“In my saddlebag I have twice the amount that Fannie and Toni gave me to keep for Katie and Kip.”
Fannie sucked in a breath. “What are you doing?”
Blake ignored her, keeping his pistol and gaze fixed on Tom. “I’ll split it between the two of you.” At their stupid expressions, Blake expounded. “You’ll each come away with twice what you started out with.”
“What about me?” Willard whined. “What do I get out of this little bargain?”
Blake swung on the sniveling coward. “You get to ride away and never show your face again.”
Willard hung his head, knowing he had no more cards to play.
“What about my pay?” Clay broke in.
“That’s between you and the men who hired you.”
Tom and George exchanged glances. “What if we say no?” George asked. “I could make a lot more money keeping Toni working for another couple of years.”
“If she lives.” Sam’s hardened tone sent a slither of fear through Fannie. He gave her his pistol. “Keep this on those men.” He knelt beside Toni and tenderly lifted her into his arms. His gentleness took Fannie’s breath away. He cradled her in his arms and took her to the wagon.
Fannie forced her attention back to Blake and his bargaining. “If you don’t take the offer, I’ll find a real lawman and turn all four of you in for kidnapping and theft. So you have a choice. You can either walk away with twice as much as you had before, or you can get turned in to the sheriff in Blythe Creek. I’m sure he’d be interested to know how you passed around a fake Wanted poster in his town.”
Fake? Fannie drew a breath as her mind wrapped around this news. If that was true, then she was safe. She and the twins would truly be free of Tom forever.
“Fine. We’ll accept.”
“Good.” Blake turned to Fannie. “Untie the twins and use those ropes to tie these men together.”
“What are you talkin’ about?” George said, his voice filled with suspicion.
“Here’s what’s going to happen.” Fannie marveled at the calmness of Blake’s voice. “You are going to be tied up. I’m going to put the money bag between you. You should be able to get loose eventually. And when you do, I expect you to go back to your lives and figure out how to live without Toni, Fannie, and the twins. Because I’ll never be this lenient again.”
Within minutes, the men were tied up. As they prepared to leave, Fannie gripped Blake’s hand. “Thank you for coming after us.”
“I’m sorry I let you go in the first place.” He gave her a look of intense promise. “I’ll never let you go again.”
Her mouth dropped open at his declaration.
“Let’s go. I want to get as much distance between these characters and us as we can, or I might change my mind and just shoot every one of them.”
Blake assisted her into the wagon. Fannie poked through the back. “How is she, Sam?”
Sam’s voice was grave. “She’s in and out of consciousness. She will need a lot of time to recover. I pray she’ll be all right.”
“The sooner we get her back to camp, the sooner we can have Sadie take care of her like she took care of Fannie,” Blake said.
Fannie lay in the dark listening as, one by one, the camp settled into sleep. So far Blake hadn’t come to claim the debt she owed him. Minute after minute passed, and then one hour and two, and still he hadn’t come to her. Why? Blake wasn’t mercenary. He wasn’t trying to frighten her. She sat up with a gasp as realization dawned. He must be waiting for her. She cringed at the thought of how angry he must be after waiting for so long. Her insides began to quake. What would Tom have done if she had ever made him wait like this? Granted, she knew in her heart that Blake wasn’t like Tom, but he was a man, wasn’t he? He’d paid money for her, hadn’t he? Fannie hoped he didn’t think her ungrateful for making him wait.
She knew she should get up. She tried to will her legs to move but couldn’t. Not yet. She wasn’t altogether sure her legs would hold her. She hugged her knees to her chest and watched Blake where he lay, alone across the campsite. The twins slept soundly next to her. Toni still lay unconscious in the wagon where Sam watched over her. Grant Kelley stood vigil somewhere close by. Blake was expecting her. A tear slipped down Fannie’s cheek. Once more, she had only one source of payment. And again, she had no choice but to pay.
Blake awoke to movement next to him and sat up with a start. Fannie sat next to his bedroll. “What are you doing?” he demanded.
“You bought me,” she said simply. “I figure we should get it over with.” Slowly, she lay back.
Get it over with? What was she—?
His breath caught in his throat as understanding rifled through him. She thought he expected—? He scrambled away from her. “Honey, I don’t want this from you.”
Relief and confusion wrestled across her features in the light of the low campfire.
“I don’t understand. Then why did you pay the money?”
“So Tom would leave you alone. I would have done it for anyone.”
Her expression fell. “I see. Well, thank you.” Rising, she turned her steps back to the wagon.
Blake watched Fannie walk away, her shoulders drooping. He could only imagine the shame she must have felt. As much as he wanted to assure her how desperately he wanted her, he’d never accept her as compensation for something he’d gladly paid. Better to let it go for now.
He settled back on his blanket, staring into a cloudless sky. A lump settled in his throat as he thought of how close he’d come to losing Fannie forever. Thank God he’d been saving for his land all these years so that he’d had the means available to pay her ransom. He wished he could make her understand that he’d given the money gladly, expecting nothing from her, but hoping his act would show her how much he cared.
He closed his eyes and began to drift off amid images of a cross, nail-scarred hands, and tender smile, and finally, he understood what Sam had been trying to tell him all these years.
The sky began to lighten, and Fannie hadn’t slept a wink. The camp hadn’t stirred, except for once, when Grant Kelley switched with Blake, who still stood watch. When she could no longer bear to lay still pretending to sleep, Fannie roused and walked to the wagon to check on Toni. Sam’s head rested in his hands as he sat cross-legged on the wagon bed next to her.
Fannie climbed into the wagon and sat on her knees, watching her friend’s shallow breathing. “Any change, Sam?”
He looked up, his eyes weary, face lined with worry. He shook his head. “Not yet.”
Determination hardened around his mouth. This man wasn’t about to give up hope. Fannie was stumped. What sort of men were these? They weren’t real. They couldn’t be. Surely some day, Blake would come around collecting.
“Why’d he do it?” she asked.
Sam frowned, his eyes filled with question. “Why’d who do what?”
“Blake. He gave everything he’s been saving. Now he can’t buy his land.”
An understanding smile tipped Sam’s lips. “I reckon he figured you were more important than land. There’s plenty of land to go around. It’ll still be there when he saves again. There’s only one of you.”
“He said he’d have done it for anyone.”
Sam shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. But he didn’t do it for just anyone, did he? He did it for you.”
“I can’t pay him back,” she whispered, tears forming. “I hate being beholden to anyone.”
“Did Blake indicate you owe him anything?”
“No. He won’t take…” Heat burned her cheeks. “Never mind.”
Sam covered her hand with his. “Miss Caldwell. I’d pay every cent to see Toni open her eyes. And when she did, my joy would be full just knowing she was safe. I wouldn’t ask her for payment”—he gave her a pointed look—“of any kind.”
Fannie’s heart ached with longing to understand. She’d been paying for so long, the thought of not owing anything was almost beyond her grasp.
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She stared at Sam, willing him to help her trust Blake’s motives.
“He says he doesn’t want anything from me.”
“Then you’ll have to believe your safety is enough for him.”
A shout of victory rose from the pioneers when they reached camp the next evening. Weary and heartsick, Fannie found it difficult to match their enthusiasm. Especially when Mrs. Kane tearfully returned the twins’ things. “I guess I truly wasn’t meant to be a mother.”
How did one respond to something like that? Thankfully, Fannie was spared the necessity because Mrs. Kane didn’t stay for a response.
That night the stars seemed brighter, the moon bigger, and the sky a velvet blanket filled with promise for a future and a hope. Fannie wasn’t quite brave enough to sit outside the circle against the wagon wheel as she had once done. But she craved solitude, so she perched on the tongue and allowed the beauty of the night to surround her with peace.
Footsteps interrupted her solitude, and she looked up to find Blake standing next to her. Her cheeks grew warm as she remembered her conduct last night. She knew she owed him an apology. “I-uh—”
Before she could get the words out, Blake thrust her money forward. “You’ll be needing this now.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s only half of my half. It may take me a while to pay you back the rest. But I will. I promise.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Fannie.”
“Yes I do. And if you won’t take payment in other ways,” she said pointedly, “you must accept the money.”
Blake stepped forward. He set the money down on the wagon seat and took her hand in his. “Fannie, listen to me.” He pulled her to her feet. “When I said I would have done it for anyone, that wasn’t true. I paid the money because I care about you, and I wanted you safe.”
Fannie stared wide-eyed and tried to grasp what he was saying. “You care?”
“More than care.” Blake stared down at her, his eyes so earnest, so warm that Fannie felt the urge to snuggle close to him, press her cheek against his chest, and stay there forever. He slipped both arms around her and pulled her close. “I love you. And if you love me too, I want you to marry me. Then I’ll take you into my bed, but not because you owe me, but because we’re man and wife and we’ve vowed before God to love and cherish one another.”
His words sounded so beautiful, Fannie couldn’t keep back tears. “But what about the money you spent, Blake? Sadie told me you had saved and saved so you could stop being a wagon master.”
He nodded. “I’ll have to do one more wagon train. But as my wife, you can file a claim and live in Oregon with the twins.”
Fannie’s heart nearly leapt from her chest, and she couldn’t look at him as she tried to find the courage to say yes. “Okay, then.”
“What?”
She looked up and stared him in the eye. “I said okay then.”
“Okay, what?”
“What do you mean? You just asked me to marry you.”
A slow smile touched his lips, and Fannie was enchanted to be the recipient of such a beautiful sight. “I said, if you love me too, I want you to marry me.”
Frustration welled inside of her. “Well, I know that. I have ears.”
“Oh, Fannie. Is everything going to be a fight between us?”
“I don’t know what you want from me, Blake.”
“All I want is your love. We can work out the rest. But I have to hear you say you love me.”
All of Fannie’s resolve melted, and she took a step closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, Blake. And if you want me, I’ll marry you.”
He grinned and lowered his head.
Fannie spoke up. “But…”
A frown creased his brow, and he moved his head back. “But?”
“The twins. They go where I go.”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss, warm and tender to her forehead. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Fannie felt a heavy weight fall away from her, and joy that she hadn’t known since before her pa’s death lifted her to her tiptoes. “Just remember,” she said with a lilt to her voice. “You’re going into this with your eyes wide open.”
“Stop talking, Fannie.”
She did, and his lips covered hers as he enveloped her in an embrace that promised forever.
Dear Reader,
Beginnings are always so exciting. Beginning a new series, a new book, being one of the launch authors for a new line of books like Avon Inspire. But sometimes following through is a challenge. The new wears off pretty fast. And then the struggle begins. Especially for someone like me with a short attention span.
Even through the struggle of trying to finish this book, Defiant Heart never got old to me as I wrote from day to day. And at the time that I write this letter, it’s been several days since I turned in the book to my editor, and I’m still thinking about Fannie, Blake, Toni, Sam, and the twins, anxious to begin the second book in the Westward Hearts series so I can see how they’re all doing. I feel like I knew Fannie and desperately wanted her to find happiness—with God and with the man of her dreams. I wanted to create a heroine who had a lot to overcome, but found grace in the end. Fannie learned that redemption means someone else pays and you owe nothing. There’s an old song we used to sing:
He paid a debt He did not owe
I owed a debt I could not pay
I needed someone to wash my sins away
And now I sing a brand new song “Amazing Grace”
Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.
Powerful. Powerful. Powerful. In Blake, I wanted to create a man who had a lot to lose and was willing to lose it to save the woman he loved. He was the character who personified the sacrifice Jesus made for humanity. Just like it is difficult to grasp sometimes that Jesus doesn’t expect us to work off that payment, Fannie had trouble at first realizing that Blake was willing to pay for her and let her go, if that’s what she wanted. But how much better for her that she agreed to become his bride?
I pray that as you read Defiant Heart, Jesus shows you how wild He is for you.
All things new….
Tracey Bateman
Discussion Questions
Blake has a problem trusting women because of his mother’s past. How does your upbringing affect your current relationships for the good or bad?
Do you think Fannie (and Toni) had the right to take the money when they left Hawkins? Why or why not? What would you have done in their situation?
Why do you think Sam is able to look past Toni’s sins and into her heart?
Do you know someone with a tarnished past and wish you could give them the benefit of the doubt? Are you the one who is trying to change but find it difficult to convince people around you of your sincerity?
Throughout Fannie’s early childhood she had a happy family life with two loving parents. Suddenly her world was upended when her father died. What could her mother have done to spare her children their hard life after her death?
Why do you think no one came to Fannie and the twins’ rescue from Tom? After three years, surely someone noticed they were being abused. How far have we come as a society where child protection is concerned?
What steps do you think Fannie should take to learn to forgive those who have hurt her, including the stepfather who sold her to Tom in the first place? How does her inability to forgive keep her from moving forward in her life?
Both Fannie and Toni are willing to risk everything to have a chance to start fresh out West. Has there ever been a time in your life when you were considering taking a huge risk for a new opportunity?
Throughout Defiant Heart, Fannie is incredibly brave, headstrong, and stubborn. Her very strong points can sometimes become weaknesses. When does that happen? Do you have any attributes that can become burdens?
When Fannie realizes that Blake wants nothing in return for paying her debt, she is able to make the parallel to Jesus. Discus
s this debt-cancellation as it pertains to mankind.
About the Author
TRACEY BATEMAN lives in Missouri with her husband and four children. Their rural home provides a wonderful atmosphere for a writer’s imagination to grow and produce characters, plots, and settings. In 1994, with three children to raise, she and her husband agreed that she should go to college and earn a degree. In a freshman English class, her love for writing was rekindled, and she wrote a short story that she later turned into a book. Her college career was cut short with the news of their fourth baby’s impending arrival, but the seeds of hope for a writing career had already taken root. Over the next several years she wrote, exchanged ideas with critique partners, studied the craft of writing, and eventually all the hard work paid off. She currently has over twenty-five books published in a variety of genres. Tracey believes completely that God has big plans for his Kids and that all things are possible to anyone who will put their hope and trust in God.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
By Tracey Bateman
DEFIANT HEART
Coming Soon
DISTANT HEART
Credits
Cover photographs by Allen Russell/Index Stock/Jupiterimages and David De Lossy/Getty Images.
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEFIANT HEART. Copyright © 2007 by Tracey Bateman. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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