Savage Horizons

by Rosanne Bittner

  Lynda rushed down the stairs wearing a deep red velvet dress and cape, looking beautiful. She leaned down and kissed her mother’s cheek. “Good-bye, Mother. You change and get ready. I might be bringing Tom Sax home with me.”

  She flew to the door and went through it. Sarah wanted to tell her to stop and wait. It was all happening too fast. She was terrified to take hope in any of it. She finally found her feet and went to the door, but Lynda was already far down the street. She looked down at the pistol that lay on a table nearby.

  “Yes,” she muttered, “you are Caleb Sax’s daughter.”

  Chapter

  Thirty-Three

  THEY reached the ledge of the rocky canyon wall while it was still morning since they had broken camp very early. The wall ran for miles, a barrier dividing what was on the other side from the rest of the world. They had been through some beautiful country, but the wall seemed to be the border between one world and another. Sarah caught her breath when they reached the ledge, and the four of them just stared for a quiet moment, Sarah, Lynda, Lee and Tom.

  Before them lay a vast expanse of land unbroken by forest or mountain, yet it was startlingly beautiful in its nakedness. The morning sun cast purple pink and orange shadows across the endless horizon.

  “My God,” Sarah said softly. “What is it?”

  “Texas,” Tom replied. He breathed deeply, drawing strength from the air of this land.

  “It’s so big.”

  Tom grinned. “They say it would take a man a year or more to ride its border. Some people don’t like such open spaces, but Father says this naked land is like looking at a beautiful woman without her clothes. Everything is there for the taking, and her full beauty is revealed.”

  Sarah reddened, old feelings reawakening. She had been that way once for Caleb Sax. Did he think of her when he spoke of the naked land he loved?

  “Come,” Tom said. “We’ll show you the way down.”

  He turned his horse and rode ahead of them.

  “Be careful,” Lee told Lynda. “It’s not easy going down.”

  “I think by now I’m as good a rider as you, Lee Whitestone,” she replied pertly. Their eyes held a moment, teasingly, suggestively, saying much.

  “We’ll see about that,” Lee answered with a wink, turning his own horse. He wondered how long he could bear looking at Caleb Sax’s beautiful daughter without grabbing her up and riding off with her so they could be alone. He had never seen anyone so beautiful in his entire young life, and anything she had done until she found her mother made little difference to him. He didn’t care about the gambler she had told them about. During their long journey to Texas there had been plenty of time to talk, to get to know each other and become friends. And he knew Lynda Sax was strong and brave and stubborn and beautiful. He had watched her, guided her, helped her, taught her, fallen in love with her. But it was a love as yet unspoken.

  The women followed, leading their own packhorses. It had been a long journey, slow at first because Lynda had to learn to ride and Sarah had not ridden in years. Tom was determined that nothing would happen to these two women. His excitement over the surprise he was bringing his father made him want to hurry, but he would not rush Sarah and Lynda. They were very special women, and he would die for them if necessary, for the most important thing was to get them to Caleb.

  Caleb himself was probably worried by now. They had had to wait three extra weeks while Sarah and Lynda got their affairs in order and sold the Sax house. He and Lee had told the others that they had to stay for personal business. How could they explain the long story of Caleb and Sarah Sax? So the rest of their party had left without them. And because Tom wanted to surprise his father, he sent no message.

  While they waited in Saint Louis Sarah had fussed that perhaps they shouldn’t go, perhaps they should wait in Saint Louis while Tom told Caleb he had found them, then let Caleb come for them if he wanted to. But Tom Sax would have none of it.

  “Do you still love my father?” he had asked Sarah.

  Her answer was in her bright green eyes.

  “Father will want you there,” he had told her then. “I have no doubt in my mind. Why waste so much time? Why not go right now? My father is very lonely. He needs you. Besides, he can’t leave Texas. There’s too much to do with so much land.”

  Lynda had left little choice. There would be no waiting for her. She wanted to see Texas and was determined to meet her father. She would most definitely go, and she would not leave her mother behind.

  They headed down a narrow path, small rocks sliding in front of them. It was a dangerous trek, but soon the path widened and the women relaxed. Sarah watched Tom, such a handsome young man, with his father’s build and spirit, but such dark eyes, surely the eyes of his Cheyenne mother. She smiled when she turned to watch Lee. He rode back to Lynda to make sure she was all right. He was so obviously doing all he could to prove his manliness and skill that it was almost humorous. The young man was openly enamored with Lynda Sax, and Lynda was no less enamored with the handsome young man. He was husky and strong, with shoulders “like a bear,” Lynda had said aside to her mother once. He was not tall, barely taller than Lynda, but he was very strong and almost cuddly-looking, with his round, happy face and bright smile.

  Sarah turned her attention to the land that stretched before them. Texas. Was she crazy to come here like this? Perhaps. But it felt wonderful to leave Saint Louis and the ugly past behind. Here she would be free of worry about what Byron might do to her, be a new woman, awaken all the feelings the old Sarah used to have. She could smile. And oh, how good it felt to smile.

  She was thirty-five years old. It had been seventeen years since she last saw Caleb. Her most vivid memory was of their interlude in the cave, those glorious beautiful moments in his arms. Could it be that way again for them? Would he still want her that way? She hadn’t changed all that much physically. Why, a lot of women her age even had babies. Perhaps she could have another child. It was not impossible, and how wonderful it would be to have a little baby that she could know from birth and raise herself.

  Sarah reddened then at the thought. Before she could have a baby, she and Caleb would have to rediscover all they had lost. Maybe the magic would be gone now. She hoped not.

  Tom rode back to her. “Are you all right? Do you need to rest?”

  “I’m fine, Tom. You fuss too much over me.”

  He grinned. “I wouldn’t want to have to answer to Father for letting something happen to you just when he has found you again.”

  She smiled in return, but her eyes teared and she looked away. “Tom, are you sure I should be doing this?”

  “Of course I’m sure! Father spoke of you so many times. He never stopped loving you. I could see that. Even Marie knew it, I think. She never said anything, though. She just loved him. Marie was a good woman.”

  “Yes, I’m sure she was. I can tell by watching Lee.”

  Tom nudged his horse closer and leaned over. “Hey, I think that Lee is sick with love for Lynda. What do you think?”

  Sarah laughed lightly. “I think you’re right.”

  Tom nodded. “My sister is the prettiest girl in Texas.” He gave her a wink. “Besides her mother.”

  Sarah blushed, feeling like a young girl herself again. She swallowed back a lump in her throat and quickly wiped her eyes. “Tell me again, Tom. What is he like? Are you absolutely sure he’ll want me?”

  Tom shook his head, adjusting his leather hat. He wore buckskins like his father, but Lee chose to wear white man’s clothing.

  “You shouldn’t worry so about it. I guarantee that now that you’re here you’ll never leave Texas. Father won’t let you. I don’t think he has changed much over the years. He is still a big, strong man. I never saw a man with so many scars, though. When he tells me all the things he went through when he was young, I wonder if I could have done it. He got even more the night he tried to save Marie and David. He was like a crazy man that night.”r />
  Sarah’s heart ached at the thought of it. “Poor Caleb,” she said quietly. “He’s suffered so.”

  Tom turned to look at her. From what he had learned, this woman had suffered terribly herself, yet she did not seem to be so concerned about that as she was about Caleb. Sarah Sax was the good woman his father had always said she was.

  “It has been three years since Marie was killed. Father has been very lonely. He will be happy again when he sees you,” the young man told her. “But it is not an easy life here, Sarah. It’s dangerous, and now there are a lot of problems with the Mexican government.”

  “I don’t care what the outside problems are. I can handle anything as long as I’m with Caleb. I’ve been through too much to be concerned about such things.”

  “I just wish we could have left with the others so we’d have more protection.”

  “God is with us this time, Tom. He didn’t perform this miracle and bring us this far to let something happen before we reach Caleb. I’m not afraid.”

  He grinned. “Let’s hope you are right.”

  Why should she be afraid? Sarah thought. God had helped her find Caleb Sax, and now she was going to him. Nothing would stop them from being together this time. Nothing.

  * * *

  They got to a river, and Tom and Lee helped show them the way across the shallowest part.

  “This is the Brazos,” Tom explained. “We are on Sax land now.”

  Sarah’s heart tightened when she realized they were that close. She felt her nerves start to tingle and prayed the awful shaking would not overwhelm her. She followed the others almost in a trance then, hardly noticing the beautiful scenery around them as Tom explained first one landmark and then another. This particular spot was greener than the land they had been through, rockier, more hilly. They came upon a rise and looked out at a green valley.

  “Those are some of father’s horses,” Tom said.

  Sarah stared down at the herd, a mixture of beautiful mares, geldings and colts.

  They’re beautiful,” Lynda exclaimed.

  “They sure are,” Lee answered.

  She turned, realizing he was looking at her, not the horses. She felt the color rising to her cheeks. Why did he make her feel like an inexperienced girl? She had lived and slept with a gambler for two years, had even lost his baby. But this Cherokee man made her feel like she had never been with a man. He was the sweetest, most virile man she had ever met, and she could not help wondering what it would be like to be held in his powerful arms. But he was also bashful. Perhaps he had never even been with a woman. After all, there were not many available women in these parts.

  “Do you think you will like it here?” he asked.

  Their eyes held. “I know I will,” she answered. “You’ll show me all of it, won’t you? I want to ride every inch of my father’s land, get to know it and help with all of it. I don’t want to just stay in the house. I want to really be a part of it, Lee. I’ve never belonged anywhere before. I’m so happy. I have parents and a brother.”

  He grinned, reaching over and taking her hand. “And an uncle, right?”

  She laughed and he squeezed her hand when a tear slipped down her lovely cheek.

  “Hey, everything will be good now. I’ll make sure of it. In fact, I can show you something else right now.” He reached over with a powerful arm and grabbed her off her horse, pulling her onto his own. She let out a cry of surprise at his sudden boldness. “We’ll be right back,” Lee shouted to Tom and Sarah. He turned his horse and headed down an embankment to a cluster of trees several yards away. “Here it is,” he told her.

  Lynda looked around, seeing nothing but the cottonwood trees. She shivered at the feel of his powerful arm wrapped around her from behind.

  “Here what is?” she asked, smiling nervously.

  His hand moved up to brush at the trace of a tear still left on her cheek. “Turn around and I’ll show you.”

  She felt her blood warm as wonderful stirrings moved through her body. She moved a leg over the horse’s neck, sitting sideways and looking into Lee Whitestone’s very dark eyes, paying no heed to the fact that part of her leg was exposed when she swung it around.

  Lee felt like he was on fire, and he knew it was not the Texas heat. He had never been with a woman, yet all his manly instincts came naturally. He swallowed, drinking in her dark beauty, her splendid blue eyes. “I’ve been watching you, Lynda. For weeks we have traveled together, even slept together for warmth, treating each other like relatives. But we are not relatives. I do not want to be relatives—not that kind.”

  She studied the sincerity and honesty in his eyes, then turned away. “Even when you know about the man I lived with?”

  “You could not help that. You just needed somebody strong and sure to love you, Lynda Sax. You are like a lost little girl. Now you have a family… and me, if you want me. I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever set eyes on.”

  She turned back to meet his kind, brown eyes.

  Lee’s heart went out to her at her tears. The past is over now, Lynda.”

  He leaned forward and cautiously met her lips. She moved her arms around his neck, and in that moment Lee Whitestone had never known such absolute ecstasy. Nor had Lynda Sax. Here was a man who would love his woman for all that she was, marry her, give her a home and children, and be entirely devoted to her. Yes, life was going to be very good in Texas.

  A few yards away Sarah and Tom continued to watch the horses. Then Tom straightened. “Hey! Father is down there!”

  Sarah’s heart raced wildly. “He is?”

  “Yes. He just rode around the bend down there. We could not see him before.”

  Sarah watched. A rider appeared wearing buckskin pants and a vest, his long dark hair flying behind him as he chased a wandering mare back to the herd.

  “Oh, dear God,” she whispered. “It’s him.”

  “Let’s go.”

  “No,” she almost yelled. She sat frozen in place. “I can’t. I can’t!”

  Tom frowned, noticing she was begining to shake. “It is all right, Sarah.”

  She shook her head. “You… you go first and tell him. I’ll wait here.”

  He reached over and squeezed her arm. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded, watching Caleb in wide-eyed wonder.

  “All right. You wait right here. I’ll ride down and tell him.”

  The young man began the descent and Sarah watched. Caleb. It really was Caleb. She could tell even from here, and he didn’t look so very different, at least not from a distance. Lee and Lynda rode back to where she sat.

  “Where’s Tom?” Lee asked.

  Sarah swallowed and nodded toward the valley. “He’s down there. Caleb is there.”

  Lynda gasped and looked down at the riders. “It’s my father! Oh, Lee, let’s go down there.”

  He kept an arm around her and squeezed her tighter. “No, Lynda, not yet. Look at your mother,” he said quietly.

  Lynda looked over at Sarah, who was visibly shaking, with tears on her face.

  “Let them be alone first. It’s a special time for them. And this will all be a shock to Caleb. Let’s go back down to the trees and wait there. Give them a few minutes.”

  Lynda wiped away her own tears. “Yes. Yes, you’re probably right.”

  He kissed her hair and turned back, disappearing again into the trees.

  Sarah was hardly aware they had been there at all. Tom had reached Caleb. He called out to him, and they rode close and dismounted. They hugged for a very long time and then started talking. Caleb looked up, back at Tom, then up again. They talked more, and then Tom mounted his horse and moved through the herd Caleb had been tending, while Caleb remounted his horse and directed it toward the rise where Sarah sat watching. He kept looking up, even stopped once to stare as though unable to believe it, perhaps afraid to believe it. Then he kicked the horse into a gallop.

  Sarah did not move. She half expected t
he man coming toward her to be a complete stranger. For a moment he disappeared below, then reappeared, closer now. Yes, it was Caleb. It was his handsome face, his beautiful blue eyes, his broad shoulders and strong arms, his long hair, his dark skin. He stopped on a wide, flat rock not far below, just staring up at her in his own disbelief. Time seemed to stop. She looked at him, a beautiful man perched on a grand stallion, with Texas sprawled out behind him, and for a moment he looked unreal.

  But he was real. He moved again, galloping to the rise. He reined the mount near her, his blue eyes looking at her as though he were seeing a ghost.

  What could he say? He was speechless. It was Sarah. She had hardly changed and she was alive! He rode closer. She was shaking almost violently and he frowned. What had happened to her? What kind of hell had she been through? Tom had said she had a daughter, his own daughter.

  She clung tightly to the saddle horn. “Help me, Caleb,” she said quietly.

  He quickly dismounted, walking to her horse and reaching up, his big hands grasping her about the waist and lifting her down. He said nothing at first, but merely pulled her into his warm, welcoming arms. He held her tight, very tight, wanting to stop her awful shaking. Her arms slowly moved around him, and he lay his cheek against the top of her head.

  “Sarah, my Sarah,” he groaned.

  From the edge of the cottonwoods, Lee and Lynda watched.

  “My God, it’s really him,” Lynda whispered, putting her fingers to the blue quill necklace she wore around her neck. She had put it on that morning, wanting her father to see it the first time he met his daughter, to know his love gift had brought his family together at last.

  A hawk circled above and cried out, then flew off into the sun, the light reflecting on the bird in just the right way to make it appear blue. Its shadow moved over Caleb and Sarah Sax, but they were too lost in each other’s arms to notice.