoulder. “Sam will be all right. That man is strong as an ox.”
Amanda wiped the tears from her cheeks and tried to return her smile. “And stubborn as a mule, sometimes.” She sniffed.
“I don’t understand how you managed to find us out here. Mr. Penny and a man named Jack Pruitt kidnapped me and forced me into a wagon.” She shivered and her voice trembled. “Sam thought I was leaving town and he jumped into the wagon to stop me.”
Margaret dragged a chair across the room and sat opposite Amanda. “We had a surprise for you. We planned it for after dinner.”
Harriet jumped in. “But of course, I had to go get a second helping, and I guess that’s when that sneak Mr. Penny told you something that convinced you to go with him.”
Amanda nodded. “He told me he’d been sent on an errand for Sam.” She felt sheepish. “He told me Sam was at the livery stable and I foolishly followed him out there.”
Both women nodded. “There wasn’t any reason for you to suspect him, and I guess we should have warned you,” Harriet said.
“But Caleb wanted to tell you himself, because he thought you’d be more likely to believe him,” Margaret added.
“Caleb?” Amanda lifted her head. “He’s conscious again?” Her heart quickened a beat.
“He’s back to his own self, just as sweet and good a boy as ever.” A motherly note of pride brightened Harriet’s voice. “Eatin’ you out of house and home I suspect. But we were plannin’ to bring him downstairs to surprise you, when that Mr. Penny spirited you away before we could prevent it, or even warn you.”
“Warn me?” Amanda’s head swam. The women took turns telling the story, and she had never felt so worn out and tired before in her entire life.
“Caleb told me it was Jack Pruitt that jumped him at the Miners’ Association that day.” Harriet folded her arms across her breasts. “That’s one man who can dance at the end of a rope and may he rot in hell.” She spit on the floor.
Amanda frowned. “Caleb?”
“Jack Pruitt,” Margaret said with venom in her voice. “Of course, that nasty little sneak of an agent can join him, too.”
“Vengeance shall be yours, ladies. They’ve both been arrested and taken to Helena for their trial.”
All three women jumped at the sound of the man’s voice. Father Mikelson stood in the doorway, his head nearly touching the top of the wood frame. Dawn’s light bathed him in gold, and Amanda shuddered at the image he presented. She imagined a stained glass window with the archangel Michael streaking across it, heading to earth to exact vengeance.
The priest cleared his throat. “I beg your pardon, ladies, but I must speak with Amanda.” He took a step closer. “Alone. Her message was most urgent.”
Amanda stood up, wrapping the blanket more tightly around her to keep from shivering uncontrollably. Her fear for Sam wiped out her anger at the manipulations of the old priest. She didn’t have any more time for arguments.
“I have something important to discuss with Father Mikelson, if you could give us a bit of privacy.”
Both women rose quickly, but Amanda stopped them with a wave of her hand. “Did you find Robert tied up in the livery stable?”
Harriet nodded. “He’s got a giant lump on his head, and I think he’s feelin’ mighty low about being tricked. He’ll be real happy to find out you’ve been rescued.”
“I’m grateful he’s not seriously hurt.” She said, waiting for the door to close behind them.
“You’ve been meddling in my affairs, again, haven’t you, old man?”
; The priest avoided making eye contact and paced across the room. He deposited his thick wool overcoat on the chair, but he didn’t sit down. His fingers combed through his silver hair.
“I know you’re angry with me, Amanda.” He turned his blue eyes toward her. “I want you to know I did everything in order to protect you.”
“Protect me?” Her voice was incredulous. “You have never, ever considered what I want or need. You’ve manipulated and controlled me, but God knows, you have never cared anything about me or my happiness. How could separating me from the man I love, the father of my child, protect me?” Amanda took a deep breath to steady her nerves. A band of sorrow wrapped around her chest, making it difficult to talk.
Shock hit the older man’s eyes like a thunderbolt. He slumped to the chair, his head dropped, and he folded his hands together, the thin skin looking pale and fragile.
“God knows I have loved you as if you were my own child since you were just a little girl.” He finally lifted his head, and sadness painted the features of his face with grim remorse. “I wanted to spoil you, indulge you, and I never, ever wanted anything but happiness for you.”
Father Mikelson rose and paced across the room to a window. The early morning light warmed the leaves of the trees just beyond the glass. Birdsong filled the air outside, as the creatures of the sky sang to welcome the sun.
“I asked Sam to protect you, and he agreed to serve as a bodyguard. He hated that you’d been forced to marry him, and he wanted to release you from your vows.”
Amanda sat down, her body aching to her bones with weariness. “You made an arrangement with Sam to have our marriage annulled.” Her lower lip trembled, but she couldn’t seem to make it stop. “Why would you do that, Father?”
The old man’s face crinkled, and he suddenly looked old and exhausted to her. He coughed, and Amanda saw tears turning the bright blue of his eyes a shade paler.
He looked down at the floor. “I thought I was protecting you, Amanda. I never should have interfered, because after talking to Sam the night I forced the two of you to get married, I knew he loved you.” He lifted his head slowly. “Maybe I thought if I bargained with him, he’d stick around and the two of you would find a way to work things out.”
Amanda nodded. In a way, the priest had been right. She couldn’t blame him for trying to protect her. She reached out to gently pat his hand.
A clamor ensued outside in the yard and the door swung open. “We need the priest; they’ve just brought Sam up from the tunnels.”
Father Mikelson rushed to get out the door. Amanda covered her mouth to stifle a scream. If Sam needed a priest, that could only mean it was too late for a doctor.
She stumbled out the door of the cabin, oblivious to the bright early-morning sunshine. A group gathered at the opening to the mine shaft, and their grave faces and silence terrified her.
Several of the miners who had brought Sam up to the surface made a space for her. Sam was stretched upon the ground, covered by a woolen blanket. There was a dark, shiny spot where he had bled through the fabric. Amanda bit hard on the knuckle of her fist to hold a scream within her throat. His face was so pale, it appeared to be carved from alabaster.
She fell to her knees, barely able to breathe. Tears trickled down her cheeks despite her effort to hold them back. She grasped Sam’s hand in her own and whispered his name over and over, like a litany. His skin was so cold, his body so still, she felt her world spinning sideways as an icy numbness seized her.
Doc Potter was on the other side, ordering the women behind him to rip their petticoats into strips for bandages. His leather bag was open at his side.
Amanda tried to rise and join the other women, but a firm hand gripped her shoulder. “Never mind that,” Father Mikelson said. “Stay here and talk to him.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she wanted to put her hands to her face and sob out the great piercing sadness that was shattering her heart. Sam was going to die, and she had never told him about their child. It was so unfair, and she knew that she would never be able to forgive herself for withholding the truth from him. An aching loneliness washed over her at all the love she’d squandered because of her foolish pride. Her heart had cracked in two.
Doc Potter drew the blanket aside, and she flinched when she saw Sam’s torn and bleeding flesh. The doctor poured alcohol on the wound, and her spirits lifted for a moment when Sam swore and twisted with the pain.
“He’s still alive,” she whispered, a jolt of hope gripping her.
The doctor gave her a desolate look. “He’s lost a lot of blood, and this leg is broken.”
Amanda tightened her hold on Sam’s fingers. “He’s strong, and I know he wants to live.”
Doc Potter shook his head. “I won’t give you false hope, Mrs. Calhoun. I’ve seen wounds as bad as this on the battlefield. There’s not much chance he’s going to make it.”
Amanda laid her head on Sam’s shoulder and let the tears flow freely. Several of the men stepped back, giving her a little privacy to say good-bye to her husband.
There were so many things she had left unsaid. So many promises they’d made to each other and then broken. She regretted the lost time, the harsh words and arguments. They’d spent their days so angry at each other that they had squandered their only chance at happiness. She’d never love any man as much as she loved Sam. The enormous sadness within her broke loose like water surging over a dam, releasing a flood of tears. She felt a hand gently stroking her hair and lifted her gaze to find Sam’s clouded, pain-filled eyes staring at her.
“Don’t cry darlin’. I never could stand to see you cry.”
Amanda took a deep breath and tried to steady her voice before she spoke. “I love you, Sam. I wish I could have been a better wife to you, and that I’d been kinder and more understanding. I wish...” She couldn’t go on. She dissolved into great gulping sobs.
“None of that matters now, darlin’. I’ve loved you since that first night I met you.” He gasped. “I tried to keep from giving my heart to you, but it’s no use. You were right last night. I never could really let you go.” He closed his eyes. “We belong together.”
Amanda gazed down at Sam with all the love and tenderness she could muster. Pain was etched deeply onto the pale surface of his face.
She could give him one last gift before they said good-bye for eternity. She swallowed and worked to make her voice steady and strong.
“We’re going to have a baby, Sam.”
Ebony lashes fluttered, and his amber eyes opened wide. He stared at her, incredulous, before his face split with a huge grin.
“I’ll be damned.” He winced, and it appeared that speaking was causing him a great deal more pain. He grinned again.
“That’s wonderful news, darlin’. Promise to stay with me, right here by my side.” He coughed. “I believe I can get through this.” He closed his eyes and drifted off.
Amanda licked her lips and took a deep breath. “I promise, Sam. I’ll be here with you every moment. I need you, Samuel Calhoun. If you dare to leave me, I swear, I’ll come right down to hell and battle old Beelzebub himself to get you back.” She gently placed her lips to his and sealed that oath with a kiss. His mouth was cool and tasted salty.
He opened one eye to give her that infuriating, lazy, lop-sided grin. “Just one more thing, darlin’.”
“Yes, Sam?”
“Tell me why you’re so all-fired sure that if I do die, I’m going to end up burning in hell.”
Epilogue
“I see that very familiar glint in your eye, Sam, and you can just forget about it.”
Amanda raised one leg in the bath and gently soaped its length. She felt Sam’s gaze on her, his amber eyes shaded with gold as they filled with desire. She should have known better than to arrange her bath here in their bedroom, but the house was so crowded wi
th company today, it was the only place she could find some privacy.
“There isn’t time.”
“I won’t take long, I promise.” His voice was a sexy, inviting drawl, and the familiar heat washed over her.
She should be embarrassed that she could respond so quickly to her husband’s passion, but instead she felt a tremor of excitement.
“The other guests will be here at noon.” She dropped the soap to reach for a length of linen toweling to dry off. Rising from the scented warmth of the hip bath, she started to rub her body with the towel.
The flare of desire in her husband’s eyes banked to a raging flame.
“I hope you’re not going to make me climb out of this bed and come over there to grab you, woman.”
Amanda flirted with him, fluttering her lashes like a brazen hussy, and grinned.
“With that bum leg of yours, I could easily escape.”
Sam threw back the covers and brought both of his long, muscular legs to the floor. The jagged scar on his right thigh bore testimony to the ordeal they’d survived over a year ago in the mine shaft.
“I’m getting stronger everyday, madam, so I wouldn’t count on getting away so easily.”
She crossed the room to lean forward and touch her lips to Sam’s mouth, the kiss deepening, her tongue thrusting and parrying against his. His hands moved to squeeze the smooth mounds of her buttocks and she sat on his knee rubbing her soft, moist slit against him.
“Woman, you’re torturing me.”
“Heavenly torture,” she murmured. “We’ve got a busy afternoon, but a long night to look forward to.” She delighted in the way they fit together so perfectly. And the way their carnal appetites matched just as well.
“You never cease to amaze me, darlin’”. His hand gently kneaded her soft flesh, and there was admiration in the tone of his voice.
“Amazing Amanda will be my stage name when I join the circus.” She laughed as his tongue slid into her ear and he tickled her.
“Why would you need to do that? Isn’t there enough excitement here in Willow Creek?”
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