River Song

by Sharon Ihle

  He fired a warning above the spot where they'd fallen.

  Then he wheeled and raced for Whiskey. As he mounted and then whipped the mule into a dead run down the side of the hill, one thought blazed in his mind. This vile excuse for a man would pay, and pay dearly, for the pain and horror he'd put Sunny through. Her ordeal was at an end, as was the life of the rancher who now tried to defile her.

  The crack of rifle fire brought Sunny's playful shrieks and high-pitched laughter to an abrupt end. She froze as Cole covered her body with his and admonished her to keep her silence.

  With extreme wariness, he slowly lifted his head until he could just see past the tips of the grass to the crest of the nearby mountain. He scanned the rim, straining his eyes, but couldn't locate the source of the rifle fire.

  "Stay flat on your belly," Cole cautioned. "I'm going to make a break for the river and my gun."

  "No, you cannot."

  "Don't move and be quiet. It may be our only chance."

  With that, he turned on his knees and began to inch his way to the clearing, but an inhuman cry froze him to the spot. Again peering over the grass, he watched as a rider exploded from the brush at the base of the mountain and bore down on them at a thunderous gallop.

  Quickly measuring his slim chances, the defenseless rancher coiled his long body for the jack-rabbit start he would need to reach the trees. But the minute his head appeared above the grass, the distant rifle fired another deadly warning. He dropped back to the earth, the fingers of unfamiliar panic closing around his throat. After a backward glance at Sunny, he knew her only chance was for him to move, and move now before the rider overtook them. His mind made up, Cole pulled his legs up beneath him and into a crouch just as the rider cut loose with another murderous war cry.

  Something in the sound, the tone of voice, gave life to Sunny's dry throat. "Cole, wait."

  She whirled around and grabbed at his boot just as he started to run through the grass. Her fingers closed over the heel and metal prongs of a spur, bruising her flesh, but still she hung on. Once again, Cole dropped to the ground.

  "What the hell are you doing?" he raged as he tried unsuccessfully to get his balance. He turned, prepared to hurl a string of curses towards the foolish woman, when instead the words died in his throat. Sunny was standing upright, a full-sized target for the rapidly approaching rifleman.

  "What is wrong with you?" Cole spat as he scrambled to his feet. "Get down, dammit." He took a couple of angry steps in her direction, but she dodged him, never taking her eyes off the rider. "Sunny, are you trying to get yourself killed?"

  She could hear Cole's voice, but it sounded as if it were muffled and a long way off in the distance. Her incredulous eyes said her brother was riding towards her, and yet how could that be? He was in La Paz or Mohave, anywhere but here. She blinked several times, then stared at the horse, which turned out to be a mule, and its rider again, but her brain received the same message. Sean and Whiskey. Certain now that she did not behold a mirage, Sunny found her voice and turned to Cole.

  "Do not worry," she whispered breathlessly. "Tis my brother, Sean. He will not harm us." Then she spun around, lifting her skirts, and ran through the grass to greet him.

  Again the rifle fired, its message clear that the bullet was not meant for Sunny as it passed over her head and continued on towards its intended victim.

  "No," she called as Whiskey skidded to a halt and Sean leapt from his back, the rifle cocked and ready for another blast.

  Screaming in fright, begging him to stop, Sunny raised her arms in submission and charged toward her brother. But she was too late. The gun sounded again and this time, Cole Fremont spiraled down and disappeared in the thick grass.

  Horrified, sick to her stomach, and angry all at once, Sunny cried out in a long wail, "Nooooo," then buried her face in her hands.

  Sean dropped the rifle and pulled a pistol from his belt as he approached his anguished sister. "It's all right, Sunny. I'm here now," he assured as he slipped an arm around her shoulder for a brief hug. "Stay here a minute. I'll just be making sure he's dead."

  "Take another step towards him," she warned through her tears, "and ye'll rue the day you were born."

  Not giving him a chance to move another step, Sunflower grabbed her skirts as she wheeled and rushed to her fallen lover. There she dropped to the ground beside him, her heart breaking, a sob wrenching her throat. As she bent over him, searching for the wound, she wailed, "Oh, Cole, what has he done to you?"

  "Not near as much as he had in mind," Cole whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "Where the hell is he?"

  "Oh, you live,”

  "So far I do." Cole raised his head a few notches and peered over her shoulder. "Good Lord, here he comes and he's got a pistol aimed at my head." He quickly flattened out in the grass again, then scowled at Sunny. "If that madman really is your brother, isn't there something you can do with him, like disarm him?"

  So delighted to find Cole in good health, she'd nearly forgotten about the danger. "Of course."

  "Get out of the way little sis," Sean warned as Sunny jumped to her feet and turned to face him. Pulling back the hammer on the gun, he stood his ground and announced, "This son of a bitch is long overdue for his last breath."

  "This son of a ... a bitch," she bit off, using a word she'd only heard infrequently, but never used before. "Saved my life. Do you still wish to shoot him, my lizard-brained brother?"

  Momentarily speechless at this information, Sean's anger and determination returned as he recalled the way he'd come across them. "You don't owe him for that, pumpkin. He may have saved your life, but I could see he had no intention of saving your honor. For that alone, he dies." Sean raised the pistol, his lip twitching as he eyed her disheveled appearance. "Get out of the way, Sunny."

  "Never." With a dramatic sigh, she flung herself, spread- eagle, across Cole's prone body. "If you wish to shoot him, your bullet will have to pierce Callahan flesh first."

  "Sunny," Sean growled between his teeth. "You don't have to do this." And then a thought occurred to him, a delicate, disturbing thought, but one that had to be dealt with. "Look, pumpkin, if he’s done something to you, what's already happened doesn't matter. You can go on as before. No one will ever know if he's shamed you."

  Convinced at first that silence would be his best weapon against Sean's anger until Sunny had a chance to explain, Cole now found he couldn't keep his tongue or let him think what he was thinking. He blurted out, "I would never shame her."

  But Sunny had other ideas. She slapped her hand across Cole's mouth and narrowed her eyes. "Quiet, Fremont," she said under her breath, "they don't call Sean 'Crazy Callahan' for nothing. Let me handle him."

  Thinking quickly, Sunny craned her head until she made eye contact with her enraged brother. She had to find a way to calm him, make him listen to what she had to say before he lost all control. "All right," she said with a composure she didn't feel. "I understand what you must do, but first let me tell you all that has happened. If you still think he must die, I will not stand in your way." She felt Cole's body stiffen beneath her at this, but he kept his silence. "Fair?"

  Sean had never killed a man before. And this dog of a man was unarmed. A sense of relief flooded him as he thought over her suggestion. "All right, but I keep the gun on him while we talk."

  "Fair enough." Again Cole flinched, but Sunny went on with her instructions. "Back off, Sean. What I have to say must be said in private. Move to the edge of the meadow and I'll join you."

  Against his better instincts, he did as she asked, knowing the only Callahan with a stubborn streak bigger than Patrick's now challenged him with a pair of determined indigo blue eyes.

  When Sean was in place, Sunny whispered quickly, "Do not try to move or join us. I will explain the situation to him." Then she scrambled to her feet and hurried to her brother, careful to keep her body between the pistol and Cole.

  "He can't hurt you anymore," Sean a
ssured as he gathered her in his arms. "Say the word, and I'll take care of him."

  Pushing back from his chest, Sunny vigorously shook her head. "You are not listening to me. He has done nothing to hurt or shame me. I have come to care for him a great deal."

  "But—" Sean gestured towards her torn skirt, her immodest attire. "You are half-dressed and he has torn the clothing from your body. You wish me to spare a man who has ravaged you so?"

  "My brother—" She stumbled over her words, worried about Sean's reaction. But she was a very poor liar and would telegraph the fib through her eyes if she should try any explanation but the truth. With an anxious sigh, Sunny lifted her chin and stared into the features that so closely resembled her own. "Cole Fremont has never shamed me or forced me to do anything I did not wish to do." A sudden pride burned in her as she added, "I am his woman."

  "His woman?" Sean said with a harsh laugh. "Have you forgotten you are Quechan, a half-breed, little one? You cannot be the woman of a white man. If you are anything to this snake, it can be nothing more than hisputa."

  An enormous anger tore through her like a runaway train, towing a burden far more weighty than Sean's stinging words or the fact that he'd said them. There was a truth in them that couldn't be ignored, an unjust fact of life separating Indian and white man with a cruel and biased sword. But just as suddenly as the anger came over Sunny, it left when it occurred to her that she didn't really care about facts and words. The only thing she intended to care about now was Cole. And as long as he wanted her, he would have her. No matter what Sean or anyone else called it. She swallowed her anger.

  Sunny tilted her chin and lowered her lids. "Say what you will about me, but know this and know it well. I love Cole Fremont. I will not allow you or anyone else to harm him. If you do not believe me, raise your pistol to him and see that you will be killing your sister first."

  Stunned by the admission, Sean regarded her words carefully. Did she speak the truth, or did this miserable cur have some kind of hold over her, something to make her so afraid that she would lie? His voice barely above a whisper, he pressed. "Sunny? Be very sure of what you say to me, of what has happened between you and this man. You are safe now, you need not pretend."

  "I love him. I swear it on my mother's grave." She leveled her gaze and made a final statement, one last plea. "Put the gun away, or shoot me with it now."

  The last time he'd seen that look, it radiated from the face of his mother as she stared down a sheriff intent on arresting him or his brother Mike for horse theft. Unquestionable proof, the missing animal, stood in the yard of the small Callahan farm, yet Moonstar was adamant in the defense of her sons. When they were eventually cleared, the sheriff's sheepish apology was met with the identical stubborn lift of the chin his sister now displayed. And with the same love and blind faith he saw in her eyes.

  With a grunt of frustration, Sean pushed the pistol into the waistband of his pants. "All right, little one, but if he so much as does anything to hurt you, he’s mine."

  Sunny jumped into his arms, smothering his words with grateful kisses and a string of Irish phrases. "Faith, and I knew you would understand if only you took the time to hear what my heart had to say."

  Cole discreetly inched his lean body to stretch its full length as he watched the siblings' reconciliation. Convinced he should take this opportunity and run to the river's edge for his weapons, he quietly started in that direction. If Sunny's brother really was called "Crazy Callahan," it wouldn't hurt to be armed when, or if, they were formally introduced. He'd only taken a few steps towards his objective when Sunny whirled around, her brother's hand clasped in hers.

  "Cole?" she called out, her voice wavering with tension. "Umm, my brother would like to talk with you."

  The top half of his body seemed to understand he really had no other choice, but the rest of him, his feet in particular, leaned towards gathering the weapons on the bank. Cole stumbled and nearly fell as he approached the Callahans.

  "Cole Fremont," he supplied as he wiped a suddenly damp palm on his jeans, then greeted the grim-faced man with an outstretched hand. Looking for a way to thaw Sean's frozen features, he added, "Sunny's told me a lot about you and her family."

  Although he'd accepted her story, conceded she at least believed she loved the rancher, Sean met Cole's handshake with something less than enthusiasm. His answer to the friendly smile beneath the golden mustache was a short nod and low grumble in his throat. "And she has told me nothing of you,ahata."

  Sunny's gasp confirmed Cole's assumption that he had just been called something other than "friend." Keeping one eye on Sean, he addressed her. "I get the feeling your brother isn't too happy to meet me. Maybe we ought to head back to the ranch and give him some time to cool off."

  Knowing Sean would never allow such a plan, Sunny made light of her brother's attitude, and completely ignored the fact that he'd called Cole a dog. "Sean is known as one who keeps his feelings inside. He is very pleased to know you."

  Before he could disagree or add to the already tense situation, Sunny knotted her brows and faced Sean. "What in the name of all that's holy brings you here in the first place? Why are you not up river with Pop, where you belong?"

  His acceptance of the blond rancher far from complete, Sean kept his eyes trained on the man as he answered. "I had a vision, little one. Pop and I didn't get any farther than Ehrenberg after that."

  "A vision?A true vision?"

  Sean turned his full attention on Sunny after Cole raised the expected brow. "We'll talk of my vision later— privately," he said with conviction. Having no intentions of discussing the spiritual gift bestowed on him by his mother's people in the presence of a white stranger, Sean concluded his explanation. "After reading your note at the farm, Pop and I decided it would be best if I went after you while he did what he could in town. I followed the trail you left behind until I caught up with Paddy's hoofprints outside of Phoenix." He leveled a thoughtful gaze on Cole. "The rest was easy."

  Taken aback by the inference, not the words, Cole took a forward step. "It should have been easy to track us because I made no effort to hide our destination. I had no reason to do so." Then the rest of Sean's story sunk in. "And what do you mean, you followed a trail? What kind of tracks did we leave besides hoofprints?"

  "My sister is clever," Sean replied with a jerk of his head, "smart enough to tear strips of material from her dress and tie them to shrubs and trees along the way without your knowledge."

  "Oh?" Cole's eyebrow rose again, but this time it was joined by its twin as he placed his hands on his hips and turned to her. "Is that so, my sweet trusting love?"

  Sunny's breath whistled out as she took a couple of backward steps. Shrugging innocently, she said, "I may have accidentally dropped a few scraps of calico along the way, but not after we arrived in Phoenix."

  "I see." He nodded, his mustache twitching more with humor than anger. "And why did you stop then? Why not lead your family, and lord knows who else, all the way to the ranch?"

  Again she shrugged, thinking now was the time to tell him how much she had come to trust him, but instead she laughed. "I ran out of calico."

  "You little devil," he said, his voice thick and gruff. Cole dragged her into his arms, temporarily forgetting her brother stood behind them, and playfully threatened her. "I ought to take you over my knee and whip the tar out of you, truss you up like the little, the little—"

  "Leprechaun," Sean supplied, reminding them of his presence.

  "Yeah," Cole agreed, vaguely uncomfortable with Sean so near. He released Sunny and turned to her brother. "She's a sneaky little leprechaun all right, whatever the hell that is."

  But Sean ignored Cole's attempt at levity and gave him a short nod instead of the expected chuckle. "I thank you, Fremont, for escorting my sister safely through her ordeal." Dismissing the rancher, he beckoned to Sunny. "Now it's time we returned to Yuma where we belong."

  She'd known all along that day wou
ld come, but never had it occurred to her it would be so soon, so abrupt, or that the reality would hurt so much. "But Sean," she said, frantically searching for a reason to stay, "I am not ready to leave, not yet."

  "She's only had a couple of days rest," Cole cut in, determined to keep her with him. "Taking her back out on the trail now could be very dangerous." He noted the dark circles under Sean's eyes, his weary expression, and added, "You look as if you haven't had a decent night's rest or a good meal for a couple of weeks yourself. Why don't you come on back to the ranch with us and rest up. We can talk about your departure later."

  Shaking his head, Sean muttered, "Our father is already sick with worry over his hotheaded daughter. I'm sure she doesn't want him to suffer any more than he already has." He fixed a pointed gaze on Sunny, then looked back at Cole. "Again, I thank you for saving her life."

  "She's not leaving." Cole advanced a couple of steps, examining the younger man. Sean stood two inches taller than his own six feet and looked to be carrying twenty or thirty more pounds—all of it muscle. He studied the determined square-shaped jaw and the tenacity in his unusual hazel eyes, and knew this Callahan would be a wily and menacing fighter. This fella could squash me like a bug, he thought, also suspecting Sean wouldn't let up until he'd accomplished just that.

  But Cole wasn't ready to let Sunny go, wasn't sure he could ever let her go. He hitched up his jeans and chose his best weapon. "Let's talk about this, friend," Cole began. Sean started to object, but Cole eased his hand onto the half-breed's thick shoulder and urged him to walk towards the river with him.

  Sunny's first impulse was to follow the men and join their conversation, but she thought better of it and instead took a parallel course to the picnic blanket to collect her drawers and blouse. Concealing herself behind a cottonwood tree, she dressed while the man she loved tried to convince her brother to let her stay.

  "I understand how much Sunny must mean to you," Cole went on as they reached the river's edge. "She has become very important to me as well. Because of that, I simply can't let you waltz in and take her away so easily. I need some time to think, and I believes she does, too."