by Bobbi Smith
"Maureen! Thank God you're all right!"
"Me?" Maureen replied as they hugged each other tightly. "You were worried about me? I've been going crazy worrying about you. Just ask Charles." She nodded toward where he stood close at hand.
"Oh, no . . . Charles, Philip just told me on the ride back that you were hurt . . ." Sheri looked up from hugging Maureen to see him standing there.
"I'll be fine. The doctor and Maureen have been taking good care of me."
"Thank heaven. I can't believe everything turned out so well . . ."
"But where's Brand? I thought he would be the one to bring you back in."
"Brand did keep me safe. He's riding in with Sergeant O'Toole. They should be along any time now."
"I see you've still got your writing materials," Maureen laughed, seeing how Sheri was still clutching her bag. "I should have known that you'd never lose that."
"You're right, and have I learned a lot more." She silently added, more than I ever wanted to know.
"Where were you all this time?"
"I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, I just want something to eat and a hot bath."
"Come with me. I'll see what I can do for you."
"I'm glad you're safe. We've all been very worried about you," Charles told her.
"Thanks. Brand deserves all the credit. He protected me. He saved my life that first morning out."
"So he turned out to be a true hero, just like in your book?" Maureen was thinking that everything couldn't have worked out any better. Brand had proven himself to be just as wonderful as Sheri had believed he was.
At her cousin's comparison, some of Sheri's happiness faltered, yet she hid it well. Only Maureen noticed the fleeting look of some strange emotionsadness, maybethat shone in her eyes for a moment.
"The Brand in my book is certainly going to be the perfect hero," Sheri managed, avoiding answering her directly.
"Well, let's go to our quarters and see about getting you that bath," Maureen suggested.
She could tell Sheri needed some time alone. She turned to Charles.
"I'll see you tomorrow?"
"You can count on it," he replied. Then in a voice meant just for her alone, he added, "I still have my winnings to collect."
A small thrill of anticipation ran through Maureen at the intimacy in his voice and the knowing twinkle in his eyes.
"I'm looking forward to it," she said in low tones, surprising herself again. "I'll see you then."
Charles watched the two women make their way toward their quarters. He was glad that they had both come through the ordeal unscathed. He was glad, too, that he'd had this time alone with Maureen to get to know her better. He couldn't believe she'd just said what she had to him. He grinned as he thought about it, and he knew he was going to be smiling for the rest of the night in anticipation of the day to come. He returned to the hospital to find the doctor there waiting to examine him.
"This will be your last night here," the doctor informed him after removing his bandages and checking his wound. "You're healing nicely. How are you feeling?"
"Better, but I'm still a little weak."
"You will be that way for a while. You just have to take things easy and not push yourself. Give your body the time it needs to heal."
"So I can return to the regular quarters they gave me in the morning?"
"That'll be fine. I just want to keep an eye on you one more night. Right now, it seems to me that you are healing well. I'll see you one more time tomorrow. How soon are you planning on returning to Phoenix?"
"It will depend on the ladies. I'll know more after I talk to them tomorrow. I traveled out here with them and had planned to stay as long as they did. I'm not sure if they're ready to leave yet or not."
"I certainly wouldn't blame them if they packed up and took the first stage out of here. They got more than just a taste of the real wild West, that's for sure."
"I know. It wasn't supposed to be this way for them."
The doctor applied a new bandage to his shoulder and left Charles alone to retire for the night. Charles's thoughts were on Maureen as he stretched out on the bed and started to relax. A smile curved his lips as he thought of her response to him, and he went to sleep that night looking forward to the next day with more enthusiasm than he'd felt in a long time.
Chapter Eleven
Brand, the Half-Breed Scout, or Trail of the Renegade
The Awareness
Mercy was nearly hysterical, but Rachel tried to reassure her.
"It'll be all right now, Mercy. We're not all alone anymore. We've got help."
"Let's go. We've got some ground to cover." Brand said no more, but led off.
When they reached the place where he'd left his horse, he let them rest for a moment. He'd been thinking about the fact that they'd escaped on their own and wondering how they'd done it.
"How did you get away? I thought I was going to have one bloody fight on my hands getting you out of there."
"It was Rachel's idea," Mercy told him as she looked over at the younger woman with pride.
Brand glanced at the female who'd attacked him with such fury earlier. "That was a very brave thing for you to do, sneaking out of camp that way."
"We were going to die one way or the other. I didn't see that we had any choice."
"But we're going to be safe now, Rachel, "Mercy said in a tear-choked voice as she impulsively hugged her. "Thanks to you and to Brand."
"I hope you're right. . . ." Rachel looked at the man who was going to lead them out of there.
Sheri sat in the portable tub that was provided for bathing, scrubbing every inch of her skin until it glowed. She almost wished she was back home, for if she had been she could have soaked herself in a tub of pearl water. She loved the scent of the orange essence, Castile soap, and rosemary that went into that bath, and she looked forward to the day when she could enjoy the luxury again.
She'd caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror before she'd sunk down into the hot water, and she knew that her pale complexion, so sought after in her social circle back East, was lost now. In spite of the fact that she'd worn her hat the whole time they were outdoors, she had tanned. Sheri found it wasn't an unattractive look. It was just that ladies were supposed to avoid the out-of-doors, and that was one thing she hadn't done.
Finishing off the bath by washing her hair, she finally wrapped a towel around her head like a turban and then used another to quickly dry off. That done, she pulled on her dressing gown and called out to Maureen.
"It's safe to come back in. I'm all clean again."
Maureen had been waiting patiently in the other room for her to finish. When she went in to join her, she found Sheri sitting before a mirror, a towel draped around her shoulders as she tried to work all the tangles out of her hair.
"A bath certainly makes you feel better," Sheri sighed as she smoothed out her mane.
"And look better. You seem far more relaxed now."
"I am. I think . . ." Sheri paused, searching for the best way to talk to Maureen about all that had happened.
"Now, tell me everything," Maureen encouraged her, sensing that her cousin wanted to talk about her ordeal. "While you were out there alone with him, did Brand teach you all kinds of things you can use in the book?"
"I learned a lot," Sheri said quietly, thinking of his kisses and his rejection of her when she would have offered him her most precious gift.
Maureen waited a minute for her to go on, then said, "Like what?"
Sheri lifted her troubled gaze to her cousin. "I learned that I can survive just about anything."
"I'll say," Maureen agreed. "It was difficult for us, and we were only on the run for that one afternoon. The Apache were after you for two days."
"I never dreamed I could do some of the things I did." Sheri gave a disbelieving shake of her head as she thought of the last few days. ''It's hard to believe that any of it was real."
"Tell me every
thing from the start. Where did you go? How did you lose his horse?"
Sheri began slowly, reliving in her mind the first attack. "It was terrible for me. I heard you scream, but we had to ride in the other direction or we would have been killed right then."
"Charles was shot right in front of me. I was so afraid that he was going to die . . ."
"No wonder you screamed. I thought that you'd been shot. I wanted to go back to you, but Brand knew we had to ride in the other direction or we would be killed. So I spent the last few days thinking you were hurt. It was awful."
"I was afraid you were dead," Maureen told her. "I didn't lose hope until Brand's horse returned without you, and then I really got scared. I hadn't dreamed that anything like this could happen to us."
"I know, and I'm the one who talked you into coming."
"Don't worry about that. I'm glad I did."
"You are? But the whole trip has turned into a nightmare."
"I can't believe you just said that. Are you an impostor? What happened to my Sheri? Is she still lost out there somewhere in the desert?"
Sheri managed a weary smile. "No, the real Sheri is here. She just never thought researching the wild West would be so wild."
"I've been enjoying a lot of the wild West," Maureen told her with a sly smile.
"You have?" Now, it was Sheri's turn to be surprised. "You were the one who didn't want to come.
I thought you'd be more ready than I am to head back East again. What exactly have you been enjoying so much? Or should I say 'who'?"
"It's Charles, Sheri. When he was shot and I thought he might die, I realized that I've come to care about him. The last few days, I've been staying with him as much as I could at the hospital. I know a lot of people don't think it's proper for a single young lady to do that, but I didn't care. I wanted to be with him, so I stayed."
A slow, triumphant grin spread across Sheri's face. "If nothing else comes of this trip, it will all have been worth it just to hear you say that."
"What do you mean 'if nothing else comes of this trip'? Isn't your research going well?"
"I'm just not sure of anything right now," she said slowly.
"Well, you know that Brand is the perfect hero. What else is there to be sure about?"
Sheri sighed heavily. "I was so naive when we came out here. It's hard to believe that was less than a week ago."
"Naive about what? You're a published author. You knew that you wanted to learn all about scouts and what they did with the cavalry. That's what you've been doing."
"Yes, but I've also been learning a lot about myself. I expected everyone else to be as excited about my book as I was. But Brand couldn't care less. He told me last night that the only reason he was with me, trapped in the mountains, being chased by Apache, was because he'd been forced into it by his commander. If it hadn't been for me, he wouldn't have been wounded in the fight or forced to walk all those miles through the desert."
"You had to walk through the desert, too," Maureen argued.
"Yes, but I wanted to be there. It was a big adventure to me. To Brand, I was just a nuisance he couldn't wait to be rid of. Well, he took me on the scout. Now he can go about his own business."
"But I thought you liked him."
"I do like him. . . ." Sheri paused, remembering. "But it's pointless. He made it quite clear that he's glad he's done with me."
Something in her voice told Maureen that there was more she wasn't telling.
"What is it, Sheri? What happened between the two of you?"
"Nothing," she denied quickly, almost too quickly, and the stain of a blush colored her cheeks. "And that's the way it has to stay."
Maureen was not as knowledgeable in the ways of the world as Sheri was. Still, she understood that something had happened between Brand and her cousin while they were alone in the wilderness. "You don't want to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about," Sheri admitted. "Brand is a solitary man, and he plans to remain that way."
"Did you want it to be otherwise?" Maureen prodded gently. "Are you coming to care for the man?"
"No. He won't let me."
"I don't understand."
"We camped last night in a small cave that only he knew about. I was doing fine until I woke up in the middle of the night, and I couldn't get back to sleep.
All the horror of the Indian attack came back to me. I hadn't meant to cry, but I couldn't stop myself."
"You were entitled," Maureen told her defensively. "After all you'd been through, I'm amazed you lasted as long as you did without breaking down."
"Well, I was so worried about you. I didn't know if you were dead or taken captive." She shuddered. "I accidentally woke Brand up when I was crying, and he tried to comfort me. But then . . ."
" 'But then' what?" Maureen asked, seeing the confusion on her cousin's face.
"He kissed me."
"Oh." Maureen's eyes widened at the news. She was quiet for a moment, and then she smiled delightedly. "This sounds just like one of your books!"
"It's not amusing," Sheri said flatly.
"You don't think so? Listen to what's just happenedyou came out here to meet your 'hero' and got attacked by Apaches. You were stranded in the wilderness with a handsome man, and then you were rescued by the cavalry and a certain lieutenant, who'd searched for you for days." She was smiling broadly now. "Now the heroine has to choose between the two heroes. This is great!"
"My life is not as simple as a book plot."
"The only tough decision you've got to make is, do you want Brand or do you want Philip?"
"Maureen!" Sheri was exasperated by her cousin's simplistic logic. "Brand doesn't want me, so it wouldn't matter if I wanted him or not."
"What are you talking about? Of course he wants you. He wouldn't have kissed you if he didn't want you."
"I wouldn't bet money on that."
"I don't know," Maureen said. "I've turned into a pretty good gambler."
"When have you ever gambled in your life?"
"Earlier today, Charles was teaching me how to play poker, and I was beating him quite soundly up until the last hand."
"Beginner's luck."
"No, I planned to lose that last hand."
"Why?"
"Because of what I was going to win, if I lost."
"You're confusing me."
"Charles wanted a kiss if he won the hand." Maureen smiled coyly at her cousin. "I threw away two kings, just so I could lose."
"Maureen!" Sheri wasn't sure whether to laugh or be outraged.
"You're the one who taught me to try new things and be daring. So I took your advice. Trouble is, you returned to the fort just when he'd won the hand, so he hasn't had the chance to collect his winnings yet."
"It's hard to believe this is sweet, little, innocent Maureen talking to me."
"I'm still sweet and innocent. I just wanted to kiss Charles, and this seemed like the perfect way to do it. Now, back to you and Brand . . ."
"There is no 'me and Brand'."
"I say the man's attracted to you."
"Hardly. He made it very clear that he was sorry he'd ever kissed me."
"I'm sure he was sorry. You've probably got him all confused now. He's never met anyone like you before. He thought you were a simpering little Eastern girl who didn't know a thing about the real world, and here you matched him mile for mile on the trek and shot an Indian dead to save his life. He's probably thinking he can't wait until you leave, so he can get back to his normal life."
"I'm sure he is. Your Charles may be the perfect gentleman, but Brand only cares about tracking down renegades. As far as I can tell, he doesn't want to get involved with anybody or anything. It seems O'Toole is his only friend."
"Well, it does make sense that he's a solitary man. Life hasn't been easy for him."
"I know." Sheri fell silent as she thought about everything Brand had lived through. "Maybe I've done enough research here at the fort. What do
you say we go back to Phoenix and stay at the hotel for a few days?"
"Won't Philip be disappointed if you go?"
"I don't know, and I don't care."
"Well, if your life is like your books, then it's obvious your decision is already made."
"What decision?"
"Whether you want the scout or the lieutenant," Maureen said with a grin. "It looks like the scout won."
"Oh, you . . ."
"What kind of happy ending are you going to give Rachel? Who's she going to marry? Brand or the man she's engaged to?"
Sheri paused to think about it. "I'm not sure yet. I've still got a long way to go in her story."
And in your life, Maureen added to herself. She knew the next few days were going to be very interestingvery interesting, indeed. "We can leave for Phoenix whenever you want."
"I'll tell Philip in the morning. He's breakfasting with me, so I'll be able to arrange our departure."
Philip was more than pleased with himself. Sheri was back and appeared to be unharmed. Things had turned out very well. At breakfast in the morning, he would find out what more she needed to know for her book and see if he could help her with it.
Sheri was proving to be quite a lady. He was most taken with her. He had spoken to the colonel and to the captain's wife, and they had agreed to have another party in Sheri and Maureen's honor, now that they were safely returned. If Sheri approved, it would be held the following evening. He would discuss that with her in the morning. Until then, he just had to bide his time and enjoy the fact that she'd returned safely from her escapade.
Morning came far too early for Sheri. The bed felt luxurious after two nights of sleeping on the rocky ground, and if she hadn't already made arrangements to see Philip, she would have stayed in it until well past noon. As it was, she dragged herself out early and got ready for her eight o'clock breakfast with the lieutenant.
"You know, Maureen, I must have been having a weak moment last night to have agreed to this."
"I'm sure you were not at your best."
"Do you know I was actually glad to see the man when he came riding up to me?" She shook her head as she smiled wryly. "It's amazing what desperation will do for your outlook."