“A choice?” Fear darkened her eyes as she looked up at him. “Tell me you’ll not send me away from you. I could not live with that, Niko.”
“Would I cut out my heart? To speak such words is to ask me to do this.”
She searched his eyes, and saw that his clear, steady gaze held the truth of his words. “Never would I ask that. I will listen.”
“It is good that you learn.” His smile softened the harshness of his voice. “There is a place for me with the agent of the San Carlos—”
“No! You hate the reservation. I would not ask that you live there.”
“Woman! It is not for me. You would have food. You would have a place to be safe. I know the lands. Never will the white-eyes find you.”
“And the other choice?”
“There is a place I could take you, across the border.”
Angie struggled to sit up. “Take me, Niko? I was right. You plan to leave me.”
“I think only of you. I would not have you hunted like an animal.”
“And while I’m safe, where will you be?”
He looked away, and she followed his gaze toward the south. “Niko, while you made these choices for me, did you think that there might be a child?”
“Am I a boy, not to know what the joining of a man and a woman will bring?”
“No. You are a man, one that I love. I will not be meek and follow your choices.”
He rose in a controlled rush and loomed above her. “Come,” he said, holding out his hand. “It is time for us to leave here.”
“With nothing decided between us?” She took his hand, gripping it, while she swore she would not beg.
As he led her from the cave, Niko looked over his shoulder at her. Proud. Anger tinted her cheeks. Spirit flared in her eyes.
“It is decided. But I will tell you this. Once I named you Woman of Sorrow. I will call you that no more.”
She held her tongue to keep from asking what name he would call her now. Dismay filled her when she saw the horses. “Niko.” She jerked his hand to stop him. “I can’t ride.”
“Then I will teach you. I will teach you all that I know.” He turned and lifted her to his black, handed her the reins of the army horse and swung himself up behind her.
“Choose for us, Woman of Joy. Do we ride north?”
She angled her head to the side to look up at him. His eyes gazed upon her with love. “South,” she whispered. “We will ride south to freedom.”
Weeks later, Corporal Eric Linley reported that his searches for Private Ben Holloward had turned up nothing. He reminded his commanding officer that rumors of gold on the reservation’s lands had surfaced, and they both knew what gold fever did to the men who caught it. Deserter was marked across Holloward’s record.
Linley left then to attend the service being held by Grant Cowan for his sister. The gravestone was inscribed with her name, the dates of her birth and her death. The grave below was empty. Nothing but charred wood remained of the abandoned agency buildings. It was assumed that wild animals had carted off her bones. None were found.
And in the months that passed, the rumors persisted that Apache had stolen white children, those of the Mexicans and even other tribes. Unless proof was given, these rumors were always dismissed by the army, just as the whispers of a woman living among them high in the Sierra Madre were dismissed, too.
It was said that her hair held the captured long rays of the sun and the spill of a full moon’s beams. And in her eyes there burned a fire. An Apache fire of love.
Author's Note
For me, writing grew out of a love of history and reading. I have always been fascinated with the West and various Indian cultures. As I write, I try to envision both sides of the conflicts experienced by settlers and Indians.
Part of the enticement of writing Westerns is reading about the people drawn to the raw land, despite its dangers. Since men wrote most of the history books, there is little mention of the women who were part of the westward expansion. But women did file on homesteads; they also brought a civilizing influence to the West. In the Western Territories a woman had a chance to measure herself against the land. I believe women valued the opportunity and the freedom from the stifling standards of the Victorian era.
Characters are the most important aspect of a novel to me. They must be strong, vulnerable and flawed to be believable. Each has their own code of honor. And I believe strongly in the healing power of love. That belief is why I write romances.
I hope that you enjoyed reading “Apache Fire” and will watch for my ongoing Western series, The Kincaid Trilogy.
Have a great summer filled with love and laughter,
Raine Cantrell
More from Raine Cantrell
Novellas
The Bride’s Gift
Nicholas Dowling’s mail-order bride is not what he’d hoped for—she’s too young, too delicate, and far too superstitious for a pragmatic man like himself. But not even Brianna’s untamable spirit can’t cast a shadow over her luminous beauty, and before long the blaze of their attraction grows into something neither one of them was expecting.
Miss Delwin’s Delights
Kit Sidell, Texas’s most eligible bachelor, has an insatiable sweet tooth. But when the challenge of a wager brings him to the kitchen of Birdie Delwin, Kit finds himself tempted by much more than her dessert menu.
More Than a Miracle
Maureen O’Rourke made a home for herself and her children in an abandoned cabin in the Colorado mountains. While searching for his lost child, Gabriel Channing stumbles upon the cabin, and finds a whole new family instead. But it will take more than a Christmas wish to make these two broken families one—it will take more than a miracle.
The Secret Ingredient
Hallie Pruitt has a habit of taking in strays—both unwanted animals and captivating cowboys. When handsome Cade McAllister seeks shelter in her home while his broken leg heals, it’s her homemade candies that keep him sober, but it’s the piping hot fantasies she describes in her diary that provides the secret ingredient to Cade’s heart.
A Time For Giving
Jacob DeWitt, a widower on Christmas leave during the Civil War, returns to his New York home determined to get Ellie Winifred to marry him. She has taken in his two motherless children and his younger brother while he is off at war. It makes perfect sense to him that they marry, but Ellie resists. It will take every bit of help Jacob, a proud, stubborn man, can get if he is going to convince Ellie that he is worthy of her love.
Novels
The Homecoming
In the aftermath of the Civil War, one man’s vow to stand alone is shaken by the return of the love of his life. A new novel from national bestselling romance author Raine Cantrell.
For most Texans, Reconstruction stood as a second declaration of war. Returning to his Texas farm at the end of the War Between the States, Matt Coltrane finds his land ravaged by scavengers as part of a greedy Reconstruction land grab. Turned bitter by the war, Matt attempts to avoid others, until Laine Ellis, the only woman he ever loved, is threatened. Despite the odds against him, Matt swears to protect her, as well as his land.
Born to be a Southern lady, Laine Ellis grew up in a lonely cabin on the edge of the bayou. Stubborn and courageous, she is raising her brother and sister after raiders killed her parents and destroyed her home. Laine doesn’t entertain any man’s attention, until Matt’s return. She loved him with a girl’s starry-eyed innocence and now wants him with a woman’s passion. She and Matt struggle in the face of old enemies and new challenges to bring their dreams to life as an entire country strives to put itself back together.
Wildflower
In the idyllic mountains of Colorado, a woman will risk her life to save the ones she loves.
For two years Jenny Latham has lived alone with her young son in the Colorado mountains, trying to manage her guilt over letting an abusive husband
control her for too long. Her beauty makes her the object of many men’s desires, but with a broken heart and an independent streak as strong as the mountains themselves, Jenny refuses them all. But when she accidentally shoots a stranger and takes it upon herself to nurse him back to health, she finds all of her defenses wavering.
The stranger is a handsome man named Charmas, but he claims to remember little else, having lost his memory after the accident that led him to be in Jenny’s care. Overcome by Charmas’ allure, Jenny begins to succumb to her feelings of passion, until her world is shattered by the reappearance of her violent husband. Jenny will gamble with her very life in order to protect her son and Charmas from harm.
Silver Mist
In a race to strike it rich, a naïve woman discovers how precious a man’s love can be.
Dara Owens has been sheltered by her brothers in quiet Rainly, Florida, unaware of the rough nature of the rest of the world. That is, until “white gold” fever takes over Rainly, and prospectors overrun the town in the search for phosphate rock. With the miners comes gambling and robbery, and suddenly quiet Rainly isn’t a safe haven for an innocent beauty anymore, especially once the rugged Silver McQuade arrives on the scene. But once Dara meets Silver, no warnings about this charming seducer can keep them apart. As the small community becomes divided over the presence of the miners, Dara is torn between loyalty to her home, and her newly awakened desire.
Western Winds
A headstrong woman more than meets her match in an unexpected inheritance.
When she inherits her father’s sprawling Texas ranch, the Reina, Lacey Garrett is determined to run it on her own. With a long line of men waiting to wrestle control of the land away from the willful young woman, many with dreams of winning her hand as well, Lacey has her work cut out for her. But of all the difficulties Lacey foresaw, never could she imagine a last minute change in her father’s will that leaves part of the Reina to another heir.
Rafe Parrish is a loner with a dark past, and no happier to be sharing control of the homestead with Lacey than she is. Angered by her arrogance, Rafe is determined to have it all: the Reina and Lacey herself. Lacey will have to fight for what is hers, or risk surrendering to Rafe’s dominance, losing control of her heart in order to stay on the land she loves.
Calico
An Irish spitfire meets her match in a western romp.
Maggie O’Roark knows how to walk, talk, and fight like a man. When Maggie inherits her uncle’s profitable silver and gold mines, she’s determined to prove she can operate them on her own, even as her wedding date approaches. When Maggie’s groom is kidnapped just before the wedding, Maggie is convinced saloon owner C.V. McCready is responsible, in a desperate bid to keep her from re-opening the mines.
McCready is a silver-tongued con man, but when he sees Maggie in her wedding finery, he becomes obsessed with protecting her from less savory men who would do anything to get their hands on her mines. McCready kidnaps Maggie and claims her in a marriage by proxy, setting the stage for the fiercest and funniest battle of the sexes in the West.
Desert Sunrise
A desperate woman meets her destiny on the Arizona frontier.
After her husband is murdered on their wedding night, Faith Beckett is on the run, with her father and siblings in tow. They have a land stake on the far side of the Arizona Territory, a perilous journey for even seasoned travelers, and are in need of a guide as determined as Faith.
Delaney Carmichael was raised by the Apache, and a man as hard and dangerous as the land he loves. On a mission to restore his family’s honor, he has no time to help Faith and knows he’ll be better off if he ignores her beauty. But when Faith walks head on into danger, he’s moved to save her despite his best judgment. Ensnared by Faith’s turquoise eyes and a mystical connection to ancient Apache legends, the hardness of Delaney’s heart is softened as mutual passion is revealed in the wild lands of Arizona.
Tarnished Hearts
Not even a war between the states can keep apart a Southern aristocrat and the love of his life.
Tormented by his past and denied his dream of becoming a doctor, Southern aristocrat Trevor Shelby has little in his life to live for, until he meets the beautiful overseer’s daughter, Leah Reese. Unused to the warmth and kindness Leah shows him, Trevor learns to love from the young woman, while his intensity teaches her about passion. Despite the difference in their social classes, they dared to dream of a future together, a fantasy that is shattered by lies, betrayal, and the outbreak of war.
Darling Annie
Acts of charity quickly lead to a flirtation with the deadliest of sins for DARLING ANNIE.
Kellian York has big plans for the brothel he’s inherited in Loving, Texas. Too bad that just days after his arrival the Legion for Decency has burned it to the ground, citing their mission to rid the town of drinking, gambling, and “loose women.” Set on vengeance, Kellian targets the spinster leader, Annie Muldoon, never expecting that the beautiful young woman would let Kellian and his girls move into her boarding house.
Believing she has a responsibility to protect and redeem the women formerly in Kellian’s employ, Annie soon realizes she’s made a terrible mistake inviting them, and especially Kellian, into her home. Unsure whether he’s trying to torture her or seduce her, Kellian’s striking presence is beginning to rouse the passionate nature she’s tried to hide. Annie decides to take her fate, and Kellian’s, into her own hands, and learns a few tricks of the trade from her boarders, before turning the tables on Kellian. Will the saint redeem the sinner? Or the sinner seduce the saint?
Whisper My Name
A young woman is tempted from her path by a handsome cowboy as mysteries about her past are revealed.
Before taking her vows at a convent to become a young novice, Dominica Kirkland is summoned to an isolated Idaho ranch by Toma Colfax, a friend of her deceased father. Alone and naïve as to the ways of the world, Dominica soon finds herself overwhelmed, and reluctantly accepts the help of Luke, a ruggedly handsome cowboy. Drawn in by her beauty and her innocence, Luke makes it clear that he’s interested in Dominica, no matter what vows she’s considering.
But at Toma Colfax’s ranch await more questions than answers for Dominica. Toma claims no knowledge of the letter that called Dominica to the untamed wilderness. Slowly long-kept secrets are revealed, about Dominica’s family, about Toma Colfax, and about Luke. Dominica must make painful choices, to return to the safety of the convent and live a life of solitude, or risk everything, including her heart, to stay with Luke.
Connect with Diversion Books
Connect with us for information on new titles and authors from Diversion Books, free excerpts, special promotions, contests, and more:
@DiversionBooks
www.Facebook.com/DiversionBooks
Diversion Books eNewsletter
Apache Fire Page 8