Blane watched as Hawke rose and flexed his muscular body. Though the man couldn’t hear them, Blane knew he was observing them with those keen midnight eyes, ready to spring into skilled action. Blane had seen enough half-blooded men and women to guess that Hawke was one. He should have guessed from the picture. Clearly the man had been reared or partly reared in the West. Hawke’s stance and expression told Blane plenty about him and his prowess. His jealousy mounted. “You have Hawke back. What could you want from me?”
“What I want, you cannot give me. Oh, Lord, you’re so wrong; and it’s too late to explain the truth to you. Just go away.”
Her first statement pained him deeply. He realized there was one person who might put a damper on her reunion with Hawke. “I almost forgot about one of your lovers. I should tell you about Elisha Carter before—”
“Don’t you dare tarnish Eli’s name!” she shrieked angrily. “I know what you did to him both times. He was my friend, nothing more! Get away from me, you vindictive bastard!”
Hawke came toward them the minute she raised her voice. “Shannon, you all right?” he called out as he neared them.
Shannon rushed into his protective arms and replied, “Yes, Hawke. Now that you’re home, I’ll be just fine. I’ve missed you so much. I was so afraid I would never see you again.”
Hawke pulled the precious girl against him and looked over her head at the man who was glowering at them. He sensed a strained leash on the man’s anger and temper. He sensed anguish and turmoil. “It’s all right, Vixen. I won’t leave you alone again.”
Blane mounted Dan and looked at the embracing couple once more. “Don’t forget to tell your beloved Hawke how you’ve been spying and whoring for the Union with me,” he declared bitterly and rashly.
Hawke’s body went rigid. His black eyes seemed flaming coals. His right hand pulled Shannon to that side. His left hand went for his knife. “I shall slay you for your insult, white dog,” he threatened ominously.
Shannon rapidly grabbed his wrist and halted him. “No, Hawke, don’t fight him!” she protested, fearing injuries or death for either man. She lifted her teary gaze to Blane’s sullen stare. Her lips and chin quivered as she bravely confessed, to both men’s astonishment, “Don’t challenge him over my lost honor and shame. He’s telling the truth. He’s a Union agent, the best they have. I was his partner, or disguise, or whatever he needed. For the past few months, I’ve worked with him and traveled with him and…slept with him—but never as a whore. I thought I loved him and wanted to marry him. If I hadn’t come home today, I would have, if his proposal had been honest.” She looked into her half-brother’s worried eyes and murmured, “I’m sorry, Hawke. Please don’t hate me. I was a fool to trust him and sleep with him. I don’t ever want to see him again.”
Hawke pressed her wet cheek to his racing heart. He studied the resentful man on horseback. “I could never hate you, love. Don’t blame yourself for making a mistake. Are you sure about this, Vixen?” he inquired, knowing something awesome had transpired between the two.
Shannon’s body shuddered. “Make him go away, Hawke. I don’t need anyone but you,” she stated intentionally to fool Blane.
Blane inhaled raggedly, kneed Dan, and galloped away.
Chapter Twenty
Having already suffered through her horrifying discovery of Greenleaf’s ruin, Shannon was too distressed and exhausted after her confrontation with Blane to relate the details of their entwined past to Hawke. Her brother lifted her and carried her to the lean-to he had constructed on Saturday near the stream on their land. He had arrived late Friday night while their home was still in flames, but it had been too late to prevent its destruction or to see who was responsible. Parts of it had burned rapidly; others still smoldered.
As they talked, he prepared food for her, then tucked her into his bedroll. He reclined against her and held her tenderly. Before falling asleep, Shannon told him of their father’s grief and remorse over his cruelty to Hawke. She revealed the grim news of the family’s losses, and they grieved together for father and brother. She told him about Simon Travers and her escape to find Corry. She promised to explain her relationship with Blane in the morning. Soon, Hawke lay awake, watching his sister sleep restlessly.
Shannon awoke early. After eating and bathing, she changed into garments from the bundle left behind by Blane. As calmly as possible, she told Hawke the story of Major Blane Stevens, leaving his charges against Corry and his bitter betrayal for last, knowing how unsettling they would be. “If the only problem had been his misconception about us, I would have bound and gagged him until he heard the truth. But it was all lies and tricks, Hawke. All he wanted was to get to Corry and kill him if he refused to marry this Elli. He’s wrong, Hawke; Corry isn’t guilty.”
“You’re right, Vixen. I’m the man he’s searching for,” Hawke admitted. “I wish I had known who he was yesterday and why you two were quarreling. We could have settled this matter peacefully. I’m sorry he hurt you and wants to end Corry’s life because of me. I’m responsible for Ellie’s pain and his false assumptions. I got her pregnant and never returned. I’m in love with Ellie Stevens. I would marry her today if I could find her. She vanished years ago. A son…we have a son.”
“You and Ellie? How?” she demanded. “But they’re seeking Corry, blaming him, trying to force him to marry her or die.”
“Because they think I’m Corbett Greenleaf,” he replied softly.
Shannon watched him intently. “I’m confused, Hawke. Did you know about the child and their search? Why do they think you’re Corry?”
“It’s a long, sad tale, Vixen. You know how Corry or I used to travel with Father to Texas or other places. That spring, Father had wanted Corry to go, but he had that broken leg that didn’t heal for months. I took his place. We couldn’t tell the men we were dealing with that I was Indian or part Indian, so we pretended I was Corry. That’s when I met Ellie Stevens.” His voice and gaze softened at the memory.
“She stole my breath and heart, Vixen. Trouble was, I didn’t realize I was falling in love with her. We spent a lot of time together. At first I thought I was only having fun. But we kept getting closer and tighter. After she told me about that Comanche attack on her family and ranch, you can understand why I had to remain Corry to her, for the same reason you didn’t tell Blane about me. Before those two months passed, I knew I loved her and wanted to marry her. Father kept telling me she and her family would hate me for lying about my identity and for being part Comanche. He didn’t want me to marry her and stay in Texas, and he didn’t want me to bring her home. After Father called me a coward and rejected me, I returned to my people to prove myself. After I did, I looked for Ellie. I was going to reveal the truth about me and beg her forgiveness. It was too late. Don’t you see, Vixen? They believe they’re right about Corry. If I were Blane and you were Ellie, I would seek revenge as he has done. If Corry had gotten those letters you mentioned from the Stevenses, he would have told us. Father must have answered them and burned them. How she must hate me for leaving her to suffer alone.”
“No, Hawke, she doesn’t,” Shannon refuted. She told him what Blane had said about his sister’s feelings. She told Hawke how and where to locate Ellie and his son. “Go to them, Hawke—today. All of you have suffered too long. Find her and tell her the truth. She loves you and needs you. It won’t matter about your Indian blood.”
“Will my action repair the damage to your love for Blane?”
Shannon lowered her head and cried. “No, Hawke, it can’t. If you want to bring your wife and son here to live, please know this is your home too. You are a Greenleaf. I won’t blame Ellie for anything her brother’s done to me. Find her and marry her, Hawke, before they convince her to accept another man in your rightful place.”
“I cannot leave you alone,” he protested. “What about Corry?”
She stroked his cheek affectionately. “Don’t let her suffer a day longer, Hawke. I’ll be
fine until you return. We’ll need lots of help rebuilding our home and lives. I’ll go into town and find work there. Maybe Corry will arrive before your return; if not, we’ll decide what to do about him. This land is huge. He could be anywhere. Ask Ellie to write Blane in care of President Lincoln and tell him the truth about you two. That should keep him from stalking Corry.” She removed the gold band she was still wearing and handed it to him. “Blane purchased this for her. Marry her, Hawke, and be happy.”
“You must not hate or blame him. If I wed his sister, our families will be joined. It was an honest mistake on his part, Vixen.”
“If that were true, Hawke, I would rush after him today. There’s more you don’t know about us. It’s too late. Besides, even if it was a tragic error, Blane should not have sought revenge on me.”
Hawke explained, “That is the Indian way, Vixen, and the law of western lands. All who carry an enemy’s name and blood must also bear his guilt and punishment. He comes from such lands and beliefs.”
“This is not the West, my precious brother, and he has betrayed me in other ways. I can never return to him. Do you know how good it is to see you alive and well?” she murmured, hugging him. “What have you been doing all these years?” she asked, allowing space and time to appease her emotional wounds before continuing their talk.
As he usually did when speaking of his Indian ties, Hawke unconsciously slipped into another dialect. “The Comanche grow weak and few, little sister. Treaties are broken by both sides. New forts are built each season to master and control the red savages as they did the black ones,” he stated sarcastically. “A soldier named Van Dorn has made himself the chief destroyer of my mother’s people. At Rush Springs and Crooked Creek, he slaughtered many good Comanches. Rangers now ride against us, and they are powerful white warriors. The American Army sends what are called ‘Galvanized Yankees’ to battle us while they fight Rebels. The soldiers become stronger and smarter under Sibley and Sully. But they also send white devils in the bodies of Chivington and Carleton. Many say when the Union defeats the Confederacy, they will send many more soldiers to settle the Indian wars. I cannot raise my son in such dangerous lands and times. Again, I will choose the white way. I will marry Ellie and bring my family to Greenleaf.”
Shannon smiled and agreed with his decision. Now that he knew about Ellie and the child and where to locate them, she could see how anxious he was to claim them. There was nothing he could do here any time soon, except to go after Blane for the same reason Blane had been stalking Corry! She couldn’t expose that dilemma and spoil Hawke’s chance for happiness with Ellie. Besides, the best way to end Blane’s hostility and to protect Corry was to solve the problems of the past. She had made mistakes, and she must correct them. She didn’t want Hawke delaying his journey and worrying over her troubles while he could be attempting to repair his own life. She had learned a great deal during these past months. She was stronger and smarter. She could handle her life and safety for a few months.
“I tried to convince Blane he was wrong. Not that Corry is infallible, but I knew he would never turn his back on such responsibilities. I told Blane it was either a lie or a mistake, but I never imagined it could be you he was seeking. I remembered those months. From mid-April to July of that year, Corry was either in bed or on crutches. I’ll never forget that time. He was an annoyance to everyone with his two broken legs. What did happen to Corry on his last trip west with Papa?”
“It was New Orleans, Vixen,” he corrected her with a smile. “Corry should explain it. I will tell you it had to do with his falling in love with the wrong woman, and killing a man over her.”
“Oh, Hawke, must love always be so difficult and painful? Why don’t you prove me wrong by bringing home a happy bride and son?”
“Why don’t you come with me?” he coaxed, hating to leave her.
“You can travel faster and more easily without me. Besides, I’ve been running and hiding for months, and I need to relax and recover. And someone needs to remain here to watch for Corry. I’ll be fine.”
Christmas evening, Shannon was sitting before a cozy fire in a Savannah hotel, sipping sherry and crying softly. Hawke had left for Texas at midday, after placing her in this lovely room. A hot bath and meal had done nothing to lift her low spirits. She had enough money from Hawke for room and board for three days. During that time, she needed to find work and make future plans. Blane had left town as he had vowed, or threatened; and the Federal officers refused to discuss him or reveal his destination. She decided against asking them to send word to him about Corry and Hawke. She was afraid she might discover that he wasn’t coming back. It was time to decide how she felt, what she wanted, and how to get it.
Shannon didn’t leave her room that next day to seek employment, because the weather was terrible and she was feeling awful. On Thursday, she finished a late breakfast in the eating room and went into the hotel parlor to see if any newspapers had been left behind by guests. Finding none, she was about to return to her room when the man coming down the stairs captured her attention. She was terrified but grateful for having sighted him first. She fled into the empty hotel sitting area, whirling this way and that as she sought a hiding place. The heavy drapes offered a promise of concealment. She prayed the man would leave the hotel and allow her to escape his grasp. He did neither.
Simon Travers and his cohort sat down on a sofa within a few feet of her. She prayed she could restrain the nausea that was building within her throat. She listened as the repulsive man listed her sorry predicaments and how he intended to locate her and solve them. In horror, she discovered he was the one who had been tracking her, who had been planting false information about her, who had exposed and murdered all of those people along her journey with Blane. Simon—not Blade! He revealed the trap he had set for her and would spring if she defied him. It seemed he didn’t know she was staying at the hotel, for he had his other men out searching for her.
As if she had been an emotion-filled cauldron, rage and thirst for vengeance began to simmer within her. Cunning and daring joined them. Resentment deposited itself inside the boiling kettle of turbulent feelings. When she considered the many times men had used or tried to use her and the grim situation she was now enduring, a shocking plan formed in her mind, a plan she had not considered since the day she had seen a lawyer before leaving Boston…
After Simon and his hired villain left the hotel, Shannon went to her room to prepare to combat his brazen plan. Simon owed her! Without the backing of her home and crops to support her, Simon would control her family’s stolen holdings. She needed to recover at least some of their funds. She needed a name for her child before she started exposing her newly discovered condition. She needed money to escape that beast and a way to disarm him to carry out her flight to freedom. She needed to recover the false evidence he had created against her. She needed revenge on him for many reasons. She would have it all, and humiliate Simon in the process!
At last, Fate was on her side. When she noticed Simon returning to the hotel, she put her plan into motion. She walked down the steps as if heading for the noon meal, her head and eyes seemingly lowered in sadness and worry. She slowly lifted them, then cleverly brightened her expression when her eyes touched on the man standing in her path.
“Simon,” she greeted him joyfully. “What are you doing here? You couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Things are so awful. Please forgive me for tricking you and running off like that. Take me home to Boston. It’s so terrible here.” She began to weep, and she took him off guard by moving into his arms for comfort and protection.
Between sobs, she told him, “They burned Greenleaf, Simon. They destroyed all of it. No one likes me because Papa sided with the Union. A Federal agent who was supposed to help me ran off two days ago. I can’t find Corry, Simon. I don’t even know if he’s alive. I don’t have any money and all of my clothes are gone. I’ve had to live on charity. What am I going to do?” she entreated, sounding
totally helpless and subdued, totally ignorant of his crimes and evil.
Simon withdrew a handkerchief and dabbed at her abundant tears. He guided her over to a sofa, then scolded triumphantly, “You were a naughty girl, Shannon. I’ve been looking for you for months. You know you shouldn’t have traveled alone with a strange man. You’re a lady.”
“He was mean to me, Simon. He was always making me go hungry and dirty. He wouldn’t let me rest and he made me get hurt twice. He even threw away my clothes and things. He said I was dumb and spoiled. He said I couldn’t do anything right. I tried, Simon, really I did. It was so scary trying to help him spy on the Rebels. I thought it was going to be fun and exciting. It wasn’t. Most of the time he left me with his friends while he took off for days.”
Shannon knew she could disarm and mislead Simon with childish and feminine chatter, just.as she knew this man was ignorant of her wits and daring. “I showed him one time! No, two times! I beat up this major who tried to attack me. And I saved his life when he got captured. Do you know he made me hide in this dark hole under a house once? It was getting so cold and dangerous. He told me to stay here. But I don’t have any money or clothes. I’m afraid of him, Simon. He acted so strange sometimes. He even accused me of spying on him and almost getting him killed. He said if I left Savannah he would send the Union Army after me. This war is making people wild and mean.”
Simon cupped her chin and lifted her head, pleased by her subjugation. “What you need is a good husband to take care of you. The sooner, the better. I’ll arrange things for us to marry tonight.”
“You would marry me after the terrible things I said and did to you? Oh, Simon, you’re much too forgiving and kind. But we can’t marry until tomorrow. I don’t have any clothes, and I want Reverend Peters to perform the ceremony. Please, may I have a pretty dress and a real wedding? I promise I’ll be good from now on.”
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